Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[George C]

3 hours ago, sgmn said:

The entertainment on Beyond was very good but on silhouette more like on Royals smaller ships . No big west end theatre shows or ice shows . Lots of two or three piece musical acts in the lounges, not so raucous as the Schooner bar or pub on RC . Whimsical Alice in wonderland themed show in Eden. Very good acrobats on board 

I don't book suites but I think the entry level sky suite gets full suite benefits with full use of retreat suite area and suite restaurant and bars. And with 'always included' you get drink package and wifi too

We're looking forward to returning to Royal after a break of three years

 

Thanks for review and pictures, sky suite have same access to retreat restaurant and outdoor as penthouse. ( penthouse gives you some extras 😁)

[George C]

45 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

I haven't cruised on Celebrity yet but the next cruise that we book will likely be with them.  We've enjoyed Royal and will be D+ after our next cruise, but the Royal cruises are all starting to feel the same.  Losing some of that Wow factor that we used to feel.  We want to shake things up a bit.  The suite area on the Edge class looks great and we'll get matched to Elite status, for whatever that's worth.

If your in a suite on celebrity you don’t need any elite perks , we loved retreat on edge and will be on beyond in November.

[grapau27]

23 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

My oldest granddaughter is graduating high school today.She is an honors student.

At 3 PM there will be a lunch for the honors grads and their family members followed by the graduation ceremony at 5PM.After the graduation my family members are coming to my house for cake and ice cream.

Congratulations to your oldest granddaughter Lenny on her graduation with honours today.

[grapau27]

37 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Great news Graham. What will be interesting is to see how long the steroid injection will last giving you comfort. Most of mine have lasted anywhere from 3-6 months. From your previous comments about the doctor saying you have moderate arthritis you should hopefully be able to as they say kick the can down the road. Unfortunately and eventually the cartilage will deteriorate more with age and activity setting up a possible knee replacement. Don't be afraid to go that route. Even though I'm still in the healing stage it has made a huge difference. I am now exercising an hour and a half per day where as before I couldn't do anything. I've dropped 35 pounds and feel better. Also one more point they told me exercise is important. Keeping those muscles around the joint strong can help support the knee cap and make less wear and tear. Good luck to you my friend I'm rooting for you.

Cheers!

 

 

 

Sue so glad you had a great cruise. I am a big Captain Kate fan and hope some day to sail with her. I know Celebrity honors Royal C&A is Elite equal to Diamond? 

 

 

 

I feel the same way. As soon as Linda and I reach Diamond (After our next two cruises) we would like to book a few cruises on Celebrity.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for your supporting words Greg.

Doctor didn't over elaborate but said x-rays showed moderate to severe arthritis.

My right knee is the worst since I missed the bottom stair at home and all my 15 stone weight went on my bent knee several months ago.

Graham.

[Sea Dog]

18 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Thank you so much for your supporting words Greg.

Doctor didn't over elaborate but said x-rays showed moderate to severe arthritis.

My right knee is the worst since I missed the bottom stair at home and all my 15 stone weight went on my bent knee several months ago.

Graham.

 

Next time you are at the doctors ask them what grade they would give your arthritis. Mine was grade 4 which is the most severe. Sounds like you could be grade 3. Here is some info on the grades.

 

https://www.ibji.com/blog/orthopedic-care/arthritis-in-knee-4-stages-of-osteoarthritis/

[lenquixote66]

53 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Congratulations to your oldest granddaughter Lenny on her graduation with honours today.

Thanks very much ,Graham

[Ozark_Kid]

6 hours ago, sgmn said:

So just a recap of our Beyond cruise.

It is a stunning ship. Very modern as you would expect.  We quite liked the infinity balcony concept  it made the room a lot bigger. Only downside when you opened the window the air con switched off and after a while it got quite hot.

PROS

I loved the main pool. It was longer than normal and good for actually swimming lengths 

The Solarium was lovely but I preferred to be in the fresh air in the hot weather. Loved the healthy options in the spa cafe with proper fresh coffee and we ate breakfast there most days

Liked the included four dinning rooms with different themed cuisines . We had MTD and I prebooked our meal times on the planner

 

Great entertainment with spectacular stage and theatre.  In particular the last show 'elements' was out of this world 

 

Enjoyed our free Elite drinks between 5 and 7, usually in the open air sunset bar at the back of the ship. Our total spend on the 10 day cruise was only $280, we got generous pours and one or two drinks on top of the free Elite drinks were enough (we had the basic cruise  no DP or WiFi, though we prepaid gratuities)

 

Enjoyed the ships captains talk with Captain Kate.  She explained how she got to where she is now, very interesting.   Great role model for any girls wanting to get into the mainly male dominated world of ships officers 

 

Great stops . We had been to many before  but Great to visit again, new to us was Rhodes and Malta as port stops though we had visited Malta before. We mainly did our own thing though took the ships transport to Athens centre and did a great ships tour in Malta. Loved the ice cold towels handed out on arrival back to the ship

We got offered a ship tour of the kitchens which was very interesting .

