rj59

I actually met Rudi on an elevator in SF on a Majestic coastal cruise last May. I thanked him for all the fine meals I had on HAL that were designed by him.

Japanese baths, both public and private, are much cleaner, because they wash before getting into the water. So in my house in Japan, I had a deep, wonderful, heated rub, and a hose outside the tub to wash first. The reason, as in public baths, is that Japanese families have traditionally shared a bath, and kept the water in the tub to be reheated later, so there's a strong incentive to go into a bath clean. The same goes for why there are public squat toilets, so you're not sitting on a dirty toilet seat. They also had warm-water bidets long before many Americans finally realized during the Great TP Panic of 2020 that bidets are more hygienic and pleasant to use.

Local here. If you're not carrying lots of luggage, I'd walk to the Westlake Station in downtown Seattle, stopping at Pike Place market, and then catch the Link light rail to Seatac. It's a 15-minute walk to the station, .7 miles, $2.75 tickets you buy in machines there, and a 37-minute ride to Seatac. There's a mall at Westlake, as well as nearby shopping at Nordstroms and other stores. That way you can leave the ship when you want, not have to find and wait for a bus, wait for all the people to load the bus, and then get stuck at the airport while everyone unloads with their luggage at each stop (the area in front of the pier is a complete zoo, and the entrance to departures at Seatac gets very backed up at times), and not have to deal with downtown or freeway traffic. If you're taking Uber or Lyft (compare both apps to get the best fare and nearest driver), go up the next street, since a driver will get stuck in traffic jams at the terminal and have trouble finding you in the chaos there.

Usually there are a bar or two that have happy hour pricing, so you could get a drink then and maybe another to take and save for before dinner. If it's near sunset, the aft pool bar or crow's nest or Lido bar might be a good idea, or you could get one in the Ocean Bar and walk outside on the promenade to sit.

Just bring your favorite detergent pods in a baggie.

I saw this on a search on a solo deal website and jumped on it, an inside solo, with $600 in drinks. It's a great itinerary, with Cannes, Sardinia/Sicily, and two Greek islands before Athens. It leaves on my birthday, too, a nice treat. I don't see any excursions yet for Cagliari and Catania, but a different excursion site gave me an idea of options.

I drifted away from HAL for a number of years, drawn by Princess and Celebrity. But now the other two are engaging in the same sort of cutbacks, so I've seen the same degradation of the cruise experience. What's drawn me back to HAL (3 coastal cruises in the coming 3 days): 1. While prices are pretty consistently high lately for a solo cruiser like me, they drop the price of coastal cruises significantly (like $24/pp/nt for an inside on Koningsdam going in October). I also went on Volendam to Alaska in June for around $100/nt for a solo oceanview. Last-minute huge drops give me buyer's remorse on other lines. 2. Pre-KDam, they're still the best ships with a level, wraparound outside promenade (along with Cunard). I'm big on whale watching, walking outside, getting away from crowds, and watching sunsets, so the older HAL ships are the best in the cruising world. 3. First year of restart was glorious on other lines, with 30% occupancy on large Princess, NCL, and Royal ships. Two experiences this year on full ships with 3500-4000 pax were nightmarish--lines, shows completely full, stress and anger, loud and long dining, rushed crew. I even felt that on KDam in early December last year--just too many people in too little space, not my usual comfortable HAL experience. So HAL older ships offer a smaller-ship experience, with Volendam/Zaandam a perfect size to ride out the current cruise mania. 4. Princess recently stopped the ability to combine military/shareholder OBC. HAL now offers a $100 military OBC for cruises of any length. Show you value my service and loyalty, don't use veterans for cheap cutbacks. 5. I went to a UW Husky football game, and HAL sponsored the Wave between quarters, which was a clever nautical tie-in and good advertising for the wealthy alumni there. 6. On KDam they had grab-and-go Dive-In burgers, good for when I don't want to wait with a beeper. 7. HAL sushi used to be stale and dry, but on KDam it was fresh and tasted like restaurant sushi. 8. Showers on KDam--even an inside was the largest I've had on a ship, with a rain shower head. 9. Beecher's mac and cheese at most buffet meals...now that's a corporate sponsorship I can like. 10. I really like the HAL font, logo, ship color scheme, and balanced beauty of the ships. No other ships get me excited just to see them in a harbor.

