rj59

I just did a screen shot of my status, which was enough to match Princess Elite. So now I have $700 on my bar tab, plus $10 in daily coffee, and 9 days in Europe to use it by myself.

It's supply and demand and raising money for new ships, or to pay off pandemic debt, especially for main cruise lines. I was spoiled by dirt-cheap fares and low-occupancy ships after restart, but perhaps a recession or war would dampen cruising, or when the older generation of cruises passes on (which wouldn't impact Virgin so much). What I do, especially as a solo, is to monitor prices and look for deals, especially on cruiseplum, which has sections for hot deals, last-minute deals, and solo deals, which is where I found the incredible deal for the Barcelona-Rome 9-night cruise next October, that sold out rather quickly, evidently because it was the result of a ship delay and other cruises getting canceled. There are still relative deals for shorter cruises out of London before it goes to Barcelona. The one I'll be on is quite ideal, because I'm bored by the Caribbean, the other European trips for Virgin aren't terribly impressive, since partying in Ibiza isn't my thing, and I want the most time on board Virgin to appreciate it all.

If it's Royal, I hope they keep a smaller ship in SF, for variety. I think NCL Bliss is moving away from LA too, since I saw it on a European itinerary, so perhaps the Joy will replace it. I dislike the Konigsdam for HAL out of San Diego, too large and without a wraparound promenade, so I hope HAL will also shake things up with a smaller ship. I'm going to try the new Carnival Firenze out of Long Beach next December, which will also year-round Cabo and 4-night itineraries, which will make 3 Carnival ships and hopefully keep prices lower on the ones out of San Pedro. Celebrity is already giving up on Mexico, which is a shame, because most of my cruises out of San Pedro were at under 50% occupancy, with some bargain fares, even under $250 for some 6-night ones through December, when they leave for good.

I actually love Majestic, for the only Royal class ship with a covered pool and a forward-facing observation area, with the quirky wall map and topiary and xylophones. I sailed them 3 times in Mexico after restart, and was disappointed when I returned last year and saw that the cool Chinese murals of dragons and butterfly wings on the so-called walking track were painted over. Some of my favorite ships have been ones repurposed from China--Majestic, Ovation of the Seas, and Norwegian Joy.

No need for urgency. It's usually handled within a day now. If it doesn't happen close to sailing, you can search and find an office number, which I called once when it got close, and the rep helped me right away, while I was on the phone.

There are ways to adapt. One way I found is trying Azamara in a Spain trip next April, which was quite affordable for a solo inside. Only 700 people max on a ship, many port days until 10 pm, and one overnight on each cruise, with a shoreside cultural activity for the entire ship--it seems like a Rick Steves-type tour where you sleep on a ship, with no casino or theater. Drinks and tips included with no package required. Another is to look at smaller ships--I'm going on Island Princess to Europe next month, and with 2000 or so people, at the end of the European season, and with people probably canceling because Israel stops were cut out, there shouldn't be overcrowding, and with 10 ports out of 14 days, that further cuts down on overcrowding. HAL also has 1400-pax ships, Volendam and Zaandam, that I find a perfect size, with an outdoor promenade where I can escape people if I want. Finally, adjusting itinerary can help--Princess has many N/S Alaska trips that are half the price of ones going out of Seattle (meaning they're probably not full), which a waiter on Royal said were sailing at 4,000 for much of the summer. The low prices on the N/S routes indicates they're not sailing full. Sailing off-season also helps, definitely not during school break times. I took Majestic last spring after it arrived from Australia, and the coastal trip was 50% full and the trip from Australia 30% or so (one-way to/from Hawaii is a shorter, cheaper option).

I haven't gotten so far, since as a solo cheapskate with a low alcohol tolerance, I don't feel the worth. As Elite, I get a minibar setup and half-price Internet also, and now that shareholder and military credits are combinable again, those usually cover gratuities and some drinks. If somebody cuts out a privilege in an effort to push me towards paying more, then I also rebel, so I'm not doing it just to get a few Alfredo's pizzas, and definitely not to get those caloric monstrosities they call premium desserts. II also find that unlimited internet for an entire cruise keeps me from unplugging and enjoying the seas and sunsets and books, so I actually don't want wifi for an entire cruise. Likewise, unlimited drinks encourages me to overindulge, so I don't enjoy the cruise or my food as much. I read an article today about how airlines use 'calculated misery' to create enough pain to get people to pay more, and I just don't like cruise lines doing the same and degrading the basic product, so that Plus becomes not just a bargain or convenience, but a way to get access to what has always been a free restaurant, and one that I always used as a reason for new cruisers to choose Princess. Taking away free room service and Ocean Now delivery also is removing a former benefit for all cruisers as a Plus privilege, and on principle I'm not going to reward Princess for taking away basic cruise privileges, since it only encourages them to remove more things to add to Plus or Premier.

