Cass, Rob & Kira - Christmas on the Wonder 2021 - The ups & downs of travelling during covid!

[Timon]

December 20th Part 2

We continue to explore, making our way to the tram stop for the Saturn V Rocket Park.

That's when we realized that they were no longer doing the tram tour. Makes sense during covid but we definitely missed that part.

They did have all the lights that were over at the Rocket Park moved over to this main part, outside past the cafeteria and to the other side of the Shuttle Carrier.

Having some fun reenacting the scenes.

And a family selfie in front of the Christmas tree in the cafeteria.

We headed out where the trams usually load people and saw that they had some lights around there so we followed the path that lead to the other side of the building.

They had all of the astrological signs along the path, which was new, so we all posed with our respective signs.

They moved the light tunnel that goes over to the rocket park to here, this is one of my favourite displays.

Some new lights for this year. Some of the ones on the ground were hilarious because they moved but they would hit some of the extension cords and light strings around them, which were all attached to it and made for some funny movements.

This part was also new and very cool! When you stepped on the circles, the colours changed. This is definitely the area for the kiddos to run off some of that excess energy.

And then we came across Kira's favourite display, the shooting star! Last time she saw it, she went running over to the end of it, laid on the ground and told me to take a photo, not sure what she was doing but I did it and then she said "Impaled by the star" LOL! Weird child. So, as soon as she saw it, she bolted over but I reminded her just in time that parts of the ground were very wet, so she had to be careful this time.

Impaled by the star, yet again. LOL!

It was just after this that we ran into the same lady (and kiddo) that I saw in the hotel lobby. We chatted for a bit and then we took some family photos of each other in front of this sign...I mean, c'mon, we just HAD to, right?

This light tunnel was new to us.

We were all done with the outside displays, it was time to head back in now. We got to explore part of an exhibit that was closed off to us last time.

Then we headed upstairs to see if there was anything up there this year. Most of it was closed off, just one thing to do so I let Rob and Kira do that while I snapped a quick overall pic of the main plaza area and then checked my mail because the lady that Rob spoke to said she would send us an email to confirm that the bag was in IAH and then it would give us an approximate time when it would arrive to our hotel.

So I opened up my email, sure enough, there was an email about our bag but it was not the news we were expecting. Apparently, our bag had NOT made the direct flight from YYC to IAH, once again!

Oh. My. Dog.

How can a properly tagged bag miss, not one, but TWO direct flights!!!

The email said to reply with our cruise ship name, reservation number, and full cruise itinerary. They said they would get it on the direct flight tomorrow and try to get it to the terminal for us before the ship departs and if not, they would get it to our first port, which was Cozumel.

Rob and Kira had tickets for the VR ride at 9pm so they went to ride that while I sat there and dealt with getting that information to them.

Once they were done, we decided to just head back to the hotel, we had some logistics to work out because inside of that bag was another bag, our carry-on that we always use to bring our water and Diet Coke and Christmas lights, door signs and decorations on the ship with us. Since beverages cannot be packed in your checked luggage and you have to bring them with you in carry-on, we had to come up with a new plan.

That would also mean that we would not be decorating our door or our stateroom, at least not until we get that bag. I tried to do inventory in my head but I couldn't remember exactly everything that was packed in there. I packed that bag a week before we even left because I knew it was the one bag where I could put all of our stuff we wouldn't need until the morning of the cruise or on the cruise itself.

So much for getting to bed nice and early to catch up on the sleep we missed the night before.

 

[Timon]

December 21st, Part 1

I woke up around 5am, not sure if it was because of the drag racing or nerves but either way, I checked my Marine Traffic app to see if the Wonder had made it into the channel yet. We've been on both ends of a fog delay, leaving out of Galveston so it's always a relief when you see the Wonder heading into the channel.

I snuggled Rob for awhile, then hopped into the shower and got ready for the day. Once everyone was showered and ready to go, we got all packed up, did our final checks and then loaded our stuff into the car.

We drove to Galveston and to "our" Waffle House for some breakfast. Normally I don't like eating before we are on the ship but with the extra protocols, I wasn't sure how long it would take and Rob needed food ASAP!

We even got to sit in "our" booth.

Then we decided to take the seawall all the way down to enjoy the views

We dropped off our two big checked bags with a porter, tipped him and then drove to the end where you exit. Right before you exit, we took a sharp, 180-degree turn into the Express Lot.

