Honolulu Blue

It's been fun reminiscing. Special thanks to @mz-s for the list of things that have been eliminated post-pandemic. I'll add one more that probably only I remember enjoying - the Hasbro shows. Oh well, my next Carnival cruise is in November after not having cruised on any CCL ships since the great shutdown. I'll have to see how much the experience has been changed.

I'm intrigued by this - more, perhaps, than I ought to be. 🙃 Here's another article with more details: Details Emerge in Wake of Princess Cruises Yorktown Announcement | Williamsburg Yorktown Daily (wydaily.com) TL,DR: It's part of a pilot/test It will be a tender port Mostly weekday stops All will be daytime visits, around 8-ish AM to 5-ish PM No supplies will be picked up by the ship here, nor will trash be disposed of here These, of course, don't answer the really big questions - when, where, and how? My search today still shows the Island in Europe for the whole summer. They'd have to pull them out in order to serve this new stop. I guess they're willing to do this, but why? Emerald is currently showing only one Caribbean cruise in June, so moving them there would be much easier. This also leaves the question of where they would base these ships and what else is on the itinerary. Also, I'm sure it only affects me, but I wonder if one or more of them will have an 80s theme - the 1780s! 😁 Tricorn hat here I come!!

I'm on this cruise too!

I don't have too much to say on your subject, but I wanted to note that I've done both these itineraries and both of these ships. Both cruises are good; I don't think you can go wrong with either. Have fun with whatever you choose.

Mr. Liberty, why did you demand that LLP and Celebrity decimate their dinner buffet in the name of cost cutting? Don't you realize that this is NOT going to help their reputation for quality food? Mr. Vago, why are your booking policies so hostile to solo cruisers? Mr. Vago, how do you intend to achieve your goal of being the world's #1 cruise line? And how long do you anticipate this will take? (for any and all of this group), do your booking algorithms have a limit on how many cabins can be booked by single travelers? Mr. Weinstein, what is the long-term plan for Costa to return to relevance as a cruise line? Or is the plan to pray that China opens up soon and MSC stops dealing body blows? Mr. Del Rio, where did the pressure come from to reimplement the massed muster drill? Did the crew demand better training in emergency procedures? Are certain governmental authorities whispering that they weren't going to authorize your version of eMuster permanently? Or was it a general company overview that showed that the eMuster wasn't as effective as it needed to be?

I check my e-mail again and get news about my other cruise - the UDC. This one is not so good. Billy Ocean is a scratch. Say it isn't so! ☹️ Oh well. I'm glad I didn't totally rely on Billy coming to the party. They did get The Whispers to replace them. I've heard of them; they're all right, probably worth watching. I'll have to check the schedule online if it changes to see where they'll be placed.

TEC sent us booked guests more details about the artist hosted events, including times and prices. All prices are per person and DO NOT include the gratuity (which I assume is 18%): March 4 (sea day) - Champagne tasting with Morris Day. 3:30 PM, $80, includes commemorative glass March 5 (sea day) - Cupcake decorating with Mark Goodman (noon, $55), Tequila tasting with Alan Hunter (3 pm, $85, includes commemorative glass), Vodka cocktails with Larry the Duck (5 pm, $80, includes commemorative glass) March 6 (Puerto Vallarta) - Wine tasting with Gerald Casale of Devo (5 pm, $100, includes commemorative glass) March 7 (Cabo San Lucas) - no events March 8 (sea day) - Wine tasting with Downtown Julie Brown (3:30 pm, $105, includes commemorative glass), Cocktail mixology with Lori Majewski (5 pm, $80, includes commemorative glass), Bourbon tasting with The Smithereens (2 pm, $80, includes commemorative glass), Breast Cancer charity breakfast with Kim Wilde (9 am, $100) March 9 (Ensenada) - Cocktails with Tone Loc (5 pm, $80, includes commemorative glass)

I was just on the Millie in November. My first three Celebrity cruises were on the Summit. I'd say the Millie and the Summit at this point are virtually twins. They're both very nice ships. So to be contrarian, I'm gonna go with the Summit. I'll be on her in 10 days, so maybe something will change my mind then.

