The MAGIC is Back!!! ~ WBTA 2014 ~ Come & join the fun!

[chunkster20uk]

Wow, you don't look for a week and look what happens!! I will try my best to keep up, but with a work trip to the US (Seattle/Salt Lake/Boston) in a couple of weeks it's gonna be hard.

Welcome new cruisers!

 

[Dgentrysim]

THE POLL HAS BEEN ADDED

Please vote for your favourite name, thanks.

Already done!

 

[scottishwee35]

THE POLL HAS BEEN ADDED

Please vote for your favourite name, thanks.

done it

Scottishwee35

 

[sue l]

Hello everybody! And a very happy good morning! I'm not bragging or anything, but my weekend started at 7am this morning. Of course I'm now sitting on the couch in my PJs not knowing what to do with myself ... nap, clean the house (cash money, if anyone here is volunteering) .... Would it be completely wrong to have a glass of wine before noon and just DIS instead? Can anyone else who works midnight shift commiserate?





Nice, my quote function isn't working.

Ken, obviously since I thought it was Three Sisters when it is Four Sisters, I have no idea what I'm talking about. Ignore the short blonde behind the curtain!

We are going to try the Breakaway in June. We will sail most anything out of NYC, since we don't have to fly! Will give a full report when we return. . It will be our first time on Norwegian.

We are in New Jersey as well and have sailed out of New York a few times. Have not tried Bayone yet.

 

[liesbeth1012]

THE POLL HAS BEEN ADDED

Please vote for your favourite name, thanks.

Oh my! I like all of them, now to make one choice!!!!

I was thinking the same. I like them all. Now I have to choose. I have 3 days to decide.
Thanks Claire.

 

[MedicGoofy]

Until Disdel quoted you, I totally missed the midnight shift part. Yes, I have worked graveyards for the last 8 years. I still need to have "breakfast" when I get home in the morning, but I can also eat breakfast food in the evenings when I wake up!
Definitely have a drink whenever you want! My weekend (well week, since I work 7on-7off) started yesterday morning, and I feel I have been pretty productive for the last 24hrs.

I'm with you on the night shift thing. Been working shift work for 15 years. I can eat breakfast or dinner at any point of the day. So basically, I agree. You can drink when you want!!

 

[TotallyAngelic]

I'm with you on the night shift thing. Been working shift work for 15 years. I can eat breakfast or dinner at any point of the day. So basically, I agree. You can drink when you want!!

I absolutely hated night shifts, which is one of the reasons I changed to working days in the community. Now I only have to do 4 on-call hours once a week, which could be during the night .... but 4 hours at night is a lot easier to deal with then 12 hour night shifts which we had to do in the hospital. I just couldn't physically deal with the effect it had on my body clock and my health.

 

[pharmjenn]

Hi Jenn! Do you find that when you have a few days off, it's difficult to get back onto a "regular" sleep schedule to be awake among the living? That is my issue. After 5-6 years on midnights, I'm finding the older I get, the harder it is to "come off" of them for a few days.

One of our old timers is thinking about retiring next month. He's been Retired in Place for a good two years now, so it's part of my nightly prayers that he makes his retirement official. Did I just say that out loud? Anyway, my point is, if he does retire, I'm going to assume his evening shift for a bit of a break! (We bid for tours by seniority, even though we're management.)

Enjoy the early start to your weekend as well! I'm jealous you were so productive. I want a medal just for mopping the kitchen floor....

My productive is not really that productive! My father was arriving for a visit yesterday, and he is nearly blind so I had to get some things off the floor. Made some phone calls and ran some errands. My DH would say I did nothing at all, as my half of the garage is full of stuff he wants gone, and I haven't made much progress on that in the last month.

Since I get 7 days off, it is not that hard to transition. It is getting harder as I get older though.

I absolutely hated night shifts, which is one of the reasons I changed to working days in the community. Now I only have to do 4 on-call hours once a week, which could be during the night .... but 4 hours at night is a lot easier to deal with then 12 hour night shifts which we had to do in the hospital. I just couldn't physically deal with the effect it had on my body clock and my health.

I worked in Maine for 8months in a tiny hospital. The pharmacy closed at 5pm, and if the staff needed something they couldn't make themselves, I would get called in. That was never fun to be awakened at 2am to drive 10min then make something critical! Then back to the hotel to sleep till 6am and get ready for another day.

 

[AlexandNessa]

THE POLL HAS BEEN ADDED

Please vote for your favourite name, thanks.

Where do I get my button that says "I Voted!"? (Do you guys do that in the UK?)

PC Cruise with Disney was awesome... and my speical birthday we went to Freedom of the Seas at Eastern Caribbean, when we arrived St Thomas as there was Epic behind us and we looked at it and thought it look not nice ship as I don't like back of the ship too...

We are sailing with RC to Venice this July with Splendour of the Seas with deaf group as first time we give a try..

But this Magic is my favourite ship

Scottishwee35

Enjoy your cruise to Venice on Royal!

The outside of the Epic wasn't that attractive to me either. Worse, when we were docked next to them in St. Maarten, my husband was disgusted by a man we met who was cruising on the Epic. He was extremely loud and patting everyone on the back a little too hard whle not keeping track of his cigarette. He was waving his cig around, paying no attention to who he was going to burn next. Mike had to save my hair from being singed off. Anyone else who was at Sharkey's that day remember him? He had a gray ponytail and kept shouting "I'm from Germany!"

Please could you add my to the list of those on this cruise.

I'm Helen and I'm travelling with my Daughter Fallon who will be 2. My DH doesn't know his work commitments yet, so he's booked on the cruise but may not be able to join us.

We're in room 6616.

Looking forward to meeting people, especially those travelling with little ones like me.

Hi and welcome!

 

[AlexandNessa]

We are in New Jersey as well and have sailed out of New York a few times. Have not tried Bayone yet.

Isn't it awesome not having to fly to the port? We weighed our luggage for fun once. It was 72 pounds! And we didn't care!

I'm with you on the night shift thing. Been working shift work for 15 years. I can eat breakfast or dinner at any point of the day. So basically, I agree. You can drink when you want!!

I absolutely hated night shifts, which is one of the reasons I changed to working days in the community. Now I only have to do 4 on-call hours once a week, which could be during the night .... but 4 hours at night is a lot easier to deal with then 12 hour night shifts which we had to do in the hospital. I just couldn't physically deal with the effect it had on my body clock and my health.

Did you know there is an actual affliction called Shift Work Disorder? I didn't know it was labeled and recognized!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_work_sleep_disorder

What the article fails to mention is that shifted tours also wreak havoc on your metabolism.

My productive is not really that productive! My father was arriving for a visit yesterday, and he is nearly blind so I had to get some things off the floor. Made some phone calls and ran some errands. My DH would say I did nothing at all, as my half of the garage is full of stuff he wants gone, and I haven't made much progress on that in the last month.

Since I get 7 days off, it is not that hard to transition. It is getting harder as I get older though.




I worked in Maine for 8months in a tiny hospital. The pharmacy closed at 5pm, and if the staff needed something they couldn't make themselves, I would get called in. That was never fun to be awakened at 2am to drive 10min then make something critical! Then back to the hotel to sleep till 6am and get ready for another day.

Know exactly what you mean. Think this sping we are renting a dumpster just to get rid of stuff. Then maybe I'll hire Merry Maids of something. Today I'm going to tackle Mike's bathroom. Maybe. I never use it, so my intentions are good at the moment, but I'll get in there and say, oh, forget it.


Where in Maine did you work? We got married in Kennebunk.

Enjoy your visit with your dad!

 

[woody73]

. . . The Epic was not your favorite, eh? She seemed like a giant toaster when we all docked next to her in St. Maarten in 2010. Made the Magic almost look like a tug boat! It sure sounds like Norwegian took its Epic criticisms into consideration when they built the Breakaway. Just hoping it's true!

For 2012, we wanted to try one of the mega ships (Oasis, Allure or EPIC). We found a deal on the EPIC: transatlantic cruise for $650 per person (+ tax & port fees) in a veranda, so we booked it.

I enjoyed the stage productions and the variety of evening venues: Blue Man Group, Legends In Concert (Steven Tyler, Madonna, Elvis impersonators), Second City Improv, Howl at the Moon dueling pianos, a Blues Club (with an excellent blues band playing nightly). Plus a piano lounge, and a lounge with guitarists who rotated nightly. So much more to do than on many other ships.

I also liked the EPIC Plunge water ride, which came out before the Aqua Duck. Photo

I did not like the lack of a true promenade deck. The EPIC has a promenade deck, but the sea view is blocked by lifeboats. I also did not like the cabin design.

At the Breakaway previews, they said they took the EPIC passengers' criticisms to heart when designing the Breakaway.

Woody

 

[pharmjenn]

Isn't it awesome not having to fly to the port? We weighed our luggage for fun once. It was 72 pounds! And we didn't care!

Did you know there is an actual affliction called Shift Work Disorder? I didn't know it was labeled and recognized!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_work_sleep_disorder

What the article fails to mention is that shifted tours also wreak havoc on your metabolism.

Know exactly what you mean. Think this sping we are renting a dumpster just to get rid of stuff. Then maybe I'll hire Merry Maids of something. Today I'm going to tackle Mike's bathroom. Maybe. I never use it, so my intentions are good at the moment, but I'll get in there and say, oh, forget it.


Where in Maine did you work? We got married in Kennebunk.

Enjoy your visit with your dad!

We drove to LA for the PC and it was great not worrying about weight. Since we were flying home First ($120 OW tickets, so the miles upgrade was so worth it) we didn't worry about weight on the way home either.

I worked in Farmington for 8 months in 2005 while DH was there for school. Enjoyed the small hospital after coming from a huge Vegas teaching hospital. The people were nice and it was fun exploring Southern Maine.

 

[TotallyAngelic]

The outside of the Epic wasn't that attractive to me either. Worse, when we were docked next to them in St. Maarten, my husband was disgusted by a man we met who was cruising on the Epic. He was extremely loud and patting everyone on the back a little too hard whle not keeping track of his cigarette. He was waving his cig around, paying no attention to who he was going to burn next. Mike had to save my hair from being singed off. Anyone else who was at Sharkey's that day remember him? He had a gray ponytail and kept shouting "I'm from Germany!"

I remember the day we were in port with the Epic .... didn't someone spot the Epic mascot off the ship and he detached his head having a crafty ciggy on the quayside !!

We were on the water bus with a lot of the Epic passengers coming back from town at the end of the day ... lets's just say they must have had a few too many judging by the suggestive dance routines they were performing on the way back .... a lot of thrusting and grinding certainly not suitable in front of all the children present on the boat.

and we can't forget the EPIC horn battle !!!!!

 

[woody73]

We drove to LA for the PC and it was great not worrying about weight. . . .

I agree.

The airlines are not making travel any easier. One time at a Delta check-in counter my bag weighed 51 pounds. The clerk said I could either remove something or pay an additional fee. Sheesh!

Woody

 

[pharmjenn]

I agree.

The airlines are not making travel any easier. One time at a Delta check-in counter my bag weighed 51 pounds. The clerk said I could either remove something or pay an additional fee. Sheesh!

Woody

I love my baggage scale. Small enough to bring with us and then I know I am under. My mother is walking the Camino in Spain this spring and she has been using it almost daily to decide which backpack, which combination of clothing (only bringing 2 sets) weighs the least. I guess every ounce counts in that scenario.

 

[thedonduck]

Will be sending you a PM regarding lanyards 'cause don't remember if I did or not and we definitely want some....

So DJ is an Air Traffic Controller at MCO - was he working the night of 26th Jan this year when Virgin plane had a bird strike and lost engines and had to make an emergency landing.....We were on that plane!!!!! the Captain and flight staff were wonderful.

.

He said he remembers an emergency, but can't remember which airline! He definitely was at work on the 26th so if he was on position, I'm sure he talked to your pilot! Honestly it scares me at times to fly simply knowing the amount of emergencies that happen that my DH has to help with! But, it is great knowing how many skilled and trained people there are out there that can and will help in any situation!

 

[Pinky166]

I was thinking the same. I like them all. Now I have to choose. I have 3 days to decide.
Thanks Claire.

6 days! It closes at 8am GMT on 6th March.

Where do I get my button that says "I Voted!"? (Do you guys do that in the UK?)

No we don't get them here but i know what you mean.

Please could you add my to the list of those on this cruise.

I'm Helen and I'm travelling with my Daughter Fallon who will be 2. My DH doesn't know his work commitments yet, so he's booked on the cruise but may not be able to join us.

We're in room 6616.

Looking forward to meeting people, especially those travelling with little ones like me.

Welcome aboard!!!

I will add you to the roll call.

 

[thedonduck]

I agree.

The airlines are not making travel any easier. One time at a Delta check-in counter my bag weighed 51 pounds. The clerk said I could either remove something or pay an additional fee. Sheesh!

Woody

We have had this happen! I seriously took out one SMALL paperback book (no way it was 3lbs like we were over) and the FA said that was good enough. Silly, but I get it that airlines make more money off flying the mail, etc, so they need to make up the difference of flying our luggage some how!

I am honestly quite concerned about packing. My goal is to have 3 checked and 3 carry ons for 5 of us. Then when we get to Spain, buy our beverages and diapers, etc to help with cost.

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

I voted! I had such a difficult time deciding as there two I liked. Of course another one is much more popular, but I don't mind as it was my second choice!

 

[disdel]

I agree.

The airlines are not making travel any easier. One time at a Delta check-in counter my bag weighed 51 pounds. The clerk said I could either remove something or pay an additional fee. Sheesh!

Woody

I love my baggage scale. Small enough to bring with us and then I know I am under. My mother is walking the Camino in Spain this spring and she has been using it almost daily to decide which backpack, which combination of clothing (only bringing 2 sets) weighs the least. I guess every ounce counts in that scenario.

We carry one now as well. It's better than the "show" we see of frantic folks huddled in a corner redistributing stuff.
I understand the grossly overweight issues, there are proven savings in workers comp claims from strains, etc. But 2 pounds? When it's either going in a pocket or a different bag, so the total is still going aboard? Beauracrats exercising the "power, IMHO.