Pre-cruise Ramblings...

[canadaman111]

On a Saturday in February the traffic should not be too bad on any of the possible routes. Coming from the North on US59/I-69 your options are:

 

1. Take US59/I-69 all the way to I-45 in downtown Houston, then South on I-45 to Galveston.

 

2. Take US59/I-69 to Loop 610 North of downtown. Go east on Loop 610 over the Houston Ship Channel Bridge to I-45 South to Galveston.

 

3. Take US59/I-69 to the Sam Houston Toll Road, go East on the Toll Road to I-45 way South of downtown Houston.

 

The first two are toll free, minimum tolls on the 3rd option.

 

The Port of Galveston offers a parking lot at 33rd and Harborside drive for a pre-pay fee of app. $67/week. The lot offers free shuttles from the lot to the ship and back upon your return. Some of the parking is covered, other spots are open air.

 

 

Which of these options would you take?

[dan4182]

I would take the toll road.

[canadaman111]

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.

[cmukid87]

I know the feeling. We booked our Southern Itinerary at about 610 days and we are down to 420ish. Hard to believe a third of the time has passed.

 

Doesn't hurt that we are 278 days through a 293 day wait!

[dan4182]

Canadaman111, as you get closer to your cruise send me an e-mail and I will update you on the weather in the Houston-Galveston area and road conditions. We live about 30 miles NE of Houston off I-69/US 59.

 

 

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[PrettyHazardous]

Love your rambling. I ramble too. We used to cruise almost annually but we spent the last two years trying to have a baby so we skipped alotta vacays. Now that we have her we are starting to plan again. Booked a cruise on the Vista for next summer. Hopefully we can get another vacay in before that. She's four months and has only vacay'd in VA thus far...Hoping to get a couple weekend trips in before the cruise.

[skewsus]

We use a Southwest credit card for everything, groceries, medical, whatever. In doing this we earn sky miles. Also generally just for joining you are awarded enough points for one US trip. We have flown for free on multiple occasions. For hotels we book through Hotel.com Tenth night booked is free. I have never had any bad experiences as I have with Expedia and Orbitz. You do have to watch for rates. Just like cruises, they go up and down. Recently stayed at a 5 star luxury hotel in San Francisco for $180.00! It was the epitome of luxury. Since I am also the planner I cross reference pricing directly with the hotel site. I book at Embassey Suites and Hampton Inns mostly and my reservations are held by my credit card. I have the option of canceling without fee right up to the night before. This really was important to me during a recent CA trip because we weren't always positive if we wanted more time in certain areas.

Also if you log onto AARP they frequently sell Carnival gift cards for 10% off. The last one just ended last week and currently they are selling RCCL. You do not have to join AARP but you do have to register. You earn points for registering and for taking fun quizzes. The topics range from financial planning to romance, memory, etc. They also have discounts for Hotels.com. $50.00 off of 2 bookings. You have to pay with points and money. You can sign up for Uber and get $20.00 off of your first ride. That only costs 2000 points and 59 cents for the shipping of the code. Instead of a taxi consider Uber. So much quicker and cheaper. For 6 people you would have to book Uber Ultra, as they utilize only large Suburban type vehicles or vans.

 

http://www.aarp.org/rewards-for-good

 

We never book excursions through the cruise lines as not only are they much more expensive but the groups are huge. Carnival's excursion to Stingray Island isn't that much more than private excursions. However it's so much nicer to be in a group of 5 to 25 than a group of 75. The private companies make their living by returning the passengers back to the ship on time. Do not fear being late back to the boat. Those companies are very aware of these sites and strive to give a high level of service. Do your research and you will see the companies that people rave about.

 

You can only take packaged food off of the ship. Individual wrapped granola bars, almonds etc. Many people suggest that you take zip locks and pack sandwiches for a picnic but it is illegal to carry food off of the ship. They are very strict about the fruit.

