akcruz

Oh my sorry to hear about your accident.  No advice but the suggestion of having DH get the car and come back for you sound like a good idea.  Let us know how you make out.

52 minutes ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Just read on the Celebrity board that our friend here on Dani's thread @helen haywood fell and broke her leg on her Beyond cruise. 😞

 

 

Oh no, hope she makes it home ok.

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

My friend decided to adopt another kitty. No name assigned as yet...

 

I suggested "Samba", since one of the other kitties is a Siamese called "Sushi" (the other one is called Lychee), and we have a very popular chain of restaurants called "Sushi Samba".

 

So now I have another [step]kitty to be proud of 😍

 

 

So cute!

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

Some good, and some not so good.

 

Good, as far as the latest scans for our daughter last week.

 

Not so good, in that our friend, Greg, passed away unexpectedly from complications due to a cardiac event.  He was a musician, and played with several bands in his career.  Very talented on keyboard, brass and vocals.  Susan and I helped out with the funeral dinner.

 

His funeral was unlike any I had ever been to.  Many of his band members came and played some of his favorites as a tribute.  At the end of the service, a video appeared on the screens of Greg playing and singing  an arrangement that was perfect for the end.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the place, and I guess he got to play at his own funeral.

 

RIP Greg.  You will be missed.

 

 

Glad to hear your daughters scan are good but sorry to hear about your friend.  Sounds like a great send off although bittersweet.

@Luckynana Happy Birthday to your girls

@A&L_Ont Happy Birthday to Owen

🎉🎁🎂

19 minutes ago, CruiszBug said:

April 13-29, 2024: HAWAII DO-OVER!

Made it to the airport by 5:15 AM! Brittany (Phoebe’s nurse) was waiting for us! 😀

 

Thank you, Tom for being our UBER driver! 

Checked 8 bags @registration. TSA CARES agent escorted us through security. Gate tagged/checked wheelchair and medical dolly with 8 additional carry-ons… Made our 6:30 AM flight on Southwest to Las Vegas via Nashville. Let the trip begin! (Wish us Luck!)

 

 

Woo hoo I can see the pictures now. Looking good, enjoy your trip.

2 hours ago, jmh2006 said:

I think you are confused.  Maryann doesn't live in Leland, she lives in NJ.  I am the one moving to Leland in a few years.  And for what it is worth, Wilmington is a very nice city.

Agreed about Wilmingtin, great little city, need to get back its been a while.

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

The adventure begins.

 

Sarah and I are sitting at the airport waiting for our flight to Vancouver where we will board the Explora Journey tomorrow for a 6 day cruise to Los Angeles.  This will be our first time sailing a cruise line other than Royal and this will be the complete opposite of what we are used to.

 

The Explora Journey is 64,000 Tonnes. 900 passengers and 700 crew, all suites, everything included.  This is MSC's new high end line that for an easy comparison would be like Silversea is to Royal.

 

We only have two stops, Astoria and San Francisco.  Astoria we will just wander around and have lunch in town at a local fish and chip shop.  In San Francisco we are docked from 9am to 11pm so I have Go Cars booked for 8 hours for us to see some sights and then an evening behind the scenes tour of Alcatraz.

 

I'll post pictures and updates along the way.

 

The only concern right now is that yesterday, Westjet issued a 72 hour lockout notice to the mechanics union so that could impact our flight home.

 

The other thing I was not prepared for was the dress code on board.  Resort casual for the day and resort elegant for the evening.  A quick shopping trip and visit to the dry cleaners was required this week.  So much for travelling with a carry on only.

 

Tonight's hotel in Vancouver is done on the cheap with us staying at the Days inn by the Airport however an unexpected bonus is Vancouvers summer food festival is open and across the street so that will be dinner tonight.

Bon Voyage, looking forward to hearing about your trip.  When we did Alcatraz we started in daylight but left after dark.  Neat to see it then, even creepier.

2 hours ago, Luckynana said:

 

You're not kidding!  We moved here 7 years ago, Two new red lights made their appearance just around my block, a new 55 and over community built around when we moved in, and the ground clearing in all directions of our town, an entire community of townhouse buildings are partially occupied while more buildings going up there, and way more ground clearing where low income housing will be going up.   I don't know where our town is going to find the room in our schools to contain the population of children who will be attending.  

