See
all the following photos in our FaceBook album:
Watch the Princess Video of the Ship
Caribbean Princess Bridge Cam
High Season: Late June - August; Christmas and New Year's weeks; February through mid-April
Low Season: Late April - May; September - early January (excluding holiday weeks)
Hurricane Season: June - November but less likely to impact the Southern Caribbean
|
Port |
Arrival
|
Departure
|
|
1
|
San Juan, Puerto Rico |
|
11:00 PM |
|
2
|
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands |
7:00 AM
|
5:00 PM |
|
3
|
Roseau, Dominica |
9:00 AM
|
6:00 PM |
|
4
|
St George's, Grenada |
7:00 AM
|
2:00 PM |
|
5
|
Kralendijk, Bonaire |
12:00 PM
|
7:00 PM |
|
6
|
Oranjestad, Aruba |
7:00 AM
|
5:00 PM |
|
7
|
At Sea |
|
|
|
8
|
San Juan, Puerto Rico |
6:00 AM
|
11:00 PM |
|
9
|
St John via St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands |
7:00 AM
|
6:00 PM |
|
10
|
Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands |
8:00 AM
|
6:00 PM |
|
11
|
St. John's, Antigua |
7:00 AM
|
5:00 PM |
|
12
|
Castries, St. Lucia |
8:00 AM
|
6:00 PM |
|
13
|
Bridgetown, Barbados |
8:00 AM
|
6:00 PM |
|
14
|
At Sea |
|
|
|
15
|
San Juan, Puerto Rico |
6:00 AM
|
|
Caribbean Princess Stats:
Year Launched:
Refurbished Date:
Passengers
Crew:
Gross Tonnage:
Length
Max Speed
Passenger Decks:
Suites:
Balcony Staterooms:
Outside Staterooms:
Inside Staterooms: |
2004
2009
3,110
1,142
113,000 tons
950 ft
23 knots
14
207
880
1,105
452 |
The Princess web site has videos of many of their shore
excursions.
San Juan, Puerto Rico - We arrived in San
Juan in the afternoon of the day before the cruise and checked in to the Conrad
San Juan Condado Plaza. This hotel was pleasant and we had a lovely view of the water. We walked to
the old town and it was very hot out. The old fort was closed
because it was Sunday so we visited the Capitol building which did not
have an admission charge.
View from our hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico
View of Capitol Building, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Capitol Building, San Juan, Puerto Rico
In the morning, we boarded the Caribbean Princess. There were lots of young families and kids on this cruise, more than we’ve seen on other trips, and I’m not sure why. I think there are Americans celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with their families, but there are also lots of Hispanics. Maybe the Caribbean is just an easier place to take a family, with all of the beach-type activities.
St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands - There are
two ports for cruise ships in Charlotte Amalie. We were docked at
the western part of town and our ship can be seen in the distant right in
the picture below. We took the Great House, Garden &
Vistas bus tour of Charlotte Amalie and toured the natural gardens. We saw
parrots in cages. This was not a great tour. On our second
visit, we took the St John
Island Tour which I highly recommend. For another alternative,
try the mangrove
kayaking and snorkeling instead.
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
Garden Tour, Charlotte Amalie
Dominica - Like many of the Caribbean
Islands, Dominica is small, with 754 square kilometers (291 square miles)
of land area. The port at Dominica is Roseau and it's not much of a
tourist town. However, the shore excursion (Aerial Tram & Trafalgar Falls)
was one of our best. We spent the full day in Dominica, which is very mountainous and rainy. They get 400 inches of rain per year, and I think we got about 20 inches today! The rain would pour buckets for 10 minutes, then dry out, and later another downpour. We went up in the mountains and walked up to see a couple of
waterfalls and a fumerole, then took an aerial tram up 2,500 feet through the rain forest canopy. It is so lush and green, it’s hard to describe. As one woman said, you could plant a rock and it would grow into a boulder. There were banana trees growing by the side of the road. And their fresh bananas are delicious.
Dominica
Roseau, Dominica
Fumerole steam vents on Dominica
Waterfall in Dominica. It rains 400 inches a year. It felt like we got 300
of those inches the day we visited!
Lunch in the interior rain forest. This boa was hiding in the top
of the umbrella of a picnic table. We ate elsewhere and dined on Subway,
plantain chips & banana chips packaged on the island and fresh
bananas.
Rainforest canopy - Dominica. Beautiful.
After two rough and windy nights at sea, we are now enjoying a quiet evening, the first one since we arrived in the Caribbean. I was able to sit and read on the balcony after dinner with just a warm breeze blowing. It was lovely. Sitting outside in the warm night air and listening to the ocean waves is one of the best things about cruising.
