melmar02

My kids love "bellying up to the bar" and ordering different frozen drinks in addition to a Shirley Temple. Strawberry daiquiris are their consistent favorite.

I love a busy schedule! The FOMO is strong with this one. I'll have to look. If we miss it, I'll have Brandon engineer a recipe for me - he's the chef in the family.

@calvink669 Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll try to get answers for you. I have been searching for a video of the suite side of the cruise terminal since it opened back in November and finally found one a couple weeks ago. If you have not already booked, you may want to reach out to Maya Chan. Shortly after we booked our spots someone on the FB group for our cruise said they were sold out .

Oh my goodness! I just realized the wrong Giovanni's is on this ship - there is no truffle pasta on the Giovanni's Table menu! Guess I'll just have to get the gnocchi...or seafood linguini...or mushroom risotto...or tagliatelle...

I received an email back from Smitha this yesterday with a tentative schedule and recommendation to go ahead and book hibachi in the cruise planner. I jumped on the Cruise Planner and our options were 9pm or later every day except for day 7 which also had 5pm. We went ahead and took that one. With the kids' activities during the week, it's not uncommon for us to eat that early. That meal will just be our transition back to normal life. Her schedule looks pretty good to me - I think we'll probably just make a couple tweaks. We want to see one of the aqua shows from the aqua theater, a couple restaurant changes, and I think we're good. She also has DH and DS birthdays, and our make up anniversary listed too. Her email was pretty detailed and included photos of the new terminal - where to drop luggage, what the star banner looks like, suite entrance, security, and suite waiting area were all pictured. She said there will be a dedicated star class flow rider session at 9am on the second sea day - it's listed as 7:50am on her schedule though, so I need to follow up on that. She has an ice skating session on the schedule as well. I'm not sure if that is dedicated or if she's just going to take us to the front of the line for that one. No dedicated time on rock wall / zip line, but she said we have priority during non-peak hours. I imagine those activities will be a one and done thing for the kids. Her email confirmed we can only order food to the room from one restaurant at a time. I need to get some info back to her - if we want to participate in the bridge and galley tours (yes!), drinks in the room, etc. Here are the mini-bar options. As your mini bar is included, please let me know your beverage preferences in advance from the following options: Evian Water | Tonic Water | San Pelegrino sparkling water | Club Soda | Coca-Cola | Diet Coke | Coke Zero | Sprite | Sprite Zero | Fanta | Ginger Ale | Dr Pepper | Minute Maid Juice orange & apple | Beer: Amstel Light, Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors Light, Corona, Guinness, Heineken, Miller Lite, Stella. May I also ask if you prefer to be greeted with one of the following bottles: Champagne Moet Chandon Brut 750ml | Wine Chardonnay Cakebread Napa 750ml | Wine Pinot Noir Belle Glos Las Alturas Monterey 750ml | Wine Sauvignon Blanc Cloudy Bay New Zealand 750ml | Wine Cabernet Sauvignon Sequoia Grove Rutherford 750ml | Wine Merlot Duckhorn Vineyards Napa 750ml

I've seen youtubes with both of these too. I feel a little more prepared than the people in the videos now - I know where to put our bag on the shelf (I think) and to bring wipes and a second shirt at least. I haven't heard back from Smitha yet, but I emailed her on Sunday (Allure's turnover day) and today is her first port day this week. DH and I need to look at the menus together. Since we've only sailed in Freedom class or smaller ships we've been fine with the MDR and an occasional visit to Chops. He said the other day, "You want to eat in all the restaurants? What's wrong with the MDR?" Nothing, but we've paid for them, so we might as well try what looks good! 150CP has my name written all over it, and I would eat there several times. I tentatively asked Smitha to reserve Coastal Kitchen on night 1 (have to try that filet everyone talks about!), and 150CP for night 2. We have Chef's Table on night 3, so I asked for Johnny Rockets to be delivered to the room for the kids so we can make sure the kids eat before they run off to the teen club/AO. I think I will get pushback from the kids if we don't go to the WJ on day 1 for lunch, but I would like to sway us toward Sabor or Giovanni's I think - I hear I need to try the truffle pasta too.

