mommaof 3

26 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

I would like to ask the same question of the Getaway

Definitely together on the Breakaway..had a guy get way too close in an otherwise empty sauna, so I remember that, lol.  I believe they are identical.

My daughter was 13 on her last cruise and LOVED the teen program.  It was divided into 2 groups, younger & older, but sometimes they were together.  She is not very outgoing typically, but the staff did a good job getting them comfortable.  The biggest challenge was getting her back “home”  at midnight..she also discovered older boys are a lot of fun on this cruise. 🤦🏻‍♀️

12 hours ago, hallux said:

You only have until the flights are ticketed to make that decision.  Actually, you may need to make the decision prior to final payment...

Thx for the info..I will know if I can get the weeks off for the cruise about 10 days before the final payment.  I can’t make any decisions til then..such a shame to go all the way to Rome and not see it tho 😕

Also did the reduced airfare to Rome in October.  Aside from the great price, less than $1k for 2, I also figured if corona rears its ugly head again & cruises cease again, it would be easier than cancelling separately.  I can deal with strange flight times.  I think it’s probably the safer decision right now.
 

I am hoping to spend a couple of days in Rome before or after..but I have to wait until I see what time I can get off from work unfortunately.  I’m feeling a little intimidated with the planning of those days.  
 

Happy trip planning!  

Great opportunity to have a bit of a late “date” night while kiddos go to kids activities!

I had one of these a few years ago and it was great.  I think it was 8130.  The bed was near the bathroom.  Loved the big balcony..it had two loungers and a table with two chairs and it wasn’t crowded.  The bigger bathroom was so nice to have too. The only problem we ran into was that the first night out of NYC it was stormy and waves came up on the balcony.  It was a little freaky to have waves against the sliding door.

Have a great time in Bermuda! And hopefully you will have some time in Boston before leaving, such a great city. If you have time for nothing else, the freedom trail is something every American should do at least once.

I know you are a beach person, but st George is a wonderful historic town to spend a couple of hours in. We made it on one of the first ferries and checked out the perfumery, a small museum, a church, and caught a free tour of the town and the "dunking" show in a few hours. The buildings are so pretty. You should love the snorkeling in Bermuda, we saw tons of beautiful fish off of horseshoe beach. :D

We had a trip planned on the Dawn for last spring break, we had to cancel because I'd finally managed to wrestle my first nursing job into submission..but the catch was that I couldn't take any vacation during the 90 day probation. So we have a redo planned on the star for next April!

Best wishes for a wonderful trip!!

Thx, sorry you had such a rough trip, but hope Bermuda made it worthwhile! We are going in a family suite in the star next year for spring break, so I really appreciate the pictures of the suite and the perks. The Dawn is a great, convenient and relatively low cost option for northeasterners.

Hi - Just wanted to thank you for the review! Like all your reviews they have all the great pictures and it a fun read. I know it's a few years old, but we recently decided to book a family suite on the Star for next spring break and the first thing I did was look to see if you had a review.

Hope your first year's forays into nursing are continuing to treat you well..happy nurses week!

So glad to hear you have found a home in nursing you are happy with! I am a big believer that you end up where you are meant to be. I applied for 300-400 jobs and ended up getting the very first one I applied for..go figure. I work 2 day shifts a week at a huge hospital in mother & baby, there are about 7,000 deliveries a year and it is hectic! But, I love the moms and babies so much I can't imagine being anywhere else. Cons: Vacations are a problem, I'm so low on the list it's almost impossible to get time off when my kids have it off and the holidays I have to work are heartbreaking. But, I'm sure you know all about that from your years in the ER! I've never been one to take my kids out of school for a vacation, but this may test my willpower on that!

You never know what the future holds, hopefully a nursing job in a warm climate for you! But, I am glad you have found a place and type of nursing you are happy with after the long, painful journey to become a nurse!

I see you are heading to Bermuda in a couple of months. We went a few years ago, and also love visiting Boston, please let me know if you need any suggestions. Beautiful island, and great snorkeling!

Try a couple of other websites or a brick and mortar travel agent, they might have a group of rooms they've bought. Good luck!

Hi, Wonderful review as always, although it doesn't look like the best cruise ever I always appreciate your sunny attitude and gorgeous pictures!

I have not been on here in quite some time..been busy with my first RN job.. But, we had a few "conversations" about nursing school last year, not sure if you will remember. I wanted to find out how your search is going? Are you willing to relocate? Is there a particular area of nursing you are interested in?

I know it can be really difficult to work so hard to go to nursing school and pass the boards and then find there is not a lot of jobs for new grads. Don't despair..it took me about 6 months after the boards to get a job. :) Thankfully it's an awesome one and totally worth the wait!

