I’m still here!

I’m so sorry. I’m also so touched by all y’all’s concern.  I know I stopped blogging with a bang, but there was good reason. As for why it took me so long to get caught up…well, I always say that once I return home, blogging is the furthest thing from my mind. Especially when I’ve been away for almost three months, two months longer than I originally planned to be gone. I mean, I spent a day just cleaning up the dead plants in the house!

As you might have suspected (or maybe not), I once again got COVID on a cruise. Except I didn’t know it was COVID until I went to the Medical Center. Despite leaving home with around 20 test kits (I simply packed everything we had left at home), we used them all by the time I actually got COVID. On our final turnaround day of the season we faced another big move, and I remember being really glad when we were at last settled in our cabin. I was feeling tired, but you might remember, I was fighting that whole ‘open season insurance thing’ and really did lose many nights’ sleep worrying about it, for good reason too, because it was hella screwed up for one of us, despite our written requests being for both of us on the same forms. But I digress.

That first night of that last cruise (Sunday night) I had an awful headache and sore throat. I didn’t leave the cabin that night or all day on Monday, but G brought me some soup from the buffet. As soon as the Medical Center opened on Tuesday, I went there for a strep test, thinking that was what I had. I never even saw the doctor. A nurse first tested me for COVID and it was positive, and then she asked if I wanted to see the doctor but there was really no need. I had brought Paxlovid from home in its lower strength due to my autoimmune diseases.  My PCM won’t let me travel without it (I already have a replacement pack), which is a good thing. The ship’s nurse said they were running low on Paxlovid altogether, but that they never carried the lower dose. She said they had had a lot of COVID the week before, which didn’t surprise me. We had heard a significant increase in coughs around the ship on the previous cruise. 

So I was quarantined until I had no further symptoms (not a set number of days), in our own cabin. G was able to come and go and could dine anywhere on the ship (things have definitely changed in the last few years). I was given a letter spelling out everything, and the Medical Center apparently notified Room Service, because around noon that first day a dining room menu was slid under the cabin door for lunch. And that continued two times a day for the rest of my quarantine. It was simply amazing how well it was handled, which was night and day different from my previous experiences. We let….darn, I can’t remember our last cabin steward’s name…know and he didn’t come into our room until it was all over, but G got fresh towels and dumped our wet ones in his bin. One time a hazmat crew came in and wiped down the walls for about two minutes and, honestly, that was only questionable thing we encountered because that did nothing. 

Twice a day a nurse (not just the Medical Center admin) phoned to check on me and, in the end, I was quarantined until the morning of the last full day of the cruise when all my symptoms were gone. I never ran a fever, the headache was gone after a couple of doses of Paxlovid, so it was really just my sore throat keeping me down. I made it to dinner the last day of the cruise but didn’t go anywhere else.  At that point I was simply over cruising. I just wanted to be home. 

I was given a letter on the final evening documenting the amount of OBC I’d be receiving for missing most of that last cruise. I also received an itemized statement of medical expenses with just two charges on it:  $75 for the nurse and $8 for throat lozenges. There was no charge to receive the bill (honestly, I’ve never been charged for a medical bill on a ship). We flew home the next day both wearing KN95 masks just in case (it was three days before Christmas and ain’t nobody got time for that at Christmas). 

Except, apparently, me. That first evening at home, my eyes felt gunky and I wondered what that was all about. Well, it was about an eye infection but my ophthalmologist’s office wouldn’t allow me to come in for an appointment because I was still testing positive for COVID (I’m STILL testing positive and my doctor said I could for three months or longer). So on Christmas Eve, G was running up to Walgreens before the pharmacy closed at 5pm for eye drops the doctor sent in, and then again on News Years Eve because things weren’t better, and finally, three or four weeks ago, I told the manager at my eye doctor’s office that I was losing my vision and either they let me come in or I was going to the ER that day. Well, they let me come in, and the two prescriptions they had ordered were the wrong thing altogether and my ophthalmologist said he was really glad I pushed for an appointment because things were quite serious and he was saying things like “potential corneal transplants” which scared the bejeebers out of me. 

