LIVE from the Regal out of Galveston, TX. January 14th - January 21st

[Tyskie]

@Crookshanks  Fantastic win - congratulations!

 

[Crookshanks]

2 hours ago, starvenger said:

Congrats on winning!

 

Which trivia did you like best? I know DJ Jaro was workshopping his Marvel Cinematic Universe trivia, and trying to get a Game of Thrones one going.

 

I like the Masi wine. I haven't had that in a while and now I've got a hankering to buy one.

The trivia sessions we went to were all quite fun but seem a lot easier than they have in the past. Maybe my general/random knowledge has grown or they want to make us feel smarter. 😂🤷‍♀️

 

He hadn’t finished the Marvel yet, but I really wanted to do that one!

 

I brought the wine home with me since I had the package, so I’ll see what it’s like soon! 
 

Music trivia is usually my favorite. There was a couple who won every one of them. I spoke to the wife after one round and she said her husband was a DJ/Radio host for 40+ years, so I really didn’t have a chance! 😂 Still had a great time trying and singing along though. 
 

I was hoping to see Harry Potter trivia, but no luck on that one. 

[Crookshanks]

Here’s more info on the whole luggage debacle. 

 

I’ll kind of start from the beginning so it’s all in one place. 

 

Best Friend, Jessica, flew to Houston from Southern Oregon. The itinerary was 3 flights, a short one to Portland, a short one to Seattle and the last leg as a non stop from Seattle to Houston(IAH). First flight was all good. After boarding the second flight and pulling away from gate the airport crew starts de-icing the plane. During this process a passenger starts having a panic attack about flying. They have to turn the plane around and go back to gate to let them off. While at gate, they go ahead and let the people who got there late board the plane. Pull away again and then go through the de-icing process again. She took off 2 hours later than expected. Her layover in Seattle was also 2 hours, so she’s thinking she’ll miss the flight. She runs like the wind through the airport and is the last to board!! Flight attendant says she’s super lucky because the pilot on her previous flight was one of the pilots on this one, so it couldn’t leave without him. 

 

Well, as you can guess, luggage did not run as quickly and did not make the flight.  

 

Now another story that adds context and drama to the entire experience. My brother, joining us for his first cruise, is also flying from Seattle as he lives in Tacoma, WA. The previous evening(Friday), he found out from the news(NOT the airline) that his flight on Saturday had been cancelled. The flight was planned on one of the Boeing planes that had been grounded by the FAA. His height and comfort lead him to First Class, which nearly guaranteed him to get a new itinerary thankfully. They rescheduled him on a flight that was 2 legs, though the second leg was on a sister company’s flight. Seattle to Phoenix and then Phoenix to Houston(IAH). Jessica’s bags got added to that flight! They are on their way! Whoop whoop!

 

Brother makes it to Houston at 12:30am. We wait patiently at luggage carousel…. And keep waiting. Not only has Jessica’s bag not arrived, both of my brother’s bags are missing. 

 

We head over to the luggage office. They track brother’s luggage tags and find out that the ground crew put his on a plane to Miami instead of Houston. But no worries, there’s a flight from Miami to Houston later this morning.  This is all happening through the American flight office. American cannot track Jessica’s baggage because all of her stuff was booked through Alaska. Alaska’s luggage office and ticket counter are closed. They will not to open until the next day. 

 

Sunday morning at 5:30am, we head back to the airport to try and get more information on the status of the bags. Brother’s luggage is expected to arrive on the flight landing at 11:30am. Doesn’t seem too horrible except that the cruise port is an hour away and last call is 2:00pm. 

 

Jessica is now informed that her luggage made the first flight of my brother’s trip, but they failed to transfer them to the American Flight to Houston. So her bag is still in Phoenix. They do not know when it will be arriving in Houston as there are no Alaska Airlines flights that go from Phoenix to Houston. They tell her at the ticket counter to go to the baggage office next to carousels to start the lost baggage claim.  She goes to that part of the airport and it’s closed. She goes back to ticket counter and everyone was gone. 

 

We go back to my (other) brother’s house where my Mom is waiting and I tell her “I’ve got bad news, good news, and more bad news”. “Bad news: Jessica has no clothes for the cruise, good news! Look what I got at the airport!” Brother walks in. She’s shocked. She had no idea he was coming on the cruise. “More Bad News: Tony’s luggage was flown to Miami but it’ll be here at 11:30”. 

