Sleep? What is that?

 

Last night, I didn't fall asleep until some time after 4 am.  As a result, I set my alarms to start waking me up around, 8:30, 9:00, 9:30 and 10 am.  What I didn't expect was a phone call from my bank to ask questions about a credit card which was stolen in Chicago about 2 months ago.  By the time 10 am came around, I was wide awake, and getting ready to drive down to the Bronx to see BXM,  (This was the main reason for the alarms, as I would hate to oversleep and forget about her.)

There were several things I had on the docket for today.  First was a call into my 401k custodian to see whether my distribution check was cut (or not). Next, was a visit to BXM.  Finally, I had to restock my refrigerator with fresh food, and this would likely mean a trip to Trader Joe's  Given that I had to get the 401k check cut before year end, I logged onto the 401k site and found that the 401k check had been cut overnight, and that it should be in my mailbox shortly after the New Year.  Whew!  Now, I could get ready to deal with things I wanted to deal with today, such as lunch with BXM, food shopping, and taking care of laundry.

- - - - - -

I was running a few minutes late to meet up with BXM, and hit a traffic jam on the Saw Mill Parkway at the Bronx border.  (No wonder why my GPS kept telling me to get on a toll road,  the NYS Thruway, instead of taking the more direct and free route to Riverdale.)  She looked better than I remembered, in part because life has been going well for her as of late - and it shows on her face.  I told her about what has been going on in my life since we last met, and she told me of what's been going on in hers. (Not too much or too little, as her job is very rewarding and takes up a lot of her time.)

On the way home, I passed by the Saw Mill's traffic jam (the trucks were still blocking one lane of the road) and proceeded to Trader Joe's.  This was a big shopping run, as I broke the $50 barrier and came close to spending $75.  But I still needed to go to Foodtown for some mayonnaise, and spent another $20 while there.  Thankfully, today's shopping run will last me into the weekend.

 

Sending a letter

 

The other day, I sent a letter to someone I once knew.  It was meant to be a polite way of reopening a channel of communications between two people, as the holidays would be a good time to see if this person was looking for a way to reopen up communications between us.

- - - - - -

This got me thinking - how many people have we lost contact with because of things getting in the way? One acquaintance from my days running a FIDO BBS (Bulletin Board System) and I never seem to connect with each other, although we occasionally try to do so.  He has a rewarding family life, with a wife and children.  Hopefully, we'll be able to connect soon.  DCD has had health and family problems.  But he is a friend of questionable value, as he doesn't make much of an effort to stay in contact anymore, now that his life is falling apart.  Most of my polyamorous friends in the "North Country" have scattered to the winds, and I don't miss them because we never built strong bonds.  And I don't go to many meetups these days, as I haven't found many of the groups conducive to making friends. 

Did I gain much from meetup groups?  Well, with one meetup group, I made some good friends I can count on to be there for me on occasion.  With others, I have made one or two friends.  But, for the most part, I gained invaluable experience being out in the world as Marian.  And this is what counts....

Caught in-between the holidays

 

This past Friday (12/22/23 - as I write this), I put in a phone call to the custodian of my 401k to take a distribution.  I thought everything went well, even though I was on an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system, as I arranged to take a 401k distribution.  Well, this evening, I found that nothing has gone through yet.  Since this money needs to be distributed before year-end, as not to screw up my tax status for next year, I will need to make another call in the morning and try to reach a human.

I hate IVR systems, but see their value.  Yet, I find that my needs are rarely dealt with properly by these systems.  For example, when I last took a distribution, I made sure that I took out extra money for both Federal and State taxes.  This time, going through the IVR, I could do this for the Federal taxes, but not for the State taxes - I had to guesstimate them, and then include them as a fixed figure.  AARGH!  Things will be much worse next year, as I will need to figure out the total for both Federal and State taxes, and manually enter the amounts to be taken out of my corporate pension to compensate for Social Security issues.  To make things worse, my accountant has retired, and I will need to find someone new before I file my returns for t/y 2023.  

With all this being said, these are first world problems.  I have the resources to take care of things, and will likely consider doing a trustee to trustee transfer of my 401k funds, so that I have more control over them, including tax withholding.

- - - - - -

Why am I mentioning this here now?

Well, I usually have a lot of things to take care of at year end.  A little bit of financial confusion is just a little more stress to add to my life - but a stress that I'm lucky to have compared with many people I know.  For example, one of my acquaintances has not had good health lately.  His relationship with his on/off girlfriend leaves much to be desired.  And his employment record makes him a high risk hire.  He will never escape the claws of defeat.  There are others I know that have been in worse shape than this acquaintance.  So I am grateful to have my set of problems than that of someone else.

Now, I can talk about Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

 

Yes, I know that you'll be reading this post two weeks after the holiday.  But then, I don't want to announce to my readers where I am until after I've returned home.  The above picture was taken on a cruise I took in December, and didn't write about until I returned.

- - - - - -

RQS came up for Xmas weekend on Friday, and we went out for a bite to eat at the local diner shortly after she arrived.  Once we got home, I took care of a financial issue that had to be dealt with before the holiday, and then we went out to buy a gift for TCL and Pat (my former hypnotist), both of whom I'd be seeing on Xmas day. Saturday came, and we had nothing on the docket.  However, I decided to visit a friend who had a pop-up store nearby, and chatted with him for an hour before returning home.  As one could tell, the opening of the weekend would not be that busy for us.

