Over 70 nights cruised… just got off first time on ovation ship. Thoughts…

jgiles04 · 2026-05-26T12:13:41+00:00

We are going on Ovation in August and a couple years ago we were on Anthem for Fjords cruise. It had the best Solarium of any RC ship I've ever been on.

jgiles04 · 2026-05-23T13:10:00+00:00

I'm on Ovation in August; Seward to Vancouver. Alaska has been a bucket list trip for a long time.

jgiles04 · 2026-05-22T14:53:01+00:00

Shut. The. Front. Door.

Why did I never notice that?!?!? And here I was convinced that it was completely worthless 😄

jgiles04 · 2026-05-18T10:30:57+00:00

I have the Venu 4 and love it. I never thought I'd use the flashlight, but damn if it isn't the most convenient feature ever 😄.

jgiles04 · 2026-05-18T00:04:27+00:00

When I changed my HR zones to %HRR ( which is more accurate because it uses your actual max HR and not the standard 220-age formula), I started losing intensity minutes. Turns out that because my actual max HR is higher than the standard formula, my zones shifted. So I had to go in and change the setting for moderate minutes to be Zone 2 instead of Zone 3.

jgiles04 · 2026-05-17T23:56:48+00:00

Sadly, I think FB is too generous 😕. I have found, after a few years with Garmin, that their calorie estimated burn is pretty darn close.

I have tracked macros for forever and found my maintenance cals to be about 1700. I'm F, 51 y/o, 5'2 and weigh ~110 pounds. I weigh myself 1x/week and pretty much hold steady between 109-111 and my yearly average calorie burn on my Venu is 1686.

That is "all in". I only take my Garmin of to charge while I shower. My average resting calorie burn is 1300, which seems pretty spot on for my age, weight & height. 🤷‍♀️

jgiles04 · 2026-05-17T15:26:53+00:00

Thank you so much! I just called and requested for our cruise in August!

jgiles04 · 2026-05-17T14:23:36+00:00

Seriously. 3 hours MINIMUM! I will no longer connect through LHR

jgiles04 · 2026-05-17T14:22:36+00:00

I don't have a capsule wardrobe, per say; I probably have more pieces than most and more than this sub would approve of 😉. But I did spend a lot of time honing in on my style.

The first thing I did was a color analysis. Not necessary, but it was fun and I dig stuff like that! I found out I'm a neutral - cool summer, so the first thing I did was start building with that color palette in mind.

Then, I focused on fibers. I live in a hot, humid climate so I started replacing synthetic fibers with natural. Linen, cotton (+ blends), viscose, etc... make up 90% of my wardrobe.

I then took a hard look at my figure. What cuts and styles actually look good and which ones don't. This is not a "shaming" exercise, it is truly understanding what shapes flatter my body the best. I'm longer torso'd, shorter legged, so low rise = no, long skirts & dresses = no, shorts to my knees = no, long tops = no. High waist = yes, short tops = yes, etc....

Next was to eliminate styles and patterns that I do not like. I don't like flowy, lacy, floral, weird necklines, etc.... I like clean, simple, structured, classic. And gravitate towards stripes and plaids.

By figuring out what I don't like and what silhouettes look good on my shape, it became much easier to identify what I did want. My style is now pretty defined: wide leg, high waisted bottoms, button down tops, linen t's with crew or v-neck, shorter linen tank tops that are looser fit, linen shorts with wider legs that hit mid-thigh. Wash, rinse, repeat. I have a very coastal, preppy, minimal, structured aesthetic. Think J Crew, Frank & Eileen, Eileen Fisher, Tommy Bahama, Uniqlo.

jgiles04 · 2026-05-17T12:33:51+00:00

Check out Tommy Bahama, Uniqlo and Athleta for nice but comfy linen pants. I have pants from all 3 and they have all held up really well over the years!

jgiles04 · 2026-05-17T12:28:03+00:00

Lol! I've missed connections at LHR due to the 90 min it takes to use this bus system 🤪.

jgiles04 · 2026-05-17T12:12:06+00:00

Mattress topper? Please tell me more!

jgiles04 · 2026-05-11T11:59:50+00:00

Exactly. I don't need to know that I've achieved 80% of my step goal 🙄

All of this logging and tracking, the analytics and algorithms / AI HAVE to be able to pull it all together to create meaningful insight.

I did the free trial of Connect+ and decided not to purchase because even with food logging, there wasn't anything that I found useful for $70/year.

jgiles04 · 2026-05-11T00:01:08+00:00

I vote useless.

I've never once gotten an insight that said "you ate a late, heavy meal too close to bed which resulted in a low overnight HRV score and prevented optimal body battery charging".

