Weezie57

4 hours ago, Ryan79 said:

There is no standard answer. Some items will be available as soon as the itinerary is made available to book over 18 months in advance and I’ve seen excursions pop up 10 days before embarkation. 

Thank you very much for your input.

How far in advance of a cruise do things such as beverage packages, food offerings and excursions go on sale?

12 minutes ago, Yo2slick said:

We are on Voyager in August, hope they get it figured out soon. 

I don’t want to insinuate the food was horrible it was just kinda of blah.  Hope you have better luck.  The positive side was the pizza in Cafe Promenade was very good.

Just returned from a cruise on Voyager of the Seas.  We really enjoyed the cruising experience but were disappointed in the food.  Given we have only been on four cruises, 1 Princess-1 Disney-2 RCL, this was easily the worst food we have had.  Tried the MDR the first 2 nights but then elected to eat the remainder of our meals in the Windjammer.  Overall I can say the food was mediocre at best.  The exception was breakfast at the Windjammer where there were plenty of good options including an omelet station.  I only hope RCL improves this area of their experience before we cruise with them again.

Just returned from our cruise yesterday.  From leaving the terminal to getting in our car in the covered North Lot was less than 5 minutes.  Yes, it does cost more but it was worth it to have a hassle free get away after being on a cruise.

19 hours ago, TexanTwoStep said:

Parked here last week, it's great! 

Be careful when leaving though, they tried to double charge me and I had to show them my receipt from pre-paying.

Thanks for the heads up.  I will be sure to look out for that.

2 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

Yes, you can get away with purchasing 1 single device package for both of you to use.

Thank you

3 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

It is not like the drink package. If you buy a one device package, you get a single login/PIN number that can be used on any device you wish. You can use it on multiple devices and share the login/PIN. The only thing is that you can only have one device logged in at a time, so if you want to log on your iPad, you need to log off your iPhone first or the iPad will kick the iPhone off.

If you buy a multi device package, it will allow the simultaneous login of multiple devices (as many as you purchased) but it still uses a single login/PIN.

So as long as only one device at a time is being used we are ok?  My wife wants to use her iPad most of the time but we would like to use internet calling a couple times per day to check on things at home.

Is the internet like the drink package, if one person gets it everyone in the party has to get it?  If you can get it for one, can that person have an iPhone and an iPad or is it restricted to one device?

When our little girl was really into Disney, we paid the price for a Disney cruise and the entire family had a wonderful time, especially her being able to meet all the Disney characters.  Now, I wouldn’t think about paying the price difference between Disney and other cruise lines.

20 hours ago, wordell1 said:

If you can get the covered parking in the north lot, you are literally at the terminal.

I have this covered parking reserved for a June 12 sailing.  

On 5/23/2023 at 12:19 PM, GeorgeW said:

Mine and my family's first cruise, we are all very excited. Any tips?

I went to YouTube and watched all the Royal Caribbean Blog videos on cruising, dos and don’ts, and then watched the various videos related to Voyager of the Seas.

Just received this notice from RCL

Due to newly implemented US Customs and Border Protection policies, our all-aboard time will now be at 2:30 PM. Please be sure to adhere to your selected arrival window. All guests should arrive no later than 2:00 PM.

Is this a new policy going forward and maybe just specific to our cruise out of Galveston?

16 minutes ago, recogneyes said:

You will love it - we've been a few times and can't say enough great things.  I would recommend making reservations in advance especially if you would like to reserve one of the day beds.   The food, drinks and service are all amazing.  Have a great time!

Thanks for the feedback.  We have made reservations just not sure about the day bed yet.  Just hope this giant patch of seaweed making its way across the oceans doesn’t show up there.

13 hours ago, VeronicaS1970 said:

Can't go wrong at Paradise Beach. We also have done Playa Mia, it was ok but I like Paradise better.

Thanks for saying that.  After tons of research for our cruise in June, we decided Paradise Beach is the place we are going to go to.  We are really looking forward to it.

On 4/25/2023 at 3:55 PM, Ditchdoc said:

Just search Amazon for ...cruising door decorations..... There are a few hundred decorative magnets in packages of various quantities. Usually for 10 to $20.

It easy and cheap.

We get ours from Etsy

We leave out of Galveston in early June and we have a 10:30 check in time.  I was on the app at midnight the day check in started and got the earliest time available.

What RCL calls a sale has nothing to do with what you paid for it.  It’s supposedly a number based on their retail cost.  I still haven’t figured it out.  Bought mine a few months ago at buy one get one 50% off and paid $59.99.  Just today, the very same sale is going on, buy one get one 50% off, and the cost is $66.99.  I keep checking but doubt I see it any lower than I already have.

Forty-five days until sailing.  All members of the party are checked in with a 10:30 check in time and covered party right across from the new Galveston terminal.  We are so excited and can’t wait to board.

After all the excellent advice here and tons of reviews and YouTube videos, we have decided to just do a little shopping in Costa Maya and go to Paradise Beach in Cozumel.  Can’t wait to go just 68 more days.

Again, thank you all for providing your insights.

Since you mentioned one night I am going to assume you are not going to have a lot of time to take in what Houston and the surrounding area have to offer.  If you are just flying in the day before, I would recommend flying into Hobby as IAH can easily be 45 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic, further away from Galveston.  Then I would get transportation to Galveston and stay on the Strand.  The Strand is unique and in my opinion a good option if you don’t have much time.

Appears RCL has a beach excursion in Cozumel at Chankanaab.  Anyone familiar with this place?

Thanks to everyone for your input.  

Going on a five day cruise with stops in these two ports.  Thinking of visiting a beach in one port and shopping in the other.  Which of these would have the clearest water and better beach?

It’s hard to be black and white on this topic.  The key to me is what’s the price of the package.  My sailing in a couple of months shows a retail of $90 per day.  For me, that might be difficult to break even.  However, since I got it for $59.99, it makes it more likely I will save money.  I figure a couple of coffees or smoothies, a couple of drinks during the day (conservative for point of discussion) and two glasses of wine at dinner it will pay for itself.  This doesn’t include the numerous bottles of water I am positive I will consume.