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**Golden Princess May 14, 2011 - Vancouver To Seattle**

LEtue

By LEtue,
in Princess Cruises

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kath00

kath00

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HI Mary,

 

Our planning is going great although we had a little "snafu" of deciding to get a little puppy after Thanksgiving. We put a deposit down on her (a baby maltipoo) and she'll be coming home the week we get back from our Thanksgiving cruise. It makes going away pretty challenging but we will do it! We already have a 100 pound Bernese Mtn Dog at home so if we have 1 dog to take care of, it won't be much harder to have a second... :o

 

Here is a little video I put together (my first every iMovie): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWp_fyywPsE. Ours will be Ginger, the darker colored one. :D

 

So far the plans are that DH and I take the coastal cruise on the Sapphire alone (we got a PH suite -- yipeee) and then the kids and nanny and quite possibly my sister and family will join us on the Golden Alaska portion. My parents are interested in coming too although my dad is convinced that ships are dangerous and they will hit ice bergs or get swallowed up by giant rogue waves. So I dunno what to make of that!!!

 

My children are totally excited to do the Alaska cruise since both girls are learning about glaciers in their science classes! We can hardly wait!!

 

Right now though, we have the Mariner of the Seas cruise coming in 45 days for Thanksgiving. That will be my daughters' first cruise so I really, REALLY hope the seas will be calm and they will enjoy it. Otherwise convincing them to go on another cruise might be a challenge. ;) We've had really strange weather here in San Diego so I don't know what late November will bring.

 

How is your cruise planning going? I have made no reservations whatsoever yet....

 

Katherine

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bellebaby

bellebaby

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HI Mary,

 

Our planning is going great although we had a little "snafu" of deciding to get a little puppy after Thanksgiving. We put a deposit down on her (a baby maltipoo) and she'll be coming home the week we get back from our Thanksgiving cruise. It makes going away pretty challenging but we will do it! We already have a 100 pound Bernese Mtn Dog at home so if we have 1 dog to take care of, it won't be much harder to have a second... :o

 

Here is a little video I put together (my first every iMovie): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWp_fyywPsE. Ours will be Ginger, the darker colored one. :D

 

So far the plans are that DH and I take the coastal cruise on the Sapphire alone (we got a PH suite -- yipeee) and then the kids and nanny and quite possibly my sister and family will join us on the Golden Alaska portion. My parents are interested in coming too although my dad is convinced that ships are dangerous and they will hit ice bergs or get swallowed up by giant rogue waves. So I dunno what to make of that!!!

 

My children are totally excited to do the Alaska cruise since both girls are learning about glaciers in their science classes! We can hardly wait!!

 

Right now though, we have the Mariner of the Seas cruise coming in 45 days for Thanksgiving. That will be my daughters' first cruise so I really, REALLY hope the seas will be calm and they will enjoy it. Otherwise convincing them to go on another cruise might be a challenge. ;) We've had really strange weather here in San Diego so I don't know what late November will bring.

 

How is your cruise planning going? I have made no reservations whatsoever yet....

 

Katherine

 

The puppy is marvelous! How did you decide to add a maltipoo as a friend to the Bernese Mountain Dog? Didn't Jessica Simpson have a maltipoo named Daisy? Are your girls excited?

 

My husband used to tease me about rouge waves in Alaska.. They are possible, but nothing to fear. I know your Dad will love cruising and Alaska if he tries it one time. I dearly wish my father would have joined us.

 

We're all set for this cruise. We've sailed Alaska so often we're on autopilot. We have the Greek Isles on the Noordam in October 2011. That's a different story.

 

Have a good weekend.

 

Mary

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kath00

kath00

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Katherine, your new baby is adorable! I'm wondering how she will get along with the Bermese too....but little dogs usually rule the roost :D

 

Thanks guys! I think she's totally cute too. My little Ginger. The name was so fitting from the breeder we never even bothered to change it.

 

We picked a small dog because my 5 year old daughter is having a lot of nightmares at night. One every other day just about! It's crazy. It's been going on for 6 months or more. We took her to the ped and he said there is not much to do but be supportive. Well, no one is sleeping well nowadays. One of my friends said her DD had nightmares too so they got her a cat to sleep with and her nightmares went away! I guess the child feels more secure with someone in her room. Well, my kids are allergic to cats so I started doing research on a "cat sized" dog. So this will be our first LITTLE dog. I mean really little, since Bailey, our Berner, is 100lb and Ginger will be 4-5! But I am excited about having a cuddle bug around too (it's hard to cuddle with a bear sized dog)! And I think even having the Maltipoo in the same room with my daughter will really help her.

