elena7seas

Hello, hello, so happy to hear from you all!!!

Suzanne, Gerry is totally loving retirement! He is brilliant at it. Luckily, he still likes cruising, so we have a back-to-back on the Millennium to Japan, leaving Vancouver on September 14th and returning on October 13th. I don't know if I was posting at the time, but we did this back-to-back last year and loved, loved, loved it. We're booked on the transpacific cruise, and have booked the flights home ($450 pp USD direct to Vancouver through Choice Air), but the prices haven't come down yet on the second cruise. There is lots of inventory, so I'm sure the prices will drop after final payment. Last year we booked the transpacific on July 28th, for a September 8th departure, and booked the second cruise (around Japan) on August 12th. We actually went through a typhoon, but the Captain was awesome. The cruises were at the time when Trump and the North Korean were calling each other names, so fairly exciting. Duh.

Gerry got a new, awesome lense for his camera in Japan, so we have lots of great photos of Japan and our India-Middle East trip. I will email all of you the link to my Smugmug account tomorrow, so that you can see whatever you like. There are tons of photos. Suzanne, I still haven't gone back and looked at the posts on this thread yet. Katie and I are busy making 16 herb markers for her mom's herb garden, for Mother's day, so we've been busy with that in our spare time.

Hi Linda! The Connie was in excellent shape, and I would sail on either her or the Millennium in a heartbeat. Connie had been renovated fairly recently, and she has a great crew. We sailed with friends and were down in the newer "3100 conference" Oceanview cabins on Deck 3, and those are an excellent choice for the money. They are relatively new and have those great big windows, from the days when there were wing chairs by the windows, outside of the Conference rooms. We had 3112, which is the first in the line, and has some extra floor space, the width of the exterior hallway. Our friends were next door in 3114. It was too hot on the India-Middle East Cruise to sit out much, so we didn't miss the balconies.

The Tuscan Grille and Qsine were excellent on the Connie, and we went about 5 times in total. We had an awesome waiter in Tuscan Grille...I'll try to look up his name. In Qsine, we were given all the new menu items from "Le Petit Chef" to try....have you all seen the animation of the Little Chef yet? It is awesome, but I will be sad if they replace Qsine totally. I love the diversity of the Qsine menu. The food from Le Petit Chef is good, but pretty "classic" (not too exciting") and for me, I wouldn't go that often. And the $55 USD pp price is out of line for the food that is offered, unless they get much better lobster. Oh, and the food in the MDR was really great, and we had awesome service. We had a table for 4 up on Deck 5 (early dining) and pretty close to the staff entrance from the kitchens, so our food was always fresh and hot or chilled, as appropriate, and I think that can make all the difference.

Alaska has some great prices right now. If we weren't going to Japan, I would book a back to back to Alaska in May...It's as cheap to take a cruise north in Oceanview as it is to book a flight, and then I would book a Suite in the other direction ($1,399).

I will be very interested to hear what you think of MSC Yacht Club. I've been looking at that with interest, but don't know anyone who's been on MSC yet, so I will look forward to your review, and opinion.

Girlfriends cruises ROCK!!!

Hi Lois!! My health issues are the same old, same old, that I've been dealing with since I was 24...back and hip issues, just a little more intense from time to time now. I usually come back from cruises rested up, but this time, the 45 day trip, ending up on a frozen lake in New York, was a little more exhausting. I had told you about my brain issues in September 2016, and I haven't had any more problem with that, although I have had a couple of serious migraines that interfered with travelling somewhat. I have had migraines a couple of times a year for 35 years, so that's nothing new.

We had the most awesome tour Company in India (Lijo at Muziris Heritage Tours) that I can't recommend highly enough. I didn't tell them about my mobility issues, as I was just planning to sit it out in the tour van if I ever could not do the walking, but the tour guides were so awesome with me. They arranged for a wheelchair and an aide in Agra (Taj Mahal) and the Amber Fort, and I was fine with my cane everywhere else. I didn't want my mobility issues to interfere with the plans that Muziris made for the other three in my group, which is why I didn't tell Lijo ahead of time, and it all worked out really well. I totally, totally recommend the 15 night Constellation cruise (Singapore to Dubai). If you are considering it, do add on a trip to Delhi-Agra-Jaipur (Golden Triangle in Rajastan) with Muziris. It was $700-800 per person for four days and three nights, including 5-star hotels, and breakfast, a ten-seater luxury AC van with a tour guide, assistant tour guide, and an awesome driver. Our tour company even picked us up from the Delhi Airport at 2:00 oclock in the morning (11:00 AM Vancouver time, so we were in great shape) and we drove directly to Agra and saw the sun come up over the Taj Mahal. At the end of the four days, we flew directly to Singapore for 6 nights, and the cruise left from there. Lijo and his Muzeris team picked us up at the ship for all our other full-day tours in India....Kochi (Kerala), Goa and Mumbai ($255 for all three days, including lunches, except in Mumbai, where we purchased our own lunches at the Taj Palace Hotel (awesome).

