ATSEAMYLIFE

We have driven that route twice. Once San Antonio to Galveston and once Ft. Hood to Galveston. We tried getting to Magnolia Farms once around Christmas time and it was a zoo so we never made it. They were bussing people in from off site parking lots. I think they had more than 200,000 visitors during Christmas. Here's a couple of things you might think about. Galveston to Waco will take you through College Station, TX home of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library. Little out of your way, but the San Antonio Riverwalk is pretty cool and the Alamo is nearby. If you like HGTV shows then on your way back to SC plan a stop in Laurel, MS and visit the Hometown store and Ben's work shop. We spent two nights there a year ago and it was fun.

Looks like you better drive..

Of course you can ask and will probably get the email for the casino manager. I once asked the suite concierge to arrange a sail away party for 14 in our cabin with food and bar. He gave me the email for the catering manager.

I can't speak to compare as have never done the retreat. We just sailed in an OS for Thanksgiving on Wonder our fourth OS on an Oasis class. While I like the new Suite Neighborhood layout for being just steps from all the suite amenities; we were not fans of the layout of the suite sun deck compared to the other Oasis ships we have been on. The others have sun decks on either side facing the ocean. Wonder has it all facing the stern and directly over the sports deck. This gets you a lot of noise and competing music from what's being played on sun deck and on sports deck. We were at full occupancy but never really felt crowded in the suite area or other locations. Except for Playmakers when the World Cup was playing. Weather for Thanksgiving week was perfect all week except for a couple quick rain showers.

We now have four Oasis class sailings in OS under our belt. My opinion is the food overall in CK has declined. The first two sailings (Oasis & Allure) CK was very good. The last two (Allure & Wonder) have just been mediocre. We did 2-3 CK dinners on Wonder a few weeks ago and one breakfast, which breakfast was good. Did room service breakfast a couple of times and it was fine, mostly because you can sit on your balcony and eat. I'm glad I wasn't able to get into Hooked, based on the reviews. We loved 150 CP and had a really good meal at Mason Jar.

We have stayed at both the Pan Pacific and Fairmount. Both were outstanding hotels and steps to the cruise port. You are in the heart of Gastown, which is a fun place to walk/see/eat.

Sometimes that happens. We have never really had an issue with any early AM flight on SWA. Delta, now that's another story.

Ditto, we didn't get off the Wonder during our Thanksgiving week cruise since we couldn't dock at Coco due to high seas. We never went to MDR. I did breakfast a few mornings in Windjammer. I never found it crowded and the layout is better than on some other ships. We had two great dinners and service at 150 CP. Ask for Rosetta to be your waitress. We just enjoy our sea days and port days when most people leave the ship. You will enjoy the "new ship smell". We found everything much more contemporary than the Oasis and Allure we have been on. Only big issue our kids found was with the Abyss dry slide. If the slide or rugs you slide on get damp the slide drags and is very slow even to the point of people coming to a stop inside the tube.

Nope

Track your flights for the next couple of days and see how they recover. https://www.airportia.com/airlines/southwest-airlines/

That's why you get the first flight of the morning so you know the plane has been there all night.

No need for a passport, but it might slow you down on return is the only issue. We sailed twice since July and when clearing CBP upon disembarkation they had two lines USPP holders and Gov ID/BC. First time ever, Port Canaveral had facial recognition we stood in front of a camera, got a green light, and walked out. Never even showed our USPP. We were once on a cruise when two people in our group had all their stuff stolen, included USPP and all ID. When we hit Fort Lauderdale they just told the CBP officer they had no ID. They gave some verbal info and were sent on their way.

We sailed Wonder for Thanksgiving week in an OS. The Suites boarding line is clearly marked. We never stopped walking long enough to worry about snacks. We walked straight on board. Wonder also allowed us to check in one hour before or after our assigned time. We had 10:30 AM, got there at 10:30, and were onboard before 11:00 AM.

I tend to agree with your observations. We were on for Thanksgiving week. We didn't do Chops as our last two experiences on Oasis and Allure weren't up to prior standards. However, 150 CP was outstanding. We were in an OS and we aren't a fan of the new Suite sun deck layout. We like the OS's being steps from the SL/CK and sun deck. I would do another Oasis ship, but not sure it would be the Wonder.

I would stick with the flights. The weather doesn't look bad for the 28th or 29th and looks to be in the 50's on the 29th. The schedule is a mess now, but it won't take much time for it to get back to normal. We were once on the last plane out of ORD at the start of the blizzard that shut it down for two solid days. The weather was a whole lot worse than what you are looking at on the 29th.

Post address please.

Probably not, we were on her for Thanksgiving which had no effect on "Dress Your Best" nights; ours were 2 & 6.

It was all those surge protectors.

We boarded her for Thanksgiving. We got a text a day or two before that advised we could board a hour before/after our assigned time. The 4 yoa shouldn't be an issue. We didn't try to board anybody else with us who weren't in a suite, but all they can do is turn them away. BTW: we never stopped walking once we got to the terminal. Never went to an area where we had to sit and wait.

True, we couldn't book anything on Navigator (July) or Wonder (November) before we could get on the ship WiFi.

I would use UBER. First, it's on your schedule and not BART's. Only one BART station in CV so depending on where you are you will have to find a way to the BART station. Uber you get dropped right at the pier and don't have to walk from the BART station to the pier. Uber is reasonable and you don't have to figure out the BART fare card machine. Depending on day/time managing luggage on BART could be a pain. Last but not least, BART isn't the safest way to travel.

We were on Wonder for Thanksgiving. There was a standby line every night for people who didn't have reservations. They opened it up about 15 minutes and I never saw a night when everybody didn't find a seat. Lots of people make a RSVP and then no show and don't cancel. Same was true for the Comedy show, which showed sold out every night for the adult one.

Are you really asking if there's to MUCH BBQ?

Did a little road trip last year and DW is a big fan of Hometown on HGTV so we spent two nights in Laurel. It's a cute town with not much to do except go to Ben & Erin's store and visit Ben's workshop. BTW: reason we spent two night is because the store was closed on the day after New Year's day (2nd) so we hung around to the 3rd to see the store and workshop. We also had lunch at Pit Master BBQ and it was excellent, but closes early some days so check the hours.

Except for a huge water park.