There's no longer a Lincoln Center quartet on the ships? I know it's rather sad and distracting for them to be on the Music Walk on the new ships, with the blasting from the Rolling Stone and Billboard and drunks strolling past and loud salespeople whipping up excitement for some stupid sale. I actually prefer the Adagio duos that used to be on all the ships, in the Explorer's Lounge, since they were free to play what they wanted and I met lots of friendly Ukrainians over the years. The Lincoln Center groups have to play what their corporate overlords dictate on their ipads, and every program is the same on every ship, so there's nothing new, ever, no freedom or innovation or originality. It's the same as the Mainstage shows now--you get a choice of dance program A, B, or C, or the lame Billboard hit parade (god please don't make me watch Whitney Houston's sweaty face again), all the same on every ship, or you get a nature movie with the classical group pretending to play over the deafening synth soundtrack. Wow. Every other line in the world allows music performers to play what they want, to take requests, and rotates them around bars and restaurants, so every cruise and every venue is different. But HAL didn't want to pay for singers and production shows, while NCL and Royal do full Broadway shows. Celebrity does amazing production shows with the incredible LED screens on their new ships, but the ones on the new HAL ships are wasted, because they're just a background for 4 interpretive dancers. I met a former HAL singer/dancer on Celebrity Apex who I remembered from some great Westerdam production shows, and we both lamented how far HAL mainstage entertainment has fallen, compared to every other line.

Usually they send me a confirmation, although it's always a bit nerve-wracking to not see your OBC total until you actually are on the ship. I had my first and last Cunard cruise a few weeks ago when my shareholder OBC didn't appear, and I was told 4 different lies by their customer service reps, and even after I emailed their shareholder rep, who assured me it was on my account, and the front desk promised it would be there the morning of debarkation to cover my spending, it wasn't there. In the big picture, some people might be better off investing the CCL money elsewhere, instead of in a lackluster stock. Foolish me bought it before the pandemic, tempted by the 10% dividend. I did better with RCL, which I bought for some cheap Celebrity post-pandemic cruises, after the stock was dragged down by Carnival bad news, and I sold it a few months ago for a $6000 profit, which more than covered the cost of my 5 Celebrity cruises last year and 2 more this fall. One big plus of HAL is now offering a $100 military OBC, regardless of cruise length. I was largely loyal to Princess because of their military OBC, but now they no longer let me combine it with a shareholder credit, which lost my loyalty for not supporting my service and my investment in their company at a low point for them.

Just be aware that HAL ships only have a single lunch menu, so you'll see the same one on every sea day, and it's things like burgers, instead of the salmon I usually get at Princess embarkation lunch.

I've observed this on HAL and Princess as well, with just as many people on those boards confused and angry about their changes. The older crowd hate the Medallion and app experience of Princess, but it seemed obvious to me that they were aiming for a younger, future crowd new to cruising, with a more tech-friendly experience and family-friendly experience, once the current older generation is gone. There are also millions of younger Boomers who haven't thought of cruising before, so every line is going for them, with relaxed dress codes, gimmicky experiences like animated dining tables, and advertising that shows younger, diverse, adventurous people. At one point a lot of the lines thought the Chinese market would be the future, and Royal, Princess, and NCL designed ships specifically for the Chinese market, but they ended up getting sent back to the American market, so now all the lines are looking to capture future generations, even at the cost of alienating a generation of traditional cruisers who don't like changes or cutbacks from past ideal experiences. Even Cunard, the most traditional and conservative line I've been on, was heavily promoting the work of a Banksy-created street graffitii/spraypaint 'artist' named Mr. Brainwash when I was on Queen Elizabeth a few weeks ago. I cruise all non-luxury lines (even Carnival, since they're the main player for my preferred Mexico cruises), and the weird cutbacks and attempts to squeeze revenue are disheartening, especially since I keep really wanting to love just one line. HAL, Princess, and Celebrity all have great things I love, but then they do stupid little things that aren't huge, but which alienate me, such as a stupid $5 room service charge (a premium line should make revenue by charging for premium items through room service). I thought NCL was kind of cool, with Beatles and Broadway shows, but then on a cruise in February they decided to bring back in-person muster, a nightmare, and they decided to save by cutting back on stewards, so I never had my room cleaned before 4:30 pm, even on embarkation day. But their ships are at over 100% occupancy, so people are still going on all the lines, no matter how expensive it gets and no matter how petty the charges and cutbacks are or how galling for long-time loyal cruisers. The effect for me is to make non-cruise travel more appealing. I was going to go on a Celebrity Spain cruise in November, but I don't want to be charged a 300% single supplement, so I'll wait and do a Rick Steves or other bus tour, where I get more time and depth and immersion in local culture and experience.

