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

[broadwaybaby123]

Back from my Oasis sailing! Tired as heck!

[George C]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

I think I am doing pretty good by picking the Astros over the Yankees.

I don’t recall seeing that you picked Astros over Yankees, do see your 4 out of 5 other picks , find it strange that you first picked Padres to lose then picked them to go to win the World Series. 

[Jimbo]

Bader for the Yankees has 5 homeruns in the Post Season............he is making Judge look silly. 🤪

[brillohead]

8 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Tomorrow, we leave from here and head to Lucca for a 2 day stay in a B&B place.  I will post more pictures from our little excursion yesterday if you all are not tired of my pictures yet.

I don't know how anyone could be tired of seeing those great pics!!!

[brillohead]

7 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

Glad to hear that things are going well on the ship. Once you get on Symphony hopefully we will hear more about your daily activities.

I'm a really boring cruiser... that's why I don't bother with doing a Live Review.  

My typical sea day would be:

Got up at 6:00 to stake my claim on a lounger in the shade on the pool deck.  Spread out a towel on my chair, folded another towel up as a pillow, then zonked out in the chair until late morning. 

Drank Coke Zero and/or Diet Coke. 

Read my Kindle. 

Soaked in the hot tub while reading my Kindle. 

Posted a picture of beautiful blue Caribbean water on Facebook for all my friends who are freezing back home to be jealous of.

Took another nap. 

Had a virgin peach daiquiri.

Soaked in the hot tub while reading my Kindle again. 

Went back to the room to shower/dress for dinner. 

Went to dinner in the MDR.  
Went to show / stopped in Schooner Bar to use up the last of my D+ vouchers on more cans of Coke Zero.
Back to room to read my Kindle and sleep.

 

 

Lather/rinse/repeat that for ten weeks, and you've got the entire picture! LOL  Port days are only different in that I go to a beach and snorkel/swim instead of going to the Solarium.  

I'm Royal's worst customer... I don't buy a drink package (other than classic soda with Voom if it's cheap enough), I don't buy anything in the shops, I don't do specialty dining unless I'm with someone who wants to go and use my D+ BOGO coupon, I don't gamble, I don't buy photos, I don't buy their excursions... the only money they make on me is I do get Voom every cruise to stay in contact with the folks back home (but that's only for the next year -- come on, Pinnacle in late 2023!).

[Coralc]

1 hour ago, brillohead said:

I'm a really boring cruiser... that's why I don't bother with doing a Live Review.  

My typical sea day would be:

Got up at 6:00 to stake my claim on a lounger in the shade on the pool deck.  Spread out a towel on my chair, folded another towel up as a pillow, then zonked out in the chair until late morning. 

Drank Coke Zero and/or Diet Coke. 

Read my Kindle. 

Soaked in the hot tub while reading my Kindle. 

Posted a picture of beautiful blue Caribbean water on Facebook for all my friends who are freezing back home to be jealous of.

Took another nap. 

Had a virgin peach daiquiri.

Soaked in the hot tub while reading my Kindle again. 

Went back to the room to shower/dress for dinner. 

Went to dinner in the MDR.  
Went to show / stopped in Schooner Bar to use up the last of my D+ vouchers on more cans of Coke Zero.
Back to room to read my Kindle and sleep.

 

 

Lather/rinse/repeat that for ten weeks, and you've got the entire picture! LOL  Port days are only different in that I go to a beach and snorkel/swim instead of going to the Solarium.  

I'm Royal's worst customer... I don't buy a drink package (other than classic soda with Voom if it's cheap enough), I don't buy anything in the shops, I don't do specialty dining unless I'm with someone who wants to go and use my D+ BOGO coupon, I don't gamble, I don't buy photos, I don't buy their excursions... the only money they make on me is I do get Voom every cruise to stay in contact with the folks back home (but that's only for the next year -- come on, Pinnacle in late 2023!).

That's kind of all I do. I read all day. On Navigator, I think I went down to the Promenade twice, once to Playmaker's and once to the store. I didn't even gamble, just didn't feel like it. Most of the port photos were taken from the pool deck. It would be a really boring review. ☺️

[ReneeFLL]

Leaving Napier, NZ. Mudslide in DL and sunset from CK. New drink called Renee's Lemon Drop. Original name I know. 😊  Lemon Drop with a little grenadine. Interesting taste.

