KKB

Thanks--we cancelled Sitka & rebooked for Icy Strait. Just the description of how the waterways meet there sounds like a better spot for whales.

If cruisemapper is accurate, V1-V2 class are the larger ones, with sofas. V3-V4-V5 are the smaller ones with chair. Now icruise is says 1U-4U is their class & these are the small ones...SOOO NOT SURE. I have googled my cabin number before & sometimes get lucky that someone has posted it. Worth a shot.

So driver said don't walk at night? Interesting. Last Sept we were at the Holiday Inn just east of the Needle. Walked to dinner, no issues. This year we are at the Kimpton Monaco just a bit south of Pikes. I see you are further north & west of the Needle. Are these areas not safe?

Which Homewood Suites is this?

Dang, not bad--about a $45 value each. THIS is why coming at least a day early is always advised...one never knows. SAFE TRAVELS!

Thx--we just walked around town last year so looking to do a bit more this year.

I called this week & booked this open booking with Celebrity. Can I call a TA & transfer it at this point & transfer it?

Suggestions?

We are now thinking we'd like to see the totem poles, raptor center, "bear experience"? How do we get to the park? Could we use electric bikes? In the park? Can we walk & see all of this on our own? If not, do we need to buy tour ahead of time or are they available in town? Thanks

So considering the humpbacks & greys r departing, should we just scrap the whale watching tour at this time?

We have a private afternoon whale watching tour booked for Sitka. We also go to Juneau & Icy Strait Point. In Juneau we have a food tour booked, tho we are thinking of canceling since it's pricey & we think we can pretty much recreate it ourselves. I know there is NEVER a guarantee you will see whales. Is this a good time of year/port to see whales? Would you suggest one of the other ports instead? We had a whale watching tour in Lahaina 😪 in January & it is one of our fav excursions ever.

I look at the cuts noted in Retreat, AQ, etc. Many of the cuts are little things. (not all) Did they decide that those little things aren't going to significantly affect cruisers satisfaction? Did they do surveys to determine which things have the biggest impact on cruisers satisfaction? I don't know. While little things are nice (ie daily chocolates in AQ), in NO way do they make or break a cruise for me & I'm not going to miss them. Retreat butler changes--meh, didn't really use ours when we were in Retreat anyway. (YMMV) Sky Suites no free booze in room? That's odd to me as there are grab & go beers/seltzers in lounge fridges, and you can get a free drink at any bar..it seems to be a time issue stocking more than a $ issue. ALL lines are cutting costs. Celebrity still has the best overall product of mainstream lines, imo.

9 Celebrity cruises in the last 10 years. We are 57 & 60. Certainly others more "loyal" than us. We sail most mainstream lines, so "low" loyalty on each one. I do not notice any particular drop in service, food or amenities that affect the quality of my trip. (last trip was Beyond in April) Celebrity still has the best product at sea in the mainstream lines, particularly at the Eclass level, imo.

THIS. Last Sept sailed w/ DH's aunt & uncle who are late 70s. They thought, no they don't drink much. Um...a nice coffee for breakfast, waters to take onto port, a beer or wine with dinner & perhaps a nightcap--would EASILY be more than $29. And that was PORT days! There were a few more drinks imbibed on sea days! Regarding internet, even on port intensive cruises: Just got off Med cruise w/ DD. She had international plan so we had service on her phone on ports. I had unlimited internet (she had 150 min) on the ship...we did appreciate having both.

I agree. I find Celebrity to have the best food, particularly Eclass ships. THAT BEING SAID. I find the food more alike than different. I am happy with most things I order...like you said, if I ate out that often at home, with that many courses, occasionally I won't like something, OK, no big deal. Definitely NOT going hungry on a ship!! (in 34 cruises on various lines, have NEVER felt food was not good overall. Perhaps a course, or even a restaurant/buffet wasn't very good to me, but there are ALWAYS other options. Have never had MDR that we felt we couldn't return to)

Don't assume Carnival is 20 somethings. Sailed Carnival for first time in Jan after 16 cruises in 18 years on other lines. It was the Miracle to Hawaii. We LOVED it--great food, service, activities, comedy shows. Talking to bartenders, they said just avoid cruises 7 days or less to Caribbean or MX Riviera. They said longer cruises to other places are much better--makes sense as those would get an older demographic & not the "party crowd" that Carnival attracts to short domestic cruises.

VERY experienced cruiser here (34 cruises in 19 years; 16 of those in the last 14 mos) with most being on Princess. Sailed the Caribbean Princess for 2 weeks last summer & she was lovely! Regarding reviews--look for patterns. I tend to "throw out" the ones that say it was a 5* experience & those that say it was HORRID. UNLESS A LOT of people are saying one of those things. Unhappy people are FAR more likely to write reviews than those who are happy--it helps them feel as if they have "done something" about their disappointment. I am a "glass is half full" kinda gal. Have NEVER had a BAD trip. Never had a perfect one either. Things happen. Almost always situational. RCCL have done 3 cruises--wasn't a huge fan of the 1st one (Mariner), but we won a 2nd one (Allure) playing poker on that cruise & LOVED it. Now we have tried various lines, ships, rooms & itineraries. Other than MSC (won't again...found passengers rude both in Caribbean & Europe--and the reviews often mentioned that), would sail all the other lines we have sailed again. Only NCL has an interior that I find just too small. (but I MIGHT still book one...). Enjoyed Norway, not itching to go back. But UK--already going back. I am 100% of the belief that one's experiences in life are 99% attitude. We BELIEVE we are going to have a good time--and we always do. Yep, even did on those MSC cruises. Issues WILL happen if one travels enough. Expect them, and handle them with grace. Have a great trip!

