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

[bobmacliberty]

6 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Let me know how the experiment goes. This could be very interesting. I have never thought of doing juice based ice cubes.

 

Have you made anything with egg white foam on top?  I'm not sure if that comes from hard shaking with the egg white mixed with everything else, or if the foam is made separately.  I'm guessing the later.  I didn't see them make it but the foam was just slightly hanging over the rim of the glass, so they may have added it to the top using a whip cream canister.

[Sunshine3601]

10 minutes ago, Ken at the beach said:

Thst definitely looks interesting. 

I just may have to email our favorite TA to gather some info for the family.   😉

[Sea Dog]

37 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

The last one-week plan that I had included $150K in medical (secondary) and $1M in emergency medical evac, plus all of the other typical trip interruption, luggage, etc. for $205 for 2 people.  

Great price. What company did you use? I like the $1M for emergency medivac.

[c-leg5]

41 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Great price. What company did you use? I like the $1M for emergency medivac.

As stated above they are brokers. They represent multiple companies. You just need to put in the recommended cruise filters to see which companies they recommend for you to choose from. There are other similar brokers.  We used to use them for medical and evacuation and self-insured the cruise fare by putting in zero for trip but moved onto Allianz annual more recently. Allianz worked out fine when we recently had to cancel 7 bookings. Fortunately most were only at the deposit stage although first two were B2B, three days before sailing. 
 

Fortunately we are not high ticket cruisers.  I understand why annual policies may not be popular with high rollers but for us the savings on coverage for all the cruises we did not claim made it worth it. If you used all the allowance in one claim you are no worse off having to take out individual policies thereafter unless you have a problem with pre-existing conditions. One of the biggest problems with annual policies are if you want an extended vacation of several months. 
 

As with all insurance it is a gamble and there is no “one size fits all” you have to weigh up your personal requirements.

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, c-leg5 said:

As stated above they are brokers. They represent multiple companies. You just need to put in the recommended cruise filters to see which companies they recommend for you to choose from. There are other similar brokers.  We used to use them for medical and evacuation and self-insured the cruise fare by putting in zero for trip but moved onto Allianz annual more recently. Allianz worked out fine when we recently had to cancel 7 bookings. Fortunately most were only at the deposit stage although first two were B2B, three days before sailing. 
 

Fortunately we are not high ticket cruisers.  I understand why annual policies may not be popular with high rollers but for us the savings on coverage for all the cruises we did not claim made it worth it. If you used all the allowance in one claim you are no worse off having to take out individual policies thereafter unless you have a problem with pre-existing conditions. One of the biggest problems with annual policies are if you want an extended vacation of several months. 
 

As with all insurance it is a gamble and there is no “one size fits all” you have to weigh up your personal requirements.

Thanks for your insight.

[firefly333]

I was going to look into insure my trip or a yearly insurance plan. Next year I have 2 big cruises coming up. 

 

As far as the flight it's not a biggie. I can remember when sw sang songs and acted so happy and made the whole thing showing you how to use the emergency equipment. It was a fun flight. These people were obviously just not wanting to do it. Of course maybe they had already had a bad day. But I do remember when sw was a fun flight. Hadnt flown them since.

 

The whole if my purse strap was showing my whole purse wasnt safely stowed below the seat thing fine for take off and landing, but this was the whole flight. I once had my purse pulled forward and money stolen. I'm not flying the whole flight and not knowing where the strap of my purse was the entire flight. I want to feel it if someone yanks on my purse.This was the whole flight my purse had to be entirely beneath the seat in front of me and I wanted to know it was safe. Feel the strap during the flight. We were only allowed our phones or small things out of our carry on to hold during the flight. Holding the strap of my purse no worse than holding a phone. Just felt like they went out of their way to be crabby to people. She turned the lights out so there was no light in the bathroom and people kept not closing the door. I could see her closing it after, she had really reached the end of her rope closing that bathroom door next to her jumpseat. She would kick it with her foot closed in a way made it clear lol. She was sick and tired of it.

 

Never heard that whining sound like the motor of our flight made. Probably first time I sat so close to the front, no business or first class. But sw now isnt fun, they are sour. I was never worried, just noticed how different their attitudes were now though I know customer service has changed everywhere. Their attitude projected they wished they werent there. Didnt change the flight, just noticed how they used to act like they loved sw vs now.

 

Letting people choose seats will be a huge improvement. I've already picked seats for may 2025. Having to reprint my boarding pass, I guess I'm spoiled, my printer doesnt work the best. Now I know to get it reprinted for going home by them before i stand in line. I said darn I hope I dont get a middle seat now and the boarding guy snapped and not nicely, well your choice is to wait for the next plane. Yes had I been a more experienced flier I'd have known to look at the board. Only my 2nd flight in a very long time. Just they were all acting like they hated being there. Why not commiserate with me and darn I hope you get a ok seat too. 

 

I do still think dont buy sw stock, these workers arent happy to work there. Maybe their salary negotiations arent going well, who knows but when workers arent happy there are issues with sw. I wouldnt touch the stock. Next flight home I'll do better. Know to find the board and look for changes. Learned a lot. 

 

Sounds like next week we might run into some exciting weather. Missing a port. I dont care tbh. Lol. Just for the oct 12, so many looking forward to roatan. Including the friend why I didnt cancel to cruise with. I hope he gets coco cay.

 

 

 

 

[aussielozzie18]

@bobmacliberty  Beautiful views and those greens are immaculate!

[aussielozzie18]

@cruiselvr04  So sorry to read of your very nasty fall.  Wishing you all the best with your healing.

[aussielozzie18]

We have a 3-day Labour Day long weekend and the weather is glorious.

 

Took a late afternoon drive up to North Head.  The flannel flowers in are in full bloom and the whales are heading south, so watched the whales from one of the lookouts.  We could see the whale watching boat nearby and they would have got superb photos of the breaching.

 

 

 

 

[aussielozzie18]

7 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I like that 18 nighter but I would not be able to get 3 weeks off from work.   If only I was retired!

 

I feel your pain!  Would love to do the third cruise that @Ken at the beach posted - the Singapore to Brisbane cruise on Voyager but between DH suddenly showing an interest in road trips and my daughter wanting me to visit her  again in Canada, long cruises are just not an option atm.  
 

Dad was telling me today, it’s 20 years since he retired.

I’ve got 8 more years to go…

[brillohead]

On 10/4/2024 at 6:32 PM, HBE4 said:

I got the midnight shift! 👍😄

 

Same here ... night shift is the BEST shift. 

 

All this talk about getting up at 5-6am has me baffled... I'm not even in bed yet at that hour most days!

[brillohead]

On 10/4/2024 at 7:15 AM, A&L_Ont said:

Part way through this episode it started to remind me of Hank MD (a house Dr in the Hamptons), but on a cruise ship.

 

Royal Pains

I had a love-hate relationship with that show... 

Part of it was the way that Hank always "just happened" to have some odd piece of medical equipment in his little black bag -- something that most general practitioners don't even have in their OFFICE, let alone in their medical bag.  

And part of it was the way that they bastardized so many medical situations.  I have a relatively rare disease, and when they had a patient with the same disease, they completely misrepresented the way it manifests.  Like seriously, folks, the esophagus and the trachea are two totally different parts of the body's anatomy, and they lead to different body systems.  

[sgmn]

On 10/4/2024 at 4:48 PM, grapau27 said:

Hi Sue.

I have been in bed asleep all day and just woke up at 4pm.

I felt extremely tired all day.

I only had a minor discomfort in both arms 

 

Hope you feel better now. A day in bed is a nice luxury sometimes, body's way of getting better

[sgmn]

On 10/5/2024 at 1:48 AM, George C said:

My wife wakes up most morning about 4:30 to go to camp gladiator to work out a hour before going to work I am sometimes awake when she leaves a little before 8am. But when working for over 45 years I was in IT and worked about any kind of shift there could be specialty the first 20 years . Then had jobs where I had phone calls in the middle of the night from all over the world . Very happy to be retired.

Wow she must be very disciplined .  I keep meaning to get up early for swimming or gym but it never seems to happen, bed it far too cosy.

When I worked at LHR my shifts started at 5.30, and as I always wanted to get in early to get a jump on any problems I use to get up around 3.30.

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, sgmn said:

Hope you feel better now. A day in bed is a nice luxury sometimes, body's way of getting better

Thank you Sue.

I hope your vaccines are fine.

I was overheating but fortunately I was fine when I got up yesterday.

We had a lovely harvest festival church service today.

Best wishes to all on here 

Edited October 6 by grapau27

[h20skibum]

It has been a busy week for us. 
 

Thursday night, we went to our grandson’s rescheduled football game.  This was probably the best team they have played, and it was a nail biter.  Our boys were behind, with a minute to play, when our grandson connected for his third passing touchdown.  A come from behind win of 20 to 19.  
 

Yesterday, he had another game.  This team was not much competition, and they won 52-0 to remain undefeated.  

[h20skibum]

Speaking of football, I was reading an article this week about the greatest gridiron team.  Although this team was from the town where I grew up, I don’t recall ever hearing about them.  Of course, this was from well before I was born.  A little bit from the article. 
 

———————————————-

 

Any discussion on which is the greatest professional football team of all time tends to bring the 1972 Miami Dolphins, 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1984 San Francisco 49ers and 1985 Chicago Bears into the debate.

 

However, Darin Hayes believes the greatest team ever hailed from Venango County: the undefeated 1903 Franklin Athletic Club.

 

Hayes was so inspired by the team’s 12-0 record and 461 points scored while holding all of its opponents scoreless that he wrote a book — “World’s Greatest Pro Gridiron Team: The 1903 Franklin All-Stars” — and was on hand Wednesday for the “Night of Legends” tribute to the team at the Elks Club in Franklin.

 

“This 1903 Franklin Athletic Club team went undefeated and unscored upon and also captured a postseason championship at Madison Square Garden,” he said. “When I got into studying this team, I found out they scored more points per minute in a season than any team, professional or college, that I could find in the history of football.

 

“This was three years before the forward pass was legal and touchdowns were only worth five points. So, it’s pretty impressive to only be allowed to run the ball and score that many points. Then there’s the defense that only allowed two teams to cross midfield all season.”

 

————————————————

 

 

[firefly333]

Getting ready to go down and check out breakfast. Hotel was a 10. No complaints and some nice touches. There was one piece of furniture I've never seen before. Seems not useful and oddly shaped. Didnt bother me. Had everything I wanted. Long low place for luggage to be opened with drawere, desk and the bed nice ... but this ...and the color ..NO. I think the dark green reminds me of royals old color scheme. .. except this hotel was newly built I'm told. New. That dark green ..I'm a NO lol. But minor, everything so far has gone well except sw.

 

Odd? 

Edited October 6 by firefly333

[lovesthebeach2]

14 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Curious if you have used Allianz and how do they compare?

Weve used Allianz for years, we get the annual policy and adjust it based on how many expensive cruises we have that year.

[lovesthebeach2]

12 hours ago, Ken at the beach said:

I'm the same way.  If I wake at 5am there is no going back to sleep

Same, except I would say WHEN I wake up at 5….or sometimes 4 . I guess that’s why I sometimes get replies from you so early 😳

Edited October 6 by lovesthebeach2

[bobmacliberty]

11 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Great price. What company did you use? I like the $1M for emergency medivac.

 

That one was Nationwide Prime, thru Insure My Trip.

[firefly333]

Breakfast is definitely a winner in my book, no wonder the desk clerk last night acted like it was good, it is. Freshly made, hot cinnamon rolls are a bog hit here. Just bit into mine and it tastes better than it looks fresh and hot in it's own display. Fresh tortillas I filled with some grated cheese, hash brown potatoes, and I crumbled half a patty of pork sausage. They also have turkey sausage. Fresh pancakes and not the kind where you have to pour in the mix yourself, push a button. I nuked my home made tortilla 20 seconds, not bad either. 

 

I can see why this place sold out last night. A couple of welcoming mints on the desk. The breakfast is a cut above what I've seen elsewhere. Had hot coffee and ice water last night when I checked in at 5 pm. Just a bit nicer than others. I'm not counting the wierd love seat chair hahaha. But I liked everything here.

The cinnamon buns are really good. 

[lovesthebeach2]

11 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Great price. What company did you use? I like the $1M for emergency medivac.

Someone I know, whose father travels a lot for both business annd pleasure always used Medjet. Thats only for medical evacuation I think and he has used them for years. 

[cruisingpeople]

18 hours ago, akcruz said:

 

 

Echoing these sentiments.  Hoping you are feeling better soon.

@cruiselvr04

+5

 

[Keksie]

19 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Breakfast is definitely a winner in my book, no wonder the desk clerk last night acted like it was good, it is. Freshly made, hot cinnamon rolls are a bog hit here. Just bit into mine and it tastes better than it looks fresh and hot in it's own display. Fresh tortillas I filled with some grated cheese, hash brown potatoes, and I crumbled half a patty of pork sausage. They also have turkey sausage. Fresh pancakes and not the kind where you have to pour in the mix yourself, push a button. I nuked my home made tortilla 20 seconds, not bad either. 

 

I can see why this place sold out last night. A couple of welcoming mints on the desk. The breakfast is a cut above what I've seen elsewhere. Had hot coffee and ice water last night when I checked in at 5 pm. Just a bit nicer than others. I'm not counting the wierd love seat chair hahaha. But I liked everything here.

The cinnamon buns are really good. 

Texas does breakfast the right way.  Miss cruising out of Galveston.  

We never fly SW.  I always hated the no assigned seat part.  

The chair is a chaise lounge.  Perfect for knitting or reading with your feet up.