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

[island lady]

3 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Finally I can share with you- I'm going on a cruise!  Boarding Ovation Friday 9/10, Seattle to Alaska. I wanted to wait for the Covid test results first before saying anything.

 

Took the PCR test at Kaiser yesterday 9/7.  The test itself was not bad at all.  It was not a brain tickler like I feared.  Results- Negatory!  We also had the Rapid Antigen test scheduled at CVS today just in case the PCR results didn't come back in time.  We went ahead and cancelled those appointments. We would've had to travel quite a distance for the CVS test anyway.  No local CVS offer the Rapid test.  

 

This will be our second cruise to Alaska.  Our first to Alaska was a family cruise on Radiance in 2004 for my in-law's 50th Anniversary.  That was our first cruise ever (not for my in-laws but us).  It was a super WOW experience.

 

Our last cruise before the lockdown was Adventure October 2019 Snowbird Migration.  Loved visiting Montreal and Quebec before the cruise.  I would do that again.

 

We will fly out to Seattle Thursday morning.  Plan to visit Pike Place Market and Space Needle.  And then board Ovation Friday at noon. 

 

I will try to share as much of Ovation and Alaska as I can with you all.  🛳️ 🎶 🍹 Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise 🎶 🎵 🛳️.  Song stuck in my head now.

 

Wow...congrats!  On making it happen, and getting through the tests.  

 

Have a fantabulous cruise!  The Alaska cruises are always my favorites...so sad to have lost my B2B last year on Radiance.  But went to Alaska anyway and subbed a two week stay at a cabin there for the lost cruise.  🙂 

[island lady]

Checked out Fort Point State park and the lighthouse on Penobscot river, start of Penobscot Bay near Searsport Maine.  Bell tower was unusual.  Has to be manually started to warn travelers on the river of the point during fog, along with the lighthouse next door.  

 

 

[helen haywood]

When Menise wakes up I’ll show her Lucy’s pictures.

 

[Sea Dog]

Kind of refreshing to see mainly cruise topics on the main board.

[BonTexasNY]

4 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Finally I can share with you- I'm going on a cruise!  

Have the most wonderful time with smooth sails.

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

Awww...they are just grapes that didn't make it into the wine bottle in time.  😉 

I love grapes.  And I love them when they make the bottle in time!  I just hate them all dried and wrinkled!

Your pictures are always tranquil and pleasing.  Almost time to say goodbye but something to look forward to next year!

[grapau27]

5 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Finally I can share with you- I'm going on a cruise!  Boarding Ovation Friday 9/10, Seattle to Alaska. I wanted to wait for the Covid test results first before saying anything.

 

Took the PCR test at Kaiser yesterday 9/7.  The test itself was not bad at all.  It was not a brain tickler like I feared.  Results- Negatory!  We also had the Rapid Antigen test scheduled at CVS today just in case the PCR results didn't come back in time.  We went ahead and cancelled those appointments. We would've had to travel quite a distance for the CVS test anyway.  No local CVS offer the Rapid test.  

 

This will be our second cruise to Alaska.  Our first to Alaska was a family cruise on Radiance in 2004 for my in-law's 50th Anniversary.  That was our first cruise ever (not for my in-laws but us).  It was a super WOW experience.

 

Our last cruise before the lockdown was Adventure October 2019 Snowbird Migration.  Loved visiting Montreal and Quebec before the cruise.  I would do that again.

 

We will fly out to Seattle Thursday morning.  Plan to visit Pike Place Market and Space Needle.  And then board Ovation Friday at noon. 

 

I will try to share as much of Ovation and Alaska as I can with you all.  🛳️ 🎶 🍹 Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise 🎶 🎵 🛳️.  Song stuck in my head now.

Great news.

Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

Graham.

 

[grapau27]

It is 16.00pm and still a sunny 77°F.

We have just got back home from our dental check ups and had a light lunch in the garden.

I hope everyone has a nice day and staying safe 

Graham 

[DaniDanielle]

So pretty.

[Ozark_Kid]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

WOOHOO!     Were your friends able to get a reprice too?

