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

[lenquixote66]

4 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

Fortunately,  I am on high ground. Nothing more than a few twigs in the back yard.  Lights flickered a few times but never lost power. The electric power company did some extensive tree trimming a month or two ago. No doubt that helped. 

Tree trimming was done in my development recently as well.

[grapau27]

6 hours ago, mets07 said:

My husband has been shop-vacuuming water out of our basement for the last 3 hours. This is in Northern New Jersey. The ground is very saturated so it is difficult to make progress.  It is in both unfinished and finished areas of the basement but not completely across the floor. Whether the carpeting in the finished areas will be worth keeping is an unknown at this point. 

 

In any case, considering that at least 14 people have died in New York and New Jersey due to this weather incident, this is nothing. 

 

Sorry to hear your ordeal with the rain but pleased you are safe.

Graham.

[grapau27]

6 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

My daughter and SIL in NJ were greatly impacted by Ida.  Basement is flooded, and my SIL's business parking lot and part of his bldg. is underwater.  He had to park elsewhere and  was taken to his bldg. by boat. My daughter works approx. 35 minutes away and roads were flooded so she stayed home.  The picture is the flooding and boats at my SIL's work.  The red blob is me having fun with the edit feature removing the name of the building.

 

Looks like a lovely lake doesn't it?  This was dry land before Ida hit.

 

Hope all are safe and were not impacted greatly.

 

 

 

So sorry to hear what your daughter and son in law are experiencing Bonnie.

Graham.

[ownedbypets]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Congratulations!     😍

 

Thanks!

[BonTexasNY]

2 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Sorry to hear this,Bonnie

 

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

So sorry to hear of the troubles they are having.   Happy to hear no one was hurt.    It is going to take quite a while for everyone to dry out.    

@lenquixote66@Sunshine3601 

Thank you.  So many more had it worse.  We're grateful they're ok. They also have a separate 2 car garage that got flooded. Hopefully, no damage to the cars parked inside. They lived in Bergen County during Super Storm Sandy and were not impacted at all.

[BonTexasNY]

10 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

So sorry to hear what your daughter and son in law are experiencing Bonnie.

Graham.

Thank you, Graham.

[Momof3gurlz]

Sorry to those of you experiencing water or other damage from the storm. We were lucky here in our area of RI.  Lots of leaves & small branches down in the yard but that’s all. Never lost power and no flooding/water.  Our oldest DD & her family live in Berwyn PA, suburb west of Philly. I texted her right away this AM and all is fine with them other than a small landslide in their backyard that went into their pool. It’ll be a real mess to clean. 

I’ve been reading along but haven’t been posting or reacting much due to ongoing CC issues.  Over the past month or so, I’ve emailed their help desk a couple of times about the problems. Someone here mentioned that feature a while back - maybe islandlady?  They usually reply within a day or so, always saying a fix has just been issued.  Yet the problems persist.  I emailed again today 🤷🏻‍♀️, so we’ll see.  

Glad everyone is safe after last night; my thoughts and prayers are with those who were not. 
 

[Sea Dog]

My thoughts are with everyone affected by Ida and the havoc it's causing. Stay safe and I hope for a quick recovery.

[bobmacliberty]

Earlier today, I did one of the proctored BinaxNOW Covid home tests.  I posted about it on John's Bella thread and thought I'd also post here for those interested in this test but don't follow John's thread.

__________________________________

I just did one of the emed home rapid tests.  I ordered a 6 pack for our Sept 19 Allure cruise.  I have extras and since I just returned from a golf trip with a legit runny nose, I figured that I'd take a "practice run" before my cruise. After ordering the tests, you need to download the Navica app and create a Navica account, which is separate from the account that I created on the emed.com site.  I'll also add that they ship the tests via Fedex overnight, but someone needs to review and approve your prescription before shipping, based on the answers that you provide in the eligibility questions.  For me, the approval did not happen until the next day, so my order didn't arrive until 2 days after ordering.  Plan accordingly.

 

When ready for the test, you need to log into the Navica app and then go to emed.com and click on "Start Testing".  You'll need to enter your Navica username and password on the emed site so that your test is linked to your Navica account/app.  You need to use a computer/device with audio and video capability to access emed.com.  I used my iPhone.  It took about a minute to get connected with someone.  I could hear but not see her, and she could both hear and see me.  She had me open the box (don't open until you're connected to a proctor), scan the QR code on the card, and then talked me through performing the test while she watched.  The steps to follow are identical to the self test (which is not acceptable for Royal Caribbean...don't know about other cruise lines) in this video:

The proctor started a 15 minute timer on my phone screen and said that I was free to leave the room but to be back before the 15 minute timer was up.  When the timer ended, I click on a button to proceed (can't remember the actual words) and I was then connected with a different person to review the results.  It took another minute or so to get connected with the second person.  He had me show a close up of the front of the card so that he could see the QR code and the test result.  He also asked me to describe what I saw in the window next to the words CONTROL and SAMPLE.  In my case, I had a pink line next to the word CONTROL and nothing next to the word SAMPLE, which is a negative result.  👍😁

 

The proctor guiding me through the test results then said that the results would be sent to my registered email address and to my Navica app.  Both appeared almost instantly.  The whole thing took less than 30 minute and I spent 15 of those 30 minutes reading Cruise Critic threads while waiting for the test result.  Overall, a very easy process.

 

Happy to answer any questions about the test that anyone may have. 

[mo&fran]

Well, my home town in Pa, even with all of the rain that was being recorded on local weather stations, had no issues worthy of being reported  on the local news media there, either in my town or neighboring towns.

[Sunshine3601]

36 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

Earlier today, I did one of the proctored BinaxNOW Covid home tests.  I posted about it on John's Bella thread and thought I'd also post here for those interested in this test but don't follow John's thread.

__________________________________

I just did one of the emed home rapid tests.  I ordered a 6 pack for our Sept 19 Allure cruise.  I have extras and since I just returned from a golf trip with a legit runny nose, I figured that I'd take a "practice run" before my cruise. After ordering the tests, you need to download the Navica app and create a Navica account, which is separate from the account that I created on the emed.com site.  I'll also add that they ship the tests via Fedex overnight, but someone needs to review and approve your prescription before shipping, based on the answers that you provide in the eligibility questions.  For me, the approval did not happen until the next day, so my order didn't arrive until 2 days after ordering.  Plan accordingly.

 

When ready for the test, you need to log into the Navica app and then go to emed.com and click on "Start Testing".  You'll need to enter your Navica username and password on the emed site so that your test is linked to your Navica account/app.  You need to use a computer/device with audio and video capability to access emed.com.  I used my iPhone.  It took about a minute to get connected with someone.  I could hear but not see her, and she could both hear and see me.  She had me open the box (don't open until you're connected to a proctor), scan the QR code on the card, and then talked me through performing the test while she watched.  The steps to follow are identical to the self test (which is not acceptable for Royal Caribbean...don't know about other cruise lines) in this video:

The proctor started a 15 minute timer on my phone screen and said that I was free to leave the room but to be back before the 15 minute timer was up.  When the timer ended, I click on a button to proceed (can't remember the actual words) and I was then connected with a different person to review the results.  It took another minute or so to get connected with the second person.  He had me show a close up of the front of the card so that he could see the QR code and the test result.  He also asked me to describe what I saw in the window next to the words CONTROL and SAMPLE.  In my case, I had a pink line next to the word CONTROL and nothing next to the word SAMPLE, which is a negative result.  👍😁

 

The proctor guiding me through the test results then said that the results would be sent to my registered email address and to my Navica app.  Both appeared almost instantly.  The whole thing took less than 30 minute and I spent 15 of those 30 minutes reading Cruise Critic threads while waiting for the test result.  Overall, a very easy process.

 

Happy to answer any questions about the test that anyone may have. 

Congratulations on a Negative test!

Thank you very much for taking the time to post this information - Very Helpful for many of us looking forward to future cruises.     Definitely helps alleviate the anxiety of finding somewhere to test and waiting for the results, especially a PCR test.    

[h20skibum]

4 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

We took a river tour from the Tower back to Westminster.  A few pics from the boat on an overcast day (overcast day in London 😲).

Overcast in London?  Here is what it looks like with blue skies. 

The Shard

 

 

Tower bridge (one of my favorite photos)

 

 

I love the animals on the walls

 

 

Some armor 

 

 

More armor

 

 

I asked my wife if she would like a new necklace. 
 

 

I liked this sculpture 

 

 

The London Eye from the top

 

 

Parliament and Big Ben were undergoing renovations

 

 

London Eye from ground level.

