sun~

Did you mean $700 for all four of you?

$700 per person is unreal. When we took our Liberty cruise from San Juan last year, it was $550 CDN per person from Toronto, and that was cheaper than Buffalo or Detroit. Was Air Canada the cheapest flight from Ottawa?

 

I know Ottawa has weird connecting flights to anywhere, so Montreal would have been a better choice. Return flights from Montreal to San Juan this March break, even booking it this late, are selling for around $750 per person CDN right now.

Similar timed flights from Burlington are actually more expensive. Add in the extra driving, hotel nights, it increases the cost.

 

I guess you just have to shop around for the best options available to you at the time.

It was on the Thursday or Friday before March break. The only flight to San Juan from Ottawa was on AC, not direct, probably through YYZ, and it was $1000 pp taxes in. For $300pp on a crappy airline, plus one night hotel in Burlington (free on points) we drove. $2800 is a lot of money to save.

We are very frequent flyers (Hubby is a road warrior), so I know how to get the best deals. Sometimes it is cheaper to fly from Canada, sometimes it isn't. We were in Florida in November and in January, both times it was cheaper to fly from YOW than Syracuse or anywhere else within a three hour drive. Aeroplan just plain sucks for booking flights for southern destinations.

Believe me, if there is a deal to be had, I find it.

We don't travel at March break anymore, my youngest is in university. :D

From Ottawa we have driven to NYC and parked at the pier. It is a 7.5 hour drive from here.

It wasn't really the cost savings, but all the hassle at the airport.

You have to arrive early to hurry up and wait. Customs, security, then cabbing it from the bus station that is La Guardia,. The time savings is minimal.

I would not drive to anything further than Baltimore. Too much "togetherness" for my liking. Then again, I have boys.

Driving down wouldn't be bad, but driving back would seem like forever.

We did two March break cruises from NYC, they were awesome! One March break cruise, we went from Burlington Vermont to San Juan. We saved $700 per person over an air Canada flight. That's a lot of cash for a family of four.

Beef Wellington in the MDR. We had it on the Conquest on the Jan. 9-17th cruise. It was excellent. Our group of four had it, all were really impressed.

Hubby and I normally never eat in the MDR anymore, on any ship. We did this time as we were travelling with friends. We still did the Chef's table, and the Point Steakhouse twice.

On the January 17th sailing, boarding was delayed.

We got to the terminal at about 10:45 (we walked over from the Carnival Conquest) and it took us til 1pm to get on the ship.

We were told it was a customs delay. The NA apparently didn't have everyone off til later.

As a side note, there were 4 or 5 customs officers at the terminal for the Conquest, the lines moved very fast. From what I was told, there was only 2 customs officers for the NA, which slowed things up.

When we got off on the 24th, there were 4 customs officers for the NA. The line moved quickly.

Everything has to be in place for boarding to happen early.

I think Regal and Royal charge more because they made the area "special" for Chef's table. I would like to do it when we do Royal for the first time next year.

 

It's true that normal chef's table is in the MDR on Princess but it's a wonderful experience. My husband and I have done it twice and it has been a special part of our cruising experience. I highly recommend it. It's not for everyone though. Some people don't want to spend the money, but I think it's worth it. I do however find it's too much food. I love the galley tour, the appetizers in the galley have always been phenomenal, the one on one feel of the dinner with the Executive Chef is amazing. Everyone there is excited to be there, it's like the perfect table mates at a gathering. It's wonderful. By the time the first course comes I'm full and I struggle to eat the meat portion, which is still delicious. I love the experience it and I would do it whenever it was available to me.

Anything less than $300 per person for a chef's table tasting menu is cheap in my books. The restaurants in my area that do this special meal charge big $$. Mind you, there is usually a real sommelier who pairs the wines as well.

It sounds like the portions are large. If we do go, we will have to pace ourselves 😉

Thanks for the info!

For some reason, I think you may want to stick with Carnival. Princess is not a "fun" ship, rather a laid back, relaxing cruise line. You will definitely not find magicians or dancing waiters on Princess.

As an FYI, I have been on Princess in the past. I am well aware of the vibe.

Also as an FYI, I have cruised on five different cruise lines and have far more cruises under my belt than you.

No need to give silly remarks to a genuine question.

Thank you for your review.

Sorry that your Blues Cruise wasn't as good this year as in previous years -- food and ship wise.

Most of the ships have changed to all pre-made sandwiches -- which I don't like. No longer is there anyone to make a sandwich of your choice.

We noticed on our last cruise that the salad bar has cut back on item choices.

Actually the food and ship condition really aren't much different, sadly. The hours were not compatible with our charter cruise. Who the heck wants chicken legs every freakin' day! It became a joke :rolleyes:

It is too bad about the Noro Virus. I do hope this week is better and all are healthy on board.