The Express Lot is a brand-new lot they created where the employees used to park. We normally park in Lot A or B because it was free with my job credentials but they have since gotten rid of that perk so we had to pay for parking this trip. Once I realized that the Express Lot was only slightly more than Lot A/B, I booked it online, in advance and printed out the QR code. Taking the shuttle to and from was such a pain and the fact that the Express parking lot was right AT the terminal just sealed the deal for me!

We arrived to the terminal at exactly 10am. I wasn't sure if that was too early and would be turned away but it turned out to be the perfect time. Our PAT (port arrival time) was 10:30am, so it gave us plenty of time to drop off bags, park and then head to the entrance.

For those of you who are heading to Galveston soon for a cruise, here is a helpful map I made, showing where everything is.

The Express lot is easy to find, you just pull up to the barrier, scan the bar code that they email you when making your online reservations and it spits out a ticket. Keep this ticket in the window, you will need to scan it when you exit the lot after your cruise.

And then we parked, literally steps away from the entrance barrier and the entry to the terminal!

Here we are, parked, you can see the entrance to the terminal, where that white car is parked.

Isn't that crazy!! Look at our ship in the background! I've never parked this close to the terminal, anywhere!

We walked over to the terminal...phew....that was a long 49 seconds.

Looking back from the entrance, you can see our car....

We got our Online check-in & Safe Passage QR codes ready! You need these handy, they ask for them several times!

For those who don't know, when you do your online check-in for a Disney cruise, you need to upload your personal details such as Passport Info, Credit Card number for charges, Emergency contact, arrival and departure information, photos of each person travelling. You then print off QR codes for each person. Then, 14 days before sailing, you create Safe Passage accounts for each adult sailing and you upload your health information, including your proof of vaccination. Once that is done, you get another QR code. All of these QR codes are needed, as well as your Safe Passage account details because that is how you will find out if you are cleared for sailing once they do the PCR testing at port. So, these are VERY important!

We got in line, there were only a few families ahead of us. If you had a later PAT, you would line up on the other side of the entrance door and then at the proper time, they would herd those people over into the main line.

It was only about 10 minutes before they started letting us in. Once we got through the door, they have pop up tents with numbers on them and they assigned you a number and you go to that tent number. They scan your QR codes once inside and they instruct you how to do your own PCR swab test. The lady was SUPER nice, friendly, patient and helpful!

Jen's pic...

Jen's pic...

Testing was easy and fast and the next step was security, which had no lines. They filter only a small handful of families into the terminal at one time, this makes everything run quite smoothly.

Once you get past security, we were led to the chairs on the other side of the normal check-in desks and were seated by a CM.

This is where you have to wait for your Covid PCR test results. There are screens you can watch but they were at the very far back so for me, it was just easier to keep checking my email as they send you an email when your test comes in but you have to sign into Safe Passage to see your actual results.

I was texting my friend Jen, who was sailing with us along with her daughter, Claire. I was hoping they would be right behind us so we could see them even if someone tested positive, otherwise, we wouldn't see them at all. They had to wait quite a long time to get a Lyft from their hotel in Galveston so they were about 20 minutes behind us in the process. I think they arrived to the terminal shortly after we were seated here.

Waiting on that test results is a little stressful because even though we've jumped through all of the hoops to get to Texas, there was still no guarantee we were going to get to actually cruise. But it's all part of cruising during covid and we weren't too worried. We had to test negative three days ago in order to get on the flight down and we had good hygiene and used sanitizer all the time, even before covid. In fact, when I used to wipe down my airplane seat and area, I used to get the weirdest looks, now I fit right in.

We are waiting for that "pending" to change, hopefully to green.

At 10:36am, less than 30 minutes later, it changed to "Clear to Sail!"

It says 11:24am but that was later, when I remembered to take a screenshot, just before boarding the ship.

Once you go up the escalator, you go to the check-in area where they check your passports and scan your other QR code. There is no separate line for Platinum, only for Concierge.

This very nice CM said our Canadian passports wouldn't scan on his machine so he walked us over to the escalation desk. Our passports didn't scan there either but she was able to check us in. We asked about the possibility of upgrading to a clear verandah but the only upgrade available for our sailing was to a 1 or 2-bedroom concierge suite, which was just over $5K USD!