You might look at Cunard. I just did a quick 3-day on the Queen Elizabeth, and it was very nice, and probably nicer for those who book the premium club dining and lounges. The ship and experience reminded me of HAL about a decade ago, before their own cutbacks and degradation of the cruise experience. Some of the people on the ship were going from a 10-day Alaska, around the Panama Canal, and then home to Europe. I found it refreshingly free of cutbacks or nickel-and-diming, with free room service and a wide menu, an incredible pub, luxurious afternoon tea, and an enforced dress code on gala night (those who didn't want to dress up could go to the buffet, pub for dinner, or a Lido Asian Restaurant). It's definitely more sedate than X, but it's the only supposed upscale line that hasn't been downscaling, and they are the only still to have the transatlantic ocean liner experience on Queen Mary 2.

It's not so much Edge or Celebrity, so much as demand for Alaska cruising from Seattle. I went on my first Celebrity cruise on Solstice in August 2022, and it was about $500 for a last-minute solo, and $250 per person for an inside, but Solstice this year is 4-5x that, as are most r/t cruises out of Seattle (the Carnival cruise I took last year is 10x higher now). On the other hand, N/S cruises are going for deep discounts, since there are so many ships on all the lines, and you can go on Summit next May for a fraction of the Edge price. The benefit of one-way cruises is you get to visit Hubbard Glacier, the only growing glacier, the largest, and the one with the highest chance of calving, you spend more time in ports, and you don't have rough sea days on the open ocean to the west of Vancouver Island, as you do going from Seattle. You also don't have to make the token evening stop in Victoria before the cruise ends. Edge and the other Seattle-based ships go to Dawe's or the other glacier by Juneau, and a lot of captains don't want to risk the ice by a sharp, narrow turn to get close to the glacier, so you might just get a distant glance of a small glacier. The Edge, unfortunately, also doesn't have the forward viewing platforms and forward Sky Lounge of the other older Celebrity ships, a significant drawback. They also don't go to Glacier Bay, like Princess, HAL, and even some NCL ships now. So Seattle-based prices won't go down until demand does, so the way to cope is to get a better and cheaper cruise by going out of Vancouver or Alaska. I know Princess even gives a discount for a r/t 14-day trip, where you visit Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, and College Fjord glaciers, and the prices from this summer for 14 days were cheaper than for 7 days out of Seattle.

I've only been with Celebrity for a year, but have been on 5 cruises with them, several with the package included. One thing that will surprise you is that drink prices are rather elevated, to not only persuade people to get a package, but also to convince you to upgrade. So a plain latte will be $5 or so, and the beer lists are all over the place, some classic, some premium, regardless of quality. The main thing to be aware of if you're coming from another line is that Celebrity will hard sell you everywhere to not only get the package, but also to upgrade your package to premium--in the cafe, the dining room, people randomly stopping passengers on embarkation day, and of course in bars. The basic wifi is also significantly throttled, also to make it so frustrating that you'll upgrade. I love most things about Celebrity, and I feel sorry for the crew who are urged to push packages and upgrades, but if I don't have a package, I don't even buy a coffee or drink until several days in the cruise, when they stop the spiels. They also evidently have a lot riding on survey ratings, since I'm routinely begged for a good rating by servers, and even buffet managers giving a speech on the final day, when they bring out all the cakes and goodies. I also found that the packages are so confusing that even servers gave me false information--when I had the zero-proof package a bartender told me my mocktail wasn't included on the package and that I needed to upgrade, but I told him to just swipe my card, and of course it was included--I wasn't sure if he was lying or not to trick me into upgrading, but the package description doesn't mention mocktails, so Celebrity itself is being evasive in not listing them as an option, in hopes you will upgrade.

It's huge demand, particularly for bigger ships like Royal has, with newer ones that families want to go on, so they adjust accordingly. If you think that's high, check out Disney prices, for the same reason--families willing to spend more for travel. It's reflected in the RCL stock price, which doubled this year, and so Royal and Celebrity have to produce the profits to justify it. RCL CEO has explicitly said he wants cruise travel to be closer in price to resort travel, so they're trying to maximize revenue through fares, packages and excursions before a cruise, and especially on board, where spending has been at high levels across lines.

I kind of like the idea. HAL has gone to a similar setup, where you can only get a flute of sparkling wine at the reception but then get a cocktail coupon to get when you want, when you want it, without the stress it puts on bartenders and servers and agoraphobes like me at such receptions, which I can now just skip.

