Jim_Iain - B2B Sydney - Honolulu - Vancouver

[ncgolferette]

Jim

I cruised Oceania last summer - Tokyo to San Francisco.  Prince Rupert was one of the ports home.  O offers a boat excursion to a wilderness area which is a refuge for the Kodiak bears.  It was an absolutely amazing experience and if you get the chance I would highly recommend it.  It will probably be crazy because the salmon should still be running.  The excursion fills up fast.

In ketchikan O uses a dock that NCL has built away from the town and provides a shuttle.  The shuttle drops you off in the northern part of town still a walk .  Know you are a walker but thought I would still mention this to you. 

[Lastdance]

Thanks Jim for sharing lots of information about your upcoming trips and Zenith, along with everything else!  Your information is very valuable!

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, ncgolferette said:

Jim

 

In ketchikan O uses a dock that NCL has built away from the town and provides a shuttle.  The shuttle drops you off in the northern part of town still a walk .  Know you are a walker but thought I would still mention this to you. 

Since Oceania and NCL are own by the same same holding company it makes sense for them to use the dock 😉😁

[Mike981]

4 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Since Oceania and NCL are own by the same same holding company it makes sense for them to use the dock 😉😁

 

I forgot about that, thank you for reminding me.

Edited April 23 by Mike981

[billc23]

20 hours ago, Lastdance said:

 

My DH wants to know how much money one has to spend to make Zenith?  He has no idea about these things, but he is curious about the spend to get cake, flowers and a private ceremony?  I told him no worries, as it is just a couple hundred thousand + or so.  He seemed pleased with my answer🤷‍♀️

He then asked me how many points we had and was surprised!  Just give him the gym and he is happy.

I'm a new Zenith member and prior to Covid was elite with around 500 points. Since the post covid restart we spent around $380,000 with Celebrity staying in upper suites - usually PH at 18 points per night. We will end up with 3726 points when we complete our current B4B on the Solstice. So, if you are starting with zero points, then $190,000 per person would bring one to Zenith status by staying in upper suites. Staying in other cabin would take more days and I am not sure if the cost would be more or less.

 

We enjoyed our Zenith celebration on this cruise but achieving the status was nothing we sought out and it will not make a material difference in our bookings. We are willing to pay the price asked for our travels and expect an excellent experience. Celebrity has disappointed us with small nickel and dime changes prompting us to try other cruise lines and we were pleasantly surprised. Our future bookings are all on other lines for the remainder of 2024 until Spring of 2026 - we will need to add in our free cruise for achieving Zenith. If these sailings were on Celebrity we would be well into double Zenith. I need to thank Celebrity for small irritations - like up charging $2.40 for a glass of wine - that caused me to look elsewhere and realize there are many great options for cruising. I was so comfortable booking Celebrity that I never would have considered trying other cruise line and I thank them for giving me a nudge.

[Jim_Iain]

Yes they have 

 

[Jim_Iain]

11 hours ago, vickykay said:

Jim, will you be posting a “live from” thread on Oceania?  Let us know on this celebrity site so we can follow along.  Date?  Thanks.

 

Yes.   I will probably do a Comparison of Oceania to Celebrity.   I'm a little reluctant to do it on the Oceania thread as I don't want to be a rude guest.   There are very few long Live Posts on their thread.

 

[Jim_Iain]

8 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

@Jim_Iain, we would love to hear about your Oceania experience as well.  We are considering a couple of their cruises in cooler climates.  😀😎😀

 

Definitely will be posting .     That is also one reason I started our Facebook channel -

 

Right after our Oceania in September we will be doing another  interesting itinerary.

 

October East TransAtlantic on Cunard to Southampton - 5 days at our favorite AirBnB in Lymington (where we rode out Covid) with a road trip to Scotland.   We will be completing the journey with a TransAtlantic on Equinox back to Florida. 

[Jim_Iain]

19 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Thanks.  I will take you up on that.  I will also speak with the Retreat Concierge's and ask if they have had any feedback from guest dining in Tuscan. 

 

 

 

 This is pretty much what happened to us on our last cruise when we dined in Tuscan.  Ordered the filet, was not as good as the one I had the night before or a couple of days later is Luminae. Service was spotty.  Best part was the waiter did recommend a nice wine to go with the food. 

