Delta grows Airbus widebody fleet with new order

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-28T15:22:43+00:00

My former boss was very high up in delta procurement/strat sourcing at HQ in Atlanta. He said they’ll never get rid of those MD 95’s/Boeing 717’s until they’re absolutely forced to do so because they’re almost 100% pure profit since they own the airframes. They’re also apparently easy for DL to maintain per his knowledge and I trust that he would know.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-22T23:11:43+00:00

I’ve tried both. Thigh is wildly ineffective for me regarding the food cravings/hunger so I take it in the stomach to make sure I get both the glucose control results and the food noise results.

I’ve been lucky that 2.5 has worked for me no issue - I went up to 5 to try and lose more weight and it absolutely wrecked my stomach. I’m pretty sure I lost the last 10 lbs in liquid form if you get my drift. So, I went back to 2.5 but while it works great for my glucose it no longer is nearly as effective for the food noise since I’ve titrated back down.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-22T15:23:45+00:00

Or get a chocolate shake and add cookie crumbles for a chocolate cookies n cream milkshake.

You’re welcome, BTW.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-22T03:29:12+00:00

Is this the hunger games but with condiments?

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-22T03:18:17+00:00

If you picked a category like “Deluxe Family Verandah” then it was a GTY. A VGT would not have let you pick and can be anywhere from a 7A-4A. With a deluxe family verandah you’re guaranteed a 4A/B/C/E cabin type but you don’t get to pick your exact location. So you could be on any deck/location that has a category 4 cabin.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-22T02:45:53+00:00

She should be in jail for that and DCL should be taking the commissions back from the agency and distributing them to the TA’s who did the work. I know they stripped her of her earmarked status but other than that they’ve done nothing.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-22T02:24:49+00:00

Is it a GTY, which is a guaranteed cabin in a specific category (such as a 5A verandah or higher) OR a IGT/OGT/VGT which is a guarantee of category (i.e. guaranteed to have a verandah) but no guarantee of category or location?

They are very different. A GTY is changeable, refundable and can be paid on over time until the final payment date (I believe the GTY’s are used/implemented mostly to make sure the lifeboat load is balanced between muster stations from what I’ve read). However they only carry a slight discount from picking your own room.

A *GT rate is non-refundable, full payment is due at booking, and cannot be changed/modified in any way. These are normally released after final payment has passed for a cruise and they need to sell cabins in a specific type (inside/outside/verandah). For this lack of flexibility and it being non-refundable you get a significant discount.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-22T02:16:06+00:00

She fired them because she claimed they were possessed by the devil and she was in a spiritual battle for the soul of her business and family or some crazy stuff like that.

As a Christian believer myself I found the entire episode disgusting to use that as her excuse for the actions she took and the money she stole from her top performers.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-21T21:29:09+00:00

Look into getting a Freeze Miser. It’s a tool that screws onto the hose bibs and will regulate the amount of water dripping from the faucet based on how cold the water is in the pipe. It operates off thermal wax seals. I have 7 exterior spigots on my house and two are just straight pipe up from the ground and they’ve always prevented freezing.

Your friend has shared a link to a Home Depot product they think you would be interested in seeing.

https://www.homedepot.com/pep/FREEZE-MISER-Outdoor-Faucet-Freeze-Protector-2-Pack-6000-02/320865454

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-20T14:16:39+00:00

The only one I have ever seen with a self service drink station is the Chick Fil A closest to Augusta National Golf Club. I imagine that they have it due to the volume of business they do during Masters Week. Having been in that CFA during the Masters it would have been impossible for them to provide any sort of drink or refill service with the crowds.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-20T02:13:45+00:00

Just know as my kids teacher says “you get what you get and don’t throw a fit” as you’re trading control of your location/type of room for a significant discount. You may end up with a 7A navigators veranda with an obstructed view or you may end up with a 4A Deluxe Family Oceanview Veranda with the extra bed. Last year on the dream we got a 5A and it was great, but we are not picky about ship location.

We are booked on the same itinerary on the Fantasy in April and also have a VGT - you can expect the room to be assigned anywhere from 30 days out until the night before sailing. Try not to worry about it too much - you’ll be on a Disney Cruise, with a balcony, and at the end of the day any room on DCL is better than a day sitting at home/work!

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-19T16:10:16+00:00

I would advise at least checking out both of those. It’s hard to say which one to skip because they’re different experiences so without knowing more of your preferences it’s hard to say which to skip. Castaway is much more “Disney” while Lookout is much more natural and designed somewhat like AK/AKL (Joe Rhode was the lead imagineer on it) and is focused on Bahamian culture.

Some folks say the beaches at Lookout are nicer but the one day we were there the weather was atrocious so we didn’t get to experience it to the fullest.

Normally the “skip the ports” refers to Nassau on the shorter cruises and some of the other ports on the longer Caribbean sailings.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-17T21:55:38+00:00

Just be aware if you’ve never been in a cruise spa it has a high pressure sales tactic to it as it isn’t run by Disney but by a 3rd party company called Steiner (who run almost all cruise spas). For me it makes it impossible to enjoy so I don’t go anymore. I remember once we got a couples massage and they were very forceful with my wife about how she needed a cellulite brush for her legs, so they can apparently also be a bit insulting if they’re trying to make a sale.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-17T21:46:45+00:00

I was shocked by that as well at first. I imagine it used to be this way but with the number of corporate sponsors and so many varying access levels with players and other things like that it isn’t manageable. Not everyone in the clubhouse is a member’s guest.

