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

[grapau27]

Good morning.

It is a very mild 63°F and overcast here.

I hope everyone is safe and well.

 

[h20skibum]

@FromSea2ShiningSeaHelen, you have a great eye for photography.  I am enjoying all your photos. 

[maggieq]

7 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

8/22 Liverpool sunrise

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a pub where Ringo’s mom used to work at.

 

Ringo and his mom moved to the house that’s right across from this house.  

 

 

 

Paul & John (I think) used to sit at this churchyard gravesite.  That’s where they got the inspiration to write the song Eleanor Rigby- from the tombstone.

 

 

 

Strawberry Field was a Salvation Army home for children.  John Lennon lived nearby and would play here when he was a child.  On the left side of the photo, tucked way inside and under the trees is the red gate to Strawberry Field.

 

 

Lovely photos. What cruise are you on?

[sgmn]

19 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Beautiful pictures, Sue.  I love your boat!!!  Nice!

When we moved here 7 years ago this month, there was a Koi pond behind our pool.  The pond had already been turned off for the Winter,  We called the Koi store the following Spring to open and clean the pond for us newbies.  The previous owners had a net over the pond.  After the young man finished with the pond, he told us he lived nearby, and our pond was deep enough that we wouldn't need the net.  Awesome!  You could see the fish so much better this way!  Fast forward an hour or so later,...as I went upstairs for a shower, I looked out my grandson's bedroom window to admire our new backyard.  Good grief!!  There was a heron with one of our huge fish in it's mouth!  By the time I got down  to the pond, three fish had already been eaten.  

Man, I was bummed!  I bought 2 heron statues, and have added 3 big owl statues to protect our fish since that day.  Jim opens and closes our pond.  We had the owner of the Koi store clean our pond last month, and he told us it's not really a Koi pond.  He said it's not really deep enough, but I'll say this...we've had 3 new baby koi born this Spring/Summer.

Thank you 😊

How awful re the heron and your Koi 😟 . Our pond is not that big, maybe four feet x 4 feet, its raised and about four feet high.

Good news on the babies,  I've never had any but mum always did, she said you had to have  'breeder'

 

Mum always said that once a heron knows where a pond is there'll keep coming back until they've cleared it.

 

I've always cleaned it myself but next spring I may get a professional in as it's a mucky job.  The goldfish were from 3inch to about 10 inches so not that big and not valuable.  More sentimental as my son and DIL had rescued them from mums pond when we put her house up for rent and filled in her pond 

[sgmn]

18 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Is that Windsor Castle?

Yes, great view from the river. The castle's right in the centre of Windsor which is a  easy train ride from London, so a great day out, see the castle, pop over the bridge to Eton and lunch by the river. Or hire a little boat and take a trip down to the next Lock and back

[Arzeena]

21 hours ago, helen haywood said:

 Thanks for the information re the shipboard internet.  For the cruise only fare sailing we have where I was going to purchase internet, I’ve since found out Celebrity doesn’t sell the Basic internet service…that is just what is included in the AI package.  They only sell the Premium…so I’ll have to purchase that.  Waiting hopefully for a Black Friday or some other sale.

 

That's the reason I had asked if you had classic wifi, because it has been our experience that to do all that one wanted to do and connect to cc, post, put/open pictures in email, media, work VPN (for some) etc one had to upgrade to the premium wifi. It is not just phone settings. Some things, but not all was possible using the classic. I am glad that the internet guy confirmed it so I won't be challenged again while helping!😁😁

Now, X only sells the premium. I am also waiting for some flash or BF sales because two of our cruises next year are not AI and I will "furnish" them a la cart.

Edited October 6, 2023 by Arzeena

[sgmn]

9 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Another old castle on our way to the next stop

 

Next stop- Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland

 

 

 

 

We hiked up the mountain and then down the mountain to get to…..

