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White shirt short sleeve t shirt if it is warm out or beige long sleeve sweater if it isn't. I will try and post here when I have my outfit on and am ready to head up to wave goodbye for the sail away.

We are on the starboard side - so I guess I will have to go up to one of the decks to wave to everyone. It is a new cabin location for us - we are trying deck 4 with one of the larger verandas since the retreat was booked and I like quiet vs the 'music' playing non stop on the outside decks. I do miss the Lincoln Center stage. I won't be doing a live from since we are not really doing anything at all on this cruise. The debate is whether we will even get off the ship- we know we are not getting off at HMC because it will be cool and the water temp is way too cold for us to swim. I intend on hitting the library on board and along with what is on my kindle reading and relaxing. They are showing Oppenheimer on board for 2 consecutive days so I thought I would watch 1/2 of the movie 1 day and the other 1/2 the next since I don't think I can sit for the full 3 hours. I just picked up Paxlovid which I hope we don't need. I am going to wear my mask at check in and in the elevators. We are hoping that check in is not a zoo. We don't have any status at all and are not in a suite so I assume it will not be quick. Thanks for all the Bon Voyages and yes Joy I know to say hi to the Lido bartenders for you and Allen. 🙂

Thank you all for the Bon Voyage. We are packed and ready to go but our boarding time is in the afternoon so we will be home all morning waiting to leave. We usually hang out on our veranda for the sail away and not sure where the port cameras are. I will wear by blue baseball cap and wave if we are on the correct side. I just hope the seas are not too rough like our Alaska trip this fall - the bands don't work for me so I have to take the pills which make me fall asleep. If it is in the beginning of our cruise that is fine- since we don't have anything planned. @ger_77 I hope that the doctors can treat your DH's medical issues and you get a quick appointment for the CT scan. @kazu Jacqui- I hope your ribs feel better soon - and glad you got out for groceries. @0106 Safe travels - we have air tags as well and you do know where you suitcase will be but the last couple of trips the airline through the app had their own track your luggage as well so we used both. HAL sells wonderful lined water proof jackets at their shops so on our trip to Alaska many cruisers bought these - so heaven forbid if they lose your luggage know that HAL does have some warm clothes to buy. One thing I would recommend is long underwear - it blocks the wind - and that is the major issue vs just the cold on these trips. Also make sure you have a neck warmer (a turtle neck works) and a hat and gloves. What a fabulous trip this will be. @Cruzin Terri I hope you get all of your packing done and have a wonderful, enjoyable cruise. I am glad that your floors finally got done the right way. @StLouisCruisers Sandy thank you for the pictures. One day I would love to go there - we did an expedition trip to Antarctica but we didn't do any of Patagonia. My DH only wants to do a trip like you did but it is $$$$$ and a bit out of our price range - I do keep buying lotto tickets. Thank you to all for doing the daily. This is nicest group of people on CC.

Will do and the picture helps.

Love the British shows - one of the best is Foyle's War. Also the new one Anika is very good. Sorry to hear about everyone's medical issues. It seems our medical system here in the US is one of wait and wait vs getting the care we need. @ger_77 If you call your DH's doctor could he be seen right away vs waiting in the ER? I hope your concerns can be addressed promptly. @StLouisCruisers I love the Valentine tree, your daughter is so creative. We are packed and pretty much ready to go for our cruise tomorrow. Just a few last minute things to do today. It is so nice to not have to fly anywhere for this cruise. Thank you all for the daily.

@smitty34877Happy Birthday and glad you are going out to dinner. I hope the weather is okay for that. Be safe with the freezing rain/snow/sleet combo today. @DWAliaschief Happy Birthday and enjoy your fabulous cruise. @RMLincoln thinking of your DH's surgery today. I hope it resolves all of his issues and he doesn't have to use the drops anymore which cause him the awful itching. @Cruzin Terri Safe travels and I hope the doctors today can take care of the issue so you can go on your cruise. I wish you could find local doctors but it seems to be happening all over the south that doctors are going to concierge practices. We also refuse to pay the outrageous fees to see a doctor. Our weather has finally warmed up today. I don't have much on the agenda, just work and a hair appointment. My DH cracked a tooth on some popcorn but the dentist said he was fine to travel and will get a new crown when we get home. The cost of this is $$$ - even with a dental plan. Thank you all for the daily.

