dockman

As many have said...weather changes a lot. My last mid sept alaska was pretty bad with pouring rain in ketchikan and juneau to the point that very few got off the ship as was miserable....we had bad weather about 4 of 7 days to include absolute downpour all day when we docked back in vancouver and had all day to kill waiting for evening flight...no fun at all. I had been to all the ports many times so no big deal for me but i did feel sorry for first timers who basically missed several ports and much of the inside passage scenery as it was rainy foggy and just generally miserable out on the decks. One of few sunny days was glacier bay. Odds of less rain and bad weather are better in mid summer but mid summer can bring it's own challenges with too many ships/people in the ports. To be fair i have also had mid september weather that was near perfect, fewer crowds at end of season, lots of end of season sales of t shirts coats etc etc if that is of interest...lots of dead salmon and a few still alive clogging lots of streams and while interesting to see the smell can be pretty bad.

Can you leave the TV on with the main camera channel that would get dark at night but give light when sun comes up? Or is it too much light even at night?

The location to me is a major factor. I would rather have an inside room with a great location than an OV room where i have to walk down endless corridors to get to the steps/elevators.

Could it also be with an older demographic that HAL passengers may well spend more time in their rooms rather than public areas? I sure don't go out nearly as much as my younger days and as more of my favorite places to spend time like on a nice wide prom deck or a nice library disappear I likely do spend more time in my room. Big events with loads of people don't appeal to me these days. I have also gotten better and better at adjusting my times so not to hit the lido, dining rooms etc at peak hours. Save yourself a lot of aggravation by going early or late. Anyway...i generally do seem to feel less crowded on HAL than Princess and other lines and have my own strategies to better enjoy my cruise with minimal standing in line etc.

I miss it...used to love to pick one up in lido for breakfast and read the NYT recap...and remember that i was not alone as they were in high demand in the lido and passed around ....much more enjoyable for me than trying to stare at a tiny smartphone version. I suspect if they asked passengers do you prefer to receive the NYT recap or the constant barrage of printed ads to be thrown into the trash that the NYT would win by a landslide so the oh but the paper wasted seems somewhat lame. So to me just another tiny little cut to what used to be along with dozens of other "tiny" little cuts that overtime add up....but i will still cruise and work around it all and enjoy today's version of the cruise life.

u sure about that? Think about all the places a towel might wipe...and what people might do in bed...maybe bring paper towels and your sleeping bag.

I was once trying to negotiate with a bear who was chewing my leg off but then the skeeters all smelled blood and showed up in force scaring even the bear off...seemed good news until they picked me up and carried me off.

How many ports can handle or even want a ship that size to pull in for a day? Maybe we will soon see the return of the "cruise to nowhere" as it seems the trend in most ports is to restrict how many passengers a day is too many. And frankly i do not blame some of the port cities for wanting to keep some semblance of sanity as to how many people can they handle in the port city without totally disrupting peoples lives. Venice, Dubrovnik, and many other ports are making that abundantly clear and that list is likely to grow. I have zero desire to sail on a ship that size. I would rather go to a land based theme park/mall. And I hate theme parks and malls. Not my cup of tea. But hey I hope a lot of people go on them and leave more room for me on Holland and smaller ships.

Included would be more accurate than FREE. Seabourn is a wonderful pretty much all included cruise but the price reflects the inclusions.

Yes i get a free mini bar /booze at least on Princess. Yes get some cokes/small wine bottle etc on Holland but not free and i remove it all. As i recall my best perk on Holland for 4 star is free laundry and maybe a discount on paid dining.

May i ask approx how much total you spent on average per cruise not including gratuties as HOB seems to mean high onboard spender? I am not pretty so for sure won't qualify in that regard.

