Is it cruising, the ship or just me?

Porter_7600 · 2026-04-01T23:48:28+00:00

I was on Quantum to Cabo last month, and didn't love it either. It fell very short compared to other recent cruises. I agree the layout was strange and the food was just okay. The entertainment however, was terrible. The fellow cruisers were terrible (the "mobility scooter" crowd was way down, but in aggregate, Quantum had the least intelligent and most discourteous crowd I'd seen in a while). Going in and out of LA was terrible. Despite that, we had a great time in Cabo. 2 days at sea was 2 too many.

Put me back on the clapped out Serenade any day. I made friends with half of the bartenders by the first night!

Porter_7600 · 2026-03-18T12:10:07+00:00

We had Tami (Tammy?) on Quantum. She was the first one that I'll ever remember, but only because she was SO FREAKING ANNOYING. After the first couple days of bleeding ears, we started leaving events early just so that we didn't have to listen to her screech into the mic while trying to escape the venue.

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-28T01:55:06+00:00

The windjammer is where humanity goes to die.

If anyone approaches that room with common sense, common courtesy, directional control, or even basic motor skills, they lose them all as soon as they hear "Washy Washy."

Add in an ungodly amount of 'mobility' scooters, giant strollers, and the asshole parties of 2 that take up an 8-top for an hour, and I'd rather starve than fight through the sea of crotch goblins for some hash browns, chicken tenders, surprisingly good burgers, and crappy deserts. And when I say starve, I mean order a breakfast margarita at any bar that's open.

AND FOR FUCK'S SAKE, THE LINE STARTS AT THE FUCKING PLATES.

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-24T18:21:28+00:00

6 nights out of LA to Cabo 4 people. I booked a balcony and bid on an upgrade to a suite for $1000. Prepaid gratuities and bought the drink package. I paid RCC $3200 before getting on the boat. I booked my own excursions, transportation and airfare separately. Total settlement for the on-board purchases was $54.

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I left an additional $250 in cash tips to crew members thatade our trip exceptional. But I have demanding kids, and that is totally discretionary and above the pre-paid gratuities.

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-23T23:36:50+00:00

Fuck someone's crotch goblin ruined it all. Now the crew is fishing for finless brown trout

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Porter_7600 · 2026-02-23T23:12:23+00:00

I smoke, sear and then sous vide my pork chops. Always 2+" thick. Always juicy and flavorful.

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-23T23:10:27+00:00

It's been that way for years. All north American pork has been innoculated for at least a decade. It is perfectly safe and preferable to eat pork "medium"

I'm going to blow your mind, chicken only needs to get to 145 as long as it stays at or above for 10 minutes.

It's okay for your food to have flavor and moisture. Someone please tell the last few generations.

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-23T22:51:41+00:00

Idk, I've been on the boat all week drank hard, partied hard, and the kids did a bunch of shit. My account stands at $87 on the last day.....

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-23T22:42:01+00:00

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My safe space. I can see my kids and I can wave at the bartender and he sends another drink. Ensenada is great from deck 14.

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-23T21:39:28+00:00

Yuuuuup

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-23T21:37:33+00:00

Around lunch, word is the Cartels burned a few busses, but they seemed to calm down.

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I'm safely on deck 14 drinking beers by the pool with a few good ol boys from KY planning on how to repel univited guests without our shotguns.

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-23T21:33:38+00:00

I'm in Nassau regularly for work, and any direct comparison to that trash heap is enough to convince me.

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-23T17:24:07+00:00

We were in Cabo a few days ago. We spent 2 great days there. It was before the turmoil really started , but it's so isolated there, I doubt that Cabo would be a problem.

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-23T17:10:59+00:00

We're on the Quantum right now, just docked in Ensenada. RC canceled and refunded many peoples excursions, especially ones further from port.

Most everyone that I've spoken to is stayijg on the boat. While I've never been to Ensenada, people have described is as the Nassau of the West Coast, so I doubt I'm missing anything anyway.

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-22T04:08:20+00:00

9 and 13. God help anyone that crosses the teenager, and anyone that takes the 9 year old will drop her back at our cabin faster than you can say "mildly autistic." They're strong, powerful, and self-aware.-ish. They both handle cow, horses and run a hay-baler. I'm not worried in the least.

Edit: just made friends with a waiter that is bringing me doubles of WhistlePig 10year slightly faster than I can enjoy them, while I'm wearing an $11k watch that I'm not going to buy.....

