melmar02

DH got up at 3:30 this morning, only an hour before his usual. He said DD came downstairs at 4:30 completely dressed and ready to go. I was up by 5 and DS came down, also completely dressed, at 5:30. I guess we were all too excited to sleep in! We took our time finishing up the packing, and when we opened the garage door at 10am, there were a few flurries in the air. We thought, "wow, I don't remember weather guy mentioning that," and put it out of our minds as they stopped before we were out of our neighborhood. We dropped the dogs at the kennel by 10:30. Time to hit the road! In 5-ish hours, we'll be at the hotel! ...or maybe not. We got a couple hours into the drive and made a quick stop. Noticed there was ice on the road signs. Hmm...I certainly don't remember any mention of ice or snow. But we sure found it! A few minutes after getting back in the car, we were hit with big, fat snowflakes! Traffic came to a stop a couple times and there were several wrecks. The weather finally changed to rain and then stopped. Our usual 5 hour drive took 7, and we were all ready to just be done with the car. We decided to just have something gourmet delivered because neither DH nor I was going anywhere. Here's what was left of our first night of vacation dinner. The important thing is we're here, the kids have showered, and they've been given a dose of Benadryl for good measure. Time to do our night before the cruise tradition - open a bottle of red and put the luggage tags on all the bags. Tomorrow's cruise day, y'all!

Only on Oasis and Anthem class ships which have the Royal Suite program. Suite guests on the Freedom class and older ships are slumming it with the original suite benefits.

It's still Amit.

We'll be taking advantage of it tomorrow, and I'll post if there are any changes to report.

I guess DH took his test at the beginning of an after work rush? Or maybe the proctor took a dinner break? Whatever the delay, we now have all our negative results printed, and we'll hit the road tomorrow between 10 and 11am. Time to celebrate with a glass or two of wine!

The kids and I rushed over to CVS once our co-op day was finished, and even though our appointments were 3:50, 4:10, and 4:20, they swabbed us all at once. DH went from work and had the 4:40 slot. The kids and I are good to go... just waiting on that last text...it would be a shame to have to leave him at home!

Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day is engagement season in the wedding industry, and my poor email has been overflowing for weeks. I'm happy to say, I'm all caught up and the out of the office message is turned on. I'm officially on vacation!

Lots of errands completed yesterday, and the clothes packing started today. Tomorrow the kids and I have our homeschool co-op all day and then we rush to CVS for our tests. We'll finish packing up after dinner tomorrow and hopefully have all our negative test results by then too. I have a really extensive packing list, but I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh well, there's a Walmart close to the hotel if I remember what it is.

It's part of the check in process. If you are not able to check in yet, which opens about 30 days before sailing right now, you won't be able to upload the pictures yet.

Pre-packed with the kids this afternoon. Found out DS doesn't have enough socks that fit anymore. He's been mostly barefoot or in soccer cleats for the last two years, so regular socks didn't even cross my mind. Who knew kids grew between the ages of 7 and 9! #momfail Tomorrow I can schedule our backup tests at Walgreens for Saturday just in case we need it on the way out of town, and I have some car maintenance scheduled too. 3 days until our CVS test, 4 days 'til the drive to Houston, and 5 until we step aboard the ship!

Thanks for the recommendation. We considered Mia's Table last time we were there, but went with the Cheesecake Factory across the street instead. We'll check it out.

I don't recall any sort of air freshener or scent ever being used by the cruise line, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. You should probably ask about the detergents used on the sheets and towels too. I would start with [email protected] As far as what you should use, I would bring a product that you know works for you, or skip just skip it all together so you know you are safe. You certainly don't need to bring everything on someone else's packing list of "extra stuff to take with you on a cruise."

The covid test anxiety is real, y'all. Spring comes early in Texas, and although we had snow a few days ago, our trees started to bud a couple weeks ago. Of course along with that comes allergies for all of us. With every sinus headache and sniffle DH and I panic just a tad. We're planning on taking at home (un-proctored) tests today, assuming we can find some, just for the peace of mind.

Kids Sail Free

I would love to see KSF again. Sadly one of mine has aged out of it over the shutdown.

Makes sense - isn't wave season coming up soon?

Wow, what a hassle! Glad it was negative though and congrats on prime!

Yes, you will get the soda cups with the deluxe package.

Went through the kids' clothes. The last time we really did any clothes shopping was for our last cruise 2 years ago! Took DD to get a pair of black flats for formal night today and she came home with a new wardrobe! Also checked and renewed the travel meds and first aid kit. DH pulled out some clothes this morning to make sure he's got something to wear. Just had to order him a new swim shirt. Thank goodness for Amazon! I've got a lot of laundry to do over the next few days!

I have 11 on Liberty next weekend.

@KristiZ You caught me. I try to keep work and school separate, but yeah, sometimes buttercream gets on a math quiz! Pre-cruise plans Since we’re just north of Dallas, we drive down to Galveston. We are taking an Alaska cruise this summer, and to prep the kids for the flights, we thought we would take the short, 1 hour flight to Houston this time. DD and I would fly down while DS and DH drove. Then we would switch for the return trip so they could at least get a taste of the process (more important for DD to know what to expect). We changed those plans with Omicron and will see if we can transfer the flights to visit MIL in a couple months. We usually stay in the Clear Lake / NASA area, and are keeping with that plan. We’ll be staying at the Homewood Suites in a 2 bedroom which we’ve stayed at a few times before. We like it because of the extra room in the suite and the kids love a free breakfast that includes a waffle maker. It’s a 30ish minute drive to Lighthouse Parking in Galveston from there. Lighthouse is a raised lot (not that we have to worry since it isn't hurricane season), and they offer covered and uncovered parking, although the covered parking is just a roof, not a garage. They have a shuttle and have always been quick to drop us off and pick us up from the terminal. We toyed with going to the Aquarium in downtown Houston the day before the cruise, but because of Omicron, I think we’ll take our time driving down and just go to the hotel, pick up something to eat, and try to call it an early night. We've scheduled our covid tests at CVS for Friday afternoon. The kids and I will leave from our co-op to test, and DH will get his after work. I'm going to schedule back up tests at Walgreens for Saturday morning as soon as the appointments open up.

We checked in over 30 days ago. I was able to update the app (android), and add my son's card yesterday.

I think capacity. They closed the sailing for new bookings a few weeks ago.

The pups may be loving the snow and ice we got in Dallas, but this girl's ready for something a little warmer. Single digits - 9 days to go!

No, they are still not sailing at full capacity. Liberty only has about 1500 guests on it this week while her double occupany is 3800.