kellor

I have been following your journey ....wow! Not only do you write so that we can visualize the cruise put those pictures are amazing! Thank you so much for taking your vacation time to bring us along. Lori

Carolyn, you mentioned the Enclave - did you end up purchasing that package; if so, do you like the service and is worth the purchase price? Thank you! Lori

Thank you for doing a live! We depart in 64 days on her and couldn't be more excited!

We will be joining you on the Royal for the New Year's Cruise - we will be celebrating our 30th Anniversary on the Dec 31 so we are looking forward to the celebration! So far the roll call is VERY quite; hopefully as we get closer we will pick up. It's gonna be a great cruise !!!!

We will be on the Royal for the New Year's sailing and our TA was able to book Caribe 303 - a handicap room. My husband uses a scooter and we were in a regular room the last cruise....yikes, talk about no room with that added. Anyway, has anyone stayed in these type of cabins before on the Royal? I'm just curious if there is enough room to park the scooter inside and get around it without crawling over the bed and how big the balconies are? My husband spends a lot of time on the balcony as he does not like going about the ship very much. Thanks in advance for any help or advice! Lori

We will be on the Caribbean Princess this weekend ~ GO Hawks!! We will have our jersey's and 12th man banner flying proud!

No they did not add a port. Just an additional day at sea.

 

We are set to dock at 1130 and begin disembarkation at 1145 and it will take 3 hours.

Thanks for keeping us updated - we are scheduled for next week. I was wondering if you could tell me what the weather was like for the entire cruise...warm, hot, rain, choppy water, etc? Hope you had a great cruise!! Lori

Yes. You can buy it for the entire cruise; several are set aside for just that. Usual cost on the Island is $20/day. Booking for the whole cruise is $15/day. On a Panama Canal cruise, the "whole cruise" does not include Canal day. You have to buy that separately. I think it's something like $75/day.

 

A suggestion is to select a lounger on Sun deck with the curtains. You'll have sun most of the day, even under the overhang, on this cruise and direction. Bring a bathing suit so you can enjoy the pool.

Any suggestions for selecting a lounger on the Caribbean - would love a bit of sun and a bit of shade if possible...if not, then in the shade. Thanks for your advice.

Yeah! Just 16 more days until our turn. I really, really hope we have incredible weather as well !! Thank you for posting.

Thanks for writing a rewiew, it is much appreciated. Did you use the santuary ?

Love, love your review !! Thank for taking the time to give us all such wonderful virtual cruise. Lori

Thank you for taking the time to do a live - we are thinking of this route and will be interested in hearing how much fun you have! Lori

I agree!

We've been on one or two rides like the picture above and I never never complain when a captain decides to skip a tender port.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question ~ we are on this ship in January. I really hope that we have no weather problems and are assigned great waiters and an incredible steward!

While I understand first impressions.... I am curious why those of you that said this was your first and last trip on Princess. It sounds as if the weather was the main factor with this sailing and I don't think this should be held against a cruise line; especially one with such high standards.

So my question for you becomes this: If you take away all factors of the weather what made you not enjoy your cruise?

Thank you for taking time to post this review - we are looking forward to traveling on this ship next year! Lori

I have had the BEST time with your review !! We are on the ship in January and while I don't get to go to NOLA this time...I now want to!

You didn't lose us! Keep going please! I have really enjoyed this review and your pictures. Thank you, thank you, thank you~ Lori

Thank you for taking the time to write such a great review! We are on this cruise in January - I don't care about fog, delays, missed ports etc., as long as I'm on this ship relaxing with a good book!

Did you by chance use the Spa or Sanctuary at all?

Glad you had a wonderful time.

Lori

I feel so sorry for the crew what they must be enduring from passengers that are upset about not leaving on time, missing ports, etc... We are on this sailing in January and I figure it this way...as long as I am on that ship relaxing I don't care what the weather does!

I'm thinking, however, that the new norm for this port needs to a late return flight or staying overnight for a post stay.

Wishing you all a wonderful sailing !!

Lori

These weather delays are becoming concerning...this is the 3rd week in a row that we have heard about a problem. Plus, I heard it only gets worse in January....just when we are boarding.

WOW! I love your pictures! Thank you again!

Loving your review - we are the ship in January!!!! Thank you for doing such a great comprehensive report. Lori

Thank you for the great review - I'm really looking forward to my turn on this wonderful ship!

The fog-related delay mentioned above taught us a valuable lesson -- choose a disembarkation scenario that allows PLENTY of time to get to the airport. Here's what happened to us:

 

We had a 2:16 departure flight out of Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) which is about 1 hour from the terminal. We previously booked a Princess bus transfer to that airport and chose a 9:15 am bus, thinking the 2 earlier ones (8:15 and 8:45) were earlier than necessary and would have us rushing around in the morning, then hanging around a boring airport for hours on end. It never occurred to us there could be a weather delay (dumb, in retrospect). When the ship did dock, they logically proceeded to disembark people in the original step-by-step pattern, which resulted in our getting off the ship shortly after 12 noon. We knew the Princess bus would take significant time to load people and luggage and then stop at multiple terminals once at the airport. So we knew there'd be little or no chance of getting to our plane on time. So we told Princess we wouldn't be on that bus and chose a waiting taxi instead. We were lucky enough to get a VERY experienced driver who knew all the fastest routes and knew we had a deadline to make. She couldn't guarantee we'd make it on time, but promised to do the best she could. She got us there in 50 minutes and we got there with a bare 10 minutes to spare. (Amazingly the TSA line had NOBODY in it, otherwise it would have been impossible). The cab driver told us that, because the Houston cruise ship terminal is new, many drivers are unfamiliar with the route, so we were doubly lucky in getting her as a driver because she used to drive commercial rigs in and out of the neighboring cargo terminals. The whole experience caused us to lose the cost of our Princess bus transfer and the cab fare was $100.00 (plus a very generous tip thrown in), but it was money well-spent since missing that flight and re-booking the next day would have cost us $490 x 2 people = $980 (plus the cost of eating the original tickets and cost of a hotel). So next time we'll either fly home the next day or get to the airport ASAP and sit around the airport where a cup of coffee and a Danish would cost $10 (instead of FREE on the ship).

 

Incidentally, the many local Texans aboard told us that fog in this area is quite common, so it seems to be something to plan for in future cruises from Houston (and maybe also Galveston).

Thank you! I have been fusing over a 2:10 departure out of Houston for our upcoming cruise....no longer!