u/HeatherAnne1975

I’m traveling with my family and we’re staying in Dublin as a home base for 9 days. Our plan was to spend three days in Dublin City and the rest of the time traveling. We did not rent a car so it’s primarily guided trips and DART train. We are partially through the week have quickly realized that we are loving these little trips outside of Dublin. We spent two days in Dublin and think we are done with the city itself. Our hotel is in Ballsbridge. I’d love some recommendations of places to visit that are a quick day trip from Dublin. So far we plan to visit or we have visited (and loved): Howth, Malahide Castle and Village, Kilkenny, Wicklow Mountains, Glendalaugh, Dun Loghaie, Dalkey, Sandycove, Galway, Cliffs of Mohr, Belfast/Giants Causeway.

Would love suggestions of day trips we can add to our trip in lieu of an extra day in Dublin.

My daughter just turned 17 and planned and hosted her party herself. She was excited and put a lot of effort in the planning. She had movies and crafts set up for about a dozen of her girlfriends. She ordered Taco Bell and made sure there were a variety of items and proteins (eg chicken quesadillas, beef crunch wraps, bean burritos, etc.). She also had a variety of snacks like chips, pretzels, popcorn, Doritos, cookies. She had plenty of sodas, water and made a special mocktail. Basically, nothing gourmet, but all the favorites for teenagers.

When she gave me a debrief on the party she told me two girls (sisters) ordered Door Dash to the party because they “wanted something better than Taco Bell”. I understand not loving the food at a party (Taco Bell is not my personal favorite either) but I find it horribly rude to the hosts and other guests to do that. Is that as rude as I think it is or is that something common now? My daughter was upset enough to bring it up to me.

I’m very close with the girls mom. If it comes up in conversation should I say something, or leave it be? I know these girls were raised to be a bit food snobbish, but I think this is more that they need to be able to navigate social situations. And sometimes that more important than food preference. Part of me is irritated because it did hurt my daughter’s feelings after all the effort she put in (but that’s well beyond the etiquette question here).

A friend turned 50 in February and she had multiple celebrations that month. We attended a dinner party at her home and provided a nice gift that night (custom embroidered linen napkins and champagne and a few other little things). Plus we contributed photos and notes to a birthday box that was put together for her. It’s now mid-July and next weekend she’s having another big birthday party at a restaurant near her beach home, it’s about 2 hours away so we need to travel, deal with pet sitters, buy outfits to meet the dress code, etc. Should we bring another birthday gift to this event? Or are we covered by the gift we gave on her birthday?

My spouse and I finally had a long conversation and landed on a retirement target of 2030, but I’d love some outside perspectives and people to poke holes in it.

We’re a married couple in our early 50s with one son who will graduate college around 2031. We live in a HCOL area in the Midwest. We have about $3M in retirement accounts and $2M in brokerage accounts, $1.2 mm equity in two homes (primary plus a modest lake house), and our son’s college is fully funded. We have no debt.

I work in corporate law at a large firm, I make a reasonable salary and I’m lucky that the hours are not terrible, but I and am increasingly burned out by the stress, office politics, and lack of meaning in the work I’m doing. My spouse works in nursing part-time and also feels burned out. We initially did not plan to retire before 60 but work is becoming increasingly stressful for both of us. And I worry that our healthy years are being wasted when we can still travel and spend time with family.

Our expected retirement spending is about $175k-$200k/year, including healthcare assumptions, home maintenance, utilities, dining out, travel, and a decent-sized cushion for unexpected expenses. It seems so high when I see it on paper, especially since we have no debt. We’re not luxury spenders, but we do prioritize experiences and travel and don’t want to give that up in retirement.

Our current plan is to both work until early 2030. I’ll turn 55 later that year, so we can access our retirement accounts under the Rule of 55.

The wildcard is that my firm is experiencing layoffs (aren’t they all). If I got laid off before 2030, I would likely not pursue another high-paying role in law. I’d like to either fully retire or look for a lower-stress bridge job (nonprofit, advisory, etc.) that offers a 401k rollover until our planned retirement date.

Is this a reasonable plan? If I got laid off tomorrow, would it be crazy to consider stopping work completely? Interested in any blind spots I’m missing.

