AncientWanderer

I want to add one thing that comes to mind...and might illustrate the difference between a Hal cruise and a Carnival cruise. I ordered a Manhattan cocktail in the special steakhouse and literally nobody in there knew what it was. The waitress had feverish discussion with the bartenders and it was like chickens with heads cut off. I finally ordered something else. DH and I cracked up, but some might get cranky about that. (I think they get a lot more calls for tropical drinks.)

We are in 60s and did a 7-day Mexico cruise this past summer on a large Carnival ship -- the Panorama. We booked in what they call the Havana area that has its own private pool area and bar, and we ate in specialty restaurants every night. We enjoyed ourselves okay with that set-up. Outside of that, it really was too much a party ship for us. Would I do it again? Depends on how desperate for a quick getaway. We didn't have to fly -- very easy. I honestly think it depends on your mom and her sense of humor.

Wonderful photos, Lenda. Lovely blue skies! We had a long UK cruise booked for this coming May and had to cancel because of family issues. I was pretty bummed out about that. But it's very heartening to think that maybe we can look ahead to another time and find an itinerary that includes Scrabster. I think the port is often skipped because of high seas, but still, can't get there unless it's on the itinerary. ❤️

Good morning, All. Nice collection of days. The Mother Teresa quote ties in nicely with doing random acts of kindness. Caregivers are heroes. When I get a Subway sandwich, I always request all the vegetables, so yum to the meal today. The drink has my favorite brand of whisky. Never been to Scrabster. I watch for it on itineraries because Castle of Mey is in the area. Some day… Meanwhile, love the photos, @Quartzsite Cruiser. Quiet day here today. I’ve been busy figuring things out for our fall Allure of the Seas cruise. It’s been years since we’ve been on a Royal Caribbean ship. DH has been wanting to try “one of those ships with the pedestrian walkway” for a long time. Should be fun. Congratulation, @kochleffel, on the negative test. Sigh of relief there for sure. @StLouisCruisers, it’s nice to hear that Princess has some traditions back. There is definitely a void when the special traditions are missing. @ger_77, that is a very touching story about the memorial you are attending. Thoughts are with you. I hope everyone has a pleasant TGIF today. Many thanks to all contributors here. This guy must be a pal of @cat shepard’s sock guy yesterday.

Thank you, Graham. That will be a nice one to book for birthday dinner. 👍

Graham, your cruises look so nice, we just booked a very similar itinerary for my birthday in October on the Allure of the Seas, but out of Galveston. (We're trying to book shorter cruises now because DD is having trouble dog-sitting for us, as she is busy with two small children.) We're excited to do something different! Do you and Pauline have a favorite restaurant? They all look very good.

Good morning. It’s a cold one today in San Diego. Brrrrr by our standards. Gumbo would taste great on a day like this. Nice drinks, too. I’m pleased to honor Susan B. Anthony and Singles. Gum Drops can be good and Chevy Chase is always funny. Never been to Indonesia. The week leading up to Valentine’s Day is kind of tough around here. Both parents had birthdays and passed away during that period, and Grandma’s birthday was on Valentine’s Day. So last night we made a special meal with those folks’ favorites— including caviar to honor my mother. She had it every holiday. Now ready to continue on with February. I’m glad to see that some of our patients here are improving. Sad that some are struggling. Lots of sweet spouses and BFFs have revealed themselves here. ❤️ @Seasick Sailor, have a great journey. I think you will be right over the hill from me and would love to grab a cup of coffee, but haven’t suggested it because I’m still very stuffed up in my head, so not a good idea. But you and this guy might have the same doctor. I hope everyone has a great Hump Day!

Thank you for posting this, Rich. It's really brings a smile.

Good afternoon. What a lot of funny names people have! I'd definitely change mine if cursed with some you guys have mentioned today. And everyone did a great job of dodging the censors. lol I keep a pretty clean computer. Not sure about the wingman. I'll take it in the sense of the delicious wings @dfishposted. Wing woman here for those. The food and drink sound very appealing. My grandmother was given a lasagne recipe from an Italian woman in Chicago in the 30s. We all still make it by her recipe. The only way that it differs from many is that instead of meat sauce, she made plain marinara, but then made fresh meatballs with half pork and half ground beef, and broke those up to put within the lasagne layers. It has really good texture and flavor that way. But seriously, is there a bad lasagna? I'm recovering from babysitting grandkids over the weekend. As @kazusuggested, yup...pretty darn tiring. But fun and we all did well. I saw the posted photos of @StLouisCruiserssailaway. They were great! And @Quartzsite Cruiser's comet photos. Wonderful! Glad to see that @grapau27's Sarah is feeling better. @cruising sister, don't try to do too much too soon. Thanks everyone for all the delightful posts. Sending best wishes to all. ❤️

