Galveston Steve

I completely agree. Couldn't have said it better myself.

I agree, what is acceptable or not to a 12 year old can be subjective. That said, in my experience, almost all of the entertainment is very family friendly. There is sometimes a comedian in the evening that does an "adult" show, and some of the game shows can be risqué. These are normally called out in the Cruise Compass as "adult" and the cruise director will also point out this fact when they make announcements about upcoming shows. It would be very unusual to have adult content in a Royal Caribbean entertainment event unless it was announced ahead of time.

As of today, the big white tent is still standing next to the terminal. From the outside it looks finished and you can see the lights are on, but since you can't see the inside it's hard to know what work remains to be completed.

I agree Matt, and Galveston is also studying ways to expand. Although Houston has a beautiful cruise terminal, the problem with Houston is the extra 3 hours it takes to motor up the bay which takes time and fuel, and can cause fog delays lasting hours or days.

On our Liberty/Galveston cruise in April we carried our 2 bottles of wine in carry on. During the security screening they saw the bottles on the X-ray and we were directed to a separate table behind security for inspection. Upon seeing 2 bottles of wine they said we were ok and sent us on our way. Having a separate table to check your carry on bottles was new for us in Galveston. I don't know what they would say about soda and water, which are "prohibited", but you will likely be inspected.

The Galveston Daily News reported this week that the new terminal expansion will be ready in June. That was a one sentence update in a larger article reporting that state lawmakers are discussing options to provide incentives to build additional cruise ports in south Texas, such as in Corpus Christi. Personally, that doesn't sound very feasible due to the limited options to fly there.

The Royal Replenish Package includes "bottled water, including sparking and still". That means you can get a bottle of spring water ("still") or a bottle of carbonated water ("sparkling") as an included part of the package. They will typically give you a 500ml bottle or smaller, although in some cases when they have run out of the small bottles we have been given a liter bottle with the package. This is definitely not just a cup of ice water. It is bottled water that you can get from any bar. Cups of ice water are typically available for free (self-serve) at the Windjammer buffet and all bars in the pool area.

I agree exactly. The Chief Engineer on Liberty, in answer to a question at the Captain's Q&A session, said that virtually all water is made onboard from seawater, so that would indicate it's pretty consistent quality.

You definitely want to fly into HOU (Houston/Hobby). IAH (Houston Intercontinental) is 90 minutes away in good traffic, which isn't likely. As PRC points out, HOU is about half of that, or 45-50 minutes since it is on the south side of the City of Houston. I have an extensive post providing some details related to the questions you asked. I tried to gather a lot of the other information about Galveston from these message boards plus my local knowledge, and you can find that here: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php/topic/568-all-things-galveston-answers-to-your-questions/

One other helpful item for your cruise... If you search for Royal Caribben on Amazon.com you will find several options for luggage tag holders that are very effective at keeping your tags secure. I have this version: http://smile.amazon.com/Cruise-Luggage-Holders-Caribbean-Celebrity/dp/B00M5MDAS0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461029472&sr=8-1&keywords=Royal+Caribbean

It's interesting that the world's largest cruise ship (Allure) would be designed such that it is constrained to mainly dock with the starboard side to the pier. A google search of images shows Allure docked mostly starboard side to the pier, but here's a photo of Allure in Nassau with her port side to the pier.... And another.... The captain may have a strong preference for which side he puts to the pier, but you just can't count on the ship docking one way or the other. It's too dependent on winds, currents, maintenance needs, channel constraints, and other factors. And if your travel agent booked you a port side cabin so you would always be facing the port... get another travel agent.

It's interesting that the world's largest cruise ship (Allure) would be designed such that it is constrained to mainly dock with the starboard side to the pier. A google search of images shows Allure docked mostly starboard side to the pier, but here's a photo of Allure in Nassau with her port side to the pier.... And another.... The captain may have a strong preference for which side he puts to the pier, but you just can't count on the ship docking one way or the other. It's too dependent on winds, currents, maintenance needs, channel constraints, and other factors. And if your travel agent booked you a port side cabin so you would always be facing the port... get another travel agent.

Is there a time when you aren't on the RC Blog, Doc? :)

Avoiding the traffic jams on Harborside drive (and a bunch of other Galveston suggestions) can be found in the post called All Things Galveston. I have also used Park N Cruise multiple times and find them to be very courteous and convenient to the ship. I like the fact that you can walk and avoid the need to ride a shuttle.

If I add guests from another reservation, will I also need to pay for their specialty restaurant cost when making the reservation? It looks like I can split the cost across more than one credit card, but I wonder if there is any other way to do this without gathering other people's credit card info? For example, we have family in 4 cabins with different reservation numbers on Oasis. If we all make reservations at the same restaurants will they seat us together since our bookings are linked? Somehow I don't think they are smart enough to figure that out. I guess I'm asking what is the best way to book specialty restaurants for multiple booking numbers and make sure we all sit together.

Please move 12/4/2016 Liberty to 4/23/2017. Add Oasis on 12/11/2016.

Someone asked this question during the Captain's question and answer session last week. Surprisingly, Captain James did not know where it was located but he received an answer from his team within a few minutes. The builders plate is located on Deck 13 aft, just behind the sports court. Just behind the sports court is a large white wall and the builders plate is located in the center of that wall about 8 feet above the deck. If you look closely at the attached photo you can see the builders plate just to the left of the loudspeaker. I've also attached a close-up photo, but the builder's plate is not as impressive as I would have imagined for such a large ship.

I had the exact same experience on Liberty.

Thanks DocLC. I like that as of today, this link indicates that RCCL will allow pregnant women to change their plans without penalty if they are concerned about the Zika Virys. That's a good policy on Royal's part.

Matt, do you know if they did refurbishments to the existing cabins? That's one thing that I have not seen any information on.

I agree that wandering around the shops, food, etc. is a great, inexpensive way to enjoy Cozumel. For those who want something a little different, we REALLY enjoyed doing a food tour through Cozumel Chef. We were in a small group with a very nice local guide. They hired a taxi (van) that escorted us to the various stops. The great thing is we went to several "mom and pop" restaurants, typically with the restaurant in front, and their family home behind the restaurant. These places were truly local establishments, away from the main drag. We felt very safe throughout the experience. All food and drinks were included (including a beer), as well as the taxi. We even paid the driver a few dollars to take us all back to the cruise ship. They also took us to the local chocolate factory, a bakery, and the local market. It was a lot of fun and a nice way to get a taste of the real Cozumel. http://www.cozumelchef.com/services/foodtourscozumel/

I had the same experience as DocLC on Liberty. Sodas were included, as were all the burgers, fries, onion rings, and apple pie you could eat. I think the only extras were the shakes, and yes there were 2 for 1 coupons for Crown & Anchor members.

I had the same concerns of "tackiness" that many have expressed about the water slides. I'm changing my mind after seeing Liberty from the port yesterday. The slides are confined to a relatively small area and I liked the look of the small bit of extra color and the stainless steel, contrasted to the rest of this huge ship. I didn't have the perspective of seeing it from onboard, but I kind of liked it from afar. I'm sure this will be one of the most discussed topics with many varied opinions!

Hi Hak1906. This post should be helpful.... http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php/topic/568-all-things-galveston-answers-to-your-questions/

Marc, I haven't used Galveston Limo but I do know the owners. They are a reputable company. Recently I have seen their motor coaches rolling in and out of the Port with "Crew" signs in the window. It looks like Carnival or RCCL has arranged for them to shuttle the crew to various locations on the island for the day.