Riversedge

We were on a RCCL cruise once when a couple was late. They came running down the dock as we were pulling out. The man dove off the dock and started swimming after the ship. The pilot boat picked him up and his wife and took them to the ship. It made for fun entertainment from the verandah. (It worked if any of you need to try this….) We do a lot of cc independent shore excursions. There’s always a couple or two that will start harassing the tour guide continuously about getting back 2 hours into a 6 hour excursion.

We haven’t sailed NCL in years so can’t do a recent comparison. But if you’re looking for great entertainment then you will be disappointed in HAL I think. We love the staff and the food is good (not excellent in our opinion). But typical entertainment during the day is jewelry presentations, spa sales, jewelry sales, foot analysis and trivia. If you’re lucky (depending on the area of the world you’re sailing) you’ll get a port presentation or lecture. Agree that 28 days might be too long for your first try. We sail HAL for the itineraries and the crew. They are top of the class there.

We stayed at the Wyndham Bayside and loved it. Walkable to the port and restaurants

We have done two South Pacific cruises and got very sick both times with a bad cough that lasted for months. Only area of the world that has happened. It will not be a future itinerary for us.

There was norovirus on the previous cruise. Maybe they had to do an extra deep cleaning?

I would be extremely suspicious of anyone who only had wonderful, glowing things to say. We all know the world is not perfect so I appreciate hearing both the negative and positive things. I’m hoping that your posts will nudge all of us into pushing HAL for better entertainment opportunities. It’s easy to tell that you are “living the life” right now. Enjoy your last couple days. And thank you for keeping us all informed and entertained!

It seems like they’re shooting themselves in the foot on this one. Are they forgetting that they cater to an older clientele? I doubt that many of those are going to fill a cabin for 4 on a long cruise. This seems totally unrealistic on their part. Maybe their first priority should be fixing entertainment, not thinking up silly rules.

Here you go

I am loving your daily posts. You have such wit and humor and tell it like it is in a nice way. It’s fun to see what’s happening on your many sea days as we have booked the 28 day Coral Triangle cruise next January and will have many sea days. It looks as though I’ll have to bring my good humor as well because there’s not a lot to do that doesn’t bring more money into Holland’s coffers. What I am contributing towards the booking of my cruise is enough, thank you. I don’t need more jewelry or watches and my feet don’t need to be evaluated. Drawing from doodles twice today? Is doodling really that popular? I’m glad your cruise is such a great one. We have done these ports before and thank you for taking us down memory lane. I hope we cruise together some day.

It’s working on my iPad and it seems faster. I hope I’m not dreaming that.

You posted this under the Asia board. You might want to ask the same question under the Alaska port of call. You’ll get lots more answers there. Most people going to Alaska are not checking here.

HAL is quite laid back. We like that but get very bored on itineraries that have a lot of sea days. You will find on a typical day: bingo, jewelry presentations, spa offerings, pickle ball, bridge, sometimes a port lecture or a lecture on the area you are cruising, adult coloring, casino, wine tasting, once in awhile flower arranging. Many of their activities bring more money into the ship’s coffers. There used to be lots more but after Covid not so much. They tend to show the same shows year after year in World Stage so if you haven’t sailed before you might enjoy those. My advice is enjoy the ports, the service, takes some books or cards. Music walk is enjoyed by many but an equal part think it’s way too loud. You will enjoy the crew…they’re the best. Stand at the rail and watch the waves go by. There’s not a better feeling than that.

Is it now the norm to have the Orange party on deck? I like this so much better. We only attended once before….too crowded and too loud.

Since I’ve never used Flight Ease I’m trying to understand what the benefit is. Comparing using FE and doing it on my own, the FE cost is only a few dollars less. I understand I could change or cancel my flight up until final payment which is 4 months before my cruise. After that point I can’t get my money back if I want to cancel, correct? If I book a refundable fare myself I can cancel all the way up to the day the flight leaves. Is there something I’m missing? I’m flying in 3 days early so not worried about missing my cruise. Seems like a no-brainer to book it myself.

For my January 1st flight there are already 58 choices.

