dockman

i took it from the airport and it was a very good professional service with a really funny "guide" on board...stopped at wildlife place but lot or rain that day so not ideal....

royal princess does syd to hnl in april 2025...no fiji

The older i get the more i enjoy sea days. Maybe i am weird but i can sit and watch the ocean for hours trying to imagine what is going on below me and all the ships that have sailed these same paths and where they were headed. What the crew and passengers looked like,where they came from and where and why were they going, what were they doing, all the ships that sunk and the dramas that must have unfolded over the centuries. All the various creatures of the deep and how very little we seem to know about the secrets of the sea. To each his/her own but I do sometimes wonder if most passengers give five minutes to sit and look and marvel at the oceans. Maybe that is why the promenade decks with nice chairs etc seem to be on the verge of extintion.

That is likely because the deck was made more narrow to make room for more shops or revenue sources....maybe they should leave the decks wide and put pay turnstiles to enter the deck...what a shame the bean counters have no doubt argued hard that a nice teak deck with teak loungers does not provide any $$ and in fact could lure more people to sit outside or take a nice long walk during which time they would not be shopping or playing bingo or spending $$... Heaven forbid we keep the wide decks with chairs as some people obviously think a cruise should offer a place to sit near the water (without having to look through often dirty plexiglass) or go for nice walk (on a deck wide enough for two people to pass without bumping into another passenger) or take a nap or read a book Who in their right mind would think a cruise person might like to feel like they are on a ship in the ocean?

Wow congratulations on that....what is the secret to beating the odds?

i am under the impression that the jewelry stores onboard are a lease so cruise line collects the rent or maybe they also get a percent of the sales? Like the vast majority of casino gamblers I rarely win big....in my experience it is a rare person that ultimately leaves a casino with more $$ than when they arrived and will ultimately plow it back into more gambling. But good luck to you

not sure what you may or may not spend in a speciality restaurant or jewelry store has much to do with a casino offer....

While balconies can be nice to have I am finding more and more that the reality is that I do not spend very much time sitting there....sure it is nice to be able to get fresh air etc but for me it is not worth the price difference. Also as a solo sailer I find that with no balcony I spend more time out on the decks rather than sit by myself on a balcony. In addition the budget opting for a no balcony room can save you enough money to do more cruises. I would prefer to do two cruises with no balcony than one balcony cruise that blows the budget. I do think there are a lot of cruisers who are sort of "two week millionaires" that figure they may only do one cruise every few years so they splurge on a balcony. Solo travellers are usually paying double and don't really need a balcony as an extra "room" to get away from their cabin mate. Those of us who do a couple of cruises most every year (who are not "wealthy") often opt for less expensive rooms. To each his/her own. IMO sitting on a balcony too much for panama canal means you will not see nearly as much as walking around on the decks. I always seem to see more as I spend a lot of time out on the decks...some people don't care but to me a big attraction of a cruise is to sit and walk around outside and look at the ocean or the scenery which may well be only on one side of the ship. Just my opinion but for me balconies are "overrated".

I would guess that a soaring stock market and 401ks added to increases in home equity along with an aging population who more and more are tired of all the hassles and rising costs of land based travel are signficant factors. Add in more new ships designed to appeal to a wider variety of age groups that bring in more younger cruisers and expanded demographics. Also the increasing numbers of people who work online from most anywhere with a decent wifi connection makes cruises more attractive to more people.....and of course many people who cancelled cruises during the covid years provide a lot of pent up demand as well as future credits etc. All good news for the cruise industry especially if they don't get too carried away with pricing and/or reducing services and quality of the cruise experience.

1971 holland america

sorry but it was on princess where the beds not in use still folded down and i hit my head...NOT on holland...here is pic of princess with beds that even unused you can bang your head as they are very close to your bed/head

the ones i had once were hung from wall above the bed but even in that position i kept banging my head on it...i hated that and have since been very careful to avoid any room with the fold down bunks especially as i am usually a single...not sure if all rooms are same or not...

I always make sure to pick a room for two as i hate those bunk beds hanging down to bang my head on....

so if u have picked a cabin for 2 then u are safe from moves?

so if you have your room marked do not upgrade because u picked the room you wanted in the location you wanted and booked way in advance do some people still end up in a different room? I would not like that even a little bit.