MJSailors

Wow,just wow! Yourwife must have been very concerned that you needed ER medical assistance. Hope that your collarbone heals quickly and without too much discomfort. You may be aware of this,but alcohol is a diuretic. The drinks at dinner may have factored into your situation. Wishing you good days and happy cruising! MJ🙋🏻

@Sunshine3601 I hope you have a quick recovery 💐. @ReneeFLL You are on a remarkable journey- a trip of a lifetime for sure ! Enjoy your travels. By any chance,are you plannng to meet up with the poster from Australia that shares the beautiful photos from there ? I cannot recall her CC name at the moment. Wishing everyone who is home today or enjoying some traveling, a very pleasant day ! MJ🙋🏻

Bon Voyage,Greg and Linda ! Are you there yet?- only kidding. Safe driving today. MJ🙋🏻

Bon voyage to you and your wife! Safe travels to the ship ! MJ🙋🏻

I have to join in with the posts about Bermuda. My husband and I spent our honeymoon there in 1983 and we have returned twelve times over the years. Our vacations were both cruises and resort stays. We liked it when the ships could dock at Hamilton as we could walk off the ship and explore the town. The Royal Naval Dockyard is far from most of the interesting sites.iMHO, the Dockyard has become very commercial over the years and seems a bit cluttered to me. However, the mini golf course located there seems interesting. We have yet to try it. The ferries going to Hamilton and St George’s are convenient transportation from the Dockyard and provide scenic views of the small islands that make up the country of Bermuda. We have enjoyed Elbow Beach and the beach club at the Fairmont Southampton Princess. Horseshoe Bay is pretty,but it can get very crowded at times. We have enjoyed lovely dinners at the FourWays Inn and the Waterlot Inn. We have found the Hog Penny good for lunch or a drink before taking the ferry back to the Dockyard. As for shopping, so many of the wonderful stores have closed in Hamilton. We used to shop at Trimmingham’s, Bluck’s and the Irish Linen Shop ( which may still be in business). There is an interesting liquor store on Front Street. I don’t recall the name of the store,but I do recall they had a wide variety of liquors in stock with beautiful displays. We had planned a vacation in March of 2020 where we were supposed to stay at the Fairmont Southampton Princess and play golf on the lovely golf course at the hotel. However, that trip was cancelled due to Covid. We would like to plan such a trip again,but we are waiting to see if the present travel protocols will be lifted in the near future. We have fond memories of our visits to Bermuda and we can only hope to return someday. MJ🙋🏻

Lenny- I am sorry to read that you did not have a successful appointment with the Parkinson’s doctor. It must have been very deflating to experience his approach. As I wrote in my post to Lucas, our friend also has Parkinson’s. He has started to see a doctor who is affiliated with Stonybrook hospital and,so far, he and his wife are pleased with this doctor’s care. If you would like, I could get the name of the doctor for you. Not to make light of your recent experience, but I am thinking that you must also be disappointed that the Mets have been put out of the running for a World Series appearance. Well, there’s always next year. Hoping the Yankees will have a better outcome. They won tonight’s game and the Braves lost,so there is hope for an interesting Series, at least for New Yorkers ! Bonnie- That is not good news that you are experiencing pain in that foot. Although the boot is cumbersome, hoping the support it gives takes some if the pain away and that the podiatrist can offer you some good insight as to what is happening with that foot. @Ozark_Kid- Your dear Kenzie is a beautiful child with a loving heart. She must light up a room wherever she goes. You and your family are blessed to have her in your lives. To all those dealing with illness, pain or discomfort these days, I hope you have some comfort with whatever you are dealing with now. To those that celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada- happy holiday! To those traveling by ship,car or plane,safe journeys and wishes for an enjoyable trip and vacation. Take care everyone ! MJ🙋🏻

