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

[starvenger]

8 hours ago, TheMichael said:

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.

It's almost always the taxpayers that foot the bill. 

[Crookshanks]

7 hours ago, TheMichael said:

 

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.

 

Yes, it's Alaska.  It's for my brother's birthday and he likes cold and wet, hence why he lives in Seattle! 😄  It's on the Majestic, so that'll be a new ship for me.  I've only been on 3 ships so far, the Grand, Regal and Ruby.  Kind of excited to try the japanese restaurant on that ship.  I'm not a fan of the cold, but I am very much looking forward to seeing Alaska.  It's one of the states I've yet to see.  I'm not sure if we will taxi/uber from my brother's house or if he's got someone lined up to drop us off.  I think it'll depend on how big our party is when it's all said and done.  Other question about Alaska Cruise. Since it all seems so close to shore is the casino open much? I feel like they'd have to close it often when you got out of International waters.

 

7 hours ago, TheMichael said:

 

 

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. 

 

I could see that! I was raised by parents who found value in all kinds of music.  Some of my strongest memories are of going with my Dad to the VA Hospitals/homes when he was playing Big Band music.  Us kids got to talk to all the residents, and I grew to love the standards.  We were given instruments early, though I haven't kept up with them as much as the singing. We listened to a lot of classical music and a whole lot of hymns and praise music.  

 

I wish I could have heard his performance, but he was really nervous. He sings in groups in college, so I think the solo thing was rather new to him. I think song choice is important with the competitions, too.  I prefer ballads, but all shows need some up tempo numbers to break up the monotony.  We each had to pick 2 songs and the coaches helped picked which ones to sing in the Final. My other choice was I Will Survive, but they liked Natural Woman better. 

 

I actually kind of expected Roger to take the trophy.  He was great! He used to sing with Elvis back in the day! 72 and still going strong, crazy impressive. He and the Gold Jacket guy who sang Always on my Mind in auditions play together in Branson, so he has a lot of practice. 

 

7 hours ago, TheMichael said:

 

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! 

 

I enjoy watching if it's a good game, but I'm not invested in sports.  Don't tell any of these southern folks I work with though.  I'm pretty sure college football is a religion down here!  😆

 

7 hours ago, TheMichael said:

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. 

 

We had a similar experience in Sabatinis.  Thought the server was dry and grumpy, but he warmed up.  He just had a dry sense of humor.  My brother pointed out that he was from Ukraine and they generally look more serious than they actually are.  

 

7 hours ago, TheMichael said:

 

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.

I want to sail the Mediterranean so much!!  I'm thinking we may make that the goal next summer, but that's a long way off.  I got a CBS offer last week for a Balcony and now I have to see if I can make it work with my PTO and kiddo schedule.  

 

While I enjoy drinking, I try not to be crazy about it and belligerent drunk people can be a bit overwhelming for me, though that's more because they usually end up being mean to staff or other passengers and that makes me uncomfortable.  I was a bartender for years and saw my share of sloppy drunks.  I've seen some crazy videos of Carnival cruises and the havoc the party people cause.  

 

I'm Gold in MGM, there's no casino close to us here anymore as they sold their Tunica location to another company.  I can only get down once a month or so anyways, so I don't gain the points super consistently. 

 

I like Princess because it seems to be a good mix of 'older' cruisers and younger ones.  Not just a party ship, but not boring, either.  I love trivia and silly game shows, musicals and educational presentations.  I'll have to give HAL a try at some point, though.  I'd like to try most all of them eventually, though I doubt I'll do Disney.  I like the music of Disney, but none of our family ever got into the characters and such, so I think the extra cost wouldn't really be worth it to our family. 

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, Crookshanks said:

Other question about Alaska Cruise. Since it all seems so close to shore is the casino open much? I feel like they'd have to close it often when you got out of International waters.

 

If you're in Glacier Bay it will be closed the whole day.  Otherwise the casino opens 45 minutes to an hour after leaving port just like other itineraries.  It's open enough for you to pay them back for that comped room!  😉

 

We've been on the Majestic twice, once to Fiji and the other time was the third cruise back after Covid.  That one sailed to Alaska from Seattle too.  While I usually like the Grand class ships for Alaska given the large Promenade deck, the Majestic has the closed in Hollywood Conservatory at the bow of the ship.  That's a nice place to view the glaciers while being out of the wind.  The indoor pool is also there, the only Royal class ship that has one.  And although we love the Lido deck pizza I found that the Noodle Bar was a nice replacement.  The noodle soups were delicious!

[Crookshanks]

1 hour ago, azbirdmom said:

 

If you're in Glacier Bay it will be closed the whole day.  Otherwise the casino opens 45 minutes to an hour after leaving port just like other itineraries.  It's open enough for you to pay them back for that comped room!  😉

 

Well in between my aunt and I, we'll give them what they want!  😄  Maybe not me as much as her. 

She's a much higher roller than I am.

1 hour ago, azbirdmom said:

We've been on the Majestic twice, once to Fiji and the other time was the third cruise back after Covid.  That one sailed to Alaska from Seattle too.  While I usually like the Grand class ships for Alaska given the large Promenade deck, the Majestic has the closed in Hollywood Conservatory at the bow of the ship.  That's a nice place to view the glaciers while being out of the wind.  The indoor pool is also there, the only Royal class ship that has one.  And although we love the Lido deck pizza I found that the Noodle Bar was a nice replacement.  The noodle soups were delicious!

