This Could Be Financially Dangerious If.........

[Ret MP]

We have applied for and been accepted for residency into the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport, MS.  We are #1 on the waitlist for a couple's apartment.  What does that have to do with Royal Caribbean?  Well, that puts us 6 1/2 hours away from the Port Of Galveston and 8 1/2 hours away from the Port of Canaveral, and an easy peasy road system to get to both.  So, if Royal Caribbean comes to its senses and makes its cruise fares reasonable again, we'll be cruising frequently again.  BUT, we have double trouble, being almost in the middle of two cruise ports AND being in the middle of several casinos in the Gulfport/Biloxi area.  Man, I'm in trouble.  

 

Just in case you are wondering, NO, I wouldn't consider cruising out of New Orleans or Tampa.  It would be perfect if RCCL started cruising Quantum and/or Oasis class ships out of Mobile, though.  But, I know that ain't gonna happen.

 

 

[DigiPro]

What a great problem to have!  I’m very close to Tampa and Port Canaveral, so spoiled being that close!  Good luck on getting into the retirement home.  

[firefly333]

I like that town. I've stopped and spent more than one night there. I can remember there used to be a fish place out on the water some hurricane wiped away. I'd be happy there. 

[Ret MP]

We've been going to that area, to the casinos for decades, but never thought of or knew that there was a military-related retirement home there.  We went there, Gulfport/Biloxi, shortly after Hurricane Katrina and man that place looked like it would never recover.  But, it did and it's back even nicer.  The retirement home was devastated, too.  But, they demolished it and built a beautiful 3 tower complex with ocean/gulf views from every balcony.   We took a full tour of the place a few weeks ago and I was blown away by how nice the place is and how the residents absolutely love it. I haven't been this excited in years.   

 

Also, our cruise in January and hopefully more in the future will be that much closer in distance and ease of driving.

[OCSC Mike]

20 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

We have applied for and been accepted for residency into the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport, MS.

 

Before Katrina we used to visit my wife's Aunt/Uncle in Biloxi from time to time. They used to work in the casino industry (went from AC to Biloxi) then her uncle opened up a huge sports bar in Biloxi. Unfortunately Katrina wiped the sports bar and the entire strip mall it was in off the face of the earth and they retired near my wife's parents here in FL a few years later. Fun place to visit.

Edited August 14, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[OCSC Mike]

14 minutes ago, DigiPro said:

I’m very close to Tampa and Port Canaveral, so spoiled being that close!

 

Very spoiled indeed. I wish that stupid bridge in Tampa didn't prevent Voyager class and above from sailing out of there. I'm just not a fan of anything smaller. 1st world problem, of course. I'll continue to appreciate my hour drive to PC.

[Ret MP]

2 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Very spoiled indeed. I wish that stupid bridge in Tampa didn't prevent Voyager class and above from sailing out of there. I'm just not a fan of anything smaller. 1st world problem, of course. I'll continue to appreciate my hour drive to PC.

If Tampa did have Quantum and Oasis Class, I'd cruise out of there.  

[edrussell]

If you get as many casino COMP as my wife does you might as well sublet and just live onboard being that close.  I envy your decision.  All the best!

 

[OCSC Mike]

22 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

If Tampa did have Quantum and Oasis Class, I'd cruise out of there.  

 

While we prefer Oasis class (never did Quantum), we went back on Indy for the first time in a while last year and had a good time. I missed a couple things from Oasis class but I'd sail any ship with a promenade if there was a good deal.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

I guess as your in the middle of two big ports for me it would depend on the itinerary and maybe the ship. Not a bad problem to have but good to go either left or right ( figure of speach i have no idea) 👍

[orville99]

50 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

If Tampa did have Quantum and Oasis Class, I'd cruise out of there.  

If they ever build the new port on the other side of the bridge you might eventually be able to do that.

 

BTW, add a few more hours on the road and you can include FLL and Miami to your ports list (or just drop your car at MCO and hop the Brightline train down)

[Ret MP]

26 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

While we prefer Oasis class (never did Quantum), we went back on Indy for the first time in a while last year and had a good time. I missed a couple things from Oasis class but I'd sail any ship with a promenade if there was a good deal.

Yep, Indy is a very nice ship, we were on her last Oct.  But, in my opinion, nothing like the Quantum and Oasis classes.    

[Ret MP]

Just now, orville99 said:

If they ever build the new port on the other side of the bridge you might eventually be able to do that.

 

BTW, add a few more hours on the road and you can include FLL and Miami to your ports list (or just drop your car at MCO and hop the Brightline train down)

Yep, it is just a few hours more.  I retired from Port Everglades/FLL.  I know it very well.  The port of Miami is my favorite RCCL terminal (the new one), it's just too bad it's in Miami LOL.  The RCCL terminal in Port Everglades is just a little too industrial or cargo look for my liking (at least the last time I was there and things change often in Port Everglades).  That's not a big deal, just that I prefer more of a nautical and welcoming theme.  

[OCSC Mike]

11 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

Yep, Indy is a very nice ship, we were on her last Oct.  But, in my opinion, nothing like the Quantum and Oasis classes.    

 

No, definitely a different experience. We did a B2B in July and honestly didn't know how we would feel about it after doing Oasis class for so long but we love CocoCay and we weren't THAT worried.

 

When there was a GGG sale starting at $129pp for 4-nighters in October, my wife even agreed to take a few days off (she's a teacher but had a slightly different position last year that made her more OK with it). She still had me drive her from the ship straight to work after disembarking Friday morning though b/c she's nuts, lol. Fortunately her school is 5 miles from our house and almost exactly on the way home from PC.

[Another_Critic]

2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

I missed a couple things from Oasis class but I'd sail any ship with a promenade if there was a good deal.

I'd sail on any ship (promenade or centrum) if there was a good deal.

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, Ret MP said:

Yep, Indy is a very nice ship, we were on her last Oct.  But, in my opinion, nothing like the Quantum and Oasis classes.    

I haven't sailed Freedom class yet (will next month), but I actually prefer Voyager class (sailed 2x)  over Quantum class (sailed 8x).  I've only sailed Oasis class 1x, but it was at the restart, and only 50-60% full.

[OCSC Mike]

7 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

I'd sail on any ship (promenade or centrum) if there was a good deal.

 

I need my promenade. Felt lost without it the only 2 times I was on smaller ships.

[bigque]

Having cruised on all classes of Royal ships over the years except Quantum class the only class I won’t cruise on again is Vision class ships. 

[orville99]

9 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

I need my promenade. Felt lost without it the only 2 times I was on smaller ships.

We prefer ships that have an outdoor promenade that goes around the ship over ones that don’t. 

Edited August 14, 2023 by orville99

[Ret MP]

1 minute ago, orville99 said:

We prefer ships that have an outdoor promenade that goes around the ship over ones that don’t. 

LOL, I'm an A/C kinda guy.  

[OCSC Mike]

13 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

LOL, I'm an A/C kinda guy.  

 

Cheers to that... except for my electric bill last month. 😭

[Tatka]

I don't know...

We live not far from Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun in CT and many new casinos in Massachusetts.

We also live 1 hour from Boston port, 3.5 hours from Bayonne and 2 New York ports, 6 from Baltimore ... and even Florida ports are in driving distance although we now avoid driving to Florida if we can... but we used to do 1 run a year.

 

My husband has gambling problems, this is why he avoids casinos all together.

Well, down payment for our first townhouse was 100% from winning, but we were young and even then we figured out that playing against casino in a long run is dangerous. We are in positive territory, and we play the highest odds game Blackjack, still odds are against you. 🙂 

(Well I am not completely truthful.. he can play even on ships once in a while, but he uses lets say $50 and if he wins he continues if not .. well... next time.)

 

We do 5 a year. 2 longer Southern Caribbean, 1 Bahamas, 1 Bahamas or Bermuda, 1 New England/Canada. Sometimes 1 is substituted for European cruise.

Technically we can do more, but we want to keep excitement.

 

Congrats on your new fun!

Edited August 14, 2023 by Tatka

[ONECRUISER]

3 hours ago, Ret MP said:

We have applied for and been accepted for residency into the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport, MS.  We are #1 on the waitlist for a couple's apartment.  What does that have to do with Royal Caribbean?  Well, that puts us 6 1/2 hours away from the Port Of Galveston and 8 1/2 hours away from the Port of Canaveral, and an easy peasy road system to get to both.  So, if Royal Caribbean comes to its senses and makes its cruise fares reasonable again, we'll be cruising frequently again.  BUT, we have double trouble, being almost in the middle of two cruise ports AND being in the middle of several casinos in the Gulfport/Biloxi area.  Man, I'm in trouble.  

 

Just in case you are wondering, NO, I wouldn't consider cruising out of New Orleans or Tampa.  It would be perfect if RCCL started cruising Quantum and/or Oasis class ships out of Mobile, though.  But, I know that ain't gonna happen.

 

 

Nice, these places crossed my mind few times since I Retired from Army. Though last 7yrs been staying/Caring for Mom in Michigan and with Daughters Family in AZ watching Grand Daughters the other part yr. Moved Mom into Senior Housing Apt with extra space for me during stays and just Built House with Daughter and have my own "In-law Suite" Without cost of Rent I'm able travel more

[DigiPro]

3 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Very spoiled indeed. I wish that stupid bridge in Tampa didn't prevent Voyager class and above from sailing out of there. I'm just not a fan of anything smaller. 1st world problem, of course. I'll continue to appreciate my hour drive to PC.

I’ve done Grandeur and Brilliance out of Tampa.  It’s spectacular going under the Skyway bridge at night, but I agree with you.  While Brilliance was nice, I do prefer the larger ships now.  And I’m not the biggest fan of the Western Caribbean.  The waters can get quite choppy.

[LeeW]

Haven't considered the homes (Colorado has better weather and fewer bugs) and we get a ton of cruising in.  Would likely do a bunch more if we lived where you are going.  You can take advantage of the last minute deals from both ports!  Let us know how it works out.