CELL PHONES ON SHIP

[Thrak]

I know many folks just toss their phones in the safe and forget about them but...

 

I was incredibly happy to have WiFi calling available on Grand Princess last year. I booked the Hobbiton excursion. When I booked it was a long way out and all the info and paperwork said to meet outside the ship in the parking lot at 10:45 AM.  We were sitting in the cabin all ready to go when I got a voice mail alert. It seems they had changed the departure time to 10:00 AM and they had just left without us and wondered what happened. I called them back right away and, in their own words, they had "just checked our reservation" and had "forgotten" all about the later time they had originally scheduled and never even tried to let me know it had changed. GAH!!! Fortunately the organizer still had her van in the parking lot and we were able to rush off the ship and she drove us to meet the rest of the folks at the first stop on the way to Hobbiton. Without being able to make and receive phone calls we would have completely missed our excursion to Hobbiton.

[MacMadame]

We have older pets. If something were to happen to them, I'd want to know right away especially if there were vet fees that had to be approved involved.

[memoak]

41 minutes ago, MacMadame said:

We have older pets. If something were to happen to them, I'd want to know right away especially if there were vet fees that had to be approved involved.

We have credit cards registered with our vets and the emergency pet hospital here. Just in case our pet sitter has to take them in but still want the email communication. You are so right to look after your pets

[Thrak]

3 hours ago, MacMadame said:

We have older pets. If something were to happen to them, I'd want to know right away especially if there were vet fees that had to be approved involved.

 

I miss my cat Bob. I was the @$$h0|3 who always said I wouldn't pay big vet bills. I have a shovel and my grandfather's old shotgun and shells are cheap. Sigh... My cat of many years, Bob, was acting really weird one day and hiding under the bed. I flushed him out and caught him as he was going over the back gate. (He had a cat door from the house to the garage and one from there to the world.) He had tangled with something - perhaps a racoon (there are some big ones nearby) - and his left hind leg was stripped to bare meat. GAH! I took him to the emergency pet hospital (it was a Sunday) and they warned me it could cost up to $600. GAH!! I said to go for it. I picked him up the next day (for $900) and was told he would have to see his regular vet every day or at the least every other day. GAH!!! As it turned out I had to take him quite often and I ended up with a $2,000 cat. GAH!!!! (Oh, did I forget to mention that I originally got him for FREE? GAH!!!!!) Okay, Bob recovered. We were very happy. Two months after his full recovery he vanished. Okay, I think I'm up to 6 exclamation points now. GAH!!!!!!

 

Two years later... Yes, two years later my wife looked out the window and said, "Bob's in the back yard." What the heck? I looked out the window and she was right. Bob had a distinctive marking so it was easy to positively identify him. (It's too much. I can no longer sustain the "GAH" series. All things have a limit.) We enticed him back in and, within a very short time, Bob was his old self again. (That means he owned the place and we were allowed to tolerate and adore him. Remember: Dogs have owners but Cats have staff.)  We are pretty sure he was "snagged" by someone a few streets over and kept as an inside cat until he either escaped or the people moved and dumped him. (That happens in a college town.) Bob was around again for many years but eventually got really sick and was obviously in great pain. He was really (really) old by then. My wife helped me to administer a strong dose of some opioid pain pills I had around and we said goodbye to (one of my best friends ever) Bob. I will never have another owner. Bob was sufficient.

 

Note: When Bob came in through the house cat door that connected to the garage it made a distinctive "clacking" noise. Although Bob has now been gone for a couple of years, and the door that had the cat door from the garage to the outside has since been replaced, and the cat door from the house to the garage has been "locked" ever since we buried Bob, both my wife and I sometimes "hear Bob come in". No, we can't explain it as it's impossible on multiple levels. However, from time to time, each of us hears that (no longer accessible from the outside or the garage) and no longer functional), cat door "clack" as we "hear Bob come in".

[memoak]

21 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

I miss my cat Bob. I was the @$$h0|3 who always said I wouldn't pay big vet bills. I have a shovel and my grandfather's old shotgun and shells are cheap. Sigh... My cat of many years, Bob, was acting really weird one day and hiding under the bed. I flushed him out and caught him as he was going over the back gate. (He had a cat door from the house to the garage and one from there to the world.) He had tangled with something - perhaps a racoon (there are some big ones nearby) - and his left hind leg was stripped to bare meat. GAH! I took him to the emergency pet hospital (it was a Sunday) and they warned me it could cost up to $600. GAH!! I said to go for it. I picked him up the next day (for $900) and was told he would have to see his regular vet every day or at the least every other day. GAH!!! As it turned out I had to take him quite often and I ended up with a $2,000 cat. GAH!!!! (Oh, did I forget to mention that I originally got him for FREE? GAH!!!!!) Okay, Bob recovered. We were very happy. Two months after his full recovery he vanished. Okay, I think I'm up to 6 exclamation points now. GAH!!!!!!