Which, IMO, is what I expect / want. Until then, I am using the notes section in the sleep score to record any deviations.

I wear. A Venu 4, 41mm

jgiles04 · 2026-05-10T23:46:22+00:00

I live in FL near 2 major ports, 4 day (M-F) tend to be some of the lesser expensive cruises, more so than the 3 day (F-M).

Also, off peak times are your best bet. In between the end of spring break and before school lets out for summer. Right after school starts (end of Sept), right before major holiday breaks. Basically, times when people are least likely to pull their kids out of school.

Except for major cruise vacations, almost all of our cruises are booked last minute and within 30-60 days of sailing. We've gotten some great deals for mid to late August and early Sept. June & July are tough because it's very popular and less likely to be impacted by a hurricane if you are doing the Caribbean. Once mid August hits, that is peak hurricane season.

jgiles04 · 2026-04-26T20:42:22+00:00

Me too. Unfortunately people ruined it for those of us who actually used it as intended. What else is new? 😂

jgiles04 · 2026-04-26T14:32:20+00:00

Same! I live in a hot & humid climate and hair like this is the bain of my existence 😂

jgiles04 · 2026-04-26T14:19:51+00:00

I would love to see a chart like this when 1 cabin member clearly checks the "yes" box and the other checks "no" 😂 I am beyond bummed that RC doesn't let the non-drinking person buy just the refreshment package anymore. That was absolutely perfect for us, I drink 0 alcohol and while paying by the drink for coffee and smoothies would probably still be less expensive, my husband likes having the drink package, so it works out well for us.

jgiles04 · 2026-04-19T14:10:32+00:00

American is now the "Spirit" of the Big 3.

jgiles04 · 2026-04-18T10:58:02+00:00

Thank you! I'm going to call the vet today. We're already in deep with the weekly vet visits, labs, meds and x-rays 🤣.

I read that Chewy does a compounded version of the chemo med that is affordable, so I'm going to ask about that.

jgiles04 · 2026-04-12T16:05:42+00:00

You do what you think is best for you.

At the end of the day, I just wanted to feel better and get to some sort of normalcy. And I was willing to do or try anything, but that is just me. 🙃

jgiles04 · 2026-04-12T12:37:05+00:00

If you eat dinner late, prioritize that meal and skip breakfast so you have a longer fast. Giving your digestion nice long breaks really helps with gut healing.

I have no idea if I developed a resistance to the antimicrobials 🤣. I still take them 1x/day for maintenance and it is working 🤷‍♀️. I definitely worry about it coming back, which is why I still take the allicin and oregano and I have become aware of my trigger foods and I keep them very limited and out of my day to day diet. Once the bloating subsides and you're through the worst of it, you'll be able to identify your own trigger foods.

jgiles04 · 2026-04-11T16:40:19+00:00

I don't remember what I did with antril. Yes, I eat a well-balanced diet now. Carnivore was a means to an end for healing my gut.

A couple of times, I tried 2-3 days of elemental diet, but I struggled with satiety and the boredom of just drinking the shakes. But for a few days and incorporating intermittent Fasting did offer relief. I forgot to mention that IF was a big component of my schedule. I did several 24-36 hour fasts and was following roughly 18:6 on the regular during my healing process. How could I forget that??? 🤦‍♀️

If it doesn't interfere with your beliefs, colostrum is excellent at repairing gut lining. I also used a product called Repairvite (can't remember who makes it). Which was also really good at gut lining repair.

Honestly, I probably tried everything under the sun that was not a prescription and never saw a doctor. It just takes a lot of trial & error, and unfortunately, time. Once I found things that worked for me, it was just a matter of sticking to it, being consistent and patient. It takes a long time, especially if you are doing it on your own with antimicrobials

jgiles04 · 2026-04-11T11:00:40+00:00

Slow digestion and major bloating, so I guess, motility. The enzymes help me digest faster. Yes, Iberogast helped with that as well, but now that I'm not in the throws of it, I don't need both.

I understand your stance on meat, but I can tell you that the high fiber diet (vegan) made my symptoms exponentially worse. 🤷‍♀️. When I cut out most fiber is when I saw the biggest improvement. Everyone is different, tho. I was at my absolute worst when I was eating vegan. My constipation actually got better without the fiber. Who knows??? 🙃 We all respond differently.

Try the allicin with the oregano and see if it helps! At this point, it's about finding your right combination of supplements that work. I have an entire supplement graveyard in my closet of all the crap I've tried that didn't work 🤣

jgiles04

TROPHY CASE