HBE4

1 hour ago, reallyitsmema said:

Glad others have had good experiences on Liberty. Ours has not been the greatest. Dining room issues still remain. Early seating was overbooked by over 200 people. We had early seating from when I originally booked and us what is on our cruise documents. Once we boarded, we saw we had my time dining and went to dining room to have it fixed. They put us on a list and said we would get a note in our cabin. That never happened. Spoke to concierge, she made a few calls, couldn’t get it fixed. Went last night and were in line for over a half hour and were told we would have to do that every night. We are being told that 5:15 on our booking is a request, not a reservation!  Received a dinner reservation in cabin today, along with a bottle of champagne and plate of sweets. Went to dinner at 5:30 and was told to take our place in line. Spoke to head waiter again and he will seat us each night but still no assigned table. Many upset people. C&A status means nothing as far as priority in getting this corrected. 
 

We are giving MDR one more try and then we are just going to do Windjammer and Chops again. 
 

Weather last night was crazy with driving rain and high seas. Rain most of the day so activities moved inside or canceled. Line dancing moved to Royal Promenade, archery to Studio B, movies added in main theatre. Cruise director is trying. 
 

We didn’t see the gorgeous skies last night due to weather but have seen some unbelievable pictures from home. Massachusetts had a great show!  Heard if you still have your eclipse glasses, you can see the sunspot if you look at the sun. Think tomorrow is last day to see it. 
 

Hoping our calmer seas stay with us for the rest of the night. Liberty shimmies a lot. Luckily, we do fine with the movement. Lots on rollcall looking for patches. 

Bummer that the dining situation is so disorganized.   Hope you get to smooth sailing soon.

1 hour ago, Ozark_Kid said:

No.

With that said we rarely buy each other gifts for any holiday.  We just consider what we want/need at the time and buy it.  When others ask what we got each other for Christmas or a birthday etc we just mention a cruise close to that date.

We like spending on what we personally like not what we think the other will like.

Example,   I have had fishing lures given to me because people knew I loved fishing.   Most of the times I didn't use them. Not the right kind.  

26 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

John, it is like you two are living in our heads.  That is exactly what we do.  We are at that point in life where we try to not accumulate “things”.  So it is just cruises, or vacations, or things we need.  

 

 

17 minutes ago, ATG said:

I’m not a man, but Dave and I do the same.  Years ago we stopped doing any gifts.  We take our 2 adult sons on a vacation each year.  They take us out to dinner.  It has made Christmas so much more enjoyable, and without gifts we seem to focus more on the reason for the season.  If/when we have grandchildren I’m sure things will change.

I'm of the same mind set. I'd rather spend the money on nice dinners & trips, spending time together & creating new memories.  I have most things I need and if I want something,  I'm going to buy it when I need it and not wait for a gift giving holiday.  I already have more sweaters, t-shirts, ball caps, coffee mugs, beer steins, wine glasses than I know what to do with.

26 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

So I've got a bit of a survey for the men with grown children on the thread... 

 

Do you buy your wife a present for Mother's Day?

I never did. And that was reciprocated on Fathers Day as well.

6 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

 

@HBE4, @A&L_Ont, @bobmacliberty and @lenquixote66

 

 

How about those Canucks!!! 

 

I'm definitely missing the chaos that would be sweeping my old home town...  🙂. 

 

How about a rematch of 1994 Cup finals? 😉🙂

A few of the sports writers in the NY Media have been trying to draw parallels between this years team & the 1994 team that won the cup. Things like both the Rangers & Knicks having playoff success at the same time (happens less often than you think),  the Rangers 7-0 playoff start with a first year coach to some of the more ridiculous things the solar eclipse and earthquake that occurred around the same time in 1994 & 2024.  Oh, and OJ being in the news both years. 94 was the Bronco chase and his passing earlier this year.  They might be trying to stretch the point with that last one.

7 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

We booked this because of timing and price. We wanted to do Symphony since it is doing its first summer out of Bayonne but it was pricey. We are doing nine days for significantly less than what we could have done seven on Symphony. I wasn’t sure about the older ship but it is well maintained. Our cabin carpet needs replacing but is clean. We prefer the cabin features of the new ships but not a big deal. Food has been good so far. Chops was excellent last night. Best food and service we have had in recent years.
 

MDR tonight will be interesting. We had early seating on our reservation but they moved us to MTD. Went to have it fixed yesterday and they “put us on the list” of those that needed correcting. Was supposed to have a note by 4pm today. Nothing yet. Not expecting it at this point. Went to MDR earlier and was told they are fixing it now. 

 

Casino is crazy smoky, so that’s going to save us money. We just saw the ice show and it was the best we have seen on any ship!  Great skating without a ton of props like some of the shows. Lots of C&A members on this sailing. Tons of families too. Haven’t heard a kid total yet but lots more than expected with school still in session. 
 

 

 

 

If someone could flip that last picture for me that would be great. I can’t get it to flip on my phone. Thanks. 

Thank you. Glad to see Lady Liberty is still holding up very well. Looking at the pictures makes me wish I had pulled the trigger a little sooner and booked either the May 9th or 23rd itineraries. I'm still looking & may book something later in the year. The 9 day sailings out of NJ are one of my favorites, length-wise and port-wise.

7 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

I loved Liberty, and my daughter said it was her favorite.  We had the best cabin steward on that ship.

Sentimental favorite for me too. She was my first ever cruise in 2008 that got us hooked on cruising. Booked another cruise right away for 6 months later. She was also the last cruise I took with the Mrs and Little Miss HBE4 so it seems appropriate to resume my cruise career with her. 🙂

6 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

We are on Liberty out of Bayonne. It’s a nine night that originally was going to Bermuda, St Marten, San Juan and Labadee. We are now skipping Bermuda because there’s really bad weather between NJ and Bermuda. We are hugging the coast, heading south to St Marten. Our Labadee stop was changed to Puerto Plata due to the issues in Haiti. 
 

I haven’t been on this class ship in a long time. Will be interesting to hear how many are onboard at the top tier this morning. It seems really crowded but that could have been first day craziness. 

Looking forward to your thoughts on the cruise. I came very close to booking this sailing (the May 9th) or the identical May 23 sailing. I hesitated just a bit too long & both sold out/priced out.

2 hours ago, MichaelCMTX said:

Seeing as she hadn’t seen one in her airport experiences in North Carolina, Florida, Nevada, California, Georgia, Tennessee, Arizona, Massachusetts, Utah, Nebraska, Colorado or Washington but yet has seen such stores in Houston, multiple terminals at DFW and practically every local mall that still has a bit of a pulse, I can understand how she’s come to her conclusion.

 

To be 1000% clear, we're not talking about a magazine and candy concession that sells some magnets and T-shirts. It's a "STATE NAME store" thing. 

The Heinz Store at PIT was pretty clearly exactly that.

 

Does this count?

New York has "Taste NY" stores located throughout the state dedicated to food and beverages grown, produced, or processed in New York State.  According to the website, there are 68 retail locations. Not just airports but visitor centers, rest stops, train stations, stadiums, stand-alone locations, etc.

https://taste.ny.gov/

Pretty sure you can get a "I❤️NY" bumper sticker there too.

🙂

In all seriousness, not sure what the big deal is. I only cruised once from Galveston, saw the Texas flag hanging in the promenade and never thought too much about it. I guess I just assumed it was a marketing thing that started when Royal first started sailing from Texas and it just kind of stayed around.

I'm more upset that you can only get Texas-brewed Shiner Bock beer when sailing within Texas waters. Once in International waters, they stop selling it & pull it from the shelves. No amount of tipping the bartenders will bring it back. Come on guys, I know you have more! LOL

Reading this thread reminds me of the old "Real Men of Genius" (formerly known as "Real American Heroes") radio commercials, each spot dedicated to an unsung hero.

This one is dedicated to the "Mr. Too Proud of Texas" guy🙂

18 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I swish that were the case. It ends up being very annoying and hurts somewhat. Also gets very hard to put on shoes.

 

Very annoying and more than a slight inconvenience.

2 hours ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Just read on the Celebrity board that our friend here on Dani's thread @helen haywood fell and broke her leg on her Beyond cruise. 😞

 

 

Wishing @helen haywood a speedy recovery. 

To cheer you up, here is a picture of Leonard, trying to act like he's a tough attack cat while guarding the open door

49 minutes ago, George C said:

We really liked that movie , great cast , love the cameo at end with Lee Majors

I think part of my issue was I had trouble hearing some of the dialogue so a few of the running jokes were lost on me until the end.  It was in an older theater where the sound system isn't the best. Plus, there were two women behind me that felt the need to give a running commentary on every scene. After turning my head a few times, not looking at them but kind of in their direction, they finally got the message and quieted down.  I have another group of friends that want to see the movie so i may tag along with them for a second viewing, in a newer theater with a clearer sound system.

