AnnetteJackson

Super Excited to have Apex booked for 1/8/22!!!   Cruising with @monorailmedic

Super Excited to have Apex booked for 1/8/22!!!   Cruising with @monorailmedic

You guys are going to have a blast!  Great location, Great weather, Great place - and special Daddy Daughter time.  I cannot wait to see how well she takes to this and how bruised you are at the end of this ?
 

Super Excited to have Apex booked for 1/8/22!!!   Cruising with @monorailmedic

You guys are going to have a blast!  Great location, Great weather, Great place - and special Daddy Daughter time.  I cannot wait to see how well she takes to this and how bruised you are at the end of this ?
 

Thanks @monorailmedic!
 
https://www.cruisehabit.com/celebrity-discussed-planned-passenger-capacity-new-itineraries-vaccine-requirements-apex-inaugural?fbclid=IwAR03LisgljF1VeC5Sh-80-oiE9Kt1w06eJhQHFYrMPPuQlTt1Vlglkx5gvw 

Weather forecast so far looks favorable for snow.

I'm always leery of forecasts a week away or more, but one issue I've been paranoid of when going to NC to ski is it becoming too warm to ski.  
Looks like we might even see some falling snow the day we arrive.  And it will be sufficiently cold too!

Matt,
I don't see anything about a drink package being offered. I think you're DEFINITELY going to need one based on when the last time you went skiing. ?

You can do that by sitting at a computer desk for 8+ hours a day, right? right?

I haven't left the state of Florida since February 2020, but that's about to change as I'm taking my oldest daughter skiing for her first time.
As a kid, I'd go skiing all the time.  But I haven't gone skiing at all since I think high school, or maybe college. So it has been about two decades since the last time I hit the slopes.
Earlier this winter I had looked at going skiing up in Vermont, but quarantine rules make that kind of trip impossible.
Then, I saw a Facebook post from @AnnetteJackson's family of a ski mountain in the western hills of North Carolina and I knew I had a chance!


After doing some research, we're going to take the 10 hour drive up to Beech Mountain, which is outside the thriving metropolis of Boone, North Carolina (less than 2 hours from Asheville).
We're going to do a long weekend over President's Day weekend, since my daughter gets 1 day off of school and I convinced my wife to let me pull her out of school for one day before the weekend begins.
I managed to find a ski condo about 20 minutes from the mountain.  Rentals went very quickly in the days I took to decide what to do, but I think for us it will work quite well.


I also spent a lot of my credit card points on Amazon purchases for the necessary cold weather clothing we need.
I was also able to rent our equipment and get lift tickets via the Beech Mountain website.
The only thing left are lessons, which are available in person on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the lesson. I guess we will be getting up early to lock in those.
My hope is my daughter will enjoy skiing as much as I did at her age, while also hoping I remember how to ski. It can't be that hard to remember how to do things, right?


Besides injuring myself in a classic case of "Matt, you're not 20 years old anymore", I'm also slightly concerned my daughter will find the cold and windy temperatures too much and want to stop.
Plan is to go after school next week and stop half way in South Carolina, and then get to the mountain the next day.
Basic approach should be:
Thursday: Start drive up Friday: Arrive at mountain. Check-in, get equipment, provisions, etc Saturday: Ski! Sunday: Ski! Monday: Drive home bright and early

Yes.
Like many topics, people who disagree tend to be more vocal online than those that agree, which is why I think you see some strong opinions on the matter.

As a crew member, I am always intrigued by hearing your opinions on wearing a mask on your next cruise vacation.
 
I honestly thought the majority of people would be fine with this new rule now. Personally, I have no issues wearing a mask and have enjoyed ways to make them fashionable.
 
Will you wear a mask, now that we know for sure, we will most definitely be required to wear one on your next cruise vacation?
 