Yes! Sharon is being their TA too. She was excited to let them know.  I don’t remember the exact amount but it was over $450.  She calls C&A and acts as our friend.  What was funny, before she hung up, they asked if she wanted the beds separate or together. 😂 

We got our first OBC when she noticed the price dropped while booking our friends.  RC each time has given us more OBC than we were expecting.

[dani negreanu]

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

Kind of refreshing to see mainly cruise topics on the main board.

 

Agree.... and not a minute too soon 😁

[Ocean Boy]

5 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Finally I can share with you- I'm going on a cruise!  Boarding Ovation Friday 9/10, Seattle to Alaska. I wanted to wait for the Covid test results first before saying anything.

 

Hopefully, you may find some time to share some of your cruise with those of us who are going nowhere.

 

Have a great time!

 

 

[Ozark_Kid]

5 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

I will try to share as much of Ovation and Alaska as I can with you all.  🛳️ 🎶 🍹 Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise 🎶 🎵 🛳️.  Song stuck in my head now.

So happy for you. I bet you will be fighting the emotions when you take those first steps onto the ship.  Please share the pics if you can.  We will be sailing Ovation for the first time in April so I would love to see and hear how much you enjoy it.

[Ozark_Kid]

3 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

TSOD is from Flyin Hawaiian Zipline.  Highly (HIGHLY) recommended if you're on Maui.

I checked out the website and that looks like a lot of fun! 

[grapau27]

2 minutes ago, singinalot said:

Ok giving this a try…I’ve been having issues with cc from my phone browser since yesterday…

 

Saturday morning I picked my mom up at 7am and finally told her where we were going. She was surprised for sure and then cried. I consider that a success.

 

we drove to Moab and arrived at our first destination around 1:15.

 

 

 

 

Fantastic pictures.

[bobmacliberty]

Yesterday was a day that I dread...clothes shopping day.  I have almost no sense of fashion and very quickly develop a feeling of confusion/frustration when trying to pick out clothes that will look good on me AND will match.  Being red/green colorblind doesn't help.  I typically buy clothes about once a year, when I buy many new things and get rid of some older things.  It's a chore that I prefer to do once rather than repeatedly.

 

"We" decided that we need some new clothes for our upcoming Allure cruise (less than 2 weeks away!).  About 99% of the time, we can get everything that we need either on our island, just across the causeway, or via online ordering.  While I could get away with online ordering (if it's a large sized shirt or 36 inch pants, it will fit), Micheline must try everything on first.  She hasn't yet adopted the idea of ordering online and just returning what doesn't work.  Her "hit rate" of things that look good hanging on the rack AND fit her well is only about 10%.  We therefore drove about 45 minutes to a large shopping area called St. Johns Town Center.  It has stores for all of the big name brands and has both a Dillards and a Nordstrom.  The other Jacksonville area people here will certainly know where I'm talking about.

 

We started at Dillards.  Micheline headed upstairs to the Women's Department while I went, by myself, to the Men's Department.  I walked around for about 30 minutes picking our some "candidates" for purchase.  I tried to stretch this time out so that Micheline would have more time to wander through the large selection of women's clothes.  After finding Micheline in the Women's Department and giving her more time to finalize her purchases, I dragged her down to the Men's Department to review my candidates.  She helpfully corrected me by telling me where I was wrong about what I thought I liked, and even found a few more things that should look good.  I nearly choked though when I saw the total at the cash register.  If there's one thing that I like less than the process of clothes shopping, it's seeing how expensive some of those clothes can be.  Good thing that Tommy Bahama has a clearance rack.

 

After a few more stops at other stores, and a break for lunch, we made it home in time for happy hour.  If you happen to also be on the Allure Sept 19 cruise, look for me.  I'll be the guy wearing the snazzy new clothes.

 

 

[Sea Dog]

4 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

Good thing that Tommy Bahama has a clearance rack

I'm a big fan of Tommy Bahama. Love their cargo shorts. I've got 5 pairs. I do wish they could make their shirts of a blend of materials. The silk though it feels great wrinkles so easy.

