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

[Sunshine3601]

41 minutes ago, Coralc said:

There is one left in SF Bay Area. It is quite a way aways, though. We used to have an Outlet store, too. It was great for appliances. I miss Sears, but not enough to drive some distance to get there. I wonder if JC Penney will be next.   

Same here.  We bought all appliances, except current fridge, from Sears outlet.   I miss them and K-Mart.  I Hate Wal-mart

[Sunshine3601]

36 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I hope not. I really like Penney's

They are all gone in my area too!

[Sunshine3601]

14 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

Two more sleeps for you, Debbie!🛳️

When do you sail?

[HBE4]

Anybody have an opinion in TCL TV's? I think I'm about to pull the trigger on this - a TCL QM8 65 inch 4K with mini-led QLED Smart (is there any other kind? ) TV

 

https://www.tcl.com/us/en/products/home-theater/qm8-class/65-class-4k-mini-led-qled-hdr-google-tv-65qm850g

 

3 of 4 Samsung TV's I've had all died a premature death within 3 years of purchase. The 4th one is going on 10 years now & is showing its age, large patches of pixels not longer seem to work correctly or not work at all giving the image a "blotchy" look. 

 

Since I've had bad luck with Samsung and Sony is just too expensive, I'm not considering either brand. My main TV is an LG which I love & I was pretty certain I was going to buy another LG until I read the  reviews of the TCL QM8 from professionals & users. Everybody seems blown away by the quality of the picture. 

 

In terms of technology, the mini-LED QLED is the newest tech, known for it's brightness. Picture quality wise, it's a small step down from OLED TV's which is considered the best but those work better in darker rooms (so I'm told) & since this TV is going into a very bright, sun-filled room, mini-LED QLED seems the way to go.

 

TCL lists the price $1,699 which must be Royal math as Best Buy has it for $1,399 on sale for $999.  Still a bit more than I wanted - I was looking in the $700-$800 range -  but since it's being compared to the picture quality of Sony & Samsung's that are twice the price, it seems like too good of a deal to pass on.

 

I welcome any and all thoughts, opinions, critiques and off-topic comments. 🙂

 

EDIT: And when I say I'm about to pull the trigger, I mean by Sunday. That's when the sale ends.

 

Edited March 1 by HBE4

[Luckynana]

9 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

When do you sail?

Monday, March 11th.   And, I meant 3 more sleeps for you and Eric!

[HBE4]

53 minutes ago, Coralc said:

There is one left in SF Bay Area. It is quite a way aways, though. We used to have an Outlet store, too. It was great for appliances. I miss Sears, but not enough to drive some distance to get there. I wonder if JC Penney will be next.   

 

I'm pretty sure most things in my parents house came from Sears.  My dad swore by Craftsman tools. Sears was the pre-Internet version of Amazon.

 

Except you could get your car fixed at Sears, can't do that at Amazon.

[Sunshine3601]

9 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

I'm pretty sure most things in my parents house came from Sears.  My dad swore by Craftsman tools. Sears was the pre-Internet version of Amazon.

 

Except you could get your car fixed at Sears, can't do that at Amazon.

Exactly

[HBE4]

19 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I read that Macy's is closing 150 stores.  Not a surprise.  Store inventory was very low and sales staff was telling people to shop on macys app for better options.

Such a shame.  I prefer to see, feel and try on before buying. 

 

That's a shame, I really liked Macy's too. Especially when they had their "One Day Sale" on Wednesday, with a "preview" day on Tuesday. Followed by a Sat/Sun weekend sale with a "preview" day on Friday. So basically, don't shop on Monday as that was the one day everything was full price 🤑 

 

Then if you had a right coupon, you could score an extra 20 - 30% off the sale price.  But after a while, the coupons got annoying as there would be 97 exceptions/exclusions listed on the back in the tiniest font ever invented.

 

Agree, I normally like to feel & try something before buying it unless I'm buying the exact same thing.

 

[sgmn]

15 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

How long is your travel time to get home?

Direct BA flights is 12 hours, Emirates via DXB is 8 hrs each segment plus 2 hrs layover in DXB.  Currently in Grand Copthorne in SIN at day room rate,  extremely nice room/hotel. Flight is 9pm tonight. Will have a swim, maybe a walk along the  Riverside, rest, late lunch shower and get taxi to airport around 6pm.

Enjoyed Spectrum, though seemed crowded and noisy. 

 Silk Road in 270 was amazing 

 

 

 

[sgmn]

View from hotel room. MBS in the far distance

[George C]

26 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

I'm pretty sure most things in my parents house came from Sears.  My dad swore by Craftsman tools. Sears was the pre-Internet version of Amazon.

 

Except you could get your car fixed at Sears, can't do that at Amazon.

I bought an outdoor gas grill from sears when we moved into our house about a dozen years ago and still can order parts .Any store that exists in a mall is in danger, Kohl’s are stand alone stores , glad they are doing well bought stock in them fairly recently and it’s doing well . 

[Coralc]

28 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

Except you could get your car fixed at Sears, can't do that at Amazon.

 

Amazon had this cool thing briefly, when we had the Camry. You could purchase your tires (w/installation included) on Amazon. And then go to the Sears Auto Center and they would be there, ready for installation and balancing. Bill said it was cheaper than other places. We were only able to use it one time. 😊

[Sea Dog]

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Same here.  We bought all appliances, except current fridge, from Sears outlet.   I miss them and K-Mart.  I Hate Wal-mart

 

Remember Venture?

[grapau27]

10 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

He is not improving. Therapist came today and did some stuff but he just can’t get moving.  He hasn’t been able to get upstairs to bed so sleeping downstairs has not been great.  I think they sent him home too soon.

