Jim_Iain - First Non-Celebrity Cruise in 22 year - Ponant vs Celebrity Comparison

[hcat]

Great  choice..the history of the ship's construction as an Ocean Liner is fascinating,   has a beautiful library, planetarium, the lunch tavern is fun!

 

We are serious looking for a good time to book her.

[abbydancer2003]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

I'm learning all kinds of new things, I had never heard of Racine.     I'm guessing we won't make it to Racine as it is an 8 hour walk one way (24 miles).     

 

 

I gather you've never seen the movie A League of their Own (great movie, btw).  The teams play all over the area.

[Stem to Stern]

Ooooo how exciting!  She has a full promenade for your ten-mile walks.

[dcbiker97]

31 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I was just sitting here chuckling -    I was thinking it feels like After I cheated on Celebrity after a long monogamous relation for 23 years I decided I LIKE IT. 

 

Will Couples Counseling work and a reconciliation or will we agree to an Open Marriage.   

Love it.  We were supposed to be on a 2024 Buenos Aires round trip and as you know it got repositioned.  We are now taking our first non-Celebrity cruise in 12 years. We booked an Antarctic expedition ship on Hurtigruten cruise lines, a Norwegian company we once saw on the show Mighty Cruise ships.  We also are looking at Regent too.  It’s amazing because we were set to become Zeniths next year. Our relationship feels so one sided lately. 

Edited September 4, 2023 by dcbiker97

[JazzyV]

33 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

BREAKING NEWS - 

 

I booked a East Bound TransAtlantic on Cunard last night in Queens Grill. 

 

Cruise deposit $2215.00 per cabin.

 

NO BRAINER -   I JUST WROTE BACK ------BOOK IT.

 

That sounds great. I'll be interested on your opinion of Cunard.

[helen haywood]

On 9/2/2023 at 11:11 AM, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks -   the only thing I found that help with a snoring spouse is Bose Sleep Buds.   I love mine.    They recently discontinued the product but Sold off the technology to two employees who are bringing it back with an improved version.   They are in Pre-Order at this time.

Could you tell me the name of the new company?  I’ve been worried about what to do when my Bose buds eventually die…🙀

[raudacruise]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

BREAKING NEWS - 

 

I booked a East Bound TransAtlantic on Cunard last night in Queens Grill. 

 

Many of you know that they cancelled our Barcelona to Buenos Aires cruise for November 2024.   We were stuck with a Mediterranean 1st half of B2B but luckily Celebrity allowed us to change it to a TA keeping all our onboard perks and no fees.

 

I was looking for a replacement European with Silverseas, Azamara etc that would mesh up with the TA --  Nothing was available that I could find.

 

Last night I decided to look at Cunard.   I of course have no experience with them so surprised to learn they don't run week or even bi-weekly TA during October/November.    I did find one that will get us to Europe about 2 weeks before our cruise.   The prices are really much better than I could have hoped.  

 

I floated the idea by Iain and he said go for it.    We want to visit his family in Scotland and possibly a week at the great place we rented in Lymington across the river from Southampton. 

 

Queens Grill Suite - 

This morning my agent came back with

My rate to you is $8197.00 with $500 on board credit, per cabin.

 

 

 

Cruise deposit $2215.00 per cabin.

 

NO BRAINER -   I JUST WROTE BACK ------BOOK IT.

 

Will be VERY interested in following your future Cunard cruise.  Your reviews are always informative and entertaining.  Just plain fun.😎

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

John,

We have been similar up until now.     Iain was interested in a river cruise but after seeing a couple on our last cruise agreed they were probably too small.

 

I love flying in a 777 but would never turn down a trip in a Gulf Stream.  

 

 Funny you should mention a 777.  I recently booked our seats for our Millie cruise next year --- 777 non-stop IAD to HND.  Amazing how many seats they are on those big birds. 

 

[DaKahuna]

3 hours ago, raudacruise said:

She did the same for me when I was shipped to Covid Jail.  My favorite maitre d’.

 

 We loved her when she was our maitre'd.  She's one of the few I've seen make it a point to stop by every table no matter and inquire how the food and service was going.  She even apologized to us when our waiter and assistant waiter were quarantined and not available the last two days of the cruise. 

 

[JazzyV]

1 hour ago, helen haywood said:

Could you tell me the name of the new company?  I’ve been worried about what to do when my Bose buds eventually die…🙀

It looks like they're called Ozlo. https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/22/23837206/ozlo-sleepbuds-bose-sleep-earbuds

[Bejay219]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

I was just sitting here chuckling -    I was thinking it feels like After I cheated on Celebrity after a long monogamous relation for 23 years I decided I LIKE IT. 

