slc22

Hi, we stayed at a hotel one night pre-cruise, and brought one of the hotel key cards with us on the Royal Princess. We used the hotel room card in our stateroom in the wall slot. No problem, and then the cabin was always nice and cool when we returned.

The Royal is beautiful! Enjoy your cruise ...

Yay! Another review!

Loved your family Royal (and Disney) Holiday review - and all the pics. Thanks for sharing this one with us too ...

Wish I had seen this earlier:(....saw Carlos on a few cruises and he is great.

I happened to catch him on the View today, too! We saw him on Royal Princess last year. Love his family-friendly humor….

Bon Voyage! Webcam says, "At Sea, Bound for Cozumel" …

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Sue

Spyro, I have to apologize.

I'm so sorry, but I mixed you up with a poster in the past that has bad things to say about sailing from Texas. Totally my fault - please accept my apology ?

Thx,

Sue

Blue sea, thanks for the info! That is a large number of boats and barges through the ship channel each day. I had no idea of the volume.

You mentioned two cruise ships "escaped" from Galveston yesterday? I thought the Navigator and Carnival ship were scheduled to return early this morning, but had to anchor out. Triumph is due to return tomorrow. Only Caribbean Princess had a departure scheduled yesterday was my understanding.

Thanks for the logistical details. So informative! You've helped me picture the situation better. Thx!

Sue

Sailing from Houston in 3 weeks. Looking to have a good time. Stuff happens.:)

Agree! Have fun!

Sue

... Too bad, sounds like they need to give up on Houston as a port - too many issues. Sorry guys.

Geeze, Spyro - why do you feel the need to keep dogging this port?!

I hope Princess stays in Texas. There are many passengers that will sail from here.

Sue

Thanks for the updates. Good luck to all of you!

Thank you for taking the time to post the Patters! Wonderful information. I'm really looking forward to my cruise next month.

I noticed you were lucky enough to have Captain Dino Sagani for your cruise. He was the captain on our wonderful Royal Princess cruise last December. Do you know how long he will remain on the Caribbean Princess?

No update from the captain yet. My aunt says she saw it on the news in Indiana. I don't feel like we're going anywhere soon... Oh well. We've got yummy food and good entertainment.

Glad you are still having a good time. You've got a great vacation attitude!

I'm following this story closely. I'm looking forward to this cruise next month!

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=9476801

Local article above reports this affecting Galveston cruise ships as well - Not just a Bayport / Princess issue.

Sad situation. Strangely a Barge from same company was involved in a collision with a ship just 6 days earlier in same proximity but was lucky in that no spill resulted that time.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I found a wonderful Travel Agency that has hosted singles cruises throughout the year, which helped me ease into solo sailing. I've sailed with them on different ships and itineraries. Some of the cruises target 40+. I've sailed with them on Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico and Mediterranean itineraries. Varied and fun.

What I like about them is they have mixers and solo-only events, and dance classes for the group, as well as optional group excursions. They have a set dining time with tables reserved for the group, so you can mix and mingle and meet many people. So you always have someone to eat with. This really eased my mind. I have traveled solo a lot, and it seems the only time I would have a chance to be lonely was at dinner time. So, by sailing with the singles group (google vacations and single cruise, and you will find the cruise calendar) I never had to worry about looking out of place at dinner. There were many other solos in the same situation, happy to share the table. And many to plan excursions with.

I introduced my widowed sister to this group on a cruise last December, and she has already booked another! She summed it up, that it's a safe, fun way to cruise, and you will go away with friends to plan next cruises with.

I've also sailed solo without the "group" this year, and have followed the advise of others. I've join the "roll call" and met some really nice folk.

Either way, I wish you luck! You can do it. I've met such nice people cruising, and I think you will too.

Sue

Thanks for your comments! They are very much appreciated. And Please don't let the negative comments of a few get you down. Most seem to appreciate the time you took with your thoughtful comments.

