Thoughts, impressions, and observations for the World Cruise.

[ZoeyVictoria]

1 hour ago, RFerrington said:

I guess I’m not grasping the cause for this one.  If nobody is home, why would you need to disable the motion activation on your faucet ?  

 
Because we were sitting in our living room one evening when the water suddenly started running. No pets in the house, not even a fan running to create any kind of motion,  just running water. 

[time4u2go]

45 minutes ago, RoperDK said:

Sometimes the faucets malfunction and turn on without actually being triggered. Not a good thing to happen when you are away from home.  It's the same reason we turn off the icemaker before we leave.  We never got a motion activated facet because we had kitties. No need to explain that one! 😺  

A better idea might be to turn off the water line into the house.  I always do that when leaving town.

[Sunshine3601]

4 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Uber would be around $40 from MIA to cruise pier

Uber prices change based on the day and time of day.   So if you price something now as though they will pick you up right away that price maybe different on a Sunday morning than during rush hour on a weekday.

[crzndeb]

On 12/7/2023 at 6:23 AM, ZoeyVictoria said:

That would not have pleased my SO this morning when I was up and getting ready for the day two hours before him.

Maybe it’s the pre planner syndrome or mini ocd in me, that I always pull out clothes the night before, and lay on couch or chair, and I cruise solo…😬

[ZoeyVictoria]

1 minute ago, crzndeb said:

Maybe it’s the pre planner syndrome or mini ocd in me, that I always pull out clothes the night before, and lay on couch or chair, and I cruise solo…😬

Mine are listed on a spreadsheet, but in the closet. Pre-planner with OCD and an SO who uses the couch for his extra bed pillow and his clothes. 

[ZoeyVictoria]

4 hours ago, orville99 said:

Has not happened in either of our freezers, and we have had the same coin and cup of ice in there for the past two years.

The morning that Hurricane Ian was predicted to make landfall three miles from our condo, I quickly found a cruise ship to evacuate to.  Fourth floor condo, so no worry about our home flooding and nothing we could have done outside anyway. While we were gone, Ian hit south of us, but there was a 24 hour power outage. When we got home, the quarter was frozen into the ice just half the height of the quarter (less than 1/8”), so I knew the only thing I should probably dispose of was a bag of frozen blueberries.  I hope we can keep that same cup of ice in there indefinitely. 

[RFerrington]

2 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

 
Because we were sitting in our living room one evening when the water suddenly started running. No pets in the house, not even a fan running to create any kind of motion,  just running water. 

Yikes !  We had one of those faucets when we lived in VA and to my knowledge it never activated by itself.  It never even occurred to me that it could.  I actually hated that faucet.  😂 

[Jimbo]

8 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

 

Freeze a small cup of water, then put a quarter on top of the ice and put back in freezer. If the quarter is submerged (anywhere but on top of the ice) when you return, you will know the food in your freezer was thawed and refrozen while you were gone. 

 

Disconnect battery pack to disable motion sensor on kitchen faucet. 
 

 

 

If no one is going to be home, why not just turn off both the hot and cold valves under the kitchen sink and have no worries of the kitchen sink activating?

[ZoeyVictoria]

18 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

If no one is going to be home, why not just turn off both the hot and cold valves under the kitchen sink and have no worries of the kitchen sink activating?

My SO tried to do that. One of the valves turned easily, but not the other one. The condo is thirty-some years old and there are some things best left alone. Especially the night before a cruise when there is no time to fix something that has gone wrong. The battery box is under the sink in an easy-to-reach position and all he has to do is remove one battery (out of six or eight).  

[ZoeyVictoria]

53 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

Yikes !  We had one of those faucets when we lived in VA and to my knowledge it never activated by itself.  It never even occurred to me that it could.  I actually hated that faucet.  😂 

I love mine except when I accidentally have my arm under the faucet when it is activated. At least we live in Florida so no long sleeves are involved. 

[grapau27]

On 12/2/2023 at 5:03 PM, island lady said:

Not intending for this to MY live review of the World Cruise, but rather a place for all of us on the adventure to post as we continue the journey, and others that want to follow us along...virtually.  Ready to sail fellow World Cruisers?  How is the packing progressing?  Quite the challenge on this one.  😉 

 

And a special thank you to @Merion_Mom for posting the blog thread.  This is in addition to the blogs choice, and is simply for posting here on CC.  🙂 

Sounds amazing Pat.

I will be following along.

I hope you both have an amazing cruise.

[lovesthebeach2]

17 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Yup...thanks!  I take my main CC, but I don't use it when traveling.  I have two back up cards...2nd one being the RCI Visa card (which is the one I use when cruising)...and the third one is an oddball if needed....a Walmart Capitol One card.  Just recently someone...again ...stole my main Visa card number online...ugh.  And this last June, my RCI card number was stolen while in Hawaii.  That is why I have a 3rd back up.  

we turn off the water in the house and pull the plugs on things that are expensive to replace in the event of a lightning strike (all TVs, new washer an dryer, etc)

 

oddly when we were in Hawaii a few years ago, one of our cards got stolen and had to be cancelled. They sent a replacement to our resort in Hawaii,  

 

I like @orville99 idea to lock the cards! I’m adding that to my list when I travel! I already let the credit card companies know im traveling too.

[island lady]

13 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Holding the mail is an issue since it can only be held for 30 days.  Does anyone know how to get around that?  If we use mail forward can that have an end date? 

