ellymn

hooray you hit it right on the head 'budget stress & try new things" yes New York levies a tax on drinks while you are still in port but who cares.

just a bit about the drink package, does it pay, do you come out even? first let me preface we are both retired civil servants & our pensions are based on the salaries of twenty years ago,that makes us kinda old school, post depression babies. We are semi teetotalers,the plan was to enjoy ourselves and not worry about our drink budget We would try different drinks, have a soda if we wanted to, have a hard or soft drink with our meals instead of the free iced tea, and do a little social drinking with my party of two,did it pay monetarily, maybe yes/no, did it pay enhancing our cruise experience ubet, would we do it again ,in a heart beat

those precautions couldn't have hurt but my frau & I have both had the flu [senior version supposidly stronger] shot, Jan' 19th has a significant importance to us & this was the 3rd year we took this cruise including that date,& this is the first time any of us got sick, we were not anymore cautious the prior two years, I think was just the roll of the dice

we are not big buffet fans [except for the pickled beets that when you get them you think you hit the lottery], but that aside how about elevator buttons,the menus they hand you in the dining areas,any handrail, furniture you touch to adjust your very cabin [ the stewards can't sanitize every minute] & the untold other spots where the microbes are waiting for you to touch

also sailed on 5th to 19th to aruba [oops], traveled with son & spouse & daughter & spouse ,all six of us on different decks, mid & aft, we were together but not joined at the hip, the last few days of the cruise my wife started getting sick. In the following week all six of us developed the most nastiest cold/virus that was treated with antibiotics,just wondering if anyone else experienced anything similar