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

[Sea Dog]

37 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Yes, the opening is on the side, and large enough, to where I should be able to get her in pretty easily as well as be able to reach in to get her out. With the end loader it was way too easy for her to fight me. Also, I thing being a hard shell will make things easier too.

 

I'm going to leave it out in the house and put a few of her favorite toys in to see if she will become comfortable walking in and out of it. Either way, she is going to the vet's.

 

What we have found that works for us is to have the carrier on the couch with one end (ours has doors on the ends)facing upwards. We then pick the cat up and kind of drop her in. It makes is a lot easier since her body weight propels her downward.

[akcruz]

For the foodies on here, not necessarily us but enjoyed, we had lunch today at the Culinary Institute.  They do a $25 a person lunch were the students cook and serve as part of their training.  They also do dinner at others of the year but not sure on price.  Will definitely go back again, need to wait for the next session, this one is sold out.  A few pics from lunch.  Now time for a nap, way too much food.

Dinning room, we ate at the counter overlooking the kitchen, neat to see them do their thing. 

 

The menu, each person could choose an app, entree and desert.  They also had a Charcuterie board for each group to sample while ordering that we didn't get a picture of.

 

Melanzane Affumicate - Eggplant flatbread 

 

Beef & Oysters

 

Catfish Filet

 

Smoked Lamb

 

Blueberry Tart

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter "pie"

 

 

 

[Keksie]

15 minutes ago, akcruz said:

For the foodies on here, not necessarily us but enjoyed, we had lunch today at the Culinary Institute.  They do a $25 a person lunch were the students cook and serve as part of their training.  They also do dinner at others of the year but not sure on price.  Will definitely go back again, need to wait for the next session, this one is sold out.  A few pics from lunch.  Now time for a nap, way too much food.

Dinning room, we ate at the counter overlooking the kitchen, neat to see them do their thing. 

 

The menu, each person could choose an app, entree and desert.  They also had a Charcuterie board for each group to sample while ordering that we didn't get a picture of.

 

Melanzane Affumicate - Eggplant flatbread 

 

Beef & Oysters

 

Catfish Filet

 

Smoked Lamb

 

Blueberry Tart

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter "pie"

 

 

 

That looks delicious.

[dani negreanu]

Some pictures from the beautiful port of.... Portofino

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi-tech garbage workers 😉

 

 

 

[jmh2006]

1 minute ago, dani negreanu said:

Some pictures from the beautiful port of.... Portofino

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi-tech garbage workers 😉

 

 

 

Gorgeous pictures Dani!  What a beautiful sky!

[Keksie]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

This arrived from Amazon today. The beast is going to go the the vet's whether she wants to or not.

 

 

I hope it works for Jade.  We have had such good luck with ours even with Reba who is not really used to us, a cat carrier or being inside.  She didn't realize what was going on until she was inside and the door was closed since the opening is so large.  The main thing is to get a good hold of the cat and firmly put them in.  Do not hesitate.

[dani negreanu]

Some lighthouses for OB @Ocean Boy

 

 

 

And some pics from the beautiful port of ....Porto Venere

 

 

 

Lerici --

 

 

[dani negreanu]

Barcelona -- Catalunya Plaza from the El Corte Ingles restaurant (actually recommended for Madrid by Bob @bobmacliberty, but I've thought what goes in Madrid, should be good for Barcelona too 😉) 

 

Our hotel, H10 Catalunya Plaza, was right behind the trees, top right. Location, location, location. Hotel Jazz, another well located hotel ( @Momof3gurlz ) was fully booked for our stay.

 

 

 

still in Barcelona, one of DH's favorite pic --

 

 

 

 

Last, but not least.... DH doesn't cease to be amazed by the similarity of "lines" -- one "high-tech" for Celebrity Edge (quite new ship class), one "low-tech" for a donkey (photoshopped) and another one for laundry....

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by dani negreanu

[bobmacliberty]

29 minutes ago, akcruz said:

For the foodies on here, not necessarily us but enjoyed, we had lunch today at the Culinary Institute.  They do a $25 a person lunch were the students cook and serve as part of their training.  They also do dinner at others of the year but not sure on price.  Will definitely go back again, need to wait for the next session, this one is sold out.  A few pics from lunch.  Now time for a nap, way too much food.

