dockman

i did 21 days back to back mexico on Majestic...while it was overall ok i really did not like the lack of a real promenade deck and did not like the overall design of the outdoor spaces. Like you I would rather be on an older ship with nice wide prom decks with teak chairs where you can sit and look and hear the ocean a few feet away and not from the 15th floor looking through often dirty plexiglass...the two little oustide areas in the very aft seemed to be an afterthought and one side was often wall to wall cig smokers which sometimes puffed away on both side...so much for fresh clean ocean air..also the "library" on the majestic is a total joke..i have more books in the trunk of my car.

As a solo cruise guy most of the time as well as living alone I have found many ways to entertain myself for decades. On a cruise, princess or others, I do a lot of walking/exercise on whatever version of a promenade deck they have. I get a few good books to sit out on a deck and read. I go to some of the shows and events but will leave after 15 mins if i don't like what's on offer. I like a good afternoon nap and a little TV sometimes. I do not take the internet package as frankly i really enjoy getting away from all the problems of the world and constant bickering and bad news stories that are hard to avoid when at home. Sometimes ignorance is truly bliss and ships are generally a good place to be semi oblivious to lots of irritating news. I can sit for hours on a nice outside deck and just look at the ocean and entertain myself with thinking of all the people and ships that have sailed these waters for centuries and try and imagine what that must have been like. I also like to think about what is likely going on in the ocean depths beneath me. I eat mostly in the buffet where i get to know several staff who will come and chat with me everyday especially since i avoid the busiest times. I prefer not eating in dining room as it just is not my cup of chai overall. I get off at most ports and wander around either walk or take some sort of public transport or local tour. I like long cruises of 14 to 30 days. I do research ports before i get there and rarely if ever buy a ship shore excursion as i just prefer less structure and i am a very good solo traveler that has little to no fear of taking off on my own most anywher. Princess overall offers good value, good selection of rooms, good food, good staff...i prefer the older ships because of better walking decks and libraries. Overall i really can take or leave the activities which are sometimes great and sometimes just silly...IMO. Bottom line is i really don't get bored easily, never have and hope i never will regardless of which cruise or wherever i may be. I consider myself a lucky guy

So do the muslim crews get someone to "minister" to them if they want it? What about the Buddhists, Hindus and others? It may have changed but at one time i would venture to guess there were as many indonesians or maybe more than Fillipino crew. I would think that HAL would need to take that into account and maybe they do?

I don't know the current mix of hal crew but I believe many of them are muslim as they are from Indonesia.. Indonesia is considered a Muslim nation because of its large Muslim population, with 87% of Indonesians identifying as Muslim in 2022.

That is great news...i actually gave up on HAL for several years as 4 star in part because of no library....now if we can get them to not do away with all the wide promenade decks with nice teak loungers. Maybe they do sometimes listen to clients concerns?

I hope the new version of HAL libraries is not like the pic of the Noordam "library" above (dated 5/27?)...that is a display of coffee table books and certainly not what most would call a library with at least a few hundred ++ copies of a variety of fiction, non fiction, etc....I do look forward to the return of real libraries on all HAL ships. Can someone post a pic of what the new libraries look like please. Thanks

If that is somehow supposed to be a library it is truly pathetic.

Agree. Michener's Alaska to me is a very good read that does a good job of relating much of the people and events that helpe mold Alaska for centuries. I have read it several times usually just prior to yet another Alaska cruise.

understood....but frankly the last thing i want when planning an extra nice extra fee dinner on a cruise is to add the potential of a conflict with staff over anything. It would be very difficult for me to not think about and dread something that could take the fun and joy that should be a given. Once upon a time the extra fee restaurants on cruise ships were primarily created for people who were celebrating some event like a birthday or anniversary....that gave them a more intimate special experience....then the execs discovered that hey we can sell this extra fee dining to any and all so the "exclusivity" or use for special occasion got lost in the quest for $$. I do remember that once when you went to the ONE extra fee restaurant that most everyone there was celebrating a birthday or anniversary or divorce or retirement or whatever and the overall vibe was celebration with many birthday cakes and happy people.

Reminds me of sites with FAQ that is theoretically designed to answer the most frequent questions without having to deal with phone calls, waiting on hold, explaining it to staff and hoping that the staff understands and knows the answer.. Why is it that it seems to me that it is rare that my question ever seems to be on the list of frequently asked questions....you know little rarely thought of questions like..."how much does it cost" "what time does it leave" etc etc There are many big name websites that could eliminate a lot of phone calls and staff time by very carefully going over their website and figure out what could be a frequent question on this or that subject and put nice clean simple answers there that can easily be found and understood....it's almost like they want to force you to call and waste everyones time. Maybe ask the staff what are the most frequent questions you are asked? Duh.

