Chip and Dale

We have a hotel in Waikiki till tomorrow then we fly out.

 

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That is the way we feel. [emoji25]

 

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I'm sorry I missed this last night, I couldn't get CC to work at all till today:mad:. You may not see this post till you are back home.

 

My heart goes out to you both. I'm not sure what would be tougher to deal with the way we did it where we wound up in Vancouver or the way you have done this one winding up in Honolulu and then flying home. There never is enough time on a cruise, no matter what, it always seems waaaaay too short. The more fun it is the faster it seems to go.

 

Thank you for all of the pictures and all of your posts. You are amazing doing this for everyone and letting all of us follow along and join you on your cruise:)

 

Can't wait to meet you and Marie on our cruise in May:D

Safe travels home!!!!

Dee

Welcome to Honolulu

 

 

 

 

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What are the plans for Honolulu?????:D

Dee

[quote name='travelgoddess1']We also took the Anchor Cover shuttle and walked to the Marriott for some photo ops and lunch at Duke's. It was everything I remembered, and more.

[ATTACH][ATTACH]325284[/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

This is the after picture. I tried to post both before and after. See next post.



Oh, good, I thought it was just me. I did take pictures of our mac. and crab wontons, yum! [/quote]

[quote name='travelgoddess1'][ATTACH]325286[/ATTACH]

The *before* photo.[/quote]

You redeemed yourself by posting the before picture, otherwise it would have just been mean :( to post the empty plate picture :eek:

I miss Hula Pie, mai tais and dole whip the most:)....well after of course missing you and Pete the most:D

Dee

[quote name='PCWalton1']We didn't order this. First time I have seen a drink with a burger attached. [emoji50]

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I've never seen anything like this before either!

Very happy that you are having such a great time, but very jealous at the same time!!! It is really cold here right now and I'm just happy that there is no snow!!!!
Dee

[quote name='travelgoddess1']I wonder how many packages they sold?

Those lunches look fantastic! Next time, that is on our list, for sure. :) Although I have to give the WJ a compliment -- their Indian lunch items yesterday were excellent. :)[/quote]

Sorry, but in Dee's world there is no such thing as "excellent" Indian food:eek:.

Soooo what are we up to today everyone?????
Dee

[quote name='PCWalton1']This may be the last time I do this. Of course I have said that before. [emoji14]

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The temptation may be too great with our sailing:D
Dee

[quote name='travelgoddess1']Looking forward to it, Rose and Larry! -- And Paula and Jim. :)[/quote]

Me too me too:D

Can you make sure that you have a Dole Whip so you can remind me of what I am missing. I love those things and so does Dennis.
Dee

[quote name='travelgoddess1']Mrs. half way to Hawaii is now in Lahaina, enjoying the wonderful weather, and yes, even the Mai Tai's, lol!

Unlimited Internet did not mean WIFI throughout the ship. Even though it is advertised as ship-wide, our cabin is a dead zone, so I did not post as frequently as I would have liked. It's always something, eh? But I am still glad I bought the unlimited package, it has come in handy. :)

Tell Dennis to hop a flight going west instead of east, and he'll be here in no time! We have a spare BR, lol!

Giovanni's was wonderful, they took good care of us -- we are going back in 3 nights, taking our friends on the crew as our guests.

Picture of hula pie to follow --[/quote]

[quote name='travelgoddess1'][ATTACH]324898[/ATTACH]

Famous Hula Pie :)[/quote]

I am soooooo incredibly envious!!!! We were toasting you last night with many glasses of wine in our virtual DL to kill the pain! We are lucky that baseball is still on to take our minds off of cruising!

I will tell Den to get a move on so he can stay with you in your massive cabin:)

Love the hula pie picture. YUM hula pie!!!!
Dee

[quote name='PCWalton1']-1. Brrr
It is raining right now. Does that count as bad weather? [emoji14]

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No it really does not count, sorry:). He would have given anything for JUST rain and the kind of temps you have. Stupid thing is that now when he comes home for the weekend the temps have gone back up to 20ish Celcius.