Dear Lucas- You have been on quite the life’s journey taking care of your Mom.She is fortunate to have a son who is so dedicated to taking care of her. Hoping that hospice will give you the support you need in taking care of her. Keep in mind that it is okay to ask for help because the help you receive will help her also. My Dad was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s and he passed at 73. I was 27 at the time. Since I am an only child,I helped my Mom care for him at their home for four years. It was often difficult, but it was an act of love and I have never regretted helping my parents in those years.Whenever I think of my Dad, it is not as he was during those last years,but when he was a strong and vital man who loved my mother and me very much. My Mom lived to be 93 and spent the last twenty years of her life as a widow. She came to live with my husband and me when it came to the point in her life when she no longer wanted to be alone. Luckily, she retained all her mental faculties as she aged, but had to deal with significant physical problems. During the last three years of her life, we had help from two wonderful aides. I considered theses women angels and they became part of our family. She was a wonderful mother and I considered our taking care of her as a way to thank her for the loving care she gave to me. Now, we are supporting a good friend who has been dealing with Parkinson's Disease for a number of years. Recently, he has begun to experience some hallucinations which apparently present as confusion of thought. He sometimes thinks his wife is someone else and he is confused in his house as he is convinced that he is in a former house that was sold some time ago. At other times,he is like his old self, joking and having good conversations. We feel for his wife who has been caring for him by herself for so many years.They both are dear friends and we try to support them by helping with household tasks,doing errands and sometimes just listening. At times, I wish I had a magic wand that would take the disease away from our friend as then he would have such a pleasant life. Whenever I hear of someone who is afflicted with a serious disease such as Alzheimer’s,Parkinson’s ,cancer or other serious diseases, I often think of their caregivers. Since being one for both of my parents, I realize the struggles they face. As someone once said to me, when you see a person in a wheelchair,look up and give the person pushing the wheelchair a smile. That person needs care and support too. Lucas, I wish you good days as you continue to care for your Mom. When her life journey is over,you will not have regrets over what you did to care for her. MJ🙋🏻

I have.not read through this entire post, but I have to say that my empathy goes to the OP’s wife. After such a traumatic accident,multiple surgeries and a bout of Covid 3.5 months ago, the thought of preparing for a cruise vacation would have certainly been daunting for me. I am thinking that after some time at Disneyworld in the heat,she may have suffered from dehydration. I do hope she recovered from the symptoms the OP mentioned in his initial post. In my view, this woman needs TLC ,rest and relaxation to aid her recovery. Perhaps a stay at a lovely, nearby resort would have been a better vacation choice. At this time, I would think her recovery from such a traumatic accident would take priority over the concern about RCL refund policy. But, that’s just me. I wish the OP and his wife good days of healing and comfort. MJ🙋🏻

@Sea Dog Greg- I have been reading your interesting review and I realize the time and effort it takes to write and post photos as you did after the cruise. Thank you. Both my hubby and I reached lifetime membership in Weight Watchers many years ago. We try to stay with the guidelines of the program- sometimes with success and sometimes not so much. At one of the meetings we attended,a woman,who had also reached lifetime status ,returned from a cruise. Much to her chagrin she had gained twenty-one pounds . So, in that context,twelve pounds is something you can deal with now that you are back home. We have found that cruise ship food contains a lot of salt. Wether we can taste it or not,we know salt is there. It causes a bit of water retention and that affects weight gain. Once you are eating your regular meals at home, the scale will go in the right direction because of the water weight. Wishing you good luck in your endeavors. MJ🙋🏻

As usual, I have been reading Dani’s thread, just not commenting. George please accept my sympathy to you and your family for the recent loss of your mother. John,it is good to see you posting again,especially sending the photos of Bella. Graham,hoping the surgery to remove the questionable spots on your face goes well. Lenny, I hope you continue to feel well and that your BP stays in check. Also,we are hoping for a subway series also- let’s go Mets ! and Yankees too! For all those with Florida homes,hoping the effects of Ian are not seriously problematic for you and that any damage/loss can be taken care of in a timely manner. And finally,for those celebrating happy milestones I am sending congratulation. Wishing all a very pleasant week. MJ🙋🏻

Wrong guess. Although, I was in a dorm for only one year. Townhouse for two and finally,rented a beach house with friends for Senior year. MHO - I do not appreciate door decorations on a cruise ship. Apparently, YHO is that they are a fine addition to a cruise experience. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Let’s leave it at that. MJ

