SargassoPirate

Yep. Now SWMBO only "decorates" the door with something so innocuous that it's not worth stealing. She uses the door decoration primarily to find our cabin.

Was it an N95?

I also just reach up and give the painters tape cover a tap or a twist so that the light comes back on. While sorting out my evening wear in the closet or finding something in the safe, the light always seems to turn off at an inopportune time. Too bad we can't be trusted to turn it on and off ourselves without a workaround hack.

If one wants to go in drag, is an evening gown required or just a cocktail dress? Asking for a friend.

We generally avoid cruise line excursions and book mostly though shoreexcursionsgroup.com and tourbylocals.com. Shore Excursions Group offers many of the same tours that the ship does without the $hip taking a cut, and they have a return to the ship guarantee. Tours By Locals will take you place the big tours don't. The big tours go where the buses can park. Some of our best port days have been when we researched the port information with whatsinport.com, and just wandered around the port city on our own.

On the Regal this past fall. Production shows were well choreographed as far as the dancers and the stagecraft was good, but they were like somebody punched a bunch of random number in a jukebox. I couldn't discern a theme, and neither could SWMBO who loves musicals and Broadway shows. One last thought, the production shows were all over-amplified to the point of sound distortion and the singers seemed to be screeching at times. But for SWMBO being with me, I would've bailed early. As it was, I used ear plugs.

Rough seas, rainy port days, missed ports, cruising during covid, but our worst cruise ever was 7 smooth sailing, good weather days in the Caribbean on a prison ship called the Norwegian Epic. But that's another story for another time.

We've also noticed fewer "porch pirates" on Princess - those who steal SWMBO's door decorations. She gave up trying to decorate the cabin door on RCI years ago.

Regarding the hold mail, we live in a very rural area and have had the same carrier for over 20 years. I place the hold mail card in the box as a formality because I usually see him once or twice a week. Regardless of how long we are gone, he holds our mail and delivers it when we get back. He also gets a nice tip at Christmas time. My WWII veteran father taught me that you always be nice to the people who handle your mail and prepare your food.

We are D+ on Royal Caribbean and Elite on Princess. Given a choice of similar itineraries, Princess wins over RCI with us. As SKcruiser007 said, Princess is more "sophisticated". A big plus for Princess for us on longer cruises is the guest laundromats.

My smartphone does all of that, plus whatever banking I need to do. No need to carry the laptop.

When I cruise solo (SWMBO is on a different biological clock) I use workarounds to avoid peak dining times and crowds. Early breakfast in the buffet when it first opens or breakfast in the MDR. Lunch in the MDR most every day when it's open. Evening meal is usually nibbles in the P&E lounge and I generally don't eat after that.

Despite what some contrarians here think about tips, what works well for me is the old $2 bill extra tip slipped discreetly into the hand of the server when my first wee dram is delivered. From then on, no matter about area overlap or some cruisers covered with a cloak of invisibility, I never seem to suffer from thirst between the first and second round. And if those same servers spot me in another venue, they'll stop by to see if I need anything - usually just a soft drink in the daytime. I also acknowledge them with a smile, address them by name, and thank them. It's been working for me for years.

We often combine land travel on one end of the cruise, usually prior to the cruise. Quick dry clothing works well for land portions, but rather than drag "cruise only" clothes/shoes around on land, we ship that bag to the ship or home via Luggage Forward. For a cruise-only trip, other than more toiletries, I pack about the same amount for a two week as a two month cruise. If it's a Princess cruise, we use the guest laundry. On other lines, it's quick dry clothing and the cabin sometimes approaches LAcruiser88's. We prefer to do our own laundry. Nobody takes care of my stuff as well as I do.

Very thorough list. We have a shutdown list, but not as comprehensive as yours. Many of those things I/we do as a matter of course and out of habit. For example, I have an item called "secure garage". Under that we lock our laptops in one of the cars in the garage. Then I disconnect the garage door openers, turn the handle so that the door is locked, and then put a padlock through then track so it can't be opened. Then all of the car and motorcycle keys go into a locked key safe that is in an out of the way place that only a contortionist might find. Financial stuff is all online and/or autopay and I can check and pay bills with my smartphone. If we had to leave in a hurry and did nothing else, the most important things would be to shut off the water ,turn down the thermostat, and secure the garage doors and ask a neighbor to water the plants and gather the mail and paper. Did it once for a family emergency several states away and all was well when we returned. "Be Prepared"

Well, thank you very much. What a nice comment. I recall a line from "The Exotic Marigold Hotel" that I may butcher, but it goes something like "everything will be alright in the end. If it's not alright, it isn't the end"

Ha, good point. I don't recall what percentage the automatic gratuity was 20 years ago, but I know drink prices and thus the gratuity has risen as well.

No problem getting them. I go to the bank whenever I need to resupply my stash and order a wrapper of them. If I recall, a wrapper is $200. I wonder why some here are such contrarians about what others choose to do for tipping? It's not their money and not their business.

January 4 in Fort L. I'm flying in a few days ahead just to stay ahead of any weather or other flight issues. It's getting close now. One of my bags is already there via Luggage Forward.

Just curious why you even answered the call? We at Pirate Manor don't pick up any call unless that number is already in our contacts. If it's important and legit, they'll leave a message. 99% of them don't.

Love your attitude, that I took the liberty of bolding. SWMBO and I have discussed that, while on fixed incomes, we are the richest people in any room because, well into our 70s, we do whatever we want to do, when we want to do it, and most importantly we have our health.

All I can attest to is anecdotal based on some 20 years of cruising and some 50 cruises of varying lengths on HAL, Cunard, RCI, Princess, NCL, and Viking. My father, retired WWII Navy vet who at one time got paid in $2 bills, got me started on $2 bills for tipping. His philosophy was that the recipient will remember you because of the unusual denomination and may result in a little better service the next time. They have also led to some interesting conversations with servers from the Philippines and other Pacific islands. I don't care one whit about the policy of pooling or not pooling tips. I discretely hand them the $2 folded twice.

How are they any more difficult that $1, $5, $10, $20, $50 or $100? Please explain. All I know is the $2 get results.

I've been carrying $2 bills since I started cruising 20 years ago. They are unusual, so the servers recognize me and before you know it my butt and my drink are hitting the table at about the same time. I only have a wee dram or two in the evening, so I give them the $2 on the first drink. The second usually just appears. Some folks dislike the $2 routine, but it's worked well for me over the years.

And if you don't have your Call Center to English dictionary handy, you're out of luck.