lilchuckie

3 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

In other news, the female owner and her boyfriend invited me to go to Aria with them tomorrow evening... One of THE greatest restaurants in all of Atlanta. I used to deliver wine there years ago when I was in the wine business, but I've never eaten there. It's one of those "white table cloth and expensive date" type places. I checked out the menu, which has no prices, if that gives you any idea...

 

 

 

Sid how much have you kept up on wine? I have been wanting to buy 20-100 bottles of some wine from all of the birth years of my nieces and nephews. How do you buy something that could maybe age for 100 years (the oldest is 4) and how do you know what your getting? 
 

i’ve asked this so many times on wine forums and reddit and no one give me an actionable answer. I know people do it, not super rich people but middle class folks who like wine. I had a buddy in college whose dad did it on a teacher salary for 3 kids, I am not swimming in cash right now but I’d really like to swing it if at all possible.
 

Both of my sisters love wine so i assume they will pass down the affinity, if not it’s a reminder that their uncle loved them when i’m 6 feet under. 

@figmentfreaki’m glad that i’m not the only person who does fastfood occasionally abroad. My favorite is KFC but it’s either that or McDonalds when I go for it.

Has anyone done Caesars Palace Dubai? Alternatively any suggestions on how to do Atlantis the right way? Ohio just legalized sportbetting and I got comped a 7 day vacation at Atlantis and a two day in Dubai based on my play.

For 1000 airfare, I think I’m going to do Dubai for sure just to say I did it. Atlantis will likely be bringing kids, from what I remember, the waterslides are delux. 

1 hour ago, CallistaSkye said:

We bought a cheap carseat just for traveling with. It's this one. It's super light weight. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Cosco-Scenera-NEXT-Harness-Convertible-Car-Seat-Cobblestone/534841958?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=3222&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=42423897272&wl4=pla-51320962143&wl5=9031743&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=534841958&veh=sem&gclid=Cj0KCQiAtbqdBhDvARIsAGYnXBN_BYxCD3TXQswwKlq1qnn-488MR6KqjUGydbhhEgpHTjOB8Mhwcj4aApLwEALw_wcB  

 

For the older child, I'm not sure. But for the younger one, the carseat above was VERY easy to install. Like took less than 5 mins and it weighs nothing. The Taxi Driver actually asked us which one it was because he wanted to get one to keep in the car because it was way easier to use than the one he had. If you are using public transit, an Ergo carrier is suggested instead of a carseat because there is no way to safely latch them into a public transport vehicle. Same with buses.

 

For diapers and formula. We traveled with formula and the people at all the airports were SO NICE about everything. Like beyond kind. We put all the snacks and formula in a separate tote bag so that TSA could go through it all. We brought sippy cups that we could empty if asked but that could be easily refilled at a fountain. If you can buy diapers when you get to the city your ship is leaving from, I would highly suggest doing that instead of trying to travel with them. We just went to Target in Seattle and got what we needed there and since we had already gone through airport security it was fine.

I would also suggest paying for the early boarding type deal if possible. Faster to the Fun or whatever the equivalent is. We did that and it was completely worth it just to not have to wait in a huge line with a 14 month old.

We were on Royal and had zero issues with anyone partying. To be honest that wouldn't really bother me though even if did happen.

ALL the staff were so so sweet and kind to our baby and the people in the dining room were too. There were other children around us, and it was fine. We only ate in there for dinner. The buffet was the easiest for obvious reasons.

We would totally cruise with our kid again and frankly it seems much easier the bigger she gets. She also LOVES people though. Like she is a total extrovert even this small and waves and says Hi to everyone and has a great time. I would suggest bringing magnetic hooks and a curtain to put around your bed though because we basically were trapped in our room during naptime which was awful. We also could not leave after she went to bed.

Sorry for the novel! I tried to be concise!

 

thank you and Megan for your responses, this is really great stuff!

I am on the fence about doing a flying port. I think we can easily go to Baltimore, NYC or Charleston by car and doing Tampa, JAX or New Orleans wouldn’t be too bad. I suppose driving would solve a lot of the logistical concerns associated with young ones. I was thinking that Bermuda would be nice but maybe a private island, Grand Turk and Nassau trip would be better to avoid the need for transportation in port. 
 