Two 'drinks with officers' evenings with cocktails and canapés (Elite perks) was nice

We did an upgrade from infinity balcony to concierge class for £80 pp (10 day cruise) which gave us a better cabin position and a few perks 

All the staff were wonderful 

 

And of course the main 'pro' was meeting Dani and her DH 

 

Cons 

Not many, mainly disappointed in the food.  It was a bit bland , though a few meals were very good.  We didn't do a specialty restaurants, they were very expensive and no deals. But talking to two different people who did were disappointed. 

The shops were very high end and we didn't really spend anything on board 

We usually like to have little fun in the casinos and use to have limit of $10 a day on RC which use to last a while in the penny slots  but find on Celebrity the money disappears in seconds so we have given up going. Noticed it was mainly empty every time we went by

The afternoon snacks delivered to our concierge room weren't great and got left uneaten

The free bottle of fizz left in our room was undrinkable and got left after one sip. A decent bottle of fizz would only be a few dollars so why this undrinkable sweet rubbish?

 

There's no forward facing top deck lounge on Beyond,  its all given up to a much bigger retreat area for suites

This is a game changer for hubby and will probably stop us booking this ship again. 

 

Thought the staff were a bit short handed in the dinning rooms, though once we said we wanted a quick dinner to make a show and they gave us the three course meal in 50 min.

 

Overall a great cruise, great weather and I would book again but hubby said he's missing RC, our last was 2019 and wants to go back to Royal next time

 

I'll post some photos separately 

Welcome back Sue! Happy to see you made it back home safely.   Thanks for posting the pics.  Looks nice.  I think I would really enjoy the Elements show.

[lenquixote66]

8 hours ago, grapau27 said:

I'm really pleased for you Lenny.

Graham.

It was not easy because Toby said not to take the Walker/Chair because she thought there would not be enough room to use it in the restaurant .My son in law parked a block away and I had to walk holding on to Toby.When we left the restaurant my daughters and one granddaughter helped me get to the car.

[lenquixote66]

On 6/22/2022 at 7:25 PM, Sunshine3601 said:

I made mushroom risotto and pan seared scallops from Viking Village fish market today.     Delicious.     Why is it the scallops from Barnegat taste so much than others?     They are perfectly sweet.

I have relatives living in Barnegat and all the food we ever ate in restaurants there was delicious.

[lenquixote66]

On 6/22/2022 at 11:03 PM, Sea Dog said:

Just started watching the new FX series "The Old Man" with Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow. Boy this is really going to be good. At 72 years young who recently recovered from cancer and COVID he is an ultimate bad ass. The physical acting in some of the first episode fight scenes was incredible. Give it a watch.

I am a fan of both actors.I have to check this show out.

[lenquixote66]

On 6/23/2022 at 10:44 AM, DaniDanielle said:

Ax throwers are at it again!

This is a great picture.I never engaged in this activity.

[h20skibum]

I tried posting this yesterday, but CC wasn’t uploading the video.  
 

Anyhow, we got our one grandson home in time for his golf tournament.  He has been playing in several already this summer, and recently beat all the 7th graders in a tournament in Youngstown.  Not bad, since he will be going into 4th in the fall. 
 

From yesterday’s tournament.   Putt for Eagle.   His first Eagle. 
 

 

 

 

[lenquixote66]

20 hours ago, grapau27 said:

It feels a lot better now but doctor said to give it a few weeks and if everything is okay he will do the other knee.

 

Good to hear that the injection is working,Graham

[Jimbo]

2 hours ago, Arzeena said:

Absolutely!  Not cheating😁, you are in the same family and your status will carry over (D,D+ in Royal gets Elite in Celebrity).
We love Celebrity! We also love Royal. (And we also love NCL). They all have their goods and not so goods.
My DH is of the opinion that Royal's benefits for D+ are the best, on board and not.  Balcony discounts, etc etc.

Celebrity is pretty much the same, with little adjustments, like no free phots, but has Captains Club breakfast every morning.  CC one category upgrades, etc etc.

I also like the NCL benefits for Diamond on NCL (specialty dining, laundry.....the yard).

 

Entertainment is better on NCL and Royal (in that order IMHO) but we don't pick the cruise for the entertainment only.

 

You won't go wrong with Celebrity.

No harm no foul trying other cruise lines. Look here is my Wife Donna and I sailing on Carnival.

