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We are sailing on the Nieuw Amsterdam for the first time on HAL. We have booked a cabin on deck 7. We have a choice of being in the front 3rd of the ship (7034) or the back 3rd of the ship (7081). Any recommendations on being towards the front or back?  Considering ship movement, location to amenities, etc.  really looking forward to sailing HAL. 

You sign up at the passenger services desk. They say it is a litter system. We were notified two day later.

Let me clarify. We did not go inside the quarters but walked past a lot of them on the way to different areas. The doors of each room are very close together leaving the impression they are not big. There are name tags on each door.

My DW and I participated in the Ultimate Ship Tour on the Caribbean Princess this past week. The tour is $150 per person and was held on Thursday, a sea day. We met at 8:30 am and was told the tour would last about 3 hours and 15 minutes. It was led by on the CD staff while each are we visited had a person from that area explain and answer questions. We visited the Theater and toured backstage and the dressing rooms. Very impressive at the size of the stage, the 4 stories of lift above the stage to hoist the sets, etc. Next we visited the area where anchors and tie lines are stored. We continued next to galley where the executive chef took us around. They provided drinks and snacks and a decorative bread souvenir. Very impressive operation. We then went to the storage area and saw one of the 20 massive refrigerators/freezers. Saw the vegetable prep area along with the butcher shop. Next it was off to the laundry area, print shop, photo lab, engine control room and medical center. The final stop was the bridge where we met the Captain and the 3rd watch officer. After the tour we went to the wedding chapel for champagne and snacks.

Overall the tour is fantastic. As you proceed on the tour you travel the corridors that the staff use. You pass by a lot of their cabins (you think yours is small - there are doors about every 4 feet with two names on each door). They provide lots of facts and answer questions. A staff photographer is with you taking group photos. You are not allowed to take your own photos. After the tour your gift consists of a plush robe (not the waffle robes), a picture frame, photos from the tour and an apron all placed neatly in a blue, reusable princess bag. It is delivered to your room later in the day.

When we arrived on board we placed our names on the list. We received notification on Monday morning that we were selected. There was a total of 15 people but two did not show up. You do have to sign a waiver before going on the tour. You also have a security officer with you the entire time.

Here is my only complaint and it has to do with the CD staff. Half way through another CD member took over as our guide had an event to participate in. He rushed us through every area. After two questions or so he would interrupt and say it was time to move on. We completed the tour in 2 hours and 30 minutes, 45 minutes early from the stated time. Very frustrating that that this CD staff is not very passenger focused (see my review of the CB out of Houston 11/15). Sad when they feel annoyed to have to be with the passengers.

Despite this, I would do the tour again in a heart beat. Let me know if you have any questions.

We did not use the spa this trip. Instead had massages on the beach in Cozumel. The Sanctuary area is new since the last time we sailed. Looks very nice but never did see how much it costs.

The dispensers are now on the Caribbean Princess as well.

Looking at the ship log they gave us said the max passenger count is 3740 and max crew is 1160. S

The 3400 number was said to us on our UST. Not sure if they were using a general number or what. I do agree that this ship never felt crowded. Always deck chairs available, etc. The shows in the Princess Theater were always packed and sometimes you needed to show up early to ensure a seat. I contribute this in part to the lack of other things going on entertainment wise in the evenings.

Did you notice if the parking lot was completely full when you set sail :confused:

When we left port it was about 3/4 full. I think you can reserve a spot in advance if you are concerned.

We are booked on this cruise for February. We are interested in having a car service pick us up at our hotel and take us to the ship and then to the airport at disembarkation. Does anyone have suggestions?

We used Luxor Limo - was $125 from IAH. You can find them online. They were great, reliable, etc. I liked that the emailed me confirmations, phone numbers, etc.

Welcome back, please speak on boarding at Port of Houston, any details would be great. Also, any patters, specialty food nights (like the German night etc). Hope you had a good trip, we will be sailing on Jan 11, 2014 out of there.

The port is very well organized. Seems to have plenty of parking, porters, etc. All very walkable and manageable. There was an Italian Night and American night. Other nights varied. The second formal night (Thursday) is lobster night. I have all the patters and will try to scan them in.

First let me begin by saying this is our 5th cruise and 4th with Princess and the second time on the Caribbean Princess. We are pretty easy going and are never looking for the little things to nitpick – after all we are on vacation! With 3,400 people on board I am sure you can get 3,400 different opinions and perspectives to the same cruise, so here is ours.

Arrival/Embarkation:

We arrive Friday night and stayed at the Marriott near IAH. We took a town car to Bayport at a cost of $125. We used Luxor Limos and they were fantastic – on time, clean cars, etc. We arrived at the terminal at 11:30 am only to find things way behind scheduled due to the delayed docking related to the fog. They had a police check point about 1 mile from the terminal and were only allowing taxi/limos and buses to drop off. Individual drivers were not allowed in until 3 pm or so. They were lined up on the side of the highway for a couple of miles. While I am sure they were frustrated I have to tip my hat to Princess and the Port Authority for handling it the best they could. The parking lot was still full as the last passengers did not disembark until around 2:30 (normal time for the last group is 11:10 am). They did send an email to passengers around 11 am asking folks to wait until 3 pm if possible.