I think i’m just going to pull the trigger. If I book enough cabins, I think people will have fun. The key will be getting a nice crew. I had a really good year at work, may never have another year like this the rest of my life. No one is getting younger, just need to do it!

 The kids are all pretty outgoing, I think they will love it and be the ship celebs when it is all said and done. 

I have a random couple questions about sailing with kids generally. 
 

1) how do you handle the car seats for transportation to ship and in ports?

2) are longer cruises better than shorter to avoid booze cruise vibe? I love booze cruises for myself and the kids have been to music festivals and party atmospheres before. That said, there’s a level of partying that happens on vacation that borders on irresponsible at times and I’d rather not have to deal with that. That said, i know diapers and formula need brought on so maybe short cruises are the way.
 

kids in question will be 4 (or 5 it’s for his bday) and 3 for sure and maybe 2 and 6 months. The kids in question are all the best behaved kids you’ve ever met and fun to be around

On 12/22/2022 at 1:35 PM, MeganGC1983 said:

I appreciate the gift, but who is gonna tell my mom what a 🍍 means?!

it’s not upside down, you’re fine lol. Best way to piss of my swinger neighbors is to get this one wrong!

On 12/20/2022 at 8:29 PM, blarko said:

Nice! Guess Ohio doesn’t give a 💩 

I think it varies by county in Ohio, I don’t even show up when I get the summons and never an issue. They have bigger fish to fry than trying to chase down absent members of the jury pool. Has worked in 3 counties so far, Franklin, Montgomery and Delaware.

6 hours ago, canes20 said:

 

Reviews should be left open so that questions could be asked of the creator.

I agree with this,l. However, (and i’m just guessing) when I went to look at the thread the last few pages of the review weren’t questions about the cruise but were Sid cooking steaks, making crab cakes, reintegrating to his life.
 

I’m on here, so obviously I’m a fan of that content but in fairness to the mods, I can see why they’d want to keep that from being bumped in the carnival forum to the detriment of other “on topic” posts, threads and “creators” which are pertinent. 
 

I think Sid keeps the mods on their toes, whether due to a punk rock/troll streak (which I respect) or unintentionally or a little of both. It’s good to have people to push envelops like that but on the other side, I see why the mods do what they do. I loved being the rebellious student/employee but now that I’m a manager, I still value those people but they are 50% of my problems. 

6 hours ago, canes20 said:

 

Reviews should be left open so that questions could be asked of the creator.

I agree with this,l. However, (and i’m just guessing) when I went to look at the thread the last few pages of the review weren’t questions about the cruise but were Sid cooking steaks, making crab cakes, reintegrating to his life.
 

I’m on here, so obviously I’m a fan of that content but in fairness to the mods, I can see why they’d want to keep that from being bumped in the carnival forum to the detriment of other “on topic” posts, threads and “creators” which are pertinent. 
 

I think Sid keeps the mods on their toes, whether due to a punk rock/troll streak (which I respect) or unintentionally or a little of both. It’s good to have people to push envelops like that but on the other side, I see why the mods do what they do. I loved being the rebellious student/employee but now that I’m a manager, I still value those people but they are 50% of my problems. 

Sorry about your review Sid. I never would have found you or this group of people without your awesome reviews. 
 

I haven’t read a whole review in “real time” in quite some time. I just read bits here and there and binge the whole thing about a month after. I think the live reviews have a ton more content but they have a lot of noise to wade through. If I had to guess, I’d say they killed the thread because the cruise is over. That’s their right but I think that they need to make clear rules and enforce them consistently.
 

Where do we draw the line? Of course it makes no sense to continue a review for a year but shouldn’t a person be able to include post trip travel home and tie up loose ends? Maybe a week is pushing it, maybe it isn’t. I don’t know but there should be a rule. Same thing with pre-cruise. People seem to start earlier and earlier, again where do you draw the line? It’s unfair to creators to not know where they stand. 

