The Daily for Friday August 13, 2021

[puppycanducruise]

@NextOneHope the meds work and you get rid of those nasty shingles.

[kazu]

15 minutes ago, dfish said:

Made it safely to Michigan and avoided the heavy traffic.

Happy Birthday to those celebrating.  Get rid of those shingles!

 

YAY 🙂. Glad you arrived safely and were successful in avoiding the bad traffic.  👍. Have a fabulous visit 🙂 

[AncientWanderer]

Good afternoon Everyone.  Friday the 13th always gives me pause.  It just does.

Nice to have a go card today to blame DH for everything.  😇

 

I went through the photos three times before I realized I was in Mazatlan, rather than Puerto Vallarta.  I'll blame that on allergy medication.  We have been to both many times.  Any photos I have are just people photos that don't show much of Mazatlan.  There have been many wonderful photos of the city posted here today.

 

Happy Birthday today to @msmayor's daughter and to DH of @StLouisCruisers.

I know what you mean about the cake, Sandi.  DD brought over some lemon cake yesterday, and I didn't share very well.  I wouldn't share the baked goods of @Cruising-along either.  😋

 

@rafinmdRoy...hoping your new cardiologist is a gem.  You deserve nothing less. Let us know how it goes!

 

@dfishDebbie...have a wonderful time!  Nice to be "on the road again," right?!

 

Happy TGIF everyone -- 13th or not!  😊  🌼

 

[Crazy For Cats]

33 minutes ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

Good afternoon.  It's hot and humid today, so I'm glad to be doing inside chores.  Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler and cloudy, so the morning will be a good time to mow the grass.

 

Last night, I was outside about 5-10 minutes and saw one meteor.  I'm sure I would have seen more, but our sky was not the greatest and I was ready to get in bed and read before going to sleep.

 

I try not to blame somone else unless I know I didn't do it.  My mother's twin cousins would always tell their mother when she asked who did something, "Not me, him".  In honor of the day, I'll own up to my mistatke in my post with the Mazatlan pictures.  I called the new area the Gold Coast, and not the Golden Zone.  I thought what I wrote did not sound right, but was too lazy to double check it.

 

My mother was very left handed, and the practice of trying to change the dominant hand did not take with her.  My father was very right handed, and while I'm right handed, I can use my left hand for most things except eating and writing.

 

I'm only a little superstitious, and Friday the 13th does not bother me, even though DH was drafted on Friday, December 13th.  He served his Army time in New Jersey not Vietnam, so it turned out all right.

 

I've always liked the Groucho Marx quote.

 

I'll pass on the wine, but might like the drink of the day.  I'll keep the meal suggestion until I need something for our vegetarians.  Younger DD likes pasta and spinach, so it should be a winner.  I might even be able to talk her into cooking it.  😁

 

@msmayor  Happy Birthday to your DD.

@StLouisCruisers Sandi, Happy Birthday to your DH.

@NextOne  Edi, sorry your have the shingles, and hope the pills help keep it a mild case and a short one too.

@smitty34877  Good news that you could quickly adjust when Tana got there, and you have a back-up plan in case of a power failure.  She, her DS, and the dog are very lucky to have your and your DD in their lives.

@cat shepard  Congratulations on getting your insurance refund so quickly.  We had good luck the one time we had to get a refund from the insurance.

@Crazy For Cats  I might be able to shed some light on the mini bar charge.  It happened to us on one cruise. I had noticed when we boarded we were short one coke.  I should have said something then, but that day was hectic.  We figured that the previous occupants of our cabin waited until they had checked and restocked the mini bar then took the coke.  There is always one in every group.

@Cruising-along  I agree, heat pumps work well unless the temperature gets really cold, near or below freezing.  We have auxillary heat strips in Texas, but just the heat pump in Quartzsite.

@TiogaCruiser Laura, congratulations on your one year retirement anniversary.

 

I'll add to what others have said about the Delta variant, which is bad in Texas and most states in the southern half of the country.  Please be careful, social distance and wear your masks.😷  It's like Yogi Bera said, "Deja vu, all over again".  It seems like we're back where we were last year, only with a few lucky people being able to cruise.

 

Lenda

It’s happened before and I challenged the charge and it was removed.  Since I don’t know how we got the extra credits I’ll let it go.  

[Crazy For Cats]

41 minutes ago, dfish said:

Made it safely to Michigan and avoided the heavy traffic.

