If you can afford to spend $4k/mo on housing, why not buy a nicer home that doesn't involve an HOA higher than your mortgage?
If you want the amenities of an apartment, then why not rent an apartment for $2k/mo? This is in STL, and you can get a nice apartment for that amount.
Can someone explain the math as to how this could ever be a financially sound decision?
I guess it’s better than having to go to a laundry mat.
My 24-year-old nephew recently graduated as a history major but doesn't want to teach. Now he's thinking about a masters in library science. Part of his challenge is that he doesn't really know what he wants to do, so none of us know how to give any specific guidance. I'm not sure spending more money on school is the right way to go about it if he's not sure what he wants to do.
So I guess my questions are:
Booked the Virgin Voyages Turkey/Egypt itinerary for next June — curious what happens if Egypt gets pulled from the route?
Has anyone been on a Virgin cruise where a port or country got dropped from the itinerary? How far in advance did they let you know, and what did they offer (refund, credit, alternate port)?
I booked the non-refundable fare and also have travel insurance on top of it, so trying to figure out where I'd actually stand if Egypt ends up not being part of the trip. Any experience with this — either with Virgin specifically or other cruise lines — would help.
I saw the issue with Virgin a few months ago where a couple was booked to go to Bermuda but their itinerary got switched to Canada just a couple of days in advance and all they got was a bar credit. That seems pretty outrageous considering the money you're spending.
Thanks.
Mine are dining-related:
If I’m with a group of people, I will gladly eat the last appetizer. (I’ll ask if anyone else wants it but I hate it when it’s just sitting there.)
Just because the entire table is drinking wine doesn’t mean I want to. I will turn down alcohol if I don’t feel like drinking it. Sometimes I just want water.
I'm glad we are overnight in Cairo so that we have a little more time to explore. If anyone has been to these places or on a similar itinerary, please share any recommendations you may have! Our longest cruise to date has been 7 days, so I'm curious how we'll feel after 10 days on board. It's such an extensive itinerary that I think it will feel like a blur!
I am from the US but moved to Italy this year. I am planning to visit home for 3 weeks in September. I told my MAGA mom I would like to buy my plane ticket this week before airfare goes up due to rising oil prices. She insists the war will be over in a couple of weeks and I'll get a better deal than what's available now.
I am tempted to wait and then ask her to pay the difference in airfare between now and then. What are your thoughts? She clearly thinks the war is for the safety and betterment of the US and that President Trump knows what he's doing, so she rationalizes everything that is going on, including the cost increase of everything.
When we took our first VV cruise in 2024, I remember the app was a monstrosity. It crashed about 80% of the time and it was virtually impossible to make reservations on it.
The app worked better this time around for our cruise last month, but it seemed to require an update every single time I opened it. However, dinner reservations and Shore Things bookings all went through smoothly, and I'd get push notification reminders which were convenient. It still had some very frustrating moments of freezing. Their whimsical "Oops" messaging when their app screws up is also grating.
For a company that spent billions of dollars on their ships, it seems like they could afford to hire a small team of UX designers and mobile engineers to maintain a functional app given that is Sailors' primary lifeline whilst on board. They could probably cut down on the amount of onboard inquiries Sailor Services gets too. I've seen the line for SS spilling out into the elevator area at times.
What has your experience been like?
I know it’s a cruise but given their wellness lifestyle branding, I thought the gym would be bigger, especially the weight area. People tended to hog the weights (sometimes multiple sets). I realize that’s more of a people problem than a VV issue, but still the weight area seemed unusually small. I guess given its position on the upper deck, there’s only so much space along the perimeter they can use for the gym without invading the pool space. Great cardio equipment though and there’s space for more body weight stuff outside. Next time I’ll plan to go during off-peak hours.
I’ve only sailed Virgin so their gym may be massive compared to other lines for all I know!
We were on the April 26–May 3 Mexican Riviera cruise, and the day after eating at Test Kitchen, my husband and I experienced several days' worth of green poop. Sometimes it was a vibrant green; other times more of a turquoise that—had it not been feces—would have actually been a rather pretty color. We didn't have any nausea or GI issues so fortunately we just had fun asking each other what shade of green the other's poop was that day. We suspect it was a wasabi foam they used in a dessert (pictured), but I've had wasabi before and never experienced anything like this. Was anyone else on this cruise or had something like this happen to them on a VV?
I know this was all TMI but I found it entertaining.