Finally back and trying to get caught up

[ecslady]

Welcome back to the boards.  Can't wait for another one of your live reports.

[Luv2Crus40]

Glad to know you're back and all is well with you and Iain.   Always enjoyed your reviews.  Your June 2019 cruise on the Summit to Bermuda and New England was right after the same cruise for us - so reading your reviews "extended" the trip for us.  Wondered where you had gone for the last year.   We're ready to cruise again with a 12-day Caribbean cruise on Cunard's Queen Mary 2 out of Brooklyn this December and a 9-day cruise on Celebrity Summit out of Bayonne next May.  Luckily we picked cruises we don't have to fly anywhere so we avoided those high air fares.

Bon Voyage on your cruises next Spring. 

[SHIP TRAVELER]

I was worried about you when you disappeared.  Was hoping that you were not one of the tragic stories of the past year.  I know that we have sailed together at least once but you don't know me and I don't know you.  We are just both part of the Cruise Critic family and I knew you were gone.  I am glad you are back at it and with us again.  Welcome home.

[gbphipps]

On 6/30/2021 at 8:33 PM, Jim_Iain said:

It is so nice see all the familiar names.     I have not been on in about a  year.   Covid depression forced me to discontinue reading all the disappointments of cruises cancelled.  

 

We have been waiting to hear how things work out on the first cruises before committing ourselves.      We had about 12 cruises cancelled and is still a mess of what credits were applied and where.    I'll have to call in to Celebrity after the Holiday and see if they can run a report for me.

 

For now I transferred some South American Cruises for 2022 to a B2B2B on Silhouette TA and the next two cruises for March of 2022.   It is incredible how fast the addiction takes over again.      I'm sure we will cruise before then but currently in a wait and see mode.   I'm really enjoying the live posts that are popping up this week, they really help to alley fears of hitting the seas again soon.

 

We are both vaccinated and luckily our county in California is at a 85% vaccination rate so feeling safe enough to stop wearing a mask both inside and out.   I always keep some on hand just in case.  

Hi Jim!

Our best to you and Iain!

We were in the suite next to yours on the Millennium TA WB in Dec 2007.

Always love reading your posts!  We too had so many cruises canceled we are also making up for lost time!

[Jim_Iain]

When the bug bites it really does kick you into gear.    I spent the day working on booking Air flights for April of 2022.    I got a chuckle out of myself that I enjoy the planning almost as much as the cruise itself.

 

At this point air fares in Business Class are really pricey.   Even many of the  airlines have upped their miles required for Business Class.  Here's a couple things I learned.

 

Flights By Celebrity -  at least on my searches.    Prices were the same a booking directly with airline or travel sites   Only advantage is you don't have to pay until final payment.   Disadvantage is after final payment they charge a $200 fee for refundable fares.  The airlines have no cancellation fee on fully refundable fares up to 24-48 hours prior to flight.

 

Finally found what I consider a good deal using Chase Miles direct with Chase.   Instead of transferring them to an airline I was able to book LHR-SFO non-stop on United  for 100,000 points

 

I think I will wait to book hotels.      Embassy Suites, where we usually stay, are currently quoting $375 (including tax) for Advance Purchase

[Jim_Iain]

16 minutes ago, gbphipps said:

Hi Jim!

Our best to you and Iain!

We were in the suite next to yours on the Millennium TA WB in Dec 2007.

Always love reading your posts!  We too had so many cruises canceled we are also making up for lost time!

Wow..... 2007 --- seems so long ago.     Hope we can cruise again in the future.

[Laurab23]

20 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Always look forward to more recommendations.     I listen to about 3-4 hours of e-books daily while on my walks.

I've listened to all the series by

Patricia Cornwell

Kathy Reichs

Jeffery Deaver

 

Someone recommend Simon Beckett and Tess Gerritsen but haven't picked his up yet.

 

I love the Kay Scarpetta series but not crazy about the new Patricia Cornwell novels. 

Edited July 4, 2021 by Laurab23
spelling

[Laurab23]

20 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Is excellent.

 

What about the Memory Man series (David Baldacci)?

 

Harry Bosch and the Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly?

 

Will Trent series by Karin Slaughter ?

 

In Death series by JD Robb/[Nora Roberts] ? 

I love the In Death series.