You look like you are having such a great time on the cruise. So very glad to hear it!
Dee

[quote name='PCWalton1']Deep
I missed this yesterday but I see Karen logged in to get your greeting. [emoji3]

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Not to worry, you kind of have a busy life going there:)

Are you going to do this on our cruise in May as well next year?
Dee

We love the WJ for dinner. If we find that the service is not up to par in the MDR, or we don't really like the food on the menu that evening, we will often go to the WJ for dinner. On our Explorer cruise to Bermuda last year we ate in the WJ every night. Our favourite is the Mongolian Grill.

 

They usually change many items each night and there is often a theme such as Italian. There is usually pizza most nights from what I recall as well.

 

With a young child it may suit you much better eating when you feel it is the best time for you rather than assigned times in the MDR. I wouldn't hesitate at all to eat in the WJ. The staff at night from our experience is very nice and very helpful as well.

 

Hope this helps,

Dee

Thanks, Dee, I wandered over here to see how our cruise is going! So far, so good, I see Bill is keeping you well updated. Thanks, Bill!

 

We are having a great time -- dinner at Giovanni's last night was delicious!

 

I also bought the unlimited internet package, it works well when we are not in a dead zone. (Which may be our cabin!)

 

We are halfway to Hawaii, WOOHOO!

 

OK so with unlimited internet someone......and I won't mention any names of course because that would be indiscreet:eek::p......(Karen) should be posting a little bit more OR at the very least sending an email from time to time....just sayin!!!!

 

By the way Mrs. half way to Hawaii, my darling Dennis arrived in Calgary to -1 temps and in 4 hours he had 4 inches of snow to clean off his rental car. I think he would much prefer being with you and Pete halfway to Hawaii drinking mai tais! Lets face it you have enough room in your cabin:)

 

Keep having fun. Need hula pie pictures at some point:D. Very glad you enjoyed your Anniversary dinner at Giovannis!

Dee

Hi Bill

 

Excellent review! Glad to see that you and Marie are having such a great time!

 

Today is Karen and Pete's Wedding Anniversary. If you see them could you tell them that Dee and Dennis send them hugs on their special day!

 

Thanks

Dee

We've had no problem bringing this one on board:

 

 

DITTO!!!! We bring it in my carryon with every cruise and have not had a problem, it works very very well!

Dee

Congrats on the weight loss!

 

I've adopted a clean eating lifestyle as well and absolutely love it and love how I feel!

 

Can anyone tell me what the gluten free options are like onboard?

 

Do they offer natural based sweetners (stevia) or should I be bringing my own?

 

Thanks!

 

Hi

 

In my opinion the GF options have gone down hill with the new menus. I used to enjoy eating GF and was presented with some really enjoyable options, however, with the new menus that has ended and they will often change the sauce to GF and throw on a baked potato rather than whatever the potato or pasta option would have been. I don't eat baked potatoes. You need to ask and if you are GF then you should email special needs to let them know. They have pretty good GF bread anytime you would like it, they will make GF french toast (my favourite for breakfast) and GF pancakes, they will also do GF mini muffins if you ask and you can usually have them substitute GF Pasta (rice) when requested. You need to be vigilant if you are celiac (I'm just allergic to wheat), some waiters and head waiters are not always as cautious as they should be so you need to be cautious.

 

As far as natural sweeteners, I don't believe that they are stevia or xylitol, you can ask, but from experience the crew are not always very well informed when it comes to things like this.

 

I will check back to see if you have any additional questions. Hope this helps.

Dee

Hi

 

Congratulations! You deserve an immense amount of credit. Many people simply do not want to follow a regimen the way that you have. This will extend your life and provide you with a much better quality of life as well!

 

You need to email special_needs@rccl.com and let them know that you are diabetic and have specific dietary needs.

