C 2 C

We were told by a bartender in Michael's Club (now the retreat), that with tips he makes $75k+ a year. Everyone pays what they can afford relative to their income and "residence" on board.

You are only 3 hrs away. When is your next batch?

In my next life I'm picking richer, more fortunate parents.

Another point of view posted on a Celebrity group on a site that no one follows: (😇) "Just got off the Equinox today, and WOW!! Absolutely fabulous time. I can’t believe I ever sailed on any other cruise line. The food was phenomenal, the service even better! Not too crazy about the entertainment but that’s ok, lots of other stuff to do. The ship was absolutely beautiful, and we’re sad to be back home!!"

If there were only one or two cruisers reporting a problem with the quality of food on a recent voyage they would most likely be attacked for whining, the traditional practice of shooting the messenger. When someone such as Anne, whose opinion I would trust above anyone else on these boards, I believe the problem is as described. The more cruisers reporting a negative experience, the sooner the problem will be fixed. We're m so confident in Celebrity's positive response to this issue, that we've booked a two month stay on a Celebrity ship this winter. So yes, I agree. The negativity is giving me positive vibes.

Longtime Celebrity cruisers my remember the ongoing discussions whenever a culinary specialist was dumped for the latest trend. I can't remember the names but there seems to be a culinary cycle of the good, the bad, the ugly. I remember ordering rum raisin ice cream for dessert and not finding a single raisin (the add on Baileys is my favourite ice cream combination). I remember ordering Minestrone soup without a single vegetable and the Assistant Maitre'd suggesting that someone must have ladled from the top... I used to order from the children's menu for the mini filet and tomato soup. I remember when the spa cafe provided wonderful made to order selections. I remember the cold soups, the flambe desserts... Witnessing the disappearance of our longtime favourites is painful. As inflation impacts the price of our favourites at home, we adjust our tastes. I think Cruiselines are cutting corners to recover from the financial disaster brought on by covid. I also believe that people venting here has a very positive impact on cruise line practices. Cruise lines are in business to make a profit but they can only do so by pleasing enough pax to return again and again.

Be prepared for some very cool weather.

What type of cabin did you have on the Beyond? We have cruised several times on the Edge and really disliked the cabin with an opening window. I also disliked the lack of a forward lounge. HAL is much more practical in the ship design of the Pinnacle class. We found the food on HAL to be better but the service was great on both lines. And the major question: what was the price differential?

Pick one of our port stops and we can wave at one another.

From our visit several years ago.

I'm sorry about this comment. The Solstice class has an amazing looking library. However many of the books are volume two or three of some obscure Sci Fi series. Half the books can't be reached without a ladder. M-class ships have a small nook that might have a few books. The new Edge class had a cart with pax swaps.

I just started to read the Celebrity board: " 487 April 7, 2017 Eagle, ID #1 Posted Monday at 06:30 PM just got a phone call from Celebrity…. Japan next spring has been canceled on Millenium. Rep told us Millennium won’t be in Japan at all?? So I guess that means a lot of cruises will be canceled. "

Have there been any local entertainers brought on board? We cruised around Japan a few??? years back and local entertainers were the highlight in every port.

Most likely the Celebrity ship will be Millennium (the one we sailed on); HAL might be Westerdam or similar. Millennium built 2000, 91,000 tonnes, 2170 pax Westerdam built 2004, 82,000 tonnes, 1964 pax. Very similar. Millennium Class is our favourite Celebrity ship design. Westerdam seemed a bit more cramped. Dress code or lack thereof is the same for both companies. You will not find a library worth it's name on any Celebrity ship.

I've cruised on both lines extensively, to Japan on Celebrity. The quality of the cruises is very close and I don't think you can go wrong with either one. You may have to compare the ships to make a decision. As MrCruiser stated, the theatre production shows on Celebrity are much better. The crew on both ships come from Indonesia and Philippines but beyond that, Celebrity has many eastern Europeans mixed in. Celebrity has many Greek Officers whereas HAL has many from the Netherlands. We liked the food better on HAL than on Celebrity and the service is exceptional on both lines. We have cruised on HAL 10x since September of last year and loved the HAL entertainment other than the shows. Compare the ship layout, the ports to be visited and the roll calls of the ships that you are comparing. Japan is an amazing experience.

I just had my "handle" changed. Our Rotterdam sailings are 2 - 21 day itineraries that are really 6 back to back cruises.

April 29 Zaandam and May 6 for 2nd week. Nov 3 to Dec 15 for Rotterdam

Zaandam B2B Montreal to Boston our 11th and 12th HAL cruise since last September. I'm celebrating a birthday and getting close to 300 days on HAL. We're also booked on Rotterdam for 6 weeks starting in November.

We're on the same cruise. This past January we left N Statendam with Pneumonia and my wife took 8 weeks to recover. In September I left the N Statendam and tested positive for covid when I arrived home 8 hrs later. Ships are great for relaxation but the bugs on board that infect us are just looking to spread the joy.

I just don't understand people who book a cruise so that they can eat ashore. If one does not like the food onboard, why not just drive to a port so that you can enjoy a donut or something more significant such as a lobster roll. What I do remember about bar harbor is the story about a tender running into an island in the fog. I like to see tours around or away from the city but then I'm not a foodie but enjoy unique landscapes. Cruise companies know that some cities don't want 1,000's of pax flooding a town but despite that they still offer destinations which they will cancel after final payment. Few people read the fine print but strangely continue to believe in the cruise brochures offering ports they wish to visit.