Mike981

This sounds like a lot of fun. $500+ for two is spendy, but just doing a chef's dinner is also expensive and with this you get to go to the market and learn. I will definitely keep this in mind for the future.

Before my hip replacement, my CBD cream was very helpful. If I were still using it and went on a cruise I would most likely bring it and not even think about the legality of it all. Good for you on checking. And I would be interested if a drug sniffing dog would be able to detect mine because the essential oil smell is VERY strong, my only complaint about it.

January of 2000 I was 34 and it was our delayed honeymoon by 10 years. Celebrity Mercury for seven days with a balcony room, kind set the bar rather high. Boy did we have a blast and we were hooked. We looked at it as a once in a lifetime vacation and spent like it, then we booked another for the next year and then the next year and...

That's what I was thinking Jim.

Julie and I have something in common, I was born in Milwaukee and raised in Madison. Sorry to hear about the sea sickness.

I enjoy singing karaoke, but in today's world I would be hesitant to sing in a mic that dozens have used. When I was on the radio and one of the announcers got sick, we all knew that it was just a matter of time before most of us were also going to be under the weather. As someone that has sang a few times in public, it really matters on the karaoke host and the equipment. Last two trips with Celebrity, my wife and I just passed.

Only good thoughts for your surgery Jim.

"The maintenance dept is now the engineering department" This one took me awhile to get through my skull.

We have an in-home daycare so we know the Wiggles very well. We even have a Wiggles step stool in the daycare bathroom.

We do run a couple of internet business's and would love to have better WiFi. BUT, I need a whole lot more input on how it works for others to be able to come up with a price I would be willing to pay.

Maybe I'm trying to be positive, but I had the same thought, and (not to wish it on anyone) honestly hope that is the reason.

Absolutely not just young people. I was on the Equinox sitting at a very busy bar that was three deep and an elderly lady sitting at a table 15 feet away yelled over everyone and screamed "I want it, when I want it, how I want it, and I want it NOW!!"

Possible the toothbrush was used for cleaning and left behind?

Amazing PICTURES!!! Thank you~

I can't remember the actual price, but I was amazed at the price of a bottle of water at (I believe it was) O'Hare. Maybe I'm spoiled by the Minneapolis airport where there are plenty of water bottle filling stations, I never saw one at O'Hare. I'm not saying they don't have them, but I am guessing you need to know where they are.

For us it is an absolute difference in food. We took our adult kids on a Carnival cruise and then DW and I did a Celebrity cruise a few months later, the MDR food was more similar than different. It was no where near what Celebrity MDR was twenty years earlier and we new that going in. It was still a bit of a surprise. I have had coworkers who love to bash Walmart and then would do all of their shopping there. Some people just feel better when they complain.

When I was on the radio, I had our staff meteorologist on every morning. We would talk about how once you get past 36-48 hours big changes can happen. I believe in our current climate it is very true. Here in central Minnesota I can look at my 10 day forecast and see no rain for ten days, but we will get "popcorn thunderstorms" pop up at anytime. And don't get me started on the lousy winter forecasts. It seems that forecasting (guessing) weather is a lot like fishing. There's a reason they don't call it catching.

*my $.02 worth* In our experience, customer service was going down hill well before Covid in many industries, not just travel. Companies were/are figuring out the tipping point of making money with less staff, I should add well trained staff. Our first cruise was January of 2000 on Celebrity, and there was no comparison to our cruises in 2018 & 2019 to that first cruise. Not just staff, but food. We are not ready to cruise yet, but when we do we will be looking at all options, including not cruising and land travel.

This ^^^^

I love the Bluetooth feature, especially for phone calls. I was to the point that I rarely talked on the phone and had to bother my wife to make the calls for me. Even with the app settings and builtin equalizer I still have issues, I know for a fact that a big reason is that I am a voice actor and am rather picky. Also if you are really taxing your hearing aids they can get wonky trying to figure everything out. Food is subjective yes? Well so is hearing loss and hearing aids, what works for one doesn't always work for another. Unfortunately I need to go with the higher end aids and have a lot of contact with my audiologist. On my app I can send her a message with a request to 'fix' something and she can do it remotely and send me an update to my phone. I then download it and I am on my way. For those new to hearing aids, or just starting the process, note it takes time. Patience is a big help and it will take your brain a while to adjust to all of this new information. When I got my first set I had to remind my wife and kids, "I can hear you!" As they were so comfortable with my lack of hearing.

My son is going back to college to get his masters in education. We are happy and proud of him for following his dream, and at the same time worried about another student loan and all of the horror stories I hear from current and past teachers. But hey, this is from a guy who traveled the country chasing his dream of being a radio announcer.

Good advice truly, but... I have been wearing hearing aids for 20+ years (started when I was 30) and recently spent $6,000 on a pair. As much as they help, certain situations just don't work. When in a loud environment, the aids try to pick out certain sound that 'they feel' are the human voice. It is unable to know what 'voice' you are wanting to hear, so they often increase all frequencies that fit the human voice. And it is like being in a car full of people talking loudly and the radio also playing loudly. You just can't make out enough to have a decent conversation.

Sadly you are correct. Having watched grand parents, parents and the children over the past 30 years because of my wife's in-home daycare, I can affirm that we are moving in a negative direction. Generation after generation is getting worse. I saw someone post here on CC years ago not wanting to travel where there are feral children around and I thought it was harsh, but it sure seems to be going that way.

Same here. Besides what you have mentioned there is the constant shifting of sands on protocols and that makes it even worse, so many employees are not on the same page so who do you believe. Lacking in customer service employees on cruise lines, airlines and anything in between. And then there are the constant reports of travelers not playing nice with Covid and so many coming home with it. We have a finite amount time and money we can spend on travel and we can't risk major delays or getting Covid again. I really am happy for those who are traveling and having a wonderful time, I wish the same for everyone.

I have booked a few cruises for our family during hurricane season. Only once was I concerned, I let my wife know but didn't tell the kids as to not worry them. Weather was lousy on our way out of port but that was it. It was the smoothest and most cloudless cruise ever. Just stunning. And I will add that I get insurance for all of our cruises, summer or winter.