Caribbean Princess, Houston 11/4 - 11/8 review

[Paula_MacFan]

We just returned from the quick 4-day Caribbean Getaway cruise on the Caribbean Princess from Houston to Progreso, Mexico. We took this cruise for several reasons: we needed another cruise to reach Platinum status, it was close to our 10 year wedding anniversary, and we wanted to go to Chichen Itza from Progreso, which is a port that Princess doesn’t frequent. Here are our thoughts and perceptions of the ship and trip overall.

 

Embarkation: This was the first sailing of the Caribbean Princess from Houston for this season. As such, the process was a bit slow and we heard several comments from staff about ‘bear with us, this is our first day, etc’. We arrived in the parking lot at 10:30 and were directed to park in the first row close to the entrance. We made it through the process and were stepping into our cabin at noon. Three groups in front of us were directed to sit and wait to be called, but we timed it perfectly and just as we received our cruise cards, they called our group for boarding and we were able to walk right on. The process must have slowed down as more people arrived however, because muster was to begin at 3:30, and about 3:20 they announced that due to the amount of passengers still being processed in the terminal, muster would be late. It started about 4pm, and we sailed around 5pm.

 

Our cabin: Since this was such a short cruise, we decided to try an inside cabin for the first time. We selected the first inside cabin on Lido deck to be close to amenities and access to the outside deck. The cabin was fine, although the seal on the bathroom door was hanging off the door frame and was in obvious need of replacement. We spent much more time on the open deck than we normally would since we didn’t have our normal balcony, and on the first sea day it was fine with sunny skies and nice weather. The last sea day was drizzly off and on, and we didn’t spend much time outside. The location of our cabin was nice, but I don’t think we’ll ever do an inside cabin again. Just too small and we missed the outside access.

 

The ship: Our perception was the reports of the Caribbean Princess being in horrible shape are greatly exaggerated. We found new carpet in many areas, ongoing maintenance being performed, and the general condition of the ship was fine and maybe better than some other ships we’ve been on (Grand, Golden, and Crown). I honestly don’t know what people are always complaining about here on CC when it comes to the CB, but we found her to be fine. Yes, we smelled the sewer smell in the hallway between the casino and theatre, and if my cabin was nearby, I wouldn’t have liked it. But that was the only place we encountered it. The Piazza, HC, pool areas, and other places we frequented seemed fine.

 

Food: We didn’t go to the MDR at all. We went to HC twice for evening meals and found the same things we would have eaten in the MDR: prime rib, loaded baked potatoes, shrimp cocktail, etc.; and Tom turkey and trimmings; flourless chocolate cake. Those are just a few of the things we had that I remember from the MDR menu. We took our plates back to the quiet Café Caribe area and had nice meals overlooking the ocean. For lunch one day we had Mexican buffet lunch in Café Caribe, which was very good and fresh, but packed with people. I think they should set this up in the HC area where there would be more room, because the line was huge and extended back into HC anyway. We had pizza one evening by the pool which was good as always, lunch at Trident Grill one day which was also fine, and one snack from the IC. Room service was ordered only once, the morning we were in port at Progreso, and it came 5 minutes early and just as ordered. We went to the Crown Grill once, and had wonderful steaks and lobster. We celebrated our anniversary that night and they sang ‘happy anniversary’ to us, which was nice. We made reservations the moment we stepped on board, and the night we went to CG, there were several people asking to be seated without reservations. They were told over 50 people were on the waiting list, and it was unlikely they would get in. When we left, every table in the place was full, which we’ve never seen before. Overall we found the food to be plentiful, tasty, and well-prepared. No complaints!