@StLouisCruisers loved the pictures of Singapore and your grandchildren. They grow up so fast. @aliaschief our cruise looks fabulous and so nice to see pictures of you and Sue. I love my sweat pants but just wear them around the house. They also got a lot of wear after my back surgery last. year since they were easy to pull up and down. @superomaI love your toe socks. It is cold here today- one of our coldest days but nothing like everyone here is having. There was an article in our local paper about the awful weather in Florida this year thanks to El Nino. We are having cold, then warm but it is usually raining with our warm weather. Fl is not a good vacation spot for people this year. We have to drive to FLL today to pick up a chair that had to be fixed. The woman who fixed it is a weaver - the rattan on the seat broke from old age and she replaced it. She works out of her home. Small world - when we spoke it turns out we grew up just a couple of miles from each other. She lives in one of the true old FL cottages on the inter coastal. FLL is a long drive for us and we only want to go on the weekend since the traffic is horrible during the week. We will be there next week for our cruise but we take a car service from our home so we don't have to drive it. Later today it will be football and more football. He is hoping the ship has the games next week for him to watch. Happy Sunday to all.

For this trip I would recommend a veranda cabin not a a cabana. On our trip we would not have used a cabana at all. In May it is likely that it will be way too cold or windy to be in a cabana. The bow is opened in Glacier Bay so we went there or to the rear of the ship to see Glacier Bay. When we were too cold we went up to the Crow's nest (along with everyone else it seemed). If it is warm out you will be fine seeing everything at the bow or by the Seaview pool area. Also the promenade deck is another location to see everything. For a lot of Glacier Bay we stayed in our room and went in and out of our veranda- remember it takes hours to do the entire bay.

@seagarsmokerCongratulations on the new job.

@ger_77Sorry to hear about your DH and that you had to cancel the cruise. I hope his procedure is scheduled soon so he can get healthy and you can cruise again. @RMLincoln Sorry to hear about the passing of your friend. I am glad you are now safe in your new place and that family can visit you much more often. My DD and GKs (one set) live in Tenafly and I do hate driving in NJ. I find that when I go a bit over the speed limit the other drivers are tail gaiting me and honking me to go faster even though I am in the right lane. I also got awful directions from google on our trip from the airport to Tenafly - we were going in circles - I wished I had an old fashioned map. @seagarsmokerCongratulations on the good news. I hope the job offer is what you want in terms of salary and benefits. Today it looks like rain again - no surprise, and then we will for us be very cold. All of those traveling to FLL and other Florida ports should be sure to bring jackets and sweaters. I am glad we picked our cruise this year to go way south to the ABC islands. The weather has not been great for the Eastern Caribbean this year. I can't believe @JazzyVremembered we are leaving next week. I hope everyone has a good Friday.

I have been reading a very interesting non fiction book called Fire Weather about the 2016 fire in Ft. McMurray. The author also writes a lot about the oil industry in this area. It is a fascinating read. He references the youtube videos of the fire which I viewed and it was frightening to see this fire consume most of the entire town. @seagarsmoker good luck and I hope you hear positive news about the job. @Quartzsite Cruisersorry about the passing of your friends from high school. We have a large facebook group from my high school class and it is always so sad to see the passing of my classmates, some of whom I have known since elementary school. @JazzyV Vanessa so glad you canceled your appointment and got someone to do the snow clearing. Please be safe tomorrow. @marshhawk sorry to hear about Chuck's need for more surgery. It is hard to take care of spouses who do defy doctor's orders. @Kazu glad you also got someone to help with the ice/snow. @ottahand7 I hope you feel better soon. It is no fun to be sick on a cruise. I love mashed potatoes but I don't eat them that often since they are loaded with calories. My husband makes very good ones with Yukon gold potatoes. Thanks to all who make the daily a wonderful place to visit.

