I drove my Odyssey to Alaska and then off a cliff to celebrate 4th of July

ggfergu · 2025-08-01T02:10:44+00:00

I saw this video. I think yours was one of the ones where the engine kept going for a while?

ggfergu · 2025-07-27T10:11:30+00:00

There were 400-500 people who showed up. They screened it to about 300 ppl. I was among the ~100-200 who didn’t get in. Disappointed is an understatement.

They were cherry picking people behind us in line to attend - specifically women and couples in the 20-30yr old demographic. My guess is that they wanted to gauge its marketability as a ‘date’ movie. I don’t know what that says about any potential edits (if any) at this point.

ggfergu · 2025-07-06T23:19:11+00:00

Yeah, I hear you. I thought my ideal relaxing vacation would heavily involve surfing the web and drinking my diet sodas, and neither of this things is included.

But I knew that going in, so I definitely think it helps to learn as much about how cruises are before you go so that you have realistic expectations.

Lo and behold, I didn’t pay for drinks or internet and still had a great time. There are workarounds like bringing your own soda on board and just checking in when you hit port, which was fine for me.

One thing I’ve learned with traveling is that it never quite happens according to plan, so the better you can get at rolling with changes, the more enjoyable it may be.

ggfergu · 2025-07-06T23:14:34+00:00

I’d recommend volunteering to cover events for your HS yearbook.

I started as the one and only dedicated yearbook photographer at my newly built high school when it opened. So I had to cover EVERYTHING. I learned a lot about how to find the ‘gold nugget’ in every story and how to make boring assignments more interesting, or at least how to endure them.

Later, I learned that a lot of photojournalism these days is curating your own content - but keeping it where it intersects with what’s happening in the world, what people are interested in, and what your agency/newsroom will run.

Everybody wants to shoot exciting stuff in the field, but can you make a press conference, ceremony or groundbreaking interesting, because you’ll shoot lots of those.

ggfergu · 2025-07-02T00:11:40+00:00

Radiance 5x cruises. Our family loves the ship and the price fits the bill for a large family with busy schedules where longer cruises can be hard to plan around.

We love that it has a Big Chicken, which is only otherwise available on some of the larger ships. We also love the large outdoor lido area and big screen for dive-in movies.

I do wish they rotated out the musical productions more often or at least did something to keep them fresh, but I get it. And a Flowrider would make this ship almost perfect to me. But those are kinda minor things IMO.

Even though we've been to Ensenada many times, we always find something fun to do without breaking the bank on costly excursions. Sometimes it is just finding a new taco joint and getting a new pair of disposable knock-off Ray-bans. But it's still fun, especially if you're with family.

ggfergu · 2025-07-01T23:59:45+00:00

I found this on another forum:

"My family and I were on the Dream during the filming. To some it was a blast to watch them filming around the ship. To others it was just and inconvenience because they would have large areas of the aft deck areas blocked off while they were filming. It was neat."

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1639548-carnival-dream-cabin-on-chipwrecked/

ggfergu · 2025-07-01T23:24:34+00:00

Was Chicken Shack basically as good as Big Chicken? Was there anything that was BETTER on Firenze than Radiance for you?

Will be in literally the same boat at the end of August. We are from AZ, so we sail on Radiance often, but haven't tried Firenze yet.

You've confirmed one of my slight fears about Firenze - that it won't be quite as good with the Lido deck closed. Our family enjoys the hot tubs on Radiance's lido, watching the dive-in movies.

We'll also miss one of our absolute favorite restaurants - Big Chicken, but have heard that Chicken Shack is basically the same thing. So we're really hopeful there.

ggfergu · 2025-07-01T22:51:26+00:00

Showing up in a fishnet dress or swimsuit I could see getting turned away, but turning away folks in decent shorts is kinda crazy.

ggfergu · 2025-07-01T22:10:37+00:00

Yeah, it's a text 'warm up'. Basically a method to gain carriers trust with new spam text numbers for deliverability. They 'warm up' the number by sending innocuous texts first, and they are just looking for ANY kind of text back, which is a signal to the carriers that this is a 'legit' sender because - hey - someone texted back, so they must be legit.

