Octavias

HAL is Holland America line?

I see what you mean! I think I could be ok with either though. Of course the Celebrity looks more plush. Thanks for all your help, you’re really helping me understand the differences. How are the suites on Carnival?

I’m more interested in a round trip. What is the passenger vessel service act?

We are booked in a sky suite on the celebrity edge for our first cruise. It’s to Alaska next May. I’m looking at where else we can go from Seattle (or maybe Vancouver) and found the itinerary to Hawaii.

Yes, I’m looking at 2024. I only see the one Carnival ship going to Hawaii in September.

I need to see how far of a drive it would be for us to Vancouver. Seattle is 4 hours which is about the max I can handle with my limitations. I might be able to break it up into a two day drive though… with the itinerary to Hawaii having so many sea days, I feel like we have to like the ship and the on board experience.

We are new to cruising. I just booked our first cruise and we haven’t taken it yet, it’s an Alaskan cruise on Celebrity. We are empty nesters in our mid-50’s. We want to be spoiled and lean more to enjoying elegance over fun, although I wish celebrity had bingo! That sounds like it would be fun. If Celebrity offered the itinerary to Hawaii, I’d probably book it but they don’t. We are limited to cruising out of Seattle.

There is a round trip cruise out of Seattle to Hawaii on Carnival that I’m interested in but I know very little about the cruise line. I’ve studied Celebrity, as we have an Alaskan cruise coming up with them. How do they compare? The ship is the carnival spirit which seems to be an older ship although it says it was redone in 2018. I will post this on the Celebrity section as well.

There is a round trip cruise out of Seattle to Hawaii on Carnival that I’m interested in but I know very little about the cruise line. I’ve studied Celebrity, as we have an Alaskan cruise coming up with them. How do they compare? The ship is the carnival spirit which seems to be an older ship although it says it was redone in 2018. I will post this on the Carnival section as well.

In fine cut steakhouse, the menu has a premium section (where the tomahawk for two is). Is there an up charge for these items?

Boxy but good!

Sounds like your having a blast so far, thanks for sharing!

I agree, far too many emails selling the same deals.

Thanks for the suggestion, I’m looking into the Mediterranean now. my husband works for the government and we have gotten a discounted rate at Fairmont in the past, so I plan to pencil out that option as well. glad I have some options to look at, thank you!

Yes, you are right. I didn’t even think to check google reviews, thanks for the reminder. I can’t figure out how to check the parking but the hotel reviews are enough to scare me away.

We were just in Victoria last month and did this tour. We were able to take any return trip on the same bus, which was a good thing as we finished seeing the gardens a lot sooner than we expected and took an earlier ride back to the Empress than we had planned.

I was looking at a drinks menu for Celebrity and a disclaimer on the bottom reads: a 20% gratuity will be added to your check. We have the premium drink package. Does this mean we will get a bill at the end of our cruise for the added gratuities or are they already covered in the drink package? I know we were charged gratuities already for our specialty dining, and our fare is “all included” does this mean we’ve already paid food gratuities for main dining or will we be charged that as well? I’m aware we may want to pay additional gratuities for outstanding service but I’m wanting to make sure I understand what to expect for compulsory gratuities.

This is a good point, I hadn’t thought about tipping for our excursions. On our last vacation we did tip tour providers, so it makes sense that we should consider tipping here as well. thank you.

I’m not picky, I just know pike place has amazing bouquets at very reasonable prices. They provide flowers for suite guests? We will be in a sky suite. Maybe they provide them for upper level suites or is it all suites?

Thank you! I will check it out. I did find one a little closer to pier 91 that (I’m told) does a park and cruise/fly. Has anyone heard of the Warwick hotel? Apparently they do a package that includes parking and breakfast. Are they clean and safe though?

We will be sailing out of Seattle and I’d love to pick up a big beautiful bouquet from pike place market to decorate our room with. Is that allowed? Would they have a vase we could use or should I invest in a plastic foldable type if bringing your own flowers is allowed.

The cruise line SHOULD pay their people more and not lean on gratuities to justify paying sub standard wages, however, punishing the employees by removing tips solves nothing.

Ok! I just read through this entire 8 page thread hoping to find recommendations for our situation but didn’t see any. We are driving in from Oregon and planning to stay one night and then cruise out of pier 91 the next day. (Next May, I’m an early planner). Any suggestions for park & cruise packages? I don’t really care where we stay…. Closer to the pier seems to make the most sense but I’m getting the idea that there aren’t hotels near pier 91? Clean and safe would be our top priorities, besides the parking of course.

Oops

When you tip extra cash to a specific person, do they keep it, or is it all supposed to be turned in to be pooled with the auto gratuities we pay?