The Great Escape - From Way Before the Beginning Until The End

[CruzinMel]

OMG, y'all, it's 17 minutes to midnight on Day 21, and you know what that means?  (Well, what I think it means?)  Time for Online Checkin!!

 

I have been a Very Bad Girl, because I have made no progress on any of the things I need to do for the trip.  (Well, I take that back - I used a combination of discounts and Kohl's cash to pay about $18 for a new suitcase.  The cashier's jaw dropped - it retailed for $459.  I shopped well.) 

 

It happens that there is additional work added to my list.  I've got to craft 2 Butler Letters, because out of nowhere, La Diva (aka Mom) is talking about staying home.  I have informed her that unless a medical professional says she's sick, she has no basis for an insurance claim and will lose $.  Plus, we are going without her, because we aren't sick and if we aren't sick and she isn't sick, that's a whole Haven 2 BR Villa's worth of $ gone.  (And really, the only one that would HAVE to stay back is moi, but I didn't mention that.)  She says she doesn't care, and she will be happier at home with her dog, and we should go.  I'm going to check her in like she will be coming; she can vacillate until the night before we leave for Orlando, and then whoever is in the car that morning is going on the cruise.

So, while I initially planned this as a combination trip-planning blog/summary of what happens when cruising with a mobility/dietary challenge, it turns out it might be a primer in what happens when not all fully paid passengers travel!  We've already been through this with Junior Mint (who, BTW, really, REALLY regrets not being able to go with us, because his new job is Very Stressful.  Too bad.)  So, now we shall see with Mom.  

(NB - the impetus for her uncertainty - or at least, I think so - is a recent hospital stay, and being worried about her health, and being angry that she's not a spry chicken and will have to depend on us for a lot.  My thought is that's ok - she was always there for me and the kids when we needed help, so it's our time to return the favor, and we don't mind.  But it bothers her tremendously, and having already gone through the experience of Dad's heart attack on a ship and subsequent Caribbean hospital stay and med evac home, I think she is wary.  The doctors all say so far she'll be fine. . . but Mom is officially TBD.)

So, there's that.  It's 11:59 PM and I'm going to  see if the NCL page will crash before I can check in 5 people.  Or if the stories about doing checking after midnight on Day 21 are even true . . . Stay Tuned!

ETA:  Y'all.  I'm an accountant and I can't math.  It's 21 days until we LEAVE TOWN, not 21 days before the cruise.  Lordy.  We are going to have to do this tomorrow!  😜😅🤣😂

Edited December 9, 2022 by CruzinMel

[disneylover89]

Following along!  I really hope your mom changes her mind and goes, hopefully her nervousness will subside over the next 3 weeks.🤞

[CruzinMel]

OMG, Online check in for 5 people STINKS!  It took me over 2 hours. 

 

Why, you may ask, did it take me over 2 hours?  THE PICTURES.  The stupid, stupid pictures.  It's been 4 years since I have checked in, and I guess they weren't requiring a pic in 2018, or I forgot - do you know how hard the dang pictures are to upload??  They can't be blurry; no hats or glasses, even if you wear glasses normally; they have to be a particular size; they have to be straight forward, with no cocked head or angled anything and shoulders visible, but not too much shoulder because they want to see your face up close. . . it's awful. I thought getting the passport data in was going to be rough, but the pictures nearly did me in.

Indiana is home for the holidays, so I woke her up and made her give me 2 pics (hope NCL isn't expecting these pics to be GOOD.)  I took a pic of myself that looks like Death on Toast (mainly because stupid me stayed up too late last night, lol), and found one on FB of DH that looks utterly ridiculous (he was between haircuts and his hair is standing straight up on his head - he keeps it buzzed.)  But the Percussionist?  Holy cow, that boy either is always wearing a hat, is always leaning to the side or angled, or the pics were too blurry, or the pose was bad, or something.  I thought I was going to have to go back to his high school graduation pic, but it took the very last one I had, where he's got on a tux and his bow tie looks like something from the Antonio Banderas versions of Zorro. 

 

But I got it done, and watched that dang video 5 times.  Somebody else gets to watch it the next 5 times.  I am now at 100% complete, although the link to download my eDocs isn't lit up - I'm wondering if something needs to process.  I'm going to hope I got the time slot I wanted - that check-in section tells you how many spots in each time block are still available.  The earliest ones only have small #'s - like, 10 every 30 minutes, and of course I wanted one of them.  There were 6 spots available in my preferred slot when I finished up, so I am not the only eager beaver doing online check in during the wee hours. 

