Honolulu Blue

I didn't see the extortionate rates that @Jim_Iainposted on my last cruise on the Millie in November. Rates for that cruise stayed at $25 for an hour and $50 for 24 hours. The full cruise rate dropped for every day that went by. I actually got a nice offer midway through. YMMV. Take a look:

I've found that most cruise lines organize a date and time for solo travelers which is published in the newsletter. Some have multiple gatherings on different days throughout a cruise. They're rarely staffed with cruise line personnel.

Fun note... I was on a Princess cruise with Don back in 2021 (Regal), but I didn't know until we were halfway through it. This wasn't one of his group cruises. Anyway, 2023 cruises for me: February - Celebrity Summit (music themed charter) March - RCCL Navigator OTS (music themed charter) April - Ruby Princess (80s themed cruise) November - Carnival Magic

I sailed on Princess once in 2022 - on the Majestic Princess up and down the California coast in April. I did three other cruises in '22, not on Princess.

A couple of notes, then I'll get out of here: 1. Just after the restart, Royal Caribbean closed the dinner buffet on most of their ships until the number of passengers they had consistently reached 50% of capacity. Most of the ships Royal used then had other casual options and only had the late-night charge for room service. 2. In reviewing my newsletters from my cruise on the Millie in November, I found the problem with a cut down service at the OVC. Here's the full list of dining options other than the buffet after 5 PM on that list: Pool grill (only open until 6) Luminae and Blu (they don't let riffraff like me in either of those places ☹️) Sushi on Five, Le Petit Chef, and Tuscan Grille (all extra cost) Room service (no fee then, but I assume it's coming soon fleetwide) The MDR So... if the buffet cuts down its offerings, it seems to me that Celebrity is pushing people to either head to the MDR or pay up for a decent dinner. I always thought that Celebrity had the best selection of meal items and the best food quality of the mainstream cruise lines I've sailed on. Now they're relying on food quality and hoping that I like what they decide to offer. Maybe it'll work, but I'd rather they didn't do this.

I've found that, on all the cruise lines I've used (including Princess), they've been accurate about when they get to port, when they're cleared for passengers to disembark, and if there's a delay or cancellation, they've always relayed that information in a timely fashion. Moving specifically to Princess, I've found the port times announced is usually when they arrive; it can take 15-30 minutes to get the clearance to get off. Onboard times have been universally half an hour before departure time for docked ports. Because of these items, you'll be in port for less time than you think. A couple of things... some ship excursions in some ports meet prior to docking or tendering and get off the ship before the official "all clear". And for tenders (not ports with docks), higher status passengers can choose a tender that leaves earlier. I hope this information was of help to you.

I sent an e-mail to StarVista Live's customer service, and it's official - no UDC for 2024. ☹️ I wonder about the factors that caused this decision. I wonder if there will be a replacement that I can pledge my loyalty to instead. I wonder what that replacement, if any, will be about. I wonder what they will sell at the future cruise booth. In better news, the online schedule and Celebrity booking number (so I can peruse the available excursions, among other things) are both scheduled to be released late this month.

(scribble, scribble, scribble). Making a note of this for future reference. The Journey view didn't work for me at all on my last Princess cruise on the Majestic in April. What you've said will help me on my next Princess cruise in three months. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing. Their response to you was generic corporate gobbledygook. At least they didn't deny what they're apparently doing. I have a trip on the Summit in about 7 weeks. I expect a well-stocked buffet, because 1) the charter company I assume paid for it months or years ago, and 2) the crowd I'm sailing with demands and deserves such. If this is not provided, I'll fire off an email to LLP. Otherwise, I'll hold my fire and let others fight this fight.

I've used the cell phone and my cell service from the cabin while in port many times, so I'm pretty sure this is untrue. It does give me a chance to use a couple of phrases that seem applicable - one recent and trendy ("fake news") and one old and dusty ("old wives' tale"),

