Clear Laker

It has been our experience that if you redeem online you get the credit applied a few weeks before you sail.  We have found that if you call them they will apply onboard credit within a few days of when you call.  They explained to me once they wait because if you cancel your cruise it is hard to refund your onboard credit back.  The onboard credit awarded by the card is the same as cash, so if you do not use it all it will be refunded to you in cash as the end of the cruise.

It has been our experience that if you redeem online you get the credit applied a few weeks before you sail.  We have found that if you call them they will apply onboard credit within a few days of when you call.  They explained to me once they wait because if you cancel your cruise it is hard to refund your onboard credit back.  The onboard credit awarded by the card is the same as cash, so if you do not use it all it will be refunded to you in cash as the end of the cruise.

It has been our experience that if you redeem online you get the credit applied a few weeks before you sail.  We have found that if you call them they will apply onboard credit within a few days of when you call.  They explained to me once they wait because if you cancel your cruise it is hard to refund your onboard credit back.  The onboard credit awarded by the card is the same as cash, so if you do not use it all it will be refunded to you in cash as the end of the cruise.

The latest … Family Attorney:  "Royal Caribbean is lying"  https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2020/01/23/chloe-wiegand-family-attorneys-scene-proves-royal-caribbean-lying/4553751002/

I wonder if grandpa has ever come back to his car in a snow storm and found his car full of snow because he didn't know his window was open?
Probably has a wicked air conditioning bill in the summer when the windows in the house are open.  
Drive through restaurants must be a PITA for him.  Is the window open or not?  So confusing.
Is he a Mac IT professional because Windows seems to give him a lot of trouble.

Young adults are allowed in bars etc.  You can tell by their Seapass card that they are 18-20.  They are not allowed  in the teen clubs.

I am from Houston, born and raised. I live 30 mins. from Hobby (HOU) and about 45 mins. from Galveston. We sailed on Liberty this past summer and loved it so much we are sailing on her again in March for Spring Break. Haven't sailed on Freedom, but I agree with others stating the extra days and savings are worth the hassle of getting from HOU to Galveston. My recommendation would be to stay in the Clear Lake area, specifically Webster either in a hotel on Bay Area Blvd. at or near I-45 or on Nasa Road 1. This would put you near or even walking distance to restaurants and shopping depending on the hotel. If you have kids with you and your flight gets in early enough, Space Center Houston at Johnson Space Center is great! Tons of hands on stuff for the kids and you can actually go into the Enterprise, the mock shuttle used to train our astronauts. There are some "nice" hotels near HOU, but the area is very limited on decent dining options. The area is straight up sketchy, though. From reading your live blogs, @Lovetocruise2002 I think you would be happier in the Clear Lake area rather than staying near the airport. I can recommend restaurants, especially knowing your love for Mexican food. ? 

Late to your post.  We have been on both ships … basically the same ship.   Galveston is a cool town and there is a lot of things to do between Houston and Galveston.  As you normally fly from Detroit.  I would suggest flying Southwest (HOU).  You will save a lot on airfare vs. IAH.  Hobby Airport is much closer to Galveston.  As Twangster pointed out you can stay at the Airport and take the Shuttle out the day of or there a good options in-between (shopping or space center) or you can proceed and stay at the Island.  You will find you will have a strong Midwestern and Tx crowd.  But just like middle Canada we tend to be more fun and easy going.   So saving on flights + cruise fare + good people makes up for the 1 hour commute from the airport to the port.  Best of luck.

We usually go to Guest Services the night before departure and cash out our refundable credit before the lines get long.  Then whatever incendentials we have gets charged to our credit card on file.

This might work to your advantage if one of the adults wants the drink package.  As you are not required to buy packages for all in the cabin for minors.  So say hubby wants package and you don't … He can purchase it and the son doesn't have to buy anything.

See above.  Welcome to the boards

Ditto for Us

@hsweat22 this is what I bought:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MYBLNA6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1  
It was $11

Since the banning of extension cords and power bars and with the hope of avoiding one of Royal's '25 Orange Extension Cords I have done the following:
- For my CPAP I bought a 15' cord to replace the standard 6' cord that goes from the outlet to the power transformer block .  You can buy them on Amazon as they are the same cords used for TVs and some computers.
- I bought a 220v plug adapter with USB ports.  This allow for an additional plug at the desk for dual voltage devices as well as 2 spots for charging phone, tablets etc.
- Lastly, I went to the hardware store and bought an old fashioned 1 to 3 square block 110v adapter.  
These days as most things are USB powered … having 5 standard outlets and 2 USB outlets is all we need.  Total investment was less than $20.

Since the banning of extension cords and power bars and with the hope of avoiding one of Royal's '25 Orange Extension Cords I have done the following:
- For my CPAP I bought a 15' cord to replace the standard 6' cord that goes from the outlet to the power transformer block .  You can buy them on Amazon as they are the same cords used for TVs and some computers.
- I bought a 220v plug adapter with USB ports.  This allow for an additional plug at the desk for dual voltage devices as well as 2 spots for charging phone, tablets etc.
- Lastly, I went to the hardware store and bought an old fashioned 1 to 3 square block 110v adapter.  
These days as most things are USB powered … having 5 standard outlets and 2 USB outlets is all we need.  Total investment was less than $20.

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Since the banning of extension cords and power bars and with the hope of avoiding one of Royal's '25 Orange Extension Cords I have done the following:
- For my CPAP I bought a 15' cord to replace the standard 6' cord that goes from the outlet to the power transformer block .  You can buy them on Amazon as they are the same cords used for TVs and some computers.
- I bought a 220v plug adapter with USB ports.  This allow for an additional plug at the desk for dual voltage devices as well as 2 spots for charging phone, tablets etc.
- Lastly, I went to the hardware store and bought an old fashioned 1 to 3 square block 110v adapter.  
These days as most things are USB powered … having 5 standard outlets and 2 USB outlets is all we need.  Total investment was less than $20.

Since the banning of extension cords and power bars and with the hope of avoiding one of Royal's '25 Orange Extension Cords I have done the following:
- For my CPAP I bought a 15' cord to replace the standard 6' cord that goes from the outlet to the power transformer block .  You can buy them on Amazon as they are the same cords used for TVs and some computers.
- I bought a 220v plug adapter with USB ports.  This allow for an additional plug at the desk for dual voltage devices as well as 2 spots for charging phone, tablets etc.
- Lastly, I went to the hardware store and bought an old fashioned 1 to 3 square block 110v adapter.  
These days as most things are USB powered … having 5 standard outlets and 2 USB outlets is all we need.  Total investment was less than $20.

She's using me for my C&A status.....

For FWIW, you can call the RC Visa Cruise Credit Department and ask for you onboard credit to be applied to your cruise account earlier than 14 days prior to departure.  It helps with making Cruise Planner purchases earlier during sales.  The reason they wait in posting is that if for some reason you had to cancel your cruise, you lose your Onboard Credit as BOA considers it a non-refundable gift certificate.  You have to work with RC to get it applied to another cruise.  In the old days you didn't get the credit until the second day of the cruise.

For FWIW, you can call the RC Visa Cruise Credit Department and ask for you onboard credit to be applied to your cruise account earlier than 14 days prior to departure.  It helps with making Cruise Planner purchases earlier during sales.  The reason they wait in posting is that if for some reason you had to cancel your cruise, you lose your Onboard Credit as BOA considers it a non-refundable gift certificate.  You have to work with RC to get it applied to another cruise.  In the old days you didn't get the credit until the second day of the cruise.