*** The Galveston, Texas "Cruise Cam" Watch Group ***

[cricketts]

I know far, far, FAR better than to cross Ms. Cindy!!! :eek::D

 

Here's to a year-round return to Galveston...

 

VR,

 

T Lex

 

P.S. And since you were with us on the Glorious Mariner Spring Break 2012 Party Cruise, you KNOW what I'm talking about! ;)

 

We're in for a repeat of that Glorious Spring Break 2012 Party Cruise :cool:

However, we need it to be 2015!! Can you believe we're that far out in our planning, LOL! Celebrity got our attention with their "123 Go" all inclusive beverage package, so we're on the Silhoutte for Spring Break 2014 :D

 

In the meantime, we're very anxious for more choices and more itineraries from Galveston / Houston ;)

[TLex]

Hmm...nope! There were only about 120 kids on the ship this week! It really was noticeably less crowded.:)

 

One thing I forgot to mention was we did My Time Dining for the first time and loved it! I don't think I could go back to eating at 8 or 8:30 every night.

 

Aw, rats! :p

 

OK, what if we get year-round? Would you guys be open to a cruise in the summer...or STILL too many kids???!! :D:D

 

We are doing MTD, too. Since the gratuities became automatic, no reason to stick to a late dining. To us it was "mox nix" whether to pay upfront or have it taken out of our OBA. Plus by paying in advance, it goes on the RCL Card and we might get some extra OBC.

 

Cindy, there will never be as good a party as you did for us. Look at what Deedee posted!

 

VR,

 

T Lex

 

P.S. But I have to admit you are making it AWFULLY tempting to leave the kid and just go.....:D

[BecciBoo]

Hey girl, did you have fun???

I am going over all the photos on Google for the Navigator to try to see the differences, full well knowing she will go to drydock soon.

Mariner was a logical choice to go Asian, seeing as she already had that flavor, i.e. Lotus Lounge, dragons, etc. Sitting in Promenade Café I couldn't help but notice they had changed out some of the light fixtures from modern to lotus blossom shaped globes.

We'll see about the Navi for a Diamonds in Dec. cruise maybe between Alaska and the Allure in May of next year. IF we can get a cheap interior with the new Virtual Porthole!

Edited April 21, 2013 by BecciBoo

[Texas Teen]

Getting ready to start my time lapse software for Magic. After I turn her departure into a video, I will erase the frames of her departure and start the time lapse again, erasing frames and starting over every hour or so until Mariner departs.

[Texas Teen]

Looks like the crane that was loading stuff onto and taking stuff away from Mariner is gone.

 

EDIT: My timelapse software is countinuously running on my laptop (I'm on my dad's right now), and I'm clearing out the useless frames it's capturing every hour or so.

Edited April 22, 2013 by Texas Teen

[ssb]

Just drove by Mariner on Harborside to say good bye!

The crains were working earlier while we were on way to dinner

it was lifting and loading container on front area where heliopad is!

Edited April 22, 2013 by ssb

[aggie1]

I am going to miss the Mariner. We all had a great TA on her.

[ssb]

I am going to miss the Mariner. We all had a great TA on her.

 

Yes we did!!!

There will be the Navigator for a while at least, and probably a while more... based on crew comments of Mariner moving over to her! :)

[cricketts]

OK, what if we get year-round? Would you guys be open to a cruise in the summer...or STILL too many kids???!! :D:D

 

Cindy, there will never be as good a party as you did for us. Look at what Deedee posted!

 

VR,

 

T Lex

 

LOL ;) We're anxious to know about Navigator because we'd love to go in the summer...sounds like we need a party :D Cindy, you can plan - were in :D

Deedee

[Texas Teen]

I have to go home after 10 tonight. If she's not leaving by then, I won't be able to record her departure.

[Cindy]

I tried really hard to stay awake to watch the Mariner sail, but I can't keep my eyes open any longer!:o

[Texas Teen]

Goodbye Mariner!

[Rancher Dave]

Looks like she is still there. Must be quite an operation today. Figure the crew will be really tired tonight.

[Rancher Dave]

Now I see movement. I'd be about in bed after a day of excitement for sail away day. Be a bummer to miss sail away though.

[Cindy]

I checked one last time, and caught the departure. Bon voyage, Mariner...we'll miss you!

[Rancher Dave]

Goodbye Mariner!

 

Get your first cruise worked out yet with your mom or dad?

[Rancher Dave]

I checked one last time, and caught the departure. Bon voyage, Mariner...we'll miss you!

 

Now we wait on Navigator. Have it planned for NYE but dw hit a big bday so it may change to a different ship and route she is uncertain. We have a great suite at this time with the d+ max off for early booking.

[Texas Teen]

Get your first cruise worked out yet with your mom or dad?

 

 

No, not yet.

_____________

Going to edit the timelapse and post it online next week. Good night y'all.

[BecciBoo]

Will miss her!

Was playing PC games and missed her....