@marshhawk Please let us know how your DH does with his procedure. I hope all goes well. @ottahand7 - Nancy - wow on the steroids. I hope the lowered dose takes those hallucinations away and you get to sleep today. Hoping you feel better soon. Wow to all on the ice and cold. We are starting to have our cold weather again but I am sure it is laughable to all here, even those in Northern Fl. For those of you traveling here bring a light weight jacket and a sweater, and don't forget your rain coat. It has been a very rainy winter. Even with this cool and rainy weather I much prefer winter to our horrible hot summer. @Nickelpenny please take it easy on overdoing it. I am sure the PT will give you exercises to do at home that will help you vs making you feel hurt all over. Thank you for all the wonderful pictures of the port today. We should have been there last year but had to cancel that cruise due to my back surgery. This year our substitute cruise doesn't go to Scotland - we decided to do 1/2 of the VOV instead and come back to Boston so we only have to fly one way. I am not sure at this point if we will ever get there, so it is great seeing the pictures. Have a good day everyone and happy cruising to those traveling.

@ottahand7 glad you are feeling a bit better. We had the RSV and I had an awful reaction to it, but given what is going around now I am glad I had it. Wow on the snow everyone is getting. The schools are all closed where my grandkids lived- even NH which surprised me. I assume it is because the busses can't do the windy, hilly roads. @rafinmd please be careful shoveling the snow. Isn't there someone you can hire to do this for you? We are actually having a nice day here in South Florida. All the weather is north of us and we are finally seeing the yellow orb in the sky. I am back to work today after a nice long 3 day weekend. Yesterday I had trigger point injections for my neck/shoulder so I am very sore today but at least the pain seems to have dissipated a bit. I am still in my PJ's - I do love working remotely. I see multiple work emails coming in I have to address - so here is to a great day for everyone. Some of my favorite days were snow days when I didn't have to go anywhere at all.

We were on her for 2 weeks this September for an Alaska cruise. The staff was wonderful and the ship was fine. They were putting in the new library during our cruise. We don't really care about big production shows and enjoyed the performers that they had except for one singing group - they had them twice and we didn't bother with their second show. I know they had trivia, wine tasting etc but we don't really do those things. We were on this trip to look at the scenery so I headed to the crows nest when it was cold out and to the promenade deck when it was warm enough to hang out there. The casino seemed very busy, as did the bars at night. One of the bars had a good piano player - better than the dueling pianos. The one thing we both missed was Lincoln Center - they had no classical music at all during our cruise.

Thank you all for your thoughts about my mother and the issues I am facing. I doubt it will get better but the goal now is to find consistent and good at home caregivers. I do most of the banking for my mother and one day soon I will take away the check book. For now it is her last bit of independence and she tells me what checks she writes. Hopefully they will now be written with the correct checks. @seagarsmoker good luck on the job search. I hope you hear positive news. @kazu Please be safe out there today. For black ice even spikes on your shoes don't help. Thanks for all your help yesterday with the shore excursion question. I am glad those traveling got home safely. Ugh for the cold weather coming to most of you. We really can't complain- it finally stopped raining and it is a cloudy but warm day today. Tomorrow it is back to rain - but still warm. The rest of the week for those traveling here is much cooler and windy. Have a great day everyone.

