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

[jelayne]

5 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I asked our Butler.   He said he came aboard in Marseille and sailed first leg with the other Edge Captain - (he told me the name and one of the Greek Captains. but don't remember which)    The other Left in Abu Dhabi and Captain Matt is the only Captain aboard.   Not sure Which one was the Official Captain on the First Leg. 

If I remember correctly Captain Matt made all the announcements after day 1 or 2 and was the Captain for all events/appearances.  

[Jim_Iain]

15 hours ago, Smmessineo said:

Happy birthday, Jim !

And thanks for sharing your story. 

My brother and his husband have been together for 50 years.  What they have lived through, as individuals, as a couple ,  with their friends and within their community....

I have learned a lot about love and strength from them. 

Jim and Iain, A perfect match ❤

 

Yea it's an incredible Journey.   Iain just told me he had a dream about his Ex of 12 years.  It was funny because I also knew his ex- and was actually better friends with his ex- than Iain.   I told him I had a dream about him while out over the Pacific -   He did some googling and found he had died in April of this year.   I think I'm more upset than.

 

Iain and I didn't plan on falling in love but were both in a relationship that had died but just hadn't been buried.    One day we met for lunch and he told me we needed to cut off our friendship....    I asked why -   He said he had fallen in love with me  and didn't want to destroy Sam and My relationship...     I professed I had also fallen in love - 

 

Believe it or not there had never been a tawdry thirst on the side.   We both hugged and then said OH ***** what do we do now? 

 

OK we didn't do  Romeo and Juliet and drink poison -   That was when I told him I couldn't get in a relationship for 6 months.   After I left Sam - I needed time to be alone.     I had never NOT been in a relationship with someone.  My Wife, Room Mates and then a couple relationships

[Jim_Iain]

15 hours ago, Lastdance said:

As one ages, birthdays become even more special(you can’t live without them,)

so... Happy Birthday, Jim!  My aunt lived to be 98; she said the reason she lived so long was because she always ate her dessert first!  Also, like the word dessert, there were two S’s, therefore two desserts.  She was a character!   What does this crystal ball have in store for you besides a wonderful long cruise? 

 

Your Aunt is my type of Lady.    I always check the desert menu first and then decide what I'm having for dinner.   

 

Iain had a wonderful Aunt Isa -  Her Scotch was so strong when I met her first I would  just smile and nod.    After a weeks visit - she looked at me and said you can't understand a word I'm saying aren't you.   I laughed and said all you need to do is spit that mouth of mashed potatoes out.

 

She flew to America every year for 2 months to stay with us until 92 and said even in a wheel chair I just get too anxious fling alone.

 

Since Iain stayed at our place in SF during the week Isa and I were on our own for 5 days every week.   She loved going out to party, dancing and dining.   You can imagine after 34 years how close we were.   She helped so my with our kids -   especially when Alison my youngest went through a Bone Marrow Transplant.    To anyone that we knew  She was Just Aunt Isa.  No one would dare just call her Isa.

 

As I sit her writing I'm remembering how she Loved a Gin and Tonic or Cognac

 

My wish on the Magic Ball is to live a live as happy and care free as Aunt Isa.   We will lift a toast to her tonight.

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

12 hours ago, abbydancer said:

I've been out and about all day today, but happy birthday.

And they did make some tweaks to the first day lunch in Luminae.  They used to have English Pea soup (which I like a lot) and now it's borsch, which my mother loved, but I hate.

 

 

I enjoy the English Pea Soup and it is one Iain's Favorites.    He usually just has a bowl of soup for dinner. 

 

Don't say Borsch in the same sentence with English Pea ----- you know I hate Beets....  Yuck .... Spit...

 

[Jim_Iain]

10 hours ago, DUTRAVEL said:

Sending birthday hugs and kisses from your girl Henrietta.

 

Dianne

 

I wish I had some treats for Henrietta -   I could use a big hug from her... and you of course.

[Jim_Iain]

10 hours ago, bluwes said:

Happy Birthday Jim. I’ve never sailed with an actual birthday  on board ship . We’ve just booked an ABC islands sailing for April 2025 on the Reflection and   I’ll actually pass 70th birthday while on board. As well as celebrating a special birthday it’s an itinerary we had booked in 2020 that was cancelled just before sailing owing to the Pandemic. Really looking forward to it now.

