Jim_Iain - Solstice LIVE Mexico Riveria B2B - December 3 and 11

[Mike981]

3 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Will be interesting to hear what you think of Ponant.  I wasn't aware they did Great Lakes cruises.  I've been looking at other vendors of Great Lakes cruises.  And if you find something great to South Africa, would love to hear about that too.  My niece lives in Cape Town and absolutely loves it there.  The retreat concierge on my October Summit cruise was from Cape Town and said I absolutely must visit.  It would be nice not to have to do that long flight both ways.

 

We would love to try South Africa, but you are correct on the long flights. That and the $$$.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

2 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

 

We would love to try South Africa, but you are correct on the long flights. That and the $$$.

 

Wish somebody would come up with a RT out of London or Barcelona to South Africa.  Now that would be doable flightwise, especially for you from MSP.  A bit more complicated from here because I have to go through Atlanta.  Enjoy your snow.  I am so glad to be out of the MN snow and taxes!

[lakegirl16]

@Jim_IainThanks for posting, look forward to following along.  We'll be joining you the week of 12/11 and staying on for the week of the 19th. 

 

Would love weather updates, I'm a bit uncertain what to pack as I know it will be chilly the first day or so but warmer on the subsequent days.

Thanks again!!!

[maggie.1008]

Just catching up now. For the last few years we have only cruised on X. Starting to feel like Groundhog Day. Oceania is sailing out of San Pedro in May so we will return to Oceania for my birthday cruise. So happy that we can finally drive to the port. 
we have been disappointed in the food in Blu so we are looking forward to our favorites on Oceania. 
Next X cruise isn’t until the Edge sails to Alaska in 2024. 

[Redking]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We are really not ready for this cruise.   Our daughter has been in the Hospital for a week and really threw our planning to the wind.   Good news is she it doing well and back on her own. 

 

Luckily we are Zenith and get free laundry as we will be using it for sure.   We didn't get our dry cleaning and pressing  to the laundry so will be taking it as is and have it done on the ship.

 

I get asked often on how we pack for longer multi segment cruises and have to say we have evolved to a system that works for us.  We pack for 7 days regardless of the length that we will be away and then send out laundry almost daily.  I will admit we have an advantage to many of you in that we are about the same size and can swap off to keep our wardrobe fresh. 

 

4 short sleeve and 3 Long sleeve T's

2 pair of jean

1 dress pants

1 Dinner Jacket

8 Bow Ties since I can neve plan what I'm in the mood for

7 pairs of socks  

6 Dress Shirts with Collars

1  Tuxedo Shirt

1 Dress Shoes

1 Walking Shoes

2 Sweaters and 2 Sweatshirts

1 puffer

 

 

Wow that's efficient!

[Redking]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Agree the prices have really gone up.    Luckily Iain has more money than sense and just say it's only money we might as well spend it before the kids get it.   LOL. 

 

Will be interesting to compare the Edge and Solstice TP's in 2024.    I'll have to check out Edge's pricing and schedule.

Love Iain's attitude.

 

In the space of about 25 minutes Findlay went from us only doing Sydney to Hawaii because of the price, then reluctantly paying the deposit for the Vancouver leg. By the time he came off the phone he'd decided what the heck let's do it! Really looking forward to our first E class. Reading the reviews, people seem very decided. I think we'll fall into the like camp. The modern decor and vibe of Celebrity has always appealed to us. Like you, we keep thinking about one of the luxury lines given the way X pricing is going. On the whole I don't get the "feels" from the decor and size of those ships. Please do a @groryjm and do a comparative review if you jump ship.

[GREG781]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I'm getting excited.   I do have to get off my rear reading CC or I will never get packed.   Oh well... one more cup of coffee.

 

Lol. Just so you know, the Beyond is beautiful in every way. Mid 80's in St. Martin today! Ship has 2550 we were told. In one of the S3 Suites - really nice. Huge balcony and it is cool seeing the Magic Carpet glide by 2x a day 🙂

[LaCal]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

The task for today is to return a couple things to Amazon.   Priority One.  

 

I have a wire kitchen pantry shelving unit that I bought for my daughter but was missing parts.    It's in a fairly large box and was going to run it down to UPS by car but decided I will just tie it to my back pack and do it on foot.   I'll have to tell you whether that was a good idea or a big mistake.

 

I may have mentioned that I'm the President of our HOA Association and we recently had Optical Infrastructure installed by Sail Internet.   After a year of wrangling with the city on permits they are going live today.   I'm scheduled for an installation at 4PM this evening.   The speeds are suppose to be 1 Gig Up and Down with no data cap.    I'm keeping Comcast for the 60 day free trial period to check how it works out.  

 

I"m sure I'll let you know how it goes.

If you have a Wholefoods store in your area most of them now accept Amazon returns 

 

And they don’t even need to be packed up 

 

Saved us a lot of time and hassles 

[Ontario Cruiser]

6 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Sorry to hear that David has had to move to a Long Term Care facility life is so short and I can't even imagine the loneliness it is causing your.   I'm hoping he is close enough by that you can visit him often.   The house must be so quiet.

 

Please feel free to jump in and I'm sure we can all bring back some warm memories of your cruises.     We also really enjoyed getting to meet you.

 

[Ontario Cruiser]

Thanks for your kind words Yes the house is quiet but lots of fond memories of all our cruises. Have a great cruise and Happy holidays.  Sherrill 

[bluwes]

23 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Sorry --- There is a Micky out of Orlando that use to work with me when we were Cruise Advocates on the pop ups on Celebrity Site.   He daughter now works on Reflection as part of the Activities staff.  I was just thinking you were one in the same.

