Kmom on Carnival Radiance Semi-Live May 30-June 3, 2022 - FOURTH time on Carnival since resumption of cruising

[KmomChicago]

Traffic sitch doesn’t look terrible and I expect it to clear out over the next hour as all the locals hightail it outta here. The accidents are coming towards us, not going in our direction. 

 

Prechecked for our room and it’s ready, hours early (check in time is 3pm). This just means it was vacant last night. We got a specialty (expensive) room on points plus cash for about half price.

[KmomChicago]

I have to give the Sunshining treatment my stamp of approval. The ship looks great. 
 

If I were in charge I would 200% be planning this for Spirit class. 
 

It’s 9:27 and Gsbe is kicking us off but we wanna be last this time.

[karmamule]

4 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

Cap’n or maybe the Pilot just shut down the main thrusters. That sinking feeling when you feel the vibration stop and realize another voyage has come to its end.

 

Just reading that put me in a bit of a funk because I know that feeling so well.   As best we can we focus on seeing our cats again, settling in for a final day of rest at home then back to work. And, of course, let obsessing on our NEXT cruise begin.

[KmomChicago]

16 minutes ago, karmamule said:

 

Just reading that put me in a bit of a funk because I know that feeling so well.   As best we can we focus on seeing our cats again, settling in for a final day of rest at home then back to work. And, of course, let obsessing on our NEXT cruise begin.

Well in our case we still have a few days of vacation in LA. We are in our hotel now and about to go exploring.

[karmamule]

7 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

Well in our case we still have a few days of vacation in LA. We are in our hotel now and about to go exploring.

 

Yes that's a great way to ease the pain! We always make sure to leave at least one buffer vacation day after returning home before going back to work. I'd hate to return home on a Sunday and be at work Monday, so in those cases Monday gets added on to vacation time and that decompress day makes a huge difference.

[KmomChicago]

45 minutes ago, karmamule said:

 

Yes that's a great way to ease the pain! We always make sure to leave at least one buffer vacation day after returning home before going back to work. I'd hate to return home on a Sunday and be at work Monday, so in those cases Monday gets added on to vacation time and that decompress day makes a huge difference.

Yeah not so much on that. We get home late Tuesday and I’m working on-site Wednesday.

[Hogladyrider]

@KmomChicago.....how did your teen's friend enjoy his first cruise?

[KmomChicago]

41 minutes ago, Hogladyrider said:

@KmomChicago.....how did your teen's friend enjoy his first cruise?

Very much! We have hooked another convert!

[KmomChicago]

We found a Ralph’s grocery and getting late lunch together now.

[Hogladyrider]

6 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

Very much! We have hooked another convert!

Awesome...way to go....job well done!

[KmomChicago]

Hello again. We've been off the Radiance for 9 whole days and it's been busy but I have a buncha pics and stuff I didn't get to while on the ship so I will try to get things wrapped up. 

 

Once again, the mediocre Premium internet makes it difficult to do a live review, and that irks me no end, to be frank.  I'm seeing various other live reviewers with more or less of the same issues. 

 

After getting off we were in Los Angeles for four more nights. Details are coming for ya. I picked up a nasty little cold during that time and used one of my Binax tests that I had brought along as a backup for the ship that we didn't need. This is the proctored test, but I took it without the proctoring just for myself and I was negative. 

 

We flew home to Chicago Tuesday the 7th and I was so happy to see various kitties, Bailey and Shiloh at our house, and Annie at the rescue one last time to say goodbye (she went to the vet and her reward Thursday morning), and Fighter cat whose skin is not great but he is still eating well and is not ready to give up his fight quite yet. 

 

Annie was an old, soft, dilute calico who had been in kidney failure for several months and was getting IV fluids regularly to manage her health as best possible and keep her functioning and comfortable. We knew this would only prolong her life for limited time. In the past several weeks her appetite kept decreasing and she was getting rather thin and bony as the rescue director monitored her closely.  Wednesday night I held her and petted her on my lap for a long time; she was not eating much at all that day until she nibbled a few bites of kitten kibble and it seemed to make her feel worse. She crawled to a sleep pad under a cage where we couldn't get to her and she looked uncomfortable and obviously didn't want to be held anymore. 

 

I said goodbye and this time it was not me who took her for her injections the next day and thus I was spared a lot of blubbering and grief that I felt with our last two elderly departures as I was right there with them.

 

This weekend I spent a ton of time at the rescue doing a lot of deep cleaning which I had fallen behind on, partly due to so much travel the last 3 months. I miss Annie but I felt like she was almost asking us to help her rest that last night.

[KmomChicago]

On 5/27/2022 at 3:51 PM, cruisin*tigger said:

Yes, lots of seahorses.😊  That last one is the table I wanted to steal lol.  Wonder how much of it they kept for the new decor.

 

And sorry to hear about the hubby.  Hope it doesn't ruin the trip too much.  

While all but the door seahorses were gone, that turquoise with gold overlay effect was retained in a few places and I actually thought it looked new and attractive as a bold accent. 
 

I didn’t get many pics of it but here’s one. I already posted it for the “art.” Could be the same stair landing as your pic.

 

[KmomChicago]

I mentioned in the review that we skipped dinner the first night and went to sleep really early. We had breakfast in the MDR next morning. Nummy.

I love the decor in the dining room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KmomChicago]

Random pics around the ship after breakfast. I didn’t post all this in real time due to mediocre internet.

 

I didn’t realize it yet but those bathroom doors were speaking to me and everyone else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KmomChicago]

Catalina.

 

 

 

 

[KmomChicago]

You don’t get many of these, because, incognito.

[KmomChicago]

We enjoyed the fact that people left us alone  in Catalina. I don’t like being solicited by vendors, never have. It’s a nice island and I can see enjoying a multi night stay. 
 

Since our parasailing was canceled we improvised and did this instead. I don’t know how much it cost, husband went and got tickets and I didn’t ask in case it was enough to tick me off. 😂 Beggars can’t be choosers and we had few options at that point.

 

 

[KmomChicago]

Since we had spa rooms I pulled up a few of the spa treatments. We got some kind of discount but considering I don’t like people touching me, that money would need to go the other way.

[KmomChicago]

Sorry but we are fine with the Hub app and don’t pick up the paper schedule anymore. Here’s a sample.

 

[KmomChicago]

Random pics walking around.

 

 

 

This is entering the Marketplace from the Lido pool deck on the port side of the ship. The deli was open fewer hours than I recall on some of our other cruises this past year. Seafood Shack is in the same location on starboard side.

[KmomChicago]

Breakfast buffet on Ensenada port day. 
 

 

 

 

 

[KmomChicago]

More breakfast buffet. 

 

[KmomChicago]

More breakfast buffet.

 

 

 

 

 

[KmomChicago]

Spa room. Literally exactly the same footprint as any other balcony room. 

 

Cloud 9 robes come with the room!

 

Meanagers do not come with the room, you have to bring them along.

 

 

 

 

[KmomChicago]

We won the necessary ship for Guess What? trivia. It seemed like the absolute dumbest, most random trivia game ever. In fact it was just exactly that. 
 

So of course we won. 😂

 

We actually won one other trivia on the last sea day but gave the trophy to second place. We have never won more than two ships and never kept more than one.