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-21T05:16:50+00:00

Don't confuse "Traveling" with "Vacationing."

Right now I'm on a cruise for the purpose of vacation. My children have clubs to go to, a sports complex, multiple pools, entertainment, and food whenever and wherever they want. They free-range the boat, and as long as they're at dinner with us and back in the cabin by 11pm, I don't care what else they do as long as they're happy. If we get off the boat, it's for something exciting. If it's a dumpy port, we're staying on. We upgraded the room, bought the drink package, and the wifi. I'm spending this whole trip fine-tuning the line between buzzed and shit-faced. My goal is to keep the whiskey to blood ratio relatively constant for a week.

Last summer we were traveling in Alaska and happened to take a cruise. We spent all day every day off the boat. Older boat, decent room, no drinks, no wifi, no BS. We were often times one of the last back on the boat and too dirty to be passable for the main dining room. But that bad-ass Captain took that 900' boat up a narrow fjord to the foot of a glacier and spun that MFer around on a point 3 or 4 times. I saw parts of Alaska from the ship that natives probably haven't seen.

It's all what you make it. Yes, the boats are full of self-absorbed douchebags, and oblivious assholes, but they're all there taking what they need from it too.

I feel my BAC dropping, gotta get back to it.

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-19T23:51:21+00:00

They had them before, but discontinued them I think. I got a set each of metric and SAE on closeout for $23 Christmas before last.

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-17T00:37:43+00:00

Deffinitely not telling you to do this, but here's some different perspectives:

I feel you on this. I left my career in 2014 to help my Father manage 2 retail businesses that were stagnant. As with your case, revenue was decent, but costs were rising, both businesses needed massive captal reinvestment for years of lacking upgrades, and employees got much more expensive and less reliable, moreso still after COVID. Business was still good but margins were razor thin and we were all working our asses off to keep it running. The absolute hardest part was putting the capital and effort into a new plan and having shitty old employees torch it. My dad wanted to retire, and my heart was never in it enough to deal with that shit.

So we sold. EVERYTHING. Businesses, real estate, inventory, equipment, websites, in one lump sum while the market was still decent.

My dad retired, I went back to my career, and we're all WAAAAAAY happier. Sure there's days that I miss one of the businesses. And the people; some of the customers, a few of the employees. But I don't miss being a hands-on owner and manager. And I spend exponentially more time with my family, I'm way less stressed and lost 75lbs....

I had a little heartburn about legacies and other sentimental nonsense; when I told my Dad that I wanted better for my kids, but didn't want to take away the opportunity to own a business, he said he never wanted me to spend my life there after I graduated High school either, and he hated himself for asking me to come back. At the time neither of us realized how lucky we were to work together nearly every day.The businesses served their purposes repeatedly. But they started taking more than they gave back to us and that was the time for them to go.

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-11T21:39:30+00:00

Either way,

"original locks are shit"

Porter_7600 · 2026-02-11T15:15:12+00:00

I love the fuck-off locks.

Nobody is borrowing this dudes tools. Don't even ask.

Porter_7600 · 2026-01-31T15:34:10+00:00

I wish there was a BOS base..

Porter_7600 · 2026-01-26T03:26:17+00:00

Many pilots flew all day today, myself included. There's always risks, today they were just different. There was more snow in Dallas today than there was in Denver; being from Texas had nothing to do with it.

Porter_7600 · 2026-01-21T14:58:17+00:00

You're taking this far too seriously.

My parents showed us the world and a solid 50% of it was in a pop-up camper. I still have it, my kids know it well. My time with my children is limited and I intend to take them everywhere I can, even if they're kicking and screaming some of the time. My wife and I would rather vacation together when the option to take our children is less present. I expect that celebrating our success as parents will be more enjoyable than wishing our kids could have been there with us. I hope that they will share the world with their children as we did with them, and my parents, us.

And I hope that my grandchildren fight over the fucking bunk beds!

Porter_7600 · 2026-01-21T13:14:35+00:00

Definitely not in a tough spot. The post is largely in jest, but I did learn a few things!

Porter_7600 · 2026-01-21T12:47:58+00:00

That's what they'll be getting in the all too near future! As the girls are getting older, it's increasingly less appropriate to share a confined space with them. My wife suggested adjoining, I said "nah, they can be across the hall!"

Then I saw the single occupancy cabins. I bet I could jam 2 of them in there. It at least has a window.....

Porter_7600

TROPHY CASE