You'll notice I said 5 of everything - Mom still says she is not going, but because she's on the reservation I couldn't complete online check-in without, well, checking her in.  Unfortunately, the pic I ended up using is from late on the evening of her last birthday and she sort of looks like a rabid raccoon (her eyeliner had run) but by that point I was ill, and not inclined to give my all to checking in someone who probably isn't going.  I really dislike having to take up a spot for her, but at least she is checked in in case she changes her mind and feels up to it.  She has a doctor's appointment on the 22nd and plans to discuss it with her physician, so we shall see.

Regardless. . . 21 days to go, y'all!!!

[CruzinMel]

14 hours ago, disneylover89 said:

Following along!  I really hope your mom changes her mind and goes, hopefully her nervousness will subside over the next 3 weeks.🤞

Aw, thank you for thinking good thoughts for her - we shall see!  3 weeks is still a long time.  🙂

[cruiseny4life]

Just wait until....they take all your photos again when you check-in at the terminal. That's why I spend the same amount of time as you...to find the most ridiculous photo I can that the system will accept. One of my dogs featured in my last cruise's photo. 🙂

Edited December 10, 2022 by cruiseny4life

[CruzinMel]

5 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Just wait until....they take all your photos again when you check-in at the terminal. That's why I spend the same amount of time as you...to find the most ridiculous photo I can that the system will accept. One of my dogs featured in my last cruise's photo. 🙂

That is awesome!  How did you get it to take the pic with the doggie?  One pic had a sliver of my daughter's cheek and got rejected.  The Percussionist sent me a new pic this morning, and I'm thinking about replacing the first one - the Fernando Lamas Lounge Lizard pic had considerably more hair upstairs and less beard.

But if they're going to retake it anyway, yeah - I'm not sweating it.  I wonder what the point is?

I freely admit that when I was looking for a photo of Mom, I came across the perfect pic. . . of one of my older friends.  I uploaded it because it was 2 am and I was tired, and then I took it down and replaced it with the Rocky Raccoon pic, because sure as shooting, Mom will change her mind and go to the port, and we'd get in trouble because they don't look much alike at all.

[zzdoug]

I don't follow. If your mother doesn't want to go, why not let her stay home? As I read it, that could be a win-win scenario. 

[CruzinMel]

2 hours ago, zzdoug said:

I don't follow. If your mother doesn't want to go, why not let her stay home? As I read it, that could be a win-win scenario. 

At this point, I agree.  I'm covering bases in the name of family harmony and being a Good Human, but quite frankly, I'm ready for her to stay home.   I checked her in because I couldn't complete my check in without her - you have to do everyone in your party at once.

 

[cruiseny4life]

18 hours ago, CruzinMel said:

That is awesome!  How did you get it to take the pic with the doggie?  One pic had a sliver of my daughter's cheek and got rejected.  The Percussionist sent me a new pic this morning, and I'm thinking about replacing the first one - the Fernando Lamas Lounge Lizard pic had considerably more hair upstairs and less beard.

But if they're going to retake it anyway, yeah - I'm not sweating it.  I wonder what the point is?

I freely admit that when I was looking for a photo of Mom, I came across the perfect pic. . . of one of my older friends.  I uploaded it because it was 2 am and I was tired, and then I took it down and replaced it with the Rocky Raccoon pic, because sure as shooting, Mom will change her mind and go to the port, and we'd get in trouble because they don't look much alike at all.

Honestly, I spent at least thirty minutes just taking/uploading different photos until one worked. I was going for ridiculous, not serious as they'll just retake. My husband always uploads his passport photo. They always retake his photo, so if they don't like passport photos, they're going to get awkward, silly, but never inappropriate. I wouldn't want to show off my belly before the party!

[Cruise-mom]

Hi Mel, how are your plans going? Is your Mom cruising with you? I hope you are getting organized either way. I have started a little packing for our sailing on the 7th, we travel to Orlando on the 3rd. 

[CruzinMel]

On 12/26/2022 at 7:07 AM, Cruise-mom said:

Hi Mel, how are your plans going? Is your Mom cruising with you? I hope you are getting organized either way. I have started a little packing for our sailing on the 7th, we travel to Orlando on the 3rd. 

Oh, holy cow - I have SO MUCH TO DO!!!   😀   Between getting ready for Christmas, and then surviving Christmas, plus working all week and trying to get everyone and everything ready....NOTHING IS READY!!!

 

All I have to do is get there with a passport and a bathing suit, right?  And sunscreen.  My white booty needs lots of sunscreen.  

[bluetardis]

I have faith it will all come together Mel!

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, CruzinMel said:

My white booty needs lots of sunscreen

Oh my! You know you're not sailing Carnival, right? Hehe

 

You'll be ok! Relax and pack. Vacation time is almost here!

[CruzinMel]

Sooooo close....we are all packed and loaded up except Mom, who stuck to her inscrutable decision and is not, indeed, joining us. 😞  She will be far from lonely - her caregiver and the housekeeper will come on schedule, and I'm keeping the pet sitter so the doggos get out and get fed on schedule.  I also plan to let her girlfriends know she stayed back, so they can all commiserate with her.  It's going to be odd, but it is what it is.

 

Based on the amount of luggage the 4 of us have loaded into the truck, it looks like 10 people are going on this trip.   I have a large money bet with Indiana  that she can be downstairs at 7 am, dressed and ready to get in the car - we shall see.  She says she will sleep  tomorrow while we are driving, $100 richer.  

 

I doubt she will sleep - for Christmas, wise DH got everybody sunglasses with Bluetooth and speakers in them.  We all like different music - he is R&B, I am NPR, Indy likes audio books and the Percussionist likes...well, everything from Shostakovich to Metallica to video games.  Both kids have insisted they need their laptops (we think this is nuts) but they went out to Best Buy today and bought a dual port charger, I guess so they can drain the truck's battery while we ride.  I am working as we ride - got some things to fix on the road, since I never canceled Mom, and I want to update here.

 

After all this planning and plotting, I can't believe it's time -  Florida, here we come!!

[bluetardis]

@CruzinMelsafe travels and happy cruising 😀 hope you have an amazing trip

[CruzinMel]

9 hours ago, bluetardis said:

@CruzinMelsafe travels and happy cruising 😀 hope you have an amazing trip

Thank you!!

[CruzinMel]

So, here we go - we are in the car and headed to Florida!!  It's a beautiful, sunny day and the Georgia State Patrol is making bank today - we've passed at least 6 pulled cars in the last half hour. So SLOW DOWN!  

 

I am starting the trip missing 2 things - $100 in gambling money that is going to Indy, who won her bet, and MY BUTLER LETTER!!!  My beautiful, classy, carefully crafted butler letter...sigh.  it's less necessary since Mom didn't come but I think it's a nice touch, and I really liked the Gluten Free section.  The Percussionist says I can just write a new one tonight, which is not a bad idea.

 

BTW, if you are on this cruise and see a young man in random places with drumsticks and a practice pad....that's him.  He brought drumsticks on vacation.  As with most percussionists,  he is physically incapable of going 25 hours without banging on something.  He also started pregaming at 9 this morning.

 

I'm going to let the sun come up a little.more and then call the concierge desk.  I tried last night but there was a lot of static on her side and I was getting nervous about what we bought, so I ended the call and trying again today.  The main thing I need now is to upgrade everybody to Premium Plus - the only thing I clearly heard last night was to let Mom be a no show rather than cancel her, because cancelations get penalties that no shows do not.  We shall see.  

 

Meanwhile, here's a shot of the Perdue Boilermaker Special  also headed to Orlando, for the Citrus Bowl.  

 

Edited December 30, 2022 by CruzinMel

[Cruise-mom]

Woohoo! Safe journey and enjoy every minute 🙂 

[CruzinMel]

3 minutes ago, Cruise-mom said:

Woohoo! Safe journey and enjoy every minute 🙂 

Thanks - we are SO EXCITED!!!!  I will do my best to be live, so you can come along.  

[vacation44]

Safe travels and have a wonderful time!

[Cruise-mom]

Just now, CruzinMel said:

Thanks - we are SO EXCITED!!!!  I will do my best to be live, so you can come along.  

Please do! We start our travels on Tuesday for next Saturday's sailing so I'm super excited and will be following along. Have fun x

[CruzinMel]

7 minutes ago, Cruise-mom said:

Please do! We start our travels on Tuesday for next Saturday's sailing so I'm super excited and will be following along. Have fun x

:😀   Tell you what - if you are driving, be careful in Georgia.  We've passed so many cars pulled over getting tickets that it's pretty clear GSP is on a mission.  

[cruiseny4life]

3 minutes ago, CruzinMel said:

:😀   Tell you what - if you are driving, be careful in Georgia.  We've passed so many cars pulled over getting tickets that it's pretty clear GSP is on a mission.  

Must be that end of year 2022 quota! 🙂

 

Be safe, don't get pulled over, and have one heck of a cruise!

 

Don't stress too much over the butler letter. We gave the butler a letter on our first cruise. We did not on our second. Service was impeccable both times.

Edited December 30, 2022 by cruiseny4life

[zzdoug]

Enjoy!

 

Hopefully someone else was driving when you tapped out that dispatch. 

[FLcruisergrl]

You will have an amazing time! David Newball is the concierge and he is so wonderful. Siva is the Assistant Maitre ‘d and I swear that is the hardest working man on the ship. I saw him do every job in the Haven restaurant, while finding time to chat with guests and to treat us like absolute royalty. He even came down to La Cucina to escort us to our table there.