Ampurp85

Day 44
I was able to stay up the night before and get the earliest check-in time of 11am. By 11am the same day only 12pm and on was left. I had read that for some reason 11am is listed as the earliest time out of Galveston but they eventually update and move the 11am to 10:30. As it stands, I shall be actively looking for the earliest time for me so I can board early book our UDP dining times.
Itenirary:
Friday the 13th: train ride Texas Eagle 22
Saturday the 14th: La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Galveston North at I-45 
Sunday the 15th-22nd Allure of the Seas, Western Caribbean
GALVESTON, TEXAS ROATAN, HONDURAS PUERTO COSTA MAYA, MEXICO COZUMEL, MEXICO Sunday the 22nd: train ride Texas Eagle 422
Rooms:
3 Aft OV balconies #12688, 12690, and 12674
1 Aft interior #11275
Excursions/amenities:
Beach Snorkel in Costa Maya x3
UDP x8
Voom 3-device plans x2
Water package 24 x 3, 12x1
Premier Pass fiasco x 4
This cruise is one of the Premier Pass Fiasco's, so everyone ended up with some OBC. When I changed the names around, they removed the OBC and had everyone's C&A status wrong. It got fixed and they added in extra OBC for the troubles. 
I want to point out that I got this entire vacation for $1474pp. That is the cost for the cabin fare, grats, the UDP, internet, hotel, water package and train tickets. It is currently $1800 just for a balcony alone. I paid the old price of $267 for the UDP, got the water package for only $16 and $9. The hotel was half price on a BF deal meaning at two to a room, we paid $68/night. As I mention I got the train tickets on a group rate that helped us save 60% each ticket. I brought the multi device package for Voom, we have used it, and it works for us.
The train allows two of each bag: checked, carry-on, and personal. But you don't have to worry about liquid sized. We are bringing wine from home. This is the first D+ sailing and I have decided to forego even the soda package as I am also prime. Speaking of....... my brother has the cruising bug and so I will spend this cruise making him prime. I like to gamble, I'm already prime for this and next year, so........
We have lots of new travel accessories as the train ride requires lots of snacks and meal planning. I will post our new finds. 

Shows on Freedom struck me as a little dated. They were ok. But not the level as the Broadway or Royal productions on Oasis or Quantum class. Freedom would still be my choice between the Freedom class ships though. You just have to set your expectations accordingly.

Wow. We’ll be following along.  
 
 

