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

[helen haywood]

Oh, all of us wanted Martha the Marvelous…silly me, after the crazy pet sitter experience I thought it would be good to have more than one sitter…. Next cruise is already on Martha’s schedule.  Now to placate Minnie when I get home…

[xpcdoojk]

18 hours ago, sgmn said:

Ive just bought an air  fryer

 I have no idea how to use it  I'm so out of my comfort zone with it.

Anyone use it for stew/casserole/pies with mash? Or is it just for pices of meat like Chops, steak, chicken etc 

 

Fries, chips, are the best healthy version.  It does really well making buffalo chicken wings, although my DW prefers Asian wings, so usually made with a sweet chili or teriyaki sauce.  

 

It is ok for coconut shrimp.  Deep fryer wins but it is a healthier option.  

 

It is best to replicate frying without the large amount of oil.  So, use it for things that are fried.  Hence the name air fryer. 

 

It can do other things, but those are its sweet spot.  

[Sea Dog]

2 hours ago, George C said:

Christmas tree is up

 

Beautiful. We have some of those blow up ornaments. He ent blown them up yet. Need the right attachment.

 

 

2 hours ago, George C said:

But I preferred last years tree with Joebob under it

 

 I’m so sorry that must be hard.

[BonTexasNY]

11 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Well when it rains it pours. Seems like there is always something going on with Linda and I’s physical ailments.

 

So Linda just got her MRI back on her shoulder that’s been hurting ever since after her hand surgery. She has a torn rotator cuff and a torn labrum tear. Most likely from using her non dominant arm after the surgery and doing some heavy lifting. If she has surgery right after Christmas it might take a good 6 months to rehab and would mean we might  have to cancel our April 1st Celebrity Beyond sailing.

 

Then my surgical knee is doing well but I now gave numbness and a burning sensation in my non surgical leg in the thigh area. At first I thought it might be due to the spinal block they did but now it’s been 3 weeks and I’m still having issues with it.

 

To make matters worse my groin pain is not any better and I see my doctor on Monday but now I suspect that I have a inguinal hernia. Which would be another surgery to correct that. Hopefully we can schedule everything without minimal interruption to our cruising but I’m now worried we might have to cancel Beyond.

Greg, I'm so sorry to read this.  As the saying goes, don't borrow trouble.  Hoping all goes well for you and Linda so that you can keep on cruising.  

[George C]

33 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Beautiful. We have some of those blow up ornaments. He ent blown them up yet. Need the right attachment.

 

 

 I’m so sorry that must be hard.

Thanks Greg, Shelagh just blew them up today , we had 16 good years with Joebob and will definitely get another pair of cats . My best wishes to you and your wife hopefully you will be cruising soon .

[Coralc]

4 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

Fries, chips, are the best healthy version.  It does really well making buffalo chicken wings, although my DW prefers Asian wings, so usually made with a sweet chili or teriyaki sauce.  

 

It is ok for coconut shrimp.  Deep fryer wins but it is a healthier option.  

 

It is best to replicate frying without the large amount of oil.  So, use it for things that are fried.  Hence the name air fryer. 

 

It can do other things, but those are its sweet spot.  

Okay that settles it. We are having Tempura Shrimp Saturday night. Benihana recipe: 1/2 cup water, 1 egg. I/2 cup flour fluffed, but not sifted. Whisk egg and add water. Add flour, whisk 4-5 time. Lumpy is fine. That is actually how it is written. Mixture should be kept cold. 

We use #51-60 bags of shrimp. Butterflied, shelled and deveined. About 40 for the 2 of us. Cookie sheet with newspaper and a paper towel (so they are dry) Batter should be cold, shrimp closer to room temp. We have a Fry Baby, that only uses about a cup of oil. Small batches 2 minutes with tempura sauce, lemon juice or your favorite dipper. 

Best! Fluffy Tempura Shrimp ever! They are so good, and we don't have them that often. The hardest part is the shrimp preparation. 

 

And you can't do them in an Air Fryer, because of the batter. 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Coralc

[sgmn]

18 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

 

Sue, I hit the wrong key and the space for me to respond to your post went in cyber space.  What I wanted to post was that I do use my air fryer on occasion for burgers, chicken, fries. I use my slow cooker for stews, casseroles.

Thank you Bonnie. I did marinated salmon yesterday with potato chunks and veg. It was fine, though the potatoes weren't quite as good as in the oven. The sugar snap peas weren't quite cooked. May need to up the cooking temperature. Learning curve I guess 

Trying roast chicken and roast potatoes and veg tonight 

Edited November 25, 2023 by sgmn

[sgmn]

17 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Well when it rains it pours. Seems like there is always something going on with Linda and I’s physical ailments.

