Todd W

a most excellent idea. Thanks @twangster !!

So i discovered this over the weekend. while it's way to sweet for me on it's own, both my wife and I LOVED this in our iced tea. Just curious if anyone has seen this on board? Would make her day if they do. seriously, for a great drink out on the porch , this stuff is deadly. goes down very very easy Our 17yr old had his new girlfriend stop by the house to meet us for the first time so i had to really pump the breaks after 2 of these. LOL

I second @michelle, she's had my first reservation with MEI for almost two years now (leaving in 41 days) and has my second which i booked with her about a year ago, leaving April 2020. I've in the works on a few more which she will definitely handle for me as well. Very personable and has been able to rebook my reservations to save me money and/or get me more OBC. Many folks here on the blog us her along with others at MEI. While I'm biased since she's the only one i've used, I would venture to say you can't go wrong with anyone at MEI

LOL I just turned 50 in November, old skater punk from back in the 80's. As my wife always tells me, i'm a kid at heart and never act my age. Thats a good thing right? 😁

you can build a pair directly from Vans website, selecting which particular model of shoe and then either use Vans preset design patterns or upload any design and/or picture of your own for the sides of the shoe as long as it isn't copyrighted. I created my design from a photo i took of a pineapple. There are about 10-12 different variables of the many parts of the shoe that you can choose to "design" (color of laces, eye stay, vamping, tongue etc) in the creation process. this pair cost me right at $100 including shipping and took about 5 weeks to get them but well worth it knowing they are one of a kind.

thanks, these were for me but my wife really loved them which means i'll end up having to get a pair made for her now as well. 😁

i just had these custom vans designed for our upcoming April cruise, does that count? 😁

these look great (and potentially hilarious) thanks @Traveler !

i'm in the majority. with current demographics of Royal's marketing push, i would venture to say it would be a challenge for them to fill up an Oasis sized ship with a more adult themed group. that being said, Carnival is doing an adults only cruise this summer so maybe thats what they are testing. however, the undertaking to revamp a complete ship to make it 100% adult oriented going forward would be a huge cost with a high risk on returns if it concept fails. With Virgin hitting next year, that will be the bench mark. suprisingly, their rates aren't horrible but for me, its not worth the cost of a flight to Florida for a 4-5 day cruise What next? Disney doing an adult cruise? nah

thanks everyone! i may just suggest he either keeps a log on his phone or asks for the receipts from the bartenders. hadn't even thought of that.

Oh he doesn't want to limit his consumption by any means. he is a brainiac techy guy who's nearly 60 yrs old an is just an oddball but i love him to death. Since he's never had the deluxe package he was just looking for an easy way for him to see what all he gets during the cruise, nothing short of keeping it in notes on his phone. i mentioned his ship invoice tracks everything scanned on the card but wasn't sure if that gave him the detailed info he wanted.

My brother in law wants to track his consumption of drinks since it will be his first time having the deluxe package. I know everything should get scanned and tracked on his account but will it be itemized or just show the "purchase" of a drink with a zero cost and the location he got it? For the life of me i can't find my past invoice to clarify this.

same for me also. I was an extreme planner and was very hesitant to give up control. I still do a lot of my research on lower prices but i'm very confident in knowing our TA (Michelle @MEI) is also keeping an eye out for us as well. With all the challenges that Royal customer care has had lately, i'd rather let a professional handle any issues that may come up. If you can find a reliable TA (again MEI is awesome) there honestly isn't ANY reason not to use them that i've been able to figure out. If i screw something up without a TA, its a crap shoot if it will get resolved. If MEI has any issues, 99% of the time they can and will make it right (within reason of course).

ok thats what i was thinking but didn't want anyone new jumping in on this and get the impression you were referring to MEI. Thanks for the clarification sir!

@Jolly Ogre just to be clear, are you referring to AAA?

Another awesome @twangster blog. Thanks again for allowing us to share in your trip. This has me looking for "amped up" options for my next booking. Bamboo Room alone did it for me lol

Will specialty restaurants allow one person to purchase a meal to take back to their room and then the 2 of you could split it? Possibly an option for you.

+3, 4, 5...i lost count but I use @michelle as well. ironically had some correspondence with her about 20 min ago! Awesome to work with as always!

@tiny260 John I don't know a thing about you personally but your affinity for cigars is all I need to know man. Hopefully one day in the future we can ponder the meaning of cruise life over a couple of cigars and spirit while at sea!

Exactly! at no point have i ever thought "oh it would be great to cruise with so and so" from over there. it seems like it would be miserable, at least based on the majority of attitudes ive encountered. Now here on the other hand, i've always thought just the opposite!

welcome aboard! the two sites couldn't be any more different as i'm sure you've already seen.

it's really hard to recommend based on not knowing what you will come across while in Cuba or the pricing you will see when you get there. I'm unaware of what your cigar palate or previous smoking history is but just know 99% of the Cuban's i've smoked are very mild cigars. That being said, I only smoke cigars now that pack a punch so what i like in a Cuban may not be relevant to your tastes. That being said, my favorite Cubans in no special order are Trinidad Reyes, Hoyo De Monterey petite robustos, Romeo y Julietta short churchills, Diplomatico #2, Montecristo #2, Partagas serie P, Ramon Alones special select, H Upmann Mag 46 and Cohiba Behike $ Cohiba Siglo Vi. assuming what you find are legit Cuban's, you can't go wrong with any of these.

There is only one "Royal Caribbean blog" namesake website but there are multiple other cruising forum websites for most cruise lines including Royal Caribbean. However, as many will attest to, this is the only one that matters. 😁

I pop over to that "other" site every now and then. Was just checking it out during lunch today and it never ceases to amaze as to how ugly it gets over there. I see so many people (even mods) who just get salty and vile with people posting simple questions. My wife was laughing at me the last time i was reading over there because i let it get under my skin way more than it should, if at all. So many trolls as well. @Matt it really makes me appreciate all of your hard work that has gone into this place, not to mention the great attitudes of everyone here. Thanks again everyone! My time spent here makes me really enjoy cruising much more than I ever intended. I always log off knowing more than I started out and generally have a good laugh as well. Cheers!