margeecruiser

Done ita few times  Always a TA.  We live in central Texas and drive to Houston the night before  Arrange to leave our car at the hotel for a fee or use long term parking at the airport.  Fly to Barcelona/Rome/etc whereever for a week or a few days early then board ship.  Cruise home and take private or ship transport back to the airport to get our car.

These have been our absolutely faverite cruises.

We did the Panama Canal from Galveston too.  Great itineary  Some longer cruises out of Galveston would be great

Has there been any news about Celebrity maybe porting a ship in Galveston in the future?

I think it depends on the excursion.  If it involves a bus or van-type vehicle, if it's full then no unless they have several more people then they can sometimes get a larger vehicle.  I think hoping for a cancelation if probably right.  I would try to get to the excursion desk on day 1 oe 2 and see what is really available.

Biggest group I've been on was 45!! people.  Halloween cruise from Galveston including costumes  It started out just my sister and her family,my DH and I and my mother.  Then neighbors wanted to come.  Then sister's work friends.  Then more family.  More work friends, friends of friends, neighbors of friends.  Everybody knew someone, but nobody knew everyone.  Sounds crazy but we had a blast.  We designated one bar to meet up before dinner if anyone wanted to show up.  We also chose one pool area where some of us went during the day..Show up or not, it's OK..  We all had late seating because we chose to not because we had to..  No children all adults  My mother the only senior citizen but she was the belle of the ball.  We did not try to sit together anywhere so we did not "take over" a place..  Everyone did their own thing during the day and in the evenings.  One of my favorite photos is of the entire group in costume on Halloween.

We had our 50th wedding renewal on Celebrity  It was years ago nd the price was about $700++.  We priced doing something small here in central Texas and just to rent a hall was over $600   We loved everything they did. including flowers, cake, champaign and music,  They items you listed would be very costly to pay for individually. I think.  It is true the communications are difficult and I hope everything goes smoothly for you.  In my case, I met with the on-board event planner (someone from the hotel side, but not a true event planner I don't think).  He showed me the flower vault and I could pick my flowers.  My cake was small, like they use for birthdays.  The Captain officiated but it was held as we were docked in Santorini.  We got a beaitiful document commenorating everything.  It was well worth the money, but was Celebrity back when they had flowers to buy onboard.  You might get whatever they deliver to the ship.  Good Luck

When in December?  Dickens on the Strand weekend is very crowded.

Friends traveling with us on a transatlantic from Venice had their brandnew hard side luggage split open and a wheel almost torn off on the plane ride over  They got some duct tape somewhere and then had to get new luggage in Venice!!  Expensive!  Our soft sided luggage made it just fine 

Exactly my pint, Clo

I have served on a jury twice  Very educational and eye-opening about your fellow humans.  The other jurors were just random people and their biases and lack of common sense was scary.  I came away hoping i never had to depend on my fellow human being deciding my fate.

We always make a point to let everyone know to each his/her own during the day and then meet up for dinner.  We might even skip dinner in the MDR and do a Specialty if we want.  We are all adults and don't have to stick together like high schoolers.

I agree that you don't really know another person/couple until you've traveled with them.

So, Sherri does the Schooner bar have the variety of wines that Vintages used to have?  Do you know where/which bar I should try with my wine-loving crowd?

If all else fails, we will go to Chops and buy a bottle there and drag it to wherever.

Where there's will there's a way

Is this true on other ships besides Wonder?  We were going to usethe Solarium bar as a meeting point for my friends/family, but not if it's too hot.  That bar has good wine, I was told, since the Mariner does not have Vintages any more.

There is no Roll Call activity for our upcoming cruise.  I am trying to find out if there is a large group booking this cruise.  How can I find out?

The escape room here in my hometown is actually 2 rooms.  You have to solve about 2/3 of the puzzle to get to a secret door to finish.  My team did not finish and I found out I'm not very good at it.  So bad in fact I would not do it again.

I definately vote for one product so it stays fresher.  I only use the daytime moisturizer.  If I get a sample of the nighttime moisture, I'll use it if my face feels especially dry.

Is the rack of lamb in Chops always available on Mariner/

I also highly recommend this company.  We have used them 6-7 times and loved every minute.  If you join your roll call and get some others to join you it can be much cheaper.  They also have a "share tours" on their website where they group you with a few others.  They have great vans that hold 6-7 people.  They will also find you a bathroom if necessary!!

Thanks for all the info   I thought maybe the parts for the Refurb for some ships would have been ordered before the pandemic hit since it happened so fast  I know there is a very long lead time for some of these items to be built, but Royal may have some pieces in storage awaiting new work during dry docks.  I can see lots of cups with Tiki Room just sitting in storage somewhere.

Now that Covid restriction seem to be over and the cruise industry is going full-bore, has there been a new amplified or refurbishment schedule published anywhere?

Thanks for your help

Does anyone have the current wine list for Mariner?  Where can I find it?  What bar has the best wine since they took Vintages out of this ship.  Thanks

Just a comment about drug-sniffing dogs on Royal.  A few years ago we had a cute beagle dog sniff each of us while we stood in single file waiting to "ping" ourselves onboard the first day.  Never before or since.  We are diamond plus so have a few cruises under our belt.  Maybe they had a tip??

We are also on your cruise.  We are using Falstaff Parking.  It is cheaper than the parking at the pier, has shuttle service and is covered parking .  We have used them before and were very happy.  

Can the doors between the balconies on Central Park cabins on Allure be opened?