Momof3gurlz

Bon Voyage! I hope you have a great cruise and look forward to your updates. We board two weeks from today with @jmh2006 on the Southern itinerary of Labadee, Aruba and Bonaire. It’s been a busy week packing and preparing for our upcoming trip. We leave Monday, first stop is Atlantic City for the night. Then on to Chapel Hill NC to visit my 89 year old great aunt. It’s just a little off course of the I-95 South route, but how many more chances might we have to see her? We’ll spend the night there, then on to FL visiting Jacksonville Beach and Anna Maria Island before our S2S cruises on Allure and Adventure. Last up will be 4 nights at Old Key West in Disney before heading home. Three and a half weeks in total so I feel like I’m packing for all four seasons. At least driving we don’t have to worry about saving luggage space. I’m sorry to read about the injuries to family members. I hope all are in the mend soon! @Sea Dog I’m glad to hear the surgery went well and I hope you’re still relatively pain free. How very sad that your Chiefs celebration was marred by yet another awful shooting.

@Sunshine3601 Debbie sorry about your car, but so glad you weren’t hurt! That must’ve been a heart pounding several seconds as you were sliding. @Sea Dog best wishes for your surgery tomorrow and an easy recovery. You’ll be home watching the Chiefs parade before you know it. We ended up with about 10 inches of heavy, wet snow from today’s storm. It sure looked pretty coming down today, but I’d be fine if it all melted tomorrow (it won’t)!

@Sea Dog congrats on your Chiefs big win last night Greg! I thought the game was a little sleepy for the first 3 quarters but it sure turned into a nail biter at the end. We’ve got a nor’easter moving in overnight tonight with 8-12 inches of snow predicted for our part of the state. Not a very nice welcome home for @Ocean Boy ❄️🌨️!

@Ocean Boy We’re a fun bunch! Plus, we love the Schooner Bar!

Another only child here Dani. After what we went through clearing out my Dad’s house I vowed not to do that to our kids. It’s easy for me because I’m an organization geek, but Andy is a pack rat. I often have to remind him “remember when we cleared out my Dad’s house?”. That usually does the trick to get him to throw away a few things. It’s a work in progress.

Thanks, I’ll give this a try.

How awful Maryann. It very could have been much worse though if not for the actions of the pilots. I have email notifications turned off so that’s not an issue. A few days ago, I stopped getting notifications (the little bell in the upper right hand corner) for new comments on the few threads I follow. I wish they’d correct it because now when I go to each thread I have to search for where I left off instead of clicking on the notification which would take me right there.

Same here. Notifications are still not working right for me. They’re either non-existent or look like they’re for new posts but are actually for posts I’ve read 4 or 5 pages back.

I love them. Pro tip: Let it sit a few minutes to mellow before drinking.

And STRONG!

It’ll be here soon! @Tree_skier congrats on your Royal Up! Are you planning to do a Live or just post here?

That sounds like fun! We’ll be cruising from 2/26 to 3/9 ( S2S, 4 night + 8 night) so even if FL doesn’t cooperate, the Caribbean should 🤞.

Thanks April. Siesta Key is one of our favorites, we’ve spent a few days there on a couple of trips. This year we are giving Anna Maria Island a try. We’ve also been to Amelia Island just for day trips. Our oldest DD’s in-laws have a house there and we’ve stopped to visit them a few times. It is an area we’d like to explore a bit more.

Maryann, please get that FL weather straightened out before we get there Feb 21st! Dani - how are you and your DH doing? Yum. Bob Evans was a regular stop for us on our many trips to WVU. We have none around here.

@akcruz great pictures April, especially that sunset shot. You’re trip sound a lot like what Andy and I do every year between February & March. We drive down to FL visiting several different spots spending 2-4 days in each one. Then since we’re already in FL, it only makes sense to add in some form of cruise 🙂. Do you have any favorite areas you’ve stayed? I’m always looking for suggestions for future trips.

+ 1 @Arzeena!

I wonder if they know what that pineapple means?

I like your style!

Bon Voyage @Ocean Boy! I hope you have a great cruise with nice warm weather. Say ‘hi’ to Renee & Mike from Andy and I.

Yes, we’re on Allure 2/26 and Adventure 3/1. I meant that I’m excited for him cruising this weekend (while I have to wait another 4 weeks, lol).

Plenty of time for it to change. It looks like you have a nice day for flying Saturday. I’m not even cruising, but I’m excited for you and look forward to your posting about it.

All this talk of Princess is very timely. I’ve been giving them a hard look, checking out itineraries. I’m in the camp with those who think Royal’s pricing is getting out of hand and I wouldn’t mind a few new ports either. We may find it’s not for us, but we’ll never know unless we try.

You’re absolutely right about it being so much easier years ago! At least they’ve recently done away with the park reservation requirement. I can’t offer much regarding Genie+ as we leave this up to my oldest to arrange; she’s a whiz at it. I will say it’s worth it to purchase Lightning Lane. They’re much like a ride reservation, similar to the old Fast Pass system, except FP’s were free and now they’ve found a way to have you pay for it. LL is definitely needed for any must-do and/or newer rides such as Tron and the Star Wars attractions. We have not stayed at Wilderness Lodge but have dined there. It’s a gorgeous resort. I can also recommend Whispering Canyon Cafe right there, which is family style and a really fun, interactive experience that our grandsons (11 and 9 at the time) loved.

@bobmacliberty great information, thank you so much! I also appreciate the PDF of all your planning details.

@bobmacliberty hey Bob, I just finished reading the Hawaii portion of your review from last September for at least the 3rd time so far! Question for you regarding the Grand Hyatt in Kauai. Some recent Google reviews are not great. In particular, people are commenting that the rooms are dated and there are several comments about musty smelling rooms and mold in the shower. Maybe these are more standard rooms as opposed to Oceanfront or Oceanview rooms? I didn’t see anything similar in your statements about the resort. To be honest, the majority of reviews are 5/5 glowing reports, but since there are several mentioning the same concerns, I thought I’d get your input. Are there newer/older areas of the resort? I’m also considering the Sonesta which is is Lihue, so if you (or anyone else) can add any comments regarding Lihue vs Poipu, I would greatly appreciate it.