We’re planning a summer 2027 cruise as a graduation gift for my daughter and her best friend who will be 17/18 at the time of the cruise. We’ll get two rooms and since we’re paying for an extra person, we’re trying to stay budget conscious so will likely get interiors (unless we see a great deal on a balcony room). We need to debark from the mid Atlantic area (NJ, NY, Baltimore, Philly). Given our geographic constraints, calendar constraints and budget, we landed on two options. 1- a 5 day cruise to Bermuda on RC Independence and 2- an 8 day cruise to celebration key, half moon kay and grand turk on carnival Firenze. They are both about $850-950 pp for interior.

This will be our first family cruise and I’ve done alot of research and see Carnival and RC have different personalities, and each ship also has its own personality. The trip is primarily for the girls, so I want to ensure there is enough to keep them busy day and night (they’re at that border age between teen and adult so my not have access to everything). They will do every onboard activity they can and they love dancing, being social and meeting new people. I don’t want it to be too crazy though, especially since the girls can’t drink I don’t want them stuck in the middle of a drunk fest.

I also want to make sure my husband and I have a nice experience. We want to relax, go to shows, eat good food and want it to have a nice modern atmosphere. And not feel nickel and dimed.

Would love any advice from people who have been on these ships.

We’re taking my daughter and her best friend in a cruise as a gift to celebrate their high school graduation next June (girls will be 17/18). We were initially looking at the Independence sailing out of Cape Liberty to Bermuda (5 nights). I just saw the Vision sailing out of Baltimore hitting Bermuda as well as to the Bahamas (Nassau and Bimini). If we do two interior rooms the price is very similar for each cruise. This will be the first cruise for all of us so we have no expectations right now. What would you all recommend. I do know that the Vision is an older and smaller ship which is causing the price to be lower. Would love any and all advice. I’d love this to be a special trip for the girls.

We’re planning to take a Royal Caribbean cruise to Bermuda next June (one night docked in Bermuda). It’s a graduation gift for my daughter and her best friend, they will be 17/18 at the time of the trip. At that age, I am comfortable giving them freedom to explore on their own. If I do want to be eyes wide open about safety for teenage girls. How safe is Bermuda? How is it in the evening? Anything the girls should avoid while we’re in port? Should we give them an evening curfew in port? Would love any advice here.

Mr family is buying our first boat (just a small pontoon) and want to name the boat. My husband and teenage daughter are Caddyshack fans and want to name it The Flying Wasp (with Sea Food - close second). I’m not convinced and want to come up with something better. What’s the best boat name you all have seen?

A few years ago, I stumbled on Loewe Aura perfume on a discounter website. It was a blind purchase and I liked it enough, but I have never consistently received so many compliments on a fragrance. Of course, the reason I got it so cheap was that it was discontinued. I’m seeing a few really expensive listings for it, way more than I paid. So I’m looking to see if anyone can recommend anything similar to that fragrance?

We’re doing a five night cruise, with an overnight stay in Bermuda. Essentially the schedule is:
Day One: Arrival
Day Two: Sea Day
Day Three/Four: Overnight in Bermuda
Day Five: Sea Day
Day Six: Return

If we got a beverage package, I’m assuming it will be based in five days (not six)? For example, if the package is $100/day, I’ll be spending about $1000 for a drink package for me and my husband (plus tips)?

I was planning to get the beverage package because the advice I got was that if I drank more than 5-6 drinks a day getting the package makes sense. I’m about 4-5 drinks per day and my husband is easily 6-8 drinks. But when I’m looking at the actual itinerary, I think I need to change the calculation since there are only two full days at sea? And if we’re on Bermuda for two full days, I’m assuming we will spend quite a bit of time off the boat. Using my $1000 example I cannot imagine we’d get a bar bill that big for just two full days? Am I thinking about this correctly?

I see multiple comments in this sub about people waiting in line at customer service on day one to cancel the daily gratuity charge. I’ve never traveled on RC before, don’t they have a customer service app to handle those types of things? Even if it has to be done in person, does it need to be immediate on the first day? Am I missing something or are people just ridiculous?

I’m in a bit of a bind. My daughter will be a high school senior next year and her graduation gift will be a cruise with one friend. We picked a cruise on the Oasis, 7 nights to Coco Kay and Nassau. I think we got a good rate, $4200 for two boardwalk balcony cabins plus $575 OBC.

Well we just learned that her graduation date is moved up this upcoming year, so the date we initially planned was changed. She can still be home for graduation but we’d leave the next day, so she’d miss her senior week and some parties. This is definitely a decision for my daughter to make so I asked her what she wanted to do. She said she’d be okay missing senior week, since she will have all summer to be at the beach with her friends. Of course she’d prefer to be there, and if we kept it that weeks we’d have to bring a friend from a different school (not one of her besties) because no one wants to miss senior week.