OMG.  There will be a movie made about this trip.  I can feel it.
🫣

This may a TLDR situation, but I am going to mention it all!!!
This is a group cruise, in regard to planning it has been the group cruise from hell.
Planning for the group is always a mess because apparently nobody has any money, but they do have money, they would rather just waste/spend my money.
I communicate with everyone by an email chain. I found out that only my brother, the new vintage, and my mother's bff actually reads them. Whenever I send one, I eventually get a call from everyone else asking me to explain things. It is frustrating because now I know why there are issues. 
Last year we went on Odyssey, and it was six of us and a bit of a mess. Still fun, but a mess. While on Odyssey everyone, not me, decided they wanted to sail Allure again because that first group cruise was the best. The reason was because it was a longer vacation since we did WDW/Universal and a cruise. Allure was sailing out of Texas and everyone, not me, thought it would be great to do a road trip there and extend the vacation. It was off to Next Cruise to secure 3 aft balconies and a little bit of OBC. We got of Odyssey the week before thanksgiving, so I waited until Dec to start looking for the best way to do this road trip. My brother suggested getting a luxury RV, that way we could take the hotel stays off the docket.
We found a really nice 2020 Fleetwood Bounder that slept 8 people. I emailed the owner and asked about pricing and details. He agreed to rent it to us for 15 (two weeks or more gets a discounted day rate) days at $185/day, a $500 deposit and the cost of insurance and all the incidentals. Which would include gas, water, propane, and Wi-Fi to name a few. I put the deposit down at that price. In Jan after I came back from cruising, I emailed the guy to see about adding on 2 more days, the vintages wanted it. He stated that would be fine and then sent a doctored email that said I had agreed to $320/day and a $1000 deposit. It went from being $3,275 plus insurance to $5,800 plus insurance. 
It was literally an email that he went into the thread and changed the amounts, as if I didn't have the original email. I was shocked because that wasn't what we agreed to, and I told him that. He said he raised the prices because he was renting the RVs more and if I didn't want to pay that, he would return my deposit and rent it to someone else for $500/day. I cancelled. At this point it was too late to try to rent anything at a decent price. I wasn't too keen on doing a road trip with four vintage women anyway. But a lot of them were disappointed. They wanted to just take cars and do the road trip, which I told them to do but I wasn't going to plan it because I could no longer get the time for it off. I heard a lot and dealt with lots of mood swings and such.
My bff was very disappointed because he was amped for the road trip, and he really hates flying. So, he asked if we could catch the train or something. I looked into catching the train to Texas and........sure enough Amtrak goes. I would have preferred to fly but it was looking to be $600+ each plus the high Lyft/Uber cost from IAH. The train ride would be a full 24hrs and that seems like a lot but I asked around and everyone was excited. I was actually able to score a group rate of $150, each, round-trip on the Texas Eagle. We take the train to Longview and then a bus takes us to Galveston. The train normally leaves on time, but my brother and I are on the fence when it comes to the bus. We decided as a precaution we would rent two vehicles in Longview to complete the drive just in case we miss the bus. We would rather eat the cancellation fee, than to worry about trying to get a car the day of. Our train leaves on Friday the 13th and we are scheduled to arrive on Saturday the 14th at 2pm. The bus stop is pretty central to the port so that is a good thing. Our hotel is also not that far from the port. 
Now on to the tomfoolery of planning with vintages and wishy-washy Bffs.
I booked the rooms with a reduced deposit at NC. It was supposed to be six of us going but my mother's bff wanted her bff to come, so I put a random name on my mother's room to account for her and so they could have a 3+ room in case she did come. Nobody but my brother gave me their deposit money. They complained about the MDR the entire Odyssey sailing and regretted saying no to the UDP. They all said they wanted the UDP, internet, and some sort of beverage package for this cruise. I got the UDP during the BF sale for myself, my brother and mother. Then my mother's bff finally told me she was bringing her bff and she gave me the deposit and UDP money for them both. Right after vintage number 4 confirmed my mother informed me that she had invited a stranger along. 
Said stranger was a guy she met online a little over a decade ago. She Skypes with him and tells him all about our vacations and he always wanted to cruise. She volunteered me to book his cruise and all of the other stuff. The group went from 6 to 8. This guy is legally blind and lives in New York. I helped him pay for his room and UDP through Royal and I just linked him with all of the rest of us. My mother thought we should just let him fly to Texas and then one of us go to the airport and pick him up. I had to explain to her why that was a dumb idea. I had to explain we were taking the train. There was no telling when we would get in. So, yes, let's just leave a legally blind vintage at the airport without any assistant for who knows however long. Plus we were looking at $90+ each way in rideshare cost. They don't ever want to spend no money, but you want to tack on two rideshare cost each way? After a bit of back and forth he will fly to Chicago the night before and ride the train with us.
I let everyone know FP was in July and if I had to make FP, I was going to charge them all interest because as it was, I was on the hook for all purchases in total for 4 people. Now I talk to my Bff quite often but somehow, he waited until June to say he and his mother couldn't go. I was pissed. I asked him several times if he was sure, and he said yes. I had to call and configure the rooms. The cost of the cruise had doubled, and I didn't want to trigger a reprice, so I swapped out names, so the two of them would be on the same reservation that would cancel once I didn't make payment. I was later told that my bff was mad because they assumed I would pay for them to go and allow them to pay me later. I did this the first and second cruise/vacation and wasn't doing it again. 
I informed everyone we would now be six. I normally make FP two-weeks before it was due but decided to wait until it was a week away. This was just in case they changed their mind and sure enough I heard from them 10 days before FP. My mother speculated that they tried to book something on their own and realized all the deals I got them and called to ask if it was completely cancelled. I said no but the consequences were they would have to share a room. My bff doesn't like sharing a room with his mother......at all. They made FP and the trip was on. 
 
 

@Neesa Denise, I hope you quickly recover from your tumble.  I hate it when I fall.  I feel like, "how long have you been walking ?".  Same thing when I bite my lip or tongue when I'm eating......"are you just learning to eat or what ?...."  LOL
I truly, truly, truly do not understand why the Suites area would be left opened to all.  That really just doesn't make any sense to me.   There's an access door there but they leave it open.  Why ?  To me, it seems like it would be WAAAY less of a problem to have controlled access than to have to go around and ask people if they belong there, kicking those out that don't.  THAT is a problem.  Even on the O class ships they have a similar setup.  Controlled access but never closed !  In the case of the O class ships, there's really nothing up there to see so I don't think they have as much of a problem but with the suites-only area with a pool and other areas to hang out, it seems to be a problem.  One that SHOULD be easy to fix.

I don't agree with shaming anyone for their tipping habits.
I can see the difference when I tip but also I am mostly solo, so I get a lot of preferential treatment.

I always how found Voyager class congested, probably because there are less places to congregate. 
Also don't account for children on a roll call. Most roll calls don't even account for 20% of the pax on any given cruise.

Royal Caribbean is a family cruise line and there will be kids, even if it's September. Probably less than in July, but still substantial amount.  
In fact, there's usually a good mix of all ages, from kids to grey hairs, to crypt keepers.

I agree with this but I do not agree with shaming the folks who decide to tip extra beyond the auto gratuities. I am taking a hard stand on just staying home if you can’t afford a vacation and/or don’t shame people for tipping more then what is perceived to be deserved. For anyone to say that they consider it “imaginary” to tip beyond the auto gratuity is laughable. 

Tumble....bounce, lol. All on our security cameras, oh, so embarrassing! Cabash was nearby and helped me to my feet. Twisted ankle and really swollen and stiff knee. I don't do ER's or Dr's unless there is something we can't handle so I'm off me feet right now, at least I'm fluffy! Probably saved me from breaking my hip! 

