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

[Momof3gurlz]

7 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

A Very Merry Sea Dog Christmas

 

Sorry I have not been keeping up it's been crazy at Sea Dog Christmas central.  I'm exhausted today but will do my best to keep celebrating. I celebrate the twelve days of Christmas up till January 7, the epiphany. Here is the recap. Sorry not a lot of pics were taken.

 

Christmas Eve

Linda, Jonathan and I went over to Linda's cousin's house a radiologist in swanky rich part of Kansas City where they have huge old world mansion complete with a giant stone fireplace and life size suit of armor and stain glass windows. I felt Like I could have been in a King Arthur movie. Approximately 25 people all from Linda's side of the family ate incredible BBQ from a very well know upscale BBQ joint called Q-39. The highlight was afterwards, when a scene out of Christmas Story occurred when their dog jumped up on the kitchen island and pulled down the container that had all the leftover brisket and ribs and preceded to eat every bit of it. So much for leftovers.

 

 

Back at home, I got out the reindeer dust to spread out on the lawn. Reindeer dust consists of Quaker Oats, and red and green glitter. We throw this out to feed Santa's reindeer while Santa is inside. We have been doing this since Jonathan was a little kid. He indulges me now as I remind him that someday after I am gone he will smile and laugh at our tradition.

 

 

After everyone had gone to bed, I did what I love to do every year and be Santa. I am different than most in that we don't put presents out under the tree until Christmas morning. There is something magical and wonderful about seeing a once barren tree now filled with colorful presents.

 

 

Quiet time with everyone all nestled snug in their beds. Time for Santa and a glass of Christmas warmth. Kirkland (Costco) brand of XO Cognac is actually pretty good and about 3 times cheaper. I sat quietly reflecting on this special holiday that  I love so much.

 

 

I love You Tube's Yule Log. This one had all the old tunes that I loved. I ended up listening to old classic Christmas songs till 2:30am and then I finally went to bed. But before I do, I do a ritual that I have been doing every year since I was a little kid.

 

 

I would go look out my window  (now I actually go outside) and find the brightest star I can find. Hopefully it's the Christmas Star (Shown here in illustration, not actual picture I took) and make a Christmas Wish and Prayer. I always start out with the classic poem.

 

"Star light, star bright,
The first star I see, tonight,
I wish I may,
I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight".

 

I then wish and pray for my family and blessings for Christmas Day and the future.

 

 

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Up at 7:30 wide awake we got the dogs up and went downstairs. Jonathan finally joined up and then it was a free for all with the pups opening presents.

 

 

 

We were eventually joined by Kylar (Jonathan's first cat) but he also brought his cat Drave over and a new addition a female rescue cat he adopted that he named Beans. She is really sweet and lovable but not a big fan of the dogs.

 

 

Kylar above

 

 

Drave

 

 

Newest addition Beans.

 

Santa was very good to us. Highlight was Linda's combo Birthday (Her's is Dec. 22nd) and a post 25th Anniversary present that you might remember me asking about finding a Stella McCartney Bag on Symphony of the Seas. I was hoping to find it on Liberty of the Seas during our Anniversary October 18th, but had to settle for getting it later and presenting it during Christmas.

 

 

I made out ok with my new Tommy Bahama shirt for the Bella Cruise.

 

 

Also a Sea Dog sweatshirt and the great book by Fred Minnick on the history of American Bourbon and Whiskey.

 

 

CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON

In the afternoon we went to Linda's other cousin's house which is conveniently located just a couple of blocks from us. It was a great feast of Italian Lasagna, Meatballs,  Prime Rib,  Caesar Salad and some incredible desserts. This however was the highlight. 

 

 

A incredible appetizer of prosciutto wrapped baked brie in pastry. This was the best appetizer I had ever eaten. I had to get the recipe and here it is. I highly recommend this.

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/prosciutto-wrapped-baked-brie/

 

It was a wonderful afternoon spent with family Jonathan even gifted one of his nieces with a ticket to the Kansas City Taylor Swift (OB"s neighbor) concert that Jonathan got several tickets to paying over $700 per ticket which is insane. His niece is a huge fan and I thought it was extremely generous of him to not only gift it but take her.

 

BACK HOME

Time to relax and settle in for some more Christmas movies. Between all the Hallmark movies, Lifetime, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, Disney, Hulu and others I watched over 50 movies during this holiday season. I know I am a freak but a freak in the most fun way. CHRISTMAS! I was left with Charlie staring at me while I ate fudge.

 

 

It was a great day. Now time to take it easy. My other knee is killing me and I can't hardly walk. Guess it's time to get another knee replacement. I am sorry if I missed anyone's posts. Thank you to anyone who took the time to read all this. You are all family to me and I love sharing my life with you.

Well I tried multiple times to quote this without the photos and CC kept freezing up on me. Anyway, thank you for sharing your Christmas with us Greg. It sounds like you all had a great holiday.
Regarding the appetizer you posted, I don’t know if you’re active on InstaGram but if so, you should follow Half Baked Harvest. My kids recently turned me on to her blog and IG and gave me one if her cookbooks for Christmas.  Her food photos and videos are beautiful. She also has some interesting cocktail recipes on her blog.  

[brillohead]

I finally got to see my son and his girlfriend today!  

After I got out of work this morning (I work nights as a nurse), we all met for breakfast, then went over to their apartment for more visiting, then I drove back to Illinois in the afternoon.  Now that he's officially done with the Army, I can get a hug more than twice a year on visits!   

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I'll be moving back to Michigan by March 1st.  The friend I had moved in with in Illinois decided he wants to put his house on the market and move somewhere warmer (and this was before the big arctic blast of this weekend!), so I'll start moving back in bits and pieces on the weekends I work.  Going to rent a room from the ex again (where I was before moving to IL) for the time being... cheapest rent I'm going to find (and includes all utilities), plus I get to see my dogs.  

Loved seeing/hearing about everyone's Christmas celebrations.  Thanks for sharing your holiday with us in Dani's thread!

[brillohead]

[Coralc]

5 minutes ago, brillohead said:

I finally got to see my son and his girlfriend today!  

After I got out of work this morning (I work nights as a nurse), we all met for breakfast, then went over to their apartment for more visiting, then I drove back to Illinois in the afternoon.  Now that he's officially done with the Army, I can get a hug more than twice a year on visits!   

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I'll be moving back to Michigan by March 1st.  The friend I had moved in with in Illinois decided he wants to put his house on the market and move somewhere warmer (and this was before the big arctic blast of this weekend!), so I'll start moving back in bits and pieces on the weekends I work.  Going to rent a room from the ex again (where I was before moving to IL) for the time being... cheapest rent I'm going to find (and includes all utilities), plus I get to see my dogs.  

Loved seeing/hearing about everyone's Christmas celebrations.  Thanks for sharing your holiday with us in Dani's thread!

Congratulations! I think everyone moves houses faster than we do. ☺️ I have been here for 53 years, and there is just so much stuff! 

[BonTexasNY]

2 hours ago, George C said:

We watch 1938 version of the Christmas Carol, Christmas vacation ( my favorite) and this morning watched “ it’s a wonderful life “ need to see “ miracle on 34th street “ , had Christmas with a good friend who just retired after being a chef for 40 years so food was fantastic, plus some great conversations with good friends. 

I too love National Lampoon Christmas Vacation.  Cousin Eddy:  "the *****er's full.  

"It's a Wonderful Life" is truly.....Wonderful.

 

As one who doesn't celebrate Christmas, I totally, thoroughly enjoyed everyone's Christmas stories and amazing pictures.  Every time I see beautiful pictures on this thread that I think cannot be topped, a new set of awesome pictures pop up.  Thank you for including all of us in your holiday celebrations. I'm sorry it's over for this year.  And thank YOU Dani for creating this exceptional place where we can comfortably hang out and share our lives with each other.

