JanineM

I've got a few pairs of gloves from Costco. I think they're labelled as running gloves, but they have the little bits of vinyl on the finger tips so you can operate the touch screen on your phone. They're warm enough for cool temperatures - but not sub-zero.

 

If your hands tend to get really cold you might want to consider mittens, or running gloves that have a mitten cover.

 

>>> Carry gloves with me about 10 months a year! <<<

Check out Cafe Press. They make personalized stuff - but even if you don't use their service they have lots of ideas you can steal.

Well, I made a mess of things last night. Before our cruise at Christmas I made a bathing suit that I wore but the top of the bodice just was not quite right (uneven), so on the weekend I ripped the stitches out for that section and restitched.

 

Still not right.

 

So I ripped it out again last night, even removing the elastic. Stitched it up again.

 

Then I decided that I really wasn't happy with the ruching on the back so I figured I could open up that seam and reconfigure the gathers so it is more flattering (ha ha) from the back. Ripped out the stitching AND serged seams, basted, gathered, pinned. Looked better. Basted it. Stitched it with just a straight stitch. Tried it on - it looks better, but still a bit like a diaper. And the darned front piece that originally started all of this will not lie flat! Messed around some more. Stitched the back and started pulling out the basting when I noticed I'd missed sections of fabric in the stitching because there are so many gathers.

 

I thought about how much I dislike the way the butt looks and the fact that I can't get the elastic at the front to lie flat so I turned it into a wadder and chucked it in the closet. Arggh. Off to Target or Ross today to buy one.

 

I have fabric ready to go to make another but we leave on Sunday so just don't have time. Plus, I think I need a different pattern.

 

How is everyone else's sewing going?!

Thank you! Do you know if there are kettlebells, medicine balls, sandbells, bosu balls, etc? I tend not to be a machines girl but more the freestyle weight/strength stuff...mostly as that is the stuff utilized in my classes at home.

 

Definitely free weights, but don't recall ever seeing kettlebells or medicine balls on any ship.

We love Celebrity but know that it's more sedate than some of the other lines. There are activities but not a lot of crazy pool games, etc.

We have pets and lost one suddenly last year. I was absolutely inconsolable for days on end. Had this happened while we were away and I knew, it would have absolutely RUINED my holiday. We board our cats at the vet, just because they are our only 'children' and I want excellent care for them should something like this happen. My vet knows when to bother us, and when to call my sister.

 

I've been on the other end of the situation, however. Many years ago I housesat for a very close friend while she was in Europe on her honeymoon. She had 2 cats, and one of them was horribly injured after climbing a power pole and electrocuting herself. I met with the vet and it was determined that the cat was in terrible pain and needed to be put to sleep.

 

This was in the 80s - before cell phones - and I had no way to tell my friend, and it broke my heart when she came home and I had to give her the news. I apologized all over the place, but she said she was glad she didn't know because it would have ruined her honeymoon.

My natural inclination is to bring something different for every day and evening (plus extras), but I don't like paying the extra weight charges on Delta so have had to cut back.

 

I take a lot of casual clothes and plan to wear things like capris and skirts for dinner one evening, then with a different top during the day on another day. Double duty.

 

As much as I'd like to bring a different dress for every evening, I don't - because there are so many evenings when I want to stay casual, or don't feel like going through the hassle of getting all done up.

 

I cut way back on my shoes. Really, I'm the only one who notices when I wear different shoes, in spite of my thinking that EVERYONE will be looking at my shoes.

 

Workout clothes & bathing suits get washed in the sink. I bring enough for 2 different days, then wash out and hang to dry in the shower. You can buy travel sized packets of Tide all over the place, or use the laundry sheets available for camping.

 

I do send things to the laundry and will budget $50 for this if we don't have sufficient coupons. If I have something that could be damaged by hot water, I have it dry cleaned instead. In 20 cruises, nothing has been ruined.

