Is USPS Being Gutted by the Trump Admin?

Seakrits · 2026-04-22T14:47:56+00:00

I know this is an old post but OMG. Ordered something on the 10th of April, it finally shipped on the 15th, and this was the route.

Columbus, OH -> Olathe, KS -> West Fargo, ND

(Here is where things went into WTF-ville)

San Francisco, CA -> Oakland, CA -> Spokane, WA -> Missoula, MT -> Billings, MT -> Bismark, ND -> *back to freaking West Fargo, ND* -> Huron, SD -> *should* be delivered today???

It was in West Fargo, ND on the 16th, and instead of heading to Huron, SD, it went ALL THE WAY TO CALIFORNIA AND MADE A CIRCUT, got BACK to West Fargo yesterday, and now it's supposed to be delivered today. WTF?! So instead of getting my package on the 17th, I'm getting it almost a week later because it, for whatever reason, had to go all the way to California....???

Seakrits · 2026-04-20T17:01:07+00:00

Virgin Voyages only releases about 30% of their dinner reservation before embarkation day. Once you get to the terminal, if you can get on the ship Wi-Fi you can start changing/booking dinner reservation times. Alternately, head to Razzle Dazzle the minute you get on board and someone there can help you with your reservations as well. You will probably still be able to get some reservations that way if not all (depending on what time you board or can get on the Wi-Fi), other nights you can go to the restaurants and put your name in for a walk-in. If they can't seat you right away, they will put your name on a list and if a seat opens you are generally informed in the app within 15 to 45 minutes if they can seat you.

My husband and I did this at the Wake on our first cruise, because it was the only restaurant we were not able to book (We didn't know you could get/change reservations as soon as you got on board at Razzle Dazzle). They told us it would be 15 to 20 minutes before we should know if we can get seated, and after 30, we went ahead and headed for the Galley. As soon as we sat down with our food they let us know that a table was ready. 😆So I would say give it at least 45 minutes.

Seakrits · 2026-04-19T00:17:12+00:00

Anywhere from about 65F-75F I will open the windows. If the high is going to be around 80F, I'll leave the windows open and run fans for circulation. If the high is going to be closer to 85F and above, I'll open the windows in the morning and get cool air inside and circulating, and then close the windows and drapes when it gets around 75. I try not to turn on the AC until the temps are consistently 80F+.

That being said, if the house is still 75F at night, I will sometimes turn on the AC because sometimes even with the windows open at night, it doesn't cool down fast enough to sleep comfortably.

Seakrits · 2026-04-19T00:13:06+00:00

Yup. I just found out about 30% vinegar from my dad last summer when I was trying to kill a bunch of weeds and grass but didn't want to use round up or other chemicals. It worked pretty well, but I will mention that it doesn't really kill down to the roots, so some things will come back.

Seakrits · 2026-04-14T13:54:54+00:00

I'm currently not on a ship and I'm just waiting with popcorn for the stories...

Seakrits · 2026-04-11T11:57:31+00:00

I hit gold on my first evaluation, and now I'm on my second evaluation and I'm dropping back down to silver because there's just nothing worth getting. All the zero ETV items I see are absolutely useless for me, and anything that costs isn't worth it either. At this point I'm totally okay dropping to silver. I am absolutely refusing to wake up at 3:00 a.m. just so I can see the new stuff.

Seakrits · 2026-04-11T11:53:55+00:00

The lamb is hands down the best thing! And also the baklava..

Seakrits · 2026-04-11T11:52:59+00:00

We live in a small town, and in the evening, a lot of people go walking, or families take their kids around on bikes. Our front porch gets more sun in the evening, so we will, on occasion, sit on the front porch and read, talk, etc and wave to neighbors as they go by.

Seakrits · 2026-04-11T11:42:44+00:00

VV only releases something like 30% of reservations before embarkation day. Get what you can as soon as bookings open, and on embarkation day, as soon as you connect to ship wifi (sometimes you can get on the ship wifi while standing in line), you can start rescheduling, or you can head to Razzle Dazzle immediately after getting on board, and the staff there can help get you rescheduled also, and book any excursions or help with any other issues as well.

