Honolulu Blue

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. 🙏

This too. I had had a cruise prior to this one (not on Princess), but a large portion had not. I'll agree that it was a great cruise. The main thing that would have made it better was to make it longer. 👍

As the Flyer has mentioned, it DOES depend on several factors that are mostly out of your control. The ship will make an announcement in each port when the gangway is open. Do your fellow passengers a favor and steer clear of the gangway before then. All of that said, for an 8 AM arrival in most Caribbean ports, you should be able to get off the ship by 8:30. YMMV.

I confess to not using contactless payment at all in the U.S., though it's becoming more and more available here. In the Caribbean, my experience is that not too many places will take contactless payments - and the ones that do are probably not the places with the best bargains. I'd suggest a physical card and Colony Bucks to get around.

Thanks for sharing. You should check to see if it's refundable, and if it's not, then lobby for it.

Thanks for continuing to share. I'm glad Double Vision put on a good show. Princess should really do more of these 80s themed cruises. Let's lobby them and maybe they'll do it. Slippery When Wet, the Bon Jovi tribute act on our Regal cruise back in November '21, tried to get the crowd involved too, but it didn't seem to take as well. I was up in the cheap seats, the theater was maybe 40% full, and all the guests were in masks. If my calculations are correct, you're going to get a different tribute to the Jersey Boys tonight - WANTED. I hope they put on another good show for you. And back to Double Vision... on a different 80s cruise (a charter that's NOT on Princess) we're going to have Lou Gramm. That should be quite the show. There's a chance he could perform all three songs you highlighted in your videos ("Feels Like the First Time", "I Want to Know What Love Is", and "Juke Box Hero").

How ridiculous! It shouldn't matter what size your team is. I would argue that being on a smaller team disadvantages them because the pool of knowledge is that much smaller. BTW, I won all my awards in a team of three - me, myself, and I. 😁 I participated in a team once as a fifth wheel. We did well but didn't win anything. Maybe I'll try team play again someday. Boat on a rope = Carnival medal. Mine looks the same as the one posted by @Robbie555in the first post of this thread.

Thanks for sharing. I started cruising less than a decade ago, so apparently I missed the best rewards. Though I think I'd rather have one of Carnivals trophies than anything you mentioned - impractical as they are for everyday life. It's eye opening to find out about the champagne, as both Celebrity and Princess like to offer them to me for various reasons. The offerings on Viking scream "participation trophy to me, of which I'm not a fan. I was taught that to get something decent, you have to compete and win.

I will note that I have been on two full charter music cruises and will be going on two more this year. None are on Princess. I was on one of Princess' 80s themed cruises in 2021 and will be going on another later this year. I have not, to my knowledge, shared any ship with a partial charter on any cruise line. I suspect my time will come eventually. I'm not looking forward to the experience.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and awards. On Princess, I won a couple of competitions. Both times I was offered champagne, but as a teetotaler I declined them. The first time I got a Princess swag bag with most of the stuff you have pictured. The second time I got a Princess water bottle. On Carnival, I've won nine ships on a stick and a single boat on a rope. These were all pre pandemic.

Almost forgot - I tendered into Santa Barbara last year. Nothing else of note to add to my conclusions above.

Thanks again. Glad to hear (and see) that the PBE was worthwhile. Double Vision tonight! Carlos Oscar gets a second pair of shows in the aft lounge. We only got to see him one time, I'm pretty sure.

I don't have any answers for you that haven't already been said elsewhere. But I want to put some notes down about the difference between full charters, partial charters, and cruise line themed cruises: FULL CHARTER - The charter controls the bookings and the prices for the cabins. They have full access to the ship and its facilities for the duration of their rental. It's not possible for regular people to randomly book a full charter, so mixing and mingling is limited. PARTIAL CHARTER - The charter company pays a fee for access to certain facilities on a cruise ship and the right to book some rooms through it. The cruise company reserves the right to control everything else, which means they try to keep things as normal as possible for the rest of the passengers on the ship. Sometimes it works better than others. CRUISE LINE THEMED CRUISE - The cruise line retains full control over the ship, but the entertainment and such will have a theme to it (80s, comedy, cooking, etc.). Beware if you don't like the theme.

Thanks for making your feelings known and sharing your feedback. I wonder if the lady pretended to know more than she did in order to string you along. If not, what she said was distressing. I'm not a big fan of the MDR, but if that's the only way to get a decent prepaid meal... (deep sigh)