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

[Jimbo]

8 hours ago, Arzeena said:

Love Wegmans too. There are a few in NJ. Luckily the closest one is 10 minutes from us.

Missed Wegman's in NJ, nothing like that here in this part of Virginia. As far as missing Wawa, not really, if we want a hoagie there are much better places here then Wawa's.

 

Sheetz here in Virginia is a lot like the Wawa's, Sheetz has gas too.

 

[Coralc]

11 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

I have a question about booking cabins on RCCL and,since this is a friendly thread with many veteran cruisers, I thought I could ask the question here.

I am curious to read that some couples book two cabins ,usually a balcony and an inside cabin.

I do understand about snoring issues, the luxury of two bathrooms and more overall space when having two cabins. My DH and I have taken cruise vacations since 1987. Two separate cabins was never a consideration for us.

But, I am thinking that there might be a financial benefit or points benefit in doing such.Are those the reasons to book two cabins?

On other cruise lines, if a person books a cabin for one person,they are required to pay a single supplement. I think that supplement could be as much as 100% of the cruise fare. Does RCCL require such a supplement ?

Just something that caught my attention. Looking forward to reading any responses from the good folks here.

MJ🙋🏻

 

If you have 340+ points, the single supplement is reduced. The way to max points would be to put one person in a JS (3 pts/night), and the other in an interior. We've never done it. It seems like a bother. 

Edited October 20, 2022 by Coralc

[bobmacliberty]

25 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

I have a question about booking cabins on RCCL and,since this is a friendly thread with many veteran cruisers, I thought I could ask the question here.

I am curious to read that some couples book two cabins ,usually a balcony and an inside cabin.

I do understand about snoring issues, the luxury of two bathrooms and more overall space when having two cabins. My DH and I have taken cruise vacations since 1987. Two separate cabins was never a consideration for us.

But, I am thinking that there might be a financial benefit or points benefit in doing such.Are those the reasons to book two cabins?

On other cruise lines, if a person books a cabin for one person,they are required to pay a single supplement. I think that supplement could be as much as 100% of the cruise fare. Does RCCL require such a supplement ?

Just something that caught my attention. Looking forward to reading any responses from the good folks here.

MJ🙋🏻

 

 

 

 

 

Royal does have a single supplement...typically 100% of the cruise fare (unless as @Coralc point out, you have more than 340 C&A points when it's reduced to 50% I think).  So if you book a single in a balcony, you're paying the same as if you booked 2 people in a balcony.  Same for the interior.  The advantage, in addition to what you mentioned about snoring, bathrooms, etc., is that you get an extra point per night for being a single (you're paying double so get double points).  If you booked during the double points promotion, a single in a balcony for a week would be 28 points.  That can get you to the next C&A level faster.  Up to you whether it's worth doing.

[mets07]

1 hour ago, helen haywood said:

Places do go fast.  Two went under contract before we could look.  But we found one I’m happy with…close in a month.  Now all I have to do is line up movers, list this house, arrange an estate sale and tranquilize the cats.  I remember you had a bad experience with your furniture in your move.  Did you buy a separate policy for the move or rely on the moving company?  And what was the company again so I’ll know to avoid them!

I only stayed on Amelia one night and liked it a lot. Is this a house or a condo you are going to close on? 

[Jimbo]

4 minutes ago, mets07 said:

I only stayed on Amelia one night and liked it a lot. Is this a house or a condo you are going to close on? 

I'm going to guess, you don't move from a house like they  had and move into a Condo. I'm going to say they are just moving into a much smaller house.

[bobmacliberty]

1 hour ago, helen haywood said:

Places do go fast.  Two went under contract before we could look.  But we found one I’m happy with…close in a month.  Now all I have to do is line up movers, list this house, arrange an estate sale and tranquilize the cats.  I remember you had a bad experience with your furniture in your move.  Did you buy a separate policy for the move or rely on the moving company?  And what was the company again so I’ll know to avoid them!

 

Congratulations!  We used Allied for our move.  They're a big name in moving so I was surprised with the damage that we had.  I'm pretty sure that Allied is a bunch of individually owned franchises, so I'm not sure I would write off all of Allied based on our experience.  We did not have a separate policy covering our move...just what was part of the Allied contract.  After their appraiser came out and looked at the damage, they gave us everything that we asked for, no questions asked.  