I think you will be surprised at how many children will be on Mariner during that week. 
Also, smaller ships will often feel more congested because there is a lack of space. I have done Mariner in Jan, twice, and the number of children and immature people was staggering. 
But it still should be a fun relaxing time as long as the weather holds up.

I think you will be surprised at how many children will be on Mariner during that week. 
Also, smaller ships will often feel more congested because there is a lack of space. I have done Mariner in Jan, twice, and the number of children and immature people was staggering. 
But it still should be a fun relaxing time as long as the weather holds up.

I think you will be surprised at how many children will be on Mariner during that week. 
Also, smaller ships will often feel more congested because there is a lack of space. I have done Mariner in Jan, twice, and the number of children and immature people was staggering. 
But it still should be a fun relaxing time as long as the weather holds up.

I don't agree that people shouldn't take vacations if they cannot afford to tip extra. If people did that, the crew/staff would get nothing. I try not to count other people's money, that I am not actually paid to count 🤣.
Crew chose to work for, very important to say that slaves don't make wages, less than ideal pay. I think if you can afford to, do what you can afford. Everyone makes a choice, and they have to live with them.
 

I don't agree that people shouldn't take vacations if they cannot afford to tip extra. If people did that, the crew/staff would get nothing. I try not to count other people's money, that I am not actually paid to count 🤣.
Crew chose to work for, very important to say that slaves don't make wages, less than ideal pay. I think if you can afford to, do what you can afford. Everyone makes a choice, and they have to live with them.
 

I don't agree that people shouldn't take vacations if they cannot afford to tip extra. If people did that, the crew/staff would get nothing. I try not to count other people's money, that I am not actually paid to count 🤣.
Crew chose to work for, very important to say that slaves don't make wages, less than ideal pay. I think if you can afford to, do what you can afford. Everyone makes a choice, and they have to live with them.
 

What is this "suite lounge" of which you speak?
 
Hahahaha  The only way I'll ever visit there is if I take a job as a waiter!!

My experience was similar to @twangster I was doing a S2S2S. I got on Indy as Platinum, but it was double points in a suite, so when I got on Harmony, I was emerald but star class, so it didn't matter. I was able to go to the Loyalty ambassador on Mariner the first day and get a new card that displayed my Diamond status. It took all of 10mins and I had a lovely chat with a crew member. My new card worked to access the lounge and I got to enjoy my daily vouchers. 

@Xaa I was going to post something similar. I can understand someone's incredulity or disbelief in what people say on the internet. I rarely see people tip, and do what I want in that regards. But there is that not factoring in the subset of people on this board. This blog could have 2k members, that would translate to maybe 20 cruisers on any given ship. 

@Xaa I was going to post something similar. I can understand someone's incredulity or disbelief in what people say on the internet. I rarely see people tip, and do what I want in that regards. But there is that not factoring in the subset of people on this board. This blog could have 2k members, that would translate to maybe 20 cruisers on any given ship. 

My experience was similar to @twangster I was doing a S2S2S. I got on Indy as Platinum, but it was double points in a suite, so when I got on Harmony, I was emerald but star class, so it didn't matter. I was able to go to the Loyalty ambassador on Mariner the first day and get a new card that displayed my Diamond status. It took all of 10mins and I had a lovely chat with a crew member. My new card worked to access the lounge and I got to enjoy my daily vouchers. 

@Xaa I was going to post something similar. I can understand someone's incredulity or disbelief in what people say on the internet. I rarely see people tip, and do what I want in that regards. But there is that not factoring in the subset of people on this board. This blog could have 2k members, that would translate to maybe 20 cruisers on any given ship. 

My experience was similar to @twangster I was doing a S2S2S. I got on Indy as Platinum, but it was double points in a suite, so when I got on Harmony, I was emerald but star class, so it didn't matter. I was able to go to the Loyalty ambassador on Mariner the first day and get a new card that displayed my Diamond status. It took all of 10mins and I had a lovely chat with a crew member. My new card worked to access the lounge and I got to enjoy my daily vouchers. 

Some final thoughts…the crew
Each and every crew member that we have come across on this sailing has been fantastic! Some are overworked, you can tell. But that is not their fault, that is corporate cost cutting that has lead to that. More than one crew member has told us that as a result of recent changes, it does not leave them as much time to interact with guests, etc. But they are all doing their best, it shows. 
Our dining room team has been wonderful. Our assistant waiter is also the WJ “washy washy” guy. He is so funny. Each evening, I look forward to his smile and conversations with him. That is probably one of the highlights of my MDR experience lol
The suite concierge on board this sailing, Lorena, is a gem. So kind and attentive, and efficient. She has taken care of everything that we asked her for. Each night in the lounge, she is barely at her desk. She is always up and chatting with guests. The Diamond concierge, Jayson, is the same. We did not get to interact with him as much but from what I have heard, he and Lorena are both fantastic. They alternate between the two lounges. One month each. That seems to be what most of the concierges are doing these days.