Honolulu Blue

A couple of details from today's e-mails from Jazz Cruises: There's a discount code for $350 off per person for interior cabins on the 2025 edition of The Jazz Cruise. It's good until July 15. The discount is not combinable with any other discount and it's only good for new bookings. I guess they want to fill that ship up ASAP. Information on the 2026 Smooth Jazz Cruise(s) will be released on or about August 15. Circle the date!

I'll defer to the other posters on your other questions, but I feel the need to answer this question in more detail. First of all, I need to ask your VIFP status with Carnival. Platinum sailors (those with 75-199 days on Carnival) get some wash and fold bags for free - 2 for trips up to 6 days, 3 for trips of 7-13 days, and 5 on cruises of 14+ days. I find that it's plenty for me and my cruises, but your mega-huge repositioning cruise and your needs mean you'd need more than this. Moving on... Second, the wash and fold bags are $15 each for all you can fill ($50 if you get 5 done at the same time). As mentioned elsewhere, they're paper and thus a little fragile. They're roughly the size of a paper grocery bag, if you remember those. Plan accordingly. Third, there may or may not be bags in the cabin. You can always get as many as you want from your cabin steward; just ask him/her. Fourth, some people don't like what the service does to their clothes. I haven't had any issues with it so far. 🙏 If you're traveling with any fragile clothing, I do recommend caution when sending things out for laundry. Fifth, you can have items cleaned at the per-piece price. Prices range from $2 to $15, depending on the type of piece and the type of service. There will be a price sheet in the cabin (probably), but your steward can get as many of these as you need on request. And finally, here's a Carnival site with many more details on the laundry service: Laundry Service | Carnival Cruise Line Enjoy your cruise! 👍

A very quick note that the Soul Train Cruise for fall 2025 is officially a go. This was done a few weeks ago. I apologize for not noting it before. They also said it was about two-thirds sold out at this point.

Thanks. I'm sure the cruise ships are all avoiding Jamaica after today, but those paths are all too close to favorite hangout Cozumel. I imagine they'll have to cancel or delay those stops, along with Costa Maya and Belize. Roatan stops are definitely at risk, as are - later on - ships sailing to/from Galveston and/or New Orleans. We'll see what happens. 🙏

I got an e-mail from Sixthman with some links to their charter cruises that still have availability. I might as well do a list of the music cruises (sailing in 2025 unless inidicated): Lindsey Stirling, Master of Tides - the violinist Little Steven's Underground Garage Boots on the Water Chris Jericho's Rock 'N' Wresting Rager at Sea EDSea (2024) Headbangers Boat (2024)

The Sands, which offers annual all inclusive experiences with bands mostly from the 80s, continues to fill out its lineup. This year's edition will be November 4-9 at the Planet Hollywood in Cancun. I actually went to the one three years ago. Let's just say that I didn't make the most of my experience, even though it wasn't all bad. Anyway, here are a few comments about who's going to be playing there: Bret Michaels - on TEC last year. I ignored him then, would ignore him here Rick Springfield - yum yum. 😛 He's a favorite of mine. The Fixx - one of my favorite bands. I cried a bit when I saw this. ☹️ Level 42 - I'm on a level above them, or below them. Whichever. Ace Frehley - he and his former band aren't kissing cousins of mine. Billy Ocean - due to be on the UDC last year but couldn't make it. I think he's worth making time for. Lou Gramm - saw him on TEC last year and enjoyed him. I certainly would like to see him again before he fades away for good. Mark McGrath - kinda fly, I suppose. He'd be good for TNC next year or in '26. The English Beat - they were on TEC this year. Despite Sting's endorsement 40+ years ago, I have little interest. John Cafferty - I saw him on TEC back in 2022. I'd certainly like to see him again. Johnny Hates Jazz - I think they were on TEC last year. It didn't shatter my dreams to miss them. Young MC - He can bust a move for others The Producers - I'm sorry, but who? Cherie Currie - see above Technotronic - OK, but I prefer others to pump up the jam Original Mary Jane Girls - They'll be on next year's UDC and version 1.0 of 2025's Old School Cruise. I'd like to visit their house, wherever they're shacking up these days. 🙂 Strangelove - Depeche Mode tribute that I missed on TEC back in 2022. I think they'd be all right, but if I die before I get to see them, that would be all right. The Reflexx - 80s era tribute band #1. I've heard good things about them. Sunset Blvd - 80s era tribute band #2. I missed them on TEC last year. I'd like to see them sometime, though I have higher priorities. Julie, Mark, and Alan - they're all on TEC and Julie will be on TNC. They're fine. Now that I've taken a closer look at this lineup, I actually really like what they're selling here. Alas, I have a conflict with another cruise, so I can't make this event. I doubt I'll be able to make it in '25 either, but I'm sure I'll take a look at what they have then.

I don't think it's that odd. Perhaps they couldn't get one or the other of those ports for that week. Or maybe they wanted a variety of ports for those who are on both Smooth Jazz sailings.

Right. They're not on vacation until Wednesday afternoon. Until then, AFAIK, it's business as usual down in St. Louis. But I looked at the SJC site and I think I might be able to resolve the confusion. Look carefully: Note that SJC #1 has changed to Key West on day 3. SJC #2 has changed to Puerto Plata on day 4.

I have seen cruises canceled due to hurricane damage or approaching hurricanes. It doesn't happen very often, as cruise lines don't like to give back $$$ if they don't have to.