We're going to try connecting balconies next spring on Harmony. I love the idea of cheaper fare so we can sail more, but we really love the suite lounge, and I think star is going to spoil us rotten. I'm not sure where hubby is going to go in the mornings either without a separate living room - that balcony door better be quiet!

You just reminded me I forgot to list our cabin number. We're in the ATS right above yours 9730.

I love that tropical print dress... with POCKETS! I think both those ship photos are Cozumel.

This will be our first time. I may or may not have drooled over a couple youtube videos of those tacos. We haven't done the monkey/sloths yet. The only other time we were in Roatan we did the iguana snorkeling combo. We've also gone through the aviary in Costa Maya. Is it because they crawl all over you? That bothered me about the aviary, but only because some of the birds had really sharp claws and we came out of it all scratched up. We love being able to drive to port, but it does limit us to pretty much this itinerary. We're flying to Ft. Lauderdale in the fall for our next cruise which embarks on Halloween. I'm struggling with the thought of luggage limits and potential costumes.

Cruise Planner Purchases We didn’t buy a lot this time around since most everything was included with Star Class. 100 photo package for $124.99 on Black Friday. Chef’s Table on night 3 - I know a portion of this will be refunded since we are SC, but I’m not really sure how much. I asked Smitha if she thinks we need to pre-purchase Izumi, and I'm waiting to hear back. Chankanaab Day Pass with Lunch and Drinks for $47.99 on Black Friday. When we were in Cozumel last year, we swam with the dolphins at Chankanaab, but we didn’t have time to explore the rest of the park. Usually we book Paradise beach, however, we wanted to see what else Chankanaab had to offer. We also booked Maya Chan in Costa Maya and the Daniel Johnson Monkey/Sloth Snorkel 2 in Roatan, both of those directly with the companies.

We're on Harmony next spring, and it will be interesting to compare that back view from the boardwalk and the top deck. Ours too! These were the ports on the kids' first cruise, so they hold lots of great memories for us all. Thanks!

A few pre-cruise details – we homeschool and this cruise is the start of our summer break. Our last day of school will be Thursday the 20th. Our homeschool co-op is Friday the 21st – I teach 2 baking classes and an elementary science class, plus DH and I teach a high school cooking class there. I also run a home based wedding bakery, and some idiot thought it would be ok to book a wedding on the Saturday we leave. It was me… I’m the idiot. The only reason I booked this wedding is that it is taking place at my favorite venue which is 5 minutes from my house, and it’s just a groom’s cake and a bunch of little desserts that will just go in their fridge when I get there anyway. The venue manager will be there for me at 8am to drop off, but my kitchen will probably be a wreck and what keeps us from getting on the road when we really want. Our plan is to have the car re-loaded and be on the road to Houston by 11am or noon at the latest on the 22nd. It’s a good thing I thrive on stress! We live between Dallas and Oklahoma and always make the 4-5 hour drive to the south Houston area a day or two before. We like to stay at the Homewood Suites in Clear Lake for a few reasons. First, we can get a 2 bedroom suite. If you have read my previous blogs, you know DH is a MORNING person. He’s usually up by 4 or 5am without an alarm. The rest of us…not so much. The separate bedrooms give the kids their own beds (two doubles in that second bedroom) and DH his own space in the living room in the morning without waking the rest of us up. Next, free breakfast in the morning, and hotel waffles make my kids happy. Finally, it’s just a short 35 minute drive to our preferred parking lot in Galveston in the morning. We like to park at Lighthouse as they have always taken care of us. Uncovered for the week was $95 with a $5 off coupon code found on their website. Parking at the new terminal was quite a bit more than that (almost double for the coveted covered spots), so we decided to save a little and take the few minutes to be shuttled over. I'm sure that money we saved will find its way to the casino though.

