Live From - 5/22 and 6/1/15 Golden Alaska

[ccrain]

Lost that hour last night with time going ahead to match PDT. Lots of stuff last night, lots of dancing, to bed late. Early morning Zumba, just need a vacation from my vacation. Good thing we have a weekend home before having to go back to work and the real world.

 

Last night was Italian night, and because of our late lunch, I just couldn’t go sit in the dining room without regretting it. But Judy wanted her head waiter prepared penne pasta. So she went into the dining room and absconded with a bowel of it. Probably broke all kinds of rules, but when she gets it in her head that she wants something, she usually gets it. Like the time she told me to go buy her chocolate or she would rip my heart out and show it to me before I hit the floor. $20 worth of every kind of chocolate bar 7/11 had later, I kept my heart.

 

Then we danced to Lots of Fun for a set. Sat through a country western trivia, line danced through country western night, tried the yes/no game show, then collapsed. It was good to have a good dance session and not on a full stomach.

 

Tonight is the last formal night, but no Captain’s Circle, which is kind of nice. We probably won’t get dressed up. Ally is going to the teen center and their party in Sky Walker’s tonight. We might grab a quick bite in the buffet and take in the marriage match game.

 

We have our most traveled luncheon today, so no breakfast. Today in the patter they have a West Coast/Hawaii/Mexico 2015/2016 schedule overview, a lecture on Alaska wildlife, martini demonstration, bingo, slot tournament, art auction, line and ballroom dance classes, Finding Bigfoot!?!, spelling bee, runway at sea, the grapevine wine tasting event (the less expensive one). Tonight there is Big Eyes on MUTS, David Klinkenberg in Vista and Hawley Magic in the theater. Hawley Magic is the one I’ve heard is a don’t miss.

 

So that’s a quick update. Got to download email…

[ccrain]

What has the Internet Manager said about this?

 

Haven't taken the time to get them to figure it out. Always a line and since we really don't use it, and it should be pretty intuitive - (getting the messenger ID and adding the person to your list is not stated anywhere up front).

 

Needs work for sure...

[MTJSR]

Charles, your "Live From" writings are absolutely the best around. Your humor is also my mine. I love to chuckle my way thru your daily posts. We can't wait till you make cruising a full time adventure. Thanks for taking the massive amount of time to do this, it is appreciated!

 

Mark

[trbarton]

What time does the MDR open for lunch on sea days?

 

Thanks!

 

Tom😎

[ccrain]

What time does the MDR open for lunch on sea days?

 

Thanks!

 

Tom

 

Donatello, deck 6 midships, 1200 to 1330.

[trbarton]

Donatello, deck 6 midships, 1200 to 1330.

 

Thank you very much! Your information and blog has been very interesting. Thanks for taking the time to write about your experiences.

 

Tom:cool:

[RWC Lady]

Lost that hour last night with time going ahead to match PDT. Lots of stuff last night, lots of dancing, to bed late. Early morning Zumba, just need a vacation from my vacation. Good thing we have a weekend home before having to go back to work and the real world.

 

Last night was Italian night, and because of our late lunch, I just couldn’t go sit in the dining room without regretting it. But Judy wanted her head waiter prepared penne pasta. So she went into the dining room and absconded with a bowel of it. Probably broke all kinds of rules, but when she gets it in her head that she wants something, she usually gets it. Like the time she told me to go buy her chocolate or she would rip my heart out and show it to me before I hit the floor. $20 worth of every kind of chocolate bar 7/11 had later, I kept my heart.

 

Then we danced to Lots of Fun for a set. Sat through a country western trivia, line danced through country western night, tried the yes/no game show, then collapsed. It was good to have a good dance session and not on a full stomach.

 

Tonight is the last formal night, but no Captain’s Circle, which is kind of nice. We probably won’t get dressed up. Ally is going to the teen center and their party in Sky Walker’s tonight. We might grab a quick bite in the buffet and take in the marriage match game.

 

We have our most traveled luncheon today, so no breakfast. Today in the patter they have a West Coast/Hawaii/Mexico 2015/2016 schedule overview, a lecture on Alaska wildlife, martini demonstration, bingo, slot tournament, art auction, line and ballroom dance classes, Finding Bigfoot!?!, spelling bee, runway at sea, the grapevine wine tasting event (the less expensive one). Tonight there is Big Eyes on MUTS, David Klinkenberg in Vista and Hawley Magic in the theater. Hawley Magic is the one I’ve heard is a don’t miss.

