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

[lenquixote66]

My granddog who watches Survivor is statying with us this week.

I read the names of the 7 remaining and he did not react at all.Therefore,his prediction of the winner on the last show was just a fluke or a flounder.

[sgmn]

17 hours ago, George C said:

My wife has never called in sick in 35 years, she was feeling cold last couple of days on the ship , just came back from urgent care, she has Covid , so far I am fine , currently her symptoms are like a bad flu. 

Sorry to hear George, hope its mild  though it sounds quite bad.

My second bout in August I still have a cough, on antibiotics at mo to try and clear it up but no luck so far 

[sgmn]

17 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Speaking of elves, while we were gone Wednesday evening someone dropped off a bucket of goodies on our porch!  The bucket said on the side, You've been effed.  I pulled up my Ring to figure out who dropped it off but no video!  I rarely turn it off but Sharon was earlier out front putting Christmas lights up and I turned off the Ring and forgot to turn it back on!  😆 

What a lovely thing to do, sounds like you've got some lovely neighbours/friends 👍 

[sgmn]

11 hours ago, CSHS1979 said:

Looking forward to hearing all about the WC Laura . So exciting 

[sgmn]

8 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Andrew, believe me when I say that you definitely do not want to get Shingles!!!   Jim and I had reservations for a hotel in Boston in the month of February, and just days before, I wound up with Shingles.  It was so very painful.  By the time I had gotten to the doctor, my rash was full blown and burned like the dickens.  I was put on several medications, so much so that I made a chart and would check off each time I took one of them.  We still decided to go to Boston,  Here I was, walking around the snow-covered sidewalks, in pain with every step.  

Needless to say, I got the shot afterwards.  At the time, there was only one shot.  Once the Shingrex came out, I then made sure to get the two shots of Shingrex.  

Most of my friends and family made sure they got the shots after what I went through.  I wouldn't wish Shingles on my worst enemy.

We don't get it on the NHS until 70, though they are lowering that to 65. I could pay privately but I think it around £500

[sgmn]

In the middle of watching The Stranger on Netflix, really good mini series, would recommend 

[aussielozzie18]

The Advent Calendar that I bought my dad.  I haven’t bought one before.  A mix of white wine, red wine, rose and Champagne.  The mini bottles are the perfect option for a solo diner. He is very much enjoying the variety.

 

 

[aussielozzie18]

Tuesday was our dept work Christmas party.  A very nice lunch followed by a Christmas themed trivia session - answer a question correctly and you got to choose one of the Kris Kringle gifts. My colleague was not confident that she would be able to answer the questions & asked if I could help her.  I was happy to whisper “Die Hard” when a particular question was asked  and she was delighted to be able to pick her prize 😀

 

Afterwards, I headed  into the city with a friend.  I had booked tickets for both of us to enjoy “A taste of Virgin Cruises” at the OPT on  board the Resilient Lady.

 

Sir Richard Branson would have been thrilled with the weather for the debut arrival of his ship in Sydney and for this night on board. It was a hot & sunny 40C 

 

On boarding we got dazzled up with face jewels , then had a nice key lime ice-cream each followed by a superb dinner at The Test Kitchen, then explored the ship and finished the night with dancing at the pool party. Free flowing drinks all night.  Fun evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pool with a large inflatable kraken before the crowd & dance crew arrived & dancing started

 

 

[Sunshine3601]

10 hours ago, derorim said:

Obviously, I don’t know how to recognize either a BMW or a Keurig.  I really thought it was this. 😂😛🙃

 

I did too

Edited December 6, 2023 by Sunshine3601

[Ocean Boy]

20 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Tuesday was our dept work Christmas party.  A very nice lunch followed by a Christmas themed trivia session - answer a question correctly and you got to choose one of the Kris Kringle gifts. My colleague was not confident that she would be able to answer the questions & asked if I could help her.  I was happy to whisper “Die Hard” when a particular question was asked  and she was delighted to be able to pick her prize 😀

 

Afterwards, I headed  into the city with a friend.  I had booked tickets for both of us to enjoy “A taste of Virgin Cruises” at the OPT on  board the Resilient Lady.

 

Sir Richard Branson would have been thrilled with the weather for the debut arrival of his ship in Sydney and for this night on board. It was a hot & sunny 40C 

 

On boarding we got dazzled up with face jewels , then had a nice key lime ice-cream each followed by a superb dinner at The Test Kitchen, then explored the ship and finished the night with dancing at the pool party. Free flowing drinks all night.  Fun evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pool with a large inflatable kraken before the crowd & dance crew arrived & dancing started

 

 

What did you think about the the ship in general? Anything unique that you haven't seen on a ship before? Did the visit make you feel like you might like to try a cruise with them?

