for fun: Do/Would you still put on all your makeup and decent clothes if you are quarantined

[awhfy]

Lois, good news on the leg. I’d take the cane on your Alaska cruise (just in case). 

[Lois R]

29 minutes ago, awhfy said:

Lois, good news on the leg. I’d take the cane on your Alaska cruise (just in case). 

Good morning girls........Melody, I will see as time gets closer.  Silversea's smaller vessels usually have assistance pronto if needed. Not sure I want to bring it with me if I am fully healed. I have 44 days......that is about 5.5 to 6 weeks. Will see how things go.

[slidergirl]

Yay good news Lois!

 

quick checking as our cell/Wi-Fi gets very spotty in the park.  It’s been really fun so far.  LOTS of wine.  The food on the barge has been outstanding-how they turn out the meals in that tiny galley boggles the mind.  Today went to a woman-owned organic vineyard and winery.  We started “tasting” at 11am and just continued through dinner.  Our purser also does his 12:30 happy hour with a specialty cocktail.   We found a cool organic clothing store and we all did some damage.  I found the white linen shirt I had been looking for, linen shorts and pants.  Just have to find space in my bags for it!

3 showers a day is the norm- hot and humid.

 

ootd: my outdoor voices zip panel pants done capri length, green wool tank (they have been great), my hat and Olu Kai shirt sneakers (comfy and good from the start)

[awhfy]

7 hours ago, Lois R said:

Good morning girls........Melody, I will see as time gets closer.  Silversea's smaller vessels usually have assistance pronto if needed. Not sure I want to bring it with me if I am fully healed. I have 44 days......that is about 5.5 to 6 weeks. Will see how things go.

I carry a collapsible cane in my carryon bag as I never know if my foot is going to go out on me. I’ve used it more than once

[Lois R]

2 minutes ago, awhfy said:

I carry a collapsible cane in my carryon bag as I never know if my foot is going to go out on me. I’ve used it more than once

Ohhhh............this cane is not collapsible.......that sounds interesting!

[sjb317]

On 7/11/2022 at 10:25 PM, purduemom1 said:

Lois, good news! I bet you are relieved. Next cruise will be here before you know it.

 

Sherri, I was just thinking about your kitchen redo and wondering when it would start. I recall that when you mentioned it earlier that it seemed a long time before it would happen and now the time has come. How exciting. Will look forward to progress reports.

 

We did a River cruise a few years ago (before the pandemic) and loved it. What a great way to celebrate your 50th. We really liked Budapest (our cruise ended there) and although we planned an extra day there we wish we had stayed longer. For our 50th we did a Norwegian Fjords cruise with our family. That cruise started in Amsterdam and although it was our 2nd visit, we spent a few days there before embarking. 
 

You certainly have a lot to look forward to. Enjoy the anticipation.

Sharon

Sharon, it did seem like the kitchen redo was a long time away but I have found 2022 seems to be flying by. Our construction guy originally said it would take about 8 weeks but said the other day projects have started to move a little faster so I am hopeful it might not take as long. 
 

Any tips for Budapest?  What was it you liked so much?  We are planning to arrive a few days before.  Any tips for river cruising?   We will be sailing on Viking. 
 

Sherri🙂
 

[awhfy]

15 hours ago, Lois R said:

Ohhhh............this cane is not collapsible.......that sounds interesting!

Get at Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Amazon. Under $20. (& they have colors too!!) Very useful. Mine has its own travel bag 

[cruisemom42]

Just a quick update -- I am still missing my suitcase, 11 days after my flight. I'm starting to think I'll never see my favorite summer work-appropriate outfits again.... 😔

 

I've spent hours on hold with Delta, KLM, baggage companies. Supposedly someone will get back to me by the end of today with some answers or at least more info. 

 

Lois, glad to hear your injury was not as severe as they originally thought. I hope you are in "cruising condition" again soon and certainly for your upcoming Alaska adventure.

 

Kat, keep us updated with your lovely pics.  I am hoping for some good food porn once you get to Italy!

