The Enchantment of the Seas is now departing on 4 & 5 night cruises from Galveston, Texas. Royal Caribbean now has two year-round ships from Galveston. The Liberty of the Seas is the other Royal Caribbean ship sailing from Galveston and primarily sails 7 night cruises.  
      The Enchantment of the Seas' 4 night cruises depart on alternating Mondays and the ship's 5 night cruises depart on either Wednesday or Friday depending on the week's schedule. Typically, 4 night cruises will sail to Cozumel and 5 night cruises will sail to Cozumel and Costa Maya or Progreso (5 night port of calls vary depending on the cruise).  Itineraries and ports of call may vary for a variety of reasons.
               The Enchantment of the Seas is a Vision Class ship, which is the same class as the Vision of the Seas. The Enchantment of the Seas is replacing the Vision of the Seas. Royal Caribbean extended the length of the Enchantment of the Seas by 73 feet in 2005 during a dry-dock that essentially cut the ship in half in order to add a new section. Here are some quick facts about the Enchantment of the Seas:

Year Launched Into Service:  1997 
Gross Tonnage:  82,910 GT (approx.)
Ship's Classification:  Royal Caribbean's Vision Class
Ship's Registry:  Bahamas
# of Passengers (Double Occupancy):  2,252 guests
# of Passenger/Guest Decks:  11
Length:  989 ft.

For more information about the ship please visit Royal Caribbean's website:  Click Here (Link will take you away from RyG's Cruise Guide and will go to Royal Caribbean's website)

Here are a few pictures I took on May 13th of the ship docked in Galveston:

       Hurricanes can be a major disruption to any cruise vacation because these storms can make seas choppy, close ports of call, force itinerary changes, and damage many destinations. The 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1 through November 30 and the Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season runs from May 15 through November 30. The time for hurricane season is upon the United States and many other places in the world once again.
         While many people will cruise during hurricane season without any severe weather or disruptions to their cruise voyage, there always seems to be some cruises each year that have itinerary changes or rough seas because of hurricanes. The goal of this post is to help you plan for a cruise that could be potentially disrupted in some way by a hurricane or tropical storm. 

Part 1:  On The Ship During A Hurricane Or Tropical Storm
​This section is designed to give information and tips if you are on the ship during tropical weather. 
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​              If you find yourself onboard your cruise ship during a hurricane or tropical storm you do not need to panic. Many cruise ships will make an effort to avoid sailing into the storm and instead keep the ship in calmer waters. This is for the comfort of all passengers and the safety of the ship. However, this does mean cruisers onboard will not feel any motion. You may feel the ship rocking, but it should not be nearly as bad as the waters directly affected by the storm. The closer you are to the storm the worse the waves will be. Furthermore, most modern cruise ships have stabilizers that can help the ship minimize rocking while the ship is in rougher seas. Stabilizers are mechanical and help the ship stay better balanced. However, even if the ship's stabilizers are being used the ship could still face rocking and swaying. 
           Your cruise ship may close the outside public decks as a safety precaution if winds are too high, the ship is rocking too much, or the ship deems there is a safety concern with letting people freely walk on the outside decks. Be prepared for this possibility, but keep in mind there are probably other things you can do in the interior spaces of your cruise ship. If there is rain outside most people will probably stay inside anyways. 
            Some cruise ships will make weather announcements during the cruise if severe weather is expected. This is dependent on the captain or cruise director on your ship. If your ship is not making weather announcements during the cruise and you want to know the weather you have a few options to try and get information. The first option is you can ask the Guest Services desk. In my past experiences, I have asked the guest services desk for weather information and the crew member working the desk was able to give me an update on the wave heights, expected precipitation, and temperatures. Another option for weather information you have is to pay for internet on your cruise ship and look up weather information relevant to the area you will be sailing to. 
                  In order to avoid hurricanes and tropical storms cruise ships may have to operate on an altered itinerary. In the past, cruise lines have cancelled ports of calls and made that particular cruise day a sea day. In other cases, when possible, cruise lines have swapped a port of call with another port of call. There are many factors that go into a cruise line's decision when making itinerary adjustments such as wind speeds, wave heights, and whether the ship can be safely docked in a port of call. Sometimes the local authorities will make the decision to not allow a ship to dock because of weather conditions that could hinder the process of safely docking the ship. When the local authorities of a port make the decision to not allow a ship to dock, they will often communicate this decision with the ship and cruise line. 

Part 2:   Before Cruising
This section will give advice for before a cruise if you are expecting a hurricane or tropical storm to impact your vacation or ship's homeport.

Before Cruising:  Could The Cruise Be Cancelled & How Would I Find Out? 
           Many cruise lines will make an effort to avoid cancelling a cruise, but in some cases cancelling is the only option a cruise line has. A decision to cancel a cruise could be based on the storm's expected landfall, how close landfall is to a cruise's departure date, port authority storm procedures, and more. 
              Many cruise lines will email guests about a cancellation or post information online. There are a few cruise lines that use a text alert system to give notifications to subscribed guests. If you feel like you are missing important information and a storm is likely to impact your voyage in some way, you should call your cruise line directly. Make sure your cruise line has correct contact information on file in order to communicate with you. If your cruise line has on online check-in process this is often a way to gather accurate contact information. As you enter your contact information double check you enter all information correctly in order to insure the cruise line's records are accurate. 

