CARIBBEAN PRINCESS Jan 11 2014-Photo and video review

[MJSailors]

Hello Norris

I have enjoyed your cruise review ,following along with you and Carol as you enjoyed your vacation.

The photos and notes were informative for first time Princess cruisers and gave Princess veterans an opportunity to recall past cruises.Your humor also added to my reading enjoyment!

My husband and I sailed on the Caribbean Princess several times and enjoyed those cruises.

I am pleased to see from your photos that the ship

is still in good shape.

I wish you and Carol many more bon voyages!

[Bimmer09]

Once down the gangway and back in Bayport terminal we joined easily found our luggage in our color group and joined the line of luggage-shufflers snaking it's way to the customs desks.

 

As I have a British Passport I was directed to the first booth where there was only one British couple ahead. Carol was allowed to come through with me.

 

Quickly we were through and out into the sunshine. There were only 3 taxis waiting but no line so we took the first one that was ready to go. Hilton NASA Clear Lake please cabbie! That's where the Hertz rental would be waiting.

 

At the Hilton the car was not waiting. We arrived 40 minutes early so I wasn't worrying. I called them and found that they wouldn't be delivering a car as they were short-handed. They offered to come pick me up in 20 mins. No problem.

 

A young girl came in a Kia Soul and drove us to League City where I found that the car they were going to put me in was the same Kia Soul . "But that doesn't have navigation which I ordered" said I. "We don't have any cars with navigation at this branch" said she. So she called Hobby Airport where they did have the kind of car that would help me navigate my way through a large unknown city like Houston. She gave me directions to Hobby and off we went.

 

At Hobby the People who had never rented a car before were in line before me and there was only one agent. Could be a long wait I thought but after 10 minutes another agent came back from break and set me up in a Toyota Camry with navigation and we were off. A Hertz bus driver offered to drive us and our luggage the 40 yards to the car but we declined. Thoughtful offer though.

 

Note to self- don't book cars at HLE offices (Hertz Local Editions). Stick with the airports. The HLEs in Houston close at noon and have very small staffs and number of cars.

 

Carol had a hankering to visit the Johnson Space Center but I didn't want to be rushing around, getting in line, waiting for shuttles around the vast area as we had a comfy hotel waiting and had to be at the Opera by 7.30 p.m. so I took out my bazooka and shot that idea down. Instead I did agree to a detour to a restaurant that Carol had yelped in the meantime. King Chicken-which was a Peruvian place in a strip mall near Hobby. It didn't look like much but the chicken was worth the detour and with food in our stomachs we sailed on in to Houston Downtown on big wide roads with no traffic holdups.

 

No-frills dining

 



 

 

We pulled up at the Lancaster Hotel, gave the keys to the valet and went into the tiny lobby to check in.

 

This is the side entrance

 

 

The hotel is old but beautiful. The ground floor just has room for a small cosy restaurant and the small lobby area with one person behind the reception desk and a sofa or two with newspapers laid out for guests. There is also a history of the hotel for one to read if waiting. The desk clerk was a model of efficiency and warmth.

 

Soon we were in one of the two small elevators on our way up to our room on the 9th floor.

 

Entry hallway

 



 

Looks promising...here are some living room shots

 



 



 

[Bimmer09]

Hello Norris

I have enjoyed your cruise review ,following along with you and Carol as you enjoyed your vacation.

The photos and notes were informative for first time Princess cruisers and gave Princess veterans an opportunity to recall past cruises.Your humor also added to my reading enjoyment!

My husband and I sailed on the Caribbean Princess several times and enjoyed those cruises.

I am pleased to see from your photos that the ship

is still in good shape.

I wish you and Carol many more bon voyages!

 

The ship is indeed in excellent shape considering the work she has done, day in, day out for almost 10 years.

 

Thanks for the kind words!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

More to come tomorrow when I hope to finish this on my day off.

Photos from Downtown Houston and a recap or final thoughts.

 

Off to work!

 

Norris

[RRFPresident]

Executive Chef Antonio Cortese. The Maitre d' (closest to him) is Guiseppe Castino.

 

Is that Gabriel (maitre'd of Crown Grill in the evening and Sabatinni's in the morning) on the right?

[Bimmer09]

Is that Gabriel (maitre'd of Crown Grill in the evening and Sabatinni's in the morning) on the right?

 

No, not Gabriel who greeted us each morning and is in one of my unpublished videos. This man on stage was much taller and less jolly. Carol barely remembers him which proves he wasn't the charming Gabriel.

 

The Sab day staff were a superb team. Just think...Florin could bring you coffee at 7.30 a.m and your check in the Crown Grill at 10.00 p.m...and then have to clean up. I am sure in the meantime he had shifts in Horizon Court. He has very little time to just be himself and relax without watching a clock.

 

That goes for most of the crew.

