TravelNLesa

I haven't been able to wear a real heel in years and my feet appreciate it! I do have a pair of navy blue, kitten heeled Mary Janes that I can wear for a few hours before my feet complain. I leave those at home and stick to flats on cruises and land vacations. I take ballerina style flats plus a pair of pretty flat sandals or two now. Oh, and hose--wear with those Mary Janes but tend to skip on vacay. I would if I could wear dress pumps but I'm almost 65 years old so it might be a generational thing?

I live in Broward County, FL and as others have said we do have our cold snaps. We're cruising from Tampa (north of us and cooler by a good bit) in early 2023 and I plan on packing a few lightweight slacks/long sleeved top outfits for the first few days. I will check the weather forecast for the FL peninsula to determine just how many of those outfits I think I'll need and whether to add a long sweater type coat to add additional warmth. I'm excited to sail under the Skyway Bridge and don't want to be miserably cold (at least to me) while I am experiencing that moment!

Enjoy your winter cruise!

Thank you, LindaD, for the great topic. I'm learning all kinds of new, useful tricks!

Sunscreen has always been my issue but, if flying to the port for a tropical type cruise, I buy in port. I have a 3.2 ounce tube for the stuff I use on my face daily, anywhere, so it goes in my 3-1-1 bag. I also have a crushable strawish type hat, it's one of those made with a high SPF material? I wear that outdoors. It's pretty handy with it's adjustable neck strap and I fold it up in my tote while on the plane/car, etc. Got it at Costco and I think I have 5 or 6 in 2 different styles now--one's in my car, one I wear gardening, etc, and the newest (and cleanest, LOL) is saved for travel.

Shoes, as others have said, are the biggest space hogs! I normally wear trainers and pack a pair of Teva's for wet situations and to swap out day to day walking/touring. I also pack a pair of dressier, but low heeled, sandals and ballerina type flats that go with everything. My feet decided they didn't want to walk in heels about 10 years ago, lol! 

2 hours ago, mz-s said:

"The Nutty Professor" with Eddie Murphy is a classic...the stuff they play on TCM is not something I would say is really in the average "Fun Ship" cruiser's wheelhouse...

Exactly! You advertise for a certain demographic and completely fail to provide TV movies they might want or WiFi that will allow streaming from their own devices. WiFi is always an issue on a small island--or a cruise ship!

Thank you so much for your day by day posts Aring75! We're not big cruise people but really miss them, too! The number of cruise vacations for us exploded after we moved to South FL in late 2012 but stopped with the pandemic, of course. We hope to do a European river cruise in 2023 but want to do a Panama Canal, cwiruise through the canal in 2022. In the meantime we are planning to visit our floating week (as opposed to a fixed week--not literally floating, LOL)  timeshare in Aruba in November and are taking one of our adult nephews and his long time live in girlfriend (she's wonderful and we hope she'll be his long time wife one day but that's their decision. We just want them to stay together!) with us on this trip. As of now, we're required to have a negative Covid test when boarding a plane in the US--it can be rapid but all the details are here https://www.aruba.com/us/traveler-health-requirements. As you mentioned, there are strict curfews in place and they are in place until tomorrow. I expect the curfews will be extended. Aruba's vaccines are coming from The Netherlands and I assume other Dutch connected islands are receiving vaccines from them as well. I do not know what other European countries are providing to their islands or where the independent islands are getting vaccines. 

Your rant on cruisers complaining? They are in the absurd bit of first world people that don't have a clue! Bravo to you for bringing that to our attention and letting us know that those people have moved from the mainland to the boats! I've traveled land/sea/air many places and have encountered ugly Americans. It is shameful since we live in such a bountiful country. How did people in my own country become so ignorant? Well, I guess that's my rant!

On 8/22/2021 at 12:17 PM, terrydtx said:

I know all about this, I am VP of our HOA Board of Directors,  lol

 

People go online and call us terrible names for enforcement of the rules they agreed to when they bought their homes.

On 8/22/2021 at 1:05 PM, Jim_Iain said:

LOL --- you made me chuckle as the President of our HOA ====  I hear that very often. 

As a resident of an HOA community, thank you for taking on those responsibilities! Just like cruisers that want to complain about the current situation being different than pre-pandemic cruises, people that choose to buy in an HOA community shouldn't if they can't/won't follow the HOA rules. The rules are there for a reason. Way back in 1997 when we bought a house in our first HOA neighborhood, I received a non compliance notification. The only thing it told me was "Mailbox, leaning". The pevious owners mentioned that the HOA was very strict on our "required" wooden mail box posts being in good shape and upright. So I go out with a level and the post was level all the around! The little metal address thing attached to the top of the box was leaning just a tad to the right, LOL! The metal was soft enough that I could reposition with my fingers so no big deal but I kept an eye on our address plate and the post after that! My current HOA neighborhood doesn't even have a mailbox type requirement.

First off I want to thank all of you for the best board ever! My husband and I are planning a river cruise somewhere along the Main, Rhine and/or Danube for 2023 and you have given us so much to think about it.

Second, we are pro vaccine for this vius and are anxiously awaiting our chance to receive the shot or shots--we live in So Florida, USA and are 62 yoa, not eligible yet. I'm one of those travelers that enjoys visiting the local food market/store and picking up a food sack/bag as a souvenier. No matter where we're from, we all have to eat and it really does give one an idea of the culture. Thanks to all!

