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I don't mind the short Florida cruises for an occasional getaway but at premium rates it's a hard pass for me. I have many bucket list destinations on my list. When a short Florida cruise represents a sizeable chunk of a bucket list cruise I tend to save my money to apply towards my list.

Final dinner in Houston: Lydia wanted some Texas BBQ while we were here. I reached out to some friends who live here and the overwhelming response was Killen’s BBQ. They have a location in Pearland which is a suburb south of Houston. It was a 15 minute drive from the hotel, and worth every minute. They have all the typical BBQ things and we did not leave disappointed. Food porn lovers enjoy! I had brisket and ribs with a side of green beans and brussel sprouts. The Boss and Johnny split some ribs, pulled pork with Mac and cheese and coleslaw. They also got a baked potato that was monstrous. Freeloader #2 got a BBQ quesadilla that was filled with brisket, cheese, onions and peppers and came with sides of beans and rice. The pickles are house made and really good. Also on the menu for the carnivores out there were beef ribs. I had considered ordering one, but opted for the brisket. I saw a table nearby that had some, and they were massive! Their menu is online. The restaurant is counter service, with tables to sit at after you order and pay. Prices are reasonable as well.

Yep- I don't have a bucket list, per say, but would like to see as many places as possible. If we lived near a port and could do some quick 2-3 day runs to coco cay here and there, I'd be all about it. But for a full week cruise from NJ or Miami, it's gotta be a combo of Ship AND destinations for us to make the money and time off from work or school worth it.

Monday morning we headed home. Breakfast was included at the hotel, nothing special, typical hotel fare. The drive to the airport was uneventful. We dropped the luggage at the southwest counter, and headed through security. 45 minutes from leaving the hotel to through security, including the stop for gas, and shuttle from the rental lot to the airport. I somehow got an exit row seat!! We had a connection at BWI airport. We even ran into my Aunt who was on the same flight to Albany with us. She was coming back from California where my cousin is for his special spinal cord injury rehab. The travel day was actually pretty easy. The connection in Baltimore was a little tight because we left Houston a little late, but we, and our luggage made it in time. Our puppers was retrieved from puppy camp, and all is right in his world again

short cruises are great if you can drive to the port. We have 3 nighters on Allure, Utopia, and Reflection booked this year but can easily drive. They are a nice taste of cruising in between the longer itineraries that require a week off work.

I haven't looked at Liberty's prices but that's how I felt about Adventure when it was released for PC. Sure, it's cheaper than Wonder (not saying much there) and I never priced group rates, but even as a frugal cruiser, like you said, the drop off in what it comes with is pretty significant. I wish they had left Mariner here. Not only do we have a sentimental attachment but it has Playmakers, Bamboo Room, Dog House, etc. Adventure has... ummm... not much.

I still can't believe Navigator and Star have similar suite prices.

No reason not to share. I’ve seen those Diamond & above sales maybe twice ever but only noticed things like CocoCay cabanas (I don’t buy drink packages or much of anything for that matter). Letting people know about a sale you see has no downside, IMO. Either it will help someone or thy will just ignore it.

I have never been a fan of the short cruises either, because I have to fly into all ports. However, this trend that Royal is starting is strangely coming at a good time for where we are at as a family. I have a 4 nighter booked on Allure for NYE this coming December, a 4 nighter for UT for March 2025, a 4 nighter for NYE 2025 on UT, and a 4 nighter on WN for March 2026. Two of these sailings are definitely going to be without my oldest, and the other two are questionable. In the past, I would never have booked so many 4 nighters, but the thought of leaving a 18/19 year old at home alone for a shorter period of time, while still being able to get away a bit is appealing and works for us for this coming season of life. The only negative is that my climb up the C&A ladder is taking a bit of a hit. Hopefully, in a few years, when I retire and we ditch the freeloaders, Royal will pick up more longer sailings again. The other thought I had is that with our new family rule of flying in two days prior to cruise, even a 4 nighter becomes a 6 day vacation for us. For a Canadian, who desperately wants out of the cold, I cannot complain!

VOOM not included on non-QN/OA/IC class is one of the things that bother me the most actually. It's actually the reason why I told myself that after my bookings for this year that I have on Voyager and Adventure (booked those upon release a long time ago) I am going to steer clear of the smaller ships, unless there is some steal of a deal. I used to be ok with considering a smaller ship, despite their lack of a CK/SL, VOOM, etc. because of the price difference. But the last few rounds of deployments, no way. Not worth it.

I was able to booked three short cruises on Freedom. We like Freedom. We are doing a B2B.

