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

[Luckynana]

@Sunshine3601  I hope there are/were no delays in your flight to Tampa today!

[Ourusualbeach]

59 minutes ago, NHProud said:

The ship we are boarding in late September is broken.  It’s docked I think in Alaska waiting for a part and some European workers to install the azopod. Somebody posted they are going on our cruise even if they have to push the ship. 
 

I’m not worried. 

She's sll fixed and set to resume sailing on the 15th. 

[grapau27]

2 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

@sgmn  Glad you and Gary arrived safely in Tampa, Sue. Enjoy today and tomorrow in town before embarking on your cruise on Tuesday!

+1 @sgmn

[NHProud]

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

She's sll fixed and set to resume sailing on the 15th. 

Thank you for the fantastic news .  
 

 

[grapau27]

5 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

 

Love this picture of the two of you, Jennifer!  I know what you mean about the heat and humidity.  I'm so over it!!!  (meanwhile, we're flying to Arizona next weekend..their temps have been well over 100 degrees)

We finally got about an hour of heavy rain a few hours ago..temperature just dropped to 76 degrees.  Humidity is really getting to me!  Phew!!

Me too.

We are not used to this humidity in North East England so very few houses have air conditioning.

Fortunately we have just got back from 3 nights in a hotel where we had air conditioning in our room.

I hope you are okay Maryann.

Take care.

Graham.

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Yes or you can also take money out via the slot machine with no fee.

What do you do put your card in, select a certain amount  and then cash out without even pulling handle or pushing the button one time?

[Ourusualbeach]

5 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

What do you do put your card in, select a certain amount  and then cash out without even pulling handle or pushing the button one time?

Yes.  Load money from your seapass to the slot machine then hit cashout, the either redeem ticket at cage or the redemption machine. 

 

@brilloheadhas the instructions to do this 

Edited September 10, 2023 by Ourusualbeach

[Ocean Boy]

54 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

 

Thank you, Renee!  I'm so glad that you are feeling better!

 

I've always loved the sound of Fog Horns.  I didn't live far from the water growing up on Staten Island, and my childhood memories of the sound of fog horns is a happy one!

I love fog horns, too.

[Ocean Boy]

32 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

 

Love this picture of the two of you, Jennifer!  I know what you mean about the heat and humidity.  I'm so over it!!!  (meanwhile, we're flying to Arizona next weekend..their temps have been well over 100 degrees)

We finally got about an hour of heavy rain a few hours ago..temperature just dropped to 76 degrees.  Humidity is really getting to me!  Phew!!

We just had a 15 minute rain storm.

[Momof3gurlz]

4 hours ago, jmh2006 said:

Phew just caught up!  Had a wonderful weekend in Washington DC to attend a wedding of the son of dear friend’s!  Even though it was hit and a bit rainy yesterday we had a fabulous time!  

You two look great!

[Momof3gurlz]

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

@Momof3gurlz

 

Deb, since your cruise on beautiful Edge

 

 

The eerie corridor on deck 5....

 

 

 

is fast approaching, and I fear that I'll forgot some things....

 

As foodies, we've found the food on Edge much better than last year on Beyond.

 

BUT... after a very disappointing 1st night in Tuscan, we went back to dinner at Ocean View and found the variety, quantity and quality satisfying. I took advantage almost nightly of the Stir Fry station.

 

I admit that if Olivia will have been with us, we'll certainly be going every night to one of the 4 "free" dining rooms.

 

The 1st night on the ship we went to a for fee restaurant, the much acclaimed Eden. The appetizers were excellent, the entrees (Nova Scotia Lobster casserole) were nothing to write home about, mainly because we found one condiment in this dish very heavy and not tasty. The very nice waiter, Marcel, immediately offered to change it for us, but we declined. There is music above this restaurant, which is not quite "conducive" to having a nice conversation...

 

Truthfully, I fear that I'm being spoiled by my "personal chef" at home....

 

The service was excellent all over the ship, and you could feel that every one was doing his best for us to have the time of our life.

