PelicanBill

Because when tendering.... "I'm on a boat!"

What the H E double toothpicks! Cozumel I get. I know Hobby is their base but Houston is so large and each airport is on the opposite side of the city so Hobby is a PITA for people north of Houston. Syracuse? Really?

Cruise lines often pad the time to set expectations for passengers and allow for the variable time for customs & immigration to clear the ship to begin. Almost every cruise I have been on docked an hour before the stated time, and began disembarkation as soon as 10 minutes after the stated time and not later than a half hour after. What was more variable was the procedure for getting through customs & immigration. I have breezed off the ship and I have stood in line over an hour. Taking your luggage with you is good and improves your time, and being ready to move the moment your category or group is called!

Commenting to follow, especially for the Getaway which I am on in November. This is a lot of pages of discussion before you have even started! it's a fantastic plan.

Here's what I remember from past bar crawls. * Plan a list ahead and publish it, so latecomers can catch up to you. * Plan a starting location with good meeting space, like Maltings or equivalent on your ship * If a large group, it could take some time at each bar to get a drink for everyone. * You could hit a bar that isn't open, or that is too busy because of an event (This happened in the Atrium to us) so if your target is to visit 5, have a 6th on the list "in case we have to move on" * It can be fun to do a theme drink or shot for those who are up to it. Like a lemon drop to kick it off or end it (although I heard they are limiting shots to simple only now)

There is ALWAYS heavy traffic on the beltways around Houston from 5am to 10pm weekdays. If at all possible have a second person monitor google maps with traffic on to choose your route. Take a look at google maps on that time and day of the week a few times and create a driving route to see what to expect.

Reports are questioning the timing of the mayday now and whether the bridge was really closed before the ship hit - maybe one side closed - because 7 vehicles drive up and off and the pothole crew on the bridge got no warning. I agree the anchor drag could be found to have made this worse. Imagine of one of the cruise ships had been in port - trapped for weeks. This is a lot of steel and debris to remove. Due to the span size, and the old design, this will take years to replace. They will need new piers and a suspension design. I bet similar to the Cuomo bridge as the main span of each is 1200'. I bet the design of that bridge could be adapted quickly... but consider how long it took to put that bridge up even without the side parts of the bridge.

Due to sketchy weather in the Bahamas, Meraviglia annouced a change from Nassau tomorrow to Miami. And today as they approached Ocean Cay they turned around and waived off for what looks like a sea day.

Legend returns to port for disembarkation at 10am! So a 1pm time is actually quite close to the start. Check out and hang out in the Lobby, or breakfast area. Drive around if you are driving. You might meet fellow cruisers and socialize to pass the time.

I saw a report dated Sep. 28 that they hoped repairs would allow ships to return in 1 week. So I guess we should look to see if any call next week. There is debate over whether the pier extensions will be usable. This is what allows longer ships like Mardi Gras to dock. They could be limited to smaller ships, but I did not find anything to suggest what length is okay without extensions. I am on Legend scheduled there in a month.

Hotel has generally good reviews on Google. I have a reservation there for the 10/30 Legend sailing.

When we cruise from Manhattan, We stay in NJ closer to Hackensack and The Washington Bridge. It's an easy drive to cross the bridge and exit right on the other side to the Westside highway. Just after it gets to ground level and turns in to 12th avenue you are at the cruise port and you minimize your Manhattan traffic issues. Do track traffic through, as once in a while the bridge traffic comes to a halt and then you need to take an alternate route by Tunnel.

In addition, if your car carrying the scooter is classified by a Manhattan parking garage as "oversize" as many Minivans and SUVs are, your parking charge is inflated a lot. Park at the port. My wife is disabled and that has always been the easy way to go.

Sounds like they need IT repairs on their user management server. Not sure how they can offer day by day purchases while not allowing packages. If there were a "satellite issue" service would be unavailable entirely.

Does it dock at 10am, or does it dock at 9am, get clearance and set up, and start disembarkation at 10am?