 

So that’s a quick update. Got to download email…

 

Regarding the most traveled luncheon, was the menu the same as the previous luncheon you attended? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we make the "cut off" for the most traveled luncheon when we sail to Alaska in July. On the cruise to Alaska the past two years, the captain had a cocktail party instead of a luncheon. I really do prefer the luncheons.

 

Thanks so much for your Live blog of your b2b cruise to Alaska. It was very interesting and now I'm even more excited about my cruise in July.

[Mindy97]

Cutoff for Most Traveled Luncheon on the May 22nd Golden Princess (10 Day Alaska Cruise) was 340 days.

 

I didn't make it :(

 

M.

[ccrain]

I have an answer to the Phoenix Rising Question!!!

 

They will be on the Golden till she arrives in Sydney in November 2015. I caught one of the band members in the wheelhouse before they started a set and was able to ask the question. I just had to find the right time.

[cr8tiv1]

I have an answer to the Phoenix Rising Question!!!

 

They will be on the Golden till she arrives in Sydney in November 2015. I caught one of the band members in the wheelhouse before they started a set and was able to ask the question. I just had to find the right time.

 

Thank you so much for being persistent about this. Not the answer I wanted, I now have the information to research a cruise on the Golden...what better reason is there?

 

Mahalo nui loa for being such a great host.

[Belle]

You had rough seas to Victoria.

Hope it wasn't to bad.

 

As luck will have it today in Ketchikan

was clear as a bell (as they say)

 

You take your chances on any cruise you take,

You just go with the flow (like you do)

Enjoy your last few days.

 

Sounds like your granddaughter is having a ball.

She won't want to get off the ship.

[ccrain]

This morning the sun is rising into a clear blue sky. Sea state is very slight as we slow for our approach into Victoria. Just could not sleep very well last night and almost got up at 0400 this morning. The IC is manned 24/7, so I could have gotten a cup of coffee, but I held out until 0500 and then came down.

 

Yesterday was also a beautiful blue sky day. A much more choppy sea, but the swells were coming from behind and so was the wind, so the motion wasn’t too bad. Zumba was energetic, but we’ve had worse sea states to HI during Zumba so it wasn’t as bad as it could be.

 

The highlight of the day was the most traveled luncheon. Melissa did such a great job and we moved up two tables closer to the captain on this voyage, but the best part was our table mate whom was Kelly, the deputy CD from the HI portion of our Grand cruise early last year. She got on in Juneau in preparation for taking over for Matais in San Francisco as both he and Billy are leaving and Marascell Stanton is coming on as CD. It was a very pleasant surprise to renew old acquaintances. And Kelly is a fantastic deputy CD, and up and comer that will make an excellent CD one day.

 

The luncheon was fantastic with a lobster appetizer, or a Penne Pasta appetizer, a seafood or filet main course and a chocolate dessert, followed by coffee and peti-fors. (Same menu as the luncheon last week, but you certainly won’t hear me complain!) The lobster appetizer was fantastic, the filet very well done. The chocolate dessert, plate licking good.

 

We did a light dinner in the elite lounge over drinks and then retired to the IC to have tea before the Hawley Magic show. We did not dress out and Ally had some teen things going on – she managed to get a sunburn today in the pools – as tonight was a special teen night in Skywalker’s till 2130. Melissa makes the rounds in the elite lounge every night we’ve been there. She’s one of the few CC hosts that do that on a regular and routine basis. Love her attitude and drive. She’s great.

 

We did go see the Hawley Magic show. It was a good magic show, with a few new twists on some old classics – look for the not one, but three girls coming out of the box – nicely done, but they were mainly old classic illusions, or in the case of the jaws of death, a variation on a classic. It was worth seeing and tomorrow night they have a new show in Vista, which we will try to make.

 

Found out from Kelly that the dance troupe is changing out next cruise. A new troupe is coming on and the present one is going to another ship. Not sure which one. They are the best we’ve seen in all of our cruises. Can’t wait to see British Invasion one last time by them. The next cruisers will get two shows by the old troupe and two shows by the new troupe. Then the old troupe leaves and the new troupe takes over.

