CFL

At this point I miss just being excited about any of my future cruises. There are just too many unknowns.

Pre-dinner cocktails at the Champagne bar (sad its gone off Oasis), sitting on the balcony with a cup of coffee in the morning, hitting Sorentos 10-12x per day for a slice, basically everything!

Just being away from the "real world"

So I have folks in my neighborhood (Harbor Inlet Neighborhood) in Fort Lauderdale that see the ships coming in and out on a daily basis and are fuming mad that “cruises are still operating”. Literally people so uninformed as to believe that cruises are coming into Fort Lauderdale and leaving with passengers. I’ve had to explain to my neighbors and friends that these people they see on the ships going out the inlet are in fact crew members not in uniform. Interesting to note we are seeing lots of ships come in for fuel & provisioning then heading back to anchor off shore. 

The build-up. Counting down the days and obsessively checking the Cruise Planner to try and snag a good deal on something. Checking a gazillion excursion websites for each port in an effort to find the best ones. Reading and re-reading the live blogs for our chosen ship in the run-up to cruise day.
It's hard to get excited and enjoy the thrill of planning when you can't be sure your cruise is even going to happen.

I miss night one dinner & Jamies/Giovanni’s (early of course because I have 2 young kids). After dinner I usually hang out on the promenade with my family and get the kids tired & ready for bed. I really miss that first night in the casino Royale after the kids are in bed. It’s the simple things about cruising that make me happy. I really enjoy an early morning walk with a Starbucks coffee in hand and being one of only a few people out & about the ship. I am hoping this crisis is behind us by Thanksgiving because I have one heck of a great trip planned on Oasis of the seas! 

Well got the email last night …… cruise canceled so time to regroup and think about rebooking.  We might just cash in till things calm down. Wishing all good health and for those that are still booked best of luck !!!!

With the news this morning on the cruise industry being left out of the stimulus package I've decide to take the 100% refund.

I haven't imbibed since New Year's Eve, so I'm coming to the party with this... (but totally plan to enjoy adult beverages on my cruise -- we've all earned a DBP at this point!)

Drank Mai Tais out of this all weekend.....because I needed it....

I have 2. The first is us waiting around in the Star Lounge for our rooms to open so we were taking photos of each other. DD decided to photo bomb. ?  The second was taken by one of the ship's photographers.

On the first day, we went to get our bands so we could try the Flow Rider...my husband forced me to take a picture while he, and the ladies managing the band station, laughed because I barely met the height requirements haha! Harmony of the Seas May 2019, it was a special 3-nighter they offered during that time (which is way too short for such a large ship fyi!)

Seeing Freedom waiting for us in San Juan on embarkation day! 

 

Went with two, the first one seeing all the other ships just waiting to take people off onto fun adventures for the holidays, and the second my first time on RCL and seeing Central Park.

My first Kraken Lava Flow!

Y’all ready for a cruise this week? Abe Hughes (Cruise Director on Oasis) is doing a virtual cruise so jump on board! Here’s today’s cruise compass. I’ll post the link to his Facebook so you won’t miss out this week! 
 
https://m.facebook.com/cruisedirectorabehughes/

I know that for a lot of people outside of this community, it may seem silly to be so upset about canceled/changed cruises. However, we all understand that vacations like these are a way to escape reality and make once-in-a-lifetime moments. We all come together to enjoy these fantastic ships and destinations and we truly get to appreciate the good times. So given the hard times at the moment and what may come up, I wanted to take a moment to appreciate this community. We will get through this and cheers to our next cruise vacation (whenever it may be)! (Also thanks to @Matt obviously lol) 

We take to our cruises a humidifier and we have never had any problems.
My wife suffers from eczema and she has to use essential oils (lavender and chamomile). Plus the humidity level should be at least 45%. That's why we bought a humidifier which has a trail for essential oils - a great find for my wife. Before we've found it in one of the reviews, I have never known that it is possible to maintain the humidity and to diffuse oils simultaneously. The brand is Everlasting Comfort, if I'm not mistaken.

Thought I'd share:

We stayed at the Best Western Plus Oceanside Inn on Seabreeze Blvd. It's a minute walk to the beach, very reasonably priced, and breakfast was included. It was great to take a walk on the beach both in the evening and before heading to the port in the morning.  ?️ About a 10 minute walk up Seabreeze Blvd, there were restaurants and shops.

It depends what kind of insurance you want., so I used to use a TA for everything.. and he would always book my insurance within 14days of the initial cruise deposit...for me I want cancel for any reason insurance.. , so I learned the hard way last year ( when I booked the cruise by myself..and  I didn't book my insurance right away, but it worked out.).. that there were only 2 options /Insurance companies that offered it after the 14days..  so if you want more insurance plan choices,  purchase the insurance within 14days of deposit.. 

Same if you require a waiver for any pre-existing conditions -- if you don't book within 14 days, you either can't get a waiver at all or (if the insurance company offers the option) you have to pay a rather significant premium bump to get a separate rider added for that. If you don't have the waiver, you have to stay clear of all complications / issues related to your pre-existing condition for (at least) 6 months before you're eliglble to make a claim for that condition from trip insurance.
Generally speaking, long-term conditions like Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Asthma, MS, clinical depression, etc. that are already managed by a doctor and / or with medication, and that are considered "under control" (no flare-ups / hospitalizations / medical emergencies for some minimum time, usually 3-6 months), won't fall under a pre-exisiting condition exclusion. But you have to read the policy language carefully to make sure of that, as well as any minimum time they require to be considered "under control".