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

[A&L_Ont]

12 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I have a final payment due next week for a January cruise and I'm also struggling with whether or not to pull the plug. I have a good price on it and have not had a vacation in two years now. The right side of my brain says go and the left side says I'm crazy to even consider going.

I know exactly where you are coming from. Just the restrictions to “get” home are enough for us. Hopefully in a month’s time the lag of the new variant will be well known, and things go back to normal. 
 

That being said we have almost 5K from many cancelled sailings in FCC on this sailing.  I just don’t want to put out the rest for the RLS on Oasis. It’s too much of my funds sitting with them for our next potential cruise in March of 2023.

[Keksie]

8 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

Took me a minute to spot it. Hopefully that fence is electrified. 🤞

 

No but he stayed busy eating my neighbor's guinea hens and my other neighbor's chickens.  They didn't put their hens in for the night.  While we were visiting our new house in Florida the house sitter didn't put my hens in their night pen before dark and he broke in and got 4 of my hens.  

[Keksie]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

I have a final payment due next week for a January cruise and I'm also struggling with whether or not to pull the plug. I have a good price on it and have not had a vacation in two years now. The right side of my brain says go and the left side says I'm crazy to even consider going.

Just come down to a beautiful Florida beach location.  No tests, no masks (if you pick the right area), further south then my area will be warm and the beaches will be nice. 

[Momof3gurlz]

@dani negreanuYour pictures of Nazareth are beautiful, thank you for sharing them.  

@Sea Dog Lizzy is just adorable!  Such a sweet face.  She’s also one lucky puppy to be going home with you very soon.  
 

@Ozark_Kid Your deck project looks great! I especially love the screened in area.  Also those grandkids are so darn cute!  

Does anyone else feel like they’re forever catching up on this thread, LOL?!  I’m sure I missed some I wanted to comment to, but I am reading and liking/laughing at most.  

[bobmacliberty]

15 hours ago, Arzeena said:

I googled Paula Deen's hot salad. I think I will love it! Will get ingredients tomorrow.

 

I just found the recipe online also and it looks delicious.  I think it's a counterfeit Paula Deen recipe though...no butter! 😉

[bobmacliberty]

14 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

WARNING THIS VIDEO HAS GRAPHIC CUTENESS !!!!!!!

 

 

Today we got to visit our new puppy Elizabeth "Lizzy" before we get to take possession of her on the the 26th. She is so sweet and so lovable I got teary eyed when we left. She is so adorable. We gave her a blanket and Christmas moose play toy with our scents on it for her to get used to us. She was shaking the moose all over and was hilarious. We had so much fun it was hard to leave. I shot some video of her other brothers in the litter. They are all spoken for except for one. People come from all over the country for this breeders dogs. We are so happy she lives close to us. Enjoy!

 

That little tail was seriously working overtime.  She looks so excited to go home with you.  And those eyes...

[bobmacliberty]

11 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Kenzie the driver is loving the Christmas spirit.  

 

Our family tradition is the 12 days of Christmas.  We share small gifts the 11 days before Christmas and a bigger one Christmas. Kenzie opened her first day gift then went under the tree and grab another! 😂 

 

I just had to share a pic of her cousin Lottie.  This is her getting her hair washed today.

 

And this is a video of Millie opening a 12 day gift.

 

 

 

Kenzie and Lottie are going to break some hearts when they get older.  Very cute!

[Ocean Boy]

27 minutes ago, Keksie said:

No but he stayed busy eating my neighbor's guinea hens and my other neighbor's chickens.  They didn't put their hens in for the night.  While we were visiting our new house in Florida the house sitter didn't put my hens in their night pen before dark and he broke in and got 4 of my hens.  

Sorry about that. I have always felt a bit uneasy any time I've left pets while I'm away. I just don't trust anyone else with their care as much as I trust myself.

[dani negreanu]

1 hour ago, Keksie said:

While we were visiting our new house in Florida the house sitter didn't put my hens in their night pen before dark and he broke in and got 4 of my hens.  

 

29 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Sorry about that. 

 

+ 2 😢

[TravelGirlinDallas]

15 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

WARNING THIS VIDEO HAS GRAPHIC CUTENESS !!!!!!!

SO sweet! Thanks for sharing; Lizzy brightened my morning. ❤️

[TravelGirlinDallas]

14 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

My cats have been indoor only. If they are  brought up that way they are ok with it. Looking out of a window seems to have suited them fine.

Mine, as well...  except our new girl, who keeps trying to escape anytime someone opens a door. We adopted her from a rescue a month ago. She seems to be happy here with us, but every time she tries to escape outside, I worry that she's looking for her "other family" who surrendered her to the shelter. They had a 10yo child (according to the form they filled out when they left her there), and I often think about both the child and our new kitty missing each other. 😭 We are trying to give her lots of extra love to help her feel better. 

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, h20skibum said:

 

My Pennsylvania grandkids have been doing artwork calendars, and I hope we get a new one from them for next year. 

 

 

 

 

That is some really great artwork from your grandkids. Someone has huge artistic talent.

 

3 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I have a final payment due next week for a January cruise and I'm also struggling with whether or not to pull the plug. I have a good price on it and have not had a vacation in two years now. The right side of my brain says go and the left side says I'm crazy to even consider going.

 

I say go. There is no perfect time. Enjoy it while the crowds will hopefully be down. The safety protocols on board are working good. It is a chance to get away after being cooped up at home for a year and half. Spoil yourself. You deserve it.

 

 

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

That little tail was seriously working overtime.  She looks so excited to go home with you.  And those eyes...