Dinning room, we ate at the counter overlooking the kitchen, neat to see them do their thing. 

 

The menu, each person could choose an app, entree and desert.  They also had a Charcuterie board for each group to sample while ordering that we didn't get a picture of.

 

Melanzane Affumicate - Eggplant flatbread 

 

Beef & Oysters

 

Catfish Filet

 

Smoked Lamb

 

Blueberry Tart

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter "pie"

 

 

 

 

Wow.  That looks delicious.  Definitely not MDR food.

[jagsfan]

33 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

Some pictures from the beautiful port of.... Portofino

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi-tech garbage workers 😉

 

 

 

What perfect weather! Absolutely brilliant photos!

[cruiselvr04]

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

That is a Kraken colado with a floater of Kraken ontop.   Eric had a white Russian with Grey goose on the right

DH tried a colado kraken last cruise and really liked it. 

[aussielozzie18]

54 minutes ago, akcruz said:

For the foodies on here, not necessarily us but enjoyed, we had lunch today at the Culinary Institute.  They do a $25 a person lunch were the students cook and serve as part of their training.  They also do dinner at others of the year but not sure on price.  Will definitely go back again, need to wait for the next session, this one is sold out.  A few pics from lunch.  Now time for a nap, way too much food.

Dinning room, we ate at the counter overlooking the kitchen, neat to see them do their thing. 

 

The menu, each person could choose an app, entree and desert.  They also had a Charcuterie board for each group to sample while ordering that we didn't get a picture of.

 

Melanzane Affumicate - Eggplant flatbread 

 

Beef & Oysters

 

Catfish Filet

 

Smoked Lamb

 

Blueberry Tart

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter "pie"

 

 

 

Superb food for $25.

[aussielozzie18]

Last night we walked past the restaurant that we had dinner at the previous night.  They had a new sign out the front….

 

 

[jagsfan]

26 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

Barcelona -- Catalunya Plaza from the El Corte Ingles restaurant (actually recommended for Madrid by Bob @bobmacliberty, but I've thought what goes in Madrid, should be good for Barcelona too 😉) 

 

Our hotel, H10 Catalunya Plaza, was right behind the trees, top right. Location, location, location. Hotel Jazz, another well located hotel ( @Momof3gurlz ) was fully booked for our stay.

 

 

 

still in Barcelona, one of DH's favorite pic --

 

 

 

 

Last, but not least.... DH doesn't cease to be amazed by the similarity of "lines" -- one "high-tech" for Celebrity Edge (quite new ship class), one "low-tech" for a donkey (photoshopped) and another one for laundry....

 

 

 

We stayed at the H10. Somehow we got a suite, so really really liked it, plus the breakfast buffet was excellent, with all you could drink Cava. Alas, I’m a wimpy drinker. 

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, Arzeena said:

You too. 

We had 11.30 boarding. Not doing that boarding time again as a much later time works better for us and less lines, less crowds. So will stick to our 2 pm from now on to avoid the lunch crowds at WJ and the over enthusiastic cruisers 😁. I tried,  but not for us.

We did BOGO at Chops last night. Tonight Giovanni's and the other 2 nights will be MDR or WJ. 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise @Arzeena.

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We are onboard Serenade.  Easy peasy, no line for check-in.   

For Greg, @Sea Dog. 

I hope you have an amazing cruise Debbie.

[jagsfan]

23 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

We are back in Florida after a fantastic wedding weekend.  Other than Micheline's sister's family not being able to attend, everything went flawlessly.  The ceremony and reception were at Pinecroft at Crosley Estate, which was the estate of Powell Crosley Jr.  Among other things, he was the owner of the Cincinnati Reds.  The ceremony was outdoors in the garden area.  We took all of the photos before the ceremony and it got a little warm sitting in the sun.  Right before the guests began to arrive, it got a little overcast with a slight breeze and the weather ended up being perfect.