 

If I was to do it again, I'd probably choose 2 Men and a Truck.  The same people that load the truck, drive the truck to your new home, and unload the truck.  Since you're paying for their travel expenses for a few days plus expenses for them to get back home, they were more expensive.  We weren't able to get from Cincinnati to Amelia Island quickly enough to meet them when they would have arrived since we had to wait a couple of days in Cincinnati to close on our old house.

[bobmacliberty]

2 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

I'm going to guess, you don't move from a house like they  had and move into a Condo. I'm going to say they are just moving into a much smaller house.

 

We seriously considered a condo here.  You can get a condo right on the ocean.  Looking at the ocean, especially with the sun rising, is a really enticing factor.  Same with being footsteps from the beach.  The bigger/nicer condos are more expensive than many houses.

[Jimbo]

6 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

We seriously considered a condo here.  You can get a condo right on the ocean.  Looking at the ocean, especially with the sun rising, is a really enticing factor.  Same with being footsteps from the beach.  The bigger/nicer condos are more expensive than many houses.

Not sure I would like being right on the ocean, because of the storm possibilities. Everyone is different though.

30--45  minutes from the ocean would be close enough for us as long as we had a pool.

[Sunshine3601]

4 hours ago, grapau27 said:

We went out for dinner tonight.

Wow - this looks sooo good.   Are you the headless man wearing a tie😃

Edited October 20, 2022 by Sunshine3601

[helen haywood]

@bobmacliberty Thanks for the insurance info.  So far I’ve contacted Alliance and Allied.  I would have thought they’d want a picture of the furniture to guesstimate weight…but they both just have you tell them room by room…armoire, sideboard, etc.  As usual, DH and I are not on the same page.  😉  He thinks we should pack our china and crystal and clothes ourselves…I’d rather pay for them to pack it all…. We’ll see.  We’ll be driving back down for the closing so will certainly take some stuff then…

[mets07]

43 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

I'm going to guess, you don't move from a house like they  had and move into a Condo. I'm going to say they are just moving into a much smaller house.

With all due respect, we live in a house and would consider moving into a condo. Not everyone is the same. Sorry I asked.

[helen haywood]

58 minutes ago, mets07 said:

I only stayed on Amelia one night and liked it a lot. Is this a house or a condo you are going to close on? 

It’s a house.  Can’t downsize enough to fit into a condo…😜  Even if money were no object, I wouldn’t want to be directly on the beach.  You just get a lot more bang for your buck inland.

[Jimbo]

 

We used upack for our move  https://www.upack.com/

 

My Wife Donna and I did all the packing of the boxes, I did all the loading on to the 2 trailers except for all the heavy furniture, which we hired out through a 3rd party upack uses. We hired 2 guys in NJ for $440 total and 2 guys in Virginia for another $440 to take off the heavy items at both destinations, loading and unloading.

 

My wife and I  loaded and unloaded all the boxes and smaller items ourselves. Upack dropped a trailer about 3days apart so we  had time to load each trailer.

 

They brought an empty trailer on a Friday(dropped it) and Picked it up on a Monday and brought us the 2nd trailer at the same time.

 

They pick up the second trailer on Wednesday and then about a week later the trailers were delivered to us one at a time. When we had it empty, we called them and told them to bring the next trailer.

 

This  cost much less then hiring a moving company. All the moving companies we contacted want from $15,000 to  $20,000 for the move. Prices were crazy high !!

 

xxxxxx NJ to xxxxxxx, VA Start loading on: 1/11/2021

View Quote Online Change Move Information Watch U-Pack Videos

SERVICE OPTIONS (Includes taxes and fuel) DOOR TO DOOR Two 28' Trailers $3,647

Includes taxes, fuel, & ramp Adjustment Price Per Ft: $37       First trailer came in the rain

 

First trailer

 

Second trailer 3 days later in the snow and ice.

 

 

Edited October 21, 2022 by Jimbo

[mets07]

12 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

It’s a house.  Can’t downsize enough to fit into a condo…😜  Even if money were no object, I wouldn’t want to be directly on the beach.  You just get a lot more bang for your buck inland.

