brillohead

2 hours ago, Holly123red said:

Been in contact with Rc they said all decorations and benefits have been removed as of October 2023 

We have booked it now we can't cancel unless we lose our deposit I dont know if we can transfer to another cabin it is avery noisy cabin because its got a service door behind the headboard

You can definitely change to another room in the same category for no cost.  Just call whoever you booked with (travel agent or Royal Caribbean) to accomplish this. 

As for the service door, I never noticed it myself when in that room.  Some people do, some people don't.  It's not a guarantee that the room will be noisy.  I think some people are just way more sensitive (or enjoy finding things to complain about) than others.  

You can double-check your table assignment when you get on board.  Go to your assigned dining room and find your table number.  Sometimes the tables are tight together... if it doesn't look like a good fit, ask for a different table to be assigned to you for the week, explaining that you need room for a stroller.

I often cruise with friends who are in wheelchairs, and so we need a table that is along a main walkway (wheelchairs won't fit between the tables in most areas).  I've never had a problem getting our table moved to one that will accommodate the wheelchairs on the first afternoon after boarding and before dinnertime.

4 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Not OP but have a related question.  Only one of our kids is Diamond while the other isn't (DH and I became Diamond but our older one already turned 18).  Can the one that is Diamond get two drinks at once (non-alcoholic of course)?  My understandable is that unlike the drink package, the Diamond drinks are shareable but want to be sure.

You are correct, the Diamond drinks are shareable.

I rarely use all my vouchers, and regularly use them to purchase a drink for someone else.  Nobody even blinks an eye.

On 11/11/2023 at 4:08 AM, h20skibum said:

From our prior Princess sailings, we both thought their food was better than Royal.  Definitely, their pizza was.

To be honest, that bar was set pretty dang low!  😂

On 11/9/2023 at 3:26 PM, h20skibum said:

And here I was hoping to see some sale prices for our August cruise, when we are taking the grandkids along. 

 

 

Somehow, I don’t think those are good sale prices.  

 

It blows my mind that people will actually pay those prices for Coco Cay, but they probably balk at spending that much at other places. 

There's an amusement park a couple hours from me that includes a decent collection of rollercoasters and other rides plus includes a water park that is probably three times the size of the one at Coco Cay, and that admission is only $40pp, or an annual pass for $105.  If they charged $150+/day, they'd go out of business in a heartbeat, even though they offer *so* much more than Thrill Waterpark does.

And $270 to spend maybe eight hours at the beach club, and it doesn't even include free drinks????  Don't even get me started....

16 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I forgot to mention.  We had closing on Eric's Mom's home on Thursday afternoon.  The buyers realtor tried to get a last minute  (hour before closing)  $2000 credit towards closing cost. 

Wow, that is BALLSY!!!!

 

16 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

So right now I'm watching a Hallmark movie called Mystic Christmas. It was filmed in Mystic Ct. Thought I'd watch it to see the local locations. So my question is how can these Hallmark movies be so painful to watch and how can my mother like this channel so much?😦

Just like "Harlequin" style romance books.  Very formulaic, but sell very well.  Some people like predictability in their entertainment life to off-set the utter chaos of their real life.

I watched the tv show "Battle Creek" with Josh Duhamel because I grew up in Battle Creek (Michigan).  A very few rare scenes were actually filmed in the area, and the entire show was entirely un-Battle-Creek-ish in every way, shape, and form.  

I wasn't surprised when it was announced before the end of the first season that there wouldn't be a second season.  

To give you an idea, there was a murder where someone was drowned in a vat of maple syrup, and to catch the killer they made another huge batch of maple syrup in the space of less than a week, including tapping the trees, gathering the sap, and boiling it down.... AND IT WASN'T EVEN SPRINGTIME!!!!  I forget if it was summer or fall (I want to say fall), but it definitely was NOT sap-running season!

