Cutbacks in the buffet, room service charge, charge for extra lobster, down grade in burgers, what is next?

[HMR74]

47 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 

 Well that would depend on how much you value your time.  At one of my jobs I was making around $100 an hour, but my company billed the customer around $300 an hour for my work. 

 

 So, account for the time, shopping, preparing, cooking, and cleaning and tell me if it still 8 times the cost of dining at home.  I will even let you have the building, gas/electricity, cooking facilities and utensils for free. 

 

 Just in case you do not realize - the above is in jest but simply illustrates a point - how much to we value how we spend our time. 

 

at 76 I have plenty of time each day, its the duration thats open-ended. So supply of hours  exceeds demand and in capitalism , that means downward pressure on billing rate.

 

we do joke about things we make at home in so far as what the price would be in a restaurant.

and this past saturday night was Italian beef night for family-kids and grandkids-, we bought a couple of beef tenders, cooked them rare,  sliced them paper thin (2 hours right there), cooked sweet pepers in the aujus we eventually  used , got good bread in the  AM, and added homemade cole slaw and french fries. Chocolate  chocolate chip bundt cake and ...

after most of the day preparing, the kids and grandkids came in and three hours later they were out and once again we laughed and said 10 hours or so to prepare the dinner , devouered in 30 minutes.

 

Priceless. Priceless to see your grandkids enjoying the meal and getting seconds, no extra charge.

 

 

[grandgeezer]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 

 Well that would depend on how much you value your time.  At one of my jobs I was making around $100 an hour, but my company billed the customer around $300 an hour for my work. 

 

 So, account for the time, shopping, preparing, cooking, and cleaning and tell me if it still 8 times the cost of dining at home.  I will even let you have the building, gas/electricity, cooking facilities and utensils for free. 

 

 Just in case you do not realize - the above is in jest but simply illustrates a point - how much to we value how we spend our time. 

 

This is a joke right? I know of nobody who puts a value on their free time, who would pay them?

This ranks right up there with people believing it’s cheaper to live on a cruise ship than living in a house, especially if you don’t have a house payment or pay rent.

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest TopoChico]

25 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

This is a joke right? I know of nobody who puts a value on their free time, who would pay them?

This ranks right up there with people believing it’s cheaper to live on a cruise ship than living in a house, especially if you don’t have a house payment or pay rent.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m kind of amused that people spend $6000+ more for the same cruise we’re on to get some free appetizers, a “butler”, bathrobes, a slightly fancier pool area, and a dining area that claims to be “luminous”.  We’ve stayed in suites and ocean view cabins, and the enjoyment has always been pretty much the same.  
 

Edited February 15, 2023 by TopoChico

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 

 Well that would depend on how much you value your time.  At one of my jobs I was making around $100 an hour, but my company billed the customer around $300 an hour for my work. 

 

 So, account for the time, shopping, preparing, cooking, and cleaning and tell me if it still 8 times the cost of dining at home.  I will even let you have the building, gas/electricity, cooking facilities and utensils for free. 

 

 Just in case you do not realize - the above is in jest but simply illustrates a point - how much to we value how we spend our time. 

 

 

With your time, just pointing out that there are shortcuts like supermarket delivery and sous vide.  We often make a sous vide steak and with pan sauteed veggies for dinner.  I can do the prep, cook and cleanup in under 10mins with 2/3rds of that time is spend tending to the veggies.

[Georgia_Peaches]

11 minutes ago, TopoChico said:

I’m kind of amused that people spend $6000+ more for the same cruise we’re on to get some free appetizers, a “butler”, bathrobes, a slightly fancier pool area, and a dining area that claims to be “luminous”.  We’ve stayed in suites and ocean view cabins, and the enjoyment has always been pretty much the same.  
 

Nope… not me. Been in both as well. $6000 for a suite is definitely worth it for us. Just goes to show how relative it all really is… feel the same way about air travel. We are all going to the same place and arriving at the same time but you’ll only find me at the front of the plane. 

[NMTraveller]

5 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

My favorite ramen! Mmmmmm, many a lunch this tiny little cup of noodles has made.

