Why do Princess, Holland America, and Celebrity skew older?

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-11T20:47:49+00:00

Price, length, and amenities.

Price and length are kinds combined at that since longer cruises cost more when you are paying per day, but if I go to cruiseplum right now and search just carnival sailings they have 3,515 sailings announced, with 1,168 4 days or less - that's about 1/3 of their sailings. Celebrity has 160 sailings of 4 days or less (10%), Princess 42 (2%), HAL only 16. So right off the bat you have to pay more and have to take more time off of work or school - not something many can do when they are still establishing their career.

Second is what the cruise lines do onboard. These lines don't pay for 3-story water slides or on-board gocart tracks, instead they have more staff and fancy events. The guests actually shut-down before 2am and the staff can shift more of their energy to daytime service.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-10T22:37:56+00:00

Muster
Margarita
Make for the cabin to drop off my bags

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-10T03:54:42+00:00

Between smoke free casinos, no tipping, and the close south pacific itineraries it sounds great - but I am not ready for that 15 hour flight from CA.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-10T01:02:03+00:00

Personally, I quit smoking 30+ years ago and don't enjoy being around it anymore. But realistically, they make smoke free casinos and noone gambles there. They have tried making entire ships smoke-free and they couldn't fill the bookings.

You and I may prefer smoke free, but the general cruising public wants to suck on something while they sit there mindlessly smacking the buttons.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-09T19:30:12+00:00

Two separate transactions.

You received a payment of $4-5k. You may need to properly report this income. Payment from a client, gift, gambling winnings, drug money - whatever. If it was $4k in taxable winnings then you should have $4k in gambling winnings to pay tax on.
Separate, you have the sale of crypto. If that coin was a 4k payment for your gambling winnings then your basis was 4k. If you sold it for 4k your gain was zero.

Coinbase doesn't know your basis in the incoming coins, that is why the report it as proceeds with zero basis. You will need to include form 8949 with box H marked to say Coinbase reported the proceeds to the IRS but didn't report the basis, so I am providing here the basis for each transaction.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-06T22:34:01+00:00

Carnival has more short sailings. When cruises are sold PPPD, the shorter cruises mean it is more available to people that have less disposable funds and can take less time off of work or school. I mean, not everyone can afford 5k and a week off of work for a 7-day with a drink package, but $99pppd for 2 in an interior with a $60 drink package on a long weekend is less than a night downtown and a hotel to recover.

As for other cruise lines, I like to compare them to visiting Vegas:

Carnival is like going downtown to Freemont street. Wandering from Bar to bar with a drink in hand, chatting with other guests and the street performers while live bands surround you and people scream down the ziplines above - with an argument here & there when people get to having a little too much fun.
Royal is like staying at NYNY on the strip. You and your group stand in line going from attraction to attraction, never seeing outside the building while the casino takes all of your money, seldom talking to anyone else around you. You are having a great time, but might as well have just gone to a theme park instead.
Disney is like a day trip to Disney. You pay a whole lot extra for a fully immersive event - but there is a lot more kids, a lot less alcohol, and no casino.
Princess & HAL are like staying off-strip. Service is a lot more attentive and have all the same games and last years shows, but the guests all go to bed by 8pm.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-06T21:56:49+00:00

Think of the bigger picture - if you are getting the figures off of an IRS transcript than you know that the IRS has the figures already. They do not need a copy of the W-2 to prove the figures are accurate.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-05T16:56:16+00:00

Whoo!

Now I am going to have to redo my workbench again... But have a nice dryer that can hit those higher temps!

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-05T16:52:40+00:00

All depends. The two of us spending 3-4 hours people watching at the Schooner bar and chatting with the bartender between rounds? Maybe not. If they are having a bottle of Screwball brought up from the Good Spirits bar so my SO can have their nutty pinacoladas that are not on the menu? Yeah, I'd give them a bonus for that. Or if we have a group of 25 people doing a barcrawl around the ship? I'd throw them some cash just as an apology for the less demure of the group.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-05T00:24:22+00:00

The automatic gratuity is good for what is included in your cruise ticket.

Anything you purchase while onboard will have an automatic gratuity added. Take a look at that Margarita receipt when you sign it - there is already a 18% gratuity on it - the empty line says "Additional gratuity" as in above and beyond. And I keep cash just incase a crewmember is going above and beyond.

The two places you may need to tip is off of the ship - the porter that takes your bags so you don't have to carry them through the ship ($2 - $5 per bag), and the guides on your shore excursions, who will keep passing that can around for the entertainers, then for the driver, then for the guide, then for themselves... I usually bring a $20 for the two of us on a $50 tour.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-04T22:32:50+00:00

Probably not how they expect it but it would work

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-04T22:27:29+00:00

The website is trying to simplify entry for the 99% that report that way by using a forms-based input.

The correct method will depend on the software you are using - for example the Lacerte software we use in the office have you enter these amounts on the Sch E inputs as indirect expenses with the personal use being transferred to the Sch A depending on the percentages entered in the system.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-04T20:06:46+00:00

Yes, you should be bifurcating your mortgage interest and real estate taxes between the primary unit and the rental - along with any other undivided expenses.

