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

[dani negreanu]

No more summer day camps in the 2nd half of August....

 

We got the grandsons for a sleep over.... After the "regulation" schnitzel with fries DH prepared for lunch, we decided to order some pizza...

 

 

We have to buy them regular beds, but for now, DH put a "demarcation line" in the middle of our son's old one... They brought with them a lot of toys.

 

 

 

 

[derorim]

14 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

We got the grandsons for a sleep over.... After the "regulation" schnitzel with fries DH prepared for lunch, we decided to order some pizza...

 

Your grandsons are adorable.  I bet they are a lot of fun.  We  had a granddaughter sleep over this weekend.  She wanted her "usual" for breakfast...  I got a little carried away with the whipped cream hair.  Thankfully she didn't eat all of it, but she devoured the chocolate chip pancake.

 

[harryfat1]

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

 

Think I may have asked this before but now sure you ever answered and if you did I missed it. Did the Captain say how many miles you were from Hubbard, seems unusual to have that much ice this late in the season. Did Captain say anything about that?

No, the captain never said how far out we were.  Just said due to ice, we can't go further as he made a subtle reference to the movie Titanic.

 

They said Hubbard is 6 miles across and I believe this was the closest we got.  Looking at the picture below, I'm guessing maybe 4 miles out?  There were a lot of ice around the ship so I'm sure that was the limit for that day for a major cruise ship.  The boat excursion got closer but I was never able to find them in my pictures. Only saw them coming to the ship to pick up/drop off passengers for the excursion.

 

 

 

 

 

[sgmn]

38 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

No more summer day camps in the 2nd half of August....

 

We got the grandsons for a sleep over.... After the "regulation" schnitzel with fries DH prepared for lunch, we decided to order some pizza...

 

We have to buy them regular beds, but for now, DH put a "demarcation line" in the middle of our son's old one... They brought with them a lot of toys.

 

Lovely looking lads Dani. 

We use to sleep 'top n tail' all the time when we were kids and visiting family or friends 

Bet they think it's great fun !

When do they go back to school?  I think ours go back around 5th Sept (except Scotland where they finish and go back earlier than rest of UK )

Edited August 15, 2022 by sgmn

[harryfat1]

2 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Thanks for taking the time to post Harry.  We were scheduled to visit ISP but it got changed to Ketchikan when our itinerary changed.  Your comments reinforce that this is a GOOD change.  We were going to do a salmon dinner excursion at ISP because we couldn't find anything else that seemed interesting, other than the zipline.

 

Bob,

 

Yeah, switching to Ketchikan is a much better choice as you have more options to do different thing there if you prefer a more active port.  ISP is more tranquil if you prefer a surrounding that has less activities.

 

Our visit to Ketchikan was cut short by couple of hours as the ship needs to get back to Vancouver by 3 AM instead of the scheduled 7 AM due to high tides as the ship is too tall to safely go under the Lion's Gate bridge during high tide.

 

Later on I will upload more pictures from our Juneau and Ketchikan stop but here are couple samples.  For Juneau, we took the $45 shuttle to Mendenhall and for Ketchikan we just did the self guide tour of the town using the map you obtain from visitor center.

 

ISP:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Always gives me warm fuzzies when I see these signs on trails...

 

 

Juneau:

 

 

 

Ketchikan:

 

 

Salmon season

 

[Sunshine3601]

3 hours ago, Keksie said:

I think we are in the minority liking ISP both times we went.  We like to walk through the cannery, the nature walk and both times we took whale watching excursions.  The first time we were on a boat of 6 plus the captain and had a whale breach in front of the boat.  The second time we saw a pod bubble feeding and watched them for a long time.  We were the only ones on the boat with the captain.  He drove us by his house on the way back to the ship so we could see the eagle's nest in his front yard with the baby eagle in it.  We like Ketchikan too.  Had fun both times we were there also.

That was very nice of the Capt to take you by his home.    I love when they go above and beyond.   

Alaska is definitely on my to do list.   I have always enjoyed whale watching when we gone out of cape cod.    They are so majestic.   I could watch them all day!

[Sunshine3601]

4 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Sorry most of you got Covid, hope you are all feeling better soon. guess pretty much no protocol's of any kind now. Did the ship seems crowded? any idea how many onboard for your sailing? 

 

Still sounds like Oasis is still short handed, seem the Dining problems just continue to happen. Knew the Dining Rooms were a problem, now Windjammer Food seems like another issue arising currently.

I cannot answer your questions but do know that Oasis has been sailing at all most full capacity this summer.    Looks like our sailing for 8.28 is going to be a full ship too!        Other than suggesting you wear a mask when indoors in large venues and washy washy I do not know of any Royal ship (or the Caribbean islands) having any other protocols other than testing pre-boarding.      Just like at home, up to the individual if they wish to mask up.

MTD continues to have issues on pretty much every ship.   Unsure why, but happy we do traditional dining.     Hoping that WJ will be good for my daily breakfast.   I need to find out where (other than MDR) my omelet guy will be located.     Love to have my fresh made omelet or eggs benedict when onboard.  