We did 2 (3 years ago) on Carnival and have done 7 on Princess.

The service/food/atmosphere were excellent and I think both are comparable and similar.

Remember food is very subjective. What we like the next won't.

 

There were no magicians and I don't need that kind of entertainment at a lavish dinner.

The magician was absolutely fantastic! It made the evening moe special. The fellow did slight of hand, so just a perfect short break for a long meal. There was a great group, all foodies, several had done many chef's tables on several cruise lines. One fellow said that night was the best ever.

That is one of the reasons that I want to know how different it will be on the CB.

I got off the Nieuw Amsterdam on Sunday.

Just a few notes.

Noro reared it's ugly head on or about Friday. It looks like about 60 people on the LRBC facebook page got hit, so no telling what is the full number. I have a suspicion that folks picked it up in Tortola. There were hundreds of us blues cruisers at Cane Garden Bay at Myette's. Others thought it may have been the lobster in the MDR. Either way, it wasn't a healthy ship Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning. It will be interesting to see how this week's cruise went. Hopefully healthy!

The food was awful. Loads of folks complained. I have no idea why there was only an endless supply of chicken legs. Weird.

I think there was a new food and beverage manager, one for certain who has never done a charter cruise. They made silly decisions. Like stop breakfast at 10:30am...folks on the blues cruise only get up after that! After the first day, it was resolved to have breakfast til 3pm. However, they closed the cafeteria after that, only bagged sandwiches and limited salad bar was available. Terrible. Folks on this charter eat lunch at around 4. HAL has done loads of blues cruises, experienced F & B folks know to time shift. This person didn't. Awful. So many complaints about the chicken legs....sigh...

When a show would finish at say 3:30, the only options were to have a 45 minute wait (or more) for a dive in burger (huge line ups), hard as rock pizza or room service. Room service was overwhelmed. Not good.

Yep, toilets broken again. The whole starboard aft on deck 8 broken right from day 1. Sigh...this is the third year in a row. After speaking with about seven other folks from cabins around us, I thought I am not calling maintenance (they all did), I went to the front desk.

Apparently an officer or two came up to smell the lovely stench of sewage that hangs around the aft section. More folks in the beige outfits working away at fixing the problem. What is up with this section of the ship. After the "fix" our toilets only malfunctioned a couple of times afterwards.

The retractable roof. Last year it was broken. Oh my. It was supposed to have been fixed in dry dock.

The first sea day (day 3), it was hot and sunny. I asked why isn't the roof open. I was told 1. It might rain 2. It might be windy 3. It's broken!

Poor woman at the front desk when I asked what's up. Did it get fixed in dry dock or not? Magically, 10 minutes later, the roof was open. ***? Sigh...

HAL really dropped the ball on this LRBC. They only answer we were getting is "that next year it will be the brand new ship!". We all paid thousands of dollars to be there. At the very least we expect a functioning ship and food service to meet our needs. From what I gather, we are the most profitable ship that HAL sails.

I love the LRBC charters. The line up was awesome. Seeing lots of friends is fantastic. The weather was good.

I am still on the fence about 2017, I have pre-booked. I want to see what sort of reviews the new ship gets when it has been in operation for a few months. Hopefully it has functioning everything and no chicken legs!!! :D

Its as good if not better.

Yes they will work with you on food issues.

No special DR except on the Royal/Regal where a special place designed when the ships were built.

1 cookbook per couple.

When you were at a Carnival's Chef's table, what was the difference between that experience and the Chef's Table on Princess?

Right off the bat, the one on the Conquest was in a lovely, private dining room. There was magician that came in to entertain us for a while, that was really fun.

I am sure I can give away the cookbook to someone :)

Thanks

We were on the Carnival Conquest from Jan 9 -17th. We attended the Chef's Table dinner and it was absolutely top notch. Free flowing wine, beautifully prepared food, tremendous service. All was amazing.

How does it compare to the Princess Chef's Table? If I mention that I have severe food allergies, will I get turned down? On the Carnival menu, there was one item that I couldn't have, and they modified the dish. The head chef was very accommodating.

Is it in a special dining room on the Caribbean Princess?

Do you get one cookbook per person or per couple. I personally don't want one at all, I don't cook by recipe, so it is a waste for me.

Any tips?

Thanks!!

I think change is coming on HAL. About time.

I just got off the NA on Sunday on the LRBC charter.

I was very upset that the few smokers onboard were not respectful of the majority. It only took 5 or 6 numbskulls to pollute the air at the pool deck. The smokers were supposed to stay on the port side of the pool deck. Some jerks smoked on the starboard side. Please bear in mind, during this cruise, the pool is covered over and becomes a dance floor. So there can easily be 1000 people (or more) out there for a show.

The disrespectful smokers upset dozens of people around them. Sadly, the president of the charter did nothing.

