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

[NHProud]

2 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Im looking forward to going to the Diamond (oops I mean Crown) lounge for happy hour. It will be nice to have a cocktail and some appetizers before dinner.

Yes , I noticed the change in the name . I’m so pedestrian that I used my vouchers on Diet Coke . 

[sgmn]

Dani, my heart breaks for what is happening in Israel. Each generation just seems to perpetuate the violence. My prayers go to you and yours and Bonnie's hubbys family too that cooler heads will prevail and the violence will stop 🙏

@dani negreanu

@BonTexasNY

Edited October 8, 2023 by sgmn

[Momof3gurlz]

15 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Well since I can't do too much and I am taking it easy at least I have one diversion, the Adventure sailing starting today has our same itinerary so it's to the app I go.

 

Most of you know I am a planner type guy. I make out a schedule for preplanning which nights we do specialty and which nights to eat in the MDR. So far it looks like on our sailing it will be.

Day 1 Casual "Welcome"

Day 2 Formal "Taste of Italy"

Day 3 Caribbean "Taste of the Caribbean"

Day 4 Casual "Taste of Mexico"

Day 5 70's "Taste of Italy"

Day 6 Dress to Impress "Royal Night"

Day 7 Casual "Bon Voyage"

 

So judging from the menus I think we will do our 3 night dining package on nights 3,4 and 7. Now I know all this could change as to availability once I try and make reservations but it gives me a chance to see everything and help plan.

 

10 hours ago, jmh2006 said:

@Sea Dog  Thanks for the nightly menus Greg!  Very helpful.  We have the 3 night package as well with Deb and Andy.  Maybe we can combine one of the nights?

 

@dani negreanu  I can't comprehend what you are feeling and going thru!  I can only pray that the violence stops and that you and your family are safe.  🙏😞

Thanks for the heads up on the menus Greg. Nights 3 and 7 are probably our least favorite, but it honestly doesn’t matter one bit which nights we do specialty dining.  I usually order the Chops Filet from the premium selections when nothing appeals to me on the MDR menu.

A group dinner is a great idea Jen!

[Momof3gurlz]

Disembarking Edge yesterday was just as easy as embarking. Once off the elevator, we walked off and out of the port to the taxi line without stopping other than to ‘ding’ our sea pass cards. 
I’m shocked to say Barcelona is my least favorite of all the places we’ve been this trip!  I say shocked, because I’ve always wanted to visit and expected to love it.  We walked to La Boqueria after checking in at Hotel Jazz which is great and our room was ready at 9:30 am!  Then ended up taking one of those touristy upper level bus tours and enjoyed seeing so many areas of the city (and giving our feet a rest). I waited too long to buy tickets for Park Guell and could only get 7 pm last night or tonight so we’ll miss that.  We have a tour of Sagrada Familia at 4 pm today and just plan on exploring before that.  
Port of Barcelona lighthouse

 

Stall in the market. Oldest DD’s name with the same spelling, which you don’t often see in the US

 

What do I spy at the exit??

 

Restaurant I found for last night called My Way. Turns out it’s named for the Sinatra (who we love) song. Cool little place, decent food. Some tapas and roasted vegetable paella. 

 

 

 

 

[dani negreanu]

35 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

 We walked to La Boqueria after checking in at Hotel Jazz which is great and our room was ready at 9:30 am!

 

They're very forthcoming at Hotel Jazz. I wrote to them, asking, if possible, for a very early check in after our cruise last year, and it was graciously granted. It is so much better to "settle down" in your room before going out again to explore.

 

Don't forget Kasa Ramen just around the corner if you fancy a "comfort meal" 😘

[taznremmy]

@dani negreanu I wanted to add my thoughts and prayers for your family, and for all of Israel.  I just disembarked the Radiance this morning, so I was 'blissfully' ignorant as to what was happening. Watching this evenings news sickened and saddened me.  Please keep posting so that we know you are OK. 🙏

[taznremmy]

@helen haywood Is that a baby frog on the window sill???  Or, am I seeing things? 😹

[dani negreanu]

9 hours ago, helen haywood said:

@dani negreanu You and your friends and family have been in my prayers.  I always try hard to find a silver lining so I’m at least very glad your grandsons are spared this.

 

On a humorous note…Minnie was entranced by something I at first couldn’t see.  You need to really zoom in to see the interloper…

 

@helen haywood

 

Yes, Marian, that's my "silver lining" too, keeping me in a modicum of sanity... Thanks.

 

42 minutes ago, taznremmy said:

@helen haywood Is that a baby frog on the window sill???  Or, am I seeing things? 😹

 

@taznremmy

 

No, Pat, you're not. I'm also seeing a baby frog, after magnifying the pic 😉

[h20skibum]

I think it was @dani negreanu Dani that asked if there would be a “Summer of Fun 4”?   Well, the answer appears to be “Yes!”, as some planning is already underway.  

 

As part of 2024’s Summer of Fun, this happened last week. 

 

 

That’s right, that cruise #3 on the list for us, will be my California grandson’s first cruise.  Not only that, but we will be taking all 3 grandkids along, as well as my daughter and her husband.  My daughter had been the lone holdout, remembering how seasick she got on the one cruise we took her on when she was 11.  

 

We convinced her that a short cruise on an Oasis Class ship, in a low, midship balcony would be a perfect one to try again.  So I booked three, deck 6 balconies on the, soon to be new, Utopia of the Seas.

 

The grandkids are all ecstatic, and my SIL is just as ecstatic, because he has always wanted to try a cruise.   I just hope our weather is nice in August.  The last time we sailed in August, it was on this ship. 

 

 

And we had the worst hurricane of the last century.  That sailing was our honeymoon, and we will be celebrating our 44th anniversary on our Utopia sailing.  

 

We also hope to squeeze in some Disney World time as part of next year’s fun.  So, stay tuned.  

 

Edited October 8, 2023 by h20skibum

[dani negreanu]

6 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

My daughter had been the lone holdout, remembering how seasick she got on the one cruise we took her on when she was 11. 

 

So happy your daughter and SIL will join you. Glad you booked the best located cabins too 👍

[bobmacliberty]

4 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Disembarking Edge yesterday was just as easy as embarking. Once off the elevator, we walked off and out of the port to the taxi line without stopping other than to ‘ding’ our sea pass cards. 
I’m shocked to say Barcelona is my least favorite of all the places we’ve been this trip!  I say shocked, because I’ve always wanted to visit and expected to love it.  We walked to La Boqueria after checking in at Hotel Jazz which is great and our room was ready at 9:30 am!  Then ended up taking one of those touristy upper level bus tours and enjoyed seeing so many areas of the city (and giving our feet a rest). I waited too long to buy tickets for Park Guell and could only get 7 pm last night or tonight so we’ll miss that.  We have a tour of Sagrada Familia at 4 pm today and just plan on exploring before that.  
Port of Barcelona lighthouse

 

Stall in the market. Oldest DD’s name with the same spelling, which you don’t often see in the US

 

What do I spy at the exit??

 

Restaurant I found for last night called My Way. Turns out it’s named for the Sinatra (who we love) song. Cool little place, decent food. Some tapas and roasted vegetable paella. 

 

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

They're very forthcoming at Hotel Jazz. I wrote to them, asking, if possible, for a very early check in after our cruise last year, and it was graciously granted. It is so much better to "settle down" in your room before going out again to explore.

 

Don't forget Kasa Ramen just around the corner if you fancy a "comfort meal" 😘

 

I would also recommend the Amoon Restaurant.  It's a short walk from Hotel Jazz, down a side street before you get to La Rambla.  The hotel recommended it to us, which doesn't necessarily mean that it's good since they probably get a kickback from the restaurant, but we liked it.  