[A&L_Ont]

3 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

Speaking of T, I had to do some Google snooping and found her house.  I can see why it's priced like it is.  What a great location.  She must have had the Google street view of her house all blurred out.  To be fair, several other houses in that area are also blurred out.

 

It's funny, I too looked on Google Earth and saw the same thing.  I figured it was blurred because of a large sign, but it makes sense to hide her house.  There are more than a few weirdos out there who would look at it for the wrong reasons.

[dani negreanu]

1 hour ago, sgmn said:

When do they go back to school?  I think ours go back around 5th Sept

 

Thanks, Sue. They're a lot of fun, and they're full of energy.........

 

The "oldest" (6 years) will start 1st grade (?) school Sept. 1st, and the youngest -- kindergarten at the same date.

 

Absolutely love your boat.

[jagsfan]

17 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

Had to quote myself to find out where I last left off on our Alaska cruise upload from few days ago.  Never caught up with bad wifi signal on day 3 onward.

 

Now that we are home, here are some more pics that I couldn't upload from days 2 and 3. More glacier pictures than an average person cares to see...

 

For $279/pp, you can take a boat excursion that comes to the ship to take you closer to the Hubbard Glacier.  Too rich for my blood.

 

 

 

 

Calm waters of Glacier Bay

 

 

Everyone was on deck trying to find wild animals. Funny to see all the people run to the starboard side when it's announced something there and then run back to the port side when another announcement of something spotted on another side.  Guess that replaces the tread mill exercise for the day.

 

Think the captain was worried about the ship tipping over as all the overweight people were leaning to one side on those whale sightings....

 

 

So I'm blind as a bat and I can NEVER find whatever animal the park ranger announced over the PA system during the whole day we were there.  Everyone else gets all excited when something is announced.  I can't see a dang thing in the sun fighting for elbow space.  So just aim at the basic direction of what people are pointing and take a picture to hope for the best.

 

I believe that's the mountain goat that was mentioned but I couldn't see it until after coming home and looking for it on a laptop... 

 

 

As we had all day at Glacier Bay, we were roaming from station to station to see what each area offered.  The park ranger got all excited over couple orcas right in front of the ship while we were there.  I have never seen75 year old grandmas run so fast to fight for spot to take pictures. I never did sees the orcas in person myself but my older son got a picture of it through the window.

 

 

Few more glacier pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outbound on my first Alaska cruise, we were eating dinner when suddenly everyone else ran across the dining room, including the servers. 
we thought something awful happened, but our server came back, camera in hand, and said “sorry, whale”. 
It took me a few seconds to realize it was a whale sighting. 
I hope everyone, including our servers, got a picture!

[jagsfan]

11 hours ago, brillohead said:

 

The "inside the gates" area of the port, yes.... but if you go into town, there are all kinds of restaurants and bars up and down the beach. 

Especially Falmouth. There is a beautiful old church there. 

[jagsfan]

9 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Good morning.

It was misty earlier but the temperature is a lot cooler at 62°F.

I had a physio appointment 2 hours ago on my knee.

It was interesting to see the x-rays of my knees and hips and an explanation of what I was shown.

Wishing everyone a super and safe day.

It got down to 60° last night here. In Florida! In August!

Xrays are always fascinating, aren’t they.

[lenquixote66]

9 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Good morning.

It was misty earlier but the temperature is a lot cooler at 62°F.

I had a physio appointment 2 hours ago on my knee.

It was interesting to see the x-rays of my knees and hips and an explanation of what I was shown.

Wishing everyone a super and safe day.

I hope you get good results from the x-rays,Graham.

[Jimbo]

3 hours ago, sgmn said:

Lovely looking lads Dani. 

We use to sleep 'top n tail' all the time when we were kids and visiting family or friends 

Bet they think it's great fun !

When do they go back to school?  I think ours go back around 5th Sept (except Scotland where they finish and go back earlier than rest of UK )

 

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Thanks, Sue. They're a lot of fun, and they're full of energy.........

 

The "oldest" (6 years) will start 1st grade (?) school Sept. 1st, and the youngest -- kindergarten at the same date.

 

Absolutely love your boat.

First day of School for Pulaski, Va. High School here was yesterday August 14th.

 

May 26th 2023 will be the last day.

Edited August 15, 2022 by Jimbo

[Ozark_Kid]

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

The "oldest" (6 years) will start 1st grade (?) school Sept. 1st, and the youngest -- kindergarten at the same date.

You realize how fast time goes by when your grandbabies get older.  I just love it when the kids spend the night.  Have fun and enjoy.   Thanks for the pics!

[Jimbo]

2 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

 

Bob,

 

Yeah, switching to Ketchikan is a much better choice as you have more options to do different thing there if you prefer a more active port.  ISP is more tranquil if you prefer a surrounding that has less activities.

 

Our visit to Ketchikan was cut short by couple of hours as the ship needs to get back to Vancouver by 3 AM instead of the scheduled 7 AM due to high tides as the ship is too tall to safely go under the Lion's Gate bridge during high tide.

