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

[Sea Dog]

10 hours ago, derorim said:

This morning we said goodbye to our sweet kitty Marcel.  He brought us happiness for 17 years, along with his buddy, the late great Miss Priss. It was sad to see him go, but he was not doing well and we did not want to see him suffer any more.  He was a big Maine Coon, 15 pounds until a couple of years ago.  He was very strong and a good jumper.  He followed us around the house and liked to lay on our laps.  He and Miss Priss are together again now.  

 

 

 

 

 

I am so sorry to hear of the loss of a beloved family member. She looks beautiful and I am sure you will cherish the many wonderful memories of her during her long life.

[Sea Dog]

6 hours ago, Luckynana said:

 

@Sea DogHave a wonderful time entertaining your friends at your Tiki Party this evening, Greg and Linda!  You'll have to share with us which of your drinks was the most popular!!

Thank you Maryann! It’s after 1:30am and I just got through cleaning up. I am very anal about not leaving a mess. Everyone had a fantastic time. 
 

 

These coworkers of mine have over 150 years in journalism and are the tops in the business. 
 

 

Our main anchor Kris had never really had Tiki cocktails before and loved them. I also showed him my bourbon collection and I brought out the Pappy Van Winkle for him to taste for the first time. Needless to say he was impressed. 
 

Sorry no food pics as I was so busy preparing everything but we had as appetizers 

Pita and Hummus 

Crab Rangoon

Crackers and spinach artichoke dip

Main courses were a

Fruit Medley 

Asian Salad

Coconut Shrimp

Fried Chicken Wings and Drumsticks 

Hawaiian Sweet Roll Ham and Cheese Sliders

and for dessert we had

Coconut Cream Pie

Chocolate French Silk

 

 

Everyone seemed to love my cocktails. Thank goodness I pre batched some of them because tiki cocktails are very complex with lots of ingredients. The most popular were the Painkiller, The Mai Tai where I use the ultimate Mai tai recipe and the monkeys eyebrow a cocktail from the Golden Tiki in Las Vegas that has Rye Whiskey and Banana Whiskey in it.

 

The Tiki Patio was a hit. The weather was perfect with a nice cool breeze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So now I am exhausted. Being a host is a lot of work but making my guests happy is always my goal.Linda does a great job helping me in other ways but I am the only one who really knows how to make the cocktails. I think a nap tomorrow will be in order.

 

 

 

[taznremmy]

@Sea Dog Greg, it must have been a successful party if you are still up! 😹 

Edit:  Just saw your second post......it definitely looks like a good time was had by all, and the yard is absolutely beautiful.

Edited Sunday at 06:59 AM by taznremmy

[grapau27]

11 hours ago, derorim said:

This morning we said goodbye to our sweet kitty Marcel.  He brought us happiness for 17 years, along with his buddy, the late great Miss Priss. It was sad to see him go, but he was not doing well and we did not want to see him suffer any more.  He was a big Maine Coon, 15 pounds until a couple of years ago.  He was very strong and a good jumper.  He followed us around the house and liked to lay on our laps.  He and Miss Priss are together again now.  

 

 

 

 

 

I'm so sorry to hear your sad news about Marcel.

[sgmn]

Hope everyone is keeping well. I haven't posted much but dip in and out and keep up with your adventures. 

@h20skibumyour grandkids are lucky to have such great grandparents. Your summer of fun always sounds so wonderful and love that the cousins get to know each other so well. 

 

Gary is doing his yearly charity ride for the Royal British Legion at mo. Normally it's London to Paris but this 80th anniversary year he's on the D Day beaches ride. 

About 60 riders took the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Caen on Friday.  The ride stops at important sites on route and they have a very good historian with them who brings the past to life

 Yesterday they stopped at Pegasus Bridge,  war cemetery's and pivotal battle sites. 

He was extremely tired yesterday evening so I hope he's not too sore today. 

To help raise funds for the charity he's been making flower/veg/herb trugs and got a lot of orders 

Pegasus Bridge 

stop at a war cemetery

Edited Sunday at 08:07 AM by sgmn

[firefly333]

11 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I'm not really loyal to one airline. I use Southwest from time to time although they are not my first choice.  We have taken to using them because they have pretty good connections out of Ontario, CA. However, that means I almost always have to connect in Las Vegas.  I despise Las Vegas Airport.  It seems that, almost constantly, I have to walk from one terminal to the another for the connection and the walk is so long.  Also, it seems flights are constantly delayed.  

 

My preference is Delta or Alaska.  I'll use American from time to time if the price/schedule is substantially improved.  I wouldn't fly on United for free.

I'm booked Southwest because I couldn't find any other airline from orlando. I googled every airline flying into Hobby, didnt want IAH further away and know hobby better. Then I checked every airline, alaska etc... Southwest was my only choice. 

 

Was reading a blog about how seating on sw is like the hunger games, seat saving and how it's a fight to get a seat. I saw they upped the early bird from 20 to 25 now too. Doesnt sound fun. I dont have any other choices so booked southwest. 

 

Flying to San Diego from orlando oct 2025. Maybe I can use that credit or there is another airline flying to San Diego from here. Going to be a long flight to calif. Jumped on the Panama transit someone posted. Ends ft Lauderdale..just have to get there via plane. I'm waiting for some miracle to replace flights. So uncomfortable. But I've never done a Panama transit. Seems that cruise was crazy popular, everyone jumped on the balconys and gone in a few days except wierd balconys, connecting or spacious 3 days later. Crazy popular. Surely I can get to San Diego. 

[bobmacliberty]

10 hours ago, RobInMN said:

James Patterson was a guest on the Armchair Expert podcast a couple weeks ago. In part of the interview, he talked about taking up this project on request of Michael Crichton's widow. Interesting interview.

 

 

Found this CBS Sunday morning piece on the new book.  Although they put Patterson in the title and the thumbnail, it's actually more about Crichton's wife than Patterson.  I would have like to hear more from Patterson, so I think I'll go search for the podcast.

 

 

[bobmacliberty]

4 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Thank you Maryann! It’s after 1:30am and I just got through cleaning up. I am very anal about not leaving a mess. Everyone had a fantastic time. 
 

 

These coworkers of mine have over 150 years in journalism and are the tops in the business. 
 

 

Our main anchor Kris had never really had Tiki cocktails before and loved them. I also showed him my bourbon collection and I brought out the Pappy Van Winkle for him to taste for the first time. Needless to say he was impressed. 
 

Sorry no food pics as I was so busy preparing everything but we had as appetizers 

Pita and Hummus 

Crab Rangoon

Crackers and spinach artichoke dip

Main courses were a

Fruit Medley 

Asian Salad

Coconut Shrimp

Fried Chicken Wings and Drumsticks 

Hawaiian Sweet Roll Ham and Cheese Sliders

and for dessert we had

Coconut Cream Pie

Chocolate French Silk

 

 

Everyone seemed to love my cocktails. Thank goodness I pre batched some of them because tiki cocktails are very complex with lots of ingredients. The most popular were the Painkiller, The Mai Tai where I use the ultimate Mai tai recipe and the monkeys eyebrow a cocktail from the Golden Tiki in Las Vegas that has Rye Whiskey and Banana Whiskey in it.

 

The Tiki Patio was a hit. The weather was perfect with a nice cool breeze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So now I am exhausted. Being a host is a lot of work but making my guests happy is always my goal.Linda does a great job helping me in other ways but I am the only one who really knows how to make the cocktails. I think a nap tomorrow will be in order.

 

 

 

 

Looks like a great party!  Love the decorations.  I keep thinking about branching out and getting more into Tiki but there's so much to it.  I usually just end up making a Painkiller or a Mai Tai.  Love them both.

[bobmacliberty]

I think I've talked before about my friend whose son is a pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system.  He's been on their AAA Nashville team (Nashville Sounds) all year.  The Sounds played the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (you read that correctly) this past week.  His parents, who still live in Cincinnati, came down to watch the games.  We joined them at the game last night hoping to see their son pitch, but he pitched somewhat unexpectedly 2 nights ago and the chances of a reliever pitching 2 nights in a row are slim.  He didn't end up pitching, but it was still fun and a chance to see our friends.  You gotta love the entertainment in minor league baseball parks. 😀

 

 

For those into baseball, he's doing well.  He's been a middle reliever but their closer got called up a couple of weeks ago and they've had him closing recently.  He pitched a 1-2-3 ninth two nights ago and hit 98 mph.  Two days before that, he pitched perfect 8th and 9th innings, consistently hitting 97 mph, and got the W. 40 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched and a WHIP of 1.26.  He wants to work that WHIP lower...ideally getting it under 1.  Unfortunately for him, the Brewers are doing really well and have a deep bullpen, including a few other guys on the Sounds with big league experience.  It will be interesting to see if he gets the opportunity to pitch in the bigs.  It will likely either take some injuries to others (happening a lot to pitchers this year) or a desire to see what he's got against big league hitting (not likely if the Brewers keep winning).

[Keksie]

5 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Thank you Maryann! It’s after 1:30am and I just got through cleaning up. I am very anal about not leaving a mess. Everyone had a fantastic time. 
 

 

These coworkers of mine have over 150 years in journalism and are the tops in the business. 
 

 

Our main anchor Kris had never really had Tiki cocktails before and loved them. I also showed him my bourbon collection and I brought out the Pappy Van Winkle for him to taste for the first time. Needless to say he was impressed. 
 

Sorry no food pics as I was so busy preparing everything but we had as appetizers 

Pita and Hummus 

Crab Rangoon

Crackers and spinach artichoke dip

Main courses were a

Fruit Medley 

Asian Salad

Coconut Shrimp

Fried Chicken Wings and Drumsticks 

Hawaiian Sweet Roll Ham and Cheese Sliders

and for dessert we had

Coconut Cream Pie

Chocolate French Silk

 

 

Everyone seemed to love my cocktails. Thank goodness I pre batched some of them because tiki cocktails are very complex with lots of ingredients. The most popular were the Painkiller, The Mai Tai where I use the ultimate Mai tai recipe and the monkeys eyebrow a cocktail from the Golden Tiki in Las Vegas that has Rye Whiskey and Banana Whiskey in it.

 

The Tiki Patio was a hit. The weather was perfect with a nice cool breeze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So now I am exhausted. Being a host is a lot of work but making my guests happy is always my goal.Linda does a great job helping me in other ways but I am the only one who really knows how to make the cocktails. I think a nap tomorrow will be in order.

 

 

 

What a wonderful party.  From the decorations food and drink you made a very special night for all your guests.  Enjoy your well deserved nap.

[harryfat1]

13 hours ago, h20skibum said:

From what I have read, they are more frequent and reliable at Wilderness Lodge, where we are staying.  There are a couple other options to get to AK, but that seems the most direct.  We could take the boat and monorail to Epcot, but the bus seems quicker. 
 

we are ready to adjust if we need to. 
 

Enjoy you NY trip, and post some more photos when you can. 

Mark,

 

Thanks. Not used to the humidity of the east coast versus the dry CA climate.

 

Maybe since you guys are paying the premium price to be at the Wilderness Lodge, they run more buses there. Whereas Cheapo dad and family stayed at the more ghetto resorts like All Stars that they only sparingly send few buses out there.

 

I had more time to look at your schedule last night. I noticed you had only allocated 1 hour for the various sit down dinners. Most likely those are longer affairs. Unlike MDR on a cruise, they don't specifically allocated a table for you to walk in. The reservation is a time slot holder. Especially at popular places like chef mickey where the characters entertain the guests. Many people will linger over their meals for the next character to come out so the later comers will be outside waiting longer.

 

Ohana took awhile for us as I reserved the time slot to watch the fireworks from the restaurant. Will find those pictures after I get home from vacation.

 

[harryfat1]

14 hours ago, NHProud said:

I’m happy for you and your family that you made it to NYC.  I’m looking forward to seeing your photos .  Umm , you must be experiencing sticker shock visiting during a major holiday week  . I hope , you are visiting all the architectural sights on your wish list.

 

 

Thanks. Yes. NYC is expensive but that's the price of doing business. But I got some Groupon deals for 50% off pizza deal and some macarons tomorrow.

 

Also trying to be cheap to eat at food courts.

 

Will upload many pictures in my Odyssey thread next week after I get home. Too dumb to do live posts...

[akcruz]

9 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

Before there were cell phones and spreadsheets I used to make laminated sheets plans for Disney.  It brings back good memories.  The kids still talk about moms laminated plans.  
 

I still print our itinerary for our cruises with just one line for the day.  I put it in a magnetic jacket and put it on the wall in our cabin.  This keeps DH from asking me all the time what are we doing, where are we tomorrow. When we are in a city like Amsterdam coming up, we have several tours booked.  For that I use a 3x5 card for each day to keep me organized.  Otherwise I’d never remember what tour when or where dinner reservations are. I should keep it all in my phone but I’m old school that way.

 

My family still jokes about Mom's folder.  The way I looked at it I did all the work up front so I could enjoy the trip as well.  Still do some but nowhere nears as much with just the 2 of us.  Do still keep a spreadsheet which goes on the cabin wall as well.

 

@Sea Dog looks like a great party, time to relax.

[dani negreanu]

 

I've reached out to our friend Jim ( @Jimbo ).

 

He and Donna are OK, just taking a break from posting 🌹

[Ocean Boy]

6 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Thank you Maryann! It’s after 1:30am and I just got through cleaning up. I am very anal about not leaving a mess. Everyone had a fantastic time. 
 

 

These coworkers of mine have over 150 years in journalism and are the tops in the business. 
 

 

Our main anchor Kris had never really had Tiki cocktails before and loved them. I also showed him my bourbon collection and I brought out the Pappy Van Winkle for him to taste for the first time. Needless to say he was impressed. 
 

Sorry no food pics as I was so busy preparing everything but we had as appetizers 

Pita and Hummus 

Crab Rangoon

Crackers and spinach artichoke dip

Main courses were a

Fruit Medley 

Asian Salad

Coconut Shrimp

Fried Chicken Wings and Drumsticks 

Hawaiian Sweet Roll Ham and Cheese Sliders

and for dessert we had

Coconut Cream Pie

Chocolate French Silk

 

 

Everyone seemed to love my cocktails. Thank goodness I pre batched some of them because tiki cocktails are very complex with lots of ingredients. The most popular were the Painkiller, The Mai Tai where I use the ultimate Mai tai recipe and the monkeys eyebrow a cocktail from the Golden Tiki in Las Vegas that has Rye Whiskey and Banana Whiskey in it.

 

The Tiki Patio was a hit. The weather was perfect with a nice cool breeze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So now I am exhausted. Being a host is a lot of work but making my guests happy is always my goal.Linda does a great job helping me in other ways but I am the only one who really knows how to make the cocktails. I think a nap tomorrow will be in order.

 

 

 

Your back yard looks fantastic. I'm sure it was a great time. You really put a lot of effort into taking care of your friends.

 

The one thing that would really improve the atmosphere though would be if your home was located on the coast... preferably in RI.😉😊😇

[Ocean Boy]

19 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

I've reached out to our friend Jim ( @Jimbo ).

 

He and Donna are OK, just taking a break from posting 🌹

Would that be a voluntary break or the other kind of break?

[dani negreanu]

Just now, Ocean Boy said:

Would that be a voluntary beak or the other kind of break?

 

100% voluntary.

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Looks like a great party!  Love the decorations.  I keep thinking about branching out and getting more into Tiki but there's so much to it.  I usually just end up making a Painkiller or a Mai Tai.  Love them both.

I like both, too.

[Arzeena]

@derorim

Joy, I am sorry to hear about Marcel. Hugs to you.

[grapau27]

Good afternoon.

We had a nice church service this morning then took a snack and hot drinks to look out over the North sea.

I hope everyone is safe and healthy and y'all have a fantastic day.

[Keksie]

11 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Your back yard looks fantastic. I'm sure it was a great time. You really put a lot of effort into taking care of your friends.

 

The one thing that would really improve the atmosphere though would be if your home was located on the coast... preferably in RI.😉😊😇

Even better would be located on the Emerald Coast of Florida.  It would really add to the tiki vibe. 

[George C]

Thank you all for well wishes for our anniversary, we had a very nice dinner starting with Johnny Walker Gold for me , some gin and tonic, ordered a very nice bottle Napa Cabernet. Right before getting the check we were told the bottle of wine was on the house , was extremely pleased with that . Then the owner of the restaurant who we are friendly with came over to congratulate us then picked up the check , so everything was free dinner drinks and dessert. 
 

  Greg you definitely know how to throw a party .

[Tree_skier]

6 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I'm booked Southwest because I couldn't find any other airline from orlando. I googled every airline flying into Hobby, didnt want IAH further away and know hobby better. Then I checked every airline, alaska etc... Southwest was my only choice. 

 

Was reading a blog about how seating on sw is like the hunger games, seat saving and how it's a fight to get a seat. I saw they upped the early bird from 20 to 25 now too. Doesnt sound fun. I dont have any other choices so booked southwest. 

 

Flying to San Diego from orlando oct 2025. Maybe I can use that credit or there is another airline flying to San Diego from here. Going to be a long flight to calif. Jumped on the Panama transit someone posted. Ends ft Lauderdale..just have to get there via plane. I'm waiting for some miracle to replace flights. So uncomfortable. But I've never done a Panama transit. Seems that cruise was crazy popular, everyone jumped on the balconys and gone in a few days except wierd balconys, connecting or spacious 3 days later. Crazy popular. Surely I can get to San Diego. 

I always get the early bird extra when flying Southwest. I can't sit in a middle seat.  

 

When you start looking for your flight to San Diego look at Alaska Air...  They have direct flights from San Diego -> to Orlando.  I really like Alaska and have had good success with them.  The only problem is they don't have as many as often or to as many places as the all the big airlines.  Service is good though

 

Our mutual travel agent mentioned that Panama Canal cruise to me too.  It was tempting but October is always a very busy month so I couldn't take advantage of the good prices.

Edited Sunday at 03:25 PM by Tree_skier

[h20skibum]

2 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

I had more time to look at your schedule last night. I noticed you had only allocated 1 hour for the various sit down dinners. Most likely those are longer affairs. Unlike MDR on a cruise, they don't specifically allocated a table for you to walk in. The reservation is a time slot holder. Especially at popular places like chef mickey where the characters entertain the guests. Many people will linger over their meals for the next character to come out so the later comers will be outside waiting longer.

Thanks Harry.   Yeah, I know those dinners will take longer, and this is only my second iteration of the spreadsheet.  It is currently something to pencil in ride times once I get those booked.

 

My first iteration, I had planned certain parks on certain days based on when I hoped to get dining reservations, but that ended up with arrows and changes once we found some of the popular ones already had all the good times already gone.  I am glad we will be able to book rides seven days ahead, although we will be looking at an extra $500-$600 for the lightning lanes.  It is a shame that people have to do that, given what you already pay for park tickets.

 

Neighbors of my daughter took their two little girls to Disney, and they went with just the park tickets and didn’t spring for the current genie+.  They were really disappointed that they were only able to ride two rides in Magic Kingdom. 

[SteelCityCruiser10]

9 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Thank you Maryann! It’s after 1:30am and I just got through cleaning up. I am very anal about not leaving a mess. Everyone had a fantastic time. 
 

 

These coworkers of mine have over 150 years in journalism and are the tops in the business. 
 

 

Our main anchor Kris had never really had Tiki cocktails before and loved them. I also showed him my bourbon collection and I brought out the Pappy Van Winkle for him to taste for the first time. Needless to say he was impressed. 
 

Sorry no food pics as I was so busy preparing everything but we had as appetizers 

Pita and Hummus 

Crab Rangoon

Crackers and spinach artichoke dip

Main courses were a

Fruit Medley 

Asian Salad

Coconut Shrimp

Fried Chicken Wings and Drumsticks 

Hawaiian Sweet Roll Ham and Cheese Sliders

and for dessert we had

Coconut Cream Pie

Chocolate French Silk

 

 

Everyone seemed to love my cocktails. Thank goodness I pre batched some of them because tiki cocktails are very complex with lots of ingredients. The most popular were the Painkiller, The Mai Tai where I use the ultimate Mai tai recipe and the monkeys eyebrow a cocktail from the Golden Tiki in Las Vegas that has Rye Whiskey and Banana Whiskey in it.

 

The Tiki Patio was a hit. The weather was perfect with a nice cool breeze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So now I am exhausted. Being a host is a lot of work but making my guests happy is always my goal.Linda does a great job helping me in other ways but I am the only one who really knows how to make the cocktails. I think a nap tomorrow will be in order.

 

 

 

Looks like a great time and a lot of work but I’m sure it was worth all the effort.  Always a good night when Pappy makes an appearance!  😃