DesertRat46

Looking for suggestions for restaurants serving dungeness crab in Juneau or Ketchikan in late September.

Like others, she was the ship for my very first cruise...Alaska in 1997, Great memories!

I understand military retirees and first responders can get some OBC. I think I've read about that on CC, but I can't find anything on HAL's website that talks abou it. I presume there is a set process. Can anyone point me in the right direction?Thanks!

We just complete our 3rd TA in April, Twice we were west bound in the fall and this time east bound in April. The latest trip we had 2 days where the Captain closed some of the outside decks. I did not think it was that rough, I was able to walk down the hallways without bouncing off the walls. On our first, Barcelona to Miami it was pretty rough for a couple of days as we approached Bermuda, this was in October..

We had a T Mobile chip from Consumer Cellular in Alaska last summer and it did not work well in most ports. We've switched to an AT&T chip for our Sept. cruise to Alaska and hope it is better.

On our April TA it only worked for less than half the13 days. Help desk said there were fleet-wide tech issues at the time. When it worked it was nice.

The difference is pre-covid vs. post-covid. On the Eclipse in 2019 the basic package got you drinkable reds and whites. On the Silhoutte in April the basic drink package was next to worthless, IMO.

We're two couples with the HIA package. Is there a way to combine our dining credit to book a table for 4 at the Pinnacle before the cruise (24 Sept)?

Looking forward to this on the 24 Sept. cruise out of Seattle. Now, if they would just add some fresh crab to the food list.

That perk means different things to different people. On our April TA out of Miami, we didn't bother. While it was a "paid for" lunch, we simply dropped our bags and had a much better, seafood-focused lunch ashore. That said, If something is promised it should be available to those who enjoy it.

On our recent Shiloutte TA there was not a drinkable Chardonnay on the Classic package. Premium wasn't much better, but a couple were decent. DW doesn't care for Sav Blanc or Pinot Gris types.

This was our first Celebrity cruise since Feb. 2019 and there were many notable differences....and none of them good. However, it was still a great cruise with a wonderful crew. We usually sail with HAL but will probably come back to X for our next cruise. Things started out well, embarkation in Miami was a breeze. We like to board late and have lunch ashore. We showed up shortly after the state of out 1:30 - 2p.m. boarding window and we were onboard in less than 10 minutes. The first disappointment was finding how poor the wine quality was with the included basic wine package and how expensive the upgrade was. We don't mind drinking cheap wine, but object to cheap and poor quality wine. It was also disappointing to find many of the bars did not even stock wine on the premium list. It makes no sense to have one of your top bars, the Ensemble Lounge, to not even include any premium wines on their printed wine list. The bar where many of the patrons to specialty restaurants hang out is leaving money on the table by not offering the top wines. We solved this problem, at least for us, when we complained to one of the beverage managers. He seemed to make sure that all the bars knew out cabin number and were able to have out favorite wines available. After the wine disappointment things got better. The ship's crew were as friendly and helpful as ever. The smooth sailing to Bermuda allowed the time to pass quickly. We did find the food choices in the MDR more limited than in the past. The quality was generally OK, but there was a lack of variety. Except for one dinner in Murano and one in the Tuscan Grill, (both excellent) we ate all dinners in the MDR. And, except for lunch on the first sea day, we ate all lunches in the buffet. DW has some diet restrictions, but was able to find good meals every day. We also had breakfast in the buffet everyday. The lack of room service breakfast without the fee was the second disappointment. Although I knew about this is advance our room steward made sure we knew the room service rules. My chief issue with the food was the overall blandness of the dishes. But this is true on HAL as well. Maybe other older folks like their food bland and the chefs prepare it that way. But, this "older" cruiser likes more spice. We sail mostly for the cruise, not shore excursions or onboard entertainment. So we did all the ports on our own. We found Cobh (Cork) the most interesting. Good Irish cider and music at an outside bar. along with the Titanic and other history. We had great weather in all the ports. A couple of choppy, windy days between Bermuda and Cobh, nothing serious. The Captain was more visible on this cruise than on any of our HAL trips. it was not uncommon to see him about the ship. The Cruise Director and staff did a good job, but we seldom interacted. Other than the music venues and an occasional trivia we don't do many of the daily activities. We relax and watch the ocean go by. In all it was a great trip. It was, in fact, better than i expected. There had been so much negative posts on CC since the 2023 changes I was worried i should have stayed with HAL. But, it seems as if some of the issues have been resolved and, the others, just learn to live with it. You sure can't change it. Disembarking in Southampton was almost as smooth as boarding in Miami. At this point we don't have another cruise with Celebrity planned, but there probably will be one in the next year or 2.

