mncruizr

Thanks - we did preregister for excursions and will pay after, but I think we will pay the liquor (375ml bottles) now along with the coffee card. The prices are a little steep but better than drinks at the bar. We like to mix our own in our room and hang out on the balcony. I'm not real picky on the type of liquor especially for only one week.

Thanks all!!
Bill

ok -thanks. We already paid our gratuities to get the lower rate and will probably pay this as well, but hold off on our excursions until they happen.

Thanks!!!
Bill

This is probably an easy question. We have added a few things to our onboard reservations - a few bottles of liquor and a coffee punch card. It's in my shopping cart on the cruise personalizer.

Should we pay for these in advance or is it recommended so we can have them when we get on the ship? I know the booze needs to be ordered when we get to the room and it will be delivered.

Bill

We are going there as well in January with Princess. It is the only stop that we are not doing an excursion. I've read that you can snorkel off the beach on the Malecon - near Blue Kay is best, but you can also ask someone to take you on a tour when you get to one of these all inclusives. Our plan is to go the Tropicante and just swim off shore. I've heard it is so-so, but we just want to relax and hang out.

I just got a new camera a Nikon D5500 which I love. It came with two lenses a Nikon 18-55 and a Tamron 75 - 300. I love the larger lens and will most likely plan on bringing both of them to our cruise on January 10, 2016 on the Caribbean Princess. To the experts, do you bring both lenses with you when you bring your camera around the ship or to port or do you just bring the small one?

 

Also - I assume it's a bad idea to bring this camera on a snorkeling trip right? Seems like a risky thing.

 

Thanks to anyone who has suggestions!!

Bill

Ah - OK thanks. I was a little nervous as we are at Seabrook - thanks

Bill

The fare was about $60,

 

That seems kind of expensive from the Springhill in Seabrook. Was it some other Springhill? We are staying at springhill for Jan 10 departure and the hotel said we could get a taxi from Hobby for $45 and I would think it's under $20 from there to the port.

You probably will be OK but this port is notorious for delays in arriving and departing due to fog, traffic, weather etc. My family is also departing in January (10th) and have allowed lots of time on either end of the cruise to be safe. Getting in a day ahead and leaving around 5pm the day of disembark.

 

It's not ideal but I don't need the headache and nervousness of being late or having to take another flight.

Bill

No experience but from what i've read you just have to e-mail Steve at the Tropicante and tell him when you are coming and he will have them reserved for you. I don't have the email.

I agree with MrMan - Cruise lines are trying to appeal to the masses and the masses are no longer the same masses they used to be - if that makes sense:). I'm a religious guy but church is on the downslide along with bridge, ballroom dancing and while there are lots of seasoned cruisers that like them, they don't appeal to the new target market - millenials. That group likes craft beers, bourbon, wine bars, poker tournaments, fun restaurants, sports bars, and I'm sure more than I can think of (I'm a boomer, so what would I know!!).

We were on the Diamond below the Horizon Court and we were told it was noisy due to vacuuming and chairs moving but never noticed any noise worth mentioning. I think maybe light sleepers might notice something but we never had an issue and our next cruise is also on 14 below the bar on the Caribbean princess.

We are staying at Seabrook in January and the hotel said the Clear Lake Taxi will cost $48 to their hotel from Hobby. Where are you staying?

 

You could also try Uber, but I heard that there have been some issues with using them to go to the terminal.

Specialty coffee or coffee card, soda beverage card, alcohol at bars or in your room are options as well. There is shopping on board. We have $150 in credit to use as well but that will be gone quickly with our family. If you don't drink alcohol, coffee or soda and don't do excursions there are not many options to spend the OBC. I was also told that it can't be used for Gambling.

Wow!!! What a deal. We got our fare reduced by $280 and got $150 OBC as well. Seems too good to be true but I'm going with it.

So If I want to purchase Jack Daniels from Princess I now need to purchase a soft drink beverage package at $5 per day to mix my own drinks? I only wanted to bring Diet Pepsi on board for mixing with my Jack I purchase from Princess. Can only one person in the room get the soft drink package?

Thanks everyone for your help. It sounds like we have options if we want to do something else but the easiest is to go through Princess. And - read the fine print!!

Long time lurker, not much posting. We are finally going on another cruise Jan 10 to the western caribbean out of Houston. I've heard that Houston delays happen coming and going often and they involve port changes. So...I'm wondering if it's best to book excursions through Princess versus going at it on our own? I like the ability to find unique excursions and shop and frankly I did it on one alaska cruise and we had such a great personal experience.

What does everyone think? Play it safe and book through Princess?

 

What happens to Princess booked excursions when you change ports?