 

The noodle bar looks great!  I'm excited to give it a go, though I do really enjoy pizza.  The pictures of the indoor pool look very nice.  I didn't get into a pool at all last week, but no one else in the party was all that interested and I'm happy being entertained by all the shows and such. 

[TheMichael]

2 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

Other question about Alaska Cruise. Since it all seems so close to shore is the casino open much? I feel like they'd have to close it often when you got out of International waters.

 

It was open more than I thought it would be - I have a vague memory of it being closed for arrival in Victoria and not reopening again for the remainder of the trip between there and Seattle. My memory could be faulty though.

 

2 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

My other choice was I Will Survive, but they liked Natural Woman better. 

 

I think they were right - Natural Woman is more of a "singer's song," and if you can nail it, it's the one to do. 

 

2 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

While I enjoy drinking, I try not to be crazy about it and belligerent drunk people can be a bit overwhelming for me, though that's more because they usually end up being mean to staff or other passengers and that makes me uncomfortable.  I was a bartender for years and saw my share of sloppy drunks.  I've seen some crazy videos of Carnival cruises and the havoc the party people cause.  

 

I also enjoy a few drinks, but I don't get a lot out of being drunk, and a coffee buzz is sometimes just as appealing to me. Don't know if you were at the close-up magic show, but there was a momentary "highlight" when a drunk guy wandered in with his family during a trick. Fortunately, he settled down shortly after they were seated, but I felt bad for the family.

 

2 hours ago, Crookshanks said:

I like Princess because it seems to be a good mix of 'older' cruisers and younger ones.  Not just a party ship, but not boring, either.  I love trivia and silly game shows, musicals and educational presentations.  I'll have to give HAL a try at some point, though.  I'd like to try most all of them eventually, though I doubt I'll do Disney.  I like the music of Disney, but none of our family ever got into the characters and such, so I think the extra cost wouldn't really be worth it to our family. 

 

Princess does straddle that line, with none of the rides and things that families gravitate towards, but enough diversity in events to be interesting. I'd like to try Virgin Voyages - almost-all-inclusive, adults-only, and as usual with all things Virgin, different.

[nini]

17 minutes ago, TheMichael said:

 

Princess does straddle that line, with none of the rides and things that families gravitate towards, but enough diversity in events to be interesting. I'd like to try Virgin Voyages - almost-all-inclusive, adults-only, and as usual with all things Virgin, different.

 

Well, the new Sun Princess will have Park 19, aft. This will have "dry tube slides", a Splash Pad, a Rock Climbing Wall, jogging track........

[TheMichael]

7 minutes ago, nini said:

 

Well, the new Sun Princess will have Park 19, aft. This will have "dry tube slides", a Splash Pad, a Rock Climbing Wall, jogging track........

 

A new era, I guess. Might push me over to Virgin sooner.

 

All of the Princess ships I've been on so far have jogging tracks though. Not much used by kids.

 

Edited January 23 by TheMichael

[nini]

7 minutes ago, TheMichael said:

 

A new era, I guess. Might push me over to Virgin sooner.

 

All of the Princess ships I've been on so far have jogging tracks though. Not much used by kids.

 

 

We looked at Virgin and after reading more about it, decided it was not our style. However, we love Virgin Atlantic Air.

[KKB]

23 hours ago, TheMichael said:

(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. 

 

Love you Canadians!

 

Regarding Galveston & lots of TX passengers...

Sailed Ruby from Galveston in March & really didn't notice it particularly.

We just got off NCL Prima out of Galveston & WOW--LOTS of Texans! 

The most party cruise I've ever been on!

(well other than a 5 day Spring Break Celebrity cruise that was 75% FSU students😳)

 

Thanks for the reports from everyone. We are on the Regal for 28 days in April.

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, TheMichael said:

It was open more than I thought it would be - I have a vague memory of it being closed for arrival in Victoria and not reopening again for the remainder of the trip between there and Seattle. My memory could be faulty though.

 

Nope that is accurate and that does trip folks up.  You usually go to Victoria on the last day / evening of the cruise and the casino will not open up again before you disembark in Seattle.  They do make plenty of announcements about cashing out before the casino closes but there are some who still miss it and have to wait weeks or more to get the remaining amount in their casino account refunded.

[TheMichael]

2 hours ago, KKB said:

Love you Canadians!

 

I'm only half-Canadian myself, but I did grow up there. (My other half is...wait for it...Texan.)

 

2 hours ago, KKB said:

Regarding Galveston & lots of TX passengers...

Sailed Ruby from Galveston in March & really didn't notice it particularly.

We just got off NCL Prima out of Galveston & WOW--LOTS of Texans! 

The most party cruise I've ever been on!

 

I think they announced 1900-some Texans aboard ours. This one wasn't quite as party-ish, probably had an average age approaching our recent HAL cruise with habits to match, which made things easier for us since we could plan to avoid, er, certain behaviors. 

 

Edited January 23 by TheMichael

[OllieMom]

Crookshanks, You were AMAZING on The Voice! I rooted for you. Congrats!

[Pittypatbr]

Thanks so much for all the posts and info.  Congratulations on the win - you were awesome and your stage presence was great!  Sorry for all the drama with the luggage - sort of a capsule of all the bad things that can happen with luggage short of it being totally lost!  We are getting on this Sunday, so better go hop on the packing. No flights thank goodness!