Vacation Crazy

Wow!  We can only dream of cruising for that long.  Hopefully in retirement.  I'm a newbie prime member.  We used our annual prime certificate for this sailing.  Can't wait!

You picked a great ship and itinerary for your first sailing.   We are on this sailing as well.   We can't wait!!

Also, we’re in as well! Looking forward to getting back out there! (mid-00’s commercial reference, anyone?)

I used my annual Prime cert for this one as well, as well as an earned certificate(s) on the Mariner and Allure. I live in Chicago, so I normally cruise for 2-3 eeks in Jan/Feb because that is my vacation time and if I have to fly it should be worth it. 

Wow!  We can only dream of cruising for that long.  Hopefully in retirement.  I'm a newbie prime member.  We used our annual prime certificate for this sailing.  Can't wait!

This will be mine and my husband's very first sailing on any cruise ship ever. This is also a particularly special sailing for us because our 9-year wedding anniversary will be happening during the sailing.
 
Who else will be on this sailing?

**We sailed on Adventure out of Galveston in March.  See the review I posted after our trip below**
We just returned from a 4 day sailing on Adventure of the Seas yesterday. This was our first time sailing out of Galveston.  I was a little nervous about our transportation going in.  We had 3 people in our party.   Here is how it worked out for us.
--We flew in on Wednesday to the Bush Airport(IAH).  We got an Uber within 10 minutes of requesting one.  It cost us $87.73(that included a 25% tip) to take us to the Holiday Inn in Galveston. 
--On cruise day the Uber cost $14.21(that included a 25% tip) to take us from the hotel to the port.  She was able to drop us off at the port with no problems. 
-- We disembarked on Monday. We took a short walk(about 10 minutes) outside of the port area to a corner store.  We were told if you walk outside the port area it would cheaper and easier to get a ride.  Our Uber ride arrived less than 10 minutes after requesting one.  We flew out of the Hobby airport(HOU).  The Uber ride cost us $73.75(that included a 25% tip).
I was a little worried after reading so much about transportation issues in Galveston.  We had no issues using Uber.   

I love price checking...... We are sailing on Allure in September under a casino comp interior room.  Last week the price to upgrade to a Boardwalk Balcony room was only $48.  This morning I noticed the price is the same as the interior rooms. I called and they are refunding the $48.  This is the first time staying in a Boardwalk balcony room.  We are excited to try something new.  

I guess miracles do happen - even with the current prices !
I just got a fare refund on a casino comp that I upgraded (again).  The upgrade cabin category was actually cheaper than the original upgrade booking and to my amazement, they actually refunded the difference !  I figured they would upgrade me at no cost but I never EVER thought they would actually refund me the difference.
This is for the 8-20-23 sailing on Wonder.  This is Dan's annual tier comp.  We had originally upgraded our "regular" interior to a Central Park interior view (never been in this category before) but today the Central Park balcony (a "629" double balcony) was actually cheaper than the CP interior so I called and changed rooms and will get $98 back !  WOOHOO !

We just returned from a 4 day sailing on Adventure of the Seas yesterday. This was our first time sailing out of Galveston.  I was a little nervous about our transportation going in.  We had 3 people in our party.   Here is how it worked out for us.
--We flew in on Wednesday to the Bush Airport(IAH).  We got an Uber within 10 minutes of requesting one.  It cost us $87.73(that included a 25% tip) to take us to the Holiday Inn in Galveston. 
--On cruise day the Uber cost $14.21(that included a 25% tip) to take us from the hotel to the port.  She was able to drop us off at the port with no problems. 
-- We disembarked on Monday. We took a short walk(about 10 minutes) outside of the port area to a corner store.  We were told if you walk outside the port area it would cheaper and easier to get a ride.  Our Uber ride arrived less than 10 minutes after requesting one.  We flew out of the Hobby airport(HOU).  The Uber ride cost us $73.75(that included a 25% tip).
I was a little worried after reading so much about transportation issues in Galveston.  We had no issues using Uber.   

Congrats, @Vacation Crazy !  

We just got off of Adventure of the Seas yesterday. I needed 865 points to reach prime. I made prime on March 31st around 11 PM (nothing like waiting to the last minute)!! This is my first time hitting prime so I am excited!  I received a $250 off certificate in the room.  I receive several interior room offers throughout the year.  

Cool., congrats on making Prime.
You can only combine like offers. That means you won't be able to apply that $250 off to the annual cruise. Next time book at NextCruise so you pay only a $100pp deposit. They offer OBC as well, but it will be removed to take advantage of the free annual cruise. Otherwise, that OBC will stay on the reservation number even if you apply $ off and change the booking.

