My Passport’s Travels

January 25-February 1, 2026 cruise on the Regal Princess

Monday before our trip, we awoke to news that the predicted winter storm was going to become a reality this weekend. Which would be fine – except on Friday, Eve was supposed to drive down from Oklahoma City and on Saturday, she, Mom and I were to drive down to Galveston for our cruise on Sunday. But this is Texas – even with all the predictions, there’s still just a 50/50 chance of the weather. But, “in an abundance of caution” we had our wonderful travel agent book us Friday night into the hotel we already had a reservation for Saturday night and booked a flight for Eve to Houston on Friday using Rapid Rewards points, both of which could be cancelled with no penalty for a couple of days.

And the weather watching began in earnest.

Come Tuesday afternoon, the forecast had turned from bad to worse so we made the call. I got coverage for the one meeting that needed to happen and put in for the day off. Eve decided to drive down Thursday to ride with us on Friday. Plans finalized – we just have to let the last of the waiting begin!

Thursday, January 23, 2026

Eve’s here!! She made it safely in Thursday afternoon! She watched Mom help me pack (which is always exciting – but always works out), then we went to dinner at Angelo’s. After watching the Stars lose, it was time for bed. Mom and I have to be up early for check-ups in the morning.

Friday, January 24, 2026

Mom and I had our check-ups first thing, then brought home Chick-fil-a for breakfast. Car is packed, one final check around the house to make sure the faucets were dripping and the cabinets under them were open then we were off! We hit the road around 9:45, stopped for snacks and restroom a couple of times and rolled into Galveston about 3:30. Thankfully, it was just rain and that only lasted the first couple of hours of the trip.

The Home2 Suites By Hilton is on the Seawall and they were able to make sure that we wouldn’t have to move rooms on Saturday (because of the cancellation policy for our original room, Scott had to make two separate reservations for us). When I told her how much I appreciated it because we were escaping the ice and snow back home, she said that most everyone checking in Friday was doing the same thing. We were given an ocean view room and it is lovely! There’s a table on wheels that we can move to play games on, a sofa, tons of charging ports, a full fridge/freezer, microwave and dishwasher.

For dinner, we had Salt Grass – love their Brussels sprouts and chicken fried steak. Mom and Eve both had steaks. Then back to the room to listen to the Stars game and Thunder game before bed.

Saturday, January 24, 2026

The plan had been to go to a local diner Mom and I love for breakfast, but the weather had other ideas. It was storming outside! The front was coming in – although we aren’t going to get below freezing here in Galveston.

We decided the hotel buffet looked just fine! (Actually, it was really, really nice! Fresh made pancakes, fruit, pork sausage, eggs, cereals, bread, bagels and coffee!) After breakfast, we played some Rummicube in the room.

Lunchtime! Bubba Gump’s on the Pleasure Pier! (Although we did have to wait a bit in the car for a passing rain storm before heading in.) We had another great meal – and the Pepper Cream Soda, which tasted just like a Dr. Pepper Float!

Back to the room for some more games, and basically just a lazy evening. We had snackies from home – no one really wanted dinner after the big late lunch.

Sunday, January 25, 2026

It’s cruise day! The ship is here and waiting for us! It’s also almost freezing. Houston has ice – so glad we stayed on the island and weren’t dealing with driving in this morning.

See, told you it was cold! I’m not sure this poor pigeon could get much fluffier!

America’s Favorite Diner – breakfast of champions! We found this gem a couple of trips ago and it continues to be a fantastic breakfast. I highly recommend the banana nut pancakes.

Back at the hotel, it’s time to pack up and head out. At the parking lot we loaded onto the first shuttle and were off to the port building. Where we hit a small snag – Eve had grabbed Mike’s passport. The employees were wonderful, they led us through the maze of people to a secluded area where we could wait while Mike found Eve’s birth certificate and texted the picture. It was received and approved, then we were on our way. They waved us straight onto the ship!

First things first – safety video on the phone and check in at our Muster station. Then it was time for lunch. We decided to head to the buffet because we were having a big dinner tonight, so we didn’t want a huge lunch. It was so cold, everyone was staying at their tables in the buffet, so we ended up at the pizza and hamburger places out by the pool – and lucked into a table that was tucked back and out of the wind, so it was quite comfortable.

