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

[cruise kitty]

Hi Ladies!

 

Cynthia, sorry about your cancelled cruises, I know it's a big disappointment even when you see it coming.

 

Lois, yup, it's all about go with the flow right now...  I was really surprised we had a mother couple of folks drop out of our Alaska cruise...  the testing restrictions were just too much for them.  

 

Kat, I really hope things are under control  by spring... heck, I hope they are under control before winter...but it's not looking good, is it?

 

We leave in less than two weeks, & I can't wait!  Going to start laying some things out this weekend,  took a bunch of stuff in for dry-cleaning today 🙂

 

-Debbie

[awhfy]

We were able to check in for our Liberty cruise (October 24th out of Galveston) yesterday. We did get our flu shots on September 1st. 

[cruisemom42]

23 hours ago, Lois R said:

I received an email this morning from SS and they had to remove Madeira from the itinerary due to entry restrictions. So, we are staying in Lisbon overnight--this is at the very start of the cruise. I have never visited there before so I am not too upset. I mean I would have loved to see Madeira but this will be fine🙂.....just "gotta go with the flow". 

 

Lisbon has a lot to see, so another day isn't terrible, although I'm sure it would be nice to get to Madeira too. 

 

How many days will you be in Lisbon pre-cruise?  Do you have anything planned?  If you know where your ship will be docking, then you could plan to leave those things closer to your ship for that extra day. I think there are 2 or even 3 ports in Lisbon.  The larger ships tend to dock near Belem. My small ship (Aegean Odyssey) docked nearer to the Santa Apolonia station in Alfama district.

 

[Lois R]

Good morning girls🙂

 

Debbie, folks cancelling is not surprising but you would think folks would know these are fluid times.

There was someone over on the SS forum (where I post) that is very upset over some cancellations of some ports on their upcoming cruise.....I tried to say this is "the new normal" and these things will happen.....there may be port authorities/countries that don't want ships in these places right now....

You have to be flexible to sail at this point in time.

 

Hi Cynthia, I am going to Lisbon 1 day early and have not made plans yet for the pre-cruise. I am also staying 1 day post cruise. That is because of the flight situation.  And right now I don't know where the ship docks.  But I am staying at a SS hotel (don't even know that yet) LOL.....but it makes things easier, and my rep picks up the tab.  So it is FREE😀.......it includes transport from the airport to the hotel and the hotel to the ship.

Yes, there are 3 ports in Lisbon. You are correct about that number.

 

I need to start researching a pre-cruise tour.  But after doing one in Athens, I know what is going to happen.......1/2 way through I am going to lose my 2nd wind and want to go back to the hotel LOL

[slidergirl]

Debbie & Wendy - getting so close!!  It's exciting to see more of us getting out there.  

Lois - the one thing I can think of to do in Lisbon is to find a place that does port wine tastings!  Port and chocolate is a match made in heaven.  

 

I'm fluid about next summer.  I've got refundable reservations and trip insurance.  Who knows what the World will be like after another COVID winter.   But, it's giving my "hamster wheel" some good exercise in the meantime.  Yesterday, it was "I could be in London in 2.5 hours and visit there".  Oh dear. 

 

After the "striping" and good gossip session at my stylist, I decided to go down to SLC.  Hot and smoky.  Ugh.  But, it was good shopping.  First, stopped by the Sundance Outlet store.  Turns out they were having another sale - 20% off the lowest marked price on clothes.  I was hoping to find some jeans, but nothing good for me.  But, I did find a little gem - the lacy camisoles were $19 and then 20% more off.  I almost bought some the other day from the catalog - $49 each!  I ended up buying white, gray and black.  I had been wanting these for awhile, years really.   Then, one of their nice white short sleeve button down shirts was there in my size - ended up $32.  Will be good to take on vacation next summer and to wear at work this Winter.  Finally, there was a Tshirt that screamed "take me to France".  Classic ivory with thin navy stripes, short sleeve.  But, it throws in a flirty fun twist with the addition of big tiers of cotton lace down the back and around the bottom.  It'll  be good on those hot nights and even dinner on the boat.  I can put my jacket over it and look like a proper lady, too.  Dress up, dress down, my kind of shirt.

 

Since I was down there,  I went to TJ's, of course.  I was hoping they had in their Pumpkin oatmeal, but it's not in yet.  Picked up my usual stuff.  BUT, the new thing I picked up was  their "Peanuts for Chocolate" ice cream.  Oh My.  One of the best I've had.  Rich chocolate cream, pieces of peanut butter Jo Jo's (their version of Oreos w/ peanut butter filling), and swirls of peanut butter.  I want to drive back down and buy more!!!   

 

 

[Lois R]

Hi girls,  Melody, I decided to do a bit of shopping from The Off The Rack website. I got 3 new tops and a pair of jeans. Hoping they fit🙂

 

Tomorrow is the 20 year anniversary of 9/11...........they are having quite a few specials on......will probably watch some of them.  It is the type of event where we all remember exactly where we were....

