sminfiddle

The chart that is auctioned gets signed by the Captain and his staff. If the other chart was taken down and handed straight to a passenger, then it was not taken to the staff to sign and yours is indeed a one-of-a-kind.

Those with an interest in things nautical should not miss the battleship Texas. It's a floating museum 27 minutes to the north.

A tanker is 4 hours late ... not that big a deal ... the total crew is less that say 50 people.

 

 

 

A cruise ship is 4 hours late ...

 

there are 6000+ displaced passengers...

 

2000+ missed flights...

 

2000+ hotel rooms to dig up...

Have to agree with you there. Passengers are amazingly perishable cargo.

I get spoiled within hours of boarding :D

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"You want the espresso Americano" and that was punched on the card.

 

Used our six punches that remained and now I refuse to buy another card as that costs $33 (as least according to the server). At $1.75 plus tip equalling $2.04 per cup--cheaper if only one per day to not buy the card.

 

True, each punch of the card equals $2.22 (easy to remember for comparison)

So even owning a card, if buying a $1.75 espresso one would want to charge it to the cabin. They don't force you to use a punch.

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Jeffry, am tuning in and interested in every little thing you have to say: we're booked in Window Suite F305 for a longer cruise in just under four months.

We bought our FCC and booked it onboard this same ship two months ago.

A WS was included in the Cabin Crawl so we had a peek at that floor plan. We do Suites mainly for the bathroom and perks.

I noticed a difference in # of power outlets from other cabin types. Have you run short of places to plug in?

Here's hoping you have a great cruise from here on out~

Rick

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If they are not punching the card for lattes in the dining room, I would think it is a good deal.....I could be wrong!

The night we dined in Sabatini's, at dessert time I ordered a Cappuccino and went for my coffee card so the waiter could punch it... he said there would be no need for that.

I am not sure if that's customary for Sabatini's. The beverage of course was excellent.

I never did order specialty coffee in the MDR so don't know about that. The cups of Free Coffee I had in the MDR ranged from "pretty good" to "undrinkably bitter." It's the same as served at the Chef's Table dinner.

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Absolutely Galveston has fog problems too - I know! Our ship was delayed getting into port for many hours as we waited to embark last January.

I watched your cruise intently, since we were booked on her (the KP) for Spring Break. Followed on the cams and here on CC.

Fog became less and less an issue as the weather warmed up over February. We had no delay on either end in March.

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People that have cruised out of Houston. how long till you are out of cell phone reception? Do you have service all the way out of the channel, till you are past Galveston?

Yes and I think an hour or two after you pass Galveston too.

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I will never sail out of Houston again. We were the only cruise that sailed on time.

I hallucinated our two on-time B2B cruises in December.

Strong medicine it must have been. My wife hallucinated them too.

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For those of you who have lived in Houston for a while, is the fog this year worse than a normal year? Or about what it typically is each year?

Yes it has been very strange (not only the fog but the winds that delayed that one cruise in November), not normal.

Don't forget that Princess had access to all the historical data for the port going back half a century, and made their decision informed with those stats. This season's atypical.

There's nothing wrong with Bayport that a second ship with 10-day cruises, and some more support from hotels and parking vendors, can't fix.

And some marketing and TA education, to dissolve the "there's no hotels, nothing to do" myth. Local TAs don't seem to know cruising and cruise TAs don't know Houston.

Nothing wrong with Galveston either, both ports should enjoy increased passengership as more locals discover the pleasures of cruising.

Galveston has the built-for-tourists Pleasure Pier, the edutainment complex Moody Gardens (highly recommend), the historic Strand District (a must-go during the Dickens Festival!)...

Bayport has the built-for- tourists Kemah Boardwalk, the edutainment complex Space Center Houston (try to go for the Ballunar Festival), and historic Battleship Texas and San Jacinto Battleground.

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The "trick" to getting Iced Tea in a Princess bar is to order hot tea (you will have choices as to flavor) and a glass of ice.

Had to "invent" this at the Pub-style Lunch in Wheelhouse Bar our first time. DW insists on iced tea, waiter says sorry, it's a Bar.

I had to do the same "alchemy" when in New England in winter.

Ice + Tea. :confused:

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The Texas laws are amazingly old school and should be updated IMHO.

Until that happens, Princess should take on some supplementary liquor and wine from Texas and keep the customers happier.

There are Houston breweries, in fact, that craft some really good beers. If those were offered, I would order beer on board. The Bud and XX they offer do not interest me. I pointed this out to the F&B Manager on our ship's tour (and the fact they offer local brews on Alaska cruises); he was sympathetic but passed it off as a home-office decision.

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Is this new? I've done 2 cruises out of TX and never heard country-western music in the atrium or any other venue. Maybe this is something that has changed since I last sailed in Jan. of last year? It would bother me too - I much prefer classical music in the atrium.

Must be new. There was no C&W band in December. "Passion" played the C&W Theme Night, bless their hearts.

What was the name of the C&W band?

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That's a great catch.