I spoke to a senior officer (Dutch, tall, salt & pepper hair, beard, late 50's, I don't recall his name), complaining about the lack if enforcement.

He told me it was up to the charter. However, the balcony smoking is HAL's policy.

I told him that I was upset that HAL still allows smoking on the balconies. He told me, without a doubt, that this will end. It will not be allowed on the Kongindam. He was pretty darn sure.

For those with upcoming cruises, ask a senior officer. Looks like there will be changes. Yay!

I got off the NA on Sunday.

I couldn't get near the bar at the Crow's Nest, so I don't know who the bartenders where. I didn't go into the Neptune lounge.

I was on a chartered cruise, so there were some who had been there a few times! I just could see who was working the crow's nest.

I always take our regular Bubba mugs on every cruise. As an FYI for those who are unclear of this product, Bubba is a brand name. They make many differnent sizes and types. The regular one is a mug that will fit in a cup holder in your car.

I fill ice in a glass, then pour it in my mug. The same can be done with water, or a drink from the bar. They work great!

Will be watching for you.

Have a fabulous cruise.

Thanks!

I hope the rain clears up for the sail away!

Our gang of Canadians will be out on deck for the sail away on the LRBC. I brought a large Canadian flag to wave! We always wave to the folks in the condos and on the beach.

Looking forward to the Blues cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam :D

I am on the Conquest right now.

There is no kiddie pool.

The two pools mid ship have families around them. The pool by the water slide is deep. Too deep for small children. Parents absolutely must be with them. Most kids had water wing type things on, even then they must be in with their parents.

The main pool does have some tipsy people in it, just like any other ship. So do the other two pools.

It has been a wonderful week! Great weather, fabulous crew and staff. You will have. Blast!

I have been wondering that too! We are going on the Carnival Conquest, then the Nieuw Amsterdam. I have looked at the satellite map. It looks walkable, but it will be through service areas.

You definitely don't want to stay in a hotel that rents by the hour....unless you are looking to make some money ;):eek:

I so need your advice. I am definitely not a cruise gal, but have regretted many times not having gone on the Lrbc due to the lineup, or having had great last minute cabin deals like this Oct where I missed the last concert of Alan Toussaint. I have a cabin offer for this January and have today to decide.

 

I know the music is amazing but not sure of the people, the cruise life, needing sleep, would you recommend it to someone who never wanted to go on a cruise but loves blues?

Did you get the cabin? I hope so!

There is a fairly broad cross section of people. Some will only listen to acoustic blues, some just go to jam, others want to see absolutely everything! I was never a huge KWS fan, but after seeing him on a couple of cruises, I am a big fan now. He was awesome jamming. There are always a couple of surprises. Mr. Sipp was definitely in that category.

If you didn't get the cabin, keep your eyes open on the FB group. They get grabbed up pretty quick. If you are able to get on, just let me know. I will be happy to introduce you to lots of folks. We have a get together about 3pm on the first day by the lido pool.

Sheila from Ottawa

Thanks for your reply. Doesn't sound too promising. I couldn't agree more regard the shows but I was hoping for something to help with verbal presentations. Also, do you have any idea if the device works in the movie theater? Or any other place on board? I've asked HAL's personnel these questions and as one would expect, they can't give a straight answer.

 

Al

I wasn't offered anything anything else. Please also bear in mind, I only do full charters on HAL, the LRBC charter, so the movie theater is not in operation. When I attended music workshops, I sit at the front so I can see and hear what is being said.

They aren't very helpful on HAL. They just seemed keen to set up the silly phone device and the uber annoying vibration puck under the pillow. I now don't bother with the devices. When we get room service, hubby is on alert to hear the door. If I know friends are dropping by I leave the cabin door open. The door light was really handy on NCL. I will check onboard the NA thus January. Only when you are onboard will you really find out what equipment is available. Just as at the front desk.

I have used the hearing assisted devices on HAL.

They are pretty useless. There is a device that is placed under the pillow for the door, which sucks, because everytime someone walks down the hall, it sets it off. They did not have a light that could be attached to a door unfortunately (they do on NCL). They hooked up the device for the telephone, which was really annoying. First of all, I am not using a phone in the cabin, ever. It is large and is too large for the night stand. Also, my hubby uses a cpap, and with only one plug, we had to choose. Cpap won.

I don't believe they gave me a pager for ship's emergencies, I did get one on NCL. However, regular announcements didn't show up on the pager, so pretty useless. I just had to ask folks what was said.

As for the shows, really who cares? They are lame and silly anyway.

The main thing that I would find helpful is the light for the door (which HAL doesn't seem to have on the NA anyway) and a pager for all anouncements (which HAL doesn't seem to have either).

I have posted more on this on the disabled board. There is a bit more info there.

I have never had an issue with my epipen. Please remind your wife to carry Benadryl on every purse. She should have been given two epipens, remember to keep one with you at all times.