 

Will Couples Counseling work and a reconciliation or will we agree to an Open Marriage.   

 

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

BREAKING NEWS - 

 

I booked a East Bound TransAtlantic on Cunard last night in Queens Grill. 

 

 

NO BRAINER -   I JUST WROTE BACK ------BOOK IT.

 

Well, you must have been reading our minds! We were looking at booking Delta One for our return flight from Celebrity Transatlantic and Viking 34 days, and our mouths hit the floor at the price! So looked on Cunard, we can take the QM2 from Southampton to NYC, 6 days for $10,000 less than Delta One!  So we are booking Princess Grill which we will see how it compares to Sky Suite. Contacted our Travel Agent, waiting for her to reply and book it. We will have much to compare on our "new found" cruise lines. 

(and yes, it has gotten easier to take the leap now!) 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

17 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Do you know which ship she is on?

 

No, I thought you might.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

16 hours ago, miched said:

A lot of  my relatives lived in Racine and Milwaukee WI.  One of the staples for breakfast was Kringle. They always had 3 or 4 different varieties stocked in the house. It is a Danish Pastry.  It is very good and I highly recommend trying it if you spend any time in Milwaukee 

 

it is the State Pastry

 

https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/wisconsin/food-agriculture/kringle#

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

Yummy stuff.  Trader Joe's imports it to Florida for us.  I'd always enjoyed the almond version, but the pecan version was even better!

[Mike981]

On 9/2/2023 at 10:11 AM, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks -   the only thing I found that help with a snoring spouse is Bose Sleep Buds.   I love mine.    They recently discontinued the product but Sold off the technology to two employees who are bringing it back with an improved version.   They are in Pre-Order at this time.

 

Do you happen to know the name of the new buds? My wife purchased Bose Sleep Buds (because I told her you liked them) and she loved them, but they stopped working. Seems to me the biggest issue is battery life. I would love to get in on the pre-order.

 

BTW, I was born in Milwaukee and raised in Madison. I also did radio in Oshkosh for a while. The Fox Valley is an interesting place. Since you love your long walks, you might have walked over a few man hole covers over the years, just up the road from Milwaukee are the cities of Neena/Menasha and MANY man hole covers are made there. And while we are at it, man hole covers are round because it is impossible for them to fall down the hole.

 

I will let myself out now. 

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, dcbiker97 said:

Love it.  We were supposed to be on a 2024 Buenos Aires round trip and as you know it got repositioned.  We are now taking our first non-Celebrity cruise in 12 years. We booked an Antarctic expedition ship on Hurtigruten cruise lines, a Norwegian company we once saw on the show Mighty Cruise ships.  We also are looking at Regent too.  It’s amazing because we were set to become Zeniths next year. Our relationship feels so one sided lately. 

We have done the Antarctic on Hurtigruten absolutely fantastic. A totally different experience to any other cruise line. Everything revolves around the "expedition experience". Everything is weather dependent so be prepared for frequent changes to the programme or as our Expedition Leader, Anja, put " if you find it hard to cope with the frequent changes think what it's like for me as a German".

Three quick tips:

The trips to the landings on the Polar Cìrkle boats are very wet and windy - wearing cheap ski goggles makes the experience much nicer.

Once on land you can't put anything on the ground which is problem if you need to remove gloves to use a camera. Fix your gloves to your coat with elastic though the sleeves  ( just like we did as kids) problem solved.

The floors in the cabin showers are electrically heated - very useful for drying gloves, socks etc.

The owners of Hurtigruten are British a bit of a surprise like N

MSC being Swiss not Italian.

[dcbiker97]

27 minutes ago, the penguins said:

We have done the Antarctic on Hurtigruten absolutely fantastic. A totally different experience to any other cruise line. Everything revolves around the "expedition experience". Everything is weather dependent so be prepared for frequent changes to the programme or as our Expedition Leader, Anja, put " if you find it hard to cope with the frequent changes think what it's like for me as a German".

Three quick tips:

The trips to the landings on the Polar Cìrkle boats are very wet and windy - wearing cheap ski goggles makes the experience much nicer.

Once on land you can't put anything on the ground which is problem if you need to remove gloves to use a camera. Fix your gloves to your coat with elastic though the sleeves  ( just like we did as kids) problem solved.

The floors in the cabin showers are electrically heated - very useful for drying gloves, socks etc.

