Eli_6

@TxTeach79 OMG. I am soooo jealous. Those cookies are amazing!!!!!!!

I think there are some really big generational differences on the cursing thing. Most people under 40 do not think anything of hearing curse words--SNS. I am not saying they go around cursing in front of their parents, but they aren't going to leave their balcony because they are soooo offended by it or let it actually affect the enjoyment of their cruise. Let me give you an example. One time, this 14 year old (shouldn't even legally have been on a motorcycle) was riding his crotch rocket up and down the street at my lake house. He was going as fast as he could and almost hit my child who had been riding his tricycle in the road. (My house is at a dead end behind a gate and it is a private/gated road and normally there is no one on the road but us so that's why my child was in the road. The gate was closed but the motorcyclist had ridden around it.) He almost hit and killed my child and probably would have killed himself as well. I let out a 4 letter word when I saw it happen. I recognized him as the grandson of one of the couples down the road and went to ask her to to tell her grandson (who was too young to even legally ride a motorcycle) to avoid speeding his motorcycle down our private road. The kid had beaten me home and told his grandmother that I had cursed in front of him. (Of course, this was upon seeing him nearly kill my toddler--a completely appropriate time to curse!) The grandmother meets me ranting and raving about me cursing in front of her grandchild. Didn't care that he had almost killed MY toddler. Didn't care he had almost killed himself. Didn't care that he was trespassing. Didn't care that he was driving illegally without a license. Didn't care that he was driving dangerously. All of this was overruled by me saying a curse word. That's what this thread reminds me of. I agree people shouldn't be wearing shirts with 4 letter words on them, but no one EVER DIED FROM HEARING SOMEONE DROP AN F BOMB. It.is.just.a.word. If hearing a curse word (especially if it isn't even aimed AT you!) ruins your vacation or keeps you from sitting on your balcony, that's on you.

Did they by chance have Dr. Pepper? Or, at least, coca-cola? I can't stand Pepsi and I don't drink coffee, but I need my caffeine.

If anyone can hop across the pond at the last minute (or already lives in Europe) and gets casino deals, they are offering a $50 per person for an inside room casino deal right now. And you get $100 OBC. May 28th sailing. The taxes/port fees are $500. Heck of a deal for 2 person 12-day cruise to 10 ports for $600 all in. I tried to get my Mom to do it (and even have the airline miles to cover her flight) but she just had MAJOR surgery 2.5 weeks ago and said there was no way she could manage it.

@TxTeach79 - Also, has John mentioned if/when he is going to be on the Pride on that debark day? I would like to meet him.

@TxTeach79 Look for us on your LHR BCN flight. We have 9 and 10 year old boys. Husband has longish (Albert Einstein-esq) dark hair and a salt-and-pepper goatee. I look like a fatter version of my profile pic.

My husband walked on with Scotch whiskey in Scotland. Didn't check it or anything. And we walked on with wine in other ports. Honestly, I don't even know if we attempted to hide it.

So is your sail and sign cars now bedazzled?

That does sound brutal. I book the nighttime flight departing at 8:50 pm so I can go to sleep and wake up in London. It worked out great last year...at least for me and my older son. My husband says he didn't sleep much.

I totally think the Havana area is worth it. I would stick the kids in an inside Havana room, though to save money.

The craziest part of this entire thread is that you have taken 75 cruises on Carnival. How many days is that? Granted, I know it is a bit easier since you live in Florida. In Texas, we go to the same 4-5 ports over and over and over again.

What flights are you on? We are British Airways out of IAH at 8:50 pm and then flying from LHR to BCN the next day at 3:10. Going to post my own "live" thread here in a couple of days.

What day are yall leaving? We are heading out next Wednesday the 24th.

You could always buy some EFFY jewelry. Or artwork. Maybe one of those hideous looking gold statues that look like the inside of my kid's closet.

Well, that is cheap. Even the lounges at the airport leave champagne and wine bottles out for you to serve yourself.

I should have put a laughing emoji with the comment. We have every single generation represented in my immediate family. My Dad is silent generation. My Mom is a Boomer. My husband and brothers are Gen X. I am a "Xennial." (I am right on the gen X/millenial cusp with some places putting me in Gen X and some putting me as a millenial.) My oldest son is Gen Z and my youngest son is Generation Alpha. Yet, I am the only "curser" in my family so I know it isn't about age. It wasn't from upbringing but because I was constantly around out it when I was a litigation attorney for a decade. (And there was often a very good reason to curse.) My kids go to a private, Christian school and even though they are young, they "reprimand" me more for my cursing than my parents do. My older son even got in trouble the other day for saying "What the" Just those two words alone. Because of what it implied, the teacher said.

Ok Boomer. (I am joking, btw. My original comment was a joke, too.)

"Stop cursing!" "Stop being loud!" "Stop being obnoxious!" "Get off my lawn!!!!!!!" This is the most boomer thread I have ever read on this board.

People who curse are actually more honest, too. Because they have lower self-monitoring.

Nah, you won't drown. You still have your orange floatie. Besides, I bet you would get at least $100 OBC on a future cruise if the ship sank.

@kwokpotYou are making me want to leave my kids at home and try Virgin!

Well, they could always skip the inspections... 🚣‍♂️

So do they always have these? What if half the ship is platinum? We are leaving in a few days on our first platinum cruise and haven't gotten anything about our platinum benefits. I want to be sure and go to the party if they offer one. I am all about FREE DRANKS!!!

I have no clue on their balance sheets. Just purchased for the OBC. But I paid like $25-30 for my RCL and now it is worth about $65-70. I think Carnival is still worth about what I paid for it, although it has nearly paid for itself in OBC already. I think there are better investment opportunities out there than cruise ship stock if that is why you are buying it.

Oh, we don't normally do the trivia. I guess I see how someone could cheat at that.