Happy Birthday to those celebrating.  Get rid of those shingles!

Have a fun visit.

[bennybear]

Good morning and thanks all!  Enjoying the photos.   We’re finally having some lovely weather and blue skies.  The farmers market had huge peaches so I’m in heaven!  My grandma was a leftie,  and tried to teach me to crochet, but it was impossible, lol! 
We saw a beautiful shooting star last night!  
I guess it’s my turn to not be able to post photos, sigh! 
 

Happy birthdays to @StLouisCruisers DH and @msmayorDD!  
 

@NextOne I think the meds work even if you’re a bit late,  they helped both my DD and DH.  And hopefully because you had the vaccine it will be mild.  
 

[CruiseMGM]

Thank you for the Daily and hello to all in the family (LOL). Sending best wishes for birthdays, sympathy and well wishes for any illnesses or other issues, safe-travel-wishes to those traveling and a thank you for the beautiful pictures.

 

I have a question that I hesitate to put out on one of the Live threads, as I don't want to disturb the narrative, but I'm hoping someone here can reply. I've searched on the 'net and apparently haven't found the right way to phrase my question! Tipping in specialty restaurants...............I know the specialty restaurant prices changed recently, but can't find a page that explains what/why. Is the increase in price going to the servers/wait-staff as a tip? Or is it just an additional revenue stream for HAL? That asked, is there any sort of standard as far as tipping in the various restaurants? We've been away from travel in general and cruising in particular for what seems like an eternity and I'm having a little difficulty in sorting everything out. I usually travel with a few envelopes of various bills for tips for room service, wait-staff, stewards, etc., but I'm not sure of what the proper amounts are any more. And I'm sure some might say tipping is optional, but we know the crew on board the ships work very hard and we just want to get it right. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or information you might have.

 

I might go make a pitcher of Jungle Juice, sounds yummy! 😄

[cat shepard]

1 hour ago, dfish said:

Made it safely to Michigan and avoided the heavy traffic.

Happy Birthday to those celebrating.  Get rid of those shingles!

Enjoy yourself! Glad the trip went smoothly. 

[AncientWanderer]

18 minutes ago, CruiseMGM said:

Thank you for the Daily and hello to all in the family (LOL). Sending best wishes for birthdays, sympathy and well wishes for any illnesses or other issues, safe-travel-wishes to those traveling and a thank you for the beautiful pictures.

 

I have a question that I hesitate to put out on one of the Live threads, as I don't want to disturb the narrative, but I'm hoping someone here can reply. I've searched on the 'net and apparently haven't found the right way to phrase my question! Tipping in specialty restaurants...............I know the specialty restaurant prices changed recently, but can't find a page that explains what/why. Is the increase in price going to the servers/wait-staff as a tip? Or is it just an additional revenue stream for HAL? That asked, is there any sort of standard as far as tipping in the various restaurants? We've been away from travel in general and cruising in particular for what seems like an eternity and I'm having a little difficulty in sorting everything out. I usually travel with a few envelopes of various bills for tips for room service, wait-staff, stewards, etc., but I'm not sure of what the proper amounts are any more. And I'm sure some might say tipping is optional, but we know the crew on board the ships work very hard and we just want to get it right. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or information you might have.

 

I might go make a pitcher of Jungle Juice, sounds yummy! 😄

 

This recent thread talks about changes to service charge and also about specialty restaurants.  You might have already found it. (I hope the link comes out right.)

 

 

[kazu]

7 minutes ago, CruiseMGM said:

 have a question that I hesitate to put out on one of the Live threads, as I don't want to disturb the narrative, but I'm hoping someone here can reply. I've searched on the 'net and apparently haven't found the right way to phrase my question! Tipping in specialty restaurants...............I know the specialty restaurant prices changed recently, but can't find a page that explains what/why. Is the increase in price going to the servers/wait-staff as a tip? Or is it just an additional revenue stream for HAL?

 

The new service charge is part of the Crew Incentive (the old HSC aka tips) and does go to the staff.  It is 18%.  The specialty dining room staff were not part of the old HSC I believe and while we always tipped, I know a lot didn’t (nor was there any suggestion you should).

 

This brings some cohesiveness for the staff, but honestly, they will now get less than what we used to tip - but I’m sure overall they will be further ahead.

