mistshar

Maybe they started doing that because you are not able to fill out your online registration until 90 days out and maybe people are forgetting to go in and do it. I like to do it as soon as I book but can't any more.

I've already done my Carnival cruise for 2018. I like to get it done so I don't forget.

I am glad and happy for cruisers who can afford the very expensive suites. We are so excited that for our cruise in April we were able to get a Grand Suite that we could afford. Of course one reason we could afford it is that we had to cancel last year because DH got sick so we are combining that cruise money and the money for next year in order to get the suite.

We booked really early and got a pretty low price. After that it went down a little and got that reduction also.

In 2018 we booked an Ocean Suite on Carnival Breeze and got a good price on it as well. I planned to get a balcony but the only accessible balconies available were at the very front and we didn't want those. They had the accessible Ocean Suite so we got it.

Whatever you cruise in it is great to be cruising! Have a wonderful time!

I just checked concerning the valet parking and you can now book on the site but it only goes through Dec. so we aren't able to book ours yet. Maybe they will extend it but if they don't maybe there will still be other parking available.

Carol, I asked about it initially but she didn't elaborate on it other then they were trying it out, so didn't get a price quote. Have a wonderful cruise as well. Closer to our leaving I possibly will check again with them.

Thank you for clarifying. Here is the email I received from them when I asked about the price for disabled veterans. I knew it was free at the port parking for disabled veterans. I am taking a wheelchair and I thought it would be great to use the valet if it is working well.

"The valet will not be offered complimentary or discounted for Disabled American Veterans. Those complimentary spaces will be in Lots A and B. As far as the procedure if you opt for valet, they are at the terminal. You pay them with credit card, $20 per day for 7 day cruises only. They park your card, when you come back, you would text before you go in to customs. They will have vehicles staged at the terminal and if yours is not one of them, they will retrieve it for you while you are going through customs. The valet staff will explain this more detailed at time of arrival. We should have it available for prepayment soon enough as well."

Maybe we will be able to find out more soon when people start using it, if they do.

Please let me know if you find out anything more. Thanks!

I have an email from them and it says it is $140.00 for the week. I am not talking about regular port parking but the new valet parking where they take your car and park it and then bring it to you when you return from the cruise.

I wanted to hear from someone who has actually used it to see how the process went.

Thank you for your comment though and hope you have a wonderful cruise.

I just wondered if anyone has used the new valet parking at the terminal yet. If so, how did it go?

We had a similar experience 2 years ago except it was my husband who got suddenly ill and it was 4 days before we were leaving for our cruise. I called our TA and she got everything I needed to me right away. We got all of the costs except the amount that RCCL refunded to us.

Praying for you and your wife. Hope she recovers quickly. It's funny how your perspective changes when something like this happens.

I am looking at buying an Air Hawk portable wheelchair. We will be flying and taking a long cruise on Holland America in October. Has anyone had experienc with this chair? Any feedback appreciated. Thanks.

I don't have the Air Hawk but I checked it out and it is very similar to the one I have, the EZ Lite Cruiser. I used it on our last cruise and it was really great for me. However, we don't fly to port so I can't help you any with the airlines.

If I had seen the Air Hawk before I got the one I got, I probably would have gotten it. It cost less and has a lot more free things with it.

Hope you have a wonderful cruise!

I couldn't get the website to work to see actual prices but seriously thinking about calling back and going with it anyway for such a great price, not having to get up as early cruise morning, and not fighting the Interstate traffic down from Houston.

 

I know of Robert and Sharla - he preaches at the church were my sister and her husband worship, but I have not met them yet. I also work with Robert's (former) aunt by marriage, Kathy Robertson !! Yep, the world gets smaller and smaller !! :)

I wonder how long they will keep their prices so much lower than other hotels. It is almost unbelievable compared to all the others. I continue to keep them down.

Maybe one day we will get to meet somewhere. Hope you have a great cruise. We are going 2 days before our cruise in April. We want to see some of the Galveston sites. Can't wait!!!

This restaurant is 2 1/2 blocks away-easy walk. Great food and beer.

http://www.jimmysonthepier.com/

Thank you for this info. That is great to know.

Wow! Really small world !! :)

 

I called the Days Inn directly during my lunch break - she gave me a price of $64.50 per room (May 2017) BUT said it was non-refundable, no cancellation. I asked what the price would be if I wanted to be able to cancel (I have seen the different prices for this option on many hotel websites). She said ALL of the rooms were non-refundable and not cancellable once reserved. :eek: I've never seen that restriction before. I politely said, no thanks, I will look elsewhere.

 

We always get travel insurance outside of Royal Caribbean, but this time I agreed to go with RC's. I'm not what all it covers yet, so maybe hotel room cancellation would be reimbursed if I had to use it. Anyone know for sure?

I checked one weekend in May and I didn't see any non-refundable rates on their sites. The rate was $72.24. That was the AARP rate. I'm not sure if you qualify for that on or not. The regular rate is $86.

Hope this is helpful.

Do you know Robert & Sharla Orren?

The morning of the cruise, how was traffic getting back over to the port? Did you take the main/seawall road or some back/side streets to avoid heavier traffic?

 

By the way, looks like we are South Arkansas neighbors - we live in Camden !!! :)

We normally leave the hotel early (10:00) and the traffic is not bad then. I can't remember which street we took to get to the port. We just took one of the ones that go straight through from Seawall to Harborside. We love Galveston because it is so easy to get around in.