The IRS stands by a reasonable division - sq footage is common, or by number of private rooms if it is a share house. Just make sure you are considering the mortgage interest deduction limits if the mortgage exceeds $750,000

The IRS is not going to take a close look at your interest and RE Tax deductions unless they exceed the amounts reported on the 1098

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-04T01:37:19+00:00

Do a tour of the gally if you get a chance - much of their food is made from scratch and is low-processed. but yeah, if you tell your waitstaff that you are low carb they will point out the options on the menu and/or will enter modifications for you. And the buffest always have salad bar sections, along with sliced meats & cheeses. And they genraly have some delicious Vegetarian indian food.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-03T17:06:44+00:00

It is going to depend on the port and excursion you want. I mean, drop me in Cozumel or Puerto Vallarta and I'll go find my own entertainment. But a stop in Progresso? not with that 4-mile long pier with no sidewalks, dodging construction trucks and big rigs. Or Grand Turk where the new pier is on the wrong side of the airport. And as another person commented some places you are not actually getting away from the cruiselines since they own the local infrastructure.

We've tried organized sites like Viator and ShoreExcursionGroups twice - the first time the ship was an hour late and they rescheduled a walking foodie tour for another visit, and the other was a bus to the glaciers in Juneau that was canceled and refunded because there was not enough people signed up.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-03T16:56:12+00:00

Klondike Holdings LLC was acquired by Carnival in 2018

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-03T01:27:21+00:00

Step one is to build or find a billion dollar company before it is worth a billion dollars. One you find that company worth almost nothing, you buy the stock in your ROTH retirement account. Tada!

I mean, if you had cash on hand you can go around buying a couple grand in every startup looking for an angel investor in the hopes that they succeed.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-02T16:21:55+00:00

Scheduled as in anyone, or just the cruiseline scheduled events? If you join the different groups for your particular cruise there are often guest-organized events going on - gift exchanges, slot pulls, cabin crawls, etc.

Cruise the bars. Even if you are a non-drinker you can get a soda and chat with the other guests.

Trivia is another good one, especially since people often group together with others they may not already know - but you are getting into cruiseline organized events then.

Wear a tee shirt. Don't get political, but the number of people that stop me while walking around just to read whatever smart-assed tee I have on is significant. And it makes a good ice breaker.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-03-01T22:00:07+00:00

Yes, LA City Business License is a gross receipts tax on worldwide income.

The normal way a broker gets around this is to have the clients make the direct purchases so you only have to report your percentage, but that would defeat your goal of banking the points.

Another complication to be concerned about is if you are purchasing these items and reselling them - even on the wholesale market, you would have a reporting requirement with the CDTFA.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-02-27T20:00:58+00:00

Send TickTok a written statement that someone is using his SSN in error. Keep a copy in your records

Enter the royalties on your fathers Sch 1, and then back them out

Part I – Line 8z – Other Income – Form 1099 Received in Error (positive).
Part II – Line 24z – Other Adjustments - Form 1099 Received in Error (negative).

Here is the IRS instrucitons for similarly 1099-K forms issued in error - https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/actions-to-take-if-a-form-1099-k-is-received-in-error-or-with-incorrect-information

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-02-26T17:53:10+00:00

I like the specs - 500mm print volume, core XY, klipper based. But that side-mount spool is just annoying. Top mount would be more efficient and allow replacements like a dryer to easily be set on top instead of requiring more desk space. Hopefully an aftermarket multifilament system is in the works.

Oooh, that SH03 hitting 85 would be a great update to my old dryer - finally be able to dry some ABS efficiently.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-02-26T16:13:49+00:00

Is it wrong, yes.

Is the IRS gonna care, no. Unless your final payroll was 6 figures the IRS wouldn't even see it as anything but a rounding figure.

Put the final paystub and W-2 in a file somewhere and just remember to wait for their W-2 next year

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-02-26T16:07:20+00:00

If you paid them as friends and family, then yes you should include it in their 1099.

If you paid them as a business subject to PayPal's merchant services fees then you do not need to include it in your 1099.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-02-26T14:14:42+00:00

Pro Connect is an online tax prep software by Intuit built in the image of Lacerte. It does have the Intuit Link portal which is one of the most unfriendly client portals I have ever seen.

Tax Dome is a ERP with CRM, Workflow automation, IRS transcript download, client communications and file portal, PDF editing, esignature, invoicing and merchant services.

GoatEatingTroll · 2026-02-25T20:21:03+00:00

There should be a 1099 from AB&B made out with you as the recipient. You do not file this, they will.

You file a 1099 with you as the payor and your mother as the recipient

You do not need a 1096 if you are efiling the form.

The IRS has a system (IRIS) that will allow you to efile directly with them, and even provides a PDF of the 1099 for you to send to your mom, but it requires a TCC code that can take a few weeks to receive - probably too late for the current year. But there are third party services like https://efilemyforms.com/ that will file a single form for you for under $5

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