They could do any of those things and several others besides. The one thing you can be sure of is that they will keep you and the ship out of danger as best they can. The one thing you can do is keep updated. Monitoring posts here will help, as will contacting U.S. government sites, private weather sites, and Royal Caribbean itself. I'm pretty sure Royal will get in touch with you if your cruise is affected, assuming you're not already onboard - and if you happen to be onboard, they'll definitely find ways to keep you updated. Good luck. 🙏

My demographic experiences on Celebrity, worth about what you paid for it: On my three "regular" cruises of 7, 7, and 5 days, I noticed a fairly diverse lot - couples of all ages, some kids, other random cruisers. I would put the average age around 50. On my three music themed charter cruises, the skew was a lot older. I'd put the average age of all of them around 65. Part of it was they didn't allow anyone under 21 onboard. BTW, all three cruises had a fun-loving crowd - much more than you'd expect from a bunch of cruisers of that average age.

I'll go through the other comments later, but let me record my experiences and opinions... I've been on cruises in June and September. The ships were fine. I'm sure I spent the vast majority of my time onboard. The temps in port were tolerable, at least where I went. It helped to get out early for excursions and/or self-exploration and get back before the worst of the heat arrived. I tend to shy away from the Caribbean in the summer and early fall, but the heat is only a minor part of it. The Western Caribbean ports in October will generally have highs in the mid-80s to the low 90s with heat indexes roughly 5-10 degrees higher. It sounds like a typical Atlanta summer day (at least it was like that when I visited there in July some years ago), so if you can handle that, you can handle the Caribbean. The question is whether you would want to. That I can't answer for you. Oh, I had a land visit to Sint Maarten about 8 years ago and one to Cancun about 3 years ago. The temps in Cancun were all right, but I stayed inside most of the time (my choice). I noticed it being hotter in Sint Maarten, but I was out and about more then. Enjoy your cruise or whatever travel plans you decide to make.

John Heald is no longer a cruise director (though he sometimes acts like one) and is now Carnival's Brand Ambassador. He answers questions from the commoners on his FB page and passes along information from corporate HQ as appropriate. I've sailed with about a dozen Carnival cruise directors through the years. They've all been good in their own ways. Most have been perky, many were all around the ship and easy to interact with, and some have been fun and/or energetic. There are limits to what they can do these days because cruising has changed and cruisers have changed. The cruise directors on the lines other than Carnival I have found to be lower profile, but that's generally all right with me. As for the Washy Washy guy, his scions live on at Royal, where I'm constantly accosted (to a greater or lesser degree) when I go up to the trough.

The 90s Cruise announced today two of their theme nights for their inaugural cruise in January. Since I don't think I did a note for the first one, let's cover them all together: All That 90s Party (general 90s theme) Smells Like Teen Spirit (grunge) Hip Hop House Party (hip hop and dance) They're all vague enough that I could find some matching items in my closet if I chose to. Assuming they won't have a theme for the final day (as TEC does not), there's only one theme night left. And it's going to be a formal night, unless they think grunge wear or hip hop apparel are formal. I do not, so we'll see. BTW, the one theme night TEC has announced for its cruise IS the formal theme - the Fat Tuesday Prom. My official rection is meh.

I disagree, but we'll see. As a CCL shareholder, the token dividend would do me little good, and the quarterly reports and increasing cruise prices tell me all I need to know about how healthy the Corporation is.

I HAVE gotten state discounts before, but not on Celebrity. Nothing so far with age discounts.

My view is that it won't come in the next 3 years or more. They still have a bunch of debt and the shareholders would generally rather they paid most of that off instead of receiving dividends.

I'm glad you're enjoying the Emerald and that the WiFi is good. I'll be cruising on her in 5 1/2 weeks and have prepaid for the Net. And thanks for the show list. A couple of them sound intriguing. I hope they last until I board. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise. Keep us updated!

Thanks!

Did they say which stop they were going to in the DR? I know of at least three - two in the north serving the Puerto Plata area and La Romana in the south.

I've seen some YouTube videos by current/former cruise ship crew (I know, I know...) and this is what I take from them when they discuss this subject: Some crew are requested to go on a new ship because the cruise line wants experienced staff on their newest ships. These staff are allowed to accept or decline. Some crew want to go on the newest ship for whatever reason; the more senior they are, the more likely they'll get what they want.

On my last "regular" cruise on the Millie in November 2022, I had a good experience with some of the entertainment. We had the show Boogie Wonderland and guest singer Kristina Wells singing the diva hits of the 1970s. I guess I like at least some of the music from the 70s. 🙂 I, like you and some of the other posters here, most enjoy the music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. In order to scratch that itch more thoroughly than on regular cruises, I often take music themed cruises with music from those decades. In fact, I'll have music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s on three separate cruises within six weeks of each other early next year. This has been an interesting discussion. Following. I'll go back to lurk mode now.

Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad to be of assistance. Extra brownie points are always good - especially on Judgment Day. 👼😈

In Jazz Cruises' latest newsletter, I noticed a couple of items of interest that may be of interest to some of you. First, Jazz Cruises and their office will be closed July 4-14 this year. Their sites will be up, and they promise to answer their e-mails during this time - if slowly. Second, the Botti at Sea main headliners were announced for each day of that cruise in February. Since I'm not too busy and I could use the brownie points with you guys, here's a listing of them: Night 1 - Chris Botti & his band Night 2 - David Foster & Katharine McPhee Night 3 - Kool & the Gang Night 4 - esperanza spalding Night 5 - Diana Krall Night 6 - Super Bowl Sunday Night 7 - Kamasi Washington I find lists like this incredibly helpful in planning out my days and nights onboard my chosen music cruises. This is the first time I've heard of a performer list by night being announced this far out, though I have heard some hints about the main performer on one of our nights on one of my cruises.

The Magic had a library as of November. I don't think it's been modified significantly as of this date, but you never know.