Now for Navigator....geez, we'll have done every Vger class ship before RCCL is done here.:rolleyes:

But I'm not whining...:cool:

[Cindy]

Hey girl, did you have fun???

 

I am going over all the photos on Google for the Navigator to try to see the differences, full well knowing she will go to drydock soon.

 

Mariner was a logical choice to go Asian, seeing as she already had that flavor, i.e. Lotus Lounge, dragons, etc. Sitting in Promenade Café I couldn't help but notice they had changed out some of the light fixtures from modern to lotus blossom shaped globes.

 

We'll see about the Navi for a Diamonds in Dec. cruise maybe between Alaska and the Allure in May of next year. IF we can get a cheap interior with the new Virtual Porthole!

 

We did have fun! There was a very different feel on the ship than we're used to, since we've always had well over a thousand kids on the ship, and we did a lot more...when it was a super crowded Spring Break cruise we tended to spend a lot of time on our balcony avoiding people.:o

We had My Time Dining (which for us was pick your time and have a set table and waiter for the week), and I'm not sure we could ever go back to eating at 8:00-8:30 every night. Our waiter was phenomenal -- just a super nice, genuine person, and our service was excellent.

We had a GS, but didn't really spend much time in the lounge because it was pretty crowded. Instead we were pre-dinner regulars in Vintages!:D After dinner we played music trivia and really enjoyed Phil Anderson in the Schooner Bar. We didn't go to many shows, but we did see the Vegas Tenors who were phenomenal, and went to the ice show. I also hit a few times on my favorite Wheel of Fortune machine!:cool: We LOVED Giovanni's Table, and on the last night we went to the Wine Series Dinner in Chops, which was fantastic. The waiter was pretty generous with the wine, and I thought it would be rude to say no, so I was a wee bit out of sorts yesterday.:rolleyes:

There were a couple things "missing" from our previous RCCL suite experience...we didn't get slippers or chocolates, neither of which we really missed. One change I loved was they are now cooking lunch for suites in Chops. The Chops perk alone makes it worthwhile for me to book a suite, since neither one of us are buffet people.

A couple annoyances...there were a LOT of contractors on the ship, and they were already in full-blown "Asianization" mode. They constructed a new Logo shop in half of Boleros during the week, and the jewelry store was closed for our cruise...both those locations opened on Saturday at noon. We stayed on the ship in Grand Cayman, but we really couldn't be down on the Promenade at all because of the noise and the smells.

My other "pet peeve" was the chaise lounge on my balcony. It was the nastiest, filthiest, most disgusting thing I've ever seen on a ship. When we asked our cabin steward about it, he said it was supposed to have a cushion, but they were being "prepared." We thought that meant it would be delivered the next day, but we were informed that no, our cruise wouldn't get the cushions...it seemed like our steward was about to say they were being saved for future cruises, but he caught himself. The solution...stick a beach towel on the chair for the week.:mad: I know that probably sounds petty, but it did irritate me to feel like something that should have been provided was being reserved for someone else...like even though we paid for a GS we didn't qualify.

I'm also looking for information on the Navigator. I found the early list of Royal Advantage upgrades, and it included more than what was done to the Mariner...there was no Boardwalk Dog House, but the list did include both Park Cafe and Chef's Table, as well as a Concierge Club and Diamond Lounge. I'm sure what she gets will be different, since that list has been taken down and it now just says "coming soon."

 

Hopefully what I was told on Saturday is true, and Navigator will be home-ported in Galveston for a while. I know quite a few people don't believe it, and I wouldn't myself if it hadn't come straight from Luca. Most concierges aren't in the business of ticking people off!

Sorry if this is TMI...I have a whole bunch of laundry to do, and I need to go to the grocery store, but neither one of those really appeals to me right now.

Disembarkation was super easy yesterday. After last year's three hour fiasco I was dreading it, but we left Chops at 8:55 and we were in our car and on the road just before 9:30. Oh, and the best thing -- we're now Diamond, so we'll get the Elite benefits on our Celebrity cruise in September!:D

[Texas Teen]

Here are a few screen shots of both ships arriving:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The time lapse isn't ready yet. I was worried about how Mariner's departure came out since the streaming cruise cam kept freezing, but it isn't too bad.

Departures coming up...

[Texas Teen]

Carnival Magic departing for a regular 7-night R-T cruise:

 

 

 

And here is Mariner of the Seas on her final departure. :(

 

 

 

 

 

I'll post a link to the time lapse when I'm done editing it and posting it on You Tube sometime this week.

[geoblond]

Thanks Dylan.

 

Bye bye Mariner!

[TEXASMUNK]

Your comments about the GS. You hit it squarely on the head!...Makes such a difference! Access to Chops for breakfast and lunch, no crowds, no hassles, changed the whole attitude for the week.

 

Still waiting on a final word on the future of Galveston. ......

[cricketts]

May 2014 Navigator schedule is up on the RCCL site. We're looking at the 5-18-14 sailing to Roatan, Belize and Cozumel :D