Best wishes! Julie

Ok, just wanted to make sure you knew the family suites aren't necessarily crazy expensive, but it really varies. Have a great time, sounds like the Breakaway deal is awesome and you'll love Bermuda!

We loved Bermuda, there is so much to do, the three days fly by! And it sounds like a good fit for your budget, there is a lot you can do in Bermuda for a minimal amount of money. The bus and ferry system is cheap and reliable. Food is expensive, so we ate lunch out and had a late dinner on the ship, so it wasn't such a big deal. St George is a wonderful history filled spot to explore, loved the perfumery. Did the caves, not my favorite, but you never know til you try it. And gorgeous beaches with wonderful warm water. Would go back again and again if I could. Did you check the prices for the family suites on the Dawn? They would hold 5 adult sized people very comfortably, not sure that would be true with the family oceanview...

Our school district always takes off the Friday before easter and the week after off. Not all districts near us do that, but a lot do.. Drives me crazy as a nurse who is required to work every other easter and therefore cannot take off that week! I'd bet there will be a good amount of families.

Aside from washing your hands, which is absolutely the bet thing you can do to prevent getting sick and spreading germs..it is critical to not touch your face. Sounds silly, and we do it without thinking, but without conveyance to an entry point such as your nose, eyes, mouth, no amount of virus on your hands can make you sick.

Along the same lines, it is best to eat foods with silverware, not fingers, and choose foods that are not being touched by others as much as possible.

All you have to do is break the infection cycle of in one place to avoid infection and an easy one is transmission from hand to internally through handwashing and awareness of not touching your face and food.

So today, I sit here typing from a couch in the hospital in Labor & Delivery.

 

My oldest daughter is giving birth to my granddaughter today. She has reminded me daily about not being able to go on this Jewel cruise with me because she found out she was pregnant a week after our May cruise, so she had to cancel. Today will finally put an end to all of the sad puppy dog faces and whining. She will get to have her baby girl in her arms later today and it will all be worth a "missed cruise". :)

Congrats to you and your daughter..nothing better than a brand new baby!

Since you have always been kind enough to share your nursing school challenges..I wanted to share with you that I got my first RN job today! Mother & baby at a hospital that I love, pt nights, but I'm just so happy to have a job and that it is mother & baby is even better. All that work in nursing school is paying off, and it will for you too shortly!

Hmm, the face of it really looked more like the mongoose. I guess I didn't realize that the mongoose has really sharp fang teeth like I'm seeing in the pictures online. YIKES. I probably wouldn't have gotten so close to it had I known that. :eek:

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for the compliment and I'm glad you're back to the boards to read my review. :)

 

Also thanks for the info. It seems like most people are getting in to sit for the boards within a month or two here. That will be fine with me. I will need some time to review and do a bunch of NCLEX questions online to practice. I'm so nervous about this last semester I can't hardly stand it. The good thing is, I will be having my clinical at the hospital I work for this time around and I'm hoping this will also give me an additional "in" maybe on that floor. I will be on the telemetry step down unit. A fellow co-worker (that I worked with while she was in Nursing school and is now a nurse for the last year) said that there's a lot of critical care patients up there when she fills in and it will be a great experience. I'm hoping that's the case. :)

I'm sure you will be just fine since you work at a hospital already. My problem is living in an area that is quickly going to BSN only RN's at many hospitals, and having been a stay at home mom for the last 12 years. In hindsight I should have tried to work as a NA/PCT during school, but our house also flooded the day before Nursing 1 started. So I was a bit busy, we moved 4 times in the first 8 weeks, dealing with the insurance and rebuilding, blah, blah. We finally moved back home permanently about 2 months ago.

Anyway Nursing 4 was a good semester, lots of critical patients, but it was the hardest for me. Listen to everyone's lungs who will let you! And I took the Kaplan in person review in June, it was worthwhile, review is very dry, but the practice questions prepare you well for the NCLEX. Practice LOTS of select all that apply! Good luck!

Hi! It has been an age since I've checked the boards, but as always love your reviews. Only on pg 3, but had to add my experience with the NCLEX, since I can't wait til I finish, lol.

I took mine exactly three months after my final. By the time they wait for graduation and the nursing board it was about 6 weeks to get the ATT and then another 6 weeks to get a slot within a couple of hours drive. That's the bad news.

The good news is, it wasn't that bad. I finished 75 questions in about 45 minutes and it shut off. I felt pretty confident, hard questions but very few that I wasn't familiar with. Paid the $8 and found out I passed in 2 days. Yay!