If you love the entertainment on Celebrity you will be disappointed with HAL. There’s not much to do but at least since this is your first cruise you will see entertainment for the first time instead of over and over across the years like the rest of us. Go and have fun in the ports and enjoy the service. That’s what HAL does well.

I’ve never used flight ease. As I understand it if I booked a flight today and was ticketed on my final payment day (September) I would pay for my flight then. Am I locked in to the fare I book now if the airline fares are higher at actual time of ticketing?

That sounds amazing. Did you have a tour there or just find a beach? We are headed there in January.

We are 5* with HAL so obviously have sailed with them a bit. About a year ago friends asked us to join them on Celebrity Apex for a 12 day Med cruise. At first the Apex totally wowed us. There were so many areas to explore, beautiful spaces and many places to get food. We loved it. The ship seemed vibrant and alive although not a crazy wild atmosphere. Average age was slightly less than HAL. The entertainment was unbelievable. Things going on all over the ship. It was a fairly port intensive cruise but on sea days there were always many things to do. Their downfall was the quality of the food and the friendliness of the crew. We weren’t expecting that. They have few Indonesian or Phillipino crew members and we all know how much we love them on HAL. We would sail this ship again. On HAL, we love the crew and food is somewhat better than it was on the Apex. I get tired of the monotony of the menus but that’s probably because we usually sail on long cruises. As many will agree, HAL needs to improve on their entertainment. The music walk is fun but blasts your eardrums apart. How many times can you see Origins Story and BBC snakes and such. A movie in the World Stage does not take the place of live entertainment. We’ve seen comedians with the same jokes as 4 years previously. Mostly we are unhappy with daily sea days activities. Coloring for adults? Making pictures from doodles? Pickle ball (ok if you can play on your knees) Bridge, Mahjong, There might be a fun coffee talk or port presentation. But otherwise it’s ways for HAL to make money on casino, foot analysis, spa extras, trivia, jewelry presentations. My biggest wish is that HAL would up their entertainment game. But still we continue to sail with Holland for their itineraries and wonderful crew. And most of the times no kids. And of course the free laundry. There’s also a comfort factor that grows as we get older. But I would also sail the Apex again in a heartbeat.

Let me guess, you’re also having the Holland America origin story and the BBC movie with the snakes.

I have to agree with you. Free cruises are a sore point with me. I have a friend on a cruise now and she was bragging that she was turning 5* on this cruise. She’s gotten free or vastly reduced cruises for a long time. She swears that even tho she gambles she comes out about even at the end. Not sure I believe that but I feel if you gamble onboard it’s how you choose to entertain yourself. Same as if I were choosing to pay big bucks to see shows or concerts every week at home. Why would I expect to be rewarded for my own entertainment other than the fun I had doing it? I know the recipients of these free cruises are not going to agree with me and I know it’s been discussed before. I’m probably stirring up the hornets nest.

I’ve been following along. Really appreciate the time you’re putting into it.

What’s the verdict on your Legendary cruise? Are you seeing things that make it more special and worth extra cost? Besides the special bag of course.

We are booked on a Legendary voyage in January. Before I booked I called HAL and asked. I was told it’s a regular cruise but to more out of the way places. I have a friend who is on on a Legendary voyage now to Hawaii and the South Pacific. No different itinerary than we’ve done before on a regular voyage. She said there’s an extra entree choice at night and then she said we have these extra meals that are special for their journey. She thinks the entertainment is better but when I’ve seen the dailies it looks like same old same old. To me the special dinners are just a way for HAL to charge more to eat seafood in the Lido. We had that on the Koningsdam a couple years ago and they were begging people to sign up for it. When we did a quick walk by it looked like hardly anyone did it. I would not be inclined to pay an extra $76 to eat seafood from a buffet although it’s probably good. I’ve already paid for my meal in my cruise fare, thank you. She did say they are having lobster 3 times on their 35 day voyage. When we booked our upcoming cruise the price was $6,000 more (both included Have it all) for the same length cruise (28 days)to the same area of the world. In HAL’s mind they’ve come up with a way to charge more by putting a fancy name on it.

Thanks for posting the menus. We are doing a Legendary Voyage next year so we’re also curious about the menu. It looks like some of the usual and a couple things a little different. More choices I think.