optimusprime82

Haven’t weighed in yet, tomorrow (Saturday) for me. I’m a bit worried, I feel like I slacked off after two good weeks. Hopefully I’m just being hard on myself. We’ll know more tomorrow I guess lol. 

Keep up the hard work everyone else. 
 

Went to the gym ten times in seven days. Ended up losing 1.9 pounds. Not as big of a loss as last week but at least the scale moved in the right direction. 
 

I tried on a black/red sequined blazer I picked up a few years ago that I’ve never been able to button up, let alone wear out. I originally thought it would be fun to wear on MSC’s Italian night or something to wear for a fun photo on the Swarovski staircase. I tried it on Friday night and was able to button both buttons. It’s still tight (slim fit) but that’s pretty exciting progress considering I was no where close to buttoning it earlier this month. The last time I tried it on I told my wife I probably wouldn’t be bringing it with us in October, now it may make the trip after all. 

Still trending up on my "unofficial" morning weigh-ins, about a two pound increase from Saturday. Hit the gym twice on Sunday (once in the morning, then hung out at the pool, and then went back to gym in the evening). Then visited the gym after work on Monday and Tuesday. I'd like to hit the gym twice more often but I'm not much of a morning person like my wife is so I don't join her very often for her 6am workouts lol. If the weather is nice on Friday I might get up early with her, hit the gym at the crack of dawn then work until noon at home, hang out at the pool and work in the afternoon and hit the gym again on Friday night to make a final push before my official Saturday weigh check.

Waiting on a phone call from MSC about my screwed up sailing in Oct/Nov 2021. They asked me to provide a date and time I'd be available to discuss. We'll see if they actually call during the time I provided them.

Trying not to beat myself up, I don’t think I’ve been very good this weekend (food wise). Back in the gym for the second time today, cycling as I type, trying to work off today’s cookout at my in-laws. At least Arby’s was closed so I avoided the $1 Root Beer float I was craving on this hot and humid day lol. 

Great work everyone. 
 

Down 2.2 pounds from last Saturday’s weigh in. I was concerned I was going to gain based on my “unofficial” weigh in on Thursday. Went to the gym eight times in seven days, cycled almost thirty miles and increased my weights on several machines.
 

Would love to lose another five pounds by July 4th weekend. Might not be a realistic goal but it’s worth trying for. 

Got an email this morning from MSC notifying me that a cabin had been assigned to me for the 10/23/21 - 10/30/21 portion of our Meraviglia sailing. We were originally in 13001 for fourteen nights, now we're scheduled in 14008 for the first week and 13001 for the second week. This is a YC cabin but it still lists our experience as Aurea. I still haven't received an email response from the Existing Reservations department so I'm hopeful this will get sorted out soon.

We wouldn't really mind an upgrade to YC on this cruise since there's not a lot destinations (right now at least) that we're excited about plus we have four days scheduled in OC. With a lot more time spent on the ship or at OC an upgrade to YC would be pretty nice even if we did lose the two room suite with whirlpool that we were originally booked in. My concern is that it appears that we're currently only booked in a YC room but we're not actually going to get the YC amenities (special areas, YC drink package). If the "upgrade" is cabin only I don't think it's worth it and I'd rather have my old cabin booking for all fourteen nights.

I'm not upset but going to OC four times, with a stop in Miami, on our previously booked 14 night (now B2B 7 night) isn't super exciting to us. Two days at OC were okay but four is pushing it. The last day is OC so we may just treat it as a sea day and get packed a bit early so we don't have to "stress" about it later in the evening. I'm not even sure the ship is docked late enough for me to try some long exposure astrophotography. I don't think anything is set in stone at the moment, far from it probably, so I'm going to just try and roll with it for now. The goal is to cruise... the goal is to cruise... the goal is to cruise...

1 hour ago, jules815 said:

Sorry to hear that you'll be missing San Juan on your anniversary cruise. We were also looking forward to going back, and although we've been to St. Thomas many times, there's a little cafe there downtown that we always go to for lunch (Glady's). Sort of a cruise tradition for us there, since we've done "all the things" in these ports. Nassau and Ocho Rios? Meh. Really is like a cruise to nowhere, but like you, we were really looking forward to relaxing on board and getting back to the Yacht Club. And who knows whether or not the itineraries will change again. Right now on the MSC website, it's showing Meraviglia only sailing every other week in October. I wonder what's up with that?

None of the ports were super exciting for us on the original Meraviglia itinerary, it was more about just accomplishing getting on a cruise ship for us at this point lol. Our original Divina itinerary from NYC to Miami hit Aruba and Curaçao along with some other good southern Caribbean ports but that's long gone unfortunately. 

