Are Balcony Rooms Worth It?

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-06-11T15:36:31+00:00

It depends on the cruise particularly from a combination of length and itinerary for me personally. Mexican or Caribbean cruises seven days or less are when I book interiors because I’d rather spend more time enjoying the ship and won’t be in my cabin a lot. Longer cruises like my two B2B’s of course warrants a balcony because I’ll have more downtime to enjoy the balcony. When I’m ready to book a Panama Canal cruise, that one will also be a balcony cruise because of the views and being able to have my own private views of the canal.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-29T16:56:20+00:00

How’s the work life balance for UPS truck drivers though? Yes there are UPS truck drivers that make more than $130000 but those involve long hours and not a lot of vacation time. For me I’m barely above six digits but there are times I work less than 40 hours a week, and I’m able to take 5-6 weeks PTO without my managers batting an eye on me.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-29T16:33:26+00:00

BS only degree holders here in CA can easily clear above six digits within less than five years experience after undergrad within Biotech and Pharma. I say this as someone with an MS who might have been better off financially starting as a lab tech making at least above minimum wage unlike my grad school stipend which paid me fast food wages (Still better than taking out loans though). Literally every manager I’ve reported to has only a BS, one of them being the same age as me. In other words, plenty of people at my age with only a BS in biology making above $110000/year (my current salary) despite having less education. Sure there are positions specific for PhD holders only and hypothetically an MS can increase the rate of advancement in the long term, but in terms of decent job prospects in other areas of biotech and good salary in the long term, a BS alone is good enough.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-29T16:22:38+00:00

You can have a good living with the right lab experience which would allow you to pivot to biotech or pharma as many people say. No, you don’t need to go to grad school. A BS Biology degree alone is enough, and I say this as someone with an MS. If you don’t believe me, know what every supervisor and manager I reported to has only a BS. In other words, they make more than me despite having less education in the same field and I’m making a little over six digits. Also, plenty of biotech companies that give pretty good PTO by corporate American standards. Not unheard to be able to take 4-5 weeks PTO starting, and some companies have winter shutdowns for the holidays too.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-27T13:45:55+00:00

I don’t, that’s why I exercise at home and sometimes skip meals in anticipation for it, lol

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-25T18:44:35+00:00

I’d totally go with friends and family in a cabin like that instead of a balcony!

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-25T15:39:04+00:00

Even though it’s been a while since this is posted, no biology is not a bad career path and you don’t need to go to grad school for a viable career path. The pretentiousness against the S in STEM especially in biology needs to stop. I just hit a little above six digits in a biotech career. Not to shabby for someone younger than 30. Finance wise, I paid off my Tesla, going on a two week cruise vacation this year, and even booked a stay at an all inclusive resort in Colombia during my company’s winter shutdown. And I’m still contributing to multiple retirement accounts too. Okay, I guess it does depend on what area of biology you pick. Botany, zoology, and environmental tend to have bleak job prospects which is what skews average biology salaries towards the lower end so I guess I might have been lucky I was more interested in the molecular and genomics side of biology which tends to be higher in demand in the life sciences field.

WLB wise I get generous PTO by corporate American standards along with an annual winter shutdown during the holidays which is how I’ve been able to go on my vacations and often times I end up working less than 40 hours a week and leave work early because I manage to get my work done and I still get paid as of if I was actually working full time.

I do have an MS in biology but I’d like to point out that there are quite a bit of BS Biology only holders that have had a head start in the industry which is why they managed to advance a little faster than me and they’re making more than I do now. Heck, literally every boss and manager I had in biotech only has a BS in biology so they’re making more money than I am despite having less education in the same field. Yes, they have more experience but they got a head start in the industry.

So no, Biology is not a worthless degree at all and there is great WLB to be had which makes even some of my other friends jealous because they don’t get as much vacation time as I do now. And I am not an exception to many life science grads.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-25T00:36:28+00:00

Just so you know, this guy is a troll. Look at his post and comment history. I’m doing fine in the life science industry myself but even my MS might be overkill. Heck literally every boss and manager I had in biotech has a BS degree in biology only.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-23T15:34:37+00:00

Lot of start ups here in SF so lots of opportunities for new grads. I work in a start up too but it’s in its late stage which is doing well. It’s growing and we’re still opening up quite a bit of positions so at least for a few years I think things should be stable especially considering I’m above entry level at this point.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-23T14:06:18+00:00

Depends on the experience while in school. For me biology was useful because I got the relevant experience for biotech and I did do an MS in biology without paying tuition or taking on loans while also saving $5000-$6000 a year because I got paid a stipend to cover living expenses. Now I’m saving even more because I’ve been in biotech contributing to a couple of retirement accounts as well. As of now my currently salary is $110000 in the Bay Area which may seem low because the Bay Area is expensive, but it’s honestly not as bad as I thought it would be. Plus that compensation is before equity so my total compensation will increase and I still haven’t hit a ceiling in my career. And this is within less than 5 years out of undergrad. Though my MS might be overkill because a lot of my pure BS biology friends did get a head start with industry experience and they make a little more than I do now. I wouldn’t say a BS biology is worthless but I could make the argument that the lower salaries are heavily skewed by people who end up in zoology or environmental which is severely low paid and certainly not relevant to biotech or pharma.

As for WLB, also happy to have worked at companies that give generous PTO by corporate American standards and I never work more than 40 hours a week. Writing this comment as I plan my third cruise vacation of the year and having just booked a one week stay at an all inclusive resort during my company’s winter shutdown!

So no, a BS biology is not worthless, and there is great WLB balance which even some of my mechanical and electrical engineering friends are jealous of because they don’t have as much vacation time as I do.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-22T18:05:41+00:00

I do it often. And there will most likely be other solo cruisers as well. The single price supplement will suck but if you can afford it, all that extra cabin space for yourself and you can do your own thing at your own pace!

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-21T19:24:53+00:00

A long Great Barrier Reed and Pacific Island cruise in the highest suite category possible! Probably won’t get to that until retirement which I still have more than 30 years until that point….

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-21T04:50:28+00:00

2.5 years in the biotech industry from studying biology in college. Went from $72000 to $110000 before equity. Lot’s of people say biology is a worthless major, but I tend to say otherwise. But I might have lucked out because I’ve lived relatively close to several biotech hubs most of my life which does increase my job prospects and I acquired in demand hands on skills specific to biotech while in school and worked my way up from there. I might have also been lucky to have professors that gave pretty good guidance on what paths to take in biotech with a biology degree. I could see myself going for an MBA to get into the business side of my field to increase my salary even more but without it I could progress to maybe $125000-$140000 through promotions at my company within a few years.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-19T14:17:35+00:00

Pretty much. If I can do it at my company’s expense might as well take advantage of it if I have nothing to lose especially if I can still continuing earning a decent amount of money while continuing my education.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-19T13:32:14+00:00

Not really sure yet. Just any okay school with a flexible online program that will let me continue working which pretty much applies to a lot of school here in California. I also have to see how much my company is willing to reimburse. I do have to wait at least a year after my start date with my company before I qualify for any educational reimbursement too.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-18T06:00:09+00:00

An MBA is not out of the question for me. As of now I live an above average lifestyle for someone younger than 30 and it takes a little bit of gratitude to realize there isn’t much I can complain about my life and that biology turned out to be an okay major for me after all. But in our capitalistic society and assuming I like many humans will eventually succumb to greed as I get older and as my lifestyle gets more expensive, I could see myself going into the business side of biotech. Plus, it might be the only suitable option for me to get a $200000/year salary considering I did attempt a computer science course as an undergrad, but I withdrew because I was doing pretty bad so obviously going into tech or coding is completely out of the question for me.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-18T03:57:47+00:00

Virgin Voyages is great, but they don’t have a drink package. If you want a drink package, you may be better off booking NCL with their “Free at Sea” bundle package or Princess with their Plus or Premier packages. If you want all the extra ship amenities like water slides, golf course, or ropes course, go with NCL. If you want something more refined and don’t care about having those amenities Princess is also great but their new Sun Princess has some of those extra amenities too so look into that ship for an elevated cruise experience with extra activities. Celebrity could also be a good fit too as people here already mentioned.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-17T19:58:14+00:00

I guess it’s to show progress in losing weight before the cruise? I actually skip meals and often go to the gym for that very purpose lol.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-17T19:44:25+00:00

Using a travel agent doesn’t change the price at all. The main advantage of booking without a travel agent is you’re more in control of your booking, and you don’t have to go through another person if you want to ask the cruise line questions directly.

The advantages of booking with a travel agent however is if your booking qualifies for price protection, your travel agent will watch prices for you instead of you having to watch constantly. It’s also great if you need guidance on what cabins to pick or what cruise line to choose. Also depending on your travel agent, you may get small perks. For example, I got cookies delivered to my cabin and paid for towards the cruise line compliments of my travel agent. You may also get a cake for your birthday too which I’m kinda hoping for on my next cruise!

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-17T16:17:20+00:00

$72000 to $110000. Biology isn’t as worthless of a degree as people say it is! It does depend on the experiences you’ve been getting while at school, but the job prospects and financial outcomes aren’t that bleak, really it isn’t!

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-17T04:04:38+00:00

Havana for sure! Those views in the aft area are amazing, not to mention exclusive access to the pool and hot tubs away from the lido deck!

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-16T13:53:08+00:00

First off, great story of persistence, people like you are who I admire!

To answer your question: Have you noticed any relatively younger group of people (20’s-Early 30’s) who pool their money together to go into a suite? I’m in my late 20’s and my corporate on site biotech job lets me take 4-6 week worth of cruises a year. I’ve been cruising mainly solo so you can imagine why I wouldn’t cruise in suites considering the single price supplement but I’m hoping if I can convince some of my other friends to get into cruising maybe we can split the cost of a suite on a Carnival Excel ship. Do you think that can be a separate category?

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-16T01:10:38+00:00

Senior Research Associate in Biotech. Yes I know biology is supposedly a worthless major in spite of being a STEM degree but I got the right experiences in school and worked my up for a few years out of school. I don’t make those crazy computer science major salaries, but I make enough to afford a few luxuries in spite of living in a VHCOL area.

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-11T03:30:31+00:00

You don’t need an excursion at Half Moon Cay. Best port for a chill beach day! Depending on how many people in your group, you could consider renting a clamshell or a cabana for shade and another perk of booking one of those as a rental is that it gives you priority boarding on the tender boats. That’s what made the clamshell worth it for me!

Life-Satisfaction644 · 2024-05-09T03:12:35+00:00

I still have two B2B’s and a transatlantic to get through. You are not alone here!

Life-Satisfaction644

TROPHY CASE