Honolulu Blue

TEC has announced their artist hosted events for this year's cruise. They're not ready to be booked yet; they'll do that on the 15th with more details in another e-mail sent on that date. All of these are extra cost. As much for my archives, here are the ones that they listed: March 4 (sea day) - Champagne tasting with Morris Day March 5 (sea day) - Cupcake decorating with Mark Goodman, Tequila tasting with Alan Hunter, Vodka cocktails with Larry the Duck March 6 (Puerto Vallarta) - Wine tasting with Gerald Casale of Devo March 7 (Cabo San Lucas) - no events March 8 (sea day) - Wine tasting with Downtown Julie Brown, Cocktail mixology with Lori Majewski, Bourbon tasting with The Smithereens, Breast Cancer charity breakfast with Kim Wilde March 9 (Ensenada) - Cocktails with Tone Loc I appreciate these opportunities, really I do, but as someone who doesn't drink alcohol, most of these are awkward for me to attend - so I won't. I'm sure they'll be a blast for those that do. The others are either activities that aren't of interest or feature people that aren't of interest.

I don't think solo cruisers have become wealthier as a group, but the fact that cruise fares on an inflation adjusted basis have gone down more or less continuously since the 1970s makes them more able to cruise more often or in more luxury when they do choose to cruise. As for demographics... I'm going to choose my words carefully in order to save our mods some stress. I think the ranks of cruisers has become a lot more diverse in many ways. I think when most people choose to cruise with someone, they're looking for someone that thinks like them, acts like them, likes the same things as they do, and/or looks like them. That's less likely these days and that can cause problems in close quarters.

I know HAL used to do it several years ago, but it seems to have fallen out of fashion with them. An agency that I'm not allowed to name has available matching for its singles cruises. And I've seen it here and there mostly through informal sources. Why is it less popular than it used to be? I think @cruisemom42hinted at it in the last sentence of her post (which I've highlighted above) - most solo cruisers these days would rather grab a single cabin or pay the single tax than deal with the potential awkwardness of a roomie on their vacation.

It seems that The Knack has been dropped from the lineup of The 80s Cruise. No biggie; I wasn't going to see them anyway. Will that be the last change? I hope so. Anyway, it's only 16 days until my adventures start. Can't wait! 😃

Thanks. I forgot about cabin upgrades. True.

I decided to go ahead and book. It's a similar cabin to what I had last year and will have this year - basic interior on deck 7. The price checked out; it's $50 more than this year. $400 deposit that will be delayed until March 5 and the payments start on April 1 and continue until February. Another car payment. 😰 I hope TEC announces some real winners. Obviously I have faith that they will. This will mark the first time I have six cruises on the books. Four are for this year and two are in '24. I may not be done yet, though I think it's more likely I'll take some time to properly digest everything and enjoy the cruises I have coming up.

I wasn't sure where to put this, but there seems to be a bit of crossover between Princess and HAL. Holland America announced some special culinary cruises for 2023. These will feature "coffee chats" with the celebrity chefs, cooking demonstrations (with free recipes provided), and special reservation-only dinners at various of HAL's specialty restaurants. You can read the full details, such that we know, at https://www.cruisehive.com/holland-america-line-extends-culinary-cruise-program/93880 . Here are the foodie cruises: Ethan Sowell, Konigsdam, 35-day Hawaii & South Pacific, February 18-March 25 Andy Matsuda, Nieuw Amsterdam, 14-day Alaska, May 7-21 David Burke, Eurodam, 20-day Panama Canal, April 9-29 Jacques Torres, Zaandam, 11-day Atlantic Coast, April 18-29 Rudi Sodamin, Nieuw Statendam, 14-day Northern Isles, June 18-July 2 If you're a fan of one or more of these chefs, this seems to be a great opportunity to get to know them and their work in much greater detail. Have fun!

Thanks for sharing. I'm curious about what they offered - cash? OBC? FCC? Free drink package/specialty dining?

I got an e-mail with details about booking next year's edition of The 80s Cruise. Since I'm on this year's edition of TEC, I can book starting at 11 AM - about half an hour from now. Some other random details: If I book now or sometime before we return, I'll get a chance to reserve seats to the shows. The sooner I book, the more seats I have the opportunity to choose from Since we're changing ships for 2024, all cabins are available to everyone The single tax is listed as 50% for all room categories except suites. I'm pretty sure solos got a flat $1000 off the double occupancy price last year. This is a little better if I choose a better cabin than the basic interiors. The price for a cabin that's similar to what I have this year would cost about $50 more We get an alcohol package on this cruise, same as the other TECs I've checked out The taxes, fees, and gratuities are all bundled into a package that's conveniently priced at $350. It was $300 for this year's cruise. Apparently the Mariner has studio interiors available. That's a teeny tiny cabin for one that's in steerage. It's a few hundred cheaper than the lowest class interiors. Every little bit helps, and it would be a new adventure. Tempting... No deposit required or accepted until March 5. Then they start charging. Guess where I'll be on March 5? Maybe they'll announce the lineup by then, but maybe not. Anyway, a game plan for me is starting to emerge. Details to be announced.

Someone could, in theory, have brought on a package of Oreos (for example), eaten half of them, and then offered the other half to their favorite cabin steward/bartender/other crew member. This would have been an acceptable gift before; now, they would have to decline it.

