Honolulu Blue

TEC sent us booked guests more details about the artist hosted events, including times and prices. All prices are per person and DO NOT include the gratuity (which I assume is 18%): March 4 (sea day) - Champagne tasting with Morris Day. 3:30 PM, $80, includes commemorative glass March 5 (sea day) - Cupcake decorating with Mark Goodman (noon, $55), Tequila tasting with Alan Hunter (3 pm, $85, includes commemorative glass), Vodka cocktails with Larry the Duck (5 pm, $80, includes commemorative glass) March 6 (Puerto Vallarta) - Wine tasting with Gerald Casale of Devo (5 pm, $100, includes commemorative glass) March 7 (Cabo San Lucas) - no events March 8 (sea day) - Wine tasting with Downtown Julie Brown (3:30 pm, $105, includes commemorative glass), Cocktail mixology with Lori Majewski (5 pm, $80, includes commemorative glass), Bourbon tasting with The Smithereens (2 pm, $80, includes commemorative glass), Breast Cancer charity breakfast with Kim Wilde (9 am, $100) March 9 (Ensenada) - Cocktails with Tone Loc (5 pm, $80, includes commemorative glass)

I was just on the Millie in November. My first three Celebrity cruises were on the Summit. I'd say the Millie and the Summit at this point are virtually twins. They're both very nice ships. So to be contrarian, I'm gonna go with the Summit. I'll be on her in 10 days, so maybe something will change my mind then.

This is the answer I would endorse. I normally say go straight to the top (John Padgett), but in this case I would go with someone just under the top - like the person who runs Princess' Australia operations. He or she would know exactly what's going on, and maybe he/she would tell you if you asked nicely.

And I bet your arms were really tired! 🤣 (sorry, couldn't resist)

Thanks for sharing. Ah, Celebrity - masters of the spin. I used to like "Two Princes" back in the day.

Thank you kind sir. I'll check it out later. 👍

Thanks. Here's a quick update for you and the two others who care (besides me, who I'm really doing this for): All the dead and injured victims are students The shooter's name was revealed No classes at Big U. until Monday Many schools and school districts in the area have closed today

Hi guys... here's a question I forgot to ask earlier... did the Pat Benatar Experience sing "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"? I ask this because there was some media coverage about the REAL P.B. declaring that she would NOT sing this anymore because of all the mass shootings. Thanks for satisfying my curiousity!

I took a cruise to Hawaii in 2018 (not on Celebrity) that was similar to yours. We didn't have a stop in Astoria, but we had a stop in Kona (tender) and we had an overnight in Honolulu before disembarking. As much as Hawaii hotels cost, cruises to/from/within Hawaii aren't exactly cheap either. I thought the little slices of Hawaii I saw were great and I'd like to go back sometime. I think you'll enjoy your cruise too. Have fun!

You've probably heard about the shootings at Big University. If not, you soon will. The very quick summary: Angry not-so-young man (who doesn't seem to be connected to the university in any way) got into two buildings on campus and started shooting. He eventually left campus and took his own life a few miles away. Three victims dead, five in critical condition. All campus activities shut down for today and tomorrow. This is a little too close to home for me, in many ways. Pray for us all. 🙏

It was, but I had also been on the Summit in September '21 and would have said the same thing then - it was in great shape. Of course, that cruise came just after the restart.

Thanks for sharing. I was on the Summit last year (and will be on her next in a couple of weeks) and on the Millie last November. I thought both ships were in near perfect shape. I guess it's true what those old car ads said - your mileage really does vary.

In addition to the above, the British Virgin Islands and the Turks & Caicos have their official currency as the US dollar. I'll bet there's a really interesting story about why these British territories shunned their own currency, but it's not relevant to this thread, so I'll stop here. Also, not anywhere near the Eastern Caribbean, but mentioned elsewhere in this thread, Panama has the US dollar as its native currency.

@twentyknots: Thank you for your review. I'm sorry you had to witness those disturbances in the MDR. Advice noted re: illness.

I'm sorry the bug seems to have found your husband. I hope he gets well soon. The treatment you described is radically different than Celebrity was applying universally just six months ago. Very interesting.

