Boatharbour

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.

Sorry I should have clarified that Celebrity identifies four of the most common allergens, not only at the buffet but also at other dining areas. This can benefit a significant number of passengers. There were some lapses in the specialty restaurants and daily specials in the MDR but overall it was handled well. GF restrictions are fairly new for me and I dislike making a fuss by having to ask staff for guidance at every meal. Listing allergens is so common world wide I’m surprised HAL doesn’t do it. Despite this we’re motivated enough by all the changes to give HAL a go.

I’m in the same boat as you with gluten free. Although I think Celebrity does GF really well, I’ve jumped ship so to speak with HAL. My research shows that they handle it pretty well, although the food at the buffet isn’t labelled unlike the OVC. Staff will guide you through what’s safe, but it’s not quite as easy as simply reading an allergen label on each dish. I have sent an email to HAL asking if they plan to introduce allergen labelling as its now common practice worldwide. I’d be interested in reading what you find out with other lines. Without this thread I may have stayed blinkered for a while longer.

Available in Australia too. Rebooked several excursions tonight and saved hundreds of dollars with 45% off. Thank you!

It’s the Nieuw Amsterdam. I’m astounded at the price difference it was a no brainer. We’re in an aft Neptune suite with wrap around verandah. Plus HAL goes to Glacier Bay unlike Celebrity.

We’ve just booked a HAL cruise to Alaska after only ever sailing Celebrity. The price difference was so large that we couldn’t ignore it just because of loyalty. Celebrity Aqua sky suite was over AU $20,000 AI - for a 7 day cruise! With HAL we booked a Neptune suite AI for just under AU$12 000. We have one more cruise with Celebrity coming up in 2024 (booked at 2022) pricing and will then look elsewhere.

That’s a shame. Listing allergens is common practice now for many reasons so I wonder why they’re behind on this. We’re trying HAL after only ever having sailed Celebrity. For all the current criticism of Celebrity they handle food allergies really well. Nearly every dish at the buffet was labelled with allergens which made choosing really easy. No need to order ahead and there were plenty of choices, We’re still very excited about our first HAL cruise to Alaska in 2025 though and who knows things may change before then.