I got my SOBC overnight, although I included a statement that I've seen several CVP Facebook pages said the two are now combinable, in case I got someone who hadn't gotten the memo yet. It was actually kind of a big deal for me, and I thought of going back to HAL, because they give $100 MOBC, but then I took a short HAL cruise and saw it's as dismal and boring and monotonous as it was when I left them. So now I'm a happy camper, with $500 to spend on my Island Princess Mediterranean cruise next month. The other good part about the process is the quick response time of the credits being applied, which I imagine is due to offshoring the process, instead of probably a single person in their HQ taking weeks, and who people had to call when it got too close to departure time.

Yeah, the generic cruise thing doesn't make sense, especially after last summer, when Seattle-based Alaska cruises were sailing at over 100% capacity and were over $1000 for a solo, but the many ships going N/S to-from Vancouver were half to a third the price (for a better itinerary, with Hubbard/College glaciers). It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I already noticed their Best Price Guarantee fooled Princess's biggest fan, Don from Don's Family Vacations on YouTube, who thought it meant people can have a guarantee up to 72 hours before sailing, instead of after booking (if you booked on their site). Hopefully he didn't have too many clients book right away with that false promise.

You should be happy. I went on Majestic for 5 days from LA-Van after it arrived from Australia, and I used OBC to try all the Aussie beers they had left. I think I tried over 10 different ones, but the trick is to go to each bar and see what they have, since the selection will vary for each bar, particularly as a transpacific cruise progresses. It was a mix of mass market and craft beers, and I looked at some beer review sites to get an idea of what was best for me. I remember several Carlton, Victoria Bitter, and my favorite, 4 Pines Pacific Ale.

Glad I didn't book on the Oct 30 UK-Rome cruise, even if this system has passed. I will be on Greece/Italy/Turkey in late November, but it should be calmer, especially since they cancelled the two Israel stops.

Just off Eurodam, and they had 7 or so games on your stateroom tv, including MNF. The ultimate experience is watching games on a Princess ship on their huge screens. Two years ago I watched all the division championship thrillers on the big Princess screen, and two weeks later watched the Super Bowl on the screen leaving LA, with the game played nearby. Princess also has a bar next to the casino with sports screens covering entire walls, also a nice place to watch games. On one HAL ship years ago they broadcast the Super Bowl in the theater.

I just got off Eurodam, and they have non-fiction, very eclectic, even a poetry section, and some large travel books and atlases. It's very eclectic, with multiple copies of every book, and murals of books with punned titles, such as nautical puns. There are windows facing over the promenade, chairs, and excellent lighting. Other than the magnificent two-story libraries on Cunard, the new HAL ones are my favorite. It was a delightful surprise to see the return of libaries, and made up for the irritation of seeing the return of the Parkswest art auctions. Unfortunately, entertainment options are even fewer, with no more Lincoln Center classical or Step One dance, replaced by a dull singing quartet that I could only stand for 10 minutes. If they can bring back libraries, then maybe they can bring back production shows, which every other line has.

I booked Azamara in April in Spain and Virgin in Europe in October, catching some bargains for a solo inside. The most unfriendly move by Celebrity for me has been chaging solo passengers more than 2005 of the doubles rate, and I don't like being disrespected that way. I'm trying Azamara because of the small ships, lack of formal nights, long port days and an overnight in Lisbon, and now that they're not part of RCL, they're not tied to its debt or stock price (the ship I'm going on was going to be part of Celebrity, until the pandemic). I want to try Virgin for the innovative dining, with all dining in free speciality ones, and a food hall rather than a buffet. I'm tired of all cruise ship menus and buffets, and being lobbied for a good review score by Celebrity waiters makes me uncomfortable, as would any shore restaurant waiter begging for a good tip. I love Celebrity shows and music, but Virgin seems to be more innovative and interesting and daring. Virgin also matches loyalty programs, which gets some nice perks. I'm not feeling rewarded by lines I've been loyal to, like HAL, Princess, and Celebrity, so I'm looking for new lines where I feel happier, or at least can experience something new.

One solution I use is to prebook flights using Southwest miles. Then I wait for a cruise or airfare sale and rebook the flight or do a late booking on a cruise I want. If I don't go on the cruise, I simply cancel the SW flight and get my miles back. I've found this fall for Europe cruises it's possible to get both good cruise and airfare prices, even a few weeks out. So today I booked Island Princess for $680 solo inside for 14 nights and my sister and her husband also booked for about that, and we could find reasonable airfare. None of us would have gone on the cruise without the late price drop, given it's late in November, just as if I cruise Alaska in early May or late September it will take a good price drop to get me to risk bad weather, and it's almost impossible to fill all the ships going across the Atlantic or Pacific without price drops to enable greed to overcome fear of many days at sea without land. As a solo, it's not so much the price drops I care about as much as the dropping or reducing the solo supplement, which Princess and NCL often do, HAL never does, and Celebrity lately have been adding single supplements of 300% or more.