 

As a matter of fact, my daughter is perfectly fine when she has sleep overs with her older sister OR if Bailey sleeps in her room. But Bailey finds her room a little hot and she usually goes out of the room in the middle of the night and sleeps under the open hall window instead. ;) So we need a small dog that prefers sleeping with someone instead.

 

It's a bit of a gamble since there are no guarantees that it will help, and I realize that, but I think it's better than the alternative, which is to give my daughter sleeping pills each night. :eek:

 

Katherine

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LEtue

LEtue

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Katherine, you're daughter and Ginger will be a perfect match and I'm betting her nightmares will be gone once they snuggle in together :D

 

My 96 pound doberman (Jesse) is a real snuggler. Fine in the winter when it is cool but the summer months are a problem :eek: All of my dobies have used blankets and they wake me up when they get uncovered! No body fat on them.....;)

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jbeb

jbeb

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HI Mary,

 

Our planning is going great although we had a little "snafu" of deciding to get a little puppy after Thanksgiving. We put a deposit down on her (a baby maltipoo) and she'll be coming home the week we get back from our Thanksgiving cruise. It makes going away pretty challenging but we will do it! We already have a 100 pound Bernese Mtn Dog at home so if we have 1 dog to take care of, it won't be much harder to have a second... :o

 

Here is a little video I put together (my first every iMovie): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWp_fyywPsE. Ours will be Ginger, the darker colored one. :D

 

So far the plans are that DH and I take the coastal cruise on the Sapphire alone (we got a PH suite -- yipeee) and then the kids and nanny and quite possibly my sister and family will join us on the Golden Alaska portion. My parents are interested in coming too although my dad is convinced that ships are dangerous and they will hit ice bergs or get swallowed up by giant rogue waves. So I dunno what to make of that!!!

 

My children are totally excited to do the Alaska cruise since both girls are learning about glaciers in their science classes! We can hardly wait!!

 

Right now though, we have the Mariner of the Seas cruise coming in 45 days for Thanksgiving. That will be my daughters' first cruise so I really, REALLY hope the seas will be calm and they will enjoy it. Otherwise convincing them to go on another cruise might be a challenge. ;) We've had really strange weather here in San Diego so I don't know what late November will bring.

 

How is your cruise planning going? I have made no reservations whatsoever yet....

 

Katherine

Katherine ... your Ginger ROCKS!! Thanks for sharing you creative side. There is no doubt in my mind you fell in love at first sight with little Ginger. Sounds like as with bringing home any baby, you will figure it out as you go.

Jan

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kath00

kath00

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Thanks everyone! I really hope it works for my DD. She has actually slept through the night two nights in a row now! Yipeee. Both DH and I are better rested.

 

That's so funny about the dobermans. I used to have one when I was really little. He was so hyper though and always jumped up on me. My parents have no idea whatsoever about training animals. My dad especially believes that when you train a dog, you take away their personality. :rolleyes: So sadly we had to give him away. Now they have a male dalmation and he is just as misbehaved and hyper! Sigh...

 

Mary, I agree that the dog is a better option than sleeping medicine. :o I can't wait to bring her home! Now I have a countdown clock for my upcoming cruise AND a countdown clock for the following week for the dog. Do you have pix of the kitty?

 

What do you do with your pets when you take a longer cruise? I am getting nervous about the 14 days we'll be gone for this B2B.

 

Katherine

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LEtue

LEtue

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Dobermans do require training and a firm hand. You can't give and inch because they will take it and more! Once they know that I am the head bitch - no problem ;) Jesse is my 4th and he is awesome :D

 

Depending on the length of the trip I have the option of neighbors coming in or my friends coming up to stay. Thank goodness for all of them.

