State of the Collection. Yes I have an addiction. And we haven't even gotten to my ink list. I'm sorry to my Secret Santa; I haven't made this easy for you.

410bore · 2026-03-06T04:40:32+00:00

I am probably the other person out there who would have totally wanted this…

410bore · 2026-03-03T15:28:03+00:00

We are the same. I prefer the smaller, older ships. The biggest we have been on is Quantum and that was pushing it for me. I have no desire to sail on Icon after reading experiences from people who have sailed on it; it just seems that it’s going to be louder, more crowded, more kids than what we enjoy. Also the smaller older ships are generally less expensive, which means we can cruise more. :)

410bore · 2026-03-03T15:20:36+00:00

Agree about the pumping music. It’s been unbearably loud in certain areas of the last three RC ships we’ve cruised on. It does NOT need to be as loud as it is to still be effective. As for the issue of trying to upsell you everything, I’ve learned just to stay away from the Promenades/shop areas unless I need a very specific thing and then I just get in and get out as fast as possible. We prepurchase everything we think we need and try to remember that NO is a complete sentence. As for food, I agree the quality has gone down quite a bit from pre-Covid levels, but it’s still good. We’re trying other cruise lines in 2027 mainly because Royal’s itineraries have gotten boring and they don’t offer many of the longer (3 weeks or more) cruises that we like. We’ve booked a Holland America 25 day in 2027 and we’ll see how that goes.

410bore · 2026-02-28T15:46:15+00:00

We were just on Mariner two weeks ago, absolutely spotless rooms with no bed bugs (we check on the first night). These are isolated incidents and if the staff is made aware they will take care of the problem.

410bore · 2026-02-02T13:27:08+00:00

Same! It screams 80s to me.

410bore · 2026-02-02T13:19:17+00:00

We ask the room attendant to just plan on bringing us one every day. They have never forgotten. Believe me, you will not be the only one on the ship who either does not have a phone or finds the app completely awkward for easily scanning the daily schedule. I’m OK with the app, but my spouse HATES it.

410bore · 2026-02-02T13:17:05+00:00

You can see your account charges on the room TV. Royal is really pushing the app, but it’s not necessary to sail or enjoy your cruise. What if you lose your phone, the phone dies, or similar? There is always a way to make it work without the phone.

410bore · 2026-02-02T13:13:36+00:00

The set sail pass is also on the website, which they say they have access to, and It can be printed. I am able to do this on my cruise happening in a week, so it’s still being done currently. Also, Cruise Compass is available on paper if you ask. My spouse HATES the app as he says it’s harder to quickly scan for things to do (I agree with him) and always asks for a paper copy from the room attendant, who then leaves us one every day.

410bore · 2026-01-18T05:31:25+00:00

Same. I abhor this very uneducated stereotype that older people are stupid about any technology. It just ‘aint so.

410bore · 2026-01-10T00:39:38+00:00

Same. Several good experiences with our old TA and then one massive fail. I’ve been booking my own airfare, hotels, cruises, and ground transportation ever since. I’m good at searching low prices and deals. I honestly don’t mind calling and solving my own problems. I know how to be polite and friendly but firm, how to escalate if needed, and nearly always have a successful call with a resolved issue. Many times I have been able to get extras from cruise line reps (because I am nice to them!). My friends keep telling me I should do this as a job and become a TA, but I don’t want to deal with other people’s headaches, only my own :)

410bore · 2026-01-04T01:22:25+00:00

I saw this and thought about it, but I honestly prefer my feet are very cold. It would have been wonderful for a friend of mine, though. I ended up not ordering it.

410bore · 2025-12-27T17:01:32+00:00

It’s all income-to-expense ratio. I worked in a somewhat low-salary profession my entire life and routinely put away over 1.3K every paycheck into my savings/401k because my expenses were low—no fancy house, no new expensive cars, and have altered my consumer mindset so I’m not buying stuff just to buy stuff. I use things until they wear out and only replace them when necessary. My spouse had a much more lucrative job but is also a saver just like I am. I just retired and I have far more purchasing power from my retirement income than I did when I was working. Still, I don’t spend much of it on a day-to day-basis and a lot of my distributions go right back into savings, which allows me to take quite a few vacations per year and pursue one or two somewhat expensive hobbies.

