SoCalCruiserGal

I receivedone at check in. Quite tickled when I received it. It's the little things in life....LOL

We've recently done this three times. Great fun! Especially if you are familiar with those that have been sitting at the bar each night and the mixologist.

We've cruised out of Galveston several times recently...stayed at San Luis and Hilton. Both were great and by a local market to pick up last minute items. The market is within walking distance of the hotel. Loved the view from both hotels. Traveled to and from by way of Galveston Express. Inexpensive and has been reliable. Happy to help with more information by email at socaltangal@hotmail.com. Stacey

Good morning,

There are several threads regarding this information. But, I will tell you that in August, we used Galveston Express Shuttle and had a great experience. We have booked them again for December.

$75 round trip for a couple. They picked us up at Houston Hobby, took us to San Luis Resort along Seawall, picked us up from the cruise terminal, and took us back to Houston Hobby.

I know they offer senior and youth rates, as well.

Stacey

I will admit I was a little apprehensive about cruising Triumph after reading posts saying that Triumph was a "shed", filthy and having issues with the air conditioning. But, payment had already been made in full, so we were setting sail last Saturday whether it was a mess or not.

LOVED THE CRUISE!!! From the moment, we were on the ship, we were noticing how clean she was and what a great cruise was had by the both of us. The air worked fine everywhere. In fact, some places were outright cold.

Of course, everything is a matter of opinion, but wanted to share mine just in case someone was to read this post thinking all of the thought I had prior to boarding.

Hi,

We just cruised on Triumph and returned yesterday. Although anxious to cruise on Triumph, I wasn't as anxious about the planning. Thanks to Cruise Critic, I was able to find information to help the planning.

We booked with Galveston Express for shuttle service from Hobby to the hotel on Friday, to cruise on Saturday. Things went really smooth using Galveston Express for the "to" portion of the shuttle service as we were the only pick-up. The "from" portion from the cruise terminal wasn't as smooth, but it wasn't anything major and all was fine.

We stayed at The San Luis Resort on Friday night. With tax and additional fees, a king-sized bed, with an amazing view of the pool and gulf was $238 and change. Couldn't beat the view of the pool and the gulf. Swim-up bar. Landry's restaurant inside and Landry's snack items at the pool. The bed was super comfy. The staff really great. Although they don't directly have transfer service to the port, their sister hotel does, which is next door. It's either the Holiday Inn or the Hilton. I don't quite remember.

For at least ten years, I have wanted to enjoy a meal at The Spot, so we enjoyed dinner with friends that night. Again, great view. The full moon on the water was amazing. Fortunate for us, humidity was barely an issue. A great breeze was had during the evening. (Let's not talk about humidity when we were off the ship to travel home. Yuck! LOL) There were tons of other places to go to for a bite to eat or a festive beverage.

We wanted to spend time with friends Saturday morning, so we didn't get to port until about 2:00 p.m. Lines were everywhere but they were all under control. Lucky for us, we are Platinum, so we were able to bypass all lines and pretty much just walk right onto the ship. That was pretty nice.

Great cruise.

Hi,

We used Galveston Express for our cruise this past week on Triumph. $75 round trip for two. We tipped $20.00 for the trip down there. On the return trip, we went to give cash and the driver high-tailed it back to the van before we could do so.

Keith picked us up at the airport within minutes of our flight. Good conversation. We even stopped at Buckees for some treats along our scenic drive. Dropped us off at The San Luis Resort (Great hotel and location) for the night as our cruise wasn't until the next morning. We were the only pick-up so things were super easy.

The return trip to Hobby yesterday wasn't as smooth, but we were fine with it. Pick-up should have been between 9:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. We weren't sure exactly where to meet up. Could have been our fault because I didn't read the information the morning of. We phoned and were told our pick-up would be there shortly. Pick-up was about 25 minutes late. Although I feel that it was due to the group that had to be picked up and brought to port. Just my hunch. We were fine with time since our flight wasn't until after 1:00 p.m. but one of the other group members wasn't overly happy since they felt they would be late for the 1:00 p.m. IAH flight and there was still another group that needed to be picked up. I could understand, but I felt that there would be enough time.

