Honolulu Blue

I've sailed on ships that got in as much as an hour early, so it does happen - but not often enough to count on. Less often, we've stayed in port past the expected all aboard time. Again, don't rely on this happening on your particular cruise.

Thanks for sharing. Obviously good news, but the devil is in the details. We'll see what happens when Princess gets their ships outfitted with the latest and greatest. I doubt it will be ready by April on the Ruby, but we'll see.

Isn't the Internet wonderful? There's only a few traces of the old story and its headline. Big Brother would be so pleased! 😁

Good news - Carnival Corporation has joined the Starlink bandwagon. Here's the official press release https://www.carnivalcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/carnival-corporation-expands-next-generation-wi-fi-connectivity . Carnival and AIDA ships will be hooked up first, followed by other Carnival Corp. ships. Since no one is paying attention, let's see how likely my upcoming cruises will have the newest and greatest satellite service: February, Celebrity Summit - very unlikely March, Navigator OTS - unlikely April, Ruby Princess - unlikely November, Carnival Magic - probable

Princess is cheaper - especially with status. I think this announcement is great, but the devil is in the details. I don't think any of us outsiders know yet. Here's the official Carnival Corporation press release: https://www.carnivalcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/carnival-corporation-expands-next-generation-wi-fi-connectivity

This is true. But to be fair to them, they've been busy cruising on other ships and only have limited time to scope out the deeper news stories. And this story has been buried pretty deep - nothing on the primary cruise news sites and no press releases (yet) from Celebrity. I think eventually they'll catch up. There was one person who in the other thread said that a customer service rep told them that the OVC and RS changes were meant to push more people into the MDR. Third hand info, but the conclusion seems plausible. You'd think Celebrity would want more people to dine in the OVC - the labor costs are lower (especially once they got rid of most of the serving crew), the food costs are probably lower, and there would be less waste if people actually used it. But TPTB at Celebrity - maybe even going to Jason and the rest at the very top of RCG - have decided that this was a move they needed to make fleetwide, posthaste. Who am I to argue with highly experienced executives? All I can do is let my feelings know where and when I can.

When I first saw that article, I thought about the villains in those superhero/secret agent movies. They all want WORLD DOMINATION! Usually followed by an evil laugh. 😈 I don't think MSC is evil, BTW. But they've got a ways to go to dominate the North American market. They currently have five big assets - 1) low prices, 2) an owner with deep pockets, 3) pretty ships, 4) their willingness to status match, and 5) the Yacht Club. That's not nothing, but if they want to catch Carnival or Royal, they really need about 10 more big ships homeported in NA - including more on the East Coast, more in the Gulf, and they need to establish a foothold in California and Alaska. They're at least 10 years away, IMHO, unless they whip out the checkbook and buy up an established cruise line or two. The thing about the megalomaniacs in the movies is that they almost always end up defeated before they reach their goals. We'll see what happens to MSC. It should be interesting to watch.

According to the article that announced this change (thanks NCL PR staff! 😛) at Norwegian Cruise Line Trimming Stateroom Cleaning, Cutting Crew Roles - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News, the following NCL ships have or will receive the change first: Epic (Jan. 8), Sky (Jan. 13), Jewel (Jan. 14), Sun and Breakaway (Jan. 15). So we should be receiving more reports on the effects of this soon.

According to Cruise Industry News at Norwegian Cruise Line Trimming Stateroom Cleaning, Cutting Crew Roles - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News , it's a real thing. The first ships were scheduled to be affected last week and this. If it's happened, there should be feedback elsewhere decrying this change. Maybe those who weren't in the know didn't know what to expect? Or maybe it was already baked in? I wouldn't expect a press release on this, but passengers might have received a memo. Certainly, the cabin stewards (whatever they're titled these days) have to clue in the passengers on the affected ships.

In the earlier post on this topic (now locked and buried several pages deep), several people reported contacting head honcho LLP's office and receiving replies (phone calls) from her staff. There was some acknowledgement of what they were up to, but little defense. They did appreciate the feedback and said things could change. Maybe soon we'll see some notes about more current communications.

Who'd want to buy a cruise line these days? Royal successfully sold Azamara a while ago, and there have been rumors that Seabourn will be sold/given to the Saudis. But those are smaller fish than X. All the big publicly held cruise lines are leveraged to the hilt and have no money available for acquisitions. Maybe MSC wants to make a play? They're privately held and mostly a sideline for their shipping division. Does Viking want to go downscale? How about Sir Richard? Does he want throw more good money after bad? And there's always the odd mogul with more money (or stock) than sense. I shouldn't be surprised at anything anymore, especially with what has happened in the past three years, but I have to say a sale of X would surprise me.

