steverk

Webster is a long way from the airport for a free shuttle. I doubt you'll find one. I've never used it, but super shuttle covers both Houston airports

I've always enjoyed the food on royal and hope yours is an isolated experience. I was most recently on 2 cruises in October and had no issues with the food. Sorry you've had a bad experience

The Boardwalk hotel in Kemah is pretty close to the space center and is on the Kemah Boardwalk. It's like a dock with amusement rides, arcade and tons of restaurants. For a honeymoon, I think it would be the best place. Galveston is 30 minutes straight down highway 146.

I wad on Ovation in 2021. Yes, it has that entrance. Port side forward on deck 13. Doesn't look like you should enter, but I went that way many times and was never questioned

You never know, but I doubt this would happen. Royal has always built their ships from scratch and aren't likely to change now. It's really a brand positioning/cost question. Does Royal Caribbean group want to position Royal Caribbean International as a large ship, high volume, high economy of scale line or do they want to try to appeal to everyone and preserve more flexibility to change itineraries to smaller ports or change oceans? As others have pointed out on this thread, Royal Caribbean Group may decide to make RCI as the large ship division and put smaller ships in to Celebrity, SilverSea or even some other brand (new, purchased or even one they already partially own). Even if RCI decides to build a new class of "smaller" ships, it won't be their main focus. Keep in mind, that even if they do build a post Panamax class, that's still a pretty large ship. Voyager of the Seas over 137,000 tons and carries 3600 passengers at double occupancy. That's "small" compared to Icon of the Seas, but still large. In comparison, Carnival only has 2 ships larger!

As always, @Twangster raises several very good points. Economy of scale is a major factor in this business. Thank you for your insight. Naturally, I have a few questions. There are a few ports in Alaska that Royal currently services with Radiance class vessels. (Seward, Haines, Sitka come to mind) Can a Quantum class ship visit these ports? If not, is it feasible for the ports to be upgraded? Do you think that Royal will want to introduce mass market cruising to new markets? I'm thinking markets like India or South America. If so, would it be easier to get started with a medium sized vessel rather than an Oasis or even larger?

Question: if it's too foggy for the ships, wouldn't the flights out of TPA also be grounded? If so, would you really miss your flight?

As you can see, there's considerable disagreement about what Royal will do about smaller ships. Part of what makes it interesting is that none of us know what Royal is thinking. Therefore our predictions are worth every penny you paid for them! With that in mind, I think Royal will develop a new class of post panamax ships. That's about the size of a Voyager class ship. I certainly don't see them going any smaller. Any way you slice it, we'll know on 5-10 years because the age of the ships means they will have to start building this hypothetical new class by then. Btw: @twangster has convinced me that Voyager class can't get through the new locks. But it isn't really a size problem. Rather, part of deck 4 juts out from the ship. If this were high enough from the waterline, then it wouldn't be an issue. Alas it doesn't appear to be that high. If Royal were designing a ship from scratch, this problem would be easily avoided.

The answer appears to "kinda." I had purchased surf previously. If I look in my previous orders, I see the order. If I click on the item, I find it. However, if I go through the internet link, only surf and stream is available. On most of my sailings, surf and stream is actually cheaper this weekend. Therefore, I've been canceling surf and buying surf and stream.

I've sailed from Galveston several times since the restart. It is hit and miss. Generally, they enforced boarding times pretty tightly. The last couple times I sailed, they didn't. YMMV.

I'm pretty confident it's either a misprint or a fire door. Dead end hallways have caused confusion during emergencies and are avoided at all cost.

I've noticed that voom surf appears to be gone from cruise planner this weekend. I suspect it's because of the starlink upgrade. Regardless, on several of my cruises, surf and stream is cheaper than what I had for just surfing. So I rebooted and saved a little bit for a better product.

Unfortunately, this isn't entirely the case. Last night, I was able to snag the Atlantis submarine for $62 in Cozumel. This morning it is $70. That's still a good deal, but not as good. Royal's dynamic pricing is still at play and may affect your deals.

I'm on that cruise as well, and I'm not real happy about the change. I picked this cruise because I wanted to visit Chitchen Itza and Progresso is the best port for that excursion. That said, I want to make the best of it. The itinerary now has an overnight in Cozumel. This is very unusual and I've never even thought about what to do in Cozy once the sun goes down. Does anyone have any great suggestions?

Keep in mind that Acapulco is pretty far south and has had a serious crime problem for several years now. Just this morning I read that 2 bodies washed up on the beach. Very sad. I remember when Acapulco was the destination in Mexico

I don't know which port you are using, but I once uses Google to find a restaurant in old San Juan Puerto Rico that offered free bag drop.

True, but it takes time.

For my two cents worth... @twangster raises excellent points as always and I appreciate the perspective. However, as the ships age out, Royal will lose the ability to send ships through the Panama Canal. That means they will not be able to reposition between Alaska and the Caribbean. Perhaps there's enough of a market in Asia, Australia and the United States west coast that it isn't an issue, but I don't think so. A neo panamax vessel would preserve this capability while still having decent economy of scale. Therefore, I believe that will be the next class of ship from Royal. Btw neo panamax would be about the size of a voyager class vessel.

If she carries tenders, that would be a very positive sign. However the freedom class doesn't carry tender boats but still tenders in Belize by hiring local boats. Therefore, the absence won't necessarily rule out tender ports. That said, I doubt they will do that as there are so many people on board that it's probably impractical.

I recently enjoyed a thrill waterpark cabana and had a great time. The attendant was great! I should have thought this out ahead of time, but didn't. When it came time to tip, I had no idea how much was appropriate. I eventually decided on $10 per person that occupied the cabana. Ever since, I've wondered if I undertipped. What does everyone think? What amount is appropriate for the attendant?

That's kinda where I am too. Thanks for the reply!

I'm planning to watch Allure dock for the first time in Galveston on Wednesday. cruisemapper says it will be in port by 10am, but I'm thinking that's the time they will be ready for a press event. Does anyone know the true schedule of when she will come in to the port?

We're really sorry you've had such a tough year. As far as a cruise goes, if you go to royalcaribbean.com and search for a cruise with no criteria, it will give you a list of cruises starting with the cheapest worldwide. You can filter by port, destination, date, etc. To find the lowest price that meets your needs. You'll save money and still have a great time on an older ship. I find voyager and freedom class ships offer a great mix of price and activities. An inside cabin is also worth considering. They aren't nearly as bad as most people fear.

New video of the cruise terminal!

If you're at 148, you should have already received one.