Austingrl

I'm having a lot of trouble finding the location we are supposed to go to in Anchorage for the Holland America Cruise Train to the ship in Whittier.  I called and they said it is in the check-in documents, but I don't see it anywhere.  (I do see the info for our transpiration to the Seattle airport at the end of the cruise) When I called, she said it had a departure time of 1:00 and that there was an address.  I tried calling back and it was a 20 minute wait to speak to someone.  Is anyone else having trouble speaking to an agent? The cruise is this weekend, any information would be most helpful.  Thank you!

I have had extensions, and they looked great for about 2 weeks, then, not so much.  It took 2 hours to apply and you have to be very careful with them when taking off make up and sleeping.  A lot of maintenance if you want to keep the look going.

Now I get the lash tint and lift which lasts me a couple of months, and you don't have to baby them nearly as much.

What I have done a couple times when I have a special event or vacation is I get the lash tint and lift and then go back the next day and get a "flare". A flare is where they put lash extensions sporadically, not completely over your lid.  It gives a beautiful pop to your eye and is very glamorous. Again, you do have to be super careful with the extension lashes, but in my opinion, it's worth it if you don't care that it only lasts 1 -2 weeks.  Then when the flare lashes fall out, you still have your lashes that you tinted and lifted that look great for a few months.  

Thought I would post this since I have been doing research over the last month or so trying to decide on what to bid on my upcoming cruise. Given that this is a September cruise and not fully booked, I went back and forth on what to bid. We had an aft balcony on the Getaway. Last time I checked there were quite a few Haven rooms still available to book (as of a week out of the cruise). I didn't bid on any mini-suites as I preferred my large balcony. I bid the absolute minimum on spa haven room and courtyard penthouse room. I bid low-fair on forward-facing penthouse, and medium-fair on aft-penthouse. Today is Tuesday before the cruise and received an email saying we got the forward-facing penthouse H7. So excited because it's my husbands 50th birthday trip! I had no idea what to expect but I thought I would put this out there for anyone else who's trying to figure out if this whole bidding thing actually works. Glad to say it worked for us and I'm comfortable with the amount I paid. I had to stop myself from over-bidding in these last few days as I started to get my heart set on staying in the haven and was afraid my bid was too low. Good luck to everyone else, hope your bids work out, too!

We were on the Pride of America NCL cruise in the summer of 2014. While in Kona, HI we did the Captain Zodiac excursion and a mother and baby dolphin swim right up to the side of the small boat we were on. It was so exciting! I, too, do not want to contribute to the problem of companies profiting from keeping dolphins in captivity. Seeing them in the wild was such a thrill!

Hey everyone!

 

I'm currently trying somewhat of a low carb diet (I just can't seem to give up all the fruit!), but I haven't ate any bread, starches, or added sugars in about 2 weeks. I really want to do a pure ketogenic LCHF diet, but it's hard when my job forces me to eat out daily (if not multiple times a day when I'm out of town!) I've lost 15 pounds since the beginning of February, and hoping to lose another 30 before my cruise in May! I have a total of around 60 more to lose.

 

I'm also not really exercising at the moment due to my work schedule (I'm a CPA smack in the middle of busy season). I'm trying to add more activity throughout my day and doing sets of 10 squats when I think of it haha! But I plan to definitely get back in the gym regular at the beginning of April when my crazy hours slow down.

 

First, I'd love to hear from anyone else who has done a low carb diet. In the past I've always just counted calories, have lost up to 40 lbs a few time before, but always gained it back as it seemed like I had to drastically cut calories to the point I was miserable to lose weight or even maintain.

 

Also, I hope someone has some experience with doing a low carb diet, and then going on a cruise and treating yourself to non diet things :) I have had absolutely no bread or starches for the past two weeks and want to continue this for at least a month, at which point I will probably start allowing myself to have them one day a week. But on the cruise, while I plan to be more sensible that I would have been in the past, I really want to enjoy myself and try all the yummy foods I love (the idea of pizza, blue cantina, and guy's burgers on a ship has me drooling - I've only cruised once before and it was a small Norwegian ship with basically just a buffet and dining room)

 

So my question is, am I going to feel miserable or have an upset stomach if I eat bread and other carbs daily that week?