The prices for specialty restaurants that are showing for me on the app for my next cruise on the Summit in February: Le Petit Chef - $70.80 Tuscan Grille (dinner) - $64.90 Tuscan Grille (seafood lunch) - $35 Tuscan Grille (Tuscan lunch) - $40 Sushi on Five - a la carte I'm not certain if these prices include the 18% gratuity.

Perhaps I should have narrowed the range to between 2017 (my first Celebrity cruise) and 2022. I'm fully aware that things change over time. One of the frustrating things about this change (to me) is that it changed SO much, SO quickly, with SO LITTLE official notice. But of course I'm not demanding OBC over this. It does affect (somewhat) the choices I make about what cruise lines I sail on. If I were looking for cruises to sail on, I would be looking a little less hard at Celebrity, and a little harder at... everyone else. This is my choice, which may or may not be suitable for everyone else. P.S. Funny thing about the oldest ship... my last cruise with Celebrity was on their oldest current ship (the Millennium) in November. I liked the buffet then and said so. I also liked the rest of the ship and its crew. I haven't had a chance to sail on any of Celebrity newer ships - and with their current pricing and current state of their buffet, probably never will. Unless it's one that one of my charters chooses.

My definition is one of the buffets that virtually all Celebrity ships had before January 1, 2023.

I did that and it's not showing. I forgot to mention that this is a charter cruise. That might make a difference.

Hey... since you were all so helpful to me when I initially asked about this, I'm going to ask about a related subject in this thread since it's probably too niche for a new one. For those of you who have cruises in the next three months, are you able to pre-purchase the chips or slot play packages online? Or have you done it recently? I have a cruise on the Summit in 6 weeks and I'm not seeing that option like I saw for the Millie last year. I do see options for blackjack and slot tournaments. Thanks in advance for your help!!

I know you asked about this three months ago and you might have ruled them out by now, but there was a thread about a cruiser who was on one of the recent Princess 80s themed cruises. He liked the experience. Newsletter copies are provided. Take a look to see what he said:

I looked on both the app and online. I didn't see where I could pre-purchase slot play or casino chips this time around. ☹️ They do have blackjack and slot tournaments I can buy into; I'm not interested. In other news, USA Today helpfully provided a story with discussion and links to some of the major music festivals going on this spring and summer. Here's the link: Music festival 2023 lineups: Bonnaroo, Coachella, Sonic Temple, more (usatoday.com) To make a long story short, I saw some acts of interest, but only a few per day for those multi-day festivals. I'd prefer my lineup on TEC or the UDC to any of them. Some of you might feel differently.

I'll make a few comments and then get out. Some of them will repeat what I've said in other threads; I apologize for that. Anyway, here goes: OP, thanks for the video link! Several people reported getting responses from LLP's office on this issue. The responses were noncommittal on what they did and what they're going to do, but they seemed to be open to changing things and encouraged more feedback. One response from customer service (not LLP's office) seemed to imply that the change to the OVC was in part made to encourage people to go to the MDR Reports seem to be that E-class ships were hit worst by this, with S-class ships somewhat less, and M-class ships least I'm hoping that the above it true because my next Celebrity cruise will be on the Summit in 6 weeks. That cruise will be a charter where the buffet use will be above the norm for regular cruises. I hope this means we'll get something approaching what was the norm back in the good old days of 2022. But that remains to be seen. If the buffet is as sparse as the worst reports have shown, not only will I give feedback to LLP's office, but I'll have no choice but to complain to the charter company. Maybe it'll be the tipping point to move them and their various charters to a different cruise line. I like Celebrity for a lot of reasons, but they're not the only good cruise line out there.

I'm sorry this has happened to you. I hope you get some satisfaction soon. 🙏 My modest suggestion is to go straight to the top - write a letter to John Boy in Santa Clarita. Tell him what you told us. Have the documentation available to back things up. Good luck!

You make some interesting points. First, I agree with you that Celebrity, Princess, and HAL have been millstones to their respective corporations since the restart. I don't see an easy way out for any of them. And second, if VV were to go belly up, what would happen to its ships? Could Sir Richard sell the brand to someone else? Who'd want to run it the way it's being run now? And who'd want the ships in their current form? To be clear, I think Virgin is NOT in imminent danger of bankruptcy, but it's obviously possible. It's more a matter of how long Branson wants to keep propping it up.

I thought the prices on my first two cruises back in '21 were pretty good with excellent service. A little less so last year, but still more than acceptable. And the prices for the cruises I booked so far this year are nice; we'll have to see about the service. And I'm a lifelong nonsmoker.

I have it displayed at home, but I never wore it - not even on the ship. P.S. Nice pics! Thanks!

Have you been on the Smooth Jazz Cruise or another music themed charter? I'd love to hear your stories. Thanks!

I'll definitely look out for him. I'm a little surprised he was on this one as he only advertised to be on the first 80s cruise back in October. My 80s cruise adventure will be out of Galveston, so we'll see if Mr. Rossi is onboard. I hope so. 🙏