 

Ports -- the one we have "in common" is Portofino. We took advantage of being Elite and had priority tendering, an amazing benefit, taking in account that even at 10am people were waiting and waiting for the tender. Celebrity used just one boat, claiming that the port is tiny and cannot accommodate more tenders. Hello??? Why offer this port if it means the non-Elite and non-suite people were still waiting for the tender at noon???

 

A bad surprise when coming back and finding a very very long line to board the tender back, in plain sunshine.... pic below [bottom left]

 

 

When DH saw the huge line, he decided he'll have enough time to visit the museum, which he found very interesting, and provided the best look of the tiny port (5 Euro entrance), without having to climb so many stairs to Castello Brown.

 

Edited to add: Since we've been to Portofino before, our plan was to climb to the Castello for another brief photo-op, and then board to ferry to Santa Margherita Ligure, which was supposed to be more lively and less expensive, and have lunch there.

 

With all the tendering debacle, we got there around 1pm, all the shops were closed, bar the restaurants. It was so hot, that after a quick look around, we took the ferry back, only to find ourselves in the huge line (extreme right). A good thing we got back early.

 

 

 

Entertainment -- the "in house" shows were average, and twice DH left me alone after a few minutes, finding the noise too much for his hearing aids.

 

The "imported" ones were very good -- "The Queens of Rhythm", and Salvatore Hasard. The third one, "Magical Bones", had the usual ones of cards and disappearing act. BTDT.

 

We had an infinite veranda with bed by the balcony, and I very much enjoyed sitting in bed and looking at the sea. So relaxing.

 

I'll try to remember other tips... ahh, shopping. Barcelona is much cheaper than France, clothes wise. The same shirt I've bought at Mango in Barcelona for 30 Euros, was 40 in Ajaccio, Corsica.

 

Thank you Dani!  Our plan for Portofino was also to visit Santa Margharita Ligure.  Were the shops closed due to the day of the week or was it the time of day you were there?  Maybe we’d be better taking the ferry to SML first, then explore Portofino in our return.  
What did you do in Ajaccio? I think we’ll just take the Little Train Tour, then explore the town.  
Most importantly, how is your cousin doing?

Edited September 10, 2023 by Momof3gurlz

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

@Ocean Boy

 

Just for you, OB, Odyssey of the Seas in all her glory 😎

 

 

 

She has five months to get back to Ft. Lauderdale.

[Momof3gurlz]

7 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

We just had a 15 minute rain storm.

Just one? We’ve torrential rain most of the day with flash flood warnings and phone alerts.  It seems to have finally subsided. 

[NHProud]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

Our very first cruise in 1973 was supposed to be on the Americanism,a Greek line ship.The ship had severe problems on its way back to NY and our TA offered a Cunard cruise as a substitute.It was a great ship and cruise.

We last cruised on Cunard in 2019 and it was a classy ocean liner with standards of dress and cerebral entertainment .  I’ve mentioned before when we lived in Valencia , CA the US offices of Cunard and Princess were 3 miles from my home .
 

I’ll be watching the US Open tennis championships from Queens today. Have you been when you were healthy ? I’m amazed that some matches ended at 1:30 AM  .  Why so late ?  Djokovic is sure to win . 

 

 

[Sunshine3601]

37 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

@Sunshine3601  I hope there are/were no delays in your flight to Tampa today!

We had a 20 or 30 minute delay due to our plane arriving at Trenton Airport from Orlando later than expected.

Boy Trenton Airport sure is easy peasy.  Frontier premium seating very nice too.  We will definitely fly this again.   

It is hot hot hot in Tampa.  We just came back from a walk along their Riverwalk. 

Very nice area but we were dripping sweat on our way back.  I thought I would go to the pool but too hot to do that today.

 

We may try the free trolley tonight and see what we find for dinner.

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, sgmn said:

Glad for you Dani that the food is better than our Beyond sailing last year and that you're having a good time even though your cousin had to cancel. 

We flew into Tampa yesterday.  Immigration was a breeze, probably our easiest entry into USA . We got a bit confused about the Hyatt hotel shuttle . We followed the signs for hotel shuttles and waited ages in very hot temps but no shuttle.  After phoning hotel, apparently you now have to go to an uber pick up area, call the hotel and they send a uber at their expense .

