SusieKIslandGirl

We leave one week from today for Rome, 8 days there and then board the Island Princess for the TA. Suitcases are mostly packed with weight and room to spare but the last-minute list is getting longer. Hope it all fits. 

Update to the summer's Lemonade Pie. If you like eggnog, you might enjoy this version.

Small package of Jello vanilla instant pudding mix, 1 2/3 cup of eggnog, mix well and then add a bit of rum extract and fresh grated nutmeg. Blend in 1 3/4 cup of thawed Cool Whip and chill. The store was out of the premade graham cracker crusts so I got the Keebler shortbread crust. Yum!

Enjoy the weekend.

Problem solved-no go on the laptop but iPad worked! I’m exhausted watching them.

A beautiful tribute to Jose-thanks for sharing. 

For some reason only the 1st video will play-the rest have a message of "video blocked". Anyone have any ideas how to unblock?

We had a cruise that was cancelled last year but had planned to use mydaytrip.com. They answered questions promptly and had several tour options with transfers. You could see if they will do the tour you want.

@grapau27I was lucky that I wasn't in much pain with my hip but my gait was way off. Surgery and recovery was so very easy but breaking the bad habit of walking off balance has been the hardest part. I was used to that way of walking for way too long.

Loved your photo of the opera house at night. That one is worth framing! Thanks for sharing! And enjoy the sun. Seattle has been wet and gloomy plus wind and power outages.

We have used Spain Day Tours for several excursions and have been very pleased.

7 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

I have to wear a sweater and sometimes pants

@MISTER 67I laughed to myself when I read that you sometimes wear pants! Trying not to picture it 😲 though.

Yes, to the individual stems. I went to the front desk, they showed me the book of arrangements, and then they called the florist who came to speak with me. I told them what I wanted and the flowers were delivered to the cabin a short time later.

Our countdown has started-2 weeks until we leave for Rome and Florence before boarding the Island Princess for a TA with a stop in Casablanca. A check off the bucket list! We decided to stay on for another 10 days before we fly to Atlanta to spend Christmas and our 53rd anniversary with DS and family. Time is flying by in a lot of ways. Talked with DS this morning and thought he had a cold-nope, cheering for those UW Huskies HAL4NOW mentioned. We also lost power but only for a few minutes, thank goodness, although now we will have reset the clocks twice after the change time tomorrow. 🙂 Have a great weekend everyone!

Well, the link worked for me, at least. Good video just in case..........thanks!

Jacqui, I decided I'm taking the walker I used after my hip replacement surgery in June when we head to Rome and our cruise in 2 weeks. I used it before surgery when we went to Barcelona before our cruise last October. It made everything so much easier, even going through security at the airport! One small thing that helped was a short bungee cord. The walker I had didn't have a latch to keep it folded up. Loren would bungee around the legs and it fit between the end of the sofa and the window in the cabin. If nothing else, if you use crutches, several rolling carry-on bags will sit on the seat while your sister pushes the walker. 

I saw where you made it to Moka for dinner-yummy! Good luck with the shoe shopping.

We have Comcast Xfinity Mobile and they also have a $10/day plan but it states that it does not include calls from cruise ships. It's only for while we're in port. We did opt to use the pay-as-you-go plan which is 30 cents/minute phone and 10 cents per text. 

We've found that on some ships you can find an outlet behind the bed. It often has a bedside table lamp plugged into it so we have a European adapter that has a couple of plug-ins. 

Just received an update on the Memories page. We were in Montserrat one year ago. We went there after reading your descriptions from your previous trip. And I had wild dreams last night after you mentioned Daniel. 😳 I loved the whole island tour but those narrow, one lane roads were a little hair-raising. Good luck on the Lisbon port. Not sure where we were but it was a long ride into the center of town.

You wondered about what the 3rd pitfall was going to be but now you’ve 4 so that’s more than enough!! Fingers crossed for a smooth journey onward.

We did this cruise last October so will be fun to relive it with you and also Gerry. Have a wonderful, calm sailing.

Have a fun, fantastic cruise. You've all earned it!

It's funny-I was sad when the coin-op laundry facilities were no longer available but now we've booked a Princess cruise and realized I'll have to do my own laundry. HAL's laundry prices are so worth it!!

Since you don't want to fly, have you considered taking the train to other port cities? I've heard several people mention taking the train rather than flying.

Great-thanks!!

@cruzin4us Thanks for the great report. My question is about the closet area in the cabin. We've only been on a couple of the older ships. Does the Discovery have the open area across from the bathroom like on the older ships? Love it so much better than the multiple closets on the Holland America ships. Thanks!

You can call to see if it's available for your cruise. There are only so many openings so call soon. Have your booking number available.

Club Orange-Upsell

206 626 7381

888 628 8107

We have transferred a number of directly booked cruises to a big box store travel agency. (Does it start with a "C"?) I think I found a form on their website. It is correct that it must be done within 60 days of booking, not paid in full and before final payment. I think it took about a week to hear back. While you no longer get OBC, you do get "shop cards" for future use 2 to 3 weeks after you get home. We're getting $405 on a card for our next 14 day cruise.

@Cruzin TerriDo you wear wrist splints at night? My doctor recommended them over 20 years ago and I wear them every night. So far, the carpal tunnel has not progressed to a point where I need more help. A little strange getting used to them at first but now I can't go to sleep without them.