MotleyCruiser

Howdy Folks!!
In six days we will be heading to the mediocre city of Galveston, Texas for an adventure of nominal proportion. This is cruise #26 for me and first out of the Port of Galveston.
Who:
Me, My beautiful wife Brenda, and our 20 month old son Zander or Z as he's been nicknamed....Oh and this is his 3rd cruise. Side note... I am the OCD planner in the family and use to plan vacations down to the foot step....almost. Now I/we have plans but nothing in concrete with a flexible timeline.
 
Why this cruise?
Research of course...We had Symphony booked for last month for a business conference (We flip houses in San Antonio as a side hustle) but weren't able to swing the massive final payment in time so we rebooked Enchantment for the five nighter, so not to lose all the deposit from Symphony, and sill make to Diamond (only needed 5 points) this year....everyone needs goals.
Also...I feel Galveston has not been represented much and typically has been given a bad rap (I'm from Jersey and don't care 'that' much... but still). Galveston is going though a revitalization and I'll cover that further dawn and next week when we get to town.
...and even more so the cruise is going to the 'up and coming port' of Progreso, Mexico. It a little town up the coast from Cancun, on the north shore of the Yucatan. I hear the pier is 4 MILES LONG!!!!
 
Itinerary!
Day 1: Galveston, Texas
Day 2: at Sea
Day 3: Progreso, Mx
Day 4: Cozumel, Mx
Day 5: sea day
Day 6: Galveston, Texas
 
Cabin:
We are slumming it and maybe a little over cautious. We have a bare bones Inside GTY stateroom on deck two (Never been on deck two). Inside because it is least expensive, balconies were twice the price, and with a 20 month, who is into everything, it scares me that he may find his way on to the balcony.
 
Excursions:
We ae not big excursion people. The Mrs. loves the shopping aspect of cruising and not a fan of the cattle call that sometimes happens with group activities. This time around with a new port to explore, Progreso, we are just going to explore the city and hit the beach. Z loves the water. It is my understanding it is a brisk one hour walk just to get off the 4 mile ship pier. a shuttle bus is provided free so we will be taking that with concern that we will not have a baby seat. Once in town, we will explore the shops along the beach and hit the Corona Beach Club...There is an excursion for this place BUT all the reviews I see say it is a waste of money. It consists of a shuttle ride and two chairs and an umbrella for $35 pp.  The shuttle is free and you can go to the beach for free too. An umbrella and chairs are negotiable I'm sure.  Something is fishy. I'll ask at the excursion desk...maybe.  My understanding that the locals can be extremely pushy with their wares that are set up along the walkways at the port and beach areas.
Bing map of the pier.

This will be probably my 10th trip to Cozumel and we have done all there is to do there from buying to much jewelry to Senor Frogs and Carlos and Charlie's to swimming with the dolphins & Mayan ruins. With advice I received from y'all we are going to hit up Nachi Cocom at $55.00 per adult and Z will be free of charge. Unlimited drinks, 4 course meal... I am very excited to visit here especially knowing they limit the number of guests to 130 per day (I'll believe it when I see it)
http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/
Extras:
In my older younger years I am not the big drinker as I use to be and have opted for the Soda Package. We will bring the allotted wine on board that we love from Lake Ridge Winery near @Matt place in Central Florida. As much as everybody LOVES the WindJammier on embarkation day is blows my anxiety off the charts. That whole part of the day where EVERYBODY is clustered in the Centrum/Royal Promenade/Esplanade & the WindJammier drives me a little nutty when I should be relaxing. Ok...focus...I went ahead and pre-booked Chops for lunch to hopefully avoid the whole waiting for 1 o'clock for the staterooms to be ready crowd dealio. Our little guy loves steak and since he's 20 months he can order for free of the kid's menu and help daddy with his ribeye or filet and maybe mommy's salmon. I also pre-ordered some branded RC toys for Z for a surprise for him.
 