Celebrate your luck, tag it "No Upgrade" (or only suite upgr acceptable), and check the booking daily in case it's still bumped/upgraded.

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Yes but your post implies that my answer doesn't count because of my state of residence...

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The main thing I didn't like about Houston was the the limited alcohol at the port due to Texas laws. Only limited beer and wine and only limited generic liquor. No champagne for our first drink ritual or any pre dinner martinis.

We brought champagne on board and had sailaway bubbly on both our B2B cruises in December. Neither of these were delayed.

Nor were our 6 other bottles of champagne charged or even challenged... you'd think by reading all the Corkage Fee threads, that Houston would be a favorite port with the carry-on wine crowd.

The neodymium magnet hooks purchased on Amazon. They held everything, including a (heavy, plush) Princess robe!

 

What size was purchased? They come in 12 lb., 25 lb. & 50 lb.

 

Thanks!

 

Tom:)

These (they say "43 Lb. Pull"):

Neodymium Hook Magnets 1" Dia - 4 Strong Magnetic Holders

by Applied Magnets

Link: http://amzn.com/B004PVLPTA

I've had the Partially Obstructed Vista Suite on Emerald Deck and liked it just fine; even re-booked the same suite on the CB for a later cruise. The obstruction is pretty close to the divider between you and the next balcony. There is a couple of feet open in front of the I-Beam and on the side where the divider is; lots more room behind.

It did not stop us from having an Ultimate Balcony Dinner for five people on the balcony one night. They brought two tables for it.

I have not stayed at that La Quinta but I enjoy the restaurant next door, Baytown Seafood.

We stayed at the Candlewood Suites a block away, ate at Baytown Seafood the night before the cruise.

Candlewood has cruise parking at $20 for the week and a Port Shuttle for either $8 per person, or $5 per person (depending on which shuttle operator is serving them that day).

Room was big and clean with a full kitchen, I mean plates, kitchen table and a full-size fridge and everything.

Kroger supermarket is right across Fairmont Pkwy (walkable) and Waffle House is next door. Several other fast-food joints are nearby with Monster Tacos open Mon-Friday one of my favorites.

The area is blue-collar and I enjoy the lower prices that that brings. I would not call it a "bad neighborhood" from my own experiences, the Yacht Club is there. :)

Is the shuttle $20 per person or $20 per room?

I just now called them to refresh my memory, and they've been adapting so a couple of things have changed... I spoke to Donny who drove the shuttle-van when we cruised.

• Parking for one week is now $20 (but reservations made prior to January 2014 will honor the Free Parking)
  
• They are now using 3rd party shuttle services, depending on the company used it is either $8 per person or $5 per person. They're talking with a larger company to try to lower the rates further and have access to a bigger fleet
  

I would definitely stay at Candlewood again, and maybe we'll try an NCL cruise when they start up this fall. But there are several hotels in La Porte and all will be setting up cruise packages... and they'll all be a whopping 12 minutes from the terminal.;)

The girl was really cute and quick-witted.

 

That's Brin. I talked to her about a hundred times during our B2B, plus she did the photo duties on our Ship's Tour (that's when she gets to tell the Captain what to do).

Unless I'm mistaken, your photographer for that photo-op was Jesse, known to his coworkers as Woody (as in Woodpecker, for his hairstyle).

That is one of the hardest-working departments on board I believe, they are up all night retouching our shots and then have to wake up extra early to put on costumes when it's their turn to be Pirates or Mayans.

I'm convinced they don't eat either.

On the Caribbean Princess, Sabatini's is the designated Game Room after breakfast.

But the views from Skywalkers will be superior as that Sab's just has two windows.

Glad it wasn't just us - Yikes!

I read another review a couple of days ago about the steward removing the pump-tops from the bottles in the shower, we are guessing for cleaning...

Don't the wide-open bottles at least come out of the holder, to tip out some shampoo/gel, or should "Eyedropper/Turkey Baster - To Suck Up Shampoo" be added to the list of Items To Pack? :eek:

There was some earlier discussion, and I am wondering which of the Bayport area hotels, I might suggest for the out of towners. I have not stayed in that area and its about 75 miles from me so it may as well be the moon.

 

I would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. I know some provide transport to Bayport and some may not.

I mentioned Candlewood Suites in La Porte earlier, I can provide more details.

Overall less expensive than the hotels nearer NASA or in Kemah. For our Friday night stay, I found their "Candlewood Weekend" rate was lower than the AAA Member rate.

Rooms have a real kitchen with stove, oven and a tall refrigerator, plates, utensils etc. For those driving in, parking is free; for others, grocery store (with pharmacy and wine shop) is across the street and most fast-food chains are within walking distance, plus the sit-down Baytown Seafood which offers good value.

Port shuttle was $20 (for the two of us) and includes pickup after the cruise. Runs hourly - tell them the night before how early you want to get to the port. It takes like twelve minutes to get to the port.

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Not at the door, but yes they can charge you at the table when you consume it.

We have been charged in the specialty restaurant when opening/decanting a Cabernet but not in the MDR for icing/serving champagne (so far).

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