57redbird

@StLouisCruisersFabulous photos!!

On 4/7/2024 at 1:54 AM, edinburgher said:

Should your itinerary include St Kitts, you could buy Caribelle Batik, hand made locally.  You can visit on site to watch some being crafted, and on the day of our visit there were highly coloured and patterned items hanging out to dry on lines in the very pretty gardens. It is not inexpensive, but genuinely  local and  handmade.

 

Their items can probably be found in retail outlets elsewhere in the Caribbean.

& do try any garments on -- I bought a blouse/top & unfortunately it runs small --- wish I would have followed my advice....it's hanging in my closet & has never been worn.

I'm chiming in on the doctor thread....I've never been crazy about my PCP -- he was a default choice when our previous PCP retired....I had dealt with the 'new guy' as a nurse & thought he was pretty good but as his patient, I've never been really satisfied with him.  We have Medicare A & B as well as Kaiser....again I dealt with a Kaiser MD as a nurse & liked him (& worked with his sister, also an RN)...finally got an appointment to see him yesterday & he's working on getting my pain meds figured out so I can get some relief....the surgeon's PA put me on increasing doses of Gabapentin, which I didn't do....this new MD said 300 mg was probably too much & reduced the dose to 100 at bedtime along with Ultram once a day...too soon to know the results BUT....he's going on a sabbatical for 9 months so I won't be able to see him again till January.....anyway had a bunch of labs drawn yesterday, got a pneumonia booster, need a DXA scan, etc.....so so far I'm very pleased.

We were under a small uncarpeted area of the Lido, near Canaletto, & we heard chair scraping around 10 pm every night....didn't last long but any cabin under the Lido is a hard no for us.

10 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

 

I quoted both the posts to keep them in context. I think @RedIguana is pointing out the slippery slope that @Heartgrove is suggesting. Should the 5 stars have a special line over the 4 stars? I dare say that there will be several 3 stars on any given cruise who over their cruising life have spent way more than the inside cabin 4 and 5 star. So "star status" has a widely varying price point. Club orange is a set cost, pay the price get priority, it's a simple concept.

Except when you don't like on our 35 day cruise out of San Diego last year....was part of the "herd".

How did Poohby Joe get his name?

1 hour ago, JazzyV said:

 

Great photo of Ren!

I've only been taking Gabapentin, which is supposed to help nerve pain. My PCP added Cymbalta, another med for nerve pain, but it gave me headaches and dry mouth, so I stopped it (I also read horror stories of people on it long term trying to get off. It's also used for depression). Ibuprofen doesn't help it. And I haven't had anything stronger, like a narcotic type medication.

@JazzyV -  have you tried Ultram (Tramadol)?  I'm not sure if Gabapentin was really helping or just masking the pain & making me sleepy.  Tramadol 50 mg q 6 hours as needed (Im only taking it when I get up & before bed)  seems to help.

Max, our Eskipoo, does much better with an inflatable collar than a cone.

Finally a positive medical message!!   DH & I have Medicare A & B & since he is a federal retiree we have Kaiser as a supplemental.  Our PCP's office went to a membership practice effective January 1 to the tune of $250 pp per year which covers a lot.  I decided since we were already paying for Kaiser I'd switch to an MD I dealt with when I was still a practicing RN.  Noitified our PCP's practice on Friday to transfer my records to Kaiser & today I received a letter stating this practice would provide routine & emergency care for 30 days till I reestablish with another provider....I thought that was a very generous & thoughful thing for them to do.

1 hour ago, canadianbear said:

lol. I had to try it-have heard about it for years.  Figured with the HIA might as well attempt it.  Made a good try but boy oh boy, was it strong 😳  Even with Sprite being added I would not order that drink again! 

That's how I feel about Aperol Spritz....YUCK!

@kazu  Have you asked your vet for recommendations?  Since they make house calls I would think they would be a good resource or your groomer?

We did this cruise in 2023 ....For Tahiti -- I wouldn't recommend Unique Tahiti Tours----finding the vehicle at the pier was somewhat confusing - the owner showed up but our driver wasn't there yet...owner gave me something to give to the driver when he did (which I did)...shortly after departing for the tour the Mercedes van started not starting after any stop that was made -- the driver finally figured out how to keep that from happening.  The rest of the tour was as described except we stopped for lunch at a place, which was not included in the price of the tour as we found out after we'd eaten & there was no light or soap or hand sanitizer in the restroom.  Then on the way back to the ship, the driver took us to his house where he had to touch base with his wife.  We did see what was advertised but the whole thing was kind of weird.

@ger_77   Prayers for Maurice & you!  🙏

35 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Did you mean March 22? I’m part of a group that collects data on the numbers. It’s no longer whale soup as expected but there are plenty left according to my data sources. 

Yep -- meant March 22...

8 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I’m currently half way across the pacific on my way to Maui and getting bored so I’ll take a stab at this one now :). 

 

Truth be told I don’t snorkel much on the south side since the condo is on the west in Kapalua with some of the best snorkeling on island nearby.

