Jim_Iain

Luckily my agent starts sending me reminders around 3 weeks out. I usually pay a week before the cruise. If my CC just billed I usually just go ahead and pay.

One update. I checked the Living Room TV and it does not have the buttons.

Solstice has not gone through revolution and does have the basketball / tennis / pinball courts.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Interesting to read you perspective. We all experience a cruise in a different way and enjoy life differently. We have sailed Celebrity exclusively for 23 years in upper suite and so looking forward to our First Oceania Cruise in September. Even though we hit Double Zenith on the cruise we are now on - Since January I have booked 1 Celebrity, 2 Oceania, 2 Silversea and 2 Cunard Even though we have not sailed Oceania yet I really believe they will be our new cruise line of choice, mostly due to the warmth of the members of this thread and so many Celebrity Refugee recommendations.

Further update. I spoke to someone that had that remote on a different ship. They just asked for the one with cc button. Today i ran my hand along bottom right. Solstice has older TV’s and there is a button. Power, Volume, Source Click once to move to right hold to select

Yes they have

Many of the ships have RFID. Currently on Solstice - Not Revolutionized and they use magnetic strip still. Even the Casino you have to insert the card into a slot and leave it. Rooms you have to insert and pull out quickly. Most of the ships are RFID and you can just tap. You will need to hand it to security when leaving the ship and when you enter ports and the ship.

The Magic Carpet is not going up and down like an elevator. It only goes down occasionally when there is a tender port and sometimes moves up one floor or down to Sushi on 5 for a special dinner like the Taj dinner. On the Singapore to Sydney leg of the world cruise there was some damage and they didn't use it for tendering until it was repaired.

Had a couple spins on Wheel of Fortune and doubled my Money so cashed out. Only put in $50 Stopped by for a Cappuccino and . . . My favorites

Today has been a really relaxing day at sea. The winds are really high at about 35 knots and the ship is rocking. We had our final timezone change for this cruise last night so have been dragging a bit. I did a little gambling this morning and then just hung out in the room reading a book. We had a nice lunch at Luminae followed by a double scoop of Gelato. That of course made us drowsy and took a nice nap. I've never figured out why long sea days make one so tired. Maybe it is like being lulled to sleep in a cradle. Iain could sleep half the day and is still conked out. I may slip back down to the Casino. Hmmm... am I feeling lucky?

We had similar experience in the first year or so after resumption of cruising. I have to say I've been very impressed with them again as of late. It does help having unlimited free dining. We do not feel compelled to go all out and over eat. Instead we just have smaller (sometimes half portions) and just enjoy the incredible service. Our first visit was before they have out OBC for the mixed ports. One the first visit there were only 4 tables and of course plenty of time for the servers to socialize. After the OBC's were issued the Specialties booked out solid for the remainder of the cruise. There are still some opening at 8:30 which is our desired dining time. We were originally booked for the last night in HNL but changed it this morning to the night before.

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.

Hitting Zenith is much easier these day depending on the category of cabin you sail Point Structure - If one happens to travel Solo then you get double points. We mostly sail in Celebrity and Royal Suites --- So Zenith would take 250 Nights - The cheapest locations are probably the Caribbean at about $750-$1,000 per night. I'm sure many others may have better costs per night. That would come to $200-250 Thousand dollars. It is really hard to tell totally because that is just the cruise fare and Business class has gone up to $4,5,000.

We take a Suitecase, an oversized suite bag, a back pack and a hand carry for Iain. The suite bag is increible and can fit two suites, 20-25 shirts on hangers, sweaters, undergarments, sweatshirts and 3 or 4 pairs of shoes. Our regular strategy is to pack for 7-8 days and then have laundry done along the way. It is easier for us as we get a Zenith perk of unlimited laundry and dry cleaning. Another advantage is that we are about the same size and can mix and match our shirts and t-shirts. Our longest trip has been 2 months and we do pick up Tshirts, hats and sweatshirts along the way

John, We had the same experience with Tuscan for many years and quit going. I've been very pleased with Tuscan in the past couple years. Iain seem to enjoy Tuscan more than Murano as of late.

As expected Immigration will be day of arrival in HNL