Pre Game:
We will be taking the 3+ hours drive from San Antonio to the port area the day before and staying that a quirky looking hotel adjacent to the two cruise terminals aka terminal one and terminal two... The Harbor House at pier 21.  https://www.harborhousepier21.com/. Granted this hotel is owned by Wyndam and the Mrs. likes to do 'local' things, yet this hotel appears to have a mom and pop charm to it. we will walk the two blocks the next day to the terminal. 
We are big 80's rock fans (8 Monster of Rock cruises under our belts) so we will be stopping at the Hard Rock Café in Houston (Right off the interstate) for lunch, on the way, to break up the ride for the little guy and hit a one off restaurant called Shark Shack (unless I get vetoed) for dinner. Side note...Landry's OWNS the food and Beverage industry in Galveston. (Landry's Rainforest Café, Cadillac Bar, Fish Tales, Kemah Pier, Bubba Gump even SaltGrass) we want to eat local fare and enjoy fresh local seafood, and we want to avoid that Landry's chain food...be aware. We will be parking overnight at the onsite parking for the one night fee and leaving the car at the Harbor House's sister hotel, the Galvez Hotel, for free parking during our cruise. I will take the car there day of and they have a free shuttle to take me back to the terminal. I will go solo to retrieve the car upon return.
I have been studying the port and the surround area for months. I go to Google maps and tour the streets and read reviews (with a grain of salt) to lay out my plan of attack of Galveston.
I will be Periscoping our trip the day before and up to sail away day of. I typically put the phone away and do not get the internet package...1. because I'm cheat and 2. I like the disconnect aspect of cruising. I an MOTELYBRUE on periscope.
the link below is a PowerPoint of the master Plan for the harbor area. You will see the plans for the new terminal 3 at Pier 10. Notice the ship that is placed in the rendering is an OASIS CLASS SHIP!!!!! Looks like the Texas market is growing!!
https://www.portofgalveston.com/DocumentCenter/View/2607/Strategic-Master-Plan-Preliminary-Draft-Presentation-Website
Notice upper right Oasis Class!!

 
This is how close the Harbor House is from the Whale Tail Cruise terminal... RCCL is one block behind.

Strategic-Master-Plan-Preliminary-Draft-Presentation-Website.pdf
The Landry's family of restaurants

Day 2 - Nassau
Been there, done that and it's raining so I'm staying on the ship today.  Besides I'll be back twice in as many weeks.

Navigator joined us shortly after our arrival.

Galley Tour at 11:30am.  Despite it being in the middle of a port day there were a dozen or so participants. 
Here they are getting cheese plates and appetizers ready for dinner.  Formal night tonight.

Bacon.  Yum.

Beef Tenderloin and Duck getting readied for dinner.

Making whipped butter for dinner.

The bakery.  Always the best smelling spot in the galley.


Pastry chefs hard at work.

Chocolate covered strawberries anyone?

First noted on Empress so I inquired some more here on Majesty.  Powdered or "bulk" scrambled eggs are a thing of the past.  They were having trouble with the product turning black upon cooking so the fleet has standardized on fresh eggs being used for scrambled eggs, in fact for all egg purposes, only fresh eggs are used.

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Howdy Folks!!
In six days we will be heading to the mediocre city of Galveston, Texas for an adventure of nominal proportion. This is cruise #26 for me and first out of the Port of Galveston.
Who:
Me, My beautiful wife Brenda, and our 20 month old son Zander or Z as he's been nicknamed....Oh and this is his 3rd cruise. Side note... I am the OCD planner in the family and use to plan vacations down to the foot step....almost. Now I/we have plans but nothing in concrete with a flexible timeline.
 
Why this cruise?
Research of course...We had Symphony booked for last month for a business conference (We flip houses in San Antonio as a side hustle) but weren't able to swing the massive final payment in time so we rebooked Enchantment for the five nighter, so not to lose all the deposit from Symphony, and sill make to Diamond (only needed 5 points) this year....everyone needs goals.
Also...I feel Galveston has not been represented much and typically has been given a bad rap (I'm from Jersey and don't care 'that' much... but still). Galveston is going though a revitalization and I'll cover that further dawn and next week when we get to town.
...and even more so the cruise is going to the 'up and coming port' of Progreso, Mexico. It a little town up the coast from Cancun, on the north shore of the Yucatan. I hear the pier is 4 MILES LONG!!!!
 