 

Congratulations --- so many dreams disappeared due to Covid.   Go for it.  Party hardy.

 

 I need to do a possible Caribbean booking.    Iain needs to have Cataract surgery and just found out that they had an opening on 1/2/24 -  Grabbed it -   Iain needs to go to USVI.  

 

He needs a cruise there once a year to replenish Cigarettes -  5 X Duty  allowance each. 

[Jim_Iain]

10 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Happy Birthday Jim, great way to celebrate on a cruise ship. We did our last 2 Anniversaries on a Celebrity cruise, so far no birthdays.

 

Have you been able to confirm that the full-service bar in the Retreat lounge did not happen in dry docking last month? It a shame that it didn't get done as we were told by the Retreat manager on the Apex in September. 

 

We got a great Black Friday present from American Airlines when they sent me an offer to upgrade our LAX flight to Sydney in January to Business Class for only $1200pp. Previously their best offer was $2800pp. After reading your posts we are even more excited about our Jan 13th B2B cruise on the Edge.

 

Now that's a deal Terry -   I'm sure you took that offer and sent to me as a birthday gift!

 

Thank goodness for the deal.    I can't imagine doing that flight except in Business. 

 

I'm not sure if I mentioned.    We are doing the Solstice Repositioning in April from Sydney to Vancouver.    You know the prices if you have been shopping.    I bought a Sydney - SFO return in Australian $ on a special from Chase Reserve Travel.   Was able to use points for me and got Iain's at about $5,200 RT.     I thought it was pretty good. 

 

I think after that trip we are done with Asia for awhile.  ----  3 TP's in that short of a period is suicide.

[Jim_Iain]

10 hours ago, Rocky4 said:

Happy Birthday Jim!  How do like Giuseppe as your Cruise Director?

 

So far no interaction -  you forget we are very boring.    We rarely participate in all those hundreds of activities.    I enjoyed seeing him  at the Neptune Party -  they dumped everything in the house on him.

 

He does have a great personality and sure we will interact with him over the next 3 1/2 weeks.

 

[Jim_Iain]

9 hours ago, hcat said:

 

Birthdays on Board are great!

Esp when its in Cruise season.

Enjoy your big b- day on board!

You'll be a Star!

Will do mine on Ascent!

 

 

What's Cruise Season ?    We are weird -  we usually would only sail in Caribbean between July-August.  

 

Ascent looks Beautiful.

[Jim_Iain]

9 hours ago, Purplsmurf said:

Happy birthday! Hope you have had a fabulous day! I celebrated my birthday on board for the first time 2 years ago and decided to do it again this year. Heading out in a couple of weeks. Keep having a great time!

 

Make it a tradition.   Then start pretending you have birthdays a couple more times a year. 

[Jim_Iain]

8 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

 

Love. Those. Almond. Croissants. !!!!!!!

 

Oh, and Happy Birthday. My wife and I celebrated our birthday (yes, we have the same birthday) onboard Jewel of the Seas in Honnisvag, Norway this past June. Only bithday I have ever had with no sunset !
 

 

mac_tlc

 

Similar -- My Ex-Wife was 3 days older than I and her new husband's birthday is a day before mine.    

 

How did you like Jewel?    We only have 3 cruises booked on celebrity after this.   Once the cat's out of the bag -   we will never sail exclusively on any line.

[Stem to Stern]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I love all of your Avatar's You will have to teach me how you create them

 

Thanks.  Bitmoji.  

Just search for it in the App Store.

It is a free app and very simple.

There are other fancier ones, I think.

 

 

[hcat]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Your Aunt is my type of Lady.    I always check the desert menu first and then decide what I'm having for dinner.   

 

Iain had a wonderful Aunt Isa -  Her Scotch was so strong when I met her first I would  just smile and nod.    After a weeks visit - she looked at me and said you can't understand a word I'm saying aren't you.   I laughed and said all you need to do is spit that mouth of mashed potatoes out.

 

She flew to America every year for 2 months to stay with us until 92 and said even in a wheel chair I just get too anxious fling alone.

