EBFURR

You know I might call them back and really give them hell. Ask for a supervisor. Tell them Carnival is doing these changes blah blah etc. Tell them window to make this change is closing also! Tell them it's your 35th anniversary etc. Make sure you call Crown and Anchor. If you get somebody from Guatemala, ask to speak to the Crown and Anchor Society..

I am on hold doing that right now. I just canceled a future RCI cruise we had booked.

Is there any chance you can call RCI and could get on the Oasis on Sunday? Or the Majesty on Monday?? You're in NC and you can drive there tomorrow?

I have tried that. No dice. They are putting their faith in the captain's "window". The problem I have is that if the inbound flights get cancelled (my original flight already has been) and the magic window opens, will they sail off without those of us who could not get into HOU and keep our money. I firmly believe that in the circumstances they should allow us to transfer bookings or take a cruise credit. Carnival is doing that, but they have no "class" as we are told on the RCI boards.

This ain't Tennessee:halo:

Thanks for making this stressful day a little less so. As of now we are going. We have a flight, we have a hotel, we have a rental car (they confirmed that they will be there :rolleyes:) and we have a notice from RCI saying "Don't worry, be happy. We will get into and out of Galveston." Of course, all of this is subject to change without notice. By the way, Monday is our 35th wedding anniversary. Hoping we are somewhere nice at least.

ADMIN NOTE. From the ship at 12:25 pm

 

Captain James was just on the intercom. We leave Cozumel on time today. He says there's a slight window that might let the ship get in on Sunday morning. He has talked to folks at the port about it.

 

Absent from his words was that we might get off the ship when we arrive. They just don't know. RCs meteorologist and others are watching constantly. There is an offer on down the page to move cars from the port area.

 

More is not known now. Sorry, but not interested in what C does. RC will wait and give accurate info rather than speculation.

 

That's it for now. Karen (onboard Liberty)

Karen, we had our early flight tomorrow cancelled but SW changed us to a later flight. It does leave before noon though, so a noon announcement does us no good. I got an email a little after 2PM EDT today that said the cruise is on schedule for Sunday. At this point we have to go. Carnival did offer credits or refunds for their weekend cruises. It would be a good thing if RCI would follow suit. We would probably try to switch to another port if we could find one not sold out. Otherwise I hope your captain is right and we get to wave to you as you debark.

From Royal Caribbean 3 minutes ago:

Hello, this is Royal Caribbean International.We would like to provide you with important information regarding your Sunday, August27, sailing onboard Liberty of the Seas.

We are actively monitoring path and progressionof Hurricane Harvey. At this time, Libertyof the Seas will keep her original schedule for Sunday’s turnaround inGalveston, Texas. Should we make any changes to Liberty of the Sea’s itinerary, we will make sure to inform ourguests and travel partners.

Royal Caribbean will provide you with anupdate tomorrow by 12:00 PM CT. We appreciate your understanding andcooperation.

Some of my greatest adventures in life have been when things haven't gone as planned. Cheers to the optimists on this thread, and best wishes to those on board and those trying to get on board.

 

Until your flight is cancelled, I would proceed as if it isn't. Until your cruise is cancelled, I would proceed as if it isn't. These storms and their resulting impacts can be highly erratic and wildly unpredictable. Here's hoping for sunshine and calm seas on Sunday (which is entirely within the realm of possibilities).

Well, that is our strategy. Our early Saturday flight was cancelled but they moved us to a later flight at no charge and said that if the cruise is cancelled or moved we can get a full refund. Love Southwest! Phone calls to RCI say that the cruise is still scheduled, so if we do not go with that and stay home we lose it all if they manage to make it. Carnival has told their passengers not to go to Galveston unless they hear differently and offered refunds/credits (according to a post with an image of of the announcement). The only option we have is to go with what RCI tells us which as of 30 minutes ago was that our cruise will sail.

To all you experts and "concerned" citizens who are not cruising this weekend nor live in the area: You have nothing at stake here and your opinions and advice mean nothing to me, nor am I a "fool".

Great post!!! Most of us are genuinely worried for passengers leaving this weekend and are trying to be realistic, yes sometimes that might sound as pessimistic or negative. But I hope the poster from NC understands our intentions.

