cynt

AON was slow, real slow but they did reimburse me for my medical expenses for my visit to the ship's medical center. 

On 12/12/2022 at 9:40 AM, Vacationdreamer<>< said:

Need to follow this. 
I think when we disembark we will go to Waco for the Texas Ranger museum and Magnolia Markets/Silos, before we start weaving our way back to SC. 

Hopefully Houston traffic cooperates for you. It can be a bear 24/7. Use the WAZEapp to navigate the Houston traffic. 

Best parking? North lot. 

We cruised Royal over Thanksgiving. I highly recommend parking at the cruise terminal. Nothing like parking your car and walking to the cruise terminal to check in. We will always park at Royals new terminal going forward. It is so convenient now to park at the terminal. A no Brainer for us. 

We always stay at the Holiday inn express in Texas city. We stopped staying in Galveston a couple of years ago. We usually skip breakfast and head to Galveston around 10AM for our 11am check in at the port. 

Bummer your boarding day wasn't good. We had no problems. Highly recommend parking at the port next time.  We thought we would give it a try a couple of weekends ago. Hands down best parking experience ever. 

Check out pics and my review of the parking.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2895846-royal-caribbean-cruise-terminal-galveston/#comment-64407961

12 hours ago, longhorn2004 said:

So how was security so fast? I hated the one to two hour waits at the other two terminals. Carnival is going to have to dig deep into its pockets and match the Royal debarkation experience at the two other terminals.

We just got back and elected to do self assist. From leaving our cabin, catching elevator, going through last BONG!, to facial recognition, to walking to our car in the North parking lot less than 10 minutes. Our longest wait was for the elevator to get to deck 4. LOVE THIS NEW TERMINAL! Game changer. 

Luggage pickup area.

We exited the side of the bldg, walked around the corner and the parking lots were right in front of us. PAY FOR THE NORTH lot. It's right there. CONVENIENT! No need to pay for covered parking unless you just want to. It is possible to walk to and from the South lot. It's a little further but a very easy walk on a paved sidewalk. Royal did a fabulous job. 

18 hours ago, kwbrad said:

Thanks for all the pictures.  What was your arrival time?  Did you have to wait for a parking spot?  We have a spot in north lot reserved I am hoping it will be too backed up.

 Forgot to quote you.

No waiting on parking spot.

Arrival time 11am.

Our check in time was 11am. We arrived a little after 11. We walked straight from our car, through check in, through security, through pictures and onto ship in less than 15 minutes. Fastest check in ever. 

Check in was fabulous because they had multiple check in agents checking you in with a iPad. Loved it! They asked health questions, scanned passport and took picture. It took 3 or 4 minutes tops. 

Picture of the parking lot from aboard the ship.

Covered parking

North parking 

South parking 

We loved parking and walking onto the ship. 

Once you take exit 1C off of I45 you take it down to 14th street. You will pass the old terminal. There is signage for you to follow. Easy Peasy.

The new terminal in Galveston is NICE! We boarded the Adventure today. Here are a few pics. 

I just boarded the Adventure and they didn't ask for them. I would still bring it just in case. 

Hugging you real tight. My condolences.  

7 hours ago, cynt said:

Nope. 

 

Before the system crashed does anyone recall the cost for the Ultimate Dining for a 4 Night cruise? It was something stupid like $159 before the BF sale.

Black Friday sale price $142.99 for 4 night cruise on Adventure. 

Does anyone recall the Black Friday sale price for the Ultimate Dining package for a 4 night cruise? It was something crazy like $159. I was waiting on this sale and now like most of you I can't get in to check it out. 

Nope. 

Before the system crashed does anyone recall the cost for the Ultimate Dining for a 4 Night cruise? It was something stupid like $159 before the BF sale.

Do not go to a chain BBQ place in TX. Find a hole in the wall BBQ joint. You should smell the meat smoking at least 2 blocks away. The good places are in a neighborhood not a strip mall. Ask the people at the gas station where do they get their BBQ. 

Welcome Allure! We're so freaking excited to have you. Man I should have booked that Christmas cruise aboard her. 

Y'all enjoy!

On 11/1/2022 at 2:27 AM, david891 said:

Hello, I am D+ and currently on Wonder.
 

I am on deck 14, JS, right underneath the main pool. For the last 2 nights not been able to sleep from what seems to be crew throwing chairs at 2am, 4am and 7am.
 

Spoke to guest services and asked if there was another JS perhaps spare on a diff deck/location but they said even if there is spare JS we cannot move as already used our current cabin.
 

Asked to speak to hotel director but told “he doesn’t speak to guests”.

 

At a loss with what else I can do 😞 does anyone have any suggestions? 
 

Thank you 

@david891 so what happened with this issue?

I live in Texas. Like others have mentioned it's the practicality for me as well. A 5 hour drive on I45 puts me at the Galveston port. That includes at least 2 stops at Buccees in Ennis, Madisonville and/or Galveston. No traffic to get to airport, no crazy airport parking, no security, no 1 hr drive to the airport. For most flights I leave my house 3 hours before my check in time. 3 hrs in on my drive to Houston on I45 I'm right outside of north Houston. 

I cruise from different ports depending on what I'm looking for in a cruise. The last 12 months I've been on 6 cruises - 1 New Jersey, 2 Miami, 3 Galveston. Airfare and hotels have been crazy expensive everywhere. My hotel and airfare combined has been over half the cost of my cruise. So yes to save money we cruise out of our home port.

I just wish we had different ports to visit.  We are ready to explore other ports besides Cozumel, Belize and Roatan. Hence our 3 cruises from different ports this past 12 months. And one of my Galveston cruises was a 9 nighter to Coco Cay, Port of Miami and Port Canaveral. Dirt cheap cruise right after cruising reopened. We mainly stayed on the ship but we didn't care. We were stir crazy from Covid. 

DBP complicates things. I would cancel one cabin and change the names on the booked cabin to you and your spouse. I would then have your friends book their own cabin. Hopefully they'll let you move the deposit to your existing cabin.

You had good intentions. I would definitely correct it now before final payment and before you board the ship. 

Yes.

If you don't want to deal with the hassle, you can purchase water and they'll deliver it to your cabin. 

20 hours ago, Spurschick said:

It’s called Moody Gardens. Get the cruise package. Valet park at the hotel, they shuttle you to the port. Then on return they have your vehicle ready for you to get straight into when you get back and parking is included for the duration of your cruise. So once you get to hotel no need to move you car again.

No it's not!

And you missed the point.

I don't want to catch a shuttle to the port. I want to arrive at a hotel connected to the port, park my car in a parking garage, check in at hotel and check in for cruise, wake up the next morning and walk to the cruise terminal and board the ship. Upon my return from the cruise, walk to said parking garage, get in my car and drive home.

Hopefully my explanation is a little more clear. ONE STOP SHOP! 

On 10/21/2022 at 12:19 PM, cynt said:

 

Adding a hotel and parking garage at the terminal would be fantastic!! I sure hope they are able to do that, especially if the hotel and parking garage is walkable to the terminal. Driving down a day early from the Dallas Metro area, parking and walking to my hotel and not having to move the car again until I return from the cruise sounds fabulous to me!! That would be a game changer. OMG! What if you could check in for the cruise when you check in for your hotel room!?!? Yes, I have a great imagination! That would be incredible.