I don't mind getting off the ship in Nassau just to people watch but we don't even bother in Jamaica. It's a little too pushy for my taste in most Jamaican ports. I can deal with it but at a certain point it's not fun to say, "Thanks but no thanks" about braiding my wife's long pretty blonde hair to almost every person we encounter. 

The MSC rep I spoke with didn't have any explanation about the every other week sailings for the Meraviglia. Our booking, which again was for 14 nights, leaving on 10/23/21 was changed to a seven day sailing that still leaves on 10/23/21. That isn't one of the dates listed on MSC's website when you search her October sailings. According to the website right now, 3:20pm ET on 06/15/21, she's only sailing on 10/02/21, 10/16/21, and 10/30/21 which contradicts what our booking currently shows.

What a mess lol. Was on the phone for nearly an hour, now we're booked for two seven night sailings instead of one fourteen night sailing. Pricing is all screwed up so I have to email the dreaded "ExistingReservations" department (again) to try and get that fixed. We also no longer have our cabin assigned for the first leg of the journey but we were able to get our original cabin for the second portion, I'm including that issue in my email about fixing the pricing. I don't want to switch cabins midway through the cruise.

The itinerary shakeup lost us all the stops we were looking forward to, including the brief stop in San Juan which is where we got married and this is our anniversary cruise. We now have four stops in OC scheduled plus a day in Miami (aka bonus "sea day.")

What was once a great itinerary from NYC to Miami on the Divina has turned into an uninspiring trip on the Meraviglia. Still looking forward to enjoying the ship and relaxing in our balcony whirlpool (if MSC doesn't screw us out of it) but this is quickly turning into a glorified cruise to nowhere. 

We "were" booked on a 14 night cruise sailing on 10/23/21. Now it's listed as a seven night with a new itinerary versus the old first week (now with two stops in OC). Trying not to freak out since I know they're moving things around but I'm hoping they don't completely screw up our booking. Right now our balance owed still reflects the 14 night itinerary in a whirlpool suite but the cabin number has been removed. Not sure if I should call now or give it a few days to sort itself out. 

7 hours ago, retiring soon said:

My next cruise is Oct 30 on MSC Meraviglia going from MIami to San Juan, Nassau & Ocean Cay then I'm hopping on Carnival Horizon  the next day for Ochos Rios, GC & Cozumel.

 

optimusprime82 ~ sorry for the loss of your cat. Great you resisted comfort eating.

You’re on the second half of our Meraviglia voyage. We leave on 10/23/21 from Miami but we’re onboard for 14 nights. The Meraviglia is beautiful. Maybe we’ll run into each other in the gym lol. 
 

Thank you for your condolences.  

Lost .6 pounds this week. I jump on the scale daily but only track my Saturday weight, should have tracked Friday's weight, I was down nearly 1.5 pounds yesterday lol. 

Wish the results were better, especially around my stomach. I do realize I might be exchanging some fat for muscle and that the results may be skewed due to that. Exercised all seven days this week; cycled 25 miles, increased my weights, added a new weight machine to my routine, and did 150 crunches per day for a total of 1,050 crunches for the week. Again, all for .6 pounds according to Saturday's weigh-in lol.

133 days until we sail!

Edit: Also a family pet, Alabama the Calico cat, had to be put to sleep at the age of 16 on Thursday. I could have eaten my grief that day, and the rest of week honestly, but I stuck with my routine. Eating poorly and skipping my workout would not have honored her especially after she became the most successful dieter in the house after her vet told us she needed to lose weight a few years back lol. 

52 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

You literally said no one had suggested you'd have to wear a mask at home. I get that you were referring to the vast majority of people, but what you told @KennyFla was that no one had suggested people wear a mask at home, in order to imply he was incorrect about that. Except he wasn't, because Dr Birx did. Maybe you should consider apologizing to Kenny for implying he was in the wrong when he wasn't. Might be a nice gesture, just sayin'.

 

Again, no one has been suggesting that you wear a mask at home in the way KennyFla directed his comment to MoTown. KennyFla's insinuation wasn't what even close to what FatCat04 later said.

16 minutes ago, fatcat04 said:

Lol. We had Covid in Dec/Jan before the vax was available.  And point to where I said I wasn't vaccinated. I scheduled all the jabs for everyone in my family, including our moms who are very elderly. I personally got my jabs done by late April. 