Hello all and thanks for the daily. Yes to C sections and no to dressing up your pets except to protect them from the cold/heat. I was lucky to never need a C section nor did my daughter and DIL but so glad they are available. This winter has been horrible in Florida rainy and cold with very few warm and sunny days. Still we have nothing to complain about give the weather this year in other parts of the country and even Northern Fl. I do feel bad for those who have to fly here to get on their cruises from FLL - the northern Caribbean has also not had great weather. We are so glad that this year for our local cruise out of FLL we chose to go to the ABC islands. We don't even bother getting off the ship at HAL's private island the water is way too cold for us to swim in. My mother is having a lot of issues - and she gets so angry with me when I try to explain what is going on. My mother still likes to be right 100% of the time even though her memory is going. I now just try to indulge her and I don't argue I just take care of the issue(s) since I am the one pretty much doing everything. She just bounced all the checks she wrote these past 2 weeks by using a closed checking account - none of us knew she even had a check book from this account since it was my Dad's and he passed away over 10 years ago. Just another thing on my plate to deal with. And yes I am a joint account holder with her and I am supposed to write the checks. I do them all on line. Oh well. Any suggestions as to how to address these issues is welcome. Today is another rainy cool Florida day. I am off to visit a friend who just moved to assisted living. She has issues with walking and decided it was getting too hard to live in our community. I am looking forward to seeing her. I hope that Tana is okay, that everyone gets their heat working, and that those who aren't feeling so great feel better soon. Safe travels to all.

Just know in May in Norway some of the roads to the mountains may still be closed in May. Also quite cold in Iceland.

We finally are seeing a yellow orb in the sky. It should finally be a nice day here in South Florida. So for all of you coming here for cruises the weather will be in the low 80's today with chance of rain coming for the weekend. I never minded the cold weather where we lived before we moved to FL but my DH cannot tolerate anymore. The heat of our summers bothers us both so this summer we planned a long cruise to be away most of late June and July. We are doing a short cruise to Norway and then a long one that takes us back to Boston that @StLouisCruisers is also going on. My husband said he would only do one long flight. Our DS and DIL and GKs live in New Hampshire so we will head there from Boston and spend some time visiting all of our children and grandchildren, in NH, NJ and NY. I woke up today to a text from my brother telling me that my 94+ mother has been writing checks on a closed account so that every check has bounced. None of us realized that she even had checks for a closed account and must have put them in her check book when she lost some of other checks for her actual checking account. I guess I will have to now take over writing all of her checks which are just to a few to family members and some activities where she lives since I do most of her banking online. What a mess. My mother has 24/7 in home care but her memory and cognitive abilities are quickly deteriorating. It is becoming a full time job for me on top of all the other things I have to do. It is very sad to see. We have had major issues with her caregivers since her regular one got injured. If the new ones don't work out I don't know what will happen since she refuses to move out of her home to assisted living. Even if she went to assisted living she would need an aide during the day. My motto now is one day at a time. @seagarsmoker good luck on your 2nd interview. For all those waiting for big storms - please be safe and I hope the grocery stores are not too crazy today. @aliaschief your cruise sounds wonderful. Enjoy your time in Panama. Have a good Friday everyone.

@StLouisCruisers Happy Birthday to Ren. He is quite the athlete and so handsome. @Cruzin Terri so sorry to hear about your husband. It is so hard to be the caregiver and you must remember to take care of yourself. I am glad you both can still travel and cruising makes it easier to see loads of different places. I haven't been to the port but my son lived in this area for awhile after college. He motorcycled up to the border as well. He managed to support himself by teaching kite surfing. When he was visiting this past weekend one of his friends who he met there came over for dinner with her lovely baby. She said they had a very nice community of expats and have all kept in touch. I so enjoy reading the daily and hearing about everyone's day, their weather, planned vacations and those on them already. It is a nice break in my day which for the last couple of weeks has been very hectic.

@kazu and @smitty34877 Glad to hear nothing was broken on your falls but those soft tissue injuries can be just as bad. We had a wild day and night of winds and then some thunderstorms late at night. You could feel the wind blowing through our house, first time that has happened. Not much on the agenda for today, I have already been busy with work though since I work from home I haven't managed to get out of my PJ's yet. That will come soon. I hope to get an outside walk in later today. I haven't done one in awhile between the weather and being sick. I think I walked miles back and forth in my house cleaning up from everyone. It looks like those on cruises are having a fabulous time. We leave at the end of January for a short cruise to the Caribbean. I think we will be joining @sailingdutchyon their 2nd cruise. We are trying a room on deck 4 aft area (not all the way aft) to get the larger balcony since the retreat was fully booked. We have only 2 short excursions booked and plan to stay on the ship for the majority of our cruise. We have been to almost all of the ports except Bonaire and we are not sure if we even want to head to the beach in Aruba. We still have not gotten our boarding time. Thank you all for your contributions. This is such a nice place to visit on a daily basis.