Yeah, I got it loud and clear. I know the type.

Wow..just wow...that you actually think you are going on a cruise this weekend. ;p

Thank you for your kind and sincere thoughts. Your mom must be very proud.

Current conditions on the south side of Houston are very light rain and ponding and puddling aren't much of a concern since we've been dry for weeks and what's come down so far has been absorbed. Light winds so no tropical gales yet. Here's hoping that once Harvey goes ashore in Corpus the port opens and the ships can get in, load up and get out before "round two" when the dire predictions of a Cat 2 hurricane here next Weds don't come true

Airline cancelled lat flight tonight but just confirmed that they are still holding tomorrow's schedule at this point. I am expecting a delay though. We will see. Storm surge predicted at 2-4 ft as of about an hour ago, so maybe this can be pulled off. We are finishing packing - took the day off. We do appreciate the local updates.

While I commend you for being positive, I hate playing blackjack with negative people, I am not so sure you are being realistic. I believe this is due to these cruise lines not canceling already and having people like you holding out hope while there really isn't any as these cruises will be cancelled. Your the perfect example as people will board there flights in anticipation of cruising only to get there and find out it's been cancelled. Now what do you do? You have to pay for accommodations while sitting in horrible weather. Yes you will get your cruise refund, just do it in the comforts of your home. GL

Just wow.

Are you still expecting to fly in Saturday?

Yes. Airline says flight will go. We have a lot of money into this, booked a year ago, and have no choice but to go by what the airlines, cruise line, and port authority say. At this point all three say we sail. Amazing how m,any people who have nothing to lose seem to be hoping for bad things. Not you specifically, I have no idea what your outlook is. I just see a lot of doom and gloom from people who are not directly affected. I look for the best and deal with the rest.

Anything is possible but that would at least appear questionable.

Thanks for your concern.

Thanks for that. Always good to hear from a true local. Try to stay dry.

Stay safe and don't drive toward the hurricane.

Roger that.

Royal's talking to Port of Galveston and will issue an update Friday noon eastern.

I'm sure they have far more data than armchair critics.

 

PORT OF GALVESTON

 

9 hrs ·

UPDATE: Royal Caribbean International is actively monitoring path and progression of Hurricane Harvey. At this time, Liberty of the Seas will keep her original schedule for Sunday’s turnaround in Galveston, TX. Should they make any changes to Liberty of the Sea’s itinerary, they will make sure to inform their guests and travel partners.

Royal Caribbean will provide an update tomorrow, August 25th by 12:00 PM EST.

We are booked for Liberty on Sunday and fully expect to sail. We agree about the armchair meteorologists. We lived in hurricane territory on the South Carolina coast for years and have been through many of these storms. It will not be ideal but we will manage. We are more concerned about our Saturday flight being delayed but we have all day to get there. Positive vibes people. :D

I hope it does. When do you get yo Galveston?

 

I will report here when we get word from Captain James about where we will go or be.

We have a Saturday 5:45 AM flight out of Charlotte to Hobby @ 7:20 AM. I am almost counting on a delay at this point but that is not an issue since we have all day to get there. I am sitting tight for now. We used to live on the SC coast and have been through the hurricane bit many times. you never know, but I am thinking that by Saturday, and certainly Sunday it should just be rain in Galveston. The issue will be whether your cruise has to alter the route on Friday/Saturday and how much impact that might have. Maybe you get an extra 1/2 day out of this. :D

We are onboard. Drew said this is his third week back.

Enjoying your Periscope broadcasts. First time I have used it. We board Sunday assuming the hurricane allows it.

I have posted before about Sunshine, but to summarize: We are long time RCI cruisers and went on Sunshine in June as our first Carnival cruise. It was a last minute thing and we went in expecting to have fun. We had terrible weather but loved the ship and had a good time anyway. The food options are amazing and the "no cost" options beat RCI hands down. We liked the comedy club and even went to one production show, which is unusual for us, and liked it just fine. The Serenity area is outstanding on this ship. We did not use the MDR much and we found the food to be equivalent to RCI. Overall, we were impressed and have two more Carnival cruises booked.

