Jim_Iain

Beautiful day temps raising and skies cleared

The only area I would say to stay clear of is East Palo Alto but depending on what she is looking for she should be able to find something. Palo Alto is very expensive. If she is open to a private room as oppose to a stand alone condo she can probably find something less than Mountain View is just south and then Sunnyvale is the next town south followed by Santa Clara. The further north the higher the prices. Feel free to email me with more details of price range she's looking for and if she wants a stand alone unit. Running up the peninsula from San Jose to San Francisco (Palo Alto is on the way) is CalTrain. Their is a free shuttle from the Palo Alto train stations to Standford and Standford Hospital. As a little history - originally all these towns that make up Silicon Valley were train stops for the Orchards that filled the valley. The problem she is see is the cost of living in the bay area. Palo Alto homes start at about 2 Million for a cottage. Rents are correspondingly high.

Officially when you overnight at the end of the cruise you are intransit (like a stop on the cruise). When you disembark you are officially entering the company and must comply with Customs and Immigration regulations. My understanding is that ships security would not let you off the ship with you luggage unless you had arranged for early disembarkation and is fed into their computer. We wanted to leave on the first day in Buenos Aires as we arrived on December 24 and were traveling with friends that we were hosting for Christmas Dinner. We needed time to shop an get things setup. Initially I thought we could just get off with our luggage and return to the ship that night. We learned that we could do it without our luggage but if we had luggage they would disembark us and take our key when we left the ship and could not come back on.

Sounds interesting. We may follow your lead especially if rainy. Did you notice where Uber was picking up

Passenger count 1,456. Next 2 cruise at or above 3,100 with 500 kids really feels quiet on the ship. Maybe first day but Martini Bar deserted after dinner last night

I’m with you and happy to see the rain. Maybe we are greedy but have said more than once that we were lucky being away for the two cruises. just looked out and it’s pouring at sea. Should be warmer and dry tomorrow

Currently on Solstice for a B2B. She is incredibly well maintained. Yes the furniture is dated in looks but the Carpets were replace, furniture reupolstered and even saw them re-varnishing the chairs at the martini bar. In my opinion I looked deep and couldn't see anything that would disturb me. While the furniture looks vintage it is comfortable. I prefer furniture that is functional and comfortable in lieu of Kelly's Modern looking furniture that is not very functional or comfortable. Just a small example. Your bureau chair fits under the desk. Bedding - I've been in both a Sky Suite and now a Royal Suite. Both beds are very comfortable and I believe new. I know the Royal is newish as it is a square shaped REAL King Size and is VERY comfortable.

It was activated a couple weeks ago. Initially just for the Crew to try out and now all passengers are using it. I was on last cruise and the one that just departed. It's better than the old internet but still slow. I've tested multiple times and getting approx 5 Meg Down and 3 Up. It can be a bit spotty at time and loose all connectivity for periods up to a couple minutes. We are currently at 1,456 passengers and were at 1,660 passengers last cruise. Will be interesting to hear about the next two cruises - Christmas 3,100 Expected with 500 kids and the following at or near ships maximum capacity. Both of the next cruises will be the maximum she has had since re-joining the fleet.

I'm on Solstice now and checked - No Non-Alcoholic Gin. Wine - They have Fre by Sutter home in Bubbly, White, Rose and Red. Beer - O'Doul's and Heiniken Zero.

Good luck on the surprise. If you let the stateroom attendant know that you want to keep it a secret and ask him to deliver the B2B packet to you instead of them it will probably be possible. On our current cruise ,Solstice, they didn't hand out the Transit Passes and Instructions at the B2B meeting. They were delivered to our room that evening.

Thanks... Great pictures as usual.

Thanks

My understanding is that it is based by the number of vehicle logarithm that the Corporation uses to maximize income. Per Uber Site - How does Uber get away with surge pricing? Surge pricing automatically goes into effect when there are more riders in a given area than available drivers. This encourages more drivers to serve the busy area over time and shifts rider demand, to maintain reliability and restore balance.

Good for him. Really a fun bartender.

I haven’t seen Cranston in a number of years. Which ship is he on.

Will check it out. We almost went last night. Glad we didn’t.

One thing I always do is take a picture of the schedule. It shows Chic nights and when time change occur.

Interesting that they left us E+ and Zenith fliers to show us the only difference is departure Concierge Lunch. With Luminae no value to us and we also get it if B2B

We are officially in the Pacific and out of the harbor.

Linda - I did ask and they said they didn't have it. I asked at Martini Bar. I did see a Blended Malt Scotch I've never heard of before called Monkey Shoulder. I got a laugh out of the name.

Linda, Haven't been to Martini bar. Last cruise it was only about 1/2 full in the normally packed times. Very weird. We mostly drink in Retreat sitting at the bar chatting with the bartender. Iain ran out of Gray Goose the last two night and I would grab a drink for him at Passport Bar on the way up to the room when he went for a smoke. No wait time for sure.

I hope I didn't post too many picture of the rates. I was amazed by how they were changing. @jelayne took the ships transfer and said she would come back and let us know the cost and how fast it was.

A tribute to all those brave men who served and gave their lives so we could enjoy freedom.

the sun is setting as we set sail at 4:30.

Absolutely beautiful , Beav