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

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Today is our grandson Chris's 19th Birthday.  He's celebrating today at Villanova University, where he began his Sophomore year there last week.

 

Today is also our granddaughter Meghan's 17th Birthday.  She's celebrating her big day in Manhattan today.  Meghan began her Senior year in High School in West Hartford last week.  We call Meghan and Chris the Birthday twins😊

 

Today we found out that our Ava Jude made the Shore Conference Field Hockey "Preseason Players to Watch" list.  She is the Captain of her High School Field Hockey team, and will be starting her Senior year next week.  

 

They sure make us so proud!

Excellent All around😍

[Sea Dog]

53 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

  Here's the original photo that I took, and a picture that she sent of it hanging on her wall.

 

 

That's an amazing photo Bob and that looks really cool what they did for the wall. That photo could earn you some money. Have you ever thought of being a contributor to Shutterstock?

 

https://submit.shutterstock.com/

[BonTexasNY]

4 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Yes...Kermit's in Key West.  Amazing.

You got it!

2 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Today is our grandson Chris's 19th Birthday.  He's celebrating today at Villanova University, where he began his Sophomore year there last week.

 

Today is also our granddaughter Meghan's 17th Birthday.  She's celebrating her big day in Manhattan today.  Meghan began her Senior year in High School in West Hartford last week.  We call Meghan and Chris the Birthday twins😊

 

Today we found out that our Ava Jude made the Shore Conference Field Hockey "Preseason Players to Watch" list.  She is the Captain of her High School Field Hockey team, and will be starting her Senior year next week.  

 

They sure make us so proud!

Maryann, Happy Birthday to Chris and Meghan and congratulations to Ava Jade's achievement.  Continue to be proud!

2 hours ago, derorim said:

 

Yum yum yum yum yum!  I couldn't agree more!  

 

 

I just realized that in this picture I look like my avatar, the late great Miss Priss, squinty eyes and hairstyle both!  🤣

Yes, great visual of Kermit's!! And you do NOT look like Miss Priss.  You're lovely with a great hairstyle, honest!

[bobmacliberty]

8 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

 

That's an amazing photo Bob and that looks really cool what they did for the wall. That photo could earn you some money. Have you ever thought of being a contributor to Shutterstock?

 

https://submit.shutterstock.com/

 

Thought about it, but there's a zillion photos on Shutterstock and I don't think you get much money if someone uses one of yours.  I doubt that I'd upload anything that a lot of people would want to spend money for.  I guess a little money is better than none, but I haven't really looked into it in detail. 

[bobmacliberty]

After all of this key lime pie talk, I decided to make one.  It's in the freezer cooling right now.  We went to our local farmer's market yesterday and bought some frozen salmon burgers for dinner tonight.  We'll see how they turn out.

[Sea Dog]

12 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I did try a love connection while at the sun deck and really enjoyed that too!

One disappointment with this cruise was I never found a bartender that made a good mojito (until last night, my last drink before heading to cabin for bed I had one at the lime and coconut bar right before they closed and he made a perfect mojito).

 

That's too bad. It shouldn't be that hard to screw up since it only has 5 ingredients. My guess is that the bartender did not muddle the mint, lime and sugar long enough. The other thing is using quality mint. One other problem I have heard is using crushed ice instead of smaller cubes can dilute it too much losing taste.

[bobmacliberty]

Sorry...didn't mean to turn this into a tipping thread.  I wasn't talking specifically about tipping when dropping your luggage for a cruise.  I was generally saying that it matters less that you have a lot of luggage if you can pay someone to move it where you want it to go and not worry about it yourself.

[bobmacliberty]

Happy hour drink today is a Raspberry Vodka Lemonade. I used the same recipe as my Raspberry Bourbon Lemonade, but with vodka instead. Two ounces vodka, one ounce Chambord, four ounces lemonade, over ice in a Collins glass. Fresh raspberries for garnish. I think I prefer the Bourbon version better but if you aren’t a fan of bourbon, the vodka version is a good choice.
 

