Thanksgiving on Mariner!

[DonR]

Time to start gearing up to cruise again! It's been a busy 7 months since my solo adventure on Voyager. Lots of scouting moving from Cub's to Troop with many plans coming down the pipe line. We actually don't have a cruise scheduled after this one which is the first time that has happened since 2017! This will also be our last cruise with a child 12 and under and our first cruise Diamond.  If things work out I may squeeze in a western Caribbean towards the end of next summer (before he hits 13) but for now it looks like my next time afloat will be a 24 ft catamaran off Great Abaco in 2026! 

That being the case a Holiday afloat for the family is in order. 

For this 5 day sailing out of Galveston departing Nov 25th we are booked in a Jr Suite just forward of the hump. It is a standard Itinerary from this port. Costa Maya and Cozumel are our ports of call.

Sunday Nov 24

Drive to Galveston in the afternoon. Obviously we will be making an obligatory stop at Bucky’s on the way. I think I might get a corner of my “Texan Card” clipped if I skipped this! We try to get through Houston in the afternoon but Sunday traffic is better than weekday madness down there. Check in at our hotel on the island and Supper at Salsa’s is a tradition for us.

Monday Nov 25

We normally have breakfast at the hotel since it is right there and free, however I may try and talk Herself into going to Café Canela. Pancakes are on the menu so the boy will go for it I am sure. This is where I ate in February and the food was fantastic. Absolutely worth a return trip.  Then make sure of all our bags, check out and head for Terminal 10.  I managed to snag covered parking right across from the terminal this time. We use Discount Cruise Parking and ride their shuttle many times but this spot looks pretty sweet. Speaking of Suites, A Jr doesn’t get all the perks but the Suite lounge at the terminal is one of them we do. So check our bags, through security and up the escalator we go. I don’t think we have any set plans for boarding day but I know boy will want to check out the teen area. HE is excited that he isn’t consigned to the kids in Adventure ocean. He loved his time there but has out grown it.

Tuesday Nov 26

Time for my favorite thing about cruising.. _doing nothing_ Yup time to embrace my inner vegetable. Hang out on the rail and mindlessly watch the flying fish. Watch the clouds, cook in a hot tub, Take a nap with the DW. (maybe even sleep) Good chance of Izumi for supper but nothing decided.

Wednesday Nov 27

Costa Maya. The Boy actually picked our excursion here. We are going to take the time to see the Chacchoben Ruins. I was sonly to happy to acquiesce to his choice as I am a bit of a history nut. We are booked on the Exclusive Drive tour so not quite so sardine canned into the tour bus this time.

Thursday Nov 28

Thanksgiving in Cozumel! We are going to take the Twister boat to Isla de la Passion. Something frivolous and fun after a cultural day ashore. The DW loves the beach and the boy will be trying out his snorkeling gear to start getting ready for his Scouting adventure in the Bahamas. Beach food with pygmy racoons for our Thanksgiving Feast!  

Friday Nov 29

Back to my favorite cruising activity. Relax on the balcony and watch the sea ignore us as we drift by. Sure we will have to set aside an hour or so to pack up but sea days are awesome no matter what.

Sat Nov 30

Back to the chill reality of an incoming Texas winter. Hit the road back home to Arlington with another stop to see the Beaver en-route.

 

I am sure things will shift and change as we get closer. Right now it is still 52 days away. Until then we have new cruise shirts to pack, ducks to label and door magnets to assemble. I know once we get through October Herself will go full steam into packing and planning decorations.

Getting close enough though I can almost taste my blueberry nojito!

[Va4fam]

Following along....which hotel will you be staying at in Galveston?  We aren't sure where to stay.

[DonR]

We stay at the Springhill Suites at the very first exit once you cross the causeway onto Galveston Island.  We have also stayed right up the road in Webster which is at the Nasa exits off 45. 

[DonR]

Well it's starting to get down to actually planning what to pack! I did online check in Friday, and keep checking on my Royal Up Bids to see if the drunk monkeys have thrown a dart and landed it on my name. This is the earliest I have seen RUB's open up. it was a full 15 days _before_ online check in! We are already in a Jr suite but we have never done a true suite so we threw out some bids and we will see what happens. 

Looking at things I need to do.

Shirts - we are doing Hawaiian print shirts. Some are already here a few more we are still waiting on to come in the mail. 

