NCTribeFan

I hope this is only on Pinnacle class because I personally really don't like the piano bar being right across from "my" roulette wheel. I just don't understand why these are so popular. Seems to me that many good pianists aren't particularly good vocalists. Or that good vocalists aren't particularly good pianists. But they absolutely must play The Hits, whether those songs are in their vocal range or not, so you often just get a lot of shouting. And people cheer and clap because, hey, they're playing The Hits!!! Whoo Hoo!!!! Honestly, I think about 95% of the general population has absolutely no ear for music, so they just don't hear when people are off-key, or have an unattractive voice. Unfortunatly, I do hear it. OK. Rant over! 😁

I'll be on her, but not until November 2025. I love the Pinnacle class, but also really like the Vista and Signature class, mostly because I sail solo and love those large interior cabins. I've been on Zuiderdam twice and liked the ship. I just really like the size and layout. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Yep. If I have to sail with a group, good to know they won't be clogging up my favorite bar! 😁

Had CO on the Rotterdam 150th Anniversary sailing last year (plus 2 5-nights added on after). Absolutely loved it! Never had a drink at that little bar near the dining room since we always went to the Pinnacle bar. Sad to say, I can't remember the names of the two bartenders there, but they were great. I wasn't that found of the male Maitre D, but really liked the female. She was friendly, efficient, and helped us with some specialty dining reservations that were pre-booked but messed up when we checked on them after boarding. Really enjoyed her. So spoiled by having that separate dining room that I have to have it now on Pinnacle-class ships. Unfortunately, though, that class ship doesn't have my favorite "large interior" cabins, so the upgrade for that doesn't have the value it has for me on Vista & Signature class.

I'm on 7+17 for January (booked as a single 24-night sailing). The first week is Baja California. I don't want a spa pass for that. The 2nd portion is 17-nights RT SD-Hawaii. I do want it for that. Options are $149 for 7 days and $299 for 14-20. If I purchase the $299 package, I'm afraid it will start on Day 1. That would mean the last few sea days coming back from Hawaii would not be included. Since this sailing is also sold as separate 7 nights and 17 nights, I'm concerned that if I wait until I'm on board and try to purchase just for the 2nd leg, that it might be sold out. I imagine the thermal suite is popular on that Hawaii leg with so many sea days coming and going.

Aperol Spritz is now my favorite drink while cruising. I was on HAL's Rotterdam last year for the 150th Anniversary sailing (17 nights and added 2 5-nights at the end). Tried one and loved it. Light and refreshing. Not heavy on the alcohol. Great when you want to drink over a few hours but don't want to get hammered. At my age, I can rarely drink enough to even get a buzz without feeling like crap the next day. I haven't had that problem when drinking these. I checked in this morning for my 11/4 Reflection sailing. Got 11:30 check-in. I'll check in next Wednesday for the 11/9 Beyond. I rarely go to shows on ships any longer, but I may have to check out a couple on X. But I'll definitely pass on ABBA singalong, thanks! 😁 Thank you for taking us along!

I started watching at 5:49 per my above post. In Chrome, it would hang up. Pause, play for 3 seconds, buffer for 10. I quit and tried in Edge. Same thing. I closed everything on my laptop and tried on my phone. Exact same situation. It was absolute AGONY! Way too much about excursions (but I tend to avoid ship excursions whenever possible). I finally finished at 7:50! So, two whole hours. Yes, I took a screenshot. I better get my points! Then, when it was finally over, I got the email. 😄 I'm tempted to start again, and just let it run here on my desktop while I'm working. Just in case.

I didn't get the email, either. In fact, I wasn't going to open this thread because there hadn't been anything lately except pages discussing breakfast options. 😁 Watching it now.

That cheeseburger (from Day 1, I think) looks really good. I don't eat much red meat these days but I do crave a good cheeseburger on occasion. I don't really eat much sweets. I'd rather waste the calories and carbs by having another beer or glass of wine. 😁 Looking forward to Coco Cay. Was rather alarmed at the prices X wants for some of the beaches and to rent a decent chair. I'm not really a "beach person" (sounds silly when you've been to Caribbean islands dozens of times), so I'll probably just walk around and check everything out. Stop and have an over-priced beer somewhere. Is the casino open when the ship is there? Seems some lines keep it open when they're at their private islands. I like the drum slots. And the one I call Money Pit. And usually some that have dragons.

