WAAAYTOOO

Yes, you can still L&S proactively. They extended the program for another month. YIPPEE !!!

We are on the May 23 Serenade out of Vancouver. Really looking forward to it.

Ok. New plan. Changed our minds AGAIN. Now we are staying here, I am taking this da*n job and we are not going to FL right away. Even after telling my prospective employer that I would be gone basically 25% of the next year (slight exaggeration), he still extended an offer that I just can't turn down. An increase in the salary offer plus very attractive signing bonus has been introduced....I just can't say "no". So...we will be making an interim move locally and we will spend the best part of the next year right where we are. This actually takes quite a bit of pressure off. We now can take our time moving as we can move incrementally rather than 1 big swoop-move. Of course, there will be the whole WORK thing, which sucks...but since their office is still under a limited onsite situation, a significant amount of my work time will still be from home - I think. The one and only time I went there it was basically abandoned. I only saw 2 live bodies in the whole building. So much for retirement.

Happy birthday !!!!

You didn't fail to make final payment did you ??

It's my understanding that if anyone in the group tests positive, boarding will be denied for the entire group.

Took me a while to figure that one out, too. I had to say it out loud for it to make any sense !

UGH. That is very unfortunate. Sorry to hear it. I had a bit of a challenge with my Royal Suite on Empress in my very first L&S. They absolutely refused to shift my RS to an OS on Odyssey. We went around and around with them. Finally they offered me a Star Class suite on Allure and we shouted, "SOLD !".

Just completed my 4th Empress L&S. We had already shifted an Empress Thanksgiving cruise to Allure Thanksgiving so we did another one for the week prior to give us B2B. We also L&S Empress for Christmas and NY next year on Symphony. Sorry to see this program end but I understand that it cannot continue indefinitely.

No truer words have ever been "spoken".

@JeffBI think you are right on the mark.

Thank you so much !! It's a lot of work and when you get old it's even harder !

So, we have very good news on the VA home sale. It went on the market, officially, this past Thursday, Sept. 24. By the end of the weekend, we had 13 offers with over 51 live viewings. We accepted the latest offer this morning at more than $30K above the asking price. YIPPEE !!! They are basically paying cash so financing complications are non-existent and they don't want to take possession until Nov. 16 so that will give us time to get our s**t together and head south. I still have not completely abandoned the idea of taking the new job but I've pretty much decided that I am ready to go to Florida ! It's been a whirlwind, but it seems like all of the chips are falling into place. We will be homeless very soon !!

We went by Honi-Honi but didn't go in. I think they were open but the summer rush is definitely winding down. We did eat dinner at Dutch's, which was excellent. The single thing that Leigh misses is a decent grocery store. The best they have in that area is a Shop 'N Save but she's a bit of a city slicker and misses her Harris Teeter and Wegman's. She was actually talking about going all the way to Moorefield (an hour from their place) just to get to a Food Lion, which is pretty sad. They do, however, already have a "favorite" butcher so she's very pleased with that aspect. We enjoyed our visit with them very much. They have a beautiful new (resale) home. Since they are in the real estate business, they got a very VERY good price even though it needs some work. They're young. They can do all that work ! The house is not actually ON the water (Deep Creek), but is considered lake property. They have another home that IS on the lake, that they rent out. They have not had but 3 vacant days for that property since March and it is rented solid all the way through the holidays. There is a small ski town (McHenry) nearby so with the lake and the ski lodge, that makes it a year-round destination. Who knew ??

Sounds like you have good instincts. The basic rule is, if the specialty restaurant is open and they can accommodate you, you can eat there. Of course, this is all pre-Covid...and none of us know what new restrictions, if any, they might impose...but these are the “rules” that have been in place before. If they have later boarding, which seems inevitable, my guess is the boarding day specialty lunch is gone. That’s a shame. It was maybe our favorite perk of the UDP. You mentioned that you might go to the MDR on lobster night. Don’t do it ! Don’t waste one of your specialty nights by going to the MDR just to get your lobster tails. You can go to any specialty restaurant on lobster night and ask the waiter to bring you MDR lobster tails in addition to whatever else you may be ordering from that restaurant’s menu. This is a very common request and they expect it. It doesn’t hurt to give them a head’s up earlier in the day that you plan on coming to the restaurant later and that you will be ordering the MDR lobster tail. That way they will be prepared. It’s just a common courtesy thing. BTW, this also works for any MDR main course menu item, not just lobster. Dan loves the lamb shank, and on nights when they are serving lamb shank in the MDR he always orders it at whatever specialty restaurant we are in, on that night. Again, a head’s up makes it much easier on your server. As far as reservations, it is best if you make all of your dinner reservations as soon as possible after boarding. As the week goes on, the specialty restaurants get more crowded and with likely reduced capacity, it’s going to be even more important than ever. You can always make changes as the cruise progresses, but you may need to be flexible with dinner times.

I paid $58.99 PP for the Coco Beach Club for our 13 Dec 2020 Oasis Cruise.

Update - Since the listing on our VA house went “live” yesterday (Thursday), we decided it would be best just to skeedaddle and run away to western MD to visit my daughter and see her new house. For @coneyraven, they live in Garrett County in Oakland. I don’t know much more about the area except that it is beautiful out here in the sticks (meant lovingly). We watched a big (probably 8 point) buck with his deer-ladies grazing in their yard (5 acres). Simply beautiful. Of course, all Dan could talk about was shootIng them with a bow, but I avoided a philosophical confrontation on the subject. Back to the house. I am overwhelmed by the attraction the house has generated ! We have over 30 confirmed viewing appointments between Thursday and Saturday plus an open house on Sunday. Getting out of town was the RIGHT move. We did have 1 negative review (objection to the yard slope, which is legitimate) but everything else has been ragingly positive. I think we’re going to be very happy with the decision to sell now. Our Agent is very pleased. We told him to hold all offers until we get back. Don’t want to deal with that right now. I change my mind daily (even more often some days) about whether to accept the job offer I have and remain in VA until the FL house is ready or move straight away to FL. He keeps sweetening the job offer so it’s getting harder to decline so I outsmarted him (I hope). I sent him a list of all my cruise dates for the next year ! That should discourage him ! Lol Off to breakfast with the fam.

Also concur with @Lovetocruise2002 She responded before I finished pecking !

I agree with @MLH. I have found the only reliable (and easy) way to get orders is via the Genie. It has been my experience that the room service number is useless. I am almost never able to get through. Also concur that standing orders - particularly for Starbucks In the morning - is ship-dependent. Some will, some won’t. I almost always have to tell the Genie to STOP bringing food. We can never eat everything they bring and I hate wasting. If there’s something you know you want and will eat, bring it on ! But unsolicited random food deliveries are rarely consumed by us. The arrival day snack is standard. Let the Genie know beforehand what you want and they will get it if they can. Just keep in mind that most of the specialty restaurants are closed during boarding hours so extensive specialty restaurant items will probably not be possible.

That’s yet to be determined but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.

If the cruise you already booked is one that is eligible for the $$$ off coupon, then yes, you can rebook and used the $$ off coupon. Just be aware that they will reprice your cruise and if the cruise fare has increased enough it may negate the value of your coupon. Never hurts to try though !

We received a bunch of casino offers for summer sailings. I guess they are some of the “new” itineraries

Unless the Brilliance itin out of Tampa is objectionable to you, I would just stay on Brilliance and keep the room you want. Who knows where you'd end up on Indy.

Resurrecting an old thread. I wanted to report on a GREAT experience with American Airlines and itinerary changes. I had to change a flight NOT once, but TWICE. For both calls, AA made the necessary changes quickly and without charging a dime in change fees. I am thrilled with this new policy. The first time I changed it, there was an increase in fare (which I absolutely expected) so I just paid the increased fare. The second time I changed it, the fare went DOWN by over $350 PP so I got credit vouchers for that fare difference. After so many bad experiences trying to change air itineraries, I was happy for some good news. I hope they NEVER change their no change fee policy !!!

Of course, Black Friday/Cyber Monday is coming up and historically there have been good sales around that time, but who knows what will happen this year. Last year’s holiday sales were a dud.