Ducks - have ducks, need to print tags, tie on the quackers and fix magnets to some of them to facilitate the fun.

Magnets - the Face Book group for this cruise is doing a door magnet exchange, got to replace the belts on my cnc laser and get cutting! 

Gifts - The wife joined in on a gift exchange on the group.. I am sure I will be part of whatever she has in mind. 

All this along with projects at work and a plethora of scouting functions to hit.. oh and also Halloween.. I have Dementors that I built in my front yard this year! 

may have to go buy the stuff and make a blueberry nojito. Not sure I can wait! 

[melmar02]

DH and I will be boarding Mariner the day you disembark. Checked in last night and still waiting for our suite gty to be assigned. There are lots of open cabins including suites still on our sailings, maybe we will be assigned a GS or OS, perhaps our measly $100 RU bid will pan out, or maybe we'll just be happy with our double points in a JS - that will get us to D+.

[DonR]

The drunk monkeys hit our square with a dart! We have been upgraded to a Grand Suite! Our bid was a little above the min required but not a whole lot. It was still showing as "weak" on their little graphic bid strength display. I did call RC a few weeks ago and see what upgrading our JS to a Grand would cost just changing the reservation. The price hike was enough that I stayed put and took my chances with a RUB. In the end this upgrade lands us a little less than 1/3 of what a rebook would have been. This time the gamble paid off. 

So this will be our first time in a proper suite! The DW is happy, and I will see what we can do to make the most of our upgrade. 

[melmar02]

Congratulations! That gives me hope!

You are going to love the extra room in the suite. DH and I love to go to Chops for breakfast and the suite lounge every night for a pre-dinner drink. It makes us feel spoiled. Enjoy all the extra perks! 

[WAAAYTOOO]

2 hours ago, DonR said:

The drunk monkeys hit our square with a dart! We have been upgraded to a Grand Suite!

WOOHOO !  Congrats

[DonR]

3 hours ago, melmar02 said:

DH and I love to go to Chops for breakfast 

Ok first time in a suite...don't even know what all the perks are.  So breakfast at Chops? Well this should be a fun adventure! 

[DonR]

30 Days 'till departure! 

Got my tags all ducked tonight! I might have gone a touch over, but hey a little overkill never hurt any one! The Boy is ready to defend his self granted title of "Cruise Duck Hunter International". We will see how well he does once he gets on board and plants himself in the teen room. 

I think I got my CNC laser working right I will find out tomorrow morning when I click start on a batch of door magnets. Our Hawaiian shirts are all in now so me the DW and the boy can be annoyingly matchie matchie all week. 

Turns out one of the other Scout Leaders I am working with for our Councils NYLT course will be on board this cruise as well. A pretty cool thing to have a friend on board without even planning it. Almost time to start packing the suitcases in earnest. I might need to dig up that rabbits foot out of the Halloween graveyard for a bit of luck. 

 

[Cactus527]

Following. I love that your ducks are Thanksgiving colored. Congrats on the suite upgrade!!!!!

[DonR]

18 Days till Departure! Wow that's crazy. I have so much going on I am way behind in packing. I got my Door Magnets cut on the laser so I will be able to do the exchange, also making some trivets for the DW as she is taking part in a gift exchange. All of our cruise shirts are in and ready to be packed. just need to pull out the suit cases and start filling them! I even have our tags already printed for the bags that have yet to be packed!

The DS has a new snorkel mask to try out in Cozumel, he is really looking forward to this one. He plans to be stuffed on pizza and/or cookies at all hours. 

Oh well it will all work out. I have A Scout camp out this weekend and another Scouting activity on the 16th. might come down to the wire on this one but we will make it and be on our balcony, cold drinks in hand, watching the waves in no time! 

 

[Zenra]

The magnets are an awesome idea! I'll add it to the "Pros" list for my pro/con on buying a laser/router.

I think I'll have to start checking Facebook for groups on future sailings, the exchanges are really neat ideas.

[melmar02]

On 11/7/2024 at 8:48 AM, DonR said:

 I have A Scout camp out this weekend and another Scouting activity on the 16th.

You have great weather for your camp this weekend! Hopefully not too muddy. DS and DH just left to do his hike for his second class rank advancement. He's determined to get first class by the end of the year, and has his eyes on Eagle in the minimum time possible. The goal is lofty, but definitely good for him.