 

This

 

And this…Basalt Columns results of ancient volcanic fissure activity

 

 

 

Last look before we head out to Belfast, Ireland

Great pictures,  keep saying we need to explore more of the UK and Ireland. You look like you've got good weather for October 

[bobmacliberty]

14 minutes ago, sgmn said:

Yes, great view from the river. The castle's right in the centre of Windsor which is a  easy train ride from London, so a great day out, see the castle, pop over the bridge to Eton and lunch by the river. Or hire a little boat and take a trip down to the next Lock and back

 

We took the train from London Euston Station and stayed 2 nights in the Macdonald Windsor Hotel.  We really enjoyed Windsor beyond just visiting the castle (which itself was great).  We had some fantastic food and enjoyed walking around, including along the Thames.  It was a really nice change from London.  Very convenient to Heathrow also.

[Momof3gurlz]

Palma de Mallorca today, our last port. We end the cruise in Barcelona tomorrow. But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Here are a few pictures from our ship excursion in France to the villages of Seillans and Feyonce. 

 

 

 

 

 

Two for @Ocean Boy, the first is the lighthouse at the port of Cannes. And of course the obligatory foot photo. 

 

 

It’s been a great cruise. I have quite a few pics from around the ship to share as well as my final thoughts on Celebrity vs RCI. Spoiler - it’s closer than I would’ve thought!  Probably won’t get to that post for a while as we plan to make the most of our two days in Barcelona.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2023 by Momof3gurlz

[Sea Dog]

7 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Palma de Mallorca today, our last port. We end the cruise in Barcelona tomorrow. But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Here are a few pictures from our ship excursion in France to the villages of Seillans and Feyonce. 

 

 

 

 

 

Two for @Ocean Boy, the first is the lighthouse at the port of Cannes. And of course the obligatory foot photo. 

 

 

It’s been a great cruise. I have quite a few pics from around the ship to share as well as my final thoughts on Celebrity vs RCI. Spoiler - it’s closer than I would’ve thought!  Probably won’t get to that post for a while as we plan to make the most of our two days in Barcelona.

 

 

Great pictures. I am anxious to hear your comparison. How’s the food been?

[Momof3gurlz]

2 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Great pictures. I am anxious to hear your comparison. How’s the food been?

The food has been good, not great.  It’s easy to think it’s better than Royal, but I think it’s more that the menus are different and a little more varied.  Also, as I said initially, the overall dining experience is more enjoyable and relaxing.  We only did one specialty dinner which was the Rooftop Garden. It was very, very good and like Royal’s specialty restaurants, definitely a notch or two above in quality.  If you and Linda decide to do this one, don’t miss the dry rub smoked chicken wings!  
 

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, Momof3gurlz said:

The food has been good, not great.  It’s easy to think it’s better than Royal, but I think it’s more that the menus are different and a little more varied.  Also, as I said initially, the overall dining experience is more enjoyable and relaxing.  We only did one specialty dinner which was the Rooftop Garden. It was very, very good and like Royal’s specialty restaurants, definitely a notch or two above in quality.  If you and Linda decide to do this one, don’t miss the dry rub smoked chicken wings!  
 

That sounds delicious. I’ve heard great things about the Rooftop Garden. I think we are going to get the 5 night dining package so we can try most of the specialty restaurants as well as the different MDR’s on our 10 night cruise.

[Momof3gurlz]

1 minute ago, Sea Dog said:

That sounds delicious. I’ve heard great things about the Rooftop Garden. I think we are going to get the 5 night dining package so we can try most of the specialty restaurants as well as the different MDR’s on our 10 night cruise.

We can discuss in much more detail very soon on Adventure. I’m going to screenshot the menus from the app for you but don’t want to clutter up the thread posting them all here.  

[Tree_skier]

3 hours ago, sgmn said:

Yes, great view from the river. The castle's right in the centre of Windsor which is a  easy train ride from London, so a great day out, see the castle, pop over the bridge to Eton and lunch by the river. Or hire a little boat and take a trip down to the next Lock and back

We were in London in 2013 and had planned on taking a day and going out there but there was so much to do in London we just ran out of time.  One of the only regrets of that trip.

[jagsfan]

We’re on the last day of our Bermuda cruise. I’m still not crazy about the new menus, but discovered Butter Chicken is pretty good!

 I’m posting the two required photos!

[Sea Dog]

3 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

 

 I’m posting the two required photos!