We also spoke to a different CM about our luggage. We mentioned that we might be getting a bag closer to our departure time and he took all of our information and a photo of our bag and told us we also need to speak to someone at Guest Services so they can deal with the matter on the ship.

They printed off little pieces of paper with a new QR code, our CC level and our boarding group number, which was 3 and then we grabbed a seat and waited.

Looking back on the check-in area...

Not long after we sat down, my new pal Jenn, that had recognized me twice now, sat down behind us and we chatted some more.

In the meantime, my old pal Jen was texting me, telling me they had tested and are now waiting for their results. About 25 minutes later, she said she was all clear and we saw them come up the escalator but I let them check-in before giving them big hugs.

We took some pics together, chatted a bit and then waited until they started boarding.

They had called our boarding group by then but we waited for group 4 since that is what J & C had. Time to get back on "our" ship.

They announced our names and then we stepped on board!

We were the last group before they did the Welcome Aboard show, perfect timing!

When it was over, they directed us to the forward elevator bank and suggested we go straight to our Muster Drill station, so up we went!

We found our station, took a photo of it in the app as directed but we had a hard time with it. We tried both mine and Kira's phone and we had two different CM's try to do it for us and it still took about 6 or 7 attempts to get it done. But that was done and now it was time for lunch! I wasn't hungry yet but I was desperate for a nice cold drink!

 

[TinkLoverSam]

For your proof of vaccination did you just upload the Alberta QR code? We are (hopefully) cruising to Alaska in May and I’m going to be in charge of check-in for at least 2 cabins so I’m trying to figure out what I need for safe passage.

 

[bcwife76]

Yay, you're all onboard!!! And I didn't realize you all were cruising with J&C, how fun!!!!

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Oh my, so happy for another Cass family trip report! You and Rob have not aged bit but what has happened to Kira??? She has turned into a very beautiful young lady. Growing up way too quickly.

 

[NMDisneyMom]

2 more "stalker" mentions and I see me in your Welcome Aboard picture! It was great meeting you guys. I'm loving the report so far. We had issues also with getting the picture for our Muster Drill.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Following along, I always love your trip reports!

 

[dcassetta]

We stayed at Springhill Suites Webster

Such a small world. I occasionally have to travel to Houston, and this is where I stay each time due to the proximity to JSC. Snooze does have great breakfast.

 

[Timon]

Wow! That’s some Reese’s you got there. Did you guys need a fork and knife to eat it? I’d love to know how many that should serve. Lol!!!!

She opened it a few days ago, I got out a big knife to cut it, asked her how much does she want, 1/4? She said "What? That's it??" I cut her half of one, gave it to her and told she's not going to eat all of that and she disagreed. Five minutes later she was asking if we wanted to try it. She ate about 1/4 of it, maybe less.

Soooo excited for this!!

Glad you're here.

So excited for this! Love all your reports, especially the Christmas cruises.

Awww, thanks!

So happy to see another Cass/Rob/Kira trip report!

Sorry to hear about your hearing loss Cass! I can empathize. I have hearing loss from multiple childhood ear infections which is significantly worse in my left ear. I was coaxed into getting a hearing aid (only one for the worst ear, even though both ears have loss, because they are so expensive!) and I was not a fan. I mostly wore it for other people and not for me. It was exhausting to wear it too, because you brain is processing signals it is not used to and that gets tiring. Well anyway, I lost the damn thing in December. Wearing masks is not conducive to lip reading and it turns out they are not conducive to hearing aids either because you pull at the aid when you are removing the mask elastics from your ears. Near as I can figure, I lost the darn thing outside (which makes sense because that is when I take my mask off) and really, apart from the sunk cost for the aid I don't miss it. I was told they need to be replaced every 5 years or so which peeved me at the time, so my aid was at the end of its life anyway.

I also suffer from mal de debarquement which is a mild vestibular disorder Usually crops up after cruises, but sometimes after long flights too. It's not exactly like vertigo. You are not dizzy, but the ground definitely feels like it's moving. No treatment, you just have to ignore it, but it can last for months. Ironically, once you are in a moving vehicle, it dissipates and sitting still is like being back on the boat LOL.

Sorry to hear that.

