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A Scot cruising from Galveston - Good or bad idea?


Joe01

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Just now, jurrjurr said:

Is it more of the shows, activities and amenities the OA ships offer?  We loved the Aquatheater shows.  That is my favourite feature in the OA class that no other ships can offer.  Size to me just means it can fit more passengers.

A bit of everything TBH. I like the AquaTheater as well and the whole Boardwalk area. I wouldn't miss the Abyss or ZipLine, but would miss the neighborhoods. I would still get Ice shows and Broadway shows on Liberty. LB has slides as well.

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4 hours ago, JLMoran said:

I have a feeling that your impression of Anthem being small is due in large part to the traffic flow issues that others have commented on in their live blogs. When I sailed on Freedom, I never felt like the ship was small, nor did I ever feel it was crowded unless I was on the pool deck in mid-day; and that time of day, that area's going to feel crowded no matter what ship you're on

Think you said it best. Felt Anthem had a lot of large spaces with tight means to get to them.

Compound that with not having the factor of the Promenade. The Esplanade just isn't the same WOW factor as the Promenade. Overall the Freedom class felt more open than Anthem did.

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Hi Joe -

I understand your concerns but don't worry.  To broadly generalize, yes Texans can be loud and maybe more conservative than other places, but they really are very friendly and I promise you won't find many curmudgeons.  People on Liberty are there to have a good time, so you will too.  To me, it's much more fun to sail from a "foreign" port because I get to experience new, exotic things that I don't see at home.  Different people, different food, different music. I love it all, no matter what it is.  I'm looking forward to sailing out of Southampton in a few weeks.  

You'll get to meet many of our friends traveling from Mexico (as well as many Mexican-Americans) and you can enjoy dancing to the Tejano and Latin-themed music at Bolero's Bar (my very favorite spot).  Who doesn't love a margarita?  Texans will adore your accent and will want to buy you drinks and blab to you all night long   (And, most importantly, please remember that many Texans don't fit the stereotype at all.  It's a big state.)

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Yes, the R bar on the Vision and I think Liberty have LGBT gatherings every night.

I have met and enjoyed many LGTB couples on Galveston cruises. In fact, we were on a Halloween cruise on another cruise line that starts with C a few years ago and there was a group from I believe it was called something like The American Organization of Heterosexual Transvites. No problem!

Also a group of gay motorcyclists dressed like bumble bees for Halloween Very fun and funny!

 

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2 hours ago, Mljstr said:

Yes, the R bar on the Vision and I think Liberty have LGBT gatherings every night.

 

Yes I remember last year the Cruise Compass on Liberty showed LGBT gatherings in the R Bar later every night.  I'm from Dallas in the antiques business and many of my friends are LGBT.  (In fact, in 2014 the Dallas Oak Lawn district was voted the number 1 gayborhood in the country by "Out Traveler".)  

You might find, of course, that some Texans aren't so open-minded.  But many more will surprise you.  Just like any cruise from any port in the world.  

 

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7 hours ago, cruise-y said:

Yes I remember last year the Cruise Compass on Liberty showed LGBT gatherings in the R Bar later every night.  I'm from Dallas in the antiques business and many of my friends are LGBT.  (In fact, in 2014 the Dallas Oak Lawn district was voted the number 1 gayborhood in the country by "Out Traveler".)  

You might find, of course, that some Texans aren't so open-minded.  But many more will surprise you.  Just like any cruise from any port in the world.  

 

Not everyone will be open minded, but if I happen to have a boyfriend by July 2019, I am just trying to ensure that I would feel welcome, especially given that most other places I have sailed from are a bit more liberal.

Thanks for the info.

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8 hours ago, cruise-y said:

You might find, of course, that some Texans aren't so open-minded.    

 

Change "some Texans" to "some people" and you're spot on. In (almost) any situation, you'll find both open-minded and closed-minded individuals with respect to many things.

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3 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Change "some Texans" to "some people" and you're spot on. In (almost) any situation, you'll find both open-minded and closed-minded individuals with respect to many things.