As a result, I spent weeks not wearing hard contacts and being unable to do much of anything and the worst part was that I couldn’t even see to read or watch TV and I was not a happy camper. But I returned for a check up just this week and things are looking much better (haha), and I feel very adult being able to drive again and do exciting things like go to Costco and work on taxes. 

When I agreed to take the Regal Princess cruises, I told G that if things didn’t go sideways with Princess and if I didn’t get sick, I thought I might be willing to resume cruising like we used to, or maybe at least for a couple of months at a time. Well, things obviously went very sideways with the Regal Princess and we spent more time in Galveston than I ever planned or wanted to, and I got sick not once, but twice. The first time, after the transatlantic, was not a surprise. Long cruises are sick cruises, and though we have no trouble avoiding gastrointestinal illnesses,  I am going to pick up every airborne illness that comes my way. But I really thought I’d be safe on the one week cruises out of Galveston, and I was, until that second last cruise when it was obvious something was going around. People like to say that we can catch COVID anywhere, but I only get sick when I cruise, and I am, sadly, not too anxious to cruise again anytime soon.

I am pretty sure we are going to cancel the 22-night Ruby Princess Alaska cruise we are booked on in June (the timing was never going to be good for us, but the itinerary is amazing). I predict that cruise will have lots of respiratory bugs on it.  Likewise, the 28-night Sapphire Princess South Pacific cruise in October. But having said that, we could change our minds (though it’s not likely). I did just book us on a one week cruise in March 2027.  It helps that we have finally reached an agreement with Princess about our expenses related to the time the Regal Princess was out of service in October and November.  It was handled as equitably as we might have hoped.  At the same time, I finally received the OBC for my COVID quarantine.  It gives me hope that, perhaps, Customer Support is returning under Princess’s new management. Which is a good thing.  Because we seem unable to cruise for more than a couple of weeks without running into issues. 

I am instead going to be making short trips related to my guys, the first one being an overnight to Seattle this weekend to watch McGee race, and then a few other indoor track and track-related trips this spring. McGuy graduates in May, and that trip is slightly longer, and we will inevitably do a road trip or two, and possibly a train trip this summer.  But mostly I am going to enjoy being home and being healthy. And hopefully (knock on wood) getting this insurance thing straightened out.

Thank you again for your concern. I could see I was getting emails at my PescadoAmarillo email account, but was unable to read them until this week.  Once I could, I was touched by the number of people who wrote to see if we were okay. We are now, and thank you for asking.  

I wish you all safe and happy and HEALTHY travels, about which you blog or do Live Froms or post on Facebook. Because roles are reversed now, and though I don’t want to, I sure enjoy reading about your travels. Cruise on!

Day 29: At Sea

I was up at 0 Dark 30, which is what happens when I fall asleep around dinner time. It was nice to wake up with no obligations (eg parties) to deal with. They come around fast and furiously on B2B 7-night cruises. The sea had calmed considerably overnight and I felt much more stable being out and about the ship. 

Ordering something different for breakfast (plus I was hungry!), the mushroom omelet with polenta and rosemary focaccia. 

It’s beginning to look even more like Christmas!

Gingerbread village in the Piazza

I had to go to Guest Services just to get change for tips. I really need to think ahead on this. The last day of the cruise is not the time to be doing this.

Roasted cauliflower (it’s really steamed, but still excellent) and

Beef and broccoli for lunch. Delish!

There was a pastry extravaganza in the buffet at lunch. 

I’ve been hearing about it every cruise and finally made it there. Plus there was a shaved ice station which was really a snow cone station. 

We spent the afternoon chatting with fellow cruisers on the Terrace Deck. I’ve think if I had to choose just one favorite cabin location on the Regal, it would be anything near the aft elevators. That’s based on five different cabins…so far. Another move is coming up tomorrow morning. 

A sunset from our window at dinner


Crab risotto

You have to look pretty hard to find the crab

We said goodbye to our waiters, Made and Dina, tonight. We’ve learned that they rotate every two weeks, which is another thing that happens fast on these cruises. 

Pre-show appearance by Santa

(who sounded amazingly like cruise staff Jed). 

People loved this.  

We were in the Princess Theater early to get good seats for production show Fiera. I may not see it again, but I wanted to be sure to catch the new cast performing it for the first time. They were fantastic, but that show rarely gets a standing O as people are too busy scratching their heads afterwards as they try to figure it out. 

We ended our evening listening to all the ship’s musicians performing a rock concert of sorts in the Piazza. It was fantastic, and, with all the dancing, a fun way to end the cruise. 

Something tells me I’m going to be a lot like the crew members who smile their way through the last cruise of their contract. A week from now I’ll be sleeping in my own bed, using my own shower, seeing my friends…and my guys, who will both be home from college at the same time. Pure joy. 

Day 28: Cozumel

I moved gingerly this morning, waking, as I might have expected, stiff and sore. But all that ice worked magic, and the scary swelling was down considerably. A year ago right now I was nursing a broken arm from a trip over the edge of an Aubusson rug while carrying a stack of boxes at home, so stiff and sore was an improvement. 

We barely made it to breakfast in the Allegro Dining Room before it closed at 9am (stollen spotted: 0), and then sat in the comfy seating on the Terrace Deck. I can see why this was G’s favorite part of the ship last year, and why we tried to book cabins toward the back of the ship this year. It’s nice back there, and much quieter than the mid ship pool with MUTS, or the Retreat Pool with no shade and a lot of wind. 

Lunch today was a slice of Margarita pizza from the Lido Deck, but while we were eating out there, a big rain moved in that forced us to first move and then to pick our way across the flooded Lido Deck. Thirty minutes later, the sun was back out, but it was like that the rest of the day. Even G was convinced to stay on the ship. 

As soon as we sailed, it was again obvious that we were going to be rocking and rolling tonight. Walking was a bit of a caution, reminiscent of our Atlantic crossing, and I was not up for it. I was also still full from the pizza at lunch, and decided to watch the end of the Army v. Navy game and college hoops on my iPad in the cabin. By 7 p.m. I was starving, and it would have been a perfect time to order room service, but without Princess Plus, I was unwilling to pay $14.99 for Ocean Now delivery. G later told me that the dining room had offered to send anything from the dinner menu to the cabin for me, but he figured I was already asleep. I survived without dinner for the second time this cruise, good practice for the food withdrawal we’ll be going through in a week. 

G made a big night of it, going to Kevin Jordan’s comedy show at 6:30pm, then to the Princess Theater for variety show time (with Willis White again, sorry I missed that), then to the Wheelhouse (close to the aft elevators and our cabin on a rocky night). I was asleep long before he returned, but he told me later that he had nearly fallen twice with the ship rocking so much. He took a step but the floor had risen by the time he set his foot down, catching it. I was wise to stay in. 

I am trying hard to get G to cut his hair like this when we get home, but he says he had his hair cut like this for 27 years and is over it. 

Day 27: Belize

This is the day that kind of ended with a bang, but, of course, I didn’t know that this morning. We did sleep in a bit, having been out late last night, and I had another big bowl of watermelon chunks for breakfast, and then stuck around for lunch in the buffet. I’m much happier there now that I’ve discovered the chopped salad area. 

Salad eaten from a huge ramen bowl

G just couldn’t sit still, and ended up taking one of the last tenders to shore about 2pm, and the very last tender back, just for the boat ride. It’s a long tender in Belize. They say it’s 45 minutes, but by the time you factor in loading and unloading, it’s closer to an hour. It’s been years since I’ve gone ashore in Belize, though the first time I did, we took one of my favorite shore excursions ever, cave tubing. That was incredibly beautiful (the scenery was like a calendar) and fun, and we even ate termites (taste like mint) on the hike to where we jumped in the river with our tubes. But, aside from that (and that required a long drive after the long tender), I don’t have a lot to recommend in Belize.  Last year G did visit some ruins and enjoyed that, and there are some manufactured excursions, like a zip line, but Belize City itself is a little sketch. 

Lychee, raspberry and rose mousse. 

Not very tasty. 