 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2022 by Jimbo

[BonTexasNY]

15 hours ago, Bailey & Sophie said:

 

When I was discharged I was not totally independent. I couldn't do stairs (bed & bath upstairs) so I slept on the sofa for several weeks. I told Dr I hadn't re-learned stairs. "You'll figure it out." I didn't.

The worst part was gaining the stamina to stand for any length of time.

Yay on the lack of feel good pills! Now you can upgrade to wine. 😉

 

Although we don't have stairs, I think I'll be sleeping on the sofa until I can put weight on my left leg.  Small bedroom with a king size bed taking up most of the room with sides too narrow to get a wheelchair on the side of the bed to transport.  

 

Therapists are working me hard to strengthen good limbs.  I should be released soon since they can only do so much until I can put weight on my operated leg in 8 weeks.  Then it will be back to PT as an out patient.

 

My big joy is looking forward to our daughter and grandkids visit end of August.  I should be on both feet by then, walking very mindful of where I step!

 

@grapau27Graham, so glad your recent injection seems to be working.  Hope it lasts for a long time.

 

@lenquixote66 Lenny, congratulations on your granddaughter's graduation.

[HBE4]

5 hours ago, sgmn said:

 

Who is the photo-bomber in the lower left? The woman next to him seems to enjoy it but the two people standing in the back seem less than amused.

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Next time you are at the doctors ask them what grade they would give your arthritis. Mine was grade 4 which is the most severe. Sounds like you could be grade 3. Here is some info on the grades.

 

https://www.ibji.com/blog/orthopedic-care/arthritis-in-knee-4-stages-of-osteoarthritis/

Thank you Greg that was very informative.

I will speak to my doctor again in about 4 weeks and will ask him more questions.

Graham.

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

It was not easy because Toby said not to take the Walker/Chair because she thought there would not be enough room to use it in the restaurant .My son in law parked a block away and I had to walk holding on to Toby.When we left the restaurant my daughters and one granddaughter helped me get to the car.

You have a lovely family Lenny.

It sounds like it was difficult for you but pleased you managed to make it.

Take care.

Graham.

 

 

[lenquixote66]

8 minutes ago, BonTexasNY said:

Although we don't have stairs, I think I'll be sleeping on the sofa until I can put weight on my left leg.  Small bedroom with a king size bed taking up most of the room with sides too narrow to get a wheelchair on the side of the bed to transport.  

 

Therapists are working me hard to strengthen good limbs.  I should be released soon since they can only do so much until I can put weight on my operated leg in 8 weeks.  Then it will be back to PT as an out patient.

 

My big joy is looking forward to our daughter and grandkids visit end of August.  I should be on both feet by then, walking very mindful of where I step!

 

@grapau27Graham, so glad your recent injection seems to be working.  Hope it lasts for a long time.

 

@lenquixote66 Lenny, congratulations on your granddaughter's graduation.

Thanks,Bonnie

[lenquixote66]

1 minute ago, grapau27 said:

You have a lovely family Lenny.

It sounds like it was difficult for you but pleased you managed to make it.

Take care.

Graham.

 

 

Yes,I do ,Graham.

 

[lenquixote66]

20 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

I’m happy you are getting some relief. I hope it will last long term.

I checked out The Old Man and saw that there are two cast members who I have met.When Amy Brenneman was in Law and Order I was an extra in the show and had a very interesting conversation with her .I have also met John Lithgow.His son Ian and his wife are good friends with my oldest daughter and her husband.

[grapau27]

Dinner tonight.

[Keksie]

32 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Dinner tonight.

I will be right over.  That looks so good!

[bobmacliberty]

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

I tried posting this yesterday, but CC wasn’t uploading the video.  
 

Anyhow, we got our one grandson home in time for his golf tournament.  He has been playing in several already this summer, and recently beat all the 7th graders in a tournament in Youngstown.  Not bad, since he will be going into 4th in the fall. 
 

From yesterday’s tournament.   Putt for Eagle.   His first Eagle. 
 

 

IMG_4577.MOV 23.81 MB · 1 download  

 

 

 

Very impressive!  I've had 4 eagles but have never had a true eagle where I hit a par 5 green in 2 and made the putt.  The rest were hitting an iron into the hole from a par 4 fairway, and a hole in one.  Those are very nice and require hitting a good shot, but there's a bit of luck involved with the ball actually going in the hole from that distance.  To hit the green as close to the pin as your grandson did, and then make the putt, means hitting 3 straight really good shots.  He clearly has some golf talent.  Congrats to your grandson!

[grapau27]

5 minutes ago, Keksie said:

I will be right over.  That looks so good!

Thanks.

I will put the Kettle on.