 

Edited July 14, 2022 by cruisemom42

[purduemom1]

On 7/13/2022 at 4:10 AM, sjb317 said:

Sharon, it did seem like the kitchen redo was a long time away but I have found 2022 seems to be flying by. Our construction guy originally said it would take about 8 weeks but said the other day projects have started to move a little faster so I am hopeful it might not take as long. 
 

Any tips for Budapest?  What was it you liked so much?  We are planning to arrive a few days before.  Any tips for river cruising?   We will be sailing on Viking. 
 

Sherri🙂
 

Sherri, our river cruise ended in Budapest. We did the included tour the day we arrived and after dark the captain  did an illuminations cruise up and back on the Danube past all the beautiful buildings that were lit up. We disembarked the next morning. Since we only had that one day we arranged for a private guide for a half day tour using a car, driver and the guide. If you would like the name of the guide let me know. In our correspondence she told me that she and her guides know the sites that the river cruises include and her tours would not repeat those sites unless asked to. Our guide met us on the ship and gave us an overview  of our tour. We left this up to her so we could see as much as possible during our time with her. She was very knowledgeable and informative. We toured sites on both the Buda and Pest sides. The driver would drop the 3 of us off at each site and our guide knew where to meet up with him. It made the most of our time. We were dropped at our hotel at the end of our tour and she came in with us to make sure our check in went smoothly and that the front desk understood that we needed a taxi very early the next morning. After checking in we walked to the Great Market Hall to shop (Paprika) and eat.

 

Unfortunately we did not have time to tour all the sites. We did not tour Parliament because of our limited time in the city. If you are planning to do this, look into their reservation information. It is a very popular site, we did enjoy the exterior, which is beautifully lit up, during the Illuminations Cruise. The most memorable site for us was the Shoes On The Danube,. That brought tears to my eyes. Our guide blended history into the information about the various sites and included personal experiences of her family during Communist rule.

 

One tip, if you are planning to buy Paprika or anything else for that matter, you may see displays during the ship’s included tour and it may even be priced in US dollars. Hold off on purchasing from these sellers. The prices were ridiculous compared to those at the Great Market Hall. 
 

As tor river cruising, we liked the more intimate experience and the ease of meeting and getting to know fellow cruisers. In fact, there is a poster on this thread, Alidor, who we met on that cruise. We also liked that there was usually something interesting to see as you cruised.  One thing to keep in mind is that the ships are at the mercy of the river level. Too high and ships can’t fit under the bridges and too low, there just isn’t enough water for the ship to proceed. The various cruise lines may handle these two situations in different ways.  If you haven’t already, check out the River Cruise board. Lots of info there. I used it extensively when we were planning. I read reviews that were posted, I asked lots of questions and everyone was very helpful.

 

We loved this cruise and hope that we can one day take another one.

Sharon

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by purduemom1

[purduemom1]

On 7/14/2022 at 8:49 AM, cruisemom42 said:

Just a quick update -- I am still missing my suitcase, 11 days after my flight. I'm starting to think I'll never see my favorite summer work-appropriate outfits again.... 😔

 

I've spent hours on hold with Delta, KLM, baggage companies. Supposedly someone will get back to me by the end of today with some answers or at least more info. 

 

Lois, glad to hear your injury was not as severe as they originally thought. I hope you are in "cruising condition" again soon and certainly for your upcoming Alaska adventure.

 

Kat, keep us updated with your lovely pics.  I am hoping for some good food porn once you get to Italy!

 

Cynthia, I hope you have now heard some additional info about your missing luggage. It must be so frustrating to not get a resolution after so many days. Trying to deal with two airlines certainly complicates things. Let us know  the outcome.

Sharon

[purduemom1]

Lois, how are you doing? Hoping your leg is healing and you are doing better.

Sharon

[alidor]

Hi Sharon!  I do remember meeting you as we sat at the Hilton in Prague waiting for our transportation to the ship!  How long ago was that?  That was a great river cruise and the first one we were ever on.  I thought AMA did a really nice job.  Did you ever take another river cruise?