Christmas eve came, and this meant that both of us would get dressed up to dine at Crabtree's Kittle House.  This restaurant is a place that many get dressed up for, and we fit in well with the place as we were dressed to the eights. (It's also a place where special meals run over $100 per, before drinks are included - but it's worth every penny.) I had the gnocchi as my appetizer, while RQS had the lobster bisque. RQS's first thought was that it looked just as appetizing as the lobster bisque in NCL's Le Bistro or Cagney's restaurants. And she was just as happy finishing everything in the bowl. For the main course, I chose the short ribs while RQS chose the salmon for our main courses, and we were well sated by the time dessert came.  And again, we chose different things.  I went for the heath bar cheesecake, while she went for the Boche de Noel.  At the end of the meal, we were sated and unable to think about food until the next morning.

Both of us took our time in getting moving on Christmas day, and didn't bother getting dressed until 3 pm.  By the time we got out the door, we were running late to see Pat - and didn't get there until 5 pm.  She was very happy to see us, and we all thought our visit had to end too soon.  About 5:45, we drove over to TCL's place to pick her up for dinner.  Although we were late, we had no problem getting a seat at a local Chinese restaurant, where we became "Honorary Jews for Christmas".  (See this article for more background.)  We all had the standard Chinese entrees, and I treated TCL to a belated birthday dinner.

Again, we ended up parting way too soon, and went home for the evening.  In the end, this was a nice way to spend Christmas weekend.....

Happy Elvis Day!

 

No, I am not a big Elvis fan.  Yet, I enjoy most of his music.  It's a shame that his life was cut short by excess.  But this post is not going to be about Elvis, other than it will be public on the anniversary of his birthday.

- - - - - -

Most of my readers know that I write things one day and publish them around 2 weeks later.  I do this, so that I can travel and not let people I'm away from the house until I've returned home.  This means that I rarely post on cruise-specific travel forums, as I don't want thieves to have the knowledge that I'll be away for a given period of time.  However, I just left the following post (from a different blog I occasionally write for people new to cruising) covering the cruise I took on December 9-16.

MSC Meraviglia - Florida and Bahamas Cruise (12/09/23 - 12/16/24)

It's written differently from the journal of the trip covered in successive entries in this transgender related blog, as no mention is given to any transgender issues.  Shortly after posting, I got a lot of people reading the blog, as it was of interest to a wider group of people.

- - - - - -

Why do I mention the unexpected popularity of my other blog?   Simple.  It's to remind our community that we are small and not on the minds of most people.  We are under attack by many,  But most people are inclined to let us be, as I was on this cruise.  I simply blended in to what people were expecting from a fat 66 y/o woman.  And for most of us, that's what we want - to be treated with the respect normally shown to a person of our identified genders.

We must not forget that we are under attack from some quarters.  When my ship made an unplanned stop in Miami, I refuse to spend any time or money helping the economy of that state as long as that homophobe/transphobe governor is in office.  (Yes, I broke down and spent $2.00 on some soda, as I was thirsty.)   I'm not as self righteous as I was practical - why take any last minute shore excursions in the rain?  If I have to pass through Florida, I will spend some money there.  But I won't plan a vacation that involves me staying there, save to visit a friend or to visit family.

- - - - - -

I've said before that living as a transgender person has a lot of mundane issues that are common to most people.  When I see transgender people like Danica Roem get elected to office, they don't focus on being different, save that they will do more for their constituents than their opposition.  We are part of a larger society. Maybe our goals of acceptance from the larger society should focus on how much alike we are to the rest of society instead of focusing on our differences....

And now for a word from our sponsor....

 

As I write this, Donald Trump is still the presumptive GOP nominee for the 2024 presidential election.  By the time you read this, the US Supreme court will likely have ruled on Colorado's judgement that he participated in an insurrection against the government of the United States, and is ineligible to be on the state's GOP primary ballot. I support Colorado's court action, as the closest to the White House that Trump ever should be is as a protestor in Lafayette Park. Sadly, the violence his words provoke in the lunatics that support him has already started: The justices on Colorado's court are already getting death threats. 

But what does this mean to the average transgender person?

The MAGA mob is like a large group of bovines being stampeded.  They want to live in their ideal world: the America of the 1950's , a fantasy which would be a dystopia for us.  The LGBT community would be persecuted, the black community would again suffer under Jim Crow (separate and unequal), and all other non-white and non-Christian peoples would be silenced.  And even if this happened, things would get worse.  Governments under strongman regimes eventually fail - and usually disastrous for the people who live under those regimes.

Political pundits are saying that the US Supreme Court should duck the issue and overrule the Colorado Supreme Court in the narrowest of ways, allowing Trump to be on the primary ballot and preserving the armistice between the MAGA mob and civilized Americans. I think this would be a big mistake, as the MAGA mob is intimidating the "sane" members of the GOP, forcing them to leave their party.  Instead, the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) should take the issue head on and rule against Trump, saying that the 14th amendment is self effecting.  If a state says that Trump is an insurrectionist, then he is ineligible to be on the ballot and ineligible to serve in any public office.  This would give the non-MAGA GOP members cover to nominate people other than those from the MAGA mob to public office AND give the party a chance to be a national party again, instead of one that has support mostly in rural areas.