 

If you know that there are things that you should not eat, be vigilant and express this to your waiters, question them if it doesn't look right. I follow the when in doubt DON'T way of living. Be clear with your waiters about the way that you eat and you can definitely eat in the Windjammer, they have many options that you should be able to choose from. I can't eat anything with artificial sweeteners so I always notice how many desserts there are that are sugar free. There are usually a few at every time during the day. They also have sugar free ice cream in the MDR, however, this is not widely known. When you email special needs make sure that you let them know things like sugar free jello so that they have the opportunity to help you.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

Dee

Hi all - we are doing the 13 night Rhapsody of the Seas cruise in May 3-16, 2014. This is our first visit to Hawaii, and our longest cruise ever....a few questions - any comments or thoughts are greatly appreciated...thanks!:)

 

Questions:

1. Sailing from Hawaii to Vancouver,BC - what is the weather like? Are the seas rougher than in the Caribbean? Is it swimming weather?

2. Does RCCL have shows and things to do all 13 nights? Are the shows repeated or are they all new?

3. Is the internet coverage for the 5 days at sea adequate?

4. We have Verizon phones - is this a regular call to the states (ie no roaming or long distance fees).

5. Any suggestions on how to pass the time with 5 days at sea?

6. For Hawaii, we have already booked Pearl Harbor and the Missouri tour, and we are renting a car on Maui for 2 days to go to Kaanapali Beach, Whaler's Village, and the Old Lahaina Luau - still looking for other suggestions on Maui and the other islands....

 

Thanks!

 

Hi

 

There is a thread with a lot of us on this cruise, you can find the thread under ROLL CALLS - Click on Royal Caribbean Meet and Mingle Roll Calls and then Rhapsody and look for the May 3, 2014 date.

 

1) Hawaii is very temperate, some islands are hotter than others. A huge group of us did this same cruise on Radiance in 2012 and it was so great that a number of us have booked it again. The bonus is a stop in Victoria on this cruise. You should be able to swim if you want to at all of the stops. You are cruising in the Pacific, at times it can be calm and other times rough. Typically at this time of year it is still warm the first sea day, but becomes cooler and cooler the farther you are from Hawaii.

 

2) We didn't do a lot on the ship while we were in Hawaii, but there were shows, we went to a number of them and they were decent. There are more activities on sea days.

 

3) The internet can be spotty at times, it depends on what you are doing online.

 

4) Sorry I am Canadian, so can't help with this.

 

5) There is lots to do onboard. You really should check out the Roll Call thread. Some of the cruisers have done this cruise numerous times. Last time we had a huge group and took over part of the WJ and play Trash (the card game) for hours on end. We read a lot. If you sign up for the Meet and Mingle you may meet some people you wish to hang out with.

 

6) We are doing the Road to Hana on Maui, on Friday night (May 2) we are doing the Mai Tai sunset catamaran sailing at 5 p.m., we did it the last time and it was amazing. A group of us are doing a hike up Diamond Head the day we board. On Kaui some of us are doing the ship's kayak excursion and are still working on what else we may do. Where the ship is docked, you can walk out of the dock area and go into Honolulu to see the Iolani Palace, King Kamehamea statue and lots of other interesting sights. There are lots of ideas on our Roll Call thread.

 

Hope this helps

Dee

We recently went on the Pacific sun for a 7 nt cruise of south pacific. I was so excited about this trip, but unfortunately we did not have a good time. My husband was quite sea sick right from the first day. We visited the Doctor but he only gave us tablets that made my husband sleepy. So 5 of 7 days was spent with him feeling sick or sleeping.

It has put us off cruising, but my question of the regular "cruisers" : The Pacific Dawn, being a larger and heavier vessel, is it more stable and therefore less likely to cause motion sickness?

If someone can help me here we might reconsider and try another cruise at a later date.

