Jim_Iain

For this trip I ended up booking Coach on United because we are Million Mile Travelers which gives us Gold Status for Life and allows us to select seating in the Premium regardless of what we pay. I was able to snag two adjacent Isle seats on the Exit row which actually gives one more leg room than in Domestic First Class. For the return home, I was able to get a good First Class far from Toronto to SJC on Delta. In the SF Bay area we have 3 major airports. We live about 15 minutes from SJC and it is so much easier airport than San Francisco.

After booking our cruise the next task was to nail down our air reservations. As we all know prices have really increased over the past year. I normally use Google Flights as a good research tool. The site doesn't sell but directs to the least expensive booking sites. They also have a flight price tracking took that both graphs the prices and send alerts but also recommend when you should purchase. Many believe air rates are stable but in reality they can change daily and at times hourly. I'll post an example of a Business Class Sydney to SFO I was tracking for an upcoming cruise in November / December. Luckily I purchased before it took a big jump. The arrow on top right indicates prices are currently raising.

Wanted to give a big shout out to @AussieBoyTX who is currently on Le Ponant and live posting an incredible sailing to the Southern Kimberley's. Now that is a UNIQUE cruise. He has been incredible patient in answering all my questions while considering and booking our first Ponant cruise.

Maybe some of the Ponant members can answer a question about the TV's. Do they have HDMI ports and are they unlocked so you can connect a device or laptop to them? Ok ... Ok.... your going to learn I'm a real techo nerd from Silicon Valley. Iain often complains I bring more electronics than clothing. I did read that our stateroom has Blue Tooth Speaker so will be one thing I don't need to pack.

My taste are probably more like you and prefer Crispy Thin Crust - oops --- I hope I don't start a debate on Thick vs Thin Crispy pizza. I've put the museum on my list.

Thanks much for the information. I fully understand the North American may be totally different than the more exotic cruise but hope the infrastructure, food, entertainment and curators are as interesting. I definitely read you Live Post and really learned so much from you. It really was helpful. I said earlier that French Food is one of my favorite and your posts of the Menus and pictures of the meals were priceless. You are of course a fantastic photographer and blogger as well and have head many of your blogs. Take a look at her great Live Post, you won't be disappointed.

That was my main concern but I'm sure we will survive. I am also addicted to Audio Books and listen to them on my 3+ hour walks. As long as they have good Coffee on the ship I will survive.

Thanks for the comparison. I'm sure the size of the ship will be interesting to get used to. My main quandary is how I'll be able to get 10 miles walking in. There doesn't appear to be walking / jogging track and the Gym is TINY.

Thanks for joining along. We always take the summer off from cruising during the summer. The passenger loads and number of children traveling makes the summer cruises a negative for us. Don't get me wrong, I love children and we have 3 kids and 5 Grandchildren, but on vacation we enjoy quieter and longer cruises.

Not that i'm addicted to travel planning, I believe I have watched every video that YouTube has on offer. He really does a nice review. I was watching a couple recently on Le Bellot cruise out of London under the Tower Bridge. Definitely something a regular cruise could never do.

Wow... so sorry to hear of the bad experience. It is really a shame that even if a "one off" that things that the Staff didn't recognize the failure earlier in the cruise and put corrective actions in place. One poor cruise can really taint our feelings. We had a really bad experience on Reflections when she first launched and have refused to sail her since. I'll just say Luminae was running the Maitre'd instead of the opposite. I read so many good reviews of her now, but that one experienced her has soured us.

Interesting and a good perspective.

Just a little correct. We are on Le Bellot. Le Ponantwould be a total different experience, Le Ponant is 3 Mast - 16 Stateroom Sailing Ship. Someone is currently doing a live post from her from Australia right now. I've been following Le Bellot on CruiseMapper and she overnighted in your lovely city of Quebec. All of the Ponant ships have live webcams and I was enjoying seeing the views coming into Montreal and the views of the city from the ship. She has departed and in is on her last leg of the Reykajavik to Toronto cruise. Tomorrow she will begin the mirror image of our cruise to Milwaukee. The one thing we missed on our Boston - New England and Canada cruise was we could only make it as far as Quebec. Would really have loved to continue onto Montreal but as you said - You can't pass beyond Quebec in larger ships.

I really think you will enjoy the Canal crossing. There is so much to see and they usually have a docent aboard to curate the crossing

Thanks --- I agree with summary of the CS. While some hate it on the M-Class ships due to the total darkness of the bedroom and the height of the bath tub, It is one of our favorite Ships. We started booking them when there wasn't as much demand for them as they had no balcony or outside space. They added the balconies and in my opinion really increased the desirability of the suite.

Wow... thanks for all the great information. I think I may be ok with my Phone. I have T-Mobile and the free roaming in Canada at 5 G and about 198 other counties at a bit slower. The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island has a very special place in my heart. "Somewhere in Time" was filmed there and without going into details I have a very strong attraction to film. My first love use to play the soundtrack for me every night to fall asleep to. He passed away 40 years ago.

Thanks --- I was really tempted but decided to hold off until we see if Ponant is a match. It really looks like a nice room.

Will take a look. I found one of about the same number of days - off the top of my head can't remember the cruise line but a B2B with the first being from Cape Town up the West Coast and then a TA to either Buenos Aires or Rio. I thing Singapore is out --- We are doing Singapore to Sydney and NZ in November / December and then flying back to Sydney for the TP Sydney to Vancouver in March. Will probably try something with shorter flight times. The Business Class air is really obscene but can't imagine doing it in Coach...

Sounds like a deal. I told Iain we should do one and get two rooms and use one as our Living Room and Second Bath. Perfect for when he snores.

Actually staying at Residents Inn - N Plankington Ave. We are long distance walker and I walk 10 miles a day so anything within 4-5 miles one way is on target. I think the Lighthouse is about 1.5 miles. Looks like a nice property. We really enjoy a 2 room suite with kitchen facilities even if we don't cook. Looks like a nice Property

Thanks much. No need to search I will check their website.

Thanks for the recommendations. I have a neighbor that was telling me he use to live there and said he found the Pizza in Milwaukee incredible - I really enjoy German cuisine so will definitely take a look. The menu looks incredible but look like HUGE portions.

Thanks for following along Laura.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/future-cruise-credit Take a read - the box on the Left say that if you use the FCC to book you can book without a deposit. Never done it before. I usually just apply it to an existing reservation at Final Payment Date.

They put little iron on stickers with you room number. They use to always put them on the collar of my T-Shirts and Regular Shirts and would be itchy If I didn't peel them off. On my last couple cruises they have been putting them on shirt tails.