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On 11/10/2022 at 2:28 PM, monorail81 said:

Look up Celebrity Infinite Verandah. You can find some videos which will help you. I’ve never sailed in one, but it doesn’t seem like it would be good…I would think it would make the whole cabin hot…and eventually moldy…

We actually enjoyed our infinity Celebrity veranda. It makes the room much bigger and usable. 

The cruise was in the Med and though the weather was hot, our room was cool 

Our eldest son and family (who moved from London to Reading last year) haven't really settled.  It ticks the boxs about being close to us and DILs parents and the nursery school her mum is deputy head of, so they get free nursery care, also has fast good links to London. But they are missing London so I think they may be looking to move back there.

House prices are so high though I don't how they can afford a house with a garden.  Prices in the whole of the south are crazy, particularly in London.

Fingers crossed they find somewhere better still close to us. I love looking after Isaac and we may not be able to see so much of them if they move too far away. 

So happy it's working out for your son and family Dani @dani negreanu.  Its such a big step to relocate to another country. And that you can visit so soon. September should be lovely weather in Northern Europe. 

Looking forward to hearing about it. 

Very few houses in UK have more than one bedroom with en suite facilities. Smaller houses don't even have that, just a family bathroom and if you're lucky an additional toilet downstairs.  

3 hours ago, brillohead said:

 

I love hearing about grandparents like this!  ❤️

 

My son got cheated on the grandparent experience... my adoptive mother disowned me when my son was 2yo (for putting my sick dog to sleep "without her permission"), and my adoptive father didn't have any way to stay in my life (needless to say, my mother has control issues).  My FIL was disabled and he passed away when my son was 3yo, and my MIL was a wonderful grandparent, but she moved out of state when my son was 2yo. 

I found my biological mother back in the 90s, but she's an alcoholic with no interest in being a parent. I just recently found my biological father through a DNA search, and he's a very caring and loving man, but he lives in another state and my son is now 23yo and living his own life and not really "needing" a grandparent in his life.  

Part of my decision to become a nurse later in life was so I'd have the job security and flexibility to be a hands-on grandma when the time comes.  In nursing school, one assignment was to write a timeline of what our goals were for our nursing career, and mine indicated that I'd be a cruise nurse for a while, then when/if my son had children, I'd work part-time and be a full-time grandma.  Things are lining up to make that happen... I'm going to work at the hospital I just started at for a couple of years so I can get my knees and hip replaced, then I'll be able to take some time to be a cruise nurse, and then it will be time for grandparenthood!

Sounds like a grest plan. I'm sure you'll be a wonderful grandma.

I only had one grandparent and she lived in Cornwall and as we travelled the world with the RAF we didn't see her much. 

My kids also only had one grandparent after the age of four or five . But my mum was a very hands on grandma and helped us a lot with child care as we both worked full time. 

17 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

You scored a great seat location. Are planes coming in contact with each other, or other objects, a common occurrence? What are to reprocussions to the pilots for damaging a plane? Obviously, I need another DL chat with Mike.😊

On the ground I don't remember it happening at Heathrow all the years I worked there. But often a plane would get damaged by a service vehicle, catering trucks, cargo or luggage vehicles etc

Or by the jet bridge when attaching it to the plane.

On 8/12/2023 at 8:13 PM, Ocean Boy said:

They make an "X". I suspect most just scan their smart phones that are linked to a credit card. Might as well teach them to live off of credit early.

My two year old g/son knows to tap my debit card on the payment machine when we stop for coffee in the cafe. I wonder if this generation will be completely cashless 

2 minutes ago, cublet said:

Hello,

 

Many thanks for the response. Can I do it multiple times, with different vouchers of course?

 

Yes as far as I know, though we only did it the once 

It's nice to hear such positive comments about Anthem,  especially during the school holidays when presumably the cruise was full

We should of been on her last September but had to cancel because of family issues. 

Must make an effort to book Anthem before she disappears from our shores next year

16 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

It is not offered on ships sailing from the US.  It has been offered in the past on ships sailing outside the US.

Wish it was, flying back  to UK all our flights are in the evening when cruising from the USA. 

We usually book a day room in a hotel near the airport so not much more I guess.

I'm presuming this stay awhile programme doesn't give you access to a cabin ? 

26 minutes ago, cublet said:

Hello,

 

I read this topic yesterday morning but there was obviously a blockage between my eyes and my brain because at around 9.00pm I suddenly thought "Hang on........."

 

Does this mean that a single token, worth $14 towards a single drink, could be worth up to $40 on a single bottle of wine up to $100 or possibly more on a bottle costing over $200?

 

The text on the 'Member Benefits' guide says "may also be used toward a discount off the purchase of any bottle of wine" - the word 'toward' to my simple mind means 'in part' and not 'wholly'.

 

Can I do this more than once because RCI would be on to a loser?

 

I would certainly do this not necessarily for the savings (but thank you very much) but to be able to buy a nominated bottle and not be palmed-off with some swill left over from the old Diamond 'free-for-all'.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

It's definitely one voucher equals 40% off a bottle of wine (under $100).  We did it on Symphony, though in retrospective we had only used one voucher each prior to dinner,  and two glasses of wine each was ample for dinner. So our free diamond vouchers would of been enough.

Depends I guess on how much of a wine buff you are.  I'm pretty happy with most as long as I get the type of wine I ask for. 

I asked for a dry rose in the DL and they bought out the zinfandel 🫢

45 minutes ago, Ashland said:

My extra gratuity is always left in an envelope and a thank you note the morning I leave. So I never see his/her reaction.

