chisoxfan

State and local tax free.

Thanks for you report. As outlined earlier a big issue with X seems to be their inconsistencies. On Apex 10 night in SS we never met a head butler. On Ascent he (head butler) and the room attendant introduced themselves on boarding and gave us cards which I thought was a nice touch. We had room service breakfast on Ascent the first morning and the head butler appeared to help arrange tables, etc. Great I thought..... but we did not see him again during the cruise. While we don't need a butler,etc. one is struck by the inconsistency between ships, etc. ie. what are we really getting on any cruise? That is not a good look. Sorry to beat the price drum again but we booked Sun Princess next Jan in suite with a ton of things included and then on to HAL with (at least) a dedicated suite dining room as part of their Club Orange. Total price for both cruises and refundable deposits was the same as Ascent SS one week with non refundable. We like the E Class but are way more excited with the fantastic live music of HAL and trying a new Princess 'super ship'. We are not sure what we are going to get but have some of the 'old anticipation' that we used to feel when cruising. The X 'excitement' factor seems to be 'what have they cut corners on and how much are they going to increase pricing' for drinks, specialty dinners, etc. JMHO

If you follow X boards there has been much comment on X Retreat and comparisons to MSC, Oceania, Regent, etc.etc. primarily in the context of cruise value for the money. I think this is helpful as many of us sail on multiple lines and are hoping to stay abreast of current offerings and what other X cruisers think of them. There is much X comparison on other boards. If that makes us a chumps in your mind that is your opinion but I look forward to seeing what other cruisers are finding as they try different lines. JMHO

Like the US debt, a billion there and a billion over there and now you are talking real money. 😜 The question is whether it is a good investment (CCL) for somebody based on OBC they anticipate. For some it is and perhaps for those that bought in at 40 or 60 dollars it was not so good. I have heard many arguments that a new product/ subscription is only 50cents a day or whatever. Just because I can afford it doesn't make it a smart investment. JMHO

Yes. I am not sure we have ever had lunch in a cruise ship dining room and I am not sure what to expect in Club Orange..... not anticipating Luminae quality but also not paying for it. This dining is what HAL suite passengers get so I am thinking it can't be that bad. We are on Nieuw Statendam which does have dedicated dining room.

I guess my middle name should be 'scammer'. Does CCL say you need to own stock for x days to get OBC? If I buy and hold for two weeks is that legit? One month? Since CCL management sells shares frequently that they pay little or nothing for I am not going to confession because I bought and sold CCL stock for the 'minimal' OBC offered. To date I haven't stolen any towels or bath soaps, but have been eyeing the laundry bags.☺️

Glad you enjoyed it and hope you have a great cruise on your balcony. I did see an interesting YT video from a frequent cruiser who enjoyed her IV with bed by door but felt it was much less favorable with bed by balcony. Just thought it interesting and something I would not have considered.

My point was that I get the OBC also without any risk. So in that sense have an infinite ROI. The value of CCL is in the eye of the beholder but the question was if it was worth buying (and holding for OBC) and my only comment would be that a stock should be purchased because one believes in the soundness of the business.

We thought Luminae was solid not spectacular on Ascent and Apex. For us the service on Apex was superior. The hostess was so accommodating on Apex less so on Ascent. The tables (2x) just seemed tighter on Ascent and on both ships the two tops were tiny and required a balancing act at times. We tried Blu on Ascent and thought the decor was amazing but service a bit slow (maybe because we weren't regulars). Our take away is that we liked Luminae but frankly do not feel it was fully in keeping with the 'luxury' Retreat prices. We just booked a 7N Princess Sun cruise in their new suite area (basically the Retreat style- lounge, restaurant, pool) and will go afterwards on HAL balcony with their Club Orange dedicated dining. We are looking forward to trying these venues. Price for 14 days (both cruises) was the same as APEX 7 days with a non refundable fare. We would gladly cruise again on E class if pricing was more reasonable but it isn't that amazing of a product that I am going to sit around looking for 'deals' which ultimately are at the same suite price as other mainstream lines. JMHO

They have over 30b debt and equity is under 7b so I think debt is their problem. Anyway commenting to original poster why would you buy this stock long term for a small OBC. Buy it, record in account and sell it and you get your OBC without rolling the dice on this one. JMHO

Yes buy it and sell it immediately. It is cheap because they are drowning in debt with liquidity drying up and high interest rates- but all of us like OBC.

Agree... we loved BB Kings and experienced it on Eurodam and Westerdam previously. It is a reason for us to choose a ship and we are doing Nieuw Statendam upcoming. Looking forward to Rolling Stone also. HAL seems to be unique in how they present good live music.

Don't be confused. I said E class and mentioned Ascent. My last cruises were on Ascent and Apex in balconies. So I have your blessing to sleep with the balcony open?

Infinite Veranda = Inflation Reduction Act or Patriot Act. 😉

Good point. It isn't a veranda and it isn't infinite. How about 'small sunroom with large window that opens'? I have to admit, the name initially got me excited as a dedicated S class X cruiser. Wow, 'an infinite veranda'.... sounded great until I learned what it really was. JMHO.

