srlucado

"Is 8:15 too early a flight out of San Juan following a cruise?"

8:15 PM, no.

Don't ruin a vacation by pressuring yourself on the last day.

Do you really want to stress yourself the whole previous night and early morning to make sure you're able to get off the ship, get transportation, make it through traffic, get to the airport, go through security, and arrive at the gate in time for an 8:15 flight?

You're more likely to have a stroke than make that flight.

On my cruise on Liberty 12/3, they loaded 24-bottle cases as checked luggage. I watched it come aboard.

My wife and I each brought a 12-pack of pop with us. Dr Pepper for her, Diet Dr Pepper for me. We put the 2 12-packs in a small rollaboard and checked it. No problem at all.

I would definitely go option 1, spend less money on the cabins and more on other things such as excursions and perhaps a nice dinner at a speciality restaurant for your wife's birthday. Realistically, there will be so much to do on both the ship and in ports that your kids aren't going to want to spend time sitting around on the balcony.

Get out there and enjoy the ship!! Have fun :)

I agree, given those choices.

That's what I thought too.

Yes, I was a little surprised by that myself.

But that 18% was added to just about everything. $75 10-drink cards that are actually $88-something, for example.

RCI sure is putting the squeeze on.

I ordered a pretty big lunch for two from room service on Liberty last week, and the charge was $7.95 (plus that eternal extra 18%).

Wait time was supposed to be 35 minutes; food arrived in 45 minutes. Still fairly hot, though.

The cheeseburger was excellent, by the way. One of the best I've ever had.

Small, small, small. Rhapsody was my favorite ship. Liked it better than Voyager class. We board the Liberty on Dec. 3. First time on Freedom class. Maybe I'll change my mind?

I also like the Rhapsody best. I was on the 12/3 Liberty cruise, and it was just too much. Too crowded, too many kids.

I wish the Rhapsody was still sailing out of Galveston. Did that twice, and would love to do it again. That ship seemed a perfect blend of size, comfort, amenities, and staff/pax ratio.

I've had a couple of cruises on Princess with lower-deck outside cabins very close to the front of the ship. Motion hasn't been an issue.

Being higher up in the ship can be more of a problem, since elevation accentuates every movement.

Just off the Liberty.

Bought a 10-drink card (shareable; my wife and I split it) for $75 (plus 18%, of course) about Day 5. Came out okay. Some wine with dinner, a couple of pina coladas (tasty but weak).

Drinks of the day were $9.75 (plus 18%, of course), regular price about $13 (plus...well, you know), I think. I didn't buy any.

I'm not a big drinker, and the 10-drink card worked out fine.

Biggest disappointment alcohol-wise was being promised a bottle of Clos du Bois Cabernet when I booked through RCI, then not receiving it, complaining to Guest Services, and being given a bottle of Tisdale Merlot, which is about $4 at Dollar General--and tasted like it.

Drinking on any vacation isn't a big deal for me.

I tried to get there last week, but it was sold out. Looked like fun, though.

I was there last week. Walked from the pier, took a taxi back.

Not interested in drinking, only in chairs and an umbrella. Originally offered at $40, my wife negotiated them down to $30.

The beach is okay. Not exactly big, but if you get there early you can get a good spot. I'd heard the beach was dirty, but it wasn't. Not exactly pristine, either, but nothing too scary. Cruise ships are so close you almost feel you can touch them.

Nassau is kind of a ripoff overall, but you can find some deals.

I typically take my tux with me on cruises, but fewer men wear tuxedos, suits, or even dress shirts on formal nights.

"I would wear my shorts & a tee shirt to the dining room if I could."

Well, on the Liberty cruise last week, on formal nights there were men in shorts, t-shirts, jeans, you name it.

Formal night sure isn't what it used to be.

On the 11/26 LOS it was still Drew Devine.

Yep. It was Drew.

Just back from the Liberty (12/3 departure).

We had first-seating scheduled.

First night: table for 8, two people. (Us.)

Night two: two people. (Guess who?)

Night three: four people.

You get the picture. To make a long story short, two couples never showed at all. It might have been nice if they'd told the dining room staff that they'd made other plans.

Kind of weird to be two people at a table for eight, but at least we got our fill of dinner rolls, and I didn't have to worry about brushing elbows.

