americandream

To counter the negativity above... My hotel travels with me (unpack once), I get service better than at most hotels, the food may not always be perfect but it is usually different and interesting, being a patron of a bar “where everybody knows your name” if but for a short while, sampling many locations throughout the world knowing I can return later to spend more time should I find it worthy, dressing “to the 9s” EVERY night because they’re all special occasions in spite of all the “It’s my vacation so I’ll dress like a homeless bum if I want to” people, and finally doing whatever I want when I want. 

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

If it is a true 14-day cruise, then there will be a lot fewer children than would be on each of 2 7-day cruises back to back/collector's cruises. 
Over the holidays there will be more children than normally, but not as many as on some lines. 

Thanks Ruth. That’s good information and about what I expected.

59 minutes ago, Tapi said:

It’s been discussed on another thread, but apparently HAL is in the process of introducing a new concept called High Score. It’s currently on Oosterdam. It’s still uncertain wether this is a fleet wide change and/or if it’s a total replacement to Club HAL, their kids program. If it’s indeed a replacement, kids between the ages of 7-17 will not have a supervised kids club to attend while their parents enjoy some adult time. If that’s the case, I foresee a drastic reduction of families traveling with children. Just food for thought.

I did see that thread. Lots of angry rants going on in there. 

I'm looking for an idea of how many minors we might expect on HAL on a Caribbean itinerary over Christmas. We are considering a 7 day or a 14 day. I'm assuming the 14 day will have far fewer children, but I have no experience with HAL. Any insights on either are appreciated.

Our travel group is considering HAL for the first time for Christmas 2020. We are longtime Celebrity and Royal cruisers who generally avoid cruising over school breaks because we prefer not to vacation where there are a lot of kids.

Thanks in advance!

17 hours ago, Cruisecrazy94 said:

Do you pack these in your checked bags? We're not taking a flight so just taking then right on the ship. Maybe i should avoid my checked bags? Just don't want to risk my bags ending up in the naughty room lol

We pack it in our checked bags every time and have never ended up in the naughty room. I think you’re safe. 

I’m thinking Celebrity has missed the boat with the Edge Class (pun intended). We have zero interest in booking it, especially with the prices. I’d normally be highly irritated with them pushing a kids sail free promo, but in this case I really don’t care. 

On 1/8/2019 at 2:46 AM, villauk said:

Why cares about Millionials?  What about ME, my generation, you know Gen Xer's, what about us?  After Boomers die off, we will be the top earners!  Why does nobody ever care about us?  F' millionals, we the true X, should matter: we have more money than their generation will ever have, we have class, and respect for past societal norms.  Why not build ships for us??

Amen! I couldn’t have said it better!

Oops quoted the wrong response...

My wife and I are Gen X (mid-40s). We cruise 1-2 times per year and intend to keep doing so indefinitely. Hopefully we will be able to increase the frequency with retirement. On those 1-2 cruises, we usually convince 2-4 other couples to join us who are typically new to cruising. We have loved Celebrity with a few minor irritations where we feel X misses the mark. I'm talking about things like playing music that nobody of any age 35 or older who is on the ship and actually footing the bill wants to hear and at a volume that inhibits socializing at what is otherwise the best place on the ship (Martini Bar). Another major irritation is Evening Chic (I think of it as Evening Apathetic). There are other irritations, but these are the two that come immediately to mind. We have tolerated these irritations so far. To my point...

As of now we have absolutely zero interest in the Edge Class without some significant changes. Eden, the IV staterooms, and the lack of bars are the major turnoffs. If X screws up the M and S Class ships with the "Revolution" we will be taking our business elsewhere. MSC Yacht Club and/or HAL will likely be the benefactors.

The MDR on the Reflection is Opus.The suite dining room is Luminae, AquaClass is Blu. Generally lunch is not served in the MDR on embarkation day.

3 minutes ago, Anniexrec said:

I was wondering are the smoothies that are offered in the Spa Café on Equinox included with the Premium Drink package?

Yes

If you have early traditional do as you have done in the past. Nothing has changed. Your TA is confused.

That's what I figured. Thanks for confirming.

Our TA claims Royal informed her we could show up to the dining room at any time between 5:30 and 6:30 during our upcoming cruise on Allure. We have early seating. It doesn't smell right to me. I'm accustomed to the expectation to arrive promptly at the seating time. However, we haven't sailed on Royal since 2011 and I know things do change. What's the real deal?

We do it all the time. Quart or gallon size ziploc bags work well and conserve space in the luggage. Double bag to avoid luggage catastrophes in the case of a failure of one <--- Experience talking...

