How are you feeling about the cuts the cruise lines are making to "recover" covid loss of income?

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Once and only once did we take a walking tour billed as tapas and wine.  We had already walked the town on our own all day but this was an evening adventure.  It actually was a hoot, I called it speed dating for couples as at each bar/restaurant we would sit with someone different.   I don’t know that I would do it again but I did find social value in the exercise. 

We actually love culinary walking tours, but that is somewhat different than most cruise line "walking tours" that simply walk folks around town (usually within sight of the ship) and tell them things like "this is a nice boutique,"  "this is an old restaurant."  etc.

 

In fact, at the end of our recent Seabourn cruise we spent a few days in Montreal where we booked a local culinary walking tour and it was loads of fun.  We also recommend that folks, who have a day to kill in Miami, consider booking a food tour of Little Havana.

 

Hank

[Mary229]

19 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We actually love culinary walking tours, but that is somewhat different than most cruise line "walking tours" that simply walk folks around town (usually within sight of the ship) and tell them things like "this is a nice boutique,"  "this is an old restaurant."  etc.

 

In fact, at the end of our recent Seabourn cruise we spent a few days in Montreal where we booked a local culinary walking tour and it was loads of fun.  We also recommend that folks, who have a day to kill in Miami, consider booking a food tour of Little Havana.

 

Hank

Love Little Havana.  My grade school had Cuban refugee nuns teaching and our cafeteria menu reflected their heritage.  Even DH was especially taken with visiting .  Our next visit to south Florida will include at least one night in an Airbnb in Little Havana.  

[Hlitner]

58 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Love Little Havana.  My grade school had Cuban refugee nuns teaching and our cafeteria menu reflected their heritage.  Even DH was especially taken with visiting .  Our next visit to south Florida will include at least one night in an Airbnb in Little Havana.  

Am in heaven when eating a good "Cubano."  

[ceeceeDee]

Absolutely. We loved Little Havana

[Reina del Mar]

Don’t know whether these are cutbacks but am not keen on the Plus/Premium packages offered by Princess, nor the increasing amounts of up charge restaurants.

 

Before anyone comments…I know I don’t have to buy/use either !!!!

 

 

[ldubs]

On 9/9/2023 at 1:38 PM, Hlitner said:

Am in heaven when eating a good "Cubano."  

 

Cuban coffee will keep me awake for a week!  😀

[DarrenM]

On 9/7/2023 at 12:03 AM, ldubs said:

 

I don't like forced fun either but think you must have a different meaning than me.  Most think of it as the mandatory company picnic or team building games that we have no choice but to attend and pretend we are enjoying ourselves.    A cruise trivia game on the other hand is totally voluntary.  Go or don't go as you like.    

OK so forced fun activities to me are those that are foisted upon you, like when they suddenly decide that relaxing near the pool quietly isnt what the doctor ordered , so they invent noisy pointless poolside games all around you, in some weird belief that those quietly enjoying the sun and a drink are just waiting for this, because they cant entertain themselves.

 

Thats one example.

[ldubs]

9 hours ago, Reina del Mar said:

Don’t know whether these are cutbacks but am not keen on the Plus/Premium packages offered by Princess, nor the increasing amounts of up charge restaurants.

 

Before anyone comments…I know I don’t have to buy/use either !!!!

 

 

It is the erosion of what was traditionally included in the basic fare that I worry about.  Currently it isn't a big deal to me.  If it continues, it could become an issue that impacts how we vacation.   

[DarrenM]

Its kind of like when you are sat enjoying a drink at a party and others are dancing, to whatever awful tune is being played by the DJ.

 

When suddenly someone dancing notices you and dances across your way and tries to grab your hand and force you onto the dance floor, because "you will enjoy it".

 

No I wont. Not ever.

 

Forced fun.

[DarrenM]

Just now, DarrenM said:

Its kind of like when you are sat enjoying a drink at a party and others are dancing, to whatever awful tune is being played by the DJ.

 

When suddenly someone dancing notices you and dances across your way and tries to grab your hand and force you onto the dance floor, because "you will enjoy it".

 

No I wont. Not ever.

 

Forced fun.

And yes, it has been pointed out to me many times, that I am a miserable soul.

 

Still wont dance just because someone else thinks its fun.

[ldubs]

4 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

OK so forced fun activities to me are those that are foisted upon you, like when they suddenly decide that relaxing near the pool quietly isnt what the doctor ordered , so they invent noisy pointless poolside games all around you, in some weird belief that those quietly enjoying the sun and a drink are just waiting for this, because they cant entertain themselves.

 

Thats one example.

 

1 minute ago, DarrenM said:

Its kind of like when you are sat enjoying a drink at a party and others are dancing, to whatever awful tune is being played by the DJ.

 

When suddenly someone dancing notices you and dances across your way and tries to grab your hand and force you onto the dance floor, because "you will enjoy it".

 

No I wont. Not ever.

 

Forced fun.

 

I understand. Not everyone enjoys everything.   Kind of tough to avoid noise and group activities on a Cruise ship.  BTW, while I occasionally participate for Mrs Ldub's happiness, I also don't really enjoy dancing.   But I enjoy listening to the music.  

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

Cuban coffee will keep me awake for a week!  😀

Too sweet for my taste, but a gallon of decent expresso does the trick :).

[Joebucks]

On 9/9/2023 at 4:38 PM, Hlitner said:

Am in heaven when eating a good "Cubano."  