[silkismom]

I like the Louise Penny mysteries.

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, Laurab23 said:

I love the Kay Scarpetta series but not crazy about the new Patricia Cornwell novels. 

I forgot,   I finished off the Kay Scarpetta  series.   I love her novels.  

[Jim_Iain]

Wow.    Thanks for all the great recommendations on Mystery Series.   I copied all of them to an excel spreadsheet and will start looking for them.  

[dani negreanu]

3 hours ago, silkismom said:

I like the Louise Penny mysteries.

 

New to me. Went to Amazon, she has amazing reviews, will check her out.

 

I'm always on the lookout for new authors, thanks.

[RickT]

Glad to see you back posting…. A few others have disappeared from the forum since Covid and I’ve wondered if they are safe and healthy and just taking a break like you.

[o-state girl]

On 7/4/2021 at 4:48 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Wow.    Thanks for all the great recommendations on Mystery Series.   I copied all of them to an excel spreadsheet and will start looking for them.  

Have you tried the Prey (Lucas Davenport) series by John Sandford?  I think there are a little over 30 novels so far in the series.  

 

If you are interested in learning a little more about the Navajo tribe, the Leaphorn and Chee mysteries by Tony Hillerman are good.  I like them because they are well written mysteries, but they also teach you quite a bit about the cultures of the Navajo tribe and other tribes that surround the Navajo reservation such as the Hopi and Zuni.  

 

Edited July 6, 2021 by o-state girl
Added more information

[Jim_Iain]

10 hours ago, o-state girl said:

Have you tried the Prey (Lucas Davenport) series by John Sandford?  I think there are a little over 30 novels so far in the series.  

 

If you are interested in learning a little more about the Navajo tribe, the Leaphorn and Chee mysteries by Tony Hillerman are good.  I like them because they are well written mysteries, but they also teach you quite a bit about the cultures of the Navajo tribe and other tribes that surround the Navajo reservation such as the Hopi and Zuni.  

 

Wow.those sound incredible.  

 

I do have an interest in the Navajo nation.     My father was removed from the Navajo Reservation as a child and placed for adoption.   At the time our Government in their wisdom took about 1/3 of the children as a way of integrating them  into our White Man county.  His court order also granted him U.S. Citizenship as Indians were not considered a Citizen.                    

[o-state girl]

10 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Wow.those sound incredible.  

 

I do have an interest in the Navajo nation.     My father was removed from the Navajo Reservation as a child and placed for adoption.   At the time our Government in their wisdom took about 1/3 of the children as a way of integrating them  into our White Man county.  His court order also granted him U.S. Citizenship as Indians were not considered a Citizen.                    

There were so many tragic things that many of the indigenous peoples experienced at the hands of the government.  As I have gotten older, I have become so much more aware of how unfairly the tribes were treated.  Being born and raised in Oklahoma, I have come to realize how many things I learned in school were really "white" washed.  I never even heard of the Tulsa Race Massacre until I was in my twenties, and I was raised less than 50 miles from where it occurred.  I live less than 30 miles from the tribal headquarters of the Cherokees, and I really didn't understand the heartbreak of the Trail of Tears until a few years ago.

 

I hope you really enjoy the books.  So glad I could recommend them. 

Edited July 7, 2021 by o-state girl
Added more information

[Jim_Iain]

14 hours ago, o-state girl said:

There were so many tragic things that many of the indigenous peoples experienced at the hands of the government.  As I have gotten older, I have become so much more aware of how unfairly the tribes were treated.  Being born and raised in Oklahoma, I have come to realize how many things I learned in school were really "white" washed.  I never even heard of the Tulsa Race Massacre until I was in my twenties, and I was raised less than 50 miles from where it occurred.  I live less than 30 miles from the tribal headquarters of the Cherokees, and I really didn't understand the heartbreak of the Trail of Tears until a few years ago.

 

I hope you really enjoy the books.  So glad I could recommend them. 

 

Things worked out well for my father.   He was adopted by a Swiss couple and later went on to get  his Masters Degree using  the GI Bill. 

 

The real tragedy (in my opinion) was that because of Genetic DNA I was able to find  his Birth Mother   and a 1/2 brother.   His Mother was White and born in Sacramento.    His father was only 1/4 Indigenous Mexican Indian but is still a mystery.    We have identified his paternal Great Grandmother but still something missing.    How he ended up on the Navajo Reservation is unknown.