Perfect review, thorough and fair. I did my first Cunard on QE going from Vancouver to SF and had mixed feelings. I tried the tea service in the Lido, and realized it's just not for me. I found the QE buffet limited and fairly bad, just one little cattle pen, with very few desserts and even a horrible soft serve ice cream machine, and while the serving area is wider than HAL, with no rubberneckers blocking traffic, it also reduces seating, so there was almost no seating available when I embarked at 1 or so. I had all sea days, so I appreciated having a changed menu for each day at lunch (only HAL, NCL, and Carnival have a single lunch menu). The pub was excellent, with a huge variety of beers priced under $7 and free lunch and dinner there--I had lots of fish and chips. Their version of Canaletto is Asian and was superb--I ate there on formal night to escape the pressure to wear a tux. I'm fairly bored by overfamiliarity with Princess/HAL/Celebrity menus, so it was nice to see new and unique dishes. Very low sales pressure and no funneling through jewelry-watch shops, no arts auctions, just a ridiculous street art guy being sold for $20k per spraypainted canvas. Nobody beats HAL breads, but their MDR baguette was soft. I really loved their free room service--Thai and other interesting foods. TV was also abysmal, with no interactive ability to check account, see menus, etc (if you go to the dining room they will print out lunch and dinner menus to take). Like HAL, a supposed upscale line still using shower curtains. I hate the corporate sameness of HAL music and dance programs, so it was nice to see an actual production show and musicians playing what they wanted throughout the ship and taking requests, both in their crow's nest and in the nice indoor area next to the buffet--perfect spot for drinks, sunsets, and guitar singers. The amazing two-story library also reminded me sadly of another thing HAL has given up, including a librarian there during the day who doubles as the wifi/internet help person. The big dance floor is pretty amazing, where they also have afternoon tea and dance classes, and it really came alive on formal night, as a gathering spot with a beautiful ice white glacier theme--HAL simply doesn't have that sort of central atrium gathering space. The things I didn't like about the layout was that the central tower, Tamarind on HAL ships, is private dining areas and lounges, and there's no retractable roof over the pool, and no direct link to the buffet for taking food there, as I do on HAL. Another blessed advantage over HAL--no smoking on the rear pool area. And no pet relief areas on the promenade or dogs that I saw, and the promenade by the bow is more open, so I don't get painful ear pressure from vibration, as I do on HAL promenades. Like HAL, there was the obligatory obnoxious runner, inconveniencing, scaring, and endangering everyone on the promenade so he could run fast. There are tons of people on here missing the good old days of HAL high standards and dress and classic cruising, so they should definitely try Cunard out, especially since the ships feel quite familiar in so many ways. They don't have many US options, but I have seen a lot of affordable, varied 7-14 night itineraries in Europe--QE is on it's way to Barcelona now, and of course you have the Queen Mary 2 as a classic liner unique option, which now that I see that it's not a stuffy or dull line, I'd like to do someday.

I find the easiest way to talk to people as a shy person is on excursions, because you're part of a group and everyone is having fun, or else getting cranky together. Having seen older solos, the worst thing to do is talk about yourself, which I saw a solo woman do when imposing yourself at a family's table. Only say positive things and don't drag people down with health problems or death--so I'd say "I'm single now", instead of "I'm a widow". So a positive excitement will get you more involved and people will want to keep talking to you, especially important on a long world cruise. So I was thinking of a world cruise after my cat died, but even though I would have felt sorrow, I would have kept it to myself, and only said things like "it's great to have the freedom finally to see the world on this dream cruise". Go to classes, even things you might not normally do, like line dancing or Zumba, where you're part of a group doing things but there's no forced socialization, like at a singles meet or dining table.

I just posted on the Celebrity boards about this discrimination. I'm used to paying 200%, but on a Mexico trip in November they want $1400 for a solo, versus $300 per person for an inside, which is 450%. Has anyone tried booking a phantom person and having them as a no-show? I would imagine the port fees/taxes would be refunded? I love Celebrity, since they have a more youthful vibe and innovative ships than the HAL and Princess ones I've been on mostly for the past decade, but their pricing is very opaque--visiting the future cruises desk on Apex was like a car sale, with all sorts of codes and discounts and 'working the numbers' (I expected them to say 'what do I have to do to get you into this shiny new ship?').

I noticed on several Celebrity cruises that instead of a 200% charge for a solo, that the solo rate is 450% or higher. For instance, a November 6-nt to Mexico is $300 per person for an inside, but a solo inside is $1400. I see it on several Celebrity and RC cruises I look at, so I can only imagine they want to discourage me from going, since they have confidence the room will be booked by a couple. Has anyone tried booking a phantom roommate, paid the usual charge and port fees for two people, and had a no-show for the second person? I presume the second person's port fees would be refunded? Will they ban me from the cruise, like the people who get caught skiplagging flights? I know Jason Liberty keeps saying he wants to make cruises more comparable in price to land resorts, but I just looked at an all-inclusive in Cabo, and the price is the same for a single, and they even have cheaper single rooms.

