I Have A Date With A Princess!

This Saturday I will be flying to Edinburgh to meet up with seven of my Cruise.co colleagues and joining Caribbean Princess for the final part of her British Isles cruise.

I last sailed with Princess Cruises on a 2 week Mediterranean holiday in 2009 so it will be a fantastic opportunity to remind myself why this cruise line is always so popular. I am lucky to have been on many different ships and it is always good to refresh my knowledge and of course catch up with friends, most of whom I only see once a year. One thing I love to do on these visits is the behind the scenes tour where we get to see the galleys, storerooms, laundry and hopefully even the bridge and so get a real insight into how over 3,000 guests and over 1,000 staff are kept fed, watered and entertained throughout the day.

What I do remember about my previous stay on a Princess ship were the  wonderful friendly staff, good food and tucking into popcorn on a lounger on deck wrapped in a blanket and watching “Movies Under the Stars”. The only problem for me with being so snug under the huge outdoor cinema screen was staying awake and I can honestly say I missed the ending of every film. Well, I had spent a sun-soaked day sight-seeing and had eaten and drunk way too much before settling down!

Caribbean Princess is one of the fleet’s larger ships. She launched in 2004 so is not one of the newest but that never bothers me. These vessels are constantly maintained and refurbished. There are two speciality restaurants on board I am looking forward to sampling. Sabatini’s is an Italian trattoria and Crown Grill. Both these eateries are available to guests at a cover charge so it will be interesting to see if this is worth paying. Personally, I almost always use the main restaurants when cruising as I think the food is very good without the need to pay extra but if you want a quieter atmosphere or are celebrating a special occasion, it is good to have other options available.

Well, this is why I will be out of the office for a few days. Have you sailed on Caribbean Princess? What did you think?

I look forward to reporting back in my next blog.

t