 

Port/Progreso: We have been to Progreso once before on Royal Caribbean, and always regretted not going to Chichen Itza. Since we prefer Princess and they don’t typically call at Progreso, we booked this trip specifically to go to Chichen Itza. Yes, it was a long day with a long bus ride, but it was worth it. Princess had 5 buses filled with 40-50 each, so around 250-300 people just from our ship. There were probably 20 buses in the parking lot there, so you get the idea of how many people were there. But we were lucky with the weather as it was overcast and mid-80s, so not as hot as it could have been. It rained a bit just as we were leaving, but was fine while we were there. Our guides were very professional and made the day enjoyable and educational. We also had the Princess videographer on our bus, and he stayed with our group all day. Later onboard we saw the Reflections DVD preview on the TV and saw ourselves in much of the excursion portion, so we bought it. We’ve never purchased one before but figured for $24.99, why not:)

 

Entertainment: We didn’t attend the comedian or production shows on this trip. We did enjoy some live music around the ship, and watched several movies on MUTS, as well as Thursday Night Football. One night they had The Love Boat 70’s Deck Party which looked fun. We probably would have taken in more entertainment options had the cruise been longer.

 

General thoughts: We had a great trip and reached Platinum status, so mission accomplished there We have another cruise planned from Houston on the Caribbean Princess in February for the Eastern Caribbean itinerary. I’m really excited about this as it’s not something typically offered from Texas. It may be our last Princess cruise for a while since they won’t be back in the near future. It’s not that we HAVE to cruise from Texas, but we like to drive to port and it works well for us. We will have one of the great covered mini-suites on Emerald deck for our next cruise, so I’m looking forward to that after trying the inside cabin.

 

We went to Texas several days prior to the cruise, and spent a few days in a beach condo in Galveston, then moved to Houston for a couple days. While there we purchased the City Pass and attended the zoo, aquarium, Natural Science museum, and NASA. All were very enjoyable and worth the price paid for the City Pass book.

 

I’m happy to answer questions about any part of the trip if anyone has some!

[sonomaphil]

Thnaks! We will be onboard this coming Sunday! Do you remember who the Cruise Director was?

[Paula_MacFan]

Thnaks! We will be onboard this coming Sunday! Do you remember who the Cruise Director was?

 

Paul Chandler Burns

[Paula_MacFan]

Movies on MUTS:

 

Jurassic World

Ant Man

Mission Impossible

The Avengers - Age of Ultron

Inside Out

Now You See Me

+ Thursday Night Football

 

Movies in room: (that I recall:))

 

Big Hero 6

This Is Where I Leave You

Cinderella

Home

Second Best Marigold Hotel

Spy

[Paula_MacFan]

Forgot to add disembarkation facts: We were in the first walk-off group A. We were to meet in the casino at 7:15. We arrived at 7:05 and there was already a big line. However, we were off the ship by 7:23, and in our car by 7:30. Very easy and quick!

Edited November 9, 2015 by Paula_MacFan

[srpilo]

Thanks Paula, for a solid CB review

 

Srpilo

[satxdiver]

Nice review. Thanks. We did the first 4 day cruise out of Bayport several years ago after Princess had moved from Galveston and did go to Chichen Izta, probably the most famous of the Mayan ruins. Like you we had visited Progresso on a RCI cruise and always regretted not going to Chichen Izta. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Yes, that time there were several buses from our ship.

 

We were on the CB last month and noticed that late at night they were replacing the carpet in the HC. The carpet therefore is less than one month old. We did see other maintenance being done on the ship which was good. We are doing a B2B on the CB in late February and early March. We will be going to the eastern Caribbean on the first week of March so we would be interested in what your impressions of the cruise.

 

After our last cruise last month on the CB, I am not sure why everyone has been beating up on the CB. We found the crew to be as friendly as ever, the food about what we expected from previous cruises, the shows about the same and the ship in fairly good condition for its age. It is not a brand new shiny ship and seawater is very corrosive as anyone who lives near salt water knows.

[twomommy]

I also enjoyed this short cruise. Paul Burns will leave at the end of the current cruise for a few weeks at home then onto the Regal.

[sonomaphil]

I also enjoyed this short cruise. Paul Burns will leave at the end of the current cruise for a few weeks at home then onto the Regal.

 

That's what I though as my email for our coming cruise on the CB this Sunday said Bob Leniniger.

[moki'smommy]

Where would you suggest for lunch on embarkation day that is NOT a buffet?

