happywandering

Yes

30 minutes ago, cccole said:

I agree.  I think most of us see a dog on a cruise ship and automatically assume it is a trained service animal and how nice that the owner has the ability to travel.  There have been several examples on this thread where someone questions whether the dog is indeed a service animal because of behavior...in the Lido, running into someone else's cabin.  Someone else has pointed out that there are all sizes of service animals and they can provide a huge variety of services for their owner(s).  Cherie 

trained service animal are the key words

i will grant you that asking crew to enforce the rules puts them in a "unfriendly" spot.  They are trying so hard to be accommodating and welcoming.  The question becomes if they don't who will?  No children in the adult pool?  Use the chair or remove your stuff so others may? Smoking in designated areas only?  Are they really rules?

Rotterdam staff said they recognized this problem in January when I sailed.  I was told that staff was told to time and remove.  Do they?

My friend and I will be cruising in the same cabin.  She is connected to my account but has her own mariner number and will pay her own bills.  I want to buy the HAL insurance but she would like to go private.  Is it possible for only one cabin mate to have the insurance?  This is the first time I have shared a cabin with someone other than my spouse.  When I sail with him I usually just pay all the bills since I sail a lot more than he does. 

2 minutes ago, cruzingnut said:

I'm not particularly happy having to do this this way.  We are basically giving them entry into our accounts!   With so many data breaches these days, I don't think this is smart.  Unfortunately, there is NO other way to do it.  Still not sure what I'm going to do about it.  Forgo the benefit to protect my account?

 

Curious to know what other people think about this new set up.

 

Linda R.

Do I see a big sell off of CCL stock if they are going to play this underhanded method of accessing accounts?

WoW!  What form are you using to give permission.  Certainly don't want to give them access to my stock account.  I have always just printed the CCL page that shows ownership.

On 7/23/2023 at 12:14 AM, Boatdrill said:

I can't remember the last time I knew who the CD was, and I'm out of my stateroom frequently.  It's just not a need to know.   

 

Times have changed. There's no longer a greeting line at the Captain's Welcome Aboard Party.  Dining room tables are no longer hosted by ship's officers. There's no final night dinner parade in the dining room either, announced by the CD. Are the  CD and officers named in the embarkation day Welcome Aboard schedule of events distributed in our rooms?  I don't think so. At least not on 7 or 10 day cruises. 

 

 

I had forgotten about officers hosting tables.  That was really special.  Hope it is resurrected someday.  My favorite was the purser who hosted on the Zuiderdam on my Canada to Ft. Lauderdale cruise.  Don't remember his name but I remember his stories. 

I'm not getting the error messages but instead EVERYTHING takes me to booking excursions.  Would like to do a few other things to manage my bookings.

2 hours ago, superoma said:

Good morning all. As always, lots going on. We are off shortly to our local pharmacy (shoppers drug mart) for our flu and Covid shots. I will cancel our November slot with our nurse practitioner. My understanding is that there are so many open time slots that people outside of the first demographic group (age, health, health care worker etc) are getting the shots (DD 52 no health issues) I surely hope this is not an indication of the winter to come. 
 

curious question; how many of you use your public library? Our local tv station does a survey question each night based on one of the stories. The other night the question was “do you use your public library”. I realize the results are a very small sample of the population (200,000 with 486 responding) and only representative of the people who watch CTV but only 32% said yes they use the public library. So, who here uses their public library? Just curious. It has saved me so much money over the years and now I can stream movies and tv shows from their app too. Thanks everyone for your responses.

 

Dinner tonight will be maple glazed salmon, scalloped potatoes, Brussels sprouts and Caesar salad with my wise Wednesday women group. 

prayers for those that need them and cheers to those celebrating or cruising!

 

 

Daily use of the on line function from my public library.  It is where I get all my kindle books!  Periodic use of the nearby branch of our local public library to pick up books I desire that do not have a kindle format.  Very rare use of the movies and magazine functions. (not the best selection)

2 hours ago, dfish said:

Good morning, everyone!

 

@mamaofami

 

 

We have another nice day in store here in mid-Michigan.  I'm going to go to the gym and following that, the fish market, the coffee shop, and exchange my gas canister for the grill.  I found a lamp that I want for the outside post.  Now we just have to figure out how to get the old one off.  The new one will have a photo eye on it so I won't have to remember to turn lights on and off outside.  

 

@StLouisCruisers Wishing you safe travels today, Sandi. I hope Ren is all better quickly.  I am glad that @aliaschief Bruce made it home safely yesterday. It looks like @Heartgrove is really enjoying his cruise.  

 

The lemongrass chicken sounds good to me.  If I can find lemongrass anywhere in town I just may try it.  Here's the first recipe:  https://www.aheadofthyme.com/pan-fried-lemongrass-chicken/

 

 

That recipe is nice as it doesn't require any difficult to find ingredients outside of the lemongrass.  The cilantro is just for garnish, so it can be left out by those who don't like it.  

 

This next recipe calls for fish sauce and it comes with a dipping sauce as well.  There are directions for air frying it.  https://christieathome.com/blog/vietnamese-lemongrass-chicken/

 

 

This one is a bit more complex, but most likely worth the effort.  It looks fabulous!  https://carlsbadcravings.com/lemongrass-chicken/

 

 

Wishing you all a wonderful day!