Sorry, the husband died on the Alaskan cruise.

You know what? This post has been very positive for DH and I. We checked our coverage thru his employer and we are covered, as long as we not in Canada and are receiving emergency or urgent care.

We were ready to click the buy button on an additional policy but no need unless one of us dies on board--we're not going there, I hope and pray! I know someone that her husband on an Alaskan cruise? Not going there!

Thanks TravelNLesa,

 

We were almost neighbors. Grew up in small town just south of Birmingham

Bob, we might have been neighbors? I moved to South Florida 4.5 years ago but spent the prior 30 years first in Homewood, then Vestavia Hills and finally in Hoover, AL! Hoover was 6 years in JeffCo and 15 years in Shelby Co. And FYI, I packed a box of Jim Dandy Quick Grits for my first trip to Aruba back around 2001. Didn't need to as the local IGA grocery had the same brand and box available, LOL! I prefer not to cook on any vacation but it's sometimes nice to "fix" breakfast for dinner when you've spent the day on the beach and are vacationing for a few weeks and have a real kitchen.

I was looking at punch bowls and Ice chests on Amazon the other day and when I saw the "hot tub" I thought that they would be perfect for a wedding reception punch bowl... I think Billy Barty might have been the designer

Dan, when I was a teenager, I went to a family wedding in New Orleans. The wedding was very close family at St Louis Cathedral at Jackson Square (tours were supposed to be held back but we heard one "OH, it's a wedding!" from the rear at the very beginning!) The reception was held in the bride and groom's new rental digs and there were additional extended family and friends among the guests--a big crowd of folks!. The bride and groom's fridge went out that morning so they iced all the beverages that needed iced in their one and and only bathtub. It worked! I remember my aunt and uncle, the bride's parents' weren't thrilled with much that day but were happy by the end of the night!

When I worked radio journalism many decades ago, we were told that the proper pronunciation of a person's name is they way they say it regardless of spelling. So the only real pronunciation of OCEANIA is how the cruise line pronounces it. Ergo how does corporate say it?

So true! My name is Lesa, pronouced with a long E the same as Lisa. I most often get Less-ah! My elementery lunch room manager finally called me Liz from grade 3 to 8. Thankful that she took the time to try to learn the names and, maybe, I reminded her of Liz Taylor? Not likely!

Thank you to the original poster for asking and to everyone contributing. A few months ago, I ran into an aquaintance that had just been on a mass market cruise line in the Caribbean and I mentioned that we were finally taking another cruse and it was on O-shee-anna-eee-a Riviera. Lo and behold, her 2nd cruse back was on Riviera. I said it my way and she ssaid it O-shee-anna. I say it that way now!

FYI, about the "finally" comment above--we don't cruise often. We do a cruise every 5 to 10 years and love them when we do. We dearly enjoy land vacations in special to us spots. We sometimes find them on cruises, sometimes from friends' contributions and sometimes on the world wide web! Technology is great until it isn't :)

Thank you, Bob, for the delightful report! We're sailing on Riviera, our first on Oceania, next month. I love grits, too! Born in Birmingham and lived in Alabama for 50+ years.

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DELETED MessaGE

Well I've noticed an increase in a load of US grocery prices over the last few years or so in south FL. I read that the Federal Reserve may be ready to increase interest rates soon. We all have worries. We like to cruise to help figure out the next land vacation--no disrepect to the cruise We're first time Oceania cruisers

DH and I are going on our first Oceania cruise in late April and chose the passport. I just didn't want to deal with handling shore excursions on our own and, it was a luxury for me, went with the ship's deal. Will it worrk for us? Maybe, but most are 1/2 day so we can have lunch or tour on our own for the rest of the day. FYI, I spent most of 2016 looking out/waiting on a close family member and her cancer diagnosis. Happy to say she's doing well, cancer free this year! We're spending a few days pre and post and I'm spending my time planning those days!

Thank you for the post and the info! I was looking for the same information. Knew what I would do capris but will be looking for zip off legged pants for my husband.

Santorini is lovely but can be very busy. We were there on Riviera last month - with 3 other cruise ships! Queues for coming down on cable car were 2 hours by afternoon. If you do make it, get there and back early! Maybe worth checking if other ships will be in too.

 

Also, it is always possible that the ports might change/be cancelled due to weather. Santorini is a tender port so always risky. Riviera didn't go into Sorrento on our cruise and instead docked in Naples. A disappointment for us, ( hoping to return to a place we spent happy holidays with our kids!) but we were aware this could happen with any port.

I would like to add my second to this! My husband and I do more land than cruise vacations. Don't get me wrong, we like crusing and hope to do more in the future! We're booked on a late April/early May Oceania Riviera cruise from Athens to Rome and are comparing schedules and all the other stuff to see how many days, if any, we can spend pre and/or post cruise on land! This is our first Oceania cruise and we're looking forward to it.

To the OP, I have been advised from several long time and prolific cruisers, some are friends and some are TA's, to choose a cruise ship first and the general itinerary second. The ship is the destination because the itinerary is subject to change. That works for us.

My best wishes to you and your future plans.

Our cruise date is not until April 2017, wanted to go with a group but the group cabin category was sold out so booked direct. I've been wondering about your dining question and will be stalking my account on O leading up the the actual cruise date. Thanks for asking the question!