Rte 9 is only a one lane road, and our other main road is only two-lane.

I thought everybody from NJ, as well as the rest of the northeast, was moving south.  Everybody moving here seems to be from the northeast or Ohio.  We've said we are full, way too much building going on, pretty soon there won't be a tree left, it is sad.  We have passively looked around but to get away from it we would need to move farther away from the beach than we want to. 

4 hours ago, LadyZolt said:

We have very slow Internet in India.  This will be my final post as we have to get ready to leave in Dubai.  Royal Caribbean did say that they wouldn't refund us the rest of the cruise, which is what I expected, so we will file with our insurance once we're home.  I see John's photos from the Taj Mahal, so I'll just post a couple I took.  😀

 

Adding my thanks for keeping this thread going with your amazing pictures.  Safe travels home and hoping all is resolved when you get back.

3 hours ago, sgmn said:

Talking about parents who have passed away , my mother's story as a child is terrible sad.  Her farm worker father died when she was about five and the family with three under 5's lost their tied farm cottage. Her mother married again in haste to a wrong'un and sadly took her own life when mum was 9.  There was no social services or government help in the '30s. It was either the workhouse or farmed out to other relatives.  She was lucky she was taken in by an aunt but didn't see her siblings again until she was an adult.  At 14 she had to earn her own living.  But she never complained and was the sweetest most loving mum anyone could wish for.

At 48 she achieved her lifelong dream of becoming a nurse. 

She inspires me so much and I miss her every day. 

This is her wedding day in 1955

Wow what a story.  Amazing what many of our ancestors have gone through in their lives and come out the other end great people.  

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

 

I know when I started my book on our family tree, there were several things I found that I wish I could have asked my parents, or that Susan could have asked hers.  It seems that no one in the family was aware of certain things.  One, was that my one grandfather had a marriage prior to my grandmother.  If my mother, or her sister knew, it was never shared.

 

Another was a prior marriage of Susan’s grandfather, and the son he had from that marriage.  And it seems like some things are closely held secrets, for what ever reason.  After discovering this, and asking one of Susan’s aunts, she was aware but never shared, even though she kept asking what I had found. 
 

My self imposed timeline to finish my book has passed, but it is nearly finalized.  I have reached a point to where I am conflicted about what I should include about a few of the living relatives.  Since the book will be primarily for my kids and grandkids, do I include things about prior marriages and/or children of those relatives?  There are things that are not talked about, and my kids are probably not aware of them.  
 

Thank goodness that neither Susan or I have any deep dark secrets about us.  At least that’s what she claims. 

I have many old family photos, always surprised at the people that are missing from them.  It used to be to keep things secret and pretend they never happened.  With all the ancestry info out there now a quick search will bring it all out.

My daughter did some research recently and found my great grandfather was a pirate in the Bahamas with multiple wives, my great grandmother being the last.  Knew there was an interesting history but nobody talked about it and you didn't ask.

2 hours ago, Luckynana said:

 

Today marks 43 years since my Dad died at the age of 61.  He was a Foreman working on the 2nd Avenue Subway project when he fell down 25 feet, head first.  He was a very healthy, strong man who never smoked in his life.  He remained in a coma for a week before finally passing, which was a Blessing, due to his extensive injuries.  

Sad to hear this

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

I’m sorry Maryann what a tragedy. It’s so tough to lose our parents. The one thing I have learned is that there are days that you have a question that you would like to ask them as they are the only ones who know the answer and you can’t get your question answered. I wished I would have asked more questions of my parents.

Agree, I lost my mom almost 40 years ago, I wasn't old enough to think of asking many of the questions I should have.  Still miss her and think of her every day.  Had my dad for over 25 years after she passed, still not enough but did appreciate that time so much more.