And seeing Lee Majors at the end was a hoot.

53 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Yes, this is it. That is why I said supposedly plugging The Fall Guy. I've liked Ryan since Remember The Titans and Emily since The Devil Wears Prada. Anyway, I found this skit to be pretty funny.

Agree, it was pretty funny. I never had much of an impression of Ryan  until I saw "LaLa Land" that's when I began to appreciate him.

And I've always liked Emily, probably since "The Devil Wears Prada" too.  I really enjoyed her in the most epic Lip Sync battle ever with Anne Hathaway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SZfznYgToc

19 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

That's part of the problem in that I like my food and good cocktails. Now while I don't eat as much rich food during the week and I only drink alcohol on the weekends I never have a problem. It's only on a cruise and now a vacation full of fun food and drink. I just want to have fun right?

As long as there is no serious health concerns,  it seems like a minor price to pay for enjoying life. Especially since it's a temporary inconvenience and only happens occasionally when vacationing.

12 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt did an opening on Saturday Night Live supposedly to plug the movie. It was really funny. You can see it on YouTube.

This one? Seems like they spent more time plugging Barbenheimer😃

18 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Were you at MSG last night ?I actually watched the overtime ..

I was not. I had recorded the game as I went out for $5 Tuesday movie night & watched it when I got home. Unfortunately my DVR only recorded up to the end of the first overtime period 😠 so I did not see end of the game. I did see the replays afterwards.  Exciting game & the first true test of adversity the Rangers faced this post season. I will be watching tonight's game live.

However, I was at this past Sunday's Game 1 and have tickets for Game 5 this coming Monday so I need the Rangers to lose at least 1 and only 1 game. 🙂

BTW, the movie I saw was The Fall Guy with Ryan Gosling. Loosely based on the 1980's TV Show.  Good, not great, but enjoyable. Worth the $5 dollars if you like impossible stunt movies mixed with basic rom-com formula.

3 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Pickle fork was spoken about earlier on this thread.   If that's right that would seem to only be good to get pickle out of jar.   ??

Isn't that why we have fingers?

😇

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Just got back from our 2nd cruise in the last 3 days............Happy times !!😁😎

We only had about 15 cars onboard, usually holds 30 to 40 cars.
😞
 

2 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

How was the Windjammer?

8 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

I was thinking about the muster drill

At less than 50% capacity, I assumed no restricted access to the Loyalty Lounge during Happy Hour?

13 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

Looks like a great time.  Enjoy!

 

Now tell us, how easy was it for you to slide in and out of that Uber?

 

And just as importantly,  how do 5 guys fit on there? 😄

On 4/30/2024 at 8:28 PM, PhillyFan33579 said:

Possibly, but you still have the 7th Oasis class ship coming plus Star and the 3rd Icon class ship. Just my two cents opinion, and probably not worth that much, but I think the majority of RCI cruisers won’t get excited about a new, smaller class ship (if/when it happens). 

As popular as they are, I don't see anybody getting too excited by yet another Oasis-class ship unless its going to have some new & revolutionary features that the other O-class do not have yet.  Same can be said about Icon #3

Once the details of Project Discovery are slowly leaked, there will be plenty of interest.  It seems people have been begging Royal to make a new & improved smaller ship for years.

21 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

It is a very nice looking lighthouse. Was it open to climb?

It is, except on Tuesdays & Wednesdays.  Which just so happened to be the 2 days I was there.

Open 7 days a week July & Aug.

https://www.abseconlighthouse.org/

Tallest light house in NJ.

2 hours ago, Keksie said:

Enchantment to the Bahamas 

Have a great cruise!

41 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

Now I am homesick😳

Does this help?

I was down to my last $20 - actually $17.90 according to the picture - when Heidi replenished my gambling funds. I forgot to take an "after" picture when she was done be "stunned" but it was several hundred dollars. Enough to keep me going thru the night & into the next day until I could redistribute my wealth to other various slot machines.

Adding another Heidi fan @A&L_Ont

1 minute ago, Sea Dog said:

We are going on a sunset cruise on Saturday night does that count as a cruise?

Sure does. If it floats on the water, it's a cruise!

5 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Had dinner last night at Bambini's Pizzeria, I believe the owners are from the New York area. Lots of NY stuff on the walls.

Probably a fan of The Bambino too! And all things NY Yankees obviously.

How was the cheese steak? I had 2 while in Atlantic City. For some reason, pizza and cheese steaks always taste better on a boardwalk when smelling the salt air & hearing the gulls & ocean in the background.