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

[aussielozzie18]

We had dinner  & drinks at Kirribilli last night. 
Walking down to the theatre

 

View from the platform at Kirribilli train station after.  Must have been a colour run on, people arriving at the platform covered in coloured powder.

 

 

[George C]

3 hours ago, mo&fran said:

You don't get Captains Club points for these cruises do you? Not that it makes any difference, if you are Diamond on royal you would be elite on X.

Haven't figured that there was any special benefit.

We do get the points in one or two more of our royal suites we will be elite plus . We were Diamond on rccl on our first celebrity cruise a dozen years ago so we that made us elite , but you get no points , but since all our cruises on Celebrity were suites and half those were in large suites we are almost elite plus.

[mo&fran]

28 minutes ago, George C said:

We do get the points in one or two more of our royal suites we will be elite plus . We were Diamond on rccl on our first celebrity cruise a dozen years ago so we that made us elite , but you get no points , but since all our cruises on Celebrity were suites and half those were in large suites we are almost elite plus.

Lets face it, you move up a lot faster when to get the more expensive suites. That makes sense.

It took us 5 long cruises all but 1 was in a suite to get the 10 cruises for elite.

When they changed. we would probably made it in 3, we were mostly in a sky suite. The kicker point for a suite counts for every day.  

they changed the system after we came to RCI.

Edited March 16 by mo&fran

[grapau27]

Good evening.

The rain is pouring down here after a dry day.

I hope everyone is safe and well.

To cheer Pauline up I took her out for dinner tonight.

[mo&fran]

2 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Good evening.

The rain is pouring down here after a dry day.

I hope everyone is safe and well.

To cheer Pauline up I took her out for dinner tonight.

I thought any excuse was a good one for you guys.

[grapau27]

4 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

I thought any excuse was a good one for you guys.

Neither of us like to cook.

This was our lunch.

[George C]

I now will make Seadog jealous, we want to an interview with Gino Vannelli and Pablo Cruise . On the way up to the interview Gino got on same elevator as we were on , told him how much we enjoyed his interview a few years ago about Herb Albert and said my what’s his cd in her purse . During interview he repeated Herb Albert story and added that Stevie Wonder asked him to open for him, then said someone had cancelled and there was a opening, host called him and no other white guy had ever appeared, host then told him we will consider you off white . Will add pictures later . Tonight we will listen to Don McLean.

[Sea Dog]

45 minutes ago, George C said:

I now will make Seadog jealous, we want to an interview with Gino Vannelli and Pablo Cruise . On the way up to the interview Gino got on same elevator as we were on , told him how much we enjoyed his interview a few years ago about Herb Albert and said my what’s his cd in her purse . During interview he repeated Herb Albert story and added that Stevie Wonder asked him to open for him, then said someone had cancelled and there was a opening, host called him and no other white guy had ever appeared, host then told him we will consider you off white . Will add pictures later . Tonight we will listen to Don McLean.

Wow! I am not usually in awe of celebrities or famous people but if he got on my elevator I would be speechless. Great story.

[NHProud]

@dani negreanu Wishing you a very happy Sunday which happens to be your birthday.  We all wish for you peace , happiness and tranquility. The ability to do everyday things like shopping, lunch out with friends and just being you.  Have a good day celebrating. 
 

Happy birthday, Dani 🎂 . 

[HBE4]

I like the convenience of Uber. A few taps on the phone, I know the price & pick-up time right away. I can follow the car on the little map on the phone so I'll know if I have time for an after-dinner shot and then step outside once my ride is a minute away, which is nice on a cold or stormy night. You can also schedule an Uber up to 30 days in advance if you have an upcoming trip. Once in awhile, my credit card will offer a 5% cash back bonus.

 

I'm pretty sure I've seen the Uber App notify me when Surge Pricing "may be" in effect, in which case I may or may not try to seek out a taxi.

