Deployment 2018-19 booking season begins

[Pencruise]

Breaking news, apparently we are on the August 2018 Serenade TA to Boston as well. Booked onboard a couple days ago, she must like the ship. I also hear she booked the week prior going to St Petersburg. That is my bucket list cruise. I have no details yet on cabin choice or cost :eek:

 

We will get to meet you eventually, we are also on the

TA.

[printingchick]

BOOKED! I'd gone from cruising annually to cruising every 2-3 years, primarily due to economics. But I've been waiting for a cruise itinerary including both St. Thomas (for St. John) and Dominica and Jewel is that ship in 2019. Even though I'm booked on Adventure for 2018, I just booked Jewel for 2019. I've never visited Grenada, so it will be new. It's been a VERY, VERY long time since I had TWO cruises booked at the same time! (And both are still too far away to purchase plane tickets!) I wish it had a longer stay in St. Thomas and that the sea day was at the END, but otherwise, it's a GREAT itinerary!

 

SEA - BARBADOS - GRENADA - DOMINICA - ST. MAARTEN - ST. THOMAS

[John&LaLa]

We will get to meet you eventually, we are also on the

TA.

Looking forward to it [emoji2]

 

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[Hoopster95]

The ship in the photo is Rhapsody but you never know. [emoji22]

 

 

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Yes, has to Rhapsody in Sydney. Also in the stats below, it mentions "last refurbished 2012"... that was Rhapsody as Vision was 2013. If you remember when Splendour was sold, there was a picture floating around for about a year of a RCL ship for sale, and we came to the conclusion on this board that the picture looked like Grandeur more than any other of the Vision Class vessels. I guess we never know which exact ship RCL is targeting for sale, but Grandeur is a year older and 5000 tons smaller than both Vision/Rhapsody... maybe she's next

[Biker19]

In case you're wondering what's happening with the Vision Galveston 2018/19 sailings.

 

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1997/Cruise-Ship%2C-2417-Passengers--3024096/Italy#.WOPXnvkrJ1t

 

 

Last time we saw a cruise listing like this it was Splendour and Legend.

You would have thought RCI would learn to not put out bogus itineraries being fairly certain they would sell it. You don't have to be genius to predict that one of the Vision class ships is likely to go in '19 after both Symphony and Q4 are added to the fleet.

[Beachammo]

The ship in the photo is Rhapsody but you never know. [emoji22]

 

 

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Yep Rhapsody....

 

Here is the same picture with the ship's name on the side.

 

 

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Edited April 4, 2017 by Beachammo

[mommykim]

I'll try -- please do the same, thanks! :)

 

 

 

You will meet my good friends on the SR TA -- critterchick (Jean) and her husband.:)

Jean and Don are wonderful. She's my son's weird Auntie Jean ;p Really looking forward to this cruise!

[BobK in NJ]

Yes, has to Rhapsody in Sydney. Also in the stats below, it mentions "last refurbished 2012"... that was Rhapsody as Vision was 2013. If you remember when Splendour was sold, there was a picture floating around for about a year of a RCL ship for sale, and we came to the conclusion on this board that the picture looked like Grandeur more than any other of the Vision Class vessels. I guess we never know which exact ship RCL is targeting for sale, but Grandeur is a year older and 5000 tons smaller than both Vision/Rhapsody... maybe she's next

 

Grandeur was the first RCL ship we went on back when it was brand new. Grandeur is the ship that got us hooked on cruising. Been wanting to get down to Baltimore to revisit the ship. Looks like we'll have to hurry.

[Biker19]

Grandeur was the first RCL ship we went on back when it was brand new. Grandeur is the ship that got us hooked on cruising. Been wanting to get down to Baltimore to revisit the ship. Looks like we'll have to hurry.

I don't see RCI giving up on Baltimore just yet so they might as well keep Grandeur. The timing of the dry dock cycle may have something to do with which they sell next also.

[mconthehighseas]

In case you're wondering what's happening with the Vision Galveston 2018/19 sailings.

 

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1997/Cruise-Ship%2C-2417-Passengers--3024096/Italy#.WOPXnvkrJ1t

 

 

Last time we saw a cruise listing like this it was Splendour and Legend.

This post makes me sad. I sailed on Rhapsody in 2004, and it was SUCH a comfortable cruise. It got my husband hooked on cruising out of Galveston.

[LisaAtlCruiser]

This post makes me sad. I sailed on Rhapsody in 2004, and it was SUCH a comfortable cruise. It got my husband hooked on cruising out of Galveston.

 

I have heard cruising out of Galveston is horrible. But I am often interested in the cruises sailing from here. Since you like it - is it really not as bad as folks say? Does it depend on if you are flying in to Houston? Or driving?

[internetwhiz]

I have heard cruising out of Galveston is horrible. But I am often interested in the cruises sailing from here. Since you like it - is it really not as bad as folks say? Does it depend on if you are flying in to Houston? Or driving?

 

 

We drive and it's fine. There's reliable transport from Houston. Honestly, I really don't get that it's any different than landing at MCO to get to Port Canaveral. Hotels are pricey on the island, though. If you book, get your hotel squared immediately. That's my biggest downer. Since we drive, we stay about 20 miles from the port.

 

The new terminal gets folks on the ship fairly quick. Customs can be slow coming off the ship if you don't disembark early.

[LisaAtlCruiser]

We drive and it's fine. There's reliable transport from Houston. Honestly, I really don't get that it's any different than landing at MCO to get to Port Canaveral. Hotels are pricey on the island, though. If you book, get your hotel squared immediately. That's my biggest downer. Since we drive, we stay about 20 miles from the port.

 

The new terminal gets folks on the ship fairly quick. Customs can be slow coming off the ship if you don't disembark early.

