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

[#55worktoplay]

On 5/13/2024 at 10:26 AM, George C said:

Lots of rabbits and bunnies in our area , couple live in my backyard, my sister has a more interesting animals she saw a mother mountain lion and two cubs playing together, she has a perfect view of the mountains in the Denver area.

Beautiful spot you have George. 

[Ozark_Kid]

59 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

What size grow bags are you using for your peppers and tomatoes?

7 gallon.  I used to grow them all in grow bags. 

Advantages. 

The plants air prune so there is no root bound concerns.

 You can move the bags to where the best sun hits.

   The best is if you start them to early and a frost is coming, take them to the garage for overnight. 

I changed to a fenced-in garden after a bad experience.   One time the tomatoes were looking great.  I thought I would give them a couple more days to turn vine ripen red...... The deer ate them!

[Coralc]

Now I'm getting duplicate pages on my desktop. 😊 I do love the mini cars though. I am driving my first SUV, after getting rid of my Celica. And I dislike not being able to see very well over the hood. 

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

This wraps up our one month long (3/24-4/24/2024) trip to Japan.  

 

In summary, this was one of the most memorable experiences we’ve ever had.  Japan is beautiful.  The first thing I noticed was how clean the streets were.  There was no trash anywhere.  There were no trash cans anywhere either.  We figured out that whatever trash we have, you take it home with you.  Also there were no homeless.

 

The first half of the trip (11 days out of 15) were all planned out by DH, covered all the places that we comfortably did on our own (Osaka, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Okayama, Himeji Castle, Kyoto, Tokyo- Shinjuku, Shibuya Sky and Yokohama). Then the next 4 pre-cruise days were private tours with a group from the cruise, that tour guides took us to Mount Fuji as well as castles, shrines and temples.  All the while, enjoying all the cherry blossoms as much as we could.

 

The tours that we took at each port were private tours with the same group of folks from the cruise and the same tour guide.  I am thankful that the tours took us to see the beautiful castles, gardens, waterfalls, many shrines and temples.  And even though we have had enough of shrines and temples, they were all different in their own ways with their own history behind each one.  Through the tour guides and a lecturer on Millennium, we learned a lot about Japan’s history, traditions, customs and culture.

 

Japan was a bit crowded in some of the popular tourist sites.  Japan had been closed for 3 years because of the pandemic and only opened up less than a year when we were there in March/April.  So I guess, people could not wait to visit, especially during cherry blossom month.  They were making up for lost time.  We were so excited to see Mount Fuji in clear, beautiful weather In the beginning of the cruise and all the cherry trees everywhere we went.  The most spectacular was in Aomori, the last port on the cruise.  They bloomed later so the cruise timed it just right with the trees in full bloom.  It was definitely a grand finale - an explosion of cherry blossoms everywhere.  Or cherry trees on steroid.

 

The ship- Millennium is one of the older ships and the size of Radiance class ships.  It was clean and in great condition.  It looks almost new after its recent refurbishment.  Even though it is small, it seems very spacious with lots of sitting areas.  The crew was very polite and friendly.   Even senior officers such as Andrea, the Hotel Director was the most active crew I have ever seen.  She was everywhere, to greet guests- at the gangway, in the theater, sky lounge, or just all around the ship.  Because this cruise was so port intensive, we didn’t really get to spend much time on the ship or participate in many activities.

 

The food- Oceanview Cafe had all the different stations with a lot of options for everyone.  Food was very good.  The Main Dining Room food was very good also.  We did not make it in there every night as some days the tours did not get back till late or we were not hungry because of a late lunch.  Service was excellent though.

 

All in all, this was a great unforgettable once in a life time trip for us.  We really enjoyed the experience of being in Japan to share in their sights, food and culture but after 4 weeks, we were happy to head home.

