ATG

1 hour ago, GEORGIEGIRL said:

If you are a person who likes to see things outside of a cruise ship excursion I would highly recommend

"BUSY BUS". We used them in the British Isles a few years back and they are awesome.

They can be contacted at:

https://www.busybus.co.uk/

I second this.  This was our favorite excursion.  I’d book them again anytime.

Just now, JessyCruises said:

Well that sucks.  We usually go there every cruise and share a 3 cut.

We do that too.  The first time we both got a 2 cut meal and couldn’t eat it all.

We had one on Adventure last fall.  It was a great space.  The bathroom was rather tight.  Our only real problem was the fog horn.  We had 2 nights (between Bayonne and Boston) with fog.  The fog horn is right outside the window.  It sounded about 5 seconds out of each 2 minutes, all night long.  

15 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I have a satellite watch but I never take it on cruises as I'm too concerned it will adjust the time to local and I don't realize it has changed time. So I stick with a regular watch for cruises.

That’s the great advantage of an old fashioned watch.  You can set the time and not worry about it changing.  DH has one we bought at Target for about $15.  Mostly used on vacation.

On 8/16/2023 at 4:54 PM, ace1zoe2 said:

I never take my wedding/engagement rings off. In 43 years I may have removed them 10 times total for various reasons. Otherwise I wear them 24/7/365. 

I only wear my wedding ring, a plain thin band.  It’s been on my finger since the day we got married, almost 49 years ago.  I’ve had surgical tape wrapped around it for a couple of surgeries, but it hasn’t left my finger.  And I hope it stays there for quite a while longer.

That depends on where the ship is.  On Mariner in July they planned on showing the USMen’s game.  However, when it was time there was no game and lots of staff punching lots of buttons on remotes.  The final answer was that the ship was in a “dead spot “ and they couldn’t get signal.  Family at the next table watched it on a phone and announced scores.  Nachos and beer were great!

11 hours ago, mconthehighseas said:

I think the incident in 2016 has nothing to do with the situation today. 

 

If countries are closing their embassies and telling people to stay away, it is concerning, but the cruiseline is not going to put people and property at risk.  If they think there is a potential problem, they will not take people there, even if it means diverting at the last minute.  

We were scheduled to stop at Athens May 1, 2013.  It was decided that the May Day demonstrations were more than they felt was reasonable, so they decided not to stop.  RC does pay attention to things like this and adjusts if they feel it is necessary.

Andrew and Lisa - thanks for taking us along on your anniversary celebration.

I’m “less tall” and have found the best way to get into and out of the tub is to sit on the ledge/shelf in the back and swing my legs around.  I’m always surprised that the floor is significantly lower than the bottom of the tub if I try to step out.  Personally, I love the mosaic face and talk to it every time.

In early July it was pay as you enter.

We have our first b2b this fall.  Do I pay for both cruises or is the second one “free”?

Did anyone else notice that today is Mick Jagger’s 80th birthday?  I’m amazed.

3 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Good morning.

It is currently 12°C and sunny after 72 hours of non stop rain over the weekend.

I am watching the women's world cup football where it is 

Germany 2 Morocco 0 at half time.

I hope everyone is safe and well.

I’m watching as I clean and do laundry.  Just glancing at it I wondered who was playing since the abbreviation for Morocco was MAR on our coverage.

Just now, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Happy anniversary, you two!! ❤️

+1

5 hours ago, perfect match said:

I’ve seen the balloon in the air on Coco Cay every time we’ve been there since it was installed. Try as I might, I’ve never managed to see a shark 🦈 at South Beach. Rays, yes. Barracuda at Chill Island, yes. Not one single shark! 🦈 Maybe next cruise I’ll get lucky. Of course if I do see one I probably won’t have my camera with me. 

We were there about 2 weeks ago and saw 3 sharks.  A lemon shark that was about 3 feet- nobody seemed concerned about it.  Then a bull shark that was about 6 foot - that one caused some concern.  But then we saw a fin racing through the water.  They got everyone out of the water and the lifeguards took the skidoos out and herded it away.  They said it was a 10 foot hammerhead shark.  I swam in the pool after that.

We’ve also stayed at the Doubletree next to Centraal station.  It’s convenient to transportation, we easily took the train from the airport even with all our luggage.  The trams will get you anywhere you want.  Quite a few restaurants within walking distance.  Not as nice as Banks, but for our last stay it was quite a bit cheaper.

48 minutes ago, pstone1 said:

At Banks Mansion?  I just checked and those dates pulled up for me without issue!  Try again on the hotel’s website - banksmansion.nl  It’s a bit pricey, but daily HH, access to a full bar 24/7, and a fantastic breakfast are all included.  

We’ve stayed there and it was fabulous!  I think the staff are the nicest people we’ve encountered.  The breakfast was great.

If you want to you can use diamond drink coupons on milkshakes.  Since I rarely use all of them this is a good option.

7 hours ago, jmh2006 said:

@A&L_Ont  Have a great cruise Andrew, Lisa and Owen.  Dave, my son and I are headed to NJ/NYC Friday for the weekend to see Manchester United vs Arsenal at MetLife stadium in a preseason exhibition game on Saturday.  Manchester United is our team and this will be the fourth time seeing them in person, 2 times at University of Michigan and 1 time at Old Trafford in Manchester.  So looking forward to it!

We saw Manchester United play Bayern Munich in Chicago many years ago.  They are Dave’s team, I’m a Liverpool supporter.  I’m glad the season is about to start, it seems weird to not have games to watch on weekends.

50 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

With their permission I always take their picture so I can make sure I remember their name and the correct spelling so I can make special mention of them in the post cruise survey.  

Last few cruises we’ve gotten a business card with their name.  That works better since I have terrible photo skills.

I’ve heard a rumor that the Beach Club will become the suite beach.  I can’t imagine RC giving up the income.  It’s over $200 per person for most of my future cruises.

We were in 9244 earlier this month and it wasn’t updated.  But everything was in good shape.  I love the walk-in closet.

34 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said:

@TravelGirlinDallas can you leave a note on your bed, asking your steward to make up the bunk with a top sheet for the rest of the cruise?

Agree that this should be the norm but your steward seems to have forgotten your son is actually sleeping in there…. 

 

 

Dave and I don’t like duvets, they’re too hot for us.  We always ask for a blanket instead and they are always happy to help.  Our last cruise on Mariner he took the duvet and gave us a blanket.  But he didn’t give us a sheet, that’s the first time we’ve had that happen.  He seemed very confused the next day when I asked for a top sheet.  

1 minute ago, firstimer2009 said:

We are travelling next September.  My husband will be 70 by then.  I'm so happy!

DH is 71 and we didn’t get paper ones on Mariner earlier this month.  I use the app, so I didn’t ask for them.

We love the Sea Captain’s in Myrtle Beach.  It’s one of the restaurants we remember from our first vacation there many years ago.

20 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Looks wonderful. Enjoy OB!

 

 

 

 

So cute together.

 

 

 

I asked Linda about it since does all the booking for out hotels, and she said yes we have gotten a better rate using our AARP card. Since she used to be a government employee she also said it provides a good discount too. Unfortunately she's retired now so can't use that but we will be using a senior discount from now on.

AAA has good discounts too.  The combination of Hilton honors and AAA is usually a good deal.

One thing to know about rooms on the front of the ship- if there is fog, the fog horn is right by your window.  On our Canada/New England cruise we had 2 nights of fog.  The horn sounded about 5 seconds out of each 120 seconds.  All night long!  We had 1804 on Adventure.  Great cabin, but never again.