Before The Cruise:  Can I Voluntarily Cancel? 
            The specific answer to this question will depend on your cruise line. In many cases, your cruise line will allow you to cancel, but not receive a refund. This is because you are voluntarily cancelling on a voyage that is still going to sail and you are held to the cruise line's cancellation policy. In some cases, cruise lines will show compassion and allow cruisers to cancel without a penalty, but this does not happen with all cruise lines. However, if the cruise is cancelled by your cruise line they should be providing you with a refund and compensation. 

Driving To A Cruise Homeport Where The Storm Is Expected To Hit: Things To Do
           If your cruise is still sailing and the storm is expected to make landfall around your departure port there are a few things you can do: 
-  Parking:   Flooding could occur at the place you park your car. If you can, try to park in a covered parking garage on a level higher than the ground. This will help protect your car from some flooding, but is does not guarantee your car will be 100% safe. Your car could still be damaged by water in many ways, including higher than expected floodwater. Don't forget that the wind can damage your car or blow objects into the glass. 
-  Take Valuables Out Of Your Car:   Before leaving your house to cruise, take valuables out of your car. You should not leave valuables in your car at any time, but in this case your car could be washed out from flooding or looted after the storm. 

If You Live In the Storm's Impact Area -  Prepare Your Home 
           If you live in the area the storm will affect or potentially destroy, you need to prepare your home before cruising. I recommend doing tasks such as unplugging electrical devices from the walls to minimize your loss from a power surge, boarding windows, and storing objects that could be damaged easily in a safer place. There may be other tasks you must complete depending on your home's location and your own personal storm preparation plans. Some people have to deal directly with flooding, high winds, and other things. Make sure you prepare your home to minimize any damage that may occur while you are gone. 
                You know your area's potential for hazards the best. Make sure you properly secure your home and exterior belongings pre-cruise. Monitor your local weather and pay attention to instructions from local officials. 
               

      On each of my Carnival Cruises I will typically eat an omelet every morning as part of my breakfast. This post will share my tips for navigating the omelet station on a Carnival Cruise vacation. 

1.  Line Gets Long, But Moves Quick
         In the mornings the line for the omelet station may look long, but the line generally moves quick. The crew members working the omelet station have the ability to cook several omelets at once. Generally, the first cruisers to visit the omelet station for the day have a slightly longer wait because the crew members are still finalizing setup and there are quite a few guests ready to eat an omelet at the start of breakfast. ​ On my recent Carnival Valor & Carnival Freedom cruises, the omelet station crew members were making three omelets at a time. When one finished cooking, the crew member asked the next person in line what he or she wanted and then that omelet started cooking. The crew members do a great job getting the line to move fast.  This staggered process greatly reduces the wait time. 

2. The Omelet Station Also Serves Egg Whites
              Although I have never eaten egg whites from the omelet station, I have seen several guests ask the crew member for egg whites from the omelet station. This menu option is generally not advertised heavily, but it is available for guests. The egg whites are cooked using the same skillets as the omelets.

3.  Omelet Menu Offerings Can Vary Slightly Each Cruise
                The vegetables that are available for the omelet station may vary by ship or cruise. I learned this the hard way on the Carnival Triumph in 2013. I asked for an omelet with everything in it and assumed it would have the same vegetables as my prior cruises. The crew member put some extremely hot pepper in the omelet and this made the omelet extremely spicy. It was still good, but this taught me to make sure I glance at the menu prior to ordering. I recommend taking a second and glancing at the menu before asking for an omelet with everything. 
Note:   I do not remember what the name of the pepper was off the top of my head. However, it has not been offered on any of my cruises since then. 

​4.  Omelets Are Available In Other Places Besides The Buffet
                  The omelet stations in the Lido Buffet are not the only places you can get an omelet during your Carnival Cruise vacation. On sea days, the "Sea Day Brunch" menu has an option for a customized omelet. On port of call days, the dining room serves a regular breakfast menu and also has an option for cruisers that want a customized omelet. The hours for the main dining room will typically vary slightly from the buffet's hours. You can check your daily Fun-Times activity newsletter or Carnival Hub App for the dining room's hours and the dining room that breakfast will be served in. 
                       Besides the dining room, omelets are offered on Carnival's Late Night room service menu. However, this omelet is available for a fee and is NOT complimentary. Carnival's Late Night room service menu (10pm - 6am) has a menu item called "Omelet and French Fries". This menu option allows cruisers to include omelette toppings such as cheese, peppers, onion, mushrooms, ham, and cheese. The omelet is served with a side of french fries. 

Omelets are one of the many foods I enjoy while cruising. I do not typically eat omelets at home and look forward to having my daily omelet on my cruise.
​If you have any questions about the omelet station please feel free to write to RyG's Cruise Guide by clicking here.