Jim_Iain Live - 2nd Half World Cruise - B2B Singapore to Down Under 11/25 – 12/21

[chemmo]

51 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

Certainly not new, I have heard people complain over the years that they cannot get Champagne on Silhouette and are served Prosecco instead.

 

45 minutes ago, darsura said:

“Continued outages of many of the wines on the Premium Package is apparent every evening.”

 

We had the same experience on the Edge in July.  

You can understand and forgive the odd shortage but it seems to be becoming the norm…

[hcat]

Photos are exceptional! Thanks for sharing your wonderful gift with us !

 

Not sure if I ever asked:  have you ever submitted to the National Geographic or other competitions ?  Some  of the work you posted above could win in several catogories.

 

My husband is an  excellent photographer   but lost interest once digital took hold.. I hope he will get back to it as our grandsons show an interest.

[hcat]

1 hour ago, upwarduk said:

Certainly not new, I have heard people complain over the years that they cannot get Champagne on Silhouette and are served Prosecco instead.

the shortage is bad, but  making any substitution without disclosure is worse...

[Covepointcruiser]

We are 10 days into a repositioning cruise on Seabourn Ovation transatlantic.    We have run out of fresh berries, bananas and fresh orange juice.   We provisioned in Lisbon and had seven days continuous at sea.    Fortunately no shortage of premium wines and liquors.   I don’t understand Celebrity’s supply problems in Asia with major ports almost every day.   Our first port in the Caribbean is Terre de Haut, Guadeloupe.   It’s a small island without cars, only golf carts and scooters so I doubt we will get supplies here.

 

Wishing you a happy belated birthday and a great cruise.

 

 

 

[terrydtx]

5 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Continued outages of many of the wines on the Premium Package is apparent every evening.

We saw the same on the Apex in September from Amsterdam. After the first day they ran out of Cherry Pie Pino Noir and by the end of the cruise most of the better PDP wines were gone and no substitutions were offered. I asked why the wines were not loaded in Amsterdam and was told that supplies from the US did not arrive in time to load. Makes no sense why Celebrity doesn't source more wines locally.

[cachouonacruise]

3 hours ago, hcat said:

Photos are exceptional! Thanks for sharing your wonderful gift with us !

 

Not sure if I ever asked:  have you ever submitted to the National Geographic or other competitions ?  Some  of the work you posted above could win in several catogories.

 

My husband is an  excellent photographer   but lost interest once digital took hold.. I hope he will get back to it as our grandsons show an interest.

I totally agree with hcat, your pictures and your instinct for capturing natural, yet beautiful images are exceptional! 
 

Thank-you so much for bringing us with you on your discoveries!

[Lena11033]

49 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We saw the same on the Apex in September from Amsterdam. After the first day they ran out of Cherry Pie Pino Noir and by the end of the cruise most of the better PDP wines were gone and no substitutions were offered. I asked why the wines were not loaded in Amsterdam and was told that supplies from the US did not arrive in time to load. Makes no sense why Celebrity doesn't source more wines locally.

 

I was on Summit in March and martinis listed in the menu at the martini bar some they couldn't make due to not having ingredients but this was sailing out of Miami (good news I did get more adventurous with trying new ones and now know which to avoid in future 🙃 )

[Whinenowine]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

We saw the same on the Apex in September from Amsterdam. After the first day they ran out of Cherry Pie Pino Noir and by the end of the cruise most of the better PDP wines were gone and no substitutions were offered. I asked why the wines were not loaded in Amsterdam and was told that supplies from the US did not arrive in time to load. Makes no sense why Celebrity doesn't source more wines locally.

Terry--I agree 100%.  There is SO much great Spanish, Italian and French wines that retail for $10-15 locally--and obviously even cheaper at wholesale prices.  I don't get it, but have given up asking as there seems no end in sight. I've taken to availing myself of the X byo policy, just to ensure I've decent wine for those 2-3 special meals each cruise.

[Redking]

9 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Shortages of all kinds of things on Edge.

 

Really surprised at the number of shortages there are on the ship.    From reading the Roll Call from the first two legs I knew there were supply chain issues.   Dubai didn't allow multiple container loads to be loaded -  included many wines, beers etc.  

 

Some of the remarkable ones that I see as a Celebrity issue are things like Brown Raw Sugar in al Bacio and the rest of the ship.    Continued outages of many of the wines on the Premium Package is apparent every evening.   One would have thought Celebrity could have locally sourced most anything in Singapore.

This is really interesting Jim. We had major supply issues on the Eclipse back in January. At the time, I thought Celebrity had completely mismanaged their supply chain over in this part of the world- too reliant on central purchasing out of the US without fully considering how to effectively transport to the other side of the world. Sounds like they struggle to get it right outside of their main markets  around the US and Europe.

 

Hard to have a Negroni without any Campari 😱. First 🌏 problems.

 

Belated happy birthday and hope the supply issues don't impact you too much.

[Redking]

Oops, just read the other posts. Supply chain issues seem to be fleet wide. Really no excuse with inventory management systems that are available these days.

[81Zoomie]

10 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Shortages of all kinds of things on Edge.

 

Really surprised at the number of shortages there are on the ship.    From reading the Roll Call from the first two legs I knew there were supply chain issues.   Dubai didn't allow multiple container loads to be loaded -  included many wines, beers etc.  

 

Some of the remarkable ones that I see as a Celebrity issue are things like Brown Raw Sugar in al Bacio and the rest of the ship.    Continued outages of many of the wines on the Premium Package is apparent every evening.   One would have thought Celebrity could have locally sourced most anything in Singapore.

Hope things get sorted out when the Edge arrives in Sydney!