[Ocean Boy]

14 hours ago, George C said:

 Neither of us had Covid in the past. 

That you know about....

[brillohead]

14 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

I’m seriously contemplating getting the shingles vaccine as I know a few that have had it and I’d rather not get it. 

 

I had a pharmacist who looked over my vaccine records and tried to talk me into getting the shingles shot.  I stopped him in his tracks when I told him I couldn't get shingles because I'd never had chicken pox!

I'm probably one of the only people in this thread who never got the pox as a child.  It had gone around our neighborhood before I was adopted, and I never did get exposed after that. 

I had asked my PCP for the chicken pox vaccine, and he didn't believe that I'd never had the pox as a child -- he said I'd probably had a mild case and didn't know it.  So he had my blood drawn to check my titers and lo and behold, I hadn't ever been exposed to chicken pox. Then before I could get the vaccine, I was potentially exposed at my son's school!!! 

 

Here I had been trying to be proactive and get the vaccine, and then I spent a day volunteering in my son's kindergarten classroom and two days later found out that someone in the class had chicken pox that week.  I then had to scramble to get the first dose of the vaccine on a Friday afternoon -- I got VERY lucky. 

I watched my grandmother suffer with shingles for years, so I'm very glad that it's something that I don't have to worry about dealing with.

[Ocean Boy]

10 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Cute.  Love John's shirt.  Sad he cannot do a live review on CC.😥

It is sad that he can't do a live thread on CC. It is a great loss for all of us and everyone else on this site.

[d9704011]

9 minutes ago, brillohead said:

 

I had a pharmacist who looked over my vaccine records and tried to talk me into getting the shingles shot.  I stopped him in his tracks when I told him I couldn't get shingles because I'd never had chicken pox!

I'm probably one of the only people in this thread who never got the pox as a child.  It had gone around our neighborhood before I was adopted, and I never did get exposed after that. 

I had asked my PCP for the chicken pox vaccine, and he didn't believe that I'd never had the pox as a child -- he said I'd probably had a mild case and didn't know it.  So he had my blood drawn to check my titers and lo and behold, I hadn't ever been exposed to chicken pox. Then before I could get the vaccine, I was potentially exposed at my son's school!!! 

 

Here I had been trying to be proactive and get the vaccine, and then I spent a day volunteering in my son's kindergarten classroom and two days later found out that someone in the class had chicken pox that week.  I then had to scramble to get the first dose of the vaccine on a Friday afternoon -- I got VERY lucky. 

I watched my grandmother suffer with shingles for years, so I'm very glad that it's something that I don't have to worry about dealing with.

The CDC recommends Shingrix for older adults whether they recall (or know) if they had chicken pox.  Believe it or not!

[Sunshine3601]

8 hours ago, Coralc said:

Retirees are invited to the holiday party and elephant gift exchange on Monday. I bought this, on sale, $22.99: 

Echo Dot (5th Gen, 2022 release) | With bigger vibrant sound, helpful routines and Alexa | Deep Sea Blue

https://www.amazon.com/All-New-release-Smart-speaker-Charcoal/dp/B09B93ZDG4/ref=cs_sr_dp_2?crid=GHE3P7QDWW9K&keywords=echo+dot&qid=1701831476&sprefix=echo+dot%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-1

 

The luncheon is at the Cheesecake Factory this year. Ours is not exactly a White Elephant gift exchange, because there is stealing involved. So, we try to purchase things that others will like. Personally...I like chocolates and those large Ferrero Rocher gift packs for a small after dinner dessert. But CA likes tech. People who already have an Echo may want another and people that don't, may want to try one. We love our Google mini. ☺️

Great idea at a great price too!   I just put in my Amazon cart.   Thank you. We will have stealing when we do our White Elephant at our holiday luncheon next week.  

 

Have fun and enjoy your luncheon on Monday.  😊 That's nice they invite the retirees too

 

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, sgmn said:

We don't get it on the NHS until 70, though they are lowering that to 65. I could pay privately but I think it around £500

It would be interesting to know how they came up with 70 as a cut off age. I would say that the vast majority of shingles cases that I've treated have been in people younger than that.

[d9704011]

3 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

It would be interesting to know how they came up with 70 as a cut off age. I would say that the vast majority of shingles cases that I've treated have been in people younger than that.