 

We spend the morning shopping to get what we can for Jessica. She sits on hold for a long time with Alaska Airlines main number. Finally she gets connected and the agent starts the luggage claim for her.  Plan is to fly her bag to our first port. Gives her numbers to provide to Princess Guest Services so they know what’s happening and can be ready for baggage. 

 

We go to airport at 11:30am and Tony’s bags have arrived!! Yay! We make our way to the port and walk on the ship at 1:30pm. Closer than I like, but hey! I’m on the ship!

 

We go to GS to give them the information about luggage. All seems good. 

 

Monday Jessica gets a call(voicemail) that her luggage is in Houston ready for her to pick up. Um…. What? Jessica attempts to call Houston back, no answer. She leaves a message. No answer for a couple of hours so she calls main number again. Many apologies later, they make the decision to just keep the bags in Houston since we really don’t want to lose her stuff in another country. 

 

Every day Jessica calls Houston to verify that they are holding her bags there. Leaves at least one voicemail each time she calls. Never gets a response. 

 

On Friday we decide to start the Princess process on the lost luggage thing since we got the Protection Plan. Guest Services starts by applying a $150 OBC to her account and gives us the info to contact 3rd party for the claim. She also states that Jessica’s luggage was waiting at the port of Galveston for her. This throws us all off. Is her bag in Houston or Galveston!?  She calls and leaves 3 more voicemails in Houston luggage office. On Saturday she calls main number, who also attempts to contact Houston. They also do not get an answer from them. They say the bag was last scanned in Houston and the notes in her account show that it is supposed to stay at airport.  They tell her the office is supposed to be open from 3-3:30 for phone calls. Starting at 3:00pm she calls a grand total of 42 times. Never picks up. Calls main number again, they also get no answer. Now we are just planning to look at port and then go to airport after disembarking. 

 

Woke up this morning to a voicemail stating that her bag was indeed at airport and she could pick it up in between 6-7am or 4-7pm. 

 

Just to make sure, we did check at the port. No bag at port.  

 

She finally was reunited With her bag at 6:10pm!! 

 

So. Alaska Airlines main number: great customer service. Alaska airlines IAH baggage department: ridiculous. 

[beshears]

Thank you for your review, and congratulations on winning The Voice as well. Do you know if they did the Love and Marriage show, and if so, was it in the Big Theater, or at the Live Cafe?

[Honolulu Blue]

6 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

Here’s more info on the whole luggage debacle. 

 

I’ll kind of start from the beginning so it’s all in one place. 

 

Best Friend, Jessica, flew to Houston from Southern Oregon. The itinerary was 3 flights, a short one to Portland, a short one to Seattle and the last leg as a non stop from Seattle to Houston(IAH). First flight was all good. After boarding the second flight and pulling away from gate the airport crew starts de-icing the plane. During this process a passenger starts having a panic attack about flying. They have to turn the plane around and go back to gate to let them off. While at gate, they go ahead and let the people who got there late board the plane. Pull away again and then go through the de-icing process again. She took off 2 hours later than expected. Her layover in Seattle was also 2 hours, so she’s thinking she’ll miss the flight. She runs like the wind through the airport and is the last to board!! Flight attendant says she’s super lucky because the pilot on her previous flight was one of the pilots on this one, so it couldn’t leave without him. 

 

Well, as you can guess, luggage did not run as quickly and did not make the flight.  

 

Now another story that adds context and drama to the entire experience. My brother, joining us for his first cruise, is also flying from Seattle as he lives in Tacoma, WA. The previous evening(Friday), he found out from the news(NOT the airline) that his flight on Saturday had been cancelled. The flight was planned on one of the Boeing planes that had been grounded by the FAA. His height and comfort lead him to First Class, which nearly guaranteed him to get a new itinerary thankfully. They rescheduled him on a flight that was 2 legs, though the second leg was on a sister company’s flight. Seattle to Phoenix and then Phoenix to Houston(IAH). Jessica’s bags got added to that flight! They are on their way! Whoop whoop!

 

Brother makes it to Houston at 12:30am. We wait patiently at luggage carousel…. And keep waiting. Not only has Jessica’s bag not arrived, both of my brother’s bags are missing. 