 

 

 

 

[ReneeFLL]

18 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Surprised they didn't empty that pool and rope it off.

It was roped off and a net over it. It's just hard to see. I'm thinking draining it would be more trouble than what it's worth. 

 

18 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

An update on the search for the perfect Mai Tai.  WARNING...I've seriously gone down the rabbit hole.

I would skip the oj completely.

 

16 hours ago, brillohead said:

The pockets are clear, so you can see if things are in there, and the pockets are meant to hold a shoe, so it's easy to put your whole hand in to retrieve items....

That's what I was concerned about was getting my big hand in there. 😁

[ReneeFLL]

12 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

A question for those that have shopped pre-cruise in Fort Lauderdale.  Owen was thinking about looking for some cool sneakers in December before we board Harmony.  Do any of you have any suggestions on where to go, other than Sawgrass Outlets?  I’ve looked on-line with little luck. 
 

Thanks in advance. 

There's a Runner's Depot on 17th St. I've been in there to try on their Hoka shoes. I don't know if it's a store that would interest Owen. Maybe a store like Dick's Sporting Goods?

 

9 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Heavy rain in Sydney today.  
 

The forecast for @ReneeFLL arrival on Saturday is 25C with only 20% chance of rain so it should be a lovely day in Sydney.  Hope you have a lovely day here  on Saturday Renee and enjoy your cruise to New Zealand.

 

I will be off cc for  the next couple of weeks but look forward to catching up on my return.

Looking forward to being in Sydney again. Sounds like great weather and hope it holds out for after the second cruise also.

[sgmn]

16 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Thank you Sue.

It took 6 and a half hours to drive the 315 miles from Southampton to Sunderland.

Our cruise was delayed for 7 hours because cleaning wires became entangled in the propeller.

We watched the divers going down from our aft balcony.

We left after midnight and arrived In Amsterdam at 22.30pm.

The ship left from Ocean terminal but returned to Mayflower terminal because Iona was at Ocean terminal on Saturday when we returned.

Fortunately I parked in West Quay multi storey car park for 6 days costing £30 and we got a taxi back to our car.

Good price for parking. We normally park right next to the ship and they pick up your bags straight from the boot of the car.  But it's about £10 per day 

Guess 6.5 hours isn't too bad, works out around 50 mph. Is that average for that journey?

[sgmn]

15 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Today, 10/23 is the day that the ship docks in Ashdod, Israel where we would have done the Jerusalem and Bethlehem Tour (that includes Mount of Olives; Garden of Gethsemane; Mount Zion; Room of the Last Supper; Jaffa Gate; Church of the Holy Sepulchre; Via Dolorosa; Western Wall; Arab Souk; and Christian and Jewish Quarters).

 

So sorry that we missed visiting your country, @dani negreanu.  Even though it would have been hard to meet in person, I would have felt like we were close enough where I could reach out and touch you.  At least, I would’ve waved to you from afar.  Next time!

 

The ship overnights in Jerusalem.  Tomorrow, 10/24, would’ve been visit to the Dead Sea and Masada.  

 

10/25 is stop in Haifa with a tour to the Biblical Galilee (visit to the Church of theAnnunciation in Nazareth; Mount of Beatitudes; the ruins of Capernaum; Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee).

 

Sounds like you had some amazing tours lined up.  I hope you get another chance soon to visit these ports 

[sgmn]

15 hours ago, brillohead said:

Helen, your pictures of Italy are amazing!!!

My goal some day is to do a TA to Europe in the spring, spend the summer doing Europe, and then do a TA back again in the fall.  

Wow that sounds like an amazing once in a lifetime trip. You'll be able to visit some great countries in depth 👌 

[Arzeena]

11 hours ago, George C said:

If you want to make money betting you need to do is bet  against Lenny picks . Apparently knows as much about baseball as he does pizza , picked 1 winner of 4 in first round then picked Padres to win World Series 😁😁. Go Philly.

Whatever it is you guys have against him and his likes or dislikes, he knows a lot compared to most people here. And I for one respect him. Thats the way I grew up. Respect others.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Arzeena

[bobmacliberty]

18 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

@bobmacliberty I just got a response...

3 shots puneapple juice.