I think doing a posthumous review like Jamman and the OG reviewers takes away a lot of the guess work eliminates some noise but loses content and the back and forth. 

The site and the world will go on without your reviews. That said, I hope they give you some rules to work with and you reconsider. If not, thanks for all of your hard work and I hope you look back with pride on your contributions to the cruising community.

On 11/13/2022 at 7:39 AM, blarko said:

After three very long weeks and one aggravating thing after another, I finally received the settlement from insurance for my stolen vehicle, which has not yet been recovered. I bought a car yesterday and wow, was I in for a shock. The interest rates are killer right now.  I was able to get a car but the monthly payment is so much higher than what I had hoped for aaaaannnddd it feels like it’s financed for the rest of my life. And I have excellent credit.

 

A big shout out to the lowlifes who stole my car that was just recently paid off,  resulting in me HAVING to buy a car now rather than waiting a bit longer, at least until these interest rates come down.

that really sucks, sorry it happened to you especially when it did. There’s no good time for that to happen but totallying/losing a car right after you paid it off is a huge blow. 
 

it makes me sick that these kids are doing this stuff and makes me even sicker that we as a society let it happen by not taking our police/elected officials to task over it. We spend so much time/effort/money on stuff that doesn’t matter and have no time for important stuff 

Great review, was really hoping we’d see my parents. I think this is the second time you all have cruised together and no luck  :(. 
 

From playing so much did you get free drinks in the casino this week, or do you usually? Congrats on the winnings!

Dinner looks really good tonight. Carnival does great with comfort foods imo.

10 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

I've heard about, but never tried this method. I normally just set mine out for about two or three hours prior to cooking, and salt and pepper just before putting it in the skillet. I'll give it a shot.

do it with a cheaper one. I am embarrassed how cheap the steaks I used were (and from Sam’s club, nothing fancy) but they came out fantastic. I won’t be splurging for a long time with this hack hopefully!

I love your family cruises, what age did they first start getting to go? I’m dying to take my 2 and 4 year olds.

The deposit may have to do with stopping prostitution or drug sales. When I worked at a hotel, we were theoretically supposed to charge locals a higher rate though no one ever did it. The hookers were honestly some of our most polite guests and were the only people who tipped front desk people consistently. You better believe that I gave them the AAA rate, breakfast vouchers and extra cookies at check-in!

Sid, I learned a decent steak trick this week. I’m sure other do something similar but thought i’d share.

48 hours before cooking, I pat the steak dry and season the steak with table salt and pepper. I repeat before I go to bed that night, then do it 2-3 time the next day. Leave uncovered in fridge the entire time.

On the day you cook the steak. Repeat process in morning but leave the meat at room temperature. I left mine out for 8ish hours. Before you cook, season with whatever you’d like but cook on a higher heat than normal because the meat is starting at a higher temp so you’re going to have less wiggle room to get a nice crusty sear.

It was one of the best steaks I’ve ever had, not just prepared by me. I worried about having too much salt/pepper but you wipe a lot of it off every time you pat it dry. Only complaint was that I like my steaks on the rare side of medium-rare and the steak came out on the medium side of medium-rare so definitely watch your temperatures if you’re used to only leaving your meat out for 30 or so minutes. 

On 9/29/2022 at 1:48 PM, MistyRo76 said:

Is that his real name or just due to his likeness to a young OJ? 😁😁

i’m glad that I wasn’t the only person thinking this. when I saw that picture “I was like holy crap that man looks like the juice!”

not guilty!

On 9/25/2022 at 11:22 PM, Saint Greg said:

And now I can tell you the results of the college football season. Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, and Clemson in the playoff. Georgia wins again unfortunately. On the bright side I just freed up your Saturdays for the next few months.

Michigan or Iowa could knock off OSU.

Nice review. We’re in NYC, leaving today. Didn’t do 1/8 of what you did but weren’t here for pleasure. Between my trip and your review, I’m already excited to come back. Not a fan of the city in the heat of the summer but we had perfect weather this week. Want to try spring and fall next or Christmas time. Thanks again!

