Jim_Iain - Solstice LIVE Mexico Riveria B2B - December 3 and 11

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, CruiserMickey said:

I think you may be mixing me up with another Mickey? I am not in any cruise groups on FB…

Sorry --- There is a Micky out of Orlando that use to work with me when we were Cruise Advocates on the pop ups on Celebrity Site.   He daughter now works on Reflection as part of the Activities staff.  I was just thinking you were one in the same.

 

Regardless.   Welcome and now I will know your another Cruise Mickey.

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, MamaFej said:

I'll be following along, as well. You may recall, @Jim_Iain, that PapaFej and I were originally on this cruise, but bowed out when our TA friend asked us to join him and his wife on a boots on the ground  Antarctic cruise that interfered at a price way too good to pass up. I look forward to cruising with you again (and maybe spending more than 45 seconds together) another time.

 

In the meantime, I'm in my motor home, camping along the CA coast, listening to the waves, and occasionally glacing at them when looking up from the Wrold Cup game OR CC.

 

Since a Lycheetini at the Martini Bar can't happen from here, I did salute @jelaynewith some Lychee tea this morning. I hope J, I, J, & G, as well as all of the other passengers have a delightful time! 

 

I definitely remember from our roll call that you made the change.   I was really looking forward to see you.   I'm sure our paths will cross again.     Really looking forward to meeting Jelayne.  

 

I'll wave as we are flying down the coast.   Maybe the pilot will do a low fly by.   LOL

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, Redking said:

We board the Eclipse on 14 January. Can't wait. Wishing you a wonderful cruise. Today is the first day of summer so I'm hoping it brings an improvement in the weather. Oops this might be the first hijack of Jim's live.

 

Hijacking is encouraged.  

 

I hope you will do a live post of your 14 January cruise.    That is a great itinerary and so many ports I've never been to.

 

We will be doing the 2nd 1/2 of the World Cruise from Singapore to Sydney to New Zealand in November and then flying back to Sydney for the April 23, 2023 Transpacific with many of the ports you will be visiting so will be interested to hear all about the ports.

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, Beachlover1989 said:

YAY! So excited to follow along on another of your B2Bs!  Also looking forward to hearing how you like the itinerary. Bin voyage to you and Iain!

 

Thanks and welcome aboard.    I think you will find we love the itinerary.   Never had a bad cruise so far.   We love life at sea and the ports are ofen a bonus. 

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, dlh015 said:

Pulling up a chair of course!!

 

Ain't that cataract removal just the greatest?? I had to turn down the brightness on my computer display and my TVs when I got home. And I didn't realize how bright our house interior was!

 

Did you get the Near, Far, or bifocal lens??

 

I use to wear  Variable Focus lenses but now only need over the counter 1x readers for computer work.   Hate to say it but I have those 1/2 lenses and wear on the end of my nose when on the computer and watching TV at the same time.

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, CruisinBanka said:

Getting excited to follow along on another Jim&Iain adventure! Always a great read. Have a great time on your B2B! 

 

Thanks -   glad you will be following along. 

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, Laurab23 said:

Generation X- did I miss one of your reviews? When was your last one? I also love reading your posts.

 

Laura

Thanks Laura -  you must have just missed her last Semi-Solo cruise.   You will have to look it up.   She planned a Gatsby night and had the most beautiful period dress and hat you can imagine. 

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, gordylad said:

enjoy your time...have a blast

We will indeed.     Thanks for joining in.

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, Mike981 said:

Very glad your surgery went well. I am not squeamish as I have had two hip replacements and a couple of other surgeries with no worries, but surgery on my eye?...I don't know brother.

 

As I mentioned on another thread, very excited to follow along.

Always good to hear from you Mike. 

 

I really don't mind what they do to me as long as they put me in never never land.   Before this one I started to watch a Youtube on the procedure and only got 2 minutes on the video when I decided I didn't want to see any more.  

 

All I can say is the anesthesiologist knew what she was doing and kept me on the edge of being able to follow commands but that's about all.   It took about 1 1/2 hours and I was a bit ditzy the rest of the day.

[Laurab23]

47 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks Laura -  you must have just missed her last Semi-Solo cruise.   You will have to look it up.   She planned a Gatsby night and had the most beautiful period dress and hat you can imagine. 

I did miss it but went back and found it. She was cruising the same time I was which is most likely why I missed it. It was a beautiful outfit for Gatsby night.

 

Laura

[Redking]

53 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Hijacking is encouraged.  

 

I hope you will do a live post of your 14 January cruise.    That is a great itinerary and so many ports I've never been to.

 

We will be doing the 2nd 1/2 of the World Cruise from Singapore to Sydney to New Zealand in November and then flying back to Sydney for the April 23, 2023 Transpacific with many of the ports you will be visiting so will be interested to hear all about the ports.