Edit: Might work well with a light rum also. I’ll need to experiment.
 

Cheers!

Edited September 4, 2022 by bobmacliberty

[Luckynana]

1 hour ago, Arzeena said:

Happy Birthday to all and Congratulations to Ava.

How are Jack and Ryan doing?

Thank you Arzeena😀 Jack is fine now 

Ryan looks so much healthier now that he's on insulin.  He and my daughter are going through a lot now, between doctor visits, phone calls, and learning about carbs, testing, shots, etc.  Each day is becoming a little more normal around here...their"new" normal.  Thank you so much for asking❤️

[Ozark_Kid]

4 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Yeah, that could be me.  If I bring the camera bag, then the 70-200 f/2.8L lens is coming.  That thing is long and heavy.  200mm (320mm equivalent with my crop sensor) is probably not enough so I'd probably also need to buy/rent a 2X extender.  Looks like you have a Canon SX60 which can zoom in  to the 35mm equivalent of 1300+mm.  Even with an extender, I've still only got a little more than half of your zoom capability.  

 

All of these fancy numbers are to try to convince myself not to bring the camera bag.  But why have an expensive DSLR if I'm not going to use it on a trip like this????  Decisions, decisions. 😖

It's been at least 3 years since I used my Canon.  Sharon got it out a couple months ago and the batteries would not charge.  

[Ozark_Kid]

5 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Easy drive home, less than 1.5 hrs

Unpacked and on 2nd load of laundry.

Off to the food store next.

 

5 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

We made it home.  Debbie it was a pleasure!  The trip was good, the kids really had fun.

Congratulations Sue on the new baby, very happy news.

Thankful y'all made it home safe and had a great cruise!  Thanks for sharing with us.

[DaniDanielle]

2 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I hope your daughter is happy with her decision to take the trip.

She was, especially that the kids had so much fun. RJ ziplined  and did the Abyss slide.  He did it for his dad, even though he was really scared at the zipline.

[akcruz]

11 hours ago, sgmn said:

Thank you 😊 

It's all good now but was a bit traumatic. Baba was born on his due date, text book delivery, all going well until the last few minutes when he ingested some meconium into his stomach and lungs. So was floppy and not crying. Crash button was pushed and baba was whisked away for a few hours which was of course extremely scarey for them . 

He was on oxygen for 24 hours and antibiotics, but late last night they were told he can go home. 

We've had a couple of visits in hospital and got to cuddle him , very precious and perfect 🥰 

Hope to post some pics in a day or so

 

Congratulations,  glad to hear all is well now, amazing how many things can happen with little ones.

[DaniDanielle]

Maryann, so happy for Ryan and congrats to the rest of the family.

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I did try a love connection while at the sun deck and really enjoyed that too!

One disappointment with this cruise was I never found a bartender that made a good mojito (until last night, my last drink before heading to cabin for bed I had one at the lime and coconut bar right before they closed and he made a perfect mojito).

There is nothing like a true bartender who takes pride in the drinks that he/she crafts. I was fortunate to find that on both of my past Allure cruises in the Champagne lounge. However, I think being on reduced capacity cruises where the bartenders are not rushed played a role in it.

[Sunshine3601]

45 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

 

Thankful y'all made it home safe and had a great cruise!  Thanks for sharing with us.

Overall we had a nice cruise.  I will say that I probably won't sail in July or August again to Bahamas.  It was in the 90s everyday with little or no breeze.   Eric cannot tolerate the heat and he only joined me on the sun deck 2 days for an hour or so.   He mostly enjoyed the large balcony we had with our JS as he could walk into room and cool off, as needed.

We did have very smooth seas and sunny every day, except for 1st sea day.

This sailing was FULL, too many people and very noisy, except for the sun garden in the front of the solarium.  That outdoor area was my go to place most every day.

