Honolulu Blue

I'm hoping it's warmer for you too. Temperatures in that part of the world are consistent from day to day, month to month, and year to year. I've never been on an Alaska cruise, but I've heard that it's an older crowd, and the some of the entertainment caters to it. I've never done any cruises on a British line, so your comparison is helpful for me. Thank you for it.

That cruise on the Horizon is a good one, I agree. Just don't expect things to be the same as your Alaska cruise.

I streamed the football game I bet on. It might have been available in the public bar areas, but I wasn't interested. I didn't watch the basketball game. I can't imagine any of the bars broadcasting it at the time, it being a matchup between two of the worst teams in the league.

Am I a bad person for thinking of Bryan Adams when I read this? 😈

I blew a detail about the StarVista souvenir reels. I said they were 30+ minutes, and they were - in 2022. Last year, they didn't do one for the UDC at all, and the ones for Flower Power and Rock and Romance were about 12 minutes each. So I'm not sure as I was about how long they'll be when they come out, but eventually they'll come out, and it will be very interesting reviewing the one from R&R when it does come out.

Probably wise. Enjoy your cruise!

I heard similar in about the same time period. I assume it's still true. I confess that I've never gone outside the port area in Belize without an excursion.

I am, and I did. Sorry.

My two cents, though again the decision seems to have been made before I got here: I'll be on the Enchanted Princess in August (not in the Caribbean). It's one of Princess' older ships. My expectations are not very high for it. I just hope it's good enough to hold together for my cruise. 🙏 I favor the Eastern Caribbean over the Western Caribbean, so I approve of your decision overall. I think you'll especially love the jungle in St. Lucia. Be sure to get an excursion to explore it. The Western Caribbean stops you have on your listed cruises are all OK. You'll find thinks to like about each of them once you get to visit them.

The above cruise does not exist. I made it up as an April Fool's day joke. I apologize for any misunderstanding. 😄 Though that does remind me that I heard a rumor that StarVista Live is working on an 80s cruise...

I've followed Mr. Heald's communications for a while. You should consider them official, as they almost always come from official sources. He makes clear the posts that are only his opinions.

I'm sure there are some unhappy passengers onboard. As one of my favorite philosophers once said, "Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate."

A couple of tidbits I found as I was surfing the Net. I found the Soul Train Cruise fall edition's site and this is the initial lineup they have: Ehhh... I've seen several of these guys on the UDC. They've got some work to do to make it worth my $$$, IMHO. They just might be able to do it, so I'll keep an eye on it. BTW, the price for single cabins for this sailing is $3750 - the same as the other '25 sailing of this cruise, and about the same as next year's Rock and Romance thing. Also, I found out about another 80s cruise for 2025 that I WILL NOT BE SAILING ON. I wrote up that story in a new thread here:

(KOKOMO, IN) - Noted music cruise charter company VistaStar announces its long-awaited 80s cruise, along with its initial lineup! "We did a thorough amount of research in the darkest reaches of Honolulu Blue's mind for acts from the 80s that he will absolutely hate!" says Ralph Stuffedshirt, top executive and creative consultant at VistaStar. "We are convinced that whatever Mr. Blue hates, the general public will buy in record quantities at record prices!" The lineup includes such notable performers as: U2 Tears for Fears Jefferson Starship Motley Crue Poison Miami Sound Machine Beastie Boys JJ Fad Dead or Alive T'Pau Sly Fox Baltimora And many more to be announced later! This 7-day cruise will feature stops at Cozumel and Perfect Day at CocoCay on Royal Caribbeans Behemoth of the Seas and sail February 30 - March 6, 2025. Cabins start at $4444 per person, double occupancy. Bookings will start April 15 for those who have booked with VistaStar before, and April 31 for the rest of the public (if it gets that far; we think it's going to be very popular!) More information is available at (CENSORED!)

My two cents, worth even less than usual since it looks like the decision has already been made: I like all the cruises you picked, but I like the 6-day the least. GT is all right for what it is - mostly for beaches and watersports. I expect Celebration Key to be similar, with more amusement-park-like attractions. I've been to Amber Cove once (not on Carnival). It wasn't half bad. The port area has some little things to do, and the jungle around the DR promises some fun if you're into that sort of thing. I like Bonaire even though I don't snorkel. I do like "A" and "C" better and consider them two of the best islands to visit in the Caribbean. Sint Maarten is another favorite. I like San Juan. St. Thomas is all right. I've never been to HMC and I suspect I wouldn't much care for it. I did the Hawaii thing as a one-way trip from Vancouver for 11 days several years ago. Fun place. I'd like to go back sometime. The round trip makes the flight home easier, but it pushes up the price of the cruise and demands that I bring more entertainment along to fill in the gaps on all those sea days.