 

Since Iain stayed at our place in SF during the week Isa and I were on our own for 5 days every week.   She loved going out to party, dancing and dining.   You can imagine after 34 years how close we were.   She helped so my with our kids -   especially when Alison my youngest went through a Bone Marrow Transplant.    To anyone that we knew  She was Just Aunt Isa.  No one would dare just call her Isa.

 

As I sit her writing I'm remembering how she Loved a Gin and Tonic or Cognac

 

My wish on the Magic Ball is to live a live as happy and care free as Aunt Isa.   We will lift a toast to her tonight.

 

 

Beautiful  memories!

[kabmab]

Happy belated birthday Jim!  Hope you and Iain are having the best cruise!  My BD is November 24 and since it's near Thanksgiving we never have cruised over it.  But we frequently cruise (2024 included) over DH's BD which is Jan. 11.  Many thanks for your comprehensive posting!

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Now that's a deal Terry -   I'm sure you took that offer and sent to me as a birthday gift!

 

Thank goodness for the deal.    I can't imagine doing that flight except in Business. 

 

I'm not sure if I mentioned.    We are doing the Solstice Repositioning in April from Sydney to Vancouver.    You know the prices if you have been shopping.    I bought a Sydney - SFO return in Australian $ on a special from Chase Reserve Travel.   Was able to use points for me and got Iain's at about $5,200 RT.     I thought it was pretty good. 

 

I think after that trip we are done with Asia for awhile.  ----  3 TP's in that short of a period is suicide.

Prices to Australia have been crazy all over the place for BC, I saw Qantas Rt from DFW to SYD one time over $20K pp. Now most are between $10 - $12K pp.

[hcat]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

What's Cruise Season ?    We are weird -  we usually would only sail in Caribbean between July-August.  

 

Ascent looks Beautiful.

Cruise season for us is non hurricane season  E Coast US/ Canada, Bermuda  Carib and Mex ..and non rainy season elsewhere.  Went through a near miss hurricane in Antigua in Nov one yr..scary. They told us to stay in our room and gave out candles!

 

We try to avoid chilly weather in Bermuda and Bahamas. And we  prefer cruising from our  Fl base..That avoids all past snow and ice storm stress we used to go through  2x each winter...

 

  We  now stick closer to home than you do.  Have cruised from Barcelona and Cv  Italy.   We hate to fly, have a modest budget,  and  are enjoying more seasonal  time in Paradise ... Venice/ Sarasota,  W Coast Fl.. Summers on LI NY where we live,  as you know,  are the best..love my garden!

 

Our Princess GB Cruise was canx when our dtr  got very sick and we never got back to that....maybe some day!

 

We.have been considering Iceland and  Greenland  but we'll see what develops with situation in Iceland. Sal would like a historic river cruise on the Mississippi...

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2023 by hcat

[hcat]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Similar -- My Ex-Wife was 3 days older than I and her new husband's birthday is a day before mine.    

 

How did you like Jewel?    We only have 3 cruises booked on celebrity after this.   Once the cat's out of the bag -   we will never sail exclusively on any line.

would also like an update on Jewel..used to be a family favorite !

[mac_tlc]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Similar -- My Ex-Wife was 3 days older than I and her new husband's birthday is a day before mine.    

 

How did you like Jewel?    We only have 3 cruises booked on celebrity after this.   Once the cat's out of the bag -   we will never sail exclusively on any line.

For the fjord itinerary, Jewel was a good size. We had an aft veranda and that was the highlight. It was in decent shape for her age. The MDR was ok —- you can really see/feel the cuts Royal has made there. Some of those 2025 Apex itineraries are very tempting. 
 

We agree. We will always look around now, may end up on X, maybe not. Looking at Viking too but something isn’t clicking with me… can’t put my finger on it.. maybe payment policy? Wheelchair policy ( at least as their words state).

 

Looking forward to your Cunard experience. My wife would like them I think. I love the alternative to flying to or from Europe, since we are 90 miles from NYC. 

 

mac_tlc

Edited November 27, 2023 by mac_tlc

[MarKay525]

Happy belated Birthday Jim - hope your cruise continues to be exceptionally wonderful. 

 

Thanks for the video!