[anniedave]

We did our first ever cruise in Jan 2020... ( after 20 months of planning) came back in Feb 2020 having caught the Cruising bug ( travelling not covid!!!) and booked our second one for Feb 2022...then covid hit & I haven't done any planning  and like you stopped reading the boards . In May 2020 I was at home bored and wrote my first & very detailed  review of the Jan 2020 cruise & Post cruise trip  ...you were one of the people who inspired me 😀 and you wrote some nice comments on my review . Welcome back , I am really looking forward to reading your reviews ...and I'm going to start planning my Feb 2022 cruise now too. 

[Mkehlb]

As to books -

Dana Stabenow - Kate Shugak and Liam Campbell series -  both set in AK

Nevada Barr - Anna Pigeon series - she's a National Park Ranger, as was Barr

Daniel Silva - Gabriel Allon series - He's in the Mossad.  International terrorism focus and Interesting       perspectives on Israel

Louise Penny - Inspector Gamache series - generally set in Quebec

 

And, for something a bit different, though there's plenty of mystery, murder and mayhem, the Tudor and Plantagenet novels by Philippa Gregory.

 

Happy reading, and walking!

[jagoffee]

On 7/2/2021 at 4:46 PM, Jim_Iain said:

I've already been working on Air for our April 22 flights.      All I can say is a big Ouch..... with all the non-refundable fares gone.    Maybe they will be back.   Mileage points to the rescue.   The lowest Business class LHR - SFO was $11,000 per person

With Celebrity Air?

 

Edited July 10, 2021 by jagoffee

[Jim_Iain]

16 hours ago, anniedave said:

We did our first ever cruise in Jan 2020... ( after 20 months of planning) came back in Feb 2020 having caught the Cruising bug ( travelling not covid!!!) and booked our second one for Feb 2022...then covid hit & I haven't done any planning  and like you stopped reading the boards . In May 2020 I was at home bored and wrote my first & very detailed  review of the Jan 2020 cruise & Post cruise trip  ...you were one of the people who inspired me 😀 and you wrote some nice comments on my review . Welcome back , I am really looking forward to reading your reviews ...and I'm going to start planning my Feb 2022 cruise now too. 

Good seeing you back.   I remember your first review and enjoyed it immensely.     You are a talented writer and brought your cruise alive.    If you are anything like me you will get the bug back again quickly.     I just subscribed to my Cruise Connections threads and they are starting to come alive again.

 

Currently Celebrity has pulled the plug on registering for a Cruise Connection until 2022 so hopefully we will be able to have a Cruise Connection Party. 

[Jim_Iain]

31 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

With Celebrity Air?

 

Yes Celebrity Air.    At the present time they have Zero fares that were less than I could book directly with airlines.   At this point the only advantage of  booking with them is you do not have to pay until final payment.   The downside  is there are numerous posts of 3-4 hour holds if you need to call Celebrity Air. 

 

I ended up booking our flights using miles.    Right now many of the hotels have really jacked prices up in FLL.  We usually stay at Embassy Suites but they are currently quoting $338 Plus 44 Tax for a total of $382 per night (This is for April 2022).    I'm pretty sure they will drop closer to cruise date but booked a refundable room at Hilton Marina (which many recommend) for $163 plus 52 tax and fees as a place holder.    I was checking and Embassy Suites is currently running about $161 plus tax so they must bump it up for far off bookings.

Edited July 10, 2021 by Jim_Iain

[jagoffee]

50 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Yes Celebrity Air.    At the present time they have Zero fares that were less than I could book directly with airlines.   At this point the only advantage of  booking with them is you do not have to pay until final payment.   The downside  is there are numerous posts of 3-4 hour holds if you need to call Celebrity Air. 

 

I ended up booking our flights using miles.    Right now many of the hotels have really jacked prices up in FLL.  We usually stay at Embassy Suites but they are currently quoting $338 Plus 44 Tax for a total of $382 per night (This is for April 2022).    I'm pretty sure they will drop closer to cruise date but booked a refundable room at Hilton Marina (which many recommend) for $163 plus 52 tax and fees as a place holder.    I was checking and Embassy Suites is currently running about $161 plus tax so they must bump it up for far off bookings.