I think what MoTown was saying, and I hope he corrects me if I'm wrong, was that for the vast majority of us the general guidelines didn't say you needed to wear a mask in your own home. Your situation of living with at least two or three generations in a single home, while certainly not unique, is not what KennyFla, MoTown, or myself were referring to.

On 6/6/2021 at 6:04 AM, Izena said:

Sure has been quiet here.  Yes it is 5am.  Along with losing my appetite last year (a good thing). I’ve also developed insomnia.  
 

ive always needed lots of sleep - didn’t out grow my afternoon naps until I was 40 and needed at least 8 hours sleep at night.  Since last year no carbs no naps.  I’ve also  started sleeping only 5 hours a night rarely 6 hours.  Not good I’m already bored -  starting to develop anxiety —- oh the joys of getting older.

 

hope every one is ok.  Can’t wait until 7am when park opens
 

 

Since I started working out two months ago I've really struggled to fall asleep at night. Sadly I have no trouble falling asleep in the afternoons after work or in the early evening. If I catch myself falling asleep early and head to bed early I just end up tossing and turning for hours lol. At least it sounds like you've settled into a routine that you can deal with, that's a positive I suppose.

3 hours ago, MotownVoice said:

I’m not sure how useful this is but I’ll throw it out there anyway as relates to “roaming”.   Some carriers (mine is Verizon) offer a service called “global calling”.   It over rides the whole roaming process, and instead you pay a flat rate to have the luxury of calling from and to just about anywhere by paying a premium in your monthly bill.   The last time I used this service I think it was an extra $5.  The downside is that it goes toward the entire month, you can’t prorate it for only the weeks you needed it.  And you have to remember to have the service discontinued when you get home, so a calendar reminder is useful.   I can tell you that as much texting, talking and browsing I did using my own cell service when it was available would have cost me a fortune.   I guess suffice to say it’s worth a chat with your carrier company to see if options other than just the default roaming are available to you.

I might see what AT&T offers like this. I was considering trying to buy an International or Caribbean SIM card to use when we're off the ship. I don't usually mind stopping in a Hard Rock Cafe, McDonalds or Starbucks to mostly delete mails (since we don't usually purchase an internet package) but I've found in recent years that gets a bit annoying. We may end up getting an internet package this trip just so we don't have to fight the crowds at a busy restaurant/cafe just to delete junk emails lol.

1 hour ago, KennyFla said:

So you wore a mask inside your own home?

No one has been suggesting this.

1 hour ago, KennyFla said:

we will not get to 100% vaccination, so according to you we will wear masks to eternity.

Said by no one ever.

5 hours ago, sidari said:

Are you going to refund certain passengers for lack of facilities being available ? did you have a database for those who knowingly sailed with the Flu virus ? MSC have systems in place that have worked since their first sailing the last week of July 2020 and have continued on to their other ships that are currently sailing. If it is an issue for you then there are others like Princes and NCL who are allowing only those with the jab.

Are the "certain passengers" that you're referring to going to be fully aware that those facilities are not going to be open to them if they're not vaccinated? If they're aware of the rules before they sail then I don't think they're owed anything.

Is the flu virus the same thing as Covid-19? Uh, it's not. Maybe you shouldn't compare those two things.

Are you aware that certain areas of the current MSC ships that are sailing still are not open to anyone due to Covid-19? The Thermal Spa wasn't open on the recent Virtuosa sailings because of Covid.

The same thing goes for you, there are other cruise lines available for those that won't take a vaccine to protect themselves and others against a deadly virus.

1 hour ago, Até said:

For the most part I think MSC are referring to different pre-boarding test requirements for vaccinated vs. unvaccinated.  But cruise lines that allow unvaccinated  passengers do have the ability to designate certain areas for vaccinated passengers only, a place where the masking, distancing and other precautions would be relaxed.  Perhaps MSC is considering this option.  But trying to implement and enforce this on board seems incredibly difficult and to me it still wouldn't encourage me to book.

Since they've been using the wristbands on other MSC ships for contact tracing I wonder if the vaccination status could be loaded into that database. Perhaps then the wristband could used to limit non-vaccinated passengers from accessing certain spots on the ship (Meraviglia). 

13 minutes ago, MotownVoice said:

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/25172-msc-cruises-announces-u-s-restart.html
 

“...other restrictions to be announced later.”

 

 

Sort of concerned by what they mean by this, “MSC Cruises will reveal additional itinerary details for cruises onboard the MSC Meraviglia and MSC Divina in the coming week.” Hopefully they don’t mean changes to the already book island visits lol. Perhaps they just mean shore excursions etc. 