 

So Linda just got her MRI back on her shoulder that’s been hurting ever since after her hand surgery. She has a torn rotator cuff and a torn labrum tear. Most likely from using her non dominant arm after the surgery and doing some heavy lifting. If she has surgery right after Christmas it might take a good 6 months to rehab and would mean we might  have to cancel our April 1st Celebrity Beyond sailing.

 

Then my surgical knee is doing well but I now gave numbness and a burning sensation in my non surgical leg in the thigh area. At first I thought it might be due to the spinal block they did but now it’s been 3 weeks and I’m still having issues with it.

 

To make matters worse my groin pain is not any better and I see my doctor on Monday but now I suspect that I have a inguinal hernia. Which would be another surgery to correct that. Hopefully we can schedule everything without minimal interruption to our cruising but I’m now worried we might have to cancel Beyond.

So sorry to hear Greg about all Linda's and yours medical issues. Hope the Dr's can come up with a plan to get you both fighting fit soon 💪 

[Arzeena]

16 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Thank you,Bonnie!  Thank you for your kind words also, Marietta @DaniDanielle, Dani, @dani negreanu, Debbie @Sunshine3601, Deb @Momof3gurlz,aussie @aussielozzie18 hopefully I didn't leave anyone out.   The girls are our two oldest granddaughters, the oldest in the dark jeans.  I don't know where our oldest grandson was for pictures🤔  We had a lovely dinner at our oldest daughter's home, with 5 of our 7 grandchildren.

The picture with the grand children is absolutely lovely! 🥰

[Arzeena]

4 hours ago, Coralc said:

Okay that settles it. We are having Tempura Shrimp Saturday night. Benihana recipe: 1/2 cup water, 1 egg. I/2 cup flour fluffed, but not sifted. Whisk egg and add water. Add flour, whisk 4-5 time. Lumpy is fine. That is actually how it is written. Mixture should be kept cold. 

We use #51-60 bags of shrimp. Butterflied, shelled and deveined. About 40 for the 2 of us. Cookie sheet with newspaper and a paper towel (so they are dry) Batter should be cold, shrimp closer to room temp. We have a Fry Baby, that only uses about a cup of oil. Small batches 2 minutes with tempura sauce, lemon juice or your favorite dipper. 

Best! Fluffy Tempura Shrimp ever! They are so good, and we don't have them that often. The hardest part is the shrimp preparation. 

 

And you can't do them in an Air Fryer, because of the batter. 

I love the word "Fry Baby".😁

Will try your recipe. I love tempura anything.

[Arzeena]

Today we are in Tobago. First time at this port. We are going with a ship excursion that has a meeting time of 10.30 am and not at the crack of dawn. Will post pictures later.

[Arzeena]

[Arzeena]

[Arzeena]

[molly361]

[maggieq]

56 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

Lovely, what ship are you on?

[h20skibum]

 I swear, if we keep saving money with all the deals, we will be broke!😳

 

I did manage to get the limit of five, $500 dollar Southwest gift cards before they sold out.  That should get the seven of us to Florida and back, for our Utopia cruise in August.  
 

One good deal that was out there yesterday was one of our gas stations reduced their price to $2.24 a gallon. Too bad only one vehicle needed gas, but it saved $22 on that fill up.

 

 

[Sea Dog]

I made sure to like all of your posts but I want to say thank you to everyone who made a comment about Linda and i’s health issues. Thank you so much for your care and concern. We are positive that things will get better it just sucks hurting during the holidays. I’ve been rehabbing like crazy with PT 3 times a week plus 5 fifteen minute sessions on the rom bike daily. As they say no pain no gain. But again thank you for your care and support it means everything to me.

[Arzeena]

1 hour ago, maggieq said:

Lovely, what ship are you on?

Celebrity Silhouette.

[maggieq]

1 minute ago, Arzeena said:

Celebrity Silhouette.

We are cruising on her for the first time in September 2024. Love the s class.  Have a fabulous time!

[Arzeena]

1 hour ago, maggieq said:

We are cruising on her for the first time in September 2024. Love the s class.  Have a fabulous time!

This ship is lovely, but I am very partial to the Equinox. Just a personal preference.

[Sunshine3601]

9 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Didn't want to make a new thread about this and get maybe some of Royal's WC cruisers upset. So thought I would post it here.

 

3 YEAR WORLD CRUISE CANCELLED

 

Really upsetting for some who booked this cruise because they sold their homes and all their belongings and since now the cruise is cancelled, have no where to go.

 

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/three-year-cruise-canceled/index.html

 

Most of the passengers are now stranded in Istanbul. 

 

They are suppose to get all their money back in installments, but I guess only time will tell how that goes.

That is horrible news for all those booked.  

And to top it off they will refund in monthly installments, that's wrong in so many ways.

I'm sure their phone lines are blowing up.  Wonder if they have anyone left to answer the phones.

[Arzeena]

[Arzeena]

[Arzeena]

Pigeon Point Beach