Texas Tillie

There's no way they could be considering eliminating gratuities from what's included. They aren't that stupid, are they?? 😏🙃😄

Are you flying in? Maybe look at ones out by the airport and taking Uber/taxi to the port in the morning. Just discovered the reason - Taylor Swift is in town that weekend!

Since related to this topic, does anyone know where Edie is these days?🙃Wonder if things have gotten so bad she's been forced to sell her expensive purses on E-bay?? As an aside, the devil made me post this. Patty

2012 was the year Crystal started including alcohol in all inclusive. I never heard anything like this on Crystal, but I'm not saying that you didn't that one time, Rick Spath was/is on the Serenity and I mostly cruised on the Symphony. I can say that was not the norm then and certainly isn't now.

I'll be glad when my May cruise on Nova is finished where I'm using most of the future cruise credit I received after Silversea messed up so badly on the previous cruise I had booked but never took. The balance of the FCC can, well, you get it. After May I won't be back here and will delete the other social media site. Silversea/Royal Caribbean will then be a memory. I'm sure it was a fine line before Royal Caribbean.

Paul Gauguin is operated as a completely different entity. Think about all the different lines that Carnival, Royal Caribbean and NCL own. It has always had a French vibe as Tahiti is French. I need to investigate Emerald, is it the same people who operate the river boats? Have never seen it mentioned anywhere. P.S. Just looked, 100 passengers, operates in Euros.

No, Paul Gauguin is a line that sails Tahiti and the South Pacific. Nothing to do with Ponant. Think you are asking for a combination that does not exist. You need to either adjust what you find acceptable or go to a land resort.

This works for you because of the days of the week you are renting the car but since Enterprise on the island closes at noon Sat. and is closed all day Sun. and the majority of Galveston cruises come and go on Sat. and Sun., it won't work for the majority.

Fog forms when the air temperature is higher than the water temperature, so over the winter into early spring. March is full on spring in Texas, by April the water has warmed up enough to get close enough to the air temperature. By summer the air is 90 something and the water is upper 80s.

What's interesting (actually, not, knowing human nature) is that the ones who proclaim things like this the loudest are also the ones who complain the loudest when fares go up. 😏

No, an 8:50 flight would start boarding at 8:20, 8:25 at the latest. Even on Sunday morning it would take about 45 minutes to get from the port to Hobby. There's just no way.

My point was with a much lower capacity, Crystal would not be able to offer the same level of entertainment or enrichment and the ships would not have the same number of venues that offer the variety Crystal cruisers expect. This has nothing to do with the passenger load from cruise to cruise. And, no, I'm not under the illusion that if the passenger load doesn't average around 75% capacity down the line, Crystal's long term viability might be in question. Patty

I'm not sure Seabourn's ships would be a good fit with Crystal as most are too small. Only 2 are 600 passengers and those two are now 6 and 8 years old. Crystal would not be Crystal unless they have ships at least 600 passengers. Patty

Thanks for your thoughts, Whipsnade. "As long as you accept it" is the key. I've been too independent for too long, lived alone for 55 years this month, to be that dependent on others, at least not until maybe I have to move to "the home"! Patty

Just wishing the Symphony would be able to return to North America as I think my overseas travel days have come to an end.😪 Patty

Basically, no and no. Crystal has dishes that keep returning, but not on any specific rotation. Formal nights often have such things a caviar, lobster, etc. If there's something on the Waterside menu that you would like, but you go to a specialty that night, ask your head waiter if you can special order it for another night. If the ingredients are still available, they will make it for you. Patty

I have an idea that it's just a very small segment of Crystal cruisers who eat anywhere close to the quality and variety in real life as they do on the ship! Patty

FYI, 8.50 NZ$ is 5.25 US$. The Big Mac price varies around the US, so not sure how that compares. Patty

Don't forget that many businesses do work on their systems in the middle of the night between Saturday and Sunday when the fewest people are using them. Glitches resolve themselves when it's finished.

Does anyone know if these two addresses go to the same person (people) or if they are different? And, more importantly, which is more likely to get a "good" response? Patty

All the people saying how expensive it is - you are aware that IAH to the port is a little over 70 miles, way different than from MIA or FLL to their respective ports. If it's an option - flying into HOU is better, it's only 40 miles to the port.

I consider it the best cruise I’ve ever done because of the Antarctic part. Without those 3 days it would be in the top half of cruises but not all that special. The Chilean glaciers didn’t compare with Alaska. Being at Ushuaia was cool just because it’s Ushuaia. Also, we were able to get into the Falklands. My understanding is only about 30% actually make it there. Patty

You paid in full almost a year in advance (not sure what you mean by expedition rate), so I'm sure you are good to go. I did this same cruise years ago except we spent 3 days off the coast of Antarctica. They don't do that any longer with Serenity or Symphony. Patty

If you have a guaranteed cabin, you'll be on the ship, either in a solo or higher, probably a double ocean view. The double ocean views are identical to the solos, just closer to the middle of the deck. Did you get the guarantee for the solo cost? If so, you can't loose as the double ocean view probably has a 50% single supplement. Patty

Since the OP wants one of the "old" veranda cabins, I became curious as to how many are available of each ship after the remodel. On Symphony my count shows just 20 available, whereas there are 46 on Serenity. Many on both ships are far forward. So, with the pricing difference between those and the Aquamarines, it makes sense that they will go fast. Patty