 

Reminded me of little windshield washers. Cracked me up.

 

[BonTexasNY]

@Sunshine3601I just watched a Mark Wiens youtube review of NJ eateries and thought of you.  Long Beach Island comes on approx. 8 mins. into the video,

 

 

 

[h20skibum]

3 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I have a final payment due next week for a January cruise and I'm also struggling with whether or not to pull the plug. I have a good price on it and have not had a vacation in two years now. The right side of my brain says go and the left side says I'm crazy to even consider going.

We haven’t even considered cancelling ours in January.  I feel safer on the cruise ship than I do in our grocery store.  Based on our experience in October on Odyssey, I say go.

 

3 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

I know exactly where you are coming from. Just the restrictions to “get” home are enough for us. Hopefully in a month’s time the lag of the new variant will be well known, and things go back to normal. 
 

That being said we have almost 5K from many cancelled sailings in FCC on this sailing.  I just don’t want to put out the rest for the RLS on Oasis. It’s too much of my funds sitting with them for our next potential cruise in March of 2023.

I know Canada has more restrictions than we do here in the states.  Now that Canada came out with an advisory to not travel on cruise ships outside of Canada, it may give me pause if I lived in Canada.

 

 

[mo&fran]

5 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

We haven’t even considered cancelling ours in January.  I feel safer on the cruise ship than I do in our grocery store.  Based on our experience in October on Odyssey, I say go.

 

I know Canada has more restrictions than we do here in the states.  Now that Canada came out with an advisory to not travel on cruise ships outside of Canada, it may give me pause if I lived in Canada.

 

 

I think the big issue is flying to the port.  I do think that the ships are safe, although I wonder about the situation on Explorer  with some crew testing positive.

[jagsfan]

11 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

Winds have calmed down some. 

 

 

They beat the host team tonight. They are first place and play the last place team on Saturday at noon. Do or die from this game on. 

 

We have final payment in January for March.  We are ready to pull the plug, but wait with little optimism.  This latest wave is just a cluster F.  Photos of Lizzy will make it better though. 

 

Took me a minute to spot it. Hopefully that fence is electrified. 🤞

 

And paper work too. Nice they take a break to relax. 😁😉

Owen is making such memories of his growing up years. I wish we could all be there to cheer him and his team on!

[jagsfan]

4 hours ago, h20skibum said:

One of our favorite Christmas presents arrived yesterday, from our son in California.  Every year, they have sent us a photo calendar, and we always enjoyed seeing new photos each month. 

 

We didn’t get one in 2020, because they were in “lockdown”, so they weren’t taking photos.  Typically, each month had a theme for activities occurring during the month. 

 

This year, they have still been working from home, so many of the pictures in the calendar are ones we sent to them from our “summer of fun with our grandson”.  So it is summer every month, and we will be reliving those moments with each turn of the calendar. 

 

 

My Pennsylvania grandkids have been doing artwork calendars, and I hope we get a new one from them for next year. 

 

 

Our Christmas celebration will be this Saturday at our house.  Our Pennsylvania grandkids will be opening all those presents under our tree. 

 

What a great idea! It’s like Christmas again every month!

[jagsfan]

2 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

I just found the recipe online also and it looks delicious.  I think it's a counterfeit Paula Deen recipe though...no butter! 😉

It is really rich, though. 

[helen haywood]

Here’s the top of the windows on the landing.  Not enough sunshine right now but you get the idea…

 

[h20skibum]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

That is some really great artwork from your grandkids. Someone has huge artistic talent.

My granddaughter would have been 5 when she drew that one.
 

The grandkids love to draw, and we display their drawings all along the chair rail in our dining room.  They love to have drawing competitions when they are here. The “judge” picks a scene or subject, and everyone has to draw it within 10 minutes. We get some interesting drawings, especially when Susan and I draw. 😂😂

 

We do have a few pieces of their artwork on nightlights and potholders. 

 

 

 

 

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, BonTexasNY said:

@Sunshine3601I just watched a Mark Wiens youtube review of NJ eateries and thought of you.  Long Beach Island comes on approx. 8 mins. into the video,

 

 

 

In 1972 Toby and I celebrated having our very first car by driving in NJ stopping in as many towns as possible to sample the foods of the state.

We were to none of the restaurants in this video but were nearly in every town.

[Sea Dog]

4 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

We do have a few pieces of their artwork on nightlights and potholders. 

Those are amazing. I love the idea of making their art into things. We have done that for Jonathan's artwork when he was a kid. They are talented.

[BonTexasNY]

26 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

In 1972 Toby and I celebrated having our very first car by driving in NJ stopping in as many towns as possible to sample the foods of the state.

We were to none of the restaurants in this video but were nearly in every town.

When we lived in Rockland County which borders NJ, we loved eating in NJ diners, notably The Park Ridge Diner. Never had a bad meal in 27 years.

[lenquixote66]

21 minutes ago, BonTexasNY said:

When we lived in Rockland County which borders NJ, we loved eating in NJ diners, notably The Park Ridge Diner. Never had a bad meal in 27 years.

 

21 minutes ago, BonTexasNY said:

When we lived in Rockland County which borders NJ, we loved eating in NJ diners, notably The Park Ridge Diner. Never had a bad meal in 27 years.

When our Brooklyn synagogue closed in 2000 people moved out of the area .Many moved to NJ.We had reunion get together quite often at a diner in Staten Island.We did that for about 15 years .We never had a bad meal there 

[DaniDanielle]

We do have some good diners!