The UDC made a couple of announcements while my back was turned. First, they announced that France Joli couldn't make it, but they would be replaced by The Ritchie Family. Neither of them move the needle for me. Second, they announced the theme nights for this cruise. I'll quote their rep, who posted this in their FB page: You’ve been asking...so we’re delivering! See below for the theme nights on The 2023 Ultimate Disco Cruise! We can’t wait to see all your incredible outfits! Sunday the 26th - Sequins and Silks -- Time to Dress To Impress! Go overboard on your authentic 1970s fashion and style – grab the sequins, press the silks and don’t forget those killer stilettos! Monday the 27th - Saturday Night Fever: It’s a Monday on the calendar but its Saturday Night Fever onboard the Celebrity Summit! Tuesday the 28th - Caribbean Queen Night: Get out of my dreams, get onto the dance floor! Billy Ocean is in the Main Theater this night so let’s celebrate his calypso background with Caribbean attire with Disco flair. Wednesday the 1st – White Night: A simple concept with a big impact… we hope to see you in ALL white attire from head to toe as we close out our celebration of the disco era. Let's see... Caribbean Night should be easy, and now we know when and where Billy will be performing. White Night is doable (especially if you accept khaki as white; true white pants have been scarce in Michigan since 1980), but the principle offends me. SNF & S&S are challenging; looks like I'll have to skip those. Sorry guys!

It sounds nonsensical, but on Princess I think you can do it. Those medallions have at least one good use. 😁

I'm not sure I completely buy this, but it is something to consider. Thank you.

Thank you for reaching out and sharing this. I struggle to see how shutting down most of the buffet improves things for guests, but I have faith the folks at the top will figure it out in short order.

This is the best news I've seen so far in this thread, IMHO. My next cruise is on the Summit in about 7 weeks. It's a charter, and I imagine the OVC there would be busier than your average cruise.

The good news from The 80s Cruise is they got Lou Gramm for the cruise. I thought he was the better half of Foreigner and his solo stuff wasn't half bad. It will definitely be a show worth seeing. "Down On Love" is my favorite Foreigner song; I give Mr. Gramm less than a 5% chance of playing it here.

I'm sorry to hear about your issues and how they've affected your desired travel. I hope for better days for you and your mom. 🙏

I'm still willing to book if I see something I like, but I'm not actively looking for anything right now. I have a couple of charter cruises coming up in the next two months that are more or less paid for. If I like what they're offering when they book for the next edition. like a fool I'll be waiting in their future cruise booth with my credit card in hand.

Interesting question. I hope things don't spin out of control. I haven't read any of the responses on purpose. There are two groups of cruises I book on Celebrity: 1) Charters that chose a Celebrity ship, and 2) Regular bookings where I choose Celebrity On the first, the answer is obvious - when the charter I choose stops choosing Celebrity, I will have no choice but to stop cruising with Celebrity. The charter sailing and its theme is much more important to me than the company name on the bow. The answer to the second is much more complicated. To express it as simply as I can, I will abandon Celebrity as a cruise line when I perceive the value they would give me is less than the amount that they want for their cruises. The factors I think are important in my cruising varies over time, so I won't slam the door on Celebrity (or any cruise line) without a lot of consideration.

I'll be on the Ruby in April, solo (like all my trips so far). Your experience is likely to be instructive to me, or at least entertaining. 😃 So kindly report back! Please and thank you!! I've been on Princess twice. I don't have a lot to say about it. It's a good cruise line. The crew are friendly and work hard. The Medallion and the App are nice - when they work. There's a dedicated solo cruisers forum at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/279-solo-cruisers/ . About solo cruising, the one thing I'll say now is you need to decide how much contact you want with other people. Because there will be other people around nearly everywhere, it seems. But if you want to avoid crowds, there will be places where you can do that. Good luck and have fun on your cruise!

Continental breakfast is still free and there's still no charge for suites. For everyone else, it seems there is (or will be soon) a $9.95 charge + 18% gratuity for RS. This was discussed ad nauseam in this thread:

I defer to others about Carnival but sister line Princess has a Mexican Riviera cruise that's billed as a "Total Solar Eclipse" cruise. It currently shows as sold out. ☹️ The actuaries say I'm about 50-50 to be around for that eclipse.

Small tip - the NCL site won't show their solo studio cabin prices unless you're looking as one guest (it defaults to two).

This isn't in reply to anyone's question, they're just notes about my tendering experiences... I've tendered into Grand Cayman, Princess Cays, Belize, Cabo San Lucas, and Kona. The longest by far was into Belize; that one took about 20 minutes. The others were about 5-10 minutes. Tendering has given me an appreciation for docks and the stability of much bigger cruise ships.

This isn't what I want out of the OVC