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Kyana

Kyana

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We own a duplex and our tenants next to us look after the dogs when we are away. We can't kennel them as they are rescues. One of them did not eat for a week when we went away. They are fine at home as they are not destructive and the tenants kids love them. If you know the breed it is not easy looking after basenjis although they are entertaining. Its a win win set up as we compensate our tenants and have not raised their rent in three years. I guess if it came to it Cruising would rank second after our dogs. :eek:

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LEtue

LEtue

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We own a duplex and our tenants next to us look after the dogs when we are away. We can't kennel them as they are rescues. One of them did not eat for a week when we went away. They are fine at home as they are not destructive and the tenants kids love them. If you know the breed it is not easy looking after basenjis although they are entertaining. Its a win win set up as we compensate our tenants and have not raised their rent in three years. I guess if it came to it Cruising would rank second after our dogs. :eek:

 

My neighbors that watch my dobie actually have 2 basenjis and I do know what you mean! A very close friend of theirs comes in to feed them when they travel and I can never pay back the favor. So, I get them gift cards for all their help :)

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bellebaby

bellebaby

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Mary and I both suffered losses yesterday :(

 

I guess we're not ready for prime time yet!

 

Yeah, we lost to TT yesterday, but at least we kept pace. For Baylor, staying in the game is as important as winning the game.

 

Spurrier is quite pleased, I'm sure... Knocking off #1 Alabama.

 

I'm counting on Michigan to knock Ohio State out of the #1 position later in the year.

 

Katherine, we had 2 Siamese cats that were siblings/littermates. Belle died about a month ago. The remaining cat, Troy is 18 years old. We are in quite a quandry about what to do with him when we travel. He's never been alone. We have a pet sitter that will come by once, twice or even three times a day. He's never been boarded. We'll see what happens between now and May. We may have my mother stay over to keep him company and still have the pet sitter come once a day to clean-up the litter box and ensure all is well. The sitter coming by will take some of the responsibility away from her. Until he passes, we won't take any longer cruises.

 

Beautiful weather here....

 

Still waiting for an update from Margie....

 

Mary

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hmstins

hmstins

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OK, I'm back to the real world, sad as that may be. I woke up in my own bed this morning -- that's when the truth really sets in, you know. I'll try a quick rundown here.

 

Our flight from DFW to LGA was cancelled within an hour of the flight time but we were extremely lucky to get the last two seats on the PREVIOUS flight which had also been cancelled and rescheduled for the same time our flight was originally scheduled. Follow that one??? Anyway we arrived on time in NYC, car was there to pick us up, and we headed into Manhattan with just a few random droplets on the windshield and clearing skies. Sat was clear skies and beautiful - great weather to board our ship!

 

Newport was clear and beautiful and we loved touring Doris Duke's mansion, Rough Point. It was an education and beautiful but livable, unlike many of the Golden Era mansions. Boston was gray and cool but our bus tour was great. Bar Harbor was clear and gorgeous. Water was smooth and the trees were beginning to change color. The views were fabulous, as usual. Fresh and warm blueberry pie and muffins lured us into a shop on the tender pier. Fantastic! Saint John tour was really interesting and we were glad we did it. Halifax was cold and at least 30 MPH winds while we were on a harbor cruise! Rough but interesting. Saw some multi-million $$ homes around the harbor and enjoyed a VERY good meal from Murphy's. If you ever go to Halifx and want to eat, I would highly recommend Murphy's on the waterfront. It was delicious.

 

I am highly irritated with American Airlines (who isn't?). There was no charge for the one large suitcase we checked from DFW to LGA, which was really nice. Then it hit the fan at LGA on Saturday. Had to pay $25 for the large suitcase, and after much argument (believe me, MUCH argument) I was forced to pay $35 to check my mother's carryon bag which has flown many times with no trouble as a carryon. The American personnel were just flat rude. To top it off, they broke off one of the wheels on my Samsonite luggage AND the handle, so a $500 suitcase is now an expensive piece of trash. I think it's safe to say I won't be flying American anytime soon. This is the second bad experience I have had with them, and I'm not stupid enough to go for a third!

 

The Caribbean Princess is getting a little old and it shows. Time for a refitting. The drawers in our bedside tables wouldn't stay shut in the rough weather (try sleeping with drawers opening and closing by themselves), the beds are incredibly hard, but it is still a beautiful ship. The food was good but service was spotty. Our cabin steward wasn't the best we have had. One day we didn't have bath towels and had to hunt him down, and another day we ran out of toilet paper. Hmmm -- thank goodness for kleenex in the bathroom!

 

No more cold weather New England cruises for me, though. I don't care about the colors, I'll stick with August and be comfortable. It was just too cool and windy for my taste. I did win in the casino so came home with more money than I left with, so that was nice. Kind of a quiet cruise though as the casino was empty by midnight almost every night. The age group was a little older on average than I am used to. Give me Alaska any day!!!