The very first day I got my hearing aid, right after I was warned to be VERY careful when I take off my mask, I took off my mask and it came out. Thankfully I was in my car, as advised LOL!

I also have MDD but only feel it after I get off a ship and not all of them, only if the sailing was pretty rocky. I once cruised, I think it was 2013 and I felt like I was still on the ship for over a month! I didn't mind it though, I love that feeling. The vertigo though, totally different story. The whole world was spinning

It's a small data pool but after the third time of having no fresh clothes, etc. for the first couple days of a trip you kinda just say, nope, no more. LOL When you fly with dogs, you lose your under the seat carry on so that makes things super interesting. We usually split one carryon between the two of us and if we have to check a bag that is split too...so we both at least have a couple days worth of clothing.

About the hearing thing...I am sorry, it sounds like you had a really rough year. Ive had a significant hearing loss all of my life. It might be different for me since Ive learned to compensate but something you said makes me think this might help you too. If a person will say my name, get my attention and wait for me to look at them before he starts talking, I am much more likely to get what was said on the first try. It takes a lot of focus for me to understand what people are saying, its draining and I simply cant be "on" all of the time. So its helpful, at least for the people that know me, to get my attention first before launching into whatever it is they want to say. Helps us all stay a little saner.

That's a great tip and I totally relate! It's been almost a year now and Rob and Kira still forget I can't hear them unless they are right next to me and on my good side. I've told them a million times not to talk to me when they're far away but they still talk when I'm in the pantry, or my office (around the corner from everything) and even when I'm in the bathroom. At first, it bothered me so much because, yeah, you feel like you need to be "on" all the time. I got tired of yelling "I can't hear you!" It's exhausting, so now when they do that, I just ignore it...I have to. If it's important, they will ask/tell me again.

For your proof of vaccination did you just upload the Alberta QR code? We are (hopefully) cruising to Alaska in May and I’m going to be in charge of check-in for at least 2 cabins so I’m trying to figure out what I need for safe passage.

Yes, for both Westjet and Safe Passage, the new QR code we got worked. It has to be the one with Canada on it, with the English/French and it has to be a jpg, not a pdf.

Yay, you're all onboard!!! And I didn't realize you all were cruising with J&C, how fun!!!!

I just can't seem to get rid of her....I will be seeing her again very soon.

Oh my, so happy for another Cass family trip report! You and Rob have not aged bit but what has happened to Kira??? She has turned into a very beautiful young lady. Growing up way too quickly.

Oh, trust me, we have aged! Especially in the last 18 months!

But yeah, the 15 year old won't stop! She's now taller than me and super awesome.

2 more "stalker" mentions and I see me in your Welcome Aboard picture! It was great meeting you guys. I'm loving the report so far. We had issues also with getting the picture for our Muster Drill.

LOL! It was great meeting you too! I don't think I saw you again after that though, so weird huh?

I just noticed that you're in that pic in the Atrium! You had boarding group 3, I saw you leave, it was WAY ahead of us, sucks you had to wait so long for the show to start.

Following along, I always love your trip reports!

Thank you!

Such a small world. I occasionally have to travel to Houston, and this is where I stay each time due to the proximity to JSC. Snooze does have great breakfast.

Oh wow, hahaha! Of all the hotels! There's tons around that area too. You must like it as much as we do. The shower was good this time but the last time the water pressure in our shower was amazeballs! I might ask for our old room next time.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I want to scream at WestJet for you! That is completely unacceptable.

Also happy you all were safely on the ship!

 

[Timon]

December 21st, Part 2

We headed up to Cabanas so everyone could eat. After washing your hands, they lead your group to a certain section of the buffet and then you tell them what you want and they put it on the plate for you. I love the fact that no one touches anything but I don't like that they show you to a certain section. I think it slowed things down a bit.

I wasn't eating, so I grabbed a table and some drinks while everyone ate.

We sat and chatted for quite a long time. We all had heavy carry-ons, so it was nice just to park them and not worry about it. We stayed there until 1:30pm and then we headed down to deck 5 to see if our rooms were ready. We only had to wait a few minutes before they opened up the barrier and checked out our room, 5638, a 7A Navigator Verandah.

Jen and Claire were next door to us and were quick to decorate their door. We were pretty jealous, we had nada. No lights, no door magnets, no xmas decorations, nothing.

Thankfully, they took pity on us and gave us a cute little tree.

