Honolulu Blue

UPDATE: The Smooth Jazz Cruise webinar is up and ready:

I've been on six Journeys cruises in the past several years. I've enjoyed them all, even a little more than my ordinary Carnival cruises. I have another one coming up in January. I don't have much to add to what others have said - they tend to attract older, more experienced cruisers (both on Carnival and in general). There are some special activities on board. Here's an entry from the Small World department... I think we were on the same cruise. Here's the itinerary from January 2016: There was no special offer for me, except maybe a reduced single tax. It cost me about $1100 (including fees) for a basic interior in steerage. Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we? Perhaps @wsurrette2424 will remember these things and perhaps @1MKS1128 will find similar things on their Journeys cruise:

You should be able to, eventually. It doesn't look like it's live yet. Look in the "Booked Guests" section of the 2024 site.

After a lot of consideration of the pros and cons and the general logistics, I purchased my ticket for the NKOTB Magic Summer 2024. Part of the contemplation process was deciding whether I wanted to try to see more than one show. I decided against it. I'm heading to Columbus, Ohio for the show on Friday, August 23. It's in Nationwide Arena downtown. There are some hotels within walking distance that currently show space available; I'll likely try to get accommodations at one or the other of them later. The seat is on the middle level (between the floor and the upper level), near the center. The view should be decent. I was tempted by some options that were much closer to the stage (and much, much more expensive), but all the ones I liked best booked up. Oh well. The cost was $86 including all fees - not bad, all things considered. The hotel I expect to cost much more, even for one night.

Good news and bad news: The good news is that John Mellencamp is coming to town. I like him and would probably go see him, except for the bad news... which is that he'll be in town while we're on the Rock & Romance Cruise. ☹️ Oh well. He probably wasn't going to play "Rain on the Scarecrow" anyway.

Those of you who are on either of the 2024 editions of the Smooth Jazz Cruise, don't forget to check out the webinar tomorrow at 3 PM EDT. Bring your questions.

Of course! 🤣

That IS funny! 🤪 I'll see you there, probably by the sports betting kiosk. 😁

You probably know this, but this is from page 1 of the "How To Tell Cruise Tourists In a Crowd": They're elderly, fluffy, or both They wear lanyards They wear cute cruse-related T-shirts They flash their (usually high-status) cards around town like they were titanium credit cards They often decline lunch in town to head back to the ship There are other signs, but they're often shared with "Rude Americans".

I'll be on the Magic in 11 days. I will try to check out things then. Remind me.

As the author of post #13, you are correct. Holders of either package have this fee waived for their phoned-in room service orders. Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/princess-adds-casual-dining-exclusive-service-delivery-and-more-to-plus-and-premier-packages-with-no-price-increases-301887456.html I apologize for the error.

Thanks. This was announced by Brand Ambassador John Heald on his FB page. I find it important to reveal the source of any information, especially on the Internet.

The story of room story charges on Princess is... let's just say it's interesting. If you have a package, there's no charge for RS, IF YOU ORDER THROUGH THE APP If you don't have a package, the first time you order RS (or food/drink delivery anywhere, for any reason), you'll get hit with a $15 fee. No fees after that for the rest of the cruise If you order by phone, there's a $5 fee WHETHER YOU HAVE A PACKAGE OR NOT Some items have costs attached to them in addition to any fees

There are plenty of cruises in the Caribbean in September, just not on Princess. Carnival has them, as does Royal, Celebrity, Disney, MSC, and Virgin.

On the drive into work I heard "Don't Stop Believing" from Journey and "Rhiannon" from Fleetwood Mac. DSB, a tribute act to Journey, played this on the Ruby Princess in April: We'll have Bella Donna as a tribute act for Fleetwood Mac on the Rock & Romance Cruise next year. Will they play this one? I'm not sure. They might focus on bigger Stevie Nicks solo tunes instead.

I also miss the San Juan sailings, and there are a few others around here that do too. You're definitely not alone. As for the question in your title, I'm not optimistic. I think there's too much competition there now (see below for details). I think it's mostly the lower cabin rates out of SJ that chased them from there. Airfare could have been a factor in that. Too bad, because I like the Eastern Caribbean stops better than the ones in the West. You don't have to settle for those cruise lines. NCL has a nice, new ship called the Viva doing the SJ route for now, and Virgin Voyages also is trying to make money on the route. There may be others.

I got an e-mail from the UDC with some more announcements. First was the itinerary. Since the cruise is only 5 days, they couldn't do much with it. And... they didn't do much with it. Here it is: I've been to both Cozumel and Costa Maya multiple times. They're all right, ports that are suitable for ordinary use. I can't recall a late night stop in Coz before; that'll be new for me. I might be able to do something with it. And surely StarVista will do something with it - like shuffle around our guest performers to and from the airport. Speaking of performers, they announced some more of those for this cruise. First up was The Spinners. They were on this cruise last year and they're due to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a few days. I liked them and I'm glad they could make it. Also on the list is Shalamar. The most famous former member of Shalamar is Jody Watley, who was scheduled for The 80s Cruise earlier this year. Alas, she couldn't make it. This version of Shalamar won't have her, but it still should be a good show. Next is Lisa Lisa. I don't think the traditional disco fans are going to think too much of her, but I like this addition. Her songs have always had a good beat and you can dance to them. I've always had a soft spot for "I Wonder If I Take You Home", her first top 40 hit. The last performer announced in this wave was Double Exposure. I used to play double exposure blackjack in Las Vegas when I was more of a gambler and when they offered games like this. I found it to be a fun diversion from regular BJ. This doesn't have anything to do with Double Exposure the band, which had a few disco hits in the mid-to-late 70s. In other words, the disco traditionalists are going to like these guys better than Lisa Lisa. I wouldn't be surprised if I go back and do research and find that I recognize their songs. My reaction is, "That's nice, but give me more!" I'm greedy. 😈