1 hour ago, jmh2006 said:

Hi CC friends!  It has been a rough 10 days.  As some already know from that other site that shall remain nameless, I lost my dear father very unexpectedly on April 18th.  He was in good health up to the very end and would have been 88 this August.  I returned home today after a week down in North Carolina, where he lived, to help my sister take care of all the "things".  My sister moved down there from NJ last summer.  While I am still a little bit in shock that he is gone (my mother died in 2014), I am so thankful he was living life to the fullest up to the very end and we were all together the first weekend of April for a fun filled time.  My father had moved into a lovely independent living community in the fall of 2022 so he had downsized quite a bit which was very helpful this past week as were emptying his apartment.  I also urge everyone to have all their important papers organized in a file for your loved ones, should anything happen unexpectedly as did for us.  Even though we knew where all the "stuff" was he still had little post it notes all over his desk of passwords for his computer.  😃  We will be having a Celebration of Life in the summer down in NC for him.  

So sorry for your loss.  No matter their age losing a parent is always tough.  May his memories bring you and the family peace.

@Sea Dog enjoy your trip, I hear you with differing opinions.  I have a few in my life that swing wide both ways, told them not discussing with you.  So far all still good, hoping your friends can be the same.  Love Hilton Head, lots of great places to visit.

5 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

Fifty three years ago, this happened!

Happy Anniversary 💖🥂🎉

52 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

10 days of "nail biting" and emotional roller coaster ended today.

 

After the last week Iranian attack upon Israel, most of the airlines cancelled, again, their flights.

 

DS2 was supposed to arrive for the Passover holiday Saturday, the 20th. Rental car with 48 hours free cancellation.

 

Checking with the airline early Thursday (18th) -- the flight is a "go".

 

Friday morning "we" retaliate (who thought to attack Iran a couple of days before the Passover, with the risk of returning everyone of us to the shelters again??? no answer from "above").....

 

In no time at all, DS2's flight was cancelled. The airline agreed to reroute them via Paris. He counts himself lucky... Friends of his, who already checked their bags Friday morning, were rerouted via.... Abu Dhabi, spending the night flying East in order to get West.

 

BTW, the rental were very understanding and waived the cancellation fee.

 

Finally, we were reunited with our grands late this afternoon. What a huge relief and joy !!

 

Mark @h20skibum -- what a beautiful party. Well done, so glad your granddaughter enjoyed every minute of it.

 

@DaniDanielle -- hopefully Charlie is better and you're taking care of yourself too.

 

@aussielozzie18 -- aussie, as usual, your pics are stunning. Thanks for sharing.

 

💖 so happy to hear you are all able to spend passover together.

No limits but not sure how pricing may be affected if you wait longer.  If more people buy the discounts may be less.  On the other hand if not many are buying you may be able to get a nice discount.

Finally have the chance to go through pictures from our day Monday.  Every year on the Monday after the Masters they hold a charity golf event locally sponsored by Darius Rucker.  We used to go each year but during covid they only had the VIPs (very pricey tickets) so missed it.  They opened up to general public with limited tickets this year so we were able to again.  It always surprises me how most of the players, many well known, are very friendly.  In years past most holes were open to all, this year they limited about half.  Jim  knew the sports guys, I knew some of the others.  Got some pics but tried not to hold them up too much, have many more but here are a few. Great weather, and a fun day.

Big picture area right outside the clubhouse

Jim Sonefeld, the drummer from Hootie, he popped out to visit his wife and friends

Jim McMahon, he recently hurt his ankle, notice the bare feet

Sterling Sharpe

Missed Urban Meyer looking up, oops

Craig Melvin from the Today show

Dan Marino and Darius

Darius with his security,  it was the people behind me they were watching 🤣

13 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Packing has begun.  We head home this coming Saturday.  We are both more than ready, although we will miss this beautiful and Hot weather.  It will be in the 90's this week.

 

However, it turns out that we will be home in time for our Grandson Jack's Junior Prom!!  😊

Safe travels, wow that went fast but I am sure you are ready to get back to your family.