[Lois R]

47 minutes ago, purduemom1 said:

Lois, how are you doing? Hoping your leg is healing and you are doing better.

Sharon

Hi Sharon, doing ok, thanks.........it is healing each day..........still sore but much better than originally, that is for sure. It is still quite sore after sleeping overnight but as the day opens, I can walk around the house without the cane. Looks like this will be on Mother Nature's timeframe.

[cruisemom42]

3 hours ago, purduemom1 said:

Cynthia, I hope you have now heard some additional info about your missing luggage. It must be so frustrating to not get a resolution after so many days. Trying to deal with two airlines certainly complicates things. Let us know  the outcome.

Sharon

 

Thanks -- still no resolution and a frustrating lack of communication from all involved.

 

By the way, I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your posts -- you seem to be a very caring person and you add a lot to this (very long!) thread.  😊

[awhfy]

Cynthia after reading your lost luggage (surely hope you get it back soon) I’ve gone ahead & order luggage trackers (GPS enabled). We cross pack 1/2 & 1/2 when we travel together. Melody

[cruisemom42]

23 minutes ago, awhfy said:

Cynthia after reading your lost luggage (surely hope you get it back soon) I’ve gone ahead & order luggage trackers (GPS enabled). We cross pack 1/2 & 1/2 when we travel together. Melody

 

A smart idea. 

 

For some reason, I had this hazy idea that those "smart" bags had been banned due to issues with the batteries and/or tracking system used (I think some of them were), and I didn't look into it further.

 

I certainly would recommend it to others traveling though. Anything to help keep tabs on your bag. 

[Lois R]

Good morning, Cynthia, so sorry about your luggage!  I met some folks on my recent cruise who never received their luggage from the start.

 

I still think about Debbie and wonder how she is doing...............

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

Good morning, Cynthia, so sorry about your luggage!  I met some folks on my recent cruise who never received their luggage from the start.

 

I still think about Debbie and wonder how she is doing...............

 

Thanks Lois -- and btw I have a silly question. I've noticed your avatar looks different (has some additions) like a cruise ship icon and the word "Rare".  I've seen these popping up on other avatars too. I was wondering if you could shed any light as to what they are all about?  I've seen them at all levels of posting counts so maybe it has to do with doing a "Live From"?  Or writing a review?

 

Just curious....

[slidergirl]

Hi all!  Cruising through a national park on a canal does have some communications issues.

The barge trip was fantastic!  I will write more later.  The Carmague horses and boules were as cool as I hoped.  The rancher lady, her daughter and kids from the daughter’s riding school gave us a good   Demo of riding, herding the boules and cutting from the herd.  The herd would get running so fast!  We got to tag the little baby boule and then one of the kids played boulechaser with it.  So good to see kids being taught the traditions of the ranches.  We all had a picnic with good foods and wine.  
I’m going to try to catch up when I can.  Some food porn will come.  I was so hungry that I forgot to take photos of Chef’s food.  How he could do delicious food and make the dessert too in that TINY kitchen…

 

I’m in Aix now,  baking in the 99 degree heat.  Made a trip to Monoprix by my apartment to get water and yogurt.  
OOTD: my Flaherty striped dress, my white olu kai sneakers and my hat.  It is definitely dress time here!

[Lois R]

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Thanks Lois -- and btw I have a silly question. I've noticed your avatar looks different (has some additions) like a cruise ship icon and the word "Rare".  I've seen these popping up on other avatars too. I was wondering if you could shed any light as to what they are all about?  I've seen them at all levels of posting counts so maybe it has to do with doing a "Live From"?  Or writing a review?

 

Just curious....

Hi Cynthia, I noticed the same thing the other day. It may be because I was going to do "A live from". That is the only thing I can think of.