Day Seven - Cruise Day Four - Aruba (continued) As I mentioned in part one of today's adventures, we were due to eat at 150 Central Park tonight. I booked this during that sale they had with special prices for C&A. Without knowing at that time what menus they would be having in the MDR on which nights I used an educated guess to pick a night that I reckoned would be one we didn't like. Super Bowl skewed that and I ended up switching this booking from night three to night four. To change it, I had to go to the actual restaurant. The guys at the kiosk in the promenade tried in vain to do it for me and it was only when they called a manager over because the line behind us was getting bigger and bigger and bigger that they realised they couldn't change a cruise planner booking. Anyway we got it changed to night four without any issues while still holding on to our special price. The MDR menu that we skipped for this was the Mexican menu. Also, tonight was "white night" attire-wise. This was hands down the best meal of the cruise (although Hooked, later on, would be a very close second). I would happily have eaten here every night if it weren't for the upcharge. I know, dream on. The bread was very good. For starters, DH had the pumpkin soup. His face was a picture when the server brought the bowl with just the bits in. Where's my soup???? He was very bemused to see it being poured in from a jug. He thought it was nice but a bit on the sweet side. I had the roasted organic beet salad. I absolutely loved this. So good! We both had the lobster thermidor for the main course. It was very tasty. And we both had their signature dessert, the fried cheesecake. DH thought it was wonderful; I thought it was nice but no more than that, being that I am not a big cheesecake fan. The portion sizes were nice. We were pleasantly full when we were finished but not stuffed to the point of feeling uncomfortable. However, bearing in mind the amount we ate, it really wasn't worth the upcharge, even at the reduced rate. People around us were eating far more than we were for the same price. This is the main reason why we only very rarely book specialty dining. I really wish they had à la carte pricing at all of the specialty dining places or a lower-priced option for folks who don't eat much. After dinner we went to see the aqua show, Hiro. Usually I would have booked this for the very first night it was offered (which was actually day one on this sailing) but taking the itinerary into consideration, I reckoned there would be a better chance of it not being cancelled on night four when we would be sailing very slowly between Aruba and Curaçao. And also I reckoned it would be warmer and so more enjoyable sitting in the open air. There were a lot of people in the standby line tonight. We reckoned many of them would have been folks who had had bookings for the previous night's cancelled show. I don't know if they all got in, but the replacement show for them, on night five, did go ahead, so hopefully everyone did get a chance to see it. Having seen these shows before on Oasis and Harmony, our expectations were high and we weren't disappointed. This was one of the highlights of the cruise. Again; i was too busy watching it to get much in the way of pics. Definitely a do not miss!

Despite that Royal insists they can't include Voom on the older ship full suites because they are so much cheaper.

Exactly. What do manufacturers do when they want to increase profit without you noticing ? They package their goods in smaller amounts/volumes and charge the same or slightly more for it. So instead of getting 12 oz of dried beans you now get 10 oz and they hope nobody will notice. While this is not the ONLY strategy at play here, it is certainly one of them. The other reason for the shorty cruises (IMO) is that they are trying to force each and every ship to call at PDCC since that has been such a cash cow for them. With the shorty cruises arriving and departing at different days of the week, they can have ships at PDCC on days that they otherwise, could not. I think this strategy will backfire b/c frequent cruisers (which Royal no longer values, I realize that) will do exactly what we do and just quit getting off at PDCC. Their only hope is the new cruisers...but even they will get tired of PDCC at some point.

Shorter cruises have their place but what I don't like is that many of the larger ships do them. 4 or 5 days on a Radiance class is fine but 4 days on an Oasis class and we barely have time to do all the things we enjoy.

Houston hotel: We called an audible the morning of the cruise for our post cruise stay. After a night of listening to the freeloaders complain about who was touching who, who was taking up too much space etc, we decided we needed a bigger room. The room by the airport was going to be the same arrangement we were just in. We expanded our hotel search space and ended up at a Homewood Suites Houston/clear Lake/NASA. The room was a 1 king, 2 dbl beds 2br, 2 bath suite. This was perfect. Everyone had their own space, and the freeloaders were on the other side of the room from us. The locations was great too. It was just off I45 midway between Houston and Galveston. With a late morning flight we had plenty of time. Here is the main living room Freeloaders room Freeloader Bathroom Kitchenette Master Bed Master bath, my only complaint here was that to get to the shower/toilet you had to come completely out of the bedroom and cross that space. minor gripe. That door to the right of the mirror leads to the master BR. The drive to Hobby the following morning was only 20 minutes, so not bad at all.

Thanks for following up on the boards. We considered doing this but never booked our son in his own cabin; we went the Crown Loft route instead. However, it never occurred to me that if they end up with their own room, and mom and dad are booked in their own room, the kiddo will get double points. Our son is finishing his college freshman year, so these booking strategies don't matter anymore to us (maybe grandchildren in the future). Hubby and I went on our first empty nest cruise three weeks ago on Oasis. It was bitter-sweet. Time is a thief, parents. Take those kids with you when you can. In a blink, they will be gone.