Nvm on this post, not feeding the resident troll

3 hours ago, ober134 said:

I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on TV....  But would a Doctor really encourage an alcoholic pregnant person to drink more? Like enough to warrant Cheers smh

i’m not a doctor either but I think if not drinking is going to send you into detox it’s safer just to drink at some stages of the pregnancy. I know it‘S that way for a lot of drug users too, obviously it’s best to live without that stuff but it’s not a perfect world and harm reduction is best when given the option. 

I think I told you this before but I used to have a pretty bad hard drug habit. Also have had some difficult issues with gambling and sex compulsions (it’s real not a joking matter like the media says). I’ve never been physically addicted to anything but for me it was always a mental addiction of come home/finish school/get done with sports etc and go do xyz every day. 
 

It’s kind of replacing one compulsion with another but way I always broke the rut was taking up a new hobby or starting a new part-time job or even taking extra classes if i was in school. For me it got rid of the time i had to do bad stuff and broke me out of the rut of the habit. You can’t sit around hooking up with 10 girls in a weekend if you have to be at work for 16 hours. Can’t rail oxies and smoke weed for 10 hours if you work 16 hours in a day. Heck even the thought of rolling a blunt or making your bed to invite someone over sounds bad when you’ve worked to exhaustion. Then nothing like having several paychecks hit the account!

I think it’s Carnival’s right to say both must buy it. What bothers me is Carnival can then not allow a person to use it.

My friends and I took a 7 day cruise for friend’s wedding. The father of the groom was working on 3 hours sleep in the previous 3 days and fell asleep in red frog pub the first night. They said he couldn’t drink the rest of the cruise and didn’t give him a refund. I mean the guy was pushing 70, he wasn’t causing a scene or being rude or fighting. I don’t even think he spilled his drink. 
 

My aunt was pregnant and was drinking a little on her doctor’s orders due to being a heavy drinker to avoid risk of complications from going into detox. They took her alcohol consumption privileges from her the second day and she had to sneak booze on in port in order to stay normal. 
 

These stories just leave a bad taste in my mouth about Carnival’s use of discretion. Especially when i’ve seen people cause scenes 7/7 nights on a cruise and nothing happens to them. 

On 9/1/2022 at 4:37 PM, rrraydon said:

Call me a prude but that’s late for kids to be out running around!

I don’t think you’re a prude by today’s standards but  I am not that old and I remember being able to stay out all night around 13 or 14. 
 

My dad caught me smoking at 10 or 11 and his reaction was “if you’re old enough to smoke them you’re old enough to buy them” and made me get a job. Kids don’t know consequences or responsibility these days because we treat them like this.

I say let them have a good time but when they mess up the whole family get’s their vacation ruined like if an adult does it. Kids need to let loose and have a good time too. There was nothing like sneaking beers or trying to pick up girls and bumping uglies on vacation when I was in high school. Why are we denying kids these life experiences? Seems like we’d have more responsible adults if young people got this out of their system in their teens instead of 20s. 
 

I saw a couple 12-16 year olds trashing the buffet one night. If i did that, I’d be off the ship. Hold them to same accountability and be done. Maybe they’d have a little more street smarts or parents would figure out they need to buckle down if they faced those consequences and had it thrown in their face like that. 
 

off my soapbox, not trying to stir up stuff. I just think this is a problem with society that no one is talking about. 

On 8/29/2022 at 3:55 PM, sid_9169 said:

We've been busy here at work pretty much all day today... Only three more to go until the four day weekend! It's hot here today, but I definitely want to either take a long walk, or maybe even a bicycle ride. I would also like to get something decent for dinner, but my budget is pretty busted right now. I was always under the impression that a fixed rate mortgage stayed the same forever, but my mortgage company proved me wrong on that. I got a letter last week saying they needed to raise my escrow amount due to "possible / probable" increases in my homeowners insurance and property taxes. My HOA fees have already increased three months after I moved in. The escrow increase is about $30 more per month, but what if this happens every year? I guess that's one of those things I just have to deal with as a "homeowner", even though I'll probably be dead long before it's payed off.

The property taxes and HOA fees are going to be killers for folks if inflation keeps up, even if the housing market falls.