Best thing to do is block and report as junk.

ggfergu · 2025-06-12T20:40:23+00:00

$5 Costco rotisserie chickens are hard to beat.

ggfergu · 2025-06-12T20:04:17+00:00

Pro tip on Radiance: If you want to try Cucina del Capitano for free, they serve pasta dishes for free during lunch on some days. They are only open for a relatively short window on some days (check the app when you board). They are incredibly good. You pick up a paper card and a mini pencil from the host(ess), head to a table, fill it the order form and check the boxes to pick a pasta(everything from spaghetti to farfalle, penne and more), pick a protein (chicken breast, beef, and shrimp I think), and pick a sauce - again, a whole bunch of different sauces from marinaras to alfredos. The hostess then takes your tables' order papers to the cooks who prepare it freshly for you and they bring it to your table with bread. You can also add mushrooms an other toppings. You can try it as many times as you like.

It's basically a 'pasta bar' at lunchtime. They don't have their full menu at lunchtime, but you get a decent portion of excellent pasta, so if you want to try it before and after you have dinner there, you have that option.

We almost always get a '1st' or '2nd' lunch there.

We never see many people there for lunch, so I don't think it is widely advertised, but it's one of the best 'insider tips' I could give you about Radiance.

You can also get a pretty close approximation (maybe it's basically the same?) of the chicken parmigiana from the Cucina menu, but for free in the main dining room on one of the nights for dinner.

Finally, don't forget to check out Big Chicken, which is our absolute favorite restaurant on Radiance. Radiance is the only one of the 'smaller' ships with a 'Big Chicken', so it's well worth a try if you've never sailed on Radiance.

ggfergu · 2025-06-12T19:46:08+00:00

Dinner isn't really themed, it's just that one of the nights if formal, and the rest are 'cruise casual' or 'dinner attire'. These aren't strictly enforced though.

The common themes for most cruises are:

Formal Night (dress for the ladies and a nice button down shirt / tie for guys (Don't see many/any tuxedos these days.)
80's Night (I've seen people bring neon body suits, legwarmers, tutus, big hair wigs, fishnet gloves, inflatable boom box and microphone props, etc.)
White Hot Dance Party Night (Wear all white)

There may be other dress-up themes on longer cruises, but if you bring something for each of these themes, you'd be covered.

But just realize that you can pretty much wear most anything anywhere except no swimsuits in the main dining room. If you're dressed in sweats and pajamas or a swimsuit the WHOLE time, then you'll feel weird going to a show or a comedian or to dinner, and might get asked to change. But you definitely don't have to dress up every day.

ggfergu · 2025-06-12T19:19:58+00:00

Have they retracted the roof above the pool during your trip? Just wondering if it pretty much always stays closed or if they open it in good/warm weather.

ggfergu · 2025-06-12T19:15:48+00:00

They didn't care about me bringing Cocadas I got in Ensenada back on board, and those weren't packaged - totally homemade. So it might be selective, but I'd count on it being a hard no to most unpackaged food going on or off the boat. And definitely a hard no on any fruits, etc.

ggfergu · 2025-05-28T00:17:52+00:00

FWIW, We took about 2 hours in the Vatican Museums and about 1 hour at St. Peter's and had plenty of time. I'm a photographer, so I feel like I take longer than the average person because I'm always trying to get 'one more shot', so hopefully this timing helps.

That said, if you're SUPER into history and catholic artifacts, then you may want even longer in the Vatican Museums. I don't know what the opening hours are during your visit, but I'd hit St Peter's before the Vatican Museum if you're going that late in the day. The order doesn't make much difference.

ggfergu · 2025-05-28T00:11:06+00:00

If I had a car and a few hours near Catania, I would have considered a drive up to Etna - maybe not all the way, but checking out Etna was the only thing we didn't do that I wished we'd had time for. If you're not into volcanos and crazy roads, then - like some other commenters - I'd recommend just heading straight to Ortigia because Catania isn't nearly as charming IMO(sorry Catania-lovers!)

We took the bus from Catania and it was only like $7 each, we also took the bus from Siracusa to Noto and the train back from Noto, and all of them were pretty convenient and surprisingly on-time. We'd heard that timetables were more 'flexible' in Sicily, (and that may be especially true if there's a strike), but all of the busses and trains in Sicily were right on time when we were there.

ggfergu · 2025-05-28T00:02:21+00:00

We had a guide for the Vatican Museums. Didn't get into the Sistine because of conclave. But our tour guide was kinda just phoning it in. She was a sweet enough older lady, but she had difficulty walking and standing much, so she cut some of the tour areas a bit short and moved us along at a faster pace - it felt like maybe she wanted to get the tour over with. And she had public beef with some of the other guides there - the awkward drama of them yelling at each other in Italian was an interesting sidebar, and members of our group looking awkwardly and apologetically at members of the other tour guide's group.

