queen_kathy1

We were flying international to Canada so if not for the 12:15pm flight, which got us home by 7:30pm that night, we would have been getting home after 11pm with a child who had to go to school the next day. So I was happy to pay the premium to make sure we didn't miss our flight, but booked the class of airline ticket to make sure we could change our flights if we did end up arriving late. So actually the important take away is to have a good backup plan available just in case you can't get to the airport on time.

Hi - we used Cruise Driven this past Sunday. We self disembarked and were picked up at 8:15am and our driver got us to IAH by 9:30am. $150+tip to transport our family of 3, but we got there quickly and easily made our 12:15pm flight. It only took us 1/2 hour total to check-in and get through security - we were at the gate by 10am. In retrospect, I think we could have just called for an uber and saved a few bucks, but I didn't want to take the risk of missing our flight if we had challenges with getting a driver.

Hi - I'm sailing on Harmony this weekend and was hoping to bring my Air Strait - I love this hair tool, but this post is making me think not to bother. Any recent cruisers have success using their Dyson on board?

Also interested in hearing about Malecon21, if anyone has gone recently - especially about the beach. I read a review that said the water is very shallow to swim there and not much to see if you want to snorkel. A great beach day is our preference, food/drink isn't so important for us. I like that the min cover charge to get into Malecon21 is only $40 for the freedom plan, this is why I'm leaning towards booking this beach club. I read a review that said if you don't spend your full cover charge (ie in this case $40) that the establishment frowns on you. Is this true?

Jumping in on this old post to ask about the rocky/coral beach at Buccanos. We're looking to go there in about a week - do we need to bring water shoes or is entry managed ok in bare feet? We will definitely be snorkeling during our time there.

Hi - we reserved with Cruise Driven, who was recommended to us by Saltwater Moms. Paying a premium ($150 for our group of 3) for them to make sure we get there on time. Yes they know our schedule and are planning to pick us up 745-8am at the port to get us to IAH in time for our 12:15 flight. I don't want to wait on group shuttles or battling uber cancellations/lines at the port.

Yes thanks for this. I did book flights that allow changes if we are delayed just in case! Hope the weather will be cooperative for us in late April

Super, thanks for this @firefly333

Hi - is planning to disembark Harmony with our bags by 730am reasonable in Galveston? Booked a 12:15 flight out of IAH and want to make that flight. Budgeting 2 hours to get to the airport, though it should take less than 1.5.

Thank you for this. Is there construction normally taking place on Sundays? If yes, how much of a delay should one typically expect - ie add 1hr to the drive to IAH - would it get worse than that?

I'm also going through the same decision making process for Sat April 20. Looked into Moody but its attractions are pricey and we likely won't be up for much on a travel day. I like the idea of a hotel that shuttles from IAH and has a good mall/restaurant nearby then uber to port the next day. Hoping someone has a great recommendation!

Super - thank you, greatly appreciate it !!

Hi I have a similar question to this one. I'm looking at booking a 12:15pm direct flight home to Toronto from IAH as I'm travelling with my 75yr old mom and would prefer a direct flight over connecting. The next direct flight doesn't leave IAH until 6:30pm. Since we clear customs in Canada, all we need to do is go through check-in/baggage drop and security. I'm thinking if we get off the boat by 8am and even budget 2hr to get to IAH, is 2hr enough to be at the gate on time? I'm getting very nervous when I read about fog delays, other weather issues that may impede our plans. RCCL Harmony is to dock at Galveston at 7am on Sun Apr 28. Advice here would be appreciated!

Also interested in hearing about people's ziplining experience. My 75yr old mom wants to come with us and I'm wondering if there is any challenging climbing with this or is it all downhill. Also looking at Victor Bodden.

I was hoping you'd get an answer to your question as I have the same one, we'll be on Harmony in April. I think you should take RCCL out of your thread subject

Just took our 11-year-old to the Norweigan fjords this past summer on HAL Nieuw Statendam and I was very concerned with only one child of how bored she would get, being on a 2-week cruise on a ship not designed for kids. My daughter loved it, as long as there is the buffet/ice cream, swimming pools and some nightly shows - she was totally good - this boat had the Music Walk and Step One dance company. So now I'm looking into Alaska for next summer - I say go for it, your kids will be just fine. PS mine was also not interested in the kids club so she had a lot of quality time with mom and dad. Plus she had limited share time of the wifi on her device so she kept in touch with her friends which made her happy.

Zukini, we sailed two weeks, July 26 - Aug 9. If I recall correctly, you sailed one week, our first week. I used the spa week 2 of my cruise.

Thanks for this, let me clarify - I was referring to the hydro pool when I said hot tub at the spa. And believe me, it was stinkin HOT

On Nieuw Statendam in July, the majority of people wore their robes both to/from the spa. As a matter of fact, I can't remember a single time I saw anyone show up in clothes or change before they left - and I was there every day for a week. My stateroom was on the 4th floor aft and I had to go to 9th floor forward to get to the spa, and had no issue. People would be wearing dressy outfits standing next to people in their robes - no one was phased by this. You're on vacation - relax and do what's easy!

It was called Chocolate Surprise on the Nieuw Statendam in July and it was very underwhelming. Servers brought out some trays of chocolate treats that looked exactly like those you can get in the Lido pretty much at any time. Nothing spectacular on our sailing, and they greatly hyped it.

We just used the HAL-provided robes to get back to our cabin, we saw many others doing the same. This way you didn't need to bring clothing to the spa, just wear your swimsuit under the robe. Then the room stewards changed our wet robes for dry ones when they made up our room in the evening. Plus if you spend 15-20 min on the ceramic heated chair, your swimsuit dries up a bit.

This was certainly NOT the case on the Nieuw Statendam when I sailed in late July. The hot tub was so hot, I could barely sit in there for 10min. I mentioned this to the staff at the spa and the next day the temp had dropped a few degrees so you could sit in longer, but definitely way warmer than body temperature.

We were on your sailing @Zukini and we ended up buying bus tickets at the travel office - I don't recall the exact price but it was fairly priced, way less than a ship excursion. We were given 40min at the waterfall and our ticket price included free coffee, tea or hot chocolate. It was a nice excursion!

It's Economics 101 - Supply and Demand. If people are willing to pay their high prices and cabins remain heavily booked, Disney will continue to take your money. A better question for you to ask would be, why are people willing to pay so much to cruise with Disney when there are other more affordable options out there, like RCCL? Answer: Because it's Disney.

We were recently in Gothenberg with Holland America and they had made arrangements with the port to have shuttle buses take passengers into town. It cost $19.95/person and was not well organized, the queue was very long/slow to board the buses. They had 8 buses continuously shuttling people. Once you paid the fare - charged to your stateroom acct, you could go back/forth between city centre/ship as much as you wanted for that port day.