jocelysue

Dear Mousey,

Thank you for your kind and encouraging reply. We live in af rozen tundra of Canada where there is no Penny's, Macy's, etc. Only Sears and believe me I've tried that.

As for Dockers, yes, have tried those. Both classic and slim fit. DH used to wear them all the time and has a cupboard full of them . But now, with his weight loss they don't fit him at all. He's gone from a 42 to a 34 and the 34 still has much too much material in the beam. The seamstress at Sears has told me she won't even try to repair them to have a decent fit.

Guess we'll have to go with the black jeans and hope the powers that be at Celebreity don't turn him away. This is our first cruise with X; hope it turns out to be a great experience although I'm rather leery

I appreciate your taking the time to answer.

Thanks for your reply. It sure will help with the planning. Knew that Panama was hot but was wondering about the San Diego- Puerto Vallarta and Colon- Miami part sof the tour & whether the winds were so strong as to necessitate a cardi.

Enjoyed your comment about "can" and "may". So true. Of course he could, but should he ? Unfortunately two semastresses told me they couldn't take in the "seat of his pants"; I'm sure there must be some (non jeans type) that fit him properly somewhere but after trying to find some at five different men's stores plus Sears, have come up "zilch".

I am becoming quite discouraged, seeing him waste away but still wanting to take this cruise as a dream come true. We will be celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary and this fulfills a promise he made me years ago. I'd be more than willing to forego the cruise but he insists so am trying to make it as pleasant as possible and have him look as good as possible. Still am in a quandary about his trousers . Will try to contact more seamstresses (BTW, drycleaners here don't do repairs)

Thanks again for your input.

DH has lost over 50 lbs this past year so none of his summer clothes fit. He has some mobility problems and has a hard time shopping for clothes so I buy them, bring them home, and have him try them on.

He loves formal evenings on cruises and enjoys wearing a tux. However, his tux doesn't fit him anymore. I've tried and tried to find black trousers that fit but they all look like Justin's Bieber's pants from behind, i.e., they sag, sag, sag. I have found black jeans that fit him. He wonders if it would be appropriate to wear them plus a black cardigan on foral evenings along with a bow tie.

Also what is the weather like at night on a balcony during the Panama Canal transit (we're leaving April 14 on Celebrity Infinity). Does he need heavy sweaters to sit out? We want to travel light and have only the necessary amount of clothes. Should he bring short sleeved or long sleeved shirts? Would open collar polo shirts be better?

One might think that we're newbies from these questions. We've cruised quite extensively but never under conditions where DH has difficulty in walking & dressing.

Would really appreciate advice on what to pack so DH can enjoy himself and still attend formal evenings without either being turned away or feeling too much out of place. TIA

Do many people stay on board on days when the ship is in port? If so, is any entertainment or activities offered?

I'm asking this question because DH has mobility issues, and some days has difficulty in getting up early enough to be able to take a shore excursion on time.

So far we haven't had too much difficulty because we've taken 20-30 day or more cruises with lots of sea days. In the Mediterranean, time didn't really matter because we had lived in Europe and knew our way around by ourselves.

However, we are taking a Panama Canal full transit on Celebrity Infinity where there are many shore excursions that leave early since the ship docks at 6 or 7 am. So it may prove difficult for DH to be able to be ready earlt enough. His health will not permit him to forego breakast neither. So most likely we will have to stay on board with a couple of exceptions & are wondering what is offered. We know there is no shopping, that the MDR is closed at lunch time, no casino (we don't go anyhow) & are wondering if it is likely we will feel as if we were on a ghost ship. TIA for your answers.

Please no flaming about DH's problem. The Panama Canal is on his bucket list and this year may be the one of the last he can cross it off.

Reading all your posts, am I ever unenthusiastic about our first X cruise coming up. almost makes me wish I hadn't decided to give Celebrity a try.

Thanks for all your positive answers. As you guessed, previous posts on CC worried me & made me leary about the buffet I so want DH to have a great time as he is fulfilling a lifelong dream.

Now we'll board with a very positive attitude. Merci.

My DH uses a rollator to get around which means he has to keep both hands on the handles. Does that mean he cannot eat at the buffet because he cannot carry his platter? Or is it a tray? Or is it like on HAL when he walked through the line pointing out waht he wanted and a waiter carried it to his table?

Must we eat all meals in thr MDR? I would be pleased to carry DH''splatter but have trouble carrying things myself (polio as a child which weakened my arms)

We hope to be able to enjoy all venues on the ship but if that is not a possibility we prefer being forewarned to avoid diappointment. Thanks for your answers.

Thank you ever so much. Very appreciated.