If SCOTUS were to rule in favor of the traditional GOP loyalists that brought this suit, I expect no less than a 5-4 ruling in favor of keeping Trump off the ballot.  (I have my doubts on Justice Thomas and the 3 Trump nominated members.)  I will be very surprised if it is a 9-0 ruling.  The Colorado court's ruling was written in a way that justices Kavanaugh and Roberts would be hamstrung in trying to overturn their ruling. 

However, I expect that SCOTUS will duck the issue and hope that they don't have to rule on this issue again.  They may feel that given the political polarization we have today, that it may be wiser to let the people make their decision at the ballot box.  But this would be the wrong decision to make, as the constitution prohibits Trump, and the ex-Confederate officers before him from holding office.  If he wants relief, it may only be given by congress, where 33 &1/3% is elected to the Senate and 100% is elected to the House on election day.  Since the new congress takes office before the president, they could rehabilitate Trump if elected, but unable to take office on January 20th.  But then, MAGA people do not believe in elections that do not deliver the results they want....

 

An unexpected gift....

 

As my readers know, I enjoy cruising, both alone and with a companion.  But cruising can get expensive, especially when one wants to take bucket list trips such as cruising the Norwegian Fjords.  So I was pleasantly surprised to find that because I qualified for Social Security survivor benefits (I was married for 11 years, and was widowed at the age of 39), that I could get a payout on my late wife's account before converting the payments to come from my account.

Today, I received the survivor benefit payout, and I can now afford to take a cruise out of Los Angeles in the Spring.  Hopefully, I'll be able to visit my uncle before this cruise, as he doesn't have many years to go on this planet, and I want to see him while he's still (sort of) vertical.

- - - - - -

Now, the big question is: Where do I want to cruise to?  I can easily afford a 7-day California Coastal cruise.  And I can afford a 15-day Hawaii cruise.  But which one makes more sense?  That's the question I must answer soon, as I will miss having RQS with me even more if I were to take the longer trip.

The work looks done ...and none too soon

 

Although the photo quality isn't great, the retaining wall looks great this morning.  Why is this important? Over the years I've lived here, this wall was constructed and then failed.  My co-op needed to repair it, and I was one of the loudest advocates for this repair.  The repairs were finally completed while I was on my cruise.

Why is this important?

Given retaining wall failures which have affected the commuter rail line I live near, the last thing I want to see is a preventable landslide which could either destabilize our building, negatively affect downhill neighbors, or both problems.  

- - - - - -

As I've noted in the past, I live in a naturally occurring retirement community (for many of us long term residents), as apartment ownership has proven the best investment for our needs.  We know that someone else has to take care of the property, and that we can reside in the apartment as long as we are able to pay the maintenance.  (I won't get into other issues for leaving in this discussion.)  And that's where the problem lies.  Most of us, myself included, live on fixed incomes.  Older people usually have fewer resources to draw on, and are least likely to afford maintenance hikes or property assessments. 

Most co-op boards have to balance the needs of their shareholders.  Do we raise maintenance charges, knowing it might be a hardship for some?  Do we apply an assessment for needed repairs, as we did when we had to replace our windows many years ago?  Do we defer maintenance, so that we don't have too many bills being presented to the co-op at once?  There are so many things a co-op board must address, and there is no way we can make everyone happy.

I am lucky to have the resources to pay my bills (and a little bit more).  Many others are not.  The position a co-op board member has to take is similar to being a fiduciary - one must act in the best interest of the client, and not of his firm.  In my case, my responsibility is to the health of the co-op, and not any one individual member - including myself.  That's why I pushed for repairing the retaining wall as much as I did.  And now it's done... 

Florida-Bahamas Cruise 2023 - Day 8 - Debarkation & Cruise Thoughts

 

We're finally home!  As much as I enjoyed being by myself for a week, I missed having RQS by my side and couldn't wait to meet her at Grand Central.  

But first things first....

I didn't much get sleep, and I ended up watching the ship's virtual porthole TV channel as the ship was about to go under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge around 4:30 am.  Although I tried to rest a little more, I was unable to do so and proceeded to get ready for the day.  After showering, making up my face, and getting dressed for the last time while on the ship, I packed up all my gear, double checked that I was leaving nothing in the room, and left my cabin for the last time around 7:00 am. Then, it was off to my last breakfast on the ship, where I was seated next to a couple who drove to the pier from Canada.  (I can only imagine what their drive home will be like.)  We struck up a conversation and found out that they had similar feelings to mine in regard to this cruise.  All too soon, they had to leave, and I finished my breakfast at a leisurely pace.

Unfortunately, I couldn't stall things any longer, and proceeded to an area where I could sit and kill a couple of hours - the main dining room.  Although it was a staging area for people who needed assistance in leaving the ship, I was welcome to hang out there as the buffet area upstairs was already mobbed with people trying to get their last ship board meal.  

Around 9:30-9:45 am, my group number was called, and I finally got off the ship.  Although it was a long walk to the baggage claim area, my suitcase was waiting for me there.  Since we cleared customs while in Miami, there was no reason to stop for an ID check when debarking at Brooklyn.  So I took another long walk with my luggage to the ferry, walking through slow moving people and around vehicles picking up passengers for their rides home.  Unfortunately, I just missed the ferry as it was leaving the dock, and I had to kill an hour before the next ferry came.

Around 10:35 am, the ferry came, and I was off to Grand Central.  I texted RQS to let her know that I'd be in Manhattan by 11:00 am, and would likely be at Grand Central's waiting room by 12:30 pm. Instead of walking to the subway station on Wall Street, I decided to do a shoreline walk to South Ferry.  It was a nice day, and I could use the exercise. So, after 15 minutes or so, I caught a uptown bound train and made it to Grand Central ahead of time. 

As I got to the waiting area, I noticed that the women's room line was out the door.  Winter tourist season had begun, and Grand Central was much busier than usual.  After taking care of business, I picked up a sandwich downstairs and proceed to wait for RQS.  It wasn't a long wait, as we were able to make the 12:23 train to Croton with a few minutes to spare.

- - - - - -

Would I take another cruise on MSC in the future?

I'm just as ambivalent on this as I was before taking the cruise?  MSC is a cruise line for "value oriented" (price conscious) cruisers.  If Carnival is the Walmart of cruise lines, then MSC is aiming to be the Target of cruise lines. Nothing shouted "Don't cruise with us again" or "I can't wait to cruise with you again."  Instead, everything said "I don't care if I cruise with MSC again or not."  Everything seemed to be a notch below that of other lines I've cruised with, save for the glitz in the public areas of the ship.  That was often over the top.

The other day, I watched a cruise Vlogger whose main gig is being a Travel Agent. One of her clients noted that they tried MSC and told her empathically that they would never cruise with MSC again.  Another said, "No, I will never cruise with MSC again," but was attracted to cruise with them twice because of MSC's low prices.  Yet, this travel agent wouldn't be honest with her viewers about this cruise line, trying not to say bad things about them, so that she could collect her fees when booking people on this line.

MSC provides decent value for the money spent for their cruises.  But I wouldn't expect a top notch experience unless one has spent the money to enjoy their Yacht Club experience.  (Like most cruisers, I can't afford that experience.)  It's a line I might cruise on again of the price and itinerary was right.  So far, I haven't seen any future cruises that would get me to take another cruise on this line.

Florida-Bahamas Cruise 2023 - Day 7 - Sea Day

 

Florida-Bahamas Cruise - Day 7 - Sea Day - 12/15/23

It is the last day on the ship, and part of me wishes it wouldn’t end.  Hopefully, I didn’t gain that much weight on the ship, as it will take some time to get it off without the average of 2-3 miles of walking every day.  Luckily, we have a clear sky today (a rarity on this cruise) and a smooth sea.  

The only reason I got up this morning was to go to the buffet for breakfast, and later for lunch.  While out for breakfast, I turned on the light to tell the steward that he could make up the room.  However, he was delayed, and I had to kill some time.  So I went to buy a couple of pictures from the photo lab - and they tried to upsell me a package of 5 photos when I was only interested in 3.  Instead of buying 3, I bought the 2 I really wanted and went back to my room. The steward was cleaning my room when I arrived with his supervisor discussing work with him.  He asked for another couple of minutes and I gave it to him.

After lunch, I found the disembarkation instructions in my cabin.  Looks like I’ll be one of the last people off the ship, as I have been assigned debarkation group #21.  This is fine with me, as it makes it easier to connect with RQS and travel to Croton together.  The only thing that concerns me is getting back to Manhattan and then to Grand Central. Today, I’ll have the luxury of time on my side.  But I won’t be sure of when I will get there.  So I’ll call RQS when I get on the ferry, to give her an idea of how long I’ll be waiting at Grand Central for her.

Just before I went to dinner, I packed everything into my large suitcase, and prepared to set it outside the door for pickup and delivery to the pier the next morning.  This would be the last of my specialty restaurants on the package, and I was underwhelmed by the seafood joint.  Few of the dishes on my package were worth the price, and I chose the spaghetti with clam sauce - which was very good.  After dinner, I had time to go back to the room and put some more dirty laundry into the suitcase before it was picked up by the stewards.  By doing so, I lightened what I’d be carrying with me in the morning, and committed myself to staying in the room for the rest of the evening.  So I called it a night, though I wasn’t sleepy yet.

I went to a meetup, and the meetup wasn't there.

 

This will be a short post, as I'm too tired to think about much right now.   As I've mentioned, my circadian rhythm has been "off" for the past few days, and it's more likely to see me awake at 3 am, than 3 pm.  This didn't matter much on a day when I had nothing scheduled (like yesterday), as I could stay in my jammies and get something tasty from the refrigerator.  Today, it mattered....

As much as I wanted to be awake by 9 am, I didn't get out of bed until noon.  This didn't matter, as I had a meetup scheduled in White Plains at 7:30 pm.  So, around 6 pm, I started to get ready to go out as Marian.  Using every short cut I knew to save time, I was out the door by roughly 7 pm.  Arriving in White Plains, I parked my car and went to the scheduled venue to be with the meetup group.  Well, there was no one there.  I sent texts to the organizer, but received no response from her.  Something is fishy, as we are friends from outside this group, and I gave her no reason to be out of contact.  Even stranger, the original post for the meetup vanished, and no messages were sent out to notify anyone of the cancellation.

This was frustrating - I wasted 90 minutes of my time to be with people who weren't there.  Since I know I'm not losing my mind (at least, that fast), I know something must have happened, such as a cancellation due to the cold weather.  So I'll ask the organizer about this the next time I get the chance to see her.

Florida-Bahamas Cruise 2023 - Day 6 - Sea Day

 

Florida-Bahamas Cruise - Day 6 - Sea Day - 12/14/23

Today, choppy seas were the order of the day.  Barf Bags were found by all the staircases, and people were complaining in the cruise forum about the rough seas.  Although there is not much that the captain of the ship can do other than to try to find a calmer path to sail, newbies don’t have enough experience cruising to understand this.  They don’t know what really rough seas are like, and will likely complain about the slightest problem

I decided to go to the buffet for both breakfast and lunch, and was glad I did so.  There was no way I was going to get out of my cabin in time for a more formal meal, when I could get what I wanted when I wanted at the buffet. Between meals, I heard several announcements that informed passengers of activity location changes from the pool area to locations in the interior portions of the ship.  With weather the way it has been for the past 24 hours, it was prudent to do this.

 

Since tonight is gala night, I made sure to have everything ready to go.  My LBD with a zipper puller is hanging in the closet.  My stockings (and a backup) are ready to be worn.  And my flats (I chose not to wear heels) are out.  All I needed to do was wait until 6:00 pm to dress to impress.  And I couldn’t wait for this time to come, as I want some nice pictures taken of me tonight.

All too soon, I’ll have to start packing, and I’ll be sad.  Even with all my negative comments about this cruise, I am enjoying it.  At least, I’ll soon be at home and in my own bed with a new CPAP mask.

Happy New Year - 2024!

 

Happy New Year!!!!

(I'll be back to my regular posts tomorrow.)

Florida-Bahamas Cruise 2023 - Day 5 - Miami, FL

 

Florida-Bahamas Cruise - Day 5 - Miami, FL - 12/13/23

The day started with the knowledge that half of it would be wasted by a CBP (Customs and Border Control) requirement that all passengers disembark the ship, then re embark after returning to US waters before a final stop in the US.  What I didn’t know was how poorly this procedure would be in Miami compared to what I’ve experienced in Portland, ME.  

But first….

The ship was about 2 hours late coming into Miami.  This gave me the time to watch the ship’s virtual portholes on the TV, seeing the port entry while I was getting ready for breakfast.  Since I didn’t expect that the dining room would be open as normally scheduled, I decided to get a quick bite at the buffet - and it was mobbed as usual.  At least, I was able to get a seat at the back of the ship and watch the ship’s final docking movements.

About an hour later, I went to the theater to await the call for people who would be staying on the ship this port day to temporarily leave the ship. And by 10:30 am, we were leaving the ship.  On the way out, we were handed disposable ponchos, as it was raining outside.  A few minutes later, I was off the ship trying to figure out how to get to the waiting area at which we’d be spending the next few hours.  Neither MSC nor Miami Terminal staff gave any of us any ideas of where to go and where to wait.  Luckily, I found the way back into the terminal, and received a ticket with a boarding group number.  You’d expect that this number would mean something, but it didn’t.  More on that later.  Finding an open seat, I struck up a conversation with the fellow next to me.  It was nice to be able to have a nice chat with someone after relative social isolation for the past few days.  After another hour, I made my way to the restroom, but decided not to relieve myself there.  When an attendant has to tell women not to pee on the floor or on the toilet seat, I knew that this was not a place I was willing to get some relief.  Instead, I decided to follow the crowd to another waiting area, and wait a little more.

After another 45 minutes or two, someone made an announcement to wait until one’s boarding group was called before moving to board the ship.  So I decided to take an open seat and wait for a while.  Then, the people who decided to stand in line started moving towards the ship’s embarkation ramp.  I asked, what group number are they up to, and I was told groups 3 and 4.  It made sense to sit down for a few minutes.  A few minutes later, I asked an attendant about boarding groups, and I found out that they didn’t even care.  All they were doing was managing the flow of people back onto the ship, taking boarding group tickets at random.  So, I figured it best to find someone who looked familiar and join them on the line.  (Given the confusion, why not do this?)  I finally made it back to the ship around 2:00 pm, hungry enough to deal with an overcrowded buffet again.

Once done with food, I decided to make my one call to RQS this trip.  Although it was too noisy for us to chat much, it felt good for us to chat again.  (I can’t wait to see her when I return.  But that’s another story.)  After that, it was back to my cabin to rest for a while. Before I took my nap, I noticed a small puncture on my breast form.  Considering that I don’t want it to leak, I figured that I should use medical adhesive tape (3M product - forgot the brand name) that I use to minimize my brow ridges.  Hopefully, this was the right idea, or I will need to buy a replacement from the Breast Form Store.  And then, I decided to get dressed up in a nice black dress, hosiery, and a pair of flats.  The idea behind this is to get a picture of me at my prettiest taken tonight.

Around 7:00 pm, I started to get dressed to impress.  No, it was not a gala night.  But I wanted to be a little dressy tonight.  So I put on a LBD, some earrings, stockings and a pair of flats in order to get some nice pictures taken.  From what I can tell, one photographer’s work won’t make the cut.  But I expect that one of the pictures taken on the glittery staircase will be a keeper. (Sadly, it wasn't) After my pictures were taken, I went to see the comic, Dave Konig, in the Carousel theater.  He had a completely different routine than when he was in the main theater.  Again, it took 20 minutes to make me laugh,  But not as hard as last night.

Once the comedy show ended, I walked down to the MDR.  Although the service was nice, one of the wait staff used the dreaded “S” word until I told him that I was transgender, still using my old legal identification.  Once I did this, he used the correct gender pronouns.  Like last night, I had a steak (similar cut to last night’s steak) but it wasn’t as good (in part, because it was covered in gravy.) At least, the octopus appetizer and the chocolate cake I had for dessert were as good as I expected from a MDR.

After dinner, I hung out a little listening to music before going to my room to take off the bra, stockings and other decidedly feminine garments I wore tonight.  I can’t wait until tomorrow night when I get to wear the LBD that I wore to restaurant week about a month and a half ago….

Florida-Bahamas Cruise 2023 - Day 4 - Nassau, Bahamas

 

Florida-Bahamas Cruise - Day 4 - Nassau, Bahamas - 12/12/23

I woke up very early, and couldn’t get back to sleep. So, I started checking my email before starting my daytime routine, and was unsure about going to the dining room again for breakfast. So I dawdled and went to the buffet.

After breakfast, I bought a couple of cheap watches and found that one of them didn’t work. I’ll have to return it before the end of the day. (Where did I put that tiny receipt?) Getting back to the room, I found that the steward had made the bed - and I proceeded to take my nap. When I got up, I checked my email and social media, finding that someone posted about the cruise I’m taking. Seems like the cruise line’s app is now reporting that instead of the cruise line’s private island, we’ll be in Miami tomorrow. No one knows what’s up yet.  As I left for lunch, the room steward handed me some papers - Miami is our next port due to weather conditions at the private island.  This meant, we will have to be processed by US Customs before doing anything else for the day. AARGH!

As I noted in an earlier post, the buffet is open for lunch until 2:30 pm. Today, the buffet was relatively empty when I arrived, but there were no utensils to be found. I snagged the last set available in any of the usual places and proceeded to have a totally forgettable lunch. I’m not sure if this is always the case when it’s 20 minutes before closing, as the ship was performing a mandatory crew safety drill. This time, they were practicing (from what I could tell) what they needed to do if there was an accident/emergency that forced the ship to limp back to port. From what I could tell, a good number of the ship’s crew were participating in this exercise, as there were fewer staff than usual manning the public food and drink venues.

I gazed at the light show in the promenade before going to the theater to hear a performer doing show tunes. The singer was very good, but not up to the hype given to us by the cruise director. My next stop was at the cruise line’s steakhouse. The value of the meal was very good, but I’ve had better steaks on both NCL and Princess. (I’m not knocking the steaks on this ship. I’m noting that the head chefs on the other lines have better eyes for good beef being bought en masse.) I must note that the waiter didn’t get my wine order correct. I asked for a Merlot (which is on my plan) and not a Malbec (which is not), then in the end got a Zinfandel. It did go well with the steak, but I was not in the mood to delay my wine service any longer.

My next stop was to exchange the faulty watch, so I killed 45 minutes waiting for the stores to reopen. After a minute or two, I had a new, working wristwatch I could wear with gold jewelry. Then it was back to the theater to see a comedian (Dave Konig) do his act. For the first 20 minutes, he didn’t get much of a laugh from me. But when he started a bit about a fictional “Bronx Airlines”, he got me laughing. (Think of Mafia enforcers running an airline, and you’ll get the idea this gag is built on.) It was a nice way to end the evening.

Florida-Bahamas Cruise 2023 - Day 3 - Port Canaveral

 

Bahamas Cruise - Day 3 - Port Canaveral - 12/11/23

I had a good night’s sleep last night. How do I know this? I had a strange dream that was pleasant, but can no longer recall. And that’s just as well as I was woken by the alarm on my phone and made it in time to have breakfast in one of the ship’s restaurants. What a mistake that was!

Over the years, I have developed a preference for having my meals in a dining room over getting my meals from a buffet table. This ship, the MSC Meraviglia, has fixed dining hours for its restaurants. Dining room meals are scheduled as follows:

1. Breakfast - One seating - 7:30 am to 9:00 am
2. Lunch - One seating - 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
3. Dinner - Two seatings - 6:45 pm and 8:45 pm

If one doesn’t arrive within the breakfast and lunch hours, one has to go to the buffet for one’s meals. If one doesn’t arrive within 15 minutes of one’s scheduled dinner seating, one has to go to the buffet for this meal. My first night’s dinner seating was horrendous, because fixed seating on the first night takes a lot more time and effort from everyone involved. But the second night’s dinner was almost a pleasure, save that they assumed that I wanted red wine with dinner before I had the chance to choose my meals from the menu.

Today, I had the chance to try out this ship’s breakfast in the dining room. I wished I had gone to the buffet due to its so-called service.  It took almost 15 minutes to be seated when I arrived - MSC is not good at anything that resembles flexible service. A menu was hurriedly put in front of me, and my order was quickly taken. But that was it for the next 30 minutes. No water was delivered to my table, no one asked whether I wanted coffee (there wasn’t even a cup on the table if I wanted any), and no food arrived for 30 minutes. When the food arrived, I received white toast, instead of the rye toast I had ordered - without the expected butter and jam. It took even longer to get coffee, juice and water. To make things worse, they didn’t have OJ - even though it was on the menu. It took more time for food to arrive at my table than I took eating it. Next time, I’ll play it smart and go to the buffet….