 

 

I'm thinking about dipping my toe into the Live from waters 🤣. Bit short on Lives from this side of the world. We also just swapped our existing Edge bookings for Aus/NZ 2024 to a B2B Sydney to Vancouver on the Edge in 2024. Currently planning a bank heist to pay for it!

[If only]

Hi Jim, we will be following along as we are doing your cruise, next Nov.  We leave soon for our Silhouette cruise on  Mon.   Enjoy!

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

We are flying into LAX using Alaska Airways.    The only airline that flies non-stop to Long Beach from San Jose is Southwest and they only have a 6:45 am, 1:05 PM and 4:15 Flights. 

 

Alaska has a fairly reasonable 1st class at only $40 more than Coach so was a no brainer.   It's only a 1 hour flight so nothing fancy but nice little treat.

 

 

 Thanks Jim.  We will be getting off Millennium in May after the Panama Canal transit.  The last time we sailed out of LA was in 2008.  We flew into LAX but I do not remember anything about the trip from the airport to the ship or the ship to the airport.   

 

[CruiserMickey]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Regardless.   Welcome and now I will know your another Cruise Mickey.

 
Thanks! 😃

[MamaFej]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I definitely remember from our roll call that you made the change.   I was really looking forward to see you.   I'm sure our paths will cross again.     Really looking forward to meeting Jelayne.  

 

I'll wave as we are flying down the coast.   Maybe the pilot will do a low fly by.   LOL

You'll like Jelayne. She's lovely!

 

We are on one of the Ventura County beaches, so you'll know when to wave. 😜

[bunzini]

Yippee!  Always love following along on your journeys!

[Buckeye94]

Yay! Excited for another live review with you guys! I wish I had connected the dots to know you were you when we were on Edge in the Greek Isles in 2019 (?).

 

You and @GenerationX are inspiring me to attempt a live review of my Valparaiso to Buenes Aires cruise on Infinity in January.  I had such fun on Beyond with Charla and  @hcat and @julia and the rest of the Gatsby ladies (and a couple gents)! 

 

Happy sailing! 

 

Julie

[CTSandy]

So glad that I will be having another great live report to enjoy every evening!  We will be sailing Solstice for the first time in April 2023 -  looking forward to your comments on ports, also our first visit to the ports on the west side of Mexico.  Thanks in advance!

[cachouonacruise]

Hi Jim,

 

Thank-you so much for posting one more review! I really look forward to read it!

 

So, we have been on Solstice in 2017 and Silhouette in 2022. Although they are ships from the same class, there were some notable differences. I am curious to see if these differences still exist:

 

Solstice 2017: I don't remember any cabanas, the hot glass show was open every night, Cellar Masters was one of the bars. ( I don't remember if the World Class Bar was on Solstice back then and I know the Porch Specialty Restaurant was not).

Silhouette 2022: No hot glass show, no Cellar Masters Bar. However, we loved the Porch Specialty restaurant and the World Class Bar. Cabanas were available. I believe the Sky Lounge was a bit smaller on Silhouette than Solstice, since on Solstice it was accessible from the port and starboard side of the ship, while on Silhouette, we could only access the lounge from one side. 
 

So I hope, you will be able to update us on the Solstice evolution.

 

I wish you and Lain, good weather and beautiful cruises on Solstice! 

[lilghallinsf]

I am SO EXCITED to see this review. I love your reviews and we booked this cruise for New Years!  Can't wait to read through it. 

[sdnich]

I also look forward to following you on another cruise !! We will be doing this cruise next March ! We live in San Diego so will be nice to drive to port .We have been to Cabo and Puerto Vallarta a few times once on a Panama Canal cruise and a few land trips . I like Cabo but love I Puerto Vallarta so much more culture than Cabo !! But have never been to Mazatlan so look forward to seeing some beautiful pictures!! 

[Cruising89143]

I will be reading along but only during our downtime since we will also be onboard. I always enjoy your “live” threads. 

[MarinerAlex]

Hey Jim and Lain, I was on the Nov 12 sailing and first time on the boat, and loved it. “Regular” cruise, no suite, not perks and it was great. Will be interested to hear your perspectives as you experience it over the next 2 weeks.

 

For me, the cruise director is top notch, and the people in the main dining / buffet were as well. Was so glad to call this home for all of 7 days.

[abbydancer2003]

Yay, a live from!

 

By the way, my sister and I are on the Solstice on February 4-11.  Because she wanted to fly Jet Blue and I wanted to fly United down, we decided instead that we will rent a car the day before, and drive to LA.  We'll dump the car that night, and take a shuttle to the cruise the next morning.

 

I would be curious to know who's the retreat staff and if they're sticking around for another couple of months. 

 

If you have trouble with your flight, driving might be an option.

 

Also, I did 2 Mexican Riviera cruises on Princess in the last 11 months, so if you want some ideas for ports, and you haven't booked them all, email me.

[gordylad]

Jim, How is the weather this time of the year. Today it is around 50 degrees F where we are.

 

Cheers