jeph

Rosy O'Donell?..........:eek::eek:.......What ever ship she sails now THAT Captain earns his/her pay just trying to ballast the ship.........;):eek:

Particularly in recent years, Rosie is a veritable model of slenderness compared to a good 30% of typical cruise passengers.

So why don't we leave the slinging of appearance-based personal insults to "The Donald"? :D

Just heard one of those military talking heads on CNN say this in reference to the ongoing struggle against ISIL:

"It's like the world's biggest game of Whack-A-Mole!"

Thanks again to everyone for all the useful info & suggestions...

...While I will take my laptop to the shop if it seems needed, the pop-up ads intruded and "took over" when my cursor was in the log-in box at top right-- there were no ads of any kind, much less computer security-related ads, anywhere near the cursor when logging in.

However, I shall remain vigilant.

"Eternal vigilance is the price of doing business in the internet age"-- "jeph"

...that 1) It is indeed going on at the site, and not just my computer; and

2) That there are easy fixes to prevent it, and

3) That there are a lot of nice people out there to give you a hand, FAST, and

4) That maybe I ain't crazy after all! (Well, I might in fact be crazy, just not having some hallucination about THIS! :D )

Thanks, everybody...

Within the last hour or so, a pop-up which fills the whole screen appeared. It announced (also LITERALLY announced, by the way, through the speakers in my laptop!) that my computer had just become infected with dangerous malware of some sort, and I'd better call the number on the screen RIGHT AWAY to deal with this problem AT ONCE, before further damage could be done. (That number, by the way, for whatever it's worth, is 844-469-7461, for those of you who may have more expertise in tracking these things down-- I was unable to find any further info on that number.) It's all bs, of course, a scam, but designed to give the (false) impression that this urgent message is coming straight from Microsoft. It's impossible to get away from this page by using the "back" button, or even closing the page-- you simply have to shut down the computer, which I did.

Now, I mention this on this forum for two reasons: First, because the SAME THING happened yesterday-- different page, different text, different phone number, but the same basic scam. (I WAS able to find some mention of that earlier phone number-- 877-667-7972-- in my subsequent online searching, so I know that at least one other person out there had recently encountered these jerks, even though the phone number seemed only to have been become active within the previous 24 hours. These guys appear and disappear as quickly as they can.)

The second, and more relevant, reason I'm bringing it up HERE is that in both cases, the pop-up took over my computer screen AT THE EXACT INSTANT that I was logging into the CC message boards. Naturally, I feel this is mighty unlikely to be coincidence!

So...has anyone else experienced this particular nasty phenomenon? Or is the only common factor between the two incidents my computer, rather than an issue with this website? I would also appreciate hearing from any of the monitors / administrators of CC if they can offer any insight...:confused:

Consider dining at Chihuly gardens as well, especially if the cafe is open into the evening. The cafe is full of displays-- some embedded in the tables-- of Chihuly's eccentric collections, (such as transistor radios and children's toys,) and the food is really excellent-- far more ambitious and creative than the usual run-of-the-mill museum cafe.

Sauna is hot? "Boat" rocks from side to side? Too many Chinese people? Hate passengers like that, but love threads like this! :D

A few years back-- not certain which cruise or ship-- I was approaching the service desk to resolve some minor question when I happened upon a very angry middle-aged woman in a lovely sparkly black dress. She was so put out because this was her formal night dress, and she had only just understood that tonight's dress code was merely "semi-formal", (one step above "smart casual",) and was berating the poor girl at the desk-- why didn't they (the cruise line) anticipate that these terms would be so confusing for people to follow? NOW what was she supposed to do for formal night tomorrow-- wear the SAME THING?? (I suppose popping back to the cabin to change outfits would simply have been out of the question...)

The baffled desk staffer could only murmur a vague apology for the confusion, which did nothing to placate the woman, who stalked off in a huff. To her retreating back, I spoke out in my best Billy Crystal "Lorenzo" impression: "But darling, the mos' important thing to remember is-- you look MAH-velous!" Whether she heard it or not, she never looked back-- but at least that girl behind the desk got a good laugh out of the absurd situation.

Okay, just kidding; I didn't mean ALL of those posting-- but I was concerned that many of you were leaving the impression that one could put wine into a carry-on to FLY. If all you're talking about is boarding the ship, then by all means keep it with you-- but not during the flight there. Even all these years after the "liquid explosive" threat was identified, no one's allowed to bring ANY container of ANY liquid of more than 3 ounces aboard a plane, except for water bottles purchased AFTER you've gone through security. (Hell, my toothpaste was once confiscated at the security checkpoint, simply because it was originally a 6 or 7 ounce tube-- even though it obviously had only about half an ounce of toothpaste left in it for my trip.)

A bottle of wine, or anything else in liquid form of that size, MUST go into checked luggage for a flight. The previous poster has the right idea of how this should be done for the safety of the bottle, as well as your clothes, and the airlines have "FRAGILE" stickers which can be applied to the piece of luggage in question.

There are two things I never travel without.