Also, in the opening scene, a main character brought a box of donuts in a pink pastry box to work.... there aren't any donut shops in Battle Creek that have pink boxes.  Disappointment right from the very first scene.... especially since we have a multiple national award-winning donut shop here that they could have promoted!!!

I have the same problems watching pretty much any show with a medical scene (I'm sure OB and Lionesss can relate).  Every show/movie will have a "medical consultant" listed in the credits, but I swear that they never allow the person to give any input to the script or scene settings.  Hollywood is probably one of the biggest contributors to health illiteracy in this country -- don't believe ANYthing you see in a tv show or movie!!!

  



 

You all know who this made me think of!

 

1 hour ago, BonTexasNY said:

I noticed the pre Black Friday sale has the soda package at $8.99/day.  Jack doesn't drink soda and since I usually have 3-4 per day on a cruise, it sounds like a good deal.  I hope they offer caffeine free diet soda at the machines.  I doubt they have it at the bars.

 

Do both of us have to buy the soda package and how long does this sale last?

The machines do have caffeine free diet Coke, diet Sprite, diet ginger ale, and flavored waters.  Oh, and the diet Barq's root beer is caffeine free, too.

You do not have to both purchase the soda package -- you can have just one person in the room purchase it.  

Just ran across this, reminded me of the earlier conversation about flying!

10 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Thanks Debbie. Linda got me some Metamucil pills which I have been taking. So far nothing is working. I had this problem with constipation on my last knee replacement but never to this extent of having a catheter out in as well as the swollen left groin area. 

Hopefully things start rolling soon!

10 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

As for Lisa, she is actually hoping to have the surgery. She has had a constant ache on the front side and if she eats a bit of “bad” food she has the same pain only worse on her front and back side. It’s been 6 weeks so far, and she doesn’t want this forever. 
 

She’s going to tell the DR she wants it out. Turns out we know a few people who have had it removed. 

It's probably the most common surgery we see at our hospital.  I think it's also the most common surgery I see in my patients' charts for past medical history.  

As @DaniDanielle said, it's a laparoscopic surgery that's pretty easy as surgeries go.  A friend had hers taken out while she was seven months pregnant!

14 hours ago, HBE4 said:

You're on top of things! 

 

I still haven't  figured out what I'm doing for Thanksgiving this year.  My sister reminded me it's only 2 weeks away to which I replied "That means I still have a week to think about it".

We should check to see if we're related.... I usually finish packing about three seconds before I have to leave for the airport!

19 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Women are easier as they have no prostate gland and their urethra is significantly shorter.😉

When it comes to putting them in, men are MUCH easier.  

Only twice have I ever failed to get a Foley in, and both times were on women who had tumors in the way (urologist had to do both of those).  So far (*knock wood*) I've yet to meet a prostate that I couldn't sneak past.  

On 11/7/2023 at 11:29 PM, Sea Dog said:

The only thing hurting is this catheter and my stomach cramping from not being able to have a bowel movement. Sorry kids for the graphic description.

I tell every surgical patient that they're going to want to take plenty of stool softeners (Colace and/or Miralax) as soon as they get home, and adding some senna and a fiber supplement would be a good idea, too.  It's a lot easier to get stuff going again BEFORE there's a concrete block sitting in your abdomen.  Between the anesthesia slowing down the gut, and the pain pills slowing down the gut, and the decreased movement (walking, etc.) right after surgery, it's the Triple Crown of Constipation!  👑

If you have a Sam's Club membership, these gummies are a palatable way of adding to your fiber intake.  Two gummies are considered to be one serving, with 5g of fiber.  A small handful of these a couple times a day can help get things moving without the cramping that can come from a laxative.  (And they're on sale right now, too!)

On 11/7/2023 at 3:37 PM, Ocean Boy said:

Yes, there is a balloon to keep the catheter in. You don't want to pull it out without deflating the balloon. It not only hurts but can cause a lot of damage to the urethra.... the tube you urinate through.