 

Lyft in generally a little  cheaper than Uber which is generally cheaper than taxis, the key word is generally. Exceptions include the aforementioned "Surge Pricing" and in instances where Taxi rates are a flat rate regardless of time and distance. Example: In NYC, taxis from JFK airport to Manhattan is a flat $70 rate while Uber rates will fluctuate between $50 - $150 based on demand. So take the sure price (Taxi) or gamble (Uber) and welcome to JFK Vegas 😉  Other airports in other cities many have similar flat taxi rates & perhaps why @bobmacliberty taxi from LGA to Manhattan was cheaper than Uber.  Also, I think with the popularity of Uber/Lyft their base price has increased over the years so the price savings may not be as great as it used to be. Just a WAG on my part.

 

Uber seems to work best in populated area & I've had mixed results in less populated areas.  Last year when I was in South Carolina, I ordered an Uber to Savannah airport. The closest Uber  driver that accepted was 35 minutes away. After 20 minutes, HE cancelled and I had to order another one that was even further away, 45 minutes I think. From what the 2nd driver told me, that's it can happen if they have to drive a long distance and there is no return customer coming back to their "home territory", in my case Bluffton, right outside Hilton Head. I understand why the 1st guy did - he wants a fare in both directions - but it's not fun when trying to catch a flight.

[mo&fran]

16 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Neither of us like to cook.

This was our lunch.

When I was between wives, I had to learn, couldn't survive on the alternative. The only joy was having something to eat.

 Little story though. In those days,  there was a little pizza place, where the guy made his own sauce and I loved it. So I usually drove up there about once a week for pizza and beer.   The place was County Line pizza. As the name implies, it is on the county line with neighboring Martin county. The town in our county is Jupiter, in Martin is Tequesta.  The pizza place had one waitress. Her husband was a Tequesta police officer. Must have been 1980 when the restaurant  closed and the owner retired. During the restart we were booked on Odyssey. We got to chatting with , he probably noticed  her Boston accent, and he had lived there at some point.  Then he said he now living in Florida, and he is a Tequesta  policemen. So , as we talked he said he had moved there in 1978. 2 years after I had moved down, I knew then he would know about county line pizza. When i mentioned the waitress, he just grinned. The waitress's husband was his boss when he first joined the force.

[grapau27]

Happy birthday Dani @dani negreanu

[Sunshine3601]

@dani negreanu.  Happy Birthday ❤️

[jmh2006]

Dear Dani,  I wish you the happiest of birthdays and pray daily that peace comes to you in Israel soon!! Thank you for starting this thread filled with wonderful people and relationships 4 years ago!😘🎂🎉😊

[bobmacliberty]

1 hour ago, HBE4 said:

Uber seems to work best in populated area & I've had mixed results in less populated areas.  Last year when I was in South Carolina, I ordered an Uber to Savannah airport. The closest Uber  driver that accepted was 35 minutes away. After 20 minutes, HE cancelled and I had to order another one that was even further away, 45 minutes I think. From what the 2nd driver told me, that's it can happen if they have to drive a long distance and there is no return customer coming back to their "home territory", in my case Bluffton, right outside Hilton Head. I understand why the 1st guy did - he wants a fare in both directions - but it's not fun when trying to catch a flight.

 

For kicks, l just looked at the Uber app to see what it would cost to go from my house to a local restaurant that's 3 miles away.  It would cost $11 and would take 14 minutes for the Uber to arrive.  We don't have many Ubers where I live. 😁

 

I think I mentioned this before but NYC taxis now use an app called Curb.  You can "hail" a taxi, track your progress, and pay with a credit card...all using the app.  I don't remember but I think I could pay within the Curb app using my Apple Wallet.  If that's true, I'm sure it would also work with an Android equivalent wallet.  Curb may work in other cities and/or other larger cities may have a similar app.  People generally like the cash free app for Uber/Lyft, and taxis need to keep up.

[Sea Dog]

@dani negreanu Wishing you a very happy birthday with hope for you to be able to celebrate and enjoy with family and friends. Cheers to you on your special day.

[Ocean Boy]

@dani negreanu Happy Birthday from me also. My wish for you is peace. It is long overdue.

 

[DaniDanielle]

Dani, I wish you the happiest of birthdays.  May your day be peaceful.❤️

[Vibe]

@dani negreanu

Happy Birthday 🎂

 

My wish is for peace and happiness for you, your family and friends.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 17 by Vibe

[HBE4]

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

I think I mentioned this before but NYC taxis now use an app called Curb.  You can "hail" a taxi, track your progress, and pay with a credit card...all using the app.

