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

[MJSailors]

@Tree_skier I feel the need to respond to your post concerning an informal survey re: husbands giving wives gifts for Mothers’Day.

It seemed to me a bit sarcastic,hopefully that was not your intent.Perhaps you were just curious if other husbands mark the occasion for their wives. I am not certain of your motivation,of course.

I will give you a little backstory as to my husband giving me flowers for the occasion.

On my first “real”Mothers’Day, my DH gave me a bouquet from our infant son,Christopher John. Sadly, we lost our infant boy shortly after to SIDS. This was in 1987. Christopher John would have been thirty-seven this past February.

We had no other children, but my DH would always give me flowers for Mothers’ Day .My husband is a loving and generous man. He always wants me to know that I am a very caring and loving person.We have been fortunate all theses years to be surrounded by loving and supportive family and friends. I am an aunt and a godmother to a number of children.

In 2004,I hired a teacher for our department. She and I became close friends. So close that she and her husband have “adopted” us as the parents she never truly had. We are considered grandparents to her two children.

Miracles can happen. We lost our baby son,and it took some time,but we have gained a family that we truly love and they truly love us.

As others have posted,we do not exchange gifts any longer. We celebrate with experiences rather than giving things. At this stage if life,we are trying to dispose of some of our things, not collect them.

My DH has always marked occasions with flowers. It is something he does from his heart.

I may suggest that you think of surprising your wife with some flowers tomorrow. She may be quite glad if you do.

MJ

Edited May 12 by MJSailors

[ATG]

7 minutes ago, jmh2006 said:

So glad you are a ManU fan!  I didn't want to not like you 🤣.  Our DS got us hooked on them from here in the US.  We have seen them play 3 times here in the US and in 2019 went to Old Trafford for last game of the season.  It has been a rough season to be sure.  😪

Wow, I would love to go there for a game. We started watching the EPL decades ago when our sons started playing.  We wanted to see what the game really looked like.  My favorite moment was when my husband was coaching tykes (under 6) and in the middle of the game he called a time out for the kids to look at the blimp flying overhead.  He figured they would all stop playing and it was better to just stop for a minute.

[Ocean Boy]

I'm at the beach. Don't see any lights and it feels like winter.

[Ocean Boy]

23 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

@Tree_skier I feel the need to respond to your post concerning an informal survey re: husbands giving wives gifts for Mothers’Day.

It seemed to me a bit sarcastic,hopefully that was not your intent.Perhaps you were just curious if other husbands mark the occasion for their wives. I am not certain of your motivation,of course.

I will give you a little backstory as to my husband giving me flowers for the occasion.

On my first “real”Mothers’Day, my DH gave me a bouquet from our infant son,Christopher John. Sadly, we lost our infant boy shortly after to SIDS. This was in 1987. Christopher John would have been thirty-seven this past February.

We had no other children, but my DH would always give me flowers for Mothers’ Day .My husband is a loving and generous man. He always wants me to know that I am a very caring and loving person.We have been fortunate all theses years to be surrounded by loving and supportive family and friends. I am an aunt and a godmother to a number of children.

In 2004,I hired a teacher for our department. She and I became close friends. So close that she and her husband have “adopted” us as the parents she never truly had. We are considered grandparents to her two children.

Miracles can happen. We lost our baby son,and it took some time,but we have gained a family that we truly love and they truly love us.

As others have posted,we do not exchange gifts any longer. We celebrate with experiences rather than giving things. At this stage if life,we are trying to dispose of some of our things, not collect them.

My DH has always marked occasions with flowers. It is something he does from his heart.

I may suggest that you think of surprising your wife with some flowers tomorrow. She may be quite glad if you do.

MJ

Sorry about your loss.😔 Very touching story. Thanks for sharing.

[akcruz]

8 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

@Tree_skier I feel the need to respond to your post concerning an informal survey re: husbands giving wives gifts for Mothers’Day.

It seemed to me a bit sarcastic,hopefully that was not your intent.Perhaps you were just curious if other husbands mark the occasion for their wives. I am not certain of your motivation,of course.

I will give you a little backstory as to my husband giving me flowers for the occasion.

On my first “real”Mothers’Day, my DH gave me a bouquet from our infant son,Christopher John. Sadly, we lost our infant boy shortly after to SIDS. This was in 1987. Christopher John would have been thirty-seven this past February.

We had no other children, but my DH would always give me flowers for Mothers’ Day .My husband is a loving and generous man. He always wants me to know that I am a very caring and loving person.We have been fortunate all theses years to be surrounded by loving and supportive family and friends. I am an aunt and a godmother to a number of children.

In 2004,I hired a teacher for our department. She and I became close friends. So close that she and her husband have “adopted” us as the parents she never truly had. We are considered grandparents to her two children.

Miracles can happen. We lost our baby son,and it took some time,but we have gained a family that we truly love and they truly love us.

As others have posted,we do not exchange gifts any longer. We celebrate with experiences rather than giving things. At this stage if life,we are trying to dispose of some of our things, not collect them.

My DH has always marked occasions with flowers. It is something he does from his heart.

I may suggest that you think of surprising your wife with some flowers tomorrow. She may be quite glad if you do.

MJ

 

What a touching story, you were truly meant to be a mother, one way or another.

 

We too are in the done with physical gifts category.  Have seen various versions of this for different celebrations.  This is the Mothers Day version.

 

Every year my children ask me the same question. After thinking about it, I decided I'd give them my real answer:
What do I want for Mother's Day? I want you. I want you to keep coming around, I want you to ask me questions, ask my advice, tell me your problems, ask for my opinion, ask for my help. I want you to come over and rant about your problems, rant about life, whatever. Tell me about your job, your worries, your kids, your fur babies. I want you to continue sharing your life with me. Come over and laugh with me, or laugh at me, I don't care. Hearing you laugh is music to me.
I spent the better part of my life raising you the best way I knew how. Now, give me time to sit back and admire my work.
Raid my refrigerator, help yourself, I really don't mind. In fact, I wouldn't want it any other way.
I want you to spend your money making a better life for you and your family, I have the things I need. I want to see you happy and healthy. When you ask me what I want for Mother's Day, I say "nothing" because you've already been giving me my gift all year. I want you.
If you feel the same way, feel free to copy and paste... I did! ❤️❤️
I think most all moms feel the same!! I love this!!
Happy Mothers Day friends

[Luckynana]

 

@helen haywood  Happy Birthday Marian!🎈🎈

                                 

                                 I hope all goes well with your disembarking from the ship in the morning;  hopefully you aren't hurting too much, and everything falls into place for your trip home.🌹

[helen haywood]

Thanks!  I am definitely not considering this my birthday…will wait for a happier occasion.  I haven’t let DH drive in over 20 years so I’ll either learn tolerance or become a basket case…or try to sleep.

[George C]

1 minute ago, helen haywood said:

Thanks!  I am definitely not considering this my birthday…will wait for a happier occasion.  I haven’t let DH drive in over 20 years so I’ll either learn tolerance or become a basket case…or try to sleep.

My wife hates my driving- much too fast , I am not trilled with her driving much too slow , but she is a dozen years younger with new suv and just drinks wine which allows me to have a couple too many and I prefer hard liquor. 

[SteelCityCruiser10]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

I'm at the beach. Don't see any lights and it feels like winter.

I’m feeling the same here and i’m having no luck so far.  

[reallyitsmema]

Glad others have had good experiences on Liberty. Ours has not been the greatest. Dining room issues still remain. Early seating was overbooked by over 200 people. We had early seating from when I originally booked and us what is on our cruise documents. Once we boarded, we saw we had my time dining and went to dining room to have it fixed. They put us on a list and said we would get a note in our cabin. That never happened. Spoke to concierge, she made a few calls, couldn’t get it fixed. Went last night and were in line for over a half hour and were told we would have to do that every night. We are being told that 5:15 on our booking is a request, not a reservation!  Received a dinner reservation in cabin today, along with a bottle of champagne and plate of sweets. Went to dinner at 5:30 and was told to take our place in line. Spoke to head waiter again and he will seat us each night but still no assigned table. Many upset people. C&A status means nothing as far as priority in getting this corrected. 
 

We are giving MDR one more try and then we are just going to do Windjammer and Chops again. 
 

Weather last night was crazy with driving rain and high seas. Rain most of the day so activities moved inside or canceled. Line dancing moved to Royal Promenade, archery to Studio B, movies added in main theatre. Cruise director is trying. 
 

We didn’t see the gorgeous skies last night due to weather but have seen some unbelievable pictures from home. Massachusetts had a great show!  Heard if you still have your eclipse glasses, you can see the sunspot if you look at the sun. Think tomorrow is last day to see it. 
 

Hoping our calmer seas stay with us for the rest of the night. Liberty shimmies a lot. Luckily, we do fine with the movement. Lots on rollcall looking for patches. 

[Ocean Boy]

5 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

Glad others have had good experiences on Liberty. Ours has not been the greatest. Dining room issues still remain. Early seating was overbooked by over 200 people. We had early seating from when I originally booked and us what is on our cruise documents. Once we boarded, we saw we had my time dining and went to dining room to have it fixed. They put us on a list and said we would get a note in our cabin. That never happened. Spoke to concierge, she made a few calls, couldn’t get it fixed. Went last night and were in line for over a half hour and were told we would have to do that every night. We are being told that 5:15 on our booking is a request, not a reservation!  Received a dinner reservation in cabin today, along with a bottle of champagne and plate of sweets. Went to dinner at 5:30 and was told to take our place in line. Spoke to head waiter again and he will seat us each night but still no assigned table. Many upset people. C&A status means nothing as far as priority in getting this corrected. 
 

We are giving MDR one more try and then we are just going to do Windjammer and Chops again. 
 

Weather last night was crazy with driving rain and high seas. Rain most of the day so activities moved inside or canceled. Line dancing moved to Royal Promenade, archery to Studio B, movies added in main theatre. Cruise director is trying. 
 

We didn’t see the gorgeous skies last night due to weather but have seen some unbelievable pictures from home. Massachusetts had a great show!  Heard if you still have your eclipse glasses, you can see the sunspot if you look at the sun. Think tomorrow is last day to see it. 
 

Hoping our calmer seas stay with us for the rest of the night. Liberty shimmies a lot. Luckily, we do fine with the movement. Lots on rollcall looking for patches. 

Thanks for the update.

[reallyitsmema]

10 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Thanks for the update.

I am very happy that our next cruise is on your favorite ship!  We might try to get on Symphony this summer but can’t wait for Odyssey to get to Bayonne later this year. 

[Ocean Boy]

12 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

I am very happy that our next cruise is on your favorite ship!  We might try to get on Symphony this summer but can’t wait for Odyssey to get to Bayonne later this year. 

I hope I find that I like Freedom as much as I used to but Odyssey is a tough act to follow. I wish the ship was going back to Ft. Lauderdale.

[cruiselvr04]

2 hours ago, MJSailors said:

@Tree_skier I feel the need to respond to your post concerning an informal survey re: husbands giving wives gifts for Mothers’Day.

It seemed to me a bit sarcastic,hopefully that was not your intent.Perhaps you were just curious if other husbands mark the occasion for their wives. I am not certain of your motivation,of course.

I will give you a little backstory as to my husband giving me flowers for the occasion.

On my first “real”Mothers’Day, my DH gave me a bouquet from our infant son,Christopher John. Sadly, we lost our infant boy shortly after to SIDS. This was in 1987. Christopher John would have been thirty-seven this past February.

We had no other children, but my DH would always give me flowers for Mothers’ Day .My husband is a loving and generous man. He always wants me to know that I am a very caring and loving person.We have been fortunate all theses years to be surrounded by loving and supportive family and friends. I am an aunt and a godmother to a number of children.

In 2004,I hired a teacher for our department. She and I became close friends. So close that she and her husband have “adopted” us as the parents she never truly had. We are considered grandparents to her two children.

Miracles can happen. We lost our baby son,and it took some time,but we have gained a family that we truly love and they truly love us.

As others have posted,we do not exchange gifts any longer. We celebrate with experiences rather than giving things. At this stage if life,we are trying to dispose of some of our things, not collect them.

My DH has always marked occasions with flowers. It is something he does from his heart.

I may suggest that you think of surprising your wife with some flowers tomorrow. She may be quite glad if you do.

MJ

 

I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m glad you gained another family to fill your life. I’m sure they are very thankful for you. 
 

My favorite thing for Mother’s Day is a call or visit with each of my kids.  I do appreciate a card from DH but I don’t need gifts.  I saw my son last weekend and he gave me Lego flowers to put together.  That’s the best kind as they will last forever. I spent time with 2 daughters tonight and the other daughter and I took a weekend trip together last month. I am blessed.  

[HBE4]

1 hour ago, reallyitsmema said:

Glad others have had good experiences on Liberty. Ours has not been the greatest. Dining room issues still remain. Early seating was overbooked by over 200 people. We had early seating from when I originally booked and us what is on our cruise documents. Once we boarded, we saw we had my time dining and went to dining room to have it fixed. They put us on a list and said we would get a note in our cabin. That never happened. Spoke to concierge, she made a few calls, couldn’t get it fixed. Went last night and were in line for over a half hour and were told we would have to do that every night. We are being told that 5:15 on our booking is a request, not a reservation!  Received a dinner reservation in cabin today, along with a bottle of champagne and plate of sweets. Went to dinner at 5:30 and was told to take our place in line. Spoke to head waiter again and he will seat us each night but still no assigned table. Many upset people. C&A status means nothing as far as priority in getting this corrected. 
 

We are giving MDR one more try and then we are just going to do Windjammer and Chops again. 
 

Weather last night was crazy with driving rain and high seas. Rain most of the day so activities moved inside or canceled. Line dancing moved to Royal Promenade, archery to Studio B, movies added in main theatre. Cruise director is trying. 
 

We didn’t see the gorgeous skies last night due to weather but have seen some unbelievable pictures from home. Massachusetts had a great show!  Heard if you still have your eclipse glasses, you can see the sunspot if you look at the sun. Think tomorrow is last day to see it. 
 

Hoping our calmer seas stay with us for the rest of the night. Liberty shimmies a lot. Luckily, we do fine with the movement. Lots on rollcall looking for patches. 

 

Bummer that the dining situation is so disorganized.   Hope you get to smooth sailing soon.

[dpostman]

13 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

So I've got a bit of a survey for the men with grown children on the thread... 

 

Do you buy your wife a present for Mother's Day?

 

It is similar here as others have already stated.  A few weeks ago, we bought my DW an e-bike, so I sort of jokingly said "This counts for mothers day right?" as we just get stuff as needed and don't particularly wait for an occasion, or purposefully buy stuff for an occasion.  I don't even get her a card.  But I will cook up a meal that she particularly likes.  Usually on Mothers day we do Lobster as the beginning of the lobster fishing season coincides with it, but my DD beat her to it by requesting it for her birthday a few days ago.

 

So my DW asked for Seafood pasta.  That is what I'll be doing up today, along with home made focaccia bread. Perhaps a bottle of wine may be opened today 😉.

 

I do wish a happy and memorable mothers day to all the special mothers.

 

dp

[MancGirl21]

9 hours ago, jmh2006 said:

So glad you are a ManU fan!  I didn't want to not like you 🤣.  Our DS got us hooked on them from here in the US.  We have seen them play 3 times here in the US and in 2019 went to Old Trafford for last game of the season.  It has been a rough season to be sure.  😪

The best team in Manchester in my opinion, you chose well 🤣 It’s been a rough few seasons, but hopefully we’ll win the FA cup! You never know miracles may happen !

[#55worktoplay]

9 hours ago, MJSailors said:

@Tree_skier I feel the need to respond to your post concerning an informal survey re: husbands giving wives gifts for Mothers’Day.

It seemed to me a bit sarcastic,hopefully that was not your intent.Perhaps you were just curious if other husbands mark the occasion for their wives. I am not certain of your motivation,of course.

I will give you a little backstory as to my husband giving me flowers for the occasion.

On my first “real”Mothers’Day, my DH gave me a bouquet from our infant son,Christopher John. Sadly, we lost our infant boy shortly after to SIDS. This was in 1987. Christopher John would have been thirty-seven this past February.

We had no other children, but my DH would always give me flowers for Mothers’ Day .My husband is a loving and generous man. He always wants me to know that I am a very caring and loving person.We have been fortunate all theses years to be surrounded by loving and supportive family and friends. I am an aunt and a godmother to a number of children.

In 2004,I hired a teacher for our department. She and I became close friends. So close that she and her husband have “adopted” us as the parents she never truly had. We are considered grandparents to her two children.

Miracles can happen. We lost our baby son,and it took some time,but we have gained a family that we truly love and they truly love us.

As others have posted,we do not exchange gifts any longer. We celebrate with experiences rather than giving things. At this stage if life,we are trying to dispose of some of our things, not collect them.

My DH has always marked occasions with flowers. It is something he does from his heart.

I may suggest that you think of surprising your wife with some flowers tomorrow. She may be quite glad if you do.

MJ

@MJSailors  MJ, I’m very sorry for your loss.  Your post hit home as we had very similar life stories.  We didn’t have any “adopted in” children but we do have a set of twin “adopted in” grandchildren with our friends grandchildren to whom we are very close to and enjoy the results of them including us in everything.  
 

We too do not buy gifts for each other as getting rid of stuff we don’t need is such a chore that seems to never end.  We are currently renovating and it is overwhelming what you find that is useless in all the nooks and crannies.  If we need something we buy it. Flowers or even just a card is good enough.

 

Happy Mothers Day to all!

 

 

[#55worktoplay]

9 hours ago, akcruz said:

 

What a touching story, you were truly meant to be a mother, one way or another.

 

We too are in the done with physical gifts category.  Have seen various versions of this for different celebrations.  This is the Mothers Day version.

 

Every year my children ask me the same question. After thinking about it, I decided I'd give them my real answer:
What do I want for Mother's Day? I want you. I want you to keep coming around, I want you to ask me questions, ask my advice, tell me your problems, ask for my opinion, ask for my help. I want you to come over and rant about your problems, rant about life, whatever. Tell me about your job, your worries, your kids, your fur babies. I want you to continue sharing your life with me. Come over and laugh with me, or laugh at me, I don't care. Hearing you laugh is music to me.
I spent the better part of my life raising you the best way I knew how. Now, give me time to sit back and admire my work.
Raid my refrigerator, help yourself, I really don't mind. In fact, I wouldn't want it any other way.
I want you to spend your money making a better life for you and your family, I have the things I need. I want to see you happy and healthy. When you ask me what I want for Mother's Day, I say "nothing" because you've already been giving me my gift all year. I want you.
If you feel the same way, feel free to copy and paste... I did! ❤️❤️
I think most all moms feel the same!! I love this!!
Happy Mothers Day friends

Perfect post!

[#55worktoplay]

8 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Thanks!  I am definitely not considering this my birthday…will wait for a happier occasion.  I haven’t let DH drive in over 20 years so I’ll either learn tolerance or become a basket case…or try to sleep.

So sorry about your accident and your difficult next few months. Perhaps they will turn out better than the drive home😀.
 

One good thing is you will be welcomed by beautiful kitty’s at the end of the drive. 

[KmomChicago]

10 hours ago, MJSailors said:

@Tree_skier I feel the need to respond to your post concerning an informal survey re: husbands giving wives gifts for Mothers’Day.

It seemed to me a bit sarcastic,hopefully that was not your intent.Perhaps you were just curious if other husbands mark the occasion for their wives. I am not certain of your motivation,of course.

I will give you a little backstory as to my husband giving me flowers for the occasion.

On my first “real”Mothers’Day, my DH gave me a bouquet from our infant son,Christopher John. Sadly, we lost our infant boy shortly after to SIDS. This was in 1987. Christopher John would have been thirty-seven this past February.

We had no other children, but my DH would always give me flowers for Mothers’ Day .My husband is a loving and generous man. He always wants me to know that I am a very caring and loving person.We have been fortunate all theses years to be surrounded by loving and supportive family and friends. I am an aunt and a godmother to a number of children.

In 2004,I hired a teacher for our department. She and I became close friends. So close that she and her husband have “adopted” us as the parents she never truly had. We are considered grandparents to her two children.

Miracles can happen. We lost our baby son,and it took some time,but we have gained a family that we truly love and they truly love us.

