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

[George C]

Just now, George C said:

these are our two 14 year old kitties , shelter told us they were brother and sister , Joebob is 19 pounds Gracie is 8.

[grapau27]

6 minutes ago, George C said:

Cute cats.

[island lady]

12 minutes ago, davekathy said:

In the valleys where we are, yes. In the Mountains it's slowly melting. Our weather has been all over the charts. Monday and Tuesday rain and cold. Highs in the day only in the low 40's. Today sunny and high 50's. By Saturday high 80's. That's North. Down south mid 90's. I like sun and hot so bring it on mother nature. I'm ready. 

 

Flying over you on Friday on our way to northern CA.  Nice thing about out there by you...way less humidity.   The summers here in Florida are like wrapping yourself up in a wet cloth that came out of the hot tub.  😮   Natural Sauna each day.  Instant sweat. 

 

😰

[island lady]

35 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I was beginning to think this thread needed a Bella pic to calm things down.😉😂😂

 

I think that would be a great idea!!  🐶

[DaniDanielle]

51 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

I have done NCL to Bermuda out of Boston and will go again on NCL if Royal does go there from Boston.  It was a girls cruise for my Mom's 80th a few years back.  I have finally convinced DH to try another cruise line other than Royal so NCL might be in our future.  Can't beat a 20 minute drive to the port. 😄 

You are so right, which is why we usually leave from Bayonne.  I forgot our one and only NCL was to Bermuda, it was a “free”casino cruise!! Change is good but I don’t know if I would do NCL again, did not care for the Breakaway.

[island lady]

15 minutes ago, davekathy said:

That's how we roll (cruise) also. 🍷👍

 

I can cheat when we sail out of Florida.  "Drive to" ports have no luggage weight allowance.  Just limited to what pack mule Bucky can heft into the back of our SUV.  😮  But most times I add a third duffel bag to lighten the load on the two suitcases.  

 

Wow...going to feel weird packing those suitcases tomorrow.  Wonder if I can find them under all the dust?  😉 

[island lady]

17 minutes ago, George C said:

 

OMG!  Beautiful cats...I can just hear them purring now.  🙂   And lovely bedspread as well!  

[grapau27]

5 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

I think that would be a great idea!!  🐶

Always lovely to see Bella photos.

[h20skibum]

25 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Thanks for all help and suggesting.

When you are in Oahu, look into “The Bus” as an option to get around on future trips.  They have one of the best transit systems around.  In fact, our last trip to Oahu, we just walked or used the bus to get around. 
 

We had the senior rate, which gave you unlimited trips anywhere on the island fo $2.  Adult rate is around $5.50.  You don’t have the hassle of driving, parking, etc.  

 

Here is a link.  
 

https://www.best-of-oahu.com/oahu-bus.html

 

 

[Sheal]

6 minutes ago, George C said:

these are our two 14 year old kitties , shelter told us they were brother and sister , Joebob is 19 pounds Gracie is 8.

19 lbs vs. 8 lbs.  One of them wears it well, they look the same size. 

 

Thanks for the ideas for Hawaii.  DH wants to go at some point but it will have to wait a few years.

 

@Tree_skier

Did you do that "water slide" at Capilano?  How the heck do they keep from scraping all the skin off their bodies?  We did this little (like 5 feet) water slide thing at Blue Hole in Jamaica a few years back and I came home with a small scrape.  Jumping the 20 or so feet was a bit scary too!  As a teenager we used to hang from an unused trestle and drop the 40 or so feet

into the water.  Lucky no one was hurt, it was not a deep area.

 

@singinalot

All I can say is I'm jealous.  What a beautiful home!  So glad everything worked out for you!

[dani negreanu]

1 hour ago, StanleyandGus said:

My oldest turns 31 today.

 

Yay, happy birthday to your oldest 🌷

 

That makes 3 of them today @bobmacliberty 🥰

 

We're "sending" DS and DDIL to a boutique hotel for one night. We'll "receive" the grandkids Friday morning and hopefully they'll be "picked up" Saturday afternoon, both parties in one piece.......😉

 

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, StanleyandGus said:

Congratulations on the lovely house! The kitchen looks great for entertaining.

 

My oldest turns 31 today. As a present, the army is giving him his first COVID vaccine!

Happy birthday wishes for your oldest today.

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Sometimes you just have to go dancing in the minefields. Occasionally you step on one like our friend M8.

 

Remember, ships need to leave the safety of their harbors and venture out to the oceans as they were built to do. Some come back wounded. Some never return. However, many come back to rest filled with wondrous stories of their adventures beyond the horizon........ 

 

Maybe all these sunset pictures are getting to me?🤔😉😇

When is our friend due back.