@UKstages Now thatI think about it,perhaps door decorations serving another purpose ie- games like pin the tale on the donkey may pass muster- no pun intended !😉 I think we are like-minded though about leaving cabin doors blank. After all, do you see hotel or resort room doors decorated, apartment doors decorated, office doors decorated? Not usually to never. In HS,at Christmastime, each homeroom would decorate their classroom doors for a holiday contest. Once the door judging was finished and awards given, the decorations had to come down. No one wanted to Santa etc in January when we all returned from vacation. We always had a good time with the door contests- but,then again, we were high school kids ! If passengers want to decorate their cabins inside, then they should be able to do so and enjoy them. By no means am I a Debbie Downer , but I like things with class and good taste- as I said in my first post, that is MHO. MJ

IMHO door decorations ate tacky. They make the hallways look like a row of dorm rooms. Good that NCL has a policy that does not allow decorations on the cabin doors. I am curious if this is enforced on the ships. MJ

@ownedbypets OMG! I get it! We used a lot of paper plates and ate a lot of sandwhiches and salads. No real cooking at home. i was very grateful that we had the kitchen sink for as long as possible. MJ🙋🏻

@jam19872016 Will you be posting photos of the ports that you are visiting while you are traveling, or are you waiting to post those photos once you are home? It seems that you have been posting a lot of food photos, but not many of places you have been to on this vacation. I think it is difficult to realize where you are in your travels. MJ

@Jimbo We did a kitchen and family room redo in 2009. Can’ t believe it was that many years ago. It was,and can be,a tremendous undertaking. However,we are still pleased the redo and plan not to go through it again. We also did a redo in a Florida condo in 2013, but instead of new cabinets, we had the existing ones refaced by Home Depot. We were pleased with that job was it was finally done . Doing home renovations at this time with supply chain shortages, inflated prices and lack of skilled labor must be extra challenging. I do have a question. How are you and your wife dealing with meals? The redo at home took over a month.I set up a “kitchen” in our living room with coffee maker,toaster and microwave . We did a combination of take out, bbq, going out for dinner and friends’ invitations to their homes for dinner to get by. We used paper plates and plastic utensils. One good thing was that our contractor set up the kitchen sink for us to use during most of the redo. I heard stories of people washing dishes in the bathtub. Wishing you continued good luck for the job ahead. A major home redo requires a lot of patience,a good sense of humor and a full wallet. MJ🙋🏻

@IntrepidFromDC Your photos are great. However, could you space them when you post them? It makes the photos easier to view. Thanks ! MJ

@cruiseny4lifeLet’s put this discussion to rest as we may be veering off-topic. Apparently,you feel quite comfortable traveling about in the City and using public transportation. As you have explained you are a big man,and perhaps you are in the City by yourself,so moving about the City is not problematic for you. A visitor to NYC ,perhaps for the first time,possible with their family, may not have the same comfort level. Of course,it would be up to @CrazyTrain2 to chose public transportation over an Uber,Lyft,limo or cab to go from JFK to the Manhattan hotel where he/she has a reservation. i would like to address a few comments from your recent post. As I wrote previously, the drive time from JFK to Manhattan would depend on the time of day and day of the week. For example, that drive would certainly be different on a early Sunday morning as opposed to a weekly rush hour commute. What I was suggesting to the OP was the drive would take up some of the time before he/she would arrive at the hotel. I would rather be comfortably sitting in a car instead of schlepping luggage and my family from one mode of public transport to another- but that’s just me. As to your comment about outer boroughs not counting unless they have been gentrified- If someone comes from one of the boroughs,they do not say they are from NYC. They are from Queens,the Bronx,Staten Island ,or Brooklyn. My father grew up in Greenpoint ,Brooklyn- not Greenpoint,NYC. for example. As for gentrification, look up Forest Hills Gardens. That is where I lived for twenty- nine years. It is a. beautiful,planned community that was created well over a hundred years ago. It was “gentrified” well before gentrification became a term. And yes,people in all the outer boroughs do count. They pay NYC income tax. As for living in Central New York (CNY),it is my understanding that the area is bordered by the Finger Lake region and the Mohawk Valley. My husband’s grandparents and his uncle both had Summer homes on Keuka Lake. When we drove from Eastern LI to visit them,we always said that we were going Upstate. Forgive me if that is incorrect. The drive to Keuka Lake was certainly long enough to make us think we were Upstate ! I do hope you continue to enjoy the City with safe travels. MJ🙋🏻

Popping over from Dani’s thread to read about your Alaska- Hawaii adventures. Looking forward to your photos and your recounting of your travel days. Safe travels and Bon Voyage ! MJ🙋🏻

