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

[island lady]

4 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

That always is the dilemma. It really only work's when downsizing your home and/or moving to an  area where the cost of living is lower.

 

And the  converse is true, when prices are lower and the pickings a better, we'll get less for our home as well. Less buying power. Which again, is okay when downsizing or moving to a cheaper area.

 

We sold our previous home much cheaper than what same homes like it are going for now in that area (and in fact buyers flipped it and sold for higher price).   But on the same hand...we downsized to much smaller home, getting a really great deal on it.  

 

Now....houses on our street of the same layout and size are going for double what we paid for it. 

 

I guess it is all relative.   Sell a home for high price...buy one for high price.  Sell for low price...buy for low price.  Kind of equals out in most cases I guess.   

[George C]

24 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

That always is the dilemma. It really only work's when downsizing your home and/or moving to an  area where the cost of living is lower.

 

And the  converse is true, when prices are lower and the pickings a better, we'll get less for our home as well. Less buying power. Which again, is okay when downsizing or moving to a cheaper area.

Our last move was mostly because we wanted a one story house, actually got a house in next neighborhood that was almost 500 sq ft bigger for same price, my wife would like even a bigger house which I think is crazy . 

[Arzeena]

We are going on the Anthem Thanksgiving cruise on Sunday.

Did the test via E Med proctor. Tested negative. Now to pack!

[reallyitsmema]

Has anyone tried Amazon Key for their Prime deliveries?  We just had our new garage door opener installed yesterday and it has the My Q app that will allow us to have deliveries put in the garage with a one time code that the Amazon driver would get to open the door.  Not sure what I think about trying this but don't like packages hanging around outside as their are too many port pirates.  Would love to hear anyone's positive and negative experiences using Amazon Key. 

[grapau27]

56 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

We are going on the Anthem Thanksgiving cruise on Sunday.

Did the test via E Med proctor. Tested negative. Now to pack!

Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

Graham.

[Arzeena]

25 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

Has anyone tried Amazon Key for their Prime deliveries?  We just had our new garage door opener installed yesterday and it has the My Q app that will allow us to have deliveries put in the garage with a one time code that the Amazon driver would get to open the door.  Not sure what I think about trying this but don't like packages hanging around outside as their are too many port pirates.  Would love to hear anyone's positive and negative experiences using Amazon Key. 

I heard about it too. But not something I would be comfortable with at all.

My neighbors are spies! LOL😁so the packages are safe here.

Edited November 19, 2021 by Arzeena

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, Arzeena said:

 

Did the test via E Med proctor. Tested negative. Now to pack!

Isn't that a great feeling? Bon Voyage and have a great trip.

[reallyitsmema]

5 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

I heard about it too. But not something I would be comfortable with at all.

My neighbors are spies! LOL😁so the packages are safe here.

 

I am not sure I am comfortable with it either.  The opener has a camera and the app can alert when the door is opened and we could close the door if they didn't, but I still am hesitant.  The inner door to the house would be kept locked, but we still have stuff in the garage to consider, lawnmower, snowblower, golf clubs, tools, etc.  We are going to setup the app and stuff this weekend but the tag hanging from it with the Amazon Key logo caught my eye. 🙂 

[Ozark_Kid]

23 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

I heard about it too. But not something I would be comfortable with at all.

My neighbors are spies! LOL😁so the packages are safe here.

We have a neighbor a couple houses down who keeps an eye out.  Last week a box was delivered to a house between us.  They were gone for the week so he decided it would be best to push the box out of sight on the porch.  As he was doing it he noticed the box was delivered to the wrong house.  It was something Sharon ordered!  He is a great neighbor.  We let him know when we will be out of town.  He has even watered my garden without me asking at times we have been gone and it hasn’t rained.

[Luckynana]

12 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Just got an email from Ken that it was cancelled. I'm heartbroken. On the plus side we switched now to the Bella cruise.  I am excited to meet everyone.

Yay Greg!!!!!! I was so hoping that you would be joining us on the Bella cruise!😊

[island lady]

Our neighbor two doors down makes a side income from watching homes while seasonals are away.  He does the same for us when we are gone, all times of the year.  He does a great job, has a key, comes in to check the house inside (flush toilets, check to be sure A/C is running, everything OK).  Plus he waters the plants, pulls weeds, etc. to the outside. 