Good afternoon. We’re doing our first overnight babysitting for DD’s two children (four-year-old and five-month baby). DD and DSIL are going with a group to Temecula for wine-tasting. DD baked a big quiche for the group’s breakfast tomorrow and dropped the whole glass tray right before they left. I told her not to cry over spilt milk! I haven’t really had time to read all the Daily yet today, but just stopping in to wish everyone well. Enjoy the evening! We’ll be having a pizza party.

No. 1, so that your next cruise comes around more quickly. 😉

That's news nobody wants to hear. Try to stay positive, Carolyn. You know we're all with you here.

Yes, Carolyn. Very "whoopsie." I keep reading that stomach stuff is going around, but nobody else here has caught it, so maybe it was something I ate -- or just my perpetually bad tummy. I'm really sorry to hear you have disappointing kidney numbers. I hope they're not too dangerous. It's scary. Mine aren't super, but one thing the urologist did impress upon me was that although damage has been done, that doesn't mean they have to deteriorate further -- they can stay the same. I hope you get advice from your docs that is comforting.

Good morning. Thanks @kochleffelfor getting things going here. I hope @StLouisCruisers has a great cruise. Lily Tomlin is always very funny. She brings back great memories of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. No umbrellas out here in sunny San Diego. I wear lots of flannel, don’t play cribbage, and have not been to Banjul. The food and drink sound nice. I’ve been down with some kind of bug…perhaps what @Cruising-alonghad. Not sure. But up now, very early morning, so that’s a good sign. There’s lots going on in the world right now that requires prayer — and many on the care list here. Thinking of all and sending prayers and positive energy. Have a great TGIF, everyone.

Oh, I think they could agree, but still not want cruise ships anyhow. It isn’t as hard on them as on a Norwegian fjord-dweller. But that’s not to say they have to want cruise ships in their own backyard either.

I’m really sorry for your loss, Ann. Prayers are with you and your family. Seems like everyone we know has a loss like this. For us, it was my sister and DH’s younger brother. Very sad. Sincere condolences.

Also something to think about is that for people who live in far northern places, their summer is very short and very special to them. Santa Barbara and Key West are year-round resorts, so people living there don't lose as much as those who live in the Norwegian fjords.

@dfish, your room looks great. I remember you posted a pic of your living room around the holidays and it was also really calm and peaceful looking. Good cook, too. No wonder your family gathers around so much.

This is all great advice. We did take the bus from Fira to Oia and back. It was very easy to figure out and made a nice day. We walked up the nasty path to get to Fira and took the donkeys down. I'm here to tell the tale, but to each his own on that one for sure.

This article with regard to current masking in Japan might help to make ship protocols more understandable. https://www.travelcaffeine.com/japan-face-masks-rules-recommendations-reality/

We've always had bread plates. 🤷‍♀️

Agree 100 percent. We've been on seven HAL cruises since the post-pandemic restart. I can't wait for the next one this spring. Yet I have a certificate for two free nights in a high-end hotel, but I'm not even remotely interested in using it. Many of the cruises have made hotel stays necessary, and all of the hotels just seemed -- not clean, and kind of depressing, with so many restaurants, bars and so on shuttered. They can't seem to staff them. I'd encourage anyone to go on a HAL cruise. Look at the price point compared to premium lines, gasp, and then embrace the upcharges for things you really value. Do I miss the flowers on the tables in MDR? Definitely, yes.

I just started looking here at the end of the thread before bedtime, and this jumped out at me. We have transatlantic in May and I've been edgy about the same thing. Sharon, you prompted me to change our flight to a day earlier and spend two nights in FLL. If things should go wrong, there would be no catching up with the ship. Thank you. I'm really glad you posted about this.

Good evening. Weird day. I have some kind of bug — mild but there. I looked in a couple of times just to catch how Roy is doing. Seems like much better news on that front. I don’t dare look at most of the other threads theses days. (Except the World Cruisers. They’re darling.) Wishing all a very pleasant evening.