 

 

[Sunshine3601]

9 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

A Very Merry Sea Dog Christmas

 

Sorry I have not been keeping up it's been crazy at Sea Dog Christmas central.  I'm exhausted today but will do my best to keep celebrating. I celebrate the twelve days of Christmas up till January 7, the epiphany. Here is the recap. Sorry not a lot of pics were taken.

 

Christmas Eve

Linda, Jonathan and I went over to Linda's cousin's house a radiologist in swanky rich part of Kansas City where they have huge old world mansion complete with a giant stone fireplace and life size suit of armor and stain glass windows. I felt Like I could have been in a King Arthur movie. Approximately 25 people all from Linda's side of the family ate incredible BBQ from a very well know upscale BBQ joint called Q-39. The highlight was afterwards, when a scene out of Christmas Story occurred when their dog jumped up on the kitchen island and pulled down the container that had all the leftover brisket and ribs and preceded to eat every bit of it. So much for leftovers.

 

 

Back at home, I got out the reindeer dust to spread out on the lawn. Reindeer dust consists of Quaker Oats, and red and green glitter. We throw this out to feed Santa's reindeer while Santa is inside. We have been doing this since Jonathan was a little kid. He indulges me now as I remind him that someday after I am gone he will smile and laugh at our tradition.

 

 

After everyone had gone to bed, I did what I love to do every year and be Santa. I am different than most in that we don't put presents out under the tree until Christmas morning. There is something magical and wonderful about seeing a once barren tree now filled with colorful presents.

 

 

Quiet time with everyone all nestled snug in their beds. Time for Santa and a glass of Christmas warmth. Kirkland (Costco) brand of XO Cognac is actually pretty good and about 3 times cheaper. I sat quietly reflecting on this special holiday that  I love so much.

 

 

I love You Tube's Yule Log. This one had all the old tunes that I loved. I ended up listening to old classic Christmas songs till 2:30am and then I finally went to bed. But before I do, I do a ritual that I have been doing every year since I was a little kid.

 

 

I would go look out my window  (now I actually go outside) and find the brightest star I can find. Hopefully it's the Christmas Star (Shown here in illustration, not actual picture I took) and make a Christmas Wish and Prayer. I always start out with the classic poem.

 

"Star light, star bright,
The first star I see, tonight,
I wish I may,
I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight".

 

I then wish and pray for my family and blessings for Christmas Day and the future.

 

 

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Up at 7:30 wide awake we got the dogs up and went downstairs. Jonathan finally joined up and then it was a free for all with the pups opening presents.

 

 

 

We were eventually joined by Kylar (Jonathan's first cat) but he also brought his cat Drave over and a new addition a female rescue cat he adopted that he named Beans. She is really sweet and lovable but not a big fan of the dogs.

 

 

Kylar above

 

 

Drave

 

 

Newest addition Beans.

 

Santa was very good to us. Highlight was Linda's combo Birthday (Her's is Dec. 22nd) and a post 25th Anniversary present that you might remember me asking about finding a Stella McCartney Bag on Symphony of the Seas. I was hoping to find it on Liberty of the Seas during our Anniversary October 18th, but had to settle for getting it later and presenting it during Christmas.

 

 

I made out ok with my new Tommy Bahama shirt for the Bella Cruise.

 

 

Also a Sea Dog sweatshirt and the great book by Fred Minnick on the history of American Bourbon and Whiskey.

 

 

CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON

In the afternoon we went to Linda's other cousin's house which is conveniently located just a couple of blocks from us. It was a great feast of Italian Lasagna, Meatballs,  Prime Rib,  Caesar Salad and some incredible desserts. This however was the highlight. 

 

 

A incredible appetizer of prosciutto wrapped baked brie in pastry. This was the best appetizer I had ever eaten. I had to get the recipe and here it is. I highly recommend this.

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/prosciutto-wrapped-baked-brie/

 

It was a wonderful afternoon spent with family Jonathan even gifted one of his nieces with a ticket to the Kansas City Taylor Swift (OB"s neighbor) concert that Jonathan got several tickets to paying over $700 per ticket which is insane. His niece is a huge fan and I thought it was extremely generous of him to not only gift it but take her.

 

BACK HOME

Time to relax and settle in for some more Christmas movies. Between all the Hallmark movies, Lifetime, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, Disney, Hulu and others I watched over 50 movies during this holiday season. I know I am a freak but a freak in the most fun way. CHRISTMAS! I was left with Charlie staring at me while I ate fudge.

 

 

It was a great day. Now time to take it easy. My other knee is killing me and I can't hardly walk. Guess it's time to get another knee replacement. I am sorry if I missed anyone's posts. Thank you to anyone who took the time to read all this. You are all family to me and I love sharing my life with you.

Thank you for sharing your Wonderful Christmas.  ❤  Everything looks beautiful.

Thank you for the link to the brie recipe.   Looks amazing.  I may try to make this coming weekend.

 

[TravelGirlinDallas]

9 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Thank you to anyone who took the time to read all this. You are all family to me and I love sharing my life with you.

Thanks for sharing!! ❤️

[TravelGirlinDallas]

My loves

White elephant gift 

 

Faucet “cover” spotted at the Airbnb owned by Brian’s twin, where we spent Christmas. 😂

 

One of these is faking…

 

[Ozark_Kid]

Across from Sharon's mom's house was a  neat display.

Edited December 27, 2022 by Ozark_Kid

[aussielozzie18]

4 hours ago, h20skibum said:

We had rain most of the day, with temperatures in the low 60’s.  So we stocked up on a few groceries and spent some time in the hot tub at the house.  
 

I guess it isn’t cold enough for these to fall out of the trees. I looked over, and it was sitting on the ledge of the hot tub with me. 
 

 

When I moved closer, it jumped into the pool, and finally managed to climb out. 
 

 

 

 

My dad would love this.  He got  very excited last week when a small gecko made an appearance on the outside of his house and the rare appearance of a blue tongue lizard in his garden, just makes his day.

[aussielozzie18]

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

I finally got to see my son and his girlfriend today!  

After I got out of work this morning (I work nights as a nurse), we all met for breakfast, then went over to their apartment for more visiting, then I drove back to Illinois in the afternoon.  Now that he's officially done with the Army, I can get a hug more than twice a year on visits!   

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I'll be moving back to Michigan by March 1st.  The friend I had moved in with in Illinois decided he wants to put his house on the market and move somewhere warmer (and this was before the big arctic blast of this weekend!), so I'll start moving back in bits and pieces on the weekends I work.  Going to rent a room from the ex again (where I was before moving to IL) for the time being... cheapest rent I'm going to find (and includes all utilities), plus I get to see my dogs.  

Loved seeing/hearing about everyone's Christmas celebrations.  Thanks for sharing your holiday with us in Dani's thread!

That’s a Christmas gift in itself seeing your son on a more regular basis.  Good luck with the move.

[aussielozzie18]

4 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

A few day late but here’s a few random Christmas pictures.

 

Snoopy display in a neighborhood near us

 

A nativity scene decoration at a house in a nearby neighborhood

 

Had our family Christmas dinner at my niece’s house on Christmas Eve

 

 

 

 

Cheese-stuffed pizza dough Christmas tree

 

A Starbucks ornaments Christmas tree.  Starbucks ornaments collected from all over the world.

 

Cody making sure no scraps are left behind 

That table setting is gorgeous, love the tree and the food looks superb.

[BonTexasNY]

I have 2 questions for @TravelGirlinDallasBethany, or anyone else who was on Adventure not long ago:

Did you reserve entertainment (ice, aqua shows, etc.) before boarding on your app, when you board or no need?  Pre pandemic no reservations were needed for that class of ship but not sure if things have changed.  

 

Also how far in advance were you able to print out luggage tags?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

[Coralc]

No aqua show on Adventure. On Navigator, no reservations were needed for the ice show. No show reservations at all. Luggage tags should be available at around 30 days. ☺️

[grapau27]

7 hours ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

My loves

White elephant gift 

 

Faucet “cover” spotted at the Airbnb owned by Brian’s twin, where we spent Christmas. 😂

 

One of these is faking…

 

Wonderful family photos Bethany.

