maluhia87

This wasn't in the original plan for the week but it wasn't unexpected at almost 96 with health issues. My last grandparent...

https://www.insuremytrip.com/ is another option that will let you put in your details, and it gives you a number of different plans to view.  

Grandpa Prime goes down! 

2 hours ago, mkcurran said:

Okay tribe, I'm on the hunt for a new credit card. Barclay has decided we don't use it enough for them. 

Looking for something with a rewards program or useful features. No foreign transaction fees and rental car insurance coverage. 

 

Got a card you love? Something in the Mastercard or Visa family as it's the card we use when on foreign soil.

For international travel, I have Capital One Quicksilver, Chase Southwest Premier, and PenFed Power Cash.  PenFed is my go-to since it offers chip and pin instead of chip and sign (I have no military association so I only get 1.5% on this one). P's go-to is his Fidelity account since it is 2% all the time, and they switched to zero foreign fees in the last couple of years.   

Breakfast 

5 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

I’ve NEVER booked a cruise this far out. However it’s a reunion cruise, and a lot of people wanted to make payments over time. So here we are… see you in 650 days Carnival Breeze. 🤦🏼‍♀️

This is my longest wait

Just now, jimbo5544 said:

So much for Disney and Lady and the Tramp. 🤣

I don't share pasta! 

13 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Does everyone eat their pasta this way? I remember being taught this and told that’s how they do it in Italy. You may know I was born there and lived there for four years. But I never really pay attention to other people. Is this some big secret or is it common sense?

 

Twirl on a fork...always.  I don't even need the spoon that some restaurants provide for assistance, but I will use it sometimes.  

3 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

I love siu mai.

53 minutes ago, CabinBoy2020 said:

Hi Greg,

 

I love your blog and Cruise Critic posts and marvel at your stamina - including getting the most out of the Cheers package!  I don't see any info on your blog about emailing you, so I apologize for this off-topic question.  I'll be on a Carnival Journeys cruise on the Miracle soon (SF to Galveston).  I recall you've done a couple Journeys cruises.  Were they special or different from regular Carnival cruises?  There are lots of sea days and I'm just wondering what to expect. Was the demographic older and more sedate (fine with me)?  Thanks.

 

Bill

I've done a Panama Canal transit on the Miracle (2019) from Tampa to LA, a 13-day cruise with only three ports (not counting the PC day).  Older demographic - check.  I think we had less than 20 under the age of 18 on our sailing. Fewer lines for certain things were very noticeable.  Make sure you plan accordingly when sailing through the locks.  You will want to see more, and people gather early to get good seating.  It also takes much longer than expected to make it through all of the locks; we miss the tail end of the locks to get dinner.  Journey cruises generally have a throwback evening, so watch the schedule for that.  Overall, it was a very relaxing cruise with a lot of downtime to catch up on sleep.  

16 hours ago, Stallion said:

Anybody been on the Breeze out of Galveston lately? Trying to squeeze in a Thanksgiving cruise and only miss a day of work. It was my favorite a decade+ ago. Pretty easy to please and any day at Sea is better than a day at work. Might even spring for a Grand Suite.

We sailed on NYE last year.  No issues that I remember.  We are already booked on this one you are considering.  It worked well towards my 25 sailings count and only requires 2 days off work (need the extra day to get there since we are not in Texas).  

57 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

I get why they have no…..crotchal region in 2024….but why does she only have one leg?

 

 

Didn't you know - females are actually flamingos. 

7 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

What?! 

All of ours became giant liquor stores.  They have samples on weekends.  

14 hours ago, Roscoe13 said:

Well, if the other website can be believed, just read that this cruise is a group cruise for Houston Astros fans and rollercoaster enthusiasts.

 

No problem with the rollercoaster group but I can't go for that Astros group.  I will be in Orioles gear 24/7.

Looks like they only have 250 people in their group.  It shouldn't be that noticeable from a regular TX sailing. 

14 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

When did movie theaters get reclining seats? And start selling alcohol? Chris and I decided to go out on a date, something we haven’t done in YEARS, and see the new Twisters movie. I feel so old…I remember when tickets were $7 each, now they’re double that, and I remember sneaking my own wine coolers in…now they sell beer, wine and hard seltzers! 
 

Now, for all you gamblers…who wants to bet if these 2 fuddy duddies manage to stay awake until 11:15? 😂

About ten years ago.  We go to the cinema regularly and are lucky enough to have competition in our area, so we go on Tuesdays when tickets are $5/6 or $10 for IMAX.  Our favorite is Alamo Drafthouse.  They serve food/drinks to your seat and kick out people who play on their phones during the show.  

1 hour ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Do I wanna be at the Walmarts right now? No

but better now than in Barcelona. 