Our daughter lives in Camden and we are trying to sell our house so that we can move there. Then we will really be neighbors. I've never seen anyone on here that lives that close to us before. Maybe we will go on a cruise together sometime.

We will be staying there in April, are there any decent restaurants near the hotel?

There is a small shopping center about a block away that has an eating place with sandwiches and other foods. There is not much that far down.

Has anyone stayed here recently? Good or bad experience? Also, did you book through hotels.com or directly with Days Inn? Thanks for any info.

We stayed there last April and have it booked for next April. It was a nice place to us. Not a fancy hotel but for the price it is good. We always book as soon as possible to get the best rate. We booked through the hotel.

If you have any specific questions about it, I would be happy to answer if I can. It is fairly new.

We have a suite booked for next April. It is on LOS. This will be our first suite. We normally cruise in balcony cabins.

We are so excited to try it. My DH got sick last year and we weren't able to go on our cruise so we are combining our money from that cruise with this one. We booked really early and were able to get a good deal on a GS.

We will see what it is all about and may not ever get to go in a suite after this but we will enjoy it while we can. We are among the cruisers who enjoy staying in our cabin a good deal on our cruises since we are in our mid 60's.

It always makes me happy to see that people are able to go on many cruises and enjoy the most expensive cabins. I am happy for them. My DH & I feel very blessed that we are able to cruise at all. It is something that we never dreamed we would be able to do.

No matter which type of cabin you choose, just enjoy.

W got rooms at Days Inn & Suites, Galveston for a little over $80.00 a night. Hope it is not a dump :rolleyes:

It is not a dump. It is fairly new and we thought is was nice. It is well worth the money compared to the other hotels in the area. We stayed there last April and have a reservation for our next cruise next year.

We were well pleased with it.

Hope you have a great cruise!

Carol,

Are there any restaurants nearby or would we have to drive? We do have a car but I was just wondering how far we would be from a nice restaurant.

I don't believe there are any nice restaurants in the area that you could walk to but there was a small strip mall that had a restaurant with fast food.

It's not a very far drive to the area where most of the restaurants are.

We have used Park N Cruise twice and it was great. In April when we cruised we used Galveston VIP Parking. It is a little closer because it is right on the corner by the red light. We like it too. The people were very friendly and it is inside parking only.

We didn't use Park N Cruise because I took an electric wheelchair and wanted to take the shortest route.

Either one is great and very near the port. It is nice for us to get right off the ship, go across the street and be on our way.

We stayed there in April before our cruise and have it reserved for next April.

It is a nice place. It was find for us and considering the price of the other places it is wonderful.

It is not right on the beach but is behind another hotel. I believe it is the La Quita. Since we just stayed one night it was not a problem for us.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

Two years ago before our cruise, I emailed and asked if I could bring some drinks onboard and they said absolutely not. I also asked about their confusing rule about no non-alcoholic drinks but then say if you bring them on they are subject to inspection but they did not respond to that.

We carried some on with no problem. We also did this in April this year.

We saw one lady that had several cases of drinks on a rolling cart getting on the ship. I could not believe someone would bring that many.

You are welcome. Enjoy your GS. Don't forget to take advantage of the extra perks you are paying for. :)

I do intend to.

Thanks, again!

Thank you for posting the great pictures. I especially liked the one of your grand suite because we will be in one next year for the first time. Also the Suite Lounge pictures were very good. These were the best pictures I have seen.

We were on the ship this past April and really enjoyed it but were in a balcony cabin.

Thanks, again!

I will be sailing in March 2017 with a group of female veterans. We are all coming in from all over the US to sail together. Some of us may arrive the day before the cruise and are looking for cheap accommodations around the port area as well as transportation to the port. What is the rate for the rooms at the hotel you mentioned? My cruise roommate and I will be arriving the day before sailing. Did I understand you correctly when you said they charge $55 per room to get to the cruiseport? Not per person? I'm just trying to plan ahead and save some pennies if we can. Thanks for the info. Any help is appreciated. :)

 

Where is this hotel located?

If you book soon, you should be able to get a pretty good rate but if you wait, the prices will go up a ridiculous amount the closer you get to sailing. We are sailing in April and I have already booked our hotel. If I happen to find something better closer in, I will cancel this reservation and book another one.

When we were in Galveston in April, we got to the port about 10:15 and had no problems at all except for some reason the previous cruisers were late getting off and they told us we wouldn't be able to board until about 1:30. We were able to start boarding at a little after 12:00.

I believe the new terminal will be of great benefit to the boarding process.

We love going to Galveston because it is a small town and very easy to get around in. Since we like to drive to port, Galveston and New Orleans are about our only choices. We much prefer Galveston.

Hi Carol,

 

They pick you randomly or via risk assessment so they will never tell you before you go to their work station.

 

Just imagine if you were told (even a few moments before) you would have time to get rid of anything they were testing for.

 

Pete

That's not what I meant. I was referring to it being nice if I had read it on CC before I cruised but I had never seen it before. I understand why the people doing the testing would not have told me. I don't mind them doing it. I am actually glad they do it if it helps the ship be more secure.

It was just that I was out there waiting and didn't know what I was waiting for.

Then when I got on the ship, they patted me down, which I was expecting and didn't mind at all.