I was at work since it was a Tuesday morning.....I had gotten up from my desk to go up front (I had my own office in the back).....I walked up to customer service to just say good morning and noticed everyone in my boss' office........so of course I went in...he had one of those really small tv's that was also a radio...maybe it was a 7 inch screen? Very small but large enough to see........we all stood there and watched............nobody left.....we just kept looking, like, did that really just happen? Then we saw the 2nd plane it............

[PurpleHays]

I think 9/11 is the Kennedy assignation of my generation. I was only six months old when Kennedy was shot, but my Mom and husband can tell me exactly what they were doing when they heard (hubby is eight years older). Mom was a military wife and was washing dishes when she heard. She told me Dad went on alert status for a while. Hubby was in school when he heard about it.

 

Both my daughters are old enough to remember 9/11. My oldest was in her second year of college and the youngest was in 8th grade. I was working in OR 15 scrubbing spines with Dr. M. MC was the ditzy nurse in the room and came in from her break "a plane hit the Trade Center in NY." She couldn't tell us anything else (she really was an airhead). I got to the lounge in time to see the first, then the second tower collapse. We had a coworker with a sister flying into NYC that day. She walked around in a daze until they sent her home (her sister was fine).

 

I'm recording both episodes of 20/20 tonight. I don't know what other specials are on, but will probably watch what I can find tomorrow.

[Lois R]

Hi PH.....not sure what channels you watch but MSNBC and CNN are both having programs tomorrow.

 

I was 5 when Kennedy was killed..........strange thing, I remember the funeral...well, I remember watching the procession on Pennsylvania Ave.....we were still living in NY.  We moved to Florida when I was 7.

[slidergirl]

Gosh,  I remember where I was when JFK was assassinated:  I was playing kickball on the playground at school.  The next day, my grandpa passed away.   On 9/11 I was upstairs in my home office working away.  I always had my radio on to my local station.  That's where I heard about it.  Then, when the plane went down at Shanksville, I started to freak a little because they would just say a field in central PA and that's where my family lived.  I couldn't get them on the phone for awhile.  They ended up being 40 miles away from Shanksville.   

 

On a happier topic: I emailed my boss today to say I thought I was coming back and if she wanted me back.  She wrote back that she was counting on me coming back.  Good news.  Lots of changes there with construction to the public areas going on.  We picked up managing the HOA for another condo project 2 buildings up from us.  So, it could be a busy Winter. 

[awhfy]

9/11. Our middle daughter’s bday. 
 

I was in the Pentagon the day before doing a ceremony. I left that night to be home for our daughter’s bday. I was on the phone with a colonel in the Pentagon when the plane hit (he survived). The plane impacted exactly where the ceremony had been the day before. There but for…

 

My good friend’s husband was a NY police officer, he spent months at Ground Zero. Melody

[Lois R]

Good morning....Melody..........WOW......😲

[cruisemom42]

I was at work when the first tower was hit. My boss (a former CNN employee) was a news junkie and she had a large wall-mounted TV in her office, always on CNN. I sat just next door to her and I was always one of the early ones in. I heard her gasp and say loudly "oh my god, what an idiot!" so I wandered in and asked what was going on. At the time most commentators felt that a plane had somehow accidentally hit the WTC tower. 

 

I took a seat and we kept watching, then the second tower was hit just about the time that they were realizing the first plane was a commercial airliner and not some private plane. More and more people started arriving to work and all gravitated toward her office. We canceled our normal 9am editorial meeting and just watched it all unfold...

 

[cruise kitty]

Hi all, can't believe it's been 20 years.   As horrific as it was, I can't imagine what it was like for those who lost family or friends, or were worried for them... the other sad thing is that we seemed to care about one another more as a nation back then.  

 

On a much happier note:  Kat, congrats on your upcoming winter work schedule!  That will do nicely for your barge fund!

 

Well, back to work as usual these days...  have a great weekend everyone 🙂

 

[awhfy]

Our April cruise has had a huge price drop ($1500). We’re waiting for TA callback to see if we’ll take the reduction or move up in suites. This is when I really don’t like using a TA 

[Lois R]

Good morning Melody, where are you going in April?

[cruisemom42]

16 minutes ago, awhfy said:

Our April cruise has had a huge price drop ($1500). We’re waiting for TA callback to see if we’ll take the reduction or move up in suites. This is when I really don’t like using a TA 

 

Wow, that's good news -- assuming you get it settled to your satisfaction. I am in the same boat (pun intended): my Constellation cruise in Oct 2022 has a significant price drop as well. Emailed TA on Friday evening KNOWING that he wouldn't get to it until today....

[Lois R]

4 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Wow, that's good news -- assuming you get it settled to your satisfaction. I am in the same boat (pun intended): my Constellation cruise in Oct 2022 has a significant price drop as well. Emailed TA on Friday evening KNOWING that he wouldn't get to it until today....