[DonR]

7 hours ago, melmar02 said:

You have great weather for your camp this weekend! Hopefully not too muddy. DS and DH just left to do his hike for his second class rank advancement. He's determined to get first class by the end of the year, and has his eyes on Eagle in the minimum time possible. The goal is lofty, but definitely good for him.

It was a great weekend out at Sid Richardson Scout Ranch prepping for Winter NYLT. The roads were a bit rough but passable. My DS did his 5 mile just last week out at the Ft Worth Nature Preserve on Eagle Mountain Lake. He should sit his Board of Review for second class next week! Eagle is absolutely a lofty and worth while goal.

Sea Base (either Bahamas or Virgin Islands) is the plan for June 26. A whole different kind of cruising! 

[WAYNO]

I have been on some cruises approaching  the winter holidays, and it's marvelous seeing the festive decorations, only to feel left out as our cruise was over before the actual holiday.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving cruise!

[foxrunner]

On 11/10/2024 at 6:10 PM, DonR said:

Sea Base (either Bahamas or Virgin Islands) is the plan for June 26. A whole different kind of cruising! 

Philmont in 2017 with my two boys. Amazing! They have both flown and grown and we miss them. So enjoy every minute. 

[DonR]

One week from Embarkation! Packing in ongoing in earnest, Gifts are being made, magnets are being tagged. We leave DFW Sunday morning so panic is penciled in for 8PM on Friday evening with possible recurrence at least three times on Saturday and a hard appt with pandemonium inked in for departure from the house. 

There is now a strong possibility that we may be adding a Sunday afternoon at Moody Gardens both for fun and Scouting purposes. Nothing like adding to vacation plans the week before. 

Since this is our first time in a Suite we really aren't sure what to expect. I think we are supposed to get an e-mail from the concierge sometime this week. Once it comes in I will ask all kinds of questions and make a few requests. Don't know if we can request a mattress topper before getting on board. Definitely putting in that we don't need de-caf for the coffee pot. 

I don't know if I can arrange to have chocolate chip cookies in our room every evening. Well we will have them no matter what. It is a cruise tradition for us. We normally ask for an extra plate of them at supper to take back with us, but It might be cool if we could have them waiting on the bar in the room! 

It is all new and exciting! 

[DonR]

Well that was quick. Moody Gardens tour with Reptile and Amphibian Studies Merit Badge is now confirmed for Sunday afternoon before the cruise. Bonus the DS gets to do it on his own with other scouts from the local council. The DW and I get the afternoon to ourselves. Thinking we will probably take a pyramid tour as well since we are there. 

I have never been but I know that it could be a weekend in and of itself. Galveston is a pretty interesting place on it's own even without a cruise ship involved. 

[melmar02]

23 hours ago, DonR said:

Reptile and Amphibian Studies Merit Badge is now confirmed for Sunday afternoon before the cruise. Bonus the DS gets to do it on his own with other scouts from the local council. The DW and I get the afternoon to ourselves.  

Way to squeeze in a badge! Enjoy your free afternoon!

[DonR]

Just around 48 hours till we leave for Galveston. We are heading down Saturday now since we added activities on Sunday. Packing is probably at 75%. the penciled in possibility of panic has moved up to some time this evening with a continuing front of anxiety through bedtime tomorrow.

Watching forecast both for weather and waves makes me hopeful for a rather spiff adventure. 

Monday for Sail away it is looking like partly cloudy and high 70's

Wednesday for Costa Maya looks mostly sunny with a chance of passing showers. looks like the trip to the ruins should be ok. Wave Forecast along the coast is 1 to 3 foot waves so we should be fine for docking. I know some folks call this port "Costa Maybe"

Thursday for Cozumel is partly cloudy with chance of scattered showers. Normal Tropical fall weather. Wave forecast in the straight says 1 to 2 feet so I think we will be ok on the twister boat heading to the beach. 

Over all the weather and wave forecast for the gulf and western Caribbean looks very promising. We may get some little bit higher swell Friday overnight into Saturday morning ( 6 to 8 feet) but that's our last night on board. Not to bad. 

I check multiple weather sites. including Weather Underground, Windy.com, National Hurricane Center and Storm Surf. 

It's almost time! 

