I'm Pretty Sure I'm Being Punked

[dinkydee718]

[quote name='phoenix1181'][COLOR="Black"]Okay, you covered everything very nicely here. Now............... are we going to get one of your amusing & very enjoyable daily updates?[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Other than the annoyance at Guest Services today, nothing very exciting happened.

Went to breakfast this AM at Divinely Decadence, where we had a great surf & turf meal on night 2. This morning's breakfast though, was definitely not Devine. I actually ended up running over to Windjammers to wait on line for 20 minutes for the honor of eating an egg white omelette. Would have gotten some grits but the grits' pot was empty, despite the fact that breakfast had not yet ended. Oh well. Problem is, now I am dying for grits.

Made our way off the ship this afternoon and took a taxi to the beach on Paradise Island. Had no fewer than 8 people ask me to rent a chair, rent an umbrella, rent a jet ski, get my hair braided, get coconut drinks, parasail and/or get a wrap instead of using a towel. After a couple of hours one of my daughters wanted to go to the pool on the ship, so we left (just the two of us) to head back to the ship. We had to wait off to the side for almost 20 minutes because they didn't want to take just the two of us back to the pier so we had to stand there while they gathered more suckers, I mean passengers. The taxi driver had to act as a crutch for an extremely intoxicated woman, who, lucky me, literally sat on top of me for the trip. She periodically shouted out random thoughts, like, "Pizza!," "Bahama Mama!," "Holy S**t!," "There's my boat!" She said these things several times to make sure everyone heard them. Good times.

The pool was fun, though my daughter was disappointed that the nearby ice cream machines were out of order.

Went to dinner at Jamie's, which I know is a big hit with people, but my fam was extremely underwhelmed with everything but the dessert. The Epic brownie was actually epic. After dinner, we had some time before Starwater so we went to check out the kids' club. All they were doing in all three relevant clubs were watching movies. Not much of a kids' club, more like babysitting. Granted, my kids and I are used to Disney clubs, but these were sad. So...no alone time for me and dh. I decided to skip Starwater because I was tired, I'm now overtired, so dh took the kids to the show. They came back 45 minutes later with horrendous reviews. Turns out he accidentally took them to see some unimpressive performer in the theatre instead of to Starwater at Two70s. Somehow I got blamed for this screwup. Eventually everyone else went to bed, but since I essentially napped while they went to the wrong show, I am now still awake.

So, now I'm watching Shrek 2, or maybe it's 3. Is there a 3? Never realized how large my cat is until I saw the huge Puss in Boots in this movie and realized he looks a lot like my cat. Now I miss my cat.

[Paul65]

[quote name='dinkydee718']Other than the annoyance at Guest Services today, nothing very exciting happened.

Went to breakfast this AM at Divinely Decadence, where we had a great surf & turf meal on night 2. This morning's breakfast though, was definitely not Devine. I actually ended up running over to Windjammers to wait on line for 20 minutes for the honor of eating an egg white omelette. Would have gotten some grits but the grits' pot was empty, despite the fact that breakfast had not yet ended. Oh well. Problem is, now I am dying for grits.

Made our way off the ship this afternoon and took a taxi to the beach on Paradise Island. Had no fewer than 8 people ask me to rent a chair, rent an umbrella, rent a jet ski, get my hair braided, get coconut drinks, parasail and/or get a wrap instead of using a towel. After a couple of hours one of my daughters wanted to go to the pool on the ship, so we left (just the two of us) to head back to the ship. We had to wait off to the side for almost 20 minutes because they didn't want to take just the two of us back to the pier so we had to stand there while they gathered more suckers, I mean passengers. The taxi driver had to act as a crutch for an extremely intoxicated woman, who, lucky me, literally sat on top of me for the trip. She periodically shouted out random thoughts, like, "Pizza!," "Bahama Mama!," "Holy S**t!," "There's my boat!" She said these things several times to make sure everyone heard them. Good times.

The pool was fun, though my daughter was disappointed that the nearby ice cream machines were out of order.

Went to dinner at Jamie's, which I know is a big hit with people, but my fam was extremely underwhelmed with everything but the dessert. The Epic brownie was actually epic. After dinner, we had some time before Starwater so we went to check out the kids' club. All they were doing in all three relevant clubs were watching movies. Not much of a kids' club, more like babysitting. Granted, my kids and I are used to Disney clubs, but these were sad. So...no alone time for me and dh. I decided to skip Starwater because I was tired, I'm now overtired, so dh took the kids to the show. They came back 45 minutes later with horrendous reviews. Turns out he accidentally took them to see some unimpressive performer in the theatre instead of to Starwater at Two70s. Somehow I got blamed for this screwup. Eventually everyone else went to bed, but since I essentially napped while they went to the wrong show, I am now still awake.