I no longer need a fan since I bring a small white-noise machine (very lightweight and small). And I just crank the a/c all the way down at night. Still find I sometimes have to fling the covers off in the middle of the night. At my "advanced" age, I shouldn't be having hot flashes, but I still do. No fun! I don't really drink hard liquor. The occasional Dark-and-Stormy, when I can find Gosling's Black Seal Rum on a ship. I've become addicted to Aperol Spritz. Light, refreshing, not heavy on the alcohol. Occasional beer during the day & wine with dinner. I'm on Reflection 11/4 & Beyond 11/9. After that, I'll spend 2 nights in Ft Lauderdale, then board HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam on 11/17 (my b'day) for a week. I started out with that as a casino offer, then when I started looking at the X offers, I added Beyond to the front end. Then added Reflection to the front of that. Will be an interesting comparison trip. I love N. Am. and her sister Eurodam. Perfect size ships for me. I'm not one who needs lots of glitz and shiny, new venues. I want somewhere quiet to sit and read during sea days.

Following along. Will be on Reflection-Beyond side-to-side in November. Having only sailed X once (5 nights on Summit a couple of years ago), I was surprised to suddenly start receiving casino offers (I'm definitely NOT a high roller). Mine were "only" freebie for me, pay a deeply-discounted fare for the non-existent other cruiser (I'm solo) interior offers. I'm not getting free for 2 interiors and free for 1 OV or Balcony but my cruise calendar is pretty full for the next 1-1/2 years. The add-on prices were definitely a shock. I've been Diamond on Carnival and never purchased the drink package. Lately, I've sailed HAL where I typically add on their Have-It-All package which is sometimes as low as $55/pp/day. That includes basic drink package, wi-fi, some specialty dining, some shore excursions credit. If you book extra-early (and I have), you get upgraded to premium drinks and wi-fi plus gratuities on top of the other perks. Imagine my shock to see the 35%-off basic drink package was that price. So, it's ala carte for me the whole way. I'll carry on 1 bottle of wine and get drinks while in the casino. Hopefully, that will actually be possible. I've read that it's often difficult to get service. Looking forward to more!

Thanks for sharing. I'll be on a side-to-side in November (Reflection 5 nights to Beyond 6 nights). I've only sailed X once, a 5-night sailing on Summit a couple of years ago. That was a side-to-side from Summit to MSC Seashore, which was rather a shock. I much preferred Summit. Seashore was way too big and too many large family groups with lots of kids, even in mid-April. Anyway, thanks for sharing the dailies.

I'm only seeing the schedule for the upcoming week. I tried putting in some dates in early November and got nothing. I'm on a side-to-side, switching ships from Reflection to Beyond on 11/9.

Thanks. I keep everything on a spreadsheet (hey, I'm a CPA; I can't help myself). So, if they would only tell me what I'm receiving, I would add that and have it as "proof" so that when I board, I can make sure it all appears in my onboard account. Guess I'll ask her to confirm because it seems I'm missing either the Early Booking or the AARP. I should have at least $200 each Then I'll request my CCL s/h credit closer to sailing and add those to my spreadsheet.

Is this on top of the HIA Early Booking Bonus (the upgraded drinks, wi-fi & grats included)? I booked Nov 2025 Oosterdam and April 2026 Westerdam both on 5/26/24. Both confirmations show $100 OBC (I'm solo on both) but I thought that was the AARP credit. I really do wish HAL would itemize and label the OBC. I'm sure my PCC gets tired of me requesting that she give me a breakdown. I have $700 OBC on my January Hawaii cruise and I have no idea where it's coming from.

I'm a reader and since I typically book interior cabins, it's always rather disappointing to want to sit and read (and I need quiet when I read) but not be able to find anywhere on a ship to do that. Even if you find a venue that isn't open until later, and there's no one around, there's usually blaring pop music that can't be tuned out (at least I can't). I'm on a side to side, Reflection then Beyond. Hopefully, I'll be able to find somewhere relatively quiet on Reflection, too.