 

I’d like to thank @dani negreanu for this thread, for allowing me to post long strings of photos here.  I hope you all enjoyed Japan as much as possible through the photos that I shared.  I also hope that it inspired you to maybe visit there some day.  It is truly beautiful.

 

Next up- Norway

[grapau27]

6 hours ago, Luckynana said:

 

After seeing the cute cars in Japan @FromSea2ShiningSea Helen posted, it reminded me of an adorable Yellow car I saw in the parking lot when I got out of Church this past weekend.  I had never heard of this car before, nor had Jim.  I do wish I had taken a picture of it.  It was a 1959 Riley made, I believe, in England.  Can you help me out on this, Graham @grapau27, or Sue @sgmn??  I'd also ask our other friend Graham, (Schooner), but he's no longer on here with us.😔

Hi Maryann.

There are still Austin Riley 1.5L 1959 classic cars available.

The Riley name came from Riley Kestrel.

Riley stopped production in 1969 and the trademark is owned now  by BMW.

Edited May 15 by grapau27

[sgmn]

On 5/12/2024 at 7:56 PM, MJSailors said:

 

Just sharing some cruise news too !

DH and I have been wanting to take a cruise from NYC to Quebec this Fall. I searched most of the usual cruise lines including RCL and found that most are going out of Boston which required round trip airfare to Boston and an overnight hotel stay. Then, I found that Cunard has a round trip NYC to Quebec with an overnight in Quebec!

We booked the cruise on the QM2 early this AM.

So looking forward to this!

We did a transatlantic on the QE2 in 2001. We are familiar with the Cunard way of cruising, although they have made changes in the cruise style since 23 (!) years ago.

The ship stops in Portland ME, so we can visit our niece   who lives there.

Now I need to look at my "fancy" dresses and see if my DH would like to wear a dinner jacket at least for one of the gala nights.

The cruise is set for September. 

🤞that we stay well and in somewhat good shape until then.😊

MJ 🙋🏻‍♀️

 

On 5/12/2024 at 8:13 PM, MJSailors said:

Graham-Question for you-have you and Pauline cruised with Cunard out of Southampton?

If so recently could you give us some tips to enjoy the cruise?

Thank you!

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Not Graham, but our first cruise was QM.  They had great guest speakers and a planetarium. If you like dancing, they have dancing hosts if only one of you dances. 

Loved the big waves , it was a transatlantic. 

Our teenage boys came too and we bought DS1 and hubby evening clothes (tux) from charity shops. DS1 looked like a young James Bond , hubby more like the Godfather.😁

I bought some of my long dresses second hand on e-bay.

We had a great time and I keep meaning to book again.  

Lots of good info on the CC pages for Cunard 

Edited May 15 by sgmn

[sgmn]

On 5/12/2024 at 10:32 PM, Lionesss said:

The meaning of Mother’s Day to me. 

Being a career woman I got married when I was 35. So time was a priority in starting a family. 
 

However;

My first pregnancy ended in a disaster when I started let’s just say losing massive quantities of blood.  They were unable to save the baby. Being of the medical profession and also being stupid at times. I refused blood transfusions because I did not want any antibodies interfering with a future pregnancy. So I was discharged on iron 4 x a day and not permitted to drive till my Hgb was above 10 ( um it was 6.5). 
This emergency happened on Mother’s Day 1992.  

 

We were given the go ahead late summer to start our family. 
Then in September I was pregnant. And had a miscarriage on Sweetest day in October. 
 

I hated holidays. And Mothers Day was very emotional for me. We gave up trying. It wasn’t to be. 
 

But on St Patrick’s day 1994. The spouse was sick as a dog. And I suggested we give it one last attempt to work on the job of getting pregnant. Not just a time for us to bond. ( I was looking at cycles on my calendar. I thought I could be ovulating). 
He goes. “ I can’t breathe… and you want to………”

I go if we get pregnant we will call the child Ampicillin. 
 

