Fun in the Sun

This is my first cruise out of Galveston. I arranged for parking directly across the street at Galveston Park n Cruise. We dropped the bags and the little woman off at the terminal first. I then proceeded to park the vehicle. There isn't any shuttle to take you back and forth. However, the convenience of being across the street is awesome. It is just a short walk to Terminal 2 (Royal Caribbean). I met up with the little woman. She already checked the large bags with the porter. We picked up our carry ons and got in line. As long as you checked in online, the process was quick and smooth. Otherwise, you were directed to a much longer line that moved pretty slowly (from what I saw). We were on the ship within 20 minutes of entering the Port terminal.

Drink Package: We had the deluxe drink package which accounts for unlimited drinks; specialty coffee, bottled water, beer, wine and liquor ( a price limit applies per drink). We found a great bar in the Casino. The service was awesome. Thank you Roman, Bali and Raphael! You helped make the trip that much better. They were attentive, quick and very personable. BUFFET: The first couple days at the Windjammer was pretty difficult to find something good. You might happen across one item that was really, really good. It was your go to item if you wanted to go back for something more. As the cruise progressed, you would find two or three items. By the last evening, everything I had on my plate was great. The lines at the grill became large and an inconvenience as people waiting for their orders blocked the other service areas. The grill would provide eggs/omelets during breakfast, burgers during lunch, pasta or Mongolian grill during the evenings. It was also difficult to find a table. We learned to pickup a couple rolls of silverware and a drink upon entering the area. Search out a table first. Then return for our food. SPECIALTY DINING: We had arranged an evening at Giovanni's for our Friday evening dinner. While in the main dining room our first evening, we were given an opportunity to upgrade our specialty dining from one night to three for the price of two. We opted to visit the Chop House (Tues) and also take the Galley Tour (Sat). Our first experience at the Chop house was amazing. We had such a great, positive experience. Dante was our service. Very friendly and attentive. The service times were spot on. We weren't rushed and we didn't wait. The dining room (as do all dining rooms on Royal), had its own galley/kitchen. The food was served hot. It was full of flavor. The steaks had a great broiled flavor unlike those found in the main dining rooms. The desserts were wonderful (try the warm chocolate cake or key lime pie). Our experience was so good, we changed our Friday reservation from Giovanni's back to Chops for a second night. We weren't disappointed the second time around. MAIN DINING (Rembrandt): We experienced the main dinning room twice. That was enough. Food was tepid. Not full of flavor. We had one great server, the other was almost absent and rude at times. The additional cost for specialty dining was worth every penny. GALLEY TOUR: The tour was interesting. But, we were led by a head waiter in the dinning room. It seemed he was almost searching for words to share. It was a bit painful.

At sea days, there are a lot of activities on the schedule. It all depends on the individual if they appeal to you or not. There are a number of trivia activities. The only downfall, most venues were a bit small for the crowds that showed up. There is shopping. There are the pools and activities around the pool like the Sexiest Man competition or Belly Flop. The water slides and flow rider. There was family Karaoke and some adult only times as well. What I didn't see was good use of the main theater (Platinum) during the days. On Princess, they would show full length movies. On Royal, it sat empty for the most part. On the final at sea day, most all the good activities were those that cost extra.

ARIAL SHOW: Cirque du Sole like. It was very good.ICE SHOW: A small ice rink, but a big show. It was amazing to see what the skaters could do on such a small rink. SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER: This was a licensed Broadway version of the play. It was great!

Don't have kids

Everyone was friendly and helpful. Best experience in the Casino bar. Thank you Roman, Bali and Raphael! You helped make the trip that much better. They were attentive, quick and very personable.

It seemed very small. But, it was just a place to lay my head in the evening. I'm sure it was small because the little woman had her suit cases (plural) strewn across the bay window area and floor along with all their contents. I had a small corner.

We carried our bags off the ship. From the time we began the process to the time we retrieved the truck, returned to the terminal to pickup the bags, took a total of 30-40 minutes. We were off and back home in Houston by 10am.