DonR

Don't carry on any more than you have to. 

Our First cruise we had way to much carry on.  Rooms are not ready until usually 1:30PM ish so your 'carry on' you 'carry with you'.  We held on to bags we could have checked and had delivered and instead lugged them around till the cabins were ready.

These days we each have a back back and herself has her purse.

As stated before definitely have any prescription meds in your carry on and a change of clothes, Swim suit if you are not already wearing it,  and basic necessities. The rest? Hand it over to be brought up from check in!

If you want the same room on both legs then I would not bid. It is very unlikely you would get the same cabin twice on the Royal up and you just might well get it on one and not the other. 

the view of Battleship Texas from Pier 21 

I guess I will have to call myself, I don't drink but my wife does. so we have simply avoided the DBp our past few cruises do to needing to buy two. 

I have heard parents ask about this while checking in my boy, they seemed pretty flexible with it depending on capacity and maturity levels. However that being said the two older groups had a lot of joint play time on the cruises we have been on anyway. 

Looks like Battleship Texas (BB_35) is finally ready to inhabit the massive drydock that arrived across from the cruise piers back in June. The move is scheduled for next Wednesday! This last week they re-piped the ships horn to compressed air so she can sound her departure with her own voice.  The Battleship Texas Foundation is also trying to arrange for limited access to the Texas while she is in dry dock there in Galveston. 

https://battleshiptexas.org/

https://battleshiptexas.org/departure/

Should we start a calendar pool? 

We Spent Christmas Day by the pool lounging with frozen drinks cruising back from Cozumel. (we even had a Mermaid on deck) 

Not January but darn close. 

Is there any one who has been on Radiance lately that can tell me how the Cell coverage is on board?

We like to have communications while on board mainly for our 10-YO who likes to check into Adventure ocean on his own and such but wants the life line of being able to text us (he has some ADHD anxiety moments) In the past we have had and used Voom effectively however recently we found out that my Cell plan has international _including_ Cellular at sea. 

We were just on Grandeur last month and the cell coverage on board was some what less than ... well, spotty would have been an improvement. We got the welcome text saying we had 2G data which was cool if we could get signal anywhere.  I understand from talking to other cruisers on the June 6th 4 day with us that the VOOM system wasn't much better so it may have been a maintenance issue on board. 

As we are on Radiance for a 9 night next March 9th I am trying to research in advance!

Thanks!

the weather in the Caribbean is fantastic in the late summer and in fall if it weren't for the occasional hurricane! We have actually had a great time during the season. 

We were on Liberty a few weeks after Harvey Hit the Texas Gulf coast. Katia hit further south that week and Irma was headed for Florida. We had clear weather but the Gulf was rocking big swells for first cruising day.  Once we got to Cozumel it was smooth sailing for the rest of the trip. 

Our August cruise on Enchantment out of Galveston was faboo! 

The 2 cruises we have had itineraries shifted due to weather conditions were in March and late December. March 2020 was probably the choppiest cruise we have been on, we had Costa May canceled due to high surf and this last Christmas we had to go around a winter "feature" in the Gulf which shifted our port days around. 

Haven't been on Enchantment since right before the shutdown, however the head bartender and his crew in Bolero's were the best! 

I remember putting it in somewhere online for my 20th anniversary, but that was 2017. I will be celebrating my 50th BD on my 51st in June (got lift and shift from last June) 

Guess I should go hunt for it. 

been in Balcony and ocean view cabins for years. We are doing a JS in June on Grandeur and next March on Radiance. Guess we will see where it goes from there!. 

We are cruising in June as well, and our 9YO is hoping for the mask requirement to be lifted. It won't stop him if he has to wear one, he would just be happier with out it. 

We have had our boy with us on several cruises. He really likes time spent in Adventure ocean as well as spending family time in the pools, waterslides, and other onboard events. He was 6 on his first cruise and is 9 now. 

It is great for the wife and I  to have our vacation down time as well both together and on our own out and about the ship. 