The short version of the R&R summary video is already up: I didn't see me or @George C. It's possible I missed one or the other of us. The concert footage went by quickly, but I'm pretty sure I was at that Cara Lee concert, and I think I was at that Lez Zeppelin show. The others I'm not so sure about; I think they preferred late concerts in this video. I always like watching these videos hoping to see myself or people I know. This year's TEC should have one out soon. I expect it to be longer than this, likely in the neighborhood of 4 minutes. And I expect a much longer summary video of R&R to come out in a few weeks or months. That one will be 30+ minutes. SPOILER ALERT: No one from SVL interviewed me on this cruise, so you won't be hearing any soundbites from me. Sorry this went a little longer than expected. These videos bring out some memories and thoughts.

It was the same for me here in Michigan, except I think I could do any number of deferrals (what they officially call extensions here) had I had valid excuses.

So, your district bought your vacation excuse too, eh? I suppose it's standard for most jurisdictions around the country. I'm glad you enjoyed my story about jury duty this week. Perhaps it might be a lesson to you, or perhaps wherever you are are either more organized or less than where I happen to be. I thought things moved rather efficiently and that it wasn't too painful. Just another thing I've done in my life. It wasn't terrible, but I hope I don't have to hurry back. I saw that Retromania Live link a couple of days ago. Since you brought it up, I might as well take a bit of time to discuss it. The lineup has a whole bunch of performers who have performed at TEC, or will be performing next year. Night Ranger was there in 2022, Lou Gramm last year, Stephen Pearcy this year, and Quiet Riot next year. In addition, Jesus Jones will be doing the Real Real Real thing on The 90s Cruise next year. And don't forget about KC and the Sunshine Band - they were on my UDCs in '22 and '23. I'm holding out hope he'll make it next year. There's lots of good stuff here. I'm tempted, but this is the weekend I plan to be in Columbus to swoon over Paula and catch a couple of other performers of less note.

Thanks for your comments as always, @NinS. On your last sentence, perhaps I can give some guidance. I was on a different music charter cruise last year hosted by a different company. We stopped at Key West and had a key performer do a land concert there. The concert location was about a mile from where we docked. We were offered free shuttles to the concert and back, though these were not required. The show didn't cost anything extra and we had our own section (the concert was available to the public, and they were seated separate from us). My guess is, if you're on this cruise, you'll be able to attend Mr. Carter's concert for free. I hope they provide ways to get there for free, because cabin prices for this cruise are expensive enough, IMHO. 🤑

I'm sorry for your experience out of San Juan. I was the one that said the kids are better behaved when sailing from there. I'll stand behind that. I've sailed from there half a dozen times and that's what I found. I realize everyone's experience is different. Perhaps I was just lucky. As for awkward experiences in the MDR, I would be thrilled if no one talked to me at meal time, whatever the reason. Again, I know I'm unusual that way and I apologize that you didn't get the MDR experience you wanted.

I find it interesting that Serenade is your favorite ship, because that is the next Royal ship I will be on early next year. It's a charter that's not going to Alaska. Perhaps I'll find some of the things that.impressed.you?

My opinion is that they are short on ships - both the new ones and ships in general. I think we all understand why all those Fantasy class ships were sold a few years ago, but everyone underestimated how rapidly and strongly the cruise industry came back from its shutdown. I think if they had some if those ships back, Carnival would put them to good, profitable use. Journeys cruises to and from San Juan... I did one from SJ some years ago that did a one way trip to Galveston, stopping at several ports along the way. I actually did the.trip the opposite way the previous year, but that one didn't count as a Journeys cruise because the concept had not been invented yet.

I think the newest ships are always going to get the weeklong runs up and down the Caribbean and Bahamas that are Carnival's staple. They might switch one to 5-4-5 day runs mostly in the Bahamas, or even 4-3-4-3 quick runs to private destinations (with Nassau every once in a while). My opinion is that Carnival dumped their very best itinerary - the Eastern Caribbean sailings out of sunny San Juan. I'm sure they had their reasons. 🤑 Other standout itineraries Carnival has remaining are (IMHO): The 14-day cruises that visit 7 or 8 ports that leave from Florida All the longer cruises that go deep into the Southern Caribbean (Cartagena, Panama, Costa Rica) The 8-day cruise that goes to two of the ABCs and two other ports 7-day Western Caribbean cruises that go to four ports from Florida. These used to be a Carnival staple but are becoming scarce - look it up if you dare. I did an 11-day cruise on Carnival several years ago that went between Vancouver and Honolulu, with some island stops in between. Mine had an overnight in Honolulu; there were other runs about that time that lasted 10 days and didn't have the overnight. I can't imagine running a cruise either way in 7 days or less; it takes 5 sea days just to get between Hawaii and BC.

All right, I'll play along, like I did last year: Mr. Sommer, when are the Broadway shows that were axed last year by NCL due to be replaced? Or will they ever be replaced?? Mr. Vago, in your view, how are the plans for MSC world domination going? Mr. Liberty, is your long-term goal the narrowing of the differences between cruising on Celebrity and cruising on Royal Caribbean? Mr. Liberty, when is construction due to start on Perfect Day at Lelepa? Mr. Weinstein, when is construction due to start on the dock at Half Moon Cay?

Thank you kindly. 😀 BTW, I was not asked to report today and will not have to report tomorrow. Jury duty for me seems to be done. Who knows when I'll get called again?