 

Enjoy Sagrada Familia today.  It's an amazing and unique place.

[grapau27]

41 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

So happy your daughter and SIL will join you. Glad you booked the best located cabins too 👍

Good afternoon Dani.

I hope you are all safe and well.

Dinner last night.

 

Edited October 8, 2023 by grapau27

[maggieq]

6 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

 

I would also recommend the Amoon Restaurant.  It's a short walk from Hotel Jazz, down a side street before you get to La Rambla.  The hotel recommended it to us, which doesn't necessarily mean that it's good since they probably get a kickback from the restaurant, but we liked it.  

 

Enjoy Sagrada Familia today.  It's an amazing and unique place.

We are looking to stay at a different hotel in Barcelona for our pre cruise in September of 2024.  The Renaissance is where we stayed previously but it not available.  I’ve narrowed down  our choices to hotel 1898 and hotel jazz so happy to hear you are staying there and like it. Is it close to las ramblas?  We plan to try and see La sagrada again as we were very tired last time.  Did you book a separate tour or just buy pre purchase tickets?  Thanks!

[grapau27]

On 10/7/2023 at 7:06 AM, aussielozzie18 said:

After lunch we went to a photo exhibition that a friend who lives in the area was exhibiting in.  Beautiful photos.  Then we had afternoon tea in a cafe overlooking her local beach & watched the camel trains along the beach & she showed us where the brand new 20km coastal walk has been developed.  A walk we plan to do in the future.

 

New lookout at the end of the coastal walk

 pretty native flowers at the cafe

 

 

Very interesting and enjoyable photos @aussielozzie18

[bobmacliberty]

I'm really kicking myself for not going to London this week to watch the Bills play the Jags at Totenham Hotspur Stadium.  I've seen a lot of videos showing Bills Mafia taking over various places in London.  Looks like a lot of fun.  What's retirement for if not the ability to go somewhere on short notice? I'd also really like to see the Stadium since it's supposed to be spectacular.  The new stadium that the Bills are building in Buffalo (ahem...Orchard Park) is supposed to be largely modeled after the Totenhan Hotspur Stadium, so it would also be cool to get a bit of a preview.  

 

I'll need to settle for going to our local sports bar at 9:00am and watching with 30-50 of my closest Bills friends.  The bar is opening early for us (and I guess for Jags fans also 😉). They have a bottomless Mimosa special for $15.  That could be dangerous.  The Bills aren't a champagne kind of team though.

[Sea Dog]

4 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

 

Thanks for the heads up on the menus Greg. Nights 3 and 7 are probably our least favorite, but it honestly doesn’t matter one bit which nights we do specialty dining.  I usually order the Chops Filet from the premium selections when nothing appeals to me on the MDR menu.

A group dinner is a great idea Jen!

We did the Chops filet upgrade with Lobster night in the MDR on the Bella cruise. For the price it was a great value. Let me know if you and Andy would like to join us for dinner one night. We are planning on night 3 at Giovanni’s, night 4 at Chops and night 7 back at Giovanni’s. Let me know if any of those interest you. 

[bobmacliberty]

3 minutes ago, maggieq said:

We are looking to stay at a different hotel in Barcelona for our pre cruise in September of 2024.  The Renaissance is where we stayed previously but it not available.  I’ve narrowed down  our choices to hotel 1898 and hotel jazz so happy to hear you are staying there and like it. Is it close to las ramblas?  We plan to try and see La sagrada again as we were very tired last time.  Did you book a separate tour or just buy pre purchase tickets?  Thanks!

 

Hotel Jazz is about 2 blocks from the "top" of La Rambla...an easy walk.  It's also convenient to the Universitat Metro stop.  We took the Metro to Sagrada Familia and it was easy.  We've been to Sagrada Familia twice and both times we pre-purchased tickets rather than use a tour.  They have audio headsets (which I think we paid for when buying the tix) that do a good job of telling you a lot about the church...the history, the symbology, etc.

