Blindhog

The boat ride was about 2 hours each way. It was a little crowded an uncomfortable but worth it. Great experience.

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Chisoxfan, thanks for the review. My wife and I had a very similar experience on the Royal over the new year. We've cruised Princess once a year for the past 8 years and had some fabulous cruises (Alaska, Europe, South America). Overall this last cruise was good but not great. I agree with a previous poster that one bad cruise does not make a make for a bad cruise line but we have seen a steady decline over the last three cruises. Anytime dining has become a source of irritation. We also had to wait for a table, only to be seated near several empty tables. Some of which remained empty the entire time we were in the dining room. Although, overall, the food was good, there seemed to be fewer choices. I too ate more fettuccine alfredo and caesar salads that I have on other cruises. Tried the Crown Grill for the first time. Service was great, the steak was great, the lobster tail was mediocre at best.

Not a horrible cruise but not great either.

Bottom line? We also cancelled an upcoming cruise (2019 Australia) and have decided to try other cruise lines. We're not necessarily done with Princess but they are no longer our exclusive line.

We booked the Punta Arenas penguins with Princess prior to the cruise. It sold out prior to the cruise. It was an uncomfortable 4 hr boat ride (2hrs each way) but worth it.

While we we gone the wind kicked and limited tender activity. Our friends were not able to get off the ship for a while. I second your recommendation.

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We did Rio to Valparaiso (Santiago) last year. We used a private tour company, Hectours, for a tour of Valparaiso and transportation to Santiago. Hectours also provided a tour of Santiago and transportation to the airport the next day. We had a great experience. We really enjoyed Valparaiso. If we repeat the cruise, we'll stay there instead of Santiago.

Hope you get to stop in the Falklands. We were not able to (it's a long story) so we were glad we booked a "backup" penguin tour in Punta Arenas.

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We always stay at the Hampton Cruise Port North. Free airport shuttle and inexpensive shuttle to the cruise port. There's a little strip mall next door where you can pick up any last minute items (wine) and have dinner at a nice little local pub.

Did a cruise tour 4 years ago that included Fairbanks, Denali, Mt McKinley, and Kenai. The Kenai was, by far, our favorite. Princess has a small lodge overlooking the river with small guest cottages. The raft trip down the river was a blast. We stopped to snag salmon, went through rapids, and saw lots of wildlife. If we do another cruise tour, it will include the Kenai.

Personally I would avoid Houston. There were lots of delays last winter due to fog and other issues. It's a long ride through a very busy, narrow channel to get from the port to the gulf. Any fog whatsoever shuts down the port. We were on a December cruise that was delayed and cost me lots of FF points to change flights at the last minute.

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Try the Hampton Inn North Cruise Port.

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No. Our return was delayed due to fog causing us to miss our flight. I don't expect perfection but this port adds too much risk for me. Compare the number of post on this port with all the other ports. That alone speaks volumes.

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Don't think they're off the market but they are by prescription. I just refilled my prescription in December.

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I wouldn't cruise without them. The medicine is slowly absorbed through the skin so the patch needs to be applied 4hrs before traveling. I usually wait till I board. Side effects include dry mouth, drowsiness, or blurred vision. I've never experienced any of these. They allow me to enjoy the cruise and excursions without worry.

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We were on the 12/7 sailing and this is what we did.

Cozumel: We did the dolphin swim which was the highlight of the trip. We had already done Passion Island on a Carnival cruise 10 years earlier. We really enjoyed it and considered it again. Don't think you can go wrong if that's what you choose.

Roatan: Did the private cabana on Mahogany Bay and really enjoyed that as well. Princess has a really nice set up next to the ship. We thought about another beach but decided we didn't want to take a bus ride.

Belize: We did the cave tubing. We thought this was fun. It rained on us the whole time so that may have "dampened" our enthusiasm. The guides were great. Bring bug spray and $ for a locker rental.

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I would recommend you book return flights beginning at 4:00PM. We were on the 12/7 to 12/14 cruise which was delayed by fog and would not have made 1:00 PM flights. Cost me LOTS of SW points to change reservations at the last minute. Don't know if fog is an issue in April but high winds will cause delays too.

Do the land portion first. I second the "dress in layers" advice. Bring really good rain gear and waterproof hiking shoes. Don't forget a good pair of binoculars. Splurge on a helicopter ride to a glacier and a dog sled ride.

These are some of the things we learned... It's a good idea to do the land tour first. You are packing and traveling almost every day so the cruise will give you time to relax. Packing can be a challenge. We found you need more luggage space for Alaska. We each needed two bags to cover excursion cloths and cruise ship "attire". We found out when we got there that you can only take one bag with you on the land portion so we needed to re-pack and send one bag ahead to the ship. It would have been nice to know that ahead of time.

We were in Roatan on 12/10 and really enjoyed the beach and our cabana. It's very nice to have your own space, waiter and you are close to restrooms. The general beach area was very nice and not too crowded but we were the only ship in port that day.