rj59

They've been steadily diminishing over the past decade or so. When I started on HAL, they had an all-you-can-eat lobster feast on formal nights in the buffet, now you can't even get free lobster on board. Then they decided to go for corporate partnerships, and got rid of singers/dancers, because they cost too much and only performed a few times per cruise. They signed up for any corporate partnership who would give them money, which resulted in banal sameness for every music venue--same program, every ship, every cruise. Then steady food cutbacks, like smaller portions, one lunch menu, cutting out cold soups, making creme brûlée a secret request item, taking out the nice snacks at the coffee shop (I used to sweet-talk the baristas into saving me chocolate-covered strawberries every evening). It's like airlines, though, in the relentless push to be profitable they raise revenue by any means and cut costs. For new cruisers, it probably all seems great, and that seems to be the hugest market, as well as younger people and families. Those of us who have been on HAL longer feel the cutbacks more, just as those who have been flying for 30 years remember blankets and pillows and free luggage, seat selection, and meals on most flights. Personally, I switched from HAL loyalty 5 or so years ago for Princess, but now they've made cutbacks and increased fares, while HAL has introduced a solo-friendly standby program, so I'm back to HAL. Being stressed by overfull ships has also made the smaller, quieter HAL ships more appealing now, whereas before they were just too boring. I'm really looking forward to non-corporate entertainment, too.

Do you not have enough money for a taxi from your hotel to the ship? Why would you add hours to getting on the ship and huge hassles of loading luggage and people on a bus? They also don't let buses go until they have enough people to fill one, so you might be sitting in the airport waiting for flights to arrive, instead of being on the ship. If you want an even more pleasant time, stay in Haarlem the night before your cruise, which is a lot cheaper and less crowded than Amsterdam and has a lovely downtown. It's also closer to the cruise port than Amsterdam or the airport. When I took a Rick Steves tour, we stayed in Haarlem and just took the train to Amsterdam, which was cheap and easy.

Once they assign a room they usually send you upgrade offers. If you don't like your cabin, you can also call them and see what they can offer, or try it when you board. The problem is that most lines have paid upgrade or bid to upgrade programs now, so they don't have an incentive to upgrade you right away, if they can make money out of it. That's especially true with full ships now--I was on Koningsdam in January and they had a sign at the front desk saying 'we're full, no upgrades'.

Just enjoy a day in Vancouver and catch the evening train to Seattle. I booked the San Diego-Vancouver leg and they sent me a notice specifically saying I couldn't continue on to Seattle. From what others told me on Eurodam when I left Vancouver last fall, it was just full of partiers trying to scarf down as much booze and food as possible on their day on board.

It depends. I always travel solo, and get military and shareholder OBC, a minimum of $150, which has always covered gratuities. The only cruises I've seen that are comparable to standby are Pacific coastal ones, which I've done at least 20 of over the years, since they've usually been under $100/nt for a solo inside, and last fall I was on Eurodam for 4 nights at $220 or so. There are also some Zaandam to Alaska for decent solo prices--I'm going at the end of May for $750, with $200 OBC, or could go standby for $350 and and no OBC, so gratuities wouldn't be added on. I'm going standby on Noordam for 5 nights on April 30, already paid for Zaandam before standby for Alaska was announced, so I like having certainty for that cruise, but that also leaves all summer open for other standby attempts, since I live between Vancouver and Seattle and am retired. It creates interesting problems, though, since normal fares for Westerdam/Eurodam from Seattle are sky-high and will be full of kids, as will Koningsdam, but Zaandam has the lowest fares, meaning lowest demand, but also only 1400 passenger spaces. So I'm trying to gamble and guess on which ship and time to go, whether I want to repeat Zaandam and have smaller crowds and Glacier Bay and inside passage, or try bigger ships with potentially a higher chance of someone canceling.

In my experience, you might not want to check in too early. The problem is that once you go through security and customs, the waiting areas for boarding are quite small and limited, so every time in the past when I checked in before 11:30 boarding time, they made everyone sit in rows shoulder-to-shoulder, close to the people opposite you, with luggage cluttering everything, so it was uncomfortable. I'm not sure if they changed that post-covid. If you're 4-star or higher or in a suite, I think you get a different waiting area. there are lovely outdoor spots next to Canada place with views of the bay, and the "Flight over Canada" flying simulator on top of Canada Place cruise terminal is enjoyable. There's also a big food court across the street, with a Tim Horton's and lots of ethnic fast food and wifi, so a nice place to hang out.

That's weird, I applied in Stockperks and was denied. It said it was a promotional fare not eligible for stockholder OBC. The same thing happened on Carnival several years ago, when they started randomly denying stockholder OBC, since the CCL shareholder page says anyone sailing at a 'reduced rate' fare isn't eligible. I think I got denied once, which made me cancel some cruises, so they evidently figured out angering loyal shareholders isn't a bad idea

HAL is the worst ship for entertainment, because they don't have any production shows at all, just a few dance shows. Their food is good, far above NCL, although they followed their cost-cutting measure of having a single lunch menu in the dining room for sea days. They also got rid of on-board lecturers in favor of corporate TED talks, where the cruise director reads a script from a teleprompter. If you want decent entertainment, good food, and a huge number of guest lectures, try out Cunard. They have an older crowd, like HAL, the only one with a strict dress code on formal nights, but they usually have 2 different lecturers on board. They have things like dance classes, a fancy afternoon tea, a really excellent pub, and a 2-story library with thousands of books, which no other line has now. Their ships are very similar to HAL ships, so when I went on it I mostly knew where everything was. They have pretty good 10-night Alaska itineraries, some out of Florida, and of course their classic ocean liner between England and NY on the Queen Mary 2.