 

I have lemon grass in my yard.  Help yourself!

Two cruises booked today.  VOV 2025   A Eurodam Caribbean November 2024.  Fully intend to go on each, but this far out sometimes intentions don't matter.

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I think it's my favorite Alaska port. So NOT touristy--no Diamonds International, etc. 

&1

On 9/3/2023 at 11:56 PM, TiogaCruiser said:

It’s been a while (April of 2023) but this lovely duo was on Zaandam. They played a set or 2 most afternoons and the same in the evening. All sets on a given day were the SAME.
 

While I appreciate their performances, it made no sense to me to repeat the exact same program several times a day. It’s almost like HAL programming thinks people only want a sample…..  I would be one to stay for all if the sets were different. (I’m sure the other venues -RSRR and BBK- don’t play the same set all night.

Saw these two as part of a quartet on Nieuw Statendam.  Pianist is quite good.  She did several solos.

Wouldn't mind seeing them again!

Not to worry.  This has happened much to often for us.  We get table for four, but it is a different table for four than the other two family members.   Dining room manager fixes it with no problem on the day of embarkation. We like late dining.  This has encouraged us to make sure we have the same table as soon as everyone has their new ID cards.  I would encourage you to see the manager BEFORE the mad rush of the beginning of service. 

2 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

Looking at Tony's pictures, I almost put that same top on today.   Does anyone else look at old photos and think, OMG, I still have those clothes!

Yes!

Not too worried, cruises are January and May 2024.  Would like to see a check mark on the to do list.

The website says that snail mail works.  Anybody apply this way?  I don't like sending financial stuff over the internet for e-mail.  I sent in my material July 8th.  Still waiting.

Do you have to apply for each cruise does account "remember" the information?

19 minutes ago, Nickelpenny said:

Good Morning to All!  Thanks for the information and everyone' contributions.  I will celebrate the days but not the quote.  The food sounds interesting but no so much the drink.  I am not a fan of Clamato.  The wine is too expensive and I have never been to the port.

 

Loved watching Nadia hit her 10s during the '76 Olympics.  I always watch them but usually just the Summer ones.  I was supposed to go to the '72 one in Munich.  Was taking German so I could speak when I went and my 2 friends (who did go) and I were dividing up the stuff we would take.  But alas, my parents moved me to the end of the earth (AZ)!  They would not let me stay with my coach in CA but did try to keep up with my training.  They would pick me up at the school bus stop and we would drive down to Tucson so that I could train at a pool on the east side.  We would get home around 11pm every night.  They finally said they couldn't do it anymore as gas was too high!  I think it hit around $0.50/gal.  Dashed my dreams and I was bitter for years.  One of my friends became an ABC commentator with Mark Spitz and I saw the other one once on Jeopardy.  BUT I would have never become a nurse and that took me around the world.  So I guess the moral of the story is:  you never know what the curves in life will take you!!

 

FINALLY got some good monsoon yesterday afternoon.  We were under a severe storm, heat, dust and flood warnings in the evening.  The temps dropped 40 degrees in about 15 minutes.  It was soooo nice.  Hopefully it will repeat today.

 

Off to the gym today.  I am signed up for another research project; not necessarily profitable but may help with my health!

 

Thoughts for those on the care list and cheers to those celebrating.

 

Have a great day everyone!

 

 

What event did you swim?

On 5/4/2023 at 9:18 AM, Haljo1935 said:

Sorry, @Denise T I should have checked your itinerary before posting the Sitka pics - it's worth a stop on your next trip!

We've entered the Tongass Narrows as we head closer to Ketchikan. 

BTW - balcony pictures are taken port side.

Additional posts & pictures are on my Live Eurodam AK April 29 - May 6 thread. I am really excited to follow @Denise T and her pictures in a few weeks - no such thing as "too much Alaska" for us Lower 48ers.

Sitka is my favorite Alaskan port.  Loved walking around and exploring the town.  Very nice museum. (Nice bathrooms too)  Talked to some fishermen who told us much about living in Sitka. 

53 minutes ago, teacherman said:

To all who enjoy, or have cruised on, the Zaandam, I would suggest you read the book entitled "Cabin Fever."  This is the true story of the Zaandam, which was in South America the winter of 2019-20 when the Covid first broke out.  It is the story of the ship's very long voyage back to Florida, due to the fact that no country would allow the ship to land and disembark passengers.  We were on the cruise prior to the story told in this book, and we remembered some of the crew members mentioned in the book.  I recommend it to anyone who enjoys cruising.

Thanks for the suggestion.  It is now on my Kindle.

6 minutes ago, cruising sister said:

As it gets closer to my cruise on May 6th the more worried I get about dining alone. I have Club Orange and it is a smaller dining room. Will I look out of place? Will people look at me with pity?  These are the things that go through my head. 

I think you will  find that the staff in Club Orange will go out of their way to make you welcome and comfortable.  A little" extra" kindness and attention can even come your way.  This is from a group that gives everyone a warm and comfortable experience.  A few smiles from you don't hurt either.

41 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

The updated list (Master of the ship is Captain Bas van Dreumel).

 

Thank you

@0106 Thank you.