GregD

As you can see from the earlier post. We all met up on the boardwalk while we finished our portion of the muster drill. We all headed to our stateroom to let our friends drop their bags etc and to let them see the room. They were quite impressed. The boarding process for them has “ruined” gen pop sailing for them. Their part cruise was a boardwalk balcony on Wonder. They aren’t sure if they can go back.

We then headed off to explore the ship together. The kids were registered for adventure ocean, and we showed them the other suites areas. 

We also started to make use of our beverage package and treated our friends to some drinks courtesy of our diamond vouchers. 
 

While relaxing in the suite lounge, Dan remarked that he was really impressed by the response from the concierges. When he got the email, he responded with their dinner reservation and show requests which were all immediately taken care of. I think we have officially inducted new members into the suite snob club

I’ll skip the stateroom photos since there have already been a bunch recently. I can confirm that nothing has changed since @Jax and @Yesiamthere6 sailed

Interwebs speeds seem pretty good. Much better in this stateroom than Oasis. We will see how it goes during the rest of the week when more people are on board.

Arriving to the port, we got our first glimpse of our home for the week! We pulled in at about 10am.

As you come into the port, we kept right and the entrance to the parking lot is there right on the left. We got a spot about 100 feet from the terminal.

As has been reported, the suites/pinnacle area is well marked and easy to see. The star class greeter was right there. She called a porter who took our bags and we were escorted inside. We had to wait a few minutes at the bottom of the escalator because they weren’t quite ready for everyone.

About 5 minutes later we were allowed upstairs and through security. All of the genies were already there in the lounge waiting so we met Berty right away. Shortly after, checkin was completed and we were on ship!

I took the picture of the ship while in the car at 9:59. The Boss took this photo at 10:30.

While we were going through our boarding process, I kept in touch with our friends. Their boarding process was also smooth. They arrived at 10:28 and were on the ship at 10:48. We had the following conversation

So, we are on the ship!!

this morning was a whirlwind of activity. After I returned from our target/starbucks run we loaded up the car. @TheBoss518 wanted a picture on the beach, so we made that happen.

Once that was completed we headed off to the port. 

4 minutes ago, Cactus527 said:

Oops, final posting for now, I promise - what hotel did you stay in, @GregD and @TheBoss518? I love that view!

We stayed at a Tru by Hilton. It’s right on the sea wall. It’s nothing fancy and good for one night. It’s also one of the combo places that also has a home2suites attached. 
 

1 minute ago, Yesiamthere6 said:

 Cruise day, and I’m so jealous as I head out to snow, ice, and freezing weather!  Have fun!  

It snowed the night before we left. We were more than ready to get out of there!

20 minutes ago, GatorCruiser said:

Liquid IV ehh?, someone plans to get down with their beverage package. Those puppies go in my toiletry bag every cruise. 

I’m going to attempt to have a policy named after me #starclassbehavingbadly…..

Though, in all reality it’s actually #imtoodangoldtobedoingthis

The items

Did you even go on a cruise if you didn’t stop at target first thing in the morning for forgotten items?

While we don’t have a view of the ship. Our hotel room does have a balcony with this nice view.

I’m the same. Convenience>Price. I always park right at the port.

Wah wahhhhhhh

Our ride is pulling into port. Let’s go!

Sadly our hotel room faces the gulf, so we can’t see the ship.

6 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Happy Cruise Day!

Thank You!!! One drawback to being a morning person…..I’m wide awake ready to go….everyone else is still sound asleep….

Backtracking a bit here. Our flight from BWI-HOU was decent. There was a little bit of turbulence but nothing crazy.

Hello Memphis

This is IAH on the north side of Houston. You really grasp how big Houston is when it’s lit up like this at night. 
 

Once on the ground we headed over to the rental counter. I felt bad for some people. They were trying to rent cars and got denied. They were attempting to pay with a debit card, which would then cause the rental agency run a soft credit check in the background. I don’t know the minimum score needed, but there were at least 5 people turned away. 
 

When it was our turn, since we had already booked in the app and pre-paid our rental, we obviously didn’t have any issues, and were on our way.

A quick stop at McDeath for some quick drive through bites and we headed off to Galveston. No issues on I45. No traffic worth noting and it was a quick easy drive to the hotel.

4 hours ago, Jamesszy94 said:

Honestly why do they make you take your shoes off in the United States? Every other country I've been to, you can just leave your shoes on, but when we went through TSA Customs back in 2017, we had to take everything off, including socks and shoes....

Richard Reid ruined it for everyone…..

We have made it! We are all tucked into bed. I don’t have any room pictures, everyone was tired and ready for the day to be over, but as you can imagine, it’s a standard room. Two beds, TV, bathroom. More to come in the AM

We are sitting at the gate waiting for our plane to arrive and just watching airport operations. I saw this sign on the back of the tug and thought it was cute. 

slight traffic jam at the gate. This place has been fully boarded for quite a while. Eventually they brought a few more bags and loaded them on the plane. You can see our plane creeping in the background waiting to get to the gate.

Finally our plane is at the gate. Next stop Houston. Despite the delay, this travel day hasn’t been horrible.

1 hour ago, Jamesszy94 said:

Personally I would go the day before if I had to fly - but that's because airlines in Australia (at least Domestic flights in Sydney) are rubbish -  constant delays, random cancellations. 

Cruise is for a Monday? Expect to see me there Sunday morning 

*looking at you Jetstar*

We are arriving the day before as well. 

4 minutes ago, AlmondFarmer said:

They gave you a full burger but only half a beer?

Two stars maximum

Rest assured, it was full when it arrived to the table.....I was quite thirsty

Just watched someone sprinting through the airport, in socks……poor guy….hope he catches his flight

So our first flight made it to BWI easily. Now we have a bunch of time to kill because our next flight is delayed an hour.

We found a place to get lunch. For the beer folks, there is a Flying Dog taproom here are the airport. The food is decent and the beer is cold. 

Fittingly, they had a burger called The Boss, so of course I had to order that.

8 minutes ago, Cactus527 said:

Spouse and I both fly/travel a lot for our respective jobs. Whenever we do, this GIF constantly gets texted back and forth between us along with the "fly safe!" mantra. 

 

How did you get the GIF to work? They are busted on my end. I click the button and always get "There are no results to display"

2 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Just wow.

First the Boss's hair is beautiful, hopefully the picture isn't just showing high/low lights

Second these luggage totals are .......illuminating. My brother and I share a checked bag, which we keep under the 50lb limit. Then my carry-on is 23-28lbs. I don't think I've ever even made 100lbs in totality of all bags and my longest trip was almost a month.

 

She says thank you!! She has requested to join the blogs and it’s still in limbo.

So my bag, the blue one, was 47lbs. In that bag is all of my stuff, all of Johnnys annnnnd some of The Boss’s stuff. 
 

The boss likes to have her “options” for outfits etc etc, so she is a chronic over packer . She also has things in Lydia’s bag too.