Pre-cruise Ramblings...

[canadaman111]

In Montego Bay we are going to Sunscape Splash AI. It is only 5 minutes from the port and has a lot to offer the kids to do, a small water park and watersports. It had really good reviews and they offer shuttle service with the price of the AI. We booked through resortforaday.com.

 

Thank you. i will check that out

[sanantoniocruisenurse]

I don't want to thwart your enthusiasm, but you may want to consider also saving up for airfare. It is a very, very, very long drive. Texas itself is huge and as others have noted, the weather in February can get gnarly on your route south, slowing you down in snow and ice and jeopardizing your safety. I live in San Antonio now, grew up in Oklahoma. I never drive in bad weather down here. I know how, but no one that grew up in this area knows how to handle ice. It took me 3 long days to drive from Los Angeles to San Antonio in good weather and I would think your distance is longer. You could end up with a 4 to 5 day drive and risk missing your cruise. With the cost of hotels, gas and meals incurred on a multi-day trip, I would consider looking for airfare deals, just come down a day early to allow for any issues. It would be much less wear and tear on your kids, never mind keeping your sanity. I would hate to have to face that drive back up north after a lovely cruise. You could even spend a couple of extra days in Galveston. Although the water is a little muddy due to the proximity to the Gulf of Mexico Mississippi river outflow, Galveston is my favorite little Texas island, with interesting sights and activities for kids.

[sanantoniocruisenurse]

Which of these options would you take?

 

We come in from the East, but we always use the toll road. I lived in Houston for 2 years and avoid the downtown area always. Not bad traffic on a Saturday is like horrible rush hour traffic in a lot of other places.

[sanantoniocruisenurse]

One last piece of advice. Traveling in February, weather conditions can cause issues. Missed flights, unexpectedly having to book hotels, missing cruise, kids get hurt, etc. Invest in travel insurance. Go to an outside vendor for better coverage and cheaper prices. It's worth it. We use InsureMyTrip.

[Jamericannn]

No. we will be driving our mini van

 

 

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That's a lot of mileage and devaluing of the vehicle.

[canadaman111]

447 days until cruise

 

I think finally we have decided we are just going to drive. Unless when flights open up for Feb. 2018 there is some amazing deal. I have been looking at this coming Feb 2017 and the best deal I can find is out of Baltimore. The total cost is $1336 for the 6 of us with nonstop flights both ways. Problem is that it doesn't make a lot of sense for us to drive 9 hours to get to Baltimore to get on the plane. Then we still need to get from Houston to Galveston.

 

So unless we can get something around that price from Buffalo or Detroit we will be driving.

[Jamericannn]

I don't want to thwart your enthusiasm, but you may want to consider also saving up for airfare. It is a very, very, very long drive. Texas itself is huge and as others have noted, the weather in February can get gnarly on your route south, slowing you down in snow and ice and jeopardizing your safety. I live in San Antonio now, grew up in Oklahoma. I never drive in bad weather down here. I know how, but no one that grew up in this area knows how to handle ice. It took me 3 long days to drive from Los Angeles to San Antonio in good weather and I would think your distance is longer. You could end up with a 4 to 5 day drive and risk missing your cruise. With the cost of hotels, gas and meals incurred on a multi-day trip, I would consider looking for airfare deals, just come down a day early to allow for any issues. It would be much less wear and tear on your kids, never mind keeping your sanity. I would hate to have to face that drive back up north after a lovely cruise. You could even spend a couple of extra days in Galveston. Although the water is a little muddy due to the proximity to the Gulf of Mexico Mississippi river outflow, Galveston is my favorite little Texas island, with interesting sights and activities for kids.

 

I totally agree with you. It is not worth the drive. They will be drained when they get back home. That's not the feeling you want after a vacation.

[cmukid87]

447 days until cruise

 

I think finally we have decided we are just going to drive. Unless when flights open up for Feb. 2018 there is some amazing deal. I have been looking at this coming Feb 2017 and the best deal I can find is out of Baltimore. The total cost is $1336 for the 6 of us with nonstop flights both ways. Problem is that it doesn't make a lot of sense for us to drive 9 hours to get to Baltimore to get on the plane. Then we still need to get from Houston to Galveston.

 

So unless we can get something around that price from Buffalo or Detroit we will be driving.

 

If you can make it to Chicago, we've been diligent enough to find flights on Southwest to Houston for about $100 round trip per person. We've done it on 2 separate occasions.

[canadaman111]

If you can make it to Chicago, we've been diligent enough to find flights on Southwest to Houston for about $100 round trip per person. We've done it on 2 separate occasions.

 

We have looked at Chicago. Southwest does have some pretty good prices to Houston. Chicago is still an 8 hour drive for us though.

