Boatharbour

We took a cruise from Japan in 2019 that also visited Taiwan, China and disembarked in Hong Kong. Absolutely fabulous trip. Living in Sydney the flight wasn’t too long and the difference in time zones was minimal. This year we took a Baltic cruise which was also very good, but if you’re travelling all that way I would combine it with something else. Either a b2b or land component as we did. The 24 trip home was tough. Out of the two, Japan wins hands down. We’ve travelled extensively and Japan was unlike anywhere we had ever been to before.

There must have been a problem with the handle as it locked/ jammed behind her. Not sure if it had been reported before but Celebrity were very quick to respond to our phone call.

Sure has. To our solo neighbour in an accessible SV cabin on the Apex in July. The poor woman had gone outside to watch the sunrise and the door slid shut and couldn’t be opened. Fortunately she had a robe on to keep warm. She called out several hours later after hearing us go out to our balcony. We had to ring down for someone to go into her cabin and open up the door.

Nothing to confess, although I have been known to sit outside in my nightie first thing in the morning. Not something I would do if the balcony was exposed. I also like the protection of a roof above me when you have passengers who think it’s funny to drop sugar sachets and drops of liquid on those below. Happened to us on Equinox on several days. Staff never did catch the culprits.

We’ve had several SV’s on mid level decks and were happy with the privacy. Agree with above poster about being seen if you stand near the railings but not a big deal at all. The only exception was when we were staying on a higher deck on the Equinox where the balcony was more exposed. We had several unpleasant experiences related to the bar / dining area above.

We did a Japan cruise on Millenium in late November 2019. Tokyo to Hong Kong. We loved the ship although we spent little time on our sunset verandah due to the cool weather. Our port days were busy ones so we were happy to have some sea days in the mix. There was always something to do on board if you felt like it. Most of our excursions were organised with people in our roll call. It was a fabulous trip and we would love to return to Japan.

Happened to notice the difference during the day when we were out sightseeing. On our last trip in 2018, white sneakers were everywhere. This time round there were a lot of neutral (taupe) and coloured sneakers on men and women, not as many in plain white. To be honest though anything goes and I would just take the most comfortable and versatile shoes I own. Those cobble stone streets are hard on your feet! Just me, but if I was going to a very nice restaurant I probably wouldn’t wear sneakers. I did make a note to take a pair of heels for evenings on the ship next time. There were quite a few passengers of all ages who dressed up for dinner, not just on chic nights. This was a European cruise on Apex.

I noticed the same on our 7 week trip to Europe in June/July. Athletic shoes / Sneakers everywhere but fewer white ones than our previous trip.

I just did a mock booking for the cruise before ours (Edge, NZ) in March 2024. Same category of room but now AU$ 4000 more than we paid. Premium wifi and drinks are listed as an inclusion, but not the gratuities. I’m pretty sure I’m on the Australian website as the final cost is in Australian dollars.

We’re trying HAL for the first time because of all the changes. I’ve just started following the HAL forum and noticed a number of posts from many other ex Celebrity passengers.

We’re in the same boat so to speak. Have only ever sailed Celebrity but have now booked our first HAL cruise in May 2025 for the same reasons as you. I’m enjoying reading the posts on this board.

Jetstar is a low cost / no frills carrier. Luggage and entertainment will cost extra. FYI this recent article https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/travel/jetstar-cancels-the-most-flights-runs-the-latest-of-any-airline-20230622-p5dinb

We did a lot of reading on several forums before booking our Alaska cruise for 2025. Princess and HAL seem to have better itineraries in particular Glacier Bay. We have only ever sailed Celebrity before but the recent changes ( some of which we experienced in July) prompted us to look elsewhere. We have booked with HAL for Alaska in an aft suite for slightly more than a SV on Celebrity all included

Sailed on Apex in July and completely agree with you. We also found the choice of main courses limited especially if you are GF. Presentation of most dishes was cafeteria style rather than restaurant standard. We’re not overly fussy but the MDR food was a big step down from our last cruise in 2019. Having prebooked most nights in the MDR we ended up canceling and eating at the OVC which was surprisingly very good for dinner. Our dinners in the specialty restaurants (especially Eden) were excellent.

It’s the backstage tour listed in the Opera House link. Plenty of eating venues and places to sit and have a drink outside. The Kings St wharf area also has good dining options. The Sydney Harbour Bridge climb is fantastic if you’re ok with heights. Taronga Zoo can be accessed by ferry. It overlooks the harbour. You’ll see many of our native animals. There are lovely harbour foreshore walk around there too. If you want to see outside the city you could take a day trip to The Blue Mountains or Port Stephens. Both would involve 4-5 hours round trip driving by coach though. Happy to answer any more questions if you let me know your interests.

The Overseas Passenger Terminal is located at Circular Quay in the centre of the city. From there you can walk around The Rocks area, the Opera House ( take an insiders tour) and The Botanic Gardens. You have easy access to ferries to the Zoo, Watson’s Bay or Manly. There are also harbour cruises for tourists. The light rail will take you up to The Pitt St Mall if you’re interested in shopping. Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Visit the MCA and State Library. Depending on how much time you have you can also do day trips out of the city, but if this is your first visit there’s plenty to see / do locally.

We’re sailing HAL for the first time in 2025. I’ve read that dining attire on Alaskan cruises tends to be more casual than other destinations. Is the clothing you’re describing typical of what to expect?

We were on Apex 19 July in a SV and had a lounger, two chairs and a table. Plenty of room for all of it. I really like having the lounger.

We’re in the same situation. We wanted a specific aft room and have paid a deposit on it. It’s a shame that HAL won’t let us simply add on the cruise tour later and guarantee us the same room. If we can’t keep the room then we’ll book the land tour with an independent operator. We were told by one large company that pricing won’t be available until fall 2024 for 2025.

It may be a real sale with Celebrity but their excursion prices can be over the top. I was looking at a NZ excursion that was more than AU$800 with Celebrity. While searching for alternatives I found exactly the same tour listed with several other cruise lines for less than AU$400. When the recent sale was on, the price jumped to over AU$900 with the reduced price still more than other lines.

If nothing else the changes have made us take our blinkers off and look elsewhere. We’ve booked a suite on HAL for little more than a SV on Celebrity. Our first non Celebrity cruise. We have one more Celebrity cruise in 2024 in a sky suite. Booked two years ago and since then the price has almost doubled. If I’m going to spend that sort of money it will be with a truly premium line such as Oceania.

We were never tempted to try elsewhere because Celebrity ticked all our boxes. But MDR food experiences on our July Apex cruise plus all the recent changes have opened our eyes. I’m actually quite excited now about trying something new.

Thanks for the information. I’ll give it a go. Hoping that will include the OBC for purchasing a FCC too. I realise that the other deal’s associated with the cancelled cruise won’t carry forward.

I’m keeping the email too plus the original paperwork for the FCC as it’s the only proof I have. Would you know if we can apply the two lots of bonus OBC to an existing booking ? We have one more cruise booked with Celebrity next year and after that have switched for our first non Celebrity cruise.

Same here. We had booked a 2025 Apex cruise with a FCC only three weeks before it was cancelled. We received an email stating that the deposit would be returned as a FCC but it turned up on our credit card. No more information about the OBC we had for purchasing a FCC onboard or the additional $200 offered because the cruise was cancelled.