 

After the magic show, not much to do. Explorer’s and Vista were full for the Marriage match game and the Klinkenberg shows. We found a couple of fellow CC members to chat with before calling it a night. Judy still needs to rest her knees a bit more following country western night.

 

So today is Victoria. If we get off, we’ll probably go around the north side of the peninsula and look around in the various marinas and shops, rather than do a beach walk along the southern side. We dock at 0700 and all aboard is 1330.

 

This afternoon there is a Penny Whistle class, an ice carving demonstration, Princess Pop Choir rehearsal and Shark Week Challenge. This evening there is the Captain’s Circle meeting in Vista, the Princess 50th anniversary trivia, British Invasion in the theater, Hawley Magic in Vista, the theory of everything on MUTS, Liar’s Club and the 50th anniversary balloon drop party in the Piazza. This is going to be a tough night to schedule. We will probably plan to skip dinner in order to make as much as possible, but we won’t be able to make it all for sure.

 

Later…

[Colo Cruiser]

Regarding the most traveled luncheon, was the menu the same as the previous luncheon you attended? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we make the "cut off" for the most traveled luncheon when we sail to Alaska in July. On the cruise to Alaska the past two years, the captain had a cocktail party instead of a luncheon. I really do prefer the luncheons.

 

Thanks so much for your Live blog of your b2b cruise to Alaska. It was very interesting and now I'm even more excited about my cruise in July.

 

 

If I may give my 2 cents, we have been to many luncheons and I can't remember having the same menu. The EC does a fantastic job mixing it up.

Love them....:)

[Colo Cruiser]

This morning the sun is rising into a clear blue sky. Sea state is very slight as we slow for our approach into Victoria. Just could not sleep very well last night and almost got up at 0400 this morning. The IC is manned 24/7, so I could have gotten a cup of coffee, but I held out until 0500 and then came down.

 

Yesterday was also a beautiful blue sky day. A much more choppy sea, but the swells were coming from behind and so was the wind, so the motion wasn’t too bad. Zumba was energetic, but we’ve had worse sea states to HI during Zumba so it wasn’t as bad as it could be.

 

The highlight of the day was the most traveled luncheon. Melissa did such a great job and we moved up two tables closer to the captain on this voyage, but the best part was our table mate whom was Kelly, the deputy CD from the HI portion of our Grand cruise early last year. She got on in Juneau in preparation for taking over for Matais in San Francisco as both he and Billy are leaving and Marascell Stanton is coming on as CD. It was a very pleasant surprise to renew old acquaintances. And Kelly is a fantastic deputy CD, and up and comer that will make an excellent CD one day.

 

The luncheon was fantastic with a lobster appetizer, or a Penne Pasta appetizer, a seafood or filet main course and a chocolate dessert, followed by coffee and peti-fors. (Same menu as the luncheon last week, but you certainly won’t hear me complain!) The lobster appetizer was fantastic, the filet very well done. The chocolate dessert, plate licking good.

 

We did a light dinner in the elite lounge over drinks and then retired to the IC to have tea before the Hawley Magic show. We did not dress out and Ally had some teen things going on – she managed to get a sunburn today in the pools – as tonight was a special teen night in Skywalker’s till 2130. Melissa makes the rounds in the elite lounge every night we’ve been there. She’s one of the few CC hosts that do that on a regular and routine basis. Love her attitude and drive. She’s great.

 

We did go see the Hawley Magic show. It was a good magic show, with a few new twists on some old classics – look for the not one, but three girls coming out of the box – nicely done, but they were mainly old classic illusions, or in the case of the jaws of death, a variation on a classic. It was worth seeing and tomorrow night they have a new show in Vista, which we will try to make.

 

Found out from Kelly that the dance troupe is changing out next cruise. A new troupe is coming on and the present one is going to another ship. Not sure which one. They are the best we’ve seen in all of our cruises. Can’t wait to see British Invasion one last time by them. The next cruisers will get two shows by the old troupe and two shows by the new troupe. Then the old troupe leaves and the new troupe takes over.

 

After the magic show, not much to do. Explorer’s and Vista were full for the Marriage match game and the Klinkenberg shows. We found a couple of fellow CC members to chat with before calling it a night. Judy still needs to rest her knees a bit more following country western night.

