HBE4

22 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

I think ten ten year old boys just may eat them all!  I will find out where they got them.  I am guessing somewhere in Jersey.

I had tickets to tonight's Ranger game but gave them to my niece & her BF. 

I thought about meeting up with them in the city for a pre-game dinner but since it's raining cats and dogs,  decided to stay home. I didn't want to step on any poddles*

* That's for @Ozark_Kid😄

Whatever happened to the Royal Beach Club that was supposed to be built in Antigua?  It was announced back in 2019, put on hold during the shutdown and the latest google search has an article from Sept 2023 stating that construction was to begin in 2024.

Words like "hope" and "expect" get tossed around in the 2 articles below, making it sound less than definitive.  They also mention cost is greater than initially expected. I wonder if Cozumel is an alternative?

https://antiguaobserver.com/royal-caribbean-to-spend-more-than-us100m-on-beach-club-at-fort-james/

https://cruiseradio.net/cruise-lines-antigua-beach-club-2024/

1 hour ago, DaniDanielle said:

My grandson is a Rangers fan.  These are the party cookies he is giving his friends😁

That is fantastic!  Your grandson is one smart cookie.  Where did he find these fabulous delicacies?

I'll give you my mailing address just in case there are leftovers. 😁

5 hours ago, h20skibum said:

Our granddaughter won Artist of the Month award for this.  

 

I think she did pretty good for a third grader.  Now I have to have her make a new one for me.  
 

She was doing some amusing interpretations of famous paintings in her sketchbook, when we had her out to dinner.  
 

Having snails appear as the Mona Lisa, the Scream, The last supper, American Gothic, and, of course, Dogs playing poker.  

 

Your granddaughter is very talented. I wouldn't mind seeing her drawing of dogs playing poker.  I just happen to have that picture 

20 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

Lisa and Owen both have huge screens. The Storm trooper is lacking, theirs is double the size. Think iPhone to iPad difference. 

A friend of mine has a 2024 Mustang. It has 2 huge iPads for a dashboard.

4 hours ago, h20skibum said:

I called our insurance company to let them know we replaced that vehicle.  I was shocked when they gave us the new insurance numbers.  Buying that new vehicle, and it went down by $3

I agree, it makes no sense until my agent explained it to me. When an older car is in an accident, it's more likely to be consider a total loss since the cost of repair is often close to the value of the car. Usually if the cost of the repair exceeds 70-75% of the value of the car, the insurance company considers it totaled & write you a check for the full value of the car so it ends up costing the company more money than if they paid you for the exact same damage on a new car.

1 hour ago, Arzeena said:

When we moved to Florida last spring, we are now paying for one Highlander what we used to pay for the Highlander, Camry and Corolla in NJ.
Don't know why. Same insurance company. We will be looking around to check rates.

It probably has to do with the demographics of the area. Maybe there is a history of more accidents or more senior drivers in that area that are more accident prone. Maybe more cars are damaged due to tropical storms than snow storms? Who knows what mystery formula insurance companies used to determine rates.

One thing I leaned the hard way is to shop around for insurance every couple of years. I stayed with one company for over 20 years & after a few people were shocked at how much  I was paying, I looked around and EVERY other company was significantly less. Right now, I'm paying about 1/3rd of what I was paying 4 years ago when I switched & I might start looking around again soon.

The one downside is I bundle auto & homeowners together to save money so if I switch one, I probably should switch the other.

4 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Getting ready to leave for my hernia surgery.  

Wishing you a speedy recovery & looking forward to you posting how effortless & painless the recovery is.

16 minutes ago, Bethorama said:

Because we are getting less than the cruise we paid for. We are only getting 2 ports to go to instead of the 3 as we had booked. Not sure why that is so confusing. 😀

Disappointing that the Labadee stop is cancelled but look on the bight side. Rather than getting an alternative port where you'd be spending money on food, beach chairs, excursions, etc, you are actually saving money by eating food already paid for, free pool-side loungers and - if drink package purchased - free drinks. Financially speaking, you are getting a better value for money already spent.

Be happy Royal isn't adding a surcharge for the extra fuel they are burning. 😀

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

My son in law the Rangers fan was at last Sundays game,a much better score.

I did see your post the other day asking if I went to Sundays game & forgot to reply. Friends of mine went & offered me a spare ticket but I had a previous commitment .

Agreed, it was a much better score & game on Sunday. Tuesdays game was the 3rd in 4 nights and 6th in 9 nights and the team was just tired. Brutal schedule coming up too so the better get their rest.

Update: Rangers lose 4-2.  Ugh!

Let's Go Rangers!!

Canadian Winnipeg fans are well represented at this game 

@akcruz

Also sending my condolences.  What an emotional roller-coaster.  

The venue looks familiar,  where was it?

3 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

I'm really disappointed in this because last time I went to Jamaica the ship stopped in Ocho Rios, which is right next to Dunn's river falls and Dolphin's cove (a really nice animal place for kids).  Now, its an hour drive each way to these attractions from Falmouth.  

 

An overnight in Falmouth would make it easier to reach these attractions, but I don't know why they would want to route the ships in Falmouth versus  Ocho Rios (if anyone knows of better excursions closer in Falmouth please tell me since I'd love to know!)

 

I was told Ocho Rios couldn't handle the larger ships. And after investing big $$$ into Falmouth,  naturally most if not all ships will be directed there.

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Good answer.

As spoken by the OG Kraken fan or as I like to call him, The Kraken Godfather 😉👍😁

3 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Oh well, like my Mom is always fond of saying, "nothing stays the same".

The only constant is change.  

On 3/16/2024 at 10:24 PM, Sea Dog said:

Thank you for the tips. I have put those places on my list. We are planning on spending a full day in Savannah.

On 3/16/2024 at 10:04 PM, HBE4 said:

. I have to check my CC receipt to find the name of the restaurant.

The restaurant I was thinking of is called Wiseguys in Bluffton.

https://www.wiseguyshhi.com/ 

I had the meatloaf. It's big enough for 2. Or a snack for Owen @A&L_Ont🙂

We also went to an outdoor restaurant on the water on the island called Skull Creek Dockside

https://docksidehhi.com/

For lunch, we sent to Salty Dog Cafe on the island and Calhoun Street Tavern which is on Old Bluffton, within walking distance of a bunch of small art galleries, which was a nice way of killing a few hours.

1 hour ago, caribsun said:

Sure nice of Carnival to allow RCL to dock at Grand Turk. 

1 hour ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I assume cash is changing hands, but maybe I'm just a hard hearted cynic. 👹

1 hour ago, CanobieFan said:

So is this the actual case? My one and only Carnival sailing went to Grand Turk and I was unaware Royal stopped there at all, ever, until this. Was it essentially a Carnival (and their brands) exclusive? I had a surprisingly nice day there.

I don't know if Royal stops there on the regular but they are allowed to. NCL as well . Carnival gets to keep 75% of port taxes collected.  There is a list in this link.

https://www.visittci.com/getting-here/cruises

Didn't Royal build the pier at Falmouth, Jamaica? Or was part of a joint venture. But they'll let other lines use it. I guess there is a reciprocal agreement among competing cruise lines when it comes to non-private islands?

Happy Birthday @dani negreanu

On 3/12/2024 at 4:19 PM, Ozark_Kid said:

One place we rode to several times was Harbour Town.   I think that is what its called. 

 

Yes, you are correct. It's  call Harbor Town

@Sea Dog

I was in Hilton Head only once, in Jan 2023. Actually, I stayed in Bluffton which is on the mainland across from Hilton Head Island. My BIL was staying there for the winter & I visited for 5 days.  However, most our time was spent at his rental house playing games & eating fabulous dinners as he's a fantastic cook.  During the days, we walked on the beach or at several nearby parks. Pickney Island National Wildlife Refuge and Sea Pines Forest Preserve. Not sure how your mobility issues will be but the walks were interesting, thru the swampy, Low Country. Didn't see any alligators as it was too cool for them to be active but did see a bald eagle or two. including their nest which are the size of a small condo.  Most of the walking was flat ground like the pic below or boardwalk-type sidewalk over the swampy parts.

As noted above, we did go to Harbour Town for a happy hour drink and watched the dolphin excursion boats return followed by a pod of dolphins looking for food. For the next hour, the dolphins frolicked in the marina and put of such a show, we didn't feel the need to actually pay to go on the actual excursion boat!  Thank you Flipper and friends!

Other than that, we did hit a few local breweries and I did treat my BIL and his wife to a nice dinner. I have to check my CC receipt to find the name of the restaurant.

I would have loved to visit on of the plantations or spend a day or two in Savannah but time did not allow. Next time.

8 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

Micheline is a fan of the CBS Sunday Morning show.  This piece was broadcast last Sunday.  We now have CC turned on most of the time, for many of the reasons called out in the video.

 

I am SO glad you posted this because I thought I was the only one the kept Closed-Caption on. I pretty much can identify with everything in this video ,especially the mumbling actors with an accent while loud "background" music plays & people whisper. For the longest time, I'd be turning the volume up and down or pausing, turn on CC, rewind, watch the segment I couldn't understand, pause, turn off CC and then repeat the process 2 dozen more time during the movie.

