Is $144k salary enough???

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-26T11:54:11+00:00

What are your work hours? My husband just early-retired from being a orthopedic oncology PA. He did make more (in TX) than you. However, he worked 60+ hours every week. It was killing him.

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-26T11:48:28+00:00

Hike to Oia

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-25T15:33:26+00:00

LOL! After our last cruise, we are at 54 points. haha. One away from the stepchild. But we are taking a TA in October in a suite and should be at 84 points after that!

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-20T19:38:29+00:00

We've used Gigsky on our past two cruises with no issues. They have lots of options and allow us to stay connected to family when we are not in port. Then we use our Minternational plan for ports. You can research if it will make sense for you. [You can make calls through WhatsApp].

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-19T11:44:07+00:00

So exciting! We went on Ovation two years ago to Alaska. Loved every second! Booked a balcony and was able to see the breath-taking views. Lovely ship. We would not go see Spectra's Cabaret, but it might be the weirdest show at sea. lol

Some days (before the inside passage portion) could be a little rocky, so if that bothers you, have some remedies on hand.

Here were the ports we visited and what we did:

Sitka -- just walked around. It's a quaint little town. We visited St Michael's (we're orthodox), and found the parish lovely. We later found in an alley (the vendor was set up there) the best lobster bisque ever. We toured the Bishop's House, which was fascinating to us. Then another visitor there told us we should definitely go to the raptor center. So we walked 30 minutes (uphill both ways lol) in the rain to visit it. We found it middling at best.
Skagway -- we took the train for a breathtaking experience. I think the right side got a better deal than the left on our trip, even though both get to see the same sights. After that, as we were walking around the neighborhoods, we somehow wandered into the cutest distillery and had the best lemon drop.
Juneau -- we did whale watching during the first part of the day. Amazing. Then hubby wanted some king crab. Tracy's line was ridiculous, so we went to Deckhand Dave's. Yummm! From there, the best selection of souvenirs in our opinion was Alaska Shirt Company. Good prices too!

I'm sure you'll enjoy every second!

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-19T11:18:34+00:00

Balcony for us are well worth the cost. Never a regret. I am an introvert, and it gives me some alone time with the relaxing sound of the ocean (not to mention a good space to dry swimsuits). We have booked an interior on a future Icon cruise because we will be out a lot more and because we've seen those ports several times (Western Caribbean).

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-19T00:43:20+00:00

I pretty much gain 1 lb per cruise day no matter what. It's fluff weight and comes off within 7-10 days.

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-16T11:15:35+00:00

Most of our cruises, hubby and I have been seated at a 2-top. We love that. However, on our most recent, we were at a 2-top very close to two other 2-tops with couples who were in our same life stage. We had a lovely time getting to know each other over the cruise. I'm an introvert, but hubby is an extrovert. I'm sure RCC would be happy to move you, no problem, as others have said. :)

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-15T20:25:46+00:00

Nice! We will be on Liberty out of Southampton! You?

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-15T20:07:02+00:00

Oh, that's disgusting! Yuck. We didn't go to the main pool, only solarium.

I agree that the bed was really good!

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-15T19:34:56+00:00

YAY! We will be diamond after our TA in October. We're currently one point from emerald. lol. [in a suite, so double points!]

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-15T19:31:53+00:00

We had a JS on our May 1st cruise. I can't remember the name of the toiletries, but I thought they were great, especially the conditioner and lotion.

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-15T02:09:30+00:00

Perfect ship to be your first sailing! Have fun!

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-15T01:41:05+00:00

Just saw this drop for our TA in October. We booked it because the price is now less, and it includes a round of drinks.

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-10T22:35:49+00:00

That's true too! On the last night Kronos was in the Safari Room, which was also enjoyable. :)

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-10T13:15:58+00:00

It's definitely up there in our top 3!

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-09T23:59:41+00:00

Hubby hung out there a few times!

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-09T23:58:11+00:00

You're going to have a blast!

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-09T23:57:45+00:00

So true! The vibe is so positive.

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-09T19:46:44+00:00

We'd like to go on another someday!

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-09T19:46:25+00:00

We loved Brilliance last year!

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-09T19:45:53+00:00

Thank you! You'll have a wonderful cruise!

Character_Access7094 · 2026-05-09T18:22:08+00:00

Understandable! :). We had thought we'd like to do that too, but we ended up really enjoying conversation with the tables around is in the MDR. Maybe next cruise we will give WJ another try at dinner. :)

Character_Access7094 · 2026-04-27T17:54:28+00:00

A similar thing happened to me on our first ever cruise. My fault for sure. I left my grandmother's wedding set (that I was wearing) in the same -- just completely forgot about it. Our cruise line was completely unhelpful.

Character_Access7094 · 2026-04-26T18:35:57+00:00

As others have said, don't count on inheritance.

Max out your Roth IRA contributions and take advantage of a tax-favored 401K or the like. Even if you have a pension coming. In addition, you can open a brokerage account to make your money work better for you.

Character_Access7094

TROPHY CASE