 

We head over to the luggage office. They track brother’s luggage tags and find out that the ground crew put his on a plane to Miami instead of Houston. But no worries, there’s a flight from Miami to Houston later this morning.  This is all happening through the American flight office. American cannot track Jessica’s baggage because all of her stuff was booked through Alaska. Alaska’s luggage office and ticket counter are closed. They will not to open until the next day. 

 

Sunday morning at 5:30am, we head back to the airport to try and get more information on the status of the bags. Brother’s luggage is expected to arrive on the flight landing at 11:30am. Doesn’t seem too horrible except that the cruise port is an hour away and last call is 2:00pm. 

 

Jessica is now informed that her luggage made the first flight of my brother’s trip, but they failed to transfer them to the American Flight to Houston. So her bag is still in Phoenix. They do not know when it will be arriving in Houston as there are no Alaska Airlines flights that go from Phoenix to Houston. They tell her at the ticket counter to go to the baggage office next to carousels to start the lost baggage claim.  She goes to that part of the airport and it’s closed. She goes back to ticket counter and everyone was gone. 

 

We go back to my (other) brother’s house where my Mom is waiting and I tell her “I’ve got bad news, good news, and more bad news”. “Bad news: Jessica has no clothes for the cruise, good news! Look what I got at the airport!” Brother walks in. She’s shocked. She had no idea he was coming on the cruise. “More Bad News: Tony’s luggage was flown to Miami but it’ll be here at 11:30”. 

 

We spend the morning shopping to get what we can for Jessica. She sits on hold for a long time with Alaska Airlines main number. Finally she gets connected and the agent starts the luggage claim for her.  Plan is to fly her bag to our first port. Gives her numbers to provide to Princess Guest Services so they know what’s happening and can be ready for baggage. 

 

We go to airport at 11:30am and Tony’s bags have arrived!! Yay! We make our way to the port and walk on the ship at 1:30pm. Closer than I like, but hey! I’m on the ship!

 

We go to GS to give them the information about luggage. All seems good. 

 

Monday Jessica gets a call(voicemail) that her luggage is in Houston ready for her to pick up. Um…. What? Jessica attempts to call Houston back, no answer. She leaves a message. No answer for a couple of hours so she calls main number again. Many apologies later, they make the decision to just keep the bags in Houston since we really don’t want to lose her stuff in another country. 

 

Every day Jessica calls Houston to verify that they are holding her bags there. Leaves at least one voicemail each time she calls. Never gets a response. 

 

On Friday we decide to start the Princess process on the lost luggage thing since we got the Protection Plan. Guest Services starts by applying a $150 OBC to her account and gives us the info to contact 3rd party for the claim. She also states that Jessica’s luggage was waiting at the port of Galveston for her. This throws us all off. Is her bag in Houston or Galveston!?  She calls and leaves 3 more voicemails in Houston luggage office. On Saturday she calls main number, who also attempts to contact Houston. They also do not get an answer from them. They say the bag was last scanned in Houston and the notes in her account show that it is supposed to stay at airport.  They tell her the office is supposed to be open from 3-3:30 for phone calls. Starting at 3:00pm she calls a grand total of 42 times. Never picks up. Calls main number again, they also get no answer. Now we are just planning to look at port and then go to airport after disembarking. 

 

Woke up this morning to a voicemail stating that her bag was indeed at airport and she could pick it up in between 6-7am or 4-7pm. 

 

Just to make sure, we did check at the port. No bag at port.  

 

She finally was reunited With her bag at 6:10pm!! 

 

So. Alaska Airlines main number: great customer service. Alaska airlines IAH baggage department: ridiculous. 

Thank you for your detailed accounting. I'm glad things worked out relatively well. This confirms my decisions to travel as light as I can everywhere I go.

[PaperSniper4]

19 hours ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

I don't think so.  We were just on a few weeks ago and had the Plus Package and paid the $60/pp pd rate.  The $25pp OBC is separate from that which is nice that they even offer that, IMO.  We went prepared not to drink alcohol until in international waters so the extra $50 for us was a win-win.  😉

That's what we did also, drank some of our wine we brought with us; we just waited until the next day for our Bloody Marys!😎  The tiny OBC was a bonus for us, but let's not tell Princess!😉

 

  Doug

[PaperSniper4]

16 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

 

................

 

I will add a smattering of photos for your viewing pleasure.

 

 

Couldn't figure out how to delete the video, but here's the first photo again.....

