When it comes to cruising, there aren’t many sites that do a better job of giving you the low-down — without the fluff — than RyG’s Cruise Guide. Started in 2013, the site is a treasure trove of down-to-earth information about cruising. There you can find details and advice on everything from booking your cruise to etiquette tips to what to expect on shore excursions.

And Ryan G., the man behind the site, is also well-versed in Galveston cruising. He keeps his finger on the pulse of what’s going on the island and what it means for the future of Texas cruising.

We recently asked Ryan to share some updates on what people can expect in the coming year, along with some tips for cruise passengers to make their trip more memorable. Here’s what he had to say…

You recently covered the upcoming 2016 cruise season for Texas on your website. What are some of the major things coming for the next year that people should know about?

2016 is a year that will bring many changes to Texas’ cruise industry. Galveston will see an overall passenger capacity increase when Carnival replaces the Carnival Magic with the Carnival Breeze and the Carnival Triumph with the Carnival Liberty. While ship swaps are exciting, Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas will return to Galveston from dry-dock in February 2016 refreshed and with some new amenities. In 2016, Galveston will continue to enjoy year round Carnival Freedom cruises and seasonal Disney Wonder cruises.

However, the Houston cruise industry will have some woeful changes coming this year. After the Caribbean Princess and Norwegian Jade finish their Spring 2016 Houston deployments they are not scheduled to return to Houston again in 2016. Princess and Norwegian cruisers should enjoy these options while they can because no return date to Houston has been publicly announced at this time.

We understand that you sail most often on Carnival. What is it about the cruise line that you like so much?

I really enjoy sailing on Carnival because of the food and service. In my experience, the food served in the main dining room, as well as the buffet, has always been hot and fresh. Carnival’s crew members are friendly and will often go above & beyond to make a guest’s cruise enjoyable. Carnival has always provided me a fun vacation that is filled with many different things to see, do, and eat.

What’s your favorite memory from cruising?

A few years ago, my family as well as our extended family took an Alaska cruise on the Carnival Miracle to celebrate my grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Seeing Alaska and celebrating this occasion made this a cruise I will always remember.

Do you have any tips or tricks (or “must-do” items) for someone sailing on the cruise line that they might not know about?

I have a few simple “must do” items to share for this question.

1) Read the ship’s daily newsletter (on Carnival this is the “Fun-Times”). This is where you can get information about dining & entertainment that will occur during the day.

2) Exercise a little each day during the cruise. I enjoy walking a few rounds on the jogging track while the sun is setting. I usually take pictures of the sunset during this time.

3) Try something new! You may find that you like something that you previously never experienced.

What about something that a cruise passenger should avoid?

Cruise passengers should avoid overspending or impulse buying while onboard the ship and in ports of call. All cruisers should feel free to splurge a little, but at the end of the cruise there will be a bill that must be paid and dealing with a large post-vacation bill is usually not fun for anyone.

If someone was a new visitor to your site, where would you direct them first?

I would direct a new visitor to my Cruise Tips page. This page contains links to my articles over various cruise topics.

We want to thank Ryan for his insight. You can visit his site at EmbarkAndAway.com.

Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas is the largest cruise ship to ever sail from Galveston. She homeported on the island starting back and November, but if you’re a ship-tracker, then you’ve likely noticed that she’s been gone for some time.

The ship is currently undergoing a drydock refurbishment and will return to the island on February 7th. In the meantime, here are some cool photos taken by some Royal Caribbean crew. It’s hard to believe that such a massive ship can be taken out of the water!

DD 2017 #royalcrewlife

A photo posted by ivan de jesus duran (@ivandejesusduran) on Jan 14, 2016 at 12:50pm PST

My 164,000 ton home suspended up out of the water in Freeport #Bahamas. Dry dock begins! #libertyoftheseas #royalcrewlife #freeballininfreeport

A photo posted by Peter Ricardo (@peteraricardo) on Jan 13, 2016 at 12:29pm PST

There’s a major problem when it comes to getting on a cruise ship, and Carnival is looking to fix it.

If you’ve taken a cruise before, think back to your last embarkation day. There was that rush of excitement. You couldn’t wait to get onboard, find your room, grab a drink, and explore the ship. In fact, even though you likely had a 3-4 hour boarding window (usually from 12:00-4:00 on cruise day), we’re guessing you got there early. If you weren’t there before the embarkation window, then we’d wager you were there within an hour of it opening.

