Day 07 - St. John, NB

 

St. John, NB. This is a port that I'd skip for St. Johns, NL. There are only two things worth seeing when in St. John, and one of them will almost always be unavailable to cruise ship passengers - a visit to a park on the Bay of Fundy, where one can walk on the ocean floor at low tide.

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Both of us found it hard to get moving when we woke up. But we were able to make it to one of the main dining rooms in time for breakfast, and sat with a couple from England. (This was RQS's first experience sharing a table with other cruiser for a meal.) We had a nice chat with this couple, and wouldn’t mind dining with them again.

After breakfast, it was out and about in St. John. Since I visited the place before, I knew that this wasn’t a place for shore excursions. Instead, we walked to a coffee shop for some free Wi-Fi, then to an empty shopping mall to see if we could find an electronic gizmo we could use to transfer photos from her camera to her Chromebook. Once we were done with the mall, we wnt across the street to the local farmer’s market. There was not really much to see here, so Sue and I went back to the ship to rest before having dinner at the ship’s French restaurant.

Given NCL's penchant for nickel-diming, we were surprised to find that the specialty restaurant staff did us a solid by not charging us for an extra appetizer. Once done with dinner, we went to get our pictures taken, and then back to our cabin to end the day.

Day 02 - A planned Sea Day

 

This was the first of two consecutive sea days. When we got on the ship, we expected to follow Hurricane Ian on its way up the coast. Little did I know how this hurricane would affect this cruise at this time.

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After waking up, we had a hearty breakfast. From there, we explored the ship a little and went back to the library to read. On the way back from the library, we both needed to check on things at the internet cafe. Given how minor cell phone configuration issues can run up big bucks on marine phone charges, I needed to make sure my phone was set up properly. (I knew to keep Airplane Mode on for the trip. Yet, I was getting some Facebook notifications. So I turned off all Wi-Fi, which caused me problems using the NCL app.) The fellow at the internet cafe said my phone was set up correctly, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he was right. RQS's problem was simpler - she forgot to tip her Uber driver, and she needed to know how to tune her Wi-Fi on to give him his tip, then to turn it off afterwards. This was a simpler task to take care of.

After lunch, RQS and I were tired and needed to nap, We ended up going to an earlier dinner than planned, but missed the entertainment venues we wanted - a Beatles “tribute” band and a singer of Elton John songs. After a few minutes watching a couple of lounge singers do their thing in the atrium near “the Local”, we went back to the room and put the lights out for the evening.

A short post: I just bought a new Chromebook - there is much to learn for a low entry price.

 

I've been looking for a cheap Chromebook to play with.  My intentions are to use this device when I travel, so that I can see what is happening in the world - as long as I have a WiFi connection.  I was able to get this device for $100, but one gets what one pays for. (And I have no complaints about it.)

Getting used to this device will take some time.  For example, there is the issue of downloading Android apps - I can't seem to get this to work yet.  I also haven't figured out how to create shortcuts to certain features, and leave the links on the dashboard.  And, I have yet to create documents and save them locally. There is much that I have to learn, but it is not as intuitive to me as Windows is.  But I have been using Windows for years, and changes to the interface come slow enough to be easy to learn.  So if anyone has a good site I can use for an introduction to this device, I'd appreciate it if someone would post it in the comment area....

A quick note on life passing way too quickly

 

It's hard to believe that I haven't found the time to write a new entry for several days.  So I figure that I should put down some bullets to let you know what's happening in my life....

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First, I'm still waiting on getting a fix to the broken Wi-Fi connectivity on my air conditioners.  Later today, I'll be writing Friedrich's CEO to let him (or one of his flunkies) know that I'm very upset that they don't have a solution to my problem yet....

Believe it or not, I'm still going to my mind numbing job.  I don't know how long I will last there.  But I can use the money, I enjoy going to work as Marian, and I have nothing else to give me reasons to get up in the morning at a schedule that most people consider normal.

And last, I am going to see my friend, LK, the former student clinician from Mercy who helped me with my voice training.  It will be a rushed dinner, but something we've wanted to fit in for a long while.

It's been a week since my first service call.

 

Since I don't have much news to report from the home front, I might as well talk about my air conditioner saga for a little while longer....