Service has picked up considerably at dinner with the Made-Dima pairing, plus Inna as our Restaurant Manager.  We didn’t have to rush at all to be able to get to the MTG cocktail party at 6:30pm, but it didn’t help that I did a major face plant at the door to the dining room. Actually, I caught an edge of my sandal on one of those metal thresholds and did a major knee plant, boom, right down in my knees. I guess I’m lucky that I didn’t break anything, and was able to get up and walk to the party, but, oh my, I had a huge swelling on one knee, and was a little shaken. And then Restaurant Manager Uday, who had heard about it, tracked me down in the party to express his concern and see how I was. How I was was sore, and word got out, so when the party was over, we returned to the cabin full of ice buckets and towels and anything I might need. And I needed it all.  I was still very lucky it wasn’t worse, but I can’t recommend doing this. At all. 

MTG cocktail party food

Captain Traverso had told us that last night would be quite bouncy, and it was. The hangars were dancing and banging in the closet, and as stiff as I was, I had to shove a towel around them to quiet them. If you’re a cruise newbie, this is not an uncommon thing to have to do. In fact, you can almost count on it the last night of the cruise when your hangars are empty because your clothes are packed. Just shove a towel between the hangars and the ceiling, allowing it to fall a little behind the hangers. This silences them immediately. And if that doesn’t work, just throw the hangers on the floor. 😉

Day 26: Roatan 2

We both had a fantastic night’s sleep with the Regal Princess spending the night in Roatan. As for work being done on the engine…we were oblivious to it. No interruption of power at all. Of course, it was hard not to wonder if all would go well and we’d be able to sail in the evening (spoiler alert: we were), but even that wouldn’t have been the end of the world. If you’re on one of the January cruises with work being done, bring a passport and don’t worry about it. 

We went to the Allegro Dining Room for breakfast. I have been on Stollen Watch all cruise long, but, so far no luck. I have my fingers crossed for next cruise. It would be tragic to be a ship this close to Christmas and not get stollen. 

It was a bit cooler or less humid or both today in Roatan, and we sat on the Terrace Deck between breakfast and lunch. It seems like very few people are actually getting off the ship in port on this cruise, but that is the nature of Galveston cruises. They all go to the same places, and many of the passengers drive to the pier and have done these cruises over and over on different ships, so the ports are not the point. Yeah, I can understand that. 

It’s been pure pleasure to not have to go to Guest Services every day to work on our folio. So far, everything has been perfect. Is this what it’s like for everyone else?  I like it!

Something else I like…I have finally found my place in the buffet. It’s where I discovered the detox salad yesterday, right next to the salad bar. I don’t care for salad bars on a ship because it’s hard to cut the salad up with the knives they have. But right next door are a variety of chopped salads chock full of healthy stuff like lentils and beans and kale and quinoa, all of it delicious. Wish I’d discovered this sooner!

A perfect lunch


Followed by a perfect dessert

While we were sitting in the buffet, I again Shazamed the Christmas carols we were hearing. They were quite different today, with more contemporary artists, and I found them much more enjoyable. 

I made a point of taking my contacts out for an hour or so before dinner in an attempt to stay up later tonight.  I’m really missing those eye drops. They’re not store-bought, so there was nothing I could do to re-stock when we were at the hotel. I figured this might become an issue and take no pleasure in being right. 

We had a party-less evening, with time to linger over dinner. And I was beyond excited to see a new menu tonight. Made explained that we were seeing a new one because this is an 8-night cruise. Well, bring on the 8-night cruises then. I wanted to order one of everything, but contained myself. 

There were a lot of good entertainment choices tonight. We started with production show Bravo in the Princess Theater and I was devastated to see that, like on other ships, the soprano is no longer included in the show on the Regal. This changes the whole feeling of the show in addition to shortening it considerably. If you’ve never seen the original, you’ll likely still be pleased, but if you saw the original just last week, this one falls a little short. A sad cutback. 

We followed that up with a comedy show in search of the elusive iPhone comedian. Joe Duece wasn’t him, but he was good, and we enjoyed his show. And then we stayed in the Wheelhouse for all of Colin Salter’s sets there, getting back to our cabin after midnight. 

Note to self:  take a contacts break tomorrow afternoon, too. It works!