scubaslayer

Thank you!!! I now have more planning to work on, after a work day from hell. Only 105 days until my vacation begins.

My husband and teen went to one in Vegas a couple of weeks ago. They both said it was great. Total cost for 2 meals (and probably dessert or shakes) was $75. Five Guys will easily cost $15 per person in our city. We probably won't go on our upcoming Harmony cruise, unless the teens beg for lunch one day and it isn't busy.

We used a travel agent. He was able to book my kids in their own room with a fake birthday and then call Royal to link the rooms and change the kid's birthday. This way their room key opens their room. Previously we did one adult and one kid in each room and the room keys were an issue, even after going to guest services onboard. They just gave us an extra set of key and the kid that had switched rooms had to carry 2 different cards (one adult's to open the room and their own seapass). Having 2 cards seems like it wouldn't be an issue but it was an annoyance when they would forget and then come in our room to get to theirs.

Have you cruised out of Texas before? Texas has some kind of dumb alcohol rules while in port. Which is funny, considering my city has drive through margaritas and daiquiris. Though those drive thrus are nothing compared to the liquor barns in Mississippi.

I know you said this wasn't that type of review but I am trying to plan dinners. Can you see the showtimes for Harmony and if so any chance you can post them? Either way, I am still following along. This is one of the best reviews I've seen.

I was kind of joking but basically 2 adults and 2 teens. Neither teen ever agrees with the other about what we should do. The adults want to do both, so we win.

In the past we have found a cheaper hotel in Houston or south of Houston but before Galveston. However we drive the 12 hours from where we live to the port and have our own transportation. Last time we stayed near Hobby and had no issues with the area. Our hotel had 3 chain restaurants nearby (but we ate as we entered Houston to get a car break). Our upcoming cruise in June has Galveston hotel prices at almost $300 a night for lower end places. We managed to get a 2 bedroom rental house for 2 nights for the cost of 2 nights at one of the cheaper hotels. We lose out on having a pool but we save by having a kitchen, It really depends on how long you need a room for and your priorities. If it is just a place to sleep the night before, go for something cheap with airport shuttles but if you want to get vacation started and have a day, I would stay in Galveston, unless you want to go to NASA. Either way, you probably need to book soon. Prices are only going to go up as places reach capacity. We booked through VRBO but the place we chose was also on Trip Advisor and Booking websites. I checked reviews and policies on all of the sites.

Thank you. Maybe it will be more clear in the summer months? Either way we will enjoy ourselves. 3/4ths of my family wants to go to the ruins and a different 3/4ths wants to go to a beach and relax.

Can 2 teenagers go to dinner in the main dining room without an adult? Is this allowed for breakfast or lunch on sea days? We generally stick together for dinners but was trying to find out the rules and to make sure they know in advance.

Probably going the day before the cruise and not morning of. That way we have time to wait. Every good cafe and diner is loud and crowded on a weekend.

I see far worse than dead bunnies, so I'm good. Also have 3 dogs and a cat. Presents are inevitable.

Did you end up doing this tour? I am considering this for my family in June but haven't seen any updated reviews for the lagoon.

I actually remembered enough small details to find the review in question. The pictures posted were from Sunflower Cafe, so going to try to convince the family to go there.

Ok, I work in a human hospital lab and I swear I have had that argument so many times. Except in my case it is doctors and nurses arguing that the results have to change. I am way to invested in this story now. I hope everything calms down for your family.

I remember reading a review on the Royal board a couple of years ago that had some amazing pictures from a cafe near the port (chocolate croissant and eggs benedict). I can't find it now but was trying to find a great spot for breakfast on embarkation day. Will also gladly accept food suggestions for lunch and dinner for the day before but my family usually likes to go to The Spot.

Royal loves having a sale. The price does fluctuate but I have never seen anything in my planner saying it was full price. I could be wrong and just never noticed but every time I login Royal has a deal and yet checking the prices they are almost always the same. I'm currently trying to decide between 3 dates and the prices have been consistent for weeks. I wish I had been able to plan around Black Friday sales though.

My experience is it is never the full price. There is always a "sale". I am not sure the current rate for drinks but a couple of years ago it was about $15 for a cocktail. At that price, you would need to drink 5.6 drinks per day to break even. Is that worth it to you? I am well aware you can get more than alcohol with the package but that is generally the most expensive item. If you don't drink more than 1 a day, the refreshment package might be a better deal and just buy shots to add to your drink. I am in no way saying the drink package isn't worth it for some people but it is worth looking at the overall value of the drink package (including convenience). If this seems like an ok value, I would purchase and then cancel and reorder if the price drops before sailing. I have never seen it be lower once onboard.

Thank you and crap, because I know one teen is going to complain about the setup of the room they are in. Of course it is a cruise and they can deal, because we don't have to go on vacations like this with them.

So if we are in non-connecting rooms but right next to each other, they will be opposite for the setup or is that just for connecting cabins? There are no connecting rooms available, so I know we won't have that but it isn't a problem. I was kind of hoping both rooms would have the same setup, because my teens disagree on everything.

Is there a place or way to find out which setup a balcony room will have? We will be getting 2 balcony rooms (not connecting) and trying to figure out if the bed or sofa will be near the balcony. It looks like it could be either based on the photos. Is there a chart somewhere with this information? We will either be in a regular oceanview balcony or the larger balcony rooms.

Last cruise was on Liberty 2 years ago and the Starbucks was a must for "decent" coffee. Fortunately it was covered by the refreshment package. In case the teens ask, is Starbucks on Harmony covered by the refreshment package? We aren't diamond, so we just have access to the basics but as long as it is decent enough the adults in the group will be happy.

So where is the best coffee and is it free or covered by the drink package?

With the kids my fear was always the arcade. I had a limit set. We do buy the refreshment package, which I think is overpriced but it comes out to less than we would spend on drinks that we do enjoy. I could limit that, but it is a vacation and we want to enjoy ourselves. Refreshment package is the no alcohol package but it generally includes all of the no alcohol drinks. If we didn't do this, the kids would at least want the soda package, which has always seemed reasonable to me. The alcoholic drinks package is too much, unless you will drink 4-5 drinks every day. Look up what you would drink for the price and see how many you need to drink in a day to break even. I think most of it is people not knowing how to do a cost-benefit analysis or just wanting to complain. Other than a drink package, we never spend above the cruise price plus gratuities on the ship since kids outgrew the arcade.

So our previous cruises the kids were allowed to order off of either menu and were allowed to have shrimp cocktail nightly, lamb, and the lobster tail on nights it was part of the menu. As for the kids club on Harmony, I do not know but I would think so.

Last day coming back to Galveston on Liberty was lousy weather every time. We spent a lot of time in the state room, on the promenade and enjoyed lunch in the main dining room. I expect this might not be an issue in June but fall and winter are definitely windy in the gulf.