basenji56

Yes. Which is why I wouldn't put all of my chips one one roll. If you break it down to $50 a roll, you hedge that bet. Still nothing is guaranteed but I would rather take home most of the loot than leave it all on the ship.

"However, I can’t really say I feel HAL is a more premium product and is worth any extra dollars." I am not criticizing the poster, but I don't know where this idea came from that HAL was a premium product. I always viewed it as a sister line to Princess--a Carnival product. Geared to an older market than Princess.

I figured another way to cash out the chips was to play roulette by betting on the red or black. When you win (a little less than) half the time, the chips you win are able to be cashed out. Any flaws in this thinking?

Yes, I can use it for all of those things. But I also have a large bar tab and I don’t drink I would use the loot for shore excursions but I can’t do that until I board so I may have to pay for those before I board with real money So I am looking for some way to avoid losing the loot. Spa treatments are a good idea.

I have $700 in loot to use in the casino. I have never gambled on a ship before. How does the ship know which portion of your slots chips are promotional and which are winnings that you can cash out? Sorry for sounding dense.

These prices will be the subject of a survey in the near future. Followed by an announcement that Celebrity will NOT be charging for toast.

I worry more about ships being forced to move to the new cruise terminal an hour away from Barcelona. https://www.cruisehive.com/partial-barcelona-cruise-ship-ban-to-begin-in-october/109202

https://www.cruisehive.com/partial-barcelona-cruise-ship-ban-to-begin-in-october/109202

Source please?

I always laugh at how you can get many types of alcohol, but Perrier WATER is considered a high dollar drink worthy only of the Premium plan. I get around it by ordering club soda.

I get 3% back on my credit card so its a relatively easy decision to forgo the extra .3% in exchange for the extra travel benefits from the card. If you don't get cash back on your card, it might be a different calculation.

We can put out a call for comedians.... https://www.careeraddict.com/how-become-comedian

Crystal left many holding the bag too. I assume Viking is safe but I have not studied its books. Using a credit card adds significant protection.

Yes, travel protection from credit card needs to be favored in. As well as protection from provider bankruptcy

And the last time I checked, Viking doesn't really offer any loyalty program of note.

I look back on those late 2021-early 2022 cruises are some of the best. Although we had to wear masks, the numbers of passengers were so low and the passenger to crew ration was outstanding.

I have a Crystal sailing booked next year. I appreciate hearing the pros and cons of the restart. People tell me that the new Crystal is well capitalized--which is my main concern given how much money some people lost in the past.

Hopefully they are well capitalized and can withstand any future pandemics.

I am booked on Crystal too. But after their recent bankruptcy and seeing how many clients lost money, many of us are wary of their financial situation.

"Celebrity has reduced space for the non suite class and that includes the elimination of forward views on the E series forward. That was a key reason Celebrity was cancelled." I hear you on that. I recently enjoyed the forward views on Reflection (even though half had been removed for suites). I know everyone seems to get excited about aft views, but I prefer seeing where we are going rather than where we have been.

Sounds wonderful. Unfortunately I have found the price point to be double that of Oceania and many times higher than Celebrity for a veranda. Might be worth it if I drank alcohol--but I don't. What you write makes me wish that I did!

The old joke is that if HAL cruisers were any older they would be dead.

They seem to want that demographic but the people without kids who have the time and money to cruise tend to be older. The 20/30 year olds with kids will cruise Carnival or Royal. The drunken 20 year olds can't afford VV unless they have a trust fund.

I have a VV cruise booked. A bit apprehensive about the vibe. Their marketing seems geared to a young, "wild" crowd. Reality may be different.

In the Caribbean, what are the better ports on HAL?