As others have posted,we do not exchange gifts any longer. We celebrate with experiences rather than giving things. At this stage if life,we are trying to dispose of some of our things, not collect them.

My DH has always marked occasions with flowers. It is something he does from his heart.

I may suggest that you think of surprising your wife with some flowers tomorrow. She may be quite glad if you do.

MJ

Thank you for sharing your story. I have never been able to fathom enduring the loss of a child. My brain literally hurts when I see stories like this. ❤️❤️ Christopher John of course would have been happy to know you found a loving family in time. 
 

Another reminder about having a kind and generous attitude about life and our extremely limited time to enjoy it.

[bobmacliberty]

16 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

So I've got a bit of a survey for the men with grown children on the thread... 

 

Do you buy your wife a present for Mother's Day?

 

I still get Micheline flowers and a card for Mother's Day.  She gets me a card for Father's Day.  Same for Valentine's Day.  Hallmark makes a lot of money from people like us. 

 

Like John and others, we don't get each other gifts any more for birthday's, Christmas, etc.  My birthday is next month and "she" will be buying a new putter for me. I know it will be the exact model that I want. 😁

[bobmacliberty]

10 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

Glad others have had good experiences on Liberty. Ours has not been the greatest. Dining room issues still remain. Early seating was overbooked by over 200 people. We had early seating from when I originally booked and us what is on our cruise documents. Once we boarded, we saw we had my time dining and went to dining room to have it fixed. They put us on a list and said we would get a note in our cabin. That never happened. Spoke to concierge, she made a few calls, couldn’t get it fixed. Went last night and were in line for over a half hour and were told we would have to do that every night. We are being told that 5:15 on our booking is a request, not a reservation!  Received a dinner reservation in cabin today, along with a bottle of champagne and plate of sweets. Went to dinner at 5:30 and was told to take our place in line. Spoke to head waiter again and he will seat us each night but still no assigned table. Many upset people. C&A status means nothing as far as priority in getting this corrected. 
 

We are giving MDR one more try and then we are just going to do Windjammer and Chops again. 
 

Weather last night was crazy with driving rain and high seas. Rain most of the day so activities moved inside or canceled. Line dancing moved to Royal Promenade, archery to Studio B, movies added in main theatre. Cruise director is trying. 
 

We didn’t see the gorgeous skies last night due to weather but have seen some unbelievable pictures from home. Massachusetts had a great show!  Heard if you still have your eclipse glasses, you can see the sunspot if you look at the sun. Think tomorrow is last day to see it. 
 

Hoping our calmer seas stay with us for the rest of the night. Liberty shimmies a lot. Luckily, we do fine with the movement. Lots on rollcall looking for patches. 

 

We haven't been to the MDR in several cruises.  We use a mix of Coastal Kitchen, specialty restaurants, and the Windjammer.  The declining state of dining in general for Royal is one of the reasons that we are now considering other cruise lines.  A former CEO of mine once said, "never give a customer a reason to change brands".

[Keksie]

Back from our cruise.  Had the best time in Nassau and would go back again. Cocoa Day was a nice relaxing beach day.  Grand Bahamas was just meh  Key West was hot but enjoyed key lime pie at Blue Heaven and the butterfly house.  The trolley was a great way to get around.  We had a wonderful state room attendent.  The MDR was super slow service but got better the last couple of days. We always found a table by the pool for sea days.  The entertainment was okay.  Didn't care for the bands much.  I realize it is because none of them played any country music.  Maybe we need to cruise out of Galveston for that.  

[bobmacliberty]

11 hours ago, ATG said:

Wow, I would love to go there for a game. We started watching the EPL decades ago when our sons started playing.  We wanted to see what the game really looked like.  My favorite moment was when my husband was coaching tykes (under 6) and in the middle of the game he called a time out for the kids to look at the blimp flying overhead.  He figured they would all stop playing and it was better to just stop for a minute.

 

On my first business trip to Manchester, we stayed at a hotel very near Old Trafford (The Copthorne at Salford Quays).  We didn't know at the time, but there was a Man U match the next day.  That entire area was crazy with fans.  We checked out the morning of the match.  I can't imagine what it would have been like later that day.

 

We also learned that you do NOT want to wear the wrong color in the wrong part of Manchester. 😬