When we arrived at 11:30 we were through security and checked in within 20 minutes – not really a fair comparison due to the delay. Since they would not begin boarding until 3:00 pm at the earliest, Princess arranged for shuttles to take passengers to the nearby resort town of Kemah to be able to have lunch and walk around. We arrived back at the terminal at 3:15 pm and were on the boat within 10 minutes. At this point they started letting cars into the parking lot and we did not leave port until 8:30 –basically everything was 4 hours behind schedule. Princess brought in Disney cruise line workers from Galveston to help check in the passengers to speed up the process. They really did the best they could with the circumstances presented to them.

Ship/Staterooms:

The ship is in good condition. Very well kept and clean. We had a balcony cabin on the Caribe deck and booked this level intentionally to get the larger balconies- nice to have the space, cover and sun. The bed in our room was made up as a queen with a pillow topper on it. We packed our own pillows based on reviews but found we didn’t need to. Their two pillows stacked up were over 8” tall. They have installed the Shampoo and Soap dispenser bottles on the wall of the shower – very convenient but it takes a lot of pumps to get enough out to use. Our room steward was on the top of his game – room was always made up every time we left.

I really appreciated the change Princess has made not allowing smoking in the rooms and on the balconies. The only real area we could smell smoke was in the casino (they have one night that is no-smoking) and out on deck 7.

Food:

Again I will note this is a very subjective topic but we found the food to be good. We ate dinner every night in the Palm dining room at a table for two and found it to be flavorful and presented well. We also ate a few times in the Horizon Court and ate enough pizza to feed a small Italian village (our favorite if you could not tell). My favorite addition to the ship since our last time on board is the International Café. I believe this is now the 24 hour option since the buffet appears to close at 11 pm. The food and deserts were excellent at the IC. I was tempted to ask for a to-go box when we left the ship but didn’t think they would let me. We had breakfast on our balcony most mornings. No lack of options and quality was good.

Entertainment:

This is one are we were disappointed. While they have some great performers on board the overall atmosphere and selection of entertainment seemed lacking. The Cruise Director Neil Roberts is a complete dud. He is also the most unfriendly CD we have ever encountered. While we were on the Ultimate Ship Tour (I’ll write a separate post on this experience) he came across our group of 13 people down in the print shop and did not say one word. Walked in, dropped off the next day’s patter and walked out, even with all of us saying hello. We passed him 4 times on the ship and never once had a hello from him. His staff clearly follows his lead – not a lot of interaction with the passengers. Bottom line there was not a real vibe on this ship like we have experienced before.

The entertainment is very much geared towards the many friendly Texans on board – Johnny Cash tribute, country night in club fusion, etc. AJ the piano player is great and does a pretty mean Barry Manilow impersonation one night. We also enjoyed the magic show and dancers.

Ports:

We did a beach day in Cozumel, a private tour in Roatan that included zip lining and visiting with the monkeys. Belize included cave tubing. All our tours we did on our own. Loved the three ports and the three days at sea.

Disembarkation:

We selected the walk off option which runs from 7:15 am to 8:15 am. Groups start at 8:20 and end at 11:10. We opted for 7:45 and we were standing curb side after passing through customs at 7:50 – and hour before our town car showed up – I guess better safe than sorry. The ride to IAH take about 50 minutes which gave us plenty of time for a noon flight. Keep in mind once you pass through customs there is not much waiting room inside. And on a cold morning in Houston (42 degrees) everyone was huddled up. One tip is to go over to the main entrance were the bathrooms are. They will let you wait there and it is less crowded. There were plenty of taxis lined up if you needed one.

The staff working at the Bayport terminal is very friendly, well organized and doing a great job for only having a couple of cruises sail out of there.

Overall:

We really enjoyed this cruise. This particular week was lacking children (which was ok – we left our home too ). I would say the average age was around 60 – a very active group but on the older side. Princess did a great job and we had a fantastic time.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I will answer them for you.

Fortunately no. Light rain and COLD this morning. Talking with the locals they say the real foggy months are January and February. This may be an issue for the CB this winter.

The CB just docked a few minutes ago and I will be writing a full review in the next couple days. If there are any questions you have that I may be able to answer let me know.

Overall a wonderful trip.

Thanks for the info. We were originally booked on a flight at 2 pm and the airline adjusted their schedule and moved us to noon. Other option is hanging out until 6 pm so we are going to the walk off. We have a town car scheduled to pick us up at 9 am and to the airport by 10 am.

Leaving on the Caribbean Princess next week and curious how early we can disembark? Do they still have the option to carry your own bags off? We have a noon flight out of IAH and have made arrangements to be picked up at 9 am and wonder if we will have issues being off the ship and through customs.

Thanks in advance for any insights.