Unfortunately, NJ has a surplus of nurses currently, so I've been job hunting for 4 months now. :( A lot of my classmates have left for NC, TX & FL..but I cannot do that. I am starting an online BSN in a couple of weeks, hopefully that will change something on the job front. So sad to work so hard and want something so much and not be able to practice as a nurse.

Anyway, completely off topic, but I'd seen a few comments and had to add my experience. I am sure you will have no problem! I shall now returning to reading your review :)

We looked at booking 2 connecting rooms or a suite that can sleep five and it was not significantly more, but I'm sure that varies according to the ship and time of year.

But, the perks of cagney's and priority tendering are pluses for us too. First time we've sailed this way, we'll see if it's worth it!

Wonderful review, we are hoping this will be our 25th wedding anniv trip in a couple of years!

Since you mentioned having daughters, do you have any suggestions to get an 8 year old swimming resistant daughter to safely try snorkeling when we go to the Western Carib. next April? I'd love for her to try, but I think that and the zip line is going to be a tough sell for her.

And I assume your trip on the breakaway is to Bermuda? We went last year and it's not well known, but there is an awesome free walking tour offered by the visitor's center in St. George. Very informative, and it was timed to the wench dunking also. I also loved going to the Perfumery, beautiful old building & they did a great job quickly explaining the process and it's a lovely souvenir to bring home. Loved Bermuda!

Awesome to have these new ships so close to home, we are thinking of taking our daughters on the Quantum of the Seas for spring break 2015. Thx!

I'm really hoping by the time that our cruise comes around, DD will be more receptive to trying new things. She'll be just over 4 1/2 then and right now if it's not something she's readily familiar with, she won't try it. Usually I can get her to try something if she likes the way it smells but if it's a texture she isn't expecting she'll spit it out, even if she likes the taste. So I'm really hoping a switch flips or something lol. I don't expect her to try oysters or escargot but some of the veggies and other things I'm hoping she'll give a chance.

Just because I think it's interesting:)...kids do this because ages ago it protected them from accidentally being poisoned by something they didn't recognize. They also have taste buds more sensitive to oxalic acid, a poison in large quantities, in bitter foods like spinach. So, while I certainly encourage my kids to try new things and eat lots of veggies, it helps to know why they can be the way they are!

I did work with a gentleman who had a heart attack while in Mexico on vacation. He was fortunate to survive, but after the hospitalization and medivac home, the bill was over $100K.

Also,wanted to add that I was looking at what is required to work on cruise ships. The nurses and Drs. have to have experience in trauma and critical care, I found that to be reassuring if there was an accident.

It seems worth a couple hundred dollars for the peace of mind insurance provides.

Hi - Ok, I hate to talk prices, but we did find an outrageously good deal for the middle of last August to Bermuda. It was $1000 total for a 6 night cruise for the 2 of us. It was an inside, and it was on an older RCCL ship, but it was still very nice. We had to go cheap, our house flooded during Hurricane Irene, so we really had nothing extra in savings - but we had planned to go away for our 20th for a few years, had babysitters lined up and couldn't give up on it. It's worth looking at a bunch of sites every once in a while! I think it was last April when we found that price for August. It was HOT though, I'd greatly prefer May, but I'm not a hot weather girlie.

I remember like yesterday being in 2 and thinking how far away 4 seemed, but it actually flys by! You'll get there! Do you all have a high failure rate? We've lost 1/2 the students we started with and it's very sad. However, the last couple of years they've had 100% of the students pass the NCLEX on the first try, so I figure they make it tough during so we fly through when it comes to the test. We do all our content as one course, so no separate pharm course - but most of the last few days have been remembering dig. levels, and the ACE inhibitors end with -pril and so on...not my favorite either. But, test tomorrow, so I must.

I was all excited for ER last spring and the nurses just did not want to have anything to do with me or the other student assigned that week - it kind of ruined it. The floors we've been assigned to and other areas we've visited the nurses have been great about us helping and explaining things. This is a different, bigger magnet hospital though, so I'm hoping things will be better.

Thanks again for the diversion!:o

Great review! I am in nursing school too, and I am SO antsy to be done (8 weeks + NCLEX) and the reviews are my incentive to keep studying, lol. Study 50 minutes, goof around for 10 - that's my plan and I have to stick to at least til I get through the cardiac exam, lol. I go to the ER this week also, we rotate through acute care areas this semester, I'm hoping it's a better experience that last year.

You should do the drive to NYC and go to Bermuda. We drove to Wisconsin last summer and Ohio to NYC would be a breeze. Bermuda was SO pretty and it's so nice to be there for more than a day.

Thx!