 

Thanks for the review. Our first on Caribbean Princess is in a short time.

[DUCHESSRN]

We were on board the cruise Quebec to Houston had lunch in International Cafe ,quick and easy also we are very tired as flew in overnight .

 

Wonderful cruise ,we had balcony on Lido the bed was so comfortable no complaints at all.

 

Shows were good Paul the CD excellent .

 

My only comment is I had to pay Tax on bottle I bought on board at de-bark in Houston ,I was not expecting that .

 

Oh the smell yes its there ,seemed worse towards the ned of the cruise .

[LesaL]

Where would you suggest for lunch on embarkation day that is NOT a buffet?

 

 

 

Thanks for the review. Our first on Caribbean Princess is in a short time.

 

 

I was on this sailing also. The Coral dining room is open for lunch on embarkation day. It is a nice start to the cruise, but I think the service is only from 12 to 1:30.

[moki'smommy]

Thanks!

[STHCruising]

Moki's mommy...you might see cruise critic colleagues from another cruise line on this same Princess ship. We are doing the Quebec to NYC cruise next fall on the Caribbean Princess. It's our first experiment with another cruise line, and the value seemed good and the activities align to our interests. Most of what I am reading sounds good, except for this issue with the smell which I hope they resolve before our planned cruise.

[satxdiver]

Embarkation lunch is served in the MDR from noon to 1:30 PM. We always try to make it to the lunch which is much better than the HC or IC. We will be returning from the UK on a TA on the CB. We promise to leave it in good condition. :D

[Robin122]

Paul Chandler Burns

 

AWESOME! I was on NCL Dawn for a 2 week repo with him as CD. HE WAS A LOT OF FUN! I had heard he went to Princess but didn't think I'd have a chance of seeing him again. Hope he's there on Dec 6th still!

[Robin122]

I also enjoyed this short cruise. Paul Burns will leave at the end of the current cruise for a few weeks at home then onto the Regal.

 

Oh, BOOOOO

Edited November 10, 2015 by Robin122
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[WISH84]

AWESOME! I was on NCL Dawn for a 2 week repo with him as CD. HE WAS A LOT OF FUN! I had heard he went to Princess but didn't think I'd have a chance of seeing him again. Hope he's there on Dec 6th still!

 

He is listed as our Cruise Director for the Dec 6th Sailing on the Regal.

[Paula_MacFan]

We are doing a B2B on the CB in late February and early March. We will be going to the eastern Caribbean on the first week of March so we would be interested in what your impressions of the cruise.

 

I will post a review as soon as we get back -- we should be disembarking as you embark:) I've been following the prices on the Eastern Caribbean itineraries, and they have gone WAY up since we originally booked. My TA said they are selling briskly....which just goes to show how anxious people seem to be for a novel itinerary from Texas. I like the Western Caribbean too, but one can only do Cozumel/Roatan/Belize/Coasta Maya so many times!

[Mekamax]

Martin was the Assistant Cruise Director and he was good too. Really liked Paul. They had the Yes/No game show in the evening one night that was so funny! Really recommend seeing or participating. :) We saw both comedians and thought that Darrell Joyce (been on Comedy Central) was the better one but laughed at both. The other one is Gary DeLena. Two movies I caught in the room were Aloha and Tomorrowland. The Dua Angels violin players in the centrum made beautiful music. The Skywalkers was playing great night time music as we went up one night. Happy Hour Buy one get one for $1 now at Skywalkers 11-midnight and at Club Fusion 3-4pm. They had Team Rootbery jugglers in the centrum and we caught both their shows and they were good and entertaining and funny. Even got to be in one show! :) Ate dinner in the dining room only the first night and after that at the HC so I could squeeze in the entertainment I wanted to see. :) Had French Onion soup that night in the dining room and it was the best I have ever had on a ship! Had dessert and a dish at IC and it was good as always. We just took the free bus to Progresso and did the shopping we have been missing in Cozumel (cheaper and can find some things we can't there) and we also went to the beach. Fun day! :)