u/Shot-Craft5144

Hello all!

My wife and I have been on two Royal Caribbean cruises so far. Anthem of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas, and we have loved both.

Although, our Serenade cruise was in August, and there were quite a few kids around who were screaming during live performances or just doing typical kids stuff. While we love kids (my wife is a teacher 😂), she definitely likes having a bit of a break from them during vacation.

Our Anthem of the Seas experience was in October and was awesome. There seemed to be fewer kids, and we absolutely loved the ship and the overall atmosphere.

We're now wondering if our third cruise should still be Royal Caribbean or if we should try Celebrity.

A few things that are important to us:

• Entertainment: We love the entertainment on Royal! The musicals, live performances, Broadway-style shows are awesome!
• Educational talks/seminars: Even though we're in our 30s, we genuinely love going to talks and seminars. On Anthem, we went to one about Picasso and his life, and another about sea turtles, and we absolutely loved them. We also love learning about animals, history, nature, etc.
• Allergy-friendly: My wife has gluten and dairy allergies, and not once has she had an issue with Royal Caribbean. They've always been extremely careful but also very accommodating, which is a huge plus for us.

For those who have sailed both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity:

Would we find these same things on Celebrity, or should we stick with Royal Caribbean?

We're not really looking for a party/club atmosphere. We mostly enjoy eating, watching shows, learning interesting things, finding a nice place to sit, have a drink, read and relax.

Would love to hear from people who have experienced both!

I’m currently working in government and I’m looking to transition into a Business Analyst or Project Management role. I’d love to hear from people who have made a similar transition especially if you came from a role that was BA/PM-adjacent rather than having the official “Business Analyst” title.

For the past 2+ years, I’ve been involved with an Agile project and have experience with things like:

• UAT and testing
• Creating and working with user stories
• Participating in user requirements meetings
• Working with Jira/Confluence
• Working with stakeholders and development teams
• Supporting a product after going live
• User onboarding and ongoing support

The product has now been live for about two years, and my current work is more focused on user support, onboarding, and administration. I feel like I’ve gained a lot of relevant experience, but I’d like to move into a role where I can be more involved in the actual analysis, requirements gathering, process improvement, and project work.

I have a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, and I also completed a full-stack web development bootcamp, so I have some technical knowledge as well.

My plan right now is to spend the next few weeks filling in some of the gaps in my knowledge, things like:

• Advanced Excel
• SQL
• Business analysis methodologies/frameworks
• Process mapping and requirements documentation
• Wireframing/mockups
• Building a small portfolio of BA projects

I’m also considering starting to apply for BA/PM positions while I’m doing this rather than waiting until I feel completely “ready.”

For those of you who are currently Business Analysts:

What helped you make the jump into the role?

Were there any courses, certifications, portfolio projects, or skills that actually made a difference when applying for your first BA position?

And based on the experience I've described, would you consider me ready to start applying for junior/intermediate BA roles, or would you recommend getting more experience first?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

It could be a habit, mindset shift, routine, skill, fitness goal, financial decision, relationship change, basically anything

I was watching the newest CreepCast episode and the TUSHY ad was hilarious!

Do companies just give them a script and let them freestyle or are they actually cool with the delivery?

Also not at all complaining! These are the only ads I don't skip.