Sackat60

Oh gosh yes. Sorry....I had a moment. My daughter and I booked their first cruise, which was to be be April 2020, rebooked several times after COVID cancellation, so yes, our first was actually December 2021. 2nd was January 2022 and third was January this year. Thank you for the correction! They made many tweaks during the first year, so on each cruise, I saw several modifications. Some of the things they did during those initial UK-only cruises were modified when they came to Miami. They definitely served us in December 2021, but honestly I enjoyed the drinking game A LOT on the 2nd Gunbae experience (it was my birthday) and while I know we didn't cook, I can't say for sure we didn't serve ourselves. At any rate, it's my least favorite restaurant onboard, but I'd still go if travel companions wanted to.

Maybe. On my first visit (December 2020), they were pretty new to cruising and several COVID protocols were in place. We were not allowed to take the meat off the gill ourselves and since a lot was still being worked out (most of the shows broke down, there was just a lot of start up turmoil), I gave them a pass. On the second visit there (Jan 2023 - my third cruise on Scarlet), we were still not allowed to cook our food and I don't recall being able to serve ourselves off the grill, although dishes were handed around the table. I don't think the food was awful, just not as good as other restaurants onboard. We have a number of very good Korean BBQ's where we're from, so I think a few of us were extra picky. This is my opinion (of course) and experiences vary depending on what you like and even on the cruise, depending on who's managing the restaurant.

Tried it on two different cruises and both times was unimpressed. It's my least favorite of their restaurants due to high level of noise, mediocre (under seasoned and not well prepared) food and uncomfortable seating (hard to get in and out of for some). My traveling companions on my last cruise enjoyed the sort of party nature of it, but none of the other 6 in our group was particularly excited about the food overall. It might be more fun/interesting if we could cook ourselves, but I doubt that's going to allowed due to liability, etc. I think it's worth checking out if you've cruised VV before, or are onboard for a longer time, but I wouldn't bypass trying out the other restaurants to eat there.

I've cruised a number of other lines recently, but not very experienced with Celebrity. Boarding in 8 days and I've been trying to get specialty dining reservations for weeks for us and the other 4 people that we're traveling with. My little group would love Le Voyage (or something else upscale as a second choice), but I haven't seen much availability since I started looking. So two questions..... 1). is it worth trying to book onboard, or will that be a waste of time and and a frustrating exercise? and 2). is there another (more likely available) restaurant that would be worthwhile as a substitute? I keep getting emails suggesting we buy specialty dining packages and promoting Chef's table, but there's no point in getting one of those if they are all booked up. Thanks!!

Thank you! I haven't sailed Princess in a few years, and of the other cruises I've done lately, one was a real stickler about times, another didn't care, and the other two just had hours long lines so it didn't matter when you got there. We will opt to try to board early!!

Thank you! I can, but probably not the others with me.

For the first time ever, we are flying in the day of the cruise and should be arriving at LGB at 9:30am for tomorrow's 15 day Crown Hawaiian cruise. Two couples and we all have late embarkation times. I've searched the net and this forum, but haven't found what I'm looking for. (1). What is there to do at the pier if we arrive 4 hours early (USS Iowa is apparently closed for a special function)? (2). Can we check bags early and then come back for boarding? (3). Is there anywhere there to buy decent wine or should we have driver stop on the way? I couldn't afford drinks package for both non-drinking hubby and me for 15 days, so need to stock up :-)! Thank you!!

Thank you! I actually did that on my last 15 day cruise, Nov 2019. I brought two bottles onboard along with 4 that (at the time), I paid $15 corkage each. But then I also ended up buying the wine package for 6 more bottles once onboard. I ended up with a lot more wine than even I could drink (as I was also enjoying a nightly martini or bourbon) and was guzzling it on the last day 😆! I'll try to strike a middle path this time!

I actually have the same question. Going on a 15 day cruise and already have wifi and gratuities paid. Hubby doesn't drink, but we'd have to buy both, so that would cost us $1500 ($50x15x2). I haven't sailed Princess since 2019 and back then, I could bring a couple of bottles of wine onboard and buy a wine package once onboard, but that doesn't seem to exist anymore (that I could find). I usually have an averages of 3 glasses of wine and 1-2 cocktails a day (less for port days).

Wow! It will be my first time on HAL, although I've sailed Princess and Carnival. I emailed just the first page of my brokerage statement (amounts of our investments blacked out) and the page with our stocks (account number blacked out) yesterday evening in an email, along with cruise conf number, ship, dates and my full name and I got confirmation of OBC within 4 hours! It said it would be applied when we embark.