crusin fools

Hi Kim...fantastic review as usual...Sakari is growing up to be a beautiful young lady...you should be very proud of her. ...I cannot wait for your review of the Oasis...we are going on her from new York to the Bahamas at the end of may...I  really love the Royal Caribbean ships more than Norwegian... and have been finding that they are less expensive...been on the Anthem twice and will continue to cruise with them...love their interior space...so much more to do inside if it is cold outside...hope your trip didn't set you back with your leg...

25 minutes ago, mitsugirly said:

 

She was really having a good time. She's in a really interesting pre-teen stage these days. I'm so glad she is starting to come back out of her shell. She loves dancing now.

 

 

 

Lol, see I knew someone would expect that picture from me (laying there minutes after breaking my leg).

 

Oh my gosh. What a cute picture. That brought a smile to my face for sure! So cute!

 

 

 

Yea, I have used the concierge service in the past, but it seems like these days they make it so hard for you to figure out how to use them. Like what number do I call? Who do I talk to? They used to give you something in your room with the concierge's name and number on it. I didn't get anything this time. It has just become such a hassle to collect on your "platinum benefits". I ran into the same thing with using one of our coupons. It was saying full all week and even the night we went and one opened up and I snagged it (had been watching all day) and when we got there, there were "maybe" 4 tables with people at them. Like what the heck???

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much! I know things will get better with time but I have a long road ahead of me. Ugh! It's going to be tough for sure.

 

I hope to make it on the Joy some day. Even thought we've noticed all these changes, I still want to cruise some of the newer ships we haven't been on yet.

26 minutes ago, mitsugirly said:

 

She was really having a good time. She's in a really interesting pre-teen stage these days. I'm so glad she is starting to come back out of her shell. She loves dancing now.

 

 

 

Lol, see I knew someone would expect that picture from me (laying there minutes after breaking my leg).

 

Oh my gosh. What a cute picture. That brought a smile to my face for sure! So cute!

 

 

 

Yea, I have used the concierge service in the past, but it seems like these days they make it so hard for you to figure out how to use them. Like what number do I call? Who do I talk to? They used to give you something in your room with the concierge's name and number on it. I didn't get anything this time. It has just become such a hassle to collect on your "platinum benefits". I ran into the same thing with using one of our coupons. It was saying full all week and even the night we went and one opened up and I snagged it (had been watching all day) and when we got there, there were "maybe" 4 tables with people at them. Like what the heck???

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much! I know things will get better with time but I have a long road ahead of me. Ugh! It's going to be tough for sure.

 

I hope to make it on the Joy some day. Even thought we've noticed all these changes, I still want to cruise some of the newer ships we haven't been on yet.

Kim yes it was a hassle...they cater to those passengers that have the specialty dining package...but I went to Customer relations to ask for the concierge's number since it was a benefit...they gave me the phone number to the concierge for Haven passengers... I only used him for reservations......I guess it is moot point now... but if you ever go back to ncl...you might want to try that

Kim, as a platinum member, there is  Concierge service ( if they still have that benefit) so they could have made  your dinner reservations for you...we took advantage of that on our last cruise with NCL...the funny part is when we went to dinner, there were many empty tables throughout our dinner ...so what was the story that we couldn't get reservations??

You're right NCL has changed a lot...we also have been cruising with RCCL..

BTW...don't let your accident stop you from cruising..and I know you will get better and stronger...  

10 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

Our Uber arrived first and off we went.

 

Like always, something always happens to Kendra and the first to arrive couldn't fit everyone. But she eventually made it.

 

Check in was simple and fairly quick at the Southwest counter. Since Kendra arrived so much later than us, we went ahead and got in the security line while she was in the line checking in her luggage. 

 

THE LINES WERE FOREVER LONG!!! It took forever. I kept reporting to her as we moved along and told her "You better hurry up. The lines are extremely long and they are taking forever!!!" Then I seen her, Billy and the kids, roll right up to security and immediately go in. UGH! Just like that. We still waited in line a good 20 more minutes and they were already in and on the tram and shopping on the other side. Go figure.... I guess it pays to be handicapped sometimes. 

 

We were all on the same flight this time. I immediately notice this in my seat....737 MAX 8!!! Yikes! But we were actually on the 737-800 thank goodness! Whew

 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye Puerto Rico....until we meet again! We love you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we were in the air...my son, Kolin, texted me to say that Sakari's husky, Loki, was sick and throwing up all of a sudden. He had gotten into some poison...weed kill. Oh no! We were in full panic mode all the way home. Loki is Sakari's best friend, it's all she talks about, it's all she draws most days, Loki is life!

 

Our flight was delayed about 1 hour and this only increased tension and worry. Kolin kept me updated along the way and sent pictures. He was starting to have blood in his vomit. 😞

 

When our plane landed, we ran to get our luggage and then ran to the shuttle stop, passing Kendra along the way and almost everything is a blur.