Left the Silhouette last week after a TA. My first X cruise since very early 2019 and the food quality is most certainly gone down. While it wasn't as bad as I feared after reading posts earlier this year, it still was not what we got in 2019. I'm all in favor of smaller portions, reducing food waste is great. But the lack of selection is more of an issue. However, my chief issue with the overall blandness. Unless you are eating the Asian or Indian food from the buffet, plan to season everything, including eggs at breakfast. My wife has taken to bring her favorite hot sauce in disposable packets. Other than 2 nights we were in the MDR every night and in the buffet for every day for lunch and breakfast. Tried the MDR for 1 lunch and skipped it thereafter. But, we do not cruise for food alone. If so, we probably would not sail with X. And, having done 3 cruises last year on HAL, this is not an issue that belongs to X alone. HAL suffered many of the same issues. Will we sail with X again? Probably. Will it be our first choice? Probably not.

When we boarded the Silhouette in Miami the library was nearly bare There's great space, nice seat but few books. I've since left 2 books to bolster the selection. I'd like to encourage Cruise Critic sailors to bring a book or 2 on your next sailing on an X ship and help build up the reading selection. Paperbacks don't weight much and don't take up much room in the luggage. It would be a shame of X converted that space to cabin or another revenue producing area. Maybe more book will encourage more use of the library.

Currently on the Silhouette and agree the changes/cuts that we notice most is the fee for room service food and the higher prices in Tuscan Grill, etc. The breakfast/lunch buffet is OK, but at lunch, in particular, they seem to repeat the same menu day-after-day. Looked at dinner offering once, kinda sparse, but even a picky eater, such as yours truly, could find a meal.

Currently on Silhouette and have not seen a tux. Many suits, but more just jacket and nice shirt, without a tie

We've done several San Diego to Vancouver or reverse on HAL and found therm all to be very casual and relaxing. If you do the northbound version it's likely a lot of pax will have been on board since FL, but we never found that to be an issue. Last spring we found service to be a little slow due to staff shortages, but the crew, as usual, were cheery and did their best. Wouldn't hesitate to sail that way again.

We've sailed in various suites on HAL and Celebrity, including the "Retreat" category on Celebrity and Neptune's on HAL.. What does NCL have to offer that would be comparable?

We always take a laptop and usually an i-pad as well, The pad fits in the safe, the laptop, not usually., so we just stick it in s drawer, never a problem.

A toss-up.... DW likes the Baltic with 3 days in St. Petersburg (2006) and my choice is Sydney to Tahiti (1999).

We've been in an aft balcony cabin on 3 different cruise lines and 5 different ships and have never smelled exhaust fumes. Did have an issue 1 time with a smoker next door.

Thanks. Haven't been to the UK in several years and didn't remember the train boarding. This might work. Lot cheaper than a car.

Thanks for the input. Wife has mobility issues and the stairs on the bus would be a problem. I know US trains normally have several stairs to the seating area, so we are looking for a car, despite the cost.

I tried 4 times to place a bid. Every time I got the final stage after entering credit card and accepting terms, when I clicked "submit" the next screen said there was a problem, try again. If I bid close to the minimum would it just be rejected out of hand? Of is it a Celebrity IT issue? TIA for ideas, never tried a Move Up before.

Any recommendations hired car service from Southampton to Brighton and from Brighton to Heathrow? Relate, is a day trip from Brighton to Rye and Hastings easily doable?