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

[HBE4]

On 8/4/2022 at 11:30 AM, Jimbo said:

 

Tomatoes were picked this morning. I put the stand out front  and the neighbors help themselves. Free !

 

If I recall correctly, you are in the Christiansburg/Blacksburg area of VA. I know I'll be driving home from Texas & passing thru that area on I-81. I'll need to stop by & grab some free tomatoes & corn. 😉

Edited August 5, 2022 by HBE4

[HBE4]

@dani negreanu

 

I've probably missed a post as I'm on;y checking in occasionally but how are you feeling? Are you fully or mostly recovered from Covid?

[Jimbo]

17 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

If I recall correctly, you are in the Christiansburg/Blacksburg area of VA. I know I'll be driving home from Texas & passing thru that area on I-81. I'll needo stop by & grab some free tomatoes & corn. 😉

No problem, stop by anytime, Take exit 89  and head for Draper Valley Golf Course. We are about 30 minutes from Christiansburg. You will drive by us before getting to Christiansburg which is north of us.

Park at the Golf Course and I  will pick you up with my Golf Cart and give you the grand tour for a Produce Haul ! 🙂

 

How soon before you are heading  North. You might be here for the start of the Kitchen Demo too....🔨

Edited August 5, 2022 by Jimbo

[HBE4]

2 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

I feel your pain, every long summer. 102 today with 37% humidity.  I bet Houston's humidity is much higher.

 

Right now, the humidity is around 55-60%. And it gets worse at night, climbing to 77%. So while middle of the day, the heat is brutal, the night actually feels worse, The air is "heavy" and my skin is constantly damp, even with little movement.

 

But the hotel pool is very nice and refreshing.

[Keksie]

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

We had already planned for Juneau to be a visit to the Mendenhall Visitor's Center and hike a couple of the trails.  Better than nothing.

Nugget Falls is worth the hike.

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

It's getting a whistle blown at you that really piles on the points.

 

Yes, I think triple points don't you?

[lenquixote66]

16 hours ago, cruisingpeople said:

 Glad Toby is feeling well.

Thank you.She just got back from the doctor and got a good report.

[lenquixote66]

15 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

That's great to hear all went well today😍

Thanks,Debbie.

[lenquixote66]

15 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Sorry to hear this.  May he RIP🙏

Thanks,Debbie.

[lenquixote66]

10 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Sorry to hear this Lenny.

Sending our condolences to your friends family.

Graham.

Thank you,Graham.

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

That’s great news.

 

 

Im so sorry Lenny.

 

 

Have a great cruise. Get some great mooring line pictures. The closer without getting yelled at gets you extra points.

 

 

 

GreT way to start the day off. Cheers!

 

I sure hope you get to do the Dog Sled excursion. That sounds like a lot of fun.

Thanks,Greg for your condolences re my friends brother and good wishes re Toby

[lenquixote66]

19 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

We had an Italian "joint" in NY we used to frequent at least 3x a month.  The owner was the chef, his wife and son waited tables, his other son flung pizza dough and was the cashier.  They always stopped to chat even if we weren't in their section.  Chef Rocco always stopped by.  I feel remiss in not visiting when I go back East to NJ but my time is spent a distance away.  I always ordered the same dish every time.  Salmon with penna ala vodka.  My mouth waters just thinking of it.

We have known a couple for nearly 20 years.Their oldest son retired from the NYPD and opened an Italian restaurant.He hired a Chef and other restaurant personnel.It is one of the best restaurants I have ever been to for Italian food.

[lenquixote66]

17 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

Sorry Lenny, it really never ends😢

No,it really does not .Six people that we knew passed away this year.Every year on January 1 I hope that there will be no funerals but it just never happens.

[lenquixote66]

17 hours ago, Arzeena said:

Sorry from me too Lenny.

Thanks ,Arzeena 

 

[jagsfan]

7 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Good morning.

52°F and sunny this morning.

Breakfast this morning.

You both look so happy and healthy and must be the most attractive couple in the neighborhood! 
Seeing your plates makes me see the happy part!

[Momof3gurlz]

1 hour ago, jagsfan said:

We like ours so much I wish I’d gotten a larger one. Chicken wings come out crispy and juicy at the same time, but I can only fit two whole wings at a time. 
There are a ton of Air Fryer recipes online. We’ve been happy with every one we’ve tried. My husband hard boiled eggs the other day and kept telling me about them all day. 

I first bought the 5 qt but as soon as I took it out of the box I realized it would not do for chicken wings during football season, especially if the kids are here!  Returned it & bought the 7 qt.  I’m enjoying researching recipes & look forward to trying a bunch. I’ll have to try the hard boiled eggs too. 

[Sea Dog]

@A&L_Ont Question for you?? When you did your excursion to Jost Van Dyke (was that a Royal excursion by the way?) what time were you in port and what time was the excursion? Since our cruise got switched from Voyager to Adventure originally we were to be in Tortola from 7am-3pm so I assuming a morning to early afternoon excursion. Now we will port from 12pm-8pm. I wondering if an excursion to JVD in the afternoon is a good thing or bad thing? Thinking what will the crowds will be like? What was your experience?