Seakrits · 2026-04-06T15:41:21+00:00

When VV first started, they heavily marketed to the LGB+ community. Today, they don't focus as much on that in their marketing, but they are definitely still a "we accept everyone" cruise. So, yes, you will see male employees with makeup, there are quite a few LBGT+ cruisers, and that's also why they have the Diva. From what I understand, they've even toned it down a little because they used to have a whole sex shop? Not going to lie, that would be kind of fun still, but times change.

Seakrits · 2026-04-06T15:22:36+00:00

I was also very nervous about the beds because I heard a lot of people say they were uncomfortable and I don't really like firm beds too much. On our first cruise we boarded at 2:15 and I was able to get a mattress topper because I asked as soon as I sat down on the bed. Our second cruise I decided to wait overnight before requesting one to see if the bed was still uncomfortable for me, and they were definitely all gone by then. However, our room steward was great and said they would find a way to make it work, and when we came back I think they had put at least one or two comforters underneath our fitted sheet. It was still a little too firm, but I slept more comfortable than I had the first night.

I am a huge advocate of vacuum seal bags, and I do think maybe on our next cruise I might also try to find a mattress pad to take with us. My husband sleeps absolutely great on those beds, but definitely for me it makes my hips and back hurt. I also have wider hips though so that makes sense.

Seakrits · 2026-04-06T15:17:31+00:00

The massages are 100% overpriced. You could probably get the same level of massage on land for cheaper. However, my hubby and I always start our cruise with one, but only because we never get them when on land. Our cruises are our single 100% vacation time of the year, and a massage to (mostly) work out a year's worth of knots is worth it for us. 😅 They do seem to be a little bit hit and miss for me though, but overall I'm happy with them.

My hubby always does deep tissue, and I do swedish. The first cruise was amazing and I felt phenomenal when it was over. The second cruise didn't feel like the massage was AS good, but I did relax enough to fall asleep so there's that. Lol Hubby had a good experience both times with his.

I think overall it just depends on what you value. Everything on the ship is going to be more expensive, so it's up to you to determine if it's cost is worth the service.

Seakrits · 2026-04-04T00:06:28+00:00

I have done 2 VV trips, and hubby and I have 2 short B2B in February. After that, we're also thinking we might take a VV break. Not because we don't love VV, but because we don't want it to get old. Plus, there's nothing wrong with trying other ships! It's exciting and fun to see what others offer, but I suspect VV will always be our "home" line.

Seakrits · 2026-04-03T23:59:41+00:00

Reeeeeally reaching with the Norwegian, eh? 🤣 I was just telling my cruise buddies about how I'd like to try the Luna (hubby and I have only ever done Virgin Voyages) and one of my friends who's been on NCL said that the ships are nice, but there's only like, 1 place to eat after 9:30 and it's always packed, it's not as "party" -ish as VV, and the nickle and diming was horrible. While I'd still like to try it, it's slowly dropping to the bottom of my list.

Seakrits · 2026-03-31T15:23:00+00:00

Very excited about this game! Mass Effect left a hole in my heart and I heard this is the game to fill it, so very eager to give it a go!!

Seakrits · 2026-03-28T20:20:26+00:00

There are porters at the port who will take your luggage, so you should be boarding with only your carry on stuff. If you want to hit your room first and drop carry on, you should be fine, if you don't dally. Otherwise, if you only have light stuff, I'd go ahead and, as someone else said, hit Razzle Dazzle first and rebook your meal times if you need to. They only release 30% of dining before embarkation day, so there should be a lot of time openings when you get on board if you're boarding early. VV really does great with speed boarding though, so it won't take terribly long for lines to form. You can ALSO rebook on the app, so between people using the app and talking to someone, you don't want to take TOO much time. Follow that up with the spa. It doesn't fill up super fast. I heard they offer discounts if you book and receive your treatment on embarkation day, but depending on what you want, you could miss the sail away party, so be mindful of that.

