ifihadaboat

Best wishes to your daughter! Stay with Cruise Critic for questions you will have (there will be more) and have your daughter look up her cruise line roll call. There are a lot of good things about being a CC member. We are all here to help.

It looks like ParkNCruise is going to be very convenient for you. Their website suggests you reserve ahead to make certain there is space for you. If you are good handling your own luggage, and since you are sailing Carnival, that will be great. Know that you turn into the ParkNCruise before the light at 25th Street, so when you see the stately white building to the right, be prepared to turn right.

Reading on CC forums, others suggest that you call Park and Cruise directly to get your questions answered. If you are sailing on Carnival, the walk isn't so bad, but if you are sailing Royal, it is a little longer. Personally, I don't think the time to drop off passengers and luggage and then go park is all that long. On the good side, our weather should be pretty good on the 3rd.

Smart Macaw!

We are doing a similar fly into IAH and taking a Christmas Princess the next day trip. We opted for the Marriott by the airport. It has a train that takes you to the hotel from the airport and then we can hop back on the next day to go back to the airport to catch the Princess transfer to the port. I will say that I have not stayed at this hotel previously, it just seemed the most convienent solution for our group. Hope this helps! :)

Sounds like a good plan (and a wonderful holiday!)

I see your point, PenguinLife. Galveston port is next to town, so the traffic is often an issue, but rarely does it slow you down a lot. I am not a fan of the Bayport terminal because it is so far out in "East Egypt" (so to speak) and there is nothing near it from a tourism perspective. But I am glad you are coming to Texas, Bluehawk47. Welcome!

Absolutely get dropped off. That way you can proceed to the security/check-in lines and he can join you. BUT! He should have his ID, passport, etc. with him for when he enters the terminal. You can check in without him and he can check in when he gets in, or you can wait near the entrance for him.

A Sunday morning drive should be fine. Check for road closures due to construction at Texas Dept of Transportation (TxDOT) website and even Houston sites like this one:

http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/construction/construction_report.aspx

Have a good map app in case you need to take the loop or beltway.

Corsicana is a good place to stay, and there are lots of places in small-ish towns all down I-45.

Glad you tried this group. Sorry the NCL board wasn't much help. Since your flight arrives so late, you are probably better off staying near the airport (IAH) and shuttling to Bayport. Oddly, a Galveston cruise site can give you some information on cruising from Bayport. Your hotel near the airport should have information on getting to the port, too. Come back with more questions if you need!

http://www.galvestoncruisetips.com/transportation-options-to-the-houston-bayport-cruise-terminal/

Yes, 21st Street is Moody. January 3 - is that when you are sailing? I don't foresee any serious traffic issues then, and your timeline looks good. You might have a good map app in case you need alternate routes around Houston.

Please take pictures especially the place where we check-in our luggage. I'm planning to drop off our check-in luggage directly at that place instead of going through the porter because last time I waited forever to find a available porter. We'll be on LOS on the Thanksgiving week.

 

Thank you

Luggage drop off will be in the same place. I am sorry to hear about your difficulty with a porter. I believe that the white tents will be used for guests who have checked in and are waiting for boarding. Liberty is a larger vessel and carries a lot more passengers that the Navigator ships that have been sailing out of Galveston previously. I have no doubt that RCL will be making every effort to give you a good embarkation experience.

My husband and I have used Pink Taxi and we found them prompt, friendly and efficient. On our last attempt, they were already booked, so book a date and time with them as soon as you have decided.

We do have some "iffy" weather coming. I don't think it will be as severe as we have had the past two weekends. Also, the Lone Star Rally is here this week, so traffic will be busy around the port and east end. Allow plenty of time and drive safely!

Stay in touch with your Cruise Critic friends. I will be reading along, and add anything I can think of. Kemah will be very nice. Keep researching. I like your comments, GradUT, but this family seems to be coming in at IAH. Still good to hear about the Hobby area.

Good for you...planning well ahead. How long will you be staying? Before the cruise? After? You might do a little research to see if there are hotels with cruise packages. Seascape condos are way out on the west end of the island and the cruise terminal is on the east end. Don't get me wrong - it's about 20 minutes to drive, but when you are out there, you are out away from most of the things to do. It is lovely and very beachy, though. Just look around and see what you want to do with your time.

http://www.galveston.com/parkandcruise/

that's probably cutting it too close. 11:30 flight means 9:30 to 10 arrival at Hobby. While it's not a great distance from Bayport to Hobby one can never underestimate traffic in Houston. Factor in a late arrival due to fog and you've missed your flight.

 

Having said that, the terminal is very efficient, particularly compared to Galveston.

What was your experience in Galveston, lifes-a-beach? How was it different in Bayport?

I hope that by now you are booking a later flight (1:00pm or later). They are all correct. Allow at least one hour for driving from port to Hobby. And fog is very likely in March. Hope we have helped.

Missing out on Phil works out well for you! I will also concur that the silent dance party was fun for a novel idea. But be careful when you remove your headphones. You will hear a cacophony of people singing to the song(s) they are listening to. :eek:

Phil Anderson is "the piano man" in the Schooner Bar. He does country and pop songs and he loves audience participation. I think he is on the Navigator until mid-April.

We tried the virtual balcony in Dec 2014. Short answer: I wouldn't do it again. But that being said, it was interesting. I do not mind inside cabins, so I do not need to see the water. I definitely turned it off at night and closed the curtains because I like dark. IMO I gave up a small sofa that I remember from past cruises for a chair and ottoman because of the VB screen. It is kind of interesting to experience, so maybe you can cabin crawl to one. I never found out where the camera is for my view. (?!)

if you wait to get off, be prepared for an unorganized mess and a long wait

Could you tell me more about the mess when you debark?

Your plan of two flight bookings sounds smart. Fog should not be an issue in May (but it sure is today!) and the Customs situation is unpredictable. I was on the same cruise with bighairtexan and we self-assisted off with ease. One problem with regular debark is luggage - it takes a while to get luggage for three thousand people off the ship.

We were fine with MyTimeDining (Nov 30-Dec 7). Sometimes we were seated alone and sometimes we shared a table with others. We asked to be seated with the same wait staff after the second night and that was always good for us. We made reservations for the first evening, but then just showed up each night after that. We tend to go to the early show and eat afterwards.

Might I ask if you have passports or you will be sailing with your birth certificates?

Wonderful review and very useful information! In regards to the self-assist, perhaps it should have been explained to passengers more thoroughly. We are early risers, so we like it, because it is very uncomplicated (other than managing your luggage) and we don't have to wait around for our section to be called. Sorry about the "snarky" women. Let's hope that improves soon!