Itinerary!
Day 1: Galveston, Texas
Day 2: at Sea
Day 3: Progreso, Mx
Day 4: Cozumel, Mx
Day 5: sea day
Day 6: Galveston, Texas
 
Cabin:
We are slumming it and maybe a little over cautious. We have a bare bones Inside GTY stateroom on deck two (Never been on deck two). Inside because it is least expensive, balconies were twice the price, and with a 20 month, who is into everything, it scares me that he may find his way on to the balcony.
 
Excursions:
We ae not big excursion people. The Mrs. loves the shopping aspect of cruising and not a fan of the cattle call that sometimes happens with group activities. This time around with a new port to explore, Progreso, we are just going to explore the city and hit the beach. Z loves the water. It is my understanding it is a brisk one hour walk just to get off the 4 mile ship pier. a shuttle bus is provided free so we will be taking that with concern that we will not have a baby seat. Once in town, we will explore the shops along the beach and hit the Corona Beach Club...There is an excursion for this place BUT all the reviews I see say it is a waste of money. It consists of a shuttle ride and two chairs and an umbrella for $35 pp.  The shuttle is free and you can go to the beach for free too. An umbrella and chairs are negotiable I'm sure.  Something is fishy. I'll ask at the excursion desk...maybe.  My understanding that the locals can be extremely pushy with their wares that are set up along the walkways at the port and beach areas.
Bing map of the pier.

This will be probably my 10th trip to Cozumel and we have done all there is to do there from buying to much jewelry to Senor Frogs and Carlos and Charlie's to swimming with the dolphins & Mayan ruins. With advice I received from y'all we are going to hit up Nachi Cocom at $55.00 per adult and Z will be free of charge. Unlimited drinks, 4 course meal... I am very excited to visit here especially knowing they limit the number of guests to 130 per day (I'll believe it when I see it)
http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/
Extras:
In my older younger years I am not the big drinker as I use to be and have opted for the Soda Package. We will bring the allotted wine on board that we love from Lake Ridge Winery near @Matt place in Central Florida. As much as everybody LOVES the WindJammier on embarkation day is blows my anxiety off the charts. That whole part of the day where EVERYBODY is clustered in the Centrum/Royal Promenade/Esplanade & the WindJammier drives me a little nutty when I should be relaxing. Ok...focus...I went ahead and pre-booked Chops for lunch to hopefully avoid the whole waiting for 1 o'clock for the staterooms to be ready crowd dealio. Our little guy loves steak and since he's 20 months he can order for free of the kid's menu and help daddy with his ribeye or filet and maybe mommy's salmon. I also pre-ordered some branded RC toys for Z for a surprise for him.
 
Pre Game:
We will be taking the 3+ hours drive from San Antonio to the port area the day before and staying that a quirky looking hotel adjacent to the two cruise terminals aka terminal one and terminal two... The Harbor House at pier 21.  https://www.harborhousepier21.com/. Granted this hotel is owned by Wyndam and the Mrs. likes to do 'local' things, yet this hotel appears to have a mom and pop charm to it. we will walk the two blocks the next day to the terminal. 
We are big 80's rock fans (8 Monster of Rock cruises under our belts) so we will be stopping at the Hard Rock Café in Houston (Right off the interstate) for lunch, on the way, to break up the ride for the little guy and hit a one off restaurant called Shark Shack (unless I get vetoed) for dinner. Side note...Landry's OWNS the food and Beverage industry in Galveston. (Landry's Rainforest Café, Cadillac Bar, Fish Tales, Kemah Pier, Bubba Gump even SaltGrass) we want to eat local fare and enjoy fresh local seafood, and we want to avoid that Landry's chain food...be aware. We will be parking overnight at the onsite parking for the one night fee and leaving the car at the Harbor House's sister hotel, the Galvez Hotel, for free parking during our cruise. I will take the car there day of and they have a free shuttle to take me back to the terminal. I will go solo to retrieve the car upon return.
I have been studying the port and the surround area for months. I go to Google maps and tour the streets and read reviews (with a grain of salt) to lay out my plan of attack of Galveston.
I will be Periscoping our trip the day before and up to sail away day of. I typically put the phone away and do not get the internet package...1. because I'm cheat and 2. I like the disconnect aspect of cruising. I an MOTELYBRUE on periscope.
the link below is a PowerPoint of the master Plan for the harbor area. You will see the plans for the new terminal 3 at Pier 10. Notice the ship that is placed in the rendering is an OASIS CLASS SHIP!!!!! Looks like the Texas market is growing!!
https://www.portofgalveston.com/DocumentCenter/View/2607/Strategic-Master-Plan-Preliminary-Draft-Presentation-Website
Notice upper right Oasis Class!!