Sane here 

7 hours ago, brillohead said:

 

Keep in mind that at that age, the insane growth rate slows down more, so they simply don't need as much food because their bodies aren't burning it all in growing new tissue/bones at the same rate as the first years.  People often fret that their child isn't eating enough, when in fact it's completely normal for toddlers to not need as much fuel. 

Using averages, a typical newborn would be around 3.5kg and would gain about 6.9kg by its first birthday (total weight 10.4 at 1yo).  That's basically tripling its weight the first year. 

 

But then the growth the second year is only about 2.3kg (total weight 12.7 at 2yo), which is only a fifth of the weight on the first birthday.   

 

The growth the third year is only about 1.6kg (total weight 14.3 at 3yo), which is only a tenth of the weight on the second birthday.  

So the growth rate the first year is a whopping 200%, the second year it's about 18%, and the third year it's only 11%. Kids don't eat as much because they simply don't need as much.

As long as the child's doctor isn't concerned about their growth rate, I wouldn't worry about "enticing" ANY child to eat... they should listen to their body's cues and eat when they're hungry and stop when they're not hungry anymore. 

 

I know in the USA obesity is rampant among those of us raised in the "Clean Plate Club" who were told to finish everything on our plate because "there are starving children in <random faraway place with food deficit problems>" so we grew up not paying attention to our body's signals, but rather using society's "rules" about how much to eat.  I never understood how me eating my food in Michigan was going to have an impact on some hungry kid on another continent anyway!

Sensible sound advice, thank you. He certainly has lots of energy 

9 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I think it is better when there is a large group as I think there might be a better chance of them holding the plane. I my case there were 3 people on the plane connecting to Providence. I didn't have much hope for the plane waiting. 

Definitely airlines hold planes as long as they can when theres a lot connecting, especially if its the same airline. 

They'll also send staff and buggies to rush you through and keep in contact with the gate regarding where they are. 

I often use to contact the inbound pilot by ACARS message to get the pax moved up nearer the door do they get off first. We use to do all we could to help pax make their connections. 

10 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Love the picture, Sue!  How was your Reunion?

 

We had a great time catching up. There was only four of us, all we could find and could attend. One lives in Nova Scotia now. My good friend (sitting on the far left as you look at the pic) made all the arrangements. We're hoping we can track down more.  Everyone was in very good health and was enjoying life. 

The course was a secretarial one, hence why in the 70s it was only girls.  Thank goodness girls today have so many more opportunities than we did. 

15 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Bet there are some bell bottoms in that photo!!

For sure, and cheesecloth shirts and tie dye tops

20 hours ago, Coralc said:

With the bangs? You look lovely, Sue. 

Thanks, it was a looooong time ago, think I was 17 then 

Met up with friends from college (50 years ago) yesterday 

Here's a photo of us at college, I'm the one in the middle. Very '70s 

On 8/9/2023 at 1:19 AM, cruiselvr04 said:

Having just been with the littles it was breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner.  

It's more frustrating when they just won't eat. Made my two year g/son home made burger and home made chips with salad and vegan cheese. He hardly touched it.

With his multiple allergies plus mum only allows him water during the day, it's hard to get the calories in him, though he has tons of energy 

Any 4 drinks up to $14 a drink. Believe you pay the extra if its more expensive, but covers most cocktails and a good choice of wine. Can use anytime and most places including dining rooms.

Drinks in DL count towards your four.

Yes if you have specialised coffee or bottle of water you can ask them to charge and not to use a voucher. 

Only Diamond member gets the perk

Someone at our table about 4 years ago said they paid for one drink package on board but that may of been a one off exception and it was a while ago. Officially its, at minimum, one alcohol package and one refreshment.

You can take one bottle of wine each on board.

You can prepay for additional bottles of wine through royal gifts from around $35 and up, plus some of the bigger ships have spirit packages you can prebook and it will be waiting in your cabin when you board 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/royalgifts/wine-liquor/blush-wines

6 hours ago, Dobby36 said:

Hi.  I’m booked to do this in 3 weeks, so can’t really report in it yet but sounds promising.  When is your cruise? Maybe I can come back and update this thread. 

Our cruise is in a month for 12 nights, so third week in Sept for Boston. Thanks it would be great to hear what you think.

I'm just researching what to do in Boston after arriving at the end of our cruise, as we will have all day before our evening transatlantic flight back to UK. 

Was thinking of a day room, but I found a 'cruise special' water taxi service.  For $50 they take you from the cruise terminal to their wharf by boat where they store your bags. At a pre determined time they then transport you by water taxi to the airport where a shuttle takes you to the terminal. 

It sounds like a fun way of spending a day exploring Boston without bags and to get to the airport. 

Has anyone done this? Did it go smoothly? 

https://www.bostonwatertaxi.com/cruise-ship-special

2 hours ago, ollienbertsmum said:

Just out of interest is that expensive or cheap for you?  I converted it to £1.25 litre which is probably a bit more than we pay.

Around £1.44 here in the UK at mo, though we get it for around £1.35 a litre at Costco. 

5 hours ago, Keksie said:

Ugh I am not looking forward to today.  It will be an almost double shift at the refuge.  Second baby squirrel season is in full force.  The baby board is full with most of them needing feeding every 2 hours.  Our interns leave a lot to be desired and most of the long term volunteers who have a good  work ethic are not in town for various reasons.  Sigh.

Wish I could pop over and help you out. It sounds fascinating 

On 7/30/2023 at 2:02 PM, Jimbo said:

 

So early assignment can and does happen.

Our segment of the world cruise guarantee cabin, was advised more than a year out.