Therein lies the problem. People are excited about their cruises. They can’t wait to get aboard. That leads to major issues for the cruise line. Instead of a nice even flow of people over the boarding window, there’s a mad rush of passengers at the start, that then slows to a trickle as the day drags on.

Don’t get us wrong; it’s good that people are excited about cruising. But that excitement causes major logistical issues. That’s why to smooth things out, Carnival has now implemented a “staggered” check-in.

Originally piloted in Galveston (and now being rolled out to New Orleans), this new method of boarding the ship involves passengers selecting boarding times in 30-minute intervals. The concept is easy. When you check-in for your cruise, you’ll be able to pick an arrival time that works best for you. Instead of a 3-4 hour boarding window, you now have a much smaller 30-minute time to get to the ship.

With this new method the flow of passengers to the ship will be more evened out, instead of long lines at the start of embarkation.

Of course, as with any procedure, there are always some questions that will come up. Carnival put together this handy FAQ, but we’ll also answer some of the biggest questions here.

How do I select a time?

To select a boarding time, you’ll need to check-in online and select your boarding window. They are first come, first served, so if your preferred timeslot isn’t open, you’ll have to choose another.

What happens if show up before my boarding time?

According to Carnival, passengers who arrive early will be turned away from the terminal if they arrive before their scheduled departure time. They will be asked to return during their specified boarding window.

What happens if I show up after my boarding time?

Don’t worry, as long as you are still within the total embarkation window (one hour before the ship is set to leave) then you will still be able to board if you show up late. As Carnival says, late passengers “will be accommodated.”

I have special status on Carnival. Does that mean I can’t board first?

If you have special status on Carnival, such as being part of their Priority Program or buying the “Faster to the Fun” package won’t really see a change in boarding. While the cruise line would still like you to choose a boarding time so they know when to expect you, you can show up at anytime during the embarkation window and board.

One update for those of you still fighting the change, it’s doing exactly what Carnival was hoping. The following was posted by Carnival’s John Heald in regards to the change:

As you know we have been underway with our staggered check in system for ships sailing out of Galveston for some time now. I know change is never always easy to accept; there is no doubt that it has for the most part eased congestion, lines have diminished, and the whole process has been made much easier.

Have you gone through the new staggered check-in? Share your experience (good or bad) in the comments below.

Are you about to set sail on a Disney cruise? Or maybe you’re trying to figure out if Disney is the right cruise line for you.

To give you more details on what to expect, we’ve uploaded the Personal Navigators that the cruise line hands out to each stateroom each day. Here you’ll find the daily schedule of activities, performances, rules, and helpful tips. This was for a December 4-10 sailing from Galveston to Key West, Nassau, and Castaway Cay.

Note: Your schedule is likely to be different from the ones shown below, as they are constantly updated. These are provided for free for informational purposes only. All trademarks and images are property of Disney.

Days 1 & 2:

Days 3 & 4:

Days 5-7:

Liberty of the Seas is Galveston’s largest ship ever, coming it at more than 1,100 feet and with the ability to carry nearly 4,000 passengers. With waterslides, bars, restaurants, shows, and even an ice skating rink, you’ll never runs out of things to do.

But what if you want to simply relax with a drink in hand? While there are plenty of bars, buying drinks can get expensive quickly. So can you bring your own alcohol aboard the ship? We recently dug up the answer.

Bringing Beer On Liberty of the Seas

Not allowed. You cannot bring beer aboard the Liberty of the Seas when you take your cruise. You are also not allowed to bring beer bought in ports aboard to your stateroom. It will be taken at boarding and stored until the last day of your cruise.

Bringing Wine On Liberty of the Seas

Allowed. According to Royal Caribbean, “Guests wishing to bring personal wine and champagne onboard may do so only on boarding day, limited to two (2) 750 ml bottles per stateroom. Additional bottles of wine beyond two (2) bottles that are brought onboard or any alcoholic beverages purchased in ports of call or from Shops On Board will be stored by the ship and delivered to your stateroom on the last day of the sailing.”

Bringing Liquor On Liberty of the Seas

Not allowed. Only wine and champagne can be brought on board at embarkation. If you buy alcohol while in port, it will be stored in the ship’s hold and returned to you after the cruise is completed. “Guests are not allowed to bring beer, hard liquor, fortified wines or non-alcoholic beverages onboard for consumption or any other use on boarding day or while in port. Alcoholic beverages seized on boarding day will not be returned.

Have more questions about what is allowed aboard the Liberty of the Seas? Let us know in the comments below.