Thank you ever so much for your considerate answers. Because of them, we will not be visiting either Cabo nor Colon.Better safe than sorry. We may visit PV but not too sure about that. We may simply decide that we're on a TA with many consecutive days on board.

We had reserved a walking tour of Antigua with Elizabeth Bell but cancelled it because of the pavement. We'll simply sit in the plaza , attend a religious service and just Watch the locals enjoying themselves.

Emilien & I appreciate your advice. We have been on our roll call for months but it's a slow one and he seems to be the only mobility challenged person. There were a couple of others but they've cancelled completely. Actually, this is the first time this problem has occurred. We've cruised considerably and have always been able to organise private groups ahead of time where either not too much walking was involved or the person with mobility issues could stay in the van. This hasn't happened so far but we still have over a month to go.

Since we do enjoy life aboard, staying on the ship will not be a hardship. The important thing for DH is that he gets to traverse ,i.e. transit, the Canal. Once again, you have been very helpful and we shall surely look into your recommendations & suggestions.

DH & I doing the eastbound trans-Panama canal on Infinity. DH has some mobility psroblems and takes a long time getting organized in morning. Walks with a cane but preferably a Walker.

We do plan on taking some private expéditions hwere the van accomodates a Walker. However, some of these vans are outside the port area so it would be difficult to arrive there at the same time as fellow pax.

Would appreciate knowing which of these ports is an absolute must see:Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Puntarenas, Colon, Cartagena.We must tender in to Cabo so is it worth the discomfort? Is PV tradirional? (We have done land tours in Acapulco, around Mexico and have visited the Yucatan Peninsula in depth). We are taking the ship's bus tour in Puerto Quetzal to Antigua where we will simply walk around the centro and visit closest churches.

Do we revisit the Canal by ferry in Colon, take the railroad , visit an Embera village,or simply get off the ship , look at the local products by the pier, and return on board?What about Cartagena which has a reputation of being a lovely place to visit?

The imortant thing is that my husband is able to enjoy his onshore visits without too much walking ? He doesn't mind waiting in the bus or van for us; his problem is getting to the van or bus within a limited amount of time so that we do not hinder other passengers,

Had started studying this when the "search " function was disabled so now am reposting what must be a frequent question. Sorry for that . It's not laziness on my part believe me .I am worried. This is DH's bucket list cruise and so want him to enjoy it as much as possible without hamperinh others.

If we could afford a private guide for both of us ,we would certainly go that route but financial circumstances don't allow and, given DH's worsening condition, time probably won't allow forputting it off for another year.

Thanks for what I know will be your considerate responses.

Differences: HAL

wrap around promenade deck

afternoon tea

bathtub in almost ever cabin

dedicated Filipino & Indonesian staff

still has midnight buffets

DVD player in every cabin

deck above crow's nest for better star viewing late ar night

main pool can be covered in cold or inclement weather

hands on cooking shows

dedicated movie theater with popcorn

priest on board at every sailing

still has string quartets or trios

cloth hand towels in bathroom

fresh flowers on tablesi in MDR & Lido

full menu can be served in cabin at every meal, no restrictions

latger library

Celebrity

no smoking anywhere policy (one small caveat)

more specialty eating venues

staff , especially officers, more interactive with passengers

more modern music choice

trivia better adaptrd to different specialties

better welcome aboard

more affordable verandah cabins

Does Celebrity furnish guest speakers on Panama Canal cruises?

This is our first X cruise and we certainly intend to enjoy it. However we don't want to get our expectations too high only to be disappointed.

Although our signature shows some of the cruises we have taken, we certainly have not listed them all. Guest speakers have been the highlight of many of our cruises (Hi there, Star Lady!). Our Alsaka cruises would not have been as enjoyable without speakers explaining the glaciers, Hawaii without explanations about volcanoes, South Pacific without talks about war in the Pacific, the shores of Africa without talks about the slave trade....you get the idea.

So we hope there will be lecturers talking about the Panama Canal or Central America, or..... However, if Celebrity does not offer guest speakers, forewarned is forearmed so we won't be disappointed when we get on board but find alternative stimulation. We do intend to have a great cruise.

Thanks in advance for your answers.

Have lived in Canada all my life--- and it's a loooong one;):D

Never ever have I been served a margarita with sugar on the rim, always a choice of salt or nothing.

Where or where do you live up here so that I can tell all my friends and family to avoid this place.:eek: Shame of shames. :o:oDo they do this in EVERY bar? The mind boggles.:(

Are there two tops in the MDR?

If so, where are they situated? Centre of room, near railing, near window?

Thanks.

