cracra cruiser

I have never cruised out of Houston!

But when the title of thread is AVOID HOUSTON,

one should expect kick back!!!:rolleyes:

 

I sure he has complained about Florida also.

 

Most of my issues with cruising occurred in Florida.

Believe it or not, we missed around a 11:30 AM flight out of Ft Lauderdale,

because everyone were not allowed off the ship till close to 11:00 AM.

I won't go into the other bad experiences in Miami and Port Canaveral/Orlando.

 

BUT

I'M NOT SAYING AVOID FLORIDA

OR

BOO HISSING FLORIDA

 

 

I have never had any complaints with the cruise terminals in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale and do enjoy Florida. Of the 12+ cruises I've been on I haven't seen or encountered the port problems experience in Bayport (beyond the weather)... just my opinion. I am platinum on Princess, so am not new to cruising.

 

And to the tax issue... I could see paying a tax IF I lived in Texas, but I was simply going from the ship to the airport... I didn't consume any alcohol I bought in Mexico in Texas... Do have to say one of the highlights was going to Specs (?) in Houston - haven't been to a store like that before and it was fun! I highly recommend the Hilton Americas as a pre cruise hotel, very nice hotel and friendly staff.

 

Just my two cents....

We didn't make it to Costa Maya either! Mother nature really through a wrench into the cruise last week. Am Platinum on Princess now - so am looking forward to leaving from Florida next time!

I do have to agree that the Port of Houston was the worst port I have ever sailed with - weather, extra taxes on duty free items, delay, etc.

I definitely don't fault the ship for weather. Having learned how often the Port of Houston experiences weather issues thought, you'd think that Princess would relocate its ships to Galveston where it's easier to come and go.

I was on the 11/16 sailing - the crew was very friendly and felt bad for the frustration of passengers that we were stuck in port.

The ship listing on the last night was a bit of a surprise... it was an adventure - the storm we were in was a real adventure too.

The ship seemed good for her age. Was on a different cruise line last month and that ship was old and the food was horrible - so was happy to be back on Princess.

Princess again? Definitely

Houston again? NEVER

If you are considering cruising from Houston... DON'T!!

The channel is small so you are risking being stuck in port. We were supposed to leave on 11/16 but didn't leave until the middle of the next day because of weather.

The dock workers also dropped luggage into the water and we could see things being knocked over while they were loading the ship. Have never encountered those kinds of problems in Florida.

Also, Texas will charge you for duty free liquor when your disembark... so just save yourself stress and go out of Florida or another port for Caribbean cruises.....