High Seas Rally 2023 sailed from Tampa a few days ago. They've now switched the site over to the 2024 edition. That year's cruise will run October 26 through November 2 on Radiance OTS. I can't remember if that's the same ship as last time or not. I do know they are sailing out of Tampa again, and the itinerary looks like a tour of the Bahamas - Bimini, Freeport, Nassau, and Coco Cay. They announced some of the bands they'll have. The names are surprisingly familiar to me - Vixen (on TEC 2023 and HSR 2023) and Lou Gramm (on TEC 2023): I didn't attend Vixen's concerts, but they shared a (very big) room with Mr. Gramm in an autograph session that I did attend. I'm sure I could have gotten their autographs if I wanted to badly enough. I didn't want to. But they're OK. High Seas Rally could do much worse, IMHO. They did announce a couple of other performers that weren't familiar to me. Booking for us peasants not on the current cruise starts on November 7. I won't be doing this one, but don't let me stop you motorcycle fans from getting onboard.

Another interesting tour has come to my attention... New Kids On the Block (NKOTB) will be hitting the road with their Magic Summer Tour 2024 with support from DJ Jazzy Jeff and Paula Abdul. The Kids are all right (they just hosted a charter cruise earlier this month), I liked Jeff and his partner quite a bit back in the day, but Paula's the one that really made my hyperventilate. 😍 She's one of my guilty pleasures. An article about this tour with dates is at https://www.mlive.com/life/2023/10/new-kids-on-the-block-to-tour-with-paula-abdul-dj-jazzy-jeff-with-a-pine-knob-show.html . The closest they'll come to my neck of the woods is Pine Knob, but it's not my preferred destination to go see them. I'd rather go to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (near Akron); Tinley Park, IL (near Chicago); Cincinnati; Columbus; or Noblesville, IN (near Indianapolis) and make a weekend out of it. Tickets won't start selling until Wednesday, with some not being available until Friday. We'll see where this goes. I'll give an update later on this.

8 days is a lot. The most consecutive days I've done was 5, and that I only did once. I thought it was all right. There will always be more on-ship activities when at sea than when in port. I wouldn't worry too much about that if you like the activities the ship is likely to provide. Only you can decide whether you like (or at least can tolerate) a bunch of sea days in a row or not. Three things that I find help me are 1) bringing a tablet and packing it with entertainment - books, games, and videos - from home, 2) having an Internet package can help bridge any entertainment gaps, and 3) I've found there are some quiet places around the ship that I hang out - especially in the mornings.

I'm not sure if I explained myself clearly, so let me take another run at it. There are at least two "retail" prices the cruise lines use. One is the regular retail price that you'll see if you book online or if you use a travel agent (though the TA price may already have discounts off of this price). The other is, as I and some others have mentioned here is also known as the "brochure price". This was more applicable in the days when cruise lines and the TAs that loved them actually had brochures that they sent out or gave out to people who were interested in cruises. THAT rate is strictly pie-in-the-sky that exists almost exclusively to be discounted and make the "regular" retail price look good by comparison. This is the rate that the OP mentioned as full price, and this is the rate that I argued that almost no one pays. I apologize for the confusion.

I agree with @navybankerteacher and @Essiesmom - the most important things are what HE thinks is/are amazing. It should be easy enough to find a cruise ship with those things on offer. A travel agent can help with this if you're really stumped.

She also mentioned the "keys in the purse" when I sailed with her. I assume it's a long-time part of her shtick. As far as her seamanship goes, we didn't have any bad weather, the ship wasn't memorably bumpy, and she didn't do anything obviously stupid behind the wheel. And most importantly, I survived. 😀 P.S. Thanks everyone for your replies and votes! Please keep them coming!

I found this gem on my travels through various music charter cruises: I can't recall seeing any cruise ship with two separate dress themes each day and night (though I know a few cruise lines have separate dress codes). That can take quite a toll on the luggage, unless you can find ways to combine themes and reuse costumes.

Hi everyone. I have a question for the grizzled veteran Celebrity cruises out there... have you sailed with her, perhaps Celebrity's most famous employee, and perhaps the most famous Captain currently on the high seas? Obviously, I don't mean to slight anyone who hasn't sailed with her - whatever the reason. But I HAVE sailed with Captain Kate. It was my first cruise on Celebrity in 2017. We were on the Summit doing the Eastern Caribbean thing. I didn't meet her, but her personality came through during her announcements. I liked her. I wouldn't mind sailing with her again. But I'm not hurrying to do so. Here's a shot of our ship when we were in Barbados: That's enough of me and my stories of Captain McCue. What are yours, if you don't mind sharing. Thank you very much for voting and posting!