MISTER 67

We were on 2 cruises lately that had earth shattering music. I believe it's called EDM, Electronic Dance Music. We were on the MSC Seaside in the fall of 2018 and we couldn't get away from it, they had a huge atrium with a DJ playing this crap all day long, we could even hear it while dining in the MDR. This past summer on the Celebrity Equinox it was more of the same, people were constantly complaining but nothing was done. The rest of the cruise was so great that we sailed on the Equinox again right before Hurricane Dorian was just off the coast of Florida, I guess Celebrity got the message and the music on that cruise was just loud enough to hear, we finally could have discussions with others while having a pre-dinner cocktail in the Atrium. We also sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam right before she had the azipod problems and the music was just about right in selection and loudness, yes it was loud in BB Kings but that was to be expected and I like the music. As I said the music was great until the last 2 days when someone decided it was time for EDM music in the Lido buffet and main pool area. Nothing is worse than for us than having breakfast while having to listen to to that junk at an unbearable level.. We are early risers and are usually the first passengers to have hopefully a quiet breakfast in the Lido, I complained to one of the buffet managers and the music was turned down. BTW, I started a similar thread on the Celebrity boards after our summer cruise and about 95% agreed with me. It turned out too be very long discussion, about 10 pages.

But he was extremely negligent besides being an idiot.

I'm a dinosaur, I love reading but with the real thing in my hands. Usually read at least 3 books on a 7 day cruise.

That's good to know, as I said I wasn't sure what kind of condition she was in now.

Actually I'm in excellent health at 74. Hardly ever get a cold while at home, never get flu shots and never got the flu on a ship, just bad colds. We cruised on the Nieuw Amsterdam last month and survived that cruise without coming down with a cold so maybe our luck has changed.

Not sure what she looks like now but afrer sailing on her 8 times we watched her deteriorate and after our last cruise on her a year and a half ago we vowed never to sail on her again. We had the worst food on that cruise and far from what we expected on a Princess ship, always had great food on Princess, we heard from another passenger who talked to one of the assistants Maitre d's and said that Princess was cutting the food budget, they certainly did on that cruise. Besides the food the ship was really shabby and needed new carpeting and furniture and just wasn't as spic and span as in the past. We knew about one of the engines not operating at full capacity and top speed was 17 or 18 knots cutting shore time in the ports. I know the engine was repaired but not sure about all the others problems. Looking forward to sailing on the Regal in March which is a beautiful ship and our favorite of the Princess fleet.

They had that on the MSC Seaside, worked our very well as you were able to pick the size of the photo that you wanted.

Seems like lately we have had an epidemic of ships with engine problems not only with Princess but also Holland America and a few other lines.

Back in the day I wouldn't gain an ounce, did a daily 45 minute walk on the promenade deck of the various ships we sailed on. Those days are over as I'm bone on bone in my right knee but am holding off on knee replacement as Synvisc injections work for me. Bottom line, I now gain 2-3 pounds fo a 1 week cruise. I watch what I eat with no snacks between meals except for a daily apple in th afternoon.

And very expensive.

Pass.

You can get water and ice all day long at the beverage stations in the buffet up on the Lido deck.

For us, who are coming up on our mid 70s, the ship is the destination, enjoy days at sea, they are very relaxing while reading a good book, some Blackjack, fine dining and good entertainment in the evenings, all while being pampered with great service. What more can you ask for especially when you find deals that are too good to pass up.

Some nostalgia here, we sailed on her 21 years ago when she was 1 of 8 identical ships of Renaissance Cruises named R1 through R8. She was brand new, classy and beautiful. Still our best cruise ever from Istanbul to Athens with stops in Ephesus, Rhodes, Crete and Santorini. The cruise included 2 nights in 5 star hotels in Istanbul and Athens and included free Air from JFK. We paid 1999.00 each, what a great deal. Another nice thing is the 3 restaurants were open seating, no extra charges with the MDR, a chop house and a Italian restaurant. What really made it great was meeting relatives who lived in Athens who I never met before and the first night wined and dined us until 3AM. Unfortunately Renaissance went out of business soon after 9-11 as cruisers preferred to stay close to home and cruise in the Western Hemisphere as Renaissance sailed strictly in Europe and the Holy Lands, they might have had some far east cruises but I'm not sure.

We live in Sebring, home by 10:30.