I decided to take a mid morning nap, and got up in time to go to the buffet for lunch. Today, it was much less crowded, as many people decided to eat before leaving for their shore excursions when the ship docked - around 1:30 pm. Compared to yesterday, the ship seemed empty. And I was glad about this. About the one thing I didn’t like (and this is a very minor issue not under cruise line control) is that it has to charge state sales tax on all beverages consumed at the bar while in port.

While at lunch, I noticed that there was a ship infested with rodents next to us. Although there were rat guards on the lines securing the ship, I could easily tell that there was a pair of giant rodents onboard. And they even had names for these rodents - Mickey and Minnie.😊  Needless to say, even if one doesn’t like the “House of Mouse”, one has to respect it for what it does.

After a mid-afternoon nap, I decided to explore the ship a little before having the first of my 3 specialty dinners. Not much happens while on the ship on port days, so it was peaceful during the day at port. All of the stores were closed, and the main promenade was relatively empty. Around 6:30 pm, I walked over to the theater to watch the magic show. This show had a variety of magicians including illusionists, mentalists, and conjurers. It was an entertaining show, even if one has an idea of how things were done. With that being said, the entertainment was lacking, as the show was only 45 minutes long.

As the show let out, I was in a rush to visit the first of my 3 specialty restaurants - a Mexican joint called “Hola Tacos!” On the way there, I had to bypass a performance about to begin in the mid-ship promenade. Although I might have liked to see the performance, my stomach was telling me that tacos were needed. Once inside the restaurant, I was shown to my seat and placed my order. The food came out quickly. It was very good, and one could get an unlimited amount of it - I ate more than my fair share. Even if I had to pay the up charge to have a meal at this place outside of the dining plan I bought, $18 would have been a small price to pay for food this good.

At this point, I was done for the day. So I went back to my room to sleep. Before doing so, I had the chance to ask my room steward about the virtual porthole behind my bed, and he noted it was out of service. Just as well. It might have disturbed me in the morning.

Florida-Bahamas Cruise 2023 - Day 2 - Sea Day

Florida and Bahamas Cruise - Day 2 - Sea Day - 12/10/23

Last night, my CPAP mask frame failed. Unfortunately, I had used the headgear way too long, as the glue holding the hook-and-loop tabs failed. So I ended up Jerry Rigging a fix with adhesive tape, hoping it would last until I returned home on Saturday. Luckily, I fell asleep easy with this fix in place, although I had to be much more careful when wearing the CPAP mask. 

In the morning, I didn’t hear my alarm clock as the volume was set too low for me to hear it. Instead of going to the Main Dining room (MDR) for breakfast, I ended up at the buffet for a forgettable meal. Once back from breakfast, I took a little nap and watched some TV. By the time I was ready for lunch, it was 2:00, and the only thing open was the buffet. As a result, I ended up suffering the crowds to get a bite to eat. Once done, I decided to schedule my specialty dinner reservations then relax a little.  

 

While in my cabin, I chatted with RQS via Facebook Messenger. She told me that it is raining heavily in New York. That got me hoping that the work being done on our co-op’s retaining wall would be mostly completed by the time the rains started. As much as I've made her think that this is a terrible cruise, it’s not as bad as I’ve made it out to be. MSC is the F.W.Woolworth of cruise lines (5¢ and 10¢ deals - the origin of the phrase "Nickel and Dimeing"), and it shows. I’ve grown to appreciate lines with more personal service, and am willing to pay for it. MSC is a good value for people new to cruising, giving them the chance to encounter a variety of experiences that would help them find a cruise line and itineraries that best fit their desires. But I expect that many people will grow tired of this cruise line once they experience the service provided by other lines.

I’m giving MSC 7 days before I have a final opinion on this cruise and of the cruise line. If I could change one thing, I’d give my highest priority to making the dining experience more flexible, more attentive, and serve a higher quality of food. Having to wait standing in line for almost an hour to get seated at a fixed dining time, not having personal service, and having a meal where none of the food makes me say “Wow!” makes me want to choose another ship and cruise line.

While walking around the ship, I found that it is bigger inside than I first thought. The “main drag” of this ship is located on decks 6 and 7, and reminds me of Freemont Street in Vegas done with a Miami Beach vibe. A picture of the ceiling lights can give a better idea of what I mean by this, as there was a lot of activities going on in this area, and few places where one can get away for a quiet drink and to read a book.

One thing I noticed is that on cruise ships, cell phone times update themselves when in Airplane mode. That happened to me today, and I went to a theater an hour early. After checking with someone, I found that I made this dumb error - and proceeded to kill time in both the lounge reading a book and in the casino playing the slots. (The casino was eerily empty when I was there, only getting busier as the evening progressed.) During my stay in the casino, I added $4 to my bankroll before moving on to the theater for the cruise line’s musical tribute to Houdini. This show featured a cast dressed up as circus performers, including trapeze artists, strongmen, a gypsy, a harlequin and a magician. Was it worth the $5 I (would have) paid for it? To some people, yes. But not to me. So I was glad that they refunded the $5 because the full show couldn’t be performed. Although I sat through the show, I was glad it was over, so I could run down to the main dining room to eat.

