kadmgs

It was cancelled due to the unfinished dock on our 12/19/2021 cruise on Oasis. I agree that you're not going. They just haven't told you yet. I got an email from Royal last month stating our itinerary changes. It took almost three weeks for the cruise planner to accurately reflect the changes. 

Thanks for the heads up! I just snagged the DBP for $53 a day on our Christmas cruise on Oasis. It had been running $71 w/o a sale and $62 w/ a sale. I used OBC, so if it drops more on Black Friday I can rebuy.  

36 minutes ago, SPS said:

You've got a definite advantage being so close to the Galveston port. It would be so much easier for us to take advantage of this Double C&A offer if we were within a reasonable driving distance of a port. (Baltimore is closest and it's 9-10 hours away!)

Yes, it is very convenient. We are only about 45 mins. from Galveston. The only downside of it all is very little variety in ports. We will be making our 5th (July '22) and 6th (Nov. '22) trip to Cozumel since 2018. 

Not today, but I did book on Monday to beat the deadline. Wasn't planning on cruising next Thanksgiving, but Adventure's 5 night out of Galveston was a better deal than using our timeshare points for the same time. It was a no brainer. The funny thing is our original goal when we started sailing with RC in 2018 was to reach Diamond by the time I retired in 2029. With the points we will earn between our Dec '21 & our July '22 cruise, we will be Diamond. Now, the new goal is D+ by retirement. 20 points for the Nov '22 cruise was an opportunity we couldn't pass up. 

Yes, the Hobby airport area is rough! I recommend staying farther south like the Clear Lake/Webster area. It is only 15-20 mins. farther south from Hobby. Would still only be about 30 mins. from Minute Maid and about 30 mins. from Galveston. 

23 minutes ago, RickinSTL said:

@Galveston Steve if I wanted to stay in Houston the night before to see the Astros play what airport would you recommend? 

I would recommend flying into Hobby. It's only a ten minute drive to Minute Maid from there, so you could Uber. 

On 9/17/2021 at 9:59 AM, Atlantix2000 said:

I think it's simply called "saving time".  The bill has to pass in both House and Senate before it goes to the President so it is useful to start the process in both chambers at the same time.  Of course, it gets complicated when the House and Senate versions of a bill aren't actually the same.  Then, they have to work out a compromise version and revote so they actually approve the same thing.

This is correct. Legislation moves through the process much faster and has a better chance of a vote if both chambers have a version. The only thing that would signal it could move faster would be bipartisan co-sponsors, but we don't know if there are any at this point. If there are differences in the versions, it will go to the conference committee for review and revision. Then back to the separate chambers for another vote on the revised/final version. More than likely, Murkowski's aides and Young's aides are drafting the legislation together to ensure this doesn't happen. However, the Senate has different rules for amending bills, so who knows right now if it will change. As of now, neither Sen. Murkowski nor Rep. Young have actually filed their versions of the bill, at least from what I can tell. I dug through both the House and Senate bill trackers as well as their websites for sponsored legislation. You can find the ATRA in both their records, but that is it to this point. Issuing the press release before filing the bill gives a feel for how receptive their colleagues are to making this work around permanent as well as a way to "go public" with the plan to get their constituency as well cruise industry people and supporters like us to pressure their reps and senators to support the legislation. 

1 hour ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

Royal seriously needs to get better IT help!  I think it's been almost 2 weeks since my Labadee stop got replaced with Cozumel yet Labadee is still on my cruise planner!  I certainly hope by the next sale (perhaps Columbus weekend?) Cozumel shows up!!  Time is running short since my cruise is 47 days away now!

Same here. My Labadee stop was replaced with Coco Cay and it shows the change in the planner's calendar, but there are no excursions showing when I click on Perfect Day. Frustrating! 

No shade for the Suite deck at the pool. 

On 5/14/2021 at 6:11 PM, Galveston Steve said:

You are correct! Carnival sometimes uses the current Royal terminal, and prior to Covid Carnival had announced a 4th ship to homeport in Galveston.

One of the Carnival ships is currently (or at least as of Friday when I was down there) docked at Royal's terminal. Even though I don't/won't cruise Carnival, it was still an amazing sight to see those two ships (Vista & Breeze) from the overpass at 51st street & Harborside. The "We miss y'all!" sign on one of them was an emotional sight.   

22 hours ago, steverk said:

I can't speak for Galveston Steve, as he seems to always be in the know. But in my experience, the view from the road isn't all that great. Therefore, any work would have to be very large to be visible.

I agree with Steve. It is difficult to see the work site from Harborside. It sits much farther back from the street than the other terminals. There's always cranes and equipment around there so it is difficult to tell what's "new" and what's always there. We need someone who works at John Sealy across the street who can see into the worksite from the top of the parking garage. 

19 minutes ago, Matt said:

Does that mean there will be an opportunity to see a WW2 ship sail again (in order to move to new location)?