I have a different perspective and preferences, but I understand yours and wish you the very best. Thank you for answering the question I posed to you.  

 

 

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Places do go fast.  Two went under contract before we could look.  But we found one I’m happy with…close in a month.  Now all I have to do is line up movers, list this house, arrange an estate sale and tranquilize the cats.  I remember you had a bad experience with your furniture in your move.  Did you buy a separate policy for the move or rely on the moving company?  And what was the company again so I’ll know to avoid them!

Congratulations!   Let the fun begin.  I imagine it will be difficult to determine what furniture/items you want to take to your new home.  

If going to do a house sale of furniture, etc.  I suggest posting your sale dates on next door neighbor app, FB and possibly craigslist.

[HBE4]

13 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

The Yankees did not make the first round vote. 😉

 

You didn't miss anything. 😉

 

8 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I liked the results of both games yesterday.

 

Yesterdays game (game 1) was the game the Yankees needed to steal. They had Justin Verlander on the ropes early, driving up his pitch count. But they just couldn't capitalize on the chances they had. Verlader got better as the game went on, reverting back to Cy Young form at the tender age of 39, and making the Yanks look like little league.

 

Meanwhile, Boone pulled the Yankee pitcher - Tailion - early in the game, after only 67 pitches.  While his pitching wasn't pretty, he was effective in holding the Astros in check and was actually "out-picthing" Verlander. He a lower pitch count & allowed less base runners than Verlander at that point. Boone should have let him pitch 1 or 2 more innings as the score was only 1-1.  Instead, he went to an already thin & shaky bullpen and in the blink of an eye, th Yankees were losing 3-1.

 

Boone must come from the Buck Showalter school of thought and over-manages the game.  Put the players in there & let them play.

Edited October 21, 2022 by HBE4

[Jimbo]

10 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

You didn't miss anything. 😉

 

 

Yesterdays game (game 1) was the game the Yankees needed to steal. They had Justin Verlander on the ropes early, driving up his pitch count. But they just couldn't capitalize on the chances they had. Verlader got better as the game went on, reverting back to Cy Young form at the tender age of 39, and making the Yanks look like little league.

 

Meanwhile, Boone pulled the Yankee pitcher - Tailion - early in the game, after only 67 pitches.  While his pitching wasn't pretty, he was effective in holding the Astros in check and was actually "out-picthing" Verlander. He a lower pitch count & allowed less base runners than Verlander at that point. Boone should have let him pitch 1 or 2 more innings as the score was only 1-1.  Instead, he went to an already thin & shaky bullpen and in the blink of an eye, th Yankees were losing 3-1.

 

Boone must come from the Buck Showalter school of thought and over-manages the game.  Put the players in there & let them play.

Yankees aren't going to win many games with 17 K's.  When I heard that I actually had to look at the box score to believe it.

 

Phillies got the 1 game on the road, tomorrow we see what they can do at home.

 

Why are the Astros/Yankees game playing this game with the roof  open? Windy like crazy?

Edited October 21, 2022 by Jimbo

[lenquixote66]

19 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

You didn't miss anything. 😉

 

 

Yesterdays game (game 1) was the game the Yankees needed to steal. They had Justin Verlander on the ropes early, driving up his pitch count. But they just couldn't capitalize on the chances they had. Verlader got better as the game went on, reverting back to Cy Young form at the tender age of 39, and making the Yanks look like little league.

 

Meanwhile, Boone pulled the Yankee pitcher - Tailion - early in the game, after only 67 pitches.  While his pitching wasn't pretty, he was effective in holding the Astros in check and was actually "out-picthing" Verlander. He a lower pitch count & allowed less base runners than Verlander at that point. Boone should have let him pitch 1 or 2 more innings as the score was only 1-1.  Instead, he went to an already thin & shaky bullpen and in the blink of an eye, th Yankees were losing 3-1.

 

Boone must come from the Buck Showalter school of thought and over-manages the game.  Put the players in there & let them play.

I heard from reliable sources that many Yankee players hated Girardi.I wonder what the current players think about Boone.My thinking is that if the Yankees are eliminated by Houston Boone will be gone.