 

I no longer carry a lot of jewellery, or evening bags or any of that stuff. For toiletries I now find a drugstore or grocery store and buy travel sized bottles after I've landed. Of course there are some things that I carry, but I'd rather spend $10 on disposable stuff and have a bit more space/less weigh to haul around.

 

If you love clothes then it's tough to cut back. On some cruises I miss certain items, but it doesn't ruin the trip.

 

Good luck!

First time cruiser here. Princess to Alaska. Just bought LBD. Keep it or return? Any suggestions for formal night? Thanks

 

 

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My sister sails on Princess & she always wears dresses - not gowns but cocktail length dresses (sometimes they're day dresses).

 

Do you enjoy dressing up? Would you wear it for other functions? If so, keep it. On every cruise line there are those who are dressier than others, and those who are much more casual. I prefer to side on the dressier side. You'll never get an odd look for being more elegantly dressed :)

Does Blu take reservations? It would be nice to reserve X-amount of seats in the same area at the same time every night of the cruise.

 

Well, the intent of Blu is to NOT have to make a reservation. If groups want a reservation then they could always take a cabin that has the Main Dining Room assigned, or speak when the Maitre d' upon boarding and request the MDR.

 

Given that the staff at Blue only have a few days to get to know you and your preferences, they tend to do a good job, especially with larger groups. We've dined with groups up to 8, and usually wound up at the same table with the same servers.

 

On our last cruise there was a large group that was really loud, and a couple of the group's members were seriously drunk the first few nights - and quite obnoxious. By about the third night they were seated at a table way in the far corner because I suspect there may have been some complaints. So in that case they weren't at the same table or with the same servers all week. I'm not saying that your group would be loud/obnoxious, but just indicating that there are no firm assignments of tables.

We've sailed on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity at peak 'kid' times (Spring Break and Christmas). There will definitely be more children around, but generally I'd say they aren't that noticeable. Many parents want to enjoy themselves so kids are in the club.

 

At Christmas there were over 500 children on our cruise and the only time there was a problem was when parents insisted on bringing kids into the Solarium. The pool butlers were pretty good about shooing them away, but in most cases the poorly behaved parties were the parents - who argued with the pool butlers.

Thinking of getting a wash/cut/blow dry while in the ship instead of rushing around like crazy before sail date. Anyone know the approximate cost?

 

Canyon Ranch at Sea (Regent, Oceania and Celebrity) posts their prices online. Shampoo, cut and blow dry varies between $78-$96, depending on length of hair. There's a discount if you have it done while in port. That's in line with what I pay here in Atlanta. Surprising, and makes me think I'll have mine at least trimmed on the ship.

 

Here's a link:

 

http://www.canyonranchdestinations.com/sea/spaclubcelebritycruises/the-salon/hair/

Just finished in time to start packing. Two pants, vest, three tops and two infinity scarves. Haven't figured out how many different combos yet.

 

I have been sewing off and on for many years. In the past I used to plan and sew almost an entire mix and match wardrobe. I have a dedicated sewing room with a sewing machine and serger and a fabric stash like you would not believe.

 

On some cruises I visit either a quilt shop or fabric store and purchase something that I can bring back and sew. I have brought fabric back from Copenhagen Denmark, Barcelona and Martinique in the past. Also brought back two small quilt projects from Hawaii and Alaska. This next cruise involves a stop in San Francisco so will try and stop in at Britex store in Union Square.

 

The colours you used are wonderful.

 

(BTW - I'm from Calgary! When I was home last August I took a trip to Olga's Fabric Lane and found some really beautiful fabrics.)

 

Latin Princess - I love your dresses! Very cute.

I'm going on a med cruise in October this year. I read in a previous post about someone who buys fabric whilst on their travels. Could anyone advise the best places to look for fabric in, Naples, Sardinia, Barcelona or Gibralter. Thank you.

 

I don't know where to buy fabrics in any of those places, but you may want to check at patternreview.com . There are fabric store reviews and it's a pretty international group.