I get what you mean, but Texas is a conservative state and as a foreigner, it isn't unreasonable to expect that. Whilst fun and relaxed people are my type of cruisers, I ultimately don't want to run into homophobes and certain areas of the world have more of that than others.

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2 minutes ago, ellcee said:

You also don't want to write off an entire state because of things you've heard ?❤️

 

There are several countries that I have wrote off, so I am not being harsh on Texas at all. I would never consider a cruise from Dubai and am very disappointed that Royal have chosen to return there.

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15 minutes ago, Joe01 said:

I get what you mean, but Texas is a conservative state and as a foreigner, it isn't unreasonable to expect that. Whilst fun and relaxed people are my type of cruisers, I ultimately don't want to run into homophobes and certain areas of the world have more of that than others.

Let the haters hate. 

I find today's cruising offers a fun and relaxed atmosphere in general.  If there are any passengers opposed to any orientation, they are usually a minority.  It really affects them more than it will affect you.  I'm confident you will have a great time on Liberty.

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5 minutes ago, jurrjurr said:

Let the haters hate. 

I find today's cruising offers a fun and relaxed atmosphere in general.  If there are any passengers opposed to any orientation, they are usually a minority.  It really affects them more than it will affect you.  I'm confident you will have a great time on Liberty.

Fingers crossed. I was just slightly wary.

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1 hour ago, Joe01 said:

I get what you mean, but Texas is a conservative state and as a foreigner, it isn't unreasonable to expect that. Whilst fun and relaxed people are my type of cruisers, I ultimately don't want to run into homophobes and certain areas of the world have more of that than others.

As a staunch conservative, and a big time supporter of President Trump, I can say without reservation, I don't care about anyone's sex, creed, religion, color or any other subject of division.  I think a higher percentage of conservatives think that way than most people realize.  Nice people are nice people regardless of the aforementioned categories.  Intolerant people are intolerant regardless of the aforementioned categories.  Go on the cruise, have fun, hold a door open for little old ladies, say hello, thank you, and you're welcome.  You'll be fine.

 

Interestingly, for my 50th birthday, my wife took me on the Adventure of the Seas from San Juan.  The morning we boarded, there were two women boarding the ship the same time we were.  They were elderly and minority.  They were also struggling a bit with the ramps in San Juan that are a little long if you have trouble walking.  My wife carried their bags and I had one on each arm as we conquered the ramps.  My wife and I had a sense of satisfaction that we helped two fellow human beings who were in need.  The ladies loved it so much they had a photo taken with them.  We looked for them on board, but never saw them again.

 

That is the human spirit of giving and receiving.  Doesn't matter about all the divisive stuff.

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On ‎8‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 4:36 AM, Joe01 said:

One thing that I do also worry about is that Liberty will feel too small after Harmony/Symphony. I did Anthem after Oasis/Allure and it felt too small. 

Is size an issue? 

Another thing as well - Is the crew on LB decent? The captain who is scheduled to be on LB for July 2018 (per the 10 week rotation) is the same one we had on EN & SR. EN had a less than stellar crew, alongside both being our least favorite cruises. I'm not saying that the Captain affects a cruise, but to an extent, I think that the Captain, Hotel Director and Cruise Director are ultimately the 3 individuals responsible for setting the tone on a ship, and the rest follows.

Is size an issue?  Of course! (bt that has nothing to do with ships......)

As for culture shock, i am either totally insensitive or it doesn't exist.  Sailed on Liberty in January and absolutely loved it!  I didn't really notice any "Texas Vibe" when I was on board, and had a surprisingly great time in Galveston despite arriving there expecting nothing more than a place to lay-over till the ship left.

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32 minutes ago, RCVoyager said:

As a staunch conservative, and a big time supporter of President Trump, I can say without reservation, I don't care about anyone's sex, creed, religion, color or any other subject of division.  I think a higher percentage of conservatives think that way than most people realize.  Nice people are nice people regardless of the aforementioned categories.  Intolerant people are intolerant regardless of the aforementioned categories.  Go on the cruise, have fun, hold a door open for little old ladies, say hello, thank you, and you're welcome.  You'll be fine.

