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

[Jim_Iain]

On 12/20/2022 at 9:17 AM, cachouonacruise said:

Thank-you very much, Jim, for taking the time to share your live cruise experience and pictures of Solstice and the Mexican Riviera. You are providing us with treasures in the shape of very detailed information! 

 

I wish you and Lain, very Merry Holidays and I have to say, that we will miss you on the Celebrity boards when you leave to join the Ponant Board! I really hope your Ponant experience will meet your expectations! 

 

Thanks much.  Been reading the Ponant board all day yesterday.   I'm learning more and more.  It's hard to compare as they ships and cabin classes are all so different.  

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, san diego spartan said:

Funny everyone is different - I was somewhat disappointed that we are not stopping in Ensenada on our 2/11 sailing.  We stop in San Diego (which is where I live).  I love Ensenada as it is the gateway to Valle de Guadalupe.  there are some excellent wineries there and we took a tour last year (Holland America Koningsdam) and love it. 

 

I really wasn't disappointed with Ensenada but was really excited about both Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta as we had never been to either.

 

Our view of Ensanada may be jaded.   First time we were on a San Diego to Hawaii cruise which was really from Ensanada.   You checked in at San Diego and they bused us to Ensanada.   Took us 8 hours mostly stuck at the boarder.   It was topped off with our driver getting lost and them having to send a bus to find us.   We did not get aboard until 9 PM. 

 

Next two stops there we just went into town and walked the main strip.   I'm sure there is so much more if we had gotten out of town and explored the surrounding area.

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, bluwes said:

Thanks once again for a great review.  Will be keeping an eye out for the next one.

Best wishes to you and Iain, have a great Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year

Next one is coming up in 114 days.     So far away but it's incredible how time flies the closer you get to departure.

 

Hope you also have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. 

[boxkite]

Jim, thanks so much for the wonderful cruise review and of course those great HDR pictures!

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to both Iain and yourself!

[GenerationX]

Thank you again for taking us along on another fantastic review! It looks like you and Iain had a fabulous time.
 

BTW I am 100% team Iain on that sky bridge thing. I’m terrified of heights.  Thousands of feet up with nothing but a sheet of glass between me and the law of gravity? No, thank you.

 

Please let us know when it’s about time to start lurking the Ponant boards for your review of that sailing.
 

I’m torn between Ponant and Silversea for an Antarctica bucket list sailing (really wish Celebrity had a true Antarctica immersive itinerary, but alas no dice).  
 

There’s a decent price difference so I’m very interested in hearing feedback on the  line from frequent Celebrity cruisers.

 

Welcome home and happy holidays!

[dock]

Loved reading your TR. 

Thank you. 

[SHIP TRAVELER]

On 12/21/2022 at 9:06 AM, Jim_Iain said:

 

They had a taxi rank setup on the island across from the terminal with a taxi concierge.    We saw two taxi's there and no line when we couldn't get an Uber.    By the time we decided to take a Taxi the two taxi's had been taken and we were first in line with a line of 3 behind us.   A cab pulled up in 30 seconds which was our and I heard the taxi concierge call for more cabs.

We did the early walk off with luggage around 7:00 because of an early (10:30) flight.  We had some trouble with the app (wifi signal?) but we were able to get an Uber before 7:30 for $50 plus tip.  We were at LAX quickly but the construction made the situation inside of the Airport challenging for the driver to get us to the AA terminal.  The security lines were long (outside) to even get up the escalator.  Fortunately we had TSA and were taken out of the line and up which was good luck. 

When we got off the ship there were no Taxis at all.  There were a few shuttle hustlers trying to fill big SUVs for $30 per head.  We don't like to be crowded in so we waited until an UBER took our offer. After reading what happened to others, I think we were lucky to get an UBER for any price.  Others did seem to be being picked up by ride share as well but again it was early and those with luggage tags were still on board.

[SHIP TRAVELER]

It was great reading your trip report.  We just got home last night following a stopover in Las Vegas.  I am glad you joined the slot pull and took pictures of the group.  It was nice to meet you.