Am I a bad person to think of AC/DC when I saw this? 😈

I imagined worse - somebody's homemade something-or-other went bad between the packing and the gifting, or someone deliberately spiked the gift with something that's actually harmful for whatever reason. I wish the world wasn't like this, but the TV and Internet have taught me that there are people out there that would/could/have done such things.

I'm not @JLMcruise and I don't intend to speak for him, but I rarely have lunch on cruises - maybe once or twice a week. I start with a hearty breakfast like the cereal commercials from back in the day promised and that's usually good enough to last me until 5 or 6 - which is when I eat dinner.

In one of his posts today, Brand Ambassador John Heald mentioned a policy from Carnival that recently changed in regards to what the crew can accept from its appreciative passengers. Here it is: I do want to address something that many of you asked me yesterday and that concerns gifts for the crew. First of all there is a new guideline for this and it is to please only bring something that is factory sealed and still in the packet or box. Individual candy or cookies etc won’t be able to be taken by the crew I am afraid. This is for their safety. I can tell you also that the crew love to remember you so if you want to bring them something like a baseball cap, a key ring or something that will remind them of you and the kindness you showed them then that would be marvelous. (emphasis mine) This doesn't affect me directly, since these aren't the type of gifts that I give to crew members on vacations. But I know some of you are affected by this to a greater or lesser degree. Discuss. Be nice please. 🙂

I haven't. It's been informative to read about others' experiences. Thank you for asking about this. I thought there was a chance during the pandemic that, with hard ship capacity limits and the need for quarantine cabins, there would be a lot of involuntary bumping. But the cruise lines generally canceled all their old sailings and made up new ones, eliminating the need to bump anyone. Me too! 👍

Thanks for sharing this. You have the answer to your last question, but the question whether they SHOULD do what you've described remains open. I say no, but there's a lot of company on the other side. My reply to your bolded statement is, "Oh, really?" I think it's something to ask Josh, Jason, and Harry the next time I see them - are they willing to admit that their booking algorithms have a booking quota for solos on certain sailings at certain times? I find it distasteful but wouldn't be surprised if it really were true - all cruise lines have dirty little secrets about the way they operate their business that I try not to think about too much. As someone who has cruised exclusively solo (so far), it's always been "me". I've been fortunate so far in that I haven't personally seen some of the worst policies. Perhaps my screening process protects me from this.

I can't say that I have. I've only heard scattered reports. The 80s cruises that Princess has held have gotten more reviews - mostly positive. Perhaps their efforts there will translate to a positive experience for you. I'd love to hear about it. Please report back!

It looks like Princess has released a new link with notes explaining the current and future benefits of their Plus and Premier packages at https://www.princess.com/cruise-deals-promotions/plus-premier-cruise-packages/ . There's a lot of information there, but I'm going to just focus on the new reserved seating benefit for Premier package holders. My comments on that: It looks like it's going to start with sailings starting on February 20, along with some other benefits The reserved seating is for production shows only. I was kind of wondering about that, so there's the answer. From the site in the hype section: From the FAQ section: It seems that this is fairly straightforward and not as onerous as it could have been. I think a certain vlogger who likes Princess and front row seats will approve of this. I'm all right with it, though I can't imagine ever getting any of these packages. All right. I'll get out of the way now. I'm sure the rest of you are much more interested in the other benefits of these packages and their FAQs.

I did a California Coastal cruise on Princess last April. We embarked in LA and visited San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and San Diego. We also stopped in Ensenada for a few hours. The taxes and port fees on that cruise were $220 - a little high but not extraordinarily so, IMHO. I don't know why they would have tripled in the past year.

I found a YouTube video discussing this cruise. More rave reviews:

Yeah, I don't think you'll be able to see the transfer options until you actually book. Keep in mind that it takes about 1 1/2 hours to get from the port to IAH - add to it if there's heavy traffic and/or construction. I don't think Princess formally guarantees an on-time arrival to the airport. Let's assume you're scheduled to arrive at 7 (which happens to be the return time for my cruise). Assuming there's no fog (a hazard in Galveston, depending on the time of year) and not too many delays otherwise, you should be at IAH between 10 and 11. It's a little risky, but it would be a risk that I would accept. Others may feel differently. I wouldn't schedule a flight out of IAH before noon with a 7 AM scheduled arrival.

I did, and increasingly it's looking like they changed the rate since I booked a few weeks ago. I hope I haven't confused the OP too much.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm sorry about what happened to you in your cabin.

Very interesting. When I was looking for the transfers, I noticed that my price for a transfer to HOU - not IAH - was the price you're showing here. Maybe they raised the prices after I booked?

Here's how I got to the option of booking my shuttles: Fire up the computer and go to "My Account" Click on the green "Manage This Booking" button Click on the blue "Travel" button on top On the bottom of the screen you'll see a "Transfers" section. On the left is for Pre-Cruise, on the right is for Post-Cruise Click on the appropriate drop down button for the shuttles you want. There should be an option for IAH and HOU. Make sure you choose the right one(s). If you choose to get a shuttle, be sure to go back up and look at the "Provide Independent Air Section". Click on the "Select" button and fill in the information for your flight(s). I didn't see any pickup schedule.