I've been told that there are rarely to never any 1-2-3 offers for the Panama Canal crossings but that there are sometime Wave offers with a complimentary beverage pack. Is this so? And if yes, what is the frequency of these offers? I realise that one cannot necessarily know exactly when and if one will come up but from past experience there nay be a reasonable approximation.

Also do Panama Canal cruises usually increase in price just close to final payment and drop after final payment? Asking this for friends of ours who may want to join our cruise in April.

Thanks for your help.

Sue,

Thanks for your tip re wipes. Have always done so.

The reson for my question was not to find out if quality of shampoo,etc. was good or not but rather to see how X treats all its passengers. It says it's a "modern luxury line" so I was just checking.

Have been told by many we'll love it, by others that, although we'll enjoy our cruise (who doesn't love a cruise?) we'll be disappointed by the small touches and luxuries we find on other lines although we're not higher tier customers.

For example,the cloth facecloths in public bathrooms, the lovely fine china, the cloth tablecloths in dining room, the lovely china, the piano music in atrium, the string trio or quartet after second sitting, s country delivered without request the night before,the daily info page geared to one' s country without asking, afternoon tea, etc. It's the small finer touches that we enjoy and hope to also find on Celebrity.

To Caroless:

Sorry, I didn't mentions showers because we've always had a bathtub on HAl.

Am talking about OVs and not suites Maybe, there aren't always bathtubs in interior but only showers. However, we've laways had bottles.

Are shampoo,body lotion, shower gel and différents soaps distributed individually in vials or packagesas in Princess, cunard & HAL or are they in bif dispensers? Curious to see how X interprets " modern luxury" in this field.

Have used them quite frequently. Always professional , honest & willing to adapt to clients' wishes provided these were reasonable and within time frame.

DH & I will be taking the West to East Trans-Panama Canal in April ,leaving from San Diego. Ports of call: Cabo, Puerto Vallarta,Puerto Quetzal, Puntarenas,Colon, Cartagena, ending in Miami.

While we would very much want to visit all the ports, DH has some mobility issues and tires quite easily.So 2 days in a row with lots of activity may prove to be a bit much. However, this is definitely his bucket list cruise : he loves to try different ways to get from one ocean to the other, has done most of them but has kept the Panama Canal until 2014 so as to pass through it just before it widens.

So would appreciate your take on the ports of call, which cities or towns have the most interesting historical sights accessible without too much walking and climbing ? We deifinitely are going to Antigua on Easter Sunday with the ship's bus. Once there will most likely take a taxi to visit unless advised this might be dangerous.

We have been o Mexico quite a few times (Mexico City, Yucatan Peninsula, Riviera Maya)m mostly on land visits, but never to the West Coast. What we really enjoyed were the archeologial sights. We also like going to central markets and watching the handicrafters. and visiting schools and churches. We usually don't do much shopping unless we are with a group and then, of course, we follow the flow and always get a kick out of watching how different people negotiate. In other words, we're easy going, kind of laid back and truly like Learning about and seeing the various customs. how local people live. Granted, there's not much time ,so, if given a choice, prefer to see less but see it well. Visiting a local museum when we have only a few hours on shore can be enough.

So, hopefully you will help guide us as th there are indeed some sights not to be missed on our cruise or some expedition we definitely should take for the experience itself.Problem is, we don' t know which

Thanks in advance for your insights. FYI, DH can walk and stand by himself but uses a rollator so as not to hold other passengers or friends up during visits and tours. During a guide's explanations he can sit on his rollator and rest. Same in muséums ,so , in reality, he is not a hindrance. It's his stamina that is lacking. So we would appreciate your advice in helping us choose wisely. We much prefer private tours to ship's tours.

I look forward to your helpful answers and greatly appreciate the time you will take to answer this question.

__________________

DH & I will be taking the West to East Trans-Panama Canal in April. Ports included: Cabo, Puerto Vallarta,Puerto Quetzal, Puntarenas,Colon, Cartagena.

While we would love to visit all the ports DH has some mobility issues and tires quite easily. However, this is definitely his bucket list cruise : he loves to try different ways to get from one ocean to the other, has done most of them but has kept the Panama Canal until 2014 so as to pass through it just before it widens.

So would appreciate your take on the ports of call, which cities or towns have the most interesting historical sights accessible without too much walking and climbing ? We deifinitely are going to Antigua on Easter Sunday with the ship's bus. Once there will take a taxi.

We have been o Mexico quite a few times (Mexico City, Yucatan Peninsula, Riviera Maya)but never to the West Coast. What we really enjoyed were the archeologial sights. In South America we enjoyed going to central markets and watching the handicrafters. We also enjoy visiting schools and churches.