And where are you going in Oct 2022?😀

[cruisemom42]

26 minutes ago, Lois R said:

And where are you going in Oct 2022?😀

 

It's a Mediterranean cruise that has been moved and changed and shifted about 6 times since I booked it in 2019, lol.

 

Currently it is a 9-day cruise from Ravenna (moved from Venice) to Civitavecchia. I plan to spend a few days before in Bologna and a few days after in Rome (of course 😉).

 

 

Edited September 13, 2021 by cruisemom42

[Lois R]

3 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

It's a Mediterranean cruise that has been moved and changed and shifted about 6 times since I booked it in 2019, lol.

 

Currently it is a 9-day cruise from Ravenna (moved from Venice) to Civitavecchia. I plan to spend a few days before in Bologna and a few days after in Rome (of course 😉).

Sounds wonderful🙂

[slidergirl]

Isn't someone cruising out of TX very soon?  I'm looking at that Tropical Storm and it's very worrisome.

 

Everyone seems to be getting some decent price drops right now.  I won't have on mine.  BUT, I'm watching Hopper for drops in airfare since I'm refundable/changable.  Maybe I can find a few dollars here and there.  

 

I'm looking forward to work again.  We have one new unit owner - my boss said they are nice and, most importantly, have a sweet dog.  I have to ask the boss if she can negotiate the maximum pay for me.  I usually go with the flow, but with every place in town actually upping their minimum to $15/hr for entry folks, I would really like to get at least $18.  Since the management company had a big turnover this Summer in the year-round folks, I'm hoping that I can get a good raise for sticking around for 3 seasons.  

 

Big activity today 😉  Our water district is changing out everyone's water meter to new ones.  Mine is in the crawlspace under the house.  It's accessible via the hole in my closet.  I had to clear out all my shoes/boots and laundry basket to get access.  The cover for the hole is really heavy - made of some stuff that you can walk on, 2 inches thick and covered with carpet.  I swear it's 30lbs or so!  It's hard to pry up and move out of the way without having it drop down the hole into the crawlspace.  I had to crawl down in there (it's a 4ft drop) on the little ladder and look for the meter.  I get claustrophbic so I was not looking forward to the hunt.  Fortunately, it was right by the hole and not at the far end of the house like some are in the neighborhood. That tired me out!!!  The guy was very nice and very fast doing the replacement.  He said these are much better and will detect leaks.  

 

 

[cruise kitty]

Happy Monday everyone!  Melody & Cynthia, congrats on the price drops...  now I need to check pricing on my May cruise 🙂

 

Cynthia, I finally gave up on my Connie cruises...  I was supposed to do Suez canal back in I don't know what year, moved it around a few times to a terrific Adriatic itinerary, which was cancelled, then to Infinity Med for this October, which was cancelled 😞   I'm on MSC for Norwegian Fjords next May.    If I see Connie cruises going forward, I would love to get back on that Adriatic itinerary 

[awhfy]

Kat, keep a. Eye on that water meter. We had one installed 11 years ago. I was at work when Les called me & said we got our water bill. Our water bill is never over $60. He said. Sit down. Ok. The water bill was $24,650. Needless to say I left work & we went to the utility company. The new meter had been in 4 days when we got the bill. Turns out our actual water bill was $33. The meter had been installed incorrectly & was automatically reading very incorrectly. Good thing I have a string heart!  We had that bill framed for quite awhile!!!

[cruise kitty]

Kat, absolutely ask for the top tier rate, just the general cost of living has gone up so much, plus you're a super experienced employee 🙂  I hope you get what you want!

 

Melody, how did you not pass out last the sight of that bill, lol 😉

 

Also, checked my May booking, tiny price drop, but way less perks, so I passed.  However, I did change cabins...  I was booked on a forward facing YC on 16th deck of Preziosa, however, just read some very negative reviews that you can't actually see anything because balcony is blocked, switched to a side view cabin with normal, open balcony.

 

well, back to work, 🙂

[Lois R]

Hi girls,  Melody.....a $24,000 water bill? OMG😲...you had to know something was wrong.

 

I have been searching for pharmacies that provide the Antigen Rapid Tests.........seems the PCR test is offered way more than the Quick one......I keep looking at CVS and Walgreens........But I found one at another place called Avecina Medical. It is an urgent care facility and they do Covid Testing and take appointments too!!! I was able to make one for Oct 5th (I fly out on Oct 6th). The gal said the results usually take 1-2 hours. Glad I have that taken care of now.

 

Hey Debbie, you going to vote tomorrow?

[Lois R]

Cynthia, when you got your Covid Test, did they email the results  directly to your phone?

This urgent care facility says they will send the results to my phone---I am going to ask them to send it to my regular email as well. I would like to be able to take a hard copy with me.  But I guess once it is on my phone it is easy enough to show whoever needs to see it........I still feel more comfortable with a hard copy.