I've been on a few Celebrity cruises in the past. They do have some trivia. My last sailing on the Millennium had a comedian that performed twice on the cruise. There's music scattered about the ship, with some of the shows also involving music. I don't actively look for word games, but I imagine that they exist. I'm surprised at the pushback at the notion that Celebrity is an "entertain yourself" cruise line. Yes, they have lots of activities, but my experience is it's not as busy with activity as the mainstream ships. That's a good thing, right? @Jim_Iaininspired me to look at the app schedule for my next cruise on Celebrity in two weeks (WOOO!). It's a charter and other than the excursions and some reminder messages, there's very little on the schedule. I did find a new reminder message showing, and this is what it had under it: A little disappointing, but not a surprise. The charter company has already provided a tentative schedule online, and it's packed with items related to the charter theme. Things might change and that's what the paper newsletter is for.

I've been in steerage on many of my Carnival cruises and I never found the noise that bad. I can feel and hear the ocean bump along - especially at high speeds and/or in bad weather - but that rarely bothers me. The thrusters bother me a little, but I'm often in the shower or out and about when they're turned on. I can't remember hearing the anchor being thrown and wouldn't know what it sounds like.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the report. I think Celebrity's problem is that they didn't get cute enough with the name. Most people know (or think they know) what P&B is. I think they'd do better if they put some foreign words in the title.

Of all the M&Gs I've attended pre pandemic (none on Celebrity, granted), the conversation has been civil and I didn't witness any confrontations.

TEC has announced their artist hosted events for this year's cruise. They're not ready to be booked yet; they'll do that on the 15th with more details in another e-mail sent on that date. All of these are extra cost. As much for my archives, here are the ones that they listed: March 4 (sea day) - Champagne tasting with Morris Day March 5 (sea day) - Cupcake decorating with Mark Goodman, Tequila tasting with Alan Hunter, Vodka cocktails with Larry the Duck March 6 (Puerto Vallarta) - Wine tasting with Gerald Casale of Devo March 7 (Cabo San Lucas) - no events March 8 (sea day) - Wine tasting with Downtown Julie Brown, Cocktail mixology with Lori Majewski, Bourbon tasting with The Smithereens, Breast Cancer charity breakfast with Kim Wilde March 9 (Ensenada) - Cocktails with Tone Loc I appreciate these opportunities, really I do, but as someone who doesn't drink alcohol, most of these are awkward for me to attend - so I won't. I'm sure they'll be a blast for those that do. The others are either activities that aren't of interest or feature people that aren't of interest.

I don't think solo cruisers have become wealthier as a group, but the fact that cruise fares on an inflation adjusted basis have gone down more or less continuously since the 1970s makes them more able to cruise more often or in more luxury when they do choose to cruise. As for demographics... I'm going to choose my words carefully in order to save our mods some stress. I think the ranks of cruisers has become a lot more diverse in many ways. I think when most people choose to cruise with someone, they're looking for someone that thinks like them, acts like them, likes the same things as they do, and/or looks like them. That's less likely these days and that can cause problems in close quarters.

I know HAL used to do it several years ago, but it seems to have fallen out of fashion with them. An agency that I'm not allowed to name has available matching for its singles cruises. And I've seen it here and there mostly through informal sources. Why is it less popular than it used to be? I think @cruisemom42hinted at it in the last sentence of her post (which I've highlighted above) - most solo cruisers these days would rather grab a single cabin or pay the single tax than deal with the potential awkwardness of a roomie on their vacation.

It seems that The Knack has been dropped from the lineup of The 80s Cruise. No biggie; I wasn't going to see them anyway. Will that be the last change? I hope so. Anyway, it's only 16 days until my adventures start. Can't wait! 😃

Thanks. I forgot about cabin upgrades. True.

I decided to go ahead and book. It's a similar cabin to what I had last year and will have this year - basic interior on deck 7. The price checked out; it's $50 more than this year. $400 deposit that will be delayed until March 5 and the payments start on April 1 and continue until February. Another car payment. 😰 I hope TEC announces some real winners. Obviously I have faith that they will. This will mark the first time I have six cruises on the books. Four are for this year and two are in '24. I may not be done yet, though I think it's more likely I'll take some time to properly digest everything and enjoy the cruises I have coming up.