 

[PaperSniper4]

12 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

Here’s more info on the whole luggage debacle. ........

Thanks for reminding me why we have decided to take cruises only from ports to which we can drive! What a nightmare!🥵

 

 Doug

[starvenger]

1 hour ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Thanks for reminding me why we have decided to take cruises only from ports to which we can drive! What a nightmare!🥵

 

 Doug

I couldn't do that, living in Toronto. But I am glad that I can get a direct flight to almost anywhere in the US and Canada. I feel for OP's friend because I don't think she had much of a choice but to do that three leg flight.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Your luggage problems are why we got Air Tags.  I follow our bags along every step of our trip.  If they get lost, the bag information the airline has can often be wrong.  You show them where they are on your Find My App and voila! 

Also, AA sends you text messages that show the progress of your bags.  Your sister probably didn't get that service since she started with AK Air, but the texts are really helpful.  Between that and the Air Tags, the chance of problems are minimized.

[Crookshanks]

14 hours ago, beshears said:

Thank you for your review, and congratulations on winning The Voice as well. Do you know if they did the Love and Marriage show, and if so, was it in the Big Theater, or at the Live Cafe?

 

They did do the Marriage Game!  It was in the Princess Live venue.

 

54 minutes ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

Your luggage problems are why we got Air Tags.  I follow our bags along every step of our trip.  If they get lost, the bag information the airline has can often be wrong.  You show them where they are on your Find My App and voila! 

Also, AA sends you text messages that show the progress of your bags.  Your sister probably didn't get that service since she started with AK Air, but the texts are really helpful.  Between that and the Air Tags, the chance of problems are minimized.

 

I also have AirTags for all the things!  I like to see them move at each airport! I also like American as the app shows every single scan of the baggage.  Alaska doesn't have that feature which seems so silly since it's not a 'cheap' airline.

 

She stayed on Alaska flights the whole time, so it was the baggage that got all confused.  However, the ridiculous service with Alaska in Houston Airport would have me livid.  She'll be doing all the claims and complaints when she gets home today.  So frustrating!

[beshears]

Thanks for letting me know that they did the Love and Marriage in Princess Live, although someone said it was possible to see it in the big theater. I'll just make sure I am LOOKING ahead of time to see where it will be. 🙂

[Crookshanks]

12 minutes ago, beshears said:

Thanks for letting me know that they did the Love and Marriage in Princess Live, although someone said it was possible to see it in the big theater. I'll just make sure I am LOOKING ahead of time to see where it will be. 🙂

I think the smaller events are loaded into the Ship Journey in the app about a week early.  I saw the comedian shows, theater productions and Voice finals on the schedule about a month before the cruise, and then the regular schedule started filling out the week leading up to the cruise.  I just started marking what I wanted to do the week before cruise. 

[Crookshanks]

My Mom recorded the performance!  

[nini]

21 minutes ago, Crookshanks said:

My Mom recorded the performance!  

 

Seriously, you are the BEST competitor I have seen for this competition on the ships! Congrats!!!

 

[Crookshanks]

Just now, nini said:

 

Seriously, you are the BEST competitor I have seen for this competition on the ships! Congrats!!!

 

What an amazing compliment!  Thank you so much!  This particular competition was crazy! So many great singers! 

[TheMichael]

Thanks for the Live - I considered trying one but really didn't want to have to worry about it ("sorry honey, I can't go to the comedy show, I'm typing up my Live report!").

 

Flying out of the northwest is dicey right now regardless (Alaska has a LOT of planes grounded, and in the best of times you never know if they'll have enough ground crew to fly on time, then add in the rare sub-freezing temps). Our fun was had on the way back, when the plane to LAX was delayed first an hour, then a couple more, then 🤷‍♂️ as we watched mechanics tear an engine apart outside the windows.

 

We went to the Voice auditions as well as the finals - you were awesome. We crossed paths with you on the ship a few times and I threatened to greet you with a "Hello, number 12..." (in a British accent, of course). The final was so interesting - it seemed like everybody improved over their audition, and we started thinking it would be a much harder choice than we figured going in...until you came onstage and just broke through the ceiling. 