 

And lastly, do not fret about only having so many years with your kids before they move out on their own. Trust me, all you will need to do is mention to them that you are planning a cruise and they will make themselves available!!!

Enjoy your cruise!

[amydresh]

I have loved reading through your entire thread. We are going on our first cruise in Jan, 3 months from yesterday! The family is going, dh, dd 16, ds 13, and ds turning 11 while on the cruise. I have also been worried about the limited time we have with our kids at home before they go off to college and who knows if they will be able to do a vacation with us or not. It was because of that reason that we finally booked a cruise after talking about it for years. Dh is a little upset that I insisted it be a family cruise because he would have preferred it just be the 2 of us. We have done vacations every few years, but not as many as I would have liked over the years. Although, every summer we do a camping trip in Door County with my entire immediate family and that has been wonderful memories for the kids over the years. They love our camping trips and look forward to them every year.

 

I have also been obsessed with these boards and researching so much about all the ports. We are leaving out of NOLA and are also driving from WI. We are going to do the drive in 2 days and arrive the afternoon before boarding. I am also scared about the weather conditions so I will be keeping a very close eye on that when it gets to be about a week out. I also talk about the cruise way too much, but it's all I cant think about and I fall asleep each night thinking of everything. I have started a backpack of stuff that I have specifically bought for the cruise and when each item arrives I put it in the backpack immediately. I have a folder, google doc, and notebook of all my research, packing lists, items to buy, what needs to be paid for, things needing to be done....etc.

 

Anyway, it was fun reading about your excitement because you sound very similar to me. My dh is also not into the planning and is just going to go along with whatever I decide.

[dolphin2012]

I loved reading your post! My husband is the one who never plans or worries about the cruise. I'm on here every nite and researching tours and places. I love to look at the cruise reports and see fellow cruisers pics and suggestions. The planning sometimes can be the most fun part of the trip. Of course I am telling my family for the whole year what I have been reading so I hope some of the info is sinking in. Usually they start to worry the night before the cruise LOL I live in texas and have sailed from Galveston several times. We use Inn at the waterpark which is a good priced family hotel that lets you leave your car in the lot. They have a shuttle for a small fee and always good friendly service. I like they bring you to the port and just call when the ship returns and they pick up too. No worries. We did a lot of car trips in the past and that's a lot of fun too. We packed a little ice chest and made sandwichs in the hotel room. It saved a lot of money and we were tired from driving and nice to relax in the room and by the pool. I always bought a lot of books and toys, Now with dvds and tablets my kids would have been in heaven. The old days were books and games. Fun times. enjoy your trip..

[SailingRNC]

I am really enjoying this thread.

 

I also am a long range planner. My next cruise I booked about a year and a half out. The other day I finally reached "double digits." I still have a few days before my other two cruises though. :)

Edited October 17, 2016 by SailingRNC

[canadaman111]

Canadaman111, as you get closer to your cruise send me an e-mail and I will update you on the weather in the Houston-Galveston area and road conditions. We live about 30 miles NE of Houston off I-69/US 59.

 

 

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That would be awesome. Now I just have to remember when it is time to go.

[J458r]

I love that you are this excited !! It makes me feel like I might just be normal after all. We are 96 days out from our first cruise ever. Total in our group will be 6 adults and 8 kids and nobody else is really interested in obsessing like I am!! We booked about a month or so ago and I haven't been able to stop planning since. I spend at minimum an hour a day looking into cruise stuff. I don't want to over plan but I also want to know as much as I can. I love love love that you are driving(as long as the weather is good). We are flying for the first time but I wish we were driving. I love the extra time spent driving. I only read the first page of this thread so I'm going to go back and read the rest. I hope you have a fun time planning though!!

[canadaman111]

461 days until cruise

 

Today is my first day back to work after 2 1/2 weeks off for umbilical hernia surgery. Everything went well, and I am feeling great. Now I won't have to worry about it when we get on our cruise.

