Happy0810

Just booked our first MSC cruise (sailed on Carnival, Royal, and NCL previously). Carnival's prices are high for me right now, but I really liked the MSC price.  We're platinum on Carnival so we did the status match on MSC.  The benefits aren't as good, but we'll get a few perks

as newbies so I can't complain. 

7 hours ago, Funsince1983 said:

Just finished working out, waiting for the sweat to stop pouring off of me to go shower. Heading to my moms after for a bbq/cousins are up from Florida/September birthdays (grandma is 97 today!) made this delicious peach prosciutto and hot honey vinaigrette orzo salad earlier, also whipped up a batch of my triple decker brownies to bring. Other than that not much happening here. 

Okay, can you share a recipe for this because it looks ah-freaking-mazing?

2 hours ago, Riles34 said:

Booking in advance direct will relieve any stress since you know it is a "good" booking. Once I had a "we don't have you in the system" upon showing up, that was it. I use the third party sites for the research and then check the direct hotel which is usually the same price. I like to play the hotwire game a month or two out....4-5 star hotels for a great rate has been good to me. you can learn what hotel you will get with a little research.

We've done the same with Hotwire "Hot Rate Deals."  Process of elimination (sort by distance and look at rating) and you can figure out which hotel you'll get.  It's saved us quite a bit on pre-cruise stays. 

9 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Last thing I remember was when they wheeled me into the operating room. When I woke up it was all over. Doesn't feel too bad right now, and the surgeon said I should get out and walk a couple of miles tomorrow... I'll probably sit around and take it easy for the rest of the day watching more Game of Thrones special features... 

 

I asked him realistically when I could have a margarita, and he said in just a few days!... Until then, I'll probably experience some pain as well as a little trouble getting up or getting in and out of bed, but hopefully this will be the end of this chapter of my life... 

Glad the surgery went well and you're on the road to recovery.  

In Georgia, you have to see a doc on the company's Workman's Comp list (should be posted in the break room or somewhere all employees can see).   It may be too late at this point since Sid's surgery is sometime next week, but it also may be worth talking to your HR person today.

18 hours ago, Roscoe13 said:

I drive with cruise control on 98.7% of the time...if I pass anyone doing slower than me I'm not slowing down once I pass them. YMMV

Oh come on now...tell the truth.  I checked, and you're only on cruise control 97.4% of the time.  You're too busy trying to write down all the Venmo and CashApp tags so you either have to slow down or speed up. 

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

 

I can use my phone but I would probably check into something permanent or pickup a mobile hotspot as a backup. I used to have one through sprint for travel but once I got it on my phone I just canceled it.

If you have access to TMobile, they might be an option for travel internet.  Although online it says our address isn't covered by TMobile, we were able to get it and try it out.  It works great at our house (over 300 mbps which is way better than our phones and I'm in a somewhat rural part of the state).  When we travel in our RV, we take the box with us and so far it's worked anywhere we've traveled.  $50 a month and no need for satellite anymore (we can't get cable or pizza delivery....too rural).  Just use the Roku's and we're good to go.  

1 hour ago, sid_9169 said:

 By the time this episode of my life is over, I'll probably end up living in a van down by the river... 

🎶 Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee...🎶

16 minutes ago, Riles34 said:

To many chances for a delay coming from a small airport and 3 flights to get to the west coast. You have one 1 chance to make it out an no back up plans. She will learn.

No, I wouldn't chance that. Too risky, and I'm not that much of a gambler....especially when the airline is the dealer. 

49 minutes ago, Riles34 said:

 

No one in here flies the day of, right?! If I was going across country for a 10 day cruise I would be flying in at least 2 days before hand from Boston with a direct flight!! 

We have at different times in the past.  However, we've only done it for a short, inexpensive cruises.  We live near a large airport with multiple daily flights to the port city.  And we only book the earliest non-stop flight.  If some delay were to happen, there are still a number of flights going after our original one.  If something major happens, it would be a bummer to miss the cruise but we wouldn't lose much money since it was an inexpensive cruise.  Haven't had that happen though. 
 

These days, I doubt I would try it.  Too many delays/cancellations with the airlines. 

Got a Tribe question

Is anyone willing to share their opinion on MSC cruises (homeport is in the US)?  We've cruised Carnival, Royal, and NCL in the past, but there's a November MSC cruise that I like the price of and the ports it goes to.  How was your MSC cruise?  Any pros/cons compared with the other lines I listed? 

18 hours ago, Greenpea2 said:

Thank you. It was hard. People that don't have difficulty just can't understand. Sometimes it still hurts. But I am always able to find at least a couple of advantages. It is what it is. I do understand pangs of jealousy (or "it's not fair"). But again--it just wasn't meant to be. When my first husband and I split up (the one I tried to have a baby with), there were plenty of well-meaning clueless people who told me, "Well, at least you didn't have children. That makes a divorce so much harder.!" Um... ok. Thanks (?). :-0

 

I'm so sorry you had to deal with that.  
 

One time I posted a pic of me with an 8 month old Baby "B" on the Faces place (Mr. Happy and I had been married about 15 years at that point).  I got a comment that said "about time you and Mr. Happy had a baby."  Ummm....that's my baby nephew, but thanks for telling me it's about time.  SMH...people can be clueless.  I learned then I don't need to be social media friends with everyone I went to high school with.  