 

I tell you what. I am much more content grabbing a delicious street sandwich on vacation for $15 vs virtually most other types of meal. 

[Hlitner]

17 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

I tell you what. I am much more content grabbing a delicious street sandwich on vacation for $15 vs virtually most other types of meal. 

Now, you are talking my language.  But this raises an issue (and mystery).  With all of our varied cruise experience (16 different lines and over 70 different ships) we have NEVER been on any ship (budget to luxury) that made anything close to what you call a "street sandwich."  As ex New Yorkers, we are quite demanding, in terms of sandwiches, and think of Katz's Pastrami on Rye as the gold standard.  Some of the Cubanos in Little Havana give the pastrami sandwich some good competition.

 

On HAL, we used to sometimes grab 2 or 3 of their pre-made sandwiches (at the Lido during lunch) and deconstruct-reconstruct a real sandwich :).  By taking the meat from 2-3 sandwiches, adding some more meats and cheese from the buffet, we could get something close to a decent sandwich...although the bread was never up to NYC or Miami standards.  Looking forward to being in Boston in a few weeks and enjoying a decent "lobster roll" made with about a pound of fresh lobster!  The down side is that the lobster roll will cost nearly $40!

 

Hank

[Waltershipman]

55 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Now, you are talking my language.  But this raises an issue (and mystery).  With all of our varied cruise experience (16 different lines and over 70 different ships) we have NEVER been on any ship (budget to luxury) that made anything close to what you call a "street sandwich."  As ex New Yorkers, we are quite demanding, in terms of sandwiches, and think of Katz's Pastrami on Rye as the gold standard.  Some of the Cubanos in Little Havana give the pastrami sandwich some good competition.

 

On HAL, we used to sometimes grab 2 or 3 of their pre-made sandwiches (at the Lido during lunch) and deconstruct-reconstruct a real sandwich :).  By taking the meat from 2-3 sandwiches, adding some more meats and cheese from the buffet, we could get something close to a decent sandwich...although the bread was never up to NYC or Miami standards.  Looking forward to being in Boston in a few weeks and enjoying a decent "lobster roll" made with about a pound of fresh lobster!  The down side is that the lobster roll will cost nearly $40!

 

Hank

Lobster rolls MY FAVORITE I plan to explore a variety of Lobster on our trip Halifax is full of Lobster fisherfolks i am told along with some great smoked salmon aka lox

[George C]

On 9/12/2023 at 3:09 PM, Waltershipman said:

Lobster rolls MY FAVORITE I plan to explore a variety of Lobster on our trip Halifax is full of Lobster fisherfolks i am told along with some great smoked salmon aka lox

I also love lobster rolls , suite restaurant on celebrity has them one first day for lunch only , pretty good , MSc yacht club had them for lunch on their private island for yacht club. I have tried a few in Dallas but none were that great . Also love a good pastrami, in Buffalo they have a great sandwich beef on wick , rccl does a good job of that normally.

[atraveldeal]

It’s not just mass market cruise lines that are changing things to increase revenue or to work in staff shortages. Viking Ocean Cruises increased their premium drinks package, and whilst still well below other mass market cruise lines, its timing can’t be ignored. That said they added house Champagne to the included list or premium drinks.  Also I understand that they have tweaked their menu’s also which coming from message boards on CC so far has only become a mild grizzle for a few Viking loyalists. But only time will tell. I am doing my first VOC and my first cruise post covid so I expect changes. But on deciding a cruise line I did notice that Celebrity’s prices for an Aqua Class Cabin was close to VOC entry level cabin. We have cruised many times on Celebrity and loved it but the current changes made us feel it is time to try somewhere else. We’ve done Silversea and their prices are now too high for us and Oceania which we’ve done before seems to also have changed too. Disney last time was a disappointment in squeezing every $ from you and we will never go back. But I do like turndown service if those tiny bathrooms are a mess though. 

[65Mommy]

On 8/30/2023 at 7:01 AM, Joebucks said:

 

There's a lot of people out there that make a lot of money. Regardless of who goes on the internet and says they can't afford to make ends meet, there's a lot of wealth out there. Especially in some "high cost of living areas" some people make higher salaries to compensate for higher costs. However, cruising does not increase in price proportionately for them. 

 

For me, even as I make more money, I find it hard to spend $10k+ on a cruise. Just knowing what that can grow into and how much enjoyment I can get on multiple trips at a total far less. Perhaps as I get older, have a larger savings, and a desire for new experiences, I expect I will shift there a bit. 

 

 

As I stated before. I enjoy my land trips. But it is crazy to think that they are all somehow superior to cruising now because I found something to dislike about cruising.

 

I actually just returned from a land trip and we had a great time! One of the most annoying parts of them is the time I waste to procure transportation, drive around (park/pay), plan what to do/where to go, buy tickets, etc. Land resorts can't compete in entertainment like cruises do (Vegas can I suppose, but we aren't always in Vegas). Resorts surely haven't grown in entertainment in the last decade or so like cruise ships have. I get that some people are mad that there might be other people on the ship or a large boat ruins their vacation. However, I agree with you. The options these larger boats have really adds a great depth of variety.

 

It's just so nice to be able to walk to restaurants, pools, entertainment, shopping, bars, your room, etc. when you want. You also might go to a town and there may or may not be a show going on that week. A cruise has balanced entertainment to often give multiple options per night. Sure everyone has their opinion on what is good and what isn't. However, I'll take the options anyday!

I am just not feeling the value of the luxurious prices any more in looking at some of these postings!