It's per stateroom. You will receive any photos in which you appear.

Even with reservations, we had to wait and we did not get a pager. We were sent to a "holding" area and there was a bar there as well as some seating. We waited until our names were called.

 

This was the case on both our Allure cruises, so I am guessing this is the regular procedure.

Thanks Katie. That's what I was worried about. At least there is a bar.

Does the American Icon hand out pagers when there is a wait for My Time Dining, or do you have to stand there and wait?

Hi

 

My husband and I will be sailing on Celebrity Reflection. This will be our first Celebrity cruise.

 

Are hair dryers provided in the cabin?

 

Since we both overpack, if I can leave the hair dryer home, that’s one less thing to bring.

 

Thank you

Noreen

They are provided, but not very good. My wife always brings her own as she says the ones provided are inadequate.

I would just like to point out to everyone who says they have 3 and 4 hotel reservations... You are screwing both your fellow traveler and the 2-3 hotels at which you will end up cancelling. Appreciate you!

So, we've been on multiple cruises, but I've always just worn normal dress attire for formal night. This year I'm considering actually taking and wearing my ASU for our first formal dinner. My only concern is how to pack to avoid excess wrinkles. I usually carry in a garment bag, but I do not want to have to carry that around the ship until our room is open, as we are typically early arrivals. Any suggestions on best ways to pack uniforms.

If your wife uses a rolling garment bag for her dresses, it'll make the trip in that just fine. You can get one of those inexpensive protective bags you would use for storage in the closet and just fold it over in your suitcase and it'll come through ok. We now have a "suiter" suitcase that basically has a garment bag inside the lid of our check in bag, and that is pretty sweet! Worst comes to worst you can always do as the previous poster said and have it pressed on the ship. If you just fold it and put it in your bag, a trick to minimize wrinkles is to fold it in tissue paper. This is why new dress shirts are folded this way.

Any of them that don't run out of what I'm drinking. No joke, it has happened.

Or limes... I've had them run out of limes before too. It was tragic.

The Martini Bar. Because Martinis! Seriously, it's great for a pre-dinner drink and the flair bartenders are usually pretty good depending on who's on when you are. It gets a bit too crowded for my taste later in the evening.

Do guys really wear tuxes anymore? I mean Clooney on the red carpet, but average guys? No one in my office even wears suits, unless they just like the look. Business casual at best, and in my group we can wear jeans/sneakers every day if we like (I work in finance in NYC). Times have changed!

I don't know if "guys" wear tuxes anymore, but the well dressed man does.

Not another thread on formal nights!!!:eek::roll eyes:

 

 

 

People, especially Americans, are sinking to the lowest common dominator. Oh, they will tell you "we're on vacation" and "it's hard to carry formal clothes anymore", but the reality is that they don't care about dressing or formality. They go to weddings and funerals in shorts and t shirts.

 

 

 

There may be people who do not feel obligated to wear anything but pajamas and underwear out in public. There are others who do not agree with that and will still dress-because it looks good and it helps serrate one from the pajamas and underwear crowd.

 

 

 

As you will see, though the pajamas and underwear crowd really don't care what they look like as long as they are comfortable. (Note, I am comfortable in real clothes so I am not sure what "I just want to be comfortable" means).

 

 

 

FWIW

Well said!

I am sick and tired of being pushed to conform to the lowest common denominator.

P.S. For Maui, I would recommend renting a car so you can do other stuff on the way to/from Haleakala. You might just get your itch for a coffee plantation scratched, along with a visit to the sugar museum, experiencing a no kidding Hawaii country store, some shopping, and a break from all your fellow cruisers. You probably wouldn't have time to drive to Lahaina too, but if you did, it's well worth it.

I live on Oahu... You asked for opinions, so here it goes.

Oahu: The "Hollywood movie sites" is most likely referring to Kualoa Ranch. Yes you will see real sites from Jurassic Park, Wind Talkers, Lost, Fantasy Island and countless others. It's a beautiful place. However, I agree with another poster who says to visit Pearl Harbor. Hitting the Arizona Memorial followed by a visit to the USS Missouri is "must do" for your first trip to Oahu.

Polynesian Cultural Center is great, but you need a full day and into the night (10:00 am until 9:30 pm or so) to fully experience it. Save it for a non-cruise or pre/post cruise experience.

Hilo: make sure you see Kilauea. When else will you see an erupting volcano?

Kauai: What you've selected is perfect.

Maui: Atlantis is neat. Haleakala is neater.

I hope this helps.