tupper10

Gerry so sorry to hear about your friend and her family.  @ottahand7my thoughts are with you on this difficult day.  

I saw bad news today - and I am not being political - Britbox which has so many shows I (we) love is not going to be available here in the USA after 4/30/24. If you have it through Amazon prime it ends on 4/27/24.   I am not sure how I will get to watch all the shows I love.

One other suggestion:  For the Banff, Lake Louie & Jasper if you are up for it you can rent an RV in Calgary and do this part of the park at your leisure. You can book the campsites in advance.   It is a great trip and all the campsites have showers with hot water.  We did this and it was wonderful. Then back in Calgary we took the train to Vancouver with the stop over in Kamloops.  The scenery was great and we enjoyed it.  In Vancouver you  can hop on the Holland America land tour and then the cruise southbound back to Vancouver.  

Happy Easter to all who celebrate.  I am sorry to hear about so many issues with so many of the dailyites.  

Bon Voyage to those cruising. It seems these will be the last of the Caribbean cruises for HAL and then off to Europe and Alaska until next season.  

Not much on our agenda for today. The weather has been beautiful so we may take a nice walk later to one of our local preserves.  

I would do the land portion first.  August is fine but I would do early August so the weather will hopefully be a bit warmer. No one can predict the weather for you as it changes day by day, so just decide when is the best time for you to go and hope for the best.  We actually have done the trip but not all at once. The train is wonderful and it is a very scenic ride. I would spend as much time doing the land portion of Alaska as you can after the train ride. 

8 hours ago, marshhawk said:

Good Friday Morning Dailyites!  I think we have looked at the name game all week.  First the meaning, then on a name tag, and now pride in our middle name.  Maybe tomorrow will be, if you could change your name what would it be?  

 

@NickelpennyI have been thinking of you and the bugs.  Why not create some kind of slide show "Bugs of the Amazon" and share it with the schools where you sub?

 

I get very depressed when I go to the pharmacy and realize that I cant afford my meds.  But the other day I saw an elderly couple walk out of DH's oncologist office and the wife's question to him, was "why did you walk out?" and his response was that "I didnt want to have to read and sign all that paperwork". I found that sad, but I am repeatedly seeing people trying to get their must have meds, and they cant afford them .  I went to get my refill of Januvia and it had gone from 475 to 675, and I had to walk away.  Told them to put it back on the shelf, until I could get a decent pay check.  Life is just getting weird.  

 

I even considered cruising back to Cozumel to the pharmacy there, but checked and Carnival is not going to Mexico's east coast on 5 day trips anymore. At least not from Mobile.

 

Last night when I sat down at the home computer, I found a black cube on the floor.  It is a solid black cube. I didnt know what it goes to and neither the DH.  We decided that it was intraterrestrial and it was a black hole that had cubed itself and land in our den. 

 

 

Well both of us are up way too early -practicing for getting Tigger to the vets on Monday morning.

 

I use this pharmacy in Canada and your drug is reasonably priced. You just need to send them your prescription and it will come in the mail. https://www.pricepropharmacy.com/product/januvia/

5 minutes ago, chisoxfan said:

Same here, X is crazy. We were in SS on Ascent in Jan. Same cabin in Jan 25 is 10,800k without 600 OBC. refundable fare added 2000!  AQ with premium AI and non refundable almost 6k.

Basically you can book comparable suites on MSC YC and Princess Sun (both with dedicated suite areas and many inclusions) for about the same as AQ on this Ascent cruise- Fully refundable on Princess and more liberal deposit refund (change at small fee- which I still don't like) on MSC (YC only).  To the point, the stringent NR deposit policy of X just adds insult to injury when evaluating the value X now offers. JMHO

 

 

Agree we gave up on Celebrity because we want a refundable deposit and the differential between refundable and non refundable is absurd.  Also charging me a fee to re book when all they are doing is a ministerial function is not acceptable. There are many other cruise lines with more reasonable policies with cheaper fares for similar cruises; we have been sailing with them.

