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

[island lady]

24 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Our dishwasher conked out yesterday. (9 year old Bosch).  Repair guy just left and I'm heading out to Lowes to purchase a new one.  It was $350 for a new pump plus the labour and taxes.  Not putting in over 50% of the cost of a new one to fix a 9 year old appliance.  Already spent about $200 last spring on it getting something else fixed on it.  Luckily they are in stock....1 day of washing dishes by hand was enough.

 

Fridge and stove will probably go next, they have both served us well at 20 years old.

 

I firmly believe all newer electronics and appliances are meant to fail within 10 years.  How else could they get new sales?  😉 

 

Agree.  We had problems with our 8 year old fridge at old house.  Repairs would cost more than half of a new one with full warranty.  Same thing....no brainer.  Bought a new one.  Then of course we sold that house three months later.  😮 😣

[island lady]

24 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Me neither. I was also drafted. They had to drag me in by pulling me by my long hair. 

 

Bucky was "enticed" to join by his father.  It was that or.....  😉   Bad boy Bucky needed a bit more firm guiding, so I understand.  😮 

[island lady]

21 minutes ago, davekathy said:

I know what you mean. Heard it all. It was always what my father liked and who cares what you like. His attitude was eat it I paid for it not you! 

 

No....my poor Dad had it worse than I did.  😮  He was rather grateful when I showed an interest in cooking at age 12....by then my parents got rid of the housekeeper and my Mom went to work part time.   My Dad traveled a lot.  He kind of enjoyed being on the road actually....funny that way.  😉    

 

I became the chief cook and bottle washer.    Loved going through my old Better Crocker cookbook (which I still have!!), and teaching myself new recipes.  Kept track of my hours and was paid my allowance from that.  Considered it a good life lesson actually.  😊

[island lady]

29 minutes ago, ownedbypets said:

 

It doesn't end! I'm not copying you but once again we are right behind you on a few projects. We just got estimates on a new front door and flooring for the entire house. Our furniture, that we ordered in October, should be here by the end of April but I refuse to replace the dining room set!

 

Gosh no...everyone seems to be copying everyone else!   Home remodeling, and updating is something many of us have turned to during "lockdown".    Only makes sense.  We would have been gone right now, plus spending that money on cruising.  And we are sure not alone in that.  😉 

 

The time...the money...then turned towards the "money pit".  😄  

[George C]

37 minutes ago, ownedbypets said:

 

It doesn't end! I'm not copying you but once again we are right behind you on a few projects. We just got estimates on a new front door and flooring for the entire house. Our furniture, that we ordered in October, should be here by the end of April but I refuse to replace the dining room set!

We had a water heater break a few months ago , so insurance company paid most of the bill to replace our wood floors . 

[bobmacliberty]

34 minutes ago, island lady said:

I firmly believe all newer electronics and appliances are meant to fail within 10 years.  How else could they get new sales?  😉 

 

In addition to the KitchenAid dishwasher that I mentioned, we're also considering a Miele dishwasher.  I was not familiar with the Miele brand until we looked for canister vacuum cleaners.  The Miele brand is a bit more expensive but has the reputation of lasting a long time rather than the typical 10 year fail cycle that I agree is built into most appliances these days.  German engineering.  Love the vacuum cleaner.

[grapau27]

Just watched the last episode of Below Deck Mediterranean on Sirocco in Split.

A new series starts tomorrow on a different yacht in Napoli with Captain Sandy again.

 

 

[dani negreanu]

3 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

The Miele brand is a bit more expensive but has the reputation of lasting a long time rather than the typical 10 year fail cycle that I agree is built into most appliances these days.  German engineering. 

 

We're into our 2nd Miele washing machine for the past 5 years.

 

The 1st lasted 30 years....

 

The big conundrum is: Shall I pay 500$ for a good washing machine, or 1250$ for a Miele? Do I want one which would last 8-10 years, or one which would last 30 years (and meantime you can't find replacement pieces, should the need arise??)

 

For myself, I've decided the "ostrich way"... buy the Miele and run 😉

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, island lady said:

 

I would tell her..."Great...let's wrap it up and ship it to them".  

 

Smart mouth kid got her face slapped of course.  😮 😵

My brother and I got the same line and our mother got the same response. But Italian mothers don't slap their smart mouth boys. They think everything their boys do is cute. Now, their smart mouth daughters on the other hand....

[Momof3gurlz]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

Bucky was "enticed" to join by his father.  It was that or.....  😉   Bad boy Bucky needed a bit more firm guiding, so I understand.  😮 

My Dad was from a broken home, bounced around to different relatives since he was a bit of a “problem adolescent”.  At age 15, he altered his birth certificate and joined the Army.  He was eventually discovered and discharged, but had found his calling.  He waited until he was officially 18 and enlisted again,  then served 25 years, including stints in the Korean War and as a Special Forces Green Beret in Vietnam. He never went beyond 8th grade, but retired as a Major.  Can you tell I’m proud?

[ATG]

We built our home 12 years ago, so all our appliances are getting old.  We’ve been through 2 stoves and on our third.  I guess I bake a lot.  We’ve also replaced the microwave.  But the refrigerator, dishwasher, furnace/AC, washer, dryer and water heater are aging.  Since the water heater is in the basement, I got an alarm that makes a VERY loud noise if it detects leaking water.  
 

I know they’ll all go at once, I guess all that money I saved not going anywhere last year will get used up.

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

 

We're into our 2nd Miele washing machine for the past 5 years.

 

The 1st lasted 30 years....

 

The big conundrum is: Shall I pay 500$ for a good washing machine, or 1250$ for a Miele? Do I want one which would last 8-10 years, or one which would last 30 years (and meantime you can't find replacement pieces, should the need arise??)

