paluni

My brother and his wife were booked as a couple. Then the wife couldn't go, but my brother would still go as planned. HAL wanted to charge him MORE because it was considered a cancellation and a rebook! My brother thought he and his wife shouldn't have said anything but just have her not show up! He complained bitterly and wrote to a higher up that he would never use HAL again. Well, they relented, and even gave him an upgrade from an interior to a balcony room, at his original price, to mollify him. He then liked his solo cruise. But he still says he doesn't want to use HAL again.

It was great. It's on a marina. What was really good, they had a free van to take you down to the restaurants at night. Also a free van to take you to the ship in the morning. You could hear seals barking out back, but I didn't see them. It was very nice. This was for a San Pedro-embarking cruise.

I use bundling, but I start it right in the suitcase generally, and have some variations. Like, all my underwear and some other stuff is in a packing cube, and that is my "core". I heard a lecture and demo on this from a woman who I think invented this method, maybe about 30 years ago. I bought her book, and through the years I've bought other packing books too. It's an interesting topic for me. You really do cut down on the creasing with bundling.

I really, really wanted to see Mykonos, but our Princess ship in I think it was September couldn't get in after two hours of trying, because of strong winds. So maybe one time your ship won't get in! For Kusadasi, I have been twice, and the guides I had missed things I wanted to see. I would love another time to see Ephesus on my own, without the constraint of a tour guide. And without having to leave time for the all-important rug shop visit! (not!) I would love to go back there. And also I still want to see Mykonos! Apparently that island gets missed a lot because of winds.

I thought the mocha mousse was fabulous when it appeared. But it doesn't appear all the time. I would sometimes have more than one.

I was there for 10 days while my husband worked. I went around by myself, and time and time again I was taken for a local. People started speaking to me in Finnish. At night at dinner, waiters would turn to me to speak in Finnish. I think they thought my husband was an American married to a Finn. I loved it. I am mainly of Irish-Scandinavian descent, and dressed pretty conservatively. Maybe that was it. I've also been taken for a local in London. Somehow, "passing" for a local when I'm a tourist is thrilling to me. I can spot the Germans in California and elsewhere because their footwear is always different. Like scientifically-designed sandals. Well thought out for hiking and walking.

Too many acronyms all the time everywhere. A brain challenge just to read something. Constant guessing game.

Sometimes the best marketing is actually listening to your customers. Some marketing professor taught me that a few decades ago.

That's sure true. My brother was in the pharmaceutical and medical supply business. He said something like you really only needed to get the opinions of five doctors to know what to do.

I think that is utterly charming. People will be happy for you. I had a 30th anniversary ceremony on Princess. I wore a white outfit and had a bouquet. It was a formal night anyway, but someone asked me if I got married! I think it was really nice and it's a nice thing to do. Bring your bouquet to dinner too and have it at the table if you want. Get a lot of joy out of that dress. Who doesn't enjoy seeing a bride?

Well, I didn't need to buy a coffee card on Princess. The regular coffee was free, which I didn't know. I didn't need the expensive special coffees, which is what the card was for. I also didn't know I could eat in the dining room for breakfast and lunch, if I didn't have traditional dining! But I could have eaten there and didn't have to eat in the buffet for all breakfasts and lunches! Crazy I know but I didn't know that.

About packing. I have been a minimalist packer in my younger years, but now I am an overpacker. I find I like overpacking. I no longer feel compelled to wear everything I brought, like I'm kind of a failure if I don't use some things - I just accept it. I like having lots of clothes and a fair amount of shoes, I just like it. I like a ship with a self-service laundry, that helps on small things. And, a ship's laundry can damage your special clothes, so I avoid that.

Well, I hope you have a great time. Be nice to the staff, but I assume you will on that score. That I think is important for everybody.

We did the Panama Canal cruise, full transit, in November 2013, on the Island Princess, a sister ship of the Coral. We had very nice weather on the transit, and nice weather in general. Just a little misty rain a little at times. We liked the ship and the cruise very much. At times the music was too loud, was my only complaint. But it wasn't always loud. I think a higher-up at Princess is ordering loud music because he is convinced it is a good idea, but it isn't.

As a little side trip away from the downtown, I really enjoyed seeing the Alaska pipeline. It is very impressive. Also, totally unobtrusive and I wouldn't protest any necessary pipeline after seeing it. It was much nicer than I ever expected. Animals can walk under it as if it wasn't there.

For a ready made sleeveless dress, by the front armhole, there is a slight gap.

( when the dress is on me)

Suggestions on fixing this?

It is not major so I can wear the dress "as is":rolleyes:

What about taking in a slight dart that begins in the armhole and angles down? I guess point the dart toward the bust, but probably start it where the most gap is?

I think I heard from a ship's doctor, or something like that, that almost nobody gets seasick on the cruise ships. They are so stable and big that it's not a problem. I and my husband never get seasick on a cruise. We both got sick on a whale-watch trip outside the Golden Gate in San Francisco on a little boat (my husband green-face sick, you could say), but the big cruise ships never bother us. That being said, you could be an exception and get seasick, but you almost certainly won't. I have never spoken to anybody on a cruise ship who got seasick on the cruise.