1 hour ago, flashot said:

Sorry if this doesn't belong here, but as I get ready to take the MSC jump,  Part of a Gold Voyager Club perk is:    Complimentary one-hour thermal area session once per cruise

Does anyone know what that/this session is?  

The Thermal Spa session isn't a spa treatment, i.e. a massage, it's a visit to their indoor spa with small pool, heated stone loungers, ice room and other assorted saunas. 

No significant loss or gain this week, weighed in a 227.5 lbs this morning (my normal weigh in day). That's the low end of where my weight has been hovering.

Slightly discouraged because I hit the gym for six out of seven days since last Saturday and continue to watch what I eat and consuming plenty of water. It's frustrating to spend ninety minutes a day in the gym six days a week, cycling and lifting weights, and you don't see the scale reflecting any of your work. It's weird to feel that cycling 18-24 miles a week results in the same amount of weight loss as the extra napping I was doing two months ago lol. 

Time to put the workout clothes in the dryer for today's "worthwhile" visit to the gym.

We called MSC today to make a payment and inquired about the Chef's Table for the Meraviglia in Oct/Nov 2021. The rep didn't have any current information about if the Chef's Table would be returning and to continue to checking the website. I know this doesn't exactly align with what was told to jules815 but consistency from MSC Phone Reps isn't exactly legendarily... positive.

The Rep did say that most specialty restaurants did have a Chef's Table option as well. We hadn't heard before but we will keep our eyes open for more information about. 

10 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Getting my popcorn 🍿 ready for @KennyFla's response...

I'm not really expecting to change his mind, it's pretty clear what is and isn't important to him.

Just a quick side story from earlier this week that feels appropriate to share here...

On Tuesday, my wife and I went to a "Celebration of Life" (aka a belated funeral) for the wife of her closest cousin who passed away last August from cancer, she was in her mid 40s and worked in the healthcare industry as pediatric RN. The event was held in a suburb of Columbus, OH and was relatively well attended by family and friends despite her passing nine months ago and her and her family having lived in Texas for more than a decade prior to her passing. 

Anyways, the event was held at a church. Of the one hundred or so people there I was the only person wearing a mask (I'm vaccinated and so is my wife and her parents). My wife did have her mask with her but chose not to wear it since she is vaccinated and many there were her family. I stepped away for a few minutes to visit the men's bathroom. While at the urinal I heard a man in one of the stalls having a very loud "bathroom experience" which I can only assume was a #2 based on the grunts, wheezes, and mutterings on top of the other noises you usually associate with taking a big poop. When I finished my activities I sidestepped over to the nearest sink and began washing my hands, at that point a large man exited the stall and proceeded to walk directly past the sinks and left the bathroom. Outside in the gathering area I saw him shake hands and hug numerous children, teens, adults and senior citizens.

What does this story have to do with Covid procedures and cruises resuming you might be wondering? Well, during the hopeful tail end of a worldwide pandemic I attended a "funeral" where I was the only person still willing to wear a mask to not only protect myself and but others. I then "firsthand" witnessed a large maskless man take a labored poop and proceed to not to take even one minute to wash his hands before potentially spreading fecal matter to his family and friends.

Yep, I can't wait to get back to the buffet, touch the elevator buttons, use those Swarovski crystal handrails, and to get some chocolate soft serve ice cream from the machine. I bet we're ready... no... I know we're ready,

6 minutes ago, KennyFla said:

This was filed as part of the suit Florida has against the CDC for the CDC to prove Florida is not being hurt financially by the cruise industry being shut down.

It's incredibly frustrating that this is how you choose to interpret Covid's impact on the cruise industry. Do you honestly believe, please take a moment for honest self reflection, that the CDC doesn't believe that the "no sail" order hasn't financially hurt the Florida cruise industry? The CDC exists to control the spread of disease, hence their name. Financial issues, vacation plans, foggy glasses, etc. are not their main concern... stopping the spread of a disease that has killed 595,000 US citizens is their concern. Nearly 37,000 Floridians have died from Covid. that's like the Divina and Meraviglia sailing seven night voyages for more than a month filled with nothing but dead bodies.

Of course there's been financial impacts; that's been felt everywhere from small communities all the way to global economies. The CDC, governments both federal and local, and the cruise corporations need to work together to make sure cruising is safe. No one wants to be on a plague ship because procedures in the USA were rushed or not well thought out.

The CDC is not some cartoon villain twisting their mustache menacingly while anxious cruisers wait to get back onboard. Please try to keep in mind that human life is slightly more important than pleasure cruising on a big floating city filled with thousands of people, some of which had questionable sanitary practices before the pandemic.