It might be settled here, but what matters is if it's settling for the people actually awarding or denying the SOBC. I don't have a high degree of confidence telling them 'somebody on cruisecritic said a Princess salesperson said they're combinable'. I'm extremely interested, because I just booked Island Princess for 14 days in November (the original itinerary map showed two Israel ports), and I'd like to get something in writing I can include with my email request.

NCL tried this after restart. They said they'd keep prices high and not do deep discounts, even at the cost of empty cabins, because it would devalue the brand. While they still keep prices higher, they're back to deep discounting close to sail date so they can fill ships and maintain occupancy over 100%. The reason why it isn't sustainable is because of competition, ships/itineraries/seasons that aren't popular, and because fares are like movie tickets--the real profits come from other things, as Fortuna Luck knows well. What's most reprehensible about this gimmick is advertising a Best Price Guarantee that's valid for only 72 hours, so meaningless and deceitful.

Somebody posted the number for their shareholder OBC rep, who I called once to get it applied for a last-minute cruise. So if somebody is denied, it might help sharing anything official from Princess. The military OBC page says it's combinable with other OBC too. It's definitely lost me Princess loyalty to not have military service and commitment to their poorly-performing, no-dividend stock. I went on a short cruise last month and got $50, but last week went on and HAL and got $150 for one night, since they give $100 military credit for any cruise. So non-combining was the first strike, cutting out free Alfredo's was the second, and if the new no-price-drop policy means no dropping of the single supplement close to sailing, I simply won't find Princess affordable and rewarding enough to sail on as a solo cruiser who cruises frequently and cheaply.

Put a mini-bottle in each pocket and one in each sock maybe, so no scanning. I wouldn't use my underwear, in case a lid set off the detector and you have a Spinal Tap moment, or get incontinent bottle leaks. You could also fill empty travel-size mouthwash bottles, or a screw-top wine bottle--vodka + cranberry juice = Cape Cod cabernet (I think I might try that myself on my next cruise, since I've never had anyone look at a bottle of wine). Or buy some alcohol at a port and fill a water bottle or a 2L Sprite bottle, or add a liter of rum to a liter of Coke and have your own Cubra Libre--I add some rum to 20 oz bottles of Coke Zero to take to movies sometimes.

Solstice was my first X cruise, in summer of 2022. Two other ships I was on, Carnival and Princess, didn't want to brave the ice to get close to Dawe's Glacier, but Solstice went through the ice and got close to the glacier. It was during a time of slumping fares, so I found some amazing bargains and booked Solstice 3 more times in Mexico and Pacific Coast, with an average price of $300 for a solo, with all-inclusive for 2 of the cruises. I didn't bother about cosmetics, like some cracked and stained windows in the Sky Lounge, since it was such a beautiful space and beautiful ship. I had nothing to compare it to until I got to Apex, so I loved the art, the design, the layout, the diverse and friendly crew, the entertainment, the younger crowd than I was used to after being mostly with HAL and Princess, even the clever sayings posted above public urinals. So I'd value the ice damage as a sign of honor, like the scars on an ancient whale who has traveled the world.

You might look at some of the evening party cruises too, which will be a blast--I watch them from the ship and listen to their music and dancing as they cruise around the bay. It looks like Celebrity just does more sedate sunset sails, but Viator or internet searches might bring up some party boats to go out on.

Very few cruise lines handle vegetarians and vegans, and the menus they provide are fairly lackluster. EmmaCruises on YouTube is vegetarian, and she posts photos on her blogs of menus and how she eats on ships--she said Azamara is the best for vegans and vegetarians. One solution is to ask for an Indian vegetarian menu, which I've had on HAL and Carnival but not on Celebrity. It will be mostly vegan, unless they cook with ghee butter. But with a lot of Indian waitstaff and probably Indian chefs and often head chefs, that's a more reliable way to get good, varied vegetarian foods, and you get skilled chefs cooking what they're best at, and they take a lot of pride in impressing passengers with skilled Indian cooking. It's a favorite of mine at home too, since little microwaveable packets of varied Indian dishes are easy to find, as well as vegetarian Indian dishes at Trader Joe's. If you're not comfortable with that, then I'd get most of your food from the buffet, with salads and made-to-order pasta, and the sushi place will have vegetarian rolls or California rolls or vegetarian ramens (or with lobster).