The three stops in Oman, Dubai and Abu Dhabi were outstanding. I will tell you more about them later. We spent an extra 4 days there, after the cruise, then flew to Mallorca and rented a great 2 bedroom apartment on the beach, which was pretty cheap in March. We also popped over to Barcelona overnight (on our way to Lake Placid) to see how the Sagrada Familia had progressed. (See Gerry's photos on Smugmug).

Sorry that I haven't caught up with all your news yet. I sure hope everyone is well. I am especially wanting to check the previous posts to hear from Katie and Jeff, and Anne, Beth and Carolyn. Hope I haven't missed any names!

Big hugs,

Eileen

Hello dear cruisers!

I am so sorry to have been absent for so long. Every time I go to post here, I feel like I should read all the posts that I have missed, and then I get interrupted before I finish, and have to start all over from the beginning next time.

This time I haven't even tried to read any of the posts that I have missed, so, I'm very sorry that I don't know anything that has happened with all of you.

But I think of "all y'all" all the time, and will try to read all the back posts soon.

Everyone here is pretty good. My daughter Sarah, who has Celiac disease, is struggling with it and has been in the hospital a number of times. She is always exceptionally careful with gluten, but now the doctors think there may be another factor at play, so they are trying to figure out what that might be, as nothing else showed up on the biopsy. She is also doing her Master's in Education, so I think that contributes some stress.

Gerry is pretty good, just a couple of little issues, and my younger daughter is well too, but working too hard. Katie is wonderful, and is in grade 5 this year. She is going on her seventh cruise next spring break on Princess. My doctors are trying to decide if surgery can help with my back and hips. It's never been possible so far, but the possibilities improve every day, so I keep hoping.

Gerry and I had an amazing trip in February and March: land trip to Rajastan, India and Singapore, then a 15 night cruise on the Constellation (Singapore, Phuket, Sri Lanka, Kochi, Goa, Mumbai, Oman, Duba and Abu Dhabi), with extra days in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, then a flight to Mallorca for a week, then a flight from Barcelona to Boston and a drive up to Lake Placid, New York for a wedding on frozen Mirror Lake. I'm pretty sure I was the only person on the cruise with fur mukluks in her cabin. :) I had wheelchairs everywhere I needed them, and we had the best tour guides in Delhi, Agra, Amer and Jaipur, as well as the same company in Kochi, Goa and Mumbai. If you ever need a reference in India, Lijo of Muziris Heritage Tours is THE BEST!!!

I had to spend three weeks in bed when I got home, but it was WORTH IT!!!

That's probably enough from me until I have read all your posts.

Hope everyone is well. Big hugs to all of you.

Eileen.

We were on the Constellation for 15 nights on February 24th, and went to Qsine twice. On one night, in addition to the Qsine selections, we were offered all of the main course entrees from Le Petit Chef (LPC) menu, but did not have the visual presentation. Between the four of us, we had the Filet Mignon, the Sea Bass and the Sauteed Chicken. I did not order one of the extra entrees, but tasted them all.

The LPC entrees were "classic", and very well prepared. Not really exciting, in terms of a Specialty Restaurant though, so I'm not sure I would go more than once. For that kind of food, I prefer the ambiance of Murano.

I think the LPC visual presentation is very entertaining, and would certainly enjoy seeing it. However, I would be very sad to lose Qsine as a Specialty Restaurant option. We love the food in Qsine, and find it an excellent choice for 4-6 people. We have even gone to Qsine as a table of two, although it is more fun when you have a couple of others to share the experience with.

I think the extra tariff of $55 USD per person is too high. That is $147 CAD per couple at today's exchange rates. :)

As a passing comment, Tuscan Grille was amazing on the Constellation. The food and the service were outstanding, and we went to TG three times on this past cruise. It was the best Tuscan Grille experience we have ever had. On the other hand, the "A Taste of Film" was a complete fail from the food perspective. It was the single worst food experience I have every had after about 40 Celebrity cruises.