[ILCruzr]

We have looked at Chicago. Southwest does have some pretty good prices to Houston. Chicago is still an 8 hour drive for us though.

 

You can also try Milwaukee or Indianapolis-Southwest usually has cheap flights from there.

 

Too bad you are going out of Texas-I live near Chicago and fly out of O'Hare all the time. For my feb cruise, I found a RT ticket on JetBlue to FLL for 184 including one free bag each way-not sure what they are to TX-but you call always look.

 

Have fun planning your first cruise! I feel like you in a way. After 7 Carnival cruises and 1 Royal- I am leaving Saturday for my first Princess cruise. I have been planning this one and it will be a whole new world- You will be addicting to cruising and your DW will ask when is the next one after you get off-be forwarned cruises from TX are generally colder than ones out of FL...so pack warmer clothes for the first few days before you get to the Caribbean :)

[ImaginationCruiseBride]

I just want to jump in with my two cents worth. Some people are road trip people and some are not. We are road trip people, so I get the thought of driving. We are sailing out of Galveston in February and will be flying into Houston (we live in Sacramento, CA) because our time is limited, however we are sailing out of Mobile in March and are driving... we have turned our 6 day cruise into a 3 week vacation. Driving is not stressful or exhausting to us, we do limit our driving to 6-8 hours a day and stop at every tourist trap we run across, but we enjoy the time together.

 

 

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[birdy]

Congratulations for getting your wife to cruise. I booked a non-refundable for our first cruise and told husband he had to go :) Four years later we took our kids when they were 13 and 9. They had been to Disney the year before and when asked they loved cruising more. Cozumel and Paradise Beach were their firsts and they loved it. We now cruise with SIL, 2 nephews, and our kids (Well, just one now because son is in college). The memories we have made in the last 7 years are priceless. We talk about them all the time. Here to you for taking the opportunity to make those memories.

[canadaman111]

I just want to jump in with my two cents worth. Some people are road trip people and some are not. We are road trip people, so I get the thought of driving. We are sailing out of Galveston in February and will be flying into Houston (we live in Sacramento, CA) because our time is limited, however we are sailing out of Mobile in March and are driving... we have turned our 6 day cruise into a 3 week vacation. Driving is not stressful or exhausting to us, we do limit our driving to 6-8 hours a day and stop at every tourist trap we run across, but we enjoy the time together.

 

 

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I agree. We loved the drive to Florida. It really was part of the vacation. We drove down there in the summer so weather wasn't an issue. Lots and lots of people drive down south from this area every winter. We just need to have a well planned out route and be prepared to maybe change it to avoid weather and we will be fine.

[RanchoDeluxe]

499 days until the cruise

 

We are officially under 500 days. The time seems to be going fast. It seems kind of silly but now at 499 days I feel like it is just around the corner. With 4 kids and the other day we got a kitten time just seems to fly.

 

Planning has kind of went to the back burner the last month or so and I expect it is going to stay there for the most part until after the new year or so.

Your kitten will be a cat when you cruise.

 

.

[canadaman111]

411 days until cruise

 

Christmas is over, new years is over, 2017 is here. It won't be 2 long here and we will be at the one year mark. The first year has went fast and I sure this year will as well.

 

I think we have realized that our only option is to drive. Flying is just to expensive and complicated. To get a decent price we need to drive 8 hours to catch a plane. That is to far just to get to a airport.

 

Has anybody bought the bottomless bubbles package? We are thinking of buying that for each of us. The older kids will definitely get their fill of pop. My wife and I aren't planning on to many "adult" drinks. With 4 kids to keep track of we aren't going to be drinking to much. Maybe 1 or 2 drinks a day we figure.

 

There are still no excursions listed on Carnival's site. From what I have read we should see some coming u soon. We are looking forward to that. We still figure we will just book one beach day on one of the three islands.

[amydresh]

We are driving down to New Orleans from WI this Friday and we are super excited about the drive. I like that we have more control, unlike flying in the winter. We are driving 10.5 hours the first day to Marion, AR and then 6 hours the next day. We were planning to stop halfway but instead we're leaving earlier in the day and want to get closer so we can have more time to explore NOLA on Sat. It is me, dh, and our three kids, dd 16, ds 13, and ds 10 (turning 11 on the cruise).

[canadaman111]

We are driving down to New Orleans from WI this Friday and we are super excited about the drive. I like that we have more control, unlike flying in the winter. We are driving 10.5 hours the first day to Marion, AR and then 6 hours the next day. We were planning to stop halfway but instead we're leaving earlier in the day and want to get closer so we can have more time to explore NOLA on Sat. It is me, dh, and our three kids, dd 16, ds 13, and ds 10 (turning 11 on the cruise).

 

I agree. In the winter there is very little control with flying. Driving you can always leave earlier or something to avoid weather.

