REVIEW- Caribbean Princess from Houston 11/15-23 - LONG

[cruisebunch]

We just got off this cruise also. I wanted to note that an apology was made for the delay by the captain over the loud speaker that I heard at least 2 times. Having said that, sometimes if you aren't in a location on the boat where you can hear well, you would not have known that. Our Cabin Steward Garry was fabulous. Embarkation was rough but that was because everyone came at the same time! Won't go back on this itinerary because I can't stand being bombarded by vendors in the ports.The e

xception was Roatan. We went to Fosters Bay which is a private beach. They had a very nice young man, Edison, who kept the vendors at bay. We took a snorkeling boat trip there for $20 which was one of the best I have ever been on. The reefs and fish were beautiful and not crowded at all. I enjoyed this cruise. My husband and I went for relaxation and we were not disappointed.

[I want to cruise]

So nice you enjoyed your cruise. Will be sailing on her in August 2014. Are you familiar with the observation area above the Bridge? Wondering if it's a good location for sail away and where you access that area.Any photos available to see of the ship?Thanks.

[scarby]

So nice you enjoyed your cruise. Will be sailing on her in August 2014. Are you familiar with the observation area above the Bridge? Wondering if it's a good location for sail away and where you access that area.Any photos available to see of the ship?Thanks.

 

 

Go to Lido deck and head to the front of the ship past the staterooms. Cant miss it. We just got off this sailing also. Its a great area with only a handful of passengers on this deck.

[dleighb]

Thank you for your review. We are sailing in January, and I love reading what everyone's thoughts are.

[5:00_Somewhere]

Can you please comment further on the snorkeling in Belize? Did you do an excursion through Princess or on your own? What location did you snorkel at and for how long? I have not been able to find much detail on this subject on the Port of Calls thread. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

The snorkeling excursion was through Princess - half day guided snorkel and beach break. Great equipment, great guides, great beach (showers, toilets), beer for $5.00...had been to the beach before and they are really working on improvements. Would certainly do the excursion again. Company that owns the beach etc is Chukka and you may be able to go there privately. Belize is surround by a barrier reef so unless there is a recent storm to stir up the silt any snorkeling should be good.

 

Thank you for your review and the info. We're on this cruise in January. Fingers crossed for no fog.

 

and thank you for the info about the snorkeling. Did you do the Sergeant's Caye or Water Caye excursion? By your description, it sounds more like Water Caye, but wasn't sure. We're trying to decide between the two. Thanks.

[tfox1018]

Great review! Thank you for taking the time to share!

[vmom]

Fog can be a problem getting into Bayport. One recent cruise docked over three hours late.

 

A person on that cruise posted they had booked a late disembarkcation time that would have worked if the ship had been on time, but was a near disaster with the ship being so late as disembarkation was in the same order as it would have been if on time. Barely made it to their flight in time and said next time would request an early disembarkation time. They would rather spend extra time at the airport if the ship was on time than miss a flight if the ship was late.

 

But as to your question. It is only a guess, but if you are at the end of the disembarkation there will be cabs arriving with new passengers and those drivers would love to have a fare going to the airport.

 

Thanks for the great advice. I'd like to get to the airport by 1 or may a bit after 1.

 

I'm guessing its about 1/2 hour ride from the pier to Hobby.

 

Anyone have any idea of taxi fare from port to Hobby ???

[sminfiddle]

Anyone have any idea of taxi fare from port to Hobby ???

 

Just pasted this in the Gulf Coast forum. Should be the same coming or going.

Extra passengers do not cost extra.

 

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review. Nice to hear you had a good cruise.:)

[caribill]

Just pasted this in the Gulf Coast forum. Should be the same coming or going.

Extra passengers do not cost extra.

 

 

That pricing does not include possible waiting time if there is a traffic jam at the port.

 

The poster may want to consider a service such as SuperShuttle that will not have a meter running.

 

By the way. Last time we took a cab from Hobby I read the fine print on the pricing during the ride and found that there was a 10% discount for senior citizens. So if you are in that age group, see if that is available in your cab if you use one.

Edited November 27, 2013 by caribill

[doggiedad]

Thanks for the review! We like to snorkel also, and are on the CB in March. Good to have options. Did you go to Roatan? If you did, any excurisons?

[Bimmer09]

Thank you for your review and the info. We're on this cruise in January. Fingers crossed for no fog.

