Jim_Iain - B2B Sydney - Honolulu - Vancouver

[Jim_Iain]

9 hours ago, hcat said:

very long overall itin.. Will the NYC connect to a Cunard crossing?

No that will be about a month later.   

 

We wanted to try Oceania before the other cruise we booked with them.   Sorry Celebrity You lost out on 6 bookings this year.  

 

While Celebrity's new announcement about cruise only fares for Zenith,  Member's in the private Zenith Group are finding it is useless.    To get the benefit they require you to rebook and loose the $800 OBC from booking aboard and Gratuities if booked before they were eliminated.   Many are reporting that if they took advantage it would actually raise their rates by $1,500 plus. 

 

So the theme is --- Yes we admit we have been screwing you for years and now will continue to do so for the next year or so.   They then scratch their heads and wonder why they lost over $100,000 in booking from us this year.

 

The more we read about Oceania the more we believe they may be a better fit for us.   Having said that Old Time Oceania cruisers are complaining about the cutbacks and decline in quality of food.   Hmmmmm....Must be contagious.

[Jim_Iain]

8 hours ago, hcat said:

Yup

Sometimes it is better to get new, esp before a possible crisis!

 

We just replaced our Home Computer.. The data Transfer is Underway with the  GEEK squad. Our existing custom designed set up  was quite old. and not supported by any updates. Sadly no more CD roms will work on the new one..HP..but our  lap top in Fl still has one if needed.

 

I also updated my  Samsung Tablet..The old one was perfectly fine,  but my book reader program LIBBY needed  a newer version tablet. Can still use old tab for an extra.

 

It is traumatic to upgrade but then amazing to enjoy new tech!  Even for lo tech folks like me.

 

Counting down to the start of Jim's  blog..and amazing photos!

 

I replaced one of my servers in September --- not sure if it got hit with a power surge or what but just died -  When I would try to boot it would trigger the power supply to shut down.   I had a couple backups so just pulled the Solid State drives and plugged into the back up and back in operation in 10 minutes. 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

8 hours ago, Whinenowine said:

Whew!  Just made it through all the posts so far.

 

Jim--you guys are the only posters on CC who have 7 pages of posts BEFORE you even leave for the airport.  You'll likely be north of 12 pages before you set foot on the ship.  I think that says a lot about you and Iain--the quality of your posts and the friendliness with which you engage your fellow CCers.  While this trip isn't on the docket for me anytime soon, I'll still follow the thread closely and live vicariously through you two.

 

Can't wait to see the shirts you guys will be rocking this time!

  

 

Thank goodness we aren't going back to Port Douglas.   That Men's Shop I found set me back .... but again...... It was Australian Dollars or as our friends from Australian call them Asia Pacific Pesos.  

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, JackE said:

If you like British mystery, the Freida Klein novels by Nicci French are great, as well as the Inspector Lynley series by Elizabeth George (an American who sets her novels in Great Britain). Both series should be read in order. My partner LOVES mystery novels, especially the British kind. He also loves Ruth Rendell, and you can read those out of order. 

 

If you like watching British mystery shows, I recommend Line of Duty and Payback. Very intense!  

 

I like some British Mysteries but other's kinda loose me.    I do however lover Lin Anderson -  Rhona MacLeod Scottish Mystery Series.    I love long series and usually get the complete series and start with #1 -  It's always fun to see how characters develop.

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, mchell810 said:

 

I've read all the Harry Bosch stuff.  If you like that you may enjoy books by Tana French -- all her books are set in Ireland.  I've most enjoyed her first three:  In the Woods, The Likeness and Faithful Place.  While the books are listed as a series each stands on it's own; generally, a secondary character from one book become the focus of the next book.

 

I just put them on my list.    One series I loved was Aaron Elkins -Gideon Oliver Series.  Gideon Oliver is a Forensic Anthropologist and an unusual approach to solving mysteries.     I loved them so much I would ration my reading because I was coming to the end of his series.

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, Justpackingmybags said:

Have you ever come across Martin Walker’s Bruno books? A rural gendarme who somehow gets to be involved in anything from truffle fraud to international terrorism, all while cooking fantastic food. They’re lovely books. 

 

He is a new one to me.    Just added him to my list.   I have a feeling I will be depleting my collection after this trip.

[DaKahuna]

16 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I replaced one of my servers in September --- not sure if it got hit with a power surge or what but just died -  When I would try to boot it would trigger the power supply to shut down.   I had a couple backups so just pulled the Solid State drives and plugged into the back up and back in operation in 10 minutes. 

 

 I just recently had a 6TB hard drive fail on my Ubuntu box.  I replaced it with a 10TB drive and pulled the data I needed from my NAS.  While I was at it, I replace the 500GB boot SSD with a 1TB SSD.  Also install a new 2nd graphics card.  

 

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, kwokpot said:

We are doing a similar itinerary five days later albeit on Royal Caribbean. Unfortunately our altered itinerary only has an overnight in Kailua-Kona with no stops in Hilo. We have been to Hilo many times where we ventured to Volcano's National Park. So I'll be curious to see where you end up visiting when you venture out in Kailua-Kona. I just finalized a Turo rental where we only plan to rent a car for the first day of the overnight.  

