TiogaCruiser

We did a 17 day Panama Canal on volendam in April and the only thing remotely close was a well done original lecture by the Travel Director ( or whatever the CD is called now) and another lecture about where to be while going through the canal. He also provided commentary while going through the canal. If you haven’t read/ heard A Path Between the Seas it is well worth it. It’s available on Audible.

The cellist also- I enjoyed watching her expressions. I thought they were quite balanced.

Correction on this- it was Volendam.

It’s been a while (April of 2023) but this lovely duo was on Zaandam. They played a set or 2 most afternoons and the same in the evening. All sets on a given day were the SAME. While I appreciate their performances, it made no sense to me to repeat the exact same program several times a day. It’s almost like HAL programming thinks people only want a sample….. I would be one to stay for all if the sets were different. (I’m sure the other venues -RSRR and BBK- don’t play the same set all night.

One cruise when I didn’t have to fly I went to an Asian market and got a couple pounds of Indonesian and Filipino candy, and made up lots of goodie bags that I gave to crew members around the ship. If I was going to the library for awhile, to the lido, to a program, etc.- I brought along 5-6 bags and randomly handed them out. They were quite received. (This was NOT in place of gratuities). One very young man - he barely looked old enough to be at sea- who was polishing the banisters late one evening, was so surprised and happy- he shouted up the stairs “Bless you Ma’am”.

They used to ask in the Lido on our first several cruises (2008-2010) and I think they were still asking in 2013.

Do I understand that a single who books one of the single cabins pays the cost of the cabin and a single supplement on top of that? I’ve sailed several times as a solo, and frankly, on several of those cruises, (not all) my total fare ( including the fare for my invisible roommate) wasn’t that much because the rate I booked under was reasonable.

I’ve been getting brochures from Atlas Lines, a new French? Cruise line. They have smaller ships. Frankly, I’m interested.

So the big question: Did you invite him, or did he invite himself?😱

I’ve had that experience twice. Both were with the Platinum plan. The first time I used it was 2017 when a family member became ill and needed cardiac surgery 4 days before I was to leave. I received all the fully refundables (shorex, dining) back on my credit card with in 2 days. The refund for 90% of the cruise, flights and pre-cruise tour was back on my credit card by the beginning of the next week (like 5 days). The second time I used it was at the start of Covid. I was scheduled to board Maasdam the following week, travel advisories had been issued for several days, some other lines had announced they were going to pause for a few weeks. (CCL and HAL were hell- bent on cruising anyway and even offered us OBC to go.). I cancelled under Platinum 4 hours before the Pause was announced. I got refunded about 6 months later. I totally understand and remember well how challenging that time was, and it has not stopped me from buying platinum CPP. So a few things to weigh- CPP Platinum carries very little medical coverage. I personally don’t need it as my employer’s insurance covers overseas. I do buy an evacuation policy. Platinum is roughly 10% of your CRUISE only fare. However, in the first case it also covered my flights and the expensive multi day tour to Iguazu as I had purchased all from HAL. So my “loss” was ~20% of the CRUISE portion. (Platinum cost ~ 10% plus the 10% remaining after the 90% refund.) Had I purchased private CAR insurance in the first case, the cost would have been based on the cruise, flights, and tour. ( I just listed them in cost ascending order-I had gotten a screaming deal on the cruise.). The return for a CAR cancellation would have been 50-75%. (So out 50-25% + cost of insurance. As it turned out, I would have gotten a full refund (and been only out the cost of the insurance) as the ill nuclear family member qualified as covered by the “cancel for medical reason” for most insurances. (I might have had a fight on my hands though in the “pre-existing” category.) Be aware of what you are buying- like many things trip insurance is not one size fits all. I buy CPP platinum when it makes sense, and CAR when that is best based on circumstances and my risk tolerance.

Nelson Runger

The book is also available on Audible with a superb reader.

I pronounce it KingKongDahm

@kazu @dfish one more trick that the watch can do: accept or place calls via recents, contacts or keypad. If your watch is not cellular enabled, your iPhone has to be nearby.

Good morning from a wet SoakCal. It’s looking like the mountains are deserts got a beating. They are expected to get more flooding as water seeks its lowest point. @Nickelpenny From KCAL: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tropical-storm-hilary-southern-california-nevada-rain-flooding/ “ Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years. It dumped more than half the average annual rain on some desert and mountain areas, including Palm Springs, which saw nearly 3 inches of rain by Sunday evening. Tens of thousands of people across Southern California had no power due to the storm and Palm Springs lost 911 service Sunday night, CBS News Los Angeles reported. The station said Hilary's outskirts were still lingering over greater Los Angeles and battering some regions with heavy rain early Monday morning.” Parks, schools and beaches are closed in many communities across the south land.” Have a safe day everyone.

And mine credits me with steps for each crochet stitch I do. It asked if I wanted to record an elliptical workout when I was winding yarn. 😜 A few other tricks it can do: it’s a timer ( recipe calls for stirring 6 minutes on the stove); don’t remember where my iPhone is?- make it play a location tone; check Ring to see a photo of who or what is at the door; displays your route from Apple Maps and taps your wrist when it’s time to turn: ekg; heart rate: start and stop audio books: Just a few. Update on this neck of the woods: we’re currently in the center of the storm- lots of wind from the NE. We’ve had steady rain all day. Lots of drops but no torrents here. @Nickelpenny The news says the 15 is closed in Barstow. Cajon is full ( it’s usually a b***** without weather). The newscaster said maps show green areas but that’s because the highways are closed. https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/live/video/20230821015940-kcal-news/#x

Keep in mind that Huntington Beach and much of Orange County is at the “distal” end of drainage. And there are many older area that just don’t have drainage, especially when so much is coming from upstream.

Just got home from a training held about an hour away in one of the canyons that was burned out a few years back. The last 20 minutes of class we started seeing a few uniformed sheriffs, and I figured as it was a county building, that they had a training too. As we left the leader told us they were setting up an evacuation center in the building. There were about 45 or so sheriffs waiting outside. News reports say several major roads have been preemptively closed, and there’s rain from a separate storm in Palm Springs and flooding in Riverside ( not sure where.) The brunt of the storm is expected now to begin mid morning tomorrow. @Nickelpenny, here’s the website for CalTrans for road conditions: https://roads.dot.ca.gov/roadscell.php You might really want to rethink the trip this weekend.

Good morning all, from warm and cloudy SoCal @dobiemom We’re not sure what to make of Hilary. We both clearly remember heavy rain from previous tropical storms, generated from hurricanes off Mexico, and some pretty impressive ones back in the 60s that brought 15+ feet waves to South Laguna. One year we lost a lot of sand and it brought out some pretty athletic surfers. So I’m not sure if these reports are more a product of improved data collection for forecasting, a new standard for issuing warnings, or people who are relatively new to the area and don’t remember when we had a regular rainy season. I’m having a hard time swallowing the idea “this is the first…”. Especially with so many other desperate situations (Maui, beyond huge wildfires in Canada, US and others, etc.) Having said that, DH has gotten some roofing supplies to cover the small area left open for the solar installer when they re-papered our roof a few weeks back. And we’ll roll up the shade that covers the potting bench, and hope to remember to close the car skylights. Have an all day training for volunteering today. Have been looking at opportunities for docenting and I think I found a fit. Have a great day everyone, and stay safe.

Or AI

Kingkongdam’s sister

I’ve seen it with private sales.

Haven’t we seen this thread before, just about a week ago?

Is that Gaelic?

I believe it was only the Maasdam that carried zodiacs, as part of their EXC cruise program.