Exactly!!!!

In my honest opinion, most people want to be left alone to live their lives in peace...... I treat others as they treat me --- It's called mutual respect.   When on a cruise, you're amongst family - I've had the pleasure to meet so many people from all walks of life and I can honestly say, I've enjoyed meeting every one of them.

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I just got off Liberty July 29th, and I will reiterate what everyone has already said, it is a big ship and I never felt cramped, I have sailed 3 of the 4 Oasis class ships, is Liberty as big as them? No, but it doesn't need to be.

I was watching one of the replay's of the daily CD and AM shows and they were talking about how geographically diverse this cruise was, not just Texans or Americans for that matter, cruisers where from all over the world.

We were on the Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica cruise and the only thing I was disappointed in was the short stay at Grand Cayman.

I want to shout out to "Resortforaday" and the Hyatt Ziva on Jamaica, this was one of the best pool/beach days I have ever spent on any cruise on any island, I don't know what this hotel would price out at if you were just staying there, but I would give it 5 stars for quality and service, amazing hotel and peole. Bus ride was provided by resort for a day and it was fast, clean and efficient.

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13 minutes ago, tiny260 said:

I just got off Liberty July 29th, and I will reiterate what everyone has already said, it is a big ship and I never felt cramped, I have sailed 3 of the 4 Oasis class ships, is Liberty as big as them? No, but it doesn't need to be.

I was watching one of the replay's of the daily CD and AM shows and they were talking about how geographically diverse this cruise was, not just Texans or Americans for that matter, cruisers where from all over the world.

We were on the Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica cruise and the only thing I was disappointed in was the short stay at Grand Cayman.

I want to shout out to "Resortforaday" and the Hyatt Ziva on Jamaica, this was one of the best pool/beach days I have ever spent on any cruise on any island, I don't know what this hotel would price out at if you were just staying there, but I would give it 5 stars for quality and service, amazing hotel and peole. Bus ride was provided by resort for a day and it was fast, clean and efficient.

This is off topic - but do you know who the AM was?

I'm quite surprised to hear that there was a lot of diverse nationalities onboard. A ship is never going to be 100% Americans and there will be a mix, but I did think that Florida would bring more diversity than other US markets. The same goes for other markets such as Southampton or Asia as well. To my knowledge, there are usually only about 200/300 non Chinese guests on sailings from Shanghai.

Grand Cayman sounds interesting. Hated Falmouth and Cozumel was so-so. Was thinking of maybe doing the Costa Maya/Roatan/Cozumel itinerary.

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No, I don't recall who he was off hand, I will have to look at my Cruise Compass when i get home, I meet him and had a long conversation with him at the Top Tier event, but I'm terrible with names...

The reason I mentioned the diversity was because I have sailed out of Galveston earlier in the summer, end of May/June time frame and it was almost 100% American and out of those probably 70% were Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas, etc., all relatively close States to the port.

I believe Liberty is starting to get out by word of mouth, and more diversity is starting to show up, my wife and I meet a couple and their Family from California and ended up sitting with them every night in the Suite lounge.

One of the best Concierge we have had on this cruise, he is one of the best I have ever had Anis from Tunisia, my wife left 2 pairs of sun glasses in the closet and we emailed him and he found them and had them shipped to us. Great customer service.

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Just now, tiny260 said:

The reason I mentioned the diversity was because I have sailed out of Galveston earlier in the summer, end of May/June time frame and it was almost 100% American and out of those probably 70% were Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas, etc., all relatively close States to the port.

I think it varies sailing by sailing. No sailing is ever the same as the other in terms of demographics. There is usually a pattern, but there isn't a guarantee that a sailing will or will not have 90% Americans or something different.

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Hi joe

I'm gay as well so I know exactly what you are talking about.  With that being said, I have never had any problems at all no matter where I've travelled. I think time has changed and people are in general more open minded than they used to be. I do however not hold hands with my bf in public. 

I would of cause never go to Dubai as they are openly against LGBT people,  but I would have absolutely no problem with Texas at all. 