Hi Everyone:

I am on the Millennium (day 3) on our way from Vancouver to Japan on a back-to-back (transpacific plus circumnavigation of Japan, with one stop in Busan, South Korea.

I have unlimited internet, which I got set up yesterday, and have been glued to reports from Florida and the Caribbean about the damage done by Hurricane Irma. I am more relieved than I can tell you, that all of you with homes in Florida have come out out of this treacherous storm with relatively less damage than might have been expected, given what could have happened with a storm of this sustained fury. You have all been in my thoughts and prayers, and I continue to pray that repairs and restoration can proceed as quickly as possible for everyone.

Katie, I am really sorry to hear that Jeff is suffering from the neck pain again. He has my total sympathy. After having a fairly good spring, the pains in both my hips have returned, and my back is as bad as ever, so I am back on the pain killers...that means no drinking for me on this cruise, but they are doing a moderately good job of keeping me semi-mobile. It's finally time for me to put my name on the list for surgery. Only some of my problems can be treated by surgery, but it is time to get that underway. I have been putting that off until now. So, Jeff has all my best wishes and I hope that the outcome from his treatment is even better than you anticipate.

Lois, I saw some references to health challenges for you, but I haven't had the time to go back far enough in this thread to know the details. I am sending you my best.

Anne, you are in my thoughts and prayers.

If I have missed anything else that I should be responding to, please forgive me, and I'll try to get caught up with all the previous posts in the next couple of days.

Suzanne, how is your precious grand-daughter?

Big hugs to everyone....

Eileen, floating on the calm and lovely blue Pacific.

I am currently on the Millennium, cruising from Vancouver to Japan.

I had lunch in the Aqua Spa Cafe today, and grilled salmon, tuna, chicken breast and pork loin are definitely available. The salmon and tuna are also available poached, and a couple of other moist cooking methods.

At either entrance to the Aqua Spa Cafe, there is a large (24" x 40") framed and backlit permanent menu that lists the items, including the ones I mentioned above. I will try to get a photo of the menu tomorrow and post it here. I will also check on whether you can get the Smoothies and Sundaes included with the Classic beverage package.

The Aqua Spa Cafe is one of my favourite things about Celebrity, and my lunch today of Grilled Salmon and Grilled Asparagus was as good as it's ever been.

Darn, I don't know anything about Captain Latrou-was looking forward to Kafatzis for our October cruise.

 

 

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Captain Iatrou is a great captain and a charming man.

On a cruise on the solstice a while back the seas were pretty rough when crossing the Tasman - to date it is the only time I have felt sea sick (as did most of the ship it seemed). Guest relations handed out packets of travel sickness tablets and I was amazed at how well and quickly they worked.

 

Why I didn't take down the name of the drug at the time I don't know - but does anyone have an idea if there is a particular brand that Celebrity normally use for this purpose? I would love to buy some for a future cruise??

 

Thanks

 

 

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The drug that Guest Relations provides is Meclizine Hcl. It is available in the US as Bonine. It used to be available in Canada as Bonamine, but is no longer avalable at all. Bonine is my go-to solution in rough weather. Works a charm. ;)

We got on the Millennium at 11:45 am yesterday. Sushi on Five was not open until 3:00 pm. I was in a wheelchair and was wheeled there to check it out. Quiet and dark. The wheelchair attendant phoned Guest Relations and were told that, except for Concierge Class, only the buffet was available. We are Aqua Class this trip. This is the first time in 30 cruises on Celebrity that we haven't had an alternative to the buffet upon embarkation.

Hi again:

It was too hot here last night to stay in, so we went out for dinner. Most homes here don't have air conditioning...just fans...because oppressive heat really isn't an issue here. With global warming, however, that may change. At any rate, I didn't get any past posts read last evening.

Gerry and I are leaving for a 16-day transpacific from Vancouver to Tokyo, on the Celebrity Millennium, on September 8th, then a b2b around Japan with one stop in Busan, South Korea, flying back home on October 5th. This was a last minute booking, and we are really looking forward to the trip. Japan has always been on my bucket list, ever since I took Asian Studies at university.

There are only four stops on the transpacific, but I am SO looking forward just to getting on a ship and heading out to sea. We will be taking it one-day-at-a-time on the stops in Japan, as we'll have to see how I do with walking. Gerry may be taking more adventurous day trips on his own with his camera, and I may be taking ship cruise tours. We'll see how it plays out...it's all good, whatever happens.