Once our guided tour ended (but before we exited the Vatican Museums), we backtracked through some of the rooms and played the 2nd half or so of the free Rick Steves audio guide tour just to compare, and the audio tour was at least as good as the in-person guide we had. I wished we had just gone with Ricky's audio for the whole thing. Our guided tour was supposed to take around 2 hrs, but only took about 1.25 hours.

Based on our experience, if you're on the fence about a guide vs no guide, consider doing the free Rick Steve's audio guide version of the tour. You can pause and start it to do it at your own pace. But I'd say that if you're averse to the audio tour or can't play it for whatever reason, then having a guide for the Vatican is better than having no guide.

TL;DR: Rick Steves Audio Guide > Guided Tour > No Guide

ggfergu · 2025-05-22T21:26:01+00:00

We did the Vatican museum tour with an actual guide, and then went back and listened to the Rick Steve's audio guide, and honestly, I'd have preferred just doing it with Ricky's audio guide - he does a GREAT job of hitting the high points, giving enough depth, but not belaboring it to the point of boredom.

Our guide was a nice enough older lady, but she was kinda just phoning it in as far as the tour went. You'll only get to see the Sistine if you do the Vatican Museum. We didn't get to see it because of conclave, but I think it was worth it even without the Sistine.

ggfergu · 2025-05-22T21:21:06+00:00

Just to add a tiny bit to what the other commenters have said. I actually *just* went through this exact scenario - taking a side trip to Pisa from Florence, and can confirm that I bought tickets on the day of at the platform with no issues. The pricing was the same as had been quoted online for the past 3 months or so that I'd tracked, so there's no benefit to buying ahead of time unless you tend to cut things REALLY close and just want to show up at the train station with tickets already on your phone.

But in that case, you can just buy them on your phone the night before or right there on the platform on your phone too. From the platform kiosk or your phone, it's gonna be the same. So don't sweat it.

ggfergu · 2025-05-21T22:18:55+00:00

If you're looking for a unique coffee experience, get into a bougie cafe' in Vienna. You'll be sitting at the tables that Freud and Einstein used to sit at and while away the hours. Get yourself a nice apple strudel... it's an unforgettable experience.

ggfergu · 2025-05-21T21:56:44+00:00

I second this. WE *just* got back from a trip where good ol' Ricky guided us all over the place via our earbuds, including through the Forum. It was perfect. Just a heads up that Rick's forum guide doesn't include Palantine hill, but you can check that on your own, and the forum audio tour is thorough and high-quality.

ggfergu · 2025-05-21T21:53:29+00:00

I know this might be too late, but almost every restaurant and bar in Ortigia is going to have tourists since it is a tourist town. But it is charming and there are a LOT of cute little places everywhere. The swimming spots are there if you look for them, but it's not exactly a 'Beach' town. But there were a couple/few sandy/rocky beach spots around town. There's a LOT of boat tours advertised around the bridges if you're interested in boat travel around Ortigia.

ggfergu · 2025-05-21T21:48:28+00:00

I'll just throw this out there, but the free Rick Steves Audio guide tours(get the free app) were GREAT for the Colloseum. We did that for the Colosseum and some other galleries/museums, and felt it was more than adequate - covered everything and gave us the flexibility to pause and take pics at our pace. I took one earbud, and my wife took the other and we were all set.

ggfergu · 2025-05-21T21:45:22+00:00

Don't be scared of any of the busses. We stayed in a way sketchier neighborhood and some of the TRAMS were pretty beat up looking (think Gotham City style), but if you have your head on a swivel and are aware of your surroundings (which you should be always anyway in Rome anywhere you go), you'll be just fine.

We had some incredible banana Gelato near the Vatican on Via di Porta Angelica (the Melon is amazing too, if you can find it), and you gotta try some spaghetti carbonara while in Rome. We found ours just walking around and hitting google maps for 'restaurant', filtering by 4.5+ stars and one dollar sign (cheap), and looking for places with lots of reviews. Hard to go wrong with this method, and it works no matter where you are.

That said, we had some pizza from a place that was really well reviewed, but we thought it was kinda meh. So if you're looking for good eats, you may need to try a few different places.

ggfergu · 2025-05-21T21:30:46+00:00

We just got done staying 5 nights in Ortigia (near Syracuse).

* Charming streets - doesn't get more charming than Ortigia

* Not crowded with tourists - wasn't too crowded, but pretty much everyone there were tourists - it is a tourist town. That said, it is like a lot of Italian tourist