 

So today is Victoria. If we get off, we’ll probably go around the north side of the peninsula and look around in the various marinas and shops, rather than do a beach walk along the southern side. We dock at 0700 and all aboard is 1330.

 

This afternoon there is a Penny Whistle class, an ice carving demonstration, Princess Pop Choir rehearsal and Shark Week Challenge. This evening there is the Captain’s Circle meeting in Vista, the Princess 50th anniversary trivia, British Invasion in the theater, Hawley Magic in Vista, the theory of everything on MUTS, Liar’s Club and the 50th anniversary balloon drop party in the Piazza. This is going to be a tough night to schedule. We will probably plan to skip dinner in order to make as much as possible, but we won’t be able to make it all for sure.

 

Later…

 

Another excellent day! :)

[ccrain]

It’s a bit bumpy this morning. Larger swells last night causing vibrations with the stabilizers. More wind this morning causing a little more motion up higher on the ship. First time we’ve hit any kind of rougher water. Nothing drastic at all, just not flat calm and smooth. Overcast skies, no fog, no rain. Still chilly at night, but not too cold during the day unless you are in the wind.

 

Packing Day at sea. My least favorite day on a cruise. We much prefer a day at Princess Cays before we get off, but not going to happen on the west coast. We got to watch everyone pack last week, now it’s our turn. They screwed up our luggage tags, so I had to fix that yesterday as well. We’re taking the Princess transfer to SFO, but they gave us independent off tags much later than the transfer tags. Just a quick trip to the purser’s desk and all fixed. Makes me very jealous of people who live in a port area. Just want to get home now and get all this traveling over and done with.

 

Yesterday we had a great walk in Victoria. This time we went left (north) along the harbor walkway, a really great walking path, with lots of things to see. We ended up at the Parliament building and then cut across the peninsula on Government Drive, coming back down the southern beach path back to the ship.

 

The most interesting part of the walk was fisherman’s wharf with the ‘houseboats’. Lots of little 400 to 600 sq feet floating houses, some tailor made as floating houses, some made out of actual boats, tied up permanently with city water, sewer and electricity. It looks like they bring in their own propane. Some look to be three levels high and some have been converted to businesses and restaurants. It’s a neat place. One 450 sq ft place was for sale for $250k.

 

The path follows the shoreline for the most part, and with a green belt along the shore in most places except for the hotel and marina areas. Today was a brilliant blue, warm day with no breeze. Lots of ducks, geese, sea birds and little fish in the water. The water is amazingly clear for a harbor area. The Fisherman’s wharf area has several restaurants and a couple of whale watching businesses as well. We weren’t prepared for going to sea, otherwise we might have jumped on one.

 

Lots of picture taking opportunities. The parliament building is pretty impressive with the copper patina roof. Lots of neat statuary on the building and on the grounds, as well as a couple of totem poles in the area. A great big cedar tree out front that is really neat as well. We cut back over the park areas to the south shore trails we took last time we were here and headed back to the ship. All of the restaurants we came across didn’t open until 1100 so we just headed back to the ship for pizza and burgers.

 

This is a perfect DIY port with everything within walking distance.

 

The head waiters were cooking Penne pasta again, so Judy and Ally went to dinner. I was still full from a late lunch, so I had tea in the IC and worked on my review of this cruise. Reformatting, getting ready to add photos, etc. They sat in Bernardo’s and Menando’s area again and Ally was treated to her straw wrapper being turned into a heart by Menando. Makes her feel very special.

 

We did do Captain’s circle. I really like our Captain. He’s a ship’s captain, not a PR captain. In all the times we’ve sailed with him, he minimizes the amount of time he speaks. Gets on the PA and says, just a few short words, like, ‘we’ve undone the lines, pushed off, now we head north’ and that’s it. At Captain’s Circle he said maybe 100 words, over and done with. I hear he can parallel park a Grand Class ship in Grand Cayman at the tender dock if he wants to…a real ship driver. The drinks are still watered down and you can order simple drinks from the bar. The information on the breakdown of CC members on this cruise I have provided in an earlier post. No real new information besides what’s already been talked about on these boards.

 

We had intended to sit and have seats for the Hawley Magic show coming up in Vista, but they kicked us all out to clean and reset Vista. We did get seats down front for the show when they did open it up. This show was up close magic, cards, ropes, boxes, coins. Most of the card tricks were standard, not too exciting. The rope in the box tricks were very good, very intriguing. The $20 bill in the lemon, not so interesting.