 

Just got a chuckle earlier this month while talking to a Loyalty rep who was moving our 1400 point "freeJS cruise" due to this last cancellation salvo. My point count is about triple that of my DW since she asked me to "stop dragging her along" several years ago. As much as I love it, she never got onboard with it (pun intended ;>)
 
Hope you enjoy the climb up the "C&A" ladder but I wholeheartedly agree that is should an integral part of strategizing rather than a primary focus.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Meeting up with fellow cruisers or friends that live near the port the night prior to the cruise.  Always a PLUS if I can sit outside by water with a good view while visiting with everyone as well.

Meeting up with fellow cruisers or friends that live near the port the night prior to the cruise.  Always a PLUS if I can sit outside by water with a good view while visiting with everyone as well.

Meeting up with fellow cruisers or friends that live near the port the night prior to the cruise.  Always a PLUS if I can sit outside by water with a good view while visiting with everyone as well.

Meeting up with fellow cruisers or friends that live near the port the night prior to the cruise.  Always a PLUS if I can sit outside by water with a good view while visiting with everyone as well.

Listening to Radio Margaritaville in the weeks leading up to the cruise

Was super excited to send an email to a client letting them know they saved a BIG $2 on their Labor day 2021 cruise!    BUT they were able to get On Board Credit of $100 so a good win for them!

Was super excited to send an email to a client letting them know they saved a BIG $2 on their Labor day 2021 cruise!    BUT they were able to get On Board Credit of $100 so a good win for them!

Royal IT.  Enough said.

South beach cabana just this February. Seems like forever ago. Sailed on the Anthem 

Our last cruise was Feb 7 when we took my MIL on her first cruise for her birthday.  She had a couple hard years (FIL passed away, couldn't get her house sold, moving), and we really wanted this trip to be special for her. The crew really went above and beyond to make her birthday special, but my favorite memory is of her and the kids playing in the pool at Paradise Beach in Cozumel

 
On second thought, it may be when the kids and I went to the bird aviary in Costa Maya, and came back to DH and my MIL waiting for us at Cantina Latina.  

My last cruise was on the Bliss...7 nights to Florida and Bahamas from NYC...and it was very stressful. It started with PPE wearing medical personnel taking our temperature in the terminal. It ended on March 15th...the day the cruise lines decided to self-stop. It was a rough week with all the bad news coming in. The ship had their infection protocols in place. These were the Norovirus precautions...no self serve at the buffet...constant deep cleaning...more hand sanitizers...multiple announcements about hand cleaning, etc.  Because international travel was about to be shut down, we were delayed leaving Nassau as buses had to take many of our passengers to the airport so they could fly back to their countries. Some U.S. passengers decided not to risk being stuck aboard ship in the event of an outbreak and decided to leave and fly back to New York. More ships were being affected and languishing at sea because no country wanted to let them in. We were so worried about being quarantined at sea. Finally, we arrived back in NY. Upon disembarking, we had to go through a gauntlet of medical personnel taking our temperatures and visually examining us for any signs of sickness. To be honest...I had never been so glad to get off a cruise ship!
I was also on the Anthem for an 11 night cruise which ended in Bayonne on Feb 7th. That was the cruise where we had a party from China who showed signs of infection. We had to wait to disembark until they were taken off by health officials and examined in the terminal. Finally, we got off and ignored all the news people trying to get their negative news sound bites. The ship was delayed leaving on it’s next cruise so it could be deep cleaned.
In between these two cruises, I was on the Anthem for a back to back to Florida/Bahamas which departed Bayonne Feb 15 through March 1. After the scare on the previous cruise, I still thought it was being exaggerated in the press and had no reason to be concerned. It was a typical cruise...excellent! Everything was as usual...perfect. 
 
I hope everyone stays healthy and makes it through this pandemic. I wish all the crew members who take such good care of us aboard ship are doing well and I can’t wait to see them all again. Bottom line....I can’t wait to get back to cruising!
 

March 6th on Navigator of the Seas, I took command of the ship and everything went south from there.