 

He has brought packages in when Amazon delivers my orders too early as well. And when one of our smoke alarms was going off (dead battery) he replaced that as well.  

Keeps in contact with us through text.  

 

All this for 10 bucks a week...sheezz...cheap.  Of course we tip him heavy and bring him bottles of his favorite adult beverages.  😉 

[Luckynana]

2 hours ago, Arzeena said:

We are going on the Anthem Thanksgiving cruise on Sunday.

Did the test via E Med proctor. Tested negative. Now to pack!

Great news!  Have a wonderful time on your Thanksgiving cruise, Arzeena!

[Momof3gurlz]

3 hours ago, Arzeena said:

We are going on the Anthem Thanksgiving cruise on Sunday.

Did the test via E Med proctor. Tested negative. Now to pack!

Hope you have a wonderful cruise!

[Sheal]

14 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Thank you so much!  I slunk back!!

I don't know what IRL is??

My "like" and "thanks" buttons don't seem to work or I would have used them to acknowledge your post.

Probably cc’s fault.  Every time it happens to me it is because I was kicked out by cc.

[Momof3gurlz]

Related to the recent talk about Social Security, I have to make my Medicare choices before March.  All the options are kind of overwhelming. 
We both have “lifetime” medical, dental, prescription & eye care under the company we both retired from, although we do pay about 20% of the cost.  Since I’m turning 65 in March, I’ll move to Medicare and any supplements I choose, with my former company providing an annual allowance towards the costs.  DH (younger than me) will remain under the company plan until he turns 65, but what we contribute for him will be reduced since it’ll be him only instead of a 2 person plan.  I have no idea if this will cost us more overall or result in a savings. I know there are advisers who specialize in helping you make choices, but I worry they may just be trying to sell me.  I’m going to reach out to our former employer to see if they offer any service to help me make the right decisions. 
Question for those of you currently on Medicare - do you have to pay for services out of pocket and submit for reimbursement?  Or does it work like BCBS, where the provider just bills you for anything owed after they’re paid by Medicare?

Edited November 19, 2021 by Momof3gurlz

[BonTexasNY]

31 minutes ago, Sheal said:

Probably cc’s fault.  Every time it happens to me it is because I was kicked out by cc.

I was quick to whine blame CC.  After I sent my post, my "like" hits appeared.

[BonTexasNY]

48 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Related to the recent talk about Social Security, I have to make my Medicare choices before March.  All the options are kind of overwhelming. 
We both have “lifetime” medical, dental, prescription & eye care under the company we both retired from, although we do pay about 20% of the cost.  Since I’m turning 65 in March, I’ll move to Medicare and any supplements I choose, with my former company providing an annual allowance towards the costs.  DH (younger than me) will remain under the company plan until he turns 65, but what we contribute for him will be reduced since it’ll be him only instead of a 2 person plan.  I have no idea if this will cost us more overall or result in a savings. I know there are advisers who specialize in helping you make choices, but I worry they may just be trying to sell me.  I’m going to reach out to our former employer to see if they offer any service to help me make the right decisions. 
Question for those of you currently on Medicare - do you have to pay for services out of pocket and submit for reimbursement?  Or does it work like BCBS, where the provider just bills you for anything owed after they’re paid by Medicare?

We have regular Medicare, United Healthcare supplement and a separate Part D drug plan.  I never had to pay anything up front and be reimbursed.  Claims are always sent directly to Medicare which pays 80% and my supplement pays the remaining 20%. 

I had an independent insurance agent come to our house when we were ready to enroll.  He never pushed any one plan but compared all of the plans for Jack and I to choose. 

 

He was able to compare drug costs, premiums, benefits.  We didn't have to check if our doctors were in network because with regular Medicare  NOT an Advantage Plan,  we can use any doctor, medical facility that accepts Medicare as payment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2021 by BonTexasNY

[Coralc]

7 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Dani the curios... which level are you "closing in"? 😉

 

Pinnacle. Except now we are far behind again. 