4 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

What a friggin frustrating day so far!!!... I just spent an hour on the phone trying to get some kind of actual estimate of what my out of pocket costs are going to be. I called the surgeons office, where I sat on hold for a half hour. When I did get to speak to an actual person, they transferred me to someone else, who in turn transferred me yet again. Finally, I got through to someone who didn't transfer me again, but he was no help at all either... 

 

None of this instills the slightest bit of confidence in the entire situation... I just want to scream right now!!!!!!!!!...

Sid, I wouldn't sweat it too much.  The majority of what you will owe will be included in the $3,500 quote already received.  Even if they do charge $1,500 more (anesthesia, etc), you're still not up to the annual out-of-pocket maximum of your plan which is always a possibility if one needs surgery.  
 

Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of money and I completely understand that.  At the end of the day, though, you need the surgery so even if you had to pay the OOP max amount, you'd do it to be healthy.  If you can't pay in full, just make monthly payments and there's not much they can do.  If you can pay in full (on your own or with someone's help), ask if they offer a discount in lieu of monthly billing.  Not all hospitals do, but it's worth asking.

Just curious, did you explore the possibility of it being covered under workman's comp?  The heavy lifting of rugs could definitely cause a hernia, but I'm not sure how it could be proven what caused it. 

Could someone send me some

snacks?  I'm currently reading @Saint Greg 's Venezia review, and I'm currently on page 31....of 148 pages!!! 😳  Hopefully I'll get done before Christmas, but in the meantime...snacks, please. 😂

3 hours ago, maluhia87 said:

This happened while we still had our car out. Luckily no damage to the vehicle. 

Glad you didn't have any damage.  
 

My hail story - A few years ago, I got caught in a hail storm on the interstate (scared the crap out of me)!! It did $10,000 worth of damage to my vehicle, and insurance paid to fix it.  Then 6 months later, a tornado from a hurricane hit my vehicle while we were parked and on a cruise.  Insurance totaled it.  I knew there was no way they would put any more money towards fixing it.  We were able to get a one-way rental to make it home and had to shop for a new vehicle. 

23 minutes ago, HeyJut said:

@Jamman54 or anyone else-do you happen to recall where laundry rooms are on Freedom? Going next month after a few days at Disney ( love Disney but dreading the extra heat) so will have some dirties. I’ve looked at cruisedeckplans and didn’t see them.

 

Not Jamman, but we were on the Freedom last year. 
 

Decks 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8 all have the laundry room on Starboard side near the mid-ship elevators (only grabbed a pic for Deck 6, but the other decks listed are in the same location).

Deck 9 has it on Port side near the forward elevators. Didn't see one on Decks 10 or 11. 

@pebbles1102 - I am so sorry about your dog.  Our furry family brings so much joy to our lives that it just hurts to lose them. 

On 7/26/2023 at 7:39 PM, SenatorsFan said:

Beautiful pictures @Happy0810! 😀

Thanks so much! 

I've participated in two gift exchanges.  We received a lot of what has already been mentioned so I'll let you know what we gave. 

On the first one, we gifted tropical themed Christmas ornaments (fall cruise/would work for Christmas in July too).  The other one we gifted local jam made with fruit that our home state is known for (spring cruise).

Well, I finally got all caught up on all that I've missed since the end of May (or longer).  It's weird...I don't binge watch TV shows, but I do binge read the Tribe thread.  Cruises, land trips, overseas trips, birthdays, anniversaries, rent fiasco avoidance, etc.  I enjoyed reading about all of it.  Well, except for the medical issues.  I wish we didn't have to deal with those. 

We had a really busy May (motorcycle rally, cruise, and then we left for an extended RV trip).  Way too much to cram into one month, but we made it work.  We spent about 6 weeks RV camping in the Panhandle of Florida and recently returned home.  Here's a few scenic pics of our RV trip. I can't remember if I posted any pictures of the cruise (Carnival Celebration), but I'm too lazy to go back and check.   Loved the ship, by the way! 
 

Now I'm off to start catching up on some tribe cruise reviews.  The last one I read was Sid's most recent cruise so I know I have a lot to catch up on. 

Always late (me); always great (your reviews).  Thanks for taking us along on another Sid adventure. 

I hope the Jinxy cruise works out for October.  Now where to catch up next....The Tribe, Saint Greg's review....decisions.

9 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

Wow! I've been to GT a number of times, and it's always pretty.  However, I've never seen it this clear where it looks like you can see an underwater wall. 

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

I spy Whataburger ketchup. 

Been away from the boards for a while, but I'm back and catching up here and on some reviews (Sid's, Greg's, and will catch up on Megan's next).

Read @sid_9169's recent NCL review. In the words of our Tribe leader...well that escalated nicely. 😉  If that was your last review, you went out with a bang. 
 

@BohJang - Can't wait to see pics of your cruise.  Have a great time. 
 

@Von & John - Hope the family drama calms down soon. 
 

@Hogladyrider - Have you two decided where your going this spring/summer?

Really enjoying the review Craig! 😉  This is a great itinerary. 
 

Just curious...what has been one of your favorite drinks on this cruise?  I tend to be a creature of habit regarding drinks, but I want to branch out on our upcoming Celebration cruise (non-Cheers). 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise Greg. 

Just now joining the review and currently reading about embarkation day.  Better late than never, I guess.  
 

Wanted to pop in and let you know you have another follower for one of your epic reviews.  Have the Celebration booked for next spring so looking forward to the pics of the ship and the food.