 

Regardless.   Welcome and now I will know your another Cruise Mickey.

Is that Erin from Idaho ? If so she’s back home having broken her arm recently. We met her on the Reflection sailing out of Rome this last  summer

[Florida_gal_50]

I’m looking forward to reading all about your cruise.  I’ve been primarily a hal cruiser but I’m looking to try other lines again.  I’ve done celebrity a couple times but it’s been a while.  Thank you for your thread.

[_Rick_]

Jim - I look forward to following along.  We are doing a similar cruise in April except a stop in San Diego instead of one of the Mexico ports - I don't remember which one.  We have not done a west coast cruise before so I don't know much about the ports.  We booked this cruise, in a CS, mainly to get the double points offer to push us closer to Elite+.  It will be nice to get your insights on the ports of call to help us figure out what to do.   Hope you guys have a great cruise and I guess we will meet you on the Hawaii cruise in 2024.  Bon Voyage!

[lilghallinsf]

9 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

It is really nice having a ship on the West Coast.    It is so nice not to spend a full day traveling to join a cruise.  

 

 

It is nice. 

 

We actually took three Princess ships this past year for that reason. The first two were out of SF. Great to just take a taxi from our house to the ship. Went for five days, then a ten day. Next a princess to Hawaii for 15 days. 

 

Looking forward to getting back onto Celebrity and our perks. LOL

[BOB999]

10 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

The cocktails must have been good.   LOL

 

From what I've learned is LA now has a Shared Ride Area called LAX-IT accessible by foot or shuttle.  You can also get Uber Black curbside.  

 

FYI there is also a third option in that there is a taxi rank on the arrivals level of T7 (next to Alaska in T6).

 

Looking forward to reading another great trip report!

 

https://www.flylax.com/lax-traffic-and-ground-transportation#four

[abbydancer2003]

1 hour ago, _Rick_ said:

Jim - I look forward to following along.  We are doing a similar cruise in April except a stop in San Diego instead of one of the Mexico ports - I don't remember which one.  We have not done a west coast cruise before so I don't know much about the ports.  We booked this cruise, in a CS, mainly to get the double points offer to push us closer to Elite+.  It will be nice to get your insights on the ports of call to help us figure out what to do.   Hope you guys have a great cruise and I guess we will meet you on the Hawaii cruise in 2024.  Bon Voyage!

I've been to the Mexican ports 2 or 3 times in the last year.  If you want, email me at abby at glenandabby dot com.

[Mike45LC]

9 hours ago, lakegirl16 said:

 

Would love weather updates, I'm a bit uncertain what to pack as I know it will be chilly the first day or so but warmer on the subsequent days.

Thanks again!!!

Mex Riviera is my usual cruise out of LA.  First day out of LA and last day before LA are usually chilly; not pool weather for those of us from warm climes!  The rest of the cruise, even in Dec and Jan, is usually perfect for daytime shorts and tshirts.

[lilghallinsf]

47 minutes ago, Mike45LC said:

Mex Riviera is my usual cruise out of LA.  First day out of LA and last day before LA are usually chilly; not pool weather for those of us from warm climes!  The rest of the cruise, even in Dec and Jan, is usually perfect for daytime shorts and tshirts.

This is one reason we like the ships with the enclosed pools. Lol even though princess sometimes heat the pools, they are still chilly. 

[MarKay525]

17 hours ago, Susanb10567 said:

Following along….I usually do it live but I will be on the Apex from 12/3-12/10…so I will have a lot to catch up on when I get home…have a great cruise!!!

Ditto here - we're on the 12/3 Apex cruise as well. Yikes - we leave tomorrow and I haven't started packing yet.😵

 

Hope you & Iain have a fantastic time and I'll catch you as I can. Kay

[Mr. Boston]

Following along, thanks for taking us along on another adventure!  Bon voyage and safe travels.  

[swjumbo]

Looking forward to your posts about Solstice.

It will be our first time on her in April.

Thoroughly enjoy your positivity regarding Celebrity.

Also, to you or any readers. South Africa is the most fantastic and beautiful country but it’s sadly changing so go sooner rather than later. The long flights are well worth it.

Bon Voyage!

[countess5]

On 11/29/2022 at 5:26 PM, Jim_Iain said:

It is a good opportunity for us Californian's to both enjoy our coast and take advantage of having some ships based here.  Last year we took the San Diego cruise on Millennium  to San Francisco, Catalina and Ensanada (they pulled Santa Barbara)   It was fun having an overnight in San Francisco and gave us  the opportunity to take the train home and swap out clothing  for the second cruise.  

 

I think I would like a coastal and an Alaska Combo.

Funny to read this statement.. reminds me when we sailed out of Sydney to New Zealand. We were stopped in Auckland and that night went to chef’s table where we met a very nice couple. I asked where they were from and they said Auckland. 😳 I asked what did you do all day being from the area, he replied that they were able to go home mow the lawn and do laundry! 

Then I asked why would you fly to Sydney to sail to Auckland? Response, we love to cruise.  I understood. 

 

Cheers! 

[FLCruiser97]

Jumping on the Jim & Iain adventure train. Love your live posts. 

 

I have been on the Solstice once to Alaska many years ago and will be on it again in Jan 2024 from Singapore. I'm interested to see any and/or all changes to her. Fair Winds and Following Seas to you!

[Jim_Iain]

21 hours ago, cruzzzinma said:

Cellar Masters is still on the Solstice.

I had a feeling it would be still there. 

[Mark_T]

1 minute ago, Jim_Iain said:

I had a feeling it would be still there. 

Same for Eclipse, not likely to change before/if they get revolutionized, but it is certainly an improvement on Silhouette, so something to look forward to eventually...