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Live from the Caribbean Princess 11/09/2013

WEJEEP4FUN

By WEJEEP4FUN,
in Princess Cruises

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AKman2495

AKman2495

Posted
Posted

Well, we spent most of the day off the ship-but only 15 minutes in Cozumel....We went to the Coba Maya ruins. It was a long ferry ride followed by a long bus ride, but the ruins were spectactular!. It was hot and humid, amd we wnded up walking about three miles all told-I think I lost 15 lbs! but put is back with dinner;)

 

Tomorrow, Roatan and a lot easier day.....

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arizonaperson

arizonaperson

Posted
Posted

Sorry I can't answer everything now,internet slow and don't want to use all my minutes. So I will post a review once I return to my real internet!

CB November 9-16

Today we are in Roatan and we went on the Gumbalimba Preserve Nature Park Princess tour. Fellow CC Chimo687(Chuck & Sue) were also on this tour. We had a great time with the monkeys and saw iguanas & free flying parrots. You may take photos with the birds and monkeys on your shoulder. Lots of steps for those who can not walk well.(just an FYI). Great guide and driver. Travel time to the park is about 35-40min. each way in an A/C mini bus. It was sunny,but humid in Roatan. The people of Roatan are very friendly and proud of their country.(Hondurus)

There is a restroom once you get to the park and a small food stand. There are lockers for $3.00 USD to put any large bags or bags with food or water as the monkeys will take your items. Also need to remove any type of glasses. They loved my beaded necklace. You may take one bus there and you are free to roam the park on your own after the guided tour and take another bus back.(so leaving your items on the bus not an option)

Don't wear flowery lotion or perfumes on this day if you do the tour.

Tonight is the Caribbean Caliente show and Italian night in the dining room.

We tried the Crown Grill last night and were very satisfied.

Julie

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arizonaperson

arizonaperson

Posted
Posted

I will post a review later,no time to look through all the posts right now.

CB- 11-9 to 11-16

Had a great Princess tour yesterday(Nov. 13th) in Belize to the howler monkey sanctuary and zoo. It is a long tour that includes a local lunch at The Olde River tavern.(if it rains I suggest shoes/boots that can take the mud) We met in the Explorer's Lounge at 8am then tendered in(20min) in rain, then restroom break then got on the bus. We arrived back a little after 4pm and last tender was suppose to be at 4:15pm,so no time to look around the shops at tender dock.(just an FYI if you plan to shop,take a shorter tour) We loved our guides and tour. Learned a lot about Belieze.

Last night was atribute to Johnny Cash & June Carter, they were ok. I guess I don't really care for country. The evenings that they have 3 shows in The Princess theater the 10pm show has never been crowded, which works out well for us,since we have fixed 8pm dining.

Today is a sea day(Nov. 14th) with moderate seas.(4.5-7ft) Just returned from the backstage tour,we were rockin on stage!

The Palm dining room is for 5:45pm & 8pm traditional fixed seating. The Island dining room is for anytime dining. The Coral dining room is used for anytime from 7pm-9:30pm and fixed/traditional at 5:30pm.

Today is a sea day and no Pub lunch offered, so far only offered on Sunday. Hopefully tomorrow it will be offered on our last sea day.

Tried Vines wine bar last night with a glass of champagne and complimentary sushi. They have other tapas as well.

Tonight the show is Johnathan & Trisha Hawley. Magic show. 7pm,8:15pm, and 10pm

So far we have seen and passed by Crooner's and AJ Clarke from England on Piano has been very well attended. They probably need to move him to a larger venue, but most likely no room elsewhere???

Just came from tea and I am officially full.

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chrismch

chrismch

Posted
Posted

In preparation for this cruise in January, I'm interested in learning how debarkation was and how full the cruise terminal parking lot was since they now have 7 day rotating cruises.

 

What did you like best about the cruise? Did you learn anything new about Princess? Any more details on the dining choices. What did you think of the International Cafe? What was your favorite entertainment? Which was your favorite port?

 

Sorry about the amount of questions... I do weekly interviews so it comes naturally.

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arizonaperson

arizonaperson

Posted
Posted

CB- 11-9 to 11-16

Today is a sad day. Time to pack up. Cruise went way too fast, they always do. Met up with Tom & jean the most traveled passengers who are from our same city. We met them on The Island Princess as well in 2011. They have traveled 1,224 days with Princess since 2006. The second most traveled are our very own CC members phyljim(Phyllis & Jim) who have traveled 567 days` with Princess. On this cruise there are 156 Elite and 454 Platinum.

Saw Hawley magic show last night in the Princess theater, they were good.

Sorry we missed at the M & G only 14 screen names. We had a great visit with the 20 screen names that did attend. I don't believe I ran into any of you around the ship.??? Hope everyone has had a great cruise.

USD were accepted everywhere we went in Cozumel, Belieze, & Roatan. We had small bills and received back USD.

Today lots of activities: Cooking show/galley tour,Onboard sale-not worth it IMHO,Morning Trivia,Texas Holdem tournament,Bingo,Zumba,Final Art auction, Line dancing class,bridge players,etc..... Goes on and on today.

Tonight is Production show Piano Man at 7,8:15, & 10pm.

Princess Pop show the Grand final is also tonight.

ABBA tribute in Skywalkers tonight.

 

Today Crown Grill is offering the British Style Pub lunch from 11:30am to 2pm.

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WEJEEP4FUN

WEJEEP4FUN

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Well we are about 2 miles from the pier but can't dock because the fog has us anchored in the shipping channel. Just waiting on the fog to lift so we can dock. The designated waiting areas are filling up but the crew is doing a good job on keeping people comfortable.