Thank you for taking the time and providing more details.  Your original reference to all non refundable fares being gone was in reference the Airline’s pricing, correct?  Celebrity Air does not distinguish between refundable and non refundable, correct? I have noticed this with Princess Air, but not with Celebrity Air.

 

The great thing about reward tickets these days (at least AA), you can cancel and redeposit later without any fees.  This is good if you later find an acceptable deal with Celebrity Air.

 

I find that Celebrity Air is easy to use for the initially booking (on line), but requires a phone call to cancel or change a reservation.  I suspect all the airline changes are causing massive increases in call volumes.  
 

The Hilton Marina is our choice of hotel when cruising out of Fort Lauderdale, we like to book a room overlooking the cruise port.  They have a nice outside restaurant and it is a short walk to other places.  As I recall they also have a nice pool, it is close to the water taxi, and it is fun to look around the Marina.  So it is a good back up plan for you.  You may find that you like it even better if you end up using your back up.

 

Best of luck.  Thank you again for the feedback.

[Jim_Iain]

1 minute ago, jagoffee said:

Thank you for taking the time and providing more details.  Your original reference to all non refundable fares being gone was in reference the Airline’s pricing, correct?  Celebrity Air does not distinguish between refundable and non refundable, correct? I have noticed this with Princess Air, but not with Celebrity Air.

 

The great thing about reward tickets these days (at least AA), you can cancel and redeposit later without any fees.  This is good if you later find an acceptable deal with Celebrity Air.

 

I find that Celebrity Air is easy to use for the initially booking (on line), but requires a phone call to cancel or change a reservation.  I suspect all the airline changes are causing massive increases in call volumes.  
 

The Hilton Marina is our choice of hotel when cruising out of Fort Lauderdale, we like to book a room overlooking the cruise port.  They have a nice outside restaurant and it is a short walk to other places.  As I recall they also have a nice pool, it is close to the water taxi, and it is fun to look around the Marina.  So it is a good back up plan for you.  You may find that you like it even better if you end up using your back up.

 

Best of luck.  Thank you again for the feedback.

They do designate whether refundable or not on the pricing screen.    Currently on my routes they do not have any non-refundable listed.    I had heard that for the time being Celebrity had  discontinued them because of Covid.  

 

If you press the button details next to airline and flight it will give you details on baggage allowance, change fees etc.     It also has a button that says "No-Risk" and if you click or hover over it you will see the details.

 

I would be happy with Hilton Marina, but they are currently getting some pretty bad reviews.    I guess they are doing some renovation and Lobby and most of the restaurants and bars are closed.   I'm sure this will be completed before May.    I have read some really good things about the hotel.   The hotel really isn't much of a concern for us as we don't arrive until between 9 PM-Midnight from the west coast  and just crash overnight.

 

[jagoffee]

9 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

They do designate whether refundable or not on the pricing screen.    Currently on my routes they do not have any non-refundable listed.    I had heard that for the time being Celebrity had  discontinued them because of Covid.  

 

If you press the button details next to airline and flight it will give you details on baggage allowance, change fees etc.     It also has a button that says "No-Risk" and if you click or hover over it you will see the details.

 

I would be happy with Hilton Marina, but they are currently getting some pretty bad reviews.    I guess they are doing some renovation and Lobby and most of the restaurants and bars are closed.   I'm sure this will be completed before May.    I have read some really good things about the hotel.   The hotel really isn't much of a concern for us as we don't arrive until between 9 PM-Midnight from the west coast  and just crash overnight.

 

My Air option also does not show any non refundable options. That explains why people mention non refundable sometimes. (Past bookings)

 

The above statement concerning the air fare being fully refundable outside of the final payment is interesting.  I suppose some people make the payment before it is due.  I have made the final payment for my October 10th cruise.  Since Celebrity states the final payment is not due until July 12, this would mean I can still cancel my Air for a full refund?  Also the Risk Free statements implies that for a $200 fee I can get a full cash refund until the day of my flight?  This is also a pretty good deal.  If I find a flight that is significantly more than $200 less, I could theoretically take advantage of this saving?

 

Am I understanding this correctly?

 

I appreciate you taking the time helping me to gain a full understanding.