So, now I'm watching Shrek 2, or maybe it's 3. Is there a 3? Never realized how large my cat is until I saw the huge Puss in Boots in this movie and realized he looks a lot like my cat. Now I miss my cat.[/QUOTE]

I think I'm maybe starting to get it, now. Your posts are funny in an SNL "Debbie Downer" kind of way, finding something negative about every single thing you do. :cool:

[DirtyDawg]

[quote name='dinkydee718']I travel all the time...purchase airline tix, reserve rental cars in advance, reserve hotel rooms, put deposits down on things... and I have always used my debit card (which has a Visa logo). As I said before, my card has Zero Liability protection so my bank has always reimbursed me for any charges not authorized. That happened twice in recent memory. Once I dropped my card and some jerk purchased things on it, and once someone used the numbers at a parking garage in Newark, NJ. In fact, a few times that I can think of (including the parking garage) my bank actually contacted me to see if certain charges were legit. I [U]don't[/U] carry a lot of cash on me, that's why I carry my debit card! Also, all holds are removed from my account within 72 hours.

I have travel protection, auto rental protection, purchase protection, ID theft protection and warranty extension on my debit. Maybe all cards are not equal, but if have never had any issues using my card and have never been prevented from purchasing anything based on the fact that I'm using a debit card.

Geez, I should be paid by Visa debit for endorsing their product so ferociously.[/QUOTE]

Dear dinkydee,
Your check is in the mail.
Regards,
Charles W. Scharfe
CEO
Visa Inc.

Great posts BTW, me and the executive team here at Visa are having a blast reading them!:D

Visa, everywhere dinkydee wants to be. Edited April 2, 2015 by DirtyDawg

[Summerknight]

You are too funny. sometimes these family vacations just wear you out!! And of course Mom's get blamed for everything.

I like to think of it as Robin Realistic vs. Debbie Downer

[LMaxwell]

I am enjoying the running commentary OP. I like your style, but also I would be frustrated at some of the problems too. Vacation isn't over, hopefully things are more on the positive side than not from here on out. My cat doesn't give me the opportunity to miss him. I should call HIM Visa, he's everywhere *I* want to be. :D


And Visa does pay me! Pay my CC in full every month and rack up the points that I then use for rewards or cash. Haven't paid one cent in interest Sounds like you could be making hundreds, or even thousands, per year in payback if you switch to a CC. Glad your debit card has some of the same protections as a CC though, always important when traveling.

[Paul65]

[quote name='LMaxwell']Glad your debit card has some of the same protections as a CC though, always important when traveling.[/QUOTE]

Yeah. I'm personally in the same mindset of those who would never use a debit card for travel, because I prefer the protections of a credit card. But some people do make it sound like you have NO protection with a debit card, which isn't the case at all.

The biggest difference is that a debit card takes money from your account directly, and if there's something fraudulent, you have to get it reversed. With a credit card, you can usually get such things sorted out before any money ever leaves your pocket (or account).

By the way, not sure about the OP's, but some debit cards have "rewards" associated with their use, as well. Edited April 2, 2015 by Paul65

[ryano]

[quote name='LMaxwell']Then get one? [COLOR="Red"]Even a secured credit card is better than debit[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

How? My Master Card debit card through my local bank carries the very SAME protection your credit card does :) Both times that my account was compromised, a new temp card was issued on the spot and the money was back in my account that very same day. Im not sure credit card companies even work that fast so I totally disagree with your "Banks don't care when you have a problem with debit, it is YOUR money on the line" because my local bank most certainly DOES care and have never been anything but helpful and understanding :)

With that said, I do NOT secure my onboard account with my debit card. Way too many horror stories of holds and such for me to do that. I just set it up as cash, use my debit card to pre purchase OBC through Gifts and Gear and just cash out on the last night what I dont use.

I too, just like the OP, had a bad experience early in life with credit cards. Yes I was young and dumb and it was my fault but I still dont like them. Chalk me up as one of those "crazy" people that travel without one. Edited April 2, 2015 by ryano

[phoenix1181]

[quote name='ryano']How? My Master Card debit card through my local bank carries the very SAME protection your credit card does :) Both times that my account was compromised, a new temp card was issued on the spot and the money was back in my account that very same day. Im not sure credit card companies even work that fast.

With that said, I do NOT secure my onboard account with my debit card. Way too many horror stories of holds and such for me to do that. I just set it up as cash, use my debit card to pre purchase OBC through Gifts and Gear and just cash out on the last night what I dont use.

