Camlott

Seems to me you just stated the refund policy of a non-refundable airline ticket. Maybe the cruise lines should go to this approach. Offer a non-refundable price and a higher refundable price, just like the airlines.

Carnival basically does this with their Early Saver rates. Although, it really only affects the deposit (and they will usually allow you to apply deposit to another sailing minus a fee of $75).

In Alaska, I saw folks with Ulu knives declare them at boarding and the ship tagged it to return it at disembarkation. How do I do the same thing at the Port Everglades so my non-perishable items are not destroyed?

I'm unfamiliar with wawa, but unless you are buying alcohol or knives... it seems that you are not going to have any problems bringing non-perishable food items onboard. So nothing to declare. Either place them in your carry-on or regular luggage and there should be no problem.

We have carried all sorts of both perishable and non-perishable food onto a ship and unless there is some new policy I'm not aware of, there is no prohibition on this.

Am I missing something?

Is skipping the line at Park Cafe an actual suite perk on the Allure?

And is this sandwich available all week on the Allure? Told my dad about it and he must have it.

That's not a perk I've ever heard of or seen.

Sandwich will be available all week and the lines usually aren't too bad other than boarding day. Seating on the other hand can be more tricky to find sometimes. That's one of the things that makes having a cabin on deck 8 such a bonus!!! We always try to book deck 8 for its easy access to central park and Park Cafe. I much prefer their breakfast over windjammer any day.

Unless you are talking several $100's of dollars difference... there isn't a chance I'd book a flight that early for a Galveston sailing.

It is theoretically possible, but there are so many variables involved it just isn't worth it.

Things to keep in mind that frequently cause delays in Galveston:

1. Time of year (November-March = fog delays very possible)

2. Cruise itinerary (Belize, Honduras = frequent CBP delays)

These aren't the only things that will cause a delay, but there is a high probability of a delay in Galveston with either of those. If both of those apply to you... well chances are really good you will be delayed.

Just to echo what everyone else is saying... We book as early as possible for the lowest rates. We have booked direct with cruise line, local TA, and online TA.

My new preferred method is to use a website that has several agents bidding for your business and have found some outstanding incentives that way (usually 10-15% of the fare). We have been using that method for the last four years or so. I typically end up booking from the same 2-3 agents, but when I have tried to go direct to those agents, incentives have been much lower than what they will offer on that site. Makes no sense to me, but that's how they play the game.

 

In October of last year I had the extreme privilege to be reunited with George. George met my mom and I at the dock in Katakolon and spent the day with us. He was battling his illness so nobly, with such hope for the future. He was hopeful that his transplant would be successful and he would be able to retire. Gee whiz, I wish that had come to fruition for him.

 

All this time I had thought my review of Georges services had been the catalyst for his recognition. George told me it was his taking to heart my suggestion that he begin utilizing the Internet to offer his services. A word of encouragement had gone a long way.

 

I had a friend in Greece. We all have a friend in heaven. When I get to the Pearly Gates there will be George, a big smile on his face, standing next to his shiny new Mercedes, sign in hand "Welcome Jean Baker".

Jean, we toured with George the day after you this past October. You were truly dear to him! He showed us pictures with you and told us all about your day together.

He told us about his illness and that we would be his last tour before he retired because of his medical treatments that were to begin. I wish his family peace and comfort and wish Takis all the best as he tries to fill George's shoes. George was unlike any other tour operator I have ever been with!

Don't worry, there are only a few staterooms without toilet and shower facilities.;)

My first cruise we did have our own toilet, but showers were dormitory style. :eek:

Wow. That's a new one. :eek::rolleyes: I think Majesty might be your next best option? Maybe Empress? I'd think they're comparable to the Allure...

Well, the Allure is just over five years old now. I think it's time RCI puts her out of her misery and sends her to the scrap yard! :rolleyes:

If PP thinks the Allure is looking tired I'm thinking inaugural season cruising is the only way for them to go.

Also, the upgrade , would be less than 200. The cost is really not my concern, it is the motion in the front and the noise in the morning? I have read some of the reviews of these front suites and being just underneath the windjammer can be a serious problem. The upgrade would be a guarantee- so i would not know where in the front it would be???

 

We have been in a suite before, so we know what to expect. So unsure?

