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

[DaniDanielle]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

Marietta,I hope that you and Charlie have a wonderful cruise.

Thanks, just dreading the test tomorrow!!!!

[Ocean Boy]

Just now, DaniDanielle said:

Thanks, just dreading the test tomorrow!!!!

Mine is set for Thursday. I'm doing my best to avoid sick patients this week!

[Ocean Boy]

3 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

Thanks, just dreading the test tomorrow!!!!

I can't keep everything straight. Which ship for you?

[George C]

On our last cruise out of Galveston we had a reservation for Moody Gardens and reservations for there steak restaurant, they allowed a one night stay ,bad weather in Dallas caused our flight to be canceled and they did not charge us even though it was only a few hours from checkin, we give them another try on our next cruise, luckily we got a early American flight so we didn’t miss the cruise.

[DaniDanielle]

We are on Anthem.  Supposed to finally meet Debbie so Debbie fingers crossed for you 🤞

OB, have a fantastic cruise, you certainly deserve it!

[Ocean Boy]

3 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

We are on Anthem.  Supposed to finally meet Debbie so Debbie fingers crossed for you 🤞

OB, have a fantastic cruise, you certainly deserve it!

Thank you and I wish you the same!

[HBE4]

I feel like we need one of @singinalot spreadsheet to keep track of who is on what ship 😉

[lenquixote66]

6 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Thank you and I wish you the same!

Enjoy your cruise.Which ship will you be on ?

[bobmacliberty]

29 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

I feel like we need one of @singinalot spreadsheet to keep track of who is on what ship 😉

 

That would be an interesting feature for Cruise Critic to add to the site.  In addition to the roll call threads (since not everyone participates), they could create an area where you enter your upcoming cruises.  You could then see the user names of everyone else on the same cruise.  Now that I think about it though, it probably wouldn't do much good without the ability to DM someone.  Never mind.

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, DaniDanielle said:

Thanks, just dreading the test tomorrow!!!!

 

You will pass and have a great cruise.

 

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Mine is set for Thursday. I'm doing my best to avoid sick patients this week!

 

Good plan. Good luck and I hope you have a fantastic cruise.

[jagsfan]

5 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

So as you all know we are scheduled for a b2b to stay on Anthem Thursday for another 11 nights; however, we may cancel.     Hate to even think or type it but we are having computer issues with work laptop that cannot be resolved while onboard.      

Eric spent about 1.5 hours on a work video call where they took over the computer and tried everything they could think of and then we even went to Royal's IT guy to have him speak with our IT guy and bottom line is we are unable to access our VPN thru Royal's VPN network.     

We never had these issues in the past but both IT departments (work and Royal) have done recent changes with VPN servers and they just do not agree with each other (firewalls, servers, etc.)

Whenever we cruise we have always been able to work on and off and the fact we haven't been able to do anything for the last 9 days is really bothering Eric as he is trying his best to retain his customers but without being able to get them immediate answers they will move onto another lender.        

We have a great office staff to support us but they are extremely busy as there are some sick with covid and some others that had planned holidays like us since the housing market is traditionally slow this time of year.      

Guest services said we can let them by tomorrow afternoon if we wish to cancel our 2nd leg of the journey for a full refund.     I really don't want to but right now Eric is very anxious and annoyed that he cannot do what he needs to do. 

He also reached out to our VP of Operations who said he will communicate with the head of IT to double check if there is anything at all that can be done.     Fingers crossed they come up with a solution otherwise Eric is ready to cancel.

Bottom line is would Eric get anything out of the 9 days or would he be totally frazzled by it. Much as I wish I were on a cruise right now, if I needed to work and couldn’t, I’d be tearing my hair out. 

[jagsfan]

5 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Our media here love negative cruise stories and then we have the idiot comments on any cruise related article calling cruise ships Petrie dishes amongst other things.

Exactly the same in the US. 
The cruise industry is the scapegoat. 
It’s like 2500 person auditoriums or amphitheaters aren’t a source of contagion. 
Cruise ships to me far exceed the cleanliness of most hotels I stayed in. And that includes luxury down to Ramada. 