So, hopefully you will help guide us as th there are indeed some sights not to be missed on our cruise or some expedition we definitely should take for the experience itself. Hopefully, we would like to pace ourselves without missing too much.

Thanks for your insights. FYI, DH can walk and stand by himself but uses a rollator so as not to hold other passengers or friends upduring visits and tours. During a guide's explanations he can sit on his rolator and rest. Same in muséums ,so , in reality, he is not a hindrance. It's stamina that is lacking.

Once again, I look froward to your helpful advice and greatly appreciate the time you will take to answer this question.

Haven't posted all our cruise history.:o

Guess we should update.

Talked about the small things because service can be great on all three lines. It all dépends on one's waiter and steward on each individual cruise.

For example, DH & I prefer meals in the Main Dining Room on HAL but that's simply because we both love cold soup and have found it easier to get our salad served after our main course (entrée for Americans ;)lonly had to mention it once and it was always a go as was the fact that we wanted regular coffee at the beginning of our our meal followed by a cappucino at the end. Mentioned it the first night and was always followed through. Not so on the other lines Requested a cheese platter before dessert plus a small sherbet as a palate cleanser and never had to repeat the request. Picayune things I'll grant but to us increase our pleasure.

Another example:DH enjoys the carpet changing every night in the elevators. Why? That's the way he keeps his photos in order. Of course, he could tag them differently, but he finds it fun when he makes his DVD's to start each day with a picture of the carpet.

We both love Priness junior suites but nothing lower than that because there's no sofa in the cabin in regular balcony cabins on most Princess ships. So if he feels like stretching out on the bed for a nap and I want to read, knit, watch TV in the cabin, there's no sofa to sit on so that makes it a minus. But with a junior suite we get 2 tv'S.

We both enjoy classical music and string trios or quartets. With Celebrity cutting them out, that will take a lot away from our pleasure late at night when we enjoy listening either to them or at the piano bar.

Enrichment lectures are also a pleasant pastime for us. Celebrity has had great lectureres,but now it's cutting them out. Since DH & I prefer late dining, afternoon tea on sea days with friends we've met on the cruise has added to our pleasure; HAL & Princess do this. Celebrity offers a different experience which can be substituted but not equalled.

Celebrity has a salt water pool on Millenium type ships which is great. However it is not free to all passengers . HAL has a pool, but not a salt water one, available to all passengers which can be covered over and used by all on chilly and windy days. Princess has a great aft pool which is almost a secret.

So, as you see, I'm talking about subtle, subjective, personal préférences.Towel animal on Princess every night, on HAL 80 % of the time, on Celebrity, hit or miss.

These three lines are great. Mind you, HAL has the reputation of being a senior citizens' line, and, it is true, its music and piano bar, late at night do play the golden oldies. However there is a DJ and jazz in the Neptune lounge where one can dance until at least 2 am.

Karaoke on Princess, sometimes on Celebrity, never on HAL (at least not on the cruises we've been on.

Please note I haven't talked about RCI & Carnival on which we've cruised with our children and grandchildren, (which they think are absolutely the very best) nor about NCL which we've all agreed is not for any of us because of the quality of the food. Nor have I mentioned Cunard which is in a particular segment of its own.

BTW, X, Princess & HAL each offer very good shampoo & grooming products. . I prefer Elemis, but again that is totally subjective.

When we're cruising to visit & are interested in shore expéditions our main criterion is the itinerary. When we're cruising for R&R and want many sea days, then the line is our main criterion. Plus cost of course. On a 15 day cruise no one can beat Celebrity on its 1-2-3 offers, especially the drinks.

To sum it up, different strokes for different folks.

Happy 2014 to everyone.

In order of preference:

HAL

Princess

Celebrity

We like the fact that HAL has full baths in almost every cabin, has the YUM YUm man, offers films with popcorn, and has a top deck where you can sit out at night and Watch the stars, often with a lecturer on hand to explain them to you. Also all menus available for room service. Minor point: classical Entertainment great, other Entertainment, dismal. Of course this is subjective. Food equally good everywhere.

Thanks for your answers. Very helpful.

Travelling from west (SD) to east (Miami) which side is the better to see sunsets from our deck? We are late risers so are never around for sunrise but love to side on our deck and Watch the sun go down.

Is the answer to this question similar to the one you would give us if we said: we like to see the seashore and samall towns along as we cruise instead of only the ocean, so which side is the better for that?

Of course the answer will differ as we move into the east but we're mostly interested in the beginning of the journey: going down the coast of Mexico,wtc. and into the Canal, not going out.

Thanks ever so much.