Thanks

 

Hi :)

I get horrible motion sickness and although I had been told that there are stabilizers on the ships and I wouldn't feel the motion, so I went unprepared for sea sickness. What I was told was absolutely positively wrong! First cruise was a Princess ship and when I went to the desk and asked for help they told me to buy sea bands in the ship store. I bought them and put them on and the rest is a very nice non-sick history. Sea bands work with accupressure on the wrists. I cannot take the meds due to allergies, so I am left with sea bands, peppermint tea and gravol ginger. Gravol ginger is much easier on the stomach (it is coated and organic) than the ginger caps that you buy in a health food store. They will not make you drowsy and usually help quite quickly. I am cautious to make sure I drink some peppermint tea a couple of times per day if it is rough. There is an old sea faring trick that works really well - if you are nauseous and even if you are vomiting it can be effective - go to the dining room or the buffet restaurant and find a green apple (granny smith) - eat it one little piece at a time and don't stuff yourself. Believe it or not it is one of the best things to eat when you are sick and I can speak from experience. The green apples help with motion sickness, hangover sickness (don't ask me how I know:rolleyes:) and even some morning sickness for pregnant women - so do the sea bands by the way.

 

Some people find that they are shaky and their head is fuzzy after a cruise - you need your land legs back as the saying goes. I leave the sea bands on for approximately a week when we return home and the problem has been eliminated.

 

Your husband felt better in the cabin due to the fact that he could not see the waves. In a vehicle it is the exact opposite with motion sickness, you are usually better off seeing where you are going. I always sit in the front seat in a vehicle and I'm fine. That is not usually the way with motion sickness on a ship/boat. Have him try it the next time and see. Stay away from windows and do not look at the waves. From my experience when you are seeing the waves your stomach seems to match the rise and fall.

 

I have used all of the above and have cruised upwards of 15 times. We always go with midship, usually have a balcony and have not lost time cruising due to being overwhelmingly sea sick since I started taking care of myself this way. We fly to all ports so I put the sea bands on when we leave home and do not take them off (except for showering) until about a week after we return home.

 

Hope this helps and gives you both some hope. I will check back later today in case you have questions.

Dee :)

It was the Embassy Suites Tampa-Downtown Convention Center. We walked next to the street that goes through the convention center to get to Publix.

 

Also the trolley station is right out front of the hotel.

 

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You helped me so much, I cannot thank you enough! This one was too high priced so close to the date that we cruise, so I booked the Marriott downtown and get wifi and a free ride to the port. I knew exactly where to look since you provided the info about which Embassy it was.

Thanks so much!!!!

Dee

We stayed at the Embassy Suites near the port, loved it. We could grab the trolley to go to Ybor City and eat. We walked to the Publix to get a few items (we took back packs to carry it back in), great breakfast and we had a view of the port.

 

 

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Could you please let me know the name of this particular embassy hotel. I looked and there are 3. I don't know Tampa very well so I'm unsure which one to book.

Thanks

Dee

oh lord, what have i done?

 

so... i booked the conquest out of NOLA. feeling great until i searched hotels and now im so confused i kinda wish i had picked a different home port.

 

1. hotels are OUTRAGEOUS for the week we are going there

2. Im confused on the districts- which ones to stay at?

3. No idea how much parking is going to be in french quarter if we stay outside the district and decide to go explore.

 

i have searched the gulf home port section and can not find answers.

 

if anyone has suggestions: please, inform me.

 

thanks.

 

Dennis has been to NOLA on conventions many times and absolutely loved it so we starting doing NYE cruises on RCI in 2011 and are hooked. I absolutely love New Orleans. We take the street car (last year it was under construction so took the bus) to the Garden District, wander the French Quarter, we usually go to Riverwalk, but it is under construction right now, shop the Canal Street Mall and just generally wander and enjoy.

 

Bourbon Street at night is something that everyone should see at least once. Not necessarily my cup of tea to stay and drink at night, but we love to go to listen to the live music and see the goings on. Quite the place. The shops are amazing, the food is to die for and the people are just so incredibly hospitable, we love it there. The port is pretty good, not perfect but good. With RCI we would usually check in, put our bags in the room and then go back out and play for a bit in NOLA before the ship departs.