 
This is how close the Harbor House is from the Whale Tail Cruise terminal... RCCL is one block behind.

Strategic-Master-Plan-Preliminary-Draft-Presentation-Website.pdf
The Landry's family of restaurants

Howdy Folks!!
In six days we will be heading to the mediocre city of Galveston, Texas for an adventure of nominal proportion. This is cruise #26 for me and first out of the Port of Galveston.
Who:
Me, My beautiful wife Brenda, and our 20 month old son Zander or Z as he's been nicknamed....Oh and this is his 3rd cruise. Side note... I am the OCD planner in the family and use to plan vacations down to the foot step....almost. Now I/we have plans but nothing in concrete with a flexible timeline.
 
Why this cruise?
Research of course...We had Symphony booked for last month for a business conference (We flip houses in San Antonio as a side hustle) but weren't able to swing the massive final payment in time so we rebooked Enchantment for the five nighter, so not to lose all the deposit from Symphony, and sill make to Diamond (only needed 5 points) this year....everyone needs goals.
Also...I feel Galveston has not been represented much and typically has been given a bad rap (I'm from Jersey and don't care 'that' much... but still). Galveston is going though a revitalization and I'll cover that further dawn and next week when we get to town.
...and even more so the cruise is going to the 'up and coming port' of Progreso, Mexico. It a little town up the coast from Cancun, on the north shore of the Yucatan. I hear the pier is 4 MILES LONG!!!!
 
Itinerary!
Day 1: Galveston, Texas
Day 2: at Sea
Day 3: Progreso, Mx
Day 4: Cozumel, Mx
Day 5: sea day
Day 6: Galveston, Texas
 
Cabin:
We are slumming it and maybe a little over cautious. We have a bare bones Inside GTY stateroom on deck two (Never been on deck two). Inside because it is least expensive, balconies were twice the price, and with a 20 month, who is into everything, it scares me that he may find his way on to the balcony.
 
Excursions:
We ae not big excursion people. The Mrs. loves the shopping aspect of cruising and not a fan of the cattle call that sometimes happens with group activities. This time around with a new port to explore, Progreso, we are just going to explore the city and hit the beach. Z loves the water. It is my understanding it is a brisk one hour walk just to get off the 4 mile ship pier. a shuttle bus is provided free so we will be taking that with concern that we will not have a baby seat. Once in town, we will explore the shops along the beach and hit the Corona Beach Club...There is an excursion for this place BUT all the reviews I see say it is a waste of money. It consists of a shuttle ride and two chairs and an umbrella for $35 pp.  The shuttle is free and you can go to the beach for free too. An umbrella and chairs are negotiable I'm sure.  Something is fishy. I'll ask at the excursion desk...maybe.  My understanding that the locals can be extremely pushy with their wares that are set up along the walkways at the port and beach areas.
Bing map of the pier.