 

We have been talking about excursions recently. I figure in the next 100 days or so we should be able to book something from what I have read. We are trying to not spend a tonne so I am thinking we will just be booking one excursion. We want to go to a beach. The kids have never swam in the ocean, so we will be booking a beach excursion. I assume we will book through carnival just for the piece of mind, since it is our first cruise. Where would you guys book a beach day if you were stopping at Montego Bay, Cayman Islands, and Cozumel. We would like a place with inflatable water toys if possible...

[dmdiver]

There are lots of beach clubs in Cozumel & you can grab a taxi easily from the port. We typically go to San Francisco, but there are many others such as Carlos n Charlies, Mr Sanchos, Paradise Beach.

 

http://www.cozumelinsider.com/BEACHES

 

This is a list of clubs & amenities that I've used in the past.

 

In Grand Cayman, 7 mile beach is accessible by bus or taxi. I can't remember exactly where we went the last time we were there, although I hear a lot of people talk about Rum Point.

 

In Montego Bay, there is an all inclusive resort - St James Wild Orchid that is about 5 minutes from port - I don't recall if they are adult only, though.

Edited November 21, 2016 by dmdiver

[Rocknsoul]

I have the whole plan worked out down to the hour. I have us stopping at the Nashville zoo in both directions, but it may turn out to stop somewhere else. Nashville zoo is supposed to have a great playground for the kids to run around. My kids are going to be 11, 9, 9 and 5 turning 6 on the cruise when we cruise.

 

Tuesday Jan 24th

Work/School - Leave after Work

3:00 Ottawa to Belleville 2:30

5:30 Dinner near Bellville 1:15

6:45 Bellville to Windsor 5:15

12:00 Cross Border at Windsor 1:00

 

Wednesday Jan 25th

1:00 Detroit MI to Nashville Tn 8:00

9:00 Stops overnight and Breakfast - change to central time 2:00

11:00 Visit Nashville Zoo and have lunch 2:30

1:30 Nashville Tn to Little Rock Ar 5:00

6:30 Dinner and hotel near little Rock AR

 

Thursday Jan 26th

Option 1

8:00 Little Rock to Houston 7:00

Lunch, Dinner find someplace to run around, find hotel south of houston 5:00

7:00 Take in Weekday Mass Charismatic Center (Where a friend of ours is the Pastor)

 

Friday Jan 27th

Option1: Extra day around Houston and in case of bad weather

 

Sat Jan 28th Get on Cruise by

Sun Jan 29- Fri Feb 3rd Cruise

Saturday Feb 4th

 

Get off Cruise by noon

 

12:00 Galveston to Austin 3:45

3:45 Visit relatives in Austin

 

Sunday Feb 5th

Mass + visit

 

8:00 Drive Austin to Dallas 3:00

11:00 Bedtime snack / rest 1:00

 

Monday Feb 6th

 

12:00 Dallas to Memphis Tn 6:45

6:45 Break stops overnight + Breakfast 2:00

8:45 Memphis to Nashville 3:15

12:00 Nashville Zoo and Lunch 3:00

3:00 Nashville to Knoxville Tn 2:45

5:45 Dinner in Knoxville 1:15

7:00 Knoxville to Bristol Tn 1:45

8:45 Hotel near Bristol Tn

 

Tuesday Feb 7th

 

8:00 Bristol Tn to Harrisonburg VA 3:45

11:45 Lunch 1:00

12:45 Harrisonburg VA to Hershey PA 3:00

3:45 Hershey Chocolate World (closes at 5:00) 1:15

5:00 Hershey PA to Wilkes Baree 1:45

6:45 Dinner near Wilkes Barre 2:00

8:45 Wilkes Baree to Watertown NY 3:15

 

Wednesday Feb 8th

 

12:00 Watertown NY to Ottawa On 2:00

Let kids stay home from school this day - but I can go to work

 

Very cool itinerary! If you have the Nashville Zoo on both stops, let me suggest you change the second one to the Memphis Zoo. World class & we have pandas. There's a playground, but kids of all ages absolutely love it because there's so much to see and it's easy to navigate. Also, how can you drive through Memphis and not eat BBQ??? I recommend Central, not too far from the zoo. Then when you leave Memphis it's an easy shot to Knoxville.