 

7 minutes ago, CruiseMGM said:

 

 

That asked, is there any sort of standard as far as tipping in the various restaurants? We've been away from travel in general and cruising in particular for what seems like an eternity and I'm having a little difficulty in sorting everything out.

 

I used to use a 20% of the cost of the meal and drinks and round it up.
 

Now, with the 18% being added automatically, I don’t think there is a need to tip extra unless you really want to.  Considering the amount already I’d probably leave no more than a $5 bill per person but it really depends on the night, the food, the service, etc.  Really, with the imposed tip, there is no need to leave extra unless you want to

 

7 minutes ago, CruiseMGM said:

 

I usually travel with a few envelopes of various bills for tips for room service, wait-staff, stewards, etc., but I'm not sure of what the proper amounts are any more. And I'm sure some might say tipping is optional, but we know the crew on board the ships work very hard and we just want to get it right. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or information you might have.

 

I’ve never seen a published “suggested” amount since the HSC (now the Crew Incentive) came out.  We always give envelopes to our wine steward (hope they come back), stewards, wait staff and others who have added to our cruise. Is it too much?  Is it enough?  I have no idea.  We just give what we think is right.  

 

Opinions vary highly no matter who you talk to.  Some people work at removing the automated tips, some think that is more than enough and others like to top up those tips with thank you’s and appreciation and cash.  Frankly, I’m of the mindset that you should never remove the HSC - if you have a service issue deal with it quickly but don’t short every crew member for one incident.

 

If someone thinks HSC (Crew Incentive) is enough, well and good.  It technically is and if someone wants to tip extra, well and good as well 😉  

 

If you do room service and want to tip, be sure to have your bills close by as they don’t stand there with their hand out.  One CC friend I know leaves hers in the spot for your key card so it is handy.  I leave mine on the table where the coffee/food goes.  

 

What I will say, is that any amount you choose to give any crew member is deeply appreciated no matter how much or how little.  

 

I wasn’t much help, was I?  Sorry.

[AncientWanderer]

@kazu, girl after my own heart...

My room service tip is always in my pocket, ready to hand over.  Those guys are QUICK!

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

@kazu, girl after my own heart...

My room service tip is always in my pocket, ready to hand over.  Those guys are QUICK!

 

Smart!  Sadly, I usually don’t have pockets 😉 

 

I keep some bills in a drawer handy every day but early in the morning if we need room service I need it handier 😉.  

[CruiseMGM]

4 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

The new service charge is part of the Crew Incentive (the old HSC aka tips) and does go to the staff.  It is 18%.  The specialty dining room staff were not part of the old HSC I believe and while we always tipped, I know a lot didn’t (nor was there any suggestion you should).

 

This brings some cohesiveness for the staff, but honestly, they will now get less than what we used to tip - but I’m sure overall they will be further ahead.

<snip>

I wasn’t much help, was I?  Sorry.

Actually, that was a great deal of help, Jacqui, and thank you. I probably agree with just about everything you've written. When we first started cruising, I think I felt a little "weird" if I only gave a $10 or $20 tip to someone onboard, worried they'd think that it wasn't enough. But I've decided that ANY amount is better than NO amount. We live it a city where tips are king, and I suppose I feel more comfortable tipping than NOT tipping. So thank you again!

 

And I love your story about your CC friend who leaves her room service cash by her key card. I do the same thing, we can't function without our morning coffee and so the night before, when I fill out our request to hang on the door, that bill is out and waiting for morning!

[kazu]

2 minutes ago, CruiseMGM said:

Actually, that was a great deal of help, Jacqui, and thank you. I probably agree with just about everything you've written. When we first started cruising, I think I felt a little "weird" if I only gave a $10 or $20 tip to someone onboard, worried they'd think that it wasn't enough. But I've decided that ANY amount is better than NO amount. We live it a city where tips are king, and I suppose I feel more comfortable tipping than NOT tipping. So thank you again!

 

Thanks.  I didn’t think it was that helpful but I’m glad you found it of help.