This will be probably my 10th trip to Cozumel and we have done all there is to do there from buying to much jewelry to Senor Frogs and Carlos and Charlie's to swimming with the dolphins & Mayan ruins. With advice I received from y'all we are going to hit up Nachi Cocom at $55.00 per adult and Z will be free of charge. Unlimited drinks, 4 course meal... I am very excited to visit here especially knowing they limit the number of guests to 130 per day (I'll believe it when I see it)
http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/
Extras:
In my older younger years I am not the big drinker as I use to be and have opted for the Soda Package. We will bring the allotted wine on board that we love from Lake Ridge Winery near @Matt place in Central Florida. As much as everybody LOVES the WindJammier on embarkation day is blows my anxiety off the charts. That whole part of the day where EVERYBODY is clustered in the Centrum/Royal Promenade/Esplanade & the WindJammier drives me a little nutty when I should be relaxing. Ok...focus...I went ahead and pre-booked Chops for lunch to hopefully avoid the whole waiting for 1 o'clock for the staterooms to be ready crowd dealio. Our little guy loves steak and since he's 20 months he can order for free of the kid's menu and help daddy with his ribeye or filet and maybe mommy's salmon. I also pre-ordered some branded RC toys for Z for a surprise for him.
 
Pre Game:
We will be taking the 3+ hours drive from San Antonio to the port area the day before and staying that a quirky looking hotel adjacent to the two cruise terminals aka terminal one and terminal two... The Harbor House at pier 21.  https://www.harborhousepier21.com/. Granted this hotel is owned by Wyndam and the Mrs. likes to do 'local' things, yet this hotel appears to have a mom and pop charm to it. we will walk the two blocks the next day to the terminal. 
We are big 80's rock fans (8 Monster of Rock cruises under our belts) so we will be stopping at the Hard Rock Café in Houston (Right off the interstate) for lunch, on the way, to break up the ride for the little guy and hit a one off restaurant called Shark Shack (unless I get vetoed) for dinner. Side note...Landry's OWNS the food and Beverage industry in Galveston. (Landry's Rainforest Café, Cadillac Bar, Fish Tales, Kemah Pier, Bubba Gump even SaltGrass) we want to eat local fare and enjoy fresh local seafood, and we want to avoid that Landry's chain food...be aware. We will be parking overnight at the onsite parking for the one night fee and leaving the car at the Harbor House's sister hotel, the Galvez Hotel, for free parking during our cruise. I will take the car there day of and they have a free shuttle to take me back to the terminal. I will go solo to retrieve the car upon return.
I have been studying the port and the surround area for months. I go to Google maps and tour the streets and read reviews (with a grain of salt) to lay out my plan of attack of Galveston.
I will be Periscoping our trip the day before and up to sail away day of. I typically put the phone away and do not get the internet package...1. because I'm cheat and 2. I like the disconnect aspect of cruising. I an MOTELYBRUE on periscope.
the link below is a PowerPoint of the master Plan for the harbor area. You will see the plans for the new terminal 3 at Pier 10. Notice the ship that is placed in the rendering is an OASIS CLASS SHIP!!!!! Looks like the Texas market is growing!!
https://www.portofgalveston.com/DocumentCenter/View/2607/Strategic-Master-Plan-Preliminary-Draft-Presentation-Website
Notice upper right Oasis Class!!

 
This is how close the Harbor House is from the Whale Tail Cruise terminal... RCCL is one block behind.

Strategic-Master-Plan-Preliminary-Draft-Presentation-Website.pdf
The Landry's family of restaurants

Howdy Folks!!
In six days we will be heading to the mediocre city of Galveston, Texas for an adventure of nominal proportion. This is cruise #26 for me and first out of the Port of Galveston.
Who:
Me, My beautiful wife Brenda, and our 20 month old son Zander or Z as he's been nicknamed....Oh and this is his 3rd cruise. Side note... I am the OCD planner in the family and use to plan vacations down to the foot step....almost. Now I/we have plans but nothing in concrete with a flexible timeline.
 