In Ontario, Shingrix vaccination is covered by the public health plan for people aged 65 to 70.  Otherwise, you can pay and it costs about 200 CAD.

[Ocean Boy]

9 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

The CDC recommends Shingrix for older adults whether they recall (or know) if they had chicken pox.  Believe it or not!

The problem with the CDC is that they tend to cook book recommendations rather than taylor medical care to the individual. I take issue with many of their recommendations.... believe it or not. The way I see it, you had better be pretty sure about what you are doing when you suggest to someone that they put a foreign substance into their body. Those conversations take up a lot of my office time. The easy, and short, answer would simply be the CDC says do it. I view that as a disservice to the people I take care of.

[aussielozzie18]

5 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

What did you think about the the ship in general? Anything unique that you haven't seen on a ship before? Did the visit make you feel like you might like to try a cruise with them?

Because my daughter used to work casually for Virgin gyms whilst studying, this ship has been on my radar since it was announced it was coming to Australia.  We were surprised last night not to be offered a tour or any specific presentation about the ship.  We could just wander at our leisure before & after dinner (I suspect those extras were reserved for the TAs, media & influencers) so I can’t state with any authority the points of difference apart from a tattoo parlour, carousel horses, wifi and exercise classes included and no buffet.  What impressed us was the food, the service, the many dining options on board and the fun atmosphere created in the evening by the young energetic crew.  Cabins - we only managed see inside two Sea Terrace Cabins - the ones with the verandas that have the red hammock.  The bathrooms are very small.  Modern but squeezy.  Rooms modern & bright but only have a chair (not a sofa) from what we could see.

 

Intrigued enough to have booked a cruise last night.  Unfortunately the booking is a complete mess and I am yet to be able to reach Virgin to fix….

[h20skibum]

4 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

The problem with the CDC is that they tend to cook book recommendations rather than taylor medical care to the individual.

That same thing could be said of Royal Caribbean and their age policy on certain excursions.  Not everyone, 70 or older is the same.  Some of us could run rings around people 20 years younger.

[A&L_Ont]

34 minutes ago, brillohead said:

 

I had a pharmacist who looked over my vaccine records and tried to talk me into getting the shingles shot.  I stopped him in his tracks when I told him I couldn't get shingles because I'd never had chicken pox!

I'm probably one of the only people in this thread who never got the pox as a child.  It had gone around our neighborhood before I was adopted, and I never did get exposed after that. 

I had asked my PCP for the chicken pox vaccine, and he didn't believe that I'd never had the pox as a child -- he said I'd probably had a mild case and didn't know it.  So he had my blood drawn to check my titers and lo and behold, I hadn't ever been exposed to chicken pox. Then before I could get the vaccine, I was potentially exposed at my son's school!!! 

 

Here I had been trying to be proactive and get the vaccine, and then I spent a day volunteering in my son's kindergarten classroom and two days later found out that someone in the class had chicken pox that week.  I then had to scramble to get the first dose of the vaccine on a Friday afternoon -- I got VERY lucky. 

I watched my grandmother suffer with shingles for years, so I'm very glad that it's something that I don't have to worry about dealing with.

 

Sounds like you got very lucky.  I definitely had the chicken pox so I don’t want to get caught. 

 

[A&L_Ont]

22 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

In Ontario, Shingrix vaccination is covered by the public health plan for people aged 65 to 70.  Otherwise, you can pay and it costs about 200 CAD.

I know 2 people here in Ontario, just over 50, who have had it this year on top of others who were older when they got it. My medical plan covers it so in the new year, after we return from Mexico, I’m going to chat with my family doctor about it. Even if it didn’t I’d pay the funds to avoid getting it. 

Edited December 6, 2023 by A&L_Ont

[Ocean Boy]

4 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

That same thing could be said of Royal Caribbean and their age policy on certain excursions.  Not everyone, 70 or older is the same.  Some of us could run rings around people 20 years younger.

I completely agree. Age is nothing more than a number. 

[aussielozzie18]

16 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

The problem with the CDC is that they tend to cook book recommendations rather than taylor medical care to the individual. I take issue with many of their recommendations.... believe it or not. The way I see it, you had better be pretty sure about what you are doing when you suggest to someone that they put a foreign substance into their body. Those conversations take up a lot of my office time. The easy, and short, answer would simply be the CDC says do it. I view that as a disservice to the people I take care of.

Couldn’t help but notice your freudian slip here - you typed Taylor instead of tailor…

[Ocean Boy]

2 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Couldn’t help but notice your freudian slip here - you typed Taylor instead of tailor…

She is just always on my mind.....😑