Wildcatllamas

I sure hope they do something with the beds in the non-suite cabins. I finally figured out that if you have the beds laid out in the couch format that the one on the solid wall portion loses all of its cushioning from the "bedsprings" because it is resting on a solid platform. So better bedding is about the only option rather then swapping over to a traditional cruise cabin style bed.

An NCL cruise I was on had to cancel our stop in San Francisco and subbed Astoria. It was a very enjoyable time there. When we entered the Columbia river channel at 1:30 am it was high tide and let me tell you that ship was pitching and rolling. Furniture on the deck was being slammed around and it was almost impossible to walk in the cabin. That morning we went to the Maritime Museum and found out about the Columbia Breaks and what a ships graveyard it is.

I did some checking and it appears that the May 7, 2026 scheduled stop for Brilliant Lady in Astoria is gone and Grand Princess is now there. Princess has had some pretty popular cruises up and down the West coast that are advertised as Wine Country cruises. I guess we will find out on May 1st.

Gamblers are a strange breed. Our biggest promo for a couple of years was a pumpkin pie giveaway from Halloween through Thanksgiving. Put 400 points on your account in 24 hours ($1200) and get a "free" fully cooked pumpkin pie. The pie costed the casino $3 and probably ran about $6 at the grocery store but people came in almost daily to get the pumpkin pie. So @CruisingWalter is right how much is put into welcoming gamblers with open arms and making them feel special. There is no such thing as a "free Lunch" and a sucker is born every minute are so very true.

Amen to that!

@CineGraphic I saw that just after I hit submit. I've been talking with our GM and Marketing Director. They got a big kick out of those percentages. We give way more promo stuff for a whole lot less.

Oh my. Having worked in the casino industry for 25 years I will usually inquire on a cruise what the coin in is to earn a point. I know most land based casinos are at and that is in the vicinity of $3/1 point. One of the cruises I was one it was $6/1 point. I haven't been in the casinos on Virgin so I haven't asked but I would guess it would closer to the $6 then the $3. So, I could spend, let's say $15,000, to get free drinks while in the casino or $300 for a bar tab.

I also found it there but when I searched other possible ports that she might be going to I came up with nothing. She will pop up somewhere and then disappear. So it is definitely a guessing game.

@jon81uk thanks for the clarification. I did get the blue wristband. After the first day I did remove it. Everyone at the coffee shop knew me. I did move my medallion portion of my wristband to my sea blazer one because I just like purple better. Several of the employees commented on how unique it was.

That is interesting. I have the Sea Blazer wrist band that was mailed to me following my cruises in 2021. It is purple with a silver colored medallion that is engraved with SB. I wore it when I went on my cruise in December and no one said "oh gee" you go ahead of these folks. What does the Sea Rover band look like?

That's what I have done in the past and then a quick hit with wrinkle release spray and things are good.

My last cruise on Celebrity was the end of January 2020 right before everything went down hill. Everything was great on that cruise for the friends and I that all traveled together. I don't know about now but I definitely feel that Celebrity and Virgin are the closest comparisons. As to the Crown Grill - I ate there in April of 2023 and also in October of 2022. Two different ships and my steaks both times weren't cooked the way I asked for them. I like them warm rare and each time they came out medium or medium well. On my April cruise I think the chef got pissed and just slapped it on the grill, flipped and then sent it out. I shocked the waiter when I told it was great, because I will eat it that way. On the October one, it took 2 steaks to get it to at least a medium rare. At least at the Wake when I tell them I would like my steak cooked Pittsburgh style and rare they know exactly what I want and it comes out perfect.

You can't really blame them. So many cruise ports are starting to look at the mega ships with 3 - 5 thousand people and if you have several of them there what does it do to the way of life for the folks who live there. I was just reading that NCL is modifying their private island's pier so that two of their proposed mega ships with 5000 folks apiece can dock there at the same time. I don't think I would want to spend my time on a small private island with 10,000 people, many of them kids. When I was in Fairbanks back in February it was nice to talk with the locals. They like the quiet time when the cruises aren't doing all their tours up to there. Many people don't realize who fragile the environment is up there and don't appreciate the beauty for what it is. Folks who can't understand why they couldn't see Denali because of the clouds and weather and things like that.

I live at 8500 feet (2590m) in the mountains of Colorado and I'm like you - 20C is a heat wave.

I think you're right. I would guess that they may do a brief Caribbean stint followed by a full transit through the Panama Canal to finish up with the Mexican Riviera. Rather then Alaska they may even opt to do Hawaii following Mexico. That would be a nice trip.