[Rocknsoul]

461 days until cruise

 

Today is my first day back to work after 2 1/2 weeks off for umbilical hernia surgery. Everything went well, and I am feeling great. Now I won't have to worry about it when we get on our cruise.

 

We have been talking about excursions recently. I figure in the next 100 days or so we should be able to book something from what I have read. We are trying to not spend a tonne so I am thinking we will just be booking one excursion. We want to go to a beach. The kids have never swam in the ocean, so we will be booking a beach excursion. I assume we will book through carnival just for the piece of mind, since it is our first cruise. Where would you guys book a beach day if you were stopping at Montego Bay, Cayman Islands, and Cozumel. We would like a place with inflatable water toys if possible...

 

When we took our family cruise, the kids couldn't get enough of Paradise Beach. The inflatables are a blast, and last time we were there they had paddle boards & kayaks too. You just buy a wristband pp. They have lifevests for the kids, because the water is a little deep in places. We're headed back to Coz for spring break & definitely will be going back! It's super easy & cheap to find a taxi.

 

I think a few of the beaches have inflatables, so you're sure to find a good one!

[Jamericannn]

I love the excitement and I have the same feeling about cruising. That is a long time to wait in anticipation though. My blood vessels would burst.:). I hope you and the family will have a wonderful time.

[bamagirl16]

On our Spring Break cruise we had the same itinerary stops as you will on your cruise. We decided to do one big excursion and then just the beach at the other 2 stops.

 

Montego Bay- Doctor's Cave Beach. Transportation was $14 round trip per person and admission was $6 each. We did not go through Carnival. It was very easy to get transportation right out of the port and taxi were lined up at the beach club when we left.

 

Grand Cayman- We went to Stingray City and to Reef Point Beach. We did this through Carnival simply because of it being a tender port and this was our shortest port day. The pricing was comparable to the private tours that I had looked into. Our tour was not as crowded as I thought it would be. We had a blast and this was the highlight of the trip for me.

 

Cozumel- we hired a taxi to take us through the town and over to the east side of the island. We are going back in March and have decided to go to Paradise Beach so the kids can play on all of their water toys.

[Jamericannn]

We are 625 days out to our first ever cruise on the Breeze from Galveston. We leave Feb. 25th 2018. Actually we leave 3 days before that because we are driving from small town Ontario Canada to Texas:eek: Even though we are that far out from our cruise I am addicted. I have these boards open all day at work checking every now and then just to see if there is anything new that I didn't know before. And most days I learn something new to help plan this cruise. My wife is not into planning at all, so it kind of leaves me lonely in planning. Every once in awhile I can get her to look at something with me. Her point of view is that it is so far away there is no need to be planning yet. She could be right but I enjoy it, a lot!! The trip is already making me excited this far out, and I am sure it will just keep getting more and more exciting as it gets closer I am sure!!!

 

Here is some background on how this trip came to be...

 

I have wanted to cruise forever. I remember when Destiny came out in 1996. I was 16 and want to cruise so much. I got my first job that year and went to a travel agency to learn more. I came out with nothing more then one of those big old school brochures showing all Carnival had to offer. Nothing ever came of that. I had my first son in 2001, and my second son in 2002 and travel got put on the back burner. In 2008 my wife at the time and 2 sons took the kids to Disney world. We drove to Florida. I really enjoyed the driving part. It really was part of the vacation. The boys were 7 and 5 at the time and had a great time.