 

Two years later... Yes, two years later my wife looked out the window and said, "Bob's in the back yard." What the heck? I looked out the window and she was right. Bob had a distinctive marking so it was easy to positively identify him. (It's too much. I can no longer sustain the "GAH" series. All things have a limit.) We enticed him back in and, within a very short time, Bob was his old self again. (That means he owned the place and we were allowed to tolerate and adore him. Remember: Dogs have owners but Cats have staff.)  We are pretty sure he was "snagged" by someone a few streets over and kept as an inside cat until he either escaped or the people moved and dumped him. (That happens in a college town.) Bob was around again for many years but eventually got really sick and was obviously in great pain. He was really (really) old by then. My wife helped me to administer a strong dose of some opioid pain pills I had around and we said goodbye to (one of my best friends ever) Bob. I will never have another owner. Bob was sufficient.

 

Note: When Bob came in through the house cat door that connected to the garage it made a distinctive "clacking" noise. Although Bob has now been gone for a couple of years, and the door that had the cat door from the garage to the outside has since been replaced, and the cat door from the house to the garage has been "locked" ever since we buried Bob, both my wife and I sometimes "hear Bob come in". No, we can't explain it as it's impossible on multiple levels. However, from time to time, each of us hears that (no longer accessible from the outside or the garage) and no longer functional), cat door "clack" as we "hear Bob come in".

Our cat as ad a few seizures over the last few months taking him to the neurologist on Wednesday. Hope all can be done soon

[Steelers36]

On 8/25/2024 at 11:42 PM, Thrak said:

 

I miss my cat Bob.

This is the sort of off-topic amusing story I don't mind seeing sometimes.  

[PescadoAmarillo]

@Thrak, your lovely story reminded me a great deal of my first rabbit, a dwarf named Louie who weighed about 4 pounds. Louie got sick, and, for the first time in my life (not being an animal person, as I am allergic to every thing that lives, including some humans) I took him to a vet. He needed surgery. Later that day I was driving to work thinking that I’d just spent over $1000 to save an animal some people eat for dinner. The things we do…

[memoak]

2 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

@Thrak, your lovely story reminded me a great deal of my first rabbit, a dwarf named Louie who weighed about 4 pounds. Louie got sick, and, for the first time in my life (not being an animal person, as I am allergic to every thing that lives, including some humans) I took him to a vet. He needed surgery. Later that day I was driving to work thinking that I’d just spent over $1000 to save an animal some people eat for dinner. The things we do…

We all love our pets we can’t live without them

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

We all love our pets we can’t live without them

 

Too old now and like to travel. No more pets for us.

 

Perhaps we should return this thread to it's original topic before we anger the mods.

 

I used to just toss my phone in the safe like others but, with the advent of the app and it's actual usefulness, I now keep it in my pocket. Unlike some others the app works quite well for me and I especially like the "locate" feature. I also keep a lot of books on my phone. I have them on my tablet and use that in the cabin or sometimes when I'm planning to just sit somewhere and read but having the books on my phone allows me to easily and conveniently carry them with me anywhere.

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Too old now and like to travel. No more pets for us.

 

Perhaps we should return this thread to it's original topic before we anger the mods.

 

I used to just toss my phone in the safe like others but, with the advent of the app and it's actual usefulness, I now keep it in my pocket. Unlike some others the app works quite well for me and I especially like the "locate" feature. I also keep a lot of books on my phone. I have them on my tablet and use that in the cabin or sometimes when I'm planning to just sit somewhere and read but having the books on my phone allows me to easily and conveniently carry them with me anywhere.

We also use the locate function quite often plus the chat function rather than waiting in line at guest services   Also use WiFi to keep up on news , emails and sports scores. We were sailing during the Olympics and was able to keep up to date especially following local athletes. I do however prefer to read books on my kindle which actually girls it my back pocket 

[555]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

Perhaps we should return this thread to it's original topic before we anger the mods.

Not if you use your cell phone to talk to your pets everyday. 

[Thrak]

4 hours ago, memoak said:

We also use the locate function quite often plus the chat function rather than waiting in line at guest services   Also use WiFi to keep up on news , emails and sports scores. We were sailing during the Olympics and was able to keep up to date especially following local athletes. I do however prefer to read books on my kindle which actually girls it my back pocket 

 

We started using WhatsApp on our last cruise and it worked quite well for us. We used to use the app for messaging between us but it wasn't efficient and we would often check for a message, find none, then have it arrive (without notice of course) while on the way to where we thought the other person was. We don't check the news that much when cruising. Its rarely good news anyway. If we really want to do so we can read our local paper online but rarely bother when traveling - whether cruising or when on one of our extended camping trips. (We're leaving for a 5 week camping trip soon.)

[memoak]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

 

We started using WhatsApp on our last cruise and it worked quite well for us. We used to use the app for messaging between us but it wasn't efficient and we would often check for a message, find none, then have it arrive (without notice of course) while on the way to where we thought the other person was. We don't check the news that much when cruising. Its rarely good news anyway. If we really want to do so we can read our local paper online but rarely bother when traveling - whether cruising or when on one of our extended camping trips. (We're leaving for a 5 week camping trip soon.)

We also do Wordle and Connections from NY Times at breakfast. Keeps u

pur minds working as we age 

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

We also do Wordle and Connections from NY Times at breakfast. Keeps u

pur minds working as we age 

 

If you like Wordle try Quordle

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

 

If you like Wordle try Quordle

Or Octordle.

 

ETA:  You can play all three (Wordle, Quordle, & Octordle) on a cell phone if you have Medallion Net.  Had to get the phone in there somehow ... 😉

 

Edited August 28 by Steelers36