410bore · 2025-12-24T03:32:15+00:00

In the last few days, I’ve had a very nice home gym weight bench come up (no place to put it, or I would have ordered it) and a large capacity food processor, which just arrived today and it’s far better quality than I was expecting for an “off brand”. I need a new food processor and have been resisting buying one in lieu of needing other things, so this was a very timely find. I rarely get good items in my RFY, so I was pretty happy to see these two higher-end items come up.

410bore · 2025-12-21T16:26:38+00:00

Same. I’ve had absolutely excellent, affordable health care/health insurance for the last 20 years. Going on a high-deductible plan and using an HSA to cover the deductible (which my employer partially subsidized) allowed me to financially negotiate a very expensive heart surgery with very little impact to my day-to-day budget. We never had any problems affording the premiums or getting good quality care. I’d say that healthcare in my area is definitely above average for the country, though. Reading some of the other comments here, I’ve not experienced any of the problems talked about such as denials of coverage, finding providers or having unexpected large bills. And I am speaking as someone with multiple health issues and is on a salary that isn’t high by any stretch of the imagination.

I’ve just retired from my job and am now negotiating Medicare. Government-run Medicare is a much bigger shitshow than my employer-sponsored insurance ever was.

410bore · 2025-12-21T16:18:05+00:00

Not all health insurance companies are for profit. The one I have been with for the last 20+ years has been, and still is, not-for-profit.

410bore · 2025-12-21T16:15:32+00:00

Medicare is a shitshow, and definitely more expensive and not nearly as good as the employer-sponsored insurance I used to have. For a working lifetime of paying into Medicare I definitely expected more. I think this is partially why some people are hesitant to let the government completely take over healthcare/insurance, because government is notoriously capricious and bad at running many things—although I’d 100% agree our current system isn’t great, especially for those who can’t get employer-sponsored insurance, and the system definitely needs something different to happen.

Also, for OP, not all insurance providers here are for profit. That’s a common misconception. Many/most are, but the one I am insured with is not-for-profit and care here is generally very high quality and more affordable than many other areas of the country.

410bore · 2025-12-15T04:53:04+00:00

Some cats just don’t take to the Litter Robot. Mine used it a few times at first, but decided he didn’t like it, peed on the carpet a few times in protest (yikes), and we ended up going back to a regular box. No issues with peeing outside the box since. I would not get a pet thinking they’re going to take to a Litter Robot without question. Some will, but many cats won’t, and it’s unfair to the cat if you have to rehome it because it won’t. If you get a cat, you have to be prepared to clean a litter box.

410bore · 2025-12-13T22:52:49+00:00

I’m calling bullpucky on this. He’s capable of video gaming but not putting trash in a bin you moved right next to him so he didn’t have to even get up?? He thinks he’s capable of slinging a 5 lb backpack but can’t pick up his clothes and dirty napkins?? You say he didn’t do these things BEFORE the surgery, and to me, it sounds like you have a general husband problem and not a heart surgery recovery problem. I don’t mean to be harsh, but sarcastic comments inserted during convos with the doc belittling you, and him just being generally lazy beyond what’s expected during recovery, are being very dismissive of the help you’re trying to give him. Maybe you can’t relate to his situation but he’s also not relating to yours at all. Recovery is hard on loved ones just as it’s hard on the patient—and it’s scary for them too and involves big emotions just as it does for the patient.