Wow on the weather everyone is having. So far we have just had high winds but no power outages and no rain. Roy glad to hear that your radiation went well and you anticipate no bad side effects. It is incredible how medicine has advanced in this area. @marshhawk It sounds like your life is never easy, with caring for your husband, your pets and animals and having all your doctor appointments become major hassles. I think everyone is having issues with medical appointments now- it is getting worse rather than better. There was a very good article in the newspaper about the impact of private equity buying out doctors/hospitals and only caring about the bottom line vs actual patient care. I think we will see more and more of this. I had one doctor visit where he spent the entire time looking at his computer and never even examined me - that was the last time I saw him. I don't know how he could even know what was wrong w/o ever looking at me. My husband (who is a retired MD) said that the patient's appearance and really listening to the patient tells you a lot about what is wrong and is critical to an accurate diagnosis. Now you just get sent for tests vs care. Enough of my rant. Glad to hear that so many are enjoying their various cruises. Please everyone stay safe and if it is horrible weather stay home, if at all possible. There are too many crazies driving now who think that their 4 wheel drive cars can handle everything including icy roads which of course they can't.

I haven't been on for days since my DS, DIL and GK were here. An exhausting but fun filled few days. I still have a pile of laundry to do and the house looks like a tornado hit it. I was back to work this afternoon but thank heavens I work remotely. Our next guest is my DSIL - that should be a fun and relaxing visit. The only requirement we have for her stay is to make us her home made fabulous chicken pot pies for dinner. I wait all year for this. @Crazy For Cats so sorry to hear about your beautiful fur baby. It is so hard to lose a beloved pet. I am glad that your other fur babies are taking care of you and Juan. Sorry to hear that so many are still not feeling well. My cold finally went away over this past weekend. I did have to start an antibiotic as it went to my sinuses as per usual for me when I get a cold. @Cruzin Terrisafe travels tomorrow. It is hard to be the only driver on long trips. I wish there was good public transportation in the south. I do miss the trains that I used to ride in the NE corridor. It looks like those on cruises are having a wonderful time. We leave at the end of January for our cruise and for once don't have to worry about flying to the port. It will be nice to just head out in the morning though we will have to deal with the awful I 95 traffic jam on the way to the port. It doesn't seem to matter now what time you leave there is always traffic.

I had this happen on one of our flights and I asked for a supervisor who then booked the one flight. So IMHO I would call back - get a supervisor and get your fight home booked. Also just a FYI your FLL flight home it is often cheaper to book on your own so I would compare the fare. I heard you can do a 'fake' booking on Princess which also uses flightease to see the fare.

Rabbit, rabbit, white rabbit. @Cat in my lap Happy Anniversary. I did my usual last night - in bed by around 11 and this time I didn't bother with turning on the TV and trying to make it to midnight. I still have the cold courtesy of my GK's and it looks like DH is now going to be sick with it as well. My brother and SIL and nieces and DH and grandnieces and nephew are all visiting but they are all staying at my mother's house. So far we haven't been able to see them. I will try and visit tomorrow with a mask on and outside. I know they don't want to get sick and given that my mother is 94 we have to be very careful around her. @St Louis Cruiser Love the pictures and your daughter is so creative. It sounds like everyone is having a good time on their cruises and so many are getting ready to cruise soon. I can't wait to follow the blogs of the people on the Grand Australia cruise - and the world cruise. It is so much fun to travel along with you. Sending healing thoughts to all who are hurting. @kazu Thank you for doing the daily and to all others who post every day. It makes this place so special.

Happy New Year to all and thank you to all who post here.