Liberty of the Seas May 12 Sailing Delayed Departure

[whatyouknowsays]

So I just received this in my email.  What do you think?  Will this effect the Deluxe beverage package at all on the first day.  I know Galveston has strict liquor laws until your in international waters.  Should I be concerned also of a mechanical issue since they need divers for repairs. I know it says routine maintenance , I just thought it was odd that it was scheduled for a full day at port.  Has anyone else had this issue before?

ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS

Dear Guest, We are excited to welcome you onboard Liberty of the Seas for our Western Caribbean adventure! Before you join us, we have a change to our departure time to share with you. On May 12th, while we’re in Galveston, there will be divers doing routine maintenance work on the ship. They will need the full day to complete the work, so we’ll set sail after midnight. As a result, our shops and casinos will not open on May 12th to comply with local regulations. In the meantime, enjoy a movie on the pool deck, belt out your favorite tunes at karaoke, and dance the night away with our resident DJ. And the good news is, we’ll arrive in Roatan, Honduras right on schedule and you will have plenty of time to do your onboard shopping and place your bets in our casino during the rest of your cruise. Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to welcoming you onboard very soon! Sincerely, Royal Caribbean International

Cheers!

Edited May 7, 2019 by whatyouknowsays

[Clarea]

Royal does honor the drink packages while in Galveston.  They normally purchase enough Texas stamped alcohol to make it to international waters.  I would expect that they will increase that allotment for your departure.

[fdthird]

If they follow their usual procedure however, there will only be select brands of liquor, beer, and wine available, as they don’t stock the entire range from Texas liquor.  So one gin, one vodka, etc.  

 

i wonder if they’ll give folks the option of getting back off the ship after checking in?

[George C]

Glad I am not on that cruise, only cheap vodka, scotch , wine , etc , on first day . Nice extra profit from drink package. Perfer cruising fromother ports even though we live in Texas 

[Petroplex]

Do I like the full bar options once we hit international waters better? Of course I do. However, there have always been plenty of good choices for me on embarkation day in Galveston. This should work out fine.

 

[fdthird]

Who’s going to be the first to ask for a discount on their drink package?  

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, George C said:

Glad I am not on that cruise, only cheap vodka, scotch , wine , etc , on first day . Nice extra profit from drink package. Perfer cruising fromother ports even though we live in Texas 

It’s not cheap, plenty of name brands, some premium. 

[George C]

What name brands? What do you consider premium? Dewars 

[whatyouknowsays]

1 hour ago, fdthird said:

Who’s going to be the first to ask for a discount on their drink package?  

I thought of canceling ours for 2 and then rebuying once in International water since the taxes are cheaper.  

[whatyouknowsays]

2 hours ago, fdthird said:

If they follow their usual procedure however, there will only be select brands of liquor, beer, and wine available, as they don’t stock the entire range from Texas liquor.  So one gin, one vodka, etc.  

 

i wonder if they’ll give folks the option of getting back off the ship after checking in?

We were also wondering the same thing.  It would be nice to enjoy the beach for the day instead of being on the ship in port.

[Clarea]

5 minutes ago, George C said:

What name brands? What do you consider premium? Dewars 

 

Dewers is Royal's low end scotch.

 

This should show what is included in the drink package when docked in Galveston:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=54708316&postcount=4

 

EDIT: I see that the list is not very descriptive of liquor brands available.

[whatyouknowsays]

2 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

Royal does honor the drink packages while in Galveston.  They normally purchase enough Texas stamped alcohol to make it to international waters.  I would expect that they will increase that allotment for your departure.

Thank you .  I would expect the same.

[not-enough-cruising]

55 minutes ago, George C said:

What name brands? What do you consider premium? Dewars 

This is from embarkation this February on Liberty. Just noticed it doesn’t have liquor brands, but I can tell you I was having Makers Mark old fashioned at sail away. 

[not-enough-cruising]

56 minutes ago, whatyouknowsays said:

I thought of canceling ours for 2 and then rebuying once in International water since the taxes are cheaper.  

Keep In mind what you paid ore cruise for the package. In February it was $62 PPPD on board the ship. 

[whatyouknowsays]

11 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Keep In mind what you paid ore cruise for the package. In February it was $62 PPPD on board the ship. 

We booked at 30 percent off, so for 7 days it was $47 pp. it is a little higher now at buy one get one half off.   Bombay Sapphire is a preference and Pinot Noir .    We bring our own mixers since we prefer Fever Tree.

Edited May 8, 2019 by whatyouknowsays

[George C]

3 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Dewers is Royal's low end scotch.

 

This should show what is included in the drink package when docked in Galveston:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=54708316&postcount=4

 

EDIT: I see that the list is not very descriptive of liquor brands available.

Some ships have dewars 12 year old or 15 year old which are nice, but  normal dewers is 8 years old and on low end. 

[WestTexasBySea]

They other weird quirk is fresh fruit for drinks will not be available either. 

[tradercj]

When we had a delayed departure from Galveston, there was very few beer choices to chose from. Something to consider if your a beer drinker on the drink package.

[twangster]

On 5/7/2019 at 3:05 PM, George C said:

Glad I am not on that cruise, only cheap vodka, scotch , wine , etc , on first day . Nice extra profit from drink package. Perfer cruising fromother ports even though we live in Texas 

 

That's not profit for Royal.  Not after they get raped by TABC.  That's your state government hard at work for you.  Blame Texas, not Royal.  That's where the extra cost of those Texas tagged bottles go.  

[fdthird]

I always feel for the bartenders as I’ve seen them having to explain to first time passengers about the limitations till they leave Galveston.  Have seen some particularly irate folks over our 4 Galveston sailings.  Tomorrow will only be worse for them!  Wonder if Vintages will even open tomorrow evening.