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Sarge6870

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Blog Comments posted by Sarge6870

  1. "Tomorrow is not promised and we should not "expect" to even see the next hour, for it's never promised. Laugh more. Smile bigger. Love like you mean it." And YOU Shon are an icon of this statement! In most situations I would look to put the blame, but at 6 years old, all I can feel is that God had and always has a plan. We lost our daughter at 10 minutes old (not a mis-print) so I most certainly relate to the loss of a child. This child is a saint now with no faults in God's eyes. May God pour his blessings and comfort on the parents of this child, for they truly need it.

  2. Ok then Shon, I have 5 Carnival placemat pics hanging on my "I Love Me" wall (that's 2 walls I have in my computer room/office where 1 wall is of my military pics and awards and 1 wall of my civilian awards like the one from the City of New York and of the placemats that were given out on the last night of some of our Carnival cruises). The picture placemats I have framed are of the Carnival Celebration, the Ecstasy, the Triumph and the Pride. I also have one my brother gave me before he passed away in 2010 of the Miracle. After our cruise on the Pride is when it seemed they stopped giving out the picture placemats. Wish they still had those :(

  3. The good thing about thrift stores Shon is you can buy brand new stuff there as well. On the other side of the coin, I haven't really looked for cruise items when I shop at the thrift stores near me but it's a good idea. I have sold cruise stuff I had an abundance of at garage sales I had (like those plastic DOD glasses where I had multiple duplicates of but saved the REAL glass one's for me). I have my fair share of TEE's too from past cruises but my favorite collectors items is the pictures of the ship Carnival used to give out on the last night of the cruise but don't anymore. I also collect the models of the ships that the lines sell in their onboard shops. Sorry, getting off topic here......

  4. I've said it before, and I'll say it again Shon..."YOU DA' MAN"!!! When it comes to cruises, I'm more of an introvert. I like to watch fellow passengers like you bang it up. It makes for good memories of the cruise and dampens the display passengers make of themselves that spend their cruise "inspecting" the ship, looking for any failure they can find. Gotta get on a cruise with you man!! Be safe........

  5. All's good here Shon and your breakin' my heart with the B2B's you been on. Wish I could have been there to "console" you ...REALLY!!! :) Just realized today we have to weeks for final payment for the Brilliance cruise in November!!! Can't believe we are a bit over 90 days for our NEXT cruise!!! And of course...we'll be visiting Paradise Beach again when in Cozumel. This is the first time were doing 2 in one year....PUMPED!!!!

  6. What a wonderful, WONDERFUL story!!! Seems being spontaneous worked for you and your marriage! I kind of did the same thing this past April to my wife of 23 years. We weren't facing the "D" word but I like to surprise her once in awhile. She was in N.Y. visiting family and while she was gone, I got bored. So, what did I do....some research. We already had the Brilliance of the Seas booked for November but Chrissy and I work so hard, I felt we deserved it. A CRUISE that is..for May on a ship and with a line we have never sailed with before. I booked it, paid in full then posted it to Facebook knowing she would see it. At first I got the normal "YOUR AN IDIOT" response... but already knowing that I AM, her remark didn't really affect me much!! The best way to kindle or re-kindle a relationship is on a cruise. Just the way you did. No interference. No phones ringing and no "opinions"!! Congrats to you and your hubby and wishing the brightest future together ;)

  7. It's amazing Jan!! Were about to embark on our 10th cruise in November and we STILL print out a Crazies packing list for every cruise! Even still, we ALWAYS seem to forget something. Prior to our last cruise on the Jewel in May, I brought a new digital video camera that records in HD. I bought an extra, heavy duty battery as a backup for it and extra SD cards to record on. I packed everything related to the camera AND our still camera in the camera bag. On the way to the port, Chrissy decided to do some video taping while I was driving and held onto the camera. When we finally arrived at the parking lot near the Port of Tampa, we excitedly unloaded the luggage, gave it to the driver and he put it on the shuttle. When we boarded the Jewel, I realized the camera bag was still in my truck at the parking lot. I hope the cameras cables, extra battery, my tablet charger and all the camera accessories had a great vacation for the week....in my truck at the lot!!! And I was hoping after this many cruises, I would have it down to a science!!!

  8. Without question, I would most DEFINITELY cruise Carnival again. Having sailed with Carnival five times, the most recent being on the Dream in 2010, I have had nothing but fond memories of my cruises with them!! As I have mentioned in previous posts, and I'm sure many would agree, you endure the possibility of some type of mishap in your vacation. I have had more concerning incidents happen to me on planes than on cruises. I have had my car break down en-route to my vacation. We even had to wait for a hurricane to pass in Aruba (which by the way is not considered in the hurricane belt). Granted, these passengers on the ships endured the unthinkable, but in most cases were reciprocated for their ordeal. Just my opinion.........

  9. Good post Shon but there are another group of cruisers that complain WITHOUT anything to compare their cruise to...NEW cruisers!! Many of these folks have watched too many reruns of "Love Boat" and think that their cruise and EVERY cruise is the way it is portrayed on the T.V.!! I have heard people pick everything about their cruise apart like they were taking a puzzle apart. When I cruise, I may "compare" the cruise to past cruises but for me, as I always say, the only bad cruise is the one where the ship sinks!!!

  10. Here's just a couple of additions Jan......

    D.O.D. : "Drink of the Day". They are drinks offered by the ship daily where you get to keep a flute type glass (for a additional fee of course) with the cruise lines logo on it. Usually some type of tropical drink. The glasses used to be actual glass but are now made of plastic. I have about 20 of these glasses from past cruises

    I would also like to add for the new cruisers, the easy way to remember "Port" from " Starboard" (Left from right side of the ship) is that "Port" has the same amount of letters in it as "Left"! And remember, the "side" of the ship is determined while facing "forward"

  11. Good post Jan. I have seen this too many times in the past on cruises to blow it off!! And, I have posted on it often. The statement "it's my vacation, I paid for it" just shows the self-centered nature of many (not all) parents. You may have paid for your vacation, but you did not pay for mine. Maybe I don't find the games of your kids pressing all the buttons on the lift, sitting and blocking the stairs or running up and down the hallways screaming to be amusing. When we brought our niece (she was 12 at the time) on the Carnival Pride with us, she was so well behaved because we discussed with her pre-cruise the importance of respecting the other passengers right to the vacation THEY paid for. I've actually had little "Rug Rats" curse at me when I asked them to move from blocking access to the stairs!! They were about 12 or 15 years old!!! No parents or adult guardians to be found anywhere. And one more thing to parents bringing their kids on a cruise, the cruise line staff are NOT your personal babysitters. Please don't board the ship on which I PAID for MY cruise and just cut your kids loose as if the ship was their personal playground!!!

  12. Good post Jan!! My wife say's I am OCD because from the time we book our cruise, I have already started a small briefcase/multi-binder with all the info in it in separate sections. I add to it as the cruise date approaches with any speciality restaurant confirmations, excursions etc. I carry it with me onboard and we have never had an issue. Unlike your old Chevy, my planning does have seatbelts!!! :D

  13. Hey man, my most sincere condolences. I can relate to your love of Zoe. We have always had a dog during the almost 23 years we have been married. We now have Codi, a 113 lb lab mix and 2 Cockatiels, a male(Kicko) and female(Spike). All of our pets have been rescues. When we adopted Codi, she was about 4 months old. Halifax Humane Society gave her all her initial shots, installed the microchip and spayed her. About 2 weeks after we got her home, she contracted Parvo which is a deadly bacterial disease that devours the intestines. My research into Parvo found that 85% of dogs that contract the illness perish even if treated by a vet. We weren't going to give up that easy. She spent 5 days & 4 nights with the vet with me visiting Codi everyday like she was a child in the hospital (well, she kinda was) and she would always put her two paws on my shoulders, I.V. plugged into her leg and look at me as if to say "can we go home now"?. I'm happy to say that $1800 later, she was 100% cured!! I really think she remembers those bad days of sickness. Codi is now 8 yrs old. It is obvious Zoe had a great life with you and you loved her very much or you wouldn't be praising her here! Kudos to you my friend :)

  14. Great BLOG Jan!! One of the complications you continuosly mention throughout the "Battle for the Belt" is the car. With the price of fuel constantly rising, that puts a HEAVY burden on your vacation finances. We flew to Aruba years ago as part of our resort exchange and it was in no way inexpensive. We had to pay for our meals and even though we had a full kitchen with a refrigerator in our room that we stocked from the local grocery store, the prices of food on Aruba was high. Then you factor in you don't want to eat-in every meal. You want to try some of the local restaurants. Another expense!! And of course, we rented a car to traverse the land, getting lost numerous times. When we would drive through Oranjestad, we would see cruise ships docked there and I remember wishing I had been a passenger on one of them!! And I won't even mention the 6 hour flight there from Florida (including delays). Let's see, Flight to Aruba, 6 hours. Drive to the port of Tampa, 20 minutes. Cruising is an easy winner here!!!

  15. How about a cruise ship simulator Shon? You could set it as you like for different scenarios like bad seas, hurricanes, equipment malfunction and docking the ship in various ports. I'm not talking about a "cartoon" like simulator you could play on a PC but one more realistic like they use to train the ship captains? They could go as far as selling a package that has some training time and a contest near the end of the cruise and the winner would get OBC.

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