Drove from Laredo to Houston on Friday, the day before sailing. Stayed at the Hampton Inn in Pearland, Texas, which proved to be an excellent location for last minute shopping and for a variety of restaurant choices. On Saturday, it was an easy 30 minute drive to the Houston Port Terminal. The parking “garage” turned out to be a parking lot, but was reasonably priced at $75. for 7 days. Even with “priority boarding” it took a bit over an hour to clear security and board the ship (one security device was down with no back-up). Due to winter weather airport delays the day before, the ship left two hours late in order to wait for some passengers—this was of no major concern.

The Caribbean Princess is a very appealing ship, even with some minor touch-ups needed here and there. This was our 6th Princess cruise, and we have never been on another ship with as friendly, and apparently happy, crew. The ship’s management staff should be congratulated for the outstanding “work atmosphere” they have created. The décor of the ship is very traditional and appealing if you are not looking for climbing walls, zip lines, etc.

The best news is that the food quality was greatly improved in comparison to our last three cruises, especially in the Horizon Grill buffet area. The traditional dinning was good—especially during the “sea food” night—with lobster and prawns. We ate 2 nights in the Crown Grill and one night in Sabatini’s—both excellent. The food at the International Pastry/Coffee area was very good also. Read more