[Jimbo]

Few pics of the snow we had last night. Very pretty, but very cold today and extremely windy.

Possible more snow again this coming weekend.

 

 

Edited January 17, 2022 by Jimbo

[Keksie]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Thank you for the great information. I have marked it down in my notes. I think Linda is leaning towards staying in Galveston since she has never been there and would like to explore. I think we will be doing many cruises from Galveston in the future and will not drive every time so flying into Houston is a great option .

 

I always liked Galveston.  There are a lot of things to do there depending on time and taste.  Of course the beach is not a Florida or Caribbean beach but still fun to walk along.  I always said that Texas got screwed by the currents for beautiful beaches.  There are some historic homes, The Strand, Schlitterban, Moody Gardens, the Pleasure Pier etc.  

[Jimbo]

I'm beginning to learn how  Virginia Driver's drive  on Snow and Ice.

 

https://wset.com/news/local/security-cam-captures-icy-rollover-crash-pittsylvania-county-virginia

[Jimbo]

5 hours ago, George C said:

On one of our stays there was some kind of beauty pageant with dozens f young women in bikinis 😁😁, they also had some live music.

 That's when a camera comes in handy. 😉

[Ozark_Kid]

2 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

Eeks! So it has been really warm in our cabin since we got on yesterday. We thought maybe because the curtain had been left open until we got here so we didn't complain. Thought it would cool down so we eventually went to bed. It got a little cooler over night, but when we got back to the room about 11:30 today it was 83° in here. Maintenance is here so we are hoping it gets fixed. 

 

Now for the eeks part. We keep the phone on the bottom shelf of the nightstand so we can use the top and middle. When I grabbed it to call maintenance I accidentally hit the 911 button (which I didn't know until they answered). Tried to hang up, but I couldn't do it fast enough so they answered. I told them it was an accident and that everything was ok. Being so hot in here and thinking maintenance would take a little while I wasn't dressed to impress or maybe it was not dressed at all. 🤪 

 

Someone knocked on the door so I yelled just a minute since Mike was in the bathroom. I could not get dressed fast enough and I was definitely trying. About 5 seconds later they knocked very hard this time and was saying something so I yelled again. Mike was then able to answer the door and it was security. I had my back to them trying to finish my last buttons. This might have not looked to good to them as if there was a problem. They asked 3 times if everything was ok all the while looking at me. I told them what happened and assured them all was fine. Hope they believed me. 

 

BTW, from the time I hung up the phone with 911, got undressed, laid down and about 20 seconds later security was at the door. They were very fast and we are towards the aft. Next time I will know where not to grab the phone. 😁

Saturday night (our last night), about 11pm someone rang our doorbell.  When I opened the door security was a couple doors down and I was wondering if he rang it.  He asked if anything was wrong. Not sure if he asked because I was standing there in my underwear or not.  I told him someone rang the doorbell and he said he just saw some younger ones running from my door and figured they did it.  I used to do that when I was a kid.  Never thought of it on a cruise.  😂 

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Mine is set for Thursday. I'm doing my best to avoid sick patients this week!

 

Is that covered in a sub clause of the Hippocratic Oath🤔

[Ozark_Kid]

1 hour ago, DaniDanielle said:

We are on Anthem.  Supposed to finally meet Debbie so Debbie fingers crossed for you 🤞

OB, have a fantastic cruise, you certainly deserve it!

I hope you have a great cruise.  If you have time please share the fun.

[Momof3gurlz]

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Pearl's is a little bit away from the action in Savannah but worth it.