 

Thanks everyone! I look forward to participating here over the next few months.

Hi!

I have been doing low-carb for about 10 years (on and off) mostly on, since I have diabetes. To answer your question about feeling miserable or having an upset stomach, I would say no. The only time I feel bad is if I eat something overly sugary on an empty stomach. If I were to wake up and eat a donut and drink some juice, that would be bad. However, when I go on vacation, I tend to overdo it with bread, pasta, and desserts with no problem.

I have found that low-carb is such a great way to lose weight (and better for me health-wise) but after you do it for an extended period of time, eventually you HAVE to have bread/pasta/ chips/cup-cake every once in a while or you'll go crazy. I love to eat, and my doctor tells me it's OK to go crazy on holidays or vacation. My diabetes is borderline, and I am about 30 lbs overweight right now, and trying to lose for my cruise over spring break. When I get real serious about cutting out carbs, the pounds just fall off. I'm 45 and have been watching what I eat my whole life. It is funny to me how when I was in my 20's, it was all about no-fat. I wish I would have known then what I know now.

Whats great, too, is that now you can find a lot of low-carb products that didn't exist 10 years ago. Good luck to you, I can tell you when you really start seeing the pounds fall off, it is such a motivator! I have an event coming up at the end of April that I really want to look good for, an I am hoping that I can at least loose 15 lbs by then.

Oh, you mentioned fruit. I think there are certain ones that are better than others. If I am really craving fruit, I will eat some cantaloupe or strawberries. I always stay away from oranges and bananas. One thing I'll do is get the no sugar added canned fruit cocktail and eat just a little with cottage cheese and some splenda.

This is just my own experience, and I don't claim to be an expert. I think for me, the most important thing I do when I want to be really serious about it, and have gotten the best results, is to change my mind about food. I tell myself, food is not entertainment, it's fuel. The other great thing, is when you eat a lot of protein, your never hungry.

Hope this helps and good luck to us both!

Karen

Because of cost, our family had to do the exact same thing when my kids were the same ages as yours. Obviously, there is no comparing to Disney, but I have to say we loved Royal Caribbean (Freedom of the Seas) just as much. Sometimes doing something different is very exciting. Also, going on Royal Caribbean allowed us to get 2 connecting cabins which gave everyone more room to breath. Everyone is different, but I say try it, you may be pleasantly surprised like we were.

75 year old Mom is going on Navigator of the Seas tomorrow. Does anyone know the latest time she can board the ship? I just don't want her to be late as she and my brother have a long drive to get to the cruise port. Thanks so much!

I changed my flight, which was super expensive (almost more than the cruise itself!) but at least we know we're going! This is what I get for planning a last minute anniversary getaway!

Thanks for all your replies! This was the only way we could get there, I guess I was being way too optimistic! I didn't know they were so strict about it. It will be a big bummer to get there, see the boat, and not be able to board. Not sure what to do now. Thanks for your help.:(

How much to they enforce the boarding time on Enchantment. The ship leaves at 4:30 and RC states you have to be there no later than 2:58. Our flight gets in at 1:15 and we are only bringing carry on bags and hiring a town car from MCO.

If our flight is delayed we will be in trouble. Anyone else experience this ... Any advice?

thanks in advance!

I was there in January and was skeptical about the casino. I go to Vegas a few times a year, and find the slots on cruise ships to be very tight! I was shocked to see how loose the slots were at Atlantis! Maybe I was just there on a good day, I don't know. I won $2000 on a wheel of fortune machine, and had very good luck on a few others. They also do give free drinks while you are playing, like in Vegas. I say try it, it worked for me!

What time do they kick you off Enchantment on the last day?

I was there in January, and I really felt like the horses looked sad and uncared for. I wouldn't recommend it. My own personal opinion, being an animal lover.