Carnival or Royal Caribbean out of Galveston

[MrSnarkyPants]

Having done both Carnival and Royal out of Galveston, Liberty of the Seas is my pick. 

I can drive to port within an hour, but we've been booking out of other ports the last few years because we've done all the ports that everyone does out of Galveston enough to want to try something new.

 

Haven't had much of an issue getting on and off the ship in Galveston... I like the indoor parking place that's directly across the street; you can walk off the ship and to your car.

[dan4182]

On 1/29/2020 at 2:02 PM, MsRay1961 said:

Hi everyone.  Mom and Dad are taking 6 grown kids (all 50+) on a cruise in June out of Galveston (we're in Texas).  Dad's put me in charge of picking the destination and ship.  I've been researching the differences in Carnival and RC ships and the ports, but I'm almost as confused as I was when I started researching!  First, the ports: I want to see the Mayan ruins and Grand Cayman so I need to pick one.  Any opinions on great ports?  Secondly, which ship?  We were supposed to go on Carnival Vista last summer but they had the propulsion situation, so we cancelled that trip when the dates were changed.  I've read the negative reviews of the entertainment area on the Vista (too small and bad layout for # of guests).  Enchantment of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas both have an average 4 rating on cruisecritic, but Carnival Freedom and Vista have average 4.5 rating.  I know I won't be able to please everyone in the family, but any input, comments, suggestions would be appreciated!  TIA!  

Unless the Cayman Islands government changes their policy there will be no cruise ships allowed there this season due to Covid.

[MsRay1961]

At first, I booked Carnival Vista for June 20-27, 2020, but then Royal Carribean had a special, so I cancelled Carnival and booked the cruise for 8 on RC.  Once the world shut down, I knew we weren't cruising in 2020.  We got 100% of the money back from RC, which was amazing.  I expected we would lose a percentage or something, but nope!  I checked Dad's credit card statement and he got every penny back from RC.  Now, Carnival is another story.  Since I cancelled it, I expected to pay a penality but to get something back.  I've called and written several times but nothing's happened yet.  Is Dad just out the $2,000?  TIA.

[Host Kat]

2 hours ago, MsRay1961 said:

... Is Dad just out the $2,000?... 

 

@MsRay1961

 

Howdy!  

 

Welcome back to the Cruise Critic message boards! Thank you for your follow-up to your OP on this thread. I see it has been awhile since you have posted anywhere on the boards.  

 

I suggest you repost your inquiry along with the details regarding the situation concering the cancelled Carnival cruise & refund on the Carnival Cruise Lines forum. Be sure to mention when and how the cruise was booked and cancelled. Was it with a TA or direct with Carnival? Please include any other details that will help your fellow Cruise Critic members help you.

 

I mention using the other forum because the majority of your fellow Cruise Critic members with information about their experiences with Carnival's refund procedures frequent that forum and provide feedback there. Browse the thread titles on the forum l👀king for threads of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that will be of interest to you.

 

In fact, I used the Search feature on the forum using refund as my key word and content titles only. There were 70 results on 3 pages! Hopefully this link showing my results will work for you: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=refund&type=forums_topic&nodes=133&updated_after=any&sortby=newest&search_in=titles

 

 

I sincerely hope this will be helpful and so glad to have you back aboard Cruise Critic! 

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat