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

[Ozark_Kid]

31 minutes ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

We made it here in Amsterdam.  Checked into hotel the Doubletree,  We got a room with a view.  

 

The sights on our walk to the Anne Frank Huis.  We had a 4:00PM reservation.  It was cloudy and dreary.  It started to drizzle and rain while we walked there.

 

We had to go over several canals

 

This is the front of the Anne Frank Huis.  It was a very moving tour to actually be where she and her family hid for two years and then what happened to them in the end. We got to learn and understand more about the history of the Jews in Germany and the Netherlands.

 

When we came out, the sun was shining.  More canals. 

 

Got ducks?  The owner knows about hiding ducks on cruise ships.  

 

 

Looks like a fun duck pool party here.

 

 

Looks like the time difference didn't slow y'all down!  Looks like a great start.   Have fun a n d keep the pics coming. 

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

More pictures 

 

I like what it says on the building. The word “roept” means calls or calling.

The Centaal Station 

Saw this little tiny rainbow from our room 

Behind that short tower in the front is the Red Light District

Sunset

 

 

The Grand Hotel Amrath Amsterdam across from the Doubletree, all lit up at dusk.

 

In the day time 

[Ozark_Kid]

Got home a few hours ago.  While we were gone a storm came through Wednesday night.  7 inches of rain and knocked our electricity out for 12 hours.   Looks like the fridge will be emptied out.   Finnley's family lives about 5 minutes from here.  Part of their backyard fence was blown over and looks like some water damage in their house.   And now, for some unknown reason,  our electricity has gone out again  and has been off over an hour!

On the plus side our bathroom remodeling is about done.  Some guys came over while we were gone and finished most of it.  There is a strip on the ceiling where the wall was torn down that needs dry wall and resurfaced.  We have a guy that wants to do that for us too.  Nice to have the master bathroom back.  No more climbing upstairs for a shower!

[BonTexasNY]

1 hour ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

We made it here in Amsterdam.  Checked into hotel the Doubletree,  We got a room with a view.  
 

 

 

We had to go over several canals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OMG Helen, your pictures are amazing, especially the one I quoted above AND the duck store is awesome!  Anne Frank Huis must have been very emotional.  Keep those fabulous pictures coming if you can.  Wishes that you and Marty have a fabulous time on shore and on board!

Edited August 14, 2023 by BonTexasNY

[harryfat1]

Here are a few more pics from the Navigator of the Seas cruise from a few days ago. I'm not good enough to post pictures in real-time.  Under the same category of being too dumb to walk and chew gum at the same time.

 

Here are some more day 3 pictures from Catalina Island (Avalon).  Day 4 will be in the next post.

 

My usual full post-cruise write-up with details will be posted on the RCI main boards within the next couple of days after I get all the pictures sorted out in case anyone is interested to read up on the details.

 

I didn't take too many pictures (by my standards anyway) averaging less than 300 per day as I have done this itinerary several times already.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Day 4 of the short Mexico Cruise to Ensenada:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by harryfat1
You think typing with 2 feet is easy? Of course there will be corrections...

[Sea Dog]

@FromSea2ShiningSea Loving the beautiful pictures Helen. I love that city. I forget the name but there is a fantastic art museum that houses a lot of great impression works of art.

 

@harryfat1 How is Navigator? How is the food? We will sail on her in October of 2024.

[brillohead]

Oh @dani negreanu, I'm so happy to hear that your son's family found a rental!  Hopefully that takes a huge worry off their shoulders!  

And @ReneeFLL and @FromSea2ShiningSea, I love the Amsterdam pics!  You guys have a GREAT cruise together!

[brillohead]

Thought I'd post this here... posted on FB as well.  

 

[taznremmy]

@FromSea2ShiningSea  Helen, you guys really lucked out with your hotel room view, and your photos are great!  Hello to Marty.

[cruiselvr04]

6 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

Good news your "kids" found a rental. As far as amenities, when our daughter lived in a 2 bedroom townhouse, when we visited, we slept on a pull out couch for 2 weeks and had minimal closet space, almost no drawer space.  We had a powder room (toilet, sink) near us so that was a plus.  Only one full bathroom so we had to be patient to wait our turn for showers.

 

They'll be fine and you will be too.  I can imagine the excitement and anticipation in waiting to see them again.

It’s been hard to visit our kids too.  None have a guest room.  The best option is a sofa sleeper and a shared bath.  We are wanting to visit once a month for a few days to spend time with the grands.  So we are going to rent the smallest apartment we can find in their area.  We don’t want to be underfoot all the time but do want to help with a meal once in a while and be there for birthdays and special school activities, maybe some movie nights and sleepovers with grands on the weekends. We’ll see how it goes for a year lease.  Thankfully they live only about 5 hours away.  

[brillohead]

2 minutes ago, cruiselvr04 said:

It’s been hard to visit our kids too.  None have a guest room.  The best option is a sofa sleeper and a shared bath.  We are wanting to visit once a month for a few days to spend time with the grands.  So we are going to rent the smallest apartment we can find in their area.  We don’t want to be underfoot all the time but do want to help with a meal once in a while and be there for birthdays and special school activities, maybe some movie nights and sleepovers with grands on the weekends. We’ll see how it goes for a year lease.  Thankfully they live only about 5 hours away.  

 

I love hearing about grandparents like this!  ❤️

 

My son got cheated on the grandparent experience... my adoptive mother disowned me when my son was 2yo (for putting my sick dog to sleep "without her permission"), and my adoptive father didn't have any way to stay in my life (needless to say, my mother has control issues).  My FIL was disabled and he passed away when my son was 3yo, and my MIL was a wonderful grandparent, but she moved out of state when my son was 2yo. 

I found my biological mother back in the 90s, but she's an alcoholic with no interest in being a parent. I just recently found my biological father through a DNA search, and he's a very caring and loving man, but he lives in another state and my son is now 23yo and living his own life and not really "needing" a grandparent in his life.  

Part of my decision to become a nurse later in life was so I'd have the job security and flexibility to be a hands-on grandma when the time comes.  In nursing school, one assignment was to write a timeline of what our goals were for our nursing career, and mine indicated that I'd be a cruise nurse for a while, then when/if my son had children, I'd work part-time and be a full-time grandma.  Things are lining up to make that happen... I'm going to work at the hospital I just started at for a couple of years so I can get my knees and hip replaced, then I'll be able to take some time to be a cruise nurse, and then it will be time for grandparenthood!

[brillohead]

After all my post-COVID cruising, this dry spell is KILLING me!!!!

 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by brillohead

[BonTexasNY]

1 hour ago, cruiselvr04 said:

It’s been hard to visit our kids too.  None have a guest room.  The best option is a sofa sleeper and a shared bath.  We are wanting to visit once a month for a few days to spend time with the grands.  So we are going to rent the smallest apartment we can find in their area.  We don’t want to be underfoot all the time but do want to help with a meal once in a while and be there for birthdays and special school activities, maybe some movie nights and sleepovers with grands on the weekends. We’ll see how it goes for a year lease.  Thankfully they live only about 5 hours away.  

Renting an apt is a great idea. Luckily my daughter and son in law bought a house with an in-law suite.  We stayed in it twice and the privacy and comfort were wonderful.   One time when our 15 year old grandson came in, I asked him if he needed anything.  His response was priceless " I just want to hang with you".  Music to our ears.  In reality I know he probably wanted to get away from his parents and sister.  Fine with us.

 

 

[sgmn]

17 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

You scored a great seat location. Are planes coming in contact with each other, or other objects, a common occurrence? What are to reprocussions to the pilots for damaging a plane? Obviously, I need another DL chat with Mike.😊

On the ground I don't remember it happening at Heathrow all the years I worked there. But often a plane would get damaged by a service vehicle, catering trucks, cargo or luggage vehicles etc

Or by the jet bridge when attaching it to the plane.

[sgmn]

3 hours ago, brillohead said:

 

I love hearing about grandparents like this!  ❤️

 

My son got cheated on the grandparent experience... my adoptive mother disowned me when my son was 2yo (for putting my sick dog to sleep "without her permission"), and my adoptive father didn't have any way to stay in my life (needless to say, my mother has control issues).  My FIL was disabled and he passed away when my son was 3yo, and my MIL was a wonderful grandparent, but she moved out of state when my son was 2yo. 

I found my biological mother back in the 90s, but she's an alcoholic with no interest in being a parent. I just recently found my biological father through a DNA search, and he's a very caring and loving man, but he lives in another state and my son is now 23yo and living his own life and not really "needing" a grandparent in his life.  

Part of my decision to become a nurse later in life was so I'd have the job security and flexibility to be a hands-on grandma when the time comes.  In nursing school, one assignment was to write a timeline of what our goals were for our nursing career, and mine indicated that I'd be a cruise nurse for a while, then when/if my son had children, I'd work part-time and be a full-time grandma.  Things are lining up to make that happen... I'm going to work at the hospital I just started at for a couple of years so I can get my knees and hip replaced, then I'll be able to take some time to be a cruise nurse, and then it will be time for grandparenthood!