 

After the show we beat feet to Liar’s Club. Walter was hosting, Kim was grandmaing, Sam was camping, and Jamie was, well, being Jamie. His demonstrations were ‘interesting’, if not ‘highly suggestive’. I sometimes wonder what Sam’s mom and dad were thinking about Jamie during these demonstrations! We only got one answer right, but the point was to have fun and we did.

 

The show ran a bit long, so we missed getting to British Invasion. Just too much to do and not enough time to do it in. Ally spent most of the day and almost all of the night in bed. Her sunburn and cold were enough to put her flat on her back for a while. So we went back to the room to check on her and hit the sack early.

 

So in addition to packing, and planning the alternative scenarios for the trip home tomorrow – yes, my OCPD extends till we actually get home – we have Zumba this morning, which I am probably going to skip and have Judy skip as well. Her knees and my ankles need a break if we are going to dance tonight. Today is On Deck for the Cure as well. We have the culinary demo and tour today, a holiday@sea sale, passenger talent signup this morning and show this afternoon. Pop choir rehearsals and show. Bingo. A pub lunch, grand finale art auction, a gold rush lecture, a ‘rock the room game show’ in Vista, the Human Slot Machine – which is a lot of fun BTW, spelling bee competition and a Discovery Channel space trivia.

 

This evening there is American Sniper in Vista, Ric Steel in the theater, Remember the Lyrics, Princess pop star finals, music and dancing.

 

I should mention A Girl Named Jake, and Rob Ondras. A girl named Jake plays the piano and sings in ‘Crooner’s’, on Deck 7. She can flat out sing. We’ve walked by several times and stopped to listen. The place is packed when she’s up and running. Rob Ondras does a lot of guitar playing and vocals from Neal Diamond, John Denver, some folk, some country, some western. He also plays during the Klondike Midnight Sun ‘campfire’ when weather permits. Both are highly recommended.

 

So I might have a chance to update before we leave tomorrow, but if I don’t, thanks for sailing along. I appreciate all the help you all have contributed in answering some questions and I really appreciate the kind words. Keep reading and I’ll keep writing. It keeps me out of trouble.

 

I will be posting a summary review of these two cruises, as well as a more detailed and illustrated review for download in a week or two. I also hope we can get the patters scanned so that those of my fellow OCPD sufferers can download and plan ahead for daily activities.

 

If work doesn’t interfere, the next cruise will be the 28 day LA roundtrip to Tahiti on the Crown. With so many days at sea, I should have a lot of time to give everyone a real flavor to a long cruise with a lot of sea days.

 

Later…

[skiladyldp]

We are taking this same trip on Golden in three weeks. We live in San Jose so it's about 45 minutes to the San Francisco. That is awesome for us, no plane ride. I can pack what I want and on a trip that has cold and warm weather that is a plus. We have never been to Alaska and this is only our third cruise, the other two have been to Europe. Enjoy the rest of your trip and safe travels.

 

Virginia

[LARGIN]

Thanks for the Dailies.. We will be enjoying the Golden August 10th.

[Cruisin Sal]

Charles,

Thanks for your log. Have a safe journey home. It is drizzling in the bay area today. May we cruise together again!

 

Sally

[CruisingObsessed]

Fantastic that your granddaughter is on the idea of being a cruise director, we will need them in our future! If she's American consider having her check out a Carnival cruise too for perspective. Unlike Princess, they hire Americans for their cruise staff (American cruise staff exists on Princess, but it's rare and they are usually older. On more than 20 cruises, I've only seen one American and he admits to 52--current CD on Ruby). The job is a LOT different on Carnival than on Princess, but since she's young; that will probably be a good thing.:D

 

Good luck!

[Ethel5]

Thank you for you comprehensive review. My daughter and I will be doing this same trip in Sept. Please tell me about the Princess transfers from the port to SFO. Our flight is at 12:50pm and I'm having fits!

[bhopal21]

Ha! Our flight is at 11:55 and I'm not worried at all.

 

Mike

[RWC Lady]

Thank you for you comprehensive review. My daughter and I will be doing this same trip in Sept. Please tell me about the Princess transfers from the port to SFO. Our flight is at 12:50pm and I'm having fits!

