Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[TravelGirlinDallas]

Y'all. I'm researching cabins on Allure for a cruise next year after it moves to Galveston. I'm really interested in the Ultra Spacious Large Balcony cabins, of which there are only 7 on the ship. The cabin has extra room, built in bunk beds, extra balcony chairs, etc. These cabins can sleep 6. 

 

Here's my question. Is it selfish or rude to book a cabin like that simply because I like it, even though we only have one child and don't really "need" the extra space? I feel like I'd be taking one of those few cabins away from a larger family that might need it more. Is that a thing? Or am I over-thinking it?

 

I should add, we usually stay in regular balcony cabins, so I've never really thought about this before. I'm turning 50 next year and this cruise would be celebrating that, which is why we were considering upgrading a bit.

Edited May 20, 2022 by TravelGirlinDallas

[StanleyandGus]

This is our temporary dog, due my son’s work commitments. . He’s 11 months old, and is trying to make friends with the cats. He keeps offering them his toys, and doing the “do you want to play “ pose. They are not terribly interested!

[dani negreanu]

3 hours ago, derorim said:

We just booked this sailing, and it will be our first TA.  We were considering a Baltic cruise to celebrate our 20th anniversary next year, but then I saw the great price on this one.  We plan to enjoy several days in Copenhagen before we board.  

 

Excellent choice.

 

Debbie & John ( @Sunshine3601 & @Ozark_Kid),

 

I've looked into this itinerary (and Jewel's too), only from this point of view. I think that the stops in Iceland are very good and afford seeing the highlights of this amazing country if it will be your only visit there. The overnight in Reykjavik is perfect.

 

Another plus - a stop in Norway to see a fjord 😉

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

There are all very beautiful areas.     I have never been a ski bum (I'm a beach bum) but I hear they have some very nice skiing up there.   

My daughter and son in law are ski buffs.They had a shared ownership of a ski lodge in the area for several years before they bought their home up there.They have a tremendous amount of land.I forgot the acreage .

The town has a post office,a gas station and a convenience store,no other businesses.They have neighbors across the road but nobody else living close.On the day they were moving in the neighbors came to greet and introduce themselves.The couple only live there in the summer,the rest of the year they live in Long Island .

[Luckynana]

16 hours ago, helen haywood said:

This was the purring pile I had to drag myself away from this morning 😞.  We’re driving to FLL to board Celebrity Equinox on Saturday.  Celebrating our 35th anniversary!

Happy 35th Anniversary!  Safe travels.  Enjoy your cruise on the Equinox.  Love that ship!🛳️

9 hours ago, sgmn said:

We had a lovely day yesterday for Gary's birthday.  After a video call with our one year old grandson we had breakfast in the courtyard of our local craft village.

 

 

Later we had cake and coffee in the garden with my sister in law 

Happy Birthday Gary!  It looks like it was a great one!🎂🎈

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

We moved from Cherry Hill to Buffalo (Williamsville) in 1972.  I think we moved to Cherry Hill around 1964.  In Cherry Hill, we lived on Old Orchard Road which literally ran along an apple orchard.  Our backyard was right up against the orchard.  When they were harvesting, we'd stand in our yard and they would toss apples to us.  That only lasted a few years as the orchard was eventually turned into more houses.  Cherry Hill is now a huge Philadelphia suburb with just about everything that you think of when you mention suburbia.  There wasn't much in Marlton at the time (you drove through it on the way to Atlantic City/the Jersey shore) but it looks like is also now a big suburban area.

He lived on Plymouth Drive in Cherry Hill.He had a very unusual last name and said that was why people knew who he is .

I have a friend who was born in Buffalo.She and her family moved to Brooklyn in the early 70’s.She and one of her brothers now live in Fla and the other brother lives in PA.

[grapau27]

We took our Sarah out for dinner tonight at our favourite Italian restaurant.

[lenquixote66]

I just finished binge watching the third and final season of Who Killed Sara.?

It was great.

[Bailey & Sophie]

On 5/19/2022 at 12:47 PM, singinalot said:

Well, I’ve done it! Today was my official last day of working in Colorado. The execs threw me a lovely send-off last night…a happy hour event at a local golf club…attended by about 40. I think I’m the first person since I’ve been here that was celebrated in this manner without there being a retirement involved. I told them in my goodbye speech “I’m literally quitting and you’re throwing a party 🤣”.

a huge basket of parting gifts, wine, flowers, and spy the mug…everyone teases me about my love for spreadsheets 😉

2 of my other exec assistants I’ve worked with for 7+ years

 

 

 

 Congrats! On to the next big adventure for you 2!

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

We took our Sarah out for dinner tonight at our favourite Italian restaurant.

 

 

 

 

This calzone looks awesome.

[grapau27]

1 minute ago, Ocean Boy said:

This calzone looks awesome.

Thank you.

It was one of the best I have ever eaten.

