no1talks

"Jack, I want you to draw me like one of your Bella Guarantee girls." - Rose DeWitt Bukater

Their student loan debt is also very high. Their retirement savings is also rather low when compared to the traditional bench marks of 1x annual income by age 30 and 3x by age 40. I see too little black ink to offset the red in the overall cohort. Millenials are unlikely to keep luxury cruising from undergoing some amount of contraction (fewer lines and/or fewer ships) once too many of the Boomers have disembarked for last time.

But are they? Or, are they putting on a bougie lifestyle as the Potemkin village of their generation? https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/25/affluent-millennials-more-likely-to-exaggerate-finances-to-appear-wealthy.html

The upcoming cohort is Gen-X and there are far fewer of them than the cohorts that supported luxury cruising these many years. Also, if the financial projections are even somewhat accurate, Gen-X will have significantly less disposable income in their golden years than their predecessors.

@morpheusofthesea can comment on that topic. He and his wife return home with all their bottles, if I recall correctly.

Meraviglia and ships of the same class have duplex suites well outside the YC perimeter on decks 9 and 10. As I understand it, these were originally Aurea suites, but they were "annexed" into YC. The duplices are back in the World ships and they look even better. Compare the videos. Here is video of the earlier version. https://youtu.be/WwDbjk4TDRg Here is a duplex on World Europa, now inside the YC on decks 16 and 18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coOjBChiCWs

An aspect that I suspect will be even more diminished on World America. 😟

There's always the ships with the YC duplex suites, having a full bath on the upper level and half on the lower. It's worth mentioning the duplex suites are back on World Europa (and presumably on World America) and the rooms look much nicer and have more outside space. Lastly, even though they are Aurea and not YC, MSC offers two-bedroom grand suites with both a full and half-bath.

I would be quite happy to comply with your proposed dress code revision. However, if Security won't permit the wearing of a rapier, I don't see a reason to bother with the rest. 😆

I'd like the opportunity to enjoy that. Years ago, our one overnight had the same menu for both lunches.

Are food and beverage options limited to the normal room service choices and standard nonalcoholic/alcoholic drink list? In other words, I assume you can't order custom sandwiches or an unusual cocktail that requires an explanation.

We've not been on a Princess cruise. My wife and I are MSC fans and we are curious about the medallion system. How are the delivery times? Drinks still fresh and food still hot? Thank you.

That's all they will need. Given EJ's promotion of, "Multi-generational journeys," and "Family-friendly destination experiences," I don't think they plan on offering the long cruises seen on Regent, Seabourne, and the rest. MSC is mostly running week-or-less cruises for the same reason: It's easier to get kids, parents, and grandparents coordinated for a week or less.

This would be good rehearsal if they can manage it. A full Seaside-class YC allows for troubleshooting in preparation for the potentially packed World America YC.

Isn't your TA providing you with solid intelligence on the topics of concern? They are supposed to minimize the apprehension of their clients, n’est-ce pas? Have you weighed the pros and cons of driving to the port a day early, staying in a hotel with suitable cruise parking, and taking an UberXL to the port? Of course, I realize you don't need the extra day because you live in Florida. However, it might be just the ticket to address some concerns you mentioned. (I specifically suggested UberXL, rather than UberX, because of the extra suitcases of cleaning supplies you bring. 😉) This is largely a port management issue and the cruise lines are stuck with the overheated passengers. Short of legally mandating a linkage between expected heat index and opening the doors to passengers, I can only suggest a proper sun umbrella and wearing a neck cooler. One of the best ways to reduce the chance of catching something is to cruise on ships with fewer people as well as more public space per person. The ships of Explora Journeys will certainly offer good space per passenger if the current sales figures hold. But, if EJ gets the upscale families they claim to be targeting, those ships will go 1000+ counting the kids in the sofa beds. The best ships to select for the specific purpose of not getting too close to other passengers are the luxury ships, topping out at 600 to 750 guests and nary a sofa bed in use. Fortunately, YC experiences a better space-per-passenger ratio than outside YC and probably most mass-market ships generally. (This can probably be said of all the ship-within-a-ship settings.) When World America is open for business, I think YCers on that ship will feel a bit of a squeeze.

Seaside-class ships can provide great YC experiences. The jury is still out, however, for YC in the new World-class group. There have been reports of too many YC passengers for the available space and staff on World Europa. We shall all have to wait a bit for World America's YC report card.

That's very competitive with Favog's poultry quote. (Most people do not know how expensive swans are.)

JWB is priced higher than MSC's best drink package. This means you would have to pay the difference in price. Mathematically, however, the JWB is still a better deal on MSC unless you drink several JWBs per day. The NCL per-day cost for the package upgrade to get JWB is more money than just buying a few per day, at the price difference, in YC.

If I recall them correctly, your options are listed below. Choose one and inform your butler. As a YC passenger, you will likely receive a message before your cruise, asking for your choice of alcohol, pillow, and newspaper. However, the responses are usually not forwarded to the butlers and you'll have to let them know in person anyway. Absolut Ketel One Tanqueray Bombay Sapphire Glen Grant Jack Daniel's (Old No.7) Two unexciting white wines Two unexciting red wines Champagne/sparkling wine Perhaps, if you are fortunate and your butler thinks it will fly, you may be able to request and receive a choice not on the list. However, if it is a pricier ask, probably not.

Just hope The Mighty Favog isn't working the concierge desk. (Tip o' the cap, if you know this one without Google-fu.)

Thanks to inflation, a wealth of anything isn't what it used to be.

Not burst any bubbles, but the quips & witticisms were written for the questions by the production team. The competitive game itself was on the level. The comedy was not.

No. As the 19th century was transitioning to the 20th, milk toast became very popular as what we would call a "super food" for the convalescing and infirm. It was the deemed a wonder of nutrition for anemic & sickly children as well as the superannuated & dyspeptic folks feeling the heavy hand of Father Time. It's still around in some regions as a warm thing to eat on a cold day dish. Thus, "milquetoast" was coined as a slam at the timid, nervous "ninety-eight pound weakling" in the mold of Caspar Milquetoast.

"Milquetoast" is, of course, a perjorative riff on the breakfast dish milk toast. Those of you who know for whom milk toast was usually prepared may wonder why it is not a modern feature on the breakfast menus of some ships.