LEtue

Thanks for the heads up. I'm booked!!

You're welcome!

Now some of us wait for the Radiance Honolulu to Seattle sailing to be available

I'm going to book the 2019 sailing but not 100% if I can do it yet

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Well, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed your live report this year so I hope I get to meet you in 2019 :)

Based on the low price I able to see for the 23 night Explorer (only for a minute) - I'm anxious to see the Radiance price!

Thank you to all the Vets and Happy Memorial Day to all :)

Yes, I agree and it is running soooooo slow.

It will be nice to be able to see the prices though even if can't complete a booking today :)

Hmmm, I can't see the Radiance May 5 , 2019 sailing either - just all sailings through April.

Thank you Linda, for your kind response. I in no way mentioned anyone in particular........everyone including me has been in a giant misunderstanding, and all involved will be able to book these wonderful cruises quite soon.

 

Enjoy your cruise too, and thank you the anniversary wishes:champagne-toast:

The 23 night cruise is now loaded on the RCI site so maybe you will be hearing from your TA today :D

Thank you Linda, for your kind response. I in no way mentioned anyone in particular........everyone including me has been in a giant misunderstanding, and all involved will be able to book these wonderful cruises quite soon.

 

Enjoy your cruise too, and thank you the anniversary wishes:champagne-toast:

No worries! It certainly will be good when we can all celebrate our bookings :D

My husband and I are over the moon for this very special anniversary cruise.

 

We have NOT taken anyone's special cabin, we are booking a regular balcony which there are many.

 

I never meant to ruff up anyone's feathers, I just got an email from my TA, who happens to be on a cruise and jumped on board as any of you might do.

 

I do not know the particulars, I do not have any paperwork yet. The booking will go through probably the same time as everyone else's. I didn't butt in line as many of you think. I'm not that type of person.

You have taken my post totally wrong. I was curious because I have never waited for a sailing to before. I have an opportunity in 2019 to do the Hawaii to Seattle TP and I am very excited too - after 2 years of family weddings and graduations (in May). And like you, I am not booking any special or treasured cabin - in fact I will be booking an inside cabin. So, in my case, I want to get the opening day price since I am sailing solo......and history has proven that prices go up fast on these sailings,

This is an open forum to share information and you are right - you don't owe anyone any explanations. But I am glad you posted again so we can all benefit from your information :)

I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise and Happy Anniversary! I am very sorry if I upset you by asking questions.....

My agent called me.....she lurks on here and knows what I want. She is independent, not an internet biggie. She may have a block, not sure, and she has our credit card #. Our cabin is on hold until booking. Reread my post.

I was curious about that too and I think the question is how is she able to access the sailing - to even put a cabin on hold?. :confused:

Hawaii itineraries from Cruiseboy 305:

For those of you interesting in Hawaii for 2018/19 on Radiance

September 7th 2018 (10 Nights)

09/07/2018 Vancouver, British - 5pm

09/08/2018 At Sea

09/09/2018 At Sea

09/10/2018 At Sea

09/11/2018 At Sea

09/12/2018 At Sea

09/13/2018 Lahaina, Maui 08:00 AM - 11:00 PM

09/14/2018 Hilo, Hawaii, 09:30 AM - 07:00 PM

09/15/2018 Kailua Kona, Hawaii 08:00 AM - 06:00 PM

09/16/2018 Nawiliwili, Kauai, 08:00 AM - 06:00 PM

09/17/2018 Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, 6am

May 5th, 2019 (12 Nights)

05/05/2019 Honolulu, Oahu - 5PM

05/06/2019 Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii

05/07/2019 Nawiliwili, Kauai,Depart: 04:00 PM

05/08/2019 Kailua Kona, 08:00 AM - 07:00 PM

05/09/2019 Lahaina, Maui, Arrive: 08:00 AM (with Explorer)

05/10/2019 Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii Depart: 06:00 PM

05/11/2019 Hilo, Hawaii, 07:00 AM - 05:00 PM

05/12/2019 At Sea

05/13/2019 At Sea

05/14/2019 At Sea

05/15/2019 At Sea

05/16/2019 At Sea

05/17/2019 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Thanks for posting this! I am ready to "pounce" on the May 5, 2019 sailing :D

I had requested a table for 6 for fixed dining. I ended up being the 7th person at a table with 3 random (as in not traveling together) slightly older married couples. They were nice enough people, although I didn't really have much in common with them. They certainly didn't merit switching tables, but I would have certainly done so if I had been put in a worse situation.

I wasn't particularly referring to groups looking for singletons; however, very often in the past the person running the trivia would just make a general announcement to the effect of "We have a single person here looking to join a team in case anyone would like another member".