 I don't think I have a future as a slot pull host but it was definitely worth the effort to meet some of our CC roll call members in person.  And as I think someone said at the time, I think we all had at least one dollars worth of fun.  For those interested, we started with $15 and ended with $14 and the top three pullers were gifted free slot play, X hats and playing cards by the Casino host. I must have had my card in wrong because I did not earn a single point for my effort but it was still fun. LOL

Phyllis

[SHIP TRAVELER]

One final post from me about this cruise.  I did feel something was off about the Captains Club events compared to my sailing in August on the Solstice.  In August, I felt the  Captains Club events, at least for Elite and above, were some of the best I had attended.  I particularly felt the CC wine tasting was poorly managed with people being made to wait outside in line past the start time, checked off a list or turned away with the hope of being able to attend if space was available.  To my knowledge no one not of the reservation list was able to attend but there were at least 30 set ups with the wine already poured where no one was ever seated. The speaker was standing in the wrong spot with people behind him that were not able to see him because of serving stations.  There were many talking during the presentation.  I feel like if the presenter had been front and center with eye contact this would not have happened.  It was kind of chaotic and disappointing.  I know that this event does not interest some but we like to meet people and usually learn something from the presenter.  Why do they turn people, who did not see the reservation requirement away ,when there were seats and wine that would be wasted.

I also though the senior officers party was not well run.  The only opportunity to talk with an officer was at the entrance when doing the hand shaking thing.  Getting into a conversation in a receiving line makes those waiting to get into the room wait even longer.  I had thought some small speech would be made here with introductions, a program type thing, but nothing.  There was a receiving line and drinks and minimal passed appetizers and that was it.  It was almost not worth the time it took to go up to the Sky Lounge.  It did not have a cocktail party feeling at all.  These are just my opinions.  I don't know where the planning failed but these two events in particular were not up to the same standards as in August where both were very well done and fun.

[Jim_Iain]

On 12/22/2022 at 12:37 PM, boxkite said:

Jim, thanks so much for the wonderful cruise review and of course those great HDR pictures!

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to both Iain and yourself!

Thank you and I hope you also have a wonderful Xmas and New Year.   I keep saying.  I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve.  Being away for much of December has really thrown off all sense of timing.

[Jim_Iain]

On 12/22/2022 at 2:36 PM, GenerationX said:

Thank you again for taking us along on another fantastic review! It looks like you and Iain had a fabulous time.
 

BTW I am 100% team Iain on that sky bridge thing. I’m terrified of heights.  Thousands of feet up with nothing but a sheet of glass between me and the law of gravity? No, thank you.

 

Please let us know when it’s about time to start lurking the Ponant boards for your review of that sailing.
 

I’m torn between Ponant and Silversea for an Antarctica bucket list sailing (really wish Celebrity had a true Antarctica immersive itinerary, but alas no dice).  
 

There’s a decent price difference so I’m very interested in hearing feedback on the  line from frequent Celebrity cruisers.

 

Welcome home and happy holidays!

 

Carla --- Iain laughed when I told him of your shared distaste of heights. 

 

We are similar to you.  Silverseas is on Iain's top of the list.   I was asking him tonight if we should try Silverseas first and he said Ponant may be a good starting point....

 

I've been reading about every thread on the Ponant board.   It is really a much different board with very few posts but very helpful cruisers.   They have helped me start understanding their ships and offerings.   I don't believe  an Expedition Cruise will have any similarities o Celebrity but does sound very interesting.  

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, SHIP TRAVELER said:

We did the early walk off with luggage around 7:00 because of an early (10:30) flight.  We had some trouble with the app (wifi signal?) but we were able to get an Uber before 7:30 for $50 plus tip.  We were at LAX quickly but the construction made the situation inside of the Airport challenging for the driver to get us to the AA terminal.  The security lines were long (outside) to even get up the escalator.  Fortunately we had TSA and were taken out of the line and up which was good luck. 

When we got off the ship there were no Taxis at all.  There were a few shuttle hustlers trying to fill big SUVs for $30 per head.  We don't like to be crowded in so we waited until an UBER took our offer. After reading what happened to others, I think we were lucky to get an UBER for any price.  Others did seem to be being picked up by ride share as well but again it was early and those with luggage tags were still on board.

 

We consider ourselves lucky as the trip was so quick and there was Zero line for security at Alaska Airway.    My only complaint -- was Starbucks.  LOL.   I stood on line for 10 minutes only to be told they could only make regular coffee because they ran out of milk.     Why didn't they put up a sign.   Oh well Pete's came to the rescue and no line.

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, SHIP TRAVELER said:

It was great reading your trip report.  We just got home last night following a stopover in Las Vegas.  I am glad you joined the slot pull and took pictures of the group.  It was nice to meet you.

