The Daily for Thursday 06/09/2022

[HAL Sailer]

5 hours ago, marshhawk said:

I know I'm a new kid on this block, but I love the Daily.  I laugh, I cry, I pray for all of you when things are tough, I cheer you when things go well.  Ships can sail, but I hope this thread does not.  I love it just the way it is.  

 

+1

 

But @kazu we miss you!

______

 

Totally off topic but, I'm just back from the grocery where I saw a lady snap off the woody part of her asparagus and drop the snapped off ends on the floor.

 

What??? 

 

She was talking on her phone and the other person must have asked what she was doing and she openly said, "I'm snapping off the asparagus ends. They charge by the pound and I'm not paying for trash," as she continued dropping asparagus ends on the floor.

 

What???

 

(You just can't make this stuff up!)

 

-Melisa

[SusieKIslandGirl]

Thanks again everyone for the kind words. Slept well but a couple of strange pains. The nurse called to check on me and said they’re normal. Now I just need the patience to get through the next few weeks.

@rafinmdIt might be good to get an x-ray for comparison. Wish I had done it earlier.

Have a great day everyone.

[puppycanducruise]

@grapau27Nice car Graham.  We wish you many happy miles behind the steering wheel (or in the back seat with Pauline 😉)

[puppycanducruise]

@StLouisCruisers We enjoyed our day in Lerwick several years ago.  I bought a sweater hand knit by a lady from Shetland from sheep from Shetland.  It's terrific.  Maybe someday we'll go back.

[AncientWanderer]

Omg that's so odd about the asparagus, @HAL SailerMelisa.  I saw someone cut the hard ends off broccoli before.  What they were selling looked so unacceptable, I almost sympathized.  But asparagus takes it to a whole new level.

 

@JazzyVVanessa, glad the barium thing is over with.  Sure didn't like the sound of that one.

 

@Cruising-alongCarolyn, thank goodness the tree missed you!  And that stinks about the covid.  Your photos of Yellowstone were so awesome -- your grandsons so darn precious.  I would have felt safe from covid doing an outdoorsy kind of trip like that.  Best wishes that it runs its course quickly for your family.

 

All the funny Donald memes make me want to revisit Donald.  Maybe I like him more than I remembered.  😉

 

 

 

[cunnorl]

Good Afternoon from a very rainy and stormy afternoon at the beach

         Very late today. Had to take my car in for its check up today. Takes forever. Then a few errands and arrived home just as the rain started! Socked in for awhile , I think. Normal for this time of year.

          @grapau27 Great looking new car! Best of luck and many happy miles driving it.

            @dfish Glad to read that you are doing so well. Be careful and take care of yourself. You did have surgery, afterall!

      A question for all of you experienced travelers. Has anyone used a luggage forward service from their home to the ship? Was thinking of doing this for our trip in the fall. As most of you know, DD is in a wheelchair and DH is vision impaired so luggage can be difficult. It is a long trip so I will probably have more than normal.  Any thoughts, suggestions? Thanks in advance for any experiences. 

     A friend of mine told me today that her DD, DSIL and their 2 young children all have Covid. DSIL mother came to visit from Wisconsin on a plane after a positive test! They didnt know she was sick until after she arrived.   My friend said her daughter is beyond angry and dont blame her. Plus she exposed all those people on the plane.

 

 Be safe and enjoy today

  Charlene

[AncientWanderer]

4 minutes ago, cunnorl said:

Good Afternoon from a very rainy and stormy afternoon at the beach

         Very late today. Had to take my car in for its check up today. Takes forever. Then a few errands and arrived home just as the rain started! Socked in for awhile , I think. Normal for this time of year.

          @grapau27 Great looking new car! Best of luck and many happy miles driving it.

            @dfish Glad to read that you are doing so well. Be careful and take care of yourself. You did have surgery, afterall!

      A question for all of you experienced travelers. Has anyone used a luggage forward service from their home to the ship? Was thinking of doing this for our trip in the fall. As most of you know, DD is in a wheelchair and DH is vision impaired so luggage can be difficult. It is a long trip so I will probably have more than normal.  Any thoughts, suggestions? Thanks in advance for any experiences. 

     A friend of mine told me today that her DD, DSIL and their 2 young children all have Covid. DSIL mother came to visit from Wisconsin on a plane after a positive test! They didnt know she was sick until after she arrived.   My friend said her daughter is beyond angry and dont blame her. Plus she exposed all those people on the plane.