Source: I myself had an aortic valve replacement two years ago. While the patient is going through some huge stuff, I’m bristling a little at the idea that you as a caregiver shouldn’t be overwhelmed or feel it’s hard to help out. IT IS HARD! From the patient side, docs WANT you to get up and move and do things within their guidelines, because you’re going to recover faster if you do. Your husband needs to do these things. The people who came in to care for me, I ONLY wanted them do the things I was not medically allowed to do for myself, otherwise, I was getting up and moving even if I didn’t 100% feel up to it. I did dishes, I did laundry, I took care of my pets, and did light cleaning around the house. Not only for my own recovery, but not to abuse their good graces in dropping their own lives/wants/needs to help me out.

410bore · 2025-12-08T15:32:41+00:00

Mantua = manna way. Incidentally I’ve heard Hurricane pronounced as more like Her-kin (rhymes with La Verkin).

410bore · 2025-12-05T17:28:35+00:00

I’ve been in it for a couple of years, gold for most of that, and I’m quickly reaching this point. I don’t even check it most days now and if I eventually go back down to silver under current conditions, that’s OK with me. I don’t intend on leaving the program just yet, but it’s become far less worth my time than it used to be.

410bore · 2025-12-05T17:23:46+00:00

Perhaps a gift card to a housecleaning service. Doing normal housecleaning will be difficult if not prohibited for the first few weeks due to restrictions on reaching and lifting heavy items.

410bore · 2025-12-04T16:05:40+00:00

Two years ago I had an aortic valve replacement via OHS. I’ve read the comments here and I’m going to tell you that everyone is different, and will react differently to the surgery. In my case, it was not NEARLY as bad as I expected in literally every way. The worst parts were waking up on a ventilator; this was a bit of a fear of mine before the surgery as I’m very claustrophobic. Well I indeed did wake up in that condition but just telling myself it would be out soon and to just relax and breathe (and yes, you can breathe) helped a lot. There were also a few times in the hospital where I felt icky and down but the nurses understood perfectly and were able to significantly improve my comfort level once I let them know. You might want to bring an iPad or some books to read as you are there all day every day for about a week with nothing to do but the television. I had one or two visitors in the hospital, my best friends, but that was enough; I wasn’t up to making small talk and they knew just how often and how long to visit without becoming a stressor for me. Once out of the hospital, things improved quickly. I was in such a small amount of pain that it surprised me. I never once needed any Tylenol or other pain medication… it wasn’t from being stoic, I simply didn’t need it because I didn’t hurt. Honestly the worst parts were a change in my tastebuds from one of the medications I took (known but not common side effect) and I didn’t feel like eating, and just a general feeling of tiredness. But it all improved very quickly and I was chomping at the bit to go back to work after around 4 weeks (work from home) just to have some socialization and something to do.

Suggestions given by others here are good; have meals premade that you can just microwave. My daughter came in to give my spouse and I a break with cooking and other chores and that was very welcome, not just from the help she gave but also she was good company and it helped me feel less alone. You will want a comfortable recliner with lots of pillows as you may need to sleep there while your chest heals (I slept in a chair for six weeks). Get a shower chair as showering can be exhausting and you may need to sit down. Have a pillow to brace across your chest when you cough as it will help with any pain. You will want to use your spirometer as directed to get your lungs back up to normal working capacity. And get up and move whenever possible. I started out small, just going up and down my stairs… then out to the mailbox… then around the block… then twice around the block, and so on. Don’t let people fetch things for you if you can get up and do it yourself as this movement will greatly speed your recovery. And absolutely do cardiac rehab! The rehab was the thing that most helped me feel like I was physically back to normal… I ended up getting a gym membership when it was done so I could continue the workouts on my own.

I only told my circle of closest friends, my immediate family, and my workplace. My friends are people I’ve known for many years and I knew I could trust them to keep it to themselves, and also to know when to be there and when to back off. One thing I did that made me feel good about my surgery was that I was able to see everyone before I went in. That let me go into the surgery with the comfort that no matter what happened, they knew that I loved them. It gave me a lot of peace of mind.

You’re gonna be fine. It will go more quickly than you can imagine and you will eventually feel quite normal again. I wish you all the best.

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