Yo2slick

On 1/17/2024 at 2:37 PM, KevinK said:

What about 2 cruises in Jr. Suite.

Jr Suite is a little more than double the cost of the balcony.  We are going to do 2 cruises and my best friend and his wife decided to book on our sailing as well.  So it worked out great!

Daniel Johnsons was amazing.  We did the monkey sloth tour and then went snorkeling.  They offer to take you to the beach for the rest of the afternoon but we elected to go back to the ship.  Had a private driver for the afternoon and was a great time.  Highly recommend! 

17 minutes ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

what ship are you looking at that the prices are that close?

Harmony out of Galveston

2 hours ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

I definitely love the Suite Life but I think splurging on a suite as large the crown loft for just 2 people isn't the kind of bang you want, especially if you're not planning to host other people. I'd downgrade to a smaller suite (Grand or maybe Owners) and book a second cruise in a balcony or something.

OS and CLS Suite are the same price and GS is only 200pp less.  Even JS is double the cost of the Balcony rooms.  

4 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

An alternative: two cruises in a suite on a non-Oasis class.

We could do that but we have fell in love with Oasis class. 

3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

@Yo2slick, where do you have to come from, for the cruise ?  Do you have to fly ?  If so, I would consider the cost of transportation into this equation in addition to the cost of the cruises themselves.  Obviously, if you have to pay big $$ to get here then it might be a better deal to just splurge on the suite and just fly once....unless the 2 cruises you are considering are B2B....then, airfare wouldn't be a concern.

Both cruises would be out of Galveston.  We usually drive down but flew in last time.  2 cruises in a balcony including getting to the port is less than the cost of one CLS cruise.  Just seemed crazy not to book 2 cruises and use the money on something else.  Now that I add it up we could almost do 3 cruises on Harmony in Balcony rooms for 1 CLS cruise.  

I know everyone's opinion will vary greatly on this but my wife and I are debating on 1 cruise this year in a CLS or 2 cruises in a balcony room.  I love the benefits of being in a suite but having a hard time justifying the cost when we could take an additional cruise.  Just curious if anyone else is doing the same thing.

They have added 34 more cruises since I looked at 2am this morning.   I agree the prices are crazy.  

I looked at Feb 2026 and was curious about suite prices.    COME ON NOW!!!

We had the key lunch 2 weeks ago and it was a modified version of the chops lunch menu. 

We just sailed on Voyager and ate MDR 4 out of the 5 nights.  I never had a bad meal.  I actually enjoyed the MDR more than our chops dinner on night 4.  Our waiters Nandy and Melvin were absolute rock stars and really made the experience.  We never waited on drinks and always left stuffed.  I ordered the Filet I believe on night 2 and when Nandy came over he said "Looks like you enjoyed your steak, would you like another one?"  Hands down best MDR experience we have had. 

As much as I didn't think I would like the themed menus I have to admit it's not that bad.  I miss the desert options the most but it made me try some new things.  

On 9/1/2023 at 9:44 AM, beer12 said:

Doesn't seem anyone does roll calls any more.  The Cruise Critic board only has 3 or 4 participants too.  Back in '4, there were hundreds, it seemed.  Big group that actually got together on embarkation.  There was a specific mix/mingle.  Not much of that now.  Here, there's only 3 of us.

So, anyway, hey!  Here's a fun fact.  Tested positive for Covid this morning (Sept 1)!

Cheers.

Sorry to hear about the Covid.  Did you have a good cruise?  We had a fantastic time!

On 9/6/2023 at 8:15 AM, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

I wonder if that size is what fits under the aisle seat so they are making it the general size altogether.  I love the aisle seat but if I am traveling alone my typical carryon does not fit under the seat in front of me!  That under seat area is narrower than the middle and window seats!  So perhaps the new size they have announced must be closer to that aisle seat area!  Ughhhh

I purchased a new personal item bag for my last flight on SWA.  Sat in the aisle and it fit no problem.  Also had my carry on in the overhead bin.  

https://www.amazon.com/ECOHUB-Backpack-Personal-Airplanes-Airlines/dp/B0C8TV9ZB5/ref=sr_1_44?keywords=personal%2Bitem%2Bbag%2B16%2Binch&qid=1694113539&sprefix=personal%2Biitem%2Bbag%2B16%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-44&th=1

We always use TSA approved locks on our luggage.  

