MJSailors

Laurie-Thank you for your quick reply. I thought you might have a piece of luggage that hooked onto the wheelchair. I see how that luggage would be extremely helpful for a solo wheelchair traveler. I noted the brand on the luggage in the photo for future reference. Wishing you an enjoyable first evening on the ship. I will be following your posting as your journey proceeds. MJ👩🏻

@Lionesss Wishing you and enjoyable and lucrative cruise. Just thinking out loud here about the casino after reading your post about the generous payout you hit in the first night of the cruise. I am assuming that you put your passenger card ( cruise card,key card, whatever RCL calls it) into the slot machine when you begin play. Is it possible that there is a way to track a passengers play history and reward a frequent slot player with a big payout to encourage that player to keep going to the casino? Also,others could hear about a passenger’s big win and decide they would play the slots also in hopes of hitting it big. Not taking away any of your luck or casino skills, just thinking of ways a casino could encourage players. 😊 MJ👩🏻

Laurie- I am wishing you a good sea journey as it is a trans Atlantic,not a typical cruise to the Caribbean. My DH and I did one TA on the QEII and we found that sea journey to be quite relaxing. I read about your trip on the train from Orlando to Miami and I have a question that I hope you don’t mind answering. It may be helpful to people who are new to experiencing handicapped travel for themselves. I was wondering how you managed your luggage in and out of the train terminals and on your way to the hotel. I am thinking that there were porters to assist in the train terminals and you mentioned a checked bag. Just thinking about you maneuvering your way to the hotel. Take care MJ👩🏻

@firefly333 Re: spending money due to highly inflated prices? You are not the only one!!!! MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@firefly333 I think hiring the movers to pack for you is a good plan. As we get older, extra cost for convenience and ease is worth the price. You are doing the relocating by yourself, so hiring help makes it easier for you. We just had some interior painting done. The job cost a bit more than expected, but the painter is a retired NYPD officer and is trustworthy. I would rather pay more for his work than have a crew of painters in my home that I know nothing of their background. Peace of mind and/or ease when getting a job done is worth the cost. Hoping your move goes well for you. MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Marietta- Easy to say,I know, but take some time to care for yourself too.💐 My father had early onset Alzheimer’s and I realize how draining caretaking can be for a person. I recall my Mom taking a break when my Dad had his afternoon nap by watching her soap operas. No sure how pleasant the stories were,but she at least could sit and relax for a bit. MJ👩🏻

George C- I always thought Moonstruck was filmed n Brooklyn Heights- maybe ? helen haywood - I agree about My Fair Lady- I always liked it better than the Sound of Music. Both movies from my childhood. Reading so many movie posts I thought of a few more- Hitchcock- Rear Window - Raymond Burr’s character was creepy, while Grace Kelly was beautiful. Also ,North by Northwest- so much suspense ! Sally Field Movies- Murphy’s Romance, Places in the Heart and Steel Magnolias. Mel Brooks- Young Frankenstein Dirty Dancing-Patrick Swayze!!! When Harry Met Sally Disney animated films- Snow White,Sleeping Beauty,Beauty and the Beast. Lots of good movies ! MJ👩🏻

Favorite movies-many good ones already mentioned here. I’ll add a few- Moonstruck,A League of Their Own, Coming to America Father of the Bride ( both versions) and a really old classic -Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House -anyone who has dealt with home construction can empathize with Cary Grant’s character. MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Laurie-That is discouraging news. Two thoughts- Could you ask someone at the front desk if they know of any wheelchair repair service ? Is there a Conceierge or guest services at the Disney resort where you are staying that could assist with this issue ? I am thinking that Disney makes wheelchairs available to guests who are in need of one. Certainly,those wheelchairs may need repairs,so their needs to be a repair shop / center to take care of them. Also- Have you tried to Google /nternet search a repair service in the area ? Hoping you can locate someone to fix the wheelchair soon! MJ🙎🏻‍♀️

@derorim I have a cactus that was grown from a slip of one that my Grandmother had in her house over 60 years ago. It is on an opposite schedule than your plant. Just one or two blooms at Christmas, but more blooms in April.Could be an Easter Cactus! Do you feed your cactus anything? I have given my plant the Miracle Grow fertilizer sticks-when I remember to do so. I think it has survived through my benign neglect. There are buds on the plant now. Hoping for some flowers soon! MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Dani -DH and I watched ,for awhile ,this evening, the cable news networks’ reporting the situation in Israel. The reports are personal to me as I am thinking of you, your hubby, family, friends and neighbors. So many innocent people bearing the decisions of the leaders involved. Keeping you in our thoughts and prayers and hoping for better news come tomorrow morning. Also-I think you will be able to keep your travel plans and Ken will not have to cancel anything.So many people posting here are looking forward to meeting you and sharing your company on the cruise. Sending positive thoughts in that direction for you.🤗 Shalom- MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Continued blessings to you,Ozark Kid. I am sure that the goodness you have shown others is now being returned to you. Take care MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Thank you, @A&L_Ont, @h20skibum and @StanleyandGus and @cruiselvr04 for your responses. Totally agree with all the points you made in your posts. After listening to an interview with Al Gore this morning, I got to thinking of this electric vehicle phenomena was a US thing or world wide. From the sampling here, I am understanding that it is world wide. I do not think electric vehicles are sustainable for reasons that have been posted. MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Thank you,Dani for your response. Totally understand. MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Thank you Graham. I agree with all the points you have made. MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Happy Friday, all! I have a question for our posters who live in Australia, Canada,England and Israel. A report on TV this AM caused me to be curious. Is the production of electric cars being promoted in your countries? According to the report, there has been a great demand for such vehicles in the US. Thank you- @aussielozzie18, @A&L_Ont, @grapau27, and @dani negreanu MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Look up a church in the ports the ship is visiting. You may be able to attend services locally. MJ

