Honolulu Blue

It looks like Mariner OTS will be moving to Galveston starting in May '24 and continuing there through April '25. I'm not seeing any current gaps. Is ECP going to switch TEC to a Galveston departure and follow Mariner? Are they going to pick a different ship from PC? Will they go to a different port than either of these? Or - perish the thought - are they going to take a break in 2025? I'll keep an eye on this, because stuff like this is interesting to me.

Carnival does a lot of things well, IMHO. Their prices are often low, they offer lots of short cruises, they offer cruises from more ports than anyone, their crew is friendly and competent, and it's known as a place that's friendly to certain groups of people. There are plenty of n00bs I'd happily recommend Carnival to. I wouldn't recommend them to everyone. New cruisers should really do a careful look at their needs in a cruise, recognizing that everyone likes (and dislikes) different things and that needs change over time. Many of them would be well served to consult with a travel agent who can filter their needs into a (near) perfect pick.

Just a few more days to go and I'll be on my latest adventure! But first I have to survive most of this week. I had to change the timing of my flight to Miami because I couldn't get my preferred shuttle time. For a last-minute change, the 3000 miles it cost me wasn't bad. There's going to be some ugly weather in the area tomorrow and Thursday. It should calm down by Friday, so it should have a bigger effect on work than my vacation. Next on the list of things to worry about - packing and that silly COVID-19 test.

I'm sure no one from any government is subsidizing their acquisitions of Paxlovid, so they've gotta make it up somehow.

I did a 5-day on the Summit back in September '21. That one went out of Miami. The crowd was sedate as far as I could tell, but then again, we did only have 320 passengers on that sailing. I did another 5-day on the Summit last February. This one was a charter and mostly full - I estimate 80% or so. This was a WILD! cruise and I'm sure they sold a lot of drink packages, but I didn't see anyone get really out of hand. These may not be applicable to your future experience, but I wanted to share anyway. Thank you for allowing me do so. 😛

"I hope that someone gets my I hope that someone gets my I hope that someone gets my Message in a bottle, yeah..." Mmmmmm, just like the movies (or that TV show).📺 When I saw this, I thought of keeping score in baseball terms - as in did he make it to first base, second, third, or all the way home? 😍

Most memorable Princess cruise (of the two I've taken): The 80s themed cruise on the Regal back in December 2021: Most memorable cruise overall - it's impossible for me to choose between two music themed charters (neither of which were on Princess, of course). That story is covered in this series of posts:

1. Thanks for sharing your friend's story. 2. In addition to reminding me of grade school (where I may or may not have done something similar... I can't remember 🙄), it also reminds me of The Simpsons where Bart would write messages on the chalkboard as punishment. 3. Is this the future of punishment on Carnival? $500 would buy a lot of paper, pens/pencils, and chalk. 😆

Noted, thank you. I would just note that I have been surprised as how far the legalization movement has come in the past decade. I'll be less surprised if it moves further still in the years and decades to come.

In the video, Ms. Duffy didn't hide behind flag state, she hid behind U.S. federal law. Part of the reason why these ships are flagged in foreign countries is that they don't have a lot of rules. If a cruise line really wanted to legalize or decriminalize weed on board, I don't see too many stopping them.

First of all, @JamieBeth, welcome to Cruise Critic! I hope you enjoy your stay here. Second, Carnival has its recommendations for luggage at https://www.carnival.com/help?topicid=1373 . It's not bad as Web sites go, and these recommendations have been consistent over the past decade. Third, since they're only recommendations (except for the size rule), there's nothing for Carnival to enforce. And the enforcers at Carnival are a little busy with other things these days.

If this were to show up on a cruise ship today, I don't know if people would think it was 20 years ahead of its time - or 100 years behind the times.

I wouldn't be surprised. Bringing it back to the topic at hand, I wonder what Carnival's reaction would be if Congress decided to make MJ legal. Would they go, "Woo hoo!" Would they breathe a sigh of relief? Would they keep the same old rules? Or would they clear some shelves and stock the newly legal merchandise in the gift shops?

