Port or Starboard stateroom out of Huston on Caribean Princess 7 day Western Caribea

[newtosea/retiredteacher]

Which side of the ship should husband and I book a mini-suite on Caribbean Princess 7 day Western Caribbean Cruise, in March of 2014? Should we book Port or Starboard for best port views? Cruise ports are: Cozumel, Roatan and Belize City. This is only our third cruise. We absolutely loved our 2 previous cuises to the Caribbean, out of San Juan, on Caribbean Princess! Also, from the San Juan Port, we purchased bourbon and scotch at the duty free shop and carried alcohol on board. Is it possible to purchase and carry on alcohol from the Huston Port?

[1025cruise]

There is no way to know which way the ship will dock in each port, and what you will have a view from.

 

To the best of my knowledge, there is no duty free shop at the Bayport terminal in Houston.

[VideoTech]

Port or Starboard makes absolutely no difference in many ports, primarily because you cannot anticipate where & how the ship will be docked. Specifically for those ports:

 

Cozumel: You could be at one of three cruise piers, each one docking multiple ships in different configurations depending on arrival time, and the directions of the port authority.

 

Roatan: There is only one dock. Ships tie up either port or starboard..been there many times and have been docked either way. If you're not the one ship at the dock you're anchored out in the harbor and will be tendered in to the dock.

 

Belize: No cruise ship docks at all. All ships anchor some distance out from the port and passengers are tendered in.

Edited November 30, 2013 by VideoTech

[trabeler]

In Houston the last few weeks the ship has docked with the port side against the dock.

 

Just came through the Bayport terminal today. There is no shopping of any kind in the terminal or within a few miles of it. Didn't even see a vending machine for snacks.

 

 

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[newtosea/retiredteacher]

Thank you for your quick and informative responses. I appreciate the expertise, from each of you! Obviously, I have a lot to learn to about cruising! The mini suite price on this cruise is so reasonable I have wondered if there is something negative, about this cruise, that I'm not aware of! From reading other threads, it seems like fog, older ship, and new departure port could be issues. We so enjoyed our previous cruises, on Caribbean Princess, that we are willing to over look these issues. We have never tendered into a destination. Is tendering, into a port, an issue? Again, thank you for your help!

[trabeler]

We have never tendered into a destination. Is tendering, into a port, an issue?

 

Tendering is only a problem if you are mobility impaired since you are transferring from a moving cruise ship into a relatively small tender boat that could be bobbing up and down. Passengers confined to wheelchairs cannot usually use the tenders.

 

The other concern with tenders is only a factor if you are doing an independent (not through the cruiseline) excursion that has a very early start. There are limited quantities of tender boats so a "ticket" system is used where you have to get your entire group together and get a numbered ticket, then wait for your turn to board a tender. If you're in no hurry, typically after the first two hours there is very little waiting (referred to as "open tender" time).

 

There can also be a bit of a backup for the return trip if you want to come back close to the time of the last tender.

 

Hope this helps! We just got off the Caribbean Princess today and had a great time even though we ended up leaving late due to high winds and went to Costa Maya and Cozumel instead of our original itinerary of Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel.