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

[dpostman]

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

Last weekend, Susan and I went new car shopping.  More cars on the lots, and some dealers were actually having some deals again.  We were going to replace our 13 RAV4 with a 24 RAV4.

 

We found a dealer that had 4 of the Premiums on the lot, but only two of which we would consider.  A dark gray, or a black one, both with black interiors.  So, we get to the dealer, and they try to find the gray one.   No one could find it, and they didn’t know where it was.  We drove the black one, but told the dealer it was really at the bottom of my color list, because they are so hard to keep clean.  Of course, then Susan mentions she would really like a white one better than the gray they couldn’t find. 
 

So they did some searching, and found a white one with the same package and options on another dealer’s lot.  They got that one for us, and we picked it up yesterday.

 

 I called our insurance company to let them know we replaced that vehicle.  I was shocked when they gave us the new insurance numbers.  Buying that new vehicle, and it went down by $3.   
 

If I keep saving money like that, I may be able to book that Sea Dog cruise. 😂

 

Welcome to the club 😉

 

dp

[Arzeena]

13 hours ago, SteelCityCruiser10 said:

I’ve got a mental bookmark on the 2026 Ascent “SeaDog” cruise. 😃  Been wanting to try X and also get to JVD/Soggy Dollar.  Seems like the perfect opportunity.  Too much uncertainty at this time with work and stuff and 10 nights is pushing it for us with work and especially with bella 3 so close.  

 

 Definitely still in for Bella 2 and 3 though.

 

I think I would opt for a sunset veranda.  Ken has group rates? i was not aware of that.

We are booked on Bella 2 and 3 as well.

[Arzeena]

10 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Is anyone besides me on the oasis b2b. What are you guys doing in between?

We are only on the first B 😁

[firefly333]

11 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

We are booked on Bella 2 and 3 as well.

I've got b2b on both 2.0 2.5 and 3.0 and 3.5

 

Good luck Bonnie, speedy recovery

[NHProud]

@BonTexasNY 

 

Wishing you a speedy and pain free recovery.  

[Arzeena]

4 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Arzeena, just my 2 cents. We also don't need the beverage pkg and wifi, but with the group rates and the refundable deposit, you might want to "reconsider", since, sometimes, the savings of group rates are so considerable, that you actually get those two almost free.

 

We're "elite" on Celebrity and can get some drinks free between 5-7. We always use the perk for mineral & sparkling water. But, with the beverage pkg we didn't need to wait for this "window of opportunity" (sometimes we were late from an excursion and missed the "window" altogether).

 

Beside, DH likes a cappuccino (or two) and even an occasional glass of wine for dinner...

Thanks Dani.

Ken, will you please send me those included rates and we will look at them? Thank you.

I am getting confused with the Nov 15 and march 29 sailings.

[derorim]

2 hours ago, h20skibum said:

Our granddaughter won Artist of the Month award for this.  

 

I think she did pretty good for a third grader.  Now I have to have her make a new one for me.  
 

She was doing some amusing interpretations of famous paintings in her sketchbook, when we had her out to dinner.  
 

Having snails appear as the Mona Lisa, the Scream, The last supper, American Gothic, and, of course, Dogs playing poker.  

 

 

That's a great drawing of the Pileated Woodpecker, especially being drawn by a third grader.  We have one of those birds that visits our trees and suet feeder.  We call him Woody.  Cartoonist Walter Lanz based his Woody Woodpecker character and Woody's laugh-like call on the Pileated.

[George C]

One of the things our music cruise does every cruise is get all the musicians to sign two guitars then auction them off to a cancer charity, this year the one went for 32k which is about average, always to somebody in a suite. We get books and CDs signed and have a collection of them added Don McLean, Cowsills, Peter Asher and Pablo Cruise. We also love the very interesting stories that all these artists tell about their life and start. 
  Yesterday we flew home started day with breakfast then a Bloody Mary for me and champagne for my wife by our favorite waitress in suite lounge . We Ubered to Ft Lauderdale then flight to DFW. I never saw so many dogs as in that airport there was even a pet rest room across from the restaurant we were in . There was a rude family of 5 and a dog in front of us in first class , they got up got bags out while fasten seat belt sign was still on , definitely feel sorry for the airport workers that had to clean the mess the dog left after leaving the plane , we love pets put wouldn’t dream taking them on a plane. We can now start looking for two new kittens, will definitely get them before the summer , our next trip is New York City for memorial weekend 😁.

[Arzeena]

2 hours ago, h20skibum said:

Last weekend, Susan and I went new car shopping.  More cars on the lots, and some dealers were actually having some deals again.  We were going to replace our 13 RAV4 with a 24 RAV4.

 

We found a dealer that had 4 of the Premiums on the lot, but only two of which we would consider.  A dark gray, or a black one, both with black interiors.  So, we get to the dealer, and they try to find the gray one.   No one could find it, and they didn’t know where it was.  We drove the black one, but told the dealer it was really at the bottom of my color list, because they are so hard to keep clean.  Of course, then Susan mentions she would really like a white one better than the gray they couldn’t find. 
 

So they did some searching, and found a white one with the same package and options on another dealer’s lot.  They got that one for us, and we picked it up yesterday.

 

 I called our insurance company to let them know we replaced that vehicle.  I was shocked when they gave us the new insurance numbers.  Buying that new vehicle, and it went down by $3.   
 

If I keep saving money like that, I may be able to book that Sea Dog cruise. 😂

When we moved to Florida last spring, we are now paying for one Highlander what we used to pay for the Highlander, Camry and Corolla in NJ.
Don't know why. Same insurance company. We will be looking around to check rates.

[TravelGirlinDallas]

3 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Bethany, your DC pictures are delightful.  Andrew is growing up so handsome.

Thank you!!

 

Best wishes for a successful surgery and easy recovery!! Keep us posted when you feel up to it.

[derorim]

38 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Agree with this 100% Dani.  
Andy doesn’t drink but he does love his soda, specialty coffees and a mocktail or two which the classic pkg allows him.  Our Usual TA’s group rate also includes a refundable deposit. It’s definitely worth comparing the two options.  

 

I agree with you and @dani negreanu too.  My Andy drinks mostly the same things your Andy does, and I like my Cosmopolitans and other drinks like you do.  We always get the wi-fi anyway, so Celebrity's drinks and wi-fi add-on makes sense for us.  And oh, by the way, we booked  @Sea Dog 1.0 on Ascent today!  We are also booked on Bella 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5.  

[ValerieJo]

@BonTexasNY  Wishing you well today and for a full and speedy recovery. 

[Sea Dog]

4 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Greg, how are you feeling post op? How is the  knee doing?  You have wonderful cruises to look forward to.

I got released from physical therapy last week. The only thing I wished was that my rom bend was better. I’ve hit a wall at 115 degrees. My surgeon thinks it could improve to 120 degrees like my other knee but it will take continued work at home. So now I’m working out every day to strengthen and hopefully get more of a bend. Now the only thing to deal with is the ole prostate and I am getting an MRI on that in a couple of weeks.

[Sea Dog]

4 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Getting ready to leave for my hernia surgery.  

Good luck. It’s will all be good. I had minimal pain and discomfort. I will be thinking of you.

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, h20skibum said:

Our granddaughter won Artist of the Month award for this.  

 

I think she did pretty good for a third grader.  Now I have to have her make a new one for me.  
 

She was doing some amusing interpretations of famous paintings in her sketchbook, when we had her out to dinner.  
 

Having snails appear as the Mona Lisa, the Scream, The last supper, American Gothic, and, of course, Dogs playing poker.  

 

 

 

Beautiful and she is very talented.

 

 

47 minutes ago, derorim said:

 

I agree with you and @dani negreanu too.  My Andy drinks mostly the same things your Andy does, and I like my Cosmopolitans and other drinks like you do.  We always get the wi-fi anyway, so Celebrity's drinks and wi-fi add-on makes sense for us.  And oh, by the way, we booked  @Sea Dog 1.0 on Ascent today!  We are also booked on Bella 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5.  

Welcome Joy! Glad to have you on board.

[DaniDanielle]

@h20skibumIt is amazing to see the talent develop!

Bonnie, we are all here for you😊

[dani negreanu]

4 hours ago, h20skibum said:

I think she did pretty good for a third grader.  Now I have to have her make a new one for me.  

 

@h20skibum

 

Mark, I've shown it to my "resident" artist 😉 He was impressed and said that: "it is very nice, she's very talented" 👍

[HBE4]

4 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Getting ready to leave for my hernia surgery.  

 

Wishing you a speedy recovery & looking forward to you posting how effortless & painless the recovery is.

[George C]

last few pictures from our cruise , including us with Peter Asher and the Cowsills.

 

 

 

[A&L_Ont]

2 hours ago, h20skibum said:

It has all the same safety features as our Highlander, plus a few more.  I like the Apple car play and that big display screen.  I think Susan will like that for her trip next month.

Lisa and Owen both have huge screens. The Storm trooper is lacking, theirs is double the size. Think iPhone to iPad difference. 

[Sea Dog]

5 minutes ago, George C said:

last few pictures from our cruise , including us with Peter Asher and the Cowsills.

 

 

 

How cool! I take it they performed, “The Rain, the park and other things?”

[helen haywood]

11 hours ago, Coralc said:

Thanks. That worked. And I never would have thought of it. ☺️

Dani was the one who told me about it! 😁

[George C]

1 minute ago, Sea Dog said:

How cool! I take it they performed, “The Rain, the park and other things?”

Yes , I unfortunately left for the casino before they did my favorite sing Hair. They told some funny stories on being on tv shows when they were kids on Johnny Cash and Dean Martin.

[HBE4]

4 hours ago, h20skibum said:

I called our insurance company to let them know we replaced that vehicle.  I was shocked when they gave us the new insurance numbers.  Buying that new vehicle, and it went down by $3

 

I agree, it makes no sense until my agent explained it to me. When an older car is in an accident, it's more likely to be consider a total loss since the cost of repair is often close to the value of the car. Usually if the cost of the repair exceeds 70-75% of the value of the car, the insurance company considers it totaled & write you a check for the full value of the car so it ends up costing the company more money than if they paid you for the exact same damage on a new car.

 

1 hour ago, Arzeena said:

When we moved to Florida last spring, we are now paying for one Highlander what we used to pay for the Highlander, Camry and Corolla in NJ.
Don't know why. Same insurance company. We will be looking around to check rates.

 

It probably has to do with the demographics of the area. Maybe there is a history of more accidents or more senior drivers in that area that are more accident prone. Maybe more cars are damaged due to tropical storms than snow storms? Who knows what mystery formula insurance companies used to determine rates.

 

One thing I leaned the hard way is to shop around for insurance every couple of years. I stayed with one company for over 20 years & after a few people were shocked at how much  I was paying, I looked around and EVERY other company was significantly less. Right now, I'm paying about 1/3rd of what I was paying 4 years ago when I switched & I might start looking around again soon.

 

The one downside is I bundle auto & homeowners together to save money so if I switch one, I probably should switch the other.

Edited March 22 by HBE4

[helen haywood]

2 hours ago, George C said:

We can now start looking for two new kittens,

As I said before when you mentioned this, I’m eagerly awaiting kitten pictures!  Videos!!