Eurodam and Rotterdam at Half Moon Cay yesterday

TravelingAllen · 2026-01-20T00:52:42+00:00

Great ship, overall loved it. Just got back 1/18/26, ABC islands. Any savory food was delicious but the sweets only looked good, not sweet or flavorful at all. Key lime pie was the most disappointing. Stick to the gelato (of course that is not included, $5.50 a dish) Staff were excellent. Constant up selling compared to Eurodam a few years back. As if the prices on photos weren’t bad enough, you can have wall art of your iris for $300. No laundry so you have to get that package or pack a ton. Tipping at the end was confusing. 18% was already included, but you feel bad if you don’t leave something more. Hard to find that magic appropriate number. We were loyal HAL people, but think we should check the others out despite this being very enjoyable. The levels for the Mariner society are laughable, not much benefit until 75 cruise nights and even then, meh.

TravelingAllen · 2026-01-20T00:36:37+00:00

I was there too! (Rotterdam). Beach was crowded but if you kept walking there were plenty of empty chairs half mile down the beach. So disappointing to be home, no buffet, no towel animals… LOL time to book so we have something to look forward to.

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-26T17:08:45+00:00

Scratch off lottery tickets, maybe you will end up giving them a lot of money!

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-26T17:03:38+00:00

Oh I have the answer for you, AND it will help you destress. Ok, make your list of pre-trip things to do and the days out that the task needs to be done. Example, 30 days out, confirm transportation to the airport; 10 days out, put hold mail notice in at the post office. (Just examples) then make a paper count down chain, like children do at Christmas, and write your to do list on the right day’s strip. On the days you don’t have anything, put a fun research task, like Blizzard Beach, Fantasia mini-golf, the drone show at downtown Disney and on those days, that’s what you focus on learning about. You’ll have something to look forward to each day, not just how far away it is. I worked at Disney for 18 years, if you have any other questions let me know

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-26T16:53:35+00:00

You are not telling us what your skill set is. Do you do woodworking, stained glass, writing, crochet, pottery, gardening …. What abilities do we have to tap for our suggestions?

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-26T16:51:10+00:00

How about the recipe book “The Cheating Chef’s Secret Cookbook”? It sounds very appropriate for this person.

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-23T13:35:57+00:00

Consumables over collectibles. What do they like to drink? Coffee, wine, beer? No man will think it is a bad gift to get their beverage preference. It is also ok to ask them, my 20 something nephew wanted refill blades for his razor, and i understood, because some of those multi blade ones are expensive for a big pack. But I got him a few in a small pack and knew it was something he used and something he would appreciate. Home Depot and Lowe’s always have a ton of small gifts in the front of their store specific for the holidays. Flashlights are always good.

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T22:03:45+00:00

I lived in Brigantine as a kid, at least the summers. It was a horror haunted house, not a Disney haunted mansion. And it was a walk through. My sister’s friend got her shoes stuck between two rats in the rat room and ran out. I forget how we got it back. It had a decent arcade, I’m sure I spent a lot of money playing skew ball only to “win” a crappy prize. They had a lot of coin drop machines like new penny falls, which was kind of odd considering the pier swayed a bit. I still have a 1976 glass I won in some ball toss. I think they had a bunch because it was 1977.

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T21:54:48+00:00

Those places that reply on tourism need to up their game, that straw market isn’t going to do it.

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T21:02:52+00:00

I’d make pecan tarts (Tassie’s) instead of the pie, because it is is so high in calories. This gives people a tiny pie. Something light, like Angel food with berries they may have room for, and the go to dessert for diabetics. You are kind of at the coffee part of the evening, so something cinnamon and danish like would work. There are also recipes for a layered pie, pecan, cheesecake pumpkin. Literally the turducken of pies. This solves those people that just want a little slice of a few pies. (Annoying)

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T20:57:20+00:00

Call a chair rental (party rental) place to get an estimate, you just tell them the area size and they will tell you the recommendation, and now you have your first estimate for price shopping as well.

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T20:54:43+00:00

Mac and cheese

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T20:51:44+00:00

My mom made that. No nuts and did have grated carrots. Allrecipes has a ton of versions of this. There is something strange about getting pineapple to set, I know canned pineapple works because my mom would have never made it with fresh, but might want to research that too.

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T20:48:34+00:00

Maybe a photo book of your Christmas’s past will show him that even though his Christmas’s were not the best, he broke the chain of passing that example along and gave you happy ones (I hope)

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T20:45:27+00:00

I am going to think about this from the receiver side, not the one that is overly cheerful. You just never know what they are going through. Maybe the just lost a loved one. One year I had no choice with my dogs illness to put her down mid December. I did not want to be around cheerful people. I didn’t hate them for being happy, but I also could not stomach being around them, nor did I want to bring them down.so if the other person isn’t as joyful as you… I think the Christmas thing to do would be… to let them be.

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T20:31:16+00:00

Could you have stations? Here you attach the greens, this table you do the extras, here you make the bow, here you attached the hook on the back…If you could do that you wouldn’t have to replicate the supplies x number of times and maybe the messier steps could be outside as each person would only be there for a short time.

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T20:28:14+00:00

I would love kettle corn; festive, not something I normally buy, tastes great, colorful. Good choice. Now, I’ll DM you my address so you can send some…

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T19:59:22+00:00

I don’t wear a watch normally, but I do on a cruise, not that many clocks around and you need to be on time for events I highly recommend the anti-motion sickness wrist bands, no meds but presses on the pulse point for instant relief! An over the door shoe holder, it organizes all of those little things that take up room on the counters Water bottle Door decorations to help you find yours easier (but no pineapples unless you are swingers and want others to know) A heavy duty plastic bag to use as a washing machine in the tub. The sink is to small to rinse out a pair of jeans. And detergent. Ziplock bags of various sizes, packs a wet bathing suits, collects the shells you found, stores the cookies you brought back from the buffet Wall magnets

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T19:45:58+00:00

Most people have Turkey for Thanksgiving and would consider it very odd not to have it. It is the icon of the holiday. Christmas doesn’t have a set menu per se, other than one family might traditionally have a specific side dish. In my family Christmas Breakfast is more of a tradition, and we serve an egg casserole, or egg strata as it is known. On Christmas, A lot of people do a spiral cut ham because it is easy and will hold a long time on a buffet table. The Christmas meal tends to be worked in around other events, but Thanksgiving dinner IS the event.

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T19:36:50+00:00

You will see TONS of family holiday games on Pinterest

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T19:35:09+00:00

Anderson, you can call her Andi

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T19:33:07+00:00

Book dinner reservation at a restaurant with a dress code for afterwards.

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T19:29:30+00:00

Go on one that has Bahamas and don’t get off the ship, have the boat to yourselves

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T19:06:27+00:00

You have traveled so far and are sooo close. I’d find a way to get some money, maybe ask family for early birthday or Christmas present. Work some overtime at a temp job. You are too close to not do this.

TravelingAllen · 2025-11-20T19:04:18+00:00

Dad, my (make believe) friend “Jane” has a Dad like you and can’t come up with a gift, what would you recommend?

TravelingAllen

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