Now in downtown hotel and can see cruise ships from our room. Went for a walk by the Riverside today but again very hot and not much shade 

 

Hi Sue and Gary,  we landed in Tampa  12:30ish today and got to our hotel, Emassy Suites downtown Tampa right along the Riverwalk around 1:30.   Had some lunch and walked around, boy it sure is hot here.  

We have heat and humidity at home too.

 

Hope we get some nice sea breezes onboard Serenade.

[Sea Dog]

2 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

 

 

 

And the indispensable mooring lines for Greg @Sea Dog  and Harry @harryfat1

 

 

 

 

 

Winner! Winner!! Love it!!!

 

 

1 hour ago, Luckynana said:

 

Interesting, Greg!  Not something I would've thought about.🤔

 

 

 

Yes breeders are very strict about anyone taking bloodlines and becoming breeders themselves. Breeding King Charles Cavalier Spaniels can become very lucrative. At $3,000 a pup they don’t want their Cavalier bloodlines being bred somewhere else.

[c-leg5]

1 minute ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Winner! Winner!! Love it!!!

 

 

Yes breeders are very strict about anyone taking bloodlines and becoming breeders themselves. Breeding King Charles Cavalier Spaniels can become very lucrative. At $3,000 a pup they don’t want their Cavalier bloodlines being bred somewhere else.

Is there an age by which you have to have it done in the contract?

[Ocean Boy]

21 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Just one? We’ve torrential rain most of the day with flash flood warnings and phone alerts.  It seems to have finally subsided. 

Our weather has been very different from yours. Just a very humid breeze less day. I was able to get about 2.5 hrs in on a bike ride.

[lenquixote66]

13 minutes ago, NHProud said:

We last cruised on Cunard in 2019 and it was a classy ocean liner with standards of dress and cerebral entertainment .  I’ve mentioned before when we lived in Valencia , CA the US offices of Cunard and Princess were 3 miles from my home .
 

I’ll be watching the US Open tennis championships from Queens today. Have you been when you were healthy ? I’m amazed that some matches ended at 1:30 AM  .  Why so late ?  Djokovic is sure to win . 

 

 

My son in law who lives near me was there last week with my 15 year old granddaughter.She is on her HS tennis team .My older granddaughter was co-Captain of the tennis team when she was in HS.

I was never at the Open but I played competitive tennis when I was younger.One of the regulars on the courts where I played was Sheila Maroschick.She was a HOF Handball player and a terrific tennis player.

If she concentrated on tennis I believe she would have been among the best.

[Ocean Boy]

12 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Hi Sue and Gary,  we landed in Tampa  12:30ish today and got to our hotel, Emassy Suites downtown Tampa right along the Riverwalk around 1:30.   Had some lunch and walked around, boy it sure is hot here.  

We have heat and humidity at home too.

 

Hope we get some nice sea breezes onboard Serenade.

I hope you have a great trip. It would be nice to see some pictures of Serenade. I have not been aboard for years now. What is your itinerary?

[Sea Dog]

4 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Is there an age by which you have to have it done in the contract?

Contract specified by 6 months.

[Sea Dog]

16 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Hope we get some nice sea breezes onboard Serenade.

Debbie I hope you have a great cruise. Please post some pictures and your impressions of Serenade. I’m interested in sailing on her.

[Ocean Boy]

1 minute ago, Sea Dog said:

Contract specified by 6 months.

I always wondered what happens if you don't follow through. It would be awfully traumatic to the dogs for someone to show up and reposses them like the guy on TV that repos airplanes and RVs!

[Sea Dog]

Just now, Ocean Boy said:

I always wondered what happens if you don't follow through. It would be awfully traumatic to the dogs for someone to show up and reposses them like the guy on TV that repos airplanes and RVs!

I wondered about that too. I know most of the breeders all know one another through AKC (American Kennel Club) so if they saw an ad for someone selling puppies they could track them. We actually had some one we knew with a female offer to have us breed with our male and split the profits on the puppies but we declined the offer as it would be breaking the contract and illegal even though you could make a lot of money..