 

 

We were certainly blessed with good weather on our trip. 

 

 

 

 

 

[StanleyandGus]

This is what I have been working on lately- it’s my second quilt. This is crib sized, and it’s going to my first grandchild! I probably was a bit optimistic, since I didn’t use a pattern and it’s handpieced. Still, it’s done, and my grandson it unlikely to care that it’s not perfect!

[Keksie]

14 minutes ago, StanleyandGus said:

This is what I have been working on lately- it’s my second quilt. This is crib sized, and it’s going to my first grandchild! I probably was a bit optimistic, since I didn’t use a pattern and it’s handpieced. Still, it’s done, and my grandson it unlikely to care that it’s not perfect!

It is beautiful and he will love it.  

 

[Ocean Boy]

5 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Yes, we did a full tour of the Tower.    At first Eric didn't want to do the tour, he just wanted the option to walk around on your own but I insisted we take the guided tour.     We both enjoyed it and were fascinated hearing the stories and learning how they lived, and the beheadings.    Amazing how old most of those structures are and they remain in good standing. 

Of course, I enjoyed seeing the family jewels.

We did walk the London Tower Bridge, but did not take the tour of the bridge.   

Great that you decided on the tour. I think without it you just can't grasp the significance of much of what you are looking at. After the tour I did a bit more exploring on my own.

[dani negreanu]

33 minutes ago, StanleyandGus said:

This is what I have been working on lately- it’s my second quilt.

 Still, it’s done, and my grandson it unlikely to care that it’s not perfect!

 

18 minutes ago, Keksie said:

It is beautiful and he will love it.  

 

+1  and he will enjoy it very much 🥰

 

[A&L_Ont]

9 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

Here's a YouTube video that someone else captured of the whole drive to the clubhouse.  If you don't want to watch the whole thing, fast forward to about the 3:45 mark to see when the path goes through a cave with waterfalls.  That's the point where I thought...Disney.

 

 

 

Totally Disney vibe. I’d pay just to drive the cart here, let alone play. Amazing looking place. 

[A&L_Ont]

To all of you feeling the ill effects of Ida I’m so sorry. Hopefully things will dry up as quickly as possible. 

[A&L_Ont]

Tonight here…

 

 

Long pants found. 

 

 

Hot chocolate ✅

 

[Coralc]

1 hour ago, StanleyandGus said:

This is what I have been working on lately- it’s my second quilt. This is crib sized, and it’s going to my first grandchild! I probably was a bit optimistic, since I didn’t use a pattern and it’s handpieced. Still, it’s done, and my grandson it unlikely to care that it’s not perfect!

 

It is beautiful! It will probably become his/her blankie! 

[lenquixote66]

27 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

To all of you feeling the ill effects of Ida I’m so sorry. Hopefully things will dry up as quickly as possible. 

Looking outside my terrace screen doors did not look any different this afternoon than any other day.

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Great that you decided on the tour. I think without it you just can't grasp the significance of much of what you are looking at. After the tour I did a bit more exploring on my own.

Very true.  If we had just wandered around and read signs it would have been a waste.  He was glad I convinced him to do the guided tour.   I found the story of the ravens interesting.  We grabbed some snacks at their little cafe then wondered on our own, too.

Edited September 3, 2021 by Sunshine3601

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, StanleyandGus said:

This is what I have been working on lately- it’s my second quilt. This is crib sized, and it’s going to my first grandchild! I probably was a bit optimistic, since I didn’t use a pattern and it’s handpieced. Still, it’s done, and my grandson it unlikely to care that it’s not perfect!

This is beautiful.  I'm sure Mom and Grandson will cherish!

[Sunshine3601]

8 hours ago, Arzeena said:

You are in my thoughts. Stay safe.

If my memory is correct, you live in bucks county?  If yes, how is your area.  

[Coralc]

@Lionesss Question? 

After you freeze the corn, how do you heat it back up? 

Today bought bread/ butter sweet corn from farm. 50 ears. 
Quick boil 5 min

Ice bath

Double wrap Saran and freezer bag. 
Place  in freezer 

Enjoy all winter 

 

What do you with it after you take it out of the freezer?  We purchased some today that we might have to boil/freeze/store for a bit. Bill asked the question, and I said..."I don't know?"  Thanks!