On 2/5/2024 at 11:04 PM, lilimarlene313 said:

Do you know if unscented laundry soap and dryer sheets are an option on HAL?  I have issues with fragrances added to cleaning supplies.  I will be on the 35-day Hawaii and Tahiti trip sailing on Feb 17, 2024.

I wrote no perfume or scent on the ticket and had no problem with the laundry. I am allergic to perfumes and most scents. I had no issue with the laundry. I also wrote hang dry and cold water wash on many items and they all came back great.  I loved having the laundry.  We did stuff in our jeans on the last cruise.  We did one bag of laundry for a 9 day cruise.    You will be surprised how much you can put in the bag.      

The Noordam had a wonderful promenade deck on 3 with chaises. It is covered but if you stand by the railing and it is raining you will get wet.   They also open the bow if you are going to Glacier Bay.  If it is cold you can go to the crow's nest.  Also,  you can see  everything from the seaview pool area as well which isn't as windy as the bow.  In Glacier Bay the ranger comes on board and gives a commentary that is projected in all the outside areas.  

Thank you for the daily.  I am glad to hear many who post here are feeling a bit better.

Vanessa I hope the procedure gives you much need relief.  Maureen so glad your husband is doing better but a big no on the pinched nerve.  I hope you can find some relief for it soon.  

I don't have much on the agenda today. I am still a bit tired post Covid but feeling better each day.  I have to head over to my mother's (finally) and do much needed paper work with her for taxes etc.  

I love all the British mystery shows on PBS- you can watch them on passport  PBS if you donate to PBS.  I used to do that but finally gave in and got Britbox so I could watch Shetland, Vera, etc.  I am now watching the old Inspector Morse shows. I find that there is nothing on regular tv anymore and I don't enjoy many of the 'new' shows in Netflix. Amazon has now gone to all commercials unless we give them more of our $$ which we refuse to do - so we don't watch it anymore.  If our HOA didn't have automatic cable as part of our dues I think we would be done with cable TV- 100 channels of nothing to watch.  

The weather is still quite cool at night for South Florida but I love it. I am dreading the summer heat and the prediction is for a horrible hurricane season.  Many of our neighbors have full house generators, we decided against one - and are using what we would have spent to just be away from Fl as much as we can in the summer.  

Happy Saturday to all.  

@JazzyV Good luck tomorrow and I hope this procedure resolves your pain.

@marshhawk I hope everything is okay with you and your DH please just a short post to let us know.

@StLouisCruisers glad that you get to spend your $$ on a cruise vs HVAC system.  Always a more enjoyable way to spend hard earned money.

I have been 'under the weather' for almost 2 + weeks now. I had the dreaded Covid come back though technically I know it is just the inflammation stage after you end the Paxlovid. Last week I felt better on Wednesday and into Thursday and Thursday night I got socked again - total congestion and fever which I had pretty much all day Friday and Saturday and Sunday I was just wiped out.  Yesterday I finally felt a bit better and today I managed to do a very small walk, I still had to take a nap in the afternoon or I would be asleep now.  I still tested positive on Monday though I know not to test anymore since I can show positive for weeks.  I haven't seen my mother yet because I was still sneezing etc but hopefully I will get there this weekend.  I did manage to work all last week and this week - the benefits of working remotely.  If I had to go into an office I would never have been able to do it.  

 My big day was going to the supermarket and library wearing an N95 mask.  I haven't seen good friends who are visiting or done any other activities. I am hoping by the end of the week I will feel less tired and able to get out and about.  

I do enjoy reading the daily - it keeps me sane to see all the wonderful travels.  I especially enjoy @aliaschief pictures. Please keep them coming.  Your trip looks absolutely fabulous and your pictures are great.  It brings back memories of our long ago trip to New Zealand and I would move there if I was younger. 

Happy sailing to all and @dfish  I hope you get your issues resolved. I am doing this on a daily basis for my mother and I am ready to tear my hair out when I have to deal with all these types of calls and have to then get my mother on the phone - who at this point has no understanding as to what is going on - and hardly can follow my prompts.  Please don't ask about providing them all with a POA it would make it even worse than it is now.   

