kiddo76

Just now, dobiemom said:

So he would rather use nothing at all? (Or did he use his own?) 

DH offered him some while walking around San Juan. That's when he mentioned the SPF thing. He didn't put any on and he waited until passing a CVS to buy some.

On 12/21/2019 at 11:11 AM, Magicat said:

In Canada a lot of us have Chinese food for New Years day.  

It's popular in New England on New Year's Eve. Don't really know why, but Chinese restaurants are always packed and getting take-out can take hours.

2 hours ago, pacruise804 said:

 

I totally understand wanting to vent - especially to keep the peace so you don't snap at someone you love.

 

The complete personality change raises a possible red flag to me.  Is there any chance one or both of them have health issues that are contributing to the changes?  I hope not, but have seen it happen to some people.  Maybe you will be able to have a discussion with them after things settle down from the cruise if you are concerned.

 

Hope you are all able to enjoy the rest of the vacation.

Thank you for the advice. After some other concerning incidents during the trip, I did actually mention to DH that I was getting worried about FIL.☹

6 hours ago, iancal said:

Don't remind me.  It is one of the reasons we avoid the buffet.  And always take the stairs (besides, we get to have a good view of the art in the stairways).  We prefer to board a little later.  Pushing to get on the ship and rushing to the buffet or MDR before they run out of food for what we might envisage as our last meal is not a top priority.

 

Maybe it has something  to do with the preservatives they put in the food.

It's definitely because of the hand sanitizer.

5 minutes ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

He’s actually right about the SPF thing. The difference between 30 and 50 is only about a 1% increase in UV protection. 
 

But that’s an argument for the cash register.  If you already have it, there’s no reason not to wear it. 

I've read the same thing. I am very pale skinned, like glow in the dark white. While the 50 doesn't provide that much more protection, I've discovered when I'm closer the to the equator, I burn more easily with 30 than 50. I need that extra 1% so I don't immediately go up I flames!

3 hours ago, ldubs said:

". . . . . refused to use my SPF 50 lotion because "they say anything above 30 is just a marketing scheme"."

 

This is definitely my favorite "issue".  I wonder if the OP's father-in-law is Norman Thayer.  😁

Pretty much.😂

4 hours ago, iancal said:

There is an easy fix to this in the future   Choose not to travel with them again. 

 

Vacation time and vacation dollars can sometimes be challenging to come by. Why on earth torture yourself?  Not wanting to vacation with the in laws from hell does not mean that family is not important to you or that you do not love them.  It just means that you have come to your senses and understand how to best deal with family  for your own sake and theirs.

 

Why be a martyr?

 

 

Not trying to be a martyr, just needed to vent here to keep the peace. I'm having a great time. They used to be very courteous, thoughtful people who were very much rules followers. They have done a complete 180 over the years and it makes my and DH heads spin!

4 hours ago, K32682 said:

 

Is it your husband who is putting the pressure on?  I had a similar situation years ago when my wife was pressuring me to go on a "family" cruise.  The prospect of being on a cruise ship for any length of time with my father-in-law was unappealing so not only did I pass I paid for her single supplement.  It was money well spent. 

He didn't pressure me at all. I let him make the decision. We don't get to spend a lot of time with his parents. He's an only child and we only vacation with them every few years.

We rent a beach house for a week every year with my family and DH and I always look forward to it and have a blast. So I leave it up to him to decide how often we vacation with his folks. My family is just way cooler. 😉

2 hours ago, K32682 said:

Question to the OP:  Are you recently married and not know before what these people are like?   People typically do not undergo radical personality changes once they get on a cruise ship.  Jerks on board are usually jerks on land.  Were the signs not evident? 

We've been married 17 years, together for 21. They have morphed into "Those People" over time. Even my DH is completely baffled by their behavior. He keeps saying that his parents never would have let him get away with the stuff they are trying.

2 hours ago, SRF said:

 

You do realize that only $100 per person is non-refundable.

We aren't frequent cruisers and had no immediate intentions of taking a cruise ourselves, so a FCC would have been pretty useless for us. Plus, drama.

5 hours ago, lisa6191 said:

 

If you are paying your own way, how is that a Christmas present???

 

We always said that if we ever traveled with my IL's we would end up never speaking to them again LOL. Glad you are able to vent and laugh (most of) it off!

That's a good question and another good story...

MIL got the comped cruise in a JS offer last December while DH and I were vacationing in Disney. She texted DH (sorry, emailed) and asked if we wanted to go, too, and they could book us with a Casino discount. We would do the trip in lieu of Christmas gifts.

She had to have an answer within the week. We weren't even sure of the details, only the total cost, which we could swing. I told DH I was fine with whatever he wanted to do. So he told her we would probably go, but he needed to check to make sure he could get the time off from work first.

She went ahead and booked it and told us we could reimburse her the $500 deposit when we got home. All our previous RCCL cruises that we booked ourselves were refundable deposits. Since we hadn't even been looking at cruises and the only info we had on the cruise was from her short emails, we thought we were also getting booked into a JS. We found out after that our room was a balcony and that the $500 was a NRD.

To add salt to the wound, I could have booked it with an online TA and would have received the same percentage discount as her "great Casino discount", plus they would have given us OBC.