 

Overall, it was a great cruise - staff was so friendly and on point (during the staff-recognition part of the variety show on the last night, the "ninja" comment really rang true - ours did everything we asked and nothing too much, and never once fawned to increase the tip). All of our port days had great weather, there were very few kids and the ones there were seemed well-behaved. (There was plenty of childlike behavior to go around during disembarkation, like when we got cursed out by an older couple because they thought we were jumping their line when we were only walking to the Theater, which was the same direction.) Met some cool people (there's something about Canadians and watching for pier runners...).

 

Also, I'd suggest only sailing from Galveston if you really (REALLY) like Texans. Comics on the ship definitely modified their acts for the crowd, and at one point in the waters off Honduras, a conversation starter was "so, what brings you to Texas?" (since he was Texan, I couldn't tell if serious or if it was a comment on the passenger demographics). It was a big difference from the diverse roster of hometowns/states/countries represented on my last couple of cruises. 

 

Can't complain though. (Well, they could clearly mark their disembarkation transfer bus area, instead of what they do now, which is not mark it in any way - there are people on cruises who have disorientation issues even WHEN things have proper signage, why make it rougher on them? Oh, and the shopping gauntlet at each port, which in a couple was more like a maze). For the price (comp for Vegas casino status), I'd do it again.

 

Edited January 22 by TheMichael

[azbirdmom]

3 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

My Mom recorded the performance!  

090C1E4D-23DB-4410-864E-74C42A38CF89.mov

Wow!  You are a fantastic singer.  And you sure had the audience with you.

[Crookshanks]

1 hour ago, TheMichael said:

Thanks for the Live - I considered trying one but really didn't want to have to worry about it ("sorry honey, I can't go to the comedy show, I'm typing up my Live report!").

 

Flying out of the northwest is dicey right now regardless (Alaska has a LOT of planes grounded, and in the best of times you never know if they'll have enough ground crew to fly on time, then add in the rare sub-freezing temps). Our fun was had on the way back, when the plane to LAX was delayed first an hour, then a couple more, then 🤷‍♂️ as we watched mechanics tear an engine apart outside the windows.

 

We went to the Voice auditions as well as the finals - you were awesome. We crossed paths with you on the ship a few times and I threatened to greet you with a "Hello, number 12..." (in a British accent, of course). The final was so interesting - it seemed like everybody improved over their audition, and we started thinking it would be a much harder choice than we figured going in...until you came onstage and just broke through the ceiling. 

 

Overall, it was a great cruise - staff was so friendly and on point (during the staff-recognition part of the variety show on the last night, the "ninja" comment really rang true - ours did everything we asked and nothing too much, and never once fawned to increase the tip). All of our port days had great weather, there were very few kids and the ones there were seemed well-behaved. (There was plenty of childlike behavior to go around during disembarkation, like when we got cursed out by an older couple because they thought we were jumping their line when we were only walking to the Theater, which was the same direction.) Met some cool people (there's something about Canadians and watching for pier runners...).

 

Also, I'd suggest only sailing from Galveston if you really (REALLY) like Texans. Comics on the ship definitely modified their acts for the crowd, and at one point in the waters off Honduras, a conversation starter was "so, what brings you to Texas?" (since he was Texan, I couldn't tell if serious or if it was a comment on the passenger demographics). It was a big difference from the diverse roster of hometowns/states/countries represented on my last couple of cruises. 

 

Can't complain though. (Well, they could clearly mark their disembarkation transfer bus area, instead of what they do now, which is not mark it in any way - there are people on cruises who have disorientation issues even WHEN things have proper signage, why make it rougher on them? Oh, and the shopping gauntlet at each port, which in a couple was more like a maze). For the price (comp for Vegas casino status), I'd do it again.

 

Great insights!  We chose this port because my oldest brother is in Houston, so it's easy to get to and from the airport and we get to visit with him. Made disembarking easy as well as we just walked out and he found us. We had a cruise booked in May out of Seattle.  This will be my Mom, both brothers and 2 aunts.  That should be fun, too.

 

I did notice that there were plenty of grumpy people yesterday.  I probably would have been more angry if I had to be somewhere early. I try and follow suggestions, such as don't fly out before 2 in the afternoon. But seriously, I was standing outside the theater watching the parade go by and not only were people getting hot about passengers going to the Theater, but also those trying to get to the bathrooms.  That kind of behavior is so sad to me.  I think it's because my Dad always told us that the only thing you can control in life is your attitude.  But once that line started moving, it was easy!  