Already went through this a while back and reported it here. I have often purchased HAL and Carnival GCs through AARP or got them by redeeming my credit card points. So, after booking a couple of X sailings, I bought just $100 GC through AARP. My booking was a casino booking and was paid-in-full when I booked. I had planned on just going to GS to apply my card once I was on the ship. Then I read a thread here that you cannot do that. I contacted X and it was confirmed that those are actually considered Gift Certificates and can only be applied to payment of the cruise fare. The person I talked to tried to get my pre-paid grats refunded and then apply the CG to that, but couldn't. In the end, she gave me $200 OBC for the confusion and her inability to resolve the issue any other way. I have no plans to purchase X CGs in the future unless I book a "regular" fare (can't use them to even pay the fare for a casino booking).

It has never occurred to me to deposit a GC and then request cash. So, HAL becomes a no-fee ATM? That sounds too good to be true. 😄 I bring GCs because I don't like to carry a wad of cash when I travel. But mostly, I back my account with a credit card that gives me 3x points for travel. Then I redeem points for gift cards and also use that credit card to purchase discounted CGs from AARP.

I couldn't care less about the loyalty category. I'm only interested in perks. I'm Diamond on Carnival and it's pretty worthless. BUT, I got to status-match to MSC and Virgin, which gave me some perks I liked. I like HAL's program. I'm close to 4* and appreciate the discount on wine packages, specialty dining, laundry, and a couple of other things. There are tangible benefits. But the # of stars or the color of anyone's card doesn't impress me and if that matters to others, those probably aren't the people I want to get to know on my cruise. Anyway, back to PUPs, I'm already booked on Reflection, but it's 11/4, so I'll miss out on the extra points.

Thanks for the update. I always take GCs and apply to my account. It helps offset my gambling (but doesn't cover it totally; I always owe when I disembark 😄 ). I have several and if what you originally experienced was going to be policy going forward, I would just apply those to the balance on one of my three other upcoming HAL cruises.

How do you purchase OBC with a GC while on a ship (whether or not said GC has already been applied to your onboard account)?

I'll keep an eye out for some Officers then, and not the CD. And, again, it will be interesting to compare the two ships and follow it up with a HAL sailing (where I often see many Officers out and about).

I've sailed a lot ver the past 20+ years. For only my 2nd & 3rd time on Celebrity, I'm doing a side-to-side on Reflection & Beyond. My only other sailing was on Summit (which I enjoyed very much). As a solo cruiser, I almost always sail in inside cabins. I never spring for an OV. If a balcony isn't in my budget, I happily book interior cabins. I love it nice and dark when I'm sleeping. I personally only notice the CD when I feel they're intrusive and just, you know, trying too hard. I know they're really important to some cruisers, but not me. I rarely attend any functions or entertainment where they typically appear, so I just don't really pay attention. I'm very much looking forward to these two cruises in November. I actually expect I'll prefer Reflection, just going by reviews and looking at photos. It will be interesting to compare and contrasts the two ships. I follow Beyond with a 2-night stay in FLL, then board HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam with some friends. I'll try to post my thoughts here. Thanks for sharing yours.

As expected, my submission was declined because the fare didn't meet the qualifications. I always did a lot of work to black out anything that didn't pertain solely to my CCL shares, and submitted only that, online. Do we even know what Stockperks is actually providing when they do this submission for us? My shares are in an E*Trade IRA. When I set up the Stockperks account yesterday, they confirmed my ownership of both 100 shrs of CCL and RCL. Is their function just to confirm that ownership to the cruiseline? I certainly don't want anyone, anywhere, getting all the account details. Not to be paranoid or anything. I haven't read all the fine print at Stockperks. Maybe I should've done that before signing up and letting them take care of everything. Maybe I should've done all that manual labor of blacking out 90% of my statement and submitting a pdf. I sail again on 1/4/25. I guess I'll submit for that sailing when I return from my N Am cruise a few days before Thanksgiving. If that's rejected - and it should NOT be - that doesn't give me much time to get it resolved.

Just submitted mine for November cruise. We'll see. I expect it to be declined because it was a deeply-discounted offer. I'll apply for my Jan 2025 sailing in a couple of months. That was pretty much full fare but does have various different OBC already applied. I'll be very disappointed if it's declined for that one.