Sounds like a grest plan. I'm sure you'll be a wonderful grandma.

I only had one grandparent and she lived in Cornwall and as we travelled the world with the RAF we didn't see her much. 

My kids also only had one grandparent after the age of four or five . But my mum was a very hands on grandma and helped us a lot with child care as we both worked full time. 

 

[sgmn]

So happy it's working out for your son and family Dani @dani negreanu.  Its such a big step to relocate to another country. And that you can visit so soon. September should be lovely weather in Northern Europe. 

Looking forward to hearing about it. 

 

Very few houses in UK have more than one bedroom with en suite facilities. Smaller houses don't even have that, just a family bathroom and if you're lucky an additional toilet downstairs.  

 

 

[ollienbertsmum]

On 8/12/2023 at 6:07 PM, lenquixote66 said:

The only college subject that I can say I truly hated was Math.

Maths was the subject I did not pass as an 18 yr old.  I always used to say that I would try again when I retired.  Here I am one year retired and I seem to be a bit too busy to enroll.  The thought of doing it is a good incentive to keep busy, but I’m still curious to know why it was so hard. 

[sgmn]

Our eldest son and family (who moved from London to Reading last year) haven't really settled.  It ticks the boxs about being close to us and DILs parents and the nursery school her mum is deputy head of, so they get free nursery care, also has fast good links to London. But they are missing London so I think they may be looking to move back there.

 

House prices are so high though I don't how they can afford a house with a garden.  Prices in the whole of the south are crazy, particularly in London.

 

Fingers crossed they find somewhere better still close to us. I love looking after Isaac and we may not be able to see so much of them if they move too far away. 

[ReneeFLL]

On 8/12/2023 at 3:11 PM, barbeyg said:

So…who is cruising soon? Which ship and where?
 

I have to live vicariously thru you till Thanksgiving, when we finally sail again. 😁 

We will be on the Jewel in 2 days with Helen & Marty. Need to book a longer cruise (b2b) for next year. I’m a little behind on that.

 

Jewel Of The Seas B2B 11 nights British Isles 08-16-2023

Jewel Of The Seas B2B 17 night Arctic Circle 08-28-2023

Odyssey Of The Seas 8 night Southern Caribbean 11-25-2023

Adventure Of The Seas 8 night Christmas 12-22-2023

Icon Of The Seas 7 night Eastern Caribbean 01-27-2024 Inaugural 

Odyssey Of The Seas 8 night Southern Caribbean 02-03-2024

Odyssey Of The Seas 6 night Western Caribbean 04-07-24

Wonder Of The Seas 7 night Caribbean & Perfect Day 02-02-25 Bella 2.0

Utopia Of The Seas 4 night Bahamas 02-10-2025 Bella 2.5

[ReneeFLL]

20 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

You scored a great seat location. Are planes coming in contact with each other, or other objects, a common occurrence? What are to reprocussions to the pilots for damaging a plane? Obviously, I need another DL chat with Mike.😊

Guess I didn’t pay enough attention to what Mike said. The 777 was being pushed back to go in for repairs. That’s when it hit the 787. Not sure what would happen to the ground crew. I forgot to ask. I’m sure he would be happy to talk to you about it as always.

[ReneeFLL]

 

17 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

 

@ReneeFLL and @FromSea2ShiningSea hard to keep it straight between this thread and Bella’s but it looks like you’re cruising together.  Hope you all have a great trip and share lots of pictures with us!

Thanks. We’re on the same b2b cruises.

 

10 hours ago, Bailey & Sophie said:

 

Thanks. Good info. Your pics are great!

Thank you.

 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by ReneeFLL

[sgmn]

@grapau27Graham, we're off to the Yorkshire Aviation Museum this week and staying one night in York.

 We won't have a lot of time but hope to fit in a visit to York Minster and get a feel for the city 

[grapau27]

6 minutes ago, sgmn said:

@grapau27Graham, we're off to the Yorkshire Aviation Museum this week and staying one night in York.

 We won't have a lot of time but hope to fit in a visit to York Minster and get a feel for the city 

York is a lovely city Sue.

The Shambles a medieval street in the centre of York is lovely and fairly close to the lovely minster.

[bobmacliberty]

12 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Was Wally World open when you got there?

 

I see what you did there. 😉