Langham1865

Having been to the Philippines and being married to a Filipina, this does not surprise me!

someone got me a couple cans of that beer.... I am blanking on the style this moment, but I remember it being tasty!!!! Tell the Captain I'll but him a beer!

will you ask the Captain if he will give me a free cruise?

is that the Holland America beer mostly clipped out of the picture on the left?

when I went to Alaska, the did have Alaskan Brewing Company beer on board on the Eurodam... Can't say if the do this on other Itineraries

that was your personal order if I am not mistaken? lol

speaking of regional chains Buc-ee's has a rest stop that has the largest convenience store in the world in Sevierville TN... may be too far out of the way, but I figured I would float it on the radar https://buc-ees.com/about/world-record-holder/

you may want to check sunset time and sit outside as the ship sails down the Mississippi for quite some time and it will be nice viewing

i though I has I though I remembered reading they lost a big chunk. Wasn't this one of the biggest in the fleet? Having never been on either ship I can't compare how they are different. Other than saying its smaller, it could be hard to just the differences between they old and new OL on Joy, as they may have reconfigured it as well to some extent.

Also, I know someone will correct me, didn't Joy just come out of drydock? I do not know how that impacts the observation lounge in relation to the Encore. If the observation lounge is a factor, I am sure someone here will pipe in with the differences between their lounges.

I wish the OP would let us know what makes a ship for them, so we can better recommend which chip may fit their cruising style. I know many people enjoy the observation lounges. For me though, when we are talking about enjoying what a ship has to offer, I like the Escape best. It has the district brewhouse, which Breakaway doesn't have. I also enjoy the dueling pianos at Howl at the Moon in the evenings, which Joy and Encore do not have. And I can always relax on the Waterfront, weather permitting. That said, the ship has never ruined a cruise... but it can enhance them.

@graphicguyeither I've read you mention this before or someone else had the same experience... AWESOME!!!! cracked me up...

I think amongst the "big three" lines, prices are up across the board at a higher rate than pre-pandemic with fewer true sales (not the fake 50% off 2nd passenger at an inflated rate). Many costs, as mentioned before (like fuel and grocery type supplies), are increasing in price at a higher rate than the before days, and there is a mountain of debt to be paid off that was taken on during the pandemic. I am interested to see if the rate of price increases slows once the debt taken on is paid off, though I am not holding my breath. Also demand, and therefore price, is always highest for new build/newest ships.

If you love the waterslides... DO THEM! It's your cruise, you should be able to do it as you enjoy. That is why I love cruising, so much choice in types of ships and itineraries. Yeah there are things that are no more that I long for, but there are also so many great new things to enjoy.

I am a NCL enthusiast and absolutely think that my choice to go on HAL for Alaska was the right choice for many of the reasons you mentioned. All ships that go to Glacier Bay are required by the National Park Service to have a park ranger on board while sailing in Glacier Bay. HAL also had a naturalist on board the whole cruise and would also have nature walks on sea days around the promenade deck. The other thing to remember about Princess and HAL is, since they have been going to Alaska for so long, many of the tour vendors are grateful and dedicated to those two lines. So they will have many of the better and more seasoned vendors for excursions.