Would we use them again? Yes.

The air conditioner is not working on the ship?

Hi,

A large group of us sailed Friday, January 2 of this year. It was a great cruise! So much so, that I'm hoping to be sailing with you next year!!!

I have been on weekend cruises on sister ships out of Long Beach and can say that this was nothing like a weekend "booze cruise". It was fun, but relaxing just the same.

Personally, I really like this ship. It doesn't have all of the big bells and whistles and isn't nearly as large as Splendor, but it's a great size and everything is convenient for walking distance. No hiking gear necesssary to get from one place to the other. LOL. It's a clean ship. Alot of things have been refurbished. We sailed three times on her since last May and have a cruise coming up next Monday on her.

If you don't mind me asking, where did you book on the ship? You don't have to give your exact cabins. The reason I ask is that our friends had interior cabins across from our ocean view and they kept hearing loud noises. Come to find out, we realized that the noise was from the stairs. I have been on many cruises and never thought about the noise from stairs over a cabin. I've always been concerned about the deck above us and chairs sliding.

Stacey

In 4 days my youngest will graduate high school. In 7 days we will drive to Cali. in 8 days we will be on the Inspiration, on vacation, chilling and having a ball. Looking forward to an awesome time. :)

How exciting!!! A reason to celebrate!!! See you next Monday!!!

Stacey

I love the old pens too! I hope the new ones don't stink! :(

I think they write even better. I use mine all of the time.

When were the 2.0 upgrades?

We're on the one right after, 10/11, and I'm almost kinda hoping they change the ports. I think I'd just feel weird being there and trying to have fun when the world just fell down around that place. I mean, I realize they need the tourism money, but it feels a bit like they'll need to get things in order before they can support the influx of extra people.

I agree.

Miracle is by far a favorite! Sailed her last October, this past March, booked again for October and next March. Give it a shot. Great class of ship by far.

Yes you can... I did that early on when one of my bookings had a taxes/fee reduction. You will also usually find this on your S&S statement at the end of the cruise usually getting you back around $15.

Thank you.

If it happens prior to the cruise, do we also get a fee drop? The cruise isn't until next year.

When the port fees and taxes drop, but the cruise fare stays the same, do we get a fee drop?

Did you miss the whole tablecloth riot of 2014?

LOL. Clearly.

I have yet to sit at a table without a table cloth. LOL.

Someone already said it...

 

Food isn't a problem on board!!! There's always something good to eat, almost 24/7... But I do like to have a tablecloth with dinner, so I hope that change is made!!!

You were served without a table cloth???? We've never had this happen.

We were on the Inspiration in May and just on this week. According to John, our MDR head waiter, they will not be offering it soon enough. Wasn't as popular as anticipated.

Either way, happy to be on a ship with happy people.

I'm very fond of Banana Boat. I have very white legs and can no longer bake in a tanning bed. This works perfect.

I put a deep moisturizing lotion all over and let it soak in. About a half hour later I apply the Banana Boat. Of course, if I don't take the time to apply I get thicker areas but generally I find that it works really well.

Thanks for the input everyone. :)

Should you find one, let me know please. We would like to book another Miracle cruise, as thought we could take advantage while on Inspiration.

We're sailing together in October!!!

Stacey

And when she gets back, I'll be getting on board. :-)

 

Which ship is in the pic? Imagination?

 

 

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Are you cruising with us on Oct. 4?

Curious as to what they delay was since we were on the cruise and off super early.

We're two weeks ahead of you...Might want to ask someone on your roll call to pick some up for you. If you switch to ours, I'd be happy to do so. :)

When is your cruise? If youre with us, Id be happy to bring you some.