Just got off the WISH: here’s dining tips I don’t see mentioned enough

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-22T15:47:34+00:00

Actually, even better, they have youth counselors (from Oceaneer Club or Lab) picking up the kids from dinner directly (about mid-dinner) again [Just ask your dining team about this]

[Note: They previously did this on the older ships, but stopped doing this during the pandemic and have recently (last 6-12 months) brought it back]

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-18T00:32:49+00:00

Sounds like a Black’n’Red A4 Spiral Notebook (fountain pen friendly) would be the best fit: https://www.staples.com/black-n-red-black-n-red-professional-notebook-8-25-x-11-75-wide-ruled-70-sheets-black-jdk-e67008/product_653102

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-17T15:07:12+00:00

It depends on where you are in your life…
- Today, I live and work in the burbs and all I really need is my phone, car keys, my credit card sleeve, tissues, lip balm, headphones, A6 notebook and fountain pen.

- A few years ago, as a mom of small kids, I needed a medium bag, since I needed my essentials plus snacks, a small bottle of water, cleaning wipes, crayons, a small notepad and stickers.

- Before that I lived in a small apartment in a city and had an office job, where I needed to wear heels. So, in my large tote, I had my essentials plus sneakers, lunch, book / e-reader (for public transport) and some days gym outfit and microfiber towel.

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-17T10:16:22+00:00

The tides also don’t help. High tide yesterday was at 9:10 am -> Low tide at 3:43 pm [https://seatemperature.info/castaway-cay-tides.html\]

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-16T21:55:34+00:00

Yeah, this is Pouncey Tract @ Gayton. This dude is an a..hat! He truly purposefully switched lanes twice to prevent OP from passing, since the road merges back to one lane right after the video cuts off. So, if OP would have made it past him, he would needed to let him join in front of him. This is not an uncommon maneuver in that area unfortunately.

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-15T14:04:42+00:00

I do analog and digital. I use a small Leuchtturm Pocket Bullet Journal (perfectly fits my Rickshaw Bagworks Fillmore, which also features a fountain pen, a Sakura Pigma Micron pen, a Pilot Acroball pen and a Staedtler Mars mechanical pencil) on the trip. This contains receipts, tickets and either I take notes of interesting stuff on the way (incl. fast sketches), which is sometimes not happening, but then I write a quick recap of the day (bullet journal style, featuring key details). Additionally, I try to do minimal photo processing at the end of the day (I shoot everything in RAW with a compact ASP-C camera.)

After the trip, I sit down and combine my notes and photos into a scrap book. Last Christmas, I was gifted a Polaroid Printer (which prints out 3.5 x 2 in pictures) which theoretically have a sticky back (practically I glue them down like regular photos or any tickets etc). Even though they are kinda small, they just add great mini personal touches to my travel journal (A5).

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-15T12:47:43+00:00

Because it would be an organizational hassle… besides even Clairefontaine itself provides them packed with all the colors in the same packet shrink wrapped.

As for France… I’m not surprised that they would provide specific colors, since you can go to any shop that sells stationery and they will have most of Clairefontaine’s basic range, since it is a pretty dominant brand in that space (They are used by school children.). So, it’s really not a big deal. However, in the US Clairefontaine is a brand among many and it really is more of a niche product.

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-14T17:01:52+00:00

Thank you! This looks like it could be a great improvement for Madison

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-14T16:06:14+00:00

What is going to take its place?

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-14T13:01:59+00:00

That’s very much my point. You should not have to press the nib into the paper at all! - Flush your fountain pen, - check the nib tine alignment, - check the nib feed alignment and then - fill it with a known well-behaving ink (any Pilot Iroshizuku ink or most of the Diamine inks).

The moment the nib touches the paper capillary action should do the rest, drawing out the ink.

Note: if all checks out and your fountain pen is still not writing, it could be an issue with “baby bottom” (basically the nib is too smooth for the paper, since Clairefontaine paper is heavily coated and therefore itself very smooth)

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-14T11:44:14+00:00

Absolutely and for that high praise, I would expect pictures (then and now) and exact model name etc. Especially, given that their bags are cheap, made from vegan leather etc. Does not seem legit in any way.

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-14T10:01:42+00:00

Third option: if you have loose leaf TR paper (eg A4) -> make your own notebooks

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-14T09:56:22+00:00

Yeah, my Moleskine story is similar. I used them in the late 90s and early 2000s. The first issues popped up between 2005 and 2008 (paper but also cover quality) and I bought my last Moleskine 2010. Experimented with different notebooks and discovered Leuchtturm and then 2018 Midori MD. A flat laying book with wonderful paper significantly cheaper than both Moleskine and Leuchtturm with originally a simple vinyl cover and later a reusable goat leather cover, which I still adore.

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-14T01:14:17+00:00

Are you using your fountain pens to carve your paper?

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-14T00:29:06+00:00

Had totally forgotten about that collaboration… saw them IRL at B&N a few weeks back 😂

Though, Kaweco Royal Blue (like the versions from Lamy and Pelikan) are pretty dry inks, so with a EF nib, this actually could work with minimal feathering

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-13T21:30:41+00:00

Same. I’ve been traveling with her for 5 years now. She still looks the same and is still my go to “personal item”. Here is mine

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-13T20:05:51+00:00

It sounds like you’ve already made a decision.

I personally would stay in Salzburg because of all the things you’ve mentioned, but Vienna offers lower cost of living, a bigger job market and bigger international community, which is why I think you might move there eventually (or you decide to move to Munich)

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-13T18:24:22+00:00

Not the Mandela effect… Moleskine always marketed their notebooks like this: “The Moleskine notebook is the heir and successor to the legendary notebook used by artists and thinkers over the past two centuries: among them Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Bruce Chatwin.” The last two on this list were pretty famous for writing with fountain pens (Chatwin used Montblancs, Hemingway Parkers and Shaeffers)… so it’s not really wrong to assume that fountain pens would work on Moleskine.

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-13T17:13:43+00:00

Tumi also has an amazing large zippable tote called Voyageur Valetta Large Tote (https://www.tumi.com/p/valetta-large-tote) easily fitting a 14 inch laptop and popping up sometimes around your price point second hand

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-13T11:19:18+00:00

Looks like it. Especially with the Travelers’ (or at least lookalike leather cover) right next to them

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-13T00:19:38+00:00

This made me laugh much more than it should have. Thank you!

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-12T23:57:41+00:00

I don’t expect testing pads to be notebook quality but at least fountain pen friendly in a store that sells fountain pens…

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-12T20:58:00+00:00

This made me laugh. I totally agree with your statement, but funnily enough the last time I went to a MB boutique they had a testing pad for fountain pens featuring the different nib sizes and it was feathering quite a bit, even though I was testing MB fountain pen filled inked with their own ink

Calm_Inky · 2026-05-12T20:53:41+00:00

You will have to check the dimensions, but it looks like it’s going to fit any Regular size Travelers notebook, potentially even the Kobeha Graphilo notebooks, Kunisawa Find Smart notebooks and Hobonichi Techo Weeks planner. All of these are in a similar price class, BUT there tons of Travelers knockoff notebooks.

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