 

Never belittle the $10 or $20 tip.  Remember your wait staff are already getting a good percentage of the automated tips.  You are tipping them over and above what I call the minimum or standard amount 😉 

 

Some might tip much more, some not at all but any tip is very appreciated and yes, absolutely any amount is better than none 😉. It all goes in their pocket 👍 

 

[garlictown]

😯I won't forget Friday the 13th ( March 13, 2020) when we ✈ home from Papeete to SFO after receiving word that the Maasdam would not be picking up any passengers in Tahiti for our B2B!😯

👍Stay safe...scary times, 

😷Katie

[garlictown]

Just now, garlictown said:

😯I won't forget Friday the 13th ( March 13, 2020) when we ✈ home from Papeete to SFO after receiving word that the Maasdam would not be picking up any passengers in Tahiti for our B2B!😯

👍Stay safe...scary times, 

😷Katie

😁This is not me btw....I'm not that old, lol!🙃

[ger_77]

Good afternoon, thanks for the Daily!  It's almost nap time . . . mine!  LOL   I tend to take the blame when I'm at fault, and although I'm superstitious, Friday the 13th doesn't do anything for me.  Now breaking a mirror, not throwing salt over your shoulder after spilling some, putting a hat on a bed . . . don't even go there!   Hooray for left handers - especially those who can do equally well with both hands.  I'm a rightie, but can manage a signature with my left, and that's all.

 

We just finished a 4 mile walk - it was a toss up between going to the lake or going to the local forestry farm park and zoo.  It seems the parents didn't bring along any PFD's for the kiddos, so it was to the park and zoo.  Of course, by the time everyone gets ready, (it's like herding cats), it was noon - and guess what the animals do?  They find places to hide from the heat and sleep.  We walked and walked and walked, only to see a few antelope, a couple of different kind of owls, the bald eagles, and pygmy goats.  Both boys did very well, the little one in the stroller, the older walking on his own, but by the time we made the rounds, we were all beat.  Now the little guy is napping, the oldest guy is napping, this Grandma is considering it, and who knows how many others in the house have their eyes closed.  It's pretty quiet in here - even the cat is sleeping.

 

I'd love to try the drink of the day, but seriously, Grandma Juice is much easier - open the box, press the spigot and pour into whatever vessel is handy.  LOL 

 

Happy Birthday to @msmayor's DD, and @StLouisCruiser's DH - many happy returns of the day to both of them.

@kazu your flowers never cease to amaze me, keep them coming!

@TiogaCruiser Happy 1st anniversary of your retirement - isn't it just the best job ever?!?

@NextOne sorry to hear about the shingles, but glad you've got access to the anti- virals right away.

@dfish I'm glad you made it to your destination safely - enjoy your visit!

 

I'm not a real fan of spinach sauce, so don't think I'd appreciate today's menu suggestion - instead, we're having Lemon Garlic Salmon (recipe from a number of weeks ago) with barbecued dilled potatoes, and salad for dinner.  And Grandma Juice. 

 

Prayers for everyone who needs them and even for those who don't think they do.  Raising the glasses high tonight to celebrate all on the happy list.  Be safe, stay well, wash your hands, wear your masks, and hydrate!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

 

[aliaschief]

Happy Birthday StLouisCruisers!🎂🍾

[aliaschief]

We went to Mariners Society gathering today and found out only the highest twenty members on-board were invited. There were no medallions presented.

 

Enjoyed a free Bloody Mary and Mimosa.

 

This will change as operations slowly return to normal.

 

 

 

 

[1ANGELCAT]

14 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

We went to Mariners Society gathering today and found out only the highest twenty members on-board were invited. There were no medallions presented.

 

Enjoyed a free Bloody Mary and Mimosa.

 

This will change as operations slowly return to normal.

 

 

 

 

Do you know how many were 5 star?

Safe travels home, looks like “Fred” will be paying a visit on Monday.

[rafinmd]

I was quite pleased with my visit with the Cardiologist this afternoon.

 

Roy

[aliaschief]

42 minutes ago, 1ANGELCAT said:

Do you know how many were 5 star?

Safe travels home, looks like “Fred” will be paying a visit on Monday.

Many 5 Star on-board which is becoming more common but haven’t heard exact number. In talks with the few that attended most seemed to be  over 400 plus actual days at sea. Hopefully, Fred will be gentile on us. We are spending an extra 3 days in Seattle. Doing a personalized tour of Washington State wineries and touring Mount Raineer National Park.

 

It’s been so great to be traveling and back at sea.

[kazu]

36 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

I was quite pleased with my visit with the Cardiologist this afternoon.

 

Roy

 

Great news !

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

38 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

I was quite pleased with my visit with the Cardiologist this afternoon.

 

Roy

 

So good to know.

[Himself]

57 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

I was quite pleased with my visit with the Cardiologist this afternoon.

 

Roy

That is good to hear, Roy