 

We raced to Kolins house, grabbed Loki (he was so weak he couldn't even walk or stand when we came in and let's be honest, he's a husky and they get excited easily) and immediately drove him to the vet hospital. He received IV fluids and several medications and we elected to take him home to monitor him.  He was so bad for 2 days...I honestly didn't think he was going to make it. Sakari swears one day when I was napping that he quit breathing and I woke up to her screaming and crying and shaking him and him not moving. I personally think that his breathing was so shallow that she just couldn't see it but daddy told her that she "saved his life". He finally pulled through it but it was so touch and go for a while. I don't know what would have happened if she has lost him. We would all be lost and we've had enough loss to last us for a long time in this family. After about a full week...he was back to his normal self.

 

Now who am I supposed to have dog sit when we vacation? I'm sure Sakari don't trust Kolin with Loki and Kolin don't want the responsibility now. Ugh!

 

But....that's the end of my review.

 

I hope everyone enjoyed it.

 

 

Up next....probably NCL. I have 2 cruise coupons that have to be used up before Feb 20, 2020....only 9 months from now and I have no idea what I'm going to use them on. I haven't sailed with them in some time because I got tired of the same old ports and find a better port selection on Carnival and RC. But, I guess I'll have to start looking again just to use these coupons up. I looks like no summer Aruba land vacation for us this year darn it. 

 

 

HAPPY CRUISING EVERYONE!

 

 

 

Great review as always...why don't you go back to Bermuda??? you can never miss an adventure there...

Hi Kim...just love reading your reviews...I feel like I was on the cruise with you and your family...enjoying all the exciting adventures ...thank you ...we are going to Bermuda at the end of May on the Escape...why don't you join us..;p

is this the same Captain Kostas that use to be with Norwegian Cruise Lines???

when will you be going to those islands?

So we are both Platinum. With a Platinum status comes several "goodies" and one of those goodies is a dinner for two at a specialty restaurant x2 (one for me and one for the hubby).

 

We tried to get in to our favorite place La Cucina, but when we tried to book, using our phones, they showed full....FOR ALL WEEK! Seriously? I tried calling the reservation line...I was told the same thing. They did tell me that they could get me into Cagneys at 5pm tomorrow if I wanted and that was the ONLY opinion for the entire week. Well, Cagneys really isn't my cup of tea, so I told them I would let them know. Plus that didn't solve the problem that we are supposed to get two dinners.

 

So I decided to head down to Guest Services to discuss this problem. This is SO not like me at all. Usually I would just accept it and be done. However, I thought....why not give it a try and see what they had to say. I'm missing 2 dinners and 2 bottles of wine. I earned this status and don't even get to enjoy it because of this stupid big ship with too many people on it already having everything booked up. I had no idea it would be like this. I was very disappointed.

 

Once at Guest Services, I explained the situation and the disappointment in not being able to fulfill our Platinum dinners and bottle of wine. They told me to hold on and the representative went around behind closed doors. When he returned he now told me that they would be able to get me into Le Bistro (not exactly what I had wanted of course) at 5:30pm the following day. Everyone knows that we are "night" people and usually don't eat dinner until very late...like 10pm late. 5:30pm was going to present a few problems such as: This was a port day, which sailaway was at 2pm. We always come back from a port starving and eat at the buffet right away. I knew that we were not going to be able to hold out until 5:30pm to eat. Then the next problem would be that if we are to eat at 5:30pm, then we would be starving again around midnight. Ugh. But what choice did I have at this point? So, I took the 5:30pm time reluctantly.

 

I was told that I should call the reservation line at 5:30pm the following day, when they opened, to see if there were any cancellations or new openings. "Well, I'm supposed to be having dinner in Le Bistro at 5:30pm, how do you reckon I do that?" "Oh, that's right" he replied. "Well, try the next day". Sigh. I knew in my heart that this would be the only dinner we would be able to get with our Platinum status. I was disappointed and at this point, I never wanted to book another ship that was this big or this many people...ever again. I was really second guessing liking the bigger ships at all.

 

We went to the casino and donated some money for a little bit and I was just so over this day that we picked up Sakari early from the kids club and decided to call it a day.

 

Our towel animal waiting for Sakari that night:

 

 

The hubby would do a little bit of computer work and we were in bed by 10:30 after I completed our beach bag packing for the following day.

Kim I had the same issue on the Breakaway...we could only get reservations for Cagneys at 8:30 to celebrate hubbys birthday...that was too late for us... went to the service desk but they couldn't help us ...as Platinum members we have a Concierge benefit .. so I called them and they changed our dinner reservations to 6:30 with no problem..the best is when we got to Cagneys there were many empty tables...keep in mind we weren't using our free dinners there and paid for the meal...we did get a reservation for La Cucina but not for our second dinner...so we end up in the MDR and asked for our free bottle of wine.. they gave it to us with no problem just had to give them the voucher..

When we were on the Breakaway, we found that they had lobster tails in the MDR for a fee...so my husband ordered the strip steak and the lobster tails and made himself a surf and turf dinner...there were 2 tails that weighed about 12 oz combined. He said they were delicious..:)

Great review Kim...love all those gorgeous pictures and your family....so I might have missed it but when is your next cruise and on what ship... want to make sure I don't miss the review and pictures... :)

Lorna

Hi Kim...as usual a great review...your pictures make it look like Sakari can hold her breath under water for such a long time ...it looks like she really is a mermaid...she even go down deep ...that really is very good lung control...LOL

Most of my pictures are taken with a Sony A6000, only about 5% or less of the pictures you see were with the GoPro. The GoPro was mainly used for the water slides, underwater pics at the beach, and the rope course. There are a few on vibe, but maybe like 10 of them or so.