14 hours ago, twangster said:

And now they are reducing the size of carry on items allowed:

https://yourmileagemayvary.com/2023/08/15/southwest-quietly-changed-the-size-of-allowable-personal-bags/

 

Without much fanfare or even an announcement, Southwest’s policy for the maximal size of personal bags has changed. It had been a generous 18.5″ x 13.5″ x 8.5″. But now? It’s a skimpy 16.25″ x 13.5″ x 8″.

That's because the personal item needs to fit under the seat and if it doesn't it has to go in the overhead bin.  So many people are traveling with carry on only now that the bins are filling up before everyone boards resulting in checking carry on bags.  Or people just shove their personal item bag into the overhead bin and take up space either way.  

23 hours ago, Coda_Sarah said:

oh my gosh that looks delicious!  We are going to 150 for the first time in a couple of weeks! Looking forward to try it.  We were thinking of ordering the tenderloin for 2 as well. 

The tenderloin and lobster thermidor are both great!  We ordered both with no problems!

Yeah the entire I need a wheelchair thing and then walking off the airplane with no assistance is total crap and needs to be addressed.  

That being said, being able to reprice my ticket at anytime and receive a credit or refund that never expires and can be transferred to another rewards member it pretty freaking awesome.  I had to call SWA yesterday to ask a question about an upcoming flight and was off the phone in 5 minutes.  Last time I called AA it was 4 hours.  

I guess its give and take but for the money SWA offers a ton of value.  

We booked directly with Daniel Johnson's Monkey and Sloth hangout for our excursion.  Was a great time with amazing people.  They offer snorkeling right next to where they are and it was great as well.   

I highly recommend Daniel Johnsons monkey and sloth hangout in Roatan.  We booked our excursion directly through them and they picked us up at the port.  They offer several packages and the one we did was their sloth hangout, snorkeling and beach hangout.  We were back at the ship a couple of hours early as I don't like cutting it close getting back.  The iguana park is pretty cool as well if you're into that.  The snorkeling was amazing, its basically in their backyard and was able to see lots of fish, lobsters ect...  Super nice people.   The sea turtle rescue in Cozumel was also a very cool experience if that is something that interests you.  

Our cruise in 28 days is only showing a menu on deck 3 and only for the first day.  They other days it shows venue closed.  No theme for WJ either. 

3 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

I still remember becoming friendly with an Australian couple during our trip to Alaska in 2018. We had a nice long chat about this and they just could not understand American tipping culture... and I get it.

I'm American and I still don't understand it.  I get tipping certain people but its gotten way out of control in the US.  I went to subway the other day and was asked if I wanted to leave a tip.....

Does this include if your cruise ship visits a port in one of these countries?

We fly into Hobby and Uber to the port.  Uber is around 50-60 dollars for the trip.  We usually stay in Webster as its nice, has plenty of options for lodging and food.

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Are you sure it's fully closed, specifically during the day? Night closures I can see, but it's pretty rare for main highways to be closed during the day.

Not in Texas, they do they absolute dumbest crap I've ever seen regarding road construction.  I've been driving through the Fort Worth construction three times a week on 35W that they started 20 years ago and still haven't finished.   

14 minutes ago, KatrinaG said:

Please let me know I am curious and would a 7 night cruise to the Caribbean on one of the bigger ships like Oasis be too much for someone that has never been on a ship before. Let me know your thoughts and looking forward to hearing from you cruising experts.

Personally I think 7 nights would be a great start and you can't go wrong with Oasis class.  Plenty of options for everyone.  Our kids first cruise was on Allure for 7 nights and they had a blast.