It was really good. If you eat upstairs on the rooftop around 4 you can watch the ships sail away. Also from 3 to 5 is happy hour and they have several $5.00 appetizers. I ordered the nacho app for my meal and it was a big portion!

 

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Hi there, we live in Concord. Lots of NC cruisers around apparently. We have sailed out of Port Canaveral many times over the years and love to go out to the port side restaurants before the cruise. We like Grills, but Fishlips is also very good. You can't go wrong with either.

We like deck 6 because it is an easy walk down to decks 4 and 5 where we spend most of our time. Consider a balcony and two inside promenade staterooms. The inside promenade rooms are a bit larger than a standard interior and have a window looking out over the Royal Promenade. We also prefer close access to the mid-ship elevators for ease of getting to the main dining rooms, Windjammer and Diamond Lounge,

+1 for deck 6. We have done what you describe several times when our teen kids were sailing with us on Voyager and Freedom class ships. We get a "hump" balcony and then insides nearby. We like the hump for the added privacy and also for the location near the stairs and elevators. It is a quick walk down one flight to the promenade and dining room. We have gotten both promenade and standard insides for the kids. They actually preferred the standard inside because they did not like the window to the inside. We never had any noise issues with the exception that our daughter thought the promenade view cabin was noisy.

We love Majesty and have sailed her many times. We are booked again next January. We also have a Carnival Liberty booked in October so we will be able to do a direct comparison then. Given our experience, which as been all good with MJ, I would still say take a hard look at the Liberty all things being equal (price, schedule, etc.). For a short cruise, it is really a large, nice ship. Liberty would probably be doing 7 day cruises if not for an issue with the propulsion system that limits her speed. The ship has a lot to offer.

R Bar is the place for Martinis and they host the Martini Seminar! Great value and lots of fun!

Hi, we are on Liberty in about 9 days. We have not been on this class ship since they remade the champagne bar into R Bar. We enjoyed the location and drinks at the champagne bar on several ships including Liberty but are wondering if there is more to the R Bar than just the decor change. If you have been to Alchemy on a Carnival ship, how does it compare? We really liked the Alchemy and we are hoping that the R Bar is similar. Thanks.

We started out with an OV way back when. After that we went with insides since the window did not really do much for us and back then there were not many balconies and they were expensive. As the prices dropped with more balcony cabins being built we tried one and we loved it. Now we try to get a balcony on 7 day or longer but on the shorter cruises we only spring for one if the price difference is not too great. We can enjoy our cruise either way but we do enjoy and use the balcony a lot when we have one. We always get the hump cabins if at all possible because they seem to offer more privacy and are in great locations. I would recommend keeping it. You may get "hooked" but that might not be so bad.

I'll be on next week. The proof to me will be if I could Periscope at sea. I have not been able to in 4 Liberty sailings since 2016 drydock. I know I will on Sunday before we pull out on my own signal. My CC name is my name on Periscope/Twitter

We are boarding as you get off. I have been trying the periscope thing but I have not had much luck finding live feeds or even old feeds on cruise related topics. I am an IT developer for a bank but I do not do a lot of social media stuff. The whole # thing annoys me. I will look for you on periscope and see if I can have some success. Do you have any sort of schedule planned for your broadcasts?

We are going on this cruise next month, we have never been to the Caribbean,. My number 1 bucket list is to swim with the dolphins.

But, I have read so many negative reviews and sad stories about their habitats, that I am not sure. What port would you do the dolphins in?

Also, is it better to book through the ship or on our own? we r new to this

Thank you

Our daughter has done it and we booked it in Cozumel. There seems to be more and more of these places popping up. The primary advantage to booking with the ship is that they will be sure you are back on board before sailing. If you are on your own they may not wait if you are late. From our experience the cruise line excursions can be a little like cattle calls with the crowds and you are locked into certain times. You can spend a lot of your day waiting for the rest of your group to finish. If you decide to go in Cozumel you will not have an issue with getting back to the ship on time since everything is relatively near the dock and taxis are plentiful. There may be similar situations in other ports but this is the one we know about. You can usually save some money and have more flexibility by booking yourself. Check the sites like Trip Adviser and the port of call boards on CC for reviews.