Galveston Steve

Haha, that ship has been there several weeks. For reference it is 900' long. Allure of the Seas is 1,187' long. Allure is going to fill up that dock space!

New Cruise Terminal 10 status update... Royal Caribbean continues to install the 800 auger cast piles for the new terminal building (see attached aerial photo). As the pile work completes in the next few weeks, Royal will move to the next phase of construction which involves the tilt-up wall installation. That is when we will begin to see visible progress on the site. The Port of Galveston is now targeting completion of their work (parking, roads, utilities, landscaping) by early October, 2022 to support the November, 2022 opening of the the new terminal.

Well, well, well.... looks like Norwegian's newest ship will homeport in Galveston for the winter, arriving about a year after Royal Caribbean moves to their new cruise terminal! Update: NCL made this announcement while still in negotiations with the Port of Galveston and without informing the Port that they were going to make this announcement. Thanks to @BugsyCruiser for the tip on this news.

We just stumbled on it! We booked a Grand Suite for a great price!

Allure of the Seas now has a repositioning cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Galveston with an 8 night cruise stopping in Aruba and Curaçao! Sailing November 5, 2022.

I submitted using the online form for 2 recent cruises. I never had any kind of response. The credit showed up on the onboard account for one cruise but not for the other. I'll try the next one using the old form and see what happens.

Last week I cancelled two water packages on Independence by going to Guest Services and requesting the cancellation on Day 1. The water had already been delivered but they simply called the beverage department and they came and took away the unopened cases of water. No questions asked. They applied a refundable onboard credit to our onboard account. I believe excursions require 48 hours notice and specialty dinners technically require a 24 hour notice to cancel but they can be cancelled onboard.

I've just updated the original post with the embarkation and disembarkation experience related to security, check-in, etc in Galveston. Go to the original post and scroll all the way down to "Embarkation Experience". This is based on the back-to-back that I just completed on Independence of the Seas. The best thing? Facial recognition replaced the face-to-face with a Customs and Border Protection officer and eliminated the long lines to get out of the terminal!

The email you posted says the tour was cancelled, not the port stop in Cozumel. It offers an alternative excursion for Cozumel so it sounds like it’s just that the tour you booked is no longer offered.

I’m betting otherwise.

Thanks for asking! Actually he is only on for the first week for Independence this week. However he and his baby sister are on a B2B with us in December on Grandeur which is the one I was worried about. The statement about passengers who are not eligible to be vaccinated can not do back to backs disappeared from the revised email. So we will just have to see if 1) was that statement an error also? or 2) will that still be a policy in December.

Update after reaching out to RCI: "Sorry for the trouble with this, Steve. With our last back-to-back update, we provided the wrong information and apologize for the confusion. We had advised all back-to-back guests that they were required to pack their bags and bring them to the terminal between sailings. This is incorrect. You do not need to pack your bags and bring them to the terminal. Guests who sail on back-to-back cruises must show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 and are required to take a COVID-19 test producing negative results between each sailing. This test will be administered onboard at no expense to the guest. The regular back-to-back process will occur on turnaround day which means, back-to-back guests will debark (leaving their luggage onboard) and check-in for the next cruise will take place. Be sure to bring your COVID-19 Vaccine record card, as well as your Passport and any important documents needed to board your next sailing. Thank you for your understanding and we apologize again for the mix-up."

I just received this same email for our B2B that starts this Sunday on Independence from Galveston. Absolutely ridiculous considering my grandson, who is not eligible to be vaccinated, will be antigen tested at the end of the cruise along with anyone who needs a test to re-enter their country after the cruise. There is no reason that back-to-backers can't also be included in this onboard testing toward the end of the cruise. I've also reached out to the company to voice my opinion. The email also says that if you aren't eligible to be vaccinated (my grandson for example), you can not sail a back-to-back. With all the testing being done and the fact that kids are so low risk, this is a crazy policy.

