Hey Annette, if Robbie's brother can go to Galveston to check on the vehicles, let us know. We would love to find out if anything survived the hurricane especially before the Insurance Adjuster tells us the verdict. A unbiased opinion with a camera would be a welcome opponent against the insurance company. Either way, just let us know. Whether our vehicle made it or not, I am sure hoping yours did. It would be awesome if at least one of the group got their vehicle back intact. We will all be waiting to find out with anticipation.
So, when is the party at your house? I can't wait to see everyone again.
We are working on that right now. PM me your car makes and plates and lot location so that I can pass that along - you too sue!
Good morning! Errr...afternoon for you folks in points east.
Quote:
Originally Posted by twinsandanother
Ges we will guard your cholcate stash for you while you are gone
Oh good. I think. Can you be trusted?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MiaNFlorida
That is what the Doctors want to do now is infusion and some other stuff.Ya know,they use these big Dr. words as if I am suppose to know it.lol But they have explained it to me.But still alot of mumbo jumbo words LOL
Uhoh,The baseball cap in the dinning room,Tis tis! and alot of thisLOL
Doctors really like to do that. They're used to talking to each other and forget they can't "use their words" around us mere mortals. Same for government people. They get so used to talking in abbreviations and acronyms and can't figure out how to spell things out for everyone else.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hanna
Hi Diane
Did someone mention they had chocolate they wanted to share? I could use some
Quote:
Originally Posted by twinsandanother
Sorry, Ges is not sharing
Quote:
Originally Posted by hanna
How totally rude
Blame Neal. He started all this. Something in that thread about getting the cruise line to load you up with the nightly pillow chocolate. He sent me frubals threatening to steal my chocolate, and now, well...I have declared all chocolate must now belong to me. But you can have the toffee. That's okay.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JawjaBoy
That's the kind!!! Since February!!! I told the Dr's PA what meds I'm taking and she slammed the clipboard in her lap and asked me "How are you still verticle?" In my sometimes sarcastic attitude I said "I'm not related to Lorrie." (Really) My wife just snickered!
I snickered too. You can't tell jokes like that while I'm at work. You'll get me in trouble! I don't care if you did tell that joke last night when I wasn't at work...I'm at work now, so there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ala-kat
Oh no, I think I've started something...
Jawja, your BRP was a little toxic, I think. Kat has passed out!
Quote:
Originally Posted by JawjaBoy
Good Morning Everyone!! We have that Fall nip in the air this morning!!!! Yippee!!! Fall is coming!!!
5,441 Scarecrows!!! That was the official count!!! The old world record was 3,311. Here's the link to the local article: MainStreetNews
Quote:
Originally Posted by JawjaBoy
Thanks Janet, Cathy and Diane!!! I am a little nervous but the idea of real relief is overpowering!!!
This is probably way late getting to you, but don't be nervous. Epidurals are nothing. And then they're sweet relief.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JawjaBoy
Some of the theme scarecrows were fantastic!!! The Wizard of Oz, The Mechanics, The Bank Robbery and the Funeral...... I need to ge pictures of those. Here is the football game:
Last time, we parked at EZ Cruise, and ordinarily, when I travel, I book things way in advance. For some reason, I hadn't messed with our parking yet. I was planning to park at Lighthouse this time, but I kept putting off that part. Odd...
I think I'm going to go cancel my hotel reservation and try to figure out what we're going to do instead. And then I'm going to try to book my hotel for Chicago in February too. I hear hotels are starting to go for mega cheap. (since our conference hotel is $168 a night ) Bet I can find a decent one for $80 or less. Then, for what I would have spent staying in the conference hotel, I will paid for a hotel, rental car, parking, gas, and some of my meals. I'd like to be in the thick of things, but I think it's more important to be able to actually pay to be there at all. DH wants to come along for the ride too. Should be fun!
Got caught up (I think) and just checking in. We had a funnel cloud here yesterday and we are waiting to see if it touched down anywhere, could see it from our house, then we will officially have had a tornado! I e mailed Mindy to see if she will answer, hope she is ok. Other then mindy has everybody checked in? Sounds like Lee is having a blast and Jawja, hope you get some relief for your back, I have not had that problem but I do know a friend of mine who did.
So I just got a caught up slightly. We are finally well rested and have talked to both our insurance company and ford Motor credit. They have been wonderful and we are not worried about anything. The insurance company basically said that with salt water damage the cars will most likely be totalled. They are fermenting at this point and by the time we get to them they will be considered a potential Bio-hazard. I am going to try and call the cruise insurance company and see if they will cover the rental car we used for our drive back from New Orleans. Considering we had a "trip interruption" and didn't make it to our "point of origin" I am hoping they will cover the cost.
I have been defending Carnival over on the DS and to no avail, there are a few over there that have nothing but bad things to say. I got bashed because I somehow took the easy way out????? Um, excuse me, none of us had it easy...
So I just got a caught up slightly. We are finally well rested and have talked to both our insurance company and ford Motor credit. They have been wonderful and we are not worried about anything. The insurance company basically said that with salt water damage the cars will most likely be totalled. They are fermenting at this point and by the time we get to them they will be considered a potential Bio-hazard. I am going to try and call the cruise insurance company and see if they will cover the rental car we used for our drive back from New Orleans. Considering we had a "trip interruption" and didn't make it to our "point of origin" I am hoping they will cover the cost.
I have been defending Carnival over on the DS and to no avail, there are a few over there that have nothing but bad things to say. I got bashed because I somehow took the easy way out????? Um, excuse me, none of us had it easy...
I am happy that you are all rested up as much as you can be and that everyone seems to be understanding with your vehicle. I personally think that you insured a trip interuption and your travel insurance should kick in
I hope this doesn't get double posted. Another Lee installment!! I am very dopey.... The procedure went very well. A little problem waking from the anesthesia. Thanks to everyone for your support! It is way cool that we are friends that only a few have met and the mutual support is heart warming!!!!
I'm going to go take a nap!!!
Without further ado, Lee!!!!
Good morning all!
I am going to send two days right now. It is easy to get behind when you are in paradise!
Lee
September 16
St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.
After last night's gastronomic delight, I did not awaken until 7:30 a.m. I had no desire to move and get up to do anything. I did not want to have the aggravation of dealing with Immigration
and waiting in line.
My mood improved after Room Service brought coffee and I had had a cup. I hit the shower and dressed to go to breakfast and then deal with Immigration. While we were on the Lido Deck having breakfast, an announcement was made for people on Deck Two to proceed to Immigration. I wolfed down my last bites and we walked downstairs to Deck Five, as ordered. There was a long line of people standing, waiting to go through the Immigration process. I thought that it would take forever, but we were moving quickly. I still felt like we were cattle being lined up for branding. When we arrived at the Immigration Inspector's table, he just gave our passports a quick look and said “thank you” and we were finished.
Immigration officials wound up looking for 75 people who had not heeded the call for mandatory check-in. What are those folks thinking?
We got off the ship and went to the closest mall to the Glory. I purchased a better bathing suit than the one I had on the ship. Betty bought a couple of things and then we went back to the ship. The weather was already hot and we had perspired heavily. Getting back to our room felt great and we lounged around, cooling off. I put on my new bathing suit and we got our gear ready to go snorkeling on St. John's Island.
St. John's Island is really something out of a book. It is an ideal place for snorkeling and exploring. The water is so clear and light blue. You can see the bottom for a long distance out from the beach.
We got our masks and fins and walked to the beach from the bus. We put our gear in the shade of some trees that grew close to the water. I had on my Aqua shoes and ordered fins large enough to slip over the shoes. We waded into the water and then slipped on our fins and off we went. There were not very many fish around. We did see some very colorful fish and I managed to take a few pictures of them. Betty saw sea urchins by some large rocks and stayed away from them. We were warned not to touch the coral as it would burn our skin.
We were in the water over an hour and I regretted having to leave this wonderful slice of paradise to return to the ship. It truly looks amazing.
I have to close now, my eyes are so heavy and I feel very sleepy. I shall finish this in the morning!
Night all!!
Good morning! It is 8:20 a.m. and I have just finished my first cup of coffee.
We were back aboard the ship a good hour before the deadline. I hit the shower to wash all the salt and sand off this old carcass. It felt great to be clean again! After showering, Betty went up to the Lido Deck and brought back some ice cream for us! Then she got in under the covers to read for awhile. After a little while, she went back to the Lido Deck and had a hot dog. I had nothing else because I did not want to spoil dinner. When the time for dinner came around, Betty did not want to go! I had to go to dinner without her and it was not nearly as much fun without her.
Dinner was very good. I had a bowl of Chicken-Noodle soup because the other appetizers were “nasty” sounding to me! I am mostly a meat and potatos type only! I had filet mignon, which was very good! Dessert was a slice of apple pie a-la-mode. Delicious, of course. Kathi's birthday is on Saturday, and we will not be aboard this wonderful ship unfortunately. John told our waiter about Kathi's birthday being on Saturday, so our waiter, Mel, called over other waiters, and got a slice of raspberry chocolate cake with three candles and had others at neighboring tables join in singing “happy birthday” to Kathi.
After dinner, I went to the cyberspace cafe to send out a jounal page to y'all. I checked up on my stocks and read some e-mail. I had planned to go to the casino but never got around to going. After I got off the computer, I came back to my cabin; it was around 11:30 p.m. Where did my day go? It went by so fast.
Lee
September 17, 2008
St. Maarten Island
Howdy all!
This is our last port before heading back to Port Canaveral. I am so sorry that it is coming to an end. This has been a vacation from heaven for us. Thankfully, we will have a mini-cruise in November. It will keep the post-cruise blues away. Those of you who have just returned from cruising know that feeling well, right?
Today in St. Martin or St. Maarten, we are having lunch with our friend Anna and her boyfriend Oleksander. I look forward to being with them as they are great people! Then, we will shop awhile. We will buy another suitcase type bag to pack stuff that we have purchased while on our cruises. I plan to “look” at the Nikon D300 camera here in St. Maarten. Prices on electronics are reputed to be very good on the Dutch side. If the camera is around $1,600, it will take our entire allowance of duty-free shopping. We will have to pay duty when we return to the U.S. I have a feeling I will be looking only! Hmmmmm......I have to get something for Betty, as it is: a) our anniversary on October 9th b) Betty's birthday on October 12th c) My birthday on October 29th. Maybe a new camera?
The only thing mentioned about shopping aboard the ship, is jewelry. Jewelry is advertised so heavily and there are so many jewelry stores in St. Martin. I hope to stay away from them, but Betty may have other ideas.
Time to shower and go up to the Lido Deck for breakfast.
We met Anna and Oleksander down on Deck 0 and down the gangplank we went! We walked into Philipsburg on the Dutch Side of the island. We got to a restaurant that they knew and liked very much. Oleksander loves the French Onion soup, and in his opinion is the best he has ever tasted.
Oleksander and Betty had the French Onion soup and Anna and I had Gazpacho. The Gazpacho was delicious and Betty loved the soup. I tasted the soup and it is wonderful; Oleksander is right, it is the best French Onion soup I have ever had. It had baked Gouda cheese on the top and it added to the soup but did not overpower its flavor.
I had a BLT on Ciabatta bread and Betty had the restaurant's version of a steak and cheese. Everything was very delicious. I also had two mango smoothies which were so good! It took us about an hour and a half to have lunch, as we were talking quite a bit. Anna and Oleksander are so nice. We asked them to come to our house to visit, as when their contracts expire, they will be going to New York for about a week. I do hope they will visit us.
After lunch, we went wandering down the two main streets in Philipsburg. I checked the price on the Nikon D300 camera and the salesman went down on his price to $1,400! I can't get that price in the U.S.! The only drawback would be the warranty if it needed servicing. It would be considered a “gray market” camera, and the Nikon warranty would not be honored in the U.S.! For a warranty to work in the U.S., the camera has to be purchased in the U.S., and labled as having a U.S. warranty. What a bunch of garbage that is, in my opinion! The warranty is valid anywhere else in the world but not the U.S.?
We entered a jewelry store! Uh-oh! Exactly what I was afraid of doing! Even worse than I thought because it was not Betty who liked the emeralds! It was I who liked them! Automatic suspension of my man-card, but I amassed a huge amount of brownie points!
I wound up buying an emerald ring for Betty.at $790. I almost bought an emerald pendant that matched the ring, but Betty was almost yelling at me (Anna as well), not to buy it! So I listened to my wife and we left. As we were walking down the street, Betty did not see a step and took a very nasty spill. She narrowly missed hitting her head on a concrete building side. She did hurt herself and may have some ligament damage to her left thumb. The base of her left hand is bruised and her elbow is skinned as well as her knee. Her first question upon sitting up was for the emerald ring! She wanted to know if she had damaged her new ring in the fall! Yes, she was hurting and yes, she was bleeding from her elbow, but just like a woman, her concern was for the jewelry! I did not know if I should laugh at her or knock her on the head for thinking of the ring instead of herself!
Soon after, our friends separated from us as they wanted to use an internet cafe to check their e-mail and send messages home to Russia and Poland. We said our goodbye's and we went shopping for souvenirs for the folks back home. We bought a few small items and I bought some flavored rums in plastic bottles to give to my friends at work. One item I bought was five miniature bottles of rum. It was not the rum which caught my eye, but the brand of the rum as a consversation piece sure did. I kid you not, but the brand of the rum is; Big Black Dick. I have one friend that I will give these miniatures to as a gift. It will be perfect for him. Whenever I see my friend, the assistant chief, I ask him how he is. His response is always the same; “I'm still Black!” This rum will be perfect for the bar in his home.
We made it back to the ship without any further mishaps! Once we got to our cabin, our first thought was to shower and relax. St Maarten was hot and we felt grungy from all the perspiring while walking around. We were lying in bed and I downloaded pictures to my laptop. One of the pictures was of Betty with the emerald pendant around her neck. Yes, the same one she and Anna had told me in no uncertain terms, not to purchase! Betty told me that maybe she should have “allowed” me to buy it for her. I jumped up and said I would be back before the ship sailed! I had one hour to get off the ship, get a cab, get to the store, purchase the pendant and to get back aboard the ship!
I got off the ship at 4:35 p.m., knowing that I had to be back by 5:30 p.m. and that the Glory was sailing at 6:00 p.m.! I raced to the end of the pier, got a cab and off we went to find the jewelry store. I had a business card from the store so I showed it to the driver so he knew just where to take me. I got to the store in about 10 minutes and the cab driver waited for me as I went inside.
I purchased the pendant for $499, and I was concentrating on getting back to the ship, but no such luck! The man then brought out matching earrings! I walked out of the store after buying the pendant AND earrings; totaling $1,175. Got into the cab and in 10 minutes was back at the pier. I was gone for a total of 40 minutes from the ship! Twenty minutes worth of transportation and twenty minutes in the store! Not too bad for and old guy!
When I got to the cabin, I gave my wife the bag containing what I thought was the pendant. To my surprise, she pulled out the earrings instead! I had given her the wrong bag! I had intended to give her the earrings at dinner that night, but I goofed up! So I had to give her the pendant too. She was so surprised! Hmmmm.............she was about to kill me for a camera at $1,400, but loved the earrings, pendant and ring for $2,000? Makes sense in the female mind I guess! Anyway, the brownie points are now in my pocket! Lets see how well they work the next time she just feels like yelling at me!
Dinner was good! I had fried Mozzarela cheese and Black Tiger Shrimp cocktail as appetizers. I ate a steak and black bean, vegetable enchiladas for the main courses and then dessert. John was not feeling well, so he did not go to dinner with us.
I was rolled back to my cabin and I could not focus on anything, so I went to sleep. I was asleep by 10:30 p.m.!
I lost my electricity at 2 am Sat. morning, and until that moment I was glued to the tv and could not believe what was happening in Galveston. I knew before my last post on this board that Lorrie's car would be underwater before Ike was done.
I am so glad all of them still managed to have a good time on their cruise, in spite of IKE.
I am gathering that no one has heard from Mindy yet?
Cathy, so glad that you are doing okay! I was worried about you when we called the TX highway patrol and they said to avoid Beaumont and surrounding areas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ala-kat
Amazing isn't it? Apparently they all could have done a better job than Carnival. Wonder why they aren't in the position to do so. I've given it some thought, and the logistics are just mind boggling. Could Carnival have done better? Of course, there is always room for improvement. I'm not trying to be a cheerleader , because I'm not. I am, however a realist. The many different levels of government, business, etc. that had to be involved just do not bode well for those on the back end of things. Life.
I tried to give a positve insight on that thread and got slammed. Oh well, I think Carnival did all they could to a point. They were in the dark as much as we were. I don't blame them for anything!
Quote:
Originally Posted by JawjaBoy
I think that under the circumstances that Carnival did a really good job!!! Like you said, things could have been done different but do you really think that could have been planned? The whole thing is mind boggling but Hindsight is 20/20!
Totally agree with you Chuck! Hope you are doing great today!
Quote:
Originally Posted by JawjaBoy
Good Morning Everyone!! We have that Fall nip in the air this morning!!!! Yippee!!! Fall is coming!!!
5,441 Scarecrows!!! That was the official count!!! The old world record was 3,311. Here's the link to the local article: MainStreetNews
Too Cool!
Quote:
Originally Posted by twinsandanother
I am happy that you are all rested up as much as you can be and that everyone seems to be understanding with your vehicle. I personally think that you insured a trip interuption and your travel insurance should kick in
I think it will be covered too, but if it is not, I think our car insurance will cover it.
#
Errr...afternoon for you folks in points east.
and alot of this
LOL
(since our conference hotel is $168 a night 
) Bet I can find a decent one for $80 or less. Then, for what I would have spent staying in the conference hotel, I will paid for a hotel, rental car, parking, gas, and some of my meals. I'd like to be in the thick of things, but I think it's more important to be able to actually pay to be there at all. DH wants to come along for the ride too. Should be fun!
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