[grapau27]

On 5/19/2022 at 6:47 PM, singinalot said:

Well, I’ve done it! Today was my official last day of working in Colorado. The execs threw me a lovely send-off last night…a happy hour event at a local golf club…attended by about 40. I think I’m the first person since I’ve been here that was celebrated in this manner without there being a retirement involved. I told them in my goodbye speech “I’m literally quitting and you’re throwing a party 🤣”.

a huge basket of parting gifts, wine, flowers, and spy the mug…everyone teases me about my love for spreadsheets 😉

2 of my other exec assistants I’ve worked with for 7+ years

 

 

It must be hard leaving a company who think so very highly of you Crystal.

Wishing you and Nate all the best for your new life and careers.

Graham.

 

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

 

 

I hope this helps you.

 

 

I found your explanation of how the points work very interesting. Thank you!

[jagsfan]

2 hours ago, grapau27 said:

We took our Sarah out for dinner tonight at our favourite Italian restaurant.

Graham, I think the first photo is a salad? But I don’t recognize all the ingredients. 
Last photo is a calzone?

I can’t enjoy your food vicariously if I don’t know what you’re eating!!

But it all looks yummy for the tummy!

[grapau27]

1 minute ago, jagsfan said:

Graham, I think the first photo is a salad? But I don’t recognize all the ingredients. 
Last photo is a calzone?

I can’t enjoy your food vicariously if I don’t know what you’re eating!!

But it all looks yummy for the tummy!

Roasted Peppers, salad with mozzarella and pesto sauce was Sarah's starter.

Pauline and I both had potato skins with a garlic dip.

 I had a Calzone pizza and the 2 girls had Rigatoni pasta with vegetables.

 

[jagsfan]

9 minutes ago, singinalot said:

Thank you all for the lovely comments. 😊

it was truly humbling.

i woke up this morning and didn’t get out of bed until 8…now that was a weird feeling. My first thought was “what if they need me today?” 🤣 I’m sure I’ll lose that guilt soon.

 

of course it started snowing here and is supposed to snow the next 2 days. I’ll be inside packing!

I don’t know about you, but I felt so torn when I left my job. I wasn’t going to look for another one, though. I was old enough for Social Security, and my husband had retired. 
I felt like my coworkers were together, loving life, and I was all alone. I felt strange when I went shopping on a weekday morning.  Was an outsider in a new world. 
That lasted for about a week!!

You are going to a whole new and exciting life, so enjoy!

[Sunshine3601]

Temp is 64 and very foggy and misty.    When I stand at the top of the beach you can hardly see the ocean.  I didn't get too far on my bike hopefully weather will be better tomorrow.   

Went to Murphy's food store and was shocked with some of their prices.    Spent a small fortune on lunchmeats, cheeses, steaks, burgers, etc for the week.    

Going to see if the diner Mustache Bill's near Barnegat Lighthouse is open for breakfast tomorrow.     Another great diner!

[Luckynana]

I had a productive day outside today.  I began by weeding in the area around the pool..I was going to start planting begonias, as well as lavender and rosemary....I'm hoping the lavender and rosemary, as well as the citronella plant I bought will help to deter the mosquitos this Summer.  We'll see!  I really hope it works.  We are supposed to get hail?? and are under tornado watch this evening, so instead of planting, I moved on to my tomorrow's project, which was to wash the siding on the front of the house, which I did get done.  We're having our front steps replaced (hopefully) this coming week, and I had wanted to get the house washed first.  Tomorrow I plan on painting the wood under the front door, and will then do my planting.  I am exhausted right now.  But in a good way!😉

[Keksie]

1 minute ago, Luckynana said:

I had a productive day outside today.  I began by weeding in the area around the pool..I was going to start planting begonias, as well as lavender and rosemary....I'm hoping the lavender and rosemary, as well as the citronella plant I bought will help to deter the mosquitos this Summer.  We'll see!  I really hope it works.  We are supposed to get hail?? and are under tornado watch this evening, so instead of planting, I moved on to my tomorrow's project, which was to wash the siding on the front of the house, which I did get done.  We're having our front steps replaced (hopefully) this coming week, and I had wanted to get the house washed first.  Tomorrow I plan on painting the wood under the front door, and will then do my planting.  I am exhausted right now.  But in a good way!😉

Lemon grass is another plant that will repel mosquitos.

[Luckynana]

35 minutes ago, Keksie said:

Lemon grass is another plant that will repel mosquitos.

Yes.  Thank you!  I have a list of plants to repel mosquitos...so far I was able to get the lavender at one store, rosemary in the food store, and citronella in another..lol!    I'll have to look for the lemon grass the next time out..Eucalyptus is also good, as is Lantana Camara..which also attracts hummingbirds.  (I'll have to tell my daughters about that one.  They both have hummingbird feeders..last year, the hummingbirds were pretty scarce around here.

[Jimbo]

5 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

My apologies to upfront to everyone - this is going to be a long post.