 

We have stayed at the Courtyard on St. Charles, The Saint Autograph Collection (also Marriott chain) on Canal and this year will stay at the Sheraton on Canal. The rates vary and it is worth checking hotels.com etc if you find that the rates are high. There is a Four Points Sheraton right in the middle of the action on Bourbon Street, we had considered it this year, but we couldn't get a bourbon street room, so passed. There are soooooo many hotels there is a ton of choice!

 

On Canal there is a Walgreens near Bourbon, can't remember if it is on the St. Charles corner or not, where we always go for some wine to carryon and I get my shampoo that I can't get in Canada.

 

We stay on main streets at night that are well lit, but we definitely go out at night and have been fine. We have found it to be pretty safe.

 

If you need parking then speak directly with the hotel and find out what they recommend if they charge a lot for parking, they are usually pretty helpful from my experience.

 

I'm not sure if you have already cruised, if so I hope you had a fabulous time, if not hope this helps.

Dee

My husband must use a scooter or walker, can he enjoy the Bourbon Street, etc or should

we just stay close to the French Market?

 

I think he would be better on the scooter than with a walker. At night it is very busy with many many people drinking, so you would need to be quite careful.

 

During the day you can walk down the sidewalks, but there are usually a lot of people walking as well. You could go there, take a look and see if he would be ok. If you start out at the Canal Street entrance, you will know soon enough whether it is ok for him or not.

 

It is a very busy city, lots of tourists and people are not always patient. You can walk around anywhere with drinks in hand and the later it is in the day, the more you find people with drinks in hand.

 

It is an incredible place, we are going the end of Dec for our 3rd cruise out of NOLA. Hope that you enjoy your time there!

Dee

Unless she actually tries to play video poker, the 19 year old should have no problems getting into Coop's.

 

I pulled up their website (we are going to be in NOLA in Dec and are interesting in going to this place) it states that you must be over the age of 21 to go into this restaurant.

Dee

We leave on our cruise this coming weekend and will be in Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Where do you recommend buying a PS in either of those locations?

 

We have had good luck with DI lately. I would recommend that you speak with the shopping person while onboard before you hit the ports. If you don't find him/her right away, ask in the shops. The shopping person may even meet you at one of the stores to help you. The only negative thing I can say about PS is that the leather (snakeskin, silk and leather or leather) straps do not last long. I have numerous colours and switch them to match my outfits. DH has a gold bracelet on his that matches the watch and has had good luck with it. Hope this helps:)

Dee

We both have Philip Stein Watches and I recently purchased their sleep band (it works well by the way and worth the price). We bought ours at Diamonds International in Belize, they had a PS store in the DI store. I never used to like DI, but they have grown on me and we have received some decent discounts. The typical discount is 15%.

 

We have been fortunate and have not had any issues with our watches. We did start sleeping better the very first night and the best of all is the fact that DH used to have megga migraines and they have completely stopped! We still get the odd headache, but some ibuprofen solves the problem. We have a PS store 2 hours away, but have always gone to our local jeweller to replace batteries and haven't worried too much about the warranty. We bought them as an experiment after listening to the results that the shopping person had on one cruise. We love them. We will most likely buy new watches at some point on a future cruise.

 

I buy a lot of jewellery while cruising. Some deals are great, some deals are ok. I always look at it like this....what am I willing to risk? I set a dollar value that I will go to and look at it that how will I feel if this is not worth what I paid. So far so good. BUT I know a great deal about gems and jewellery. As an example, I found an incredible deal on a beautiful 7 carat spectacular tanzanite ring while we were shopping in Cozumel in March. It was a ship recommended store, but the truth is, the tanzanite stone could have easily been glass or crystal so I walked away. For $8,000 I wasn't willing to risk it. The PS watches were $600 (mine with 2 faces) and $500 (DH with 1 face) so we were willing to give them a shot. It was a good risk that paid off.

 

Hope this helps.

Dee