This is the answer I would endorse. I normally say go straight to the top (John Padgett), but in this case I would go with someone just under the top - like the person who runs Princess' Australia operations. He or she would know exactly what's going on, and maybe he/she would tell you if you asked nicely.

And I bet your arms were really tired! 🤣 (sorry, couldn't resist)

Thanks for sharing. Ah, Celebrity - masters of the spin. I used to like "Two Princes" back in the day.

Thank you kind sir. I'll check it out later. 👍

Thanks. Here's a quick update for you and the two others who care (besides me, who I'm really doing this for): All the dead and injured victims are students The shooter's name was revealed No classes at Big U. until Monday Many schools and school districts in the area have closed today

Hi guys... here's a question I forgot to ask earlier... did the Pat Benatar Experience sing "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"? I ask this because there was some media coverage about the REAL P.B. declaring that she would NOT sing this anymore because of all the mass shootings. Thanks for satisfying my curiousity!

I took a cruise to Hawaii in 2018 (not on Celebrity) that was similar to yours. We didn't have a stop in Astoria, but we had a stop in Kona (tender) and we had an overnight in Honolulu before disembarking. As much as Hawaii hotels cost, cruises to/from/within Hawaii aren't exactly cheap either. I thought the little slices of Hawaii I saw were great and I'd like to go back sometime. I think you'll enjoy your cruise too. Have fun!

You've probably heard about the shootings at Big University. If not, you soon will. The very quick summary: Angry not-so-young man (who doesn't seem to be connected to the university in any way) got into two buildings on campus and started shooting. He eventually left campus and took his own life a few miles away. Three victims dead, five in critical condition. All campus activities shut down for today and tomorrow. This is a little too close to home for me, in many ways. Pray for us all. 🙏

It was, but I had also been on the Summit in September '21 and would have said the same thing then - it was in great shape. Of course, that cruise came just after the restart.

Thanks for sharing. I was on the Summit last year (and will be on her next in a couple of weeks) and on the Millie last November. I thought both ships were in near perfect shape. I guess it's true what those old car ads said - your mileage really does vary.

In addition to the above, the British Virgin Islands and the Turks & Caicos have their official currency as the US dollar. I'll bet there's a really interesting story about why these British territories shunned their own currency, but it's not relevant to this thread, so I'll stop here. Also, not anywhere near the Eastern Caribbean, but mentioned elsewhere in this thread, Panama has the US dollar as its native currency.

@twentyknots: Thank you for your review. I'm sorry you had to witness those disturbances in the MDR. Advice noted re: illness.

I'm sorry the bug seems to have found your husband. I hope he gets well soon. The treatment you described is radically different than Celebrity was applying universally just six months ago. Very interesting.

I've been on a few Celebrity cruises in the past. They do have some trivia. My last sailing on the Millennium had a comedian that performed twice on the cruise. There's music scattered about the ship, with some of the shows also involving music. I don't actively look for word games, but I imagine that they exist. I'm surprised at the pushback at the notion that Celebrity is an "entertain yourself" cruise line. Yes, they have lots of activities, but my experience is it's not as busy with activity as the mainstream ships. That's a good thing, right? @Jim_Iaininspired me to look at the app schedule for my next cruise on Celebrity in two weeks (WOOO!). It's a charter and other than the excursions and some reminder messages, there's very little on the schedule. I did find a new reminder message showing, and this is what it had under it: A little disappointing, but not a surprise. The charter company has already provided a tentative schedule online, and it's packed with items related to the charter theme. Things might change and that's what the paper newsletter is for.

I've been in steerage on many of my Carnival cruises and I never found the noise that bad. I can feel and hear the ocean bump along - especially at high speeds and/or in bad weather - but that rarely bothers me. The thrusters bother me a little, but I'm often in the shower or out and about when they're turned on. I can't remember hearing the anchor being thrown and wouldn't know what it sounds like.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the report. I think Celebrity's problem is that they didn't get cute enough with the name. Most people know (or think they know) what P&B is. I think they'd do better if they put some foreign words in the title.

Of all the M&Gs I've attended pre pandemic (none on Celebrity, granted), the conversation has been civil and I didn't witness any confrontations.