[Luckynana]

1 hour ago, helen haywood said:

It’s a house.  Can’t downsize enough to fit into a condo…😜  Even if money were no object, I wouldn’t want to be directly on the beach.  You just get a lot more bang for your buck inland.

Congratulations on your new home!!!

[ReneeFLL]

 

14 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

I’ve got a possum wool scarf from NZ.  Can confirm warmth & lightness although haven’t worn it in subzero temps…

I’m thinking of possibly getting a hat. I wouldn’t need it in Florida, but it’s supposed to be cold in NZ and I can use it next year for our Arctic cruise.

 

13 hours ago, Keksie said:

That is probably the Australian Possum.  I have a knitted a few things with that wool and it is very nice.

I went to a lecture on NZ and she brought up the possum wool. She did say that the Australian possum was brought over to NZ. It is now an invasive species and it has no predators there causing major problems.

[akcruz]

4 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Places do go fast.  Two went under contract before we could look.  But we found one I’m happy with…close in a month.  Now all I have to do is line up movers, list this house, arrange an estate sale and tranquilize the cats.  I remember you had a bad experience with your furniture in your move.  Did you buy a separate policy for the move or rely on the moving company?  And what was the company again so I’ll know to avoid them!

 

Congratulations, best of luck with the sale of your current home and impending move.  We had both houses for about 18 months, we bought a few things for the new house, mattresses, sofa, etc but tried to hold off on too much until we officially moved.  Can be stressful but also great at the end.   

[Jimbo]

2 hours ago, helen haywood said:

It’s a house.  Can’t downsize enough to fit into a condo…😜  Even if money were no object, I wouldn’t want to be directly on the beach.  You just get a lot more bang for your buck inland.

So  true the houses directly on the beach are priced ridiculously.

[xpcdoojk]

Location location location.  Build in the hood, don’t bring the bucks of the beach.🤣

QED

 

jc

 

 

[ReneeFLL]

13 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Just about to leave Amelia for home.

 

13 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Beautiful pictures.

 

12 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

No, went to a Trader Vic’s once when we were fairly newly married, been hoping to find another ever since.  My bar, is definitely Tiki themed.  We rarely entertain, any more due to Covid getting us out of the mode.  Kind of sad.  If there is a Tiki Bar and I know of it, I will search it out.  Many have gone the way of Mai Kai which is even sadder!

 

jc

Mai Kai is definitely coming back. They are having to do a lot of work on it first, but are hoping to open around the end of December. I did notice the tiki vibe of your bar when you posted pictures a while back.

 

12 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

When we did our first trip to New Zealand back in 2003, we bought possum and lambs wool sweaters.  I still have mine.  It is warm and scratchy.  🤣

Yikes, I definitely don’t like scratchy. I had a sweater from Iceland like that. Had to wear something under it or I’d go crazy. I read about a mix of possum, cashmere and merino wool which is supposed to be nice. That’s what I’ll look for.

[George C]

1 hour ago, HBE4 said:

 

You didn't miss anything. 😉

 

 

Yesterdays game (game 1) was the game the Yankees needed to steal. They had Justin Verlander on the ropes early, driving up his pitch count. But they just couldn't capitalize on the chances they had. Verlader got better as the game went on, reverting back to Cy Young form at the tender age of 39, and making the Yanks look like little league.

 

Meanwhile, Boone pulled the Yankee pitcher - Tailion - early in the game, after only 67 pitches.  While his pitching wasn't pretty, he was effective in holding the Astros in check and was actually "out-picthing" Verlander. He a lower pitch count & allowed less base runners than Verlander at that point. Boone should have let him pitch 1 or 2 more innings as the score was only 1-1.  Instead, he went to an already thin & shaky bullpen and in the blink of an eye, th Yankees were losing 3-1.

 

Boone must come from the Buck Showalter school of thought and over-manages the game.  Put the players in there & let them play.

I think unless Yankees win the World Series Boone needs to be replaced, there is too much talent on this team not to make the World Series in more than a decade. Would love to see Don Mattilingly wearing pinstripes again . Was at the game when he tied the record of 8 games with a home run , was also at the game when his streak was broken, there is always a huge amount of Yankees fans at games in Texas and he got a great standing ovation on his last at bat which was a double but stopped the streak.