I think that my issue with them is I ate too many while going through college.  The same for Big Macs and mac and cheese.

[NMTraveller]

Edited February 15, 2023 by NMTraveller

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, HMR74 said:

 

after most of the day preparing, the kids and grandkids came in and three hours later they were out and once again we laughed and said 10 hours or so to prepare the dinner , devouered in 30 minutes.

 

Priceless. Priceless to see your grandkids enjoying the meal and getting seconds, no extra charge.

 

 

 

  I could not agree with you more.  We love every minute we can spend with our grandkids. 

 My wife and I have had many a conversation over a home cooked meal about all the time and effort that goes into preparing it only for the meal to be consumed in 20-30 minutes at most.  

 

@grandgeezer Not necessarily a joke but it was certainly meant in jest. 

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by DaKahuna

[terrydtx]

6 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Part of their culture...Cheap meat with a long shelf life was important for an isolation chain of islands in the 40s

Or was it just left behind by the Navy in WWII?

[terrydtx]

8 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I think that my issue with them is I ate too many while going through college.  The same for Big Macs and mac and cheese.

We had a Jack In The Box on my college campus in the late 1960's. We could get 6 burgers and fries, give them a dollar and get change back. 

[Guest TopoChico]

23 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Nope… not me. Been in both as well. $6000 for a suite is definitely worth it for us. Just goes to show how relative it all really is… feel the same way about air travel. We are all going to the same place and arriving at the same time but you’ll only find me at the front of the plane. 

$6000 isn’t even close to buying a suite.  It’s for a balcony cabin with a fancier name and some “butlered” snacks.  

[RichYak]

24 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I think that my issue with them is I ate too many while going through college.  The same for Big Macs and mac and cheese.

When I was in college I used to eat at Wendy’s a lot. The toppings bar alone was a full meal for someone with no money. 😂

[NMTraveller]

[Georgia_Peaches]

10 hours ago, TopoChico said:

$6000 isn’t even close to buying a suite.  It’s for a balcony cabin with a fancier name and some “butlered” snacks.  

Hmmm...well I guess it all depends on the deal one can find.  I'm booked in a RS on Solstice in a few weeks and we booked it under a buy one-get one 75% off.  We are paying $500 bucks a day pp and have $1225 OBC, $625 of which is refundable. So I'm happy with the deal.

[miched]

14 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

This is a joke right? I know of nobody who puts a value on their free time, who would pay them?

This ranks right up there with people believing it’s cheaper to live on a cruise ship than living in a house, especially if you don’t have a house payment or pay rent.

 

 

 

 

 

I hear this all the time from acquaintances  who have never sailed when they ask about taking  a cruise or joining us on one and I tell them how much it is.   They want that cruise that is for $40/day that includes the drink pack, SBC, internet, and etc.  

 

Urban legend 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[rbelshaw]

17 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

This is a joke right? I know of nobody who puts a value on their free time, who would pay them?

This ranks right up there with people believing it’s cheaper to live on a cruise ship than living in a house, especially if you don’t have a house payment or pay rent.

 

 

 

 

 

 Actually, I do exactly that, and I think a lot of others do as well. My clients would buy all the free time I chose to sell.  As I am self - employed, with plenty of work available, I am fully aware that the "free time" I spend here on CC is costing me hundreds of dollars a day -  my choice to buy "free time" is not necessarily rational. There was at least one study, back when I was an econ undergrad that noted the trade- off between compensation v leisure time was a  bell- shaped curve: As compensation  rose, folks worked more hours until a certain  point was reached, at which point they started working progressively less - essentially buying more "free" time.

 

BTW -  For most of us unwashed masses, living on a ship not cheaper than existing shore-side. However, I have recently seen many residential leases with monthly rents exceeding $25K. If you do the math, that's less than four seven day cruises which include food, drink, drink, utilities....

Edited February 15, 2023 by rbelshaw
Make mo'better.