 

Glad to see you Anthony.    I have mixed feelings about Hilo.    My first Love was from Hilo and it took me years to escape what became a very abusive relationship.   Haven't seen him in almost 40 years and don't even know if he's still alive.   Every time I've been there since I avoid where the family ranches and homes are.   

 

On our last trip we  Volcano National Park, Mona Loa, Mauna Kea  and Haleakala.   

 

In Kona -  Hulihee Palace, Akaka Falls State Prk an Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.

 

Considering Gilbert Carvalho Park - with Rainbow Falls and Waikuku River State Park

[Kandtcruisers]

23 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

No that will be about a month later.   

 

We wanted to try Oceania before the other cruise we booked with them.   Sorry Celebrity You lost out on 6 bookings this year.  

 

While Celebrity's new announcement about cruise only fares for Zenith,  Member's in the private Zenith Group are finding it is useless.    To get the benefit they require you to rebook and loose the $800 OBC from booking aboard and Gratuities if booked before they were eliminated.   Many are reporting that if they took advantage it would actually raise their rates by $1,500 plus. 

 

So the theme is --- Yes we admit we have been screwing you for years and now will continue to do so for the next year or so.   They then scratch their heads and wonder why they lost over $100,000 in booking from us this year.

 

The more we read about Oceania the more we believe they may be a better fit for us.   Having said that Old Time Oceania cruisers are complaining about the cutbacks and decline in quality of food.   Hmmmmm....Must be contagious.

We are also trying O for the first time this November, after exclusively sailing X since we became empty-nesters in 2014. Like you, we’ve seen some complaints regarding O too, but we’ll make up our minds. Something tells me we’ll be back on X again.  We are looking forward to your thought-filled reviews and hope to meet in person.  Until then, the best from the beautiful Colorado Rockies. 

[cruzzzinma]

27 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

The more we read about Oceania the more we believe they may be a better fit for us.

Jim, we loved Oceania and found it a good fit. I thought Oceania cruisers might be stuffy but almost all of them graduated from Celebrity, Princess, and/or Holland America. They were interested in our cruise experiences and specifically why we wanted to try Oceania. 

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

I take it you have been to Volcano's National Park? I have been told walking along the volcano flows there is breathtaking. 

 

The military has a recreation center there where you can rent cabins.  I am thinking of going there for a day or two next time we visit the islands. 

 

 

We've been there but last time they kept you far back from the Flows as things were quite active.   I've read that The Kaniel K Inouye Hawaii (AKS Saddle Road)  affords nice view but have restrictions of no stopping between Mile Marker 16 and  31.

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, DUTRAVEL said:

They are all irreplacable - such different personalties. I dread Henrietta's retirement next year since she is the perfect traveller. I'm sure my successor Service Dog will be a pro too, but it will be interesting to see the differences.

Do you have to give her up when she retires.

 

Luke had been a Police Dog flunk out and I had to go along for a forced removal as the officer was beating him --- Luke was terrified of gun shots and all bets were off when he saw a squirrel.   He was considered not adoptable as he became aggressive.. He really wasn't.   If you put out a hand he would snarl and lung but was a gentle boy and never put his teeth on anyone.   He was just saying dont' beat me.   

 

After a year work with an aggressive dog trainer --- he learned a hand coming toward his head meant Treat instead of a whack on the head. 

 

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Just South of Volcanos National Park is Punalu'u Black Sand Beach where you can see the giant sea turtles.

 

 

 

That just made it on the list.   Would love to see the Turtles.

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, Gaynors said:

Yes, I have studied the globe and maps to look at all the places we are going but what helped me most was adding all of our ports to the clock on my phone and seeing that French Polynesia is only 6 hours difference (as you say, same as Hawaii)  from east coast US.   Pago Pago is only 7 hrs.... but once you cross the date line... my mind starts getting confused again.   So Apia, Western Samoa is in the same time zone as Auckland but Suva, Fiji is another hour different...

 

We have 8 sea days to get back from Moorea to LA and only 3 time zones.

 

Wishing you safe travels and smooth seas...  will wave as we pass each other!

 

I agree --- It really was surprised....

 

South America also surprised me,  It is so much further east than Florida.   I just imagined it was due south of California.  

 

I know I should have paid more attention in School.

[Chrissi3010]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

We wanted to try Oceania before the other cruise we booked with them.   Sorry Celebrity You lost out on 6 bookings this year.  

We went on Oceania twice so far. We found the food there much better than on Celebrity. We even went to the Buffet there which we generally avoid on Celebrity ships. Just have to admit that the smaller Oceania ships are not ours. We were missing the vibes, entertainment  and generally the atmosphere. But on the bigger ships we will definitely cruise again.

[Essiesmom]

My geographic problem is Europe, or perhaps any place on the far side of the Atlantic.  In the Western Hemisphere, East is bordering the Atlantic Ocean.  So I have to keep reminding myself that the parts of Europe that also border the Atlantic are the west coast, not east.  EM

[Jim_Iain]

Busy last day --   Ran down to get my hair cut.    Iain has relied on me ever since Covid.  I have to say, I've gotten pretty good at it.   First time I was terrified.