 

and thank you for the info about the snorkeling. Did you do the Sergeant's Caye or Water Caye excursion? By your description, it sounds more like Water Caye, but wasn't sure. We're trying to decide between the two. Thanks.

 

Sailing the CB in January? Can I ask which cruise?

 

Norris

[5:00_Somewhere]

Sailing the CB in January? Can I ask which cruise?

 

Norris

 

We're on the 1/18/14 sailing. BTW, I'm a bit of a Bimmer boy, myself; just a little bit, though; and, really, not much of a "boy" anymore. ;)

[Bimmer09]

We're on the 1/18/14 sailing. BTW, I'm a bit of a Bimmer boy, myself; just a little bit, though; and, really, not much of a "boy" anymore. ;)

 

Rats! I get off the ship that morning. You sound like cool guys so sorry to miss you. Have a great cruise. BMWs can kinda get under your skin if you love to drive.

 

Norris

[5:00_Somewhere]

Rats! I get off the ship that morning. You sound like cool guys so sorry to miss you. Have a great cruise. BMWs can kinda get under your skin if you love to drive.

 

Norris

 

That's too bad. I was thinking the same thing. Hope you have a great cruise, too. And, yeah; though I have a 3-series Sport Wagon (to accommodate our 2 labs), I love it, and we both love driving it. Maybe we'll run into one another on the high seas one of these days. :)

[JJPacer]

Disembarkation was delayed due to fog by 3 hours. My advice is to walk off with all your luggage. I believe a cab from Bayport to Hobby was about $50.00 for 2. We missed our flight. If you don't walk off with your luggage, you have to wait for the ship to unload it and make it available in the cruise terminal. That was another delay (consequence of the fog) I would rather be on the safe side and wait at the airport than worry about making my flight. We took the Princess shuttle, (There were 3 buses that left within a few minutes of each other) and that caused a long line at the airport... Southwest check in... and a long line at the security check point. If you take a cab you will have a short cut through all those delays.

[cubfan63]

Disembarkation was delayed due to fog by 3 hours. My advice is to walk off with all your luggage. I believe a cab from Bayport to Hobby was about $50.00 for 2. We missed our flight. If you don't walk off with your luggage, you have to wait for the ship to unload it and make it available in the cruise terminal. That was another delay (consequence of the fog) I would rather be on the safe side and wait at the airport than worry about making my flight. We took the Princess shuttle, (There were 3 buses that left within a few minutes of each other) and that caused a long line at the airport... Southwest check in... and a long line at the security check point. If you take a cab you will have a short cut through all those delays.

 

The OP was reviewing the cruise that started on 11/16 and ended on 11/23. I was also on this cruise.

 

You are talking about the prior cruise, which delayed out embarkation.

 

The disembarkation on 11/23 was not delayed. In fact we docked about 6 am, instead of the scheduled 7 am.

[Stevesan]

Disembarkation was delayed due to fog by 3 hours. My advice is to walk off with all your luggage. I believe a cab from Bayport to Hobby was about $50.00 for 2. We missed our flight. If you don't walk off with your luggage, you have to wait for the ship to unload it and make it available in the cruise terminal. That was another delay (consequence of the fog) I would rather be on the safe side and wait at the airport than worry about making my flight. We took the Princess shuttle, (There were 3 buses that left within a few minutes of each other) and that caused a long line at the airport... Southwest check in... and a long line at the security check point. If you take a cab you will have a short cut through all those delays.

 

Fog has been a problem. The unseasonly low temps are the villain.

For newbies with Southwest:

You can print your boarding pass and check in on their web site within 24 hours of your flight. Boarding order is based on check in times. I try to check in 24 hours and 59 minutes prior to flight time.:p

Of course, frequent flyers have boarding order priority.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Stevesan

[caribill]

Fog has been a problem. The unseasonly low temps are the villain.

For newbies with Southwest:

You can print your boarding pass and check in on their web site within 24 hours of your flight. Boarding order is based on check in times. I try to check in 24 hours and 59 minutes prior to flight time.:p

Of course, frequent flyers have boarding order priority.

 

(Did you mean 23 hours and 59 minutes?)

 

The important thing is to check in to get your boarding position. You can always print the boarding pass at the airport since printing it on the ship is often a pain.

[dforeigner]

Thank you for taking time to write a review.