 

 

 

Jim,

 Thanks.  Unless I get some negative feedback when I inquire on the ship I'd like to give it another go.  Now to look at the Luminae menu and pick a night with the fewest items we do not really like.  

 

 

We have been eating light and trying things we have never tried before.   Last time we just had the Soups --- I had White Bean and Iain had the Minestrone.    I've had both in the past but think Minestrone is better.     Instead of a big dinner we had the Pizetta.     

 

We were dining wit h Bill and Linda -   It was Linda's second Birthday.  They brought out a beautiful angelfood and strawberry cake to top off the evning.  

 

We are back off to Tuscan tonight.... Will update later.   We rarely order steaks as I fell I can cook a better steak than any restaurant.     I use to work the grills in a steak house when in University. 

[Josie201]

43 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Definitely will be posting .     That is also one reason I started our Facebook channel -

 

Right after our Oceania in September we will be doing another  interesting itinerary.

 

October East TransAtlantic on Cunard to Southampton - 5 days at our favorite AirBnB in Lymington (where we rode out Covid) with a road trip to Scotland.   We will be completing the journey with a TransAtlantic on Equinox back to Florida. 

Have your plans changed Jim or did you mean to say Silhouette back to Florida ?  

[Lena11033]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Yes they have 

 

 

Yum - but then I eat Marmite as well as Vegemite

[cruzzzinma]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

October East TransAtlantic on Cunard to Southampton - 5 days at our favorite AirBnB in Lymington (where we rode out Covid) with a road trip to Scotland.   We will be completing the journey with a TransAtlantic on Equinox back to Florida. 

Impressive planning! In 2018, we did a Cunard crossing, followed by an Iceland Ireland cruise and an Ireland land tour but we had to fly back.

[LisaLeone]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Yes.   I will probably do a Comparison of Oceania to Celebrity.   I'm a little reluctant to do it on the Oceania thread as I don't want to be a rude guest.   There are very few long Live Posts on their thread.

 

Would it be rude? Folks have the option to read or to skip and, as you are both a savvy traveler and an excellent writer, I'm sure many would enjoy.

[Jim_Iain]

14 hours ago, ncgolferette said:

Jim

I cruised Oceania last summer - Tokyo to San Francisco.  Prince Rupert was one of the ports home.  O offers a boat excursion to a wilderness area which is a refuge for the Kodiak bears.  It was an absolutely amazing experience and if you get the chance I would highly recommend it.  It will probably be crazy because the salmon should still be running.  The excursion fills up fast.

In ketchikan O uses a dock that NCL has built away from the town and provides a shuttle.  The shuttle drops you off in the northern part of town still a walk .  Know you are a walker but thought I would still mention this to you. 

 

I think we have that one booked.    With their new pricing we have a OBC that can only be used on excursions.    We booked our once they became available.      Really looking forward to see Alaska from a smaller ship.   I suspect the inland passage will be a real treat.

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, Josie201 said:

Have your plans changed Jim or did you mean to say Silhouette back to Florida ?  

 

 

I need to hire you as my social secretary.   You are of course correct -- Silhouette in November 16 from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale.    

 

In 2025 will be Equinox Nov 21 to Buenos Aires --- That one is really going to be an interesting trip.  Triple hitter --- Cunard, Oceania and the Celebrity.   That should be an interesting comparison.

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, Lena11033 said:

 

Yum - but then I eat Marmite as well as Vegemite

 

 I notice the had  smaller jar of Marmite to the right of the Big Jar of Vegemite.    I've never acquired a taste for it. 

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, cruzzzinma said:

Impressive planning! In 2018, we did a Cunard crossing, followed by an Iceland Ireland cruise and an Ireland land tour but we had to fly back.

 

How different was Cunard.   I hear some gripes but we enjoy dressing for dinner so should not be a big issue for us.   It is very close to the price of flying Business Class -   I booked it on a Christmas Sale for $8,000 in Queens Grill.      I am guessing the room is in-between a Sky Suite and a Celebrity. 

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, LisaLeone said:

Would it be rude? Folks have the option to read or to skip and, as you are both a savvy traveler and an excellent writer, I'm sure many would enjoy.

 

I guess not... I started reading a long Oceania live today.   I haven't been on that thread since this trip began.   I've only made it through page one when Lunch time hit.