As, you, my readers know, I bought 2 air conditioners on a staggered schedule.  The first AC was delivered several weeks ago, but came with a firmware flaw which prevents me from using the Wi-Fi link to control the device from my cell phone.  This past Tuesday, I had the opportunity to talk with a nice service representative, and he got the process of getting updated firmware in motion.  Today, I called to see what's up, and I spoke with him again.

Hopefully, by this time next week, I'll have two fully functional air conditioners being controlled from either my iPad or my Android phone.

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I may have mentioned that I am replacing a semi-functional AC in my bedroom.  Yes, it works, but I can't rely on it.  So I'm spending the extra $1,000 to be sure that I have a working air conditioner that will last me several years.  How do I know it is doing something?  First, I've seen physical evidence that some cooling is going on: when I had the air filter touching the "cool-air radiator", I found that there was some ice on the filter.  Second, I'm seeing an occasional water droplet drain from the air conditioner when I look at my unit from the outside.

Will I get my $1,000 worth when the new bedroom AC comes?  I hope so.

 

 

 

PS: The bedroom AC unit was installed on Saturday, and it feels like it's cooling off the room much better than the old one.  Additionally, it has the same Wi-Fi issues as the one in the living room.

A quickie regarding my air conditioner problem.

 

 

Yes, it's another installment in my air conditioner story, because work has kept me too busy to have much of a life outside the office.

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Yesterday, I was finally able to reach someone from Tech Support who was willing to help me, although being overworked at the moment.  After 30 minutes of waiting, being next on queue, I realized that Friedrich's WiFi support is both understaffed and underappreciated.  So I played it nice when I finally reached the gentleman on the other side of the line.  He noted that he was backed up and wouldn't be able to start the exchange of emails that would allow me to resolve my Air Conditioner's WiFi problem. At this point, I calmly explained the situation from last week, and asked him to send me an email to make sure that he could reach me and that I could reach him.  (It also gave me a name to use in my next complaint latter, if one is needed.)  And that he did....

I need to get all this information from you:

Steps to get firmware:

1-. Click MENU button -
2-. Find the option ( SYS ) on the screen using the UP and DOWN arrows and click MENU whenever you find it.
3-. Go all the way down to the option FW and press MENU that will show you the Firmware of your unit.
4- Full Name -
5-. Full Address -
6-. What kind of phone are you using to connect ? ANDROID OR APPLE ?
7-. What error are you getting when you try to connect ? -
8-. Serial Number -
9-. Best callback number -
10-. Model number –

This was not a problem for me, and I sent him a response within 30 minutes.

Thanks for sending this so quickly!

Marian Johnson

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Model: WCT16A30A

Serial: ########

Firmware: 1.02

Looking to connect with: 

1. An Android Phone

2. An iPad

I want to be able to use both devices.

Friedrich Connect software on phone/iPad/and Website doesn't connect with the AC.  I've received "unable to initialize association process" and "Error X107 TypeError Network request failed."  it advises me to call Friedrich Support with information from message "2.0.1.10.123.45.2"  This info will come up on both iPad and Android phone.. The other gentleman (who was in a rush last Friday) told me that I needed a firmware upgrade based on what I was seeing.

Best callback number: 914-###-####.  Please note that I need to know in advance that I'll be receiving a call.  (I have some after work responsibilities that can make an unexpected call turn into a problem.)

Do you think I'll have this on another Wallmaster unit being delivered this week?  I had to replace the AC in my Living Room/Kitchen area first, and then decided to replace the Bedroom AC 3 weeks later.  Hopefully, I can get firmware for that unit (I don't remember the model number off hand, but it is a 12k BTU / 110v unit) that works "out of the box.". If so, can we accelerate the firmware update process for that unit if needed?

Since the gentleman on the other side of the line said that he was backed up and wouldn't be able to get back to me for a day or two, I figure that it makes sense to wait until after the weekend, as both air conditioners will be in place, and that I'll know if I have the same problem with my bedroom unit.  

Would I recommend Friedrich units to others?  Not unless they were forced to use a unit which would fit an old Fedders in-wall sleeve.  Since Friedrich is the only company making units for these sleeves, they have a monopoly that both appliance salespeople and the manufacturer take advantage of.  Sooner or later, this will change.  Until then, we're stuck with a company that causes needless problems for its customers.