We had even bought new lights for this trip and I bought a nice garland to go around the door and I was going to put lights around the garland.

While the lost bag didn't ruin our trip, it definitely affected it. Although it was a great cruise, I didn't feel like it was a Christmas cruise, IYKWIM. One of our favourite parts of our xmas cruises is having all of our lights. We often just lay on our bed at night, cuddling, looking at our lights. We sure missed it.

One of our bags came almost right away so while I unpacked, Rob grabbed my Lysol wipes and wiped everything down. We've always done this, to every room we've ever stayed in. With my auto-immune disease, it's a must for me, even in this pandemic world where things get cleaned more often, we still find lots of places that are neglected or forgotten. It's especially important for us to stay healthy now, not only do we not want to get sick, we can't be sick at all to fly home as we need to get a negative PCR test before we can even board our flight back home.

Once that first bag was put away, our other one came. Great timing.

Once we were all done, Kira and I headed to Guest Services to let them know about our bag. Rob stayed behind to buy our internet package and check his email. Westjet was supposed to give us updates about our bag. I will tell you now that they did not contact us again until December 23rd.

I did try booking an appointment on the app before we left but their next available appointment wasn't until 5:30pm and we would be eating dinner by then and I wanted to make sure they knew about the bag before we left port. I wasn't even sure if they would have a stand by line but they did, so we waited and enjoyed this view while we did...

The ship is so pretty all decorated for the holidays!

Back to the room where we watched the Safety Drill video, which pops up automagically on your stateroom TV.

At 4pm, we all went to Mickey Mouse trivia together. I wasn't sure just how much I knew about the big cheese

Apparently, more than I thought because we won.

We had noticed that we were now moving, so we popped out onto deck 4 to watch our sail away.

We were all very glad we were on our ship and not this one.

Waved to the camera.

And watched the sun set.

Rob and Kira were really cold. Rob ran back to the room to grab his jacket and sadly missed all of the dolphins....

See ya, Galveston

I think Claire went with Kira to the Vibe so Kira could get her registration sticker on her KTTW card. Claire wasn't interested in going to any of the activities but Kira wanted company so she was kind enough to go with her. Rob was freezing so we opted to watch from our verandah.

We met up for Aladdin trivia in Azure and won again.

We saw several people here that also played Mickey Mouse trivia and I think some of them thought we had cheated because we had only gotten one wrong on each game

Just after she announced us as winners, she said, just for fun, and because no one would know it, she's going to ask all of us, the whole room, not just us, a bonus question.

I turn my good ear towards her as she says "How many changes does the Genie make during the entire movie?"

I immediately yell out, loud and proud, "FIFTY-FIVE!!!"

She says "Oh my God, it IS fifty-five!"

I don't think Kira has ever been more proud and amazed by me in her entire life.

Next up...dinner!

 

[Timon]

December 21st, Part 3

Dinner was at my favourite restaurant, Tiana's!

We were seated at Table 2

Once everyone was seated, it seemed like the restaurant was about two thirds full and it so nice not to be sitting so close to the next table that you felt like you were dining with them.

We met our dining team, Carlos & Aline and then eventually, the head server, Robert. They were all very good but I will say that the language barrier, on top of the masking made for some interesting experiences.

I'm not going to post all the names of the dishes, just the photos, there's menus all over the internet if you really need to know the names.

I will say that this cruise was very different, menu-wise, than all of our other Christmas cruises. We didn't get the regular Tiana's menu (the one with the Banoffee pie), we got a new one instead, which we've never had before and then we also got the Pirate Menu, which we never get on our xmas cruises but we didn't get the Captain's Gala menu, the big seafood-heavy menu that we normally get.

After dinner, we all headed straight for the stores, along with everyone else. This was the only time we saw a line for the shops, they were only letting so many people in, making sure we all sanitized.

As usual, I was disappointed in the merchandise offered. They had these awesome Merrytime tees that we ALL would have bought but there was only XXL and XXXL and kid sizes. We asked if they would be restocking and they said to check back the next day because some of the shipment they got really late and didn't get it out in time but I checked back several times, the next day and every day after and they didn't add any.

The only other Christmassy stuff they had, other than ornaments were these spirit jerseys, and only a few sizes left as well.

We looked around, didn't really find anything and then went back to the room to find our creature of the day.