 

@Jimbo    Re: your casino question on the other thread.      There really is not set amount of money that is needed to become a casino prime member.      We have been prime members for several years (Eric was before me).   I am going to guessitimate that I probably played around $1250 to get 2500 points that is needed to become prime.   

 

I play penny slots and bet max or near max depending on the machine and if it is doing well or not.   Video poker earns less points than slots.    table games earn less points than slots.   You could have $100 of play get you 40 points or 300 points - this varies.   If you put in a $100 bill and sit there and play for quite awhile rolling over whatever winnings you may have you could walk away with 800 +/- points.      

 

The total of 2500 points can be accumulated over the casino year of April 1st thru March 31st.    Does not have to be done on one cruise.     You are then entitled to free drinks (alcohol, bottled water, soda, whatever is served at casino bar) for all future cruises up thru march 31 2024.     and 30% off internet packages thru casino.   

 

So at the very least you will have 2 free cruises (your annual cruise and the one they give you onboard for 2500 points).

 

If I became prime in June of this year I would be a prime member for April 1, 2023 thru March 31, 2024 (but will still receive period offers for free cruises).      April 2023 the casino will then post your annual free cruise certificate that must be used on any 7 night cruise anywhere in the world (some restrictions for holidays and new ships).   You must take that annual free cruise by March 31, 2024.    

 

Each free cruise offered is for 2 adults.    If your offer is for a balcony and you select a balcony cabin then all you have to pay is port fees and taxes at time of booking.    

 

Here is a summary of current offers we have (Eric and I receive separate offers and can combine them).   

Here is a the itinerary choices for the most recent offer received this week:

Offer received 5.16.22.pdf 691.63 kB · 5 downloads

 

I am thinking of booking the Anthem for 12/04 with my freebie from recent list and may book one of the Voyager sailings out of Boston to Canada with one of Eric's offers.       Also, the cost to upgrade from an OV cabin to a balcony or higher is usually a lot less than what you see on royal's site.    

In our case Eric and I are both prime so we both receive separate offers.    Sometimes they are the same offer, sometimes are they are slightly different.    If we have the exact same offer then we can combine them to upgrade our cabin at no additional cost.     

 

So all in - if gambled $2500 for the entire year for both of us to be prime and receive free offers on a regular basis plus each get 1 free annual cruise that is a win win IMO.     Now gambling $2500 does Not mean you are losing that money.     We left Anthem ahead a little over $2000 on our b2b end of March.   

 

Eric gambles more than I do so he occasionally gets offer for free junior suites.   

 

Plus being prime or higher you are able to get any cruise for any amount of nights discounted by at least 10% off.     this is why I mentioned on other thread about checking casino price for the Serenade 14 night TA crossing as other poster got $575 off (which is around 20% off the fare for that particular sailing).     They base your discount off your play from previous sailings plus whatever other discounts you are eligible for such as military, diamond, senior rate, etc. 

 

I hope this helps you.

Thanks for clarification, It helped me a lot and I'm sure others as well. Have also heard it talked about on cruise critic a lot but no one ever explained how it worked.

[helen haywood]

8 hours ago, Arzeena said:

Us too!😁

We love the deck 8 slant balconies.

We’re in 8238!!

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Temp is 64 and very foggy and misty.    When I stand at the top of the beach you can hardly see the ocean.  I didn't get too far on my bike hopefully weather will be better tomorrow.   

Went to Murphy's food store and was shocked with some of their prices.    Spent a small fortune on lunchmeats, cheeses, steaks, burgers, etc for the week.    

Going to see if the diner Mustache Bill's near Barnegat Lighthouse is open for breakfast tomorrow.     Another great diner!

 

Mustache Bill's

Mon	Closed
Tue	Closed
Wed	Closed
Thu	Closed
Fri	6:00 AM - 3:00 PM	Closed now
Sat	6:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Sun	6:00 AM - 3:00 PM

[Sunshine3601]

21 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

Yes.  Thank you!  I have a list of plants to repel mosquitos...so far I was able to get the lavender at one store, rosemary in the food store, and citronella in another..lol!    I'll have to look for the lemon grass the next time out..Eucalyptus is also good, as is Lantana Camara..which also attracts hummingbirds.  (I'll have to tell my daughters about that one.  They both have hummingbird feeders..last year, the hummingbirds were pretty scarce around here.

I love Lavender and have it planted in the beds at our rear patio as well as citronella plants. They both seem to work good with mosquitos - just don't leave my patio onto the lawn then they get you😁

 

Last weekend I picked up an Aloe plant.   I have never grown one before so I thought I would give it a try.    For now I put into a larger planter on my patio and will figure out what to do with it when we get back home.     I am thinking I will keep in a planter so I can bring it inside in the winter.    Anyone have any suggestions on growing Aloe?

[Sunshine3601]

3 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

 

Mustache Bill's

Mon	Closed
Tue	Closed
Wed	Closed
Thu	Closed
Fri	6:00 AM - 3:00 PM	Closed now
Sat	6:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Sun	6:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Awesome - thank you for checking that out for me.    😍