A little late night food porn for @OCSC Mike . My dad had a peach bread pudding waiting for me at his place after he picked us up from the airport. A lovely midnight snack before bed.

Back at it! The best part of our day, was after lunch. We stopped at their restaurant and ate at the buffet. It was nothing exciting and not even worth pictures but it was edible if you end up here, it’s a solid choice over the other cafes. We went back to the Aquarium, and got to meet Marley! Marley is a 20 year old rock hopper penguin who really enjoys doing meet and greets with people. She was constantly doing her excited call. While with her we learned all about their exhibit, conservation efforts, how the penguins are cared for, etc etc. While there, Marley made us some art that we got to keep. It was a really fun way to finish our day there. We also got a small peek at their newest king penguin chick, just poking out from behind its parents.

This isn’t my blog, this is @GregD’s. I just interrupt a lot. Mine aren’t remotely this fun, trust me.

Ya think? By the time my March 17th cruise gets here, I’m either going to skip the live blog entirely or post nothing but food porn with zero commentary. I’m still deciding.

We spent a little time driving around Galveston looking at nice houses etc. There was a marathon or something going on that day so we didn't really stop anywhere. We eventually hit Starbucks for second coffee. I handed the girl my purple star class card...she wasn't amused. On advice from friends we headed over to Moody Gardens This is a large property with hotel, convention center etc, but what we were after is that they have three pyramids. One holds an aquarium, another a rainforest, and the third is a discovery museum. We first visited the aquarium. This was lots of fun, and done well. They have all sorts of exhibits from penguins, to jellyfish, a touch pool with rays, and all sorts of things in between. This guy looked like I felt They even had the Homo sapiens diver fish!

Our first task once in the car was a rescue mission!! Poor Ashlyn forgot her favorite stuffed animal at the hotel before getting on the ship. Thankfully Kristine called the hotel and they were able to hold onto it for them. Dan had planned on getting off the ship as soon as the gangway opened and walked to the hotel to retrieve it and hopefully return in time to get their shuttle to the airport. I told him that was crazy, and that since we had the car, we would go get it for them. They stayed at the Harbor House, so it would have been doable, but not necessary. Rescue mission completed!! We sent word to Ashlyn and she was a very happy girl!

Maybe this is the compromise for how chaotic MTD has gotten https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/02/28/royal-caribbean-introduces-third-dining-time-give-cruise-ship-passengers-more-choice

Not really a lower price as shorter cruise cost more per night than a longer cruise.

I booked symphony and Odyssey out of New Jersey and Visions out of B-More for the reason that I want to see something else. Haven’t been to Labedee since the late nineties. So looking forward to that on Symphony. Going to New England/Canada on Visions. Small and old ship but lots of fun. I catch train round trip for $35 and hop in an Uber for $10-15. Still cheaper than flying to Miami. Doing a 12 day on Odyssey out of New Jersey and the itineraries are places I have been but it’s been over 10 years. I can take a break from PDCC. In fact I wanna stay on ship when I’m on Icon in May but I have a lot of first time cruisers traveling with me.

That is actually what I am happiest about. Grabbing 8/17 on WN before she goes to 3/4 nights.

So I'm booking Star and Vision. Could I get any more extreme with those choices.

lydia!!!!! my girl!!!!! she wore the boots!!!!!!!!!!!!

After the aquarium, we went over to the rainforest pyramid. This one was very cool. Inside they had planted a small rainforest. There were trees and plants native to the amazon, and there were multiple animals and birds that had free rein of the building. Everywhere you went random things would cross your path. I understand that for some of you cough cough...you know who you are...that would be terrifying, but we all really enjoyed it. There were two levels of paths that you took, one was up high in the canopy, and then down low along the floor. ' This guy stopped and posed for pictures. There were plenty of staff around to remind guests not to get too close. You will have to take my word for it, but the brown blob in the back is a sloth. HEY IM WALKIN HERE!!!

44 for us and stillllll counting! Never plan to play the game!

I am proud to be married for 40 years in this day and age where there is so much stress and strain on a couple to stay together let alone to remain faithful and love each other. So, yes i do enjoy announcing that we are among the few that were able to make it that long and hope for many more years together. As far as participating in the show, I have watched (On the TV when I am bored and that is the only show that broadcasts with the terrible reception) many L&M shows and with the same questions over and over being asked I wonder why anyone would want to get up on stage and share the answers?

Everyone's body is different. Your method does have merit though. I think competitive eaters eat a bunch of lettuce or something leading up to a competition to expand their stomachs. For those scoring at home, Saturday night's BBQ bacon cheeseburger with bottomless fries was my last bad meal before the cruise.

