Hooked on travel

I'm just saying-----

I love to see a man dressed up on formal nights. My husband alway wore a tux or a white dinner jacket (especially in the tropics) on formal nights. He also brought along a dark suit. He looked wonderful. He is gone now, but I have the memory of wonderful formal nights. It is sad to see a woman dressed beautifully with her mate looking like a mug. If you don't want the expenditure of formal wear, you can rent an outfit from the ship or bring a dark suit and you will be fine. Dressing down doesn't have to be the norm. I will continue to dress up for the occasion. The worst thing I've seen on formal night was one time when a man in the dining room wore his baseball cap and it was on backward. Maybe really cool, but so inappropriate. Of course there is always the option of eating at the Lido if dressing up is too much trouble. Just one person's opinion.

Hooked on travel

To Homelover,

I remember the golden globes on HAL and have one, and two pairs of earrings. The way I remember it, is they never came with diamonds, but you could have a diamond or colored gemstone put onto your globe showing where you have been. They are still available on the longer cruises. They had them available on the Transatlantic cruise I took last year from Venice to Ft. Lauderdale.

Best regards,

Hooked on Travel

My first cruise was a traditional jazz cruise in 1984 on the Carnival Tropicale. I have been on almost 60 cruises with Carnival, HAL, Princess, CelebrityRoyal Caribbean, Norwegian, Comodore, Marco Polo, Regent et al. I wish to share some observations, and despite changes, I still love to cruise.

Things that I no longer see: 7 oz. lobster tails offered at least one night for dinner in the regular dining room. On HAL, lobster tails were no longer on the Pinnacle menu when I cruised to Alaska on June 22, 2014. Caviar is seldom served unless one pays a premium. Comment cards have been replaced on some lines with an email. I like to give my opinion, so missed not being able to do so following my last cruise in June. My cabin mate did get one, but I'm still waiting a response to my request. On HAL, things of the past seem to include the very unflattering Dutch caps supplied for Dutch night, (no loss there); the search for Mr. and/or Mrs. (for example) Rotterdam (or whatever dam ship one was on) awarded to the party discovering the correct identity (that was always fun); documents in a very nice folder; smoking wherever Yay! (I will be glad when Hal ships are totally smoke free); motion of the ocean due to very efficient stabilizers. Yay for most passengers, but since I never suffered from seasickness, I miss that nice rolling feeling of being on a ship; Midnight buffets every night. (I often went just to look, but ended up eating something because everything was so beautiful) They did have a chocolate extravaganza; I always enoyed both the Phillipino and Indonesian crew's shows, but was unaware of either being offered on the June cruise. Are they a thing of the past?; We had a fruit basket, flowers, chocolate on our pillows, towel animals, tote bags, chimes to announce dinner, ginger, dates etc. were offered as we left the dining room, we never had a shortage of towels (although I didnt use one for the pool, I did need them in the Ocean Spa; High Tea was available every afternoon, hot chocolate from room service was available every day; no horse race - that was always fun and perhaps it is offered on other cruises; In the past, I have often dined with the captain or other of the ship's officers in the past, but that didn't seem to happen to anyone on our June cruise. Perhaps another thing of the past. I believe many things have changed because of 1) our 9ll experience and 2) the Noro virus and/ or contagious health concerns. For example, we no longer have Bon Voyage parties, or serve yourself food;

As a passenger, if you are in a suite, you will receive menus everyday. If you are a repeat passenger with enough stars ( I believe 3 or more) you will receive a frameable picture of the ship. When I have been to the Chef's Dinner, I have enjoyed a gallery tour and received a lovely cook book at the conclusion of the dinner. Every one should go at least once; On an Alaskan trip, cold towels, lemonade and cold water were not really missed and they were not offered, but on my earlier warm weather cruise, they were offered every time we were in port. A very nice and welcome touch. Recently, on formal nights I have sadly observed very few men in tuxedos, white dinner jackets or even dark suites with ties. It is very dismaying to see a women dressed up appropriately with a man who is dressed like a mug. I think it is insulting to the passengers who know what is expected. (We were not in the tropics) In the dining room, I observd 2 men at one table wearing caps, one of which was turned around, bill in back. There were others wearing caps on formal nights. I understand that everyone does not want to dress up. That having been said, why don't they go to the Lido for dinner? I am not a fan of anytime dining. I like to sit at the same table every night and get acquainted with my wait staff, wine steward and others who're there tohelp me. Because I have a choice, I am not complaining that it is offered for those who prefer it.

I was unaware, that various liquors are no longer available for one's ice-cream.

On my first cruise (a Carnival ship), we had a bidet. Quite a luxury. I'm sure they are no longer available. My last major observation has to do with bringing liquour aboard. On my last cruise, I brought my allotment of wine on board. I believe one bottle for a 14 day or longer cruise is not very realistic. I always purchase a wine package no matter what I am allowed to bring on board, so I am little puzzled as to why cruise ships have adopted this new policy. I'm sure they have a rational reason. I just wish I knew what it was.

Well, I have supplied a few rants, but also some raves. While I do remember a fellow passenger who was so busy talking about where he had been and where he planned to go in the future, he seemed to be missing out on the enjoyment of where he was at the moment. I will continue to cruise and I believe a person pretty much brings their own good time with them and that is my plan.

Does anyone know anything about the "Ocean Princess"? I sailed on her 08/15/1992 to 08/22/1992. The ship went to Europe and Scandanavia. I don't think she was associated with the "Princess" line, but don't know for sure.

I also sailed on the M.V.Star Dancer (06/1988 - 06/1988) to Alaska. Our itinerary included Vancouver, Juneau, Skagway, Haines (the indian BBQ produced the best salmon I have ever tasted), Ketchikan, Tracy Arms glaciers, Misty Fjords, and back to Vancouver. This cruise was a jazz cruise featuring two traditional jazz bands . The High Sierra (still going strong) and The Fulton Street (also still playing with some personnel changes). What a great time on a great ship. Very interesting history followed.