 

 Be safe and enjoy today

  Charlene

 

Charlene, I think I recall @Seasick SailorJoy using the luggage service.  Perhaps she'll see this and chime in, if I'm recalling correctly.  I hope it works out for you Charlene.

[AncientWanderer]

Oh, and before I forget...

@0106I believe asked about transAtlantics.  We have done several and really enjoy them.  If there is a way to avoid flying and do the TA, that is always first choice for us.

[TiogaCruiser]

5 hours ago, HAL4NOW said:

Pierce County Sherrif, Ed Troyer, saw a car that looked like the operator was casing houses in the middle of the night. When Ed blocked the car in a driveway and confronted the driver, things didn't go well. The driver was delivering papers, and Ed Troyer is up on charges for profiling.

I used to deliver papers in the middle of the night in California. I had a 500 customer, 75-mile route. I would not have been surprised to have someone come and confront me, and hopefully I would have responded with grace and humility. Driving on the wrong side of the road and swerving back and forth as you throw things at people's houses and into their trucks can look pretty suspicious. 

That’s really sad. 
The police need to be able to investigate suspicious behavior.

 

[Cruising-along]

49 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

@Cruising-alongCarolyn, thank goodness the tree missed you!  And that stinks about the covid.  Your photos of Yellowstone were so awesome -- your grandsons so darn precious.  I would have felt safe from covid doing an outdoorsy kind of trip like that.  Best wishes that it runs its course quickly for your family.

 

Thank you so much, Maxine. So far DD just has allergy symptoms and a low fever.  We're waiting to hear DH's test results, and I just took a home test that was negative (but our son-in-law the PA says the home tests are much less likely to be positive without symptoms, and negative results are hard to trust).  So I think no matter what DH's results are, I'll go take a test at the clinic too.  I have a scratchy throat and feel a bit "off" but that could be anything from allergies to a different bug.

45 minutes ago, cunnorl said:

 

      A question for all of you experienced travelers. Has anyone used a luggage forward service from their home to the ship? Was thinking of doing this for our trip in the fall. As most of you know, DD is in a wheelchair and DH is vision impaired so luggage can be difficult. It is a long trip so I will probably have more than normal.  Any thoughts, suggestions? Thanks in advance for any experiences. 

     A friend of mine told me today that her DD, DSIL and their 2 young children all have Covid. DSIL mother came to visit from Wisconsin on a plane after a positive test! They didnt know she was sick until after she arrived.   My friend said her daughter is beyond angry and dont blame her. Plus she exposed all those people on the plane.

 

 Be safe and enjoy today

  Charlene

Charlene we've done the luggage forward service and were very happy with it.  You can also have it sent to your hotel if you'll be at a hotel before the cruise.  We chose that option because we were in Amsterdam a couple days before the cruise.  IF anything happened, we preferred knowing before we boarded the ship.  As it turned out, it all went very smoothly.  The luggage arrived before we did, and the hotel held it for us.  In Amsterdam our hotel was the Movenpick, right next to the cruise port, so it wasn't any problem to get them there from the hotel.  In your case I can understand, though, that you'd rather have it sent to the ship.  We were very happy with the service.

 

That's awful about your friend's DSIL's mother flying with Covid.  I have to wonder if that's how our DD got it -- even though we were all wearing masks, most weren't. 😞  

Edited June 9, 2022 by Cruising-along

[kochleffel]

33 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

I just took a home test that was negative (but our son-in-law the PA says the home tests are much less likely to be positive without symptoms, and negative results are hard to trust).  So I think no matter what DH's results are, I'll go take a test at the clinic too.  I have a scratchy throat and feel a bit "off" but that could be anything from allergies to a different bug.

I read an article the other day about people who continued to test negative although they were almost certainly infected--for example, one person in the household had tested positive and others had the same symptoms, but tested negative. The theory is that a person who is multiply vaccinated could be infected without reaching the threshold for a test to be positive, because their immune response was keeping the virus level low. They could still feel sick, because some of the symptoms are caused by the immune response rather than the virus itself.

[rafinmd]

1 hour ago, cunnorl said:

  A question for all of you experienced travelers. Has anyone used a luggage forward service from their home to the ship? Was thinking of doing this for our trip in the fall. As most of you know, DD is in a wheelchair and DH is vision impaired so luggage can be difficult. It is a long trip so I will probably have more than normal.  Any thoughts, suggestions? Thanks in advance for any experiences. 

I have also frequently used Luggage Forward and have been very happy but also have a couple of warnings. 