 

The reception was in a large pavilion and was decorated beautifully.  The DJ was incredible and the most important thing that my daughter wanted...a light up dance floor...was the hit of the night.  There were a few slower dances, but it was pretty much non-stop dancing for 3+ hours.  Both my daughter and son-in-law (still sounds weird saying that) have a large group of great "kids" as friends wholove to have a good time.  They are all so incredibly polite.  It didn't hurt that most of the girls there were dancers, including two who are currently Cincinnati Ben-Gal cheerleaders.  I'm a little biased but it was probably the most fun wedding I've been to (although many other people agreed).  

 

The Father-Daughter dance went great.  After a few practice steps with my daughter the day before, I easily got the rhythm and added a few spins and other moves.   I was fully focused on my daughter and didn't even think about everyone else there but when I got back to our table, all of the women were crying.  I guess that's a good thing.  😁 

 

Most of the upstairs of the estate was the bridal suite with separate rooms for hair/make-up, dressing, etc.  The Groom's suite was in a really cool basement area with a bank vault door that hid a wine cellar that was used during prohibition days.   One of the upstairs rooms was reserved for the fathers.  I didn't take a lot of pictures but got a few of the estate and ceremony area before the guests arrived. 

 

The bride looking out one of the windows of her suite

 

Looking down from the fathers room while the bride and groom "privately" (while mic'd and being recorded by 2 videographers and 2 photographers) shared vows

 

Wedding party pictures by the rear of the main house.

 

The walk up this aisle with my daughter both seemed to take a long time and was over in an instant

 

I stole a couple of pictures from other people...the first dance:

 

The Father-Daughter dance (no video 😉)

 

Dance floor fun after a few drinks.  The bride seems happy. 😁

 

We had a 50 person rehearsal dinner on Thursday night, the wedding on Friday night, and then Micheline and I toured our family through some of the history of Cincinnati and finished with dinner in a restaurant room overlooking Great American Ballpark where the Reds had a home game and there were fans everywhere.  Way, WAY too much food and drink over 3 days.  Time to give my stomach and my liver a break.

 

 

 

Your daughter was a beautiful bride! 
It’s wonderful to celebrate your children’s new life!

[Ocean Boy]

[Luckynana]

2 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

This arrived from Amazon today. The beast is going to go the the vet's whether she wants to or not.

 

 

It looks pretty comfortable and inviting to me!  What could possibly happen?!

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, akcruz said:

For the foodies on here, not necessarily us but enjoyed, we had lunch today at the Culinary Institute.  They do a $25 a person lunch were the students cook and serve as part of their training.  They also do dinner at others of the year but not sure on price.  Will definitely go back again, need to wait for the next session, this one is sold out.  A few pics from lunch.  Now time for a nap, way too much food.

 

 

The menu, each person could choose an app, entree and desert.  They also had a Charcuterie board for each group to sample while ordering that we didn't get a picture of.

 

Melanzane Affumicate - Eggplant flatbread 

 

Beef & Oysters

 

Catfish Filet

 

Smoked Lamb

 

Blueberry Tart

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter "pie"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow that looks amazing and for that price, wow that is a lot of food.

 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

Some pictures from the beautiful port of.... Portofino

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi-tech garbage workers 😉

 

 

 

 

 

I really want to cruise there some day. It just looks so beautiful.

[Luckynana]

@dani negreanu  Awesome pictures, Dani!  Just beautiful!  I love your DH's perspective on the different lines out there!  Brilliant!

[Luckynana]

@sgmnBon Voyage, Sue and Gary!  Have a great cruise with smooth sailing!🚢

[Luckynana]

@bobmacliberty  Beautiful bride, beautiful gown, beautiful venue, beautiful Wedding!  Much love and happiness to the Bride and Groom.  Great job on your Father/Daughter dance, Bob!  Congratulations again to you and your lovely Mother of the Bride!💕

[Luckynana]

@akcruz  We ate at a Culinary Institute years ago in upstate New York in their French restaurant.  It was my first time eating escargot.  Yum!  

[Ocean Boy]

36 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

It looks pretty comfortable and inviting to me!  What could possibly happen?!

I could end up with two bleeding arms instead of one?