The best thing, for me, about capacity being limited on the ship, is that we were able to get early dining. Because the pools now close at 10pm, if we had late dinner, I would get zero pool time at night because we usually are finishing dinner around 10pm. The ship had just over 1400 passengers and it showed. It was AWESOME! Except for Guest Services and the shops that first night, we never waited in line for anything. Ice cream, pizza, cookies, buffet, Pete's, dining rooms. All walk-up!

We've seen the shows many times so it worked out perfectly for us because every night from 8-10pm, I would be in the hot tub and pool and Rob would be sitting nearby, usually with his jacket on and blankets over him, reading his book.

We were both very happy! I got some amazing pool time, every single night and he got to read 7 or 8 books.

The pools, especially on the first and last night are usually empty anyway because it's colder out (I run hot, so it's perfect for me) but because almost everyone on that ship, especially between 8 and 9:30pm, were either eating dinner or at the show, the adult pool and hot tub were dead quiet. Only three other people tried the pool the entire time I was there during the whole week and they didn't last more than 5-10 minutes before leaving. I had both hot tubs to myself most nights and maybe 3 nights out of the 6, one other couple was occupying the other hot tub. This worked out really well since they now have a max of 1 person/party per hot tub at a time.

I also walked by the family pool every night on the way to the Quiet Cove pool just to see how empty it was.

And then over to my little slice of Heaven for 6 days.

That first night, Rob met a very nice CM named Mark. He was a pool attendant and they ended up chatting every night. Rob and I are so different, I am 100% an introvert and he is 100% an extrovert. He loves to chat and he tells everyone, everything! By the time 10pm came around, Mark looked at me like he knew me and said "See you tomorrow night!"

Hahahaah, yes, Mark, yes you will.

Our kid, on the other hand is an extroverted introvert.

She does well in social situations, is super friendly, easy to get along with, makes other people at ease, very talkative but she gets to a point where she just gets drained and needs to be alone to recharge. It's almost like she hits a wall, you can physically see it in her, if you know her well. Part of it, I think, comes from being an only child, she is used to being alone and has come to need it, the way I do. If I don't get my alone time, I get crabby. Both Kira and Rob know this about me and they know when I just need to curl up with my Boo and chill all by my lonesome.

She also suffers from anxiety, as many kids these days, do. She's had it for awhile but honestly, because Rob and I don't have it, we've always chalked it up to just growing pains. In the past year, though, I've done some research about it and it has opened my eyes to what she's been going through and I've noticed so much more about her and why she does the things she does. It genuinely hurts my heart because I can't imagine going through life like that.

When it comes to vacations, usually the things she's used to are easier for her. She's used to the Wonder now and is more comfortable with the ship but she's been in Edge the past 3 cruises and now that she's 15, she has to go to Vibe, which is new to her, and attributes to her anxiety. We had to gently push her for two days to even go to Vibe. She would only go with Claire that one time for registration and then she didn't want to go back. I told her to go that first night because they do all of the ice breaker activities, which helps the kids get to know everyone but she refused. She eventually found the courage to go and when she finally did, she met some friends, found a new crush and on the last day, she found a girl she bonded with so well that they chat almost every day now via text. I knew she would find her groove, she just needs to get past that starting gate, which can be daunting most times.

She said it also didn't help that they didn't list any of the teen activities in the app. Until the second day, she didn't realize that they had a board in Vibe, where they listed all of the activities for the day. She thought it was just a free-for-all, where teens just hang out and do nothing and she didn't want to do that.

After two glorious hours in my pool, it was time for trivia again. This time it was Disney Tunes and we didn't win but we were close.

It was now time for bed for all of us. It had been a long, exhausting but fun day and we all needed some sleep!

 

[CJK]

Yay, another trippie!! I don’t generally read trip reports anymore due to limited time, but yours is a must!!

You’re a great mama, so in tune with Kira’s emotional needs. ❤

Looks like your cruise is off to a great start! We won’t get to do a cruise due to hubby’s motion sickness, but your reports make me feel like I’m there! Thank you!

 

[bcwife76]

Oh my goodness, I love that you got so much pool time in I feel like Kira would get along really well with my oldest (despite the two year age difference, G#1 is 13 1/2). She's very much an extrovert-introvert too and has always been plagued by anxiety that manifests in different ways.