 

I think it is a lot more practical for shipping within the US although they will do both.  I prefer to do business with them over the phone.  I have found them very reliable and flexible to work with.  Once you get into international shipping they need to do not only shipping but courier service dealing with customs which both significantly increases the price and the complexity as you are likely to be required to provide a detailed list of what is in each bag and there may be more restrictions on what can be in the bag. 

 

The other proviso is that once booked it tends to be nearly un-refundable.  The last time I used them was my 2020 World Cruise where I was to board the Crystal Serenity in Los Angeles and return to New York on QM2.  The Crystal portion came off without a hitch but of course QM2 never made it back and I needed to lug 2 huge bags from Perth to Baltimore.  I could not get a refund but they did issue me a credit.  I just redeemed the credit for a July cruise on QM2.  I suspect if one of your party got covid and you could not board the ship they would return the bags to you but if you just decided not to go you might be out of luck.

 

They are very conservative about shipping times and very responsive.  My most complex itinerary with them was a 2019 string of cruises:

 

Nieuw Statendam Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam

about 5 days later a 3-day Queen Victoria cruise Kiel to Southampton

A 5-day short cruise on QM2 and

QM2 back to New York

 

The 2 US legs were totally routine.  They told me they could not get the bags to Kiel in time for Queen Victoria or to Southampton for the QM2 short cruise but I could get it for the Transatlantic.  It was also by far the most expensive leg.  I dropped the bag in the Amsterdam terminal as I disembarked Nieuw Statendam, and they regularly sent me tracking data.  I saw from the tracking that the bag had reached Southampton by the time I boarded QV in Kiel and I emailed them to see if they could deliver the bag in  time for the 5-day cruise and it was in my room when I first boarded QM2.

 

Roy

[Seasick Sailor]

1 hour ago, cunnorl said:

luggage forward service from their home to the ship? Was thinking of doing this for our trip in the fall. As most of you know, DD is in a wheelchair and DH is vision impaired so luggage can be difficult. It is a long trip so I will probably have more than normal.  Any thoughts, suggestions? Thanks in advance for any experiences. 

 

 

Since my sweetheart uses a wheelchair,  we find the luggage service to be of great help.

 

Go to luggageforward.com.  I called them directly at 617-482-1100 

 

You give them your home address and where you want your luggage shipped to. We've had them delivered to our timeshare in Maui several times, and 4 cruises (I think) They give you a date and time to pick up your bags. We have 2 bags up to 50 pounds each and were given a price of $248 total including $500 insurance per bag going from Georgetown Tx to FLL cruise port. 

 

You will get a packet sent by UPS. It's a sticky luggage tag that you'll put on your bags along with your HAL luggage tags. They give you a copy of each to also place in your bags.

 

They pick up the luggage and next time you see it is in your stateroom. 

 

The only BUT may be for those who don't want to have their luggage shipped so far ahead of time. We don't mind.

 

They pick bags up on Dec 1st for our Dec 12th cruise. You can negotiate dates.

 

Hope that helps!

 

By the way, my sister uses them for her golf clubs and my nieces ship their snowboards ahead.

 

And yes, we've used Luggage Direct many times. It's a great service.

 

[Cruising-along]

24 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

I read an article the other day about people who continued to test negative although they were almost certainly infected--for example, one person in the household had tested positive and others had the same symptoms, but tested negative. The theory is that a person who is multiply vaccinated could be infected without reaching the threshold for a test to be positive, because their immune response was keeping the virus level low. They could still feel sick, because some of the symptoms are caused by the immune response rather than the virus itself.

Very interesting, and makes a lot of sense.  Thank you!

[Crazy For Cats]

Good Evening Everyone, thanks for the daily report.  Today started out with downpours and eventually cleared.  It was also an in office day.  I’d like a couple of today’s meal suggestions please and @dfish I like your suggestions to go with the “meal”.  @rafinmd I hope that the hip stops bothering you quickly.

 

[Cruzin Terri]

Good evening to all.

Thank you to Rich and Roy for the lists and I am grateful to be included in the cares list.

With the increased prednisone dosage I am doing somewhat better.  As i have said before, this is not the direction I was hoping to go, but I need to be able to move.

I always enjoyed Donald Duck and his nephews.   As for Celtic Art, I know very little.  

Archives are very important to preserve history.

i love Margaritas, both as a cocktail and can’t wait to see a receipt as a meal.

Prayers to those who need them and cheers to those celebrating and cruising.