@Momof3gurlz Glad to give you some insights. Friends of ours found this condo complex,Ocean Village,when they retired in 2009. They bought a unit in 2010 and invited us to use it when I retired in 2011. We liked the complex very much, and rented in 2012. We then bought a unit after that stay. We renovated our unit and basically flipped it,selling in 2014. We realized that,for us, it was better to rent then own. In subsequent years, we rented through the RE agency in the complex or through VRBO. Most units require a month stay during the high season- Jan. through April.Ocean Village (OV) is a gated community which has a 9 hole golf course, ocean beach waterfront,a library,several pools,bocce and tennis courts with shuffleboard and basketball courts,and a community center for various activities with a fitness center on premises.One caveat is that there are plans for reconstructing the large swimming pool and surrounding area with completion slated for 2025.Work has not begun,yet. You could check out the complex by Googling Ocean Village,Ft Pierce,FL We also rented two times in Island Beach Resort, Jensen Beach. It is a smaller property offering a swimming pool and ocean beach waterfront. There is a restaurant attached,Shuckers. You can rent directly on their web site,and it may be possible to rent there for a few weeks rather than a month. Google Island Beach Resort,Jensen Beach FL. You could also look at other complexes by looking at VRBO. We are familiar with Vero Beach, Ft Pierce,Jensen Beach,Stuart and Singer Island. The properties we have researched are all on the ocean. Obviously, we like to be on a beach as we find it relaxing for a vacation spot. As for when to rent- if you are thinking of Winter,2025,I would suggest that you start looking now. People were looking for rentals for next Winter at OV by the end of March. We decided this past December that we wanted to stay for March at OV. By this time, condo offerings were sparse. The condo we were able to rent had everything we needed and everything (appliances ,TV,Wfi etc ) worked well, but the decor was very dark - heavy gold velour drapes in the bedroom,for example- that did not reflect the tropical FL atmosphere of the grounds. We thought it was a good thing that we had sunshine for almost all of the days,as being in that condo on a rainy day would be dismal ! As I noted in my previous post, the rent and fees gave us sticker shock. In the past (13 years ago ) I recall the monthly rent and fees to be between $2,000 and $3,000. This Winter,we paid $7000 with a refundable security deposit of $500. But, most travel costs have skyrocketed in the past few years. I hope you find this info helpful. If you have any further questions, please post them to me. MJ👩🏻

Just read the news about Bella. She was so cute and full of personality. She has a place in the hearts of many posters here. Thank you John and LaLa for sharing her with us. MJ♥️🥲

This thread does move from topic to topic-NCAA basketball to ceilings to travel and Netflix etc shows lately. Keeps things interesting as conversations among friends are usually like that. My two cents about ceilings. We built our home in 1984.The ceilings are flat, painted sheet rock with crown moulding. I have been in many homes in my area and have only seen the type of ceilings that we have in our house. We first experienced popcorn ceilings in Florida condos. When we purchased a condo in 2012 in FL, we looked into removing the popcorn as we did not appreciate the look of it. We were told that removal would be costly. Since the condo was a second home, we put up with the popcorn. I wondered why the popcorn was so prevelent in FL. I think I know why-the popcorn hides cracks and leak damage and repairs to it due to leaks are doing, I'm just waiting some cues clinic, relatively affordable compared to repair/replacing Sheetrock. Maybe that is not the case, but a thought on my part. Speaking of FL, my DH and I have returned from a month spent at a condo complex on the ocean at Hutchinson Island. Since we sold our condo a number of years ago, we have decided to rent occasionally for a month Rents have skyrocketed there! We spent the $$$ because we haven’t traveled much since 2020. So, if we divided the number of months we did not go anywhere into the rental fees etc, the amount of travel money we spent was,actually, affordable-that’s girl math. My hubby feels otherwise. We had sunshine everyday ,except two days where there were intermittent showers. We were able to go on daily walks, visit the beach, play shuffleboard and visit with friends both in the condo complex and in the surrounding area. It was one of our better vacations. We still would like to take a few cruises, but we are concerned still about becoming ill on the ship or after getting home. We know that there was always the possibility of catching some illness on a cruise, but since we started cruising in 1987, we never contracted any illness on a cruise ship. I keep reading postings about peoples’ cruise experiences and , perhaps, one day in the near future, we will book another cruise vacation. There, my conversation went from ceilings to travel-oh, also glad for UConn’s win. They faced a giant and won the championship ! Yay, Huskies! So, I got basketball into the conversation too! Wishing all a good rest of the day! MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Maryann-My condolences for the loss of dear Lois. You were fortunate to enjoy a long friendship with her. Hoping good memories will be a comfort. 💐 MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

@dani negreanu Dani - I hope you feel better very soon. Take care- MJ👩🏻

@DaniDanielle Marietta- Your RJ has written so genuinely about the feelings that he has experienced since the loss of his Dad. It is so good that he has family,friends and educators who have surrounded him with love and support. Wishing him and all your family many blessings.💐 MJ👩🏻

@BonTexasNY Hoping your surgery goes well and that you will be feeling fine soon. MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

Terry robes were very good. Slippers were useless, flat and flimsy . I always pack a pair of flip flops for DH and myself to use as slippers in the cabin as well as going to the pool.The binoculars weren’t very good either. This was our last experience on Summit June 2023. Aqua cabin. MJ