Well sadly some cruise exec that comes up with this obviously thinks it is a good system to reward new cruisers and take loyal cruisers for granted.. As elite/4 star I get free laundry and a mini bar set up...this after a ton of cruises and cruise days and having spend thousands of $$ over the years....and not to mention how many friends I have convinced to try a cruise and recommended HAL or Princess. A free upgrade offer or especially a free cruise offer would be a wonderful perk but i won't hold my breath. Meantime don't go on many cruises and get free offers and upgrades. Not my idea of a way to treat your most loyal customers but of course I do not think they care.

I have convinced several friends to go for their first ever cruise on both HAL and Princess. First time cruising friends got upgraded nicely and even though we booked and paid same rate I got nada. I guess the wisdom is that they already have me as a loyal customer and maybe by upgrading a first timer they will become loyal customers. Not exactly a great way to reward your loyal customers but it's their company and I guess they can do whatever they want even if it does rub me and many others the wrong way. I did warn my friends not to expect upgrades on their next cruise.

So you go on one cruise, no casino and no shops and get offered free cruise? While there are thousands of us that have been on a dozen or more and never a whiff of an offer....good for you. Must be nice to get that kind of offer. I will sit by my computer and wait for my free cruise offer to arrive in my mailbox.....i suspect it will be a very very long wait.

Generally not going to be free but i know that is a way to get offered a cruise...but i see some say they get offers with no casino play and that is the list i would like to know how you get your name on.

Well I hope you are correct but my gut feeling is airport screening is a more intense type...bottom line i don't want to be on a plane or a ship that has some idiots who manage to sneak a gun onboard.

Must be nice to sail with HAL and get an offer for a free cruise?? Did OP spend a massive amount of $$ or play a ton in the casino? If so maybe i can understand. I have been on 20 HAL cruises and never ever got any offer for free anything. How do i get on the give me a free cruise list??

Biggest surprise to me years ago when i first saw at least part of the great barrier reef is that it is not right along the shore but "out to sea"....for some reason i thought it would be much closer to shore and maybe it is in some areas. As for seeing much of anything from a cruise ship deck I think, but not 100% sure, that is not likely at all. I did a dive boat tour for several days and even from that small draft boat that could sit right on top of the reef yes you could look straight down in some spots but no way could a cruise ship get that close without danger. But if you jumped in the water with a mask you could in some places see all the way to the bottom to include lots of reef sharks just lying around relaxing as well as zillions of all kinds of fish doing their thing.

ok just checked and the st lucia report is dated feb 4 so obviously not the same idiot who tried to board today...so there are multiple idiots...i guess so far we have all been lucky that there has been no onboard shootings (that i am aware of) but i would feel a bit better if maybe cruise security spends more time looking for guns and the like and less time worrying about an extra bottle of wine.

So maintenance got it fixed but captain never acknowledged it or offered any info at all? Can that be correct? If so shame on that captain and his exec staff.

21 days last summer in alaska on crown...i experienced no problems at all. Had a wonderful cruise, food was good, ship was fine....entertainment not my cup of tea but others seemed to like it as theatre was packed most every show as were the bars with music... The back deck area pool is a perfect place to sit and watch the Alaska Scenery.

i am sure you will be just fine...and while many spend their days glued to their cellphones maybe you will be out on deck looking at the scenery or chatting with interesting people while your cell phone sits in your room. Good for you.

Point is everybody is different and some people for whatever reason don't want or don't have smart phones and nothing wrong with asking how to navigate a cruise without one on a cruise forum.

I have a phone and am just fine with it's features and advantages but do not criticize those who choose otherwise...but as you say "whatever".

It means that not everyone is the same. Believe it or not there are still people who do not have or want a TV. Does that mean if you have a TV you are better? Just maybe not having a TV means those people spend their time doing much more interesting things than sitting on a couch staring at a screen. I have a phone and I like a lot of what it brings....BUT i go out of my way not to turn into some kind of zombie that can't help but to check it every thirty seconds while ignoring people talking with me those who are walking down the street bumping into people as they check what is happening on tik tok. The problem is not the phones but the addiction to the phone.