[Sea Dog]

4 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Restaurant I found for last night called My Way. Turns out it’s named for the Sinatra (who we love) song. Cool little place, decent food. Some tapas and roasted vegetable paella. 

Sounds and looks like my kinda place. I’m a huge Sinatra fan. 

[Sea Dog]

37 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

I'm really kicking myself for not going to London this week to watch the Bills play the Jags at Totenham Hotspur Stadium.  I've seen a lot of videos showing Bills Mafia taking over various places in London.  Looks like a lot of fun.  What's retirement for if not the ability to go somewhere on short notice? I'd also really like to see the Stadium since it's supposed to be spectacular.  The new stadium that the Bills are building in Buffalo (ahem...Orchard Park) is supposed to be largely modeled after the Totenhan Hotspur Stadium, so it would also be cool to get a bit of a preview.  

 

I'll need to settle for going to our local sports bar at 9:00am and watching with 30-50 of my closest Bills friends.  The bar is opening early for us (and I guess for Jags fans also 😉). They have a bottomless Mimosa special for $15.  That could be dangerous.  The Bills aren't a champagne kind of team though.

Seeing a game overseas is pretty cool. I was fortunate in my years as a sports videographer covering the Chiefs to travel to Berlin for a week and to Tokyo for a week. I was amazed how many foreigners love American football.

 

Good luck with the Bills. They are playing great. The Chiefs have got some issues and I don’t like the way Mahomes is playing right now.

[mo&fran]

7 days after my last radiation treatment, the throat swelling went down and I had my first food that I swallowed. And I can talk again.

Throat is still pretty sore.

 Things look positive for Oct 14 sail date.

[jmh2006]

7 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

7 days after my last radiation treatment, the throat swelling went down and I had my first food that I swallowed. And I can talk again.

Throat is still pretty sore.

 Things look positive for Oct 14 sail date.

Good news!

[Sea Dog]

7 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

7 days after my last radiation treatment, the throat swelling went down and I had my first food that I swallowed. And I can talk again.

Throat is still pretty sore.

 Things look positive for Oct 14 sail date.

Fantastic news! 

[Ourusualbeach]

17 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

7 days after my last radiation treatment, the throat swelling went down and I had my first food that I swallowed. And I can talk again.

Throat is still pretty sore.

 Things look positive for Oct 14 sail date.

Awesome!!

[dani negreanu]

2 hours ago, maggieq said:

We are looking to stay at a different hotel in Barcelona for our pre cruise in September of 2024.  The Renaissance is where we stayed previously but it not available.  I’ve narrowed down  our choices to hotel 1898 and hotel jazz so happy to hear you are staying there and like it. Is it close to las ramblas?  We plan to try and see La sagrada again as we were very tired last time.  Did you book a separate tour or just buy pre purchase tickets?  Thanks!

 

Sadly, the Jazz was fully booked for our stay last month, and the H10 Catalunya Plaza came highly recommended on the "Spanish ports" forum, mainly because its awesome location.

 

I've booked on their official site and got a nice discount (B&B). We were very pleased with our stay. The location cannot be beaten, right in the middle of "everything", we took the Aerobus from the airport (13.5 Euro for two) and there is a taxi station in front of the hotel (18 Euro to the cruise port). Hotel 1898 was a bit pricey for us.

 

https://www.h10hotels.com/en/barcelona-hotels/h10-catalunya-plaza?&utm_source=Tripadvisor&utm_medium=BusinessList&utm_campaign=HCP&tc_alt=32594

 

53 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Fantastic news! 

 

@mo&fran

 

+ 1 👍 

[BonTexasNY]

1 hour ago, mo&fran said:

7 days after my last radiation treatment, the throat swelling went down and I had my first food that I swallowed. And I can talk again.

Throat is still pretty sore.

 Things look positive for Oct 14 sail date.

Great news!