 

Later on I will upload more pictures from our Juneau and Ketchikan stop but here are couple samples.  For Juneau, we took the $45 shuttle to Mendenhall and for Ketchikan we just did the self guide tour of the town using the map you obtain from visitor center.

 

ISP:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Always gives me warm fuzzies when I see these signs on trails...

 

 

Juneau:

 

 

 

Ketchikan:

 

 

Salmon season

 

We loved Hoonah (ISP) in Alaska, That is where we did the Brown Bear Lodge Wildlife Excursion. Get a chance do one of their tours. If you want to see Bears.

 

http://www.brownbearlodge.com/excursion.php

[DaniDanielle]

4 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

No more summer day camps in the 2nd half of August....

 

We got the grandsons for a sleep over.... After the "regulation" schnitzel with fries DH prepared for lunch, we decided to order some pizza...

 

 

We have to buy them regular beds, but for now, DH put a "demarcation line" in the middle of our son's old one... They brought with them a lot of toys.

 

 

I like the separation down the middle!  Those boys are going to be heartbreakers🥰

 

 

[BonTexasNY]

4 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

No more summer day camps in the 2nd half of August....

 

We got the grandsons for a sleep over.... After the "regulation" schnitzel with fries DH prepared for lunch, we decided to order some pizza...

 

 

We have to buy them regular beds, but for now, DH put a "demarcation line" in the middle of our son's old one... They brought with them a lot of toys.

 

 

 

 

Wonderful looking boys.  My 14 yr. old grandson's 2nd favorite dish of mine is schnitzel.  First is chicken soup.  No matter the outside temp, when we get together here in TX or in NJ, it's understood I will be making chicken soup.

4 hours ago, derorim said:

 

Your grandsons are adorable.  I bet they are a lot of fun.  We  had a granddaughter sleep over this weekend.  She wanted her "usual" for breakfast...  I got a little carried away with the whipped cream hair.  Thankfully she didn't eat all of it, but she devoured the chocolate chip pancake.

 

My 9 yr old granddaughter, can eat choco chip pancakes daily!  AND she also loves strawberries.

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

I hope you get good results from the x-rays,Graham.

Thank you Lenny.

The plan is to build up more muscle around the knee to stabilise it.

[MJSailors]

 

@A&L_Ont Andrew - the photo of the  lighthouse is from “my neck of the woods”. Orient Point  is about thirty miles east of our home. The lighthouse is BugLight. It was vandalized by fire many years ago,but a replica was built and installed in 1990.

It helps sailors navigate a sandbar between Orient Harbor and Gardiner’s Bay.There are very strong currents there also. At one time, people could stay overnight at the lighthouse. It was a romantic honeymoon destination,but the logistics of such a stay caused that accommodation to be discontinued.

 

 @bobmaclibertyBlock Island is a lovely place to explore. To get there from Long Island’s East End,two ferries are needed. One from Orient Point to New London CT where there is a ferry to Block Island. I think access to BI may be  simpler from Rhode Island. Perhaps OB can confirm this.

Plum Island is government property. For years, apparently,laboratory work for animal diseases was conducted there. Access to the island has been ,and most likely remains so limited.Nelson De Mille’s novel depicted the East End and Plum Island fairly well,although a bit dramatized (MHO). When we read Plum Island, my hubby and I were trying to figure out the real local people DeMille characterized. For us, it made the book interesting .😉

 

@dani negreanuYour grandsons are very cute !

I am sure they are enjoying their stay with grandma and grandpa.

Wishing them many good days as they begin the new school year.

 

MJ🙋🏻

 

[Sea Dog]

24 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Thank you Lenny.

The plan is to build up more muscle around the knee to stabilise it.

That's a great plan and it does work Graham. My surgeon had me do pre surgery and it really helped with the everyday pain. I think you will like how it improves your knee.

[grapau27]

3 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

That's a great plan and it does work Graham. My surgeon had me do pre surgery and it really helped with the everyday pain. I think you will like how it improves your knee.

Thank you Greg.

As I was able to do squats the physiotherapist asked if I could squat on one leg and I tried one squat but it was painful on the inside of the knee where there is little cartilage and I wished I hadn't tried.

I was given a choice of 3-4 exercises to do 3-4 days a week.

[Sea Dog]

2 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

was given a choice of 3-4 exercises to do 3-4 days a week.

That's great. I think you will find as you do the exercises they will become easier.

Cheers to you for making the commitment.

[NHProud]

8 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

That's great. I think you will find as you do the exercises they will become easier.

Cheers to you for making the commitment.

My husband’s doc’s office called to schedule 2nd knee surgery. His 1st knee was replaced on 5/5 .  He is calling back to schedule the surgery for Feb. after Hawaii cruise and plenty of time before Greenland cruise in Sept.. My husband has had it easier than you , Greg .  I don’t know why ? 

[aussielozzie18]

@dani negreanu Goodlooking grandsons.  I bet one of the things they look forward to most with sleepovers apart from spending time with is your DH’s food.  They look like they are going to be good swimmers like you.  What’s their favourite outdoor activity?