August starts to get rainy. April and October will be very rainy and cold, so mountain activities will be difficult. All ships in Alaska have kids now during the summer, with huge demand, especially out of Seattle. The best option to avoid kids and crowded ships and get more glacier and port times is to do a north-south cruise. I recommend leaving out of Whittier in Alaska, because it visits the majestic Hubbard Glacier, as well as Glacier Bay. Alternately, I'd recommend Zaandam out of Vancouver, which has a max of 1400 passengers so probably fewer families and smaller crowds and better viewing of wildlife and glaciers. Weather is changeable in Alaska, so it can rain for a week and then be warm and sunny. Personally, I'd just tour on my own in Alaska for several days, and then catch a cruise back to Vancouver from there.

Last dry dock was October 2019--I was on the first sailing after it, which went from Vancouver to Australia. I remember the new TV in my room didn't work and I didn't have hot water the entire time until I got off in Hawaii. It also had to spend an hour or so doing circles outside Vancouver, to get its gyrocompass or something synchronized.

They use tokens, except for Discovery, where it's free all the time. After restart, Majestic just left bins of tokens out, because they didn't want to keep stocking token machines. If you're Elite, you can ask the front desk for tokens for free, and keep them for future cruises.

I bought one on HAL, marked down after the Alaska season. It's a complete gimmick, because neither side is warm enough, with just a coating of fleece and then nylon on the other side, and it's not the same material across the coat on either side, so it feels uncomfortable and has no waterproofing. So definitely try on board before buying, and don't get seduced by the urge to buy or brand loyalty, since there are probably better options. You would get hypothermia in half an hour standing in Glacier Bay in such a coat--I use thermal jackets or fleece under a good raincoat.

I think most lines are having an identity crisis, but that's to do with changing generations and the surge in cruising demand, people just want to go on any ship, anywhere. Lines are also getting aggressive about reducing debt and expenses, to justify their very high stock prices now. I've done mostly HAL and Princess, which are getting more young people, more families, more diverse crowds, and the old-timers hate it, and want Tradition upheld (they get really upset when people aren't forced to dress up for Senior Prom nights). I did Solstice in Alaska, and several times out of LA, and really loved the vibe and layout and art, although it felt sometimes just like every other cruise line, albeit more aggressive about drinks pricing, pushing packages and upgrades, and begging for good reviews, but I learned to adjust (no I'm not going to order a $5 latte if you're going to give me a package pitch too). Then I tried Apex in March, and it felt very upscale, and even the large number of teens felt reasonably well-behaved, even the boys I spotted climbing all over railings in the Retreat (I wish my parents were that generous). I thought, cool, upscale, younger line, edgy ships (pun intended), great shows and theaters, and then I booked Reflection and it was...same old thing, emphasis on old. Full ship, bickering couples (I even heard 'if you want a divorce I'll give you one!' shouted in the buffet), complaining, sea of white hair boogying at atrium parties. Maybe fewer carts and sticks and walkers than on Princess or HAL, but still very old, but also with redneck partiers and remarkable acts of rudeness, like people screaming and laughing and chatting over a captain's speech at the loyalty reception, and an entitled Karen refusing to go to the end of a line at embarkation when getting off an elevator. So I think part of it is full ships, older ships, Florida demographics, and more strained service, cutbacks, as well as some shows getting repetitive on the older ships, as well as MDR and buffet food getting underwhelming and overfamiliar and buffets getting scaled back at dinner. I loved Celebrity after restart, especially sailing out of LA on Solstice with under 1000 people and getting a solo inside for $300 or so, sometimes with all-included, so I put down deposits on 7 or so cruises. But after Reflection and reflecting, it just doesn't seem right for me, as a predominantly West Coast cruiser, especially with the really egregious discriminatory pricing for solos (I thought of Edge going from Hawaii in May for $550 pp for 9 days or so, but it was $2400 for a solo...really?). I'm really grateful to X for getting me to buy RCL at $40, though.

Most ships from Seattle go the outside passage either because of ship size, but also to make ports more quickly, especially the final-evening Victoria stop. They also probably need to have a pilot on board for the inside passage. This one is a scenery-intensive cruise, so inside passage both ways make sense. One benefit of the outside passage is that I've seen dozens of humpbach whales near the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca--I also pick up a US cell signal most of the way along the WA coast.

Celebrity and Royal post menus before the cruise. You don't see on HAL or Princess until you're on board, and usually day by day. You can look at this as a positive, because it allows for flexibility and pleasant surprises, like maybe trying a new item, bringing back an old one, or the locally-themed dishes--I was impressed by the Mexican and Alaska regional items. I found they also started a daily breakfast special, like a tempura chicken and waffle that was splendid.