More than likely she would be towed. Her hull has definitely seen better days and multiple repairs over the years have been made. She actually pre-dates WWII. She was commissioned just before WWI. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Texas_(BB-35)#Museum_ship

She has been turned over to the Battleship Texas Foundation for repairs, so we will see if they can get her going again to actually sail. https://battleshiptexas.org/ 

16 hours ago, Galveston Steve said:

• Representatives from the Battleship USS Texas, currently moored as a museum near the ship channel in Houston, are working to get agreement on moving the ship to Pier 20 in Galveston (adjacent to the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Museum).  If everything falls in line, this would be excellent news for Galveston and for the USS Texas and would be another centerpiece of history near the cruise terminals.  The USS Texas fought at Normandy, North Africa, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. She has a fascinating history, including a visit to the Port of Galveston in 1914, and in 1915 joined 3 other battleships to rescue 230 passengers off the damaged Holland America Ryndam.

Great news about the Battleship. She's currently a "stone's throw" from my house (maybe 8 miles as the crow flies), but I'm glad they are moving her to a location that will see more traffic. They need the funds to repair her and more visitors will help with that. 

If you choose to visit the Battleship once she's there or the offshore museum, I highly recommend Katie's Seafood House at Pier 19. The location used to be Hill's at Pier 19 for OG Galveston people. Katie's is super fresh, delicious seafood (like caught within hours of being on your plate.) They are attached to Katie's Seafood Market and they supply many of the non-chain restaurants in Galveston. http://www.katiesseafoodhouse.com/

Glad to hear y'all made it through last week. I lost power for about 36 hrs, but I have a Generac generator. Put it in for hurricane season this past summer and never thought its first extended use would be for a winter storm. However, not having water for 4 days sucked! Collecting snow and ice melt in mop buckets to be able to flush the toilet sucked! ERCOT sucks!

On 2/20/2021 at 8:38 PM, twangster said:

No elected officials is required to pay any attention to a citizen outside of their district.  A senator in Texas couldn't give a hoot what I think because they don't represent me (and I can't vote for or against them).   They are accountable to the citizens that reside in their district and those are the voices they will (or should) pay attention to.

 

I live in Texas and they don't give a hoot about what I think because I don't donate to their campaigns. If this past week's experience isn't example enough of who Texas politicians listen to, I don't what is. 

I live in Baytown (about 45 mins. from Galveston) and I agree with Steve. Gaidos is so inconsistent that I don't recommend it anymore either. If you are a local and haven't tried Top Water in San Leon, I recommend it. Treking out there might be daunting for a visitor to the area, but well worth it if you are accustom to "off the beaten path" local places. 

A friend recommended I try out Flip Flops in Galveston. I'm an SFA alumni and it's owned by one as well. 

We should be leaving on one tomorrow ... L&S'd it to Dec. '21. 

A little late, but DW served 4 years in the Marines and then 8 in the Army. She was like, um, "Go Team!" 

I remembered this after I posted earlier...Same cruise as "Sparkly Boots". It was a Christmas cruise and there was a couple in their late 30's to early 40's who wore Christmas pajama onesies all cruise long, day and night. They also had their own "custom" metal "Yeti" style cups and straws that they drank from at the R Bar. Rarely did we go to/through the Centrium and not see them there in their pajamas and drinking from their Yeti's. Needless to say, the Centrium was THE place to people watch that cruise. 

On 12/4/2020 at 4:20 PM, KWong said:

I wonder if they have congee for breakfast. One of the things I remembered about Harmony was they had that, which was honestly kind of nice since that's something I eat on the regular.

I always see it in the Windjammer for breakfast. 

There was a couple on board with a us a few years ago that danced in the Centrium every night. She was always in sparkly/sequined boots, either bunny or cat ears, and hot pants/short shorts with fish nets. He was always in cargo shorts or Demin shorts with a Hawaiian shirt, sometimes the sleeves were missing. Didn't matter the song, they were dancing and had some signature moves. They were definitely the star of the show whether they knew it or not. As we were waiting for our departure group to be called, two ladies were sitting behind us talking about "Sparkly Boots" and wondering if they had participated in 70's night. I turned around and said yes, they did. The lady asked me how I knew who she was talking about and I said the whole ship knew... . 

I agree 

That breakfast bowl sounds amazing!

Room service tried to kill me on Rhapsody with a quesadilla that had been on the tray for the better part of an hour. When I lifted the cloche, the sour cream had separated, the guacamole had a brown film on the top, and the salsa had a thick dark red skin that had formed. It was clear that the cloche had trapped the heat and it sat under a heat lamp for a while before delivery. Needless to say, I didn't eat it. 

If I detailed the quantity, I would come across as one who needs an intervention. Therefore, my response is that we get our money's worth out of the DBP.