I too, just like the OP, had a bad experience early in life with credit cards. Yes I was young and dumb and it was my fault but I still dont like them. Chalk me up as one of those "crazy" people that travel without one.[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Black"]It may appear that your debit card has the same protection as a credit card & your bank may be providing those benefits but from a legal standpoint, the protections are not the same. That said, more often than not, the only time you may have a problem is if you have a dispute. It would be very unusual to have a problem when fraud is involved.

Personally, I would never travel with a debit card because I absolutely can't bear the thought of someone having access to my money. When I travel, it's credit all the way............ [/COLOR]

[grandgeezer]

What's the upside of using a debit card? With a credit card you can dispute a charge, don't pay for at least 30 days, and most credit card gives you something for using them, cash back, airline miles, etc.

[Clarea]

[quote name='grandgeezer']What's the upside of using a debit card? With a credit card you can dispute a charge, don't pay for at least 30 days, and most credit card gives you something for using them, cash back, airline miles, etc.[/quote]
You don't need a credit rating to get a debit card. You can't charge more money than you have.

[LMaxwell]

[quote name='clarea']You don't need a credit rating to get a debit card. You can't charge more money than you have.[/QUOTE]
One would have to elect for a hard cut off (denial of payment) on the card or pay for overdraft protection, otherwise a debit card could very well overdraft an account and incur serious fees. These fees are big money makers for banks. In 2012 banks made $30 billion on debit over draft fees.

Consumer be careful!

[dinkydee718]

I use debit because it forces me to live within my means. Ask said, got myself in lots of debt in law school that my parents were nice enough to bail me out of. I know me, and, sadly, I cannot be trusted having a credit card!

That said, your're right about the lack of rewards. I actually recently applied for the Capital One venture card because dh and I just bought a new house and are doing a major renovation/addition to it and figured we can get a ton of frequent flyer miles, but after the reno is complete, I will cancel the credit card. I also will not carry it with me while I have it. I will just give our contractor the numbers so he can purchase materials with it. Easy peasy.

dh and I keep the bulk of our cash in savings and just transfer some into checking to cover expenses. If anyone ever gained access to our checking acct., they wouldn't get much since our savings is not tied to the debit card. If our overdraft is ever activated we don't incur any fees as long as we transfer enough money to cover the overdraft while it is still a "pending" transaction. Time to go swimming so I am done discussing my spending habits!

[phoenix1181]

[COLOR="Black"]The fact is, we all make choices & decisions regarding how we handle our finances. What makes sense to some, makes others want to tear their hair out. As long as I'm not required to pay for them, they can do whatever they want & I'll do the same.

Enjoy your swim Dee......................[/COLOR]

[Ocean Boy]

[quote name='phoenix1181'][COLOR="Black"]The fact is, we all make choices & decisions regarding how we handle our finances. What makes sense to some, makes others want to tear their hair out. As long as I'm not required to pay for them, they can do whatever they want & I'll do the same.

Enjoy your swim Dee......................[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

We all make choices and decisions but most of us don't write about it in quite as much detail on this website.:D

[DirtyDawg]

[quote name='Ocean Boy']We all make choices and decisions but most of us don't write about it in quite as much detail on this website.:D[/QUOTE]

On this website [B]other[/B] people try to make choices and decisions for others and write about it in great detail, and keep on and on writing about it.;)

[phoenix1181]

[quote name='Ocean Boy']We all make choices and decisions but most of us don't write about it in quite as much detail on this website.:D[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Black"]That's true but there were a lot of people (myself included) being very vocal about what someone "should" do. :rolleyes: Going forward, I'm going to try to refrain from offering my opinion relating to other people's finances. [/COLOR]

[7leagueboots]

[quote name='dirtydawg']i'm glad you can still fit into your 12 year old's leggings. Way to go!:d[/quote]

lol.:)

[Big_G]

[quote name='Paul65']I think I'm maybe starting to get it, now. Your posts are funny in an SNL "Debbie Downer" kind of way, finding something negative about every single thing you do. :cool:[/quote]

I'm glad you are cause I'm still waiting to see all that lemonade everyone keeps talking about. :confused:

[DirtyDawg]

[quote name='Big_G']I'm glad you are cause I'm still waiting to see all that lemonade everyone keeps talking about. :confused:[/QUOTE]

Here you go.

[Big_G]

[quote name='DirtyDawg']Here you go.[/quote]

Finally! :D

[Melozone]

[quote name='DirtyDawg']On this website [B]other[/B] people try to make choices and decisions for others and write about it in great detail, and keep on and on writing about it.;)[/QUOTE]

That's the truth!