elycelynne

On 1/10/2019 at 7:16 PM, wdw1972 said:

For me, health insurance is the scary part - especially with a history of breast cancer 3 times.  I have great insurance through work, and it's pennies compared to what insurance would cost as a retiree, so although I just turned 60 I hope to work for many more years - 70 might be my target age, since that would max out social security and give more time for my pension/investments to grow.  Like you, I want to enjoy traveling without the limitations of having to get back to work, so it doesn't pay to retire too soon.  I don't want half my retirement income going to pay for health insurance!

 

Sue/WDW1972

Yes, the added insurance expense definitely bites.  However, in my case I was really burnt out after 39 years at the same menial job.  That, and the fact that my sister didn't make it to 65 and my brother is still here only because his esophageal cancer was caught in time through sheer luck, makes me think that I may not have a lot of years left and wanted to spend as many as possible not having to work.

The scones were absolutely scrumptious when I was on the Grand Princess last year.  I hope they're uniformly good throughout the fleet!

20 minutes ago, Croptop said:

We've already been chatting a bit on the Roll Call for this cruise but I figured I'd chime in and mention that I'm on this cruise as well. Just over a week before I leave for L.A.!

Hi, John.  Looking forward to finally meeting you after all this time (seems like a lifetime ago since you started the roll call)!

I was just wondering if anyone who frequents this forum has been to Germaine's Luau and, if so, what did you think of it?  Worth the time and expense or not?

I was just curious if anyone knew if and how Volcanoes National Park was affected by the shutdown.  Any reports?

1 hour ago, paul929207 said:

Princess does sometimes add one or more additional buses to a sold out excursion.  However, there may be limits at some of the venues that prohibits additional buses. 

 

Put yourself on the wait list and hope for the best.

There wasn't even a wait list option for this particular excursion.  I guess I'll keep checking for possible cancellations.

I was wondering if Princess ever adds additional shore excursion departures if something is sold out?  As an example, for my upcoming Hawaii cruise I waited too long to book excursions and the one in Honolulu titled "Pearl Harbor History & Honolulu Highlights" is sold out, but there was only one departure scheduled.  I settled on a similar one called "Pearl Harbor, City Highlights & National Memorial Cemetery" which looks like it doesn't include scenic vistas like the sold out one does.  So is there any chance that Princess will add on to the sold out excursion, or am I out of luck?

Thanks for the review and video.  I'm doing this cruise on January 18th and am booked on the Land of Frozen Fire tour and the Maui whale watching tour in the morning.  How did you spend the rest of your day in Maui?  The Princess excursions all leave before the return from whale watching.

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

 

OMG....HOW AWESOME!,,,,,I am hoping for 2020 to retirement...…..if I get through this year LOL...…...

Seriously, congrats on your retirement!

Thanks!  Hopefully the time will go fast for you -- It did for me after I officially gave my employer notice back in February.

Emerald Princess round-trip LA/Hawaii, this coming January 18th (two weeks from this coming Friday).  Celebrating my retirement which officially begins tomorrow! 😁

Happy New Year to you too, Lois.  I don't know about taking as many cruises as I want to, but after today I will have officially retired, so I'm sure I'll be taking more than my previous once per year!

1 hour ago, tempus137 said:

Any Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett on the list?

"My Way" is definitely on the list.

25 minutes ago, Elua said:

Right now, it is Ray Coussins...although I think he’s only on until January 18...after that, I don’t know.

 

Aloha No,

Tiki Dave

(of Elua)

That's the date that I board -- See you then!

Does anyone know who's currently playing in Crooner's on the Emerald?  And are they "high-energy fun", low-key piano music, or somewhere in between?

Thanks for the replies.  I do like the Princess tumblers, so I'll probably just bring the one that I have and use it.

Does Princess still provide the plastic tumblers with the Soda & More package?  If not, would the beverage staff fill an old one from a previous cruise?

Did you participate in a roll call for your cruise?  If so, maybe you can post this question there and perhaps someone who saw it will know.

Scones at tea!  So yummy and flaky -- They just melt in your mouth!

3 hours ago, retiring soon said:

Hi all!

 

Well, I half watched the show as usual & thought Erin's dress strange. Carrie Ann's looked like it might have been nice had we seen more of it. The best part of the show for me is hearing people's stories. The little guy was cute.

I hated to see one of my fav's in the bottom 2!

 

~ Jo ~ 😊

I'm not convinced that they actually were the bottom two.  Since they weren't sending anyone home, they could have put anyone in jeopardy.  I think the powers that be want those particular people to stay, so by saying that they were in jeopardy, they'll probably get a little extra voting help.  (This is all conjecture, of course.)

1 hour ago, hexdragon said:

Yeah, logically I know that.

 

It's just that my friends are paying not much more than I for the two of them, and they have a better cabin... It just doesn't seem fair. But when has the world ever been fair.....

True, but a big consolation is that you won't have to share a bathroom!

Are there other places closer to this hotel where I could at least pick up a 12-pack of Diet Coke?  (My needs are simple.)

So I'm thinking that maybe I'll splurge on one helicopter tour during my 1/18/19 Emerald Princess cruise. Which would be the "don't miss" option? Napali Coast, perhaps? Or something else?

Thanks! So I assume that I can use it on the ship as long as the ship is docked like anywhere else in the US, correct?

Do U.S. cellular companies consider Hawaii domestic or international? I'm well aware that Hawaii is a state, but since it's pretty far from the mainland I wasn't sure about calls and data.

That's a rough-weather safety thing.

That would make sense, so I guess the answer is that there's no way around it.