On behalf of @Ocean Boy and @harryfat1 and @Sea Dog we salute you for a job well done!

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, Tree_skier said:

We were in London in 2013 and had planned on taking a day and going out there but there was so much to do in London we just ran out of time.  One of the only regrets of that trip.

London does have a way of taking up one's time. It is such a great city.

[Ozark_Kid]

26 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

I’m still not crazy about the new menus, but discovered Butter Chicken is pretty good!

I wish I read this earlier.   Our cruise friend almost tried it.

I like salmon but never tried the chili-lime salmon on Mexican night.  I tried it last night and it is going back on my list to skip. It had good texture I guess a Mexican taste with salmon is not for me.

 

[Ocean Boy]

34 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

We’re on the last day of our Bermuda cruise. I’m still not crazy about the new menus, but discovered Butter Chicken is pretty good!

 I’m posting the two required photos!

What did you do in Bermuda? I really like it there and would like to return.

[Ozark_Kid]

Has anyone seen this type of water bottle on cruises before? You snap the cap open instead of twist.  

 

It stays connected.   It was getting in the way while drinking until we learned to push it further and it locks back.

 

This was the 1st time we used a European plug adapter.   It sure did help!  The room had 2 US plugs and one European. 

 

We used this setup for the US plug.

 

Also, there was no plug-in by the bed.  I needed one for my CPAP like (Trilogy) machine.  So we did this trick which worked great.  It's magnetic hooks holding up our extention cord.

[Luckynana]

15 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Another old castle on our way to the next stop

 

Next stop- Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland

 

 

 

 

We hiked up the mountain and then down the mountain to get to…..

 

This

 

And this…Basalt Columns results of ancient volcanic fissure activity

 

 

 

Last look before we head out to Belfast, Ireland

 

Mother Earth is stunning!

 

 

14 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

 

This was in the morning before sunrise.  Parts for wind turbines  @Luckynana

 

 

Unfortunately, the work has begun in our town and Island Beach State Park near us, with the underground cables.  😢

Thank you for sharing your pictures, Helen!  Lovely!

[Luckynana]

3 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Palma de Mallorca today, our last port. We end the cruise in Barcelona tomorrow. But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Here are a few pictures from our ship excursion in France to the villages of Seillans and Feyonce. 

 

 

 

 

 

Two for @Ocean Boy, the first is the lighthouse at the port of Cannes. And of course the obligatory foot photo. 

 

 

It’s been a great cruise. I have quite a few pics from around the ship to share as well as my final thoughts on Celebrity vs RCI. Spoiler - it’s closer than I would’ve thought!  Probably won’t get to that post for a while as we plan to make the most of our two days in Barcelona.

 

 

Beautiful pictures, Debbie!  Enjoy your last day of your cruise, and your two days in Barcelona.  Don't forget to get a glass or two of some Sangria while relaxing on Las Ramblas!  Delicious!

[Luckynana]

@FromSea2ShiningSea  Interesting about Strawberry Fields, as well as the inspiration for Eleanor Rigby!  Thank you for that, Helen, along with more beautiful pictures!😉

[Luckynana]

2 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

We were in London in 2013 and had planned on taking a day and going out there but there was so much to do in London we just ran out of time.  One of the only regrets of that trip.

How many days do you suggest we stay in London, Dave?

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

London does have a way of taking up one's time. It is such a great city.

Seriously going to have to get there next year!  I'm thinking of including a trip to 
Venice, as well....especially after seeing Debbie's pictures, as well as Dani's when she visited and posted her photos!

[Luckynana]

1 hour ago, jagsfan said:

We’re on the last day of our Bermuda cruise. I’m still not crazy about the new menus, but discovered Butter Chicken is pretty good!

 I’m posting the two required photos!

How was your weather, Mimi?  Enjoy your last day!!

 

1 hour ago, Ozark_Kid said:

I wish I read this earlier.   Our cruise friend almost tried it.

I like salmon but never tried the chili-lime salmon on Mexican night.  I tried it last night and it is going back on my list to skip. It had good texture I guess a Mexican taste with salmon is not for me.

 

I didn't care for it either!  Nope!  Not at all!