[melmar02]

Nice - I know it's a little far out, but I see a little rain and cooler weather in the forecast on your disembarkation day. 

[DonR]

35 minutes ago, melmar02 said:

Nice - I know it's a little far out, but I see a little rain and cooler weather in the forecast on your disembarkation day. 

Hoping that will clear up for you! 

[DonR]

Made door magnets commemorating the cruises we have taken. Noted with first initials who was on each cruise. The DW is pleased with our tiny fleet. the boy is unimpressed and wants cookies. This did spark a memory that we should pack any magnetic hooks and decorations we want to bring with us as well. 

So I got out Concierge E-mail. I am sure it answers almost all of the FAQ's they get about the request has been put in for an electric tea kettle and a mattress topper already waiting in our cabin, which is very cool. The Boy wants to keep getting his own cookies for the room so I didn't end up asking about having them already there. 

It's less than 24 hours till we are in Galveston! 

 

 

[DonR]

Suppertime in Galveston. We decided on Fishtails tonight. Right across from the Pleasure pier. The weather is great and we will have an alfresco sunset while we eat.

[asquared17]

enjoy dinner!!

[Cactus527]

On 11/21/2024 at 7:32 AM, DonR said:

Monday for Sail away it is looking like partly cloudy and high 780's

I HOPE YOU DON'T DIE isn't the face of the sun around that temperature?

[DonR]

54 minutes ago, Cactus527 said:

I HOPE YOU DON'T DIE isn't the face of the sun around that temperature?

fat fingers burn up planets!

[DonR]

Sunday morning in Galveston. we had breakfast at the hotel then went wandering. Beach time down at the sea wall then down to the Strand. It's a beautiful day a d not nearly as hot as the surface of the sun. A meer 75f. even got a look at the Battleship Texas still o. the ship yard.

[DonR]

OK so we did Moody Gardens while the Boy worked on his merit badge. it is awesome as advertised. we spent the entire afternoon going from aquarium to rainforest to Christmas lights and carved ice. 

So the extra day before boarding has definitely been part of our adventure 

[melmar02]

Happy cruise day!

[DonR]

checked in, on board, and unpacked! had a great plate of curry beef over rice at the windjammer for lunch and explored thr suite lounge. I think if I loose track of the DW I will likely find her there reading. 

We were actually the very first pasengers anoard this trip. Kinda great, trivial but fun. The room is super cool and we spent lots of time just exploring it. As suites go it is in fact pretty sweet.

[asquared17]

that bathroom is great !! love the double sink!!

[DonR]

Into a day of nothing much planned. we slept in (for us) and had breakfast at Chops. it was nice to just relax and skip the buffet lines. 

 

Sunrise was spectacular. the sea is calm with breezes ruffling the surface of the little bit of swell we have. 

 

I have already been watching the flying fish from our balcony. the sea if calm enough I can sea the schools beneath the water as well as the ones skipping  across the surface. 

 

our attendant is awesome and towel animals are invading 

[DonR]

capped off the evening with dinner and a show. We had been thinking sushi but the Izumi here on Mariner is really geared towards the hibachi. we ended up in the MDR and our wait staff was great. 

Then to the production show. "Gallery of Dreams" even the Boy enjoyed it. 

 

Now just sipping my coffee on the balcony and watching the stars.

 

[melmar02]

Totally unrelated to your cruise, but since we both have scouts - we worked on the orienteering portion of our son's first class rank yesterday. Our daughter is in AHG and needed to participate in an event for her badge too. https://ntoa.com/ sets up courses year round, and we went through the temporary course they have set up at Arbor Hills in Plano yesterday. We just tried the yellow course, and it was definitely challenging for a beginner. The kids enjoyed it, and I just wanted to send the resource in case you or your troop might be interested. This course is set up until December 2.

[DonR]

Caribbean sunrise is always beautiful. I guess tomorrow I'll have to work harder if I want to see it since the ship will be heading north and we are on the port side. 

Breakfast at Chops again and getting ready to see Mayan ruins. The sea is calm so docking should be good. 

[DonR]

A quick update from yesterday. we can a great time at Chachoben. got back on the ship just in time for supper and latter a little elevator music!

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

Enjoy your Thanksgiving feast onboard today!  

[melmar02]

Happy Thanksgiving! Have they started decorating for Christmas yet?