 

We're going to London in a few weeks and I'm definitely fabric shopping! Liberty and the Cloth House are on my list so far :)

You're counting on a lot of things going right - and if there's a delay in the ship getting clearance, or if Security is backed up (as it was when we flew out of SJU in December), then you may miss your flight. And flights are full these days so could be you'd spend a lot of time in the airport waiting for seats to open up.

 

I personally wouldn't make my last day of vacation filled with anxiety about catching a flight. If we ever get to the airport early we'll ask about getting on an earlier flight. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

I've been sewing for just under two years now. I make clothes for dancing and 1940's/vintage weekends. I hope to wear some of my creations on our first cruise in October this year.

 

http://butterick.mccall.com/b4790-products-6089.php?page_id=371

 

Here is my version of this dress:

 

 

I made a little bolero to go with it as I don't like having bare arms.

 

We don't have any good fabric shops nearby so I buy quite a lot of my fabric from Ebay.

 

Very cute! I like your fabric choices.

 

That looks like a dress sewn on the Great British Sewing Bee. It's a great style. Did you have to bind around all the edges?

Looks like they haven't even started to sail yet. Their website has dates beginning in April ... Judging by the info on their website, it's not like other cruises. Seems to be more of an experiential thing.

There is a huge thread all about Port Canaveral on the Florida Departures board. You'll likely be able to find just what you're looking for there.

I think your hotel is close to Harbour Shops. There are a few little boutiquey clothing stores there, and there is also a Publix (big Florida based grocery chain). The Publix may have something like that. Otherwise, I think there's a Marshall's about a block down the road and they'll likely have inexpensive sun hats. Of course you never know what Marshalls will have in stock ...

 

Edit to add: I believe there's a TJ Maxx close to the Publix. Can't remember if it's large or small, but that is definitely another good option.

Nobody likes this. Most people try to stop it, so why do companies keep doing it?

 

Well, I don't know if 'most' people mute the ads - you'd have to do some research to find that out. Lots of people don't stop the ads - I hear them at work, and when I'm at home if a pop up video comes on I often don't even bother turning it off.

 

We are bombarded with information all the time. Advertisers are going to continue to find new ways to catch our attention for even a split second so I suspect we'll see more of this in the future. If we don't like it we can turn off our computers :)

Think layers so you can be prepared for everything from very warm in Florida to possibly very cool in the North Atlantic. On our last TA we had really glorious sunny weather pretty much every day, but by the time we got up in the Bay of Biscay it was sunny but very cold. That didn't stop people from finding a sheltered spot for sunbathing, but the wind was biting.

 

Of course you'll have warm weather clothes, but also bring a windbreaker, hat and gloves. The last two don't take up much space, but if it is really cold on port days you'll be more comfortable.

My husband travels for work 3-4 days a week and he uses those all the time. He finds them especially helpful for items that tend to crease easily (dress shirts, dress pants). They do help to keep the suitcase tidy, but sometimes they contort your garments into shapes that make it difficult to pack around. I'd only use them for things that crease.

When we last did a TA we were able to eat in Specialty Dining pretty much any evening we liked. They did offer discounts but I can't remember the exact amount. If Murano was normally $45 it would something like $35 per person. We bought the 5 night dining package that trip.

 

I recall maybe 1 lunch in Murano, none in Tuscan Grille, and a couple in the Lawn Club. But we didn't take advantage of any of them so my numbers could be off.

I have super dry skin. Lately I've been using L'Occitane Supple Skin almond oil. Absorbs very well. Seems like some of the heavier body creams just leave me sticky - only exacerbated by humid air!

Unless there is a reason for you to be late arriving (weather is usually the cause), the ship will always begin disembarking by the time they note. If I was meeting someone, I'd err on the side of caution and plan to meet at 9 am.

For the return, you [B]must [/B]be on board 30 minutes prior to departure time. If you are off with a friend and are delayed, the ship will NOT wait for you. (Different scenario if you're on a ship's excursion.)