I found out I was pregnant on Good Friday and went into labor on Christmas Eve. 
Meet our ampicillin ( Christina). Soon to be 30. 
 

Now. Life happens for a reason. 
Had I had those first two children chances are we would have never known Christina. 
 

Meet Ampicillin (Christina)

 

 

 

 

 

I am blessed. 
 

I LOVE MOTHERS DAY. 

 

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY -

To all who have any role in raising children. 
 

💕

 

Sad story but with a happy ending and your Christina is very beautiful.

 

[sgmn]

On 5/13/2024 at 4:29 AM, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Day 11- 4/19/2024- Aomori, Japan- Cherry Blossom paradise

 

Hirosaki Park- A home for 2,000 cherry blossom trees.  We get to witness these trees in full bloom.  It’s like an explosion of cherry blossoms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hirosaki Castle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Showa Big Buddha Seiryu-ji Temple

 

 

 

 

Your Japanese adventure looks fantastic and i live that you got to see and do so much. . Hubby desperately wants to visit Japan but I am daunted by all the planning and all the unknowns. Its such a different culture.  I'm usually the planner in the family but I just don't know where to start.  Maybe a guided tour would be the way to go ?

[sgmn]

On 5/13/2024 at 10:27 AM, Ocean Boy said:

For you Samsung users... I noticed this morning that I have a UI operating system update available from 6.0 to 6.1. I'm about to do the update. I hope it doesn't screw up my phone.

Hope it went well,  I also have Samsung 

[sgmn]

8 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Last but not least, I have to share with you these cute little cars.  I love them and wish they make these cars here in US because I would get one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for all your posts about your Japanese trip,  I've found it really interesting and great pictures 📸 

[sgmn]

5 hours ago, jmh2006 said:

Thank you for the birthday wishes!  I wish I could say it was the best day ever, but I actually spent all morning at the hospital with my DH, Dave, who had a second kidney stone episode yesterday.  So most of yesterday was in the ER, he spent the night at the hospital and this morning had another stent put in.  The first round came last December.  This stone is bigger and since we are scheduled to depart for Italy and our cruise on Explorer a week from today he is having lithotripsy performed on Monday the 20th.  Not exactly the best birthday but that is okay as long as we make our trip.  Anyway he is comfortable now and we did go to a Sushi restaurant in Detroit tonight for dinner so it wasn't all bad! 😁

So sorry to hear. I hope he makes a good recovery and you make your trip and cruise 

[sgmn]

8 hours ago, Luckynana said:

 

After seeing the cute cars in Japan @FromSea2ShiningSea Helen posted, it reminded me of an adorable Yellow car I saw in the parking lot when I got out of Church this past weekend.  I had never heard of this car before, nor had Jim.  I do wish I had taken a picture of it.  It was a 1959 Riley made, I believe, in England.  Can you help me out on this, Graham @grapau27, or Sue @sgmn??  I'd also ask our other friend Graham, (Schooner), but he's no longer on here with us.😔

I'm going to a classic car show next weekend, I'll look out for one 

[Momof3gurlz]

@FromSea2ShiningSea Helen & Marty, thanks for sharing your trip to Japan and all the gorgeous pictures.  Can’t wait to travel (virtually) to Norway with you!

[Sunshine3601]

8 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

7 gallon.  I used to grow them all in grow bags. 

Advantages. 

The plants air prune so there is no root bound concerns.

 You can move the bags to where the best sun hits.

   The best is if you start them to early and a frost is coming, take them to the garage for overnight. 

I changed to a fenced-in garden after a bad experience.   One time the tomatoes were looking great.  I thought I would give them a couple more days to turn vine ripen red...... The deer ate them!

We have new neighbors that moved here from Philadelphia.   Her and their Daughter are excited to try gardening but have been busy with some home renovations.

 

She never had much of a yard and is learning how to manage their pond, waterfall, koi and all the other yardwork. 

 

I'm sure we will end with some extra plants so I was thinking I would put our extra plants in grow bags for her.

