Jim_Iain (with and Eye) - B2B Millennium 10/11 and 10/19 Pacific Coastal

[Jim_Iain]

Martini Bar was really active last night. 
 

 

[Mike981]

Holy cow, what great pictures!

[Jim_Iain]

I really slept late and didn’t get up until 9:45. 
 

We had a little breakfast in Retreat.   I stopped off for a Sticky Bun ( my new addiction) and a Double cappuccino DRY.   Jonni makes the driest  one on the ship, but told me he was just advised he could go home at end of cruise.  He is really excited. 
 

The retreat was packed.   Albeit a travel agent tour.   So much for social distancing and masks. 
 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

19 hours ago, Mr. Boston said:

If I could only get personal training from you on pivot tables!

 

Great finger muscles are all we can hope for 

[Jim_Iain]

19 hours ago, cruise kitty said:

Jim, I just caught up with your posts, terribly sorry to hear about your migraine issues....  hope you are well enough to enjoy dinner tonight 🙂

 

Thanks.   Fully recovered.   Had a great dinner last night and an enjoyable walk.   Today the weather has cleared for most of the day but clouds are starting to build.   We should set sail before the heavy rains projected for the weekend come ashore. 

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, CruiseNYC said:

Good morning, Jim.  Hope to hear that you're migraine-free today.

All wonderful and just finished my 10 miles.  A diet is like a credit card you have to recharge it.   
 

 

[Jim_Iain]

19 hours ago, hcat said:

Jim..hope weather clears  and no more migraines.

Are there any triggers you can avoid...?

Wonder if acupuncture  could help or if it is even offered on board?

A former colleague suffered from " optical migraines"  very debilitating and zapped her energy.

Feel better!

 

My triggers seem to be when a weather front comes through.   I was checking yesterday expecting the barometric pressure to have dropped but was actually the opposite. 

[Jim_Iain]

19 hours ago, Mr. Boston said:

If I could only get personal training from you on pivot tables!

I use to do pivot table training to my staff.   My main program was so difficult my company hired me back as a consultant for two years teaching replacements.   
 

To me they were just intuitive.    A great resource is YouTube.   Just type in your problem and someone has done a video on it. 

[Jim_Iain]

17 hours ago, WNcruiser said:

Hey Jim. When you see the Hotel Director or Maitre D next I was wondering If there is any word on if/when the menus in Luminae may get a refresh? As you know it gets very repetitive with such a small selection. Thanks. 

I talked with the Senior Officer and he said that  he has not heard of any changes coming.   The  menu's come out of Miami fleet wide.    He suggested that you put it on the survey and if enough comets come  through it might entice them to change. 

 

We find we do well on M- and S- Class ships but on the E-Class where you can't order from other menus it is a challenge on a long cruise to find something.    Children's and Anytime menu are at least a stand by option. 

[hcat]

18 hours ago, KAE27 said:

To me one of the most underrated aspects of a Celebrity cruise is the rooftop movies.  We went to the movies on our Alaska cruise several weeks ago, albeit with flannel blankets and layers, and had a blast!  Today I went to see "In The Heights" (terrific!) on the big big big screen and was the only one there.*  Please enjoy my private movie studio for the day.

 

*Yes, I realize we are docked at one of the great American cities, so I get it.

 

 

 Beautiful area...Wondering  if sound travels to any cabins?

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, gerelmx said:

 

I need to log off and login again, clearing cookies doesn't works

Wow.. that's a pain.    I have 4 different browsers Firefox, Safari, Edge and Chrome.    I alternate until they are all stuck and then I  reboot and those that didn't correct I clear cookies.    Real pain for sure.  I hope they fix it soon.  

 

Yesterday after re-boot it wouldn't accept my password even though stored.   After X number of tries I was locked out for 15 minutes. 

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, grandmahoopie said:

Jim I was wondering do you have to book the private journey excursions while onboard?  We will be on the Millie on the 29th of Nov for 10 nights and interested in the PJ.

 

You can book them prior to cruise 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/shore-excursions/private-journeys

 

[hcat]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great  photos,  a beautiful walk  and looks like an  excellent dinner!

Thanks for  sharing  ! Hope  your good  health has returned.

[hcat]

Weather changes trigger so many maladies..glad you are feeling better.

 

From the photos posted..the Retreat area looks a bit bland..how does it feel when you are there? Seems like a generic hotel lobby.

[NBliving]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks delicious! Was it a shock to see prices on a menu? 😉 

[Jim_Iain]

3 minutes ago, hcat said:

Weather changes trigger so many maladies..glad you are feeling better.

 

From the photos posted..the Retreat area looks a bit bland..how does it feel when you are there? Seems like a generic hotel lobby.

It does have the feel of an airport lounge.  The exceptions are the hosts who are very engaging and helpful.  
 

it is enjoyable and quiet.   If you prefer more action it may not be the right place.   On this cruise official number is 920 with 1,200 next cruise.   
 