I talked to the travel agent, our deposit is refundable if we move to another RC cruise and we’d lose only the OBC. My choices are:

1- Keep the current cruise, it includes Coco Kay, it’s a great ship, we got balcony rooms at a good price and good OBC. This is a special occasion and I want the cruise to feel special.

2- Change cruise to one the following week. Prices are rising as we get deeper in the summer so the best rate I could get was $3800 for one interior room (for the teens) and one ocean view guarantee room (for me and my husband. There is no (or little) OBC so on a net basis the prices are pretty similar. That’s a 5 night cruise to Bermuda on the Independence. This would eliminate any friction on dates and allows her to bring one of her besties.

I know only my daughter can decide what is right for her, but my question for this group is how different are those cruises? Is Coco Kay amazing and not to be missed? Is the Oasis a huge upgrade from Independence or are they mostly similar? Once I get a better idea of the difference in experience of the cruises then that will help us make the decision.

My favorite happy hour was at Dettera and my favorite late night cocktail spot was Widows Peak. Both closed with rumors swirling that they are being reopened by new owners with new concepts. Any updates on either locations?

I’m looking to book a 7 day cruise to Bahamas on Oasis and plan to get a balcony room. I just want some space to sit and have a class of wine. I see there are interior balcony options overlooking the Boardwalk that are quite a few hundred dollars cheaper than an oceanview balcony. Has anyone stayed on an interior balcony and what’s the experience like? Is an ocean view worth 4-500 more?

I’m booking a family cruise as a high school graduation gift for my daughter. As part of her gift, we are letting her bring a friend. So we’re getting two double rooms. We’re booking a year in advance. So, while she is 99% certain she wants to bring one specific friend, teenagers are fickle and a lot can change in a year. Since we have to reserve with names, would we be able to change the name on the reservation if needed? Would there be a charge? I know that after final payment day most things are set in stone, but what about changes made before then? Also, would this answer differ depending on how I book- eg through the RC website, a travel agent or an online seller?

I’m looking to book a cruise on Royal Caribbean. I’ve been searching up a specific cruise and am getting different prices - through the RC website, through independent TAs and through various online sites (such as Vacations to Go, American Discount cruises, Go to Sea, etc). The cheapest rooms seem to be part of an inventory block being offered by a few different online sellers. Prices are about $400 cheaper for two rooms. I’d get to select our room in each category from a limited amount of inventory. Is there a risk or drawback on booking this way? I know RC offers the ability to reprice if rates drop, would I still have the option for repricing with this booking?

Can I find a listing anywhere of the activities on Oasis that are an extra charge?

We’re looking to book our first cruise with Royal Caribbean. I have been searching prices in the RC website and talking to travel agents. By far, the absolute best rates I’m seeing is Vacations To Go and Go To Sea, which are both aggregators. I’ve seen some good reviews about Vacations to Go but nothing on Go to Sea. Has anyone used them?

My husband and I don’t really drink cocktails, beer or specialty drinks (like fancy coffee), we primarily drink basic coffee with breakfast and water and wine the rest of the day. We will often get a bottle of wine with dinner or order a bottle of wine to share at a bar. Is that something that we will be able to do onboard? Are there wine stores onboard where we could purchase a bottle wine and bring it back to our room to enjoy on our balcony? I know we can bring a bottle or two on board, but I’d love to be able to purchase onboard if that’s possible.

I don’t believe bottles of wine are included in the drinks package so it probably does not make sense for us. We would probably drink about 2 bottles per day between the two of us (so 4 glasses each). Are there reasonably priced options on the wine list? Does RC offer any discounts or specials on wine purchases that would be helpful? Any tips or suggestions for those of you think drink primarily wine?

We are looking at a cruise to the Bahamas and the two stops will be Coco Kay and Nassau/Royal Beach Club Paradise Island. The website is not very transparent but it looks like there are lots of options for fairly significant up charges. Once we arrive, could we simply avoid any paid experiences and still have a good time? Or is it designed so that you need to pay for any sort of fun and not be heeded like cattle? What are the typical costs or is there a link where I can find a price list? I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a cruise then have to shell out another few thousand to actually enjoy the destination.

For reference we are in our 50s and will be traveling with two teens (17/18).