Radiance 9-14-07 Polar Bear Express "Special"!

Btw- Heard on the news Opec reduced oil production, to try and drive the price of oil back up! Geez.... they really want to kick us when we're down!

Jen........the oil companies aren't making enuff BILLIONS yet....they have to get every dime they can from us lowly folks...

Kathy........how do u know that Jim and David aren't Thurston Howell's?????.... Well....rest assured....David ISN"T!!!....Maybe a cross between Gilligan and the Professor....HAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHA

jul

Morning everyone.............well, looks like it almost afternoon here. It's rainy and dreary but the temp is about 57 so it's still not cold enough to produce the white stuff.

I guess I'm in the minority about the fuel surcharge change. I think they are handling it the best way they can and doing a CTA (cover their a$$es) across the board. At lest they are doing something.

Sheila, you can always cancel your cruises on November 9th and then rebook on November 10th! Just have your TA put on hold on the cabin............she can do that for a week. Just a thought.

OK, Mar and Bob went on the Ultimate Alaska cruise that left on September 12 and they arrived in San Diego on September 26. Hope everything is OK with them.

Susan, sorry about your dog health. Pets bring so much joy and comfort to our lives.

Have a Christmas Tea meeting this afternoon with Nancy (friend with me on Radiance) and the other ladies. Nancy is doing such a great job making this a special event. We are going up a notch with adding a tea shop this year.

Patti I agree with what you said about the new fuel policy.

Finally got the pricing on my April Mariner cruise taken care of. The C&A coupon has been applied correctly in full and D+ balcony amount applied as well. Big difference. Was able to get my upgrade to the balcony from the ocean view with only a $25.00 increase. So feel like I got a good deal on this cruise for a solo booking. That doesn't happen often.

Ladies you'll have a good weekend.

Afternoon everyone and thanks for the good wishes for my Murph. He didn't eat dinner last night, so we are watching him closely. But he doesn't have any problems barking at the kids as they walk down the street! And he is drinking water and such.

Sheila, what day are you traveling? The next few days look cold and dreary, but back to the 60's by mid-week. I'd like to say I'd try to catch up with you, but my plate is full right now. Thursday night I even missed my hair appointment! My stylist is really good about calling the day before and she forgot and I forgot! Now I have to figure out how to fit that in as well!

I worked a few hours this morning, then stopped at our new health club to pick up our membership passes. Their pool won't be opened until January, but we have reciprocal membership at the Crystal Lake facility, so Ray and I have a date to take a swim tomorrow! Did the grocery shopping and am now ready for a little nap, or at least a brain-dead TV watching hour on the couch! I've got a few things taped. Think I'll go find something fun to watch!

cruiseforme wrote:

Jen........the oil companies aren't making enuff BILLIONS yet....they have to get every dime they can from us lowly folks...

Kathy........how do u know that Jim and David aren't Thurston Howell's?????.... Well....rest assured....David ISN"T!!!....Maybe a cross between Gilligan and the Professor....HAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHA

jul

Jim is definately the Skipper!

OK,...Ok,...Ok....we are still here.
Talked with Jul this AM via email and she said that Patti and all were a little concerned sooooo.....

We have been kitty-sitting this week and I have had the sewing machine out taking in some of my clothes...especially for the upcoming Nov. 9 and Dec 7 cruises...it was soooooo much fun pinning myself into formal wear on the Radiance...and especially when going to the Ladies Rm! I just HAD to get this done! Also been going to the gym to work out every day!
AND, if that isn't enough, been finishing up my Christmas projects/gifts! When the holidays start there will be no time for any of this...so had to get it done. Have 3 more things I have to alter this coming week, and the major big Christmas gifts to add finishing touches to.

Needless to say, very little time for the computer.

Great news about the Stockholder OBCS combining and the fuel charges being reduced...hope to see that OBC on all our 5 cruises booked in 2009.

Diane...we have been to Sandals and loved it! Great place for a honeymoon. And they have a gazebo at the end of a short pier over the lagoon where they do marriages...very romantic!

Gotta git....but thanks for being concerned for us!
Love you all, Mar~

Early evening all, doing some pre-work for my changes tomorrow morning. I'll be up at 4 but thankfully it'll be a quick change.

Mar must be nice to take stuff in, I just keep different sizes in the closet.

The dogs groomer was here today so they are nice and clean.

I think I'm about done with my Christmas shopping, I bought two electronic frames today when we were at Best Buy. Once we're back from the cruise I plan to load them up with family pictures to give to the kids. I need to take another inventory and make sure everyone is covered. DDIL 2B's birthday is in January but I ordered Dallas Stars (hockey) tickets for her. She's a big NJ Devils fan and they'll be in town on New Years eve and I snagged some great seats for she and DS.