Apparently, you have never been to a Carrefour.  They are like Walmart but with more interesting things to purchase. 🛒🤩

Playing in the rain was more fun as a kid.  Today, it included a lot of wind (airport said up to 90mph) and moving collapsed trees to try to get our car all the way home.  

On the foreign language discussion.  In middle school, we had to take 9 weeks of French and 9 weeks of Spanish.  From there, you decide which one you want to take in high school.  I opted to take 4 years of Spanish. All I learned was how to watch Telenovelas, cha-cha, and make Spanish omelets.  I can understand some Spanish, but not when it is spoken quickly.  The only French I retained is counting up to 5, and I can sing the French alphabet.  

Since then, I've done some Duolingo Russian, Czech, and Greek.  I haven't kept up with any of them, so I can know a few words.  

I'm 10.5 hours into smoking 14 lbs of pork butt today and to the collagen-melting stage.  It's hot outside, so we have the house closed, or I would be very hungry at this point from the smells.  This was not our original plan for the weekend, but at $0.99/lb, I could pass up the opportunity to stock the freezer with pulled pork.    

1 hour ago, Funsince1983 said:

Sorry. Posting without catching up first. Can one of you airport parking gurus (@MeganGC1983 @Saint Greg anyone else?) fill me in on how to find cheap airport parking? I usually take the train when solo but NJTransit has been operating so poorly lately I'm not willing to risk it. Parking at Newark airport is insane and I'm morally opposed to paying the same to park my car for 4 days as I did to fly round trip from EWR to CHS (which was also a price I was morally opposed to paying but here we are). 

Try Airport Parking Reservations https://airportparkingreservations.com/. There are a number of options depending on how much you want to pay, and it shows which ones have shuttles.  I can see the Maas that I think Greg was trying to share, but the Newark location for $7.95/day (plus taxes).  APR6OFF saves $6 (expires 07.22.2024).  

28 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

why is this a thing? Imma have snacks and drinks and meals and entertainment. 😐
 

https://people.com/jared-leto-gets-in-on-the-raw-dogging-a-flight-trend-bare-back-of-a-seat-for-17-hours-8676656?utm_campaign=peoplemagazine&utm_content=manual&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2AKvFw1zTdmcoC9vGjkeLtSVRSh2VVFxLINMnI_LzIBAnuDDkExNLwKxE_aem_xIJMJuCf6cKCKMK3_bor_A

Jordan Catalano has always been a bit different.  

@Jamman54 Milestone cruise credit to make sure I'm understanding things correctly.  If I want the OBC on a Hawaii cruise and currently have 21 sailed, one on the books, I would need to take three additional cruises prior to Hawaii to get the 25% added to that sailing (which would be the 26th)?  

We booked our last planned Carnival cruise yesterday on the Sunshine out of Norfolk.  The Sunshine is my favorite ship I've been on and out of a new departure port with two new to us ports.  Already have three nights booked at JiJis.  

For the most part, we are done with the Caribbean and starting to venture out to different countries/itineraries.  We have an NCL planned for next year that visits the Azores, Canary Islands, and Morocco.  

1 hour ago, TrqoisWtrs said:

 

Cool, thanks.

 

Typically I'm not a huge fan of ruins, but I'm hitting the big guns on this trip...Greece, Pompeii, Leaning Tower of Pisa etc.  I'm still trying to decide if its worth the crowds and heat in summer plus the high price of the excursions.  Thoughts in general - will I regret not going?  I'm more into like wine or olive oil tours, nature, or your cooking class sounded really cool.  Also have my eye on a horse excursion in Malaga...Andalusian horses with a Spanish saddle and no bit sounds really cool.

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/malaga/torremolinos-on-horseback-813069

You can skip Mary's house - you stand in line for 1-2 hours to walk through a building for three minutes.  If you are not religious, it isn't worth the time.  Ephesus was more interesting, but we like ruins.  Just be wary that if it rains at all, it is a lot of marble that gets slick. 

If you have time to do Pompeii on your own, go that route.  The tours tend to do several other things, and you do not get as much time to wander around Pompeii.  The guides have specific spots to show you, and we saw more wandering around when we didn't have a tour and only two hours before it closed.  Also, remember that all of the fountains in Italy are fresh, drinkable water, including Pompeii.  

1 minute ago, sparks1093 said:

I would want to hear it from Carnival that this was legitimate before cashing the check. I've heard of scams where legitimate looking checks are mailed and when they are cashed they are rejected for insufficient funds, but the issuer of the check then has the account info for the account where the check was cashed. 

It's legit.  I've been waiting since April for a check related to funds I put on cruises that were canceled.  When I called back after 30 days, I was told they were working from oldest to newest with sending out Covid checks.