 

thanks

cj

For $200 total, it's a no brainer- take the suite. Motion difference will be negligible and the noise issue is hard to know. Look at the cabin reviews section here on CC and see if any available GS's have complaints. Every room is bound to have some complaints, so I usually ignore a single bad room review and look for patterns instead.

as you get closer to cruise date?

 

There was a Blackbeards Revenge excursion on our last cruise on the Allure on St Thomas. I don't see it listed now. So just wondering do they add more excursions?

If you google Blackbeards Revenge St. Thomas, you can book it directly on their website. Probably cheaper than booking with RCI unless you are just looking to spend some OBC (in that case you would have to wait until onboard anyway).

Edited to add... Just realized I'm replying to an old thread, Sorry!

It seems like going to a car dealership with the classic "Bait n Switch". Im trying to find the best "Out the door" price for two adults :D

Being a Florida resident I would expect you could come up with a much better price than what you mentioned for an interior. Maybe try and find a local travel agent that is reputable to guide you through the process and get you a good deal.

As has already been mentioned, ignore any "sales" that Royal Caribbean is offering and only pay attention to the total price. Unless you are looking to book a really popular week or time of year, I wouldn't probably pay much more than $1k for two people in interior as a Ft. Lauderdale native.

This is just a ballpark, because cruise pricing isn't fixed, it changes day to day as well as one week might be really low followed by a really expensive week.

Cruise critic is an awesome place to research cruises, but not very good for finding pricing or deals because we aren't allowed to share specific information (travel agents, websites etc.), nor do they allow for private messaging. This website is owned by a large online travel agency and is looking to protect their business.

I am not saying that it is or is not a good idea to sail out of Galveston.

 

I would just like to point out that almost all of the replies have come from Texans. A few others have come from residents of other states who drive to the port.

 

I think that this is important information to digest.

 

:)

Certainly a valid point... But Texas is a huge state and believe it or not, some of us have flown in for a sailing. We have done it twice. It saves us car time, but ends up taking the same overall time in the end. So now we just drive and save the money to upgrade our cabin.

I will agree that Galveston is much more suited for people driving in rather than flying. But don't feel it's a mistake to book a cruise out of Galveston whether by land or air.

You won't see any argument from me that sailing from Florida (specifically FLL or MIA) is probably easier than any other port in the world. Those two ports have as many or more sailings in one day than Galveston has in a week.

We have cruised six times out of Galveston. We have loved each and every one of them. We have been lucky to cruise during fog season and never have been affected by it. My suggestion for that would be to schedule a later flight or even plan for an extra night post cruise if you are that concerned about it. From relatives that have lived there, fog is primarily a problem during winter time and really only bad if a cold front comes in.

Certainly flying in for a cruise from Galveston usually requires a little more logistical planning and costs than FLL/MIA, but I don't believe it is a mistake to do so. I recommend a private car service for anything more than two people. It usually costs less than the shared shuttle services in our experience. Renting a car for the week may be another option as well and many hotels on the island allow you to park a car for a cruise even if they don't advertise it. Just call the hotel direct and ask.

The two night minimum can be quite annoying especially if you are wanting a full service hotel or had somewhere specific in mind. But there will be rooms available on island for a one night stay if you are flexible and very often as you get closer to your sail date (within 1-2 weeks) most of the hotels that require two nights will open up for one night bookings if they have rooms left.

I'm going on the Enchantment in March with my 7 year old. My husband will not be traveling this time. My child and I have the same last name. We both have passports.

 

Question is, do I need a written, notarized letter from my hubby stating it's ok to take our child without him?

 

The RCCL website basically sucks, and I am having an impossible time finding out anything on the site.

I gave my wife a week off without kids (or husband) this past year and I took my kids on a cruise. Although I ended up not needing it and both of my kids have their own passport, I still used this form just in case. I didn't volunteer it, but had it ready at check-in and when going through customs.

http://www.freewebs.com/thedocxpert/Minor%20Travel%20Consent.pdf

Park cafe is my favorite spot for breakfast and lunch.

This!!!

Made me smile.

 

However, if you have paid for a cruise, why why why does one have to bring as standard an inflatable bed ?

Or a chicken ?

 

Am i mad ?

Not mad at all... Very reasonable expectations in my opinion.

There are currently two threads I see going right now about these stupid new mattresses and then them adding insult to injury by no longer providing egg crates.

Hoping previously mentioned bean counter loses their job and previous level of comfort is brought back or even improved upon!

omg this is the state of things on Royal Caribbean?