 

We have done the Princess transfer after a cruise to Alaska from the port in San Francisco to the San Francisco airport. We were among the first off the ship, picked up our baggage, got on the bus, and we were at the airport by 10 AM. We have done this twice in San Francisco. It is very well organized. Trying to take a taxi from the port to the airport means long lines and lots of waiting. I recommend the Princess transfer. That's what we will be doing in July.

[Colo Cruiser]

Love Victoria! :)

[caribill]

in Vista, the Human Slot Machine – which is a lot of fun BTW

 

What is that all about?

[ccrain]

We just sailed under the Golden Gate. Having last coffee and last update before heading out. We have the early transfer this morning. We’ll see how that goes. A little foggy, but not rainy and not cold this morning.

It was a late night last night and an emotional one as well. We did not take our typical siesta as we packed and got things organized.

I went to the Gold Rush lecture. It was ok. I thought it needed a bit more continuity in the dates and the flows of miners into various areas and maybe just a bit more technical on the type of mining, the amount of gold recovered, the equipment used, etc.

We went afternoon game show lurking. The absolute best was “Rock the Room”. This was hands down the best game show of the cruise. Vista is split into two teams – Sam’s and Kim’s. 20 ‘challenges’ come up on the screen worth 10 points each. The challenge could be –‘name that tune’, ‘name that tv show’, ‘name that movie’, ‘find a fruit in the room’, ‘find some makeup in the room’, ‘find an unshaven man’, etc. Or it could be a bonus round in which the loudest cheering side wins. It was frenzied and lots and lots of fun. You have to see and participate in this show.

We also went to the human slot machine. Unfortunately the human slot machine people COULDN’T TAKE A HINT, unless the person was from ORANGE county. Everyone who was from ORANGE county got THREE ORANGES. Go figure. If you matched all three fruits then you rolled the dice and got one of 6 different prizes. (I should have had Ally go up and be from GRAPE or CORN Colorado.)

Dinner was an appetizer frenzy for me. The special Alaska apps were beer batter fried razor clams with sweet potato fries, a wild game pate with an apple jello and a prickly pear fruit and pineapple plate. I had them all. All of them were really good, but my favorite was the wild game pate and the jello stuff. And then I topped that with the wild boar pasta, followed by the halibut main course. Really, really good. Best meal in the MDR of the whole cruise.

Judy has the beer batter clams and the Fettucine Alfredo, with the King Crab legs main course. Judy says they were some of the best crab legs she’s had on a ship. Ally had her shrimp cocktail, Fettucine Alfredo and surf and turf and liked all of them. Bernardo and Menandro gave us a folded shirt map of the Golden with a thank you note. Although we didn’t eat a lot of meals in the MDR, they were very kind to Ally and she loved the little heart that Menandro made of the straw wrapper when he delivered her drink.

After dinner was dancing with Lots of Fun, our last dances together. Then it was ‘finish the lyrics’ and Princess Pop Star. Now we don’t typically go to Princess Pop Star, but Ally loves it and quite frankly, Kim and Sam made it hilarious, enjoyable and entertaining. It was not a waste of time.

Then we had to say our goodbyes. The Cruise Staff gave Ally a present she will treasure the rest of her life and brought tears to all of our eyes. They gave her something that could not be more perfect to provide her the motivation to achieve her dreams. And Judy and I thank them all from the bottom of our hearts. So to Sam, Jamie, Matais, Kim, Walter, Megan, Tomomi, and Billy – thank you so much for making this a once in a lifetime experience for Ally.

As I’ve told her, there are a lot of people invested in her success now and she needs to just get it done.

Ally had started getting everyone to sign her map of the Golden Princess and to top it off Siobhan gave Ally the starting of a scrapbook for her cruise that was really, really well done. Now Ally has a place for everyone’s facebook and emails so she can stay in touch.

It’s always hard to say goodbye to everyone, but especially Sam and Jamie for us – after 71 day at sea together. Megan, Kim, Siobhan and Ally had grown close to each other as well. It’s amazing how close you can get to people in so short amount of time – and quite frankly, it’s those relationships that keep us coming back to Princess. Even if we get on a ship where we know no one, we leave the ship with new found friends that are just like family.

 

The Princess slogan should be 'Arrive as Strangers, Leave as Family'.