Thinking of you both Marrietta and sending prayers 🙏 and good wishes for Charlie's health.

[grapau27]

White Rabbit 🐇 White Rabbit 🐇 White Rabbit 🐰.

Good luck to all this new month.

It is 33°F, frosty car windscreen but sunny here.

I hope everyone is safe and well especially Dani @dani negreanu and all like Bonnie @BonTexasNY who we have not heard from for a while.

 

[aussielozzie18]

7 hours ago, sgmn said:

Direct BA flights is 12 hours, Emirates via DXB is 8 hrs each segment plus 2 hrs layover in DXB.  Currently in Grand Copthorne in SIN at day room rate,  extremely nice room/hotel. Flight is 9pm tonight. Will have a swim, maybe a walk along the  Riverside, rest, late lunch shower and get taxi to airport around 6pm.

Enjoyed Spectrum, though seemed crowded and noisy. 

 Silk Road in 270 was amazing 

 

 

 

Looks like you had front row for that video.  Safe travels home.

Edited March 1 by aussielozzie18

[dani negreanu]

@DaniDanielle

 

So sorry for you and Charlie, Marietta.

 

As if the transplant, your mom untimely death, your daughter losing her husband and all the other Charlie's health setbacks were not enough...

 

It seems that "someone upstairs" is constantly challenging the strongest people, and you have been chosen 😢 Best wishes for health and take care 😘

[Ocean Boy]

8 hours ago, sgmn said:

Direct BA flights is 12 hours, Emirates via DXB is 8 hrs each segment plus 2 hrs layover in DXB.  Currently in Grand Copthorne in SIN at day room rate,  extremely nice room/hotel. Flight is 9pm tonight. Will have a swim, maybe a walk along the  Riverside, rest, late lunch shower and get taxi to airport around 6pm.

Enjoyed Spectrum, though seemed crowded and noisy. 

 Silk Road in 270 was amazing 

 

 

 

Interesting. That segment of Silk Road reminds me a lot of The Book on Odyssey. I wonder if RCI just created variations of basically the same show on the Q class ships.

 

You have a long trip to get home. Safe travels.

[Ocean Boy]

8 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I keep hearing on local news about noro virus rapidly spreading in the tri-state area.   We have had 4 people out sick this week.  I definitely don't want to be sick before or on our cruise leaving Sunday.

Enjoy the anticipation! One of these days I might try a cruise out of NJ.

[Ocean Boy]

8 hours ago, HBE4 said:

Anybody have an opinion in TCL TV's? I think I'm about to pull the trigger on this - a TCL QM8 65 inch 4K with mini-led QLED Smart (is there any other kind? ) TV

 

https://www.tcl.com/us/en/products/home-theater/qm8-class/65-class-4k-mini-led-qled-hdr-google-tv-65qm850g

 

3 of 4 Samsung TV's I've had all died a premature death within 3 years of purchase. The 4th one is going on 10 years now & is showing its age, large patches of pixels not longer seem to work correctly or not work at all giving the image a "blotchy" look. 

 

Since I've had bad luck with Samsung and Sony is just too expensive, I'm not considering either brand. My main TV is an LG which I love & I was pretty certain I was going to buy another LG until I read the  reviews of the TCL QM8 from professionals & users. Everybody seems blown away by the quality of the picture. 

 

In terms of technology, the mini-LED QLED is the newest tech, known for it's brightness. Picture quality wise, it's a small step down from OLED TV's which is considered the best but those work better in darker rooms (so I'm told) & since this TV is going into a very bright, sun-filled room, mini-LED QLED seems the way to go.

 

TCL lists the price $1,699 which must be Royal math as Best Buy has it for $1,399 on sale for $999.  Still a bit more than I wanted - I was looking in the $700-$800 range -  but since it's being compared to the picture quality of Sony & Samsung's that are twice the price, it seems like too good of a deal to pass on.

 

I welcome any and all thoughts, opinions, critiques and off-topic comments. 🙂

 

EDIT: And when I say I'm about to pull the trigger, I mean by Sunday. That's when the sale ends.

 

I have an LG for our main TV. I can't remember how old it is now and I have never regretted the purchase. My advise is, after reading reviews and getting an idea of what you want to buy, go to Best Buy and spend some time watching the TVs. Just like with audio, what sounds and looks good to one person does not necessarily sound and look good to someone else. 

 

The other thing I like about Best Buy is that with their closed circuit tech, you can compare exactly the same picture on the various TVs. Once you have made your decision you can check pricing on various sites. I really like B &H Photo in Manhattan. I have bought several pieces of electronics from them  including my LG TV as their pricing was better than Best Buy.

[Ocean Boy]

8 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

I'm pretty sure most things in my parents house came from Sears.  My dad swore by Craftsman tools. Sears was the pre-Internet version of Amazon.

 

Except you could get your car fixed at Sears, can't do that at Amazon.

Did you know that at one time you could buy a house from Sears? I don't remember where I read it now but as I recall it, they had several models to choose from.

[Ocean Boy]

55 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

@DaniDanielle

 

 

It seems that "someone upstairs" is constantly challenging the strongest people, and you have been chosen 😢 Best wishes for health and take care 😘

However, in all fairness, that "someone upstairs" did provide the Grey Goose to help get through the challenges.😉

[Sunshine3601]

7 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Remember Venture?

No, never heard of Venture.   Was it a Dept. Store?

[Sunshine3601]

29 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Did you know that at one time you could buy a house from Sears? I don't remember where I read it now but as I recall it, they had several models to choose from.

I recall hearing about it and just googled.   

https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/a20859/sears-sold-70000-homes-from-their-catalog-are-you-living-in-one/

[grapau27]

Good morning.

Coffee and warm banana loaf 😋 at the beach this morning.