CruisinEars

We are from Seattle and have done 3 Alaska cruises on Princess and will be booking another for June as soon as the prices drop. My hubby doesn't own a suit but does own a tux. He loves to do the dress up dinner thing. However, on the other nights he will be in jeans and a sweatshirt along with most of the other guys on the Alaska itinerary. Alaska seems to be very casual like most of us in the PNW so you won't have a problem with your proposed wardrobe.

It depends on the itinerary. We are looking at booking an Alaska cruise again this year and are waiting until the last minute cheapo rates come out. We did this last year and got our Princess cruise for $450 per person. We do live in the port city so this is doable for us. We already have a couple choices that we are keeping our eye on. If it doesn't happen and go to a price we want or have cabin availability (we need 2 double cabins) it is no big deal.

When we plan a longer cruise or during a peak time and need flights, we will book 6 months to a year+.

Are kids allowed? Our 2 teens travel with us and are also Platinum. Would they be able to join us or is it adults only? No biggie either way.

Disney Magic 2008

I am glad for this thread. My doctor prescribed Phen for me and I am on day 2 of taking it. I am still at half dose and will go to full dose in a few days.

So far it is helping with my cravings which was what it is meant for. I am on a super low carb, high protein and no calorie or fat limitations eating plan right now.

My doctor did do an EKG so I knew to expect that. She said it is very safe to take and has been around since 1959 and has never been pulled from the market. She said it got a bad rap in the 1980's because it was mixed with another drug that made the combo unsafe. She said it is meant to be a tool to help with getting the mind off food and cravings so that you can live a "normal" life without constantly thinking about food.

She will have me on for 3 months and off for a month and I go in every 2 weeks for monitoring.

My doctor is a Bariatric and Women's health specialist and specializes in PCOS, which I have. I am down 10 pounds since the end of May and have lost 2.5 inches in my waist.

I also have this problem. I bought a pair of Spanx that are like bike shorts and come up to cover my tummy all the way to my bra line. They are not too snug, just enough to smooth. I love them under my dresses without hose. Since I am a plus size I got them at Lane Bryant. Really, this fabric is not the typical firm "squeeze it all" control, it is more like bathing suit firm. Best investment I have made.

I have the Body Glide gel, but it just made things sticky and was horrible.

Love it so far. Looking forward to more.

I am also a long time PCOS sufferer. I am almost 45 and have been dealing with the symptoms since I started menses when I was 12. They were always irregular and I had horrible cramps when it did start. I also gained weight in jr. high at a fairly rapid pace and I was a very active teen. I was mortified with my body and always felt there was a medical reason. In the early 90's I was finally diagnosed, but was not given any info about it from the gyn I was seeing. I did see an endocrinologist and still never got any info.

I am one of the lucky ones though and was able to naturally conceive both of my children. I did find out that I ovulated but my cycle was wacked. So, to get preggers I did have to use an ovulation kit and that helped me have my 2nd child. The first was just a fluke. :D

I am now quite overweight and haven't successfully lost weight on purpose. I have just joined our local YMCA and am using the Loseit app on my iphone. It tracks your exercise and food intake and it is free. I really need to just not gain any more weight and to get rid of my constant edema in my feet/ankles and be more fit so I can walk without panting.

This is a very frustrating condition to have. I also try to balance my protein and carbs but I still seem to gain.

As far as meds, I stopped taking Metformin a long time ago because it really wasn't helping and it was killing my tummy. I was on Yaz along with Spironolactone but have recently gone off Yaz and am taking a different bc pill. I take the Spiro and bc now along with simvastatin for my cholesterol. My nurse practitioner has told me I no longer need to manage my PCOS since I am not trying to have a baby. Not sure what my next step is. I just hate having the big belly as it keeps me from doing lots of things. I also have sleep apnea and use a cpap. Which reminds me, Apnea is another symptom of PCOS so be sure to talk to your dr. if you are experiencing snoring or excessive sleepiness.

I am a beginner/new sewer and I found some fun and easy patterns at Youcanmakethis.com. You buy the pattern online and just print it on your printer in the size you need. You cut it out and the authors give you step by step instructions. I made several items this way and they all turned out really good. I even bought a serger and I made a tunic that looks almost like I bought it.

