Honolulu Blue

Some people say I have a different way of thinking about a lot of things. 🙃 I suppose the whole cruising experience has a lot of pampering to it, but maybe I've taken a lot of it for granted by now? Turndown service is nice and all, but some cruise lines are pulling back from this, and I'm OK with it. It's one of the things that I just don't value highly compared to other people.

Well said, and I mostly agree with you except for the pampering part. I don't react well to most forms of pampering - unless you call things like nightly chocolates, nightly newsletters, and daily English bacon at the trough pampering.

I got another email from The 80s Cruise about my opportunity to pick out reserved seats next week. The arrangements haven't changed - my window is still next Tuesday at 11 AM EDT, and I should be able to make that. They linked a YouTube video from our cruise director JT who explained things a little more. It looks like rows 2 and 4 center lower orchestra will remain general admission and can't be reserved, so I guess I have to pick from rows 1, 3, and 5. Any seats in those rows would demand a mega premium from Ticketmaster. I'm tempted by front row center, and I've got a real chance at one if they're not hidden blocked by true VIPs. But as much as I like many of the acts that I expect to be on the main stage, the only one I'm a true mega-fan of is Stephen Pearcy. For the rest I'm happy to just stay in my seat and politely applaud. Well, we'll see what I choose come Tuesday. And I have two entries in the Always Something There to Remind Me department: First on the drive home from work today, I heard "Heaven Is a Place On Earth" by Belinda Carlisle and "Enjoy the Silence" from Depeche Mode. Both were on The 80s Cruise last year, sort of. Belinda was there live and in person: Depeche Mode was represented by a tribute group called Strangelove. I wanted to see them, but their concerts were both too late and I was knocked out by other concerts I had seen during the day. Earlier I happened to catch a random American Top 40 from 1986 on iHeart Radio. The top two songs that week were "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" by Billy Ocean and "On My Own" by Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald. I assume the latter will be played four times - once at each of Patti's and Michael's shows - on their upcoming cruise. Mr. Ocean was scheduled to be on our Ultimate Disco Cruise earlier this year, but had to back out. I'm pretty sure he would have played that song. Speaking of the UDC, to close things out, I've heard rumors on the Internet that the best disco cruise in the universe is coming back in 2025! The dates are February 19-24 and StarVista Live will be passing around the hat looking for (refundable) deposits to help confirm our interest. Or so the rumors say. I want to believe it, but I'm a skeptic at heart, so I'll believe it when I see it. They have my e-mail. They know where to find me. 🙃 I'll keep everyone posted on this.

TL, DR: Continental breakfast is free, all other items are a la carte, no other fees

Correct. But the OP needs to connect with their Ring doorcam. I'm sure they'd need onboard Internet in order to connect to it.

These days, with Starlink and all, I don't think it costs any more to have some people with slower Internet. In fact, it might cost MORE to throttle those who are willing to pay less for slow speeds. The techies here will have to set me straight on this. Royal is down to one streaming plan these days. Celebrity's basic plan is only available for those who have their all inclusive fare. Carnival has three plans, and recent repricing has cut the price differential for the top two to only about $2 a day.

I disagree with your wish. Sorry. I prefer it the way Princess currently does it - just one plan that can do it all (or not, depending on the usual factors...).

The Internet plan is $14.99/day for a single device (less for those with status). It's $20/day for a single day if bought onboard.

In Mr. Lazaroff's latest bi-weekly newsletter that landed in my e-mail box an hour ago, he had some news about the 2025 Smooth Jazz cruises that some of you have been waiting for. Quoting (emphasis mine): We are trying to put the final touches on the lineup for and the launch of The Smooth Jazz Cruise ’25.1 & ’25.2. We had hoped to do the roll out by the end of the week. With more musicians scheduled to perform than on any other edition of The Smooth Jazz Cruise, gathering all the confirmations is taking longer than usual. And, the final touches on our itineraries have not been set. For those reasons, it looks like September 26 will be the magic date for the unveiling.

All right, it's a date! 😜

UPDATE: I got an answer from Mr. Heald. I'll quote it: She will receive the new vegan menu when she returns from Europe so it won’t be an early November. I assume he means that the new menu will come sometime in November or later, after coming back to the U.S.

Thank you for being such a wonderful poster (and person) and keeping us solo travelers in line! Six cruises may seem like a lot (it's the most I've ever had booked at the same time), but I'm sure it's not anywhere close to the most among this group.

It wasn't in the original press release. Maybe it was an oversight by corporate? I asked Mr. Heald about the Pride on his FB page. He's usually pretty responsive. We'll see if I get an answer.

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise, Lois. I missed your posts around these parts. 🙂 Since I expect everyone to scatter to the next post about the good ol' days and how everything since then has gone to you-know-where in a handbasket, I'll post about what I hope/expect will be awesome about the next six cruises I have booked. This could be a little long; the two of you left have been warned: November 2023, Carnival Magic, Western Caribbean - I think it will be great to get back on Carnival again. I've tried multiple times to do so, but they didn't work out. Also, this will be my first stop in Belize since the restart. I don't know what I'm going to do there (maybe nothing), but it's nice to have the option. January 2024, Carnival Dream, Panama Canal (almost) - I really like the longer sailings on Carnival, and this will be my first one in a while. I get to visit Limon, CR and Falmouth, Jamaica for the first time in several years. Again, dunno what, if anything, I'm going to do, but it's nice to be able to choose. We'll be docking in Colon, Panama, which is as close as we officially get to the Canal. Excursions are offered to do a partial transit in a smaller ship, which I may or may not do. February 2024, Mariner OTS, Southern Caribbean - The first of my music charter cruises. This one is The 80s Cruise. I love the music of the 80s, and some of the artists I love most will be onboard. This will be an awesome experience. I'm calling it now! March 2024, Celebrity Summit, Southern Caribbean - Another music charter, this time covering 70s music. Lots of good music to be had here. And as a special bonus, I get to finally meet one of my favorite CC posters! April 2024, Norwegian Pearl, Nassau - The last music charter of this group, this very short 3-nighter has Michael McDonald and Patti LaBelle and some other stuff. I'm sure it'll keep me runnin'. 😁 This will be my first trip on NCL, which I'm excited to try out. October 2024, Ovation OTS, Hawaii to Australia - This is a BUCKET LIST extravaganza - to French Polynesia, New Zealand, and Australia on a transpacific cruise ticks off four boxes! This will be my longest cruise ever, with the most sea days ever. This is also my first voyage on a Q-class ship. We'll have to see how it all adds up.