Yes we have all seen people do stupid things in the buffet. But i see that a lot on here say that they are above eating in the buffet and that by eating in the dining room everything is fine. Maybe overall it is more hygenic but i have also been seated in the dining room very close to people who are obviously sick with a cough or cold and unlike the buffet it is often very hard to just get up and move to another table....and i have no desire to sit next to them for a long drawn out two hour meal making it almost a sure thing that I will catch whatever they are hacking around. Usually there is an outdoor seating area for the buffet that might offer a bit more space and protection. Overall in spite of a few buffet problems i prefer it to the main dining room. At least i can see the food in front of me and how it is handled and can usually easily move if i end up seated next to typhoid mary.

So you make a reservation at your local Steves steaks in your hometown which is a nice intimate room and get a confirmation saying your Steves steak dinner is confirmed to be served at Joes Happy Hash House... In what world does that make any sense at all? As said I suspect it will all be fine but also wonder if anyone at HAL will bring this to the attention of the website designer and if anyone will bother to fix it so other passengers don't have to go through the same game of calling and going round and round on the phone and then told oh it's all ok but no i can't send that to you in writing....wasting your time as well as a lot of HAL staff on the phone and on the ship having to deal with the same question again? The staff is already overworked and undertrained so why make it worse? If there is some drop down menu that is confusing then fix it so it will be clear.

does anyone know basic time schedule and cost via princess transfer from jfk to brooklyn cruise termial as wll as return from brookly back to jfk? thanks

I think it was princess app that allows drink delivery....used it once and it was ok but bit slow.

As far as i can recall u can order drink off the app to be delivered to you on an outside deck....never tried to order to my room so don't know and don't care as i prefer to sit on outside deck somewhere but not sit in a bar

i like to sit on an outside deck chair at sunset time and drink a few glasses of wine...even with the app and drink package it is a pain to get a tiny glass of wine delivered to you quickly ..by the time i get it delivered i need to order another one as it will be gone before he gets back with another glass.....much easier to do as said and fill up a bottle to take with you and pour your own... those tiny little pours of a glass of wine don't last me very long at all til i need another glass...

Good luck...i never had any problem doing this...sometimes i just go into restroom and pour into flask or water bottle....if u also have one of those tiny funnels it makes it even easier....go to several bars and repeat and next thing u know u have a flask full to use where and when you choose.

i have done it several times...take a small flask with me order a double and walk away and pour it into flask...maybe go to couple different bars....its not like u are stealing it as you already paid for it with your package.. I agree i prefer to sit on balcony rather than a bar and to enjoy that better to have booze in your room.

Can't you just get a few shots on your package and pour it into a bottle to have in your room?

i did 21 days alaska last year on the crown and can also say that overall it is a delightful well run ship with a very friendly and efficient crew

I used to escort full united charter flights to vegas....in my experience it was pretty rare for passengers to go home a winner. Lots of them talked a big game about how they won a big jackpot but when i would ask so how much more are you going home with the answer was usually a sheepish...oh i lost it all back ++more on blackjack etc...the number one rule of casino is if you play long enough you will lose....it's simple math....they don't build all those beautiful casinos because they lose $$. To add to the odds being against all players is the fact that the vast majoirty of players don't even follow basic strategy of play. Many are pitifully ignorant of the basic odds and smart play. I think it is a safe bet that the vast majority of people who get a "free" cabin end up finding out that is was far from free....some enjoy the "gaming" (sounds better than gambling) for the few who might win...good for you....but as said play long enough and you will lose. About 13.5% of gamblers go home from a casino having made any money. This statistic comes from a study of 4,222 gamblers, and only 7 of them won more than $150. Conversely, 217 of them lost over $5000 at casino games. Also, note that those who play more often have lower chances of winning.Nov 13, 2023

cruisedeckplans.com has lot of pics of various views and rooms

If it is only a 7 day cruise and you have a lot of port time filled with shore excursions I frankly doubt if the kids will have time to be bored. I would go with the idea that the cruise should be one that is most likely to be liked by the adults. Kids it seems will be worn out tired after all the port visits and HAL does have enough kid activities to keep them busy. I also think it may be a good learning experience for the kids to be in an environment more centered around the adults and learning to behave and be exposed to a bit more classy situation than rock climbing walls, waterslides, go cart tracks, etc. My two cents worth which may be worth two cents or nothing.

There are different types of cruisers. Some see it as a once in a lifetime experience and will splurge big time. Others see it as several cruises a year and decide they would rather do a couple of cruises a year and the no splurge keeps multiple cruises within their budgets. Are these people denying themselves or are they in their way splurging? Some don't care as they are wealthy and the splurge is peanuts to them. I happen to be among the group that prefers to go on multiple cruises and budget accordingly. Nothing wrong with either decision

Don't like the game then don't play it. Don't like a library then don't go there. So HAL should do away with anything that generates zero? OK....no more shows, more upcharges in buffet, no more free tenders, no more turn down service, no more this and that. Once upon a time a big selling feature of a cruise was that the fare included most everything and a wide variety of services, food, entertainment, nice prom decks, libraries etc. designed to appeal to a variety of tastes and budgets. Leave it to the bean counters and what is happening is more and more former included venues, events, services etc are being replaced with revenue generators.