cruiselvr04

The DH likes to ring the doorbell every time we open the door just because he can. Lol. My favorite is the separate tub and shower.

The water can be rough anytime of the year. Fog can prevent you from getting back sometimes in January and February. Almost every year a ship gets delayed returning into Galveston due to fog. It will be chilly the first and last sea day so plan accordingly. Once you get further south it’s great.

I would have thought donuts would be fine. I can see not bringing something that needs to be kept cool or reheated. We have brought cheese and chocolate on board but I guess never anything fresh like that. If you really want a Taco put it in your bag and see what happens.

This is the best advice I see on this subject. Pay the auto tips and the rest is up to you. Above that shouldn’t be expected but will be appreciated.

Older kids Odyssey. Younger kids Harmony. But for me the price for 5 would be a bigger factor.

Presidents’ Day is Feb 20th so that week will definitely have more kids.

If you cruise out of Galveston the first and last sea day will definitely be chilly. The water in the Caribbean will also be cold but the sun is warm. We thinks it’s too cold for the Bahamas but once you get south of that it’s fine.

We’ve seen yellow water on older cruise ships before. Just run it for a while and it clears. I especially notice it in the bathtubs sometimes.

We just got off the Grandeur from Galveston. We did 5 nights in an ocean view. Ports were Costa Maya and Cozumel. For the first time, we couldn’t drive down the night before because of a schedule conflict. We left the Dallas area at 4 am to beat the traffic in Dallas and took the Sam Houston tollway around Houston. We had very little heavy traffic and got to the pier before 10 am. Getting up at 3:30 isn’t fun but I’m used to early mornings so it really wasn’t bad. Grandeur leaves at 3 pm so that leaves less room for error. Grandeur really is a lovely old ship. She is so easy to get around in and it’s quick to get anywhere on the ship. The solarium doesn’t open anymore so it gets warm in there but the pool is cool and refreshing. We love the Park cafe and on sea days didn’t even bother to go the windjammer. We watched a movie on the big screen at night. The theater is great with bucket type chairs and loveseats in the back. The safari lounge at the back of the ship gives a sea view during the day and lots of seating at night. She does need a redo as many chairs in the centrum were stained or torn. They still do the old system of printing up all your pictures. Our cabin was small with no cooler but instead had 3 big drawers. The cabins also have large 2 drawer bedside tables so there is a huge amount of storage for a small room. We take way too much and still had 2 empty drawers. The bed is lower then usual and we had a hard time getting our suitcases under the bed which is not usually a problem. Our steward kept our ice bucket full and we didn’t miss the cooler. The pipes are rusty so when you first turn on the water it will be yellow. We let it run and drank bottled water. The shower curtains are always gross, I took a clear one from the dollar store to put inside the cloth one so we didn’t touch it. We didn’t do any speciality restaurants this time. We didn’t go hungry but the food in the MDR was just okay. It wasn’t awful but not memorable either. We are not foodies so this is less important to us. Our waiter was very good and tried hard to please everyone at the table. Bar service was very good but we usually go to the bar rather then wait for a server. We heard lots of coughing the last 2 days of the cruise and heard of at least one who was sick with fever and chills. Several others commented about stomach upset. We feel fine so far and hope it stays that way. No one is masked anymore including the crew although we saw a few crew with them on. This is our 4th cruise since the restart. Prior cruises we’ve worn masks a lot, stayed off elevators, ate away from others, didn’t join in games etc. This time we put our masks away, met great people and really had a great time and are hoping our immune systems work. TBD. We normally like the production shows but the singers this time just weren’t up to Royal standards. It really does make a difference. The dancers were good, the tango dancers were great. The headliner shows were good. We went to several game shows which were fun and had us laughing. The cruise director was full of energy. The best entertainment on the ship was the Band in Motion who could play pretty much any music and was fun to listen to and dance to. They had the centrum busy until midnight. Do not pick a cabin under or near the centrum if you want to go sleep early. We are back on Grandeur in December and looking forward to it. She’s a great little ship with a great crew. If you need all the bells and whistles this is not your ship. If you like seeing and feeling the ocean, friendly crew, getting to know others and a short walk to your cabin you will like her.

Grandeur arrival into Galveston is going to be a few hours behind schedule. Weather delay stated. Maybe they left Cozumel a little later and the gulf was rough? Does she even have stabilizers?

Personally I don’t like this. I’d prefer to book shows and dining pre cruise. Once I get on board I’d prefer to relax not struggle with the app. Our experience with the app has not been flawless. Sometimes it just plain doesn’t work.

We paid $14 pp in the evening on Liberty. We ate outside and were the only ones there. The food wasn’t worth it but the ocean view private table was. Last time unless we have the UDP. $7.95 was about all it was worth even though prices on just about everything have increased.

I’ve been listening to the weather channel. Sounds a bit like Harvey. A prolonged rain and water event. Houston was a mess as it couldn’t handle all the water. It wasn’t the wind with Harvey but the water.

During hurricane season we pay a little extra to park in the garage in Galveston. The new pier has no garage so that’s a potential problem. I’d hate to come back to a flooded car.

Just curious what the parking is like at the port of Tampa. Wondering if those who return will have damaged cars like Galveston has had in the past.

You pay for all 7 days. You get unlimited the first day but only with certain brand alcohol. If you have any free wine or purchase a wine and cheese tray for instance it won’t be delivered until day 2. Annoying law but it is what it is. And remember any alcohol you bring back with you will be taxed when you get off the ship.

As a service employee I so want to tell it like it is….but I don’t. My response would have simply been “I’m sorry but you need to go to the back of the line”. Repeat firmly as necessary. Yep, they should have gotten up early or skipped breakfast or whatever it was that made them late. Boarding Liberty recently in a suite we were told “. You’re late. You should have been here on time”. We arrived at maybe 11:15 for an 11:00 board time. Grumpy older lady. Not a good first impression. DH and I just looked at each other. The rest of the trip was great.

Ship water is fine but my feet swell more with it. If we drive I bring 12 bottles. Anymore if we fly I order ahead. I usually can get it for $11.99 + gratuity and it is worth it to not carry it back to a hotel and then drag it on board. If we have any vouchers left at night I get more. If I run out I drink ship water in my refillable bottle. It’s just a convenience.

Your post got me to do a last minute bid for Friday. Lol. When we have a suite I don’t try but with an OV this time why not! Any upgrade can’t be worse.

The DH has clients in Grand Cayman and they are back to work today. It was a tropical storm for them and they will be ready for cruisers again.

Where are you seeing this for Liberty? There’s is nothing on the website I can find but on a ship tracker I can see they are still out in the gulf to the west of the storm. ETA for Cozumel is later today?

Does anyone know if Liberty headed into the gulf this afternoon? I'm sure they know what they're doing but even staying close to Mexico would have me a bit worried. Not a ton of room for error between Cayman and Cozumel.

I wouldn’t do an 1130 but 1250 is good. We were off the Liberty recently by 9:45 with early luggage tags and drove past Hobby around 11:00. With the new terminal and facial recognition it may go faster but of course it’s a bigger ship. Until the new terminal, customs is very slow and takes 45 minutes to an hour in line.

Don’t be scared. Just keep your expectations reasonable. Service should still be good. Food is subjective. The room will be tiny compared to Haven but has what you need to shower and sleep. It’s a cheap getaway. Relax and enjoy.

Unfortunately Royal doesn’t have guest laundry rooms on any of their ships.