The owners of Hurtigruten are British a bit of a surprise like N

MSC being Swiss not Italian.

Thank you!  Taking all the hints I can find. 

[miched]

4 hours ago, abbydancer said:

I gather you've never seen the movie A League of their Own (great movie, btw).  The teams play all over the area.

There is no crying in baseball.  
 

A friend of mine claims that All the Way May, played by Madonna,  was his aunt in real life.  It s a great movie. 

 

When we visited our relatives in Racine I always wanted my dad to drive past the S. C. Johnson building.  It was beautiful and I was fascinated by it. .   I never knew about Frank Lloyd Wright and his designs until I started design classes in college. 

https://www.scjohnson.com/en/interacting-with-sc-johnson/tours-and-architecture/virtual-tours

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, hcat said:

Great  choice..the history of the ship's construction as an Ocean Liner is fascinating,   has a beautiful library, planetarium, the lunch tavern is fun!

 

We are serious looking for a good time to book her.

 

This may be good time.   They have a good Labor Day Sale and my agent was able to even do a better price.

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, miched said:

Almond was also my favorite Kringle flavor.   I don’t think anyone ever heated or warmed it up.  They were kept in the bag at room temp the same as many pastries.  I guess heating would be worth trying 

 

Happy cruising. 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

You will have to try.   I love Danish Pastry toasted until bubbly on top.    Now in Ireland they would then slather butter on top. 

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, hcat said:

Great  choice..the history of the ship's construction as an Ocean Liner is fascinating,   has a beautiful library, planetarium, the lunch tavern is fun!

 

We are serious looking for a good time to book her.

 

Two weeks ago I could never believe I would be booking a Cunard Cruise.   Last night Iain said, "ya do know we will have to take our Tux".   

 

I have no problem dressing for dinner and actually excited -   I bought a beautiful Versace Tux and only have had the opportunity to wear once.

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, abbydancer said:

I gather you've never seen the movie A League of their Own (great movie, btw).  The teams play all over the area.

That I have indeed not seen.   Will have to look it up.

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, dcbiker97 said:

Love it.  We were supposed to be on a 2024 Buenos Aires round trip and as you know it got repositioned.  We are now taking our first non-Celebrity cruise in 12 years. We booked an Antarctic expedition ship on Hurtigruten cruise lines, a Norwegian company we once saw on the show Mighty Cruise ships.  We also are looking at Regent too.  It’s amazing because we were set to become Zeniths next year. Our relationship feels so one sided lately. 

 

I've seen that Mighty Cruise Ship episode.     I sure wish they would release some more episodes.    I think they also have one on Ponant in Indonesia.

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Could you tell me the name of the new company?  I’ve been worried about what to do when my Bose buds eventually die…🙀

The company will be called Ozlo

 

The revamped Sleepbuds will immediately look and feel similar to their predecessors, and battery life is still promised to last through a typical night’s sleep (around 10 hours). But Ozlo wants to get more ambitious than where Bose left things. The new buds include “biometric sensing technology to monitor your movement and respiration while you lay in bed to determine when you’ve fallen asleep and help understand your sleep stages.” Patil told me that Ozlo has carefully rearchitected the Sleepbuds with new batteries and other components to avoid any snags or hardware faults that Bose previously encountered.

 

https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/22/23837206/ozlo-sleepbuds-bose-sleep-earbuds

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, raudacruise said:

Will be VERY interested in following your future Cunard cruise.  Your reviews are always informative and entertaining.  Just plain fun.😎

Mary Beth -   You would never believe how much I get out of those that follow and/or participate.

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, Bejay219 said:

 

Well, you must have been reading our minds! We were looking at booking Delta One for our return flight from Celebrity Transatlantic and Viking 34 days, and our mouths hit the floor at the price! So looked on Cunard, we can take the QM2 from Southampton to NYC, 6 days for $10,000 less than Delta One!  So we are booking Princess Grill which we will see how it compares to Sky Suite. Contacted our Travel Agent, waiting for her to reply and book it. We will have much to compare on our "new found" cruise lines. 

(and yes, it has gotten easier to take the leap now!) 

 

I was thinking the same.   It will also be nice to spend a day or two in NY.   Wish you and Bruce were on the same cruise,  we really enjoyed cruising with you.

 

I grew up in and around NY and when I left I hated NYC.    Maybe being mugged at gunpoint in the Lobby of Hilton at 6PM had something to do with that.     After I retired Iain had a business trip for a week so I went along -   I had an absolutely fantastic time and LOVE NY -