It also tends to create a bloody mess (says the person who has to deal with the bloody mess). 

On 11/7/2023 at 4:33 PM, Sea Dog said:

OB is correct. They told me the balloon on the other end helps keep it in the bladder. They will deflate it before taking it out. I can imagine taking it out is not going to feel very good at all.

It's going to feel a heck of a lot better than it did going in!!!  

Honestly, once that balloon is deflated, it just kinda slips out.

On 11/6/2023 at 10:21 AM, Luckynana said:

We headed home the following week, and my daughter surprised me with a pumpkin pie!!  I was thrilled, especially since I am the only person in the family who eats it.

That's why I like to buy pecan pie... I'm the only person who eats it, so I get the whole thing!  🤣

On 11/2/2023 at 1:25 PM, Sea Dog said:

There is a nationwide shortage of Pharmacists. Combine that with CVS’s working policies and working them to the bone. Apparently Walgreens has the same problem. There is always a line to pick up prescriptions inside and even outside in the drive through. Most of time I only see one pharmacist working along with 2 or 3 techs.

I have a couple recommendations regarding pharmacies / prescription medications.

First is Sam's Club, if you have one in your area.  I know my local club's pharmacy isn't open at all on Sundays, and they're closed for an hour at lunch (I think from 1:30-2:30 or something like that, not during the normal noon hour), but I have always had excellent service, and I've never been more than third in line to pick up a prescription, and can usually just walk right up and be first in line.  You also do NOT need to be a Sam's Club member to use their pharmacy.  

My other recommendation, particularly for "maintenance" medications (things you take every day, so you can order them in bulk in advance and have them delivered), is the Mark Cuban website: CostPlusDrugs .  They don't have ALL medications, but the ones that they do have are probably significantly cheaper than what you're paying locally (and they are continually adding more meds to their inventory as they make more deals with manufacturers).  

I have prescription coverage through my health insurance at the hospital, but it's still cheaper for me to get my meds through CostPlusDrugs versus at my hospital's pharmacy using our insurance.  They charge a per-pill price (cost plus 15%), plus a per-fill fee ($5 per medication), plus a per-shipment mailing fee ($5 per order).  So it works out the most cost-efficient if you can get your "provider" (quote marks for OB's sake... my primary care provider is a Nurse Practitioner rather than a physician) to write your prescription for 90 or even 180 days' worth of pills at a time.  This way you can get all your prescriptions filled at the same time, and pay the "fill" and the "mailing" fees less often.  

For example, if your pill costs $.02 per pill and you take it once per day:
--A 30-day supply would be $.60 for the pills, plus $5 for the fill and $5 for the mailing, or $10.60 (about $.35/pill). 

--A 90-day supply, would be $1.80 for the pills, plus $5 for the fill and $5 for the mailing, or $11.80 (about $.13/pill). 
--A 180-day supply would be $3.60 for the pills, plus $5 for the fill and $5 for the mailing, or $13.60 (about $.07/pill).

If you order four different pills all at the same time, you only pay the $5 mailing fee once for the entire shipment, so that further reduces the cost per pill.  

And every dollar you save can be used to pay for more cruises!!! 

The website has a page you can print out to take to your doctor/provider that details exactly how to electronically send your prescriptions to the CostPlusDrugs pharmacy.  The company also participates with a limited number of insurance companies (and adding more all the time).  

My "surrogate mom" has a med that her gastroenterologist has to continually fight with her insurance company to get them to cover it -- every year they need to mess around with "pre-authorization" paperwork, and there are delays until they finally decide to cover it again.  I looked up the med on the CPD website, and she can get 90 pills for $9.50 plus $5 for mailing (or she could get the whole year at one time for under $30 including mailing!!!!).  Why on earth her insurance company is spending tons of time and money jerking her around every year for pre-auth on a med that costs less than $50 a year is beyond my comprehension... especially since she's been on it for over a decade and they end up approving it every single year.  