 

Thank you😊...I will buy some 7 gal bags

[Ocean Boy]

4 hours ago, sgmn said:

Hope it went well,  I also have Samsung 

It did go OK. I'm not a fan of the new swipe gestures for the navigation bar. If you use the buttons instead of swipe then there is no change.

[Jimbo]

10 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

7 gallon.  I used to grow them all in grow bags. 

Advantages. 

The plants air prune so there is no root bound concerns.

 You can move the bags to where the best sun hits.

   The best is if you start them to early and a frost is coming, take them to the garage for overnight. 

I changed to a fenced-in garden after a bad experience.   One time the tomatoes were looking great.  I thought I would give them a couple more days to turn vine ripen red...... The deer ate them!

Never had tried anything in grow bags before, isn't a 7 gallon grow bag filled with soil pretty heavy to move around in to and out of the garage and moving around in sun spots? Maybe I'm over thinking how heavy 7 gallons of dirt is?

 

Does water drain through them?

Edited May 15 by Jimbo

[akcruz]

8 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

This wraps up our one month long (3/24-4/24/2024) trip to Japan.  

 

In summary, this was one of the most memorable experiences we’ve ever had.  Japan is beautiful.  The first thing I noticed was how clean the streets were.  There was no trash anywhere.  There were no trash cans anywhere either.  We figured out that whatever trash we have, you take it home with you.  Also there were no homeless.

 

The first half of the trip (11 days out of 15) were all planned out by DH, covered all the places that we comfortably did on our own (Osaka, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Okayama, Himeji Castle, Kyoto, Tokyo- Shinjuku, Shibuya Sky and Yokohama). Then the next 4 pre-cruise days were private tours with a group from the cruise, that tour guides took us to Mount Fuji as well as castles, shrines and temples.  All the while, enjoying all the cherry blossoms as much as we could.

 

The tours that we took at each port were private tours with the same group of folks from the cruise and the same tour guide.  I am thankful that the tours took us to see the beautiful castles, gardens, waterfalls, many shrines and temples.  And even though we have had enough of shrines and temples, they were all different in their own ways with their own history behind each one.  Through the tour guides and a lecturer on Millennium, we learned a lot about Japan’s history, traditions, customs and culture.

 

Japan was a bit crowded in some of the popular tourist sites.  Japan had been closed for 3 years because of the pandemic and only opened up less than a year when we were there in March/April.  So I guess, people could not wait to visit, especially during cherry blossom month.  They were making up for lost time.  We were so excited to see Mount Fuji in clear, beautiful weather In the beginning of the cruise and all the cherry trees everywhere we went.  The most spectacular was in Aomori, the last port on the cruise.  They bloomed later so the cruise timed it just right with the trees in full bloom.  It was definitely a grand finale - an explosion of cherry blossoms everywhere.  Or cherry trees on steroid.

 

The ship- Millennium is one of the older ships and the size of Radiance class ships.  It was clean and in great condition.  It looks almost new after its recent refurbishment.  Even though it is small, it seems very spacious with lots of sitting areas.  The crew was very polite and friendly.   Even senior officers such as Andrea, the Hotel Director was the most active crew I have ever seen.  She was everywhere, to greet guests- at the gangway, in the theater, sky lounge, or just all around the ship.  Because this cruise was so port intensive, we didn’t really get to spend much time on the ship or participate in many activities.

 

The food- Oceanview Cafe had all the different stations with a lot of options for everyone.  Food was very good.  The Main Dining Room food was very good also.  We did not make it in there every night as some days the tours did not get back till late or we were not hungry because of a late lunch.  Service was excellent though.

 

All in all, this was a great unforgettable once in a life time trip for us.  We really enjoyed the experience of being in Japan to share in their sights, food and culture but after 4 weeks, we were happy to head home.

 

I’d like to thank @dani negreanu for this thread, for allowing me to post long strings of photos here.  I hope you all enjoyed Japan as much as possible through the photos that I shared.  I also hope that it inspired you to maybe visit there some day.  It is truly beautiful.

 

Next up- Norway

 

What a wonderful trip, thanks for sharing it with us, your pictures are beautiful.  Looking forward to Norway.

[Momof3gurlz]

11 hours ago, jmh2006 said:

Thank you for the birthday wishes!  I wish I could say it was the best day ever, but I actually spent all morning at the hospital with my DH, Dave, who had a second kidney stone episode yesterday.  So most of yesterday was in the ER, he spent the night at the hospital and this morning had another stent put in.  The first round came last December.  This stone is bigger and since we are scheduled to depart for Italy and our cruise on Explorer a week from today he is having lithotripsy performed on Monday the 20th.  Not exactly the best birthday but that is okay as long as we make our trip.  Anyway he is comfortable now and we did go to a Sushi restaurant in Detroit tonight for dinner so it wasn't all bad! 😁

Poor Dave, glad he’s comfortable now.  I’m happy you were able to go out for a sushi celebration!

[Sea Dog]

9 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

The first thing I noticed was how clean the streets were.  There was no trash anywhere.  There were no trash cans anywhere either

When I was in Tokyo for a week that’s what I noticed too. Spotless everywhere. The other thing I was impressed with were the subways. The areas and subway cars were so clean. Even more so with all the people when a subway car came into a stop and the doors opened everyone was  orderly in exiting and entering. Everyone was so respectful of each other. Americans could learn a thing or two by visiting this wonderful country with its people and culture.

[grapau27]

3 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

It did go OK. I'm not a fan of the new swipe gestures for the navigation bar. If you use the buttons instead of swipe then there is no change.

Good afternoon.

I was working today and Pauline came with me.

We then went to Wynyard Hall gardens for lunch then popped along to the beach.

Lighthouse picture for you 

@Ocean Boy

[broadwaybaby123]

Well....this is awesome, sick again for the second time in 2 months just after recovering from the flu and planning my next cruise....good times!

[lenquixote66]

23 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Thank you Lenny.

I'm delighted for you and your family.

 

Pauline is a very lucky woman to have you in her life.

[dani negreanu]

@MJSailors

 

So very sorry.

 

SDIS is every parent's nightmare and I'm sad you've gone through this 😢

 

 

5 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

@FromSea2ShiningSea Helen & Marty, thanks for sharing your trip to Japan and all the gorgeous pictures.  Can’t wait to travel (virtually) to Norway with you!

 

+ 1 Helen & Marty @FromSea2ShiningSea

 

1 hour ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

Well....this is awesome, sick again for the second time in 2 months just after recovering from the flu and planning my next cruise....good times!

 

- 1 Same here.... Nasty cold again. @broadwaybaby123

 

14 hours ago, akcruz said:

Sorry to hear about Dave's hospital visit.  Hopefully all will be well next week, and your trip will all be wonderful.   Happy Birthday, have a redo next week to celebrate 🥂🎉🎂

 

+ 1 Jennifer, @jmh2006

 

We have almost the same itinerary on Voyager next September, I'll appreciate any tips you can give me re: Kotor and Split.

 

[lenquixote66]

21 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

@FromSea2ShiningSea

 

Helen, fabulous pictures, as always.  The one with the Statue of Liberty reminded me of the original Planet of the Apes movie with Charlton Heston.  What a shock that scene was!

May your mother's memory always be a blessing to you.

My mother's yarhzeit (anniversary of a loved one's death, for those not in the know) was a few weeks ago.

@jmh2006 Jennifer from me too.  May all your birthday wishes come true!

Thank you ,Bonnie.I should have explained the meaning of yahrzeit.

[lenquixote66]

20 hours ago, grapau27 said:

For your mam on her 45th yahrseit Lenny.

Thank you so very much,Graham