[Shiba_Lover]

11 hours ago, colourbird said:

 

Do you need to let them know about a birthday in a restaurant to get something like this or does it come up on their console? My wife will be celebrating a birthday on the ship in December and i'm not sure if I need to let anyone know in order for her to get a surprise dessert.

You can add a special occasion yourself in the cruise planner online (in your Celebrity account) if you've booked the cruise yourself.  If you have used a travel agent, just inform them to add it.  They will know about it in advance if you do this.  You can also inform onboard, but they if you do it in advance, restaurant will know, stateroom attendant will know, etc.

[colourbird]

13 minutes ago, Shiba_Lover said:

You can add a special occasion yourself in the cruise planner online (in your Celebrity account) if you've booked the cruise yourself.  If you have used a travel agent, just inform them to add it.  They will know about it in advance if you do this.  You can also inform onboard, but they if you do it in advance, restaurant will know, stateroom attendant will know, etc.

 

Thanks for that. I'll let our TA know.

 

We haven't worked out which restaurant we will dine in that night yet, but i'm sure that won't be a problem.

[colourbird]

2 hours ago, Redking said:

Oops, just read the other posts. Supply chain issues seem to be fleet wide. Really no excuse with inventory management systems that are available these days.

 

This must have been a nightmare for the Pacific Adventure which was supposed to sail to New Zealand but ended up heading to Tasmania with all the extra sea days and not being in the expected ports where additional supplies would have been arranged. Not sure what happens if all the fresh fruit, eggs, meat and drinks are waiting in Wellington but the ship is in Hobart.

[cruisingaussies]

2 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

Hope things get sorted out when the Edge arrives in Sydney!

😱 Hope so too!  We’re embark for the Holiday cruise in Sydney.  All you guys currently on board, please don’t drink all the good stuff!! 😉

[Shiba_Lover]

29 minutes ago, colourbird said:

 

Thanks for that. I'll let our TA know.

 

We haven't worked out which restaurant we will dine in that night yet, but i'm sure that won't be a problem.

I think they see it on "you".  So if you have a reservation at a specialty, they will know.  If you check in at Blu, Luminae or MDR with your sea pass (or the specialty) - it pops up and they see it.  They will know at check it, so no worries.  And you can always call the restaurant once onboard and mention it too if you want it to be a surprise.

[Jim_Iain]

12 hours ago, colourbird said:

 

Do you need to let them know about a birthday in a restaurant to get something like this or does it come up on their console? My wife will be celebrating a birthday on the ship in December and i'm not sure if I need to let anyone know in order for her to get a surprise dessert.

 

You can let them know in advance or just let the Restaurant Manager know.    In my case when the Shore side Concierge calls me one of the questions is -  Will you be Celebrating anything during the cruise. 

[Jim_Iain]

11 hours ago, darsura said:

“Continued outages of many of the wines on the Premium Package is apparent every evening.”

 

We had the same experience on the Edge in July.  

 

Iain has been trying to get one of his favorite Chardonnay  a Louis Jardin that has always been on Premium.    They had it in Eden but not Luminae.   For the past 5 days they say they have it on-board but hasn't been unpacked yet.    Iain expressed his displeasure and they sent someone to Eden to get a bottle.  

 

Then at the end of the meal the Sommelier asked for his card and intended to charge him for the bottle instead of being by the Glass.    You don't want to be around when Iain is angry.   He never raises his voice but can be vitreous as a snake.   He was not charged.

[mchell810]

Iain knows when to let his temper loose, .... glad he wasn't charged.

[Jim_Iain]

Last night we turned our clocks forward by 1 hour. 
 

I am up at 7:00 new time and hearing thunder.  
 

[Texed]

Beautiful!  🙂

[CardowMD]

Belated Happy Birthday Jim! Just got home from the 3 day Ascent shake down cruise. Look forward to following this trip of yours!🎈🎂🍾Carole

[Lena11033]

50 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Iain has been trying to get one of his favorite Chardonnay  a Louis Jardin that has always been on Premium.    They had it in Eden but not Luminae.   For the past 5 days they say they have it on-board but hasn't been unpacked yet.    Iain expressed his displeasure and they sent someone to Eden to get a bottle.  

 

Then at the end of the meal the Sommelier asked for his card and intended to charge him for the bottle instead of being by the Glass.    You don't want to be around when Iain is angry.   He never raises his voice but can be vitreous as a snake.   He was not charged.

 

eek sounds like my mum's side of the family (they are from Glasgow). 

I mean my great aunt came down from Glasgow and picked a fight with the British army to get my nan her pension they were refusing to give, my uncle just waited outside as in his words 'it was safer' - my nan ended up getting the pension

[Jim_Iain]

I will try to get caught up and my spread over the next couple of days while at sea.  Next stop Darwin

 

Back to Tuesday evening Dinner

 

 

Some new Items are appearing on this Menu -  Notably Duck Breast and the new cut of beef.

 

Escargot

 

Braised Short Ribs - Yum

 

French Onion Soup

 

Vela Cannelloni -   I warned Iain and David -  they later agreed it was ho-hum

 

Cod Basquaise -   Delicious but was served on the cool  side.   Unusual as most dishes arrive and the plates are so hot you cant touch them

 

Butternut and Swiss Char Lasagna -   Our waiter brought this without request to share by the table.    I would say it was the Star of the evening.

 

 

Citrus Orange Blossom Sponge  - New Item -  Really a home run.

 

Edited November 29, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[daydreamer16]

4 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

Hope things get sorted out when the Edge arrives in Sydney!

I agree, lots of good wines in Australia! We board 3/13