Ain’t modern technology wonderful? I’m in the backseat of Little J’s Tahoe doing ~70 (😉) as I write this on my iPad. This, of course, gives me complete exoneration for any typos you may encounter.
In any case, y’all may recall that Mrs J has been working for the better part of a year putting together a wine cruise for our winemaker friends and traveling buddies. We had 56 folks signed up. Unfortunately, at the two week out point, the CDC (Communists for the Destruction of Commerce? Works for me.) changed the rules, and the winemaker, who has several medical issues, opted out, taking 48 others with him.
We did learn something important though. At least important to the travel agent who booked all the reservations, that is. If a passenger cancels after the final payment date, the commission is locked in.
As I said, good news.
So a hearty group of eight set sail last Sunday, for Costa Maya, Belize and Roatan. Course, 4 of that select few are related to me. (Yes, Beans, I am related to myself.)
Ship holds up to 4500 pax, this trip carried 13-1500. Quite a difference, But it was good news/bad news. The good news? No real lines, park the car to enter the stateroom? About 15 minutes. State room through customs to I-45. Less than 30. Part of this is Covid related. Processing procedures were improved. One had a in/out processing times. Prior to Covid it was show up whenever, so crowds were large early. Now, not so much.
On the downside. A large portion of the hospitality crew’s pay is taken from tips. An 18% gratuity is assessed for all onboard purchases. I thought even with that most prices were pretty reasonable.
But…
If the ship is only 33% occupied, the amount of tips is highly reduced. I tried to do my part by personal tips to the folks that took care of us. That doesn’t go into the general tip fund.
 |
| Roatan |
And this is a side of Bacon!
Mmm, MMM, MMM!!!
Since we’d just been on this itinerary last month, and have done it multiple times before, we stayed on board and enjoyed the near perfect peace and quiet. The only exception was Roatan as they had the least expensive duty free, single malt Scotch prices of the three ports.
So…refueling is complete.
Two days at sea and we’re back in the real world. Had a short lunch break in College Station for Grandparent duty and then back to the ‘burg.
All in all, a great week, heart rate and BP haven’t been this low in quite a while.
offtopic:
ReplyDeleteUkraine status update:
https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-tensions-simmer-nato-sends-ships-and-fighter-jets-to-eastern-europe/
Dutch, French and even Spanish forces join NATO tripwires along the eastern frontier, joining UK, US and Danish forces sent earlier. Poland, Baltics and Romania are there by default.
suspiciously absent: Germans
suspiciously absent: Germans
I saw a tweet that talked of the Germans in private talks with the Russians and it mentioned they denied permission for GB to overfly Germany.
DeleteInteresting Pawel, Interesting.
DeleteRob,
DeleteI think I've heard that happen before. Say...about 80 years ago or so.
It's related to the pipeline that keeps Germany alive. Russia has the Krauts by the hose, so to speak.
DeleteLet's Go Brandon, of course, shut off cheap American LNG. Jerk.
Beans,
DeleteThat makes sense. Thanks
an interesting take on the things:
Deletehttps://www.politico.eu/article/vladimir-putin-resurrect-nato-russia-ukraine/
basically, by saber-rattling and demanding nothing less than cessation of sovereignity from neighbours Putin managed to singlehandely bring about reverse of his stated goals...
had he kept pretending to be sleeping bear for 10 more years, NATO woulkd dissolve itself due to perceived lack of threat - de facto if not de iure.
further proof:
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/24/us-troops-eastern-europe-deployment-00001485
REFOR...POL? someone can you get a working acronym?
Pawel,
DeleteInteresting articles. Thanks. As to an acronym, how about FVP?
How much "single malt scotch" is in the bottle from which the baby is drinking? Or did you not think to start him early?
ReplyDeleteMM,
DeleteNah, SHE's a bit to young for single malt at this point. Later on however....
Glad you are back Juvat, and double glad everything went well and was safe. That is a respectable "side" of bacon - and by side, I mean likely might be able to finish it.
ReplyDeleteThat is a pretty significant drop in passenger traffic. I would imagine an industry cannot long survive that.
TB,
DeleteNo, and yesterday on Fox there was an article about a cruise ship that diverted from Miami to Bahamas to stop it from being seized for failure to pay bills. I could sense a bit of nervousness in the higher ups on the ship. As I mentioned, IMHO the "gummint" needs to get out of the shutting down the economy thing and get the **** out of the way.
I've found that the price of travel is up everywhere and for everything, maybe to make up for the past 2 years, some inflation, and increasing demand, which my wife calls revenge travel. Airfare is insane, as are room rates.
ReplyDeleteTuna - The Ravishing Mrs. TB has been looking at flights to rebook for a 2020 canceled vacation. Her feedback is the same.
DeleteTuna,
DeleteThe ticket price wasn't too bad, however, the other add-ons were noticeably higher. The Drink Package was $89/day for instance. While I enjoy single malt Scotch, I don't think I could drink 10/day for 8 days. Both of our specialty dining meals were more expensive than last month also. Gotta make money to stay in business.
TB,
DeleteAs I said, the Gummint should get out of the way.
The world has gone insane, thanks politicians (on both sides of the aisle).
ReplyDeleteAgreed, I read this somewhere.
Delete1. No democrat ever
2. No incumbent¹ (in the primaries)
3. No unopposed ever
:-)
😁 👍
Delete✔
DeleteThose chocolate pancakes can't be unseen.... Cute baby!
ReplyDeleteRob,
DeleteDIL was happy she ordered them. But...Couldn't finish them.
Thanks, She takes after her mother.
Everybody knows that babies cannot safely handle hard liquor. Bailey's Cream would be much better for them.
ReplyDeleteAny cruise that last less than six months on a cruise ship that has airplanes taking off and landing on the roof is a great cruise.
JiP,
DeletePerhaps.
I was starting to get a little stir crazy after only 8 days. 6 months might be a little much, even if I was flying one of those aircraft. So, I admire your fortitude.
1. cute kid - Hey! I've got a 3-year-old grandson
ReplyDelete2. seems we've gotten to the stage of playing: "Let me show you that mine is bigger than yours."
Boron,
Delete1) Thanks, she is pretty cute. A little fussy on this visit, but well within acceptable tolerance
2) ? We talking about Grandkids or Bacon?
How many of the reservations were locked in and couldn't be refunded?
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a nice quiet reset. And bacon is ever so good for the soul.
Beans,
DeleteAfter the final payment due date, these are the options for cancelling. 1) If you cancelled for "Covid concerns", you get a full refund. If you wish you can get a "Cruise with Confidence" credit of 100% on a future cruise. If you purchased trip insurance, you get a cash refund less the premium you paid when you purchased the insurance. So about 85%. The first two options are only available if you cancel more than 48 hours ahead of sailing time. Virtually all our guests did the latter, which caused Mrs J quite a bit of concern until she called the cruise line and found out the good news about the commission.
Yes, we did. I walked 45 miles on the ship, read two books, had a single malt or two in the evening and did quite a bit of people watching. There were a surprising number of kids on board, like maybe a hundred or so. There were also quite a few oldsters on board, like late 70's early 80's. Which, given the hysteria, I thought was pretty courageous of them.
Bacon, yep. And that serving was perfectly crisp. Little J had a serving just like it. Another advantage of 1/3 capacity I suspect.
Naw! The bloody Europeans a la Pawel
DeleteBoron,
DeleteAhh Gotcha
Looks like a good time, and glad y'all enjoy those things.
ReplyDeleteIt was, we do. Interestingly, there were quite a few Military Retirees on board. More than a few had US Navy ballcaps. Just sayin'
DeleteHave you entertained the thought of chartering a cruise on that large blowboat in your opening photograph just for something different? Old Guns
DeleteDon't quote me, but I believe that is the boat the original settler's of Galveston arrived on. Not sure it's still sails. I think I may need to visit it on our next wine cruise Mid-February for a more definitive answer.
Delete