When you are booking your cruise or if you make any modifications/adjustments to your cruise booking make sure you keep a record of everything related to your cruise vacation. This includes your booking number, guest confirmation email, invoice, and anything else that contains information about your booking. I recently learned that sometimes Carnival Cruise Line will require you to setup a PIN number for your cruise vacation that is required if you wish to speak with a phone representative about your cruise vacation.
            I recently learned about this 4 digit pin number procedure when I called Carnival to change a cruise booking date and was asked for my booking number as well as four digit PIN number by the representative. The representative was unable to speak with me at first because I did not know the PIN number, but after figuring it out I called back and was able to get help. 

Lessons I Learned From This:
1.  When you initially book your cruise you may or may not have to create a PIN number for the booking. However, if you do make sure you remember the number. If other people on your booking will need to conduct any business with Carnival you may want to share the booking's PIN number with them.If you do not wish for the others to have your PIN number, just don't share the information with them! 
2.  If you get a call from Carnival about possibly upgrading staterooms the phone representative will likely ask you to setup a PIN number for the booking then, if you do not already have one. 
3.  Carnival's website has no information regarding the PIN number procedure, but the phone customer service representatives are very into making sure a correct PIN number can be provided.  If you call Carnival's phone number and after selecting the option to speak with someone about an already booked cruise, you will hear the waiting system remind guests to have their booking number and PIN number ready. This means the PIN number process must be fairly common for it to be in the phone recording system.
4.  In theory, if a PIN number is created for a booking, only the person or people that can provide the correct PIN number should be able to make changes to the booking. However, I am not sure what happens if someone truly forgets their PIN number or if there are any cases where the PIN number system was circumvented accidentally. If you know of anything about either of these two possibilities please feel free to share because I am curious to know of any cases.
5.  I do not know for sure if this would be applicable to bookings with travel agents. 

                 There may be other parts of this system that I am unaware of, but I hope hearing my experience will make everyone a little more aware. I should also mention Carnival's customer service representatives were fantastic and did a great job assisting me. Although the first agent could not speak with me about the booking, she was extremely nice. The second agent quickly helped me once I provided the booking and PIN numbers and within minutes had my cruise dates changed! 

                Although I have been cruising for over a decade, I am always learning something new and finding out about different procedures. Keep records of all your booking documents and if you have a PIN number make sure you remember it!

           As the year 2018 comes to a close, it is time to look towards 2019 which will bring another year of cruising and exciting growth to the Galveston cruise industry. Over the past few years, Galveston's cruise industry has seen more cruise ships, larger ships replacing smaller ships, and an increasing number of sailings that resulted from the increased ships sailing from Galveston as a homeport.  Here is an overview of what to expect from cruise lines that sail from Galveston in 2019: 

Carnival Cruise Line
         Just like 2018, Carnival Cruise Line will continue having three year round ships departing Galveston. The Carnival Vista's seven night year-round cruises will continue. In the early part of 2019, the Carnival Vista's cruises will depart on Sundays, but in spring 2019 the Carnival Vista will begin departing on Saturdays. The Carnival Freedom will begin the year sailing 7 night cruises, but will begin sailing 6 & 8 night cruises in the spring. The Carnival Dream will replace the Carnival Valor to sail 4 & 5 night cruises beginning in May 2019. This change will mark a capacity increase for Galveston because the Carnival Valor carries 2,980 guests (double occupancy), but the Carnival Dream will carry 3,646 guests (double occupancy). Furthermore, the Carnival Dream has a gross tonnage of approximately 130,000 and is 1,004 feet long. This will be an exciting change for Galveston!

Royal Caribbean
           Royal Caribbean's number of cruises from Galveston will increase in 2019 when the cruise line re-begins 4 & 5 night cruises from Galveston. The Liberty of the Seas will continue primarily sailing 7 night cruises from Galveston that depart on Sundays. Although in 2018 Royal Caribbean had some 4 & 5 night cruises, the cruise line did not offer these voyages throughout the year. However, starting in March 2019 Royal Caribbean will begin 4 & 5 night cruises that last throughout the year and into 2020. The Vision of the Seas will come back to Galveston in March 2019 to begin the 4 & 5 night cruises, but in May 2019 the Enchantment of the Seas will replace the Vision of the Seas' place to continue these 4 & 5 night cruises. The addition of these voyages and an extra ship to Galveston will be exciting. This means starting in 2019 Royal Caribbean will have two year round ships from Galveston!

Disney Cruise Line
               Disney Cruise Line will once again sail seasonally from Galveston in 2019. The year will start with the Disney Wonder sailing from Galveston, but in mid-January the ship will reposition. However, in November 2019 the Disney Wonder will return to sail more seasonal cruises from Galveston. 

Overall:  It appears 2019 will be another exciting year of growth for the Port of Galveston! With the agreement for cruise terminal #3 in the works with Royal Caribbean, I am sure future years after 2019 will bring even more exciting news and growth for the port. 

​

For more information about itineraries, sailing dates, and for the most up to date information please visit each respective cruise line's website. ​All this information was compiled from the individual cruise line's websites.

         The Radiance of the Seas will once again be sailing to Alaska in the 2019 cruise season. As the leader of Royal Caribbean's Radiance Class ships, the Radiance of the Seas has 13 total decks, is approximately 90,900 gross tons, and has the capacity for 2,143 guests (double occupancy). Two exciting features on the ship are a rock climbing wall and nine hole miniature golf course. 
             During the 2019 Alaska cruise season, the Radiance of the Seas will be primarily sailing from Seward and Vancouver. The ship's 2019 Alaska cruise season will begin in May 2019. Most of the Alaska cruise season, will be spent alternating between departures from Seward and Vancouver. Furthermore, Royal Caribbean has land tours available for purchase online. However, the scope of this post will be focused on the cruising aspect of the Radiance of the Seas' 2019 season.

2019 Dates Listed For This Itinerary:  
May: 17, 31       June:  14, 28     July:  12, 26     August: 9,23

2019 Dates Listed For This Itinerary:  
May: 24       June:  7,21     July:  5,19     August: 2,16,30

2019 Dates Listed For This Itinerary:
September 6, 2019

          The Carnival Vista and the Liberty of the Seas are two of Galveston's largest cruise ships at this time. This past September, the Carnival Vista replaced the Carnival Breeze and primarily sails 7 night cruises that depart on Sundays. In spring 2019, the Carnival Vista will switch to sail 7 night cruises on Saturdays. The Liberty of the Seas has been sailing from Galveston for a few years and departs on Sundays to sail 7 night voyages. 
           On Sunday, December 16, 2018, I was in Galveston and wanted to see both ships sail. Here are some of my pictures of both ships sailing: