Shari2

Since, 1979, I got my dates wrong.  Right after my first cruise. Andi...you read Porthole cruising.  I read that one too. Sad😞. To sad about Cruise Travel Magazine.

So sad, I was reading this. I was reading this since 1977. I just got off my first cruise.

She wasn't or I would have turned around for that...she was just trying to chit-chat...LOL  Wasn't in the mood for that...LOL

^{Yes, Jan... I couldn't believe it, but I had a hero that day...the  nice man who moved over for me...and it couldn't have been easy for him...he was quite a large man...always in my prayers.  Haven't had to fly for awhile but next time I have to fly Delta I will probably be grinding my teeth...LOL}

^{To take this story a little further...when we were in the Flamingo casino in Vegas...someone walked up behind me when I was playing at a slot machine and started saying something.  Guess who it was?  The lovely stewardess who refused to give me my own seat.  I don't even know what she said...I just ignored her...otherwise I probably would have said something not very nice...LOL}

Loving this Jan...on to the next entry!

Loving hearing about this Jan.  That Seawalk does sound a bit scary to me.

Never had any real problems on any airlines I have taken, except one for an emergency late night flight to get home from a ship that had pod problems, and they did the best they could to get thousands home at the last minute.  I did have a bad time once on Delta.  My  husband wanted us to go to Las Vegas, and I had a blood clot in my leg so didn't think I could go.  My hubby already had his ticket and was ready to go...of course I told him to go, and then my doctor said I could go if I wore the medical stockings and got up and walked around in the plane.  It was a superficial clot and not in the deep vein.  So I booked at the last minute and had to book 1st class and sit up there alone.  Hubby was in the back of the plane.  When we boarded the plane we separated and went to our seats.  I had also paid for a aisle seat to be able to walk around a bit.  I looked for my seat and there were two men sitting in there, and they were talking to the stewardess.  I mentioned to the stewardess that the aisle seat was mine.  She just said these men wanted to sit together.  I showed her my seat number and all, and she just ignored me.  Then she just said again that they wanted to sit together.  I told her that my doctor wanted me to be able to get up and walk when I could and I had a clot and I had paid for this seat...she still  ignored me...I really didn't know what to do, and I'm not one to  make an issue of things, especially on a plane.  A man across from me heard what was going on and offered me his aisle seat. I said I shouldn't be taking his seat but he insisted that I do, so that's what I did.  He moved in to the window seat.  I had never had something like this happen before and I was not happy about it.  I had to pay a lot of money for 1st class because everything else was full because I had to get my ticket at the last minute.  I should have written to Delta, I know now, but, I always said that I would never fly Delta again...of course I may have to since it is the major airlines out of Minneapolis.  Have never heard any problems with their flights and timing and all, but, they sure need to train their stewardess' that if someone pays for their seat they should be able to get it.

Great article Jan!

Always wanted to try a repositioning cruise.  Think it would be really nice with the money saved and more time onboard, and still seeing nice ports.  Thanks Jan!

Interesting!  Thanks Jan!  Good to know!

Good ideas, Jan.  I rarely use the straws, but on a cruise ship with a cold pina colada it's a must.  I wouldn't mind washing my own straw or reusable water bottle.  Turning off the lights and closing the balcony door seem to be common sense... shouldn't be hard to remember.

Good information Jan...sorry you had to go through the dreaded pat-downs.

Bummer that you forgot that...but so good that you didn't have anything serious in there.  I also carry valuables on me. I did also miss my shirt Jacket, but I found out later that I could still get another one, and it was on sale...so I did OK.  Just spent more money...LOL  So nice that you could get David his special sweatshirt.  Sad that you lost the LLBean rain jacket.  LLBean has some pretty good stuff.  When we were in Maine with friends a few years back they took us to original store, LL Bean... and other places to visit...was a fun day.  I almost walked out of a store a few weeks back without my purse...have never done that before...always watch out for my purse...have to keep my mind on what I am doing...LOL

I did spend a little too much on souvenirs in the past.  Had to pay more for my luggage on the plane on the way home.  And except for my shot glasses to show in the case,  I rarely used anything.  Did buy the T-shirts for the kids& grandkids.

Did leave behind, once on the ship, a jacket that I really liked and had just bought. 

The worst I can remember was not getting a flu shot.  Everyone at work was sick and I was about to cruise on my vacation to Hawaii.  I had dreamed of going to Hawaii all my life.  So the very first day we board the ship, after spending two days in Oahu, I start coughing so bad that I thought I had pneumonia...sure enough it was the flu...stayed in my room for a couple of days to not spread it around, but when the coughing quit we did take some tours and I took medicine and tried hard to not get too close to anyone...didn't want to spoil their time in Hawaii.  We had two days back in Oahu when we got off the ship...I was better by then, raring to go, but then Marc got sick and spent those two days in bed at the hotel...after that I always got the flu shot.

Great thoughts, Jan...Love them!  We do usually plan way ahead, and have so many things we want to do and see, but when you get back home it's amazing that sometimes the most memories are from something simple that we never would have thought of.  It may be the beauty of the country we are in, or how nicely we are treated by the citizens of that country, or even the food, it may be a big surprise from what we expected.  We should definitely save a little time to just enjoy being where we are.

Thank you, Joe!

Thanks for the fun video, Danny...I'm definitely not walking the plank...LOL  I usually go on a cruise to relax so I just enjoy things like bingo, thinking games by the pool, and the evening entertainment...so I would definitely come and hear you sing.

Thanks for the article, and reminder, Jan.  I usually do avoid the late summer/fall times to cruise.  Good things to know... and ways to stay positive if we do go in hurricane season.  

Hi Joe...what a wonderful blog, and review of "The Norwegian Escape."  It sounds like a wonderful ship.  Love the pictures!  I have only been on Norwegian once, and that was a few years back.  I was on the older ship, "The Norway."  I believe it used to be "The France."  It was a very interesting ship. I really liked it.  The entertainment was excellent, but we seemed to be on it at the wrong time.  Some protesting with the help and all caused Norwegian to hire some new help.  We did still really enjoy it.  Would love to try the newer Norwegian ships, especially now after seeing your review.  Thanks for the great post, great review, and great pictures!  So glad that you, and family, had a great time...except for the Disembarkation.

Wow!...Danny, that looks like it would be a blast...so much fun, and a short cruise that anyone could do.  Didn't have time to see the whole video, but will come back soon.  Thanks for the video and new blog post.  One question about you...what type of music do you do?  What is your favorite?

My husband used to do this on our first cruises when he couldn't decide what he wanted.  Had to stop it later though since we were both adding a little extra weight...the sharing at the table with others is really a good idea, though.

Great advice, Jan...we almost always follow that advice.  Especially don't like traveling during Spring Break!

Great ideas, Jan!

Love Elvis...I would definitely like an Elvis cruise!  After many years of wanting to see him in Vegas, I finally got to see him right here in MN about one year before he died.

Forgot to say WELCOME Joe...love your blog and the great pictures! We were on the "Holiday" back in the '80s and it was pretty bad, but decided to go with a group of friends on the "Liberty" in 2009.  I was amazed at how much better the ships looked, and the food and entertainment was very good.  Although I would love to try other ships, I wouldn't hesitate to sail on the newer Carnival ships again.  Loved the melting chocolate cake with a little ice cream on top.  Had that almost every night, even though the crème Brule is usually my favorite.