constantcruiser

We lived in Hawaii for many years before moving to Texas (ouch!) and are staying with our booking on Solstice in September.  Obviously it's no longer possible to dock in Lahaina, and ships going to other parts of Maui will have lengthy and sometimes rough tendering. 

The shallow waters around Kauai make it impossible for even mid-sized ships to dock there, and any larger ships cruising along the coastline will remain at a considerable distance from the shore. 

Although the Big Island is not my favorite, the volcanic landscape is literally like no other place in the world.  Astronauts train there because the terrain is similar to the moon.  Kailua-Kona is beautiful, and I understand that some businesses which were destroyed in Lahaina have relocated there.  We're just going to enjoy the days at sea and then spend a few days on our "home island" of Oahu.  I agree that, if this is your first trip to Hawaii, you would be better off visiting by air...but we're just looking forward to a relaxing voyage.

On 5/6/2023 at 7:50 PM, Chardonnay Char said:

Solstice docks in Hawaii after a cruise from Vancouver -- 2023 and 2024 in September.  Sadly no Kauai.

 

We're on the Sept. 23 sailing from Vancouver to Hawaii, which is home for us.  Kauai has a small dock and would require tendering.  Probably wouldn't be worth the stop for the short time the ship could spend there.

We were on Radiance's second northbound sailing this season, which departed Vancouver and disembarked in Seward.  Fortunately we flew into Vancouver the day before the cruise departed, because we spent 2 hours in Immigration when we arrived.  Although we've visited Canada many times, this was our first visit since the start of COVID and I assumed that was the reason for the strict enforcement.  However, I met a Canadian woman on the cruise who said it was due to a rash of gun smuggling.  Handguns and assault rifles are illegal in Canada, and apparently there have recently been a number of cases of Americans smuggling weapons across the border where they can be sold for a higher price than they could get in the US.

On our second RCCL cruise back in the 80's there was a middle-aged man at our table who was a real character.  He outdrank, out-gambled, and out-partied all of us.  He introduced himself as "FM" and said he sold fire extinguishers.   He danced with many of the older ladies, and I even tried to set him up with a couple of them.  On the last night of the cruise, he came to the table wearing a priest's collar.  At first we thought it was a joke, but then he told us the only way he can truly enjoy his vacation is if no one knows his true calling.  FM stands for Father Mike and his goal is to keep people from meeting fire in the afterlife!  He has long since retired, but we still exchange Christmas cards every year.  So there may be a clergyman on your cruise who just wants people to treat him as a fellow passenger.

The Port Shopping Director is paid by the stores to recommend them.  I assume Diamonds International is now well-recognized and no longer needs the publicity, so they stopped the kickback.

We are D+ and were on Radiance to Alaska three weeks ago.  No champagne, water or soda in the stateroom, although C&A had specifically asked us what we wanted upon arrival.  No special D/D+ event.  No gift at the end of the cruise.  I'm not sure if the Loyalty Ambassador was even on board, because I visited her office and called her twice during the cruise; but she was never there and didn't return my calls.  The ship is very short-staffed right now (down 130 in dining services alone) so the Loyalty Ambassador position would be one that could easily have been vacant.  Thankfully both the Diamond and Concierge Lounges were fully staffed, as were most of the other bars.  Internet was not working most of the cruise, in fact the only time when you could even access the app was when you were off the ship in port!  

We were on Radiance Northbound three weeks ago.  We did a private 8-hour excursion from Seward to Anchorage, and the bus departed Seward at 8:00 am.  I simply went to Guest Services, explained the situation, and she gave me #2 departure tags.  We were off the ship at 7:00 and were two of the first people to board the bus.  The Seward "terminal" is just a small warehouse, and they only bring out a few bags at a time.  Smoothest debarkation in 50+ cruises, so you should have no problems.

Getting the last Texas A&M/Univ. of Texas game on the ship was the only reason my family agreed to a Thanksgiving cruise.  We booked nearly a year in advance and I must have called the Crown & Anchor Society 20 times over the course of those 12 months.  Every time they assured me the game would be shown on board.  If you've ever been on a cruise leaving from Galveston, you know that at least 75% of the passengers are Texans; and others had also checked to be sure the game would be shown.  So it was particularly disappointing when the CD announced they would show the Baltimore game instead.  Frankly I was afraid my family would fly home midway through the cruise and I would be stuck cooking a turkey!

We were on the Radiance Northbound cruise May 20-27 and the weather was heavenly....60-70 degrees and sunny everyday.  We actually bought a couple of short-sleeved t-shirts along the way because the clothes we packed were too warm.  But the crew said the weather the week before was miserable.  So be prepared for anything and everything...and have a wonderful time!  By the way, we skipped Sitka because they are repairing the dock there.  I don't know how long that process will take, but we visited Icy Strait Point instead and loved it.

I made an interesting discovery while visiting a laundromat in Barcelona between cruises.  I put my clothes in the washers about 1:45 and stepped just outside into the courtyard.  When I returned about 20 minutes later, the doors were locked and the sign said they'd reopen at 5:00!  I didn't realize how seriously the Spanish take siesta....

Several years ago our family did a Thanksgiving cruise leaving out of Galveston, TX.  It happened to be the last time Texas A&M and the Univ. of Texas played each other, and everyone aboard the ship seemed to be wearing maroon or burnt orange.  On the second day, the Cruise Director announced that they would show the Baltimore game on Thanksgiving Day, and there was nearly a mutiny.  So many passengers called Guest Services to complain that their phone lines were constantly busy.  By the 3rd day, the CD was begging people to stop calling and said they were doing their best to get the rights to the college game.  Every day their progress in getting the game was the highlight of the Captain's update from the bridge.  The day before Thanksgiving, the CD announced the game would be shown in the theatre AND in the largest bar.  It was a very close game; and on that one day, the ship sold more beer than it ever had before!  So don't give up if you REALLY want  a specific game.