Today’s dinner was much better than last night’s dinner. This time, they got much more right. Things were helped by people knowing where they would be seated. Tonight, it was a pleasure to eat there, although I would have liked to have waited to choose my wine, as I wouldn’t have had red wine with fish. Since red wine was poured, I ordered the Chicken Parmesan, and enjoyed the meal. I’m not sure if it is my American taste buds, but the cheese cake wasn’t as sweet as I expected. But that was only a minor complaint. After the end of my meal, the Maitre’D asked me about how I enjoyed the meal, and I noted some things based on yesterday’s experience. The conversation could have lasted longer, but I had a pressing need to return to my room for the evening - which I did.

Florida-Bahamas Cruise 2023 - Day 1 - Embarkation

 

Florida-Bahamas Cruise - Day 1 - Embarkation - 12/09/23

Today was a day where I had to get my act in gear and get out of the house in time to make a 9:37 train - and I almost didn’t make it.

But first….

Last night, I finally got everything packed (and maybe over-packed at the same time).  But I didn’t get to sleep until 3:00 am, so I knew that I’d need to nap a little as soon as I was able to board the cruise ship.

This morning, I awoke very early (around 6:00 am), and I knew that it was the Adrenalin (or some other stress related hormone) that caused me to wake up.  Instead of rushing to burn off that energy, I tried to relax for a while until the clock told me that I had to get up and get ready to go.

Around 9:00 am, I called the local taxi service to bring me to Croton-Harmon station, and the cab was a little late.  Then, it had to pick up an elderly passenger going to the same place at the same time.  So I barely made it in time to buy my ticket and get on the train - this time with all my bags intact. (The memories of my Chicago trip are still fresh in my mind.) 

 

Arriving in Manhattan around 10:45, I had a decision to make: Do I take the subway to South Ferry and try to make it to Pier 11 in time for an 11:30 ferry?  Or, do I take a cab to the pier?  The cab won out, as it would be a more direct, but expensive trip.  And this was a wise choice, as I made it to Pier 11 with 20 minutes to spare.

Now that I knew I’d make it to the Cruise Terminal in time, I could start thinking about what would come next.  Arriving at the Cruise Terminal a little before noon, I dropped off my big bag and started carrying both my CPAP bag and my weekender bag along the path through the terminal, then onto the ship, and finally to my cabin.  (Next time, I’ll use my rolling carry-on bag for this task.  Without a bag to rest the weekender bag on, I was very uncomfortable.)

Reaching my cabin was an effort.  I had chosen a cabin at the far aft of the ship, and the rear elevators are best described as mid-ship elevators.  So I will likely be getting a fair amount of walking in on this cruise, as I’ve already put in 2.6 miles before 6:00 pm.  But I digress.  Once on the ship, I had to associate my room key with a credit card, so that onboard charges could be made. And this was a minor headache, as the process wasn’t as clear as it could have been.

When I finally made it to my cabin, I found that it was designed for two uses, both of them imperfectly.  The first was for a solo cabin, the way it was laid out when I arrived.  The closet doors wouldn’t open completely because the sofa bed was made up to be a bed for two, instead of for one, and I had to shift the bed a little so that I could hang my dresses in the closet.  The second was for an attached cabin, where one of the connecting doors would be opened so that people in the same party could pass through a doorway separating the two cabins. 

Unlike cabins I once inhabited on NCL ships, this tiny cabin on MSC is noisy, as loud neighbors were disturbing my rest on the first night.  Luckily, I was able to take a nap after the muster process.  But even the muster process was a mess.  First, I had to ask where the muster station was, then hoof it to the back of the ship on another floor then back to my room (requiring me to walk the length of the ship twice). Then the crew member scanning my cruise card/key had problems with his reader.  And after that, once I returned to my room, I had to make a call to register that I completed the muster process.  Finally, after all of this, I was able to take my nap.

While relaxing in my room, I turned on the TV.  Like the other cruise lines I’ve been on, they have a few live channels and some on-demand movies.  One problem - the connection to CNN, TCM, and other satellite channels can be flaky, and I missed the better part of a movie because of this.

As I believed that I was scheduled for late dining, I made my way to the assigned restaurant 15 minutes before seating time.  There, I found out that I had been scheduled for early dining.  AARGH!   Luckily, this wasn’t a problem, and the Maitre’D fixed my reservation slot.  Then I was told to wait on line.  Late dining starts between 8:45 pm and 9:00 pm.  But the doors to the restaurant didn’t open until 9:35 pm.  Dinner came even later.  If one likes “wedding mill” dining, this place wasn’t too bad.  But they couldn’t get my drink order right.  Again, I was lucky to have purchases the “Easy Plus” drink plan, as I got bottled water, a bottomless glass of Merlot, and a bottle of softly sparkling water when they couldn’t bring me either a Club Soda with Lemon (they brought a can of Sprite), or bring me a Diet Coke with some ice cubes in the glass.  Am I fussy?  Far from it.  But, like wedding mills, the waiters and bus staff do not have the ability to give specialized service.  Here is where I will give both NCL and Princess a strong edge over MSC - they know how to make people feel like they are in a restaurant instead of a catering hall.

Once done with dinner, it was time to go to bed.  It was a long day, and I want to be able to get up early enough for breakfast in the morning.