This "diet" you keep speaking of - your cruise is March 17th. Mine is March 11th. I'm packing it in to get to the point where I can eat everything. You shouldn't limit yourself, you should expand yourself, like I am!

That middle time will be filled up in nothing flat when booking opens by those who opt for fixed dining and like to eat at a reasonable time (that would be us - 5:00 is way too early and 8:00 is way too late).

This is why I think they're doing them and why the new and bigger ships are getting more 3 and 4 night trips. Certainly makes sense, but I admit, it's a bummer to me as someone who has to fly to port, that so many ships are doing short ones. I was hoping to hop back on Freedom in 2025 but she's only doing 3 and 4 nighters....and b2bs don't end up being cost effective vs a standard 7-night (trust me I looked T_T)

Thanks, all. This helps a lot! I need to read the fine print better and thankful to this community for your help and insight!

The schedule opened right on time: Tuesday 2/27/2024 at 9:30 PM (ET). I booked 4 cruises.

First, as someone who travels almost every week for work, I absolutely refuse to use the coffeemaker and glass glasses left in the room. Both are notoriously disgusting. That being said, honestly, these folks are so overworked and overwhelmed at times, rather than file a complaint, I'd give them the benefit of the doubt - Most likely English isn't their first language and they may well have not fully understood your request in writing (vs. verbally). Approach them kindly and directly and express your concern. I'd be willing to bet you'd have the cleanest cabin in your group going forward.

I'm so glad I saw this this evening before going off to bed. Snagged three cruises on hold while I check with my TA on pricing.

They did. Prices not so pretty but I got WN 8/17; UT NYE; WN March 2026

Working now. Prices, ugly. 12k for a GS on Navi.

Hopefully $18/day beverage package person is working on loading prices for these sailings.

Yeah my wife is the person who thinks she’s never late to anything because the party doesn’t start until she gets there. I struggle to convince her that the airplanes and cruise ships don’t care about that

Instead of posting pictures of all the creepy bugs we saw, I'll post Orchids and flowers instead.

Certain creatures were in their own enclosure because they could kill you like this guy, a Komodo Dragon Fruit bats and vampire bats

Departure.... Berty gave us two options for our bags. We would have them out by midnight the last night, or six am on departure day. Looking at the departure sheet they are really pushing for people not to do self assist. There is bold print that self assist is only for people with one bag, as the terminal has minimal elevators, and they don't want people going down the escalators with multiple bags. While I have never been lucky enough to have the earlier star class experience with the genie coming with a porter on the last day, we had ours out by midnight except for the small suitcase for the infamous weighted blanket and makeup etc etc. We have never lost a bag, nor do we put anything valuable in them so it has not been an issue for us yet.... On the last morning, we were up in coastal around 7:30. We weren't necessarily rushing since we didn't have anywhere to be right away, but we did want to be out to give the attendant as much time as possible. At breakfast, I got my last Mediterranean Plate Johnny had one last frosted donut for @Lovetocruise2002 Lydia was done with pictures At 8:30 Berty met us at CK to walk us off the ship. He was also escorting the 4 guests in the villa off at the same time too. He used his magical powers and the elevator went straight to the promenade, where we got a picture of him with he kids We were whisked around the long line of people off the ship. Galveston must do some things a little different because he was able to accompany us all the way past the facial scanners to our waiting luggage. The scanners here were great, and super quick. All of the star class luggage was grouped together in the corner and easy to get to. With our belongings recovered, we too quickly said our final goodbyes and were on our way. Total time from pickup at coastal kitchen to our car was 18 minutes, including the few extra minutes it took to get to the car because we accidentally walked the wrong way

For the record, I enjoy the tag shout outs, but I am not the only one who likes food porn. I'm beginning to get a complex, lol. I am not ashamed to talk about how much I enjoy eating on cruises but I'm starting to think I've portrayed myself as some gluttonous sloth of a man who does nothing but eat all day. So for the record, I spend plenty of time with my wife in the Solarium (no, not eating), playing some trivia, going to shows, going to game shows, listening to people butcher karaoke, and usually going on one long-ish excursion per cruise besides CocoCay. I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming...

So I think we are now up to the special treat for the wife. I know I have been hinting at sparkly things that we have been looking for, and not having any luck. But..... But............ We went another route. I really did want to treat her, to something special. She recently got a big promotion at work that she worked so hard for, and it was really a wonderful thing for this position to become available in her company, and in this location so that we wouldn't have to relocate....plus she deserves it from putting up with me right @TheBoss518 So may I present to you Luis.... She is beyond excited....and can't wait for work on Wednesday to show it off a little bit. For all of you that were hoping on sparkly things...FEAR NOT!!!! I have found the exact thing that she was looking for on the Effy site and I have ordered it!

You take the glasses and put them on a bar table or in front of your booth in the hallway. They will be picked up. And yours will be replaced