Edited November 19, 2021 by Coralc

[h20skibum]

54 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Question for those of you currently on Medicare

We have the same type of plans as @BonTexasNY.  We stuck with original Medicare because we travel a lot.  There are a number of advisors, and they should be able to explain the plans to find one that fits what you need.

 

 I have had to change my Part D drug plan every year so far, because they may drop coverage for certain drugs.  At least it is easy to find the lowest cost drug plans on the Medicare site.  You just enter the drugs you take, and it will list the lowest cost plans for drugs. 

[HBE4]

31 minutes ago, BonTexasNY said:

I was quick to whine blame CC.  After I sent my post, my "like" hits appeared.

 

It was CC's fault. I've had on-and-off issues with the "like" button as well. I'd click to like & nothing would happen for a minute or so...and the "laugh" & "thanks" options wouldn't appear. Then a minute later, they would.

[Ozark_Kid]

1 hour ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Related to the recent talk about Social Security, I have to make my Medicare choices before March.  All the options are kind of overwhelming. 
We both have “lifetime” medical, dental, prescription & eye care under the company we both retired from, although we do pay about 20% of the cost.  Since I’m turning 65 in March, I’ll move to Medicare and any supplements I choose, with my former company providing an annual allowance towards the costs.  DH (younger than me) will remain under the company plan until he turns 65, but what we contribute for him will be reduced since it’ll be him only instead of a 2 person plan.  I have no idea if this will cost us more overall or result in a savings. I know there are advisers who specialize in helping you make choices, but I worry they may just be trying to sell me.  I’m going to reach out to our former employer to see if they offer any service to help me make the right decisions. 
Question for those of you currently on Medicare - do you have to pay for services out of pocket and submit for reimbursement?  Or does it work like BCBS, where the provider just bills you for anything owed after they’re paid by Medicare?

I had to go through this last March when I turned 65.  I understand how frustrating it can be.  Although I still pay a discounted insurance premium, We are still able to use my former employer insurance.  The cost dropped when I turned 65 and will drop again when Sharon turns 65.  It is a BCBS plan.  What helped me is I called the ones that handles that plan and they helped explain what Medicare would cover and what they would cover.  We ended up not needing any additional coverage.  We have had no problems with the coverage so far.  All has been covered as good and at least one occasion better.  Good luck.

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Related to the recent talk about Social Security, I have to make my Medicare choices before March.  All the options are kind of overwhelming. 
We both have “lifetime” medical, dental, prescription & eye care under the company we both retired from, although we do pay about 20% of the cost.  Since I’m turning 65 in March, I’ll move to Medicare and any supplements I choose, with my former company providing an annual allowance towards the costs.  DH (younger than me) will remain under the company plan until he turns 65, but what we contribute for him will be reduced since it’ll be him only instead of a 2 person plan.  I have no idea if this will cost us more overall or result in a savings. I know there are advisers who specialize in helping you make choices, but I worry they may just be trying to sell me.  I’m going to reach out to our former employer to see if they offer any service to help me make the right decisions. 
Question for those of you currently on Medicare - do you have to pay for services out of pocket and submit for reimbursement?  Or does it work like BCBS, where the provider just bills you for anything owed after they’re paid by Medicare?

I have had free health insurance since 1972,medical,hospitalization,dental,drugs,ambulance with no co pays.

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Yay Greg!!!!!! I was so hoping that you would be joining us on the Bella cruise!😊

 

Thanks Maryann looking forward to meeting you and Jim.

 

1 hour ago, Coralc said:

Pinnacle. Except now we are far behind again. 

 

Patti did you see where they cancelled our cruise on Jewell to Tortola? I am bummed but switched over to the Bella cruise.

[bobmacliberty]

I've been off CC for a few days while we visited Key West.  I tried posting once but had problems posting from my phone and just decided to wait until getting home.  I'm now caught up with this thread.  I'll make a few posts about Key West...sort of like a mini review...but have a few other things to get done first.  I'll just summarize by saying happy that we went, had a good time, may or may not go again (one and done?), absolutely will NEVER drive there again.

Edited November 19, 2021 by bobmacliberty

[OnTheJourney]

22 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

absolutely will NEVER drive there again.

How come? Did you go across the Keys?   Doing so was one of my favorite road trips. 

Edited November 19, 2021 by OnTheJourney