Hi Sue! There is still plenty of room on the REGAL Maiden Caribbean Sampler (11/6-11/9/14), as well as the b2b to the Southern Caribbean (11-9-11/16/14). There are a few folks that were on the ROYAL Maiden and b2b last Oct/Nov that will be on the Regal. The Roll Calls for both cruises are coming along nicely. (See the link in my signature line and feel free to take a peek). :D

Thanks, Larry. Regal is a good suggestion... I'll check them out.

For some reason I'm not able to view anyone's signatures in the forum this afternoon, and I am logged in. Wonder if it's my settings, or if the site is undergoing maintenance?

Thanks,

Sue

Glad you had a great trip! I'll be sailing her next month, and so glad The port is just a drive away.

Did you prepay parking, or pay once you arrived at the port? Curious if those that prepay have an assigned area to go to directly, or is there just one line for all.

Probably a little of both. I've never personally encountered rude passengers. I've met wonderful folks on my travels. I've loved chatting with all - new cruisers oviously excited to be on the ship; experienced cruisers who gladly share port info, answer questions, share entertaining travel stories.

The lengthy discussion here about card colors is an eye opener. Guess I'm not observant, as I never look at anyone's cards for color, status, segments, etc. - much less my own. I Didn't even know cards WERE different colors, LOL.

If you see me on board, I DO carry a card in a pouch on a lanyard, for the convenience on board, and to hold drivers license or cash when going ashore. BUT - I also have a food allergy, so carry Benadryl capsules in the pouch so it's always with me and my cruise card whenever the "munchies" hit, LOL. That's the main reason for the pouch. So, moral of this story, please don't think I'm proudly displaying my card color, nope, not the reason.

Want to take a moment to thank all the experienced CC posters who graciously answer questions and share advice with all of us. You truly help me look forward to future travels, and hope our paths cross one day so I can say Thank you in person.

Thanks,

sue

New format:

Observation: I didn't like scrolling down each page of new Personalizer to see all the info on laptop: however it is much easier on Touch devices (tablet, iPad)

Observation: travel documents section worked great. I was still able to print Boarding Pass and Luggage Tag for upcoming cruise

Observation: all the links in the Vacation Protection and Additional Forms and Documents sections (10 links to PDF documents on Princess website) don't work on my existing booking. All directed to same place, with message "The page you are trying to reach is unavailable or may no longer exist."

Observation: old Personalizer you could see and jump to other areas of Princess website while you were in the Personalizer (plan a cruise, cruise deals, etc) . New Personalizer you can't see the main Princess menu at top anymore and have to press the 'Exit this booking' icon, or the My Princess icon. Not a biggie, just different.

Overall I do Like the bigger fonts on the pages. Don't like that the majority of the Documents section links didn't work. Those of us who have cruised Princess in the past likely know where to find those documents from the Princess website, but those new to Princess may not.

The pre-cruise emails should be at the bottom of the documents page. The section is there, but the individual emails have disappeared.

Hi, I've experienced the same. My cruise is in 45 days, and the perviously existing e-mails no longer exist on the personalizer for this cruise.

Thanks for your review and info. I appreciate the link to pre-pay parking! Very helpful for my cruise in April.

How full was the parking lot? This is off topic, but Was wondering if they will separate parking when NCL also sails from Bayport. Will there be enough space for parking for cruisers of both vessels ?

Thx again! Wonderfully detailed review.

Dave,

Thanking you in advance for all the work you will put in on this Regal thread.

Woohoo! Another fun thread full of neat photos and facts awaits us !

Thx,

Sue

Hi, thanks for the comparisons of both ships. Good comments.

I agree with the Royal elevator comments. Same experience from my cruise ... Response time just not an issue. With your comparison that the elevator size and wait times were similar in both ships, this may help others.

Thanks!

Ok..my novella is complete! for all of you on future CB cruises....go with an open mind and a fun filled heart and u will have a great time! :D:D

Hi, glad you had a great cruise! I admire your upbeat attitude. Great advice! I'll be following it in 2 months, and totally expect to have a wonderful cruise, too...

I just happened to catch CB leave on the port web cam. Neat to see how it pivots away from the pier

http://www.portofhouston.com/cruise-information/live-cruise-terminal-cam/