That's about all for our exciting day.

d

Susan, I'm so sorry to hear about Murphy, but I'm glad he's hanging in there for now. We went to a cute little play last night, a collection of pet-related songs. Most of them were hilarious but there were a couple of sad ones, including a woman reading a letter from her deceased dad about putting his dog to sleep when he dies. I was sitting there with tears running down my face, but I'm a sentimental slob (with an old dog)! The ending was a happy one, though.

As for the fuel surcharge, Azamara charges $15 per person per day, with NO cap, so our Italy trip has $420 in surcharges for 2 of us. I think it would be fair for them to at least reduce that to $10 and cap it for 7 nights, same as RCI and Celebrity, in the current environment...

Exairgoddess1 wrote:

OK,...Ok,...Ok....we are still here.
Talked with Jul this AM via email and she said that Patti and all were a little concerned sooooo.....

We have been kitty-sitting this week and I have had the sewing machine out taking in some of my clothes...especially for the upcoming Nov. 9 and Dec 7 cruises...it was soooooo much fun pinning myself into formal wear on the Radiance...and especially when going to the Ladies Rm! I just HAD to get this done! Also been going to the gym to work out every day!
AND, if that isn't enough, been finishing up my Christmas projects/gifts! When the holidays start there will be no time for any of this...so had to get it done. Have 3 more things I have to alter this coming week, and the major big Christmas gifts to add finishing touches to.

Needless to say, very little time for the computer.

Great news about the Stockholder OBCS combining and the fuel charges being reduced...hope to see that OBC on all our 5 cruises booked in 2009.

Diane...we have been to Sandals and loved it! Great place for a honeymoon. And they have a gazebo at the end of a short pier over the lagoon where they do marriages...very romantic!

Gotta git....but thanks for being concerned for us!
Love you all, Mar~

Phew............you are both OK. I was getting worried about you. I knew you did the Alaska cruise and got off when we were getting on. I thought maybe you stowed away for Hawaii, but if you did you sure did a good job of concealing yourselves!

Congratulations on the taking in. I'm like Diane..........have clothes for all different weight stages!

Diane, I'm impressed with your Christmas shopping plan! I always "think" I'm almost done and somehow manage to still need a dozen presents!

Jean, a $15 per day gas surcharge is unreal! That's a huge addition to any cruise and almost feels like price gouging!

When I lost a lot of weight a few years ago, I purposely got rid of all my "fat" clothes so I wouldn't feel like I could move back into them! It worked for a while, but the stress of this last year had me buying a few pairs of pants one size larger... I'm really working on getting back into the majority of my wardrobe by my Feb cruise....

Speaking of my Feb cruise and XMas presents, I am sailing with my BFF on the cruise and we always exchange XMas presents. Anyone have any great cruise gifts they given or received?

Murphy wrote:

Diane, I'm impressed with your Christmas shopping plan! I always "think" I'm almost done and somehow manage to still need a dozen presents!

Jean, a $15 per day gas surcharge is unreal! That's a huge addition to any cruise and almost feels like price gouging!

When I lost a lot of weight a few years ago, I purposely got rid of all my "fat" clothes so I wouldn't feel like I could move back into them! It worked for a while, but the stress of this last year had me buying a few pairs of pants one size larger... I'm really working on getting back into the majority of my wardrobe by my Feb cruise....

Speaking of my Feb cruise and XMas presents, I am sailing with my BFF on the cruise and we always exchange XMas presents. Anyone have any great cruise gifts they given or received?

Morning all been up since 4.

Susan we do not exchange gifts with that many people. We do get things for the kids and I get gifts for a bff here and that's about it. I like to make things so usually start to make stuff after the New Year. Since we live in TX and family is either in PA or NJ the shipping is $$$ so years ago we mutually decided to quit buying/shipping. Anyway, that's my Christmas.

d

Morning all.........restless night of sleep.........hoping to actually have the day off and be able to get winter clothes up and summer clothes down....I need a walkin HUGE closet so I can have everything in one place instead of three closets full....or maybe I should TRASH some!

My cmas list is over 30....we cut out the adults in the family here and that cut out 14...now it's mostly kids...but still crazy.......then there's my own kids and grkids.....yikes......I have NO ideas for anyone which is abnormal.....usually I have a lot done by now....

I did buy a mp3 for the 'foreign exchange student' my dd has this year. They had the creative zen with video and 8gb on sale at Walmart for a HECK of a deal...it's better than mine, I'm tempted to trade!! LOL

Personally.......I'm hoping to get my Bose headset this year.......course dh is pretty predictable!!!

Susan.......bottle of wine??.....I'll put a thinking cap on and if I think of something i'll let ya know!

Have a good Sun.......

jul

Has anyone seen or tried the "Kindle" ...electronic book????

Just watched the Oprah show I taped and it looks really cool......thinking about ordering it for my daughter and her husband --he spends a small fortune at B&N and likes to read books in German so he should be able to do that...mmmmmmmm cmas shopping is starting..YAY

j

cruiseforme wrote:

Morning all.........restless night of sleep.........hoping to actually have the day off and be able to get winter clothes up and summer clothes down....I need a walkin HUGE closet so I can have everything in one place instead of three closets full....or maybe I should TRASH some!

My cmas list is over 30....we cut out the adults in the family here and that cut out 14...now it's mostly kids...but still crazy.......then there's my own kids and grkids.....yikes......I have NO ideas for anyone which is abnormal.....usually I have a lot done by now....

I did buy a mp3 for the 'foreign exchange student' my dd has this year. They had the creative zen with video and 8gb on sale at Walmart for a HECK of a deal...it's better than mine, I'm tempted to trade!! LOL

Personally.......I'm hoping to get my Bose headset this year.......course dh is pretty predictable!!!

Susan.......bottle of wine??.....I'll put a thinking cap on and if I think of something i'll let ya know!

Have a good Sun.......

jul

J

John got me my Bose headphones 3 years ago when I was doing lots of travelling. They were 2 for 1 at the time. I love mine and do not travel with out them. Even on flights that do not have a jack they still block out lots of noise.

d

D.......do u have over the ear, on the ear or the ear buds???? Course now you don't need a jack, you have your Ipod to use it with!!!

cruiseforme wrote:

D.......do u have over the ear, on the ear or the ear buds???? Course now you don't need a jack, you have your Ipod to use it with!!!

Mine are the over the ear. I really don't like the ear buds I've tried different brands and have never found a brand that I like. And the on the ear are just too uncomfortable for me. JMPO

John's headphones are the same.

Yes and now I have my iPod. Of course I need to get some "stuff" loaded onto it. Guess that'll keep me busy at work between now and vacation.

d

That's kinda what I was thinking........I too hate ear buds......hate the bulk of the over the ear but the comfort is so much more worth it.....

Going to get to be such a hassle with so much stuff to carry anymore!! Seems like we accumulate electronics.....ipod, laptop, headset, cel phone, dvd player (if not on the ipod), kindle book, digital camera eqt...what next?????????? YIKES! oops forgot the gps!!

Certainly hope they never go to no carryons on the plane cuz I sure as heck wouldn't check all that eqt!!!

Back to cleaning closets....(actually pulling out cmas decor too since this town christmasizes on Friday!)

j

I haven't had any coffee for 2 days and spent over an hour at the health center this morning... my body doesn' t know what hit it! I'm a little achy, but good achy I guess!

Jul, thanks for the wine suggestion. That's probably what I'll end up doing if I don't get her some OBC gift certs.

OK,what's a Kindle? I guess I'll have to go look it up!

I'm going to do some baking this afternoon, even though we don't eat it any more! One of the girls at work gave me a started Amish Friendship bread that "brews" for 10 days before you bake it and it's due to bake today. Also, my boss owns an apple orchard and brought a couple bushels of Apples to work and no one ate any, so I took 1/2 bushel home to cook up something to take back to work. Think I'm make some apple crisp. Also have some stroganoff simmering in the crock pot. The house sure smells good!

cruiseforme wrote:

Has anyone seen or tried the "Kindle" ...electronic book????

Just watched the Oprah show I taped and it looks really cool......thinking about ordering it for my daughter and her husband --he spends a small fortune at B&N and likes to read books in German so he should be able to do that...mmmmmmmm cmas shopping is starting..YAY

j

I saw that too Jul and I was intrigued. I told Bob about it and I'm going to investigate further. I noticed another version in the Sunday ads today. Circuit City I think.

I've seen other versions of it but the Kindle sounded sooo quick to download and doesn't have to have a computer to load it......i liked that idea a lot...

Susan....a Kindle is an electronic book...with a sd card it can hold 4,000 books....

Dh is making some italian sausage rigatoni in the crockpot.....house smelling good here too..

Closets switched around, big pile of throw away, and even got some Cmas gift wrapping done....YAY.....

oh yea, even walked/elliptical.....

back to cleaning....now every day chores to do

jul

Checking in...................been so busy this weekend............I just HAD to send Dennis to work just now so I could pack for the am..........I am starting to stress...........

Belated Happy Anniversary Barb and Danny!! Hope it was a good one..........

Susan----hope Murphy is doing ok............he just wasnt ready.........Im sure you know when he is........dogs are so much a part of us........mine are probably mad at me now cuz they're in puppy prison..........

Im glad we have Skipper and Gilligan types......I would have to say Dennis would be the Captain.........you know,nautical type..........

Glad to hear from you Mar........you know you have to check in with your friends here............

Well,I REALLY need to pack.........

Ill be back on later.........

Before I forget........Happy Sailing Kathy and Dennis........hope it's a wonderful cruise although it will be a sad cruise!

jul

Gonna be even sadder for Dennis cuz HE AIN"T GOING!!!!!!!!!!! Im going with a friend this time...........

Yes, I forgot too! Happy Anniversary Barb and Danny!

d