Grenada
- Grenada is a very small
island. The port is St George's. Grenada is well known in
recent history for the influence of Castro to incite revolution
with the support of Russia. This culminated in the 1983 invasion of
Grenada by the US. The island
is principally English speaking. Grenada is also known as The Island
of Spice and our tour of a spice farm was excellent. I went on the Discover Grenada & Beach With Lunch.
We visited Fort Frederick, an 18th-century fortress with views of St. George's harbor. Next,
we went to Laura's Herb and Spice Garden to see a variety of spices.
The cocoa were
red on the outside, but slimy white inside with the cocoa bean hidden in
the middle. Then we went Westerhall Estate and ruins, to view the
history of rum processing. The site included a sugar plantation that
had been used to produce molassis for the rum. After a buffet-style
lunch, we also had time at the beach.
Cocoa tree on Grenada.
St George's, Grenada
St George's, Grenada
Bonaire - Another small Caribbean Island, the Dutch island
of Bonaire is 112 sq. miles (180 sq. km) and is a coral island with less
than 15,000 residents. Together with Aruba and Curaçao it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands in the Lesser Antilles near Venezuela.
The main port is Kralendijk. The island was first inhabited by the
Arawacks who were wiped out by the Caribes and they in turn were decimated
by the Spanish. I went snorkeling at Wind Sock Beach. Bonaire
has one of the best snorkeling and diving spots in the Caribbean.
There were high winds and waves that day and we had to hold arms to get
past the surf. Even though the clarity of the water was affected by
the weather, we saw lots of fish and varieties of coral. There are
salt flats at the south of the island and there is a desert area in the
middle of the island with donkeys running wild.
Bonaire - Wind Sock Beach
Bonaire - Wind Sock Beach - wonderful snorkeling!
Aruba
- Aruba is a very small Dutch island. It is180 sq km (69 sq mi) and
is only 27km from Venezuela. The capital is Oranjestad. I had
visited Oranjestad before on the Coral
Princess. That time I enjoyed the Disneyland like city and went
snorkeling. This time we went to the interior on the Island
Highlights and Beach. The tour included a drive through Oranjestad,
the Casibari rock formations, a visit an aloe factory and time at the
beaches.
Amazing rock formations on Aruba
Aruba
Aruba
Aruba
St
John, US Virgin Islands - The Caribbean Princess stopped a second
time at St Thomas on our two week cruise. This time we took the St John
Island Tour, which was fabulous. The island is only 9 miles long and
two-thirds of it is made up of Virgin Islands National Park. After a
short 4 mile boat ride to the island, you take an tour in an open air bus
to visit the Annaberg Sugar Mill, Trunk Bay, Caneel Bay, and Bordeaux Mountain.
We had a great time snorkeling, watching the iguanas & deer and
relaxing on the beach too.
Caneel Bay, St John
Trunk Bay, St John
Trunk Bay, St John
Trunk Bay, St John
Trunk Bay, St John
Cruz Bay, St John
Iguana, St John
Tortola
- Tortola is the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands.
It was taken over from the Dutch by the British. The capital and main port
is Road Town. The island is only 21 sq miles and it is located about
60 miles east of Puerto Rico and quite near to St Thomas.
Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Antigua - Antigua (pronounced An-tee'ga) is part of the
country of Antigua and Barbuda in the West Indies. It is British,
founded by Admiral Horatio Nelson in 1784, and has an area of about
281 sq km (108 sq mi). Most of its 69,000 inhabitants live in the
capital St John's (not to be confused with St John
in the US Virgin Islands). Antigua is a center for online gambling.
St John's, Antigua
St John's, Antigua
St John's, Antigua
St John's, Antigua
St John's, Antigua
St. Lucia - St Lucia is a British island which became an
independent state of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is located in the Lesser Antilles, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It
has an area of 620 sq km (238 sq mi) and a population of about
175,000. The cruise ship port is Castries.
Castries, St Lucia
Castries, St Lucia
Barbados - Originally Portuguese, this island became British
and is now part of the Commonwealth of Nations. It has an area of to 431
sq km (166 sq mi). It is located at the extreme southeast of the
Caribbean islands and is outside the main hurricane belt. The cruise
ship port and capital is Bridgetown. I went on the Sail, Turtles & Beach
excursion which was great. There were lots of turtles and they came
close enough that you could actually touch them.
Bridgetown, Barbados
Bridgetown, Barbados
Bridgetown, Barbados
Bridgetown, Barbados