it depends on the ship and season and itinerary. If you go to Alaska out of Seattle during the summer, or anywhere during school holidays, everything is going to feel slow and crowded and understaffed, particularly for Alfredo's or room service. But if you do a coastal, N/S Alaska, or one-way Hawaii, it will feel much different. For MDR, you can simply adjust your dining times to try to get quicker service--I usually eat at 8, or whenever the early show starts, although on a Cunard cruise I tried showing up at 5:30 and got a window seat and quick service, since my order got put in before crowding. I also find that I get too tempted by an early buffet visit if I eat later, particularly on Princess German or Italian nights. Generally, though, there are fewer travel restrictions and labor demand has slowed a little worldwide, so I'm seeing quicker response times from cruise customer service. High inflation around the world probably makes cruise contracts more attractive, fuller ships means a bigger tip pool, and cruise lines probably tried to up salaries somewhat to attract more crew. Plus, I noticed on Celebrity and Princess growing numbers of crew from Zimbabwe, where the per capita income is $1200, versus $3500 in the Philippines, and a maitre'd I spoke to said Ukrainian and Eastern European crew are decreasing, but are being replaced by Africans and others.

It will always be there, mainly because they make money from people getting photos taken. That was especially true on every Carnival ship I've been on, where they have backdrops and photographers everywhere. I finished my first Cunard cruise last week, and if you want to be in a tux-majority place, that's your crowd, although they at least go with themes now (ours was Ice White, with an Alaska glacier theme). Some wore suits on Cunard, as I did, and I dined in an Asian restaurant that night, where the dress code didn't apply, and the buffet was full of people not dressed up. So choice and freedom are good things, and not imposing your beliefs on others or judging them. My parents stayed in suites and took tons of luggage so they could dress up on RC cruises, but I go with a backpack or duffel and stay in solo insides. The cruise lines are also aiming towards the future, especially Royal and Celebrity, which I think is indicated in their innovative ships designs and younger demographic, and their stock price seems to show it's paying off. Am I the only one who hates the term Dressy Night?

Having done a one-way to Hawaii on HAL, I would have gone insane without being able to walk laps around an outside promenade. I'd think Skywalkers would also be lovely, day or night, on Emerald. Discovery is beautiful, but I found it way too stressful when full last summer in Alaska, where even the late productions shows were completely full (likely where I picked up Covid, showing up half an hour early to get a seat). With Alfredo's no longer being free, or being limited in the times you can visit, that removes a big plus for Discovery. If you want a real low-occupancy Hawaii trip, I'd look at a one-way as it's going to or from Australia--Royal was about 30% occupancy coming over from Australia last Spring, and the ridiculously cheap price for the September Royal sailing to Honolulu shows it has to have very low occupancy.

If you're close by number of cruises, just do some quick and easy Pacific Coastal cruises out of Seattle or Vancouver. I'm doing a 2-night on Royal from Seattle to Vancouver in 3 weeks, and then Crown does a 3-night in the NW before going to SF, so you could easily get two cruises for 6 nights, usually quite cheap too. If you go solo, you also get double credits. If you do a quick cruise between Vancouver and SF, you also get the enjoyment of sailing under two bridges, with some unusual itinerary times arriving or leaving Vancouver for Royal-class ships to make tides low enough to fit under the bridge. The drawback, other than iffy weather sometimes, is that once you end up as Elite you might end up like me, with dozens of minibottles of booze on top of your fridge.

Another free secret I found on Apex was an automatic espresso machine in the Solarium Cafe. I honestly have never found anything compelling in the Al Bacio sweets, since they're just little things thrown in a bag, and the ice cream buffet station offers more pleasure for the sugar and calories. The buffet dessert station on Solstice was mostly cakes and other junk (except for baclava on Greek day), but Apex had some quality desserts in their buffet. To me the worst cutback was the experiment with the Incredible Shrinking Evening Buffet, which was offensive to both passengers and the crew who had to eat there. A $2 cookie also pales in comparison to the fare increases recently, which are 5x higher that what I paid last year to go to Mexico, and their last Mexico cruise out of LA before they completely abandon it is more than double what I paid for it a few months ago. On the positive side, I managed to get 5 solo inside cruises on Solstice for an average price of $50/nt or so the first year after restart, and I bought their stock at $40 to get a shareholder benefit, and sold it at over $100, so my 7 Celebrity cruises will all be covered by my RCL stock sale. The only really compelling cookies I've had on ships were on Ovation of the Seas, because they cooked them in the buffet and you could get them gloriously fresh and warm, with the incredible smell from the oven.