10 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

 

 

 

Thanks everyone for the BD wishes. We had a great cruise. On my birthday they had Key Lime Pie at lunch (I saw it on the Coastal Kitchen menu), but we ate in the WJ. I stopped by to see I they could keep a piece for my birthday for that night. I never ask for stuff like that from the crew, but it was KLP and my birthday that night! I was happy they kept a piece for me. I didn't know Mike had ordered a cake when we first boarded. He has never done this before on a ship since I/we don't need a whole cake and I'd also prefer to drink my desserts. 🍸🍹😊

 

I had my KLP and we took the cake back to the room with a couple of small plates from the WJ. Since we hadn't touched it, we asked the cabin attendant and his wife to cut 2 small pieces off for us and the rest was for them. They seemed happy, but they would never look unhappy so who knows. Hopefully they enjoyed it or shared it with others. It was rich, chocolaty and really good.

 

Before dinner in the lounge I ordered a Chocolate Martini, but immediately changed my mind to a Salted Caramel Martini. Christopher couldn't remember which one I ordered last so he made both. He put both our names in the chocolate one. Silly waiter, did he really think I was going to share it with Mike? He definitely does not know me! 😂

 

 

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture before I took a bite.

 

 

 

Belated Happy Birthday, great way to celebrate, two of each sounds great but definitely agree save my calories for the drinks, hiccup.

Two things, first always look at the current price if cabins are available.  It is often cheaper to upgrade than wait for royal up to do its thing.

Second, there are thoughts that royal is also using the information from the bids to see how much people are willing to pay for certain types of cabins.  

As others have said nobody here knows for sure, it's all just speculation.

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

Thank you

@Sunshine3601, @barbeyg, @grapau27 , @Ocean Boy, @h20skibum, @DaniDanielle and

 @Ourusualbeach   Ken, should "something" happens to us, pls. cancel our cruises and my reservation at HI Express Cape Canaveral

 

I big thank you to Mr. President Biden for standing by us. He's a real "mensch".

 

It's after midnight and all around us people are awake. We're glued to the TV, if the air raid is sound, we're 2 seconds from our in house shelter. Hope it'll help....

 

Oh Dani I just have no words.   Know we are all praying for you and the innocent people of Isreal. 💔

50 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

We are watching Shogun.  It's excellent.  It's also on FX, if you have access to that channel and can watch the episodes that were aired previously.  The only thing I don't like is that you need to wait a week for another episode.  I've become spoiled binge watching.

12 minutes ago, George C said:

I also enjoy Shogun but I would have preferred that there was less Japanese with English subtitles. 

We have it all recorded and started watching the 1st episode but was not in the mood for subtitles that night so didn't finish it.  Keep saying we will try again but reluctant due to them.  Do all episodes have as many subtitles? 

54 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Wednesday was the anniversary of my official diagnosis. Time sure does fly!  Physically things have changed a lot.  I am not going list those changes.  I think the one thing that has changed for the better is my love of life and those around me!  I give thanks for each new day!  So much love shown to me and my family.  An example of how we have been blessed, remember me telling about our new neighbor, on her own, came over and shoveled the snow off our driveway?  Well, yesterday she surprised us with a great homemade strawberry pie!  We are still having people bringing us meals each week to help ease the burden off Sharon and to bring a smile to our face.  And what I love the most is so often I still hear someone add their name to the long list from around the world of those that are thinking and praying for us.  So special!

Just shows what a loving person you are having so many thinking positive thoughts for you.  Hugs to you and your family 💖💖

I am not sure the bed would fit in the opposite spot. "Vanity/desk" is attached to the wall so not movable and many ships stagger cabins so part of the room is wider to fit the bed.  Have you looked at changing cabins?  We have had both and there are pros and cons to each.  Give it a try maybe you will like it better?? 

38 minutes ago, CBVest said:

I apologize for the delay in saying "thanks" but thank you all for the quick and thorough responses. We really appreciate it!

Also, I loved the tip that about buying it first at a lower price and then cancelling because I could totally see that happening!

As an FYI there are some things that cannot be handled this way.  The beverage package is an example, once you buy for a person you can't buy another so would need to cancel first.  Not sure about dining but would assume would be the same for some of the packages.

Yes the dining room will do something if you mention it, most likely won't be a cake but a piece or 2 or a dessert with a candle in it.  They will attempt to sing too.  Many have special occasions on board you won't be the only ones.