8 hours ago, Ren1216 said:

OP -- I enjoyed your vent... wait, does that make me a bad person??  Ice cream wasted -- ha!  Hang onto that sense of humor... it may be the only thing that keeps ya afloat.

 

Enjoy the rest of your week!  Cheers!  🍦

If we couldn't laugh, we'd all gone insane... 

3 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

I hear you, I feel you, I laughed with you,,, all cause I've been there with you.

But,,, enjoy your time with them. Mine are now gone and I'd love to be pissed off at them just one more time.

Totally understand. I lost both my parents in the last 2 years. DH and I are trying our best to laugh off their shenanigans!

2 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

 

I'm single too, but ... my ex-wife and daughter are going on cruises in Feb and Nov with me and my brother.  😲

I will start praying for you now...

1 minute ago, fdthird said:

Sounds to me like you needed the drink package too!

Believe me, I wish I could! (Medication issues). I'm drinking Virgin Mojitos and pretending they have booze. Got "ice cream wasted" last night.

50 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Oh just tell to go ahead and get his father a beer. What is the harm.

 

They are on a comped Cruise in a JS and get free drinks in Casino. He can pay for his own Bud Lite in the Royal Theater.

Plus DH and I have been desperately trying to avoid anything even remotely related to politics, but FIL keeps trying to poke the bear.

17 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

Your hubby should have said, "hand me your card, and I'll be happy to get your beer for you".

He did! Lol

41 minutes ago, Mollycat said:

I’m going to be in the same position in January.   Actually dreading it a bit.   Travelling with my in-laws and spoiled brother in law and his girlfriend.   My husband and I booked our own excursions on our own to ensure a break.   I got a good laugh though, seems eerily familiar.   Lol.  

Good luck!

50 minutes ago, queenfrostine22 said:

Took my mother-in-law on a seven day star suite cruise in March. I feel your pain. 

No matter the circumstance she always had an issue. 

Considering the cruise was FREE for her she should have done a happy dance every minute of every day!

I hope she appreciated it in the end because it was her last cruise with us!

 

Lol. This cruise is comped by the Casino for my ILs in a JS. They booked it for us last year to come along instead of exchanging Christmas presents. Except we are paying 100% our own way in a Balcony Room. Our Christmas budget for them is usually $200. I think we lost out on this deal.

48 minutes ago, Sea Viewer said:

I feel for you, try to seek out out of the way spaces.

It's a port day, but I'm currently hiding, I mean hanging out, by the pool. 

Current on HOS and having a great time. My DH and I are traveling with his parents (separate stateroom Thank you Baby Jesus) and our patience is running thin. My ILs take 2-3 cruises a year and should know better, but they are "Those People".

1. FIL tried to get through TSA with a full bottle of suncreen and was pissed 

2. FIL got called to the Naughty Room because he had a pocket knife in his luggage. They let him keep it, but he was still pissed.

3. MIL did NOT get called to the Naughty Room for the extension cord in her bags. She was happy, but said she would be pissed if they had called her down.

4. DH has the Deluxe Beverage Package and I have the Refreshment package. ILs don't have any packages, but get free drinks in the Casino. MIL wanted DH to get his father a beer on our package. Said she and her SIL shared 1 package last cruise no problem. We told them no. They were pissed.

5. MY FIL, who has already had some skin cancer removed, refused to use my SPF 50 lotion because "they say anything above 30 is just a marketing scheme".

Thanks for listening, just need to vent to someone!

2 hours ago, agslc5 said:

I am not trying to overstep but I think your relative might be lying to you about how much they are spending... I bring about $3,000 a cruise and I only get offers for Oceanview/balcony rooms.. I feel like to get junior suite offers you must be spending a lot.. Now I see you said she plays slots.. I play table games which gives less points so maybe she does rack up those points.. BUT I still cant imagine getting enough points only spending $50 a day.. I put in about $100 in a slot and get like 160-200 points for a free junior suite I believe you need 8,000 points it just doesn't make sense to me she could only spend $50 but again I am not trying to overstep. If she really is only spending $50 that's fantastic and I wish I could have their luck!! I do hope however your family member is not in trouble.. 

Thank you for your insight and you are not overstepping. This is the straight up info I've been seeking.

What everyone has replied to me so far is what I have been suspecting and makes much more sense than how she makes it sound. I've cruised with her several times, on separate reservations and she is the only one in our group who gambles. So I don't really have any understanding how the casinos work. Other than I put 20 bucks in, hit a few buttons, and get nothing in return. Lol.

I've realized she's not being totally straight with me and that her husband kind of turns a blind eye. I just hope she's being truthful with him.

8 hours ago, slurry57 said:

I don't think anyone can really guess because it really does make a difference on how much you win to be able to put back into the machine.  My husband does not gamble very much and he hit prime because he did hit one good jackpot and was able to keep playing with that money.  I do get junior suite offers and I bring between 2500-3000 per cruise and I had around 7000 points the last night.  I hope this helps!

 

Thank you it does help.

2 minutes ago, dodgestang said:

Well....if you are winning....it's easy for $50 to last all day...I suppose....but at the same time.......I have to assume she is playing at slots.....with small bets so wouldn't rank up points too quickly.

Yes, she only plays slots.