God bless you all,

Terri

[erewhon]

It's a sunny but cool winter day, expected temperature 11 C.

Thanks for all the information today.

@rafinmd  Roy, hope your hip is more comfortable now.

@ger_77 you have a good "neighbourhood watch" system,  sorry about the CC problems.

@Vict0riann  can you take the tylenol in a teaspoonful of plain yogurt or jam, or similar?

@JazzyV good that you have had the Barium Swallow.

@HAL Sailer  it was quite dangerous for that woman to drop the asparagus ends on the floor, hope no one slipped on them.  Have never seen anyone do that when choosing Asparagus.

@Cruising-along sorry to read of the positive covid result, hope it is a mild case.

@grapau27  did you buy an  electric car? 

Certainly appreciate when the multiquote function is used when responding to other posters.

Stay safe, take care everyone.

[Vict0riann]

@erewhon, I haven’t tried that.  Thanks.  Every few days I try to take a Tylenol gelcap, and eventually get it down, standing up, with gulps of water.  But something a little more solid might help.

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

The lazy afternoon I'd planned for after the laundry was finished wasn't to be.  It turned out we needed to go to the courthouse.  We figured we make two stops to get a few thimgs we needed.  We ll we batted a 1000 as they didn't have anything they needed.  So, I'll check here in town in the morning when it's cooler.

 

@dfish  Debbie, I too would have wanted to get out of the hospital quickky before I was recognized. 

 

@JazzyV  Vanessa, we have a Prius in Quartzsite, and we love it.  We normally get more than 50+mpg.  When we go to San Diego to catch a BHB, we manage to get between 45-50 mpg on the highway, going over the mountains and loaded with luggage.  The advantage is we don't have to stop to recharge on the way.  If we stop for gas in Yuma going each way, we don't have to get really expensive gas in California.

 

@Cruising-along  I forgot to mention how happy I was the limb missed you.

 

Lenda

[CrabbyPatti]

Good evening!

       What a wild week it has been so far, I just got caught up on the daily and saw Margarita the meal today!  Hubby just made me a margarita, as we haven't had dinner yet.............this just may be dinner!

       Monday my teacher daughter had a scratchy throat and then coughed when she was here, I told her to go home and test!  Sure enough she was positive for Covid.  She had been achy and sore but contributed it to her rheumatoid arthritis,  She said if she tested every time she was sore and achy, she wouldn't get anything else done!  Then the Tuesday morning her son tested positive.  They are improving but have been staying home so not to expose anyone else.  The same evening # 2 daughters husband wasn't feeling well and he was positive too (the positives had not even seen each other!)

       My boss's sister passed away suddenly on Tuesday, so I have been filling in at work for her.  I actually had worked with her sister (considered her a friend) for 20 years when I was at the ER, so it hit kinda hard knowing her at my previous job and then working for her sister at my "retirement" job, just shows you it is a small word.

         We have no symptoms and have planned to visit our son and family this weekend, but will test before we see them.  I am so tired of playing  Covid Dodgeball. 

       We still have some cruise plans circulating in our minds, but haven't put any firm plans down.  I did have some cruise certificates that I got the date extended until 2025, so I am not feeling so much pressure to get them used.

       Hope everyone is doing well.

Denise

[marshhawk]

[rafinmd]

Woke up this morning about as close to normal as I can be.  I still feel it a bit with a little pain when I flex the hip to the extreme but not bad at all.

 

Roy

[Cruzin Terri]

58 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Woke up this morning about as close to normal as I can be.  I still feel it a bit with a little pain when I flex the hip to the extreme but not bad at all.

 

Roy

That is so good to hear.  Glad you are doing better.

Terri

[cat shepard]

2 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Woke up this morning about as close to normal as I can be.  I still feel it a bit with a little pain when I flex the hip to the extreme but not bad at all.

 

Roy

 

 

Great news Roy!

[kb4683]

On 6/9/2022 at 9:45 AM, StLouisCruisers said:

 I wonder how Kay and her DH Jim are faring.  I haven't seen them around the ship lately and I forgot what her room number is. 🤔

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, Sandi —

Saw this briefly yesterday then lost it 😱 Have made a note now of your number.  We are in E623 until Monday then move to C324 for the Norway cruise.

We’re doing great and passed our COVID test this morning so are good to go for the second leg 🥳. Hope you did the same!  Love the news about not having to test before flying back to the US.

Hope to see you around the ship soon.  This leg we have been hanging in the Conservatory upstairs (daytime) and Crooners before and after dinner.

Kay & Jim