After lunch – our room was ready. It’s small. Very small. But we’ll be fine – we’re family! Our stateroom host is Eric and it seems like he’ll take very good care of us this week.

We unpacked, then watched the ropes drop from deck 5. But as soon as we were moving, back into the warm!! We put the football game on in the room and lazied about watching the gulf go by. At one point, I could count 41 ships on the horizon! And mist was rising from the water.

Dinner this evening was at Sabatinni’s, the Italian restaurant. It was a lovely meal! Ana paced it so we never felt stuffed, even though we had multiple courses. Everything was wonderful, except dessert. While good, they didn’t live up to the rest of the meal. But at that point, we were so full, so it wasn’t a problem. And they weren’t bad, but the tiramisu was almost at the level of the “our take on tiramisu with blueberries and lemon, but no coffee” from the Gaylord. LOL!

After dinner, we wandered through the shops, grabbed water for the room, then collapsed into bed!

Monday, January 26, 2026

The clocks moved forward last night, so we slept in – although it really wasn’t as late as it seemed because of the time change. I made a quick run for coffee and croissants, but we ate an early lunch in the buffet, stopping to grab some pictures at the see-through walkway.

We grabbed cookies and coffee on the way out, then went to the Symphony Dining Room which is open for people to use the tables until mid-afternoon. We sat and played most of the afternoon. Although we did take a walk on decks 7 and 16.

After a mid-afternoon snack on the pool deck, it was time for “Let’s Quiz Again” – the afternoon installment of general knowledge trivia. We did quite well – 14 out of 20, but were not perfect, like the winners.

Mom and Eve headed to the stateroom for some downtime, and I made it there eventually, but first I had to donate some in the casino. After a break, I decided to see the 7pm showing of “Born to Dance”, one of the cruise line production numbers. Unfortunately, Guiseppe, the cruise director came out and announced “Power of Two”, an acrobat duo. And while they were very good (they had performed with Cirque du Soleil), it was a very long 40 minute show. Lots of posing and posturing and very little acrobatics. Had I not been at the end of a row against a wall (so no escape), I probably would have left. But I made it through – and was rewarded with dinner!

Mom, Eve and I went to the Concerto dining room, which only seats walk-ups (unlike the other dining rooms that required reservations or a set seating). While we weren’t dressed to the nines like many others on formal night, we were definitely not the worst dressed. (Social commentary: when did it become acceptable to wear a baseball cap to dinner? Both last night and tonight we saw a few in the dining rooms.) It was a very good dinner – Mom tried Duck l’orange! It was fantastic! After dinner, we stopped for drinks at the pool bar before calling it a night. Tomorrow’s a port day!

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Loving these lazy mornings! There were some fun displays in the buffet by the coffee bar!

We were up and ready to head out around 10am. We’re in port with the Norwegian Escape. At the next pier over there are two Carnival ships and the Queen Elizabeth II!!

Further down the shore, we can see one of the Virgin ships and a Royal Caribbean ship. We did a little shopping and stopped to admire the waves! The front had caught up with us, while no where nearly as cold, the winds and rain were here.

Time for brunch! Margaritaville!

They were offering watermelon Jell-O shots for sale – I had to try one. There wasn’t a strong flavor (and I’m pretty sure there was very little vodka), but I enjoyed it. We all had the classic meal – a margarita and a Cheeseburger in Paradise!

The meal was outstanding! The atmosphere, though, was more like a Señ0r Frogs, than Margaritaville. But it was still a great time!

Back on board, we played games in the symphony dining room most of the afternoon. We were able to snag a table right by a window – so we watched the pilot boat sailing back and forth waiting for his time to shine. At 4:15, it was Quiz time. It was rough all around – the winner only had 14 right answers. We were middle of the pack with 10.

Eve went back to the room while Mom and I went out on deck to watch sail-away. It was windy with light rain, so we’d dash out to see if the ropes were down, then hop back into the sheltered area on the promenade. But eventually we were off, to the theme of The Love Boat! The Regal is the current official Love Boat, there’s even a display near Guest Services from when most of the cast visited the ship.

Back in the room, we decided tonight was a good night for the buffet. Between us it was quite the international feast – chimichangas, stir-fried noodles, chicken cacciatore, and lamb kebabs.