Langham1865

Having been to the Philippines and being married to a Filipina, this does not surprise me!

someone got me a couple cans of that beer.... I am blanking on the style this moment, but I remember it being tasty!!!! Tell the Captain I'll but him a beer!

will you ask the Captain if he will give me a free cruise?

is that the Holland America beer mostly clipped out of the picture on the left?

when I went to Alaska, the did have Alaskan Brewing Company beer on board on the Eurodam... Can't say if the do this on other Itineraries

that was your personal order if I am not mistaken? lol

speaking of regional chains Buc-ee's has a rest stop that has the largest convenience store in the world in Sevierville TN... may be too far out of the way, but I figured I would float it on the radar https://buc-ees.com/about/world-record-holder/

you may want to check sunset time and sit outside as the ship sails down the Mississippi for quite some time and it will be nice viewing

i though I has I though I remembered reading they lost a big chunk. Wasn't this one of the biggest in the fleet? Having never been on either ship I can't compare how they are different. Other than saying its smaller, it could be hard to just the differences between they old and new OL on Joy, as they may have reconfigured it as well to some extent.

Also, I know someone will correct me, didn't Joy just come out of drydock? I do not know how that impacts the observation lounge in relation to the Encore. If the observation lounge is a factor, I am sure someone here will pipe in with the differences between their lounges.

I wish the OP would let us know what makes a ship for them, so we can better recommend which chip may fit their cruising style. I know many people enjoy the observation lounges. For me though, when we are talking about enjoying what a ship has to offer, I like the Escape best. It has the district brewhouse, which Breakaway doesn't have. I also enjoy the dueling pianos at Howl at the Moon in the evenings, which Joy and Encore do not have. And I can always relax on the Waterfront, weather permitting. That said, the ship has never ruined a cruise... but it can enhance them.

@graphicguyeither I've read you mention this before or someone else had the same experience... AWESOME!!!! cracked me up...

I think amongst the "big three" lines, prices are up across the board at a higher rate than pre-pandemic with fewer true sales (not the fake 50% off 2nd passenger at an inflated rate). Many costs, as mentioned before (like fuel and grocery type supplies), are increasing in price at a higher rate than the before days, and there is a mountain of debt to be paid off that was taken on during the pandemic. I am interested to see if the rate of price increases slows once the debt taken on is paid off, though I am not holding my breath. Also demand, and therefore price, is always highest for new build/newest ships.

If you love the waterslides... DO THEM! It's your cruise, you should be able to do it as you enjoy. That is why I love cruising, so much choice in types of ships and itineraries. Yeah there are things that are no more that I long for, but there are also so many great new things to enjoy.

I am a NCL enthusiast and absolutely think that my choice to go on HAL for Alaska was the right choice for many of the reasons you mentioned. All ships that go to Glacier Bay are required by the National Park Service to have a park ranger on board while sailing in Glacier Bay. HAL also had a naturalist on board the whole cruise and would also have nature walks on sea days around the promenade deck. The other thing to remember about Princess and HAL is, since they have been going to Alaska for so long, many of the tour vendors are grateful and dedicated to those two lines. So they will have many of the better and more seasoned vendors for excursions.

When you said Dead Head, I knew what you meant from the context. But a Dead Head (the other type) cruise could be fun for many people as well!

I got the same one

I do think that solo travel is a growing segment. This is their way of trying to capitalize on it. Whether you a "ploy" or 'marketing" it makes good business sense for any cruise or travel business to find a way to make money off of solo travel. If i was running a travel business, I definitely would try to find a way to monetize it on the initial booking for the higher categories rather than later when you haven't sold cabins. Now the deals won't be as good on the front end for the customer, as they are when the price drops on unsold categories, but the customer also will guarantee getting the cabin type. Now we will see if we the customer feels the front end pricing is in our benefit or not and how they adjust the initial model down the road.

I say for "trip of a lifetime" or bucket list cruises, go for itinerary. I've been loyal to NCL first, but did my Alaska bucket list cruise on HAL, as they had the itinerary I wanted if I never get the chance to go back. I also think that Alaska cruises are ones where the ship is much less important than Caribbean cruises. I spent much less time on the ship and taking advantage of the ships offerings than I ever did on a Caribbean cruise. Although I have only done Alaska once, people I have spoken with who did multiple Alaska cruises likes the smaller ships, as they can usually get closer to the glaciers and other natural resources than the larger ships can under the same conditions. So this maybe the biggest factor the ship can be for a consideration. Well, that's my 2 cents worth....

I Bought 200 shares in increments, mostly after the start of the pandemic. 100 for the OBC to hold on to and 100 to see sell down the road. I know it will take time for them to pay off the debt incurred during the pandemic, but I didn't but it for the short term.

I think we will see more for fee game shows (deal or no deal style), possibly in the main theater, and fewer production shows, as they generate revenue. I really hope they keep the Broadway shows like Jersey Boys and Six. I hope they don't cut the Broadway shows completely, as I would imagine many passengers enjoy them and there might be an uproar if they are cut completely. I think @BirdTravels is right, they've barely scratched the surface of what costs were incurred during the pandemic. It may be some time before they really put a dent in it.

I'm not sure, but I thought they did at DCA.... I could be wrong...

They are not talking about customs when disembarking. At some, if not all, flights to Canada, people clear customs prior to their flight.

I think Le Bistro feels quieter even when they are crowded compared to when Cagney's is crowded. , but I like that Cagney's has outdoor seating. I have had equally nice experiences in both, just different.