 

Thanks - this is very encouraging. I will definitely give Galveston a try!

[mconthehighseas]

We drive and it's fine. There's reliable transport from Houston. Honestly, I really don't get that it's any different than landing at MCO to get to Port Canaveral. Hotels are pricey on the island, though. If you book, get your hotel squared immediately. That's my biggest downer. Since we drive, we stay about 20 miles from the port.

 

The new terminal gets folks on the ship fairly quick. Customs can be slow coming off the ship if you don't disembark early.

As above, It's really not much different than getting from Orlando to PC, or Fort Lauderdale to Miami. There are lots of flights into Houston, there's lots of hotels all along the way, and there is plenty of parking if you drive. The terminal is very well run, and the bad part is finding your luggage after you get off the ship.

I live in close driving distance, so it's a no-brainer for us, but even friends of ours who drive from Austin and Dallas prefer it.

Somet things to make it easier:

Plan for traffic. Check http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/layers/ to see if you need to avoid construction. Reserve parking in advance to avoid driving around if you hit a high traffic time. If you are flying in, try to come in the day before, or use the cruiseline's shuttle.

[travelgoddess1]

I have heard cruising out of Galveston is horrible. But I am often interested in the cruises sailing from here. Since you like it - is it really not as bad as folks say? Does it depend on if you are flying in to Houston? Or driving?

 

I have sailed out of Galveston a number of times. I live in southern California, and flying into Houston's Hobby airport is fine, if you like Southwest. It is the only nonstop flight available to us. There is no regularly scheduled shuttle service that we've ever found, other than what the ship provides on the day of the cruise. We normally pay $150-$200 each way for a private town car. As mentioned, hotels in Galveston are pricey, and many will only allow you to book 2 nights, minimum.

 

All of that is tolerable to some extent. What finally got us to stop sailing out of Galveston was the unpredictable fog. We got caught in it several times. Cruising between November and late February is a roll of the dice.

 

I have not sailed out of the new terminal. The old one had long lines checking in on embarkation day and clearing customs on disembarkation day. It was not user friendly.

 

JMO

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

In case you're wondering what's happening with the Vision Galveston 2018/19 sailings.

 

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1997/Cruise-Ship%2C-2417-Passengers--3024096/Italy#.WOPXnvkrJ1t

 

 

Last time we saw a cruise listing like this it was Splendour and Legend.

 

Oh no, not Vision, the newest of the class!

It's worth noting that the GT/dates perfectly match Rhapsody, not Vision. Rhapsody will also be in Italy (listed as the ship's location) in 2018. Maybe Vision will replace Rhapsody in Tampa for the 18/19 season, instead of going to Galveston?

 

I'm just hoping I don't get booted from my Rhapsody sailing next June.

[ARCruisinNana]

There are now several shuttles. I've used Galveston Express which picks up passengers at both Hobby (the closest airport to Galveston) and IAH which has a lot more airlines and flights.

 

 

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[Clarea]

It's worth noting that the GT/dates perfectly match Rhapsody, not Vision. Rhapsody will also be in Italy (listed as the ship's location) in 2018. Maybe Vision will replace Rhapsody in Tampa for the 18/19 season, instead of going to Galveston?

 

I'm just hoping I don't get booted from my Rhapsody sailing next June.

Rhapsody would be just as bad, she and Vision are the two newest Vision class ships. Very sad to see these ships go.

[internetwhiz]

There are several shuttles available and reliable. Galveston Express is the most often mentioned. Many hotels on the Island will book one night. If you are sailing in the summer, the hotels generally book for two nights because people come there to go to the beach. Other times we have stated on the island, we have never stayed more than one night. Have sailed Liberty 4x in the past year.

 

New terminal is great, check in downstairs, escalator up to seating and boarding is fast.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Rhapsody would be just as bad, she and Vision are the two newest Vision class ships. Very sad to see these ships go.

Agreed. Sad to see the Vision Class go.

 

Just recently sailed on Enchantment and quickly became one of our favorite ships.

[kccrzr]

 

I'm just hoping I don't get booted from my Rhapsody sailing next June.

 

Same here! We have a B2B scheduled for next May/June. We've already been booted from one planned sailing out of Venice - we'd hate for it to happen again.

[SherriZ366]

In case you're wondering what's happening with the Vision Galveston 2018/19 sailings.

 

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1997/Cruise-Ship%2C-2417-Passengers--3024096/Italy#.WOPXnvkrJ1t

 

 

Last time we saw a cruise listing like this it was Splendour and Legend.

I saw that too on the site we are not supposed to mention. It is Rhapsody. They also posted that Grandeur is for sale as well as Celebrity Millennium and Constellation, which are the same hull and size as Radiance Class. I hope RH and GR don't sell as they can get under bridges and into ports like Tampa and Baltimore. We are looking at smaller ships.

 

RCCL should transfer Milly and Connie from Celebrity to RCI and convert them if they are sure that the propulsion problems have been fixed. They can fit into those ports. RCI had a 5th Radiance ship on option but never picked it up.

[Ladysilver]

In case you're wondering what's happening with the Vision Galveston 2018/19 sailings.

 

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1997/Cruise-Ship%2C-2417-Passengers--3024096/Italy#.WOPXnvkrJ1t

 

 

Last time we saw a cruise listing like this it was Splendour and Legend.

 

 

I hope it's not true! When will we know for sure? :')

[Wilson]

Agreed. It's Rhapsody that is up for sale.

[pspercy]

Agreed. It's Rhapsody that is up for sale.

 

 

:loudcry::loudcry::loudcry::loudcry::loudcry:

 

To be replaced with yet another twelve story apartment block(n)

 

We went on Liberty last December, DW said too big, never wanted to go on it again (a first for her).

We like Voyager class the best, followed by Vision OTS.