PoofCat99

20 minutes ago, wcook said:

 I have a beagle. Although he has never been in an emergency situation, I know how he will react. He will beg for food. 

😄 Horses are either going for homicide or suicide. Except for my big guy. He was all about food.

2 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

When I came ashore I got heavily involved in Contingency and Emergency Planning, especially with the Emergency Services.
We always tried to make our training as realistic and interesting as possible.
We used sneaky tactics such as concealing a heater in the 'control room' and cranking up the heat ..... quiet rumbling explosion type noises over the PA ... turn up the bass and creating a vibration.
In the debriefs the 'controllers' said it was frightening but they felt it was worthwhile and better than sitting bored in a lecture theatre.
For those that were 'disinterested' we often played a tape of an Emergency call of a distressed person who was drowning, and subsequently died. It usually grabbed their attention.
I managed a trip to London to visit the temporary mortuary set up after the London bombings. That was heartbreaking but the information that was passed on to trainees was another attention grabber.
Sometimes of course it was the old horse to water syndrome.

A veterinarian friend of mine helps local law enforcement & rescue train for emergencies involving horses. He tries to incorporate some handling of real animals, although it is hard to predict how any animal will react in a given situation. 

I always have a stash of my mom's favorite tea sachets in my suitcase. 

4 hours ago, wcook said:

In general, a multi room suite is going to be more expensive than two cabins. One option would be to seek out a cruise with a low single supplement. Another would be to put her in an inside across the hall. She can hang out with you and your balcony, but retreat to her cabin for the bathroom and to sleep. 

I do this with my parents. They book a balcony (non-suite), & I'm in an inside or studio. We have also done a 2 bedroom suite for a splurge. 

My mom uses a scooter & the parking at the terminal was easy. We went through the inspection, dropped bags with the porters, then parked in a handicap spot. We unloaded the scooter & she rode it to the terminal. Do be advised some of the sidewalk didn't have cut aways, so my dad & I had to get it over a curb while mom used her walker. 

On the way to visit me in South Carolina, my parents stopped at a Cracker Barrell near Charlotte, North Carolina for breakfast. In less than an hour thieves popped open the cap on our truck & stole all my dad's clothes, his computer bag & one of my mom's bags.  The computer turned up 5 years later in Atlanta. 

We once traveled on a European river cruise where we met a former governor of Iowa. 

16 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

My experience as well.  

Mine hides when the suitcases come out. He really hates changes in routine & is a scaredy cat.

3 hours ago, lobsternight said:

I always had my neice stay with the fat fluffy boys, but now she lives thousands of miles away. I am just starting to consider who I should hire for our upcoming December cruise.  My question is what is a decent amount to pay either a service or an acquaintance?  I would like a daily visit, feed and scoop litter, and some play time if the cats will.  Thinking of a half hour visit.

I pay $22 per visit plus a small surcharge for weekends & holidays.  My petsitter works for a service that is bonded & insured. Note, I pay the service directly & don't know what her cut is.

Lovely cat sitter who lives up the road comes every day. She makes sure to give lots of pets & love.

I get daily updates. Attached is from when we were in Key West & visited the Hemingway house. 

I have a flipstick, but don't recommend it if you are unable to balance/support yourself with your legs.

17 hours ago, The Scurvy Pirate said:

When our son was 18 months old, he wore one of these on the cruise whenever we went out.  Some of the looks we got were the "can you believe that... poor kid" looks, but he was safe... 

 

Many parents believe that a child leash…

Looks similar to this:

And they are right….

Because babies are just like dogs…

• Unpredictable… You don’t know what they are going to do next.
• To you they are the most precious thing in the world
• Poo and wee everywhere unless you train them
• You can’t understand a word they say
• They get excited by their own reflection.

They put anything in their mouth...

Corkage is a misnomer. It covers providing you glasses to drink from, washing, & potential breakage whether you drink it in your room or not.

15 hours ago, CruisingViper said:

They got both kinds of music, country and western.

Chicken wire?

Taxi should be available. About $30

2 hours ago, zqvol said:

 

Tortola is a much better stop that Phillipsburg, at least IMO. Two great options there: The Baths and Jost van Dyke.

Thanks. We were in Tortola last year. Unfortunately, 1 of us has mobility issues so the Baths are probably out.

We are on the Epic the week before & just got notice that Phillipsburg St. Maarten is canceled in favor of Tortola. It's far enough out we are considering a different cruise. 

All international arrivals into the u.s. must go through immigration & customs. You will have to exit the secure area to get your flight to Miami & go back through, including checking bags (unless they can be dropped at a transfer desk after customs,  not sure Tampa has this). Once you exit you will have to put any liquids over 3 oz. into checked bags including any duty free. I would plan to get your wine after you land in Miami. 

I flew out of EWR last Saturday on my way to LHR. Flight was scheduled to leave 9 pm. We got to the about 4 pm, but a flight coming in from Denver had an emergency landing due to flat tires around noon. All flights in & out were stopped for several hours while they evacuated & investigated the accident. Even after the runways were reopened, it caused a snowball effect & our plane didn't leave until 11pm.

8 hours ago, Jessejo said:

I ordered one of those but sent it back - too unsteady for me. Thanks tho for the recommendation.

No problem.  It is not for everyone. 

I use one called "flip stick". It is great & folds up into a nice little case for packing. 

1 hour ago, alreadypacked said:

Not sure what OP means by "non-threatening allergy to seafood"...

 

After eating all kinds of seafood for over 40 years, out of nowhere I suddenly became allergic to crustacean shellfish (shrimp, crab, lobster, craw (cray) fish. 😞

 

Face and torso blew up in hives.

 

Allergy testing confirmed crustacean allergy (can still eat mollusks--thankfully!!!--different species than crustaceans)

 

I think its good that staff take food allergies seriously. Never thought I'd be dealing with this at this age, but food allergies can be life-threatening. I learned that people can become allergic to anything at any point in their lives.

 

Sadly, late-blooming shellfish allergy sufferers are unlikely to outgrow the allergy (as some children do with peanut allergy etc).  

 

I now carry liquid Benadryl and Epinephrine auto-injector at all times.

 

If you (or someone you know are allergic to a food) take it seriously (even if they don't). 

I have the opposite problem, I developed a late in life allergy to mollusks. Luckily it only causes, shall we say "stomach upset", but doctor recommended avoidance. It is amazing how many ingredients can be hidden. Having sailed on NCL for years I appreciate that they check on this for me.

1 hour ago, TPgal said:

 

I agree with that assessment, it is handy but I have blanked out on the time we spent waiting by the river for the next boat to come by.  The metro is amazing!  If one train comes and it's packed with people another is moments behind.  ❤️ 

I've visited Paris a few times. Depending on time of day you can get places on the bus pretty quick & see more of the city.  You can plan routes at www.ratp.fr. Buy a pack of 10 tickets, you can share between you.

Though, if I had the choice as a first time visit & only a few hours, I wouldn't do the  "on your own". It is easy to get turned around & you can waste time checking maps, etc. If you're determined to do on your own, have a game plan,  map out where you are going ahead of time,  have a plan B, and be ready to abort if your time gets short.

If you lunch at a cafe look for "quick service" places. The French expect diners to take their time. My parents & I once had lunch in a little town in Provence that lasted 3 hours.

If I remember correctly, Batobus is not that quick for getting around.  More like a hop-on-hop off bus. It might be quicker to map out metro or regular bus.

Depends on whether you are looking at the old testament vs. new...