 

Thanks for your help.

Sea Dog

[Ozark_Kid]

3 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

Thanks.

 

No live review per the strict definition. I will try to upload pictures to extend the ship's wifi allows us but I read that satellite signals are better near the equator versus northern and southern ends of the globe. If my buddy Biker is reading this, he will tell you more about satellites than you care to know. 

 

It won't be my typical Cheapo dad trip report as I can't vacation and write the same time (same concept as too dumb to walk and chew gum). 

 

I will do the lengthy write up after I get back home but it will be on the "other board" over at the Princess as we will be on the one way sailing on the Majestic Princess from Whittier down to Vancouver.

 

 

 

 

Last May on Ovation the ship internet was not that good but our AT&T 5g worked great at port and usually for about an hour after leaving port when out on the balcony or deck.  That should give you opportunity to post pics here.  I'm sure all here would love for you to share some.

Enjoy the cruise.  Alaska is such a beautiful place to visit.

[harryfat1]

40 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Last May on Ovation the ship internet was not that good but our AT&T 5g worked great at port and usually for about an hour after leaving port when out on the balcony or deck.  That should give you opportunity to post pics here.  I'm sure all here would love for you to share some.

Enjoy the cruise.  Alaska is such a beautiful place to visit.

Thanks. Will upload what I can.

 

On the Princess all inclusive package (got it on sale) where in theory we have daily wifi and drinks package but haven't heard good reviews on the connection.  Will see what I can do.

 

Here at the airport waiting to board while eating cheapo dad style brown bag lunch with various food bought from Costco...

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2022 by harryfat1
Auto spacing between pics not working well

[Sea Dog]

Just watched a great timelapse video on YT of a cargo ship at sea for 30 days. It's ten minutes long but has some amazing footage of thunderstorms, torrential rain and busy traffic. The night time video is also amazing looking at the stars.

 

Check it out !

 

 

[ReneeFLL]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

Just watched a great timelapse video on YT of a cargo ship at sea for 30 days. It's ten minutes long but has some amazing footage of thunderstorms, torrential rain and busy traffic. The night time video is also amazing looking at the stars.

 

Check it out !

 

 

Very cool.

Have you been switched yet? We were switched from the Voyager to the Adventure this morning. Same cabin, but they messed up on the price. I was told it would be corrected to the protected price in a few days.

 

[Sea Dog]

4 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

Very cool.

Have you been switched yet? We were switched from the Voyager to the Adventure this morning. Same cabin, but they messed up on the price. I was told it would be corrected to the protected price in a few days.

 

 

Just saw we were switched. Same itinerary but in reverse which I think is ok. Before we had two days at sea at the top now it's our last two days which I think will be ok.

 

The St. Croix port will be a longer stay instead of 8am-5pm it's now 7am-6pm which I think it's good. Perfect Day is a shorter stay instead of 10am-6pm it's now 7am-4:30pm.

 

The big change time in port is Tortola. We want to do an excursion to Jost Van Dyke and White Bay to go to the Soggy Dollar Bar. Originally it was 7am-3pm now it's 12pm-8pm. I don't know if this is good or bad. In one way we can have a good breakfast and then get ready to go over. The bad may be by the time we get there it may be really crowded.

 

Anyone with experience at Soggy Dollar better in the morning or afternoon?

[grapau27]

3 hours ago, jagsfan said:

You both look so happy and healthy and must be the most attractive couple in the neighborhood! 
Seeing your plates makes me see the happy part!

Thank you Mimi for your very nice words.

Graham.

[A&L_Ont]

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

@A&L_Ont Question for you?? When you did your excursion to Jost Van Dyke (was that a Royal excursion by the way?) what time were you in port and what time was the excursion? Since our cruise got switched from Voyager to Adventure originally we were to be in Tortola from 7am-3pm so I assuming a morning to early afternoon excursion. Now we will port from 12pm-8pm. I wondering if an excursion to JVD in the afternoon is a good thing or bad thing? Thinking what will the crowds will be like? What was your experience?

 

Thanks for your help.

Sea Dog

I’m not sure if this will help you or not but I’ll share it with you. 

We did a private tour, based out of St Thomas. We were originally booked through One Love Charters but they had an engine issue two days prior to our arrival but asked if their friend could take us instead. Same cost, same itinerary, same times and same shuttle driver. They transfered our deposit directly to their replacement Captain. They are both based in the same marina, a few slips apart from another as well. We actually saw their “stranded” boat as we departed and returned. 
 

We were picked up at Crown Bay at 10:15 am and 4 pm for the trip back to the Crown Bay.  The photo below give you an idea of our days time frame. 
 

 Here is a link to One Love. It looks as though they are still in business. 

 

https://www.onelovecharters.com/

 

 

[MJSailors]

6 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Lunch today Cumberland Sausage.

 

Graham- Really like the name and the label on the ale bottle !

How was the ale?

Cheers!

MJ🙋🏻