the_dylaness

Sex and human traffickers come in all flavors... many may actually be quite well off since they are making their living trafficking other people and profiting off their lives.

At my undergraduate institution (women only) we had a tradition of the seniors getting their graduation robes in August, and wearing them to commencement. Underneath, we all wore whatever our version of "lingerie" might be and then went down to the lake, doffed our robes, and jumped in the water in our unmentionables.

❤️ Agree... I don't own "a" little black dress... probably 10 of them... but point well taken!

We sometimes book guarantees if we are not sailing with our kids (when with our children we either get a family type suite or two rooms very close by, something like that, so I want control over the room selection.) This is our first regent cruise and we are sailing in about 8 days and still have no assignment which is I think, the closest to sailing without a cabin I've ever personally been. Makin' me a little nervous!

I just got my long-neglected evening wear out of the closet today and tried it on to make sure it still fit post-pandemic. I don't care if others are country club casual or whatever but I will be glamming it up a couple of nights, one in a strapless gown with a train, a one-shoulder sequined dress with a thigh-high slit (that one's new, actually purchased just for my birthday!) and more. Hubby just got his new tux fitted (old one wasn't looking so hot any more) and a custom made shirt. Now all I need is a new pair of shoes! (And maybe some birthday jewelry, to my husband, if you're reading this!)

For us, it's not so much about returning to a place like PV... it's about getting off the ship, being active, seeing natural beauty via activities like hiking... not able to be recreated onboard.

This is VERY helpful, thank you. We are signed up for this exact class and debating whether or not to take it... I think I will pass. (I like Asian food a lot but I was mostly interested in the wok aspect because I have no experience with this. I also learned that they have induction cooktops which seems not conducive to wok cooking... no pun intended.)

In light of this info, I have already packed one of those little white noise machines just in case. We travel with earplugs anyway. I am in the running for world's lightest sleeper so this noise issue is concerning to me.

Having recently been following the Mariner thread, I'm curious if you'd share more about what plumbing and other suite problems they are experiencing?

We are new Regent cruisers and signed up for a wok cooking class, as I have limited experience with wok cooking (and all of the other classes of interest were already booked for the 10am time slot!) Standing for 2 hours is fine and the facility looks lovely... I'm hearing some undertones though that for those who are decently experienced home cooks, that this may not be the right choice. I'd love to know more about this aspect if anyone cares to share. I'm no Julia Child but I can cook reasonably well and enjoy reading about new techniques... the only magazine I subscribe to is Cook's Illustrated and I can replicate most recipes there with okay results (except spinach and ricotta gnudi, UGH!!!) I don't want to spend the time and $ on something that is really entry level...

I'll be on the Jan 8th PC cruise... was born in the 80s 🙂 Great to have a mix!

Taking notes for Jan 8th... especially appreciate the tip about the "way back" of Compass Rose. I just don't like loud restaurants and DH has a hard time hearing with a lot of background noise so this is a great tip. Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us. I'd love to hear your thoughts on breakfast experience/items, specifically, if you have time... namely, COFFEE! At home I don't get out of bed without a cup (seriously... my husband brings it to me every morning first thing. It started as a nice gesture when I was always "trapped" in the bed upon awakening to nurse a baby, lucky me it never stopped... the coffee, I mean...) All that to say: what are our coffee options first thing in the AM?

Eagerly awaiting our Grandeur assignment for January... On deck 4 on Azamara in September we had a room that, for all intents and purposes, seemed to perhaps be INSIDE the winch. We did not sleep past 6am the entire cruise, I'm pretty sure 😞

I'm tooling around in a 2011 Toyota... I hear you 🙂 My husband just recently replaced his 2008 Toyota with 213k miles (and 50,000 calories in Goldfish crackers embedded in the rear seat, to be sure.) So, I hear you! I save my money to travel!

Can't speak for anyone else but DH will be in a tux at least one night of our January Grandeur sailing (and likely two, if we're bothering to drag it on.) Other nights may vary from simply slacks/collared shirt to a sport coat... he's deciding if he should also bring a suit or not. With so many sea days we have nothing to do but dress up I guess?

OT but agree with you completely. Now, getting down to brass tacks... how do you write possessive form for names ending in "s"? I have strong opinions on this (as a mother of a child whose name ends in "s"!) ON topic... when will we start seeing some reviews of individual rooms? I sail Jan 8th and don't yet have a room assigned but hopefully we'll see some details coming soon. Need something to make it through the doom and gloom of the next 4 weeks of cold and nasty weather.

I realize this thread is about tote bags but I don't want to get out of bed without coffee, much less get dressed and go to a coffee shop. My husband brings me coffee in bed every. single. morning. It is the best way I can imagine to wake up!

How disappointing. I can't imagine the inconvenience and potential embarrassment of needing to call maintenance every day of the cruise to help flush the toilet. I hope the rest of your cruise is EXCELLENT to make up for this, but not sure anything really could.

Sorry, I should probably provide more of an explanation... Wi-Fi: it was pretty abominable on our Pursuit Mediterranean cruise. I was only using it for things like checking email and a rare FaceTime call. I do often work remotely and I tried, briefly on this cruise to do so- completely impossible. Kids: As a parent of elementary/middle school aged kids I completely understand where you're coming from. Our kids like Celebrity the most of all the cruises they've taken (including more than Oasis of the Seas with a Genie... I wish I could get my $ back.) It of course depends on the kids and ours don't require a ton of stimulation but we did think several times during our Pursuit cruise (it was just me an DH) about whether our kids would like the line and the answer was a solid "NO WAY". YMMV. Good luck and happy sailing.

Awful, and yes.

Thanks 😉 I'm actually on Grandeur 1/8 but I'm stalking your roll call because of the port issues. Otherwise, sure!

Sounds like they could really use him.

I'm not too picky about WHERE we go... just that it is SOMEWHERE. Cancelling 3 ports is not as many somewheres as I signed up for.

It is a great credit, amount wise. I would not be able to take advantage of it unfortunately but good for those who can.

Wow.