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

[Luckynana]

5 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

Posted this on Bella thread, but to nice not to share it here 

 

Good to be back at beach. 😎

Allure in 7 days😁

Beautiful, John!

[lenquixote66]

37 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

We bought a Mother/Daughter here in NJ, and there were squirrels in the attic over the apartment when we first moved in.  Jim was able to catch them with the have a heart cages, once our neighbor told us we needed bigger cages to get them!😉  We had raccoons between the roof and ceiling on our back porch in our house on SI.  We bought red pepper flakes, boiled them in water, strained it, then sprayed  before calling an exterminator.  He put traps out on our back deck with fish, etc. in the traps.  He came back 2 or 3 times, and couldn't believe no raccoons were in the trap.  Apparently, the red pepper flakes caused them to vacate our porch. 

There are many raccoons who come to our condo night time .One of my neighbors had a rat outside his door and called the Management office.They came and tried to tell him it was a squirrel.He said to the guy that he may be old but he is not blind.He forced them to put rat traps in the grass and trees in front of his house .

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, Luckynana said:

We've had birds in our home on Staten Island.  Our house was over 100 years old, and a couple of times through the years, a bird would find it's way into the attic and somehow get downstairs.  

When our daughters were little, we used to have hedges separating our property from next door.  One of the girls walked by, brushing  her hand in the hedges;  there was a bees nest in it.  Poor kid began screaming and running up the street.  She was stung so many times.  It was awful.

I've learned my lesson today.  

OMG, I hope she wasnt allergic to bee stings.  That sounds horrible.  I think I would scream and run down the street too!

[Sunshine3601]

27 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

Question:  after buying the alcoholic beverage package for your cruise, how can you find out the going price when they are having a "sale"on it.  When I try to look up the price, it just tells me I've already purchased it.🤷‍♀️

It seems to be the new way to prevent people rebooking at lower prices.  Maybe ask for someone to let you know current price on the meet n greet for your sailing?

[Sunshine3601]

3 hours ago, Luckynana said:

 

Jim makes what we call "Bert's Chicken".  Our dear friend Bert used to bake chicken cutlets with mayo parmagiana cheese and bread crumbs.  It originated on the Hellman's mayonnaise jar.  It's a big hit around here.  It's sooo good!

I wish I could remember how I used to make mahi mahi with mayonnaise years ago when I lived in Ft. Lauderdale.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Bert's chicken sounds delicious!  I do not know a mahi mahi mahi recipe but if you find it please share we live mahimahi.  Usually grill it and sometimes serve with a mango salsa.

[Ozark_Kid]

Every spring Sharon hangs a couple of ferns on the front porch.  I don’t remember the last time a bird did not build a nest in one of them.

[Ozark_Kid]

1 hour ago, Luckynana said:

We've had birds in our home on Staten Island.  Our house was over 100 years old, and a couple of times through the years, a bird would find it's way into the attic and somehow get downstairs.  

When I was young we had a neighbor who had the same problem but instead of birds they had bats.  I remember watching football at my neighbors when a bat flew through the room.  I ducked and my neighbor grabbed a tennis racket.  The next thing I knew he hit it, scoped it up, and tossed it out the front door.  After awhile it flew off.  

[fairweather]

Went to a play and ate dinner out tonight. It was fun and relaxing. All you have to do is wear a mask and show your vaccine card.

 

Things have become incredibly easy to get out and enjoy sporting events, concerts and restaurants again on land. Why has it become incredibly hard to do the same when embarking on a vacation at sea?

 

Why do customers have to arrange their own drug tests instead of the cruise lines setting them up at port for them during the registration process? Enough with all this juggling beforehand just to get to the security line.

 

Those who have not taken precautions to help protect their fellow passengers can test negative at embarkation and watch the ship leave without them. They can use the required travel insurance to cover the cost of their irresponsibility.

 

Wearing masks and socially distancing for a few days before going to port, after getting a vaccine, should do enough to guarantee a positive test by the cruise line at embarkation.

[jagsfan]

4 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

We only do OV cabins. We had balconies twice and one of us did not care for that . 

Actually, our first cruise was an inside cabin with upper and lower berths. 
We thought it was the most marvelous cruise anyone could have. 
However, once you move to the next category, it’s hard to go back. Once we had our first balcony, for sure we weren’t going back…or rather I wasn’t. 
I absolutely love being able to look out and see the ocean, and even better, to sit outside with my Kindle and soak it all up. 
If I could only cruise if I had an OV or an interior, I’d still love it. 
My only suite was on QM2, and that will never happen again!

Edited September 27, 2021 by jagsfan

[Sea Dog]

2 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

Thanks for the recipe. I’ll have to give it a try.

I think you will like it. I had to order the agave through Amazon.

[Bailey & Sophie]

 

It was a perfect day here Minneapolis. About 80° F and very little breeze. We had our picnic by a nearby lake. Saw an eagle soar for a while and then grab something for his lunch. Very cool.

We then went for a small drive and a walk around a different lake. Saw an egret and a heron. They both had perfect poses for perfect photos. However I left the camera at home.

Leaves are starting to turn. It won't be a great color show this year. The trees are too stressed with not enough water.

 

[Ocean Boy]

20 minutes ago, fairweather said:

 

 

Those who have not taken precautions to help protect their fellow passengers can test negative at embarkation and watch the ship leave without them. 

 

Wearing masks and socially distancing for a few days before going to port, after getting a vaccine, should do enough to guarantee a positive test by the cruise line at embarkation.

I think you have both of those backwards.

[Coralc]

2 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Question:  after buying the alcoholic beverage package for your cruise, how can you find out the going price when they are having a "sale"on it.  When I try to look up the price, it just tells me I've already purchased it.🤷‍♀️

Just click on the photo of the package and it will show the price you purchased. 

EDIT: If you are on the "new" planner as we are, it appears that you have to click on Reserved, and then Order History, then Order details. One click only gives you total price paid. Thank you RC (NOT) 

Edited September 27, 2021 by Coralc

[George C]

1 hour ago, jagsfan said:

Actually, our first cruise was an inside cabin with upper and lower berths. 
We thought it was the most marvelous cruise anyone could have. 
However, once you move to the next category, it’s hard to go back. Once we had our first balcony, for sure we weren’t going back…or rather I wasn’t. 
I absolutely love being able to look out and see the ocean, and even better, to sit outside with my Kindle and soak it all up. 
If I could only cruise if I had an OV or an interior, I’d still love it. 
My only suite was on QM2, and that will never happen again!

We had those bunk beds once on Norway in the 1980’s , we book nothing but suites for about the last decade , we only cruise twice a year but fly first and go in suites . 

[fairweather]

Ops. Ocean Boy, you nailed. Thanks for catching my error.

[BonTexasNY]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

I think you have both of those backwards.

I was wondering that myself.  

@fairweatherI don't think there is any guarantee even with covid precautions.  

[sgmn]

We've just back from a few days away in the Cotswolds . Beautiful scenery and cute villages but I'm really a sea/river person. My happy place is by the sea so we came back via Bournemouth and had a beautiful few hours walking the promanarde to Poole and then a late lunch in our favourite dog friendly cafe 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bailey & Sophie]

4 minutes ago, sgmn said:

We've just back from a few days away in the Cotswolds . Beautiful scenery and cute villages but I'm really a sea/river person. My happy place is by the sea so we came back via Bournemouth and had a beautiful few hours walking the promanarde to Poole and then a late lunch in our favourite dog friendly cafe 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gorgeous pics.

 

[grapau27]

12 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Glad you got home safely,  I enjoyed your pictures and posts,  Bob!

Greg, it really is wonderful when you can just drive to the Ports.  We're at the top of Alligator Alley, so it doesn't take long to drive to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami Ports.  Cape Liberty in NJ is only and hour, hour and a half for us.

Graham, lunch pictures look great, as does Pauline, but....where's the fish and chips??  

Absolutely!  7 days is a short cruise for me, as well!