 

The boys mom decided she didn't want to live with us anymore in 2009 and moved out. In 2010 I found someone new who had a 4 year old daughter. We moved in together and in 2011 we took the 3 kids to Disney World. The second time for the boys, but the first for my step-daughter. We flew to Florida this time. I really do enjoy flying as well. We found a great deal and the five of us flew to Florida from Buffalo for $99 each way.

 

In 2013 we had a baby. So that put us up to 4 kids. With the youngest being 8 years younger then the next youngest kid. That has made it really hard to do any family trips, they are just at such different ages.

 

Some friends of ours gave their kids a cruise for Christmas this past year, and that is when the cruise topic came up for me again. It has came up many times over the years for me but it always just kind of went away. This time I kept on it an was researching all the time trying to find a way for us to do a cruise. My wife was not interested saying we couldn't afford it and she didn't want to cruise and everything she could think of. I was persistent and soon broke her down.:D The biggest thing for me is that we don't have a lot of time left with the kids. We have kids in grade 9, grade 8, and grade 5, plus a 2 year old. My oldest son will be off to college in 3 years, and the chances of getting everyone together for a vacation will be even harder.

 

The wife finally ok'ed doing this and we got to picking a date. We decided on 2018 because with 4 kids there isn't a lot of extra money and we really didn't want to through it on a credit card and have more debt. This way allows us to slowly over a long period of time make small payments. Our final payment date isn't until December 12th of 2017. Also with the exchange rate our dollar only buys about 77 cents US. So paying it over that long time frame kind of makes that not seem like such a big hit. Also when ever the $ goes up we can make a payment and save a little coin!!

 

Around the end of February we booked our cruise using a Carnival PVP. Now it is time to plan!! I have been planning the drive mostly. My wife thought we should do it over 3 days. I originally wanted to do 2 days. But after talking about it she was right (aren't they always...:p) With 4 kids, and especially the little one (4 when we go) we may have to stop more then we wanted to. So I am pretty sure we are going to go with 3 days driving, getting to Galveston the afternoon before our cruise.

 

So that pretty much gets us to today. I don't know if this thread is interesting to anyone. I din't even talk about cruising for most of it and just talked about myself. I hope people like it, and if people do I will keep it updated with my random planning thoughts.

 

Thanks everyone!!

 

Will you be renting a car to drive?

[bamagirl16]

When we took our family cruise, the kids couldn't get enough of Paradise Beach. The inflatables are a blast, and last time we were there they had paddle boards & kayaks too. You just buy a wristband pp. They have lifevests for the kids, because the water is a little deep in places. We're headed back to Coz for spring break & definitely will be going back! It's super easy & cheap to find a taxi.

 

I think a few of the beaches have inflatables, so you're sure to find a good one!

 

My boys are looking forward to going to Paradise Beach in March. They are teenagers but when I showed them all of the inflatables they got excited. And my 14 year old loves paddleboarding.

[Snowbaby369]

I agree with Paradise a Beach Cozumel. We did a land deal at a resort close to Paradise a few years ago. Beaches are nice, and everyone always appeared to be having fun.

[canadaman111]

Will you be renting a car to drive?

 

 

No. we will be driving our mini van

 

 

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[Snowbaby369]

461 days until cruise

 

Today is my first day back to work after 2 1/2 weeks off for umbilical hernia surgery. Everything went well, and I am feeling great. Now I won't have to worry about it

 

Back to work so soon....that's great!!!! I thought a person was laid up for many weeks after that type of surgery!

[amydresh]

In Cozumel we are doing a private tour swimming with dolphins, but if I wouldn't have gotten such a good deal on that, we would have been going to Paradise Beach for the kids.

 

This is our first cruise and I didn't book any excursions through Carnival and we are doing the same itinerary as you are. The excursions I found were a lot more expensive through the ship than they were doing it on our own. I have researched it all enough that I feel very comfortable doing non-Carnival excursions.

[amydresh]

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.

Edited November 22, 2016 by amydresh