Gerry and I took Katie on a six night Pacific Coastal from LA to Vancouver at the end of April. We sailed on the Ruby Princess, and it was a very nice cruise. Katie enjoyed Princess very much. She turned 10 in March, so she was allowed to sign herself out of the Kid's Club, which made her feel very grown up. This was her 6th cruise, and the last time where I would feel comfortable taking her out of school for a week. She's in grade 5 this September, and that's pretty serious stuff from here on out. She is seriously unhappy that she can't go to Japan with us, as Japan is a pre-teen paradise. Katie is a confirmed travel junkie, and travel is always going to be a big part of her life. She has been on 6 cruises and 3 cruise lines, so she is off to a good start, I think. She has the most amazing world view, which, I'm sure, is a result of early exposure to travel and people from many parts of the world.

We have two b2b cruises booked on the Equinox in November, and Gerry is not sure that he wants to go on those, as we have an 80-day-around-the-world trip starting on February 11, 2018. That's the three cruises starting in Singapore and ending in Fort Lauderdale. First we fly to Delhi and take a tour down to see the Taj Mahal. Then fly down for 6 nights in Singapore before boarding the Constellation for 15 nights. Then two following cruises on the Pacific Princess from Dubai to Venice, and Venice to Fort Lauderdale. Those are two segments of the Princess World Cruise. Then from FLL to Boston, then New York, then fly home.

After that, we have three weeks booked with dear college friends in Mallorca. The guys are Gerry's boarding school friends from when he was 13, and one of the wives is the sister of one of the guys. So lovely to have had such close friends for all of your life. So, lots and lots of research and planning.

After that I will have to buckle down and have something done about my hips. Once I get started with that process, I can't book any trips at all, so that's why we're trying to fit in as much as we can, first.

No further problems with my brain function, after that one incident last September, and the knee problems totally disappeared after I started taking therapeutic doses of vitamin D. Apart from my dysfunctional back and hips, health otherwise is excellent, and Gerry's doing very well. He is brilliant at being retired.

After we got back from Australia in November, we were still renovating our house, planning to sell it in the spring, and move to the Island. It became clear to me, however, that Gerry didn't want to move away from our daughters, so we have decided to stay put. We finished our basement, and had the house repainted, but the rest of the renovations have ground to a halt, so we'll have to get back on top of that when we get home in October.

Gerry's niece and her husband and their identical twin daughters (21 months old at present) are here from Australia for 3 months, so that has been just wonderful. I spend as much time with them as I can.

My biggest challenge is spending any amount of time at my desk, at the hips complain vociferously. :) I can use my laptop in bed, but can't get much typing done. It takes me three hours to get one hour of housework accomplished, so I am the least productive I have ever been in my life. Bah humbug! But we are so grateful for a life that has been so good to us.

I have missed the daily visits with "all y'all", and hope to get back to visiting here regularly. I look forward to catching up with what you all are doing, by reading the past posts as soon as possible.

As always, big, big hugs to all.

Eileen

Hi Everyone:

So sorry that I haven't been on here in months. I hope everyone is well. I haven't had a chance to look back at the posts, but will try to do that tonight.

Lois, I see that you are leaving for a trip on Silverseas tomorrow. Wow!! Bon Voyage and have a FABULOUS time. I can't wait to hear all about it.

I'm going to pour myself a glass of wine later today and sit back and read all the posts that I've missed.

Cheers to everyone!

Hi Everyone....i'm here. Sorry for being AWOL.

Anne, I saw your post to me on Facebook. i'm sorry, but I deleted your post, because I haven't been very in touch with my friends here at home, and I didn't want to worry them. I have been having ongoing health issues, which I think I mentioned before I left for Australia. Until the doctors can diagnose what is going on, I have been lying low.

I have specific reasons for not posting here... I'll be back in a little while to explain why.

Lots to read. I should have taken notes as I went through. :)

Linda, I'm so sorry you had an unreliable house inspector. Is there any chance of reviving the deal if you can get the few actual items fixed quickly?

I'm glad that the direct effects of Hurricane Michael weren't too significant for our friends that post here (hoping that I didn't miss any posts to the contrary), even though I do recognize the severity of the storm for many others. My heart goes out to the families and friends of those who perished or to those that were injured, or to those that lost their homes.