Why this cruise?
Research of course...We had Symphony booked for last month for a business conference (We flip houses in San Antonio as a side hustle) but weren't able to swing the massive final payment in time so we rebooked Enchantment for the five nighter, so not to lose all the deposit from Symphony, and sill make to Diamond (only needed 5 points) this year....everyone needs goals.
Also...I feel Galveston has not been represented much and typically has been given a bad rap (I'm from Jersey and don't care 'that' much... but still). Galveston is going though a revitalization and I'll cover that further dawn and next week when we get to town.
...and even more so the cruise is going to the 'up and coming port' of Progreso, Mexico. It a little town up the coast from Cancun, on the north shore of the Yucatan. I hear the pier is 4 MILES LONG!!!!
 
Itinerary!
Day 1: Galveston, Texas
Day 2: at Sea
Day 3: Progreso, Mx
Day 4: Cozumel, Mx
Day 5: sea day
Day 6: Galveston, Texas
 
Cabin:
We are slumming it and maybe a little over cautious. We have a bare bones Inside GTY stateroom on deck two (Never been on deck two). Inside because it is least expensive, balconies were twice the price, and with a 20 month, who is into everything, it scares me that he may find his way on to the balcony.
 
Excursions:
We ae not big excursion people. The Mrs. loves the shopping aspect of cruising and not a fan of the cattle call that sometimes happens with group activities. This time around with a new port to explore, Progreso, we are just going to explore the city and hit the beach. Z loves the water. It is my understanding it is a brisk one hour walk just to get off the 4 mile ship pier. a shuttle bus is provided free so we will be taking that with concern that we will not have a baby seat. Once in town, we will explore the shops along the beach and hit the Corona Beach Club...There is an excursion for this place BUT all the reviews I see say it is a waste of money. It consists of a shuttle ride and two chairs and an umbrella for $35 pp.  The shuttle is free and you can go to the beach for free too. An umbrella and chairs are negotiable I'm sure.  Something is fishy. I'll ask at the excursion desk...maybe.  My understanding that the locals can be extremely pushy with their wares that are set up along the walkways at the port and beach areas.
Bing map of the pier.

This will be probably my 10th trip to Cozumel and we have done all there is to do there from buying to much jewelry to Senor Frogs and Carlos and Charlie's to swimming with the dolphins & Mayan ruins. With advice I received from y'all we are going to hit up Nachi Cocom at $55.00 per adult and Z will be free of charge. Unlimited drinks, 4 course meal... I am very excited to visit here especially knowing they limit the number of guests to 130 per day (I'll believe it when I see it)
http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/
Extras:
In my older younger years I am not the big drinker as I use to be and have opted for the Soda Package. We will bring the allotted wine on board that we love from Lake Ridge Winery near @Matt place in Central Florida. As much as everybody LOVES the WindJammier on embarkation day is blows my anxiety off the charts. That whole part of the day where EVERYBODY is clustered in the Centrum/Royal Promenade/Esplanade & the WindJammier drives me a little nutty when I should be relaxing. Ok...focus...I went ahead and pre-booked Chops for lunch to hopefully avoid the whole waiting for 1 o'clock for the staterooms to be ready crowd dealio. Our little guy loves steak and since he's 20 months he can order for free of the kid's menu and help daddy with his ribeye or filet and maybe mommy's salmon. I also pre-ordered some branded RC toys for Z for a surprise for him.
 