I'd take a look at Diamond Princess to compare itineraries. The ship is there year-round so they get more varied trips, often tied to Japanese festivals, like the Nebuta festival in Aomori at the tip of the mainland, which will be August 2-7 or so (I lived there for a few years, and the floats and parades were amazing). The further North you get in August, the less-hot it will be. The benefit of August is that there are festivals all over, and you'll be on a ship with a/c to come back to. The Celebrity solarium is also temperature-controlled, which is nice.

The problem with Dawe's Glacier is that it's at the end of a fjord with a sharp, narrow bend that's often too full of ice for ships to get near the glaciers. So in summer of 2022 I went on 3 cruises there, and only Solstice got close enough to see the glacier close. Still, it's fairly small, with no calving, but before the sharp turn the ship stops and drops off people who pay to go on a pricey excursion on a smaller boat, that should get closer. Glacier Bay is nice, but not incredible, since most of the glaciers going in are melting and receding, so there's only one at the end that reaches the water, but has nice calving. If you go from Vancouver to Whittier on Princess you'll go past College Fjord glaciers, which are also receding and thus not impressive. The best one is Hubbard Glacier, which you'll see if you go on Summit or Solstice. It's larger than the other glaciers, and actually growing, since it's cold enough and gets tons of ice flowing into it. It also has lots of impressive calving, but how close you get to it depends on the amount of ice in the bay. It sounds like cannons going off, the tons of ice crashing into the water. So I'd choose Solstice, because it's r/t from Vancouver, and a nice ship with a forward inside viewing lounge and two upper outside viewing lounges, and it visits Hubbard Glacier. Then if you want to return some day, you could go to Glacier Bay on Princess or HAL or NCL. Or you could go on Princess from Whittier, flying into Anchorage, and get both Hubbard and Glacier Bay, and since they have 3-4 ships going from there, prices are extremely cheap. I would highly advise against going out of Seattle, since you spend time on the open ocean to the west of Vancouver Island, with rough seas often, whereas ships going to and from Vancouver go on the calmer, more scenic inside passage on the west of Vancouver Island. Going out of Vancouver, you also sail under the Lion's Gate bridge, with maybe 20 feet of clearance, and bikers stopping to wave to you. Seattle prices are also outrageous and ships at over 100% capacity. There are many daily, inexpensive flights from Seatac to YVR in Vancouver, or you can take a scenic train from Seattle to Vancouver, or if you can fly into Bellingham, my home, and take a train or bus to Vancouver the next day.

Completely short-sighted approach, believing they can maintain high prices since they believe ships will be full forever and price-conscious consumers will pay higher than other lines who offer discounts. It also cuts out solo passengers like me who depend on last-minute fares with waived single supplement in order to afford cruises. There are some cruises that simply have low demand, like off-season Europe or one-way to Hawaii or Pacific Coastal cruises when they relocate their entire Alaska fleet. There are also the many N-S Alaska cruises that simply don't have enough demand to fill ships without last-minute discounts. Then it looks like the Best Price Guarantee is a complete lie, because it only lasts for 72 hours after booking. But of course they'll never lower fares, according to the new policy, no matter how many unsold cabins there are on a cruise, so they evidently think they're Tesla, so popular and so superior to the competition that they never need to deal or lower prices since there will always be enough demand to fill every cruise ship around the world. Meanwhile, all their competition will drop prices in order to fill ships--NCL is the master of this, but I've also chosen last-minute discounts on HAL and Celebrity, their direct competitors. Granted, I'd prefer a low upfront price for a cruise, where I wouldn't have to play the game of fare adjustments or the pain of seeing a last-minute drop on a cruise I paid much more for, but if all your competitors play the usual way, then you'll lose out, as Saturn did when they tried to maintain one-price car sales. I look at future Europe cruises, and none are affordable for me as a solo cruiser, whereas I was able to find Azamara in Spain for $100/day and Virgin for $100/day also. Princess has several for under $100/day for a solo this fall, but that's only because of last-minute discounts, and even those aren't filling ships--I went on Royal in May, after it had arrived from Australia only 40% full, even after last-minute discounts, so I don't think they really understand the laws of supply and demand, or think ahead to what will happen if inflation, a recession, generational changes, or even a significant military conflict would have on their expectations of high demand for their brand going forward. Personally, I'm kind of bored of their ships and find them too cramped and stressful at full capacity, the ships stink of casino smoke now, and I'm sick of their menus and buffets and shows and activities, and I have zero interest in even bigger new ships with family gimmicks and exclusive areas. My favorite YouTube cruise blogger, Gary B. on TipsforTravelers, also feels the same way about Princess now, and finds the newer Celebrity ships (with non-smoking casinos, ahem) and other brands much more interesting. I really wanted to make Princess my only cruise line, especially after I reached Elite, but all the punches in the face recently have really damaged my loyalty: no combining military and shareholder OBC, no home delivery of medallion or free Alfredo's without Plus, and no more last-minute discounts.