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Alright, curious about the edible straws.....


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6 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

 

Take it easy. Y'all are acting like he's admitting to robbing a bank or something. Taking a few straws from a fast food joint has nothing to do with someone being entitled. Haven't you ever taken extra napkins to keep in your car? Taken a pen and notepad from a hotel or from your Carnival cabin? The little bottles of shampoo? The list goes on.

 

Besides, with the prices Starbucks charges, I'd say a customer has paid up for a few extra straws. 😜

Nobody is taking pens anymore from their Carnival stateroom though!

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9 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Shoot, you got me there. But they will be smuggling them in. And they'll probably be STEALING them from their hotels before the cruise. I can see the headlines now: Hotels and fast food restaurants experience a sudden pen and straw shortage as Carnival Cruise Lines bans plastics.

No shame, I’ll steal pens from W Hotels. I love their pens.

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To the folks who are planning to bring their own plastic straws........how do you propose to discard them? If you dump them in the ship's trash, this is counter-productive to their goal of reducing waste. I would go with a reusable metal straw. It doesn't take up much room and is environmentally friendly as you are taking it home with you.

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Im ok with getting rid of plastic straws but only having a lime flavor one for frozen drinks will not work with most of the drinks! I don't think it would work with any of the ones I like.

 

I am considering getting a reusable straw or bringing a trevis cup on our September cruise. Recent reviews from that ship make it sound like they still have plastic straws for now, but it's still a few months out.

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8 hours ago, Ethel5 said:

To the folks who are planning to bring their own plastic straws........how do you propose to discard them? If you dump them in the ship's trash, this is counter-productive to their goal of reducing waste. I would go with a reusable metal straw. It doesn't take up much room and is environmentally friendly as you are taking it home with you.

 

Nope.  I'm not washing out a straw on my cruise.  I use reusable straws at home, but I wash them in the dishwasher, thus ensuring they are sanitized without an annoying effort on my part. 

 

I will not be green-guilted into more inconvenience on my vacation than I am wiling to go through.  Especially for an environmental effort red herring such as straws.   Straws are the low hanging fruit.  The poster child for The Evil of Single Use Plastic that the masses can glom onto and raise their pitchforks against.

 

I regularly clean up beaches on my vacations and at home.  I never litter.  I will go out of my way to find the proper trash or recycle can.  I always reuse plastic shopping bags, as well as all cardboard boxes from my online shopping.  I hate to waste and I reduce, reuse, recycle, re-assign, repair, and donate in my daily life, on a regular basis.  But I draw the line at reusable straws on vacation.  Good on y'all that are willing and going to do it, that's great, really.:classic_smile: But I am not.  In this case, I am more concerned with proper sanitation and my valuable vacation time than the effect my properly disposed-of single-use plastic straws will make on the environment.

 

Oh, and to answer your question (sorry I rambled so much): I will discard the straws in the properly marked receptacle when out on Lido (assuming they still have those), in my suite's wastebaskets when in there, or will leave it on my table, in my empty glass at indoor venues, as usual, and as expected / requested by crew.

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Really, my main issue with the elimination of straws is that I hate drinking directly from a glass. I do it at home, but I have been the one to wash those glasses and its just me and my husband (and occasionally friends/family) that drink from them. On the ship I guess I am a germaphobe and wonder how well the glasses are cleaned, so yeah....I will be bringing my straws for my non-frozen drinks.

 

As far as the frozen ones, I just am not a fan of lime flavor....I get they are trying to be environmentally friendly and all, but I wish they had gone with a broader range of flavors or a paper straw with no flavoring at all....I just don't think lime in my Miami Vice/Blue Hawaiian/Pina Colada will be good at all. :classic_unsure: 

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1 hour ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

Nope.  I'm not washing out a straw on my cruise.  I use reusable straws at home, but I wash them in the dishwasher, thus ensuring they are sanitized without an annoying effort on my part. .............

 

 Thank you for your civilized post! A word of caution about using the dishwasher for straws. It does not do an effective job of cleaning the inside of straws. After a while, you might see dark areas of mold. I don't use a brush but found that the long length pipe cleaners are very effective in getting the gunk out of the straw and you can throw it away. 

 

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20 minutes ago, Ethel5 said:

Thank you for your civilized post! A word of caution about using the dishwasher for straws. It does not do an effective job of cleaning the inside of straws. After a while, you might see dark areas of mold. I don't use a brush but found that the long length pipe cleaners are very effective in getting the gunk out of the straw and you can throw it away. 