 

Bringing your own mattresses and chicken.

Don't know anything about bringing my own chicken. I read the first page of that thread and quit. :eek:

This is a two inch thick camping pad, and after my nine night experience on Rhapsody in October sailing in a suite... Yes, I'd say unfortunately for us this is the state of RCI cruising at the moment. Most other cruise lines and hotels like to tout their mattresses. At the moment, some bean counter at RCI has prevailed in the corporate mattress selection contest.

Not practical if we are flying, but when we sail from our homeport I'd have no problem packing a couple of these. Never needed them in the past, but seriously considering them for the future.

O.K. that does it, I am going to vacuum suck my Temperpedic toppers into jet bags and bring them for our Liberty sailing just to be safe. Thanks for the heads up....

You may be on to something! I'm thinking two of these self inflating mattress pads might be in our future for cruises we are able to drive to. $28 each, worth it for a good night rest!

Do you know what time the shuttle runs from the Hilton to the port and how often? Just curious with the new check-in times.

In our experience. First shuttles leave hotel around 11ish. They will assign you a time frame. Last few times we stayed there, there were only two rounds of shuttle buses 11 & 11:30. It all depends on how many cruisers are staying and need shuttle services. It's not a constant running service.

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Do you happen to know if Rhapsody offers suite breakfast? On Navigator it was in Chops, but since Rhapsody is built differently (my favorite by far) I wondered if they might offer it somewhere else, if at all.

In October they did a suites brunch one day when we were scheduled for a noon arrival in port. The CL had great views and Analia the concierge at the time was really nice. The lounge did have fruit and pastries until around noon. But no daily breakfast anywhere for suite guests.

Not sure if our mattress was old or new, but our recent sailing in a GS on Rhapsody was the hardest mattress I've ever slept on. This is disappointing news if they are going fleetwide.

Steward did bring us egg crate topper, but it didn't make much difference.

Then, at least for me, you need to define full service. I just searched "Galveston hotels" and found 4 in the significant chains that have one night available checking in on 9/10 and out on 9/11 of 2016...and none of them are the one you mentioned so that makes at least 5.

 

Ok, I'm done with this conversation but here is my short list of what I consider to be full service hotels on Galveston Island. If there are some that I have missed, I'm open to suggestions. These are the ones that I know of and look for when booking a pre-cruise hotel.

Tremont House

Harbor House

San Luis Resort

Doubletree

Moody Gardens

Holiday Inn Resort

Hotel Galvez

Hilton Galveston Island

With the exception of Moody Gardens, if you want a one night stay on a Saturday at any of the other properties you are out of luck more often than not. As I said earlier in the thread, I get it... Galveston's travel related businesses are geared towards those who are vacationing on the island, not cruisers.

They aren't unfriendly people by any stretch of the imagination (we love the island and have found everyone to be very hospitable), the hotels and car rental agencies just have unfriendly policies towards cruise business.

I love cruising out of Galveston and would never want to discourage anyone else from doing so. But to pretend that cruising out of Galveston is as easy as pretty much any other port is disingenuous. For those that aren't close enough to drive in the morning of the cruise, Galveston cruising can be a challenge (more so than other US ports).

Just to test what I already knew, I checked every Saturday night from September 2016 through December 2016 (as far out as can be planned at this point). The only full service hotel that had any one night availability during that four month span was Moody Gardens. With the exception of Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, this is low season (hurricane season).

So it is true that a two night minimum isn't required so long as you are ok with that one hotel or staying at a motel. I've never personally stayed at Moody Gardens, but I haven't heard great things about it. I usually do not a consider that property and we prefer to stay in full service hotels. The Hilton Galveston Island is our hotel of choice, but they apparently don't need our business anymore.

Would not these conditions apply to Port Canaveral, Tampa, and Ft. Lauderdale too?

I know what I believe... don't confuse me with the facts. :D

I've cruised out of Galveston a total of 3 times. If you carefully re-read my post, when I mentioned that it appears Galveston "tolerates" the cruise industry, I used the word OPINION as a prefix to that sentence. It is a fact that what I said is my OPINION. However, everything I mentioned about rental cars, transfers, and hotels has been based on facts.

Your experience with Galveston (how many times again?) was your experience not mine. .

In case you missed it... (Emphasis mine)

Predicting this thread is going to be locked in 3...2...1