It’s almost here! Our very first Star Class cruise! We don’t usually do cruise shirts, but DD and I tie died shirts at a scouting campout in October, and somehow that became the plan for these shirts. I’m not sold on the idea, but the kids and DH are all in, so we’ll see how it goes! This sailing will be myself, DH, DS (11), and DD (14). We typically sail in the 2 BR Grand / 2 BR Owner’s suite, but when Allure moved to Galveston, and the 2 BR Aqua theater suite was the same price as our typical 2 BR on Liberty, it was a done deal! I booked the morning the schedule opened and then emailed Michelle @ MEI to transfer to her. That was March 3, 2021, so we’ve been (not so patiently) watching the countdown clock on this one for over 2 years. We received the Genie Survey 60 prior to sail date. We didn’t ask for anything crazy, but we did mention this cruise was right between a couple birthdays. A couple weeks after DS’s birthday and a couple weeks before DH’s. Also, we missed a big 15th anniversary celebration due to covid, so we would like to take part in a wine tasting if possible (we honeymooned in Napa Valley and San Francisco). Show reservations opened 48 days prior to sail date. Contact from our Genie 31 days prior to sail date. We have Smitha. Itinerary: Day 1 – Embarkation @ Galveston Day 2 – Sea Day Day 3 – Sea Day Day 4 – Roatan Day 5 – Costa Maya Day 6 – Cozumel Day 7 – Sea Day Day 8 – Debarkation @ Galveston

Yes, they do, but I'm not sure about the Johnny Rockets milkshakes. There wasn't a JR on our last cruise which was our first as diamond. If the voucher works for an adult at JR, it should for a minor as well.

My kids are boh taking an origami class at our homeschool co-op. DD has started bringing folded pieces with us in the car for whenever we go through a drive thru, and she gives them to the people working the window. The smiles have been priceless, so the kids are going to fold tip money into different shapes forbthe cruise. It's the cash we were planning on giving anyway, just in a fun package. There are lots of videos on YouTube.

I hope it's better than the loosely based Wizard of Oz show on Radiance.

My kids have loved Adventure Ocean on every ship they have been on. They were 10 and 7 on their first cruise, now 14 and 11, and they're counting down the days until they get to go back to AO. Our son would spend every minute we are on the ship there. We've not been on Harmony, but the programs (games, themes) have been almost identical on each sailing.

The photos when you just get off the ship are included. Ports of call just means a photographer isn't going to follow you around and take pictures of your family all day.

They don't send the Royal Caribbean photographers on the shore excursions. The excursion vendors may take pictures and offer them for sale. The dolphin swims for example. The photo package at Chankanaab in Cozumel was $250 for our group of 4 and we got a ton of digital pictures (100 I think). Salsa making and salsa dance class at Costa Maya took a photo of our group and put it in a paper frame with the recipes for $10 or $15. The Royal Caribbean photographers will be set up on the piers to take your photo with the ship in the background though.

I don't even think you can purchase the excursion if the person is not in the age range. I remember we were going to purchase a snorkeling excursion a couple years ago, and I didn't even look at the age limits because we had done a similar excursion in another port. My youngest's name was grayed out, so I couldn't select him at all.

Was your Bloody Mary included in star or an extra cost. I'm fuzzy on what alcohol will be delivered to our room that is included. I think I read (a while back, and not sure where) that shots and mixers would be delivered, but not mixed for you. It looks like a long walk from the 2BR ATS to Costal Kitchen without a drink in hand.

We sailed Radiance, which is on the list with Grandeur, over the summer, and there were no digital options. We brought home our prints and will scan them to get a digital version.

Are you sure you don't "feel like you're coming down with something"?

Anyone have experience with this at Galveston? I'm hoping like @Cactus527mentioned, there will be a way for them to verify. I just checked us in this morning, and our set sail passes only show our C&A status.