We just returned from a 4 day sailing on Adventure of the Seas yesterday. This was our first time sailing out of Galveston.  I was a little nervous about our transportation going in.  We had 3 people in our party.   Here is how it worked out for us.
--We flew in on Wednesday to the Bush Airport(IAH).  We got an Uber within 10 minutes of requesting one.  It cost us $87.73(that included a 25% tip) to take us to the Holiday Inn in Galveston. 
--On cruise day the Uber cost $14.21(that included a 25% tip) to take us from the hotel to the port.  She was able to drop us off at the port with no problems. 
-- We disembarked on Monday. We took a short walk(about 10 minutes) outside of the port area to a corner store.  We were told if you walk outside the port area it would cheaper and easier to get a ride.  Our Uber ride arrived less than 10 minutes after requesting one.  We flew out of the Hobby airport(HOU).  The Uber ride cost us $73.75(that included a 25% tip).
I was a little worried after reading so much about transportation issues in Galveston.  We had no issues using Uber.   

I just got off the phone with Club Royale. I booked an interior room on Wonder of the Seas sailing 1/24/24.   I had to pay $500 today. When I receive my certificate I can apply it to the sailing. They will take the taxes and port fees out of the $500 and refund the balance.   Thanks for your help!!
 

We just returned from a 4 day sailing on Adventure of the Seas yesterday. This was our first time sailing out of Galveston.  I was a little nervous about our transportation going in.  We had 3 people in our party.   Here is how it worked out for us.
--We flew in on Wednesday to the Bush Airport(IAH).  We got an Uber within 10 minutes of requesting one.  It cost us $87.73(that included a 25% tip) to take us to the Holiday Inn in Galveston. 
--On cruise day the Uber cost $14.21(that included a 25% tip) to take us from the hotel to the port.  She was able to drop us off at the port with no problems. 
-- We disembarked on Monday. We took a short walk(about 10 minutes) outside of the port area to a corner store.  We were told if you walk outside the port area it would cheaper and easier to get a ride.  Our Uber ride arrived less than 10 minutes after requesting one.  We flew out of the Hobby airport(HOU).  The Uber ride cost us $73.75(that included a 25% tip).
I was a little worried after reading so much about transportation issues in Galveston.  We had no issues using Uber.   

Update ....  I just rode Lyft to the port of Galveston.   I pre-booked my lift for Sunday morning at 8:15 am for $91.  It was a smaller SUV and not in the best shape but a very friendly driver.  When we got to the port they told her what number to drop us off at in front of the Royal Caribbean Cruise Terminal.  They did not ask her any questions if she was UBER or Lyft.  As soon as she dropped us off she had a pickup 50 yards further up.   There were hundreds of people waiting for rides.  We were told part of the problem was facial recognition was not working correctly and the other part is because people booked Uber and they were not letting Uber in to pick up.  Our driver did tell us she has see Uber drivers dropping people off outside of the pickup area.  That would mean you would have to walk with your bags about 2 or 3 city blocks.  
With the contract signed it should get better with both Uber and Lyft being able to get to the port terminals.  Currently the price is still the same as shuttle busses with less the hassle.

While it is a free cruise, it is not 100% free. The deposit will go to taxes and port fees, gratuities and upgrades. The annual cruise is an interior for 2 minus taxes and port fees, which are the only things that get refunded regardless of deposit type. If you take the interior and don't upgrade, I believe you have to pay the balance in full, possibly even if you upgrade. 

I ordered this personalized door magnet for $9.00 on Etsy.  It comes with us on every cruise.  Although our last cruise it did not do its job.  We were awoken one night around 3am to a guy mistaking our room for his.  I thought our last name on the door would have been the first clue he had the wrong room.  I'm pretty sure the drink package was involved in that episode!  Anyways, I love our little magnet.  It hangs on the side of our frig until it can cruise again!
 
 

Thanks for the info!  I was hoping for a cover band.  We seen Bon Jovi in the Music Hall on Ovation.  They put on a great show.  Enjoy the rest of your sailing! We will be the happy faces boarding on Saturday. 

Thanks for the info!  I was hoping for a cover band.  We seen Bon Jovi in the Music Hall on Ovation.  They put on a great show.  Enjoy the rest of your sailing! We will be the happy faces boarding on Saturday. 

It looks like they have Dance Music with Grooves on Silk most starting at 10/11pm and the Odyssey Orchestra around 6:30/7pm. 

I messaged Royal via Facebook to inquire if they are still doing lobster night. I'll let you know their response.  

The menus on the app are set to what it is for the current sailing. So you're looking at their nights 1-6 menu. The current sailing is the transatlantic, much longer sailing so the lobster menu is likely on later days this sailing so it won't be visible in your app.
 

Lobster has disappeared from the menu for Wonder July 2023 🤔