[bobmacliberty]

16 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

You are so right, which is why we usually leave from Bayonne.  I forgot our one and only NCL was to Bermuda, it was a “free”casino cruise!! Change is good but I don’t know if I would do NCL again, did not care for the Breakaway.

 

We did a 5 night to Bermuda from Bayonne several years ago.  Loved Bermuda but the 2 sea days going there and coming back were rough.  Outside decks closed both days.  That's our one and only Bermuda cruise and I'm guessing it's an exception rather than the rule.

[xpcdoojk]

42 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Ok, so flight is booked.  We're doing 7 days in Honolulu. We leave the day after US Thanksgiving.  IF we're cruising by then I have Liberty of the seas booked 2 weeks after we get back.  That'll be a lot of vacationing over a short period of time.

 

 

The option of two islands was sent out the window when I started researching changing my lucky car rental booking.  If I shortened the original booking and then added a new booking for a few day in Kona the price went through ceiling. I'd have been paying more car rentals than airfare and hotel combined. I'm sure this will be a great first experience.  This will give me motivation to try booking another Hawaiian cruise somewhere down the road. 

 

Thanks for all help and suggesting.

 

@xpcdoojkWe'll shoot for the March or April in 22 for MO.

 

Could be cold and rainy some of that time in the early spring.  Not sure how many shows will be open then either.  Most of the shows are just opening now.  Sort of end of April to New Years is the typical schedule. I think.  I know they mostly close after NY.  

[bobmacliberty]

1 hour ago, xpcdoojk said:

Johnny Morris has built some amazing properties.  On the lake his Big Cedar Lodge is amazing, and the golf complex nearby is simply world class with Tiger’s new course called Payne’s Valley (after the late Payne Stewart from here) is fully booked until September, and it is worth the hundreds it costs to play.  Another Amazing piece of property.  He has 5 or 6 courses scattered over probably a million acres of mostly undeveloped area.  

 

Headed to Big Cedar in September for our annual guys golf trip.  Payne's Valley looks impressive, especially the 19th hole.  The place is completely booked because of the made for TV match that was aired last year when everyone was locked down.  Great publicity.

[George C]

10 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

We did a 5 night to Bermuda from Bayonne several years ago.  Loved Bermuda but the 2 sea days going there and coming back were rough.  Outside decks closed both days.  That's our one and only Bermuda cruise and I'm guessing it's an exception rather than the rule.

Only time I ever got seasick was returning from Bermuda on a very small Hal cruise in 1980.

[reallyitsmema]

25 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

You are so right, which is why we usually leave from Bayonne.  I forgot our one and only NCL was to Bermuda, it was a “free”casino cruise!! Change is good but I don’t know if I would do NCL again, did not care for the Breakaway.

 

We were on an older ship, the Dawn, that had just had a refurbishing.  Cabins were really small.  Shared a cabin with my older sister, haven't done that in more years than I am willing to admit.😲  I would be willing to give it another try with DH, hopefully on a newer ship though.

[DaniDanielle]

11 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

We did a 5 night to Bermuda from Bayonne several years ago.  Loved Bermuda but the 2 sea days going there and coming back were rough.  Outside decks closed both days.  That's our one and only Bermuda cruise and I'm guessing it's an exception rather than the rule.

The first day out can be rough but we haven’t encountered closed decks yet.  I guess we have been lucky.  My daughter-in-law hated her first trip to Bermuda but it was around a hurricane so there you go!!!then when she got to Bermuda everything was closed due to a national holiday.

[xpcdoojk]

Yeah, Johnny isn’t half as stupid as he acts.  We played it a couple of weeks after the show.  It is beautiful.  We didn’t get to play the 19th because they were having an issue getting the water level right, as it was filling to deep and was going to flood and kill the green.  I imagine as with most things dealing with water you just need more and bigger pumps.  The cliff around the green is insane.  It was still a construction site when we played, but you drive your cart up a series of switchbacks criss-crossing the cliff, with overlooks and waterfalls every where.  Not much of that is natural.  

 

I played pretty well at Payne’s Valley, but the next day at Ozark National the wind was way up and it was a golf ball losing nightmare.  I had always played Ozark National pretty well previously.  So many blind shots on that course.  Phil won the senior tournament there last year in his first attempt on the senior PGA tour.  He was 22 under or something.  Insane how good they are.  

 

Then Buffalo Ridge has been there for pushing 20 years now, and it is a very nice course too, they used to play the senior PGA there and at Top of the Rock.  The Top of the Rock senior PGA experience was amazing.  A small 9 hole par 3 course on a mountain top with a giant bar/restaurant at the top.  Walking the course during a practice round was amazing.  On a Sunday, my wife got a hug from Jack Nicklaus.  A few years ago, I walked with Tom Lehman’s group, and I must have talked to Larry the Cable Guy for 30 minutes off and on.  Either he is in character full time or he is just like his comedy routine in real life.  

 

 

[bobmacliberty]

50 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Ok, so flight is booked.  We're doing 7 days in Honolulu.

 

Oahu is always a good place to start.  You can try the other islands on future trips.  Other than Honolulu attractions, here are a couple of suggestions for Oahu.

• Pearl Harbor is the top attraction and for good reason.  Very moving experience.  As JC suggested, confirm that it will be open.
• Do the loop around the north end of the island.  It could take 4-8+ hours depending on how often you stop and traffic around Honolulu, which can get bad at rush hour.
• On the loop, see the Dole Pineapple Plantation, Matsumoto's Shave Ice, the Banzai Pipeline (waves vary with time of year), the Polynesian Cultural Center, and the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout.
• On the eastern end, it's worth a visit to the Halona Blowhole.

[bobmacliberty]

3 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Interesting article about Vancouver Aquarium.  Everybody is saying the right things.  It will be interesting to see the ownership group deal with Vancouver City Council. They are different breed.  I suspect this will be a bit of different experience than what they might be used to in Pigeon Forge, TN or Cincinnati, OH.  I've been to the Cincinnati aquarium.  It is fantastic! Finances have been an issue for years. Hopefully they are able to make a go of it.  As a teacher my wife would bring her class once a year and her and I would go at least once a year as well.

 

The Cincinnati Aquarium is actually in Northern Kentucky (part of the Cincinnati Metro area) because the Cincinnati City Council couldn't get their act together.  

[xpcdoojk]

1 minute ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Oahu is always a good place to start.  You can try the other islands on future trips.  Other than Honolulu attractions, here are a couple of suggestions for Oahu.

• Pearl Harbor is the top attraction and for good reason.  Very moving experience.  As JC suggested, confirm that it will be open.
• Do the loop around the north end of the island.  It could take 4-8+ hours depending on how often you stop and traffic around Honolulu, which can get bad at rush hour.
• On the loop, see the Dole Pineapple Plantation, Matsumoto's Shave Ice, the Banzai Pipeline (waves vary with time of year), the Polynesian Cultural Center, and the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout.
• On the eastern end, it's worth a visit to the Halona Blowhole.

Additionally, find the shrimp truck on the NE side of the island.  Disgusting and wonderful.  We did a food tour on our last circumnavigation. Ate breakfast at Cafe Haleiwa, then fish Tacos, at a food truck near the Banzai Pipeline beaches, then late afternoon snack at (I think) Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck.  By the time we got back to our hotel in Honolulu we just went to Duke’s for snacks and drinks.  

[bobmacliberty]

8 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

Yeah, Johnny isn’t half as stupid as he acts.  We played it a couple of weeks after the show.  It is beautiful.  We didn’t get to play the 19th because they were having an issue getting the water level right, as it was filling to deep and was going to flood and kill the green.  I imagine as with most things dealing with water you just need more and bigger pumps.  The cliff around the green is insane.  It was still a construction site when we played, but you drive your cart up a series of switchbacks criss-crossing the cliff, with overlooks and waterfalls every where.  Not much of that is natural.  

 

I played pretty well at Payne’s Valley, but the next day at Ozark National the wind was way up and it was a golf ball losing nightmare.  I had always played Ozark National pretty well previously.  So many blind shots on that course.  Phil won the senior tournament there last year in his first attempt on the senior PGA tour.  He was 22 under or something.  Insane how good they are.  

 

Then Buffalo Ridge has been there for pushing 20 years now, and it is a very nice course too, they used to play the senior PGA there and at Top of the Rock.  The Top of the Rock senior PGA experience was amazing.  A small 9 hole par 3 course on a mountain top with a giant bar/restaurant at the top.  Walking the course during a practice round was amazing.  On a Sunday, my wife got a hug from Jack Nicklaus.  A few years ago, I walked with Tom Lehman’s group, and I must have talked to Larry the Cable Guy for 30 minutes off and on.  Either he is in character full time or he is just like his comedy routine in real life.  

 

 

 

We're playing Buffalo Ridge Springs, Payne's Valley, and Ozarks National.  We'll squeeze Top of the Rock in someplace also.  The only slight drawback is that we're staying at the Bass Pro Shops Anglers Lodge.  It's a former La Quinta that has been remodeled and is off property.  

 

[reallyitsmema]

26 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

The first day out can be rough but we haven’t encountered closed decks yet.  I guess we have been lucky.  My daughter-in-law hated her first trip to Bermuda but it was around a hurricane so there you go!!!then when she got to Bermuda everything was closed due to a national holiday.

 

Was that on Anthem?  That happened to us Labor Day weekend 2016.  First couple of days were really rough, got to Bermuda late because of trying to avoid the storm.

 

 

Edited April 28, 2021 by reallyitsmema