Princess newbie

[miamimommie]

Just booked Thanksgiving cruise out of Houston. Looking for good tips and dinner menus. We are Houston locals with several cruises under our belts - interested in info specific to Princess. Thanks in advance 😄

[Lineaway]

Just got off the end of January. Discovered a few things during the cruise.

 

Food/Bar:

Horizon court is not good for Lunch or Dinner. Poor variety, mostly salads. However, it was really good for Breakfast. Ended up the last two days there. On Embarkation day eat in the dining room for lunch. It was good. Buffet was not good.

 

International Cafe is in the Atrium on the bottom floor next to the Coffee bar. Open continual. They have small sandwhiches, some pretty good salads and some breakfast items (one is an Egg McMuffing knockoff). They also have fresh donuts and a variety of Pastries. All are no fee except for the Ice Cream they offer, that costs. Went here for Bfast a couple times and a few snacks between meals. My bad.

 

They have Happy Hour but don't do a very good job announcing it the first Sea Day. BOGO. It varied. 3-4 one day and 4-5 the next. The afternoon one is in the Wheelhouse bar. The first day there were available seats and we had no problem getting served. The second day is when everyone had heard about it and there was not a seat avail before it even started Lines went out the door and down the hall just to get to the bar to order your own.

There is also a Happy Hour in Skywalkers but 10 to 11 at night. Went once, not crowded.

 

On some Sea Days, The Wheelhouse has Pub Food for Lunch. That was so busy I left the line I was standing in and went to the Buffet. Wife liked the food she stayed, I have no patience.

 

Had Anytime dinning. Wow, go early or you will wait in a long line. Tried reservations but you had to call early morning to get anything before 8 PM. I tried calling after Bfast 8ish and I was too late. Dinners take 2 hours. Its ok if you are sitting with interesting people.

 

Went to Crown Grill one night. 25pp. Food was very good and all the lobster I could eat. Got the surf and turf, Filet with Lobster tail, Wow, I really overate.

 

Ship Tips:

Skywalkers Lounge is not open during the afternoon but you can sit up there anyway. We did and the view is amazing. Played cards for several hours with friends one afternoon and it was really nice. Quiet too.

 

Princess has the only ships I know of that you can walk all around the front of the ship. Its amazing and the views are great. A bit windy but I saw a fantastic sunrise one morning I was walking around the Promenade from there. Gotta go there.

 

MUTS is a must. Ask for more than one Blkt. They tend to only hand one out and having a couple makes the lounge chairs more comfortable. There are usually a couple nights with good movies.

 

When you leave Houston, the ship channel is very narrow. Ships pass close. We were on the port side of the promenade deck and had a huge ship pass what seemed like less than a hundred feet away. Got pictures. Kinda neat.

 

Back of the ship is the best pool. Not as many people there. Suppose to be adult only. I thought it had the best views too. Main pool rather crowded.

 

The ship is in need of some sprucing up. But I am told its scheduled for a drydock this year. It should be in amazing shape by Thanksgiving.

 

They offer Future Cruise credits that are worth getting while onboard. If you plan on a second Princess cruise.

 

Getting on and off in Houston was probably the smoothest of any cruise I have been on.

 

Hope your cruise goes well. Check out Youtube for videos of the ship. There are a few really well done ones that are recent.

[caribill]

Just got off the end of January. Discovered a few things during the cruise.

 

 

The OP has booked a cruise on the Caribbean Princess.

 

Is that what you just got off at the end of January?

[Lineaway]

Nope, the Emerald. Wasn't sure when they were swapping out the ships ( this year 15/16 or next 16/17). Everything should still apply although a similar ship just not exact. Emerald was almost identical to our Ruby experience out of FLL but the Ruby had better food. OP infered their first time on Princess and asked about tips on Princess. Also mentions leaving out of Houston. Again, should be similar.

[caribill]

Nope, the Emerald.

 

For another view of the Emerald, see the thread at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2172781

[Cruisin' Chick]

Be sure to check out the Princess website, especially the cruise answer book (the FAQs) and the description of the Caribbean Princess.