[Arzeena]

Hope everyone had a great Christmas.

I enjoyed seeing everyone's pictures and reading about what they did. Christmas is very very simple for us. We try to keep perspective and not turn it into an opulent Hallmark Holiday.🤣

Brillo, I am very happy you got to meet your son.

[Ocean Boy]

8 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

I have 2 questions for @TravelGirlinDallasBethany, or anyone else who was on Adventure not long ago:

Did you reserve entertainment (ice, aqua shows, etc.) before boarding on your app, when you board or no need?  Pre pandemic no reservations were needed for that class of ship but not sure if things have changed.  

 

Also how far in advance were you able to print out luggage tags?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

No reservations for shows on Adventure. If you have sailed on an O class ship don't get overly excited about the shows on this ship.

[grapau27]

[Lionesss]

 

 

 

 

 

So with all the football games on TV, Brandon decided to explain referees signals to his daughter Zoey   

 

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by Lionesss

[George C]

10 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

I have 2 questions for @TravelGirlinDallasBethany, or anyone else who was on Adventure not long ago:

Did you reserve entertainment (ice, aqua shows, etc.) before boarding on your app, when you board or no need?  Pre pandemic no reservations were needed for that class of ship but not sure if things have changed.  

 

Also how far in advance were you able to print out luggage tags?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Only thing that ever needs reservations is ice show which will be repeated several times . 

[Sea Dog]

14 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Well I tried multiple times to quote this without the photos and CC kept freezing up on me. Anyway, thank you for sharing your Christmas with us Greg. It sounds like you all had a great holiday.
Regarding the appetizer you posted, I don’t know if you’re active on InstaGram but if so, you should follow Half Baked Harvest. My kids recently turned me on to her blog and IG and gave me one if her cookbooks for Christmas.  Her food photos and videos are beautiful. She also has some interesting cocktail recipes on her blog.  

Yes the relative that gave me this recipe and made it is a big fan of hers. I’m now going to follow her. Looks like she has some great stuff.

[Arzeena]

@Jimbo

I had forgotten about this detailed rundown:

 

https://anthemoftheseas.blogspot.com/
 

@HBE4 this is your Cliff Notes for the Anthem Quiz 🤣😉

[dani negreanu]

16 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

A few day late but here’s a few random Christmas pictures.

 

15 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Wish I hade a dining room that could host that many.

 

That is a gorgeous Prime Rib and Christmas Tree shaped Cheese Pizza Dough looks amazing.

 

11 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

That table setting is gorgeous, love the tree and the food looks superb.

 

+ 3 @FromSea2ShiningSea Helen, 2 feedbacks from our home -- 1) I too like the dining set   2) DH likes the perfect cooked Prime Rib 

 

 

 

4 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Wonderful family photos Bethany.

 

+ 2, Bethany. @TravelGirlinDallas

 

Besides the physical resemblance with Andrew, even your smiles are the same 😘

 

11 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

That’s a Christmas gift in itself seeing your son on a more regular basis.  Good luck with the move.

 

2 hours ago, Arzeena said:

Brillo, I am very happy you got to meet your son.

 

+ 3 @brillohead

[h20skibum]

It is 61°, and going up to 69° today.  My daughter and her family just landed, so I will pick them up as soon as they get off the plane. 
 

Nice that we will now have our kids and grandkids together for the week.  

Edited December 27, 2022 by h20skibum

[TravelGirlinDallas]

11 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

I have 2 questions for @TravelGirlinDallasBethany, or anyone else who was on Adventure not long ago:

Did you reserve entertainment (ice, aqua shows, etc.) before boarding on your app, when you board or no need?  Pre pandemic no reservations were needed for that class of ship but not sure if things have changed.  

 

Also how far in advance were you able to print out luggage tags?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

The only thing we had to sign up for in advance was the ice skating sessions for passengers. None of the shows. 
 

I think I printed tags about a week in advance, but they were probably available sooner.

 

Hope you had a fantastic time! It was one of my favorite cruises even if not the most “exciting”. I went in with low expectations since the ship was a little older, and then was very pleasantly surprised.