JHawk63

4 hours ago, Biker19 said:

It all depends on the security screeners at the port but would likely be fine. 

Thank you!

Does anyone know if this is allowed?

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On 1/21/2024 at 5:39 PM, surgie said:

Did you use the app or website to select everyone's arrival time? Or it doesn't matter? I'd rather not have to enter everyone's PP# etc.

I used the app... everyone else filled out their passport info at a later date...I just selected a check in time for all of us!

Yes, if all reservations are linked you can select the arrival time for everyone in your party. I did this last March for us & our traveling companions. None of us were in suites, tho, so not sure about that!

2 hours ago, joepeka said:

Just curious, we've only sailed from Galveston once (early July) and the only weather problem we had was thunderstorms on departure. On reading these board and viewing the Galveston web cam, it seems most of fog delay related problems are in the cooler months (i.e. November-March). Was that your experience?

Yes...one time was January & another was April.

On 1/16/2024 at 7:30 PM, Russ Lomas said:

Question to all those out there who read this and have an answer for us based on personal experience.

 

We booked a 3:24 pm direct flight out of IAH to fly home.  Spirit just changed it and added a layover and booked us on our first flight at 11:33 am from IAH.  Is this doable at all, or will I need to call and get them to move us to a later flight?  Problem is the only later flight due to layover added will not get us into Detroit til after 11 pm and we still have a 3 hour drive home after that, making work and school the next day tough.

IF everything went well & you did self departure, you could *probably* make it. Personally, I would be a nervous wreck. We've sailed several times out of Galveston, & twice have been delayed getting into port because of fog. One trip on Carnival, we didn't get off the ship until after 3 pm! You just never know what the weather will do. I'd go for a later flight.

We were on the Radiance in March & they had a very small group of kids dressed like pirates that walked thru the dining room one night. We had My Time Dining & they were walking out as we were coming in. I had forgotten all about this until I saw the kiddos!

18 hours ago, new_cruiser said:

I'd suggest you ask the moderator to delete or close this thread. Start a new thread with the right title

I did!

19 minutes ago, RB9643 said:

 

The confusing part is the thread title.  😄

 

 

I SWEAR that is NOT the title that I typed in! That was my last question about a cruise we took in Feb.... not sure how it changed & there's no way to delete it. Sorry!

Our family is looking at booking a cruise next spring, but one room is on the fence. If we book the refundable deposit for that room, do we get back the full $500 or do they just send the difference in what the amount of the refundable? In this case, the refundable will cost an extra $138, so would they subtract $138 from the $500 to refund? Hope this isn't too confusing!

Thanks for the info. Looks like Discount is the same price as Park 2 cruise, but has a shuttle, which would be nice because all of us would be getting to the terminal at the same time instead of waiting on the drivers to park & walk across the street to the rest of the party.

Has anyone used the Park 2 Cruise lot across the street from the new terminal? Was it difficult to drop people off at the terminal & get back across the street? It seems to be much cheaper than parking directly at the terminal. Thanks for any info on it!

We did the snail mail renewal...their website said they received it on Dec 6th, we received them on Jan 23rd. My BIL & SIL had to do the expedited ....their's were recieved Jan 11 & she just checked & they have been approved & it says they will be here by Feb 5th. 

Thanks everyone! I just checked the website...it now says approved & that we should have the passports next week!

5 hours ago, baldilocks said:

Book the Grand Tour before it is sold out. You can change your mind later and book another tour if you wish. These tours go fast. Waiting to book on board the ship may leave you with nothing to choose from. We took the Grand Tour. It goes to a very nice observation site where you can see locks and ships. Like I stated before, one of the through the locks ferries got stuck behind a freighter that had trouble. Our ship had to wait an extra 2 hours for them. I heard it cost Celebrity $110K for over staying their departure time.

That's the one we have! Just disappointed it doesn't go thru the canal.

Thanks everyone! I tend to stress about stuff like this....hubby calls it "adventure"!!🙄

21 minutes ago, vision14k said:

Took an hour in the morning, then we went to lunch for 2 hours, came back to pick them up and we were out in another hour.  It took us 2 hours almost to get to Miami with the traffic and an hour to

get back home.  Overall very organized process.

 

Drive to: 2 hours

Morning Appt: 1 hour

Lunch/Wait: 2 hours

Passport Pickup: 1 hour

Drive Home: 1 hour

=7 hours total 

So did you have to pay any extra to get them same day? Or did the fees you already paid cover it?

1 minute ago, bluetardis said:

Do you check the website often?

Every.Single.Day! It has been showing as "In Process" for about 5 weeks. We didn't think we needed them for our cruise, but went ahead & renewed them the first of Dec, only to find out we DO need them, as we are stopping in Columbia. My BIL & SIL had to do the expedited renewal because of this. I told them that they will probably get theirs before we get ours! Trying not to stress, but that's easier said than done!

Thanks everyone. I'm keeping my fingers crossed the status gets changed to accepted here soon. If not, I guess I'll have to make an appointment & drive to Dallas to try to get it straightend out. 

I'm so confused on these Panama excursions! When we first booked the Grand Tour, it listed a longer time for the excursion & it also said "cruise" along in a boat, which I took to mean you went thru the canal. The person at the excursion desk said it went thru, too, but honestly, he read word for word what the website said. Now it says "glide" along & is a shorter time. I thought I was booking a tour that took you thru the canal, but looks like that isn't the case. And now the one that looks like it DOES go thru, is fully booked. I'm so bummed....I guess I'll have to just check with the excursion people when I get on board & hope they know what they are talking about!

18 minutes ago, vision14k said:

We waited till we were within 14 days of our cruise then set an appointment at the Miami passport office.  We are here now getting them same day.

That's what I'm afraid of! How long had you been waiting? There is no passport office close to us unless I drive down to Dallas!

It's been 6 weeks now since the passport service has received our renewal applications via their website. It says "may take 6-9 weeks". I was just wondering if anyone has renewed lately, how long it has taken? We sail in 5 weeks & I'm starting to get nervous!

On 1/17/2023 at 6:52 PM, baldilocks said:

We just got off the Celebrity Constellation in mid-December. I highly recommend the Grand Tour of Panama. You overlook the locks, have video presentation and watch any ships going through. After that, you will see the Embera people who great hosts. Great views of all the animals and plants along the lake. We enjoyed the excursion. Our ship did not go through the canal.

 

Just an after thought. We had one ship excursion on a ferry get delayed in a lock due to a freighter / lock problem. The Connie waited two extra hours for them to get back. We were in one of the bars when a couple came in and just wanted to have a drink. They looked awful. They said they were stuck on the ferry with little food or drink practically all afternoon. So, I would not recommend that excursion.

So the Grand Tour of Panama did NOT go thru the Locks? From the description, it sounds like it would. 

On 1/14/2023 at 2:58 PM, tw67 said:

 

I will be on Carnival Sunrise next week, and when in Cozumel I always pick up Los Cinco Soles in the port area.  If they don't have any next week, I promise to come back up and let you know!  But I have never had a hard time finding it.  @clackey enjoy your cruise!

Yes, please check back in about the vanilla & how much you had to pay for it. Thank you so much!

Thanks for the info! Cartagena & Colon are both stops on upcoming cruise & this was very helpful.