 

Vlada could serve me a beer at 10 a.m and then after her bar closed at 5.30 she had shifts in Club Fusion and then up to Skywalker's to serve at the disco.

 

I appreciate all the work they do and the smile they have when doing it all the more so.

 

On turnaround days they are all busy. On the Crown I saw the Sabatini breakfast staff used to help wheelchair-bound folks off the ship. Factor in turnaround and Noro deep clean all in one day...you may remember me talking to our steward at sail away which was 9 p.m and he hadn't had "lunch" yet. No doubt after cleaning his 18 rooms and making 18 new beds he was pulled to scrub and polish stair rails and everything else the outgoing passengers may have touched.

 

I take my hat off to them all.

 

Norris

[4x4bob]

Bimmer09;

 

Thanks for the detailed information. Your Photo's were outstanding. We are going on the Caribbean Princess in two weeks and now I am looking forward to the adventure thanks to you.

 

bob

Edited February 12, 2014 by 4x4bob

[Bimmer09]

Bimmer09;

 

Thanks for the detailed information. Your Photo's were outstanding. We are going on the Caribbean Princess in two weeks and now I am looking forward to the adventure thanks to you.

 

bob

 

bob, thanks for tuning in. I very much appreciate all the people who have taken the time to respond. I'll give my closing impressions tomorrow when I have a day off in snowy Michigan ( garden has 2 feet of snow in it).

 

Thanks again and enjoy this fine ship.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Forum down for maintenance yesterday and it looks like a page of photos I put up vanished into thin air. Oh well. Will continue later.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

This is the wet bar in the hallway of our room

 



 

Bathroom-nicely appointed.

 



 



 



 

 

This armoire harkens back to an earlier age when gentlemen had to have a drawer for cuffs and one for collars. I love it! I imagine Fred Astaire (elegance and style personified) had one in his home.

 

[Bimmer09]

The beautiful dining room table would have come in handy for Room Service but we had a hankering to eat after the Opera and in a local restaurant that stayed open late.

 

 

On the second floor was a small business center and also a little area of snacks and a cooler of sodas. Everything was on the Honor System. If you took a candy bar and a Coke you just wrote your room number on a slip and put it in a box and it appeared on your bill at checkout. Trusting Texans! We printed out our boarding passes for our United flight back to Chicago the next afternoon.

 

I was itching to get out on the streets and see what was out there.

 

Across the street was this Irish/Italian (huh?) restaurant which stayed open until Midnight so it was a contender for a late dinner.

 

 

And a block away this one, also open until Midnight and serving American food and a name that resonates with me....Sambuca!

 

[Bimmer09]

Texas Street with the Hotel at left and the tallest building in Texas on the right.

There's a free admission observation deck at the top but not open on the weekend, alas.

 



 



 

On the corner of Texas street-opposite it is the Opera House so there is much to see and enjoy within 20 paces of the Hotel entrance.

 



 



 

Entrance to the Opera House

 

[melody hounddog]

Can't wait to find out where you ending up going for dinner!

[Bimmer09]

I rented the diesel version of this Jaguar XJ when I was in Germany last August.

Wonderful car.

 



 

The Opera House is by the river and down below on it's banks there was a Spanish Wedding Party taking photographs. So colorful!

 



 

Handsome town on a warm (72 deg. F) January day

 



 

Well signposted which is key when you are driving or walking

 



 

[Bimmer09]

We strolled, sat by some fountains-there was the sound of rushing water here and there on this peaceful post-cruise Saturday. The CB was still sitting down in Bayport, scrubbing down from the Noro (30 cases on our cruise but some of them were out wandering around the ship, breaking quarantine.

 

We were excited for a night of Opera in a new Opera House and the prospect of a slap-up meal at 11 p.m was enticing too. We sometimes go for long stretches-even when cruising-before we eat. Eating a big meal before the Opera makes it hard to stay awake and it takes a lot of focus to listen, look and take it all in.

 

So naps are a requirement and naps Of the Gods were taken and we awoke refreshed and ready for a new opera in a new house.

 

The Opera-"The Passenger" takes place on a cruise ship after WWII and the wife confesses to her husband that she was a commandant in a Concentration Camp and the scenes switch from the white ship (just one segment of promenade deck and their cabin below) to a flashback of the barracks in the camp. Searchlight towers with guards glide silently in from the sides when the flashbacks happen...just another night of magic in the opera house. Entertainment on a scale that only an opera-goer can imagine. It ain't Broadway. It's like a big screen (IMAX) movie but it's happening LIVE and people who can sing are singing!

Huge fantastic rich orchestra. Great stirring music but in this case poor vocal writing.

 

The Houston Grand Opera by night

 

 

My program

 

[Bimmer09]

I wandered around (and outside) at intermission, soaking up just another night at HGO, an opera company the city can be very proud of. World class.