 

Sorry no updates since the first day, Internet was equal to dial up speed and did not want wait on it to post everyday. Will post more on our experiences on our long drive home. Once we can get off that is :-(

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

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arizonaperson

arizonaperson

Posted
Posted

Fog is lifting. Almost to the dock. We are about 3+hrs. late. Crew and passengers seem to be doing a great job. Have not seen too many passengers complaining. Waiting in Club Fusion(Plat.,Elite,Suite)

I will post more when I can in the days coming.

Great itinerary and cruise. Met lots of great people.

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jrzebird

jrzebird

Posted
Posted
Hi, 8 of us are doing this cruise in January. We love to play bridge. Where did the bridge players play on your cruise (if you know).....

Thanks.

 

I was on the 10 day repo and the 4-day Cruise for a Cause following it, and there were bridge gatherings every day, some hosted, some not. From what I could tell, they were for about 3 hours, in one of the main dining rooms, starting around 1:00. I don't play bridge anymore so I have no first hand knowledge, only what I read in the Patter.

 

Maureen

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Nauticat42

Nauticat42

Posted
Posted (edited)

The fog-related delay mentioned above taught us a valuable lesson -- choose a disembarkation scenario that allows PLENTY of time to get to the airport. Here's what happened to us:

 

We had a 2:16 departure flight out of Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) which is about 1 hour from the terminal. We previously booked a Princess bus transfer to that airport and chose a 9:15 am bus, thinking the 2 earlier ones (8:15 and 8:45) were earlier than necessary and would have us rushing around in the morning, then hanging around a boring airport for hours on end. It never occurred to us there could be a weather delay (dumb, in retrospect). When the ship did dock, they logically proceeded to disembark people in the original step-by-step pattern, which resulted in our getting off the ship shortly after 12 noon. We knew the Princess bus would take significant time to load people and luggage and then stop at multiple terminals once at the airport. So we knew there'd be little or no chance of getting to our plane on time. So we told Princess we wouldn't be on that bus and chose a waiting taxi instead. We were lucky enough to get a VERY experienced driver who knew all the fastest routes and knew we had a deadline to make. She couldn't guarantee we'd make it on time, but promised to do the best she could. She got us there in 50 minutes and we got there with a bare 10 minutes to spare. (Amazingly the TSA line had NOBODY in it, otherwise it would have been impossible). The cab driver told us that, because the Houston cruise ship terminal is new, many drivers are unfamiliar with the route, so we were doubly lucky in getting her as a driver because she used to drive commercial rigs in and out of the neighboring cargo terminals. The whole experience caused us to lose the cost of our Princess bus transfer and the cab fare was $100.00 (plus a very generous tip thrown in), but it was money well-spent since missing that flight and re-booking the next day would have cost us $490 x 2 people = $980 (plus the cost of eating the original tickets and cost of a hotel). So next time we'll either fly home the next day or get to the airport ASAP and sit around the airport where a cup of coffee and a Danish would cost $10 (instead of FREE on the ship).

 

Incidentally, the many local Texans aboard told us that fog in this area is quite common, so it seems to be something to plan for in future cruises from Houston (and maybe also Galveston).

Edited by Nauticat42
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sminfiddle

sminfiddle

Posted
Posted
The fog-related delay mentioned above taught us a valuable lesson -- choose a disembarkation scenario that allows PLENTY of time to get to the airport.

Peg and Joe,

Valuable indeed. Please consider posting a version in the Gulf Coast Departure forum, as it could help a LOT of people.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience!!

 

 

 

~sent using Cruise Critic app~

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kellor

kellor

Posted
Posted
The fog-related delay mentioned above taught us a valuable lesson -- choose a disembarkation scenario that allows PLENTY of time to get to the airport. Here's what happened to us:

 

We had a 2:16 departure flight out of Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) which is about 1 hour from the terminal. We previously booked a Princess bus transfer to that airport and chose a 9:15 am bus, thinking the 2 earlier ones (8:15 and 8:45) were earlier than necessary and would have us rushing around in the morning, then hanging around a boring airport for hours on end. It never occurred to us there could be a weather delay (dumb, in retrospect). When the ship did dock, they logically proceeded to disembark people in the original step-by-step pattern, which resulted in our getting off the ship shortly after 12 noon. We knew the Princess bus would take significant time to load people and luggage and then stop at multiple terminals once at the airport. So we knew there'd be little or no chance of getting to our plane on time. So we told Princess we wouldn't be on that bus and chose a waiting taxi instead. We were lucky enough to get a VERY experienced driver who knew all the fastest routes and knew we had a deadline to make. She couldn't guarantee we'd make it on time, but promised to do the best she could. She got us there in 50 minutes and we got there with a bare 10 minutes to spare. (Amazingly the TSA line had NOBODY in it, otherwise it would have been impossible). The cab driver told us that, because the Houston cruise ship terminal is new, many drivers are unfamiliar with the route, so we were doubly lucky in getting her as a driver because she used to drive commercial rigs in and out of the neighboring cargo terminals. The whole experience caused us to lose the cost of our Princess bus transfer and the cab fare was $100.00 (plus a very generous tip thrown in), but it was money well-spent since missing that flight and re-booking the next day would have cost us $490 x 2 people = $980 (plus the cost of eating the original tickets and cost of a hotel). So next time we'll either fly home the next day or get to the airport ASAP and sit around the airport where a cup of coffee and a Danish would cost $10 (instead of FREE on the ship).

 

Incidentally, the many local Texans aboard told us that fog in this area is quite common, so it seems to be something to plan for in future cruises from Houston (and maybe also Galveston).

 

Thank you! I have been fusing over a 2:10 departure out of Houston for our upcoming cruise....no longer!

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