 

You could have yelled at me at any time!  I love cruising because I get to meet all the people from all the lands!  That show was fabulous!! All of the finalists were just wonderful!  The kid, Scott, who I lovingly referred to as Baby Frank, blew me away!  He was so kind and so much talent!  I wish I had been able to listen to the performances a bit better, the green room doesn't have sound, so we didn't get to hear each other much.  Really enjoyed Phillip's rehearsal of You Raise Me Up, so I can only imagine how that sounded in the Theater! Thank you for all your kind words there, it was so much fun but I was so nervous I was gonna fall over if another big wave hit us!  😄 The Judges told us after the show that they were afraid no one would come to the Finals because the Texans were in the playoffs at the same time, but it was still a pretty great crowd, or at least it seemed that way from all the noise.  I couldn't see anything past the front row! 

 

I also didn't see a whole lot of kiddos.  My last cruise I brought my sons, who were 8 and 12 at the time, and there were a ton of kids.  But that was Spring Break last year, so that made sense.

 

Staff was just amazing to me.  I'm not sure I had a bad experience at all.  Never had anyone hamming it up for tips or anything.  Buffet servers were on point, omelet station was great, too.  Dinner servers picked up on our frivolity and sarcasm, my brother and I are pros, and gave it right back.  Sure made it fun every night! 

 

My cruise was also from the casino, I've only ever sailed with Princess as they continue giving me free cruises.  I also still need to have the PTO and such to go.  Was a great cruise, though!  My brother had never been on a 'voluntary' cruise, he was in the Navy for 10 years so that cruising was a lot different than this! 🤣 My bestie had fun even though she didn't have all the clothes she'd planned on, but again, it's about attitude.  She focused on the fact that she made it on the ship and we had time to go get some clothes and such before we boarded.  

 

 

42 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

Wow!  You are a fantastic singer.  And you sure had the audience with you.

Thank you so much!  The audience was pretty awesome!  At auditions, during karaoke and the show.  Makes it so much more fun!! 

[beshears]

Once again, congratulations on winning The Voice. I so enjoyed listening to you sing! 🙂

[eclue]

1 hour ago, Crookshanks said:

Great insights!  We chose this port because my oldest brother is in Houston, so it's easy to get to and from the airport and we get to visit with him. Made disembarking easy as well as we just walked out and he found us. We had a cruise booked in May out of Seattle.  This will be my Mom, both brothers and 2 aunts.  That should be fun, too.

 

I did notice that there were plenty of grumpy people yesterday.  I probably would have been more angry if I had to be somewhere early. I try and follow suggestions, such as don't fly out before 2 in the afternoon. But seriously, I was standing outside the theater watching the parade go by and not only were people getting hot about passengers going to the Theater, but also those trying to get to the bathrooms.  That kind of behavior is so sad to me.  I think it's because my Dad always told us that the only thing you can control in life is your attitude.  But once that line started moving, it was easy!  

 

You could have yelled at me at any time!  I love cruising because I get to meet all the people from all the lands!  That show was fabulous!! All of the finalists were just wonderful!  The kid, Scott, who I lovingly referred to as Baby Frank, blew me away!  He was so kind and so much talent!  I wish I had been able to listen to the performances a bit better, the green room doesn't have sound, so we didn't get to hear each other much.  Really enjoyed Phillip's rehearsal of You Raise Me Up, so I can only imagine how that sounded in the Theater! Thank you for all your kind words there, it was so much fun but I was so nervous I was gonna fall over if another big wave hit us!  😄 The Judges told us after the show that they were afraid no one would come to the Finals because the Texans were in the playoffs at the same time, but it was still a pretty great crowd, or at least it seemed that way from all the noise.  I couldn't see anything past the front row! 

 

I also didn't see a whole lot of kiddos.  My last cruise I brought my sons, who were 8 and 12 at the time, and there were a ton of kids.  But that was Spring Break last year, so that made sense.

 

Staff was just amazing to me.  I'm not sure I had a bad experience at all.  Never had anyone hamming it up for tips or anything.  Buffet servers were on point, omelet station was great, too.  Dinner servers picked up on our frivolity and sarcasm, my brother and I are pros, and gave it right back.  Sure made it fun every night! 