[amydresh]

I agree. In the winter there is very little control with flying. Driving you can always leave earlier or something to avoid weather.

 

Not to mention we are paying $2600 for the cruise with insurance and flying from Milwaukee to NOLA was $2900! There was NO WAY even if we could afford that, that we would pay it! We have guesstimated that our drive down and back will cost us about $500-600 with gas, food, and hotel with a free breakfast. And we can see some states that we haven't visited before, so it's a win-win to us.

Edited January 9, 2017 by amydresh

[canadaman111]

Not to mention we are paying $2600 for the cruise with insurance and flying from Milwaukee to NOLA was $2900! There was NO WAY even if we could afford that, that we would pay it! We have guesstimated that our drive down and back will cost us about $500-600 with gas, food, and hotel with a free breakfast. And we can see some states that we haven't visited before, so it's a win-win to us.

 

That is crazy expensive for flights!! We can find a flight from Baltimore for $1000 for the 6 of us. The problem is that it is a 8-9 hour drive for us to get there. We would need a hotel in Baltimore the night before then we need transportation from Houston to Galveston, and the a hotel in Galveston. We figure our drive round trip would be roughly $1500 so for us we just feel driving is a better option for us.

[amydresh]

That is crazy expensive for flights!! We can find a flight from Baltimore for $1000 for the 6 of us. The problem is that it is a 8-9 hour drive for us to get there. We would need a hotel in Baltimore the night before then we need transportation from Houston to Galveston, and the a hotel in Galveston. We figure our drive round trip would be roughly $1500 so for us we just feel driving is a better option for us.

 

Yeah, I couldn't believe how much it was to fly to NOLA. We do have an airport in Green Bay where we live but it's quite small and even more expensive than flying out of Milwaukee.

[canadaman111]

Yeah, I couldn't believe how much it was to fly to NOLA. We do have an airport in Green Bay where we live but it's quite small and even more expensive than flying out of Milwaukee.

 

There were decently priced flights from Chicago. I am not sure how far that is for you

[Snowbaby369]

8 hours to airport!!! That is quite a trek!

How many hours to drive to the port you are going out of?

[canadaman111]

8 hours to airport!!! That is quite a trek!

How many hours to drive to the port you are going out of?

 

We are driving from Ontario Canada to Galveston. It will be roughly 24 hours

[Snowbaby369]

Have you looked at flights out of Toronto?

[Shaded Lady]

Canadaman- I'm born & raised in Toronto but I now live in Austin TX. We're also going on the Breeze in Sept.

 

We've made the drive from Toronto to Texas numerous times, including the winter. I agree with you- if bad weather is going to hit, I prefer to have my vehicle so I can plan to leave early, leave late, drive around weather... flying you are totally at their mercy!

 

Several people have mentioned different hotels- I'm big on the Marriott chain and there's a SpringHill Suites on Galveston, about 15 mins from the port where we stay when we're cruising. One thing to look for to help save costs is a hotel that includes breakfast- many of them have much more than just a continental breakfast now- omelets, waffles, breakfast burritos (you'll be in the south, after all!)... with 6 people breakfast included in the price is a big savings.

 

Several people have mentioned it, but I strongly advise you to log onto the Breeze webcam around 5 PM ET on a Sunday, and watch the sailaway of the Breeze- GUARANTEED to get the most bored cruiser excited about your trip!

 

As I mentioned, I lived in Toronto. And Texas. And Florida. And Chicago. We've made so many long distance road trips for vacations that we're expert at it now... even doing it with a second generation, my 8 yo grandson! if you plan it right and take lots of quick power breaks, bring lots of snacks and a cooler full of water and drinks, you can make it a great adventure... there's so much to see on the drive down here to Texas!

 

If you manage to get down to Galveston a day or 2 before the cruise, don't worry- there's tons of things to do to keep your family busy... swimming in the ocean if the weather permits- remember that at that time of year, it can be kind of cool here. Last week our temps dropped to 12 (-11 C) and tomorrow it's going to be 80 F (25C)... so lots of weather variation this time of year. Moody Gardens is another cool place.

 

One thing no one mentioned, is that from Dec to March that area of Galveston is prone to fog. It happens quite often and can play havoc on your departure/arrival time for the cruiseship. Last month the Breeze was stuck just outside Galveston harbor until late afternoon, and once all the new passengers got onboard, it was afternoon of the next day before they actually departed. Not to scare you, just to make you aware so you can plan accordingly (if the fog is bad at your hotel, check with Carnival and maybe stay at the hotel a bit longer than you would otherwise).

 

I spent several long weekends for a few summers as a teenager in Hanover with a girlfriend of mine... loved your area of the country!

Edited January 10, 2017 by Shaded Lady