Jim_Iain Live Blog - Infinity B2B - Carribbean and East Bound TA

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, Aralim said:

 

Thanks for the info! I hope I don’t have similar difficulties finding a reasonably priced flight out of DUB or Shannon (don’t know the code for that one) for August 2020. Did a mock booking for the same time of year in 2019 on Kayak and found Aer Lingus to be the best price (not really surprising when it’s the “home court” airline), so may see if Flights By Celebrity has anything with them once that opens up. Never flew with them, but I can’t really afford to be picky with family of four and all the money we’re already spending for that cruise, excursions, and planned extended stay in Ireland.

For International we find Choice Air to often have great deals.   They in reality are just a travel agent but get special "group booking" rates.  I hpaven't booked with them since their new booking policy that allows you to not pay for your flight until final payment date and from what i understand is that if the prices drop they adjust.

[Aralim]

3 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

For International we find Choice Air to often have great deals.

 

Sorry for the confusion, but I after seeing them mentioned on CC before today I thought it was just another (older?) name for Flights By Celebrity. Is that not correct? Kind of sounds from how you describe them like they’re actually something different even though they have the same “don’t pay until final payment” policy that’s been promoted on the Flights By Celebrity site.

[Jim_Iain]

15 hours ago, Aralim said:

 

Sorry for the confusion, but I after seeing them mentioned on CC before today I thought it was just another (older?) name for Flights By Celebrity. Is that not correct? Kind of sounds from how you describe them like they’re actually something different even though they have the same “don’t pay until final payment” policy that’s been promoted on the Flights By Celebrity site.

Your are absolutely correct ChoiceAir / Flights by Celebrity are one and the same.   Even though celebrity rebranded it if you go to ChoiceAir.com you will endup at the exact same site.

[Jim_Iain]

We made it to Scotland with just small delays.  We hey have a new air traffic control system in Europe and causing delays.  

 

We rented a nice cruise AirBnB in Troon right on the sea front.  Compact but really nice 2 bedroom flat. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mike981]

Geez, that looks great.

[micheleata]

Looks nice!  

[Aralim]

Looks really nice! I got a bit of a chuckle at the small (I assume gas) fireplace surrounded by the much larger wood mantle frame.

[Lindagop]

Thank you for the updates. Still following along as I’m sure many others are too. Enjoy your time 

[Jim_Iain]

Had family dinner at Pierceland House in Troon.   The estate was originally the Managing Director of Johnny Walker's home.

 

 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

The west of Scotland is a beautiful part of the country.   We had a beautiful day today with sunny skies and warm weather.  Of course that didn't last long and skies are gray and showers this evening.    We visited Iain's niece today and had lunch an the Robert Burns Center in Ayr.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2019 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

It is Saturday and the weather is chilly (45-50) but clear blue skies.  We are driving to St. Andrew's this afternoon for a surprise birthday for Iain's nephew.   It's a 2 hour drive so we have decided to rent an AirBnB for the evening.   I'm excited about it as I have never been to St Andrews. 

[hcat]

Have a lovely  time....Hope the birthday surprise goes wel!

[Jim_Iain]

We had a wonderful time in St. Andrews today.   It was my first visit and was amazed at all of the ancient ruins.   The Bishop's Castle dates back to 1200.    Steven studied Scottish History at St. Andrews and has written a  number of books on the subject and teaches Scottish history at Glasgow University.   He gave us a wonderful tour of all the ruins and is so passionate about the history of the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2019 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2019 by Jim_Iain

[micheleata]

Looks absolutely gorgeous!  Hope you are enjoying your stay.  Thank you for sharing!

[Aralim]

Really nice photos! Scotland is beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing. 

[Jim_Iain]

We had another airBnB  in St Andrews.  Nice place that slept 4.   We were traveling with Iain’s sister and brother in law

 

[Fogfog]

@Jim_Iain

 

Hi Jim, It was nice to meet you and Iain on the sailing after connecting here on CC

Was a lovely crossing. 

Was wondering if you knew what the seas were the night between Madeira and Lisbon--the day that was rainy/closed decks etc.

We did the burial at sea of my parents that sea day--and I read here the seas were 9ft yes?

That night the seas were heavier and boy did we feel it at 11 aft!!

 So curious... as when I asked one of the officers about the wave height etc he blew it off as "not much"...