 

When you say good camera you have to realize that my standards are really high. At one point I even bought an RX, which everyone claims to be the perfect point and shoot and I hated it.

 

That said, I also own a Olympus Stylus TG-2 iHS. I think now that model has been replaced by the Olympus TG-4. The thing is that I did not even bring it on this cruise. It takes ok pictures I guess, but they just look a bit fragmented to me.

 

I really love the versatility of the GoPro, that is why I recommend it. But the issue with the GoPro is that it is pathetic when the lighting is poor. The pictures are also not the sharpest ones, but for active scenes it is perfect.

 

I guess it really depends what you truly want, do you really plan on using it in water that often? Do you have another camera? Will this be your main camera?

 

I have also found that the iPhone 6s camera is outstanding. My ex went to Australia and Japan and all he took was his iPhone, I could not believe the results from that tinny lens.

Thank you for your input...I do have another camera but wanted to make this one my main camera...I do want to bring it to the beach when I do go and I do love the water but I see what you mean..maybe I will just use my land camera and then decide what waterproof camera to buy... ;)

Hi there Gambee...your reviews make my day and forget about those gorgeous pictures... do you use only your GOPRO camera for the beach pictures or do you use it for all your pictures? personally I am looking for a good waterproof camera and not sure which one to pick..I am leaning towards the Olympus 860 or 870 ...any suggestions??? (I am a novice when it come to taking pictures) i

thank you Flowers 44...yes us "old folks" are not that old...I blame my kids for my "memory loss"...LOL!!!!;)

Thanks for the advise to go to Trip Advisor...I did find the name of the restaurant...it is "My Favorite Place"...

The Sea Glass jewelry store was Kelly Diel at 16 Water Street in St Georges...I highly recommend both places...

Kelly is a very nice person...she handmade 2 necklaces for my granddaughters with the stone I personally picked...

Hi everyone...I hope someone on this board can help me find the name of a restaurant we went to in October in St Georges....All I can remember is that it was in the main square... was on the second floor and had a very narrow stairway...it wasn't a fancy place but a place where locals would come to eat lunch...for the life of me cannot remember the name...

Also cannot remember then name of the jewelry store on water street that sold sea glass jewelry...I remember that store being near ArtMels...

I guess Alzeimers is setting in real early...LOL;)

keeping you off of page 4:)

Kim bumping you up so I can find your review easier...was back on the 4th page...:eek:....cant wait to see the pictures...;)

Hi there Kim...first HAPPY BIRTHDAY...now cant wait to see the gorgeous picture of your cruise.....hope you are hitting those books when you have the time...it must be difficult to do that in such a beautiful location..;)

You could tell that it was starting to get a little cooler than it was the day before. However, Sakari could care less about the temps. She will probably beg to get in the pool/hot tub if we ever take an Alaskan cruise. That's just her.

 

She begged and begged and I finally gave in. We headed up to the kids water area to see if we were the only crazy people on the ship allowing their kids in the water. Nope, we weren't (and there were even adults in the pools). So, that made me feel better. However, I knew I was not about to get in there. It just wasn't warm enough for me.

 

 

 

Like always, Sakari makes friends easily.

 

 

 

 

 

Sakari's Patrick imitation. She insisted that I wait for the perfect moment to get his "arm pits sweating out".

 

 

 

 

 

I ran into my friend from the ferry again and we sat down and talked for quite some time. She was so nice and we had some great conversations. I had only wished I had met her earlier in the cruise. It was so nice to be able to chat longer than our short convo in St George. It kept me occupied while Sakari did her thing instead of me being bored sitting there.

 

 

 

It was nice talking to you that day Kim and yes we should have met at the beginning of the cruise...your family is lovely and very well mannered...can wait to cruise with you all again...

Hi Kim...We had a problem with the HOHO bus in St Georges...The gentleman at the visitor center told us that if we took the bus to the lighthouse we would have to wait at least an hour before it returned and if it even returned...not sure if they got this HOHO bus figured out yet... He gave me the impression that it was best to take a cub...which we did instead...so we ended up with a 2 hour tour of St DAvids and St Georges and all the beaches...unfortunately we were not in bathing suits to even enjoy a dip in any of the beaches but they were still beautiful

Kim... it was a pleasure meeting and talking to you on the BA....not sure if you are on facebook but if you are would like to befriend you...Lorna Lalli:D

Does anyone know if they extended Harbour Nights thru October?...I read somewhere that it was in the works but never heard anything else about it.

Debating whether to bring my own coffee and filter...I am not a big coffee drinker but love a good cup of coffee in the morning...wasn't crazy about the coffee on the Gem so not sure the coffee on the BA would be any different?

Any advice???

just to confirm...you can buy tokens at the dockyard?