 I don't think I have a future as a slot pull host but it was definitely worth the effort to meet some of our CC roll call members in person.  And as I think someone said at the time, I think we all had at least one dollars worth of fun.  For those interested, we started with $15 and ended with $14 and the top three pullers were gifted free slot play, X hats and playing cards by the Casino host. I must have had my card in wrong because I did not earn a single point for my effort but it was still fun. LOL

Phyllis

 

Phyllis... I disagree..  You and your husband were the perfect Slot Pull hosts.   I had so much fun.   It was the first time I have ever participated and know I will do it again on a future cruise.  

 

Darn about the points I was hoping you would get enough to qualify for one of those free cruise offers.

[DaKahuna]

16 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

We consider ourselves lucky as the trip was so quick and there was Zero line for security at Alaska Airway.    My only complaint -- was Starbucks.  LOL.   I stood on line for 10 minutes only to be told they could only make regular coffee because they ran out of milk.     Why didn't they put up a sign.   Oh well Pete's came to the rescue and no line.

 

 That is a win in my book.  I prefer Pete's over $tarbuck$ anyway. 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

I will end this post with a Christmas message to Iain.   Merry Christmas -

 

[Altamar]

Love it! Merry Christmas.

[MamaFej]

On 12/22/2022 at 2:36 PM, GenerationX said:

 

I’m torn between Ponant and Silversea for an Antarctica bucket list sailing (really wish Celebrity had a true Antarctica immersive itinerary, but alas no dice).  

Charla, we just got back yesterday from an utterly amazing Antarctica Excursion Cruise on Silversea. Granted, we had ridiculously good luck with weather, landings, wildlife, and even saw Cape Horn (our Expedition Leader is on his 12th season of Antarctica sailings, and ours was only the second time he has ever seen it) so the picture I have to paint might be a bit rosier than typical. The service was impeccable, and the excellence of the  well-rounded Expedition Team was mind-blowing! There were so many experts in so many fields, and I cannot praise them enough. 

 

They told us, time and again, that we were on an Expedition, not a cruise, but it is very much a high-end cruise experience when you aren't doing the actual expediton excursions. Even the recap and briefing meetings have champagne.

 

I'll talk your ears off, if you give me a chance, so you might not want to.

 

--------

Also, yes, @jelayne, I know I owe you pictures!  We have oodles!!!! Video, too!

-------

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

22 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

Charla, we just got back yesterday from an utterly amazing Antarctica Excursion Cruise on Silversea. Granted, we had ridiculously good luck with weather, landings, wildlife, and even saw Cape Horn (our Expedition Leader is on his 12th season of Antarctica sailings, and ours was only the second time he has ever seen it) so the picture I have to paint might be a bit rosier than typical. The service was impeccable, and the excellence of the  well-rounded Expedition Team was mind-blowing! There were so many experts in so many fields, and I cannot praise them enough. 

 

They told us, time and again, that we were on an Expedition, not a cruise, but it is very much a high-end cruise experience when you aren't doing the actual expediton excursions. Even the recap and briefing meetings have champagne.

 

I'll talk your ears off, if you give me a chance, so you might not want to.

 

--------

Also, yes, @jelayne, I know I owe you pictures!  We have oodles!!!! Video, too!

-------

 

 

Your making us jealous.   I was reading on the Silverseas board earlier today.   Sounds like a really grand upscale experience. 

[TrulyBlonde]

40 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Your making us jealous.   I was reading on the Silverseas board earlier today.   Sounds like a really grand upscale experience. 

Jim, My Ponant review is Nov. 2018 titled LeLyrial cruise S.Georgia and Antarctica. 

[MamaFej]

42 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Your making us jealous.   I was reading on the Silverseas board earlier today.   Sounds like a really grand upscale experience. 

I absolutely would not feel comfortable on one of their regular cruises. I am neither fancy nor schmancy.For those who are, it wouuld be a fabulous way to cruise. 

 

I would do another Expedition with them in a heartbeat, if I could actually afford it (highly unlikely). 

[Jim_Iain]

40 minutes ago, TrulyBlonde said:

Jim, My Ponant review is Nov. 2018 titled LeLyrial cruise S.Georgia and Antarctica. 

Thanks -- Found it at: 

 

I will be spending some quality time reading your live post.  Thanks for the pointer.  

[Jim_Iain]

@TrulyBlonde  Thanks for pointing my to your well written review.   You have me second guessing whether we should try Silverseas first rather than Ponant.     The cruise we are considering is on the Explorer Class ship.    I'm expecting a total different experience than Celebrity but  very intrigued by the particular Great Lakes Cruise.   At least it will be close to home and hopefully we won't experience the heavy seas you went through. 

