Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[Ocean Boy]

9 hours ago, Keksie said:

What about texts?  

I have been texting with people back home this week. 

[Ocean Boy]

7 hours ago, brillohead said:

Set up WiFi calling now, if you haven't already.

To figure out how to do it, just google the type of phone you have with who your carrier is and wifi callling (android verizon wifi calling  ~or~ iphone at&t wifi calling).  You'll find instructions for how to set it up on your phone.

Then enable it on your phone, you'll have to enter your street address for routing 911 calls, and you'll be good to go.  

To test it, go into Airplane Mode on your phone, then turn on your WiFi and connect to your home network.  Then call someone, and ask them to call you.  The call is routed through your wifi and your phone rings normally.  Just don't forget to turn off Airplane Mode after you test it!

I never turn off Wifi Calling on my phone.  If I'm at home where my signal is weak, it routes through Wifi if I get a call/text.  If I'm out and about, it routes through a Cell Tower.  You don't have to do anything different just because you're using Wifi Calling -- the phone works normally. 

When you're on the ship, Airplane Mode on, then Wifi On and connect to the ship's wifi/Voom.  You're ready to go.  

 

I never turn wifi calling off either and my phone is set to use it preferentially if I connect to a trusted internet connection. So at home, office, hospital, etc calls, text, and email automatically go over the internet. 

[Sunshine3601]

7 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

If I recall correctly. they were offering sunset dinners at the top of the lighthouse.  While it sounds nice, I'm not sure how enjoyable it would be. Between the high winds, tight space & the long walk from the restaurant to the top of the lighthouse, how hot could the food stay?

Looks like they still offer dinner on Saturday and Sunday for $380.

https://arubawalkingtours.com/california-lighthouse-exclusive-dining-experience/

 

I definitely wouldn't want to be the person carrying the food up or down those narrow steps.

[sgmn]

15 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Good morning.  Views from our current holiday rental.  The house is lovely - but it’s the deck that is the biggest asset for me:

 

 

 

 

Beautiful.  Have a lovely holiday 

[Sunshine3601]

4 hours ago, Coralc said:

Mark @h20skibum And Debbie @Sunshine3601, have you ever been over to the Groundhog Day actual event? It looks like it would be something fun to do, once. And I love nutria, groundhogs and marmots. We have yellow bellied marmots here, at high elevations. 

 

Poor Quebec. Fred died, and no one is quite sure what that means as far as predictions go. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/fred-la-marmotte-dies-1.6734368

No, I have not attended the event.   Would be about 5 hr drive from I live.   I don't need to drive that far to stand in the cold, much better to watch on TV.   Probably is fun to attend at least once.

[Ocean Boy]

7 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

We are just now departing from Aruba. 

As they were putting the gentleman into the ambulance he waved and gave a thumbs up sign and everyone on the starboard side of the ship broke out into applause. It was pretty touching. 

[sgmn]

11 hours ago, grapau27 said:

 

Yum, looks like another cruise Graham. 

Sorry to hear the injections aren't working as hoped for Sarah

[h20skibum]

5 hours ago, Coralc said:

Mark @h20skibum And Debbie @Sunshine3601, have you ever been over to the Groundhog Day actual event? It looks like it would be something fun to do, once. And I love nutria, groundhogs and marmots. We have yellow bellied marmots here, at high elevations. 

 

Poor Quebec. Fred died, and no one is quite sure what that means as far as predictions go. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/fred-la-marmotte-dies-1.6734368

I have been to Punxy several times, but not on Groundhog Day.  Susan would hate to be standing out in the cold for that long.  However, after telling her you could always get tickets to hospitality village, where you can watch it in the warm, have a nice fire, hot cocoa or coffee and restrooms, she said she wouldn’t mind that.  Plus, they bring Phil in for a photo op with you and give you some kind of souvenir with your admission ticket.

 

Who knows, maybe next year.

[Jimbo]

3 hours ago, jagsfan said:

Kudus to y’all for really thinking this whole project out to give you everything you need now and in the future. 
The kitchen is a cook’s dream, and I love the roll out shelves in the pantry!

It took a long time of thought, nothing was rushed deciding what we wanted and the look we wanted.

 

First started wanting to redo the fireplace and then that led to wanting to get rid of the wall to have an open concept room that would blend in together the kitchen and living/ tv area.

 

This is how it was: Then it was determining if that wall was load bearing or not. Once we found out it wasn't then the real planning started.