 

After I got back,  I jumped into getting my packing done.   Was completed with the packing just in time for a 4PM meeting with our HOA Attorney.  Everything is now wrapped up and ----Time to get into Vacation Mode.

 

I am so ready to leave life behind and get into our next incredible journey.    We have plans with a long time friend in Sydney that haven't seen in decades.    Trying to find a perfect place for lunch.     I think we have narrowed it down to Pendolino and Crafted by Matt Moran.   Any other recommendations are welcome.

 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 I just recently had a 6TB hard drive fail on my Ubuntu box.  I replaced it with a 10TB drive and pulled the data I needed from my NAS.  While I was at it, I replace the 500GB boot SSD with a 1TB SSD.  Also install a new 2nd graphics card.  

 

 

I really chuckle at Disk Drive prices today.   I worked in the Disk Drive industry and when I first started we had a HUGE 20 MB (not GB) mechanical hard drive that weighed 10 pounds and cost about $1,000.   Am I showing my age. 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, Kandtcruisers said:

We are also trying O for the first time this November, after exclusively sailing X since we became empty-nesters in 2014. Like you, we’ve seen some complaints regarding O too, but we’ll make up our minds. Something tells me we’ll be back on X again.  We are looking forward to your thought-filled reviews and hope to meet in person.  Until then, the best from the beautiful Colorado Rockies. 

 

We are not giving up on Celebrity but going forward will be based on itinerary and price instead of loyalty.   For more than 20 years when asked why we only sailed Celebrity, we would answer they have a Good Product at a Good Price and never seen a reason to make a switch.   I honestly have to admit I no longer can say that. 

 

Hope to also meet you some time.

 

[Jim_Iain]

10 minutes ago, Chrissi3010 said:

We went on Oceania twice so far. We found the food there much better than on Celebrity. We even went to the Buffet there which we generally avoid on Celebrity ships. Just have to admit that the smaller Oceania ships are not ours. We were missing the vibes, entertainment  and generally the atmosphere. But on the bigger ships we will definitely cruise again.

 

I can understand your feeling.   I think it all depends on individual tastes.   We often treat a ship more as a residence and haven't attended a show on Celebrity in over 10 years.   Personally the Vibes of the E-Class have really driven us to smaller ships and their more intimate size ships.

 

Our first venture was on Ponant and we really enjoyed it.   Totally different - but we needed a change.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, cruzzzinma said:

Jim, we loved Oceania and found it a good fit. I thought Oceania cruisers might be stuffy but almost all of them graduated from Celebrity, Princess, and/or Holland America. They were interested in our cruise experiences and specifically why we wanted to try Oceania. 

 

I have met so many Celebrity Alums over on the Oceania thread.   They have really made us feel welcome.

[Chrissi3010]

6 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

My geographic problem is Europe, or perhaps any place on the far side of the Atlantic.  In the Western Hemisphere, East is bordering the Atlantic Ocean.  So I have to keep reminding myself that the parts of Europe that also border the Atlantic are the west coast, not east.  EM

For us living in Central Europe it is simply Western Europe. 😉 The West Coast for us is always the Pazific Coast of Canada or the US. 

[Jim_Iain]

11 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

My geographic problem is Europe, or perhaps any place on the far side of the Atlantic.  In the Western Hemisphere, East is bordering the Atlantic Ocean.  So I have to keep reminding myself that the parts of Europe that also border the Atlantic are the west coast, not east.  EM

 

I have that one down pretty good.    While living in Ireland  I had to commute back to Headquarters in California once a month -- We alternated our European Staff Meetings between Munich, Paris, London, Dublin and Rome.   Sounds amazing but I had been in Paris 10 times before I ever saw the Eiffel Tower from the ground.   Basically arrive - jump in a waiting car to the office -- meet for two days hop in a car and back to the airport.   At least whichever office was hosted would arrange an night out. 

[DUTRAVEL]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Do you have to give her up when she retires.

 

Luke had been a Police Dog flunk out and I had to go along for a forced removal as the officer was beating him --- Luke was terrified of gun shots and all bets were off when he saw a squirrel.   He was considered not adoptable as he became aggressive.. He really wasn't.   If you put out a hand he would snarl and lung but was a gentle boy and never put his teeth on anyone.   He was just saying dont' beat me.   

 

After a year work with an aggressive dog trainer --- he learned a hand coming toward his head meant Treat instead of a whack on the head. 

 

We can keep her as a pet when she retires - she just wont have public access or be able to travel with us. Luckily our daughter will take care of her when we’re out of town. 
 

Luke was lucky to find a home with you with so much love and patience. 

[mchell810]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I just put them on my list.    One series I loved was Aaron Elkins -Gideon Oliver Series.  Gideon Oliver is a Forensic Anthropologist and an unusual approach to solving mysteries.     I loved them so much I would ration my reading because I was coming to the end of his series.

 

LOL  I've rationed books too: Delayed starts or forcing myself not to sit up all night to finish a good thing. 

 

I'll have to explore that Gideon Oliver series. Thanks.