I wonder how much time we spent waiting for elevators!   There was over 2000 kids on this sailing.    One night we waited 15 to 20 minutes. 

I'm ready to go back to quantum class with a couple thousand less people and dreaming of our sailing on Serenade Fall 2022.

We weren't overly thrilled with CK after very slow service the first night so we stuck with MDR for all our dinners and really enjoyed them.

 

[DaniDanielle]

I forgot to mention, we had Curaçao Cosmos every night at dinner.  Well, me and my daughters.

Tomorrow I am off to buy pineapple juice😃

[Ocean Boy]

4 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

She was, especially that the kids had so much fun. RJ ziplined  and did the Abyss slide.  He did it for his dad, even though he was really scared at the zipline.

That is fantastic. It makes me really happy to read this.

[DaniDanielle]

I mentioned on the survey that there were too many people and not enough crew. We never sailed Oasis class in July or August and will never again.  I felt bad because I kept telling the kids it was my favorite ship.  My one daughter prefers Liberty but I told her she will have to sail in quieter months!

There were large cliques of people wandering and blocking areas but we still had fun and that’s what counts😃

[Ocean Boy]

6 minutes ago, akcruz said:

 

Congratulations,  glad to hear all is well now, amazing how many things can happen with little ones.

You are correct. That is why, I feel, people who choose home births are out of their heads. When things go wrong with births it often happens fast and with little warning. I cannot fathom why someone would want to risk a baby by intentionally delivering at home.

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, Luckynana said:

Thank you Arzeena😀 Jack is fine now 

Ryan looks so much healthier now that he's on insulin.  He and my daughter are going through a lot now, between doctor visits, phone calls, and learning about carbs, testing, shots, etc.  Each day is becoming a little more normal around here...their"new" normal.  Thank you so much for asking❤️

That is great to hear Ryan as well as Jack are doing much better.   Has his endo arranged for the family to meet with a dietician that specializes with diabetics?  It really helped my Mom with meal planning when she became a diabetic in her late 70s.  

Edited September 4, 2022 by Sunshine3601

[Sunshine3601]

18 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

I mentioned on the survey that there were too many people and not enough crew. We never sailed Oasis class in July or August and will never again.  I felt bad because I kept telling the kids it was my favorite ship.  My one daughter prefers Liberty but I told her she will have to sail in quieter months!

There were large cliques of people wandering and blocking areas but we still had fun and that’s what counts😃

I will do my survey tomorrow.  What areas did you notice a crew shortage?  The one area was the casino.  They didn't have waiters visiting as you played. 

I had one lady holler at me because I left my slot machine to go get a drink.  Funny how the next night I saw her doing the same thing.

[Sunshine3601]

30 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

There is nothing like a true bartender who takes pride in the drinks that he/she crafts. I was fortunate to find that on both of my past Allure cruises in the Champagne lounge. However, I think being on reduced capacity cruises where the bartenders are not rushed played a role in it.

Sailing this past year with reduced capacity was so nice in so many ways. 

 

This past week was overwhelming with 6500+/- passengers.  

People really need to learn elevator etiquette too!   

[Luckynana]

2 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Happy Birthday to the Birthday Twins and you certainly have grandchildren to be proud of.

 

2 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 @sgmn😘😉 

 

@Luckynana Maryann, congratulations all around 💐

 

@DaniDanielle

 

 

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Excellent All around😍

 

2 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

You got it!

Maryann, Happy Birthday to Chris and Meghan and congratulations to Ava Jade's achievement.  Continue to be proud

 

33 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

Maryann, so happy for Ryan and congrats to the rest of the family.

Thank you all!🥰

[Luckynana]

38 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

She was, especially that the kids had so much fun. RJ ziplined  and did the Abyss slide.  He did it for his dad, even though he was really scared at the zipline.

That's great, Marietta!  RJ must've been so proud of himself. Especially that he did it for his Dad.💕. God love him!💕