With the low numbers even the bars are lightly used. 
 

Retreat is having entertainment nightly at 5:30 which is pulling a larger crowd. 

[Jim_Iain]

I extended my walk to include Retreat Sundeck today.     
 

 

 

interesting they have complimentary Retreat Sun  Glasses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Weather cleared for most of day.    Perfect sweatshirt weather. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lounge chairs socially distanced in groups of 2. 

Edited October 22, 2021 by Jim_Iain

[KAE27]

16 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

Oh dear.  Have you ever seen or visited a SS2?  Stateroom 6132 is so much wider and longer than one of those.  I have a hard time understanding how those SkySuites 2 can ever be described as a "suite."

 

Oh, you're absolutely right - I wasn't taking into account the S2s or S3s and was only referring to the general term "Sky Suite" being the lowest echelon.  Honestly I'm not sure how anything without a separate bedroom is called a "suite," yet here we are.  I was mostly expressing my appreciation for the lovely stateroom I'm grateful to be able stay in, despite minor annoyances like the awkward desk chair and the excess of bric-a-brac.  I still find it lovely.  🙂 

[Jim_Iain]

We were  commenting at lunch on the OV deck today that even living in the Bay Area we don't feel like we are at home.   We feel like on a cruise visiting any city.  

 

A little history lesson -

 

Coit Tower

 

 

 

Coit tower was built between 1932 and 1933 using Lillie Hitchcock Coit's bequest to beautify the city of San Francisco.  It is also known as the Coit Memorial Tower, it was dedicated to the volunteer firemen who had died in San Francisco's five major fires.   The shape was modeled from the end nozzel of a fire hose.   The tower has beautiful murals inside and has wonderful views of the city.  

Edited October 22, 2021 by Jim_Iain

[KAE27]

35 minutes ago, hcat said:

18 hours ago, KAE27 said:

To me one of the most underrated aspects of a Celebrity cruise is the rooftop movies.  We went to the movies on our Alaska cruise several weeks ago, albeit with flannel blankets and layers, and had a blast!  Today I went to see "In The Heights" (terrific!) on the big big big screen and was the only one there.*  Please enjoy my private movie studio for the day.

 

*Yes, I realize we are docked at one of the great American cities, so I get it.

 

 

Expand  

 Beautiful area...Wondering  if sound travels to any cabins?

 

Good question.  I could see it possibly being a disturbance to the Aqua Class cabins on Deck 11.

[Jim_Iain]

Another interesting historic locataion is Treasure Island.  The middle of the Bay Bridge. 
 

 

 

Treasure Island is an artificial island in the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland . ... Treasure Island was built with imported fill on shoals on the north side of Yerba Buena Island for the Expo in 1939. The island sits in the "middle" of the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge .

Edited October 22, 2021 by Jim_Iain

[WNcruiser]

44 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I talked with the Senior Officer and he said that  he has not heard of any changes coming.   The  menu's come out of Miami fleet wide.    He suggested that you put it on the survey and if enough comets come  through it might entice them to change. 

 

We find we do well on M- and S- Class ships but on the E-Class where you can't order from other menus it is a challenge on a long cruise to find something.    Children's and Anytime menu are at least a stand by option. 

Thanks for checking. We have 14 nights on Apex so will probably go to fine cut and Eden for a few nights when nothing looks appealing. 

[abbydancer2003]

19 minutes ago, KAE27 said:

 

Oh, you're absolutely right - I wasn't taking into account the S2s or S3s and was only referring to the general term "Sky Suite" being the lowest echelon.  Honestly I'm not sure how anything without a separate bedroom is called a "suite," yet here we are.  I was mostly expressing my appreciation for the lovely stateroom I'm grateful to be able stay in, despite minor annoyances like the awkward desk chair and the excess of bric-a-brac.  I still find it lovely.  🙂 

I believe a sky suite is what on other lines (at least on Princess for sure) is called a mini suite, meaning not a full suite with separate bedroom, but a functional sitting area, or a bigger room.

 

On the S class, they're basically a wider room with a nicer couch and an extra window, which my sister loved.  

 

On Princess, fyi there're aren't as many suite perks to begin with (no lounge on most ships, and only a separate area in the main dining room with a slightly enhanced menu.  You can book into a midship minisuite and get the enhanced dining.

 

[Jim_Iain]

10 minutes ago, WNcruiser said:

Thanks for checking. We have 14 nights on Apex so will probably go to fine cut and Eden for a few nights when nothing looks appealing. 

 

Will be interesting to hear your opinion.   Food is very subjective but we were not really impressed with Fine Cut.    Food was ok but not great but the location is total open air over the Martini Bar and they put on the God awful  Light Show with music so loud you can't carry on a conversation.    We found Eden like Magic Chef -  Once and Done.  More gimmicky than good food.

 

On the positive side you can also dine in Blu and any of the 4 MDR's.   While they say space available we were immediately seating even though there was a waiting line as we had made reservations.