BTW on all the cruises I've been on my "gaydar" told me that several people from the staff was gay.  So in terms of homophobia I would say that we are pretty safe on rcl cruises. 

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15 minutes ago, boomle said:

Hi joe

I'm gay as well so I know exactly what you are talking about.  With that being said, I have never had any problems at all no matter where I've travelled. I think time has changed and people are in general more open minded than they used to be. I do however not hold hands with my bf in public. 

I would of cause never go to Dubai as they are openly against LGBT people,  but I would have absolutely no problem with Texas at all. 

BTW on all the cruises I've been on my "gaydar" told me that several people from the staff was gay.  So in terms of homophobia I would say that we are pretty safe on rcl cruises.

I only felt uneasy when I visited Egypt. Other places seemed welcoming. Not been to Texas or any nearby state which is why I am asking these questions. The world has and will continue to evolve for the better. Would not visit Dubai or any neighboring country and as someone who hopes to work for Royal, I am disappointed that they are returning there.

Regarding your comment about staff, I definitely think that Royal is a safe company to cruise with. The incident on Oasis back in 2015 was tragic, but I suspect there was much more behind it than what we heard. I know of a few gay staff who were working on Oasis at that time and they seemed to have no problem working for Royal. There are absolutely gay staff on the ship, especially in the Cruise Division (basically the entertainment team from Cruise Staff to the Dancers).

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Joe i worked in the middle east ( bahrain ) and yes it can be intimidating when you first go but bahrain and Dubia are no different to anywhere else in the world with regards gay/lesbian people.

What they have is LAWS regarding the showing of affection ie an unmarried couple holding hands etc ( didnt matter in bahrain as every rule was broken! Bahrain is magaluf for adults even muslims) 

What may shock you is the fact that 2 men holding hands IS ok, its seen as a sign of friendship. 

So as long as you are abiding by the rules its not an issue. 

I think you worry and overthink to much, dont mean that in a bad way but you once said " your out and proud" so why worry what anyone thinks? Its 2018 and while there will still be some bigots in the world it needs people who are different, be it race, religion or sexuality to stand up and be counted not hide away. 

 

 

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I feel the same way as others in Texas.  I’m socially liberal. Pro-choice, pro-gun control and fiscally very conservative. Believe in small government and less oversite. I usally vote Republican because I feel that Congress and the President have more control over my right wing issues I feel than my left wing ones.

But like others I couldn’t care less who someone chooses to love or spend their life with. And most Republicans I know feel the same way. Not all unfortunately.

I understand how you feel about Dubai. The Middle East will just take longer to get there than other areas of the world. Some people their still have problems with women voting or working which seems crazy. I’m Jewish and have been to Israel and even there they aren’t as tolerant which is a shame because being Jewish I feel we should support them but they don’t always do the right thing either.

Joe if your cruise is bad because of rude Texas people you let me know after the end of your cruise and you can hang out with me in Houston and I’ll show you personally Texas people are friendly. ?❤️

 

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1 hour ago, Wilson said:

We love cruising out of Galveston and Liberty is our favorite ship.

I might be a little biased since we live in Texas. ?

If Liberty is your favorite ship, do you think she has a good crew? That's another determining factor.

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50 minutes ago, Joe01 said:

If Liberty is your favorite ship, do you think she has a good crew? That's another determining factor.

It's been just over a year since we were last on Liberty. I can say at the time the crew was outstanding and also on the two previous Liberty sailings. One of the things I really love about Royal is that the crew is generally exceptional fleet wide.

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So you wont be able to determine how good crew are as they may change, good ones may go leaving the bad ones onboard or vice versa. 

Think you should just book it and take what is thrown at you as the things you ask no one can predict 

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On 8/1/2018 at 9:54 AM, fonemanbob said:

Moving from Chicago to Tennessee I have learned a whole new dialect.  And working in New Orleans for several after the hurricanes I can speak Cajun.  Now that is some awesome food them there folks serve.  

  Nawlins needs to be on everyones bucket list!

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