 

We are lucky enough to have a satellite post office inside our community.  They will hold our mail for a fee if going over 30 days.  Doing that this morning when they open.  Normally when we are gone for months we use mail forwarding...but that won't work for this.  😉  

 

I would pull up the website for USPS or visit your post office.  I am sure they have something to set up for you?  

[island lady]

13 hours ago, time4u2go said:

A better idea might be to turn off the water line into the house.  I always do that when leaving town.

 

I used to do that...but have to leave it on for the caretaker.  He waters our outside plants, and makes sure the toilets get flushed once a week.  I do turn off the washer hoses when we leave though.  

[island lady]

12 hours ago, crzndeb said:

Maybe it’s the pre planner syndrome or mini ocd in me, that I always pull out clothes the night before, and lay on couch or chair, and I cruise solo…😬

 

We have not started packing our clothes yet...but that is coming up soon this morning.  We always pack the morning before the cruise.  Our shuttle pickup tomorrow is 4 am...yikes!  😮  Delta changed our flights to make sure we did not sleep much the night before.  😝

[island lady]

2 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Sounds amazing Pat.

I will be following along.

I hope you both have an amazing cruise.

 

Thanks my friend!  Good to hear from you...and say hello to Pauline for us!  🙂 

[island lady]

1 hour ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

we turn off the water in the house and pull the plugs on things that are expensive to replace in the event of a lightning strike (all TVs, new washer an dryer, etc)

 

oddly when we were in Hawaii a few years ago, one of our cards got stolen and had to be cancelled. They sent a replacement to our resort in Hawaii,  

 

I like @orville99 idea to lock the cards! I’m adding that to my list when I travel! I already let the credit card companies know im traveling too.

 

Uh-oh...Hawaii for you as well?  Yikes.   Though in my case it was a fee we had to pay online for parking.  It directed me to a nefarious site they had problems with in the past, the agent told us when we I called when we got our parking ticket.  Luckily I had the other CC.  

[lovesthebeach2]

11 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

We are lucky enough to have a satellite post office inside our community.  They will hold our mail for a fee if going over 30 days.  Doing that this morning when they open.  Normally when we are gone for months we use mail forwarding...but that won't work for this.  😉  

 

I would pull up the website for USPS or visit your post office.  I am sure they have something to set up for you?  

You’re lucky you have a satellite post office.  I would love that. Unfortunately our carrier isn’t that good, we routinely get mail for other people, so much so that we have each others phone numbers to text when we get mail for them to let them know we’re dropping it off.

 

@cruiselvr04 We didn’t usually stay away longer than 30 days, but did this year. We had a wonderful neighbor that shared the mail post with us and they always would get our mail and we would do the same.  They moved. I wasn’t comfortable asking the new neighbor to take in 30+ days of mail, so what we did was have it delivered for a few days, which she held for us, THEN had the hold put on so the bulk would be delivered after we returned.

[lovesthebeach2]

13 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Uh-oh...Hawaii for you as well?  Yikes.   Though in my case it was a fee we had to pay online for parking.  It directed me to a nefarious site they had problems with in the past, the agent told us when we I called when we got our parking ticket.  Luckily I had the other CC.  

For us I had notified the card, to know where we were going, so when someone purchased gas in Georgia using that card, the company cancelled the card immediately. Due to the time difference I only found out when we woke up the next day.

 

EDIT to add…. 2years ago we were getting ready to get on Mariner and I got en email from my credit cards that I changed my home address. Of course we didn’t, and spent the whole day trying to lock our credit and correct it,  I was so annoyed at Chase for allowing someone to do that by calling!! I asked to hear the recording but they wouldn’t give it. 

So now our credit is frozen and every type of credit alert is turned on for all cards.

Edited December 9, 2023 by lovesthebeach2

[RFerrington]

I have had trouble recently trying to "alert" my CC banks when we go away.  For reasons which I really cannot fathom, BofA (RC Visa) no longer accepts "foreign travel notifications".  Really ?  They told me that they would text me if they have a suspect transaction.  I just laughed...what ?  I will be in a FOREIGN COUNTRY or on a ship...ever hear of Airplane Mode ?  I just don't get it.  There is virtually NO way to let them know that I am going to be out of the country.  Stupid beyond imagination.  So I just don't use my CC when I'm away.  Simple.  So far I haven't had any issues with onboard charging (casino, mostly) but when that finally does happen...and I have no doubt that it will, eventually....there is going to be a reckoning.

[orville99]

4 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

I like @orville99 idea to lock the cards! I’m adding that to my list when I travel! I already let the credit card companies know I'm traveling too.

One of the benefits of locking your cards is that it doesn't block recurring payments (i.e. water bill), but prevents anything else from being charged on your card without your knowledge.

[island lady]

Ok...I think I am ready!  😉 

 

 

[doghog]

11 minutes ago, island lady said:

Ok...I think I am ready!  😉 

Pat, looking good. Tomorrow, freedom bird, then "to ship". Bon Voyage. 🍷

Edited December 9, 2023 by doghog

[island lady]

24 minutes ago, doghog said:

Pat, looking good. Tomorrow, freedom bird, then "to ship". Bon Voyage. 🍷

 

Thanks!  Will finally relax once we board the ship tomorrow...and then cross our fingers the bags all make it to the cabin.  😮 

[tamom]

I’m very excited to follow along this cruise!  I can’t imagine going away that long but am looking forward to reading about everyone’s adventures!