All:

On the CC Radisson board, someone has started a thread about a new booze policy on HAL. No more carry on. No more buying in the gift store for your suite. And a policy on buying bottles from room service that changes daily, according to the HAL board.

I thought you all might get a kick out of my response on the CC Radisson board on this matter. Here goes:

posted 02-16-04 08:09 PM
All:

HAL has clearly contacted a serious case of "boozephobia" which is a contageous mental illness spreading among mass market and so called premium lines. HAL probably contracted this disease from NCL, which has the worst case of it as evidenced by its X raying checked luggage not for weapons but for booze. Boozephobia is characterized by memory loss, so that the infected line forgets to tell booked guests about the changes planned for their future cruise. It is also characterized by wild changes in behavior, as posts from guests now onboard HAL indicate policies on ordering bottles from room service are changing daily. Boozephobia is also similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder, in that the infected line is overcome with an unquinchable desire to maximize bar revenues by monopolizing the liquor market onboard at the highest price level, and at the expense of all other business factors. Radisson is hoped to be immune from boozephobia due to its proximity to Silversea and Seabourn, and the certainty that all guests would defect to these two lines at the first sign of this infection reaching Radisson. Radisson may benefit from the spread of this disease in lesser lines, as it offers the nearest price point at which cruisers can book with relative certainty that their chosen line will not become infected with boozephobia.

Should, however, anyone observe any signs that Radisson has acquired this infection, please notify me immediately.

Thanks,
Richard ;)

I think the trend in the mass-market lines is to move toward treating the ship as just a floating hotel. I would not at all be surprised if lines like HAL and Celebrity start charging for MEALS as well!

THey DO charge for meals - at least to eat in their Alternative Restaurants.

I must say that the quality in the Alternative restaurant was like eating on a Radisson ship - at an extra $20 per person, plus a tip.

On Celebrity, the charge to eat at the alternative restaurant was $25/person - tip included, if I remember correctly.

Masaki

Boozephobia? Chitophilia?

Richard, NCL actually X-rays first for illicit booze and secondarily for weapons? This is stuff worthy of absurdist theater - maybe Tom Stoppard's next play will be about mass-market cruiselines. Yikes!

OK, I've sailed on HAL, NCL and probably most of the rest. Did we sneek on booze...oh yeh. Did we have a great time...yeh, for sure. At the time we brought booze on HAL...they were quite forgiving and looked the other way. NCL we were a bit more sneeky. You adjust to the "company you're keeping" if you get my drift.

Richard:

I loved your response. As a former loyal HAL cruiser I'm sad to see the changes that they are making, many besides the new "liquor" policy. They are now adding gratuities to bar tabs and I think they may also be adding a automatic charge for gratuities for room stewards etc. (We always tipped the service staff but we decided how much - this change might actually have saved us money but would then short change the staff)

But the good news is we found RSSC...lots of HAL cruisers may be turning up at our doorstep before you know it. I can't think of a single reason why not...we're glad we did!

Gil - the extra charge for specialty restaurants on HAL may well be worth it...but in NCL..it was a total waste in my opinion. Granted, there were two specialty restaurants we didn't try - which those on board seemed to like - but the ones we did try were a rip. And how about NCL now charging for premium shows? RSSC looks better and better - even without being all-inclusive. And Richard - loved the "boozephobia" phrase.

HAL is adding automatic tips? Whatever happened to "tipping not required"? Not that anyone really understood what that meant!

Oh, it's just so sad to see the downward spiral so many upscale lines are in.

I really wanted to sail on RSSC to Alaska this summer but also wanted my sister and husband to join us. They can't afford RSSC so we've booked a concierge class room on Celebrity. While I've sailed on Celebrity before, I'm getting more apprehensive all the time. The shenanigans on that board aren't helping either.

I guess if they're automatic, tipping isn't required!!

SSCLB...

We sailed Celebrity to Alaska last summer, in a Sky Suite. There's no question that the folks you're sailing with can take away from the trip if you let them, but only if you let them. The scenery is magnificent, the excursions not to be missed, and the boat itself (we were on the Mercury) is lovely. We did have some problems - I was actually yelled at by somebody who decided that neither the buffet line nor the folks serving the pizza were for him - long, gross story. But after that experience we started lowering our expectations of our cruisemates, having breakfast on our balcony (nothing is quite like having smoked salmon while listening to the fish jump out of the water and watching the bald eagles fly by). We enjoyed the Thalassotherapy Pool and spa services tremendously, and the onboard entertainment, but mostly immersed ourselves in Alaska itself. Although we love RSSC and will probably never go back to a mass market ship, our Mercury trip to Alaska remains my favorite so far... you and your family will have a lovely time.

Let me know if you need any advice on excursions - we splurged and don't regret a penny of it.

Terri

Lawrence:

Does NCL X ray luggage for booze and not weapons? You can be the judge. The CC NCL board has scores of posts that describe the same events. A guest's luggage doesn't show up at the room on time. Then the PA announcement requests that guest come to the luggage area to open his luggage for inspection. When the guest arrives at that area, he sees hundreds of pieces of checked luggage with a "Liquor" sign on them. None with a "Weapons" sign. The guest is required to open his luggage for inspection. If liquor is found, it is taken for the cruise duration. Many times it is not found, indicating NCL is doing this anytime something remotely looks like liquor.But there are no accounts of any guest ever being called for a "weapons search."

All:

For all not familiar with HAL's past policies in this area, carry on booze was specifically allowed. The docs even contained helpful hints on packing it. Also, HAL sold booze for onboard consumption in its shops for duty free plus 20%, making the price better than on land. Many people used to like HAL for this reason, among others. And the HAL crowd certainly has not been the "party hardy" bunch. To the contrary, the typical guest has been a mature adult or senior citizen. Young adults have complained of too little to do.

Hope this clarifies,
Richard