[grandgeezer]

2 hours ago, rbelshaw said:

 Actually, I do exactly that, and I think a lot of others do as well. My clients would buy all the free time I chose to sell.  As I am self - employed, with plenty of work available, I am fully aware that the "free time" I spend here on CC is costing me hundreds of dollars a day -  my choice to buy "free time" is not necessarily rational. There was at least one study, back when I was an econ undergrad that noted the trade- off between compensation v leisure time was a  bell- shaped curve: As compensation  rose, folks worked more hours until a certain  point was reached, at which point they started working progressively less - essentially buying more "free" time.

 

BTW -  For most of us unwashed masses, living on a ship not cheaper than existing shore-side. However, I have recently seen many residential leases with monthly rents exceeding $25K. If you do the math, that's less than four seven day cruises which include food, drink, drink, utilities....

My last line states it would be more advantages if you didn’t have a mortgage payment or pay rent. 

If you want to investigate it more thoroughly, make sure you are comparing apples with apples. In my case, the house is paid for and I will not downsize moving to a ship or anyplace else. Our house is almost 1500 sq.ft. which means we would have to look at the bigger suites. I keep all my financial info on my computer so I have all the needed info at my finger tips. For 2022, counting property taxes, insurance, HOA fees, all utilities, including high speed internet, and yard upkeep (I have a landscaper who comes in three times a year and trims all my trees and plants, cleans everything up, and handles the irrigation system which waters all the plants and trees. We have a big lot so they usually take 2-3 hours a trip.), the total cost was $7,500. $7500 divided by 365 days, then divided by 2 people comes to $10.27 per day per person. We usually book a balcony so even if you subtracted the $10.27 from the per day rated, including all taxes and even the AI rate, that leaves us over $150 p.p. per day for food, drink, and everything else. Can’t even imagine the suite it would take to meet our square footage reauirements.

There are a lot of other questions that come to mind..What about laundry? What about health insurance? What about getting the medicines you have to take all the time? Do you stay on the same ship all the time? Do you get rid of everything you can’t take with you or pay for storage? How do you get your mail? etc.etc.

 

[yknot13]

On 2/10/2023 at 9:05 AM, miched said:

Tilapia has been substituted for most fish, and  the cuts of beef have been downgraded.  

 

I think Spam will eventually be a formal night entree and  we will be seeing this. 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Best looking sushi 

[Sailing Shoes]

If they really want to start gouging they should offer early boarding for a fee. $50 gets you in the first group, $35 in the next group and so on. 

[yknot13]

On 2/10/2023 at 9:57 PM, terrydtx said:

Add this for Lobster Mac and Cheese.

This is actual a pretty solid imitation product, I eat this often. 

I often use it to make lobster rolls or lobster Newberg. Also very good scrambled with eggs and cheese.

[cgolf1]

On 2/13/2023 at 5:54 AM, wadewood said:

The minute steaks I always looked forward to.  We recently did B2B on Solstice.  1st week after 5 days never saw them and asked each day.  On day 6 I escalated that up the ladder and after I told them I would be on ship next week, they promised me they would be served.  Sure enough at least 4 times the next week they had them on lunch buffet. 

We just debarked the Edge yesterday and they were there every sea day. I also found a trick with them and if the picture turned out it will end up in my trip review thread. On the ships that pre cook them if you sort through them you can usually find a thicker one that ends up being roughly medium rare. The difference in taste is amazing. Don’t get me wrong they are good either way, but the medium rareish version just has a lot more flavor. I don’t know what cut of meat it is but it has a ribeye flavor to me. 

[NMTraveller]

[joanne59]

We are getting on Solstice, which was a deal at $67 p/p a night, for an inside ( we almost always book this category) with an additional $200 OBC (paid for Wi-Fi) There are a lot of folks who are on the ship, as a Blue Chip ‘freebie’. We get our Captain’s Club drinks each evening at no cost, and some other little perks. For us, this is a great deal, and whatever food they serve, we will always find something tasty. It’s possible to have a great cruise on Celebrity for around 1k. 

[manmachine]

On 2/14/2023 at 10:00 PM, NMTraveller said:

 

[mahasamatman]

On 2/10/2023 at 7:50 AM, terrydtx said:

I read recently that US airlines make more net profit on checked baggage fees than any other line item.

 

I've read a lot of false statements on the Internet as well.