[Lois R]

Hi girls, have any of you used the company "INSTACART"?......where someone goes shopping for you and delivers the items to your home.......I used them for the first time last week because I didn't want to have to limp through Publix.........anyway, the order I placed came correctly and quickly too.🙂

 

So, I tried to use them again today......it has been raining all day and didn't feel like going to the grocery store but needed some things. Well, this time? They totally screwed up and I never got my delivery😲I entered my order in at 11:30 and it was supposed to be here by 1.  And you can track it too........which I was doing.....showed all the items and it said at 12:30 I would have it within 30 minutes.......the next thing I know it is 1:15 and nothing...........I tried to text the driver......no response. So I called customer service and they apologized for the delay.......they called the driver and said it should be here within 15 minutes........nope. about 1:45 I received a new text saying the delivery was now on the way............nope.  I text the driver again and she says she is standing at my door..........I say NOPE, I am outside my door and no groceries..........well, it looks like they must have been delivered to someone else because I never got them. I called Instacart again and they will credit me back the amount I paid and are giving me a 10.00 credit too. Not sure I want to trust them again though.............what a MESS.

Somebody got a bunch of free groceries.

[cruisemom42]

@slidergirl  Gorgeous pics!  When I did a "Roman Provence" tour years ago, we had a half day visit to the Camargue that included a stop at one of those authentic places for a visit and a "barbecue" lunch (which ended up being very boozy). I'm ashamed to say that at the time I didn't really appreciate it as the stop took so long and I wanted to get to the afternoon ruins. But I did go out and play with the ponies while everyone was finishing up...

 

I think I'd appreciate it more now. 😁

 

@Lois R  I've used Instacart for orders from Publix since the pandemic. I used to have them deliver but now I just let them shop and I go to Publix to pick them up when ready.  I've had a few issues (a missing item here and there, or the wrong thing) but nothing like what you experienced.

[slidergirl]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

@slidergirl  Gorgeous pics!  When I did a "Roman Provence" tour years ago, we had a half day visit to the Camargue that included a stop at one of those authentic places for a visit and a "barbecue" lunch (which ended up being very boozy). I'm ashamed to say that at the time I didn't really appreciate it as the stop took so long and I wanted to get to the afternoon ruins. But I did go out and play with the ponies while everyone was finishing up...

 

I think I'd appreciate it more now. 😁

 

@Lois R  I've used Instacart for orders from Publix since the pandemic. I used to have them deliver but now I just let them shop and I go to Publix to pick them up when ready.  I've had a few issues (a missing item here and there, or the wrong thing) but nothing like what you experienced.

The ranch didn’t have that touristy feeling.  The kids joined us for snacks.  Nothing fancy.  
No more traditional boule fighting at the colosseum, but they do the boule chasing.  The ranch lady has one of hers in the meet this weekend.

[purduemom1]

On 7/15/2022 at 2:10 PM, alidor said:

Hi Sharon!  I do remember meeting you as we sat at the Hilton in Prague waiting for our transportation to the ship!  How long ago was that?  That was a great river cruise and the first one we were ever on.  I thought AMA did a really nice job.  Did you ever take another river cruise?

Well that cruise was in 2014! Yes, I agree AMA did an amazing job. That was a wine cruise hosted by the family from Wilson Creek winery. We have talked about visiting the winery when we are in So Cal but have never been able to actually do it. We have, however, purchased their Almond Champagne several times.

 

I also recall that, while planning, I discovered that the large Christmas Market in Vienna would be open even though it was only November. I really wanted to go so I was so excited when a bus to and from was added to the 2 included, scheduled evening tours. I guess I wasn’t the only one interested because we had a bus full! AMA went that extra mile! 
 

As much as we would like to take another river cruise, it hasn’t happened yet.Thanks for the opportunity to reminisce!

[purduemom1]

On 7/15/2022 at 5:46 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

Thanks -- still no resolution and a frustrating lack of communication from all involved.

 

By the way, I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your posts -- you seem to be a very caring person and you add a lot to this (very long!) thread.  😊

Cynthia, thank you for that very nice comment-you made my day!

 

If I recall, your luggage did not make it on your flight from AMS. Tonight on the national news, ABC I think, they showed a sea of luggage at more than one European airport and AMS was one of them. Unfortunately the story did not say how these airports plan to clear out all this luggage but maybe there is hope that eventually your bag will be returned.

Sharon