 

For myself, I've decided the "ostrich way"... buy the Miele and run 😉

Our washer and dishwasher are both Zanussi.

[OnTheJourney]

3 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Our dishwasher conked out yesterday. (9 year old Bosch).  Repair guy just left and I'm heading out to Lowes to purchase a new one.  It was $350 for a new pump plus the labour and taxes.  Not putting in over 50% of the cost of a new one to fix a 9 year old appliance.  Already spent about $200 last spring on it getting something else fixed on it. 

Hmmm...not encouraging being that we just bought a Bosch a few weeks ago. So is it that after the 7-year warranty things start breaking down already?  I probably would have replaced the pump, but then I'm into fixing up old things - put 2 replacement engines in my '95 Buick. Tomorrow we replace our...wait for it...40 year-old Maytag washer (only one we've ever owned and hardly took any repairs during that entire time) with a new Bosch. Nothing is made as well anymore. Always hate to see these older appliances go out the door that have served us so well for so long. Once Whirlpool took over Maytag, it wasn't the same product. Same for MTD taking over Cub Cadet (tractors)...got one of those too...1970s model, when it was still made by IH and built like a tank. Still running after 40 years, although just put a new engine in that also 2 years ago. 

Edited March 30, 2021 by OnTheJourney

[A&L_Ont]

Catching up on last nights Below Deck Yacht and wow. It’s a “sit” show. These guests are atrocious. 

Edited March 30, 2021 by A&L_Ont

[vettprincess]

21 hours ago, Bailey & Sophie said:

 

I don't know who's more obnoxious...the guests or the chef who won't cook for the clients and  wants to make it her way.

All of them.

[Ourusualbeach]

10 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Hmmm...not encouraging being that we just bought a Bosch a few weeks ago. So is it that after the 7-year warranty things start breaking down already?  I probably would have replaced the pump, but then I'm into fixing up old things - put 2 replacement engines in my '95 Buick. Tomorrow we replace our...wait for it...40 year-old Maytag washer (only one we've ever owned and hardly took any repairs during that entire time) with a new Bosch. Nothing is made as well anymore. Always hate to see these older appliances go out the door that have served us so well for so long. Once Whirlpool took over Maytag, it wasn't the same product. Same for MTD taking over Cub Cadet (tractors)...got one of those too...1970s model, when it was still made by IH and built like a tank. Still running after 40 years, although just put a new engine in that also 2 years ago. 

Read your warranty, it’s probably not 7 years.  The 7 years probably only covers the tub.  Everything else is a year, maybe 2.  
 

I still have a 1950’s General Motors Frigidaire in the garage working just fine

[Coralc]

2 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Our washer and dishwasher are both Zanussi.

I have never heard of Zanussi, and had to look it up. Italian. And mostly sold in the UK.  I don't think they are sold here, but the parent company is Electrolux, which I have heard of, but not so much anymore. 

 

Amazing! The things we learn on Cruise Critic. 

[OnTheJourney]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I still have a 1950’s General Motors Frigidaire in the garage working just fine

I have no doubt. One of the repair guys from the appliance store that we've been dealing with forever was over one time to do some minor repairs on the Maytag washer. He said that if he could get his hands on our particular model and rebuild / sell them - he'd do it all day long! One of the reasons we still had the old Maytag washer and diswasher is because the same business always encouraged us to keep these old units going as long as we can..and, of course they sell the new stuff. So we took the advice but several of the dishwasher functions no longer worked, and the washer has been dripping oil from the motor for years , which tended to get on the belts and cause a screeching sound along with sort of a burning rubber smell. Replaced lots of belts on it already. So see how we like the Bosch washer. Like the dishwasher so far. Amazingly quiet compared to the old Maytag. 

Edited March 31, 2021 by OnTheJourney

[Sunshine3601]

Exquisite, both you and the jewels. 

I would be doing the happy dance too.  I love them.  Enjoy! 💐🥰

[HBE4]

Back in the day when I used to subscribe to Consumer Reports magazine, every so often they'd have an article called "Repair or Replace". Basically compared the cost of fixing an item vs buying brand new.  They would cover household appliances,  TV and other electronics, lawn mowers, etc. Pretty much everything other than home gyms fell into the "Replace" category after 7-9 years on average.

[Sunshine3601]

22 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

We woke to a bit of snow but it was gone by lunch. 
 

Lucy enjoyed her day today. Slept for 4 hours this afternoon and then a still on her chair tonight. 

 

 

Guess she called that chair this season.  I am amazed at how green your grass looks this early in the year.

[Sunshine3601]

12 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

This is exactly how it works in our house as well.  Even whatever he grills has been planned & prepped by me. 
 I recall years ago when kids were small, I was sick with strep throat and DH made dinner (which I’m sure was really just heating something up). One of the girls saw him cooking and said “Dad knows how to use the stove???

Funny thing, this rule also applies in our two married daughters households. 

That's funny.  I remember whenever our Dad had to take care of us and feed us it was either breakfast foods for dinner or something on the grille.  I dont think he knew how to use the oven!

[George C]

I had bad luck with refrigerators so when buying last one about 5 years ago I got one from Best Buy and if you buy there insurance and they can’t fix the problem within 30 days they will give you a new one , have gotten two free ones so far. 

[Sunshine3601]

11 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

It’s not a routine day for us - DH got his first shot this morning.  Let the vacation planning begin.  We’re headed to FL for 2-3 weeks in May.  

That's great!  It really is a great feeling, especially after the 2nd one.

[Sunshine3601]

33 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Exquisite, both you and the jewels. 

I would be doing the happy dance too.  I love them.  Enjoy! 💐🥰

This was meant for @dani negreanu