From the old ships to the new ones, I miss the library, and the night club. I miss the Wake Bar and the signature circular pool at the back of the ship. I liked multiple pools (sometimes even an indoor and outdoor version, excellent for Alaskan, Scandinavian, and Antarctic cruise itineraries – or for poor weather).
Continue reading “On Sailing”Category: reviews
Final Review: MSC Grandiosa Mediterranean Cruise
We started this early in the process (though we added throughout the cruise) in hopes it would free us up to be less complainy in the day-to-day posts.
So. Yeah.
On our first full day on board, we had gone to the show. You know, the one that was included but we needed to reserve seats for it (there’s no popping in to check things out and see if you’re interested, on this ship) because monstrosity?
They started the show 4 minutes early. Which would not be bad in itself, but not everyone had arrived and was seated. They continued to let people in after it started, but they didn’t make any efforts to organize getting people to seats. Continue reading “Final Review: MSC Grandiosa Mediterranean Cruise”
Final Review: 2019 Sapphire Princess Asia Cruise
This was my fourth cruise with Princess.
There was a much wider mix of ages onboard, from small children to the quite mature, compared to my prior cruise to the South Pacific (where, in my forties at the time, I was easily the youngest person on board).
The service was, as usual, very good. Continue reading “Final Review: 2019 Sapphire Princess Asia Cruise”
My first #FitbitAdventure @Fitbit
After months of having no time, space, or inclination to work out, I’m back on the bandwagon, tiring out my WiiFit Mii on a regular basis and letting my Fitbit encourage me to move more.
There’s a couple of newer capabilities in the Fitbit app that I’ve been making use of.
One is the widget that keeps track of whether I’ve taken a minimum number of steps every hour (250). I like this in theory, but in practice it needs some help.
Like, I have it set to track the 14 hours of the day I’m most active (from when I wake up to a couple hours before bed (when I want to be winding down). The reality is, though, that I keep different hours on different days.
- When I’m working in Wilmington, my day starts at 5 and I lose two 90 minute windows to the commute.
- When I’m working at home, my day starts more like 6:30 or 7:00
- When it’s the weekend, my day starts when I’m good and ready for it to, and not before.
- On any given day, I may have to be in a meeting or whatnot and not be able to just pop up and move around.
I could tweak it day to day, but that’s silly. Unfortunately the app doesn’t let me set variations by day of the week, or better still let me tell it that it’s ok if I don’t move EVERY hour just, I don’t know, 10 out of 14. So I can sleep in, or drive to work, or attend a meeting or whatnot, but still be able to succeed.
While I’m at it, I’d like it it the app would send a notification/reminder each hour (not necessary or desirable to buzz my device or anything) so that when I could get up and move and I should get up and move but I’m deep in the shuffle and losing track of time, I’d know to get up for a few minutes. (Moving throughout the day is good for me but lifting myself out of the crunch is a challenge!)
And then because I do work hard at my job during the day and can’t be just wandering off willy nilly -but I also like my little success awards-it could let me see how many steps I have taken/have left in the current hour. That would be super.
Yeah that was a lot of wishes for something I actually like, in theory.
The other feature I’m trying out for the first time is “Fitbit Adventures.” Basically you select one – I picked one in NYC because it was the shortest one, something I should be able to complete if I hit my daily goal anyway – and as I take X number of steps, Fitbit maps out for me where I would be if I were taking those same steps on a particular course in the City.
There are little treasures (mostly but not exclusively fitness tips) along the way and, on this course, 6 landmarks I can “visit” as I make progress. The one shown above was the third for this course. The next one I’m headed toward is Avenue of the Americas (not exciting for my own reasons) and then 2 in Central Park. (Hey Sis, remember that day?)
Anyway it’s So Far So Fun giving that a try. I might be under enthused about NYC in general but there are also Yosemite treks (hey, hey my friend!). And I’d love to see others in future. To my way of thinking they don’t all need to be running courses… take me on a hike in Kauai, etc! This country alone is FULL of beautiful places and interesting cities, let alone the world, so bring it on!
5 Things I Love (and Hate) about WiiU Fit
I got the WiiU for Christmas. It was the sort of thing I had added at some point to my wish list, not so much a clear intention to get it or even to ask for it, as much as to noodle on it a while.
I could not have been more surprised when I actually got it for Christmas. (Thanks again, Mom & Dad!) Continue reading “5 Things I Love (and Hate) about WiiU Fit”
And the fail goes on
Not so.
This morning I dropped my car off at the dealership (which, because I’m that ticked, I’m going to name again: Global Hyundai in North Plainfield, NJ). Because I’m a household of one person and one car, taking my car for service would usually mean staying with the car while it was worked on (in the interest of fairness, over the years I’ve dealt with some very nice, friendly, helpful people in their service department).
But waiting for my car to be serviced, my friends, is a collosal waste of my time (and in this case, it would be all day and a waste of my vacation time as well). So I begged a pickup from a colleague (who had the day off so instead I was wasting her time & gas in the effort; PS I can’t express how thankful I am to her).
Nevertheless. I dropped the car, and waited for my ride, and went to work.
And by the time I got to the office, I had a call from the dealership.
Continue reading “And the fail goes on”
A tale of two fails – part two
I came back from Ireland, and went back to (sigh) work, and on my way home one fine (hot as Hades) evening, I heard a weird rattle on the passenger side.
I used the automatic window switch to flip the windows on that side open & closed just to make sure they were sealed.
And then, I heard a thunk sound. Continue reading “A tale of two fails – part two”
A tale of two fails – part one
Just before I left for Ireland, I accidentally and providentially discovered that my toaster oven was well on its way to becoming a fire hazard. So when I returned, in the middle of a heat wave, getting a new toaster oven (with which to heat foods without super-heating or burning down the apartment) was a priority. Continue reading “A tale of two fails – part one”
New addiction: post-dinner perfection
If dessert is on the agenda (and it shouldn’t be, but occasionally is), I tend to prefer Chocolate. Or Tiramisu, obviously. Because HELLO? Chocolate is practically its own food group, and a well-made Tiramisu is practically a slice of heaven on earth. Continue reading “New addiction: post-dinner perfection”
5 things paper books still have over eReaders
No one could be more surprised than I am at how much I have come to like my Kindle. (And I didn’t even mention the part about how I doubt silverfish infestations are a worry with an old Kindle.)
But the war isn’t yet over, folks. There are still some ways that real paper books are still superior to eReaders. At least… for now: Continue reading “5 things paper books still have over eReaders”
aka gringita 