With sea days and evenings on port days there is plenty of time for both scenarios. 

All of our gear is USB charging, so we take two of these. Kept up with two adults and a 9 YO who all carry gadgets. 

https://www.amazon.com/PHILIPS-Charger-Charging-DLP2408-37/dp/B079WXMG5X/ref=sr_1_6?crid=14XYP42BCR64Q&keywords=philips%2Busb%2Bwall%2Bwart&qid=1648498275&sprefix=philllips%2Busb%2Bwall%2Bwart%2Caps%2C94&sr=8-6&th=1

On 3/22/2022 at 7:30 AM, TXcruzer said:

Radiance from Galveston available to book this morning

Snagged Jr Suite 1100 on the March 9  spring break itinerary!

1 hour ago, DandA said:

I suspect any cruise line would offer the same plan if a ship was to be deemed unsafe to sail.  My big takeaway is that they asked guests with no passport to contact guest services for alternative arrangements.  I'd be curious to hear what they might be.  Another example of why you should get a passport and have travel assurance.

I am kind of curious about those who have a passport card rather than the book as well. My understanding is that the card is only for surface travel (car or ship) and not air. 

Guess the US Embassy is going to have a busy week expediting travel docs.  

I was able to talk for about 45 minutes straight with no problem over a messenger app. Video call worked but had to buffer to keep up every 30 to 90 seconds. This was on Liberty over Christmas. 

1 hour ago, Qeyton Dude said:

We use Walgreens, never a problem for us.  Note we bring a print out, We have not tried using the on-line results

I used the email results on my phone to board in December, the paper was a touch faster but the electronic worked just fine. 

For our holiday cruise my 15 minute test showed Negative no problem, the wife's, no problem, the fully vaccinated 9YO ... wasn't changing.

It was a nail biting 10 minutes. The in the final few minutes of the timer the single pink line for a negative result showed clear.  

We had a great Christmas and some how Santa dropped of the boys presents on the balcony out in the middle of the Gulf!

1 hour ago, SPS said:

This is correct. Honestly, I actually preferred how disembarkation has been handled most recently; You just wait in your cabin until your group number is called.

We went to Two70 Café, grabbed some breakfast and one last specialty coffee and ate on our balcony before it was time to leave. It was much less hectic than gathering a large group of people somewhere else on the ship and then crowding them out to the gangway when the number was called.

This is one of the changes/adjustments I hope they keep. 

Received this message in December for our Christmas cruise. When I called customer service they said that it was an automatic system. We had no problems and he was booked on just like a vaccinated adult, bracelet and all. 

Even though Galveston may not end up as the final home of the Battleship Texas she will be in Galveston this summer. 

Gulf Copper across the channel from the current cruise pier is going to be doing the hull repairs on her. The large dry dock should be coming up from Grand Bahama in April and USS Texas arriving in June. Hope I get to see her lifted and the work starting when I go on Grandeur the first week of June.

I went to the Friends of Bill W on Liberty on the Dec 19th Christmas Sailing. It was a great life line to have as my sobriety date is December 6th just 2 weeks prior. The family Holiday cruise had been shifted from 2020 and many plans were in place already so I went for it and survived without drinking even though I still had a DBP (we got a bundle and it was simpler to leave it than to try to shuffle) 

It's definitely easier to keep sane when there is support on hand. With Voom I was able to text or facetime my sponsor back home every day. 

We had Chef's Table the first night and I was served fruit smoothies and selected non alcoholic beverages instead of the wine. Our Waiters in the MDR once told were conscientious to make sure I knew which dishes might be prepared with wine sauces and would check if it wasn't listed without me asking. 

Over all I was treated with quiet respect and it was handled as smoothly and professionally as something like an allergy to nuts. 

We did get some confused looks when  other passengers wandered through to see the chapel where we met.

Still knowing some was else was on board I could reach out to meant a lot to me. 

Looking forward now to Grandeur leaving Galveston on June 6th. Another one that got shifted from 2021. I will be celebrating my 50th Bday on my 51st!