I was on that cruise, and agree about the kids. Nearly 600, I heard somewhere. Also a total of 4,200 pax (stated capacity is 3,600), a lot of people to move around.

Not the best cruise I've been on, not the worst.

Nassau was kind of fun. Walked to Junkanoo Beach and had an okay time. Did a tour of New Providence Island that was very informative.

Liberty seemed understaffed, though we got professional service all around.

To me, it seemed RCI has been cutting corners all around, and it really showed on this trip.

I was disappointed by a couple of things, like shorts in the dining room on formal nights, and being promised a bottle of Clos du Bois wine but receiving cheapo dollar-store Tisdale, but really nothing major. Just enough to make me think I'll be looking for a different kind of vacation next time. Cruising sure has changed in the 22 years since I first sailed on Royal Caribbean. (And so have I, I know.)

Princess has a self-serve laundromat on the two ship I've sailed, but on several RCI ships there haven't been any such thing.

Too bad--it would really come in handy.

I was on the 12/3 Liberty cruise, and we were late all around. Late leaving Galveston (fog and some other reason), late into Nassau, late leaving Nassau, strong headwinds back and late into Galveston. I was off the ship at 1:30 PM and out of the parking lot and headed home by 2:30.

I hope they can make up some time on the way to Cozumel.

Great information. Thanks for posting.

...this was extra important on Sunday because the cabin stewards really got the brunt of the service challenges! I hope my fellow passengers recognized that.

Here's one passenger who did.

I have to say, the service aboard ship was exemplary. I'm going to miss Princess when they stop sailing out of Houston.

I visited Altun Ha last year, and it was a great excursion. Really fun.

The Port of Houston is very close to the Johnson Space Center which I have enjoyed visiting more than once. If you have an interest in space travel--go!

 

If you have an interest in naval history, the battleship, U.S.S. Texas, is also located near the Port of Houston.

QUOTE]

 

We've picked a hotel that is really cheep with Hilton points and I think that parking at the port makes sense with how much shuttles cost for 4 two ways. Do they actually sell out of spaces? We went to a battleship in North Carolina and the kids loved it so I think we might do that depending on when we get in from driving the day before and when we want to go wait to embark.

 

The Texas is very different from the North Carolina. The NC is a WWII-era ship; Texas is the last remaining "Dreadnought" class (WWI-era) battleship in the world. Worth a look just to see that.

does anyone take advantage of this offer at each port?

I did, once. I guess that as a souvenir they'd be okay, but I'd rather not spend my time fighting crowds just to get one.

BTW Scott - I just LOVE Max!:D :D :D

He's quite a guy. I'm a very distant relative, but Max and I did meet in Abilene a while back (we both happened to be there at the same time), and he took time out of his incredibly busy schedule to chat with me.

I sure wish I could sell as many books as he has!

I've done a couple of them on Royal Caribbean ships, and I think they're a blast. If you really know fine wines (if you have a cellar full of premier cru clarets at home, for example), you won't learn a whole lot, but everyone does get a chance to sample the wines that the ship actually has on board.

The tasting events are set up to be fun and non-threatening; I've certainly enjoyed the ones I've been to.

Even if you can't get a free voucher, it's worth attending.

I seem to recall that the wine tastings are offered at weird times, though, so look sharp in your event schedule.

Also, I don't know if you're aware, but if you buy a bottle of wine with a meal and only drink part of it, your waiter will re-cork it for you to enjoy at another meal. That's quite handy for me; my wife and I sometimes like just a single glass of wine with dinner.

Enjoy!

I'm just glad people don't type in leet. That gives me a headache.

My first cruise was on the Mardi Gras, in 1991. I went with a friend from work, and we shared one of thos tiny upper/lower cabins. I seem to recall that it measured roughly 6x12', including the bathroom.

I joked with my friend that the Carnivale and Mardis Gras sailed in sight of each other was that in case one sank, the other would be there to pick up survivors.

But despite the mediocre food, cramped quarters, broken air conditioning (in August), and indifferent staff, we had a blast.

Does anyone remember that Carnival gave you an 11x14 print of a watercolor painting of the ship? I still have mine, proudly hung on a wall.

I'll have to dig through my photos and see if I can come up with a couple of nice shots of the Mardi Gras and scan them.

Despite her shortcomings, she was a by-God cruise ship, not a self-propelled hotel.