gr1634

Can someone tell us how the parking works at Houston? We always reserve a spot at Light House in Galveston as they have covered parking and take you directly to the ship. Think I heard you have to get yourself from car to ship at Houston.

GR

Read here this morning that arriving early (11:30ish) is not necessarily a good idea since this Saturday will be her first trip of the year from Calif. So I guess we won't be in a hurry.

Does Crown Princess have guava juice (like Carnival) for breakfast? Wife likes it and I always bring her some after going up and having morning coffee. No big deal - just curious.

Looks like the age span on Princess may be a little higher than what we have experienced with Carnival and RCL (total of 26 cruises now). Was more curious about clothes. Wife seems to think we need to dress up a bit more. Not so much for dining room as I never wear jeans or shorts in dining room but--watching Utube of Princess cruises I still see shorts and jeans wandering around the ship??

It appears Galveston has instituted duty assessments for some items that have previously been duty free - cigarettes and booze..Is that for all ports or is it just a Texas thing - anyone know for sure?

Since we are going to be in San Fran until 11:00PM our intent is to walk down to Fisherman's Wharf after our excursion. Is that a good plan or is there transportation from the pier area to the wharf and is it worth the effort?

Any other recommends on things to do in San Fran? Taxi to Lombard St? Wife has never been to Calif so has never seen any of these things - she is really looking forward to this coastal cruise.

We are going to be in room B423 - anyone ever had that room or similar? Thoughts>

Thanks

Gr

We have 24 or 25 cruises with Carnival and one on RCL Oasis of the Seas. Found Oasis to be a beautiful ship and the way RC does their tickets for various entertainment was a pleasant surprise. Having said that we found the "cruise experience" to be pretty much the same. That is not a negative statement - just an observation.

With the above as a background we have been doing our research on Princess as we have booked the Calif coastal cruise in April on Crown Princess. Wife has never been to Calif so she is really looking forward to the itinerary.

It appears the rooms (we are in balcony room B423) are a little smaller than Carnival, there is no couch in the room, Sanctuary is expensive (although I have seen nothing telling me how much it actually is), there are few decks that you can go from front to back on, smoking is very restricted, balconies appear to be about the same size as either RCL or CCL, there are no poles in the theater to block your view of the shows, you can't pre-schedule dinner in the specialty dining facilities until after you get on board, the cruisers in general appear to be a little older than what we run into on Carnival (that's not a bad thing ha ha).

Anyone out there done both Carnival and Princess that can clarify or add to our research on Princess. Any comments welcomed.

GR

That's what I thought as well.

Received an "upgrade" notice from Princess for the Crown Princess today. Moves us from R209 to B423. Looked at deck plan and rooms appear to be same size, as does the balcony. Anyone know why that would be considered an "upgrade" other than the fact it moves from forward to mid-ship???

Gr

Anyone know what nights are "formal nights" on Crown Princess for the 7 day Calif coastal cruise out of LA? Was just on the phone with Princess and he couldn't tell me. We are doing our first Princess cruise on this one. Have about 25 previous cruises on Carnival and RCL. Looking forward to something new and different.

Any thoughts on moving from Carnival to Princess appreciated.

Thanks

GR

Anyone know when elegant nites are on Magic Western Caribbean 7 dayer? I am thinking they should be Monday and Thursday????

Gr

We strayed over to RCL and did a 7 day on Oasis. Frankly we were not impressed with the standard food in MDR. Did not think it was of quality on Carnival. We did two of their specialty rest and one was way bad!! Realize food is a matter of personal taste so I don't argue with people who like one line vs the other on that point.

Tired of hearing people ranting about a smoke free ship or line - let's get real-- not going to happen. Yes I have heard all the arguements and I am a considerate smoker so I have a problem with being lumped with those who aren't.

What I would truly like to see changed is how Platinum members are treated. And by that I mean "treated." They should be welcomed with a certain degree of enthusiasm and "made over a bit. " When we go to the platinum ck in it's not much different than the regular line except we don't have to play the cattle call lines anymore. This wouldn't cost Carnival anything - just act like being paltinum matters for goodness sakes.

While I am glad we get a few little perks --- pinot fors and a cooler or what ever these things are pretty lame in the final analysis. How about reserve seating for the shows (to include comedy shows) - that would be nice (not behind the poles thank you) or how about early seating for dinner - by which I mean let platinums in before the crowds - I hate standing outside the doors to the MDR with 500 or so of my closest friends all jocking to be first in the door.

As for chging the requirements for Platinum status - not an issue with us we have been there for a while. Those who complain they have been on X number of 7 day cruises had the same opportunity to do the 3 or 4 or 5 day cruises others had

Would like some comments on this room as well. We are on 4th Conquest cruise in Dec and have this room booked for the large balcony. PVP says stairs are emergency stairs and are not used (except in emergencies). Anyone had this room that could commment on the layout??

GR