txjim09

The only time my PVP responded to emails or messages was after placing a cruise on hold.

Agree with jbrinkm, our party of 4 greatly enjoyed our stay at Krazy Lobster but would not recommend it for a real beach experience for the reasons stated. They did have free kayaks and paddleboards (tip expected) and reasonable food & drinks but it got pretty busy as the day went on. We arrived a little after 9 and got a great table and loungers. $4/head for a taxi each way is greatly overpriced for the short distance but you're paying for port convenience.

Unless you get one of the 8 cabanas, it will get a bit crowded. They do seem to be well set up to handle the crowds but the beach loungers are close together. There was plenty of room on the beach and in the water.

We had a Mahogany Bay cabana early this year, a cabin and uncrowded beach area. Well worth the price but it's my understanding that they are only bookable through Princess and Carnival. We had one of each in port with 4 available for princess and, I assume, 4 for Carnival. They sell out quickly.

This is not answering your question but a good resource on nationwide airport delay status is https://www.fly.faa.gov/flyfaa/usmap.jsp?legacy=true.

They sometimes are cheaper but, more often that not, I feel the beaver is smirking at me knowing I'm going to pay their higher price.

That is a good price and I'm sure you will enjoy it. Our stay was Dec 28 and they still had their Christmas attractions up.

No worries, half of the cars on the freeway will be exiting as well!

Moody Gardens should be good for your family as they have a variety of attractions , most of which are wheelchair friendly. It's been a while since we took our kids through the attractions but we did stay at the hotel in late December before a cruise. Ticket prices for an all-attraction pass (the recommended option) start at $60 and go up from there but you would stay busy all day with all the options. Right next door is Galveston Schlitterbahn, a pretty nice waterpark which is also an option although you need to determine if it's too much for everyone in the family. Moody Gardens hotel can be pricy if you plan on staying there. Dining prices are on par with other resort hotels, which is to say expensive. Our check-in took a while because of long lines and too few clerks. Rooms and grounds were nice, however, with a very nice pool and play area. Staying in Galveston or near Hobby depends on your flight schedule and mobility. Not much to do without a car anywhere in the area but if you have an early flight then you don't have much of a choice. If you have a later flight, Moody Gardens would be a nice post-cruise event. Lots of knowledgeable people from the area on this board, hope others join the conversation.

I started a thread with this complaint a while back and received a thrashing from the cheerleaders

I've saved my job countless times following this advice!

It was not offered on our Dec 29 sailing. On the plus side, the disembark process was the easiest I've experienced.

If you are on Princess or Carnival, I would suggest looking into the cabanas on Mahogany Bay, available as an excursion through the ship. They are $400 for the day for up to 4 people (up to 6 with an additional charge) but are in a private area and include shaded beach loungers and a hammock. The cabana itself has a couple of loungers on the patio and AC +TV inside with sofas and a fridge with water/soft drinks. Also includes the aerial tramway although I believe that's overrated. Also includes floats, an attendant, and has someone coming around to order food and drinks. Beach floats are also included. We had 4 adults and only used the cabana to change but it's a great opportunity for the kids to rest and cool down during the day. You still have access to all the facilities of Mahogany Bay but can retreat back to a less hectic area.

How early is early? I'd avoid this in the peak of the ship's disembarkation but we regularly find a porter to collect our bags as departing luggage is winding down.

I received the e-mail in December after selecting a 10:30 time. When did you actually start check-in? Thanks!

Perhaps with a 4th cruise terminal, more transportation options will open such as car rental facilities actually open on weekends.

Our last Ft Lauderdale arrival put us in the same dilemma. Ended up taking a tour with airport drop-off to kill time but departure was delayed 3 hours so checked luggage and took an uber to a nearby brewpub and enjoyed a great pizza away from the hustle of the airport.

We bit on the Dec 29 Ruby cruise because it visits a couple of the less frequent Galveston destinations. It does seem that there are more options now than before but the shorter voyages will be stuck with the usual suspect ports.

Just remember, the MDR will NOT cook whatever you catch from your balcony.

Thank you for mentioning this, it's 41% off at amazon for the next 5 hours!

Fortunately, others do.

I think I'll continue with my question if you don't mind, you seem to be obsessed with incorrect interpretations of my time off comments. Whatever, dude! I specifically excluded issues with time off in my expectations list, perhaps you did not read that!

I did call and I believe I stated that I do not begrudge vacation. On the other hand, professionals are generally expected to adapt schedules to critical period. There have been several times that I've delayed or cancelled time off during critical program times as I was providing an important function for the company. Admittedly, our customers were doing things much more important than booking a cruise. In any case, this was not a question of "what should I have done," it was regarding planner expectations.

You don't see the absurdity in the situation?

Although cruises are not my primary vacation vehicle, I've booked with Princess several times after retirement and paid attention to an e-mail from a Princess Vacation Planner for the first time. I've seldom used a travel agent for any of my vacations because I've been in a few spots where waiting for a 3rd party to fix problems would have been problematic (although I fully admit that many here have great agents!) Working with the Princess planner seemed to be a good option as I still have direct control over things and perhaps they would be a helpful path to resolving issues a bit easier. I worked with my Planner somewhat for an April cruise and sent an e-mail early Thanksgiving week asking about the $1 deposits and if they apply to as particular 2024 cruise I was interested in booking. I got an autoreply back quickly stating that this person was on vacation. No issues, people deserve time off but it seems strange that it would be taken during Black Friday/$1 deposit times. I have yet to receive a response to that e-mail. Fast-forward to today and $1 deposit issues. The cruise I wanted showed $1 deposits on the first reservation page yet charged $100/head on the payment page. I did call an agent early on as I did not know if my planner had returned and, in any case, it was 7am west coast time, probably too early. The very nice Princess agent got the same result and was equally stumped so I thanked her and sent an e-mail to my planner along with appropriate screenshots. I did go ahead and pull the trigger on the full deposit reservation later that day as I had not received a response. Literally seconds later, I got a response from the planner stating that, since I just paid the deposit, there was nothing they could do. I mean it, probably 45 seconds! A tribute to our digital age! So, my serious question is, what are appropriate expectations for the services of a planner? I realize they are not travel agents but here's what I expected: Timely response to e-mail questions, no later than next day and preferably an acknowledgement of receipt the same day. I include this because, for my April voyage, I never received a response to an e-mail question yet received a call shortly after putting a cruise on hold 2 days later. Ability to resolve booking issues in a timely manner. Provide insight into and assistance with navigation of the mysteries of Princess IT issues and company processes impacting reservations and payments I am purposely leaving out any expectation regarding vacation time but still find it peculiar that it was taken during Black Friday week. What should I expect? Did I receive reasonable assistance or is it worth the effort to get someone else assigned? Or ignore them altogether?