 

however; I do not recommend you cross the Pali to snorkel on the west side. I didn’t recommend that for a one day cruise stop prior to the fires and it’s worse now due to tremendous traffic on the only road into/out of the Lahaina as the clean up efforts commence. 

 

That leaves you snorkeling around Kihei. Any of the Kams are popular but my favorite spot on that side is Ulua. Some nice coral last time I was there and it’s an easy beach to enter the water at.
 

Of course you could look up Trilogy from Ma’alaea and see if you can make an excursion to Molokini based on your timeframe. 

 

If things work out like this year I’ll be on island in April again  since I plan to head to Maui after the 2025 Tahiti cruise too. If I’m on island, and not entertaining that day, I maybe able to come pick you up :).
 

Last year I was seeing whales right up until the last week of April (although not as abundant). Based on reports I’m getting they are still around right now. I’m heading out next week and hope to get to encounter some fun comp pods. End of season comp pods are a blast! 

 

 

 

We just left Ka anapali January 22 --- not too many whales left.

On 3/14/2024 at 7:41 AM, POA1 said:

 Probably not. The upsell is going to be to a specific room. (Unless you are paying full price for the upsell. Remember that a paid upsell, initiated by you, is going to use your original fare basis as the starting point.) If HAL sends you an offer, you'll be picking the room.

 

The only time I've seen anything that impacts CO is an upsell to a Neptune. The NS category includes CO. Someone reported that their CO fee was refunded on a Neptune upgrade. I kinda think it was @DaveOKC 

 

But I could be wrong.

Our CO & unlimited laundry was refunded when we had a paid upgrade to a Neptune.

20 minutes ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

@StLouisCruisersSandi, thanks for the photos of Kiriwina-we'll be there next January. @JazzyVBefore my hip surgery, I was given a list of exercises for my legs but nothing to increase my arm strength. Luckily, I still have good arm strength, but I did mention to my RN coordinator that those exercises should be included. It's amazing how much you depend on your arms when trying not to bend or twist. After his spinal surgery, DH spent the 1st week or so in the power recliner a friend loaned us. It made getting up-and even sleeping-a lot easier.

@JazzyV  I feel like I lost a lot of strength in my quads as far as getting up went (& goes) & I agree about the suction cup bars unsticking...we had them in our bathtub & they came loose more often than not.

@JazzyV  just wondering if you know the medical terms for your surgery choices... being a retired ortho floor RN, I wanted my dr to just do a laminotomy (not a laminectomy) -- he said if he did it would probably collapse in a few years & then I'd need the laminectomy & fusion - that made up my mind just to do both now instead of later.

@JazzyV  glad you finally have a plan --  hope it is super successful!  Just know it's a bit of a long recovery....I'm about 3 1/2 months out from my spine surgery & am still having good & bad days with pain.  Only did 4 PT sessions 'cause I didn't feel they were worthwhile... 4 exercises today, 3 different ones the next time,  4 different ones the next time & then I said 'Forget it".  I'm 79, not overweight & fairly active with my only limiting issue is emphysema (not on oxygen) so I thought my recovery would be easier than it seems to be.

@JazzyV  Only 1 more sleep on Maui - you can take me off the celebration list.  This visit has been totally different from our previous ones without Lahaina,

@kazu I think Max sometimes wants to go out for the treat, too - they're funny.

@jazzyv - I was supposed to increase my Gabapentin after about 8 weeks post-op - only did it for a couple of days - too sleepy.  Went back to 300 mg at bedtime for a few weeks but now taking it morning & night - still having hip & thigh pain but it's not waking me up.

BTW I'm Paddy McStumpy.

2 hours ago, lazey1 said:

and my name is Jovial McNaughty.

I would love to have corned beef and either cabbage or sauerkraut however with my sodium restricted diet I can't.

A question for any of you who may have cruised while on a restricted diet. My T.A. has notified HAL of the dietary restriction. How is this handled by HAL? Am I given a special menu to choose from; am I given a list of foods with the sodium content listed; am I expected to know the sodium content without help or ???

Jane

 

Contact Ship Services/Special Needs & fill out the form....on board each evening you'll be given the next night's dinner menu & at the top of it note your restrictions.  In the specialty restaurants they seem to know but they do ask. In the Lido you're on your own.

8 hours ago, 1ANGELCAT said:

Good sunny morning. It’s currently 56 and breezy and supposed to be cool tomorrow.

Happy St Patrick’s Day . I was in Ireland, 17 years ago this summer, I still have a jacket from the Cliffs of Moher. 
Happy Birthday to my fellow Camp Fire Girls. 
I was a Bluebird thru adult leadership. Many good memories.

Blessings and prayers to all on our journey.

Blue Bird thru Horizon Club here...

I had, what I now think, a dysfunctional mother...divorced from my dad when I must have been quite young as I have no memory of him till I met him when I was 25 or so. She had very few friends so my significant females were my never married aunt & her niece, both teachers, who lived across the street & endured hours of Monoply & taught me Canasta & let me grade 3rd graders papers & my mom's brother's wife who remained one of my treasured friends for many, many years until she passed.