3 hours ago, Mr. Boston said:

Good morning everyone from sunny Aruba.  Our plans are to visit the butterfly farm, DH has to avoid getting sun so Eagle Beach is out, sadly.  The times of our visits to the ports has been altered somewhat but it’s all good in the end.  Thanks for the daily report, an interesting collection of days to celebrate today, think I’ll skip card reading day though.  The quote is funny.  I think I’ll pass on the meal but say yes to the drink suggestion.  I haven’t been to the port.  Prayers for those on our prayer list and to those who need them.  Cheers to those who are celebrating happy events today! 🥂

We highly recommend the glass bottom boat on Bonaire. It is covered so you both should be fine. One of the best excursions we did if you don't snorkel/dive.  

Just know that on open seating you often can't get a table when you want to. You either must eat very early or late. We ended up on open seating eating at 7:30 every night so we switched our dining to reserved late seating.  Every time we wanted an earlier time we couldn't get a table for 2. If you want to share it shouldn't be a problem.   

3 minutes ago, gizmodog said:

Thank you all, upon investigating I believe I found the rooms you speak of.

We book the ones that are in the aft section and loved it.  4169 to 4209 and 4148 to 4182- 4154 and 4156 have the huge balconies and go very quickly.  I didn't want to be by a crew staircase - on the Eurodam we were told that it is an used staircase but not sure about the Pinnacle ships.  

1 hour ago, gizmodog said:

I am thinking of booking this cruise next year, have a question, don’t know if you are able to answer.

all aft balconies are booked, I love a bigger balcony. It looks like from deck plans deck 4 has larger balconies, do you know if that is true? Also, are they obstructed from lifeboats?

thank you if you are able to answer.

We have been on the sister ship to this one and the Deck 4 aft balconies are 2 x's the length of the regular balcony. It fits a chaise.   There are also a couple on the port side that are huge- by width and length.  We have one booked for another cruise but haven't been in one to date.     

@JazzyV Vanessa - I don't need to be on the care list but thank you for putting me there.

We are finally having some decent weather here. It is still windy but at least the sun is out and it is warm.   I do miss the snow - looking out the window with no place to go and the kids home from school.  Those were some fun days. 

Not much on my agenda today - hopefully I will get to do some errands later in the day. 

I hope everyone has a great day.   

1 hour ago, USN59-79 said:

Sorry to hear about the covid issue.  Do you have any idea on where you might have caught it?  I believe that I am most likely to contract it on a flight to the cruise port.  We have a 13 hour flight coming up this weekend and plan to wear N95 masks on the plane.  On the 33 day cruise, unless most are wearing them we will probably not.  We have had all of the available shots for it, including RSV and Flu, so if we are unlucky enough to get infected it shouldn't be too bad.  In our area, I notice that maybe 10% or less of people shopping are wearing a mask.  Looking at videos of Asia, maybe 30 or 40% of people on the street in Taiwan are still wearing a mask.  (Sara checks out the daily news in Taiwan every day on YouTube). 

Ray 

We didn't fly to this cruise so I definitely got this on the cruise.  We only did one event in the main theatre and my guess is that is where I picked it up. We didn't do any of the shows because it was very crowded. All our excursions were 'open air'.   I should have skipped the last event or worn my N 95 mask but I didn't.  My fault.  I would suggest that for crowded events you wear a mask - why even risk getting Covid on such a long cruise. It is still pretty debilitating.  And I did have all the vaccines and boosters. 

 I will definitely take and wear  N 95's  on our next cruise for all excursions on a bus.  We will probably also skip the crowded events.  As soon as I was diagnosed my doctor told me to start the paxlovid.   I suggest you bring some with you on your travels. It works to immediately stop the virus replication. It is incredible how fast it kicks in. Of course for me part of the 'kicking in' was the GI s/x.  Now, as I said,  I just have the fatigue but I managed to do 1/2 of my regular walk today after  working most of the day. I  did have to take a late afternoon nap to survive until dinner time.:).    