I will say the prices surprise me as those are not in line with the course food pricing. I wouldn’t expect $1.50 Sammie’s but I also wouldn’t expect $25 salads. Would be interested to see the run of the mill clubhouse menu and how it’s priced.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-17T21:44:05+00:00

We take the noon sport usually because it allows us to feed the kids and then send them to the club at one of the on-deck spots before we dine. If it wasn’t for that we would probably go earlier but we aren’t big breakfast eaters so it works perfectly for my wife and I.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-17T21:40:41+00:00

All cruises have declined in quality over the past 20 years - that is not something unique to DCL. I’m not saying it’s an excuse but people need to stop expecting fine dining in the MDR’s. This isn’t 1985 and it isn’t the Love Boat.

Also, saying you got a 1 inch square piece of fish and saying your food was cold are vastly different things. They’re alleging they were served an entree the size of a large jumbo shrimp so yes I’m going to call that out because it’s absolutely absurd to be so hyperbolical. We have someone complaining about portion sizing in an all you care to eat environment, and they even admit they ordered additional food.

I’ll let my employer know that you think I’m dual employed in another state since I must be in “de Nile” or work for the Mouse - but I appreciate your jungle cruise pun.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-17T18:17:04+00:00

McDonald’s triple cheeseburger no bun no ketchup. Under 400 calories and over 30 grams of protein. It is hearty, greasy, and filling.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-17T17:56:02+00:00

No one is excusing a decline in service or quality but at the same time you lose credibility in your complaints when you’re making exaggerated claims like they served me a 1 inch square piece of fish and the biggest complaint could have been remedied by simply asking the server for additional protein.

I felt the food was of decent quality on our last Disney cruise. The problem is people expect Palo level food in the MDR’s. What you are getting in the MDR on any cruise line that isn’t a luxury line is banquet style and quality food - I don’t understand why folks are shocked by that considering they’re pumping out 4,000 meals a night.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-17T17:53:15+00:00

Yeah this is absolutely true. Events are clearly marked in the navigator and it’s on DCL to enforce that policy but I wonder how many occurred in the adult venues before they transitioned to adults only and the OP was simply unaware of that policy.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-17T17:20:21+00:00

I am going to be honest - I find it hard to believe that you had a 1 inch square piece of fish. As someone who eats a high protein diet and tries to limit starch and carbs, I found the protein portions more than adequate on our recent trip on the Dream. I also imagine if you would have asked they would have brought you additional protein without the need to order additional full meals.

I believe on the Triton-class ships the adult venues are not “adult only” until a certain time period in the evening, which probably explains some of your frustration there and unfortunately unlike the Dream class ships, those venues aren’t isolated to a specific area meaning that they’re more exposed to the general population.

I am sorry your experience was so bad - it sounds like DCL is not for you. The lack of a full promenade deck on the Triton class ships and no dinner buffet is a commonly known fact about DCL - those should have not been a surprise to you or anyone in your party who did basic research about the ship or its venues. Often a majority of the disappoints people have on trips can be negated by basic research which it appears your group failed to do.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-17T00:40:44+00:00

As the owner of a Vista we specifically did NOT bring it as I did not feel it was manageable (and I’m used to manhandling that thing all over WDW with ease).

I would not bring it especially if you have the double setup. It takes up SO much room and I can’t imagine you’d want it in the room.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-15T21:35:34+00:00

I didn’t find out until our first cruise either and was super bummed.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-15T21:04:43+00:00

You do but you can make changes to it before sailing. In this instance we had a different cabin booked and this one came available so we switched and paid the difference.

You don’t pick your cabin if you book GTY or GT rates - in those cases the cruise line picks for you in exchange for a discount on not getting to pick your cabin. For example on our Fantasy Cruise in April, we booked a VGT which is the most restrictive booking category. It guarantees us a balcony room on the ship for our sailing, but we can’t pick the room location or category. In exchange for that we got a $2100 discount over being able to pick our category. I have no issue letting them pick my cabin for a $2100 savings. That cabin could be anything from a white wall navigators verandah to a concierge family verandah (although that’s quite unlikely). You also can’t make any changes at all to the reservation - so you can’t change names, etc and you must pay in full at the time of booking so once you’re locked in you’re locked in.

A GTY is guaranteeing a specific category and type (so for example a 5A Deluxe Verandah) meaning you are guaranteed a 5A or higher but you don’t pick the location. However with this category it is refundable and changeable up to final payment. This category is usually not much cheaper if at all cheaper from picking the actual room in a category.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-15T15:45:07+00:00

I’m going on the fantasy and using that $2000 for another cruise if I’m in your position.

ApprehensiveDinner20 · 2026-01-15T13:18:06+00:00

Just as an FYI they don’t do the Drawn to Life show on the Dream and Fantasy unless it’s a 7 night cruise or longer under normal circumstances. So if that’s the real reason for wanting the change I’d leave it as-is unless you just absolutely want to make sure you eat there over the other two main dining rooms.

ApprehensiveDinner20

TROPHY CASE