@cruiseny4life I was born and raised in Forest Hills,Queens,NY.As a newlywed, I moved to Long Island over thirty-eight years ago. We still continued to make trips into theCity until Covid put a halt to most of our travel. Living in one of the boroughs, we would not refer to Manhattan,it was always “the City”. For example, we would say, I”I am going into the City to see a show,or to shop,or to meet someone for dinner.”.We would never say “I am going into Manhattan.”. Being from Upstate NY, you may not be so familiar with that colloquial nomenclature. Therefore, I do not think that JFK is in NYC. To me, JFK is in Queens- an outer borough. Just to be technical regarding my context. It may be confusing to someone coming into NYC to say that JFK is in NYC. They might get the impression that JFK is very close to Manhattan hotels and the cruise terminal. In actual mileage, it is not a long distance, but in travel time,it can very well take over an hour to get from JFK to a Manhattan hotel. As I wrote in my previous post,travel time depends on the day of the week and the time of day. To suggest to @CrazyTrain2 to take the Air Train from the airport to Jamaica and then take the LIRR into Penn Station may not have been the best advice. Consider this- it seems that he/she is taking a family vacation. Dealing with moving people- perhaps children- and luggage on public transportation can be daunting.I do not know when the last time you visited the City, but it has become a challenging place to navigate. Recently, I was speaking with a friend who is a jeweler. She often goes into the City on business. She said Penn Station is intimidating to move through as it is populated with so many homeless people.She is also a Queens native and finds it difficult to be in the City lately. If that is the feeling of a native of NYC, then it would be truly difficult for a visitor. I do hope that the OP can find a reasonable solution to the scheduling of his/her trip to NYC for the cruise vacation. I hope his/her time in the City is both pleasant and safe. The City has so much to offer. It is a pity that it has deteriorated to such a state where citizens and visitors alike must be on guard and aware of all that is around them. MJ🙋🏻

Why shouldn’t kids be welcomed in the Crown Grill? IMHO, taking children to upscale restaurants that have table linens , silverware and china dishes teaches them manners and social skills that they can use for a lifetime. Children will respond to expectations of their behavior. If a child cannot cope with an upscale restaurant experience, it should be made clear that if they disrupt the meal with their family or others in the restaurant,they will be taken out of the restaurant until they can behave in a calm manor. Now,this may inconvenient for a parent that needs to take the child away from the table. But, the child will (should) learn how to behave at the dinner table. It will be worth it for the long run. @SAKay I wish you and your family a most enjoyable cruise. You are a good grandmother ! I am not sure why the print keeps changing- can’t seem to fix it ! MJ🙋🏻

Looks like a fun vacation. Was it just you and your son on the cruise? MJ

You will spend more time on the road to and from Disney than any real time spent at any of the parks. You could possibly rent a car for the day at Port Canaveral,but it might not be worth it. Goggle driving directions from the port to Disneyworld,then decide if the drive is reasonable for you. The twenty month old child will not remember anything of a visit to Magic Kingdom,but you may remember the hassle it took to get there. MJ🙋🏻

I concur with others regarding the hotel situation. Most likely,you will be able to stow your bags through the front desk of the hotel. Calling the hotel directly about an early arrival or booking the hotel for the day before arrival to guarantee a room are good ideas. What NYC hotel has been booked? You may be able to get a late breakfast at the hotel or a nearby restaurant. Hoping you have a mid town location or ,at least, near the pier that accommodates NCL ships. As for time of your arrival at the hotel- Consider this- the plane is due to land at a gate at JFK at 5:30 am. By the time you get off the plane,get to the baggage area and retrieve your bags and leave the terminal for ground transportation could take about an hour. You will need to get a cab,Uber or Lyft to get to your hotel. The commute time from JFK to a hotel in NYC could take at least a half hour,maybe more depending on the day of the week and the time you get on the road. You ,most likely, will arrive at the hotel around 8am or ,perhaps,a bit later. I think this flight time should work out for you. Give it some thought and preplanning so you will be comfortable. MJ🙋🏻

Thank you for the photo. Koala was the mascot of our HS in NY. I am not sure of the significance of this mascot choice, but that a koala is a cute animal and our HS name was shortened to CK from Christ the King. K also being the letter for koala. MJ🙋🏻