Thank you both! The smoking is a great point; we were very worried about that with our balcony on the Noordam (we were fortunate it wasn't an issue, but it was a stress leading up).

 

Sun~, thanks for your experienced perspective! My folks put deposits down on three cabins for both cruises before they got off the cruse last week :) so apparently had a fabulous time. They'll cancel one once we decide. That's very interesting to hear about the lines of sight on HAL. They had no complaints, but would have nothing to compare it with. A reassuring thing for me about this thread is that it looks like we'll have a great cruise either way-so if my parents pick one or the other due to music line up, we will have a great time.

I am sure your folks told you that a week on the LRBC is 3x the cost of a snooze cruise. So I imagine you want to be really sure!

Through anything about ports out the window. The are irrelevant on the blues cruise. You will find there are three port days only, always. At least one will be a concert on and, sometimes two days. Many folks don't get off the ship on the non music day to sleep.

The music starts st noon and goes on til about 7am. Lots of red bull and other stimulants are consumed. It is definitely all night party time on the January cruise. Things wind down about 3 or 4am on the October cruise.

There is no dress code, no formal nights. The only thing the ask on the ship is that clothing of some description is worn in the dining room.

There is no comparison to a regular week. Aside from it being on a ship. The crew loves it, the work their butts off all week, but from what I have witnessed the vast majority of blues cruisers are very generous.

I would look at whether you want the October cruise line up or the January cruise line up. For us, it is getting away in January. You can also check out the website for info, and FB.

My parents just got back from the Blues Cruise (my mom's second cruise, my dad's first) and had such an amazing time they put deposits down on the next two cruises and have offered to pay for our cabin to come along. While I'm not the Blues fan that they are, I'm of course thrilled at the opportunity; just need your help deciding which trip to choose. They don't care much about ship or ports (within reason) as they are more focused on the line up. My husband, sister, and I are both more interested in ports.

 

Details:

One cruise leaves October 29 from Puerto Rico on the Summit. I've never been to Puerto Rico and so that's appealing, plus the ports (Guadeloupe, Barbados, Dominica, and Grenada are almost all new to me; I've only been to Dominica and really liked it). However, I see some reviews that say the Summit is looking a little worn. October 29th, day of departure, is actually my husband's 50th birthday! Would we still need to worry about hurricanes that late in the fall?

 

The second cruise is on HAL's new Koningsdam out of Ft. Lauderdale in January, 2017. My only cruise has been an 11 night Southern Caribbean on the Noordam and I really liked HAL-of course, I don't have anything to compare it to. The ship sounds fabulous, though of course no reviews yet, but the itinerary is less interesting: Ft Lauderdale itself, then DR, St. John, and St. Maarten. I've been to the latter two ports; loved St. Maarten but not so much about USVI. Anyone know if you get Mariner credit sailing on a chartered cruise?

 

Our group: 5 or 6 people, depending on whether my sister brings someone. One couple in their 70s that are very active, 2 women and a man in their 40's. All love really good food, so that's important to us, and wine (the wine selection on HAL wasn't fabulous but we had a good experience with the food. Experienced travelers and more likely to wander around on our own or book private excursions than do ship excursions. In port, we like snorkeling or swimming or nature excursions. My husband and sister have not cruised before.

 

So, which would you choose and why? Thanks, as always, for your help feeding my trip planning addiction!

I am a blues cruiser as well. Next up, the NA in January.

For the music aspect, it would be the Summit hands down. The sight lines on HAL suck. It is always awkward on the pool deck. 2014 on the NCL Sun was about 1000xs better than the NA for venues. There was a blues cruise on the Constellation, and from what I heard, it was awesome on the pool deck.

The food and wine are pretty bad on HAL. Really bad management team. Considering the LRBC is their biggest moneymaker you would think they would treat us a bit better. I didn't do the Constellation LRBC, but the word was the food and wine selections were very good. The major downside was the security was overzealous. This was huge to Bluescruisers, since HAL lets us do anything. And I mean anything ;)

The Koningsdam will be mystery on how they will set up on the pool deck. It may be great or it could be a disaster with the configuration. Like most blues cruisers, I have zero expectation for the food and wine. From my discussions with the higher ups is that HAL is the absolute cheapest cost pp from any other cruise line, so hence the crappy food.

The vibe on the October cruise vs the January cruise is very different. The October cruise was very low key. January, there are mor of us northerners on board looking to seriously party in the middle of winter.

Put a deposit down, it is refundable until the line up is announced.

Also, one thing to remember, a blues cruise is NOT like a snooze cruise. So the comparisons really aren't valid at all.

Only last January did HAL offer the full mariner stuff, like mini bar discounts. Yes, we got mariner points. Enough people where mad that after spending many thousands of dollars did they finally let folks get some benefits.

Let me know if you have any mor questions. I have a little bit of experience :D