Kay

[Purplsmurf]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Make it a tradition.   Then start pretending you have birthdays a couple more times a year. 

We do have 3 more booked for 2024 😂 along with our land vacay to Aruba in January/February. My husband tells me that he will have to work until he is 80 to keep up with my vacations. Hopefully he will retire in a few years and then I can do the cruises that I really want to do!

[JackE]

11 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

How is she?    I am way behind on reading the Live Posts....

The Ascent is quite beautiful! But everyone can read all about it in @Georgia_Peaches excellent live review!  
 

In my opinion, Celebrity has improved on the Edge class series of ships with this newest entry. We have sailed on the Edge and Apex, but not the Beyond. As we are sailing in a Sunset Suite, we’ve had the great fortune of experiencing Luminae and the Retreat areas, which are incredibly well-appointed and stunning. Luminae on this ship, we are told, holds another 40 guests, as there are more suites on board. The restaurant now curves around the front of the ship, offering great views outside the floor to ceiling windows.
 

The outside Retreat area is now on two decks, with lots more seating and shaded areas. The Retreat lounge is spacious, with the outside seating area now incorporated into the main inside area. 
 

Our Retreat host (aka our room steward) has been very accommodating and has asked a few times about what he can do for us. We don’t need much, but it’s nice to be asked! We have not even met the head of the “Butler team”.

 

This is our first time in the Sunset Suites, and you certainly get your steps in! The regular Sky Suites have better storage but we’re enjoying the new room. 

[Jim_Iain]

9 hours ago, hcat said:

Cruise season for us is non hurricane season  E Coast US/ Canada, Bermuda  Carib and Mex ..and non rainy season elsewhere.  Went through a near miss hurricane in Antigua in Nov one yr..scary. They told us to stay in our room and gave out candles!

 

We try to avoid chilly weather in Bermuda and Bahamas. And we  prefer cruising from our  Fl base..That avoids all past snow and ice storm stress we used to go through  2x each winter...

 

  We  now stick closer to home than you do.  Have cruised from Barcelona and Cv  Italy.   We hate to fly, have a modest budget,  and  are enjoying more seasonal  time in Paradise ... Venice/ Sarasota,  W Coast Fl.. Summers on LI NY where we live,  as you know,  are the best..love my garden!

 

Our Princess GB Cruise was canx when our dtr  got very sick and we never got back to that....maybe some day!

 

We.have been considering Iceland and  Greenland  but we'll see what develops with situation in Iceland. Sal would like a historic river cruise on the Mississippi...

 

 

 

 

Gotcha -   Living in California is a different story.    We can grab a flight to London or Frandfurt in almost the same time or shorter than getting to Florida due to flight time plus connections.   We did however love the California Coastal - but ... none in 2024

[Jim_Iain]

9 hours ago, kabmab said:

Happy belated birthday Jim!  Hope you and Iain are having the best cruise!  My BD is November 24 and since it's near Thanksgiving we never have cruised over it.  But we frequently cruise (2024 included) over DH's BD which is Jan. 11.  Many thanks for your comprehensive posting!

It's incredible how many on this cruise have birthday in that 7 day spread.

[Jim_Iain]

9 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

For the fjord itinerary, Jewel was a good size. We had an aft veranda and that was the highlight. It was in decent shape for her age. The MDR was ok —- you can really see/feel the cuts Royal has made there. Some of those 2025 Apex itineraries are very tempting. 
 

We agree. We will always look around now, may end up on X, maybe not. Looking at Viking too but something isn’t clicking with me… can’t put my finger on it.. maybe payment policy? Wheelchair policy ( at least as their words state).

 

Looking forward to your Cunard experience. My wife would like them I think. I love the alternative to flying to or from Europe, since we are 90 miles from NYC. 

 

mac_tlc

 

Hate to admit it as it is a year away but I'm really excited about it. 

 

QM2 just came out of 3 week Dry Dock and they also installed Starlink and the speeds being reported are in th 50 mps.    Curious to see if they throttle it like Celebrity did.

 

[Jim_Iain]

Up early this time but this time due to Getting a Scam Call from China at 5:30 AM and then just couldn't fall back to sleep    Wish Apple allowed blocking all calls from a certain Country code.