Just wondering if there was a roll call for your sailing? There are often others sailing solo with the same interests and then there may be an opportunity to join them - if you want.

I have a solo cruise booked on Princess for March 2019 so I hope the roll call is active :)

May 5th seems to be around the time of the Hawaii repo

Yes, I agree but do we know if it will be released next week?

I haven't paid attention in the past since releases since I wasn't waiting to book :)

Also, keep in mind that Alaska cruises are always more expensive.... I've rarely seen price drops on those as they are so popular.

My experience has been just the opposite. Always starts high but I have received huge reductions prior to final payment - for May and August sailings:)

Most of the time all categories are eventually the same price and I move to a better location or upgrade.....

So will the Radiance sail to Vancouver on May 5, 2019? And if so will it be released at the same time?

Hawaii on the Ruby - March 2019 :D

Just made a booking for Feb 2019 and do not see any indication of the $100 pp cancellation fee as of today. My cancel charges start on the final payment date in Nov 2018.

Maybe they fixed the glitch.....:confused:

I use ITA Software to monitor and search airfare. It is the best I have found.

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

Location is very good and it will be interesting to read the reviews from CC members in the future!

I just had the same thing happen to me yesterday. I went in to make the last payment on my cruise. I knew I still owed $800 dollars because I purposefully paid it down to $800 last month so I knew how much this month I would need to pay. The amount went up by $200 to $1,000. I called the resolution center and they said they could find no error on the website, but I know what the amount was last month. The problem is that I have no proof. I think this is very strange.

You don't have your original confirmation with the total price of the booking clearly stated? No way I would drop the issue!

I agree! In the Med the itinerary is more important than the ship. With the long port days you will just be using the ship to eat and sleep and you can use the savings for your excursions :)

The Jewel is perfect for the Med and if you end up on the Oct 6 2018 sailing - I will see you on board!

I don't see a problem other than you have to pay the deposit. It sounds like the certificate can be used to pay down the balance - right?

The Star is not similar to any RCI ship that I have sailed on (Jewel, Serenade, Radiance, Brilliance, Navigator or Empress). Your experience on board could be totally different......

I would disagree that the food is more varied and the service is superior. In the main dining room we often sat way too long between servings without any attention and the food was mediocre at best. The entertainment was good but not any better than RCI on our western Caribbean cruise from Tampa.

So, if you are booking with the European itinerary and ports as your priority - go for it. Just don't try and compare. That way you probably won't be disappointed.

I'm booked on this September's Great Alaskan Explorer (September 11-25, on the Amsterdam), and it is NOT one of the Oprah cruises. For the Alaska trips, they wanted the cruise to be no more than 7 days -- at least that's what my PCC told me when I asked about it. So I'm guessing you're safe for the 2018 edition of this itinerary.

 

If I hear otherwise, I'll post here.

 

Lana

You are correct and she will not be on board for your sailing. However, that is not the extent of what is being marketed through 2018. Here is a link to the other thread on the topic..

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2462855

If you aren't going until next year, you have time to wait until you hear what's actually happening. I'm doing the 14-day in August, and I promise to report back on the extent of the Oprah effect. I'm betting it's minimal.

Thank you and I appreciate that.....but I don't like what HAL is promoting.

I agree with OlsSalt on this one....celebrities on board don't interest me - just lectures and events that are appropriate to the destination. :)

I don't think it will be that bad. The cruise Oprah spends a few days on and the big Oprah-themed cruises could be too much. But the other cruises shouldn't present much of a problem. The CC article bears little resemblance to the HAL website page that applies to all cruises.

 

Lectures and entertainers are probably just on the few Oprah-intensive cruises. And even if they are on other cruises, don't go if they don't appeal to you.

 

According to the HAL website, Oprah-influenced items are:

--Exercise classes. I don't do those anyway, so not a biggie for me.

--Oprah-themed clothing (Love that!). If it's a lecture on how to dress, I'll pass. If it's stuff in the shops, I don't shop onboard anyhow, so not a biggie for me.

--Book club. Go if the book interests you, don't go if you don't like the book. Not a biggie, unless they give everyone a copy of the book and assign homework.:eek:

--Healthy eating. OK, this could be an issue, depending on how pervasive it is. So maybe they'll add a "healthy choice" item to the menu. I'll eat it if it's something I like. If not I'll order something else. But if they go overboard on the healthy thing and take away that decadent Lido bread pudding, there WILL be a mutiny!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :p

I am sure there are some people that wouldn't mind however, I choose to spend my limited vacation time and dollars on an Alaska cruise that doesn't have the potential of surrounding me with Oprah. And I'm not willing to risk that lectures and venues around the ship pertain to the items that you describe and what HAL is promoting - or that this is all that is offered while on board.

This trip has been on my bucket list for some time and a big expense for me....