Anyway, give Sam's Club or CostPlusDrugs a look, especially if you're not happy with the service you're getting from your local pharmacy. 

On 11/2/2023 at 9:45 AM, TravelGirlinDallas said:

So exciting!! The 7th grader stayed up wayyy past his bedtime to witness this historical moment and all of the hoopla afterward. While we weren't able to swing attending WS game, he did get to see this team play a couple of weeks ago in one of the ALCS games. At the end of last year, he insisted they were going to the WS, back when they were terrible and their manager had just been fired. Of course, I laughed. I should have believed him.

Can you ask him what the winning PowerBall lottery numbers are going to be?  

😉

8 hours ago, h20skibum said:

Since it is seasonal cocktail time, I tried the honey apple crisp.  A drink and desert all in one. 

A local bar has a seasonal specialty cocktail made with apple cider and Fireball, garnished with a cinnamon-sugar coated donut hole on a stick.  I'm not much of a drinker, but that one is quite tasty!

15 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Cousin Eddy!  The **iter's full.

A friend of mine repeats that line every time she sees a Carnival cruise ship, in tribute to the Carnival Triumph cruise where they lost power and the toilets were overflowing while they drifted aimlessly at sea!  

On 11/4/2023 at 1:23 PM, Ozark_Kid said:

@DeltaOne my SIL and Sharon figured out how to load it up! 

 

After loading it up they drove it up to the Church building and found an area that will be easy to unload it.

We will probably change the ramp surface because it's a little slick.

Also yesterday we were able to drive our DD Siena into the drive. It made it but still concerned how much clearance there would be after they would lower the floor.

There are all kinds of vehicles that can be retrofitted for "drive in" capability (versus a lift being installed), and they don't all necessarily have to be lowered.  In my work with disabled patients as a private duty nurse, I've seen a few different types. 

Some have installed / automatic ramps that work with the press of a button, and some have manual ramps that just unfold and hook onto the doorway.  Some load from the side and some load from the rear. 

This webpage shows some of the many options that are available -- Clock Mobility is a local (Michigan) company, but a Google search will help you find a similar company closer to home.  

On 11/3/2023 at 4:29 PM, Sea Dog said:

Yes this is a separate surgery center and is 10 times nicer than a hospital. Everyone is great. Only issue is that they had a hard time inserting a catheter so an urologist had to come in a scope me and insert because I have an enlarged prostrate. I will will have to go home with the catheter and have my urologist remove it in 10 days. 

Do you have a history of urinary retention after surgery?  I'm used to Foley catheters being removed while you're still in the OR, before you even wake up, unless it was for a urological type of surgery (like John/Bella's dad recently had).    

Even with a urologist inserting the catheter due to BPH, unless you have a history of post-surgical retention, I can't think of a reason to continue the catheter beyond the surgical procedure itself. Maybe @Ocean Boy can think of something I'm missing?  

We (meaning the hospital I work at) have to track the number of days people have a Foley and how many UTIs are contracted hospital-wide related to a Foley, so unless there are extenuating circumstances (urinary retention, health issue requiring strict intake/output tracking, sacral wound healing problem on an incontinent patient, etc.), a Foley gets pulled immediately after it's no longer absolutely medically necessary.  (Foleys are a huge infection risk.)

Glad to hear you'll soon be home with Linda and the pups!!!

We had a sprinkling in my area when I left for work last night, and by the time I got to the hospital it was coming down pretty heavily. Not much stuck, though, because the ground is still on the warm side.  

On 10/28/2023 at 3:05 PM, h20skibum said:

I got lazy this year.  Cookie cutters, a block of wood, and a hammer. 
 

I would have used a lighthouse cookie cutter, but then I could not post it here. 🤣

On 10/28/2023 at 3:40 PM, A&L_Ont said:

I wouldn’t want those objects near my lighthouse. 

Those dang lighthouse cookies will live on in this thread forever, just like the can opener at the rental!  🤣