 

You did mention it & I forgot so I'm glad you reminded me. This is probably the best benefit to the Uber disruption of the ride-hailing business. One of the best benefits to knowing the cost up front, is that the Uber & Lyft apps - and I assume the Cub app - show your route.

 

When I was still dating my future DW and her daughter was a mere child of 5 or 8 or somewhere in that range, we took a trip to California & flew into San Fran. This was back in 1990 give or take a year. During the taxi ride from the airport to the hotel, my future step daughter must have mentioned a half-a-dozen times that we've never been to this city, it's nice to see a new, different city and stuff along those lines.  My jaded, distrustful NY personality kicked in & I had visions of the 30 minute ride turning into a 90 minute ride as the taxi driver took the longest, most congested "scenic" route to the hotel in order to drive up the fare. I was sure I was going to argue that it was not necessary to drive us across the Golden Gate Bridge 3 times! None of that actually happened but it was a long 30 minute drive & no google maps to reassure me.

 

So hopefully taxi drivers taking the long way to drive up fares is a thing of the past.

Edited March 17 by HBE4

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

Wishing you a very Happy Birthday, Dani @dani negreanu!

[HBE4]

8 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

Micheline is a fan of the CBS Sunday Morning show.  This piece was broadcast last Sunday.  We now have CC turned on most of the time, for many of the reasons called out in the video.

 

 

I am SO glad you posted this because I thought I was the only one the kept Closed-Caption on. I pretty much can identify with everything in this video ,especially the mumbling actors with an accent while loud "background" music plays & people whisper. For the longest time, I'd be turning the volume up and down or pausing, turn on CC, rewind, watch the segment I couldn't understand, pause, turn off CC and then repeat the process 2 dozen more time during the movie.

 

I am the worst. I would never watch TV with me.

 

Now I leave CC on most of the time, except during comedy specials where you can see the punch line before the comedian delivers it, thus ruining the joke. I do find myself reading the CC rather than watching the action on the screen. And of the streaming platforms - either Peacock or Paramount - the CC  can be a few seconds behind which is disconcerting.

 

However, I do like the creative description of music!👍

Edited March 17 by HBE4

[MJSailors]

Happy birthday,Dani!

Wishing you a lovely day filled with celebration.⭐️🎂❤️🥂🥳🌹

MJ🙎🏻‍♀️

[firefly333]

Happy birthday Dani. May your day be filled with everything lovely.

[HBE4]

On 3/12/2024 at 4:19 PM, Ozark_Kid said:

One place we rode to several times was Harbour Town.   I think that is what its called. 

 

 

Yes, you are correct. It's  call Harbor Town

 

 

 

@Sea Dog

 

I was in Hilton Head only once, in Jan 2023. Actually, I stayed in Bluffton which is on the mainland across from Hilton Head Island. My BIL was staying there for the winter & I visited for 5 days.  However, most our time was spent at his rental house playing games & eating fabulous dinners as he's a fantastic cook.  During the days, we walked on the beach or at several nearby parks. Pickney Island National Wildlife Refuge and Sea Pines Forest Preserve. Not sure how your mobility issues will be but the walks were interesting, thru the swampy, Low Country. Didn't see any alligators as it was too cool for them to be active but did see a bald eagle or two. including their nest which are the size of a small condo.  Most of the walking was flat ground like the pic below or boardwalk-type sidewalk over the swampy parts.

 

 

As noted above, we did go to Harbour Town for a happy hour drink and watched the dolphin excursion boats return followed by a pod of dolphins looking for food. For the next hour, the dolphins frolicked in the marina and put of such a show, we didn't feel the need to actually pay to go on the actual excursion boat!  Thank you Flipper and friends!

 

Other than that, we did hit a few local breweries and I did treat my BIL and his wife to a nice dinner. I have to check my CC receipt to find the name of the restaurant.

 

I would have loved to visit on of the plantations or spend a day or two in Savannah but time did not allow. Next time.