 

 

 

That door to the right in the picture below was a walk-in pantry, so then we had to have a design to make sure we had a enough cabinets for the pantry, So between what you all ready seen and the high cabinet by the microwave and then the coat closet turning that into more storage space we should be fine, plus we have a additional cabinets space for dishes and pots' and pans in the island which we never had before since our old island was so tiny.

[Keksie]

2 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I have been texting with people back home this week. 

Do you put your phone in airplane mode or turn off  things so it doesn't hook up with expensive towers?

[Arzeena]

41 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

It took a long time of thought, nothing was rushed deciding what we wanted and the look we wanted.

 

First started wanting to redo the fireplace and then that led to wanting to get rid of the wall to have an open concept room that would blend in together the kitchen and living/ tv area.

 

This is how it was: Then it was determining if that wall was load bearing or not. Once we found out it wasn't then the real planning started.

 

 

 

That door to the right in the picture below was a walk-in pantry, so then we had to have a design to make sure we had a enough cabinets for the pantry, So between what you all ready seen and the high cabinet by the microwave and then the coat closet turning that into more storage space we should be fine, plus we have a additional cabinets space for dishes and pots' and pans in the island which we never had before since our old island was so tiny.

Really love it. Cheery and bright and very well thought out.

[A&L_Ont]

6 hours ago, Coralc said:

Mark @h20skibum And Debbie @Sunshine3601, have you ever been over to the Groundhog Day actual event? It looks like it would be something fun to do, once. And I love nutria, groundhogs and marmots. We have yellow bellied marmots here, at high elevations. 

 

Poor Quebec. Fred died, and no one is quite sure what that means as far as predictions go. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/fred-la-marmotte-dies-1.6734368

It happened here in Ontario the night before with Wiarton Willie. Supposedly he prerecorded his decision, if you believe the mayor.😉
 

 

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, Keksie said:

Do you put your phone in airplane mode or turn off  things so it doesn't hook up with expensive towers?

Yes, turn on airplane mode then turn on wifi. Definitely don't want to risk connecting to Cellular at Sea. 😳

[Ocean Boy]

The plan for today.... 

 

 

 

[ATG]

10 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

The plan for today.... 

 

 

 

That looks great.  We like the blue couches and chairs up by the walking track.  Padded chairs are better at my age.  In the shade and a nice breeze today.

[Lionesss]

19 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Thanks.  It is a beautiful ship... Except it is Odyssey. 😉😄

another ooooops!

 

Be safe

 

I think I need a drink.

 

Been saving up my liver since Thanksgiving.

 

Take care

 

[Lionesss]

13 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Sorry to hear that.  I hope they get the help they need and will be OK.  I have heard that Aruba has a good medical system/hospitals.

 

When we were there last year we did a tour of the island and the attendant on her dialogue of the island gave an excellent summation of the services at the new hospital.

When it was being built and it was time to hire the personal department sent out recruitment advertisements to the "mother land" as well as other countries offering 6 month contracts at premium pay for positions not filled from the old hospital. 

 

Now it was not desperate for skilled help, but they needed to increase personal with increased services.

 

However almost every position was filled by candidates requesting full time positions (not contracted, but people who wanted to move here) from lab, nursing, hospitalist from those 6 month contracts.  Every position was filled just weeks before its opening.  Most were re locating to the island.

 

Many locals were thrilled to be hired on as ancillary help from housekeeping to dietary and such, because it was a much bigger facility.

 

The hospital provides all services from Obstetrics/Pediatrics to Vascular to dialysis, to Cancer treatment.

The only service not provided is open heart surgery.

 

In a devastating injury that extensive treatment or long term acute care would be needed, the patient would be flown out.......................I cannot remember where they would be transferred out to.

 

That was one of the few things I enjoyed from the island tour.

 

Besides the beach with the overhanging rock formation, it was nap time for me.

The caves, and the desert was well a cave and a desert.

 

Take care

 

 

 

 

 

[dani negreanu]

 

DH seems to enjoy making pasta for ramen tomorrow... This time experimenting with larger noodles --

 

[Ourusualbeach]

9 hours ago, Coralc said:

Mark @h20skibum And Debbie @Sunshine3601, have you ever been over to the Groundhog Day actual event? It looks like it would be something fun to do, once. And I love nutria, groundhogs and marmots. We have yellow bellied marmots here, at high elevations. 

