MJC

Enjoying your trip report as Japan on the Diamond is on our bucket list. 🙂

Following along as well, since Japan is on our must-see list. My question is, how far in advance did your itineraries become available for booking? I notice that most of next summer is already filling up. Does being Elite provide advance booking (if we go in 2025)? We will hopefully achieve Elite with our next Princess cruise in the fall. thank you!

Also bring bug wipes for your legs if you are by the trees, we had no-see-um bites after one visit (but totally worth it for the shade).

We have been busy with house projects and house guests. Everything takes longer than I expect with the house so I feel like we are behind even though we don't have a schedule. We have had the Canada smoke again for a couple days which entailed figuring out how to entertain our friends indoors. They have been good sports. Laurie I love when you post your outfits. I like the flowered earrings you have for the blue dress, they are so unique and fun. I enjoy accessorizing too. Our next cruise is a 14 day in October, and we will have 3 formal nights. Initially I thought we might go less dressy, but since we'll be in Europe and traveling with many British people we've decided to go all out even if it means we take an extra bag. We have several sea days for primping and getting photos taken. Anita those no show socks can be found in a thin cotton and I find they make your foot less slidey inside the shoe, if you have room, because they are a wee tad thicker than the nylon ones.

Those kitten heels are really nice. I tend to find them more comfortable than the chunky heels but that may just be me and my wacky knees.

Very pretty Melody!!

Laurie, I've used these to convert a regular bra to racerback with some success. They do tend to stretch out the straps a bit, so best to dedicate a bra to this purpose. I also recently ordered this bra from Soma for the crossback feature. YMMV but I find it comfortable and I think it will be quick-drying.

In our experience early November and early January are good times for travel.

That sounds like a great cruise Melody! We branched out too sailing Norwegian from NYC in January, but we had a wonderful experience and would do it again if it was the right cruise on the right ship. Sadly we are getting to the point where so many ships are just too large for our taste and cannot visit the more interesting ports (to us) in the Caribbean due to their size. I have two short trips coming up for visiting family and friends, then our next trip will be the Norway cruise in October. I've been doing some wardrobe planning since I knew it would be hard to winter clothes shop in the summer. I have some basic plans for some of the ports that need to be fleshed out, and two reservations booked for our most remote locations. Airfare has been booked for a while now but I still have to make our London hotel reservation. We will have 3 formal nights and my original plan was to skip the fancy wear, but with so many Europeans on board who plan to really dress up, I am thinking why not. We will have 6 sea days so it's not like we'll be rushing to get ready after a long day in port. We had a cold and rainy April but now the sun has arrived and it was 82 yesterday! So we are scrambling to get our cottage ready for the summer, and overnight it seems it's time to plant some flowers and clean up the patio. I actually went kayaking yesterday and it was lovely. Wishing everyone a lovely Mothers Day tomorrow!

Not much fashion news from here. DH has been isolating because he went to a conference and got covid. So, we're living at opposite ends of the house, and even though I have stayed negative, I am not out and about in my usual fashion. He's doing well though, and gets sprung tomorrow. It's been too rainy for our walks so we are both a bit stir-crazy. I have gotten some house projects done though! I've also been reading up on our October ports and making plans. I booked our hotel in London for October, and the one we like in San Pedro for next April. I booked our transfer to Heathrow that visits Stonehenge on the way. I've downloaded some walking tours that I want to study. Good rainy day reading. Both cruises are unique itineraries and look to sell out shortly. It will be quite different from our last cruise which was only about 60% capacity, and the two previous Princess restarts that were closer to 40%. I went to a Broadway show recently, and it was packed. Along my way there was lots of hustle and bustle, so NYC is definitely back in its stride. Lots and lots of tourists. So good to see everyone enjoying my city.

We will have an excursion credit that can only be used on board. Does the Stonehenge/LHR excursion & transfer book up quickly? If we wait to book on board so we can use our credit, what is the likelihood it will be filled already? I know, we could book and pay for it to be sure, but I hate leaving money on the table. TYIA

Laurie, you should plan to see this. You will be so close for driving to the path of totality. Scroll down in the article and there is a map of where it will be in New York. We will be on a cruise ship off the coast of Mexico. Melody you will be too far away unless you hit the road. Our original plan was Texas until we found the cruise. https://thepointsguy.com/news/places-to-see-total-solar-eclipse/

We had a minisuite because at that time AmEx had a two cabin upgrade with the card we had. That didn't last very long! That mini was HUGE compared to nowadays.

We've been in those Vista suites several times and really like them. The last photo is the tea you can order in a suite. Pretty amazing.

Laurie she's closer to Port Canaveral I believe.

Did they replace it with another port? Or just add a sea day?

We like the aft Vista suites because of the corner location, you can see a bit to the side and have only one cabin next to you. Plus it is a quiet location at the end of the little jog in the hall back there. It feels very private. You are closer to the wake which we like for the sound but may be just noise to others. Lots of talk about the beam but usually the loungers are placed on one side and the table and chairs on the other. We don't find that an issue though we sail as just two so not sure how it would feel to a family.

We like to dress up for formal nights, and the other nights I wear a casual dress or pants and casual top (not a tshirt), but then I will wear the dress or the top with shorts again during the day on a different day. I actually hang my clothes in the closet in the order I plan to wear them, so ones I've worn just go to the end of the line until I get to them again. I try to take one pair of formal shoes and one heeled casual sandal for evenings that coordinate with my outfits. I prefer to plan ahead and then I don't spend any time thinking about what to wear, I can just enjoy my day.

The train ride from Syracuse to NYC is very pretty. You will arrive at Penn Station though, not Grand Central. We drive to baseball games so we prefer Shea stadium to Yankee because its closer and easier to park. When DH was a young lawyer, his firm had a box there, and if nobody was taking clients they would let the young lawyers have the tix for like $20. So I got to see Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden and HoJo play back in the day. It was so fun.

I have only seen Zumba in the morning - 9:30ish.

Melody, glad to hear you are improving and getting out more. Way to go. Good news about the airport situation. DH bought tix to a Yankees game for our birthday. I would have preferred the Mets, but with our schedule and their schedule we just couldn't get it to work. I don't even know who they're playing! But baseball, a hot dog, and a beer sounds just right to me. I'm tagging along on a work trip to Tel Aviv at the end of April. I will need to look nice for the dinners and around the hotel due to possible run ins with his business contacts, but otherwise its just a nice bit of downtime for me. The hotel is really pretty and right on the beach, so I can go walking as much as I like and sit by the pool and read. We have our eye on the political situation and don't expect it will affect our plans at this point, but we'll stay flexible.

I alter sleeves quite often. I prefer 3/4 sleeves so sometimes if I really like the shirt I just cut off the cuffs and re-hem.

No they're inset pockets so they make a bulge that makes the sides bulky. But the color and the fabric are perfect so I don't mind getting it altered.

I like that! I bought a gauzy summer tank dress that has pockets on the sides, so stupid looking, but I'm going to have the dry cleaner cut them and and resew the seams for me. It is a lovely teal and it is cool and floaty for hot days at the lake. But those pockets, yuk.