We are booked April 2024...I did a very similar one on MSC in May. Check out whatsinport.com. SUPER helpful so you know what is at each port & if you will need shuttle/train/transfer to cities.

Belfast I HIGHLY recommend the HOHO bus & the Titanic exhibit. I did the full tour of the city (murals were AMAZING) then stayed on & dropped at Titanic then cabbed back to the port from there. Cab at pier took me to HOHO bus. Was about 10E each way by cab. Cork, Dublin, Glasgow & Edinburgh easy just grab a train from the port to the city & wander. Cork is a lovely little town on it's own; spent a few hours in Rob Roy Pub with local musician. Heads up--there is NOTHING in Kirkwall. Go to Glasgow. Orkney is a COOL little town with a number of nice shop. Area around it is amazing. HIGHLY recommend the Stagecoach T11 that for 23E you book at the Travel Center where the ship shuttle drops you in town. Was a fantastic 6? hour tour. But go early--10AM tour? Invergordon--Did a tour thru invergordon-bustours.com. About 90E Again HIGHLY recommend--the Highlands are gorgeous & we spent an hour or so in Inverness which is LOVELY. Edinburgh--we are doing the St. Andrews tour as seeing it is DH's bucket list (well PLAYING it really is) Le Havre--we are doing a Normandy tour via Overlord tours in Oct.

On the Caribbean Princess Explorers during the day was great--but I don't see one on Regal. During the day I suggest Vista lounge or Princess Live when there are no activities. Even the internet lounge area is usually a fairly quiet place, even with your own laptop.

Last Sept (3rd week) jackets were dirt cheap in ports!

LOVE your purple suitcases--my fav color (2 oldest went to TCU!) My original set is purple; but recently upgraded to Away luggage & no purple, darn it. DH & I did AK cruise last Sept (plus 1 day Seattle prior & 2 days Vancouver after) with carryon & backpack each. I didn't want to pay for checked bags...then it just became a challenge! Was good practice for me as I then did Europe for a month the same in May. Merino wool is a game changer. Plus it helps that AK cruises are more casual than others--just went to dinner in our athleisure wear. Safe travels!

Gen X LOVED MSC--BUT this was Yacht Club. She even comments that she might not be too happy NOT in Yacht Club. (We sailed with her in Beyond Retreat in April--she is LOVELY)

OK I have sailed RCCL 3x (including Allure & Anthem...plus Quantum in a few weeks). I sailed MSC for the 1st time in Feb--B2B on Divina then B2B on Preziosa in May. (I realize these ships do not compare to MSC's newer larger ships) I got a DEAL on all those cruises. Seriously, DIRT CHEAP. But will never sail MSC again. Why? In Feb I was texting DH saying I didn't love it (but didn't hate it) but was having a hard time putting a finger on why. I began to realize that I experienced more rude passengers than I had ever experienced before on another cruise. Is it the price point? Cheap cruises bring out cheap people with no sense of common courtesy? I chose to refrain judgement after one experience. Went in May--TOTALLY difference demographic. RUDE PASSENGERS AGAIN! HOW is this possible? But so little regard for orderly lines; people bumping others in the back w/ trays in the buffet; dragging loungers EVERYWHERE so there is no path for others to make their way around the deck; ignoring requests to hold the elevator; walking down stairs side by side so no one could go up the stairs; PHYSICALLY moving children to the side. I saw these behaviors (and more!) REPEATEDLY--on both cruises! I was floored. (Don't get me wrong, I met some lovely people on both cruises...and we discussed the behaviors of far too many others that we experienced, so not just me. Most said they too were 1 & done with MSC) Look--I'm a glass is half full kinda gal. I know things can happen & I generally find things are situational. But I had read reviews regarding rude passengers...and bizarrely it was the same for me on both ships. I also found the ships crowded--not enough loungers on deck, not enough interior space when cold outslde. Now, smaller ships w/ only 2K passengers. Never had an issue with crowds on Allure except during Muster. Now, if you are going to sail Yacht Club, you may have an entirely different experience--it seems this is where MSC excels.

Yes, ours was made a tender port while we were on the cruise, Day 1 or 2, as was Valetta. There were concerns the day before that the winds were to come up in the afternoon & impact tendering. Around noon we were sitting at Negrita & the waves came up & over onto the patio area. We were concerned we should head back, but it calmed down after a bit. The winds came up a bit but nothing was impacted luckily. Easiest tender port we had.