 

Thank you for yours!:classic_biggrin:  And for the advice.  You're absolutely right: it is very true that can happen to straws (found that out the hard way, many years ago with my kids' sippy-cup straws)🤢.  I guess I should have mentioned, for the sake of full disclosure of my sanitization process, that I pre-soak my stainless straws in a mild solution of bleach and water in a glass bowl for a few hours before running them through the dishwasher.  This, so far, has proven effective.:classic_smile:  Then, as part of my not wasting, as well as a part of my mild obsession with sanitation (tiny bit germaphobe tendencies), I use that bleach water to scrub down either my counters, sink, trash can lid, dishwasher front, etc.  Whatever I feel could use a little extra disinfecting that day.  If I had said all that, however, I would have run the risk of making my already long post stupid-long and would have further bored everyone here with the minutia of my slightly obsessive cleaning habits.  So I didn't say it.  Aren't we all glad I didn't say it, after all?:classic_wink::classic_laugh:

Edited by ShakyBeef
Heavens to Betsy, I left out a COMMA! :O
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57 minutes ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

Thank you for yours!:classic_biggrin:  And for the advice.  You're absolutely right: it is very true that can happen to straws (found that out the hard way, many years ago with my kids' sippy-cup straws)🤢. "........................

You are too funny! I use vinegar to clean the kitchen and bathroom. It's a good sanitizer and gentler on the skin. Now that we have totally hijacked this thread, I will wish you happy cruising!

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14 minutes ago, coevan said:

As to stealing from restaurants, people do it all the time, not comparable to mini shampoos which are throw aways. I saw a lady grabbing a bowl of Sweet and Low and Splenda and putting them in her purse. This is stealing. I asked her to put them back, she said they are free. I said if you want to buy another 10 cups of coffee it might be. We have silverware, salt and pepper shakers stolen.

 

I agree completely with this part of your post.  Stealing is stealing, whether from a person or a company.  It is not a victimless crime if the theft just happens to be from a company rather than from an individual. And no, taking a handful of straws from a restaurant when you may have ordered one drink is not the same as using / taking with you the "single serving" size bottle of lotion, etc. from your hotel room.  That one bottle was put there for you.  The stack of straws was put there for you and many others.

 

 

Your jab at a  pirate4me2  about the fork, though, I had to omit in order to agree with your post.  I'd be the last to criticize someone else for mild germaphobe leanings.:classic_blush:  We all have our quirks.

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1 minute ago, ShakyBeef said:

Well, now you went and made me have to remove my "like".  I agreed with the first part of your post (which is spot on, BTW).  Why did you have to go and edit your post to tack on that unrelated pro-theft part?  Couldn't you have made that a separate post?🙄  That's just not right, man.  But then, neither is stealing straws from restaurants.  And you do seem to have trouble grasping that concept, so there may be a correlation there...

 

I don't really like to post multiple comments, one right after the other, when there aren't other comments between them. It's just a hang-up of mine. I'll do it sometimes, but not often. Sometimes I don't get back to a thread for a while and there's a lot of new posts that I haven't read yet, as was the case here, so I don't like posting a bunch of separate comments for each one I want to reply to. We have the ability to quote multiple posts in a single comment for a reason, so that's what I like to do. So that's why I edited it. This is going to sound kind of smart-alec'ish, but since you made a point to tell me about your "like" redaction, I'll just say, I'll try to live without it. I usually agree with a lot of what you say, I don't have any beef with you, ShakyBeef (no pun intended). 😉

 

We (as in all of us) don't have to agree on everything. It's how we disagree that matters. When people start getting called thieves, entitled millennials, and unethical for taking an extra straw from a fast food place, that's going too far. It's nothing new, not by a long shot, and it's not as terrible as it's being made out to be. The fact that businesses have been putting this stuff out for public use for decades is proof that they don't care. I don't recall ever taking straws from a restaurant, except the one that I needed, but I have taken extra napkins. We like to have some in our cars, they always come in handy. In these regards, I don't view napkins any differently than the straws, so I guess that makes me a thief in some people's eyes, but I can assure you, I am no thief.

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Just now, JaxsMama said:

I would guess it started bc Carnival was getting in trouble and someone thought all this would be a good look. 

I disagree.  I live in Chicago and restaurants are getting rid of plastic straws here quickly.  Plastic bags have been taxed for years.  Carnival is catching up with the times.

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Speaking of edible straws. You will all think I am crazy, but I bring individually wrapped Twizzlers (Costco or Amazon).  I bite off the two ends, put in drink. They are pretty tasty with a lot of the frozen fruity drinks.  I made some friends in the Epic Haven last year. I have to do my part. 😄

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On 6/12/2019 at 1:22 AM, SNJCruisers said:

So now you need to make sure that you wear a shirt that has a breast pocket to hold your individually wrapped plastic straws instead of having a folded metal straw in the rear right pocket of your pants or shorts.  You were the one that mentioned valuable pocket space in your earlier response and since you really can't keep the paper covered plastic straws in your pants or shorts pockets because they would get creased and become useless, you have to have a breast pocket to keep them in.  It just seems easier and of course more PC to use the collapsible  metal ones.  Or of course just drink bottled beer or at the Alchemy Bar where you don't need straws.

 

 

 

Real men don't need no sissy straws anyway.