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Kyana

Kyana

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A warm Canadian Thanksgiving to all our new cruise companions to be. It also happens to be my Birthday today. The Victoria Contingent of our family will be going out for Dinner. The basenjis will stay home and have some wet Dog Food (mixed) with their dry Beniful.:):)

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bellebaby

bellebaby

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OK, I'm back to the real world, sad as that may be. I woke up in my own bed this morning -- that's when the truth really sets in, you know. I'll try a quick rundown here.

 

Our flight from DFW to LGA was cancelled within an hour of the flight time but we were extremely lucky to get the last two seats on the PREVIOUS flight which had also been cancelled and rescheduled for the same time our flight was originally scheduled. Follow that one??? Anyway we arrived on time in NYC, car was there to pick us up, and we headed into Manhattan with just a few random droplets on the windshield and clearing skies. Sat was clear skies and beautiful - great weather to board our ship!

 

Newport was clear and beautiful and we loved touring Doris Duke's mansion, Rough Point. It was an education and beautiful but livable, unlike many of the Golden Era mansions. Boston was gray and cool but our bus tour was great. Bar Harbor was clear and gorgeous. Water was smooth and the trees were beginning to change color. The views were fabulous, as usual. Fresh and warm blueberry pie and muffins lured us into a shop on the tender pier. Fantastic! Saint John tour was really interesting and we were glad we did it. Halifax was cold and at least 30 MPH winds while we were on a harbor cruise! Rough but interesting. Saw some multi-million $$ homes around the harbor and enjoyed a VERY good meal from Murphy's. If you ever go to Halifx and want to eat, I would highly recommend Murphy's on the waterfront. It was delicious.

 

I am highly irritated with American Airlines (who isn't?). There was no charge for the one large suitcase we checked from DFW to LGA, which was really nice. Then it hit the fan at LGA on Saturday. Had to pay $25 for the large suitcase, and after much argument (believe me, MUCH argument) I was forced to pay $35 to check my mother's carryon bag which has flown many times with no trouble as a carryon. The American personnel were just flat rude. To top it off, they broke off one of the wheels on my Samsonite luggage AND the handle, so a $500 suitcase is now an expensive piece of trash. I think it's safe to say I won't be flying American anytime soon. This is the second bad experience I have had with them, and I'm not stupid enough to go for a third!

 

The Caribbean Princess is getting a little old and it shows. Time for a refitting. The drawers in our bedside tables wouldn't stay shut in the rough weather (try sleeping with drawers opening and closing by themselves), the beds are incredibly hard, but it is still a beautiful ship. The food was good but service was spotty. Our cabin steward wasn't the best we have had. One day we didn't have bath towels and had to hunt him down, and another day we ran out of toilet paper. Hmmm -- thank goodness for kleenex in the bathroom!

 

No more cold weather New England cruises for me, though. I don't care about the colors, I'll stick with August and be comfortable. It was just too cool and windy for my taste. I did win in the casino so came home with more money than I left with, so that was nice. Kind of a quiet cruise though as the casino was empty by midnight almost every night. The age group was a little older on average than I am used to. Give me Alaska any day!!!

 

My DH won't fly American... says he'd rather stay home.

 

I've never sailed the Canada/New England itinerary, so it's on my to do list. However, it's very hard to beat Alaska.

 

Sorry your overall experience on the CB wasn't so good. Mine in May was fantastic. Best service I've had in quite awhile.

 

Mary

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bellebaby

bellebaby

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A warm Canadian Thanksgiving to all our new cruise companions to be. It also happens to be my Birthday today. The Victoria Contingent of our family will be going out for Dinner. The basenjis will stay home and have some wet Dog Food (mixed) with their dry Beniful.:):)

 

Happy Thanksgiving... We usually say Happy Turkey Day around here, but is turkey part of your celebration?

 

Mary

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LEtue

LEtue

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Margie, it's great to have you back! I wondered about your flights and when you got to NY. Sounds like you did okay. Missed getting live updates as you cruised along this time.....

 

I almost hate to say this but I have had good experiences with American. TPA to Amarillo, Laguardia, Miami and San Juan - about 10 trips in all. I hope I didn't jinx myself by talking about it :eek: Were they measuring the carryons in the little template thingy at the gate? I only use my backpack and a small duffle lately so that makes a big difference. Going to a cruise is all together different though.

 

I think we better plan on faxing in out egg crate requests for the Golden. The beds are a bit hard - even for me!

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