 

 

People heading for an intermission drink

 



 



 



 



 

 

We shall return to HGO in the future and enjoy this fine city again. It just felt right. Clean, organized, a lot of entertainment and dining in a few blocks and nice weather (It was freezing in Chicago). And of course nice Texan people!

[EV2008]

Thank you for having so many nice things to say about our great City Houston. I am very happy that you enjoyed your stay here and that as always you found friendly people here. We here in Texas are very friendly and not just in the hospitality business, we just can't help ourself to wish everybody a nice day.

[whataboutport]

 

The Opera House is by the river and down below on it's banks there was a Spanish Wedding Party taking photographs. So colorful!

 

 

 

I think they are Mexican not Spanish. I really want a pair of those pants with the silver down the sides!

Edited February 14, 2014 by whataboutport

[perfect match]

Norris, awesome review, as usual. I will be back to read your wrap up. I always feel as if I were sailing right along with you, and this review has been no exception. Thank you very much for sharing your travels with us.

[douglinc@msn.com]

Norris,

I want to thank you again for a really excellent review. As we are doing our 1st. Princess cruise on this ship 3-29, this has been really informative.

 

Thanks again,

Doug

[Bimmer09]

After the Opera we walked the two blocks to Sambuca. Some patrons were sitting outside at the tables there and it was 11p.m -something they wouldn't have been doing in Chicago for sure.

 

We had reserved a table and were seated right away. The restaurant was very busy yet we still had attentive service. It was loud as it had a high ceiling and it was dark, for atmosphere but at the expense of being able to read the menu clearly so iPhone flashlight app to the rescue.

 

Too dark for photos of the food but it didn't stay on the plate for long anyway as we tore into it like rabid wolves. Nothing fancy: caesar salad for me and a skirt steak with those cheesy sliced potatoes- au gratin (au delicious!)

 

In the meantime a live band struck up over by the bar area at the far side of the room (thankfully). I think they were called "We are the band" and they were good and popular as they play here at least once a week.

 

So not a place on a Saturday night for a nice quiet drink but the food and service was good and we were starving by that time. I did take one photo of my dessert which was fantastic- Sticky Toffee Pudding with ice cream in an edible bowl.

Sorry for the lack of light!

 

We had a flight to catch next day so we left after dining and took the short, safe stroll back to the Hotel to sleep the night away.

 

Up early the next morning I took to the streets again. I saw marathon runners a few blocks away before I left the hotel room. We were going to eat at the complimentary buffet ( we had coupons because of the suite package) at 9 a.m and then head to the airport in good time as our motto is A.B.E...Always Be Early.

 

This was the waterfall that came from the Opera House piazza and tumbled down to the river walk above the river.

 

 



 



 

 

There were several of these decorative metal towers along the river walk.

 



 



 



 

The river walk was a nice quiet place to start Sunday morning.

[Bimmer09]

I went back up to street level to continue my stroll

 



 

People waiting for a tram

 



 



 



 

[Bimmer09]

 



 



 

 

With 9 a.m approaching I went back to the Lancaster to meet Carol for breakfast in the busy little restaurant. Just a small, basic buffet but a good start to our morning of travel. Carol had already packed and it took me 20 minutes to do the same. I called for the rental car and it was brought to the front of the hotel, loaded with luggage, the Navigator programmed to the Hertz Return at IAH and we were off and according to schedule. We avoided any Marathon closures and were on the highway within 3 minutes and the traffic was flowing freely.

[Bimmer09]

Norris,

I was thinking about you posting your German trip on CC.

Toward the bottom of the main Cruise Critic Message Board Forms page is a section called Friends of Cruise Critic.

 

Trainman-2 has a section that he has put on there about his home and all the things going on in their life while not cruising.

That would be a perfect place to tell us about your non-cruise adventures. Look at his and you might get the right idea.

Just an idea. Would love to see your trips posted there.

 

I did write to laura @ CC but just got a form letter in response. I outlined the kind of "forum" it would be. There are a lot of "friends" forums and I imagine getting lost among them and no-one visiting my posts.

 

So I may try Blogspot or getting a website (for a fee) as I can't create my own.

 

We'll see. I would love to share my Europe and USA trips. I will never rack up a lot of cruises because of them. Once or maybe twice a year will be cruising.

 

I have photos and videos of 7 trips to Santa Fe, a dozen to NYC, a dozen to Marco Island FLA, San Fran, LA, Sedona, Grand Canyon several times, driving tours of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France, mountains and lakes in all of the European ones,cathedrals, plates of food, Beergardens, castles including a castle we stay in, various forms of transport like helicopters , bi-planes, Rhine cruise boats,trains, airplanes, hot-air balloons, chair lifts and so on. Lots of German cars, punting by the Polish border, fabulous botanical gardens, tram rides ....just a great variety of fun experiences.

 

 

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I'll wrap this Epic up tomorrow when I have a day off.

 

Thanks for reading along this far, everyone!

 

Norris