Thanks for your response. :)

Considering booking an inside quad on the Breeze for next summer. Have never sailed CCL so am not familiar with the ships. Most of the decks are still available for midships locations. Which deck do you all recommend? We prefer early td and will have 2 kids in the clubs, like quiet and I have a tendency for motion issues (I do take bonine throughout the cruise though).

Do the moktails include frozen drinks like a virgin pina colada?

Yes. My daughter lived on those on our last cruise. I think she was pretty well known at a couple of the bars. :D

Another great resource is Lands End. I have 2 suits from them and love how they fit.

Just wanted to share our experience in mid July after asking for recommendations here.

We booked Nevis Barbosa and he turned out to be great. He was waiting for us as soon as we disembarked and he has a Toyota minivan. We had 6 in our party and were quite comfortable. We had asked for an island overview and a lunch stop at the Swizzle Inn. We got exactly what we asked for and it was a very nice day. Bermuda was very windy that day, so a beach day was not what we wanted. We did stop and he gave my dd a baggie to collect some pink sand at the beach. I do have to add that the Swizzle Inn was just okay. It was very pricey and the service exceedingly slow. The food was pretty good but it cost us $107 for 6 and that was with my parents sharing a sandwich. They also automatically included a gratuity for our party of 6. Be forwarned if you plan a stop there.

Nevis and his wife were very good about communicating with me and I even got an email while on the cruise to confirm our tour. Thankfully we had a stop in St Thomas first so I was able to use my phone to reply.

I have heard back from Nevis Barboza and we are confirmed with him for our stop in July. Thanks to everyone on this board for the recommendations. :)

Thanks Caroline, I thought I would try Nevis since we are there on a Sunday and I know Duke doesn't work Sundays. Figured his son was already booked since he is such a popular option. ;)

Thanks everybody for sharing your tour guide experiences. I tried Colin for our July stop and he was already booked. :( So, I now have an email in to Nevis Barboza. I hope I will be able to book a guide ahead of time. My hubby is insistant on having plans in place.

Really enjoyed your report Lanie. Thanks for taking us all along on your adventures.

I will offer my delivery service to anyone sailing out of Seattle. I live fairly close to the only Worldmarket that carries the TimTams et al and if anyone wants some for their Alaska cruise let me know. :D There is also a See's right nearby as well. They are my favorite chocolates.

Since we are in a heatwave, my timtams are in the freezer as well. Just ate one directly from the freezer and I think they are even better frozen.:D

Thanks for starting this thread. I just got back from the nearest Worldmarket store and brought with me regular Arnots, mint patty ones and Darrel Lea black licorice. Our store also had lots of the caramel ones too. My plans to attempt to eat healthy have gone out the window.:p I am eating a mint patty as I type this. The regular is pretty good too. The licorice is not as sweet as I prefer, but still pretty good. Thanks for sharing your regional "treats" with us.

Well, we are relatively new to cruising but are now hooked. Our first cruise was this past May (2008) on the Disney Magic Western Caribbean itinerary. It was an amazing cruise and we rebooked on board right away.

Just yesterday we pushed back the Disney cruise to another year and booked a RCCL to MR in April 2009 and just today booked a HAL Zuiderdam to Alaska for Aug 2009. I can't believe we just booked 2 cruises in 2 days. :eek::D We just couldn't pass up the HAL cruise since we live near Seattle and they were offering a special on 3rd and 4th passengers for only $99.

Well, we are relatively new to cruising but are now hooked. Our first cruise was this past May (2008) on the Disney Magic Western Caribbean itinerary. It was an amazing cruise and we rebooked on board right away.

Just yesterday we pushed back the Disney cruise to another year and booked a RCCL to MR in April 2009 and just today booked a HAL Zuiderdam to Alaska for Aug 2009. I can't believe we just booked 2 cruises in 2 days. :eek::D We just couldn't pass up the HAL cruise since we live near Seattle and they were offering a special on 3rd and 4th passengers for only $99.