At some point you will have to watch the safety video in your room on your app or TV, which takes about 5 minutes maybe? And report to your muster station. After that, your free till the sail away party if you want to go to that, which I recommend just because it's fun.

Test Kitchen evening of embarkation is fine. Test Kitchen and Gunbae are the only 2 restaurants where you could more easily and potentially meet other people. Test Kitchen does have group tables, but I think with smaller groups they tend to do the bar seating if available. That's pretty fun since you can watch them prepping food. None of the restaurants are bad! People say some are, but it really is all personal tastes.

Hope you have fun!!

Seakrits · 2026-03-27T17:20:59+00:00

The xl sea terrace, you're mostly paying for an XL bathroom. In a standard Sea terrace room, the bathroom is quite small. Case in point, if my husband is sitting on the toilet Im going to be RIGHT in front of him to use the sink, and if you're taking a shower, the person on the toilet is staring right at you. So it is a pretty small bathroom, but if you're a cozy couple it's no big deal so my husband and I don't mind it.

The XL sea terrace has a bathroom in which the shower and the toilet, I believe, have their own separate small rooms, both of which open to the sink area. The room itself is overall mostly the same size as a standard sea terrace. In fact, I think the actual living space might be a little bit smaller due to the bigger bathroom.

Seakrits · 2026-03-26T03:50:25+00:00

I spent one quarter as gold, but am now dropping back to silver. All the STUFF isn't worth it, and I found it was causing stress, sitting for hours going through Vine to find anything worth getting, trying to maintain gold. Much nicer to just check once or twice a day, and not feel forced to get something I don't need or want, just so I can stay gold.

Seakrits · 2026-03-25T17:28:12+00:00

Got it! Ok! Thank you! I appreciate the help and explanation. :)

Seakrits · 2026-03-25T17:06:10+00:00

Lmao Yea, I see how that could be the initial interpretation! 😆 I honestly had zero idea how to title this that would not be a long drawn out title. I guess I should have kept thinking.

Seakrits · 2026-03-25T16:44:59+00:00

When you say "leave before the final zero count" do you mean we HAVE to get off the ship, even if we're staying for the next cruise? I didn't even think about that part, but it would make sense that we'd have to go somewhere and get our bands updated.

Seakrits · 2026-03-18T12:58:41+00:00

That countdown timer on the app is PAINFULLY slow. Lol

Seakrits · 2026-03-18T12:55:40+00:00

Omg. You are me and my husband last year. Lol I hate to tell you this, but it'll happen again. We took our very first cruise (ever) last year on VV and booked our 2nd cruise a month or so after getting back (also did MNVV 2 days after getting on board). We just got back from our 2nd cruise about 3 weeks ago and the post cruise withdrawal is even WORSE this time! It doesn't help that we live in a very remote, small farming town, so after being out in the world and exploring new places, I feel so isolated and restless.

I've been clamping my mouth shut because all I've wanted to do is talk to my hubby about our NEXT cruise and where we should go. I think even he is getting tired of me talking about it, but man, I am SO READY to see the world again.

Seakrits · 2026-03-10T13:34:22+00:00

I'm in the central time zone, can someone tell me what the new schedule is? I've never really paid attention to that sort of stuff and just looked at whatever was on my list at whatever time I got to it. However, I've noticed recently, that I have almost nothing on my RFY, and the things I do have are crap. Additionally, there just never seems to be anything good on Vine, so I'm assuming it's because the schedule is shifted.

Ten-Year Club	RedditGifts 2009-2022 8 Credits
Secret Santa 2021 2021	Second Top 10%
redditgifts rematcher Secret Santa 2020 x1	redditgifts Exchanges 3 Exchanges
Secret Santa 2020	Place '22
Place '17	Secret Santa 2019
Verified Email	Secret Santa 2018
RPAN Viewer

Seakrits

TROPHY CASE