[Sea Dog]

20 minutes ago, singinalot said:

Zax’s pizza.

 

I like their drink menu. Whisky Punch for me.

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Yes! Sharon is being their TA too. She was excited to let them know.  I don’t remember the exact amount but it was over $450.  She calls C&A and acts as our friend.  What was funny, before she hung up, they asked if she wanted the beds separate or together. 😂 

We got our first OBC when she noticed the price dropped while booking our friends.  RC each time has given us more OBC than we were expecting.

That's great!      Sounds like you owe Sharon a commission-hehe😇

[Sunshine3601]

32 minutes ago, singinalot said:

We were starving after the winery so visited downtown Moab for some food at a place my brother in law had recommended, Zax’s pizza.

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch/dinner we took our bags to our hotel, the Hampton Inn. I would not recommend this hotel for future stays.

The vineyard is beautiful with the mountains in the background. 

Lunch looks yummy.

Looks like a basic hotel room, what didn't you like about it?

[Sunshine3601]

16 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I like their drink menu. Whisky Punch for me.

I'll try one of the Moab S** in the Desert drinks😇

Edited September 8, 2021 by Sunshine3601

[Sunshine3601]

Okay - does anyone else see my post above has a pink background?   Is it just me?   Let's see if this one turns pink after I submit.  

 

Nope, this one is not pink.   Maybe I raised a "pink" flag when I said the name of the cocktail from the menu.

Edited September 8, 2021 by Sunshine3601

[BonTexasNY]

2 hours ago, grapau27 said:

It is 16.00pm and still a sunny 77°F.

We have just got back home from our dental check ups and had a light lunch in the garden.

I hope everyone has a nice day and staying safe 

Graham 

So peaceful.  I can almost feel a slight breeze and hear birds chirping.  

[Sea Dog]

11 minutes ago, singinalot said:

I paid $300 a night to have blood stains on the carpet,

That would do it for me. That’s a biohazard.

[Sunshine3601]

15 minutes ago, singinalot said:

granted it was a holiday weekend, but I paid $300 a night to have blood stains on the carpet, crumbs on the carpet, shades that didn’t go up, and a digital key that only worked on our room door and no where else in the hotel…which eliminates the need for having a digital key since I had to go to the front desk a couple of times 

GROSS!     $300 a night for a Hampton Inn -- Ugghhh!     

Well other than problems with hotel which hopefully you didn't spend much time in and kept your shoes/slippers when in the room sounds like you had an amazing weekend with Mom.    Looks like you had great weather too!

[Tree_skier]

7 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Finally I can share with you- I'm going on a cruise!  Boarding Ovation Friday 9/10, Seattle to Alaska. I wanted to wait for the Covid test results first before saying anything.

 

Took the PCR test at Kaiser yesterday 9/7.  The test itself was not bad at all.  It was not a brain tickler like I feared.  Results- Negatory!  We also had the Rapid Antigen test scheduled at CVS today just in case the PCR results didn't come back in time.  We went ahead and cancelled those appointments. We would've had to travel quite a distance for the CVS test anyway.  No local CVS offer the Rapid test.  

 

This will be our second cruise to Alaska.  Our first to Alaska was a family cruise on Radiance in 2004 for my in-law's 50th Anniversary.  That was our first cruise ever (not for my in-laws but us).  It was a super WOW experience.

 

Our last cruise before the lockdown was Adventure October 2019 Snowbird Migration.  Loved visiting Montreal and Quebec before the cruise.  I would do that again.

 

We will fly out to Seattle Thursday morning.  Plan to visit Pike Place Market and Space Needle.  And then board Ovation Friday at noon. 

 

I will try to share as much of Ovation and Alaska as I can with you all.  🛳️ 🎶 🍹 Won't you let me take you on a sea cruise 🎶 🎵 🛳️.  Song stuck in my head now.

Great stuff, I’m looking forward to reading about trip.  We loved our week on Serenade and seeing yours will bring back fond memories.  Will you be posting updates here or will you have a separate thread?