The first is a little plastic bottle (airline-approved size) of rubbing alcohol, which, as some other posters have noted, is useful for sanitizing not only one's hands should a tap and sink not be handy, but also for wiping down any surface in your cabin (light switches, drawer pulls, tv remote, phone...) which you might be worried about, with the aid of a bit of paper napkin.

The second item is Cold-Eeze lozenges, which use zinc as their active ingredient. (Walmart makes their own version, which will save you a dollar or two, but I find they taste nasty, so I spring for the name brand.) They come 18 to a box-- 6 per day for three days. You're supposed to avoid citrus fruit, which can interfere w the effectiveness of the lozenges, shortly before or after taking one. The only side effect they have on me is that they can mess with your sense of taste a bit.

When you're first coming down with a cold, it starts with an irritating post-nasal drip, which soon develops into the full-fledged sore throat that is "phase one" of the cold, later followed by "phase two" (runny & stuffed-up nose) and finishes up with "phase three" (dry itchy throat and lingering cough.) As soon as you feel that cold coming on, start taking the lozenges. Apparently, at that point, all the cold germs are hanging out there in the back of the throat, and the zinc in the lozenges just "carpet bombs" the hell out of 'em over & over. They really work-- at the least, greatly minimizing your symptoms and shortening your cold, and sometimes, if caught early enough, just killing it off altogether before it really has a chance to take hold. To paraphrase the old credit card commercial, "Don't leave home without them!"

The biggest "pro" of cruising from New Orleans...is NEW ORLEANS!

I'm including a link to my review from Feb 2012. Although the NCL ship in question has since decamped to Europe, I hope the description of my activities ashore at the ports of call may prove helpful, including lots of details about "The Crescent City"...

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=99763

Laissez les bon temps roullez...;)

I'm lucky to have a Trader Joe's just a few miles from me, and shop there often, but had never noticed what coffees they carry, not being a regular coffee drinker myself (this is intended as a gift for some nice neighbors who cat-sit for me when I travel). I sure won't worry about running around searching for it down in the Caribbean if I can just go to the mall in Hadley!;)

As I posted on one of the other boards, there's no reason to limit myself to buying only one country's coffee on this trip-- I will happily buy a bit of both!

...although, since I also posted this question on the San Juan board, I've also been advised to pick up some Puerto Rican coffee-- little or none of which ever makes it off the island-- at a shop in Old San Juan during my pre-cruise stay.

No reason I can't buy a little of both, of course!;)

...for the input, and the appetizing pictures!

...but you do know we have Costco here in Massachusetts, too, right?:D

I also posted this question on the St Maarten board, and may well have a good lead for that port...

...I'm headed out to a restaurant on that street on the evening I fly in, so I should have no trouble finding the place!

I've seen the infrared night video of the incident several times. My impression of it is striking-- the woman doesn't look like she just fell out of her balcony, her body looks like it was PROPELLED out from the side of the ship with some considerable force.

I am not suggesting some sort of foul play, nor implying that anyone else was involved-- just that her sudden absence of memory ("...and the next thing I knew...") seems a little convenient.

I will look up locations online.

...and my apologies if I've injured your pride! I do know that Puerto Rico produces some pretty kickass coffee of its own, and I certainly don't rule out buying some of that.

(If it's any comfort, I have this question posted in regard to my port stops in St Maarten and St Thomas as well...)

My cruise (starting Jan 25th) goes nowhere near Jamaica, but San Juan offers plenty of "shopportunities". I want to be sure to get the REAL DEAL-- 100% Blue Mountain, and not just a blend with a little Blue Mountain thrown in. Can anyone recommend a reputable shop in the Old City that carries it?

My cruise (starting Jan 25th) goes nowhere near Jamaica, but St Thomas is known for its "shopportunities". I want to be sure to get the REAL DEAL-- 100% Blue Mountain, and not just a blend with a little Blue Mountain thrown in. Can anyone recommend a reputable shop in Charlotte Amalie that carries it?

My cruise (starting Jan 25th) goes nowhere near Jamaica, but St Maarten is known for its "shopportunities". I want to be sure to get the REAL DEAL-- 100% Blue Mountain, and not just a blend with a little Blue Mountain thrown in. Can anyone recommend a reputable shop in Phillipsburg that carries it?

Trivia quizzes are one of my favorite things about a cruise, and I try to attend them daily. For those who haven't been, I'd say don't avoid going merely because of the ridiculous stories you're reading here-- you have to understand that the people with, shall we say, "boundary issues" are pretty rare. I've seen that sort of thing in maybe one out of fifty trivia sessions, and I still don't let these weirdly hypercompetitive types spoil my fun.

I can only imagine how people might size me up. On the one hand, I'm a fairly tall slim guy and I keep fit.

On the other hand, I'm the idiot in the back row, who, when the crew for that lifeboat station asks if anyone has any questions, has been known to put on his best "little Jewish mother" voice and ask, "Does this lifejacket make me look fat?"

After exiting the ship at a port of call, particularly if I'm with a group headed out on some excursion we've arranged, I sometimes like to turn around, point back towards the vessel, and yell, "OKAY, EVERYBODY REMEMBER WHERE WE PARKED, ALL RIGHT?";)