 

Best 

 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, Fogfog said:

@Jim_Iain

 

Hi Jim, It was nice to meet you and Iain on the sailing after connecting here on CC

Was a lovely crossing. 

Was wondering if you knew what the seas were the night between Madeira and Lisbon--the day that was rainy/closed decks etc.

We did the burial at sea of my parents that sea day--and I read here the seas were 9ft yes?

That night the seas were heavier and boy did we feel it at 11 aft!!

 So curious... as when I asked one of the officers about the wave height etc he blew it off as "not much"...

 

Best 

 

 

 

9

It was nice meeting you also.  It is always nice to put a cc name and face together.  

 

From the Sea Wave Model I was monitoring it showed waves at 3 meters (9'10").   Overnight it was showing 4-5 meters (13 -16').    Iain had asked the Captain at dinner and was told 9-10 feet.

 

I hope the internement went well.   I love the idea of a sea burial, especially for those that loved cruising.

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by Jim_Iain

[Fogfog]

3 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

9

It was nice meeting you also.  It is always nice to put a cc name and face together.  

 

From the Sea Wave Model I was monitoring it showed waves at 3 meters (9'10").   Overnight it was showing 4-5 meters (13 -16').    Iain had asked the Captain at dinner and was told 9-10 feet.

 

I hope the internement went well.   I love the idea of a sea burial, especially for those that loved cruising.

 

TY

I felt sure the seas were rougher--- and missed it if you remarked about it here.

 

The couple next door remarked the same... noisy and rough. A couple of big "drops" made me think I would slide right off the bed! HA! 

 

We had several officers present for the internment. Read something I had chosen, white flowers were tossed overboard by those present. Champagne to toast etc. It was emotional and yet I felt cheered by having those around me being so kind and warm. 

 

Hope to cross paths with you and Iain again sometime and perhaps have more time to visit/chat/drinks etc. BTW--I realize yall know Scotland well. How about Ireland? Starting to research for the westbound in 2020 out of Dublin. 

 

Cheers.

[upwarduk]

Just seen the weather forecast and Edinburgh was the warmest place in the country today and will have the warmest temperatures (24c) again tomorrow.

Hope you are still enjoying time with relatives.

[WL246]

So glad your trip is going so well. Really enjoyed cruising with you and Iain. Enjoy the rest of your trip.

[Jim_Iain]

19 hours ago, Fogfog said:

TY

I felt sure the seas were rougher--- and missed it if you remarked about it here.

 

The couple next door remarked the same... noisy and rough. A couple of big "drops" made me think I would slide right off the bed! HA! 

 

We had several officers present for the internment. Read something I had chosen, white flowers were tossed overboard by those present. Champagne to toast etc. It was emotional and yet I felt cheered by having those around me being so kind and warm. 

 

Hope to cross paths with you and Iain again sometime and perhaps have more time to visit/chat/drinks etc. BTW--I realize yall know Scotland well. How about Ireland? Starting to research for the westbound in 2020 out of Dublin. 

 

Cheers.

 

Happy to hear you enjoyed the internment.  Sounds like Celebrity did a nice respectful service. 

 

I know Ireland pretty well as we lived there for 3 years.  I have to admit that was 10 years ago.   We lived in Ballsbridge about 2 blocks from the US Embassy.  

 

Dublin is a very walkable city and easier to get around on foot than by car.  

[Jim_Iain]

15 hours ago, upwarduk said:

Just seen the weather forecast and Edinburgh was the warmest place in the country today and will have the warmest temperatures (24c) again tomorrow.

Hope you are still enjoying time with relatives.

We did enjoy a couple days of nice sunny warm weather in St Andrews as well as Ayr.   Not as nice as last year but perfect for hiking and exploring.   What part of the U.K. are you from?    

 

We connected in Heathrow this morning at it was sunny but a little chilly. 

[Jim_Iain]

Tuesday May 14

 

it is amazing how fast time flies by.   We are flying home today at 5:30 pm from Frankfurt.   We had an early morning flight from Glasgow so decided to spend out last night at Glasgow Airport.  

 

We we checked in at about 6:30 and were happy there were no lines and security was easy as well.  

 

 

BA was unable to check our luggage through so we had to recover it in Frankfurt and then take a shuttle bus from terminal  2 to terminal 1.   This required us to have to clear immgrstion which took about 25 minutes.  

 

 

We are now settled into Lufthansa’s lounge.   Very nicely laid out lounge with a nice selection of drinks and snacks.