This reminded me of the time back in 2021 when I was offered an upgrade from an OV to a balcony onboard the Summit. I'm not so sure how loyal they they thought I was, since that was only my second Celebrity sailing. More important, IMHO, was the fact that there were barely 300 passengers onboard and very few of them were in OVs. I declined their offer, btw.

I have experience with this. In 2020, I had a cruise canceled on me and the refund was returned to three physical gift cards. I only retained one of them. Luckily, I went through Princess' gift card department and they sent replacements for the two others. I thought that was nice of them. 😍 It took a few weeks, but there wasn't any urgent need at that time.

I've done multiple 14-day cruises with just a carry-on and a briefcase, so I guess I fit in the "minimalist" category. Exactly what I pack depends some on the itinerary and what the laundry situation is. I'm immune to FOMO. Not exactly crazy or needed or regretted, I did pack my friend on my last cruise:

Was this credit given to you on embarkation? I've received credits like this on both Princess and Carnival cruises (not all). It's a refund of port fees they didn't have to pay.

Princess did a press release on the various Hollywood Insider cruises. The full link is at https://www.carnivalcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/hooray-hollywood-princess-cruises-roll-out-red-carpet-three . I'll quote the Music Connection cruise portion, since that's of most interest to me: Hollywood Insider: Music Connection Discovery Princess, October 21-28, 2023 7-day Classic California Coast from Los Angeles Calling all music-lovers! Sail the coast of California on this specially-themed cruise featuring some of the music industry's most talented lyricists, vocalists, and more. Roundtrip from LA and visiting San Francisco, San Diego and Ensenada, this cruise features special vocal performances, meet & greets, speaker events and more from guests including: Allan Dennis Rich, two-time Oscar®, Grammy®, Golden Globe® and Emmy®-nominated songwriter whose songs have sold more than 65 million copies worldwide, most notably Whitney Houston's "Run to You" from The Bodyguard hit soundtrack, James Ingrams' "I Don't Have the Heart," and Natalie Cole's "I Live for Your Love." Freda Payne, American singer & actress best known as one of the legendary Supremes and as a solo artist for her 1970 hit single "Band of Gold." Al Jardine, an American musician and original co-founder of The Beach Boys, best known as the band's rhythm guitarist and singing lead vocals on hit singles such as "Help Me Rhonda." Kimberley Locke, American singer-songwriter and television personality who gained fame with her participation in the 2003 fan favorite American Idol reality TV vocal competition. Leo Rossi, former Fleetwood Mac tour director and road crew member for Led Zeppelin, The Who, Al Jarreau, Chaka Khan, and more.

Link to the Carnival press release: https://carnival-news.com/2023/09/18/carnival-cruise-line-introduces-new-vegan-dining-room-menu/ I found out about this from Brand Ambassador John Heald's FB page, which posts the release in its entirety with a minimum of commentary. Thanks John. It's a little long for me to post here, but let me try to do a TL,DR: Three appetizers, three main courses, and three desserts on the menu Pretty pictures of some of them at the linked site Already trialed on the Magic Just added to the Freedom and the Horizon Schedule of introduction to the rest of the fleet (quoting): Carnival Dream will be the next ship to implement the menus and by the end of this month, guests will be able to order from the menus on Carnival Valor, Carnival Radiance, Carnival Miracle, Carnival Panorama and Mardi Gras. Next, the new vegan menus will become available on Carnival Celebration, Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Glory, Carnival Conquest, Carnival Vista, Carnival Breeze, Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Elation by the end of October. Carnival Paradise and Carnival Spirit will introduce the menus by the end of November and Carnival Legend, Carnival Venezia and the new Carnival Jubilee follow before the end of December.

What you said: If you respected Ms. Gray as much as you said above and thought it would be interesting to hear from her and there was a cruise which she would be on, then OF COURSE YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED in booking. Right? Obviously not. 🙃 Sometimes what I say flies over everyone's heads.

Ah, another satisfied customer. 🤑 Plus or Premier? 😁

Thanks for sharing the full release. Personally, I'm glad there are all kinds of cruises and cruise themes for all kinds of cruisers. These aren't my favorite themes (the music one is the best of the bunch, IMHO), but Princess has gotta know if they can slap an 80s theme onto one of their random cruises (nighttime queen bees optional), then I'll do my best to get on their ship. Inviting these guys would help:

Maybe, but Princess would have to sail out of Miami first. Has Princess ever sailed out of Miami?

UPDATE #2: The Princess media push, such as it is, continues for this Dallas cruise and the other ones in their Hollywood Insider series. They dropped a press release a couple of days ago; you can read it at Hooray for Hollywood! Princess Cruises to Roll Out the Red Carpet on Three California Coastal “Hollywood Insider” Theme Cruises in October 2023 - Princess Cruises ,