Jammu2

Yeah that's a good point. I just can't remember if there was a sale last year

Greetings! One of the couples we invited to join us on a May cruise just now let us know they are interested in coming with us. We had already made our plans and got a very good deal. The current price is about $150 pp more for an inside cabin than it was when we booked a couple months ago. Do you think there will be a sale in January and prices will come down a bit? I hesitate to book them immediately because it just seemed that prices went up right before Black Friday and I was thinking they might come down a bit after the holidays.

So weird. I was on Caribbean Princess in August for that same cruise. I had totally the opposite experience in the main dining room. The food and service were the best we've had since the restart. And we've sailed on Princess, HAL, and Celebrity. The ship? Ok yes it needs work. Really, Princess? You are ok with the smell in the spa? The buffet was meh. But overall it was our favorite of 7 cruises since the restart, with the itinerary being a big part of that.

Hey Cooper, we're on the same cruise! Yes, second worst embarkation ever! Weather is poor but I like it like this! See you all soon.

Greetings! Anyone sail on NA recently? What was the casino like? I know there was an announcement a while back that the casinos on Eurodam and NA were being enlarged, has this happened? What kind of slot games are there? Are there more recent ones or are they just old and tired? Looking for any insight people might have! Thanks!

Except we are not on a ship! Second time we have gotten this notification from Navigator. We do have a cruise starting April 30. Anyone else have this happen? Hopefully they are not reserving tables for us on random ships.

As far as I can tell they don't have tiers like, say, Sapphire/Pearl/Gold etc. What happens for my husband is he receives a written offer in the cabin on the last night for a next cruise with perks based on his play. This early offer is usually the best offer. Then, periodically during the year we will receive other casino offers of various values.

Idk. Cruise fares on some HAL ships/cruises are ridiculously cheap. Too cheap to provide good food or good service. I am on Nieuw Amsterdam in May and reading the reviews, nothing has changed for the better since last year. We shall see. I told my spouse and other traveling companions not to book anything else until we have completed our cruises on HAL and Princess in the spring.

Buy the thermal suite pass before you board. If they do end up offering a discount they will refund you the difference.

I was on 3 cruises on 3 different lines last year, and we have 3 booked this year. In my opinion the standard fare has been economized. We ended up eating in the specialty restaurants more than we ever did pre Covid. We shall see how things go this year.

I found the majority of the food better on Holland than either Celebrity or Princess, though I enjoyed the specialty restaurants on Princess more. The waiter will explain to you how to order. Basically its one entrée per guest but the other courses seem negotiable. We dont eat a whole lot so never really tested it. We didn't go hungry that's for sure. I will try to find the link to my comparison earlier this fall. Ill update if I find it.

I'll second these. Pretty amazing sound too.

On Discovery the vibe was very casual. Jeans for sure. I enjoyed the food. Our table ordered a variety of dishes and all were reported good. I can't really remember what was on the TV.

Thanks yes I had forgotten she had been housing refugees! We will watch for reviews.

Greetings! We are thinking about booking on the Volendam for spring 2023. Reviews and photos are spotty. How's the Casino? My traveling companions would want a fairly robust casino experience as they like that kind of entertainment as opposed to shows etc. Cabins? Particularly interior. Have they been updated with the various refurbishments? Food? Thanks for any information you may be able to provide to make our decisions easier.

Yeah, a very old bug when ordering online. You have to choose a time as if you are making a restaurant reservation. Enjoy whenever it's open!

It varies. I think right now the offers are pretty generous. I think 8373seth is pretty accurate, though I don't think you need to "spend" that much, but rather wager it through your players card win or lose.

I haven't seen it either on platinum or blue. I almost never get them on the branded cards (like delta). That said, there is a limit of 100 offers shown on the page, so make sure you have clipped a lot of offers and you can then refresh the page and see more. I just did this but the HAL one still hasn't shown. I will keep at it!

Good read. I had many of the same criticisms of the layout of the ship as you did. We, too, never figured out how to get from one end to the other and just basically wandered. We wont be sailing on a Royal Class ship again. We do have one other Princess cruise scheduled for 2023 - Canada and NE on Caribbean Princess but otherwise Princess is not our preferred line at the moment. I should probably update my profile!

My recent thoughts on the subject. There are things I like about Celebrity and I am sure we will sail them again. But in my opinion they are trending too much towards the ship within a ship concept where "First Class" passengers get separate accomodations and dining experiences. If we want that we like to cruise on Oceania, or would try Viking or something similar.

I've done 3 Alaska cruises this past season. My comparison is here. I would say, however, that overall one of our favorite cruises ever was on Coral Princess southbound from Anchorage to Vancouver, but this was some time ago. I am not too fond of Norwegian in general. Also, HAL is having a killer sale right now. Since value is important to you (it is to us, too.)

My formal review got published. Maybe I waited too long to write it - it seems kind of uninspired! But in case anyone was wondering if I would ever get around to it... https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=691139

Many ships used to report case numbers to the CDC and these were maintained on a database accessible to the public. That db has shut down.

Do you have a lot of luggage? The train is great. Leaves every half hour. But it can be tricky if you are dragging a lot of bags. There are cabs, of course. There are also coaches. Hope you have a wonderful trip!

That's a lot of stuff!