Edited by Lottacruises
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8 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

Really, my main issue with the elimination of straws is that I hate drinking directly from a glass. I do it at home, but I have been the one to wash those glasses and its just me and my husband (and occasionally friends/family) that drink from them. On the ship I guess I am a germaphobe and wonder how well the glasses are cleaned, so yeah....I will be bringing my straws for my non-frozen drinks.

Yeah, that's where I'm coming from, also.  I just don't trust the edge of a glass washed by someone (something) else.  

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5 hours ago, cmichael1279 said:

No, it started because Carnival is doing something to protect the environment and cheap a$$ people would rather steal straws from businesses as opposed to buying them.

 

You seem to be contradicting yourself. If you're so concerned about the environmental impact, then why aren't you railing against everyone who plans to bring straws on board? Instead, you're only attacking those who didn't buy a box. If you're so worried about the environmental side of all this, isn't everyone who plans to bring straws with them equally guilty, despite the source of their straws?

 

Carnival has spent about 20 years illegally dumping waste into the ocean. For the last two years, they've continued to do it WHILE ON PROBATION for illegal dumping. But you keep on believing that their sudden decision to get rid of straws is because they're righteous stewards of the environment.

 

4 hours ago, ShakyBeef said:

 

That criticism of mine about your editing and tacking on the unrelated multi-quote was a little tongue-in-cheek, and only a little serious.  I am well aware of the function of multi-quote, and I use them often, myself.  My "beef":classic_wink: was with the fact that you didn't tack on the pro-theft part until after I had "liked' your post, thus making it seem as if I also "liked" the pro-theft part.  As I said, partially in jest.  But it is theft.  I, too, often agree with you.  But here we will have to disagree.  Theft is theft.  The facts that the theft is common, that businesses are aware of the theft, and that they accordingly have to account for it in their bottom line is all beside the point and doesn't make it OK.  And none of that justification makes it not theft.

 

I'm not "pro-theft," thank you. I've been the victim of theft, and it sure as heck didn't involve something as insignificant as a straw or napkin. You're assuming that all those businesses consider it theft. Who says they do? If they know people take a stupid straw or some napkins, which they most assuredly do, yet they do nothing about it, it's stands to reason that they don't even consider it theft. So if (and I'm saying "if") these businesses don't consider it theft, then it's not. I haven't spoken to the CEO of McDonald's lately, or Ronald McDonald himself, so I can't be sure whether they think it's theft or not. But I think it's a safe bet to say they're all aware of this practice and if they truly considered it theft, all of them would've done something to stop it long ago. Because I've never seen or heard of a business that didn't take measures to stop and prevent theft. Not one that wants to remain successful, anyway.

Edited by Organized Chaos
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4 hours ago, cmichael1279 said:

I disagree.  I live in Chicago and restaurants are getting rid of plastic straws here quickly.  Plastic bags have been taxed for years.  Carnival is catching up with the times.

 

Considering the profoundly negative impact Chicago has had on its state, using it as a "role model" for the nation probably isn't the wisest idea. Carnival isn't catching up with the times. They obviously had serious problems with properly disposing certain products that are harmful to our oceans, so to make it easier on themselves, they eliminate a few items. As an added bonus, it makes for great PR. Catching up would've meant NOT dumping plastics and oily waste into the oceans in the first place.

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4 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Considering the profoundly negative impact Chicago has had on its state, using it as a "role model" for the nation probably isn't the wisest idea. Carnival isn't catching up with the times. They obviously had serious problems with properly disposing certain products that are harmful to our oceans, so to make it easier on themselves, they eliminate a few items. As an added bonus, it makes for great PR. Catching up would've meant NOT dumping plastics and oily waste into the oceans in the first place.

What restaurants in Chicago are doing have nothing to do with the city government.  I'm sure whatever backwoods town you live is an absolutely perfect place.

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38 minutes ago, cmichael1279 said:

What restaurants in Chicago are doing have nothing to do with the city government.  I'm sure whatever backwoods town you live is an absolutely perfect place.

 

Holy cow, you are extremely hostile to anyone who disagrees with you. Well, Chicago. 🙄 Does the childish name calling make you feel better about yourself? Do you need a hug?

 

If any of those restaurants enact policies based solely on local laws, then yeah it does have to do with city government. And that plastic bag tax you proudly mentioned. Yep, you guessed it, government.

 

Actually, I do live in a back-woods town, except we call it something different around here. Very small and very rural...out in the middle of corn & soybean fields. You're welcome for all those products, by the way. 😉 I love small town, country living. Wouldn't have it any other way. NOW we're getting somewhere.

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30 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 If any of those restaurants enact policies based solely on local laws, then yeah it does have to do with city government. And that plastic bag tax you proudly mentioned. Yep, you guessed it, government.

As more cities, towns and soon counties continue to ban straws, it makes it impossible for these restaurants to offer them. Many still would except, as suggested by @Organized Chaos, they’re unable to due to local ordinances and laws.

 

It’s a tough time being a member of #TeamPlastic if you live in a beach community in locations such as South Florida or Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Edited by xDisconnections
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