Jim makes what we call "Bert's Chicken".  Our dear friend Bert used to bake chicken cutlets with mayo parmagiana cheese and bread crumbs.  It originated on the Hellman's mayonnaise jar.  It's a big hit around here.  It's sooo good!

I wish I could remember how I used to make mahi mahi with mayonnaise years ago when I lived in Ft. Lauderdale.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you.

Traditional  English Sunday lunch yesterday.

Graham.

[Ocean Boy]

47 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Thank you.

Traditional  English Sunday lunch yesterday.

Graham.

Nice to see there is a tradition English lunch to follow a traditional English breakfast. Is the traditional English dinner up next?🤔☺

[grapau27]

12 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Nice to see there is a tradition English lunch to follow a traditional English breakfast. Is the traditional English dinner up next?🤔☺

 

[dani negreanu]

3 hours ago, sgmn said:

We've just back from a few days away in the Cotswolds .

 

We have very fond memories from this area 🙏

 

It seems you were lucky with wonderful weather.

 

[sgmn]

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

 

We have very fond memories from this area 🙏

 

It seems you were lucky with wonderful weather.

 

We were, very lucky, sun bathing weather in Bournemouth.  Weather's definitely more Autumnal this week, though.  More rain/showers and temperatures of around 15-17c

It's been a busy few weeks, looking forward to chilling more at home, tidying up the garden and back to eating more healthy meals .

 

Just finished watching a new mini series on TV called Vigil, highly recommend if it finds its way across the pond 

 

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt11846996/

Edited September 27, 2021 by sgmn

[bobmacliberty]

I've got a few thoughts on our Allure cruise.  Bottom line, I'd give it a B+.  Good, but not great.  Rather than have one long run-on post, I'll break it up.  First, a few more Covid thoughts.

 

There were a few things on the ship done for Covid reasons where I might be able to follow the logic for doing it, but ultimately didn't make much sense.  There were several vaccinated only areas on the ship where you didn't need to wear a mask.  These areas, like the Schooner Bar, the Pub, Boleros and others, were partially blocked so that there were controlled ways in and out...probably so that a crew member could monitor that only vaxxed passengers (with white wrist bands last week) could enter.  The spiral staircase from the RP to the casino was blocked, as was the back staircase from the running track on 5 up to the gym on 6.  However, we walked into several of these vaxxed only areas with no one checking passengers.  Why block off some of the entrances if you're not going to control access?  

 

All shows made big announcements at the start about needing to leave space between parties for social distancing, and that people should wait until their section was called at the end of the show so that social distancing could be observed will leaving.  Other than an Aqua Theater show that was an "Everyone" show rather than a "Vaccinated" show, this never happened.  Mama Mia and the Ventriloquist (who we greatly enjoyed...very funny and talented) were packed tightly with no open seats, and everyone left at once.  We didn't even see the Cruise Director (Marc "Bing Bong") on stage at the end of Mama Mia.  Again, rules in place but weren't followed.

 

Masks were mostly worn where they were supposed to be worn.  There were a few passengers who didn't do so and I didn't see anyone get challenged on the ship.  People WERE regularly challenged on both St. Maarten and St. Thomas if not wearing a mask in a store or a taxi.  I don't mind wearing a mask for a few minutes to get from point A to point B.  It didn't detract from my cruise experience.  I had become so used to not wearing a mask at home though that I kept forgetting to put it on...a minor annoyance.

 

Personally, I was OK with relaxing the rules a bit. I didn't mind sitting next to a vaxxed person at a show without wearing a mask.  It felt strange though that they made a big show of the rules but didn't follow through with enforcement.  Nothing new there I guess.  I'd like to say that this is Royal's way of slowly easing back to a more "normal" cruise environment, but I think that would be giving them too much credit.

[Sunshine3601]

5 hours ago, sgmn said:

We've just back from a few days away in the Cotswolds . Beautiful scenery and cute villages but I'm really a sea/river person. My happy place is by the sea so we came back via Bournemouth and had a beautiful few hours walking the promanarde to Poole and then a late lunch in our favourite dog friendly cafe 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful photos.  The village looks lovely and peaceful.  I'm with you, I love being outdoors but enjoy the sea most of all.