Dreamscaper

I cannot chime in on the ships or itinerary but following to gain some insight as we're hoping to do the Panama in the next year or two. I CAN advise that Grey Goose is included under the Plus beverage package though :)

There are also these "mile high" type cakes in the International Cafe (I'm not sure if they were offered at the coffee bar as well) that are included as premium desserts. Chocolate, Red Velvet, I can't remember what the other one was. We meant to try a slice between four of us just to taste it but we never did get around to it. My husband had a simple sundae (gelato and caramel sauce) at Gelatos a couple of times that we weren't charged for so I assume that was credited in lieu of the candy sundae monstrosities. As yes, you can get basic sundaes for dessert in the dining rooms and soft serve ice cream on the pool deck for free.

Yes, it really depends on what you like to do! Are you more looking for culture and scenic drives, rum or tequila factory tours and tastings, jeep tours through the jungle - or do you prefer a relaxing beach day with a day pass to fabulous resort, or perhaps out on the water and checking out the marine life on a snorkeling tour to see the fish and corals, stingrays, or sea turtles? I have limited experience in the Caribbean. I LOVE snorkeling, my husband hates it. My sister in law was dead set against a "lay on a beach" type excursion, other people want exactly that.

Thank you all for your help and input! We got twitchy knowing Uber isn't 100% guaranteed, so we booked with Galveston Limo instead. They're running a sale on right now for $28 per person to either airport. The 9:05 and 10:05 were sold out for IAH, but we were able to get seats on the 11:05. Our flight doesn't leave until 4:30 pm so that should be plenty of time. We'd really prefer the private car with Uber, but we can't take the risk of the reservation not being honoured on the extremely busy weekend we dock.

Thank you all. We were thinking of pre-booking an Uber but yes we are concerned they may not honour the reservation (apparently it is Rally Weekend that weekend as well), so we will just book the Princess shuttle after all. As many have said "anything can happen" and sticking with Princess is the guaranteed safe bet.

Thank you - I did extensive googling last night before I sent this message and did in fact put in a quote request with Galveston Limo, which I received this morning. I was just hoping for some more personal reviews/experiences/options :) After a while your (my) head starts swimming lol (for the record we were quoted $374.61 total, but that's probably because we're a party of four and need an SUV)

We're a party of four wondering how reliable Uber is from getting from the cruise port terminal over to IAH after our cruise. We've heard conflicting reports and wondering if anyone has any experience using them recently. We'd likely book an XL for the comfort but could live with a standard ride if needed. If you don't recommend Uber, are there other private car companies you'd recommend? Note we're looking for a private car (hoping it's not crazy expensive) as we're apprehensive about how long and packed the shuttle buses would be. Also of note, it looks like RCL will have a ship landing in port on the same day as our Princess cruise, so there will be competition from people booking from *two* ships. If the massive shuttle buses really aren't that bad we'd be interested in hearing whether we should just suck it up. Thanks for any help!

What are your must-order drinks aboard Princess? I want to make some wise informed choices within my 15 limit Is there anything off menu you'd recommend that they know how to make? We have Princess Plus, but if there's something really special I'm not above paying the overage for something great :)

Oh yes, thanks! I've been on excursions and before so I know they're not shy about mentioning the tip baskets and we're always prepared to take care of them, as well as the shuttle drivers coming in and out of the airport.

Thank you - I wish we could know in advance of the sailing, but that's lovely information to see :)

Thank you!

100% I always treat the staff with respect and kindness. Please and thank you's are never missed, eye contact, smiles, all of the above. Seems like common courtesy, but I suppose it's not so common with everyone :( I don't know what nationality the staff on the ships are, but I did learn a bit of spanish for our trip to Mexico. Is there somewhere I can find this information out?

thank you! good to know :)

I booked a guaranteed BA and ended up assigned a BD (and then billed even more money for a mini suite they had offered to upgrade us to before reneging on the offer). I will never book a sailing again without a guaranteed assigned stateroom and I will be going through a TA in any future bookings as six plus hours of fighting with various people at Princess just to end up with the originally assigned BD has hubby saying "never again".

I apologize. I meant those who book the more expensive cabins may tend to spend more (including on extra tipping) than those who book lower category. Of course this doesn't apply to everyone and those who book higher category shouldn't be expected to tip more or more often, but I would guess that it happens.

Well here's another thought... Does anyone know if the staff get to keep their extra cash tips, or if they're forced to pool them with other staff members? I've heard of other places (non-cruiseline) where staff pool their tips.

This concerns me as well. I'd like my tips to go to the people who actually provided me with great service, not to some pool where a slacker on a ship I've never been on gets just as much as my fantastic waiter or bartender. Unfortunately I don't think there's anything we can do about that. It's been suggested that we name our fantastic servers in the post-cruise survey, and I'll make sure to do so. Hopefully the comments make them smile and maybe even earn them extra bonuses/promotions, that's probably the best thing we can do for them :)

That is pretty much what we plan on doing as well. Thank you to everyone who's assured me there's no need or expectation to tip even more than what we had planned on :)

Good to know. $16 per day does seem a bit low shared among everyone, so I'm glad to read that they do get an allocation from the Princess Plus packages as well :)

Perfect - and makes sense! thank you :)

Thank you. I suppose what I meant by that was that perhaps the crew would expect extra tipping from the higher end cruisers that have deeper pockets but maybe not as much from the lower fare cruisers. Right or wrong, not trying to spark a debate on who "should" and who "shouldn't"!

Oh yes, I don't expect anyone to be watching like a hawk or anything.. just, what they may have noticed :)

I think housekeeping would be your stateroom attendants (cleaners), but by room service I think they meant the ones that would deliver food ordered to your stateroom.

Exactly this *laughs*. Thank you so much!

I'm in a balcony, so my crew appreciation amounts to $16 per day, which seems a bit low considering how many people will be serving us. Though I won't be handing over a cash tip for each and every interaction. I assume the service charges aren't applied to the Princess Plus portion of my cruise fare, but would be applied to things like specialty dining (I'll have to remember this when we go for our dinner at the Crown Grill) or other add ons.