I am the worst. I would never watch TV with me.

Now I leave CC on most of the time, except during comedy specials where you can see the punch line before the comedian delivers it, thus ruining the joke. I do find myself reading the CC rather than watching the action on the screen. And of the streaming platforms - either Peacock or Paramount - the CC  can be a few seconds behind which is disconcerting.

However, I do like the creative description of music!👍

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

I think I mentioned this before but NYC taxis now use an app called Curb.  You can "hail" a taxi, track your progress, and pay with a credit card...all using the app.

You did mention it & I forgot so I'm glad you reminded me. This is probably the best benefit to the Uber disruption of the ride-hailing business. One of the best benefits to knowing the cost up front, is that the Uber & Lyft apps - and I assume the Cub app - show your route.

When I was still dating my future DW and her daughter was a mere child of 5 or 8 or somewhere in that range, we took a trip to California & flew into San Fran. This was back in 1990 give or take a year. During the taxi ride from the airport to the hotel, my future step daughter must have mentioned a half-a-dozen times that we've never been to this city, it's nice to see a new, different city and stuff along those lines.  My jaded, distrustful NY personality kicked in & I had visions of the 30 minute ride turning into a 90 minute ride as the taxi driver took the longest, most congested "scenic" route to the hotel in order to drive up the fare. I was sure I was going to argue that it was not necessary to drive us across the Golden Gate Bridge 3 times! None of that actually happened but it was a long 30 minute drive & no google maps to reassure me.

So hopefully taxi drivers taking the long way to drive up fares is a thing of the past.

I like the convenience of Uber. A few taps on the phone, I know the price & pick-up time right away. I can follow the car on the little map on the phone so I'll know if I have time for an after-dinner shot and then step outside once my ride is a minute away, which is nice on a cold or stormy night. You can also schedule an Uber up to 30 days in advance if you have an upcoming trip. Once in awhile, my credit card will offer a 5% cash back bonus.

I'm pretty sure I've seen the Uber App notify me when Surge Pricing "may be" in effect, in which case I may or may not try to seek out a taxi.

Lyft in generally a little  cheaper than Uber which is generally cheaper than taxis, the key word is generally. Exceptions include the aforementioned "Surge Pricing" and in instances where Taxi rates are a flat rate regardless of time and distance. Example: In NYC, taxis from JFK airport to Manhattan is a flat $70 rate while Uber rates will fluctuate between $50 - $150 based on demand. So take the sure price (Taxi) or gamble (Uber) and welcome to JFK Vegas 😉  Other airports in other cities many have similar flat taxi rates & perhaps why @bobmacliberty taxi from LGA to Manhattan was cheaper than Uber.  Also, I think with the popularity of Uber/Lyft their base price has increased over the years so the price savings may not be as great as it used to be. Just a WAG on my part.

Uber seems to work best in populated area & I've had mixed results in less populated areas.  Last year when I was in South Carolina, I ordered an Uber to Savannah airport. The closest Uber  driver that accepted was 35 minutes away. After 20 minutes, HE cancelled and I had to order another one that was even further away, 45 minutes I think. From what the 2nd driver told me, that's it can happen if they have to drive a long distance and there is no return customer coming back to their "home territory", in my case Bluffton, right outside Hilton Head. I understand why the 1st guy did - he wants a fare in both directions - but it's not fun when trying to catch a flight.

6 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

I also found out that a friend at RC HQ might have had some input into the Beastie Boy song you didn’t hear. I’m not sure if this was a once off or something Shane arranges for all his guests. We have never had this happen before on other Star Class sailings. No matter the case, it was amazing. Something we will never forget. 

I might have missed it but was there a special occasion? Or "Just because" you have an awesome genie that goes the extra mile?

6 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Sailing up to Coco Cay gives the impression of arriving at an amusement park whereas sailing up to Labadee has much more of a secluded Gilligan's Island type vibe.

One of the great things about Royal is that they have something for everyone.  Labadee has always been one of my favorite stops specifically for the secluded Gilligan Island type vibe. Not sure if this is accurate, but in my mind, it's an old time Caribbean  stop. I hope they keep it that way.

But the food does need to seriously be improved. Right? 🙂

28 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

I was waiting for someone to catch the reference. Could have also passed as a Jimmy Buffet Fins reference. 

Some interesting pictures in that video. Thanks, I think? 😉

My first thought was of Buffets Fins when reading the post, Cuba to the right