 

[COASTIEandMATE]

December 19th, 2021
Part 1

Let's start us off right, with the night before as Kira finally put that last number up on our Disney countdown calendar...this time with a Boo cameo.

If you've read my previous Christmas cruise reports then you'll know that we like to spend a couple of days in Webster, Texas before heading to Galveston for the cruise. This works for so many reasons. We like to shop at stores that we don't have here in Canada, we like to eat at Cheddar's, Snooze & Cheesecake Factory, all places we also don't have here in Canada and most importantly, it gives us time to deal with the unexpected. Travelling across the U.S. border, especially these days, can be tense, and flights lately are often delayed or cancelled. Having that extra 2-3 days of cushioning is important and recommended.

Our flight was 10:45am the next day but we made sure to get to the airport super early to beat the crowds. Not as many people are flying these days but at YYC, we were expecting about 35,000 travellers every day up until Christmas, so we were on the road by 6:15am.

While there wasn't a lot of snow yet this season, it was very cold, which was rather evident in our traditional airport pics.

It actually got a LOT colder while we were gone, -34C almost every day! We left at the perfect time.

Kira and I checked us in while Rob dropped off the car, then we met up and headed for security, then customs.

Because we were so early, there were no lines for security and our Nexus cards got us through immediately.

We are officially in the United States now.

You will see a lot of peace symbols and thumbs up in this report. ✌

Slowly but surely, there's more flights out of Calgary, this board is a lot more full than when I flew at the end of October.

And just in time, our beloved Wolfgang Puck's The Kitchen reopened the previous week!

It had been closed since March 2020. We found out that the owners sold it last year and it was quickly scooped up by the owner's of the Belgian Beer Cafe, which is the other sit-down restaurant in this terminal but they weren't busy enough to re-open until a week before, so our timing was good.

Hungry and sooooo ready for this vacation.

The menu was limited but we found plenty to eat.

It was delicious!

We had a bit of a wait before we could board so Rob and Kira watched some Daredevil while I got my steps in and explored.

This is when I discovered that we would be flying on Westjet's Frozen Plane.

We were lucky enough to fly on it before, one day we're hoping to fly on the Magic Plane too.

We had a bit of a delay as we were waiting on one last crew member but only about 30 minutes or so. We were thankful we weren't going to Orlando because that flight was delayed over two hours already because of sick crew.

During Westjet's check-in, we had to upload our vaccination records and fill out an attestation form that we have tested negative for covid, no later than one day before the flight and that we need to show proof, if requested. I had flown to MCO in late October and they never checked my covid test and it didn't seem like they were checking here so I put them away in my carry-on. Things were going well, everyone was sailing through the boarding process and then the couple in front of us was asked for their test results. I had a tiny moment of panic and asked if everyone needed to show it. She just looked at me and said "Maybe" so I guess they were randomly checking them but they didn't ask for ours.

Selfie with the Frozen Plane now that we're closer and no one was around. You will see a lot of beard mask photos like this one.

When we boarded, we noticed that all of the cute Frozen details inside of the plane were no longer there. Apparently, the Frozen and Magic Plane were recently refurbished and all of the inside Disney touches were taken out.

Mandatory airplane family selfie coming up.

So long Calgary, and your stupid, unbearable cold spell.

And hello gorgeous weather!

It was a little foggy, you could barely see downtown Houston.

It took awhile to get off the plane, it was pretty packed, so we sat patiently...

Cool new mural in the terminal...

And I'm glad we stopped here because the "welcome to Houston" sign that hangs above the escalator was no longer there!

So, down we went to find our luggage carousel....one Mickey bag, two Mickey bags.......................................

Umm, where's the third?

We waited until the carousel shut off and then realized we were not getting that third bag.

There were three or four other families who were also waiting on one last bag. There were two Westjet agents there and like the others, we filled out the dreaded, long, lost baggage form.

They suggested we call Westjet when we can and just follow up with them as well.

The good news was that the bag they lost was our "cruise bag" so there was mostly stuff in there that was only for the cruise, along with some of Kira's clothes but we were heading to the mall the next day to two stores she loves so we knew we could buy her some clothes there and there was nothing in the bag that would make or break our trip. More on that later.

About two hours after we were originally supposed to be leaving IAH, we headed for the car rental shuttle, one bag down.