 

My cruise was also from the casino, I've only ever sailed with Princess as they continue giving me free cruises.  I also still need to have the PTO and such to go.  Was a great cruise, though!  My brother had never been on a 'voluntary' cruise, he was in the Navy for 10 years so that cruising was a lot different than this! 🤣 My bestie had fun even though she didn't have all the clothes she'd planned on, but again, it's about attitude.  She focused on the fact that she made it on the ship and we had time to go get some clothes and such before we boarded.  

 

 

Thank you so much!  The audience was pretty awesome!  At auditions, during karaoke and the show.  Makes it so much more fun!! 

Your voice is amazing...you should go on America's Got Talent or one of those shows,,,,

 

[starvenger]

2 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

The Judges told us after the show that they were afraid no one would come to the Finals because the Texans were in the playoffs at the same time, but it was still a pretty great crowd, or at least it seemed that way from all the noise. 

About that. I learned from living in Houston that the Texans are a local team, not a Texas team. Outside of the Houston area it's Cowboys country. But with that said it's a playoff game, Baltimore is a very good team and Houston are overachieving underdogs, to it was a good story.

[Crookshanks]

1 hour ago, beshears said:

Once again, congratulations on winning The Voice. I so enjoyed listening to you sing! 🙂

Thank you!! I enjoyed singing so it’s a win win! 😃

45 minutes ago, eclue said:

Your voice is amazing...you should go on America's Got Talent or one of those shows,,,,

 

I’m going to stick with singing at church and karaoke. I don’t think I could handle any kind of fame. Ship famous works for me, if only because it’s an ice breaker to meet new people. Thank you for the compliment! It does make me feel good. ❤️

[TheMichael]

4 hours ago, starvenger said:

About that. I learned from living in Houston that the Texans are a local team, not a Texas team. Outside of the Houston area it's Cowboys country. But with that said it's a playoff game, Baltimore is a very good team and Houston are overachieving underdogs, to it was a good story.

 

Considering the port is in a Houston suburb, it's a safe bet that a large number of passengers would be Texans fans.

 

The Texans were granted to Houston by the NFL after the Oilers left town, once someone (that is, the taxpayers) put up the money for a new stadium.

[TheMichael]

8 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

We had a cruise booked in May out of Seattle.  This will be my Mom, both brothers and 2 aunts.  That should be fun, too.

 

Alaska cruise? We went in September and I'd go again - also, I definitely liked being able to get from home to the port in just a taxi. (Pro tip for Seattle: taxis are usually cheaper - sometimes significantly so - than Uber/Lyft.) If you're going on Discovery, it's a nice ship. Bigger and so familiarly Princess, but nice.

 

8 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

The kid, Scott, who I lovingly referred to as Baby Frank, blew me away!  He was so kind and so much talent!

 

I've been saying since I was in my 20s myself that if someone young were to take up the mantle for that kind of music they could make a killing. He hit one clam in the finals that made me (sharp intake of breath), but other than that, all he's lacking is some experience. 

 

When it comes to singing competitions, especially one with some solid singers, someone really needs a "second gear" in their voice to succeed. A couple of the finalists had a "kind-of-second-gear," but you were the only one who could really let go and not sound self-conscious about it. 

 

8 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

The Judges told us after the show that they were afraid no one would come to the Finals because the Texans were in the playoffs at the same time, but it was still a pretty great crowd, or at least it seemed that way from all the noise.  I couldn't see anything past the front row! 

 

I'd say the theater was about 4/5ths full. Believe it or not, a not-insignificant number of Americans don't care for football all that much! 

 

8 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

Dinner servers picked up on our frivolity and sarcasm, my brother and I are pros, and gave it right back.  Sure made it fun every night! 

 

We had just one initially indifferent MDR server, but it turned out that he was just tired from the 5/6pm onslaught (we usually eat late) and just needed some "opening up" to start smiling again. 

 

8 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

My cruise was also from the casino, I've only ever sailed with Princess as they continue giving me free cruises. 

 

All of the Carnival brands (Princess, HAL, and of course Carnival itself) offered me free cruises for proof of my MGM status (we took HAL to Alaska on the casino match deal), so there may be some possibilities for you with the others as well. Loved HAL, which was more of an "old-fashioned" experience. Haven't found a cruise I want from Carnival yet - the deal is for "up to balcony" but everything either comes up "balcony unavailable" or is one of the shorter "booze cruises" for which they're becoming infamous. I think I'm holding out for something in the Mediterranean.

Edited January 23 by TheMichael