From this month’s Port of Galveston Trustee’s meeting, construction at Cruise Terminal 10 is continuing as planned. Here are the key activities currently in progress: Royal Caribbean has begun installing the pilings for the new terminal building. Over the next month they will install 800 auger cast pilings that will go 80 feet deep. These pilings will transfer the heavy load of the terminal building down to a solid layer of hard soil 80 feet below ground level. Port of Galveston is about 50% complete with the new water and sewer lines that will supply the new terminal building. They are continuing to relocate electrical utilities that need to be moved for this project. The East End Cruise Corridor roadway work is out for bids and that work will be awarded to the successful contractor in September. The schedule indicates that some of the work will complete after the planned opening of the new terminal. This may include things like landscaping and lighting. This photo shows the location of the new cruise terminal building and the location of the future surface parking lot. You can see the rough outline of the building in the dirt area where the drilling rigs are located. Here is a photo of one of the auger cast piling rigs. These rigs drill the 80 foot deep holes that are then filled with grout and reinforcing rods.

We recently ordered the Dasani package of 16 oz cans for 2 upcoming Independence cruises from Galveston. However today we noticed that only the Evian 1 liter cases are available and there are no Dasani options now. I also checked upcoming cruises on Liberty (Galveston), Symphony (Miami), and Grandeur (Barbados) and only the Evian package is offered. EDIT: Just received this email confirming the change back to Evian...

Ok, very interesting! Liberty arrived in dry dock in Cadiz on July 18. She was in dry dock for 23 days followed by 5 days along side in the port of Cadiz. That's exactly 4 weeks in Cadiz. Plenty of time for some Amplification upgrades, hopefully!

Although construction began about two months ago, a small official groundbreaking for the new Cruise Terminal 10 did take place today. Independence of the Seas sails her inaugural cruise from Galveston tomorrow so it was a big celebration.

I agree, I think she is finishing up some Amplification work. Educated guess or wishful thinking? We shall see!

Looks like Liberty of the Seas was stretching her legs today off Cadiz. She arrived in dry dock July 18 (23 days ago). I still think there must have been some Amplification work done. Let's see what happens next.

The ship-specific venue access plans show the AquaTheater allows unvaccinated passengers at specific showtimes.

Lots of good advice above, including the link to my thread at All Things Galveston. I like to stay on the island, usually at the Tremont Hotel because its a beautiful hotel, has a nice rooftop bar, and is walking distance to all the shops and restaurants on the Strand. It's also just a few blocks from the cruise terminal if you want to walk to the ship. I'm finding crazy expensive prices on Galveston Island for our upcoming cruises this year, way above historical pricing. Therefore we are staying at the NASA Hilton for a couple upcoming cruises. There are other good hotel suggestions above.

And don’t worry… you’re sure to hear all about it first from @Matt right here on this website!

In my experience, Surf is fine for email, Facebook, Twitter, app functions, and checking a few websites. Surf & Stream let’s you stream videos and do your own live broadcasts like Facebook Live or Happs if you are patient. As mentioned above, you can expect either option to be inadequate at times, especially if you want to stream video or do a live broadcast. I typically do Surf & Stream for the option of doing live broadcasts, and that’s successful about 75% of the time. Early morning before everyone is awake is better than later in the day. If you’re having issues try moving to a different location. The newer ships typically have better internet than the smaller ships, so Oasis Class or Quantum Class are better for internet.

Hey guys, our son and daughter-in-law (also our travel agents) have some great group rates for the Allure of the Seas inaugural sailing from Galveston on November 13, 2022. I don't like to promote on here, but this will be a special sailing. Reach out to [email protected] www.ForayTravel.com

The agreement with Lyft was signed and is official. Lyft is the only rideshare service allowed to drop off at the Galveston cruise terminals and the Lyft charge will include a $2.00 port fee. Uber apparently refused to work with the port. Uber can drop you off in Galveston, just not at the Port.