We stay with Princess partly because we're afraid to try other lines. We're always happy with Princess, so why take a chance on something different? My husband is definitely a creature of habit. I have to have a laundromat - can't imagine not being able to do my own laundry. The staff tend to be nice and friendly, there aren't many smokers, I can't recall seeing a drunk, the people in general are over 50 (but so are we), and they are nice and intelligent. We don't encounter many children, which is a plus for us. We like a promenade deck, which means we may never try the Royal Princess. All in all, it's a good experience for us. We like the food and everything. There's a part of me that would like to experience the fabled Carnival, but time and money don't allow us to just do it to satisfy curiosity. Might not work for us!

My husband and I did the vow renewal for our 30th wedding anniversary on the Island Princess in November, 2013, on a Panama Canal cruise. It had to be on a sea day which wasn't the actual anniversary, which was fine. They only do it on sea days. It was also a formal night which was nice. Our only guest was our 24-year-old daughter who my husband really wanted with us on the cruise, which was also nice. It was lovely and more than I expected. I don't know the price because he arranged it and didn't want to tell me (he knows I have a frugal streak, ha ha). It made me teary. I wore my mother's 50th wedding anniversary dress, which I altered and liked a lot. It was knee-length in cream. I also wore her wedding dress for my actual wedding, so that was traditional to keep using my mother's dresses! One thing, bring all your paperwork with you on the ship. Princess was very good but we had to remind them of a few things. They are not as on top of things as you are. It was all a surprise from the husband. Even a pretty little special cake at our dinner afterward with a candle. By chance, we were seated in the main dining room at table 30! We all thought that was sort of mystical. This was our first vow renewal, and it really was a special thing.

I sent out a pair of rayon pants. It was my fault they came back with one leg three inches longer than the other. I said laundry, it should have been dry cleaned. Fortunately I sew, so I evened the legs when I got home. Then I had one of my favorite blouses laundered. Lime green and white. The lime was dull, the white was dingy and dark when it came back. I could never wear it again. So I am happy to do my own laundry, except for things that don't matter like socks and underwear. I assume they are tossing mounds of laundry together in a big washer. Can't take the care like you would with your own laundry.

We did this last year, over to Anchorage. We went along the Aleutians to offload a sick passenger - beautiful scenery. But it was very cold in the north Pacific. Like a refrigerator, or a freezer. But still enjoyable. Maybe it could be warmer this time. It was generally clear and real cold. Sometimes windy.

Investigate Lyft or Uber. New style car service in San Francisco. Is getting rave reviews. I'm not sure about six people though.

There are online companies that sell tux ware, for rather cheap. I got my husband a nice tux shirt online. Princess lets you rent a tux that is waiting for you on the cruise; I don't know if Celebrity does that. You should search tuxes online, there are many cheap options and styles. The company I used was in New Jersey but I forget the name. Of course, if it comes and you don't like it, you can always return it. I am surprised two seamstresses have told you they can't take in the pants. I sew, and I bet a very experienced tailor might be able to do it. I think this is a case where, if you keep searching, you will find a good solution to the problem. Your husband will look like James Bond 007 again.

I saw one at an evening deck party, and she accepted and they were happy, but it actually seems tacky to me to do it with a large crowd of strangers around. It's like saying, "Look at me everybody." I would never ever have wanted that to happen to me. Luckily my husband proposed when it was just the two of us. Sorry if this offends somebody, but I just never like it that way.

And the woman is on the spot and she better have the right reaction or it could be very uncomfortable!

I wanted to go to the formal dart game on the Sea Princess, going across the Pacific. But I just never made it. That was my first big cruise and I was trying to do everything.

Well, this is really an eye-opener. I always thought the cruise lines didn't do California coastals because the summer weather is terrible! Especially in the San Francisco/Monterey Peninsula area. Unless you really like foggy, damp, chilly weather. The best time is spring and fall. September and October can be great (I've lived in San Francisco Bay Area all my life). That's when San Francisco warms up. As far as what BruceMuzz says about the regulations, worker problems, I can believe it. My brother calls California "The People's Republic of California." And I can see cruise lines being looked on by local governments and unions as turkeys to be picked clean.

This post by Mr. Muzz is real eye-opening.

I feel a little guilty for perhaps being too frugal. Hopefully, other passengers will be picking up our short-fall. We still do spend, though. :)

I like the idea of the wax, hopefully would save having to shave over the cruise. I have never had a waz though and don't know how far up the leg they go or anything!!

 

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I had a full leg wax, which took all the leg hair to bathing suit line at top of thigh. But I think a "bikini" wax is more than that and Brazilian is too much to contemplate. I think you can also get just the lower legs.

I would take Princess, because it has more good ports. Santa Barbara and Catalina are really good. An overnight in San Francisco is very nice - can do a lot more. People report that they like Santa Barbara a lot. We enjoy Princess cruises. Best weather is usually September and October.