We had somewhat rocky seas all the way into Honolulu, and ordinarily, Meclizine would have handled the motion sickness easily, but I was afraid to take any as I'm taking the maximum dose of a pretty strong opiate. So I just took my ginger pills and spent littleamore than m

I wanted to get that post in before Lois left on her trip (I hope :)). Now I have to go back and read all of the posts that have been added since I last checked this thread. :) Hope everyone is doing well. Hugs to all, from Eileen, on the Explorer of the Seas in Honolulu.

Bon Voyage and best wishes for a lovely leaf peepers cruise. May it be a special trip for you and your sister, and may you both make some wonderful family memories. Big hugs from Eileen and Gerry in Honolulu :)

Hi Lois, I was watching the CNN coverage as I was doing my final packing, and it was focussing a lot on Jacksonville. Happy to hear you are safe and with your sister. I kept checking in here, and like Suzanne, was concerned that we hadn't heard from you lately.

We are in a funky hotel near the cruise port in Seattle (the Maxwell)...friendly, funky, excellent service. Excellent price for Seattle, which is somewhere I am wary to use Priceline, because if you end up on the wrong side of Downtown, the traffic can be brutal.

Coming down here yesterday was a nightmare. Five hours to go a distance that usually takes just over two hours. Friday on the Thanksgiving Day weekend...I suppose it could have been worse (and has been). It only took us an hour to get through the border. But we're here!!! Next step, get on the ship to start our 56 day odyssey! Yahoo!!!!

Sorry, double post.

I miss the "Gourmet Bites" that were served throughout the public lounges later in the evening.

Thinking of all of you on the east coast and hoping that Matthew turns away and goes out to sea where no one can be hurt, or property damaged.

I'm keeping you all in my prayers.

Thanks for all the replies. :)

Are D1's and D2's the same size?

Hi Everyone...

I watched the debate last night, as well as the pre-and post-debate coverage. I will be in Australia for the election night and will have to figure out where I will be able to get live coverage of the results as they come in. I always enjoy political conversations, so wouldn't have any problems if discussions veer in that direction with this group. This is an intelligent and tactful group and I am always interested in hearing ideas from any perspective. :)

Katie, I'm glad to hear that Jeff's leg is improving. Also happy to hear you had a great time with your sisters and cousins. How many of you were there altogether?

I got the okay to travel from the neurologist yesterday, so I can book my return flights tomorrow. I was too superstitious to begin packing before hearing from the doctors but now am good to go. :)

Hi Suzanne:

We finally pulled out of the negotiations last week.

We had nothing but trouble with the seller. We met all his terms--price, closing date, bought all his furniture as demanded (he didn't want to pack up anything but his clothes and personal items), but when we sent what was supposed to be the final paperwork, we get back a change that said he wanted the closing date on January 30th, but we wouldn't get possession until five days later. Gerry had had enough with this guy and pulled the plug.

I had been taken to hospital two days earlier with an 8 hour bout of aphasia. I couldn't speak...I could say words, just nothing like the words I wanted to say. I had a mass of tests and there is no evidence of a stroke, so they are pursuing other paths. With all of that, and the seller being such a pain in the butt, we just decided the timing wasn't right.

We are still getting our house ready to sell, but we want to have one more Christmas in this house, then put the house on the market in January. We still plan to move to Arbutus Ridge on the Island.

I'm waiting for the neurologists to give me the okay to travel to Australia, after the MRI and CT Angiogram (yuck and yuck) they gave me last week. Then I can start packing. I'm a bit superstitious (it's a Celtic thing) and I don't want to start until I get the okay. :)

Hope everyone else is doing well. :)

Hi Lois...glad to hear you're having a good day with your foot today. I hope that is the wave of the future for you!

Hi Arno:

My daughter and her friend made their deposits on that $1365 CAD 12-night SCANDINAVIAN RUSSIA cruise on the Silhouette yesterday, in a C2 cabin, with the GO Big bev package. I held my breath until the deposit went through at the sale price.

My daughter's friend has a narrow window away from work, so they will only arrive on May 6th and are flying home at 1:25 pm the day the ship arrives back in Amsterdam. Such a shame for them not to have more time in the amazing city of Amsterdam.

They shouldn't have any trouble making a 1:25 pm flight from Schiphol (barring a major unforeseen problem), right?

We used SPB-Tours on our Scandinavian-Russia cruise last summer. They were awesome, and I'm going to try to book them for Kerri and her friend. We got into the Hermitage before everyone else...there was just our group of 17 and some art students. Are you booking a tour company for St. Petersburg? SPB-Tours gave me a break in the price last year because we were paying with CAD.

Lois...yes, I have a bunch of Vionics, and Gerry has them too.