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LandlockedCruiser01

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About Me

  • Location
    Chicago metro area
  • Interests
    Baseball, board games, swing dancing, general aviation
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Carnival
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Royal Dolphin Swim at Cozumel

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  1. Imagine if there was someone named JoeBlow'); DROP TABLE Passengers;-- .
  2. This may be true for its rules and policies. But I found its onboard social atmosphere to be very solo-friendly. Fellow passengers treated me as a decisive traveler who does what he wants, and readily "adopted" me. Crew members either treated me no differently than how they'd treat a group, or they gave me extra attention that didn't feel pitying or patronizing. In fact, one woman I met even called me "bad-ass" for cruising solo, and defended me when someone said "couldn't he get a friend to go with him?". All in all, I'd say give Carnival a chance as a solo, policies nonewithstanding. One major caveat is that they eliminated paper menus and Fun Times schedules, which means you always gotta carry your cell phone around to scan QR codes. So if that bothers you, stick with Norwegian instead.
  3. I've been on the same itinerary on Inspiration (R.I.P.), and visited the same ports. I had a blast. As for petting the tiger cubs, it's "legit", meaning it does exist, but it's questionable morally and environmentally. I saw a storefront in Ensenada advertising this; it also advertised bear cubs to pet. A worker tried to invite me in with a sales pitch. I told him, "gracias, pero no" (that's "no, thanks", or "thanks, but no" if translated literally), and walked away. My logic was that tigers are wild animals. They're not evolved to be around humans, like dogs and cats, nor are they naturally friendly to humans, like dolphins. In order for them to be safe to pet, they're probably drugged up beyond safe levels. I'll make do with petting a domestic cat; they're close enough.
  4. Interesting. In Eastern European cuisines, a salad serves the opposite role: it's served with or instead of a heavier appetizer. (such as pickled herring on rye bread) In those cuisines, a salad almost never includes lettuce, and usually consists of tomato, cucumber, white onion, and dill. Sour cream, or oil and vinegar serve as the dressing. A light appetizer like this salad was meant to excite your appetite for the heavier dishes that would come later.
  5. That would be hard to pull off. America is an oddball on the world stage with its firearm laws: in many states, owning a rifle is as normal as owning a car. But lots of countries make obtaining a firearm very difficult. So how would a tour operator get licensed to issue rifles to people who aren't even local citizens? And what about accidental injuries? If these excursions get made, it's best to leave the hunting to clay targets or pest/invasive species. I don't like the idea of hunting for sport/entertainment. Let the locals hunt animals for food instead.
  6. I had the same concerns when I came up with the idea. That's why I think it's best to limit this kind of excursion to US ports. Better animal welfare protections. As for dogs who age out of cuteness, they can be made available for adoption without the "mob" part.
  7. I did a comparable excursion during my Birthright Israel trip in 2006. We were served a meal in a large Bedouin tent. It was decorated like the nomad tents Bedouins normally use, although electric fans and cable lights were hooked up to a generator outside. The food consisted of fire-baked pita bread, lamb kebobs with pickled vegetables, some honey-based dessert (I forgot what exactly), fruit, and mint tea.
  8. I've done a cooking class like that---it's covered in my Sensation review. We made conch dishes, a coconut dessert, and a rum drink. I had a blast, and the food was more interesting that what's found back on the ship. Plus, with the rum we drank, half the people napped on the bus ride back. 😊 I went to husky dog sled demos here in Chicago. You were allowed to play with the dogs between their sled pulls. The dogs were amazing and super-friendly. They treated you like a best friend from the first minute. Needless to say, I ended up with dog saliva on my face and dog hair on my clothes afterwards. They were adult huskies, so the cute factor wasn't there, but it was still a lot of fun.
  9. Such cafes are popular in Japan. I saw one in Chicago, even, although it was just through the window. But I'm a dog person, so I'd enjoy a getting puppy-mobbed a lot more. 😊
  10. Basically, the thread title. Here's my idea: a puppy mob. The cruiser comes in, signs a waiver saying that they acknowledge that puppies may nip, scratch, damage clothing, or have bathroom accidents, and the facility is not responsible for it. Then they're escorted to a grassy area, and sit on the ground. Then a gate is opened, and a mob of Labrador retriever or golden retriever puppies is released on the cruiser! (These breeds tend to be very cute and social.) The cruiser gets, say, 20 minutes to play with them, pet them, cuddle them, rub their bellies, etc. Basically, anything they want, as long as it doesn't make the puppies uncomfortable. That's like getting a giant shot of oxytocin (a bonding hormone that gets released during close contact with people or pets). Plus, their soft puppy fur feels amazing. There's also an opportunity to donate to the puppy welfare fund at the end. This excursion is best left to US ports, like Key West or Catalina, since America has very good animal welfare laws. But I suppose it can work in foreign ports too, provided there's a way to guarantee that the puppies are treated kindly. While pet adoptions are out of the question on cruises, charity donations can work well.
  11. Rules are rules. None of us here are rule [those German politicians], but we gotta know what we're getting into when we go on a cruise. Including not sharing SDP food. If we want an exception, the most we can do is ask nicely and give an explanation, but even then, a "yes" is far from guaranteed. Are you for real!? Tuna salad is one of the fastest-spoiling foods. Do you really want to give yourself food poisoning, and spend the bulk of your cruise on the toilet instead of the lido deck? I can maybe see a peanut butter and jelly sandwich staying safe in a cabin drawer for a few hours. But definitely not tuna salad!
  12. Who said I was insisting this wasn't true? The only gift I said was OK was a thank-you card.
  13. Of course! I've done that too. But that's not a gift in a conventional sense, and this is a gift thread.
  14. That's because it's on a ship registered in Bahamas or Panama. According to US laws, when sold stateside, unless it's an actual orange JUICE, from concentrate or otherwise (doesn't need to be fresh-squeezed; if it was kept in a steel tank for a year, it still counts), it's a DRINK.
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