We were on Radiance the week of May 20, and were told by our Cabin Steward on the 2nd day that there were no robes available on that ship.  We are D+ and it's the first time that has ever happened to us.

We were on the Navigator to Alaska the week of May 20, and I observed only one man wearing a tux, and very few in suits. My husband wore a long-sleeved dress shirt, tie, and dress slacks and he was the most "formally" dress man at our table of 8.  I wore black dress pants with a a black lace top, and lots of bling and felt very comfortable.  For us flying to ports just doesn't allow for lots of extra clothes.

I'm definitely in the minority here.  Our cruise next week will be our 51st (mostly on Celebrity), and I've gotten over the "must be the first person on the ship" phase.  Now we prefer the 12:30-1:00 arrival time, so we can sleep in and enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the hotel.  By the time we're checked in on the ship, we can go directly to our cabin instead of spending 2 hours jammed into the Windjammer with every other passenger and his/her luggage

We bought OBC last week for our kids' upcoming anniversary cruise.  I just called C&A and they handled everything.  They did ask for their reservation #, which fortunately I had.  Be sure to request an e-mailed receipt and then give the recipient a copy to carry with them.  That way if the ship doesn't show a record of the OBC, they will have proof.  

Someone recently posted that dinner is no longer served in the Windjammer, and that in fact it closes for the day at 3:30 pm.  I called Crown & Anchor to inquire about this on our 2 upcoming cruises; and after waiting on hold for 35 minutes, was told "some services are unavailable on certain ships due to health concerns."  Needless to say, that didn't answer my question.  Has anyone who has recently sailed on Radiance or Liberty found the Windjammer was not open for dinner?

Does anyone know if Ovation has a Starbucks?

We got the same card on the third day of the cruise, but it wasn't exactly a comment card. It was more of a "is there anything wrong?" card.

I filled out one on a previous cruise just because we didn't have any laundry bags in our cabin, and due to a language barrier I couldn't make our steward understand what we needed. I thought it was just a simple form that would clarify my request. Oh no, within a couple of hours the Head Housekeeper was knocking on our door with a handful of laundry bags and an offer to do our laundry for free! That night a new cabin steward introduced himself and apologized for the disappointing service of our "former" steward, whom we never saw again! The rest of the cruise I spent trying to explain to everyone from the Hotel Director to the bathroom attendants that we really weren't unhappy with our first steward, and that the whole incident was really my fault for not downloading Google Translate onto my phone.

When we first started cruising back in the 80's, Royal Caribbean still did the written on-board comment cards and everyone in the cabin received his/her own. I don't know if they valued the actual comments as much as they did the number of cards submitted. But it was important enough that, at 8:00 am on the morning of disembarkation, the Cruise Director picked one card out of the bin and that person won a free cruise!

Within hours after we disembarked Equinox last week, we received the standard online survey about our cruise. This survey appeared much less detailed than ones we have taken in the past, although the 1-10 ratings were the same. We thought it lumped far too many areas together. For instance, there was only one question about live music. We loved the Celebrity orchestra and the solo guitarist, but disliked other groups. It doesn't seem fair to give one rating to all live music aboard the ship when there is such a wide gap in quality. The same was true of guest entertainers. We loved some and walked out on others...do they all deserve the same grade? The survey didn't provide any opportunity for you to explain your ratings.

In fact, there were only two opportunities to write in comments. One space specifically asked for the names of staff who were exemplary, and the other asked you to describe your "most memorable experience."

It really didn't feel like Celebrity was looking for ways to improve the cruising experience, just fishing for the highest ratings so they could brag. As a passenger, how valuable do you consider these after-cruise questionnaires?

On the first day several different people were taking reservations for anytime dining, and apparently they overbooked themselves for popular times. Our reservation was for a table for 2 at 8:15; and when we got to the dining room, there were about 25 people in line in front of us. Everyone who arrived was told to "just stand in line" whether they had reservations or not. Equinox recently eliminated the 2 lines -- one for those with reservations and the other for those who just walk up. Now everyone is herded into the same line. We waited 35 minutes to be seated and another 20 minutes before anyone brought us a menu.

We were so frustrated that we asked the Captain's Club Hostess to make arrangements for us to have fixed seating every evening at 6:00. That worked most evenings, but if we didn't want to eat right at 6:00 on some nights, we simply enjoyed dinner at the Oceanview Cafe.

We were also on this cruise and I noticed immediately when the ship stopped moving, even before the lights went out. What made me uncomfortable is that no one explained the reason for the outage. In fact, when specifically asked about it at the Officers' Q&A on the last day at sea, the Chief Engineer just brushed off the whole incident by saying Celebrity turned out the lights to make the cruise "more romantic"...at 8:00 am! The Cruise Director immediately asked for the next question and no further mention was made.

We were also on this cruise and agree with OP that it was excellent.

I don't mind the music being especially loud at parties on the deck or in the foyer, but why must it be deafening at events that are specifically designed for passengers to get to know one another? For instance, the Senior Officers Party and evening socials in the Sky Lounge. You would think Capt. Kate or the Hotel Director would have asked the band to lower the volume, because for 1 1/2 hours they were shouting to communicate with passengers standing right beside them.

At the Meet & Mingle aboard Equinox last week, Capt. Kate stated that both she and her Mom read Cruise Critic regularly. I doubt that she posts, but don't you know she must be tempted when some of these forums get out of hand!

We did a repositioning cruise from Vancouver to San Diego with an overnight in San Francisco. One of my favorite things was the nighttime tour of Alcatraz, which you need to book in advance. The prison itself was eerier at night, and seeing the city lights on the ferry back was beautiful.