Have a wonderful time on your cruise and safe travels. 

Hello All. Sorry to hear about the continued medical/health issues for so many but glad to see so many packing for new travels.

We had a wonderful time on our 9 day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Rotterdam.  Unfortunately when I came back w/in a day I had Covid.  I had most of the cold type symptoms but the paxlovid caused the GI issues as well. With all of these plus the complete exhaustion that comes with this new variant I have not been out of the house since last week.  I still have the exhaustion but I finished the paxlovid so the awful taste in my mouth is dissipating.  I am trying to get up the energy to go to the grocery store.  I did manage to work most days last week- with many breaks in between.  It was about all I could manage to do. The benefits of working remotely.  

I 1/2 watched the Super Bowl - I don't really follow professional football though as a Penn State alumna I used to follow college football quite closely. Now the only sport I love to watch is ice skating and some tennis, and gymnastics at the Olympics. I am looking forward to that this summer.  

Other than work not much on my agenda - as I said trying to get up the energy for the grocery store later today but if I don't make it, I do have enough to eat in the house.

Healing thoughts to all.  And so sorry to hear about the passing of friends and family of the daily family.  

We just got off and it was pop top cans for water.  

9 minutes ago, tupper10 said:

@SumoCitrus  As I am sure you are aware any place that your grandson eats whether on a cruise, at school, at someone else's house has the potential to give him a reaction. I also have a severe nut allergy and I found that I was fine on HAL.  As I said in the Lido the manager knows what is in the food. The chef actually made me  a dozen cookies since even though the cookies said no nuts I was afraid of cross contamination.     You are given a menu for the meals in the MDR again - they know how the food is made and what is in it. If there is a question, the staff checked directly with the chef.  To be frank I felt safer eating on the cruise than in many other settings.  

Sorry should have said @Cruising on a Sunday afte

9 minutes ago, tupper10 said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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@SumoCitrus  As I am sure you are aware any place that your grandson eats whether on a cruise, at school, at someone else's house has the potential to give him a reaction. I also have a severe nut allergy and I found that I was fine on HAL.  As I said in the Lido the manager knows what is in the food. The chef actually made me  a dozen cookies since even though the cookies said no nuts I was afraid of cross contamination.     You are given a menu for the meals in the MDR again - they know how the food is made and what is in it. If there is a question, the staff checked directly with the chef.  To be frank I felt safer eating on the cruise than in many other settings.  

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In the Lido many items are labeled to say 'have nuts'.  But IMHO you still must be very careful due to cross contamination.  You can see one of the waiters who will call over a manager in the Lido and they will either prepare the meal for your grandson or tell you what he can and cannot eat. In the MDR we always ask on day 1 to  sit with the same waiter - so s/he knows the food allergies involved. 

9 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

Debbie, thanks for your advice and the exercise to try.  I just did it.  Hardest part is raising the left arm halfway up.  That hurts but I'll try it slowly and maybe not halfway at first.  So many people have shoulder problems.  Friends Scott and Susan both have different shoulder problems.  And my twin is currently undergoing PT so that they will do a MRI for her.  Yes, PT before the MRI.  She told me this morning she was on her way there and that her insurance won't pay for the MRI until she has 6 weeks of PT.  Seems like they should find out what the problem is before they try the exercises but what do we know? 🤷‍♀️

If it hurts my PT said don’t do it. Just stand against wall and don’t raise your arms.

Bon Voyage to all. How exciting for you all to be on your way to Hawaii.

Sorry to hear about stitches and shoulder pain. @StLouisCruisersi have the same issue my PT. told me to stand against the wall with head and shoulders back and hold. It does correct your posture. Also she said to then raise your arms 1/2 way up holding the same position.  I find it is one of the few things that relieves the pain.

Sorry to hear Tana is having issues. I hope they can be addressed.  

We are heading out to a short excursion soon just a ride around town.  It is way too hot to be walking.  
 

Have a good day. 

Bon Voyage I will be following along. Have a fabulous cruise.

@Seasick Sailori hope this posts they miss you very much. Debbie @tupper10