Pre Game:
We will be taking the 3+ hours drive from San Antonio to the port area the day before and staying that a quirky looking hotel adjacent to the two cruise terminals aka terminal one and terminal two... The Harbor House at pier 21.  https://www.harborhousepier21.com/. Granted this hotel is owned by Wyndam and the Mrs. likes to do 'local' things, yet this hotel appears to have a mom and pop charm to it. we will walk the two blocks the next day to the terminal. 
We are big 80's rock fans (8 Monster of Rock cruises under our belts) so we will be stopping at the Hard Rock Café in Houston (Right off the interstate) for lunch, on the way, to break up the ride for the little guy and hit a one off restaurant called Shark Shack (unless I get vetoed) for dinner. Side note...Landry's OWNS the food and Beverage industry in Galveston. (Landry's Rainforest Café, Cadillac Bar, Fish Tales, Kemah Pier, Bubba Gump even SaltGrass) we want to eat local fare and enjoy fresh local seafood, and we want to avoid that Landry's chain food...be aware. We will be parking overnight at the onsite parking for the one night fee and leaving the car at the Harbor House's sister hotel, the Galvez Hotel, for free parking during our cruise. I will take the car there day of and they have a free shuttle to take me back to the terminal. I will go solo to retrieve the car upon return.
I have been studying the port and the surround area for months. I go to Google maps and tour the streets and read reviews (with a grain of salt) to lay out my plan of attack of Galveston.
I will be Periscoping our trip the day before and up to sail away day of. I typically put the phone away and do not get the internet package...1. because I'm cheat and 2. I like the disconnect aspect of cruising. I an MOTELYBRUE on periscope.
the link below is a PowerPoint of the master Plan for the harbor area. You will see the plans for the new terminal 3 at Pier 10. Notice the ship that is placed in the rendering is an OASIS CLASS SHIP!!!!! Looks like the Texas market is growing!!
https://www.portofgalveston.com/DocumentCenter/View/2607/Strategic-Master-Plan-Preliminary-Draft-Presentation-Website
Notice upper right Oasis Class!!

 
This is how close the Harbor House is from the Whale Tail Cruise terminal... RCCL is one block behind.

Strategic-Master-Plan-Preliminary-Draft-Presentation-Website.pdf
The Landry's family of restaurants

I'm on Independence of the seas Feb 8-13 for the MONSTERS OF ROCK CRUISE. My 8th MORC
 
www.MonstersOfRockCruise.com

repeat on what @Matt said.
 
Same with Friends of Dorothy.

Kind of ironic.  Cruise ships account for a very, very small number of ships sailing the seven seas compared to the tankers, container and cargo ships.  
"Fixing" a few dozens ships looks good, ignoring thousands of others is typical media and society in general.  
Go to marinetraffic.com.  How many cruise ships do you see versus all the rest?
Green = Cargo
Red = Tankers
Blue = Passenger (including cruise ships)
But let's single out the cruise ships because they generate clicks for "news" outlets.  Cargo ships?  Not so much.  

 
 
 

Here's what I would do... flying in to Melbourne Airport, rent a car for three days, drive it everywhere, drop everyone off at the ship, return the car solo 1 1/2 miles away, take their free shuttle back to the ship, save money.

WOW, that's scary enough to make your change your tighty whities!!!

Many times you will find their secret stash 'under' the trash liner in the pail....but I'm a guy and would have dumped the trash on the floor and used the liner that was in there too.

yep, Filet & Lobster for everyone!!

Tell him we are the people that want to borrow him to ward off the chair hogs! Good job!

Many times you will find their secret stash 'under' the trash liner in the pail....but I'm a guy and would have dumped the trash on the floor and used the liner that was in there too.

Closter Burger King to the Hudson River 2.6 miles

Many times you will find their secret stash 'under' the trash liner in the pail....but I'm a guy and would have dumped the trash on the floor and used the liner that was in there too.

Sanford is a good 10 miles further and you may run into that issue Twangster mentioned about limited flights....it's also on the 417...another Toll Road.

I do MCO because I'm use to that airport, I lived in Central Florida for 11 years, and my mom is in Davenport...just south of Disney. A lot of times we fly into Miami or FLL for a cruise (Typically the Monsters of Rock Cruise) after the cruise ...again....rent a car...lol, drive to O-Town and fly home out of Orlando/MCO.

Many times you will find their secret stash 'under' the trash liner in the pail....but I'm a guy and would have dumped the trash on the floor and used the liner that was in there too.

Melbourne is a sleepy little airport which can be great but sometimes that means rental cars options are more limited or priced higher.  It's also not that much closer, it's still a drive.  
One thing I didn't like, if a flight has delays or cancels there are very few flights into Melbourne while Orlando has many daily flight that your airline can move you to if one flight cancels.  
I did Melbourne once but now just use Orlando when cruising from PC.

Royal tends to dock at Crown Bay unless CB is full, at least in my experience.  

@IslandBoundMama frame the pic of your husband and son. That's gonna be a very sweet memory.