 

Poor Quebec. Fred died, and no one is quite sure what that means as far as predictions go. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/fred-la-marmotte-dies-1.6734368

What I thought was hilarious was they grabbed a kid and threw a groundhog hat on him and had him as a stand in for poor Fred

[Lionesss]

So, after months of dealing with signing on and staying on CC it is finally I hope resolved.

 

First, I could not log on.

Then I could not post or my post were Lost in Space.

Then every time I to go on CC I had to re-enter my Email and then my password.  It had no where to to access a site to keep logged on.

 

Then today, on the top of my screen where you log on it had a yellow box and asked if I would like CC to remember my password.

 

Praise all creation.

Finally

Resolution

 

Now I realize it is no biggie.

But, 

Happy.

 

Take care

 

Mama Lions 

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, ATG said:

That looks great.  We like the blue couches and chairs up by the walking track.  Padded chairs are better at my age.  In the shade and a nice breeze today.

 

Nice to see legs that don't have a giant scar running down them like mine. 😜

[Jimbo]

Here is a different view showing hanging light over sofa and love seat,TV area . When standing at the sink you can see that area and TV on the wall.

 

You can get a good shot of the 2 beams over head in this picture, really adds to the room. They are not solid beams,  they are 3 sided hollow wood we  had made in Florida from Etsy and had them shipped up here. I think the wood is like 1x 8's stained and burnt to look like real beams, the fire place mantle was made by the same people.

 

They slit holes in the ceiling the beams go in and are held up with framing across the rafters in the ceiling. Many sleepless nights thinking on how they were going to hang these things and not screw it up.  They are 12 ft long....... only about 18 inches on both ends is through the ceiling.

 

These are the bar stools we selected ,we have four. It was a must to make them cat claw proof ,so no fabric on them.

 

 

 

Our painters did not show up today, one of them was sick, so the reno continues into next week............Will this project ever get done...........Stay Tuned !!!

 

Dining Room table was made by the same people in Florida.

The light over that table is a little special to us, it was over our Kitchen table at our house in NJ. So it stays even though it's a little different then our other light fixtures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by Jimbo

[grapau27]

17 hours ago, Coralc said:

Best wishes for a positive outcome for Sarah. Her chiropractor should measure the diameter of her calf muscles now, and if there is later shrinkage, she will need to take additional measures to prevent continued muscle wasting. And she will need to go for long walks, daily, for as long as she is able, for it to eventually improve. (Possibly on its own) 

 

A herniated disk is not something to defer. It can really affect your quality of life later on if, it is not corrected. And if the shots don't work, in my opinion the surgery is not risky, if you have an experienced surgeon. Mine was excellent, and I have not had continuing problems. 

Thank you @Coralc

I will tell Sarah.

Graham 

[BonTexasNY]

16 hours ago, brillohead said:

Set up WiFi calling now, if you haven't already.

To figure out how to do it, just google the type of phone you have with who your carrier is and wifi callling (android verizon wifi calling  ~or~ iphone at&t wifi calling).  You'll find instructions for how to set it up on your phone.

Then enable it on your phone, you'll have to enter your street address for routing 911 calls, and you'll be good to go.  

To test it, go into Airplane Mode on your phone, then turn on your WiFi and connect to your home network.  Then call someone, and ask them to call you.  The call is routed through your wifi and your phone rings normally.  Just don't forget to turn off Airplane Mode after you test it!

I never turn off Wifi Calling on my phone.  If I'm at home where my signal is weak, it routes through Wifi if I get a call/text.  If I'm out and about, it routes through a Cell Tower.  You don't have to do anything different just because you're using Wifi Calling -- the phone works normally. 

When you're on the ship, Airplane Mode on, then Wifi On and connect to the ship's wifi/Voom.  You're ready to go.  

 

 

12 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Debbi explained it well.

You will need the internet package.  To text beyond the ship with an Android phone you will need to use WiFi calling.  Right now your calls or text travel over your cellular service.  When you use wifi calling you turn off your cellular service and your calls and text travel over the internet. 

Putting your phone in Airplane mode turns off your cellular service and wifi.  Turn back on your wifi then turn on wifi calling.  To do all of this go to your settings and then to connections. 

 

 

 

Thank you both for your help!  I sort of understand what to do which in my limited tech knowledge is saying a lot!

[aussielozzie18]

12 hours ago, Coralc said:

Nutria are horribly destructive animals, but they are very cute. 

 

 

 

sorry. not letting me adjust photos. 

Never heard of Nutrias before.  Read up on them after you posted these photos. Thanks.