 

As for Amelia Island...lots of choices.  If you're only on the island one night, you'll probably want to do to the downtown Fernandina Beach area.  For restaurants, I'd recommend:

* Salty Pelican - Good food (mix of seafood and bar food), casual atmosphere, good sunset views at the right time of the year.  Popular so there might be a wait. The Salty Pelican - Seafood Bar and Grill - Fernandina Beach Amelia Island (thesaltypelicanamelia.com)

* Pepper's - Mexican food.  Right on the main drag with outdoor seating.  Welcome to Pepper's Mexican Cocina! (pepperscocina.com)

* Cafe Karibo - Interesting and varied menu.  I love their Coquille St Jaques.  Nice outdoor side patio seating.  The just opened a new duck pin bowling bar right next door that looks like fun.   https://www.cafekaribo.com/

* The Boat House - Mostly seafood but also sandwiches and steak.  Large outdoor patio that usually has live music.  https://boathousefernandina.com/

 

There are several other places that we really like downtown but are a little bit fancier, although casual dress is still fine: Espana (great Spanish food), Le Clos (great French food), Joe's 2nd Street Bistro (great American food).  Close to the downtown area is First Love Brewing.  Great if you like craft beer and pizza.

 

In the Main Beach area, we like The Sandbar.  Casual place that's literally right on the beach with seating inside, on a covered patio (our choice), or picnic tables in the sand.  We also like Salt Life just across the street from The Sandbar.  It's a local chain with good food, often live music, and an ocean view from the rooftop bar and eating area.

 

A little further south along the beach is Sliders.  Casual place on the beach with good food and a nice outdoor eating and tiki bar area.  They also often have live music playing.  Popular local place.  Slightly inland from Sliders is V Pizza...another local chain with great Neapolitan style wood fired pizza.  These two places are walkable if you're staying in one of the Sadler Road hotels.  

 

If you go to the southern half of the island, there are 3 great places that we go often, since all are less than 5 minutes from our house:

* Lagniappe (pronounced Lan-Yap) - Hard to describe so check out the menu.   https://www.lagniappeamelia.com/

* Cucina South - Best Italian food on the island.  Reservations highly recommended. A little bit fancier/more expensive.  http://cucinasouth.com/

* Bar Zin - Our current "go to" restaurant.  Great wine selection with tapas style food.  We like sitting at the bar (love Heather the bartender) and having a couple of glasses of wine while sharing a few plates.  I love their Mussel Frites.  Reminds me of Brussels.  Save room for their Beignets for dessert.   https://www.barzin-bistro-winebar.com/

 

If you'll be there for lunch, our favorites are the Beach Diner, Aloha Bagel and Deli (good chicken salad), 4th Street Deli (downtown with great sides), and Parkway Grille (southern part of the island).  All are very casual.

 

Hope this helps.  Happy to provide any additional info.

 

I can’t thank you enough for this!  If we’re ever on a cruise together ( can’t remember if you’re doing the Bella trip) I owe you a drink or three.  
Sliders looks good for casual but I also like the idea of wine & tapas at Bar Zin.  I’m between the Hampton Inn or the Omni.  The Hampton should be fine for a one night stay, plus we earn points.  But my vacation deprived, YOLO mindset is telling me to go for the Omni even though it’s twice the cost.  Weather is also a factor, so we’ll probably land at the Hampton. 

[Ozark_Kid]

2 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Is that covered in a sub clause of the Hippocratic Oath🤔

I was thinking how much of a challenge it would be as a doctor to avoid sick patients.  🤔 

[TravelGirlinDallas]

4 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

It may be cheaper to fly into Houston and stay at a cheaper hotel and shuttle down than to drive down and stay in Galveston on Seawall Blvd.

Galveston is our homeport, too. We stay in Webster, which is in between Houston & Galveston. We stayed at the Tru hotel the last time. It is newish and the price was right! Not sure how much an Uber would be from there to the port, though. 

[Sea Dog]

10 minutes ago, Keksie said:

I always liked Galveston.  There are a lot of things to do there depending on time and taste.  Of course the beach is not a Florida or Caribbean beach but still fun to walk along.  I always said that Texas got screwed by the currents for beautiful beaches.  There are some historic homes, The Strand, Schlitterban, Moody Gardens, the Pleasure Pier etc.  

 

I never liked getting into the ocean on the Gulf side, Atlantic or Pacific. Too cold and too murky. I like to see my feet and what may be swimming around me. Much prefer the Caribbean.

[Sea Dog]

Puppy Toys:

It's amazing how much people will spend on toys for their pets. We have spent our fair share on the puppies, but it's this one common household item that they love the best. Check the video out.

 

 

 

[Jimbo]