First of all, @AbbyCruiser45, thank you for spreading the good news! I hope this spreads fleetwide, but we'll have to see. Second, part of the reason the OVC was cut back - according to conversations by others with certain executive-types - is because they WANTED TO DRIVE PEOPLE TO THE MDR! 🤣 Perhaps TPTB learned a lesson in being careful what they wish for? One can only hope. 🙏

They did announce here that there would be extra security personnel onboard and drug-sniffing dogs in the terminals. That was new to me, though it wouldn't surprise me if they had taken these measures earlier. Anyway, Ms. Duffy reminded me of a substitute teacher facing a class that's bound and determined to defy her. I don't envy her, and I also don't see this video (other than the countermeasures explained within the video) doing a whole lot to help. If things don't improve by the end of spring, then what? I'm not sure that I want to find out.

This made me think about how much I've paid/will pay for the 27 cruises I've had or will have in my lifetime of cruising. It's around 200 days at sea, roughly 140 of them on Carnival. But the answer is I'm sure I haven't paid $50k for all my experiences combined.

I can't remember if I mentioned it here, but one of my cruises on the Summit last February was also a charter. Was it the same one? Probably not. I thought the service was great and the food was very good (despite mostly hanging out at the trough). We were a little under capacity. It just goes to show that the last line of your post is crucial - everyone's mileage does vary, based on many different things. 🙂

Here's another article with a few more background details: Princess Cruises will stop in Yorktown beginning in 2024; State lawmakers propose $7.5M for pier | WAVY.com . TL,DR: It's a personal project for Mr. Padgett - he grew up nearby, ships will likely come from Boston or New York

Mr. Weinstein: When will the next group of 80s themed cruises be announced for Princess? Has there been any thought to expanding this theme to any other Carnival Corp. cruise lines?

It's been fun reminiscing. Special thanks to @mz-s for the list of things that have been eliminated post-pandemic. I'll add one more that probably only I remember enjoying - the Hasbro shows. Oh well, my next Carnival cruise is in November after not having cruised on any CCL ships since the great shutdown. I'll have to see how much the experience has been changed.

I'm intrigued by this - more, perhaps, than I ought to be. 🙃 Here's another article with more details: Details Emerge in Wake of Princess Cruises Yorktown Announcement | Williamsburg Yorktown Daily (wydaily.com) TL,DR: It's part of a pilot/test It will be a tender port Mostly weekday stops All will be daytime visits, around 8-ish AM to 5-ish PM No supplies will be picked up by the ship here, nor will trash be disposed of here These, of course, don't answer the really big questions - when, where, and how? My search today still shows the Island in Europe for the whole summer. They'd have to pull them out in order to serve this new stop. I guess they're willing to do this, but why? Emerald is currently showing only one Caribbean cruise in June, so moving them there would be much easier. This also leaves the question of where they would base these ships and what else is on the itinerary. Also, I'm sure it only affects me, but I wonder if one or more of them will have an 80s theme - the 1780s! 😁 Tricorn hat here I come!!

I'm on this cruise too!

I don't have too much to say on your subject, but I wanted to note that I've done both these itineraries and both of these ships. Both cruises are good; I don't think you can go wrong with either. Have fun with whatever you choose.

Mr. Liberty, why did you demand that LLP and Celebrity decimate their dinner buffet in the name of cost cutting? Don't you realize that this is NOT going to help their reputation for quality food? Mr. Vago, why are your booking policies so hostile to solo cruisers? Mr. Vago, how do you intend to achieve your goal of being the world's #1 cruise line? And how long do you anticipate this will take? (for any and all of this group), do your booking algorithms have a limit on how many cabins can be booked by single travelers? Mr. Weinstein, what is the long-term plan for Costa to return to relevance as a cruise line? Or is the plan to pray that China opens up soon and MSC stops dealing body blows? Mr. Del Rio, where did the pressure come from to reimplement the massed muster drill? Did the crew demand better training in emergency procedures? Are certain governmental authorities whispering that they weren't going to authorize your version of eMuster permanently? Or was it a general company overview that showed that the eMuster wasn't as effective as it needed to be?

I check my e-mail again and get news about my other cruise - the UDC. This one is not so good. Billy Ocean is a scratch. Say it isn't so! ☹️ Oh well. I'm glad I didn't totally rely on Billy coming to the party. They did get The Whispers to replace them. I've heard of them; they're all right, probably worth watching. I'll have to check the schedule online if it changes to see where they'll be placed.