When we got to Alamo, we headed for the Full Size row to pick out a car for the trip. There was only one car there in the entire row so we flagged down an employee to ask if there were more that we were just missing. A very friendly and helpful Taylor explained to us that Alamo and National were basically the same company and that we could also choose from their inventory so we headed over to pick one out while Kira waited with our bags.

Rob picked out a Toyota Camry and off we went!

Downtown Houston is very beautiful at night, especially at Christmastime.

We stayed at Springhill Suites Webster, same as last time as we loved the mini-suite and the location.

As I was walking in to check-in, a lady looked at me and said "Cass????"

I was a little caught off guard, didn't think anyone would know or recognize me, especially with the mask on

"Yesss???" I respond, begrudgingly

It turned out to be a lovely lady and her kiddo from the FB Cruise page that had read my previous trip reports and recognized me right away. I was like, wow, good eyes! Not only do I have a mask on but I also chopped off all my hair a few months ago so dang, woman, you're good!

We chatted a bit while we waited to check in, apparently she had chosen this hotel because of my 2019 trippie

Our room was on the first level, so no cool spaceman elevators for us but it was super convenient, first room off the side of the building.

I posted more pics in my 2019 Xmas trip report so feel free to check that out if you want to see more, it's the exact same room.

While we unpacked and got organized, I called Westjet on speakerphone. I was on hold just over an hour and a bit before we ended up leaving for dinner. We were starving, the last meal we ate was at 7:30am Calgary time and now it was 7pm Houston time!

Cheesecake Factory, here we come!

Kira was totally crushing on our waiter so that made a very good meal even more fun, especially since he was a really good server! It was delicious!

Sadly no room for dessert. We were all VERY tired now, it had been a long day, extra stress with the whole bag situation too. We were originally going to stop at Target for some supplies but we all nixed that idea at dinner once we all crashed from eating. We just wanted to go to sleep!

I tried calling Westjet again but they had closed. So I went online and started a baggage loss claim on there as well. It's a good thing I did because on that form I filled out at the airport, there was no number so when I spoke to them, I had no reference number. At least with the online form, you get a claim number and you can also fill out your address, hotel address, etc.

We had basically two more days really to get that bag, so I was still hopeful that we would get it in time for the cruise when I went to bed that night.

Then a meme that I had recently seen popped into my head...

"Hope. The first step towards disappointment."

 

[COASTIEandMATE]

please call and talk to your doggie while you are on vacation. they worry about you.... love that frosty face! Aloha. Karen

 

[Timon]

I want to scream at WestJet for you! That is completely unacceptable.

Also happy you all were safely on the ship!

Apparently, it's been happened a LOT lately. When Rob went to pick up our bag at the airport, he said there were hundreds upon hundreds of bags that were lost/misdirected just sitting there and that was just from that day!

Yay, another trippie!! I don’t generally read trip reports anymore due to limited time, but yours is a must!!

You’re a great mama, so in tune with Kira’s emotional needs. ❤

Looks like your cruise is off to a great start! We won’t get to do a cruise due to hubby’s motion sickness, but your reports make me feel like I’m there! Thank you!

Awww Glad you can find some time and that I can still entertain you after all these years.

Sorry that you don't get to cruise, it's my favourite type of vacation.

Oh my goodness, I love that you got so much pool time in I feel like Kira would get along really well with my oldest (despite the two year age difference, G#1 is 13 1/2). She's very much an extrovert-introvert too and has always been plagued by anxiety that manifests in different ways.

Best part of the cruise, hands down!! I miss it so much!

I bet Kira would get along with G too! Maybe one of these days it will happen.

please call and talk to your doggie while you are on vacation. they worry about you.... love that frosty face! Aloha. Karen

Oh, I do!! I even Facetime her when I'm on trips without Rob & Kira but she never had any interest, she just walks away. I keep calling though.

 

[Jeepdisney]

So excited to read your report! But so sorry about your luggag! I also thought your Veradah was so cute! I’ve never seen one like that!

 

[ukintheus]

I had no idea there was Express parking that close - VERY good to know. We got to know Mark as well - he was a great guy and we chatted with him a lot when we were at Cove. I'm sad that your bag didn't show up with your decorations, that has to have been really disappointing with it being Christmas.

 

[RysMomma]

Loving your report! Your verandah is adorable!