 

Celebrity has rolled out their new menus on Solstice and really enjoy some of the new items but o course miss some of our favorites that are now gone.  

 

Today I had a nicely constructed Mediterranean Turkey Club Sandwich - Slow roasted Turkey, herded Focaccia, Fontina Cheese, charred Broccoli Rabe, and calabrian pepper ailoli    f   In my opinion --- too much bread in the Bread and I had it open face instead.

[Jim_Iain]

Another lazy day at sea.   Did a bit of gambling and turned $20 into $150.    Tonight will be the last chance to spend OBC.  Casino's and shops will be closed as we will be arriving into Honolulu.  

 

They revised Immigration pans and will still be done on-board but will begin at 8:30 instead of 8:00.   I can assure you we will not be first on line.    It is very civilized and you can go any time between 8;30 - 11:00.    Excursions will be brought through as a group to prevent strays. 

 

In Retreat they will have a separate line and the Concierge will escort you to the front of the line if an lines exist.    I believe they will have similar meeting places for Elite and above as well as Concierge Class.    Hmmm... that doesn't leave many other's does it.

[abbydancer2003]

4 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I guess not... I started reading a long Oceania live today.   I haven't been on that thread since this trip began.   I've only made it through page one when Lunch time hit.

 

Celebrity has rolled out their new menus on Solstice and really enjoy some of the new items but o course miss some of our favorites that are now gone.  

 

Today I had a nicely constructed Mediterranean Turkey Club Sandwich - Slow roasted Turkey, herded Focaccia, Fontina Cheese, charred Broccoli Rabe, and calabrian pepper ailoli    f   In my opinion --- too much bread in the Bread and I had it open face instead.

Glen took the broccoli out.  Lately, he's just been having appetizer and main, and me just appetizer and dessert.  There only so many 3 course meals you can eat.

[chemmo]

5 hours ago, abbydancer2003 said:

Glen took the broccoli out.  Lately, he's just been having appetizer and main, and me just appetizer and dessert.  There only so many 3 course meals you can eat.

My husband used to call it the law of diminishing appetite….The longer the cruise the less we seemed to eat daily. After our longest cruise on our flight home my husband and son were discussing what food they had missed/were looking forward to as they returned home…Home made veggie soup won!

[hcat]

7 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

How different was Cunard.   I hear some gripes but we enjoy dressing for dinner so should not be a big issue for us.   It is very close to the price of flying Business Class -   I booked it on a Christmas Sale for $8,000 in Queens Grill.      I am guessing the room is in-between a Sky Suite and a Celebrity. 

You are really going to be cruise hopping!  We are  interested in the Cunard leg..Which ship will you be taking.?

 

We took a short cruise on QM2 up to Canada, some years ago,  and enjoyed it.  We had .great meals for dinner ( not in the Grills), and we loved the tavern for lunch.  The  once per cruise afternoon tea was a treat. We met very interesting  people on board...most from  US.

 

  The shows had top talent...and they had classical music on board..Ian will enjoy.  The planetarium and library were very nice and the downstairs club was quite lively..

 

Hope we can follow that leg here   

Edited April 24 by hcat

[Essiesmom]

2 hours ago, chemmo said:

My husband used to call it the law of diminishing appetite….The longer the cruise the less we seemed to eat daily. After our longest cruise on our flight home my husband and son were discussing what food they had missed/were looking forward to as they returned home…Home made veggie soup won!

The last few cruises with my sister, on the way home I would suggest…Sloppy Joe - in our family that was what we called hamburger barbecue.  Somehow, that’s what I had a taste for after cruising.  EM

[hcat]

6 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

The last few cruises with my sister, on the way home I would suggest…Sloppy Joe - in our family that was what we called hamburger barbecue.  Somehow, that’s what I had a taste for after cruising.  EM

we always want NY pizza

[cluso]

On 4/22/2024 at 9:09 PM, Jim_Iain said:

 

Next up is something new for us.      September 14

 

Oceania Cruises --- 12 night Alaska and Canada.    We wanted to try and have booked two cruises with them this year.  

 

 

We will be on that cruise too, our first Oceania (although we have been on 4 "R" ships in the past.  Just booked another Oceania, "Canadian Connoisseur" Montreal to Boston October 16-27, 2025.  Mostly Canadian ports.  Tired of the Caribbean and also long flights over the ponds.