wwcruisers

I'm still going to miss Blue Note at Sea!

Thanks for posting that, HB! Just knowing that it's Summit out of Port Everglades -- along with the dates -- is a good chunk of information to have, this early in the game!

Hmmm... or maybe they go with a different ship -- like Millie? It will be interesting to see what happens!

I like the later sail dates -- but will have to wait and see what the lineup is for the various '25 sailings!

We just got our non-expedited passports, 8 weeks to the day that we mailed the renewal forms. Their website had said to expect 10-13 weeks -- so that was a pleasant surprise! 👌

We submitted our application (also non-expedited) in Mid-April -- and were told 10-13 weeks. Fortunately, we don't have any trips planned for a while.

Absolutely! That waiter clearly needs an attitude adjustment.

What a wonderful thread -- thanks for starting it, HB!👍 Ours was a 3-niter to Ensenada, out of Long Beach -- back in '86. The SS Azure Seas was an old converted ocean liner, with one tiny pool, and a 'gym' the size of a walk-in closet. And talk about tiny cabins! We had an inside cabin, down in the bowels of the ship. Unmovable (bolted to the floor) twin beds -- and a bathroom so small that the toilet was actually inside the shower! BUT -- the food was excellent and our fellow passengers were mostly repeat cruisers. When they learned that it was our first cruise, all of our dinner-table-mates took 'the new kids' under their wing, and turned our 'Cruising 101' experience into an unforgettable 3 days! ☺️

That would be their loss, since they would then miss out on the waffle reports (and so much more)!🫓 Seriously Man -- great to see that you're still here on CC! 👍

Thanks to everyone who has posted and updated on this thread -- it has been very helpful. My DH and I are in no hurry -- but quickly realized that we wanted to renew earlier than we had originally planned. Especially when we read about the online renewal option not working, since last month. Printing out forms, cropping and printing photos, and mailing everything in was more work -- but we at least got the process started. We did use Priority Mail (mainly for the tracking option) -- but did not request expedited service. The tracking showed a delivery date of 4/20. The next week, our check cleared, and the passport tracking showed that it was 'in process' -- with an estimated time of 10-13 weeks. Fortunately, we don't anticipate needing our passports until sometime this fall (at the earliest). Will keep checking back, to see how things are going for everyone! 👌

Don't get me wrong -- I'd book (in a NY minute) just to see the Divine Patti Labelle! But, flying x-country for a 3-4 day cruise -- two months after I've done that same trip for the Smooth Jazz Cruise -- is sadly just not in the time or $$ budget for me, this year! 😕 I hope that you'll come back with one of your wonderfully detailed trip reports, HB! ☺️

Yeah -- I was disappointed to see that -- had been hoping for a West Coast cruise. 🥺

It's official -- both Smooth Jazz Cruises for 2024 are sold out! 🎷

Thanks Globaliser -- I'm SO hoping that this might be something on the West Coast! I also noted that our Smooth Jazz Cruise (24.2) is completely sold out! We have a good cabin booked, but are on the waiting list for a Sky Suite.🤞

Thanks Guys -- we may have to actually call HAL to see what's available in the way of Neptune Suites, for this sailing. But, we'll wait a while and see if this cruise is even going to be possible first. LOVE the itinerary -- 5 days from Vancouver to San Diego, with one quick stop in San Francisco. Beats the heck out of flying to San Diego! And CruiserBruce -- LOL on the website issues. It's reassuring to know that RC/X aren't the only ones with those!

Does anyone know if there is a trick to selecting a particular cabin on the HAL Booking page? I'm trying to do what we used to refer to as a 'dummy booking' -- just to see which Neptune Suites are available on a September Pacific Coastal repo cruise on Volendam. No matter which cabin number I enter on the 'select your cabin' page, I get the "sorry, we can't help you" reply -- with instructions to try again later, or call a HAL rep. I've tried several times in the past couple of weeks -- always with the same result, no matter which cabin numbers I enter. And, I don't want to take up a HAL rep's time -- since we don't know whether we'll be booking this cruise yet. Over the decades, my DH and I have booked many cruises on RC & X -- so, we're familiar with their websites. But we are relative newbies to HAL. Thanks, everyone!

Thanks for all of the positive input. We will need to make our back and forth from Ft. L to Miami, next year. Nice to know that Larry's Limo is still around -- with lots of happy customers! 🙂

Sadly George, we recently had a similar experience, on our Blue Note at Sea (Celebrity Millennium) cruise. We were initially thrilled to see that the Jazz Cruises folks had lined the 17th St. Embassy Suites up, as the official pre-cruise hotel. For many years (until Covid hit) that ES had been our pre-cruise hotel of choice in the Port Everglades area. Although we had not been there in 4 years, we were shocked at the condition of the hotel! We didn't get in from the airport until 7pm, and the first room they put us in had badly stained bedding. When we asked to have the bed re-made, the night manager took us to another room. The bedding in that room was clean, but absolutely raggedy -- holes and frayed areas on both the duvet cover and the sheets. My husband popped-open the little Neutrogena shampoo, and the cap had something resembling black mold in it -- YUCK! We had another night booked there, for after the cruise -- as we've learned that you need a good night's sleep, before flying x-country from a jazz cruise. But, we immediately canceled it and booked the airport Hampton Inn, instead. Note: the E.S. manager told us that the hotel is scheduled for a major remodel, this spring. Might give them another try after that -- but I'd want to see some really good reviews, first!

SpicyP -- enjoy the Botti cruise. We would have considered it, but we already booked the second week of the 2024 Smooth Jazz Cruise! Very much enjoyed seeing Chris Botti on our Blue Note at Sea Cruise, earlier this month. Your instincts on booking a suite early were spot-on -- IMHO, booking a suite is well worth it!

What appears to have been the last Blue Note at Sea cruise was fabulous! We're already booked for next year's Smooth Jazz sailing (24.2)!

Just signed up for the Smooth Jazz Cruise 24.2 (Feb 1-8, '24)! Suites were sold out, but managed to snag a nice aft-facing cabin. Looking forward to sailing Summit to Aruba & Curacao! 🙂 Anybody else thinking about this one?

HaHa -- you had me at San Francisco to Hawaii!😄

Glabaliser, you beat me to the punch, lol! This is great news for those of us who live on the 'left coast'! I would urge anyone who thinks that this would be a good cruise to please contact Michael Lazaroff at Jazz Cruises LLC, and give him your feedback! (Per CC rules, can't post a link to the website, but Google's your friend!😉)

Yep, my DH e-mailed the Jazz Cruise folks and they confirmed that the Blue Note was D/C'ed, as of next year -- with the Chris Botti cruise taking its slot.

Hmm... where does the '24 Blue Note at Sea fit into that lineup? Not really sure about it being retired, as this upcoming line-up (Jan '23) is lights-out: Chris Botti and Sheila E. Well, unless the new Chris Botti cruise is taking that slot permanently. Will have to watch for updates from Michael Lazaroff...