 

Your comparison to a River Cruise will be interesting as Iain has been wanting to do one while I'm kinda against it. 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, MamaFej said:

I absolutely would not feel comfortable on one of their regular cruises. I am neither fancy nor schmancy.For those who are, it wouuld be a fabulous way to cruise. 

 

I would do another Expedition with them in a heartbeat, if I could actually afford it (highly unlikely). 

 

We really aren't concerned about "Fancy / Schmancy"    Part of our Norther California attitude is you get a blend of people dining black tie to those like Steve Jobs who normally showed up in Jeans and his iconic black T.   No one raise an eyebrow.

[TrulyBlonde]

18 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

@TrulyBlonde  Thanks for pointing my to your well written review.   You have me second guessing whether we should try Silverseas first rather than Ponant.     The cruise we are considering is on the Explorer Class ship.    I'm expecting a total different experience than Celebrity but  very intrigued by the particular Great Lakes Cruise.   At least it will be close to home and hopefully we won't experience the heavy seas you went through. 

 

Your comparison to a River Cruise will be interesting as Iain has been wanting to do one while I'm kinda against it. 

Thanks and I was going to choose Silversea too, at first. The reason we went with Ponant was because everyone said you "Must" go to S Georgia. We like to travel in November and the timing was best with Ponant because they offered that addition. Otherwise, it would have been Silversea.

 

I just realized you are thinking about Ponant and the Great Lakes cruise. An excellent idea to try them out that way first. I was born and raised in Michigan and you will have a delightful time on the Great Lakes. 🙂

 

We have taken 3 river cruises in Europe. The cabins are really small on all of them. Our last one on the Danube was with Tauck and they do a very good job. We splurged for the largest cabin they had because I wanted to make sure DH would not get cranky. If you enjoy independent tours, you are out of luck. It is more like a bus tour but your hotel is the river boat. Just our opinion of course, many people really enjoy them.

Regardless, all of it is better than staying at home and travel is an adventure 🙂

Edited December 26, 2022 by TrulyBlonde

[MamaFej]

3 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

We really aren't concerned about "Fancy / Schmancy"    Part of our Norther California attitude is you get a blend of people dining black tie to those like Steve Jobs who normally showed up in Jeans and his iconic black T.   No one raise an eyebrow.

My understanding is that the regular cruises are very fancy schmancy. Jackets required in the evenings in all public areas and such. On the Expedition cruise,  some folks wore leggings, jeans, sneakers, etc. at any time of day. 

 

I think that Jobs would have gotten away with whatever he wanted to wear in any situation. Me, not so much. 

 

This adventure sort of fell into our laps. My very dear friend got a crazy cheap Agent Rate. I think it was largely because of the timing. Going home from the ship to nealry anywhere in the world required traveling on Christmas Eve, and during Hanukkah. There were several agents aboard, on Agent Rates. My TA friend couldnt get the Agent Rate for us, but the cruise was heavily discounted without it. He also worked some magic for us, and we just couldn't say no. I'm glad we didn't. It was not my first choice of itinerary, but it was utterly amazing, nonetheless. We had far more landings than average, we got to kayak, we actually saw Cape Horn, etc., etc., etc.  When members of the Expedition Team repeatedly say, "Whoa! That almost never happens" multiple times, literally stop the Zodiac to get out their own phones for pictures, and gush over how well things are going, especially compared to the previous two trips, it's definitely a great experience! We even got to enter the caldera and go ashore on Deception Island. We were seconds away from having to abort, but a sudden wind shift allowed us in. We had far more good luck than anyone deserves.  I think the current cruise is doing the Falklands, and other stuff east of where we went. Silversea has 3 or 4 ships down there this season. 

 

The ship holds 300, but we had only 174 passengers. As such, we got to to places only ships with under 200 are allowed to go. I would definitely love to visit Stanley, South Georgia, etc., but this was a once in a lifetime deal, and a less than perfect itinerary (on paper) was 8 million times better than never doing it at all. Because of the (relatively) low price, there were quite a few middle class folks like us, who would normally not cruise Silversea. There were also lots of people who probably had more cash in their $5,000 designer handbags than we have in our investment accounts. Nearly everyone was friendly. The staff and crew were phenomenal. 

 

For folks who can definitely afford this type of cruising at regular prices, holding out for other options may be a better choice. Keep in mind that 10-12% of this kind of expediton cruise ends up with no one ever getting ashore, or even onto Zodiacs. I was prepared for this, but we had just the opposite. 

 

@Jim_Iain, you have my email address, and my real name. Feel free to reach out, if you want.