Mary loves to travel

On Australia based cruises?

But, you’re exactly getting your wish! Australians indeed have the “better base wages” included in the actual price of the cruise and there is no gratuity charged onboard. 😊

I sometimes run into various issues with the Princess website. Often, trying another browser solves it. Mary

We did our cruise in January, made it to the Falklands, and did the Bluff Cove excursion. it seems they are only working with cruise ships; there wasn’t a way to book independently. Bluff Cove was wonderful!! The ride out was smooth, as they used the pandemic shutdown time to fully pave the road. We saw plenty of Gentoos and Kings. Highly recommend, especially if you can’t do rough 4x4 rides, or prefer not to spend 7 hours. Mary

The spreadsheet approach is really useful. We do something similar. The key point the OP is making is that the intangible benefit — be it convenience, a break from thinking about spending, or a feeling of luxury — isn’t worth zero. “Doing the math” lets you see the price of the intangible. Especially on shorter cruises, the intangible benefits may be worth it even if the math says otherwise 😊

That is quite a change!

Sure. But, on average, it still works to the cruise line's benefit, or the casino offers would change.

If you took a screenshot shouldn’t it be in your photos?

Um, if you’ve read this thread, you’d know his wife has deathly allergies, so this is in fact “an issue that affects him”. Being diligent in determining what’s in the food is similar to defensive driving. I have a lot to lose, so will always make sure it’s safe to enter an intersection, or use a crosswalk, even if I have the right of way.

they *really* want people to sign up for a package!

the problem with issuing an apology is that legally it can amount to an admission of guilt, so businesses are instructed to *not* apologize. A side effect of our litigious society.

so that makes a big difference in the "break even" calculation!!

That’s our experience, too. I know “break even” is two glasses of wine a day, but we just don’t drink that much. Good to have options.

Yes, I’ve been able to add transfers as described above.

Only $300 more, total, for a mini suite? Take it!!!