3 shots orange juice.

1 shot grenadine.

1 shot triple sec.

2 shots light rum

Meyers dark rum floater.

 

I can't remember if I usually mix in the floater when I have it or not.

 

Thanks OB.  I appreciate you taking the time to get this.  It's not far from where my experimenting has lead me.  I use Cointreau rather than triple sec, but they're close to the same thing.  And I'm using passion fruit juice rather than grenadine which means a slightly more tropical taste but less red coloring.  I'm still trying to decide if adding orgeat syrup and simple syrup are worth it.

[Sea Dog]

Hello Friends I’m back! Thank you to everyone who took the the time to read and comment on my Live Thread. I wasn’t able to check in here on my cruise. I left this tab open on my browser on my phone. Turns out I’m 58 pages behind. I hope I can get caught up but forgive me if I’ve missed anything.

[bobmacliberty]

4 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

I would skip the oj completely.

 

I'm headed in that direction.  I've dialed back the OJ in favor of pineapple.

[George C]

10 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Bader for the Yankees has 5 homeruns in the Post Season............he is making Judge look silly. 🤪

Bader was the only positive thing the Yankees had in this playoff.

[Arzeena]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

Hello Friends I’m back! Thank you to everyone who took the the time to read and comment on my Live Thread. I wasn’t able to check in here on my cruise. I left this tab open on my browser on my phone. Turns out I’m 58 pages behind. I hope I can get caught up but forgive me if I’ve missed anything.

I enjoyed the review and the pictures. Thank you for taking the time to do that. Hope your pain is getting better. The puppies must be happy to see you back. 
I still have to catch up on John’s Bermuda review and Bob’s I have bookmarked for a day of uninterrupted reading, which has not happened yet😬. In between I was following Ozark and skimming over Renee,s. Did I mention those excellent pics and reports from Italy? Have to add Crystal’s cruise review. Far behind in keeping up to date. And not to forget that pesky thing called job and house work. Phew I am tired just writing about it. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Arzeena

[Arzeena]

Lucky nanna, how is Jim doing? 

[Jimbo]

48 minutes ago, George C said:

Bader was the only positive thing the Yankees had in this playoff.

And he was a St. Louis product................both NY teams were a total failure.  Neither team had any heart. They both were a product of their managers. Hopefully both will be gone before the season starts next year.

[dani negreanu]

15 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I'd love to see all those places.

 

[ "places" that Helen & Marty were planning to see @FromSea2ShiningSea ]

 

I assume it's only a question of how many days off work you can take? No worries, those places are here and they'll wait for you when the time is right 🙂

 

14 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

I assume you're on the Cities of Antiquties / Holy Land cruise? Curious as to why you say "would have"...has there been a change in your itinerary? Curious cause we're doing that cruise in January. 

 

And I'm curious which cruise line visits the Holy Land in January? 😕

 

10 hours ago, brillohead said:

I don't know how anyone could be tired of seeing those great pics!!!

 

Same here, Helen & Marty, pls. keep them coming @FromSea2ShiningSea

[derorim]

On 10/21/2022 at 6:30 PM, ReneeFLL said:

 Someone was pissed we were in their territory. Bite marks from a Picasso trigger fish.

 

 

This photo wasn’t zoomed it. He attacked the camera and it’s a screen shot from it.

 

 

That is really scary.  I looked up pictures of a Picasso trigger fish, and he looks pretty cool from the side.  But not when coming after you with his teeth showing.  Yikes!

[derorim]

On 10/22/2022 at 3:13 AM, aussielozzie18 said:

There are always a few weird & wonderful sculptures. 

 

I can't stop staring at this one.  

[Jimbo]

Icon of the Seas

 

What category cabin are the aft cabins facing the wake on deck 14, Can they be booked with just 2 passengers. Can't seem to find any of those cabins available on any sailing , not sure what category I should be looking for. I believe maybe Royal is blocking all those cabins presently on all sailings?

[reallyitsmema]

5 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Icon of the Seas

 

What category cabin are the aft cabins facing the wake on deck 14, Can they be booked with just 2 passengers. Can't seem to find any of those cabins available on any sailing , not sure what category I should be looking for. I believe maybe Royal is blocking all those cabins presently on all sailings?

 

Based on the deckplans, they are D4.