I will be sure to seek out the Environmental officer on my next cruise. He is the guy (on Ascent) who decided you cannot drink in the Retreat Pool because he was afraid pool water might be tainted when he does his testing. On E Class balconies I know the air is shut off when balcony is open. There is a prox switch at door. I am sure the temp of the room is higher and there is some very small air exchange to outside from cabin door. Our evening room temp on last cruise went up to maybe 70/71 F. So if this is causing a drastic temp situation with nearby rooms trying to stay at 67? then the air system is improperly sized, or air flow/insulation between rooms is a problem. Bottom line is I don't think I need to feel like a 'culprit' to have a drink in the pool (non glass container) or have my balcony open in the evening if I choose. JMHO

Just weighing in having sailed on all three ships. Caribbean Princess (10 nights balcony) was a negative for us. Reflection is a great ship (AQ) but Enchanted (aft balcony) is a newer ship and I would take the extra two days for sure.

I would be pretty upset after explaining clearly what you were after. I think that after spending that time I would try and speak to a supervisor. I applaud HAL for the CO concept but in a way they may have created a friendly 'monster'. Like you I would not book without it on a Pinnacle class ship.

Just sharing my recent experiences which do baffle me. We looked to book a two week Arctic circle cruise through HAL and initially was told flatly no Club Orange available. Called a few days later and was told I had to book the cruise before availability was determined.... OK I thought although a bit of a hassle. Somehow we were disconnected. When I phoned back a different agent said, no problem, it was definitely available and we booked. Yesterday, similar scenario on a Carib cruise. Agent said not available. Called back an hour later and no problem. This was done through random agents not PCC's. While I am enthusiastic about the CO program (especially on newer ships with dedicated dining) I am confused by the inconsistency of info. So if it was me I would make several calls depending how critical this is to you. Frankly for us it became a 'big deal' ......nobody likes knowing there is an offer out there and then being denied it. On our Carib cruise CO offered benefits and at the end of the day cost us about 800 bucks less than a 'straight' booking because of cabin upgrade. Good luck.

Thanks for the updated info! I booked a cruise yesterday through HAL and the agent could not give me any info on cabana pricing and said we needed to call special services. Maybe they could distribute this PDF to agents. We enjoyed our (ancient history) Lido cabanas on Eurodam but have opted for a cruise on Nieuw Statendam. We loved the cabana close to pool and feel the NA cabanas will be too much of a hike but will still investigate further.

Actually we are very active in the climate movement and try and do our small part by not using AC in the evening.

Not assigning fault just stating that some are unaware of the situation.

Non starter for us. We like a real balcony and typically keep doors open at night. Love balcony for morning coffee and allowing one to feel part of the ocean. Plus where are going to put your damp swim suits to dry on an IV. Have been on Apex and Ascent and they are attractive ships but we stayed in SS (maybe the diabolical X plan is to get balcony lovers to 'upgrade') because SV's weren't available. Our sweet spot for years on X was AQ on SClass. In part the IV has caused us to migrate to other lines (MSC, Holland, Princess). Beyond IV's the main issue for us is X pricing but as they say, that's a story for another day. ps. I do think many/most IV passengers know what they are getting but we have spoken to people prior to cruise who tell us they have balconies and clearly aren't aware of the different arrangement.

Room service was fine on Ascent and Apex (SSuites) for us but we really liked Princess Room Service (Enchanted Princess) aft balcony as you could order off tv and drinks were delivered as part of their drink packages.

As I ponder more on this I was initially thinking that the vouchers with their bar codes identified the user. Likely, this is not the case and my wife was locked out because her first slot machine played under the 50% threshold. If the bar code identifies you that would potentially follow through the chain of machines played. So tapping your card to machines appears to be the only way you can be identified as you suggest (and mentioned by the attendant during our cruise). Maybe big brother isn't so intrusive (but guessing they still have the eye in the sky?) The only possible issue of not tapping your card would then be receiving slot play 'credit' which some value. The take away seems to be that as long as you load up initially there is no play required and you can cash out (or play) the voucher at will. This is logical as there (currently) seems no way that you could load a machine and or voucher with NROBC (or reg OBC) and they could refuse to pay you. However, if you cashed out of a machine without playing as you did I still think your card would lock?The only problem with this (card locking) is inability to add more dollars (OBC) to your play. Ultimately I can't believe the attendants would not simply 'unlock' the card and allow more $$$ added if one asked. Also a couple has the option of using two cards. At the end of the day any confusion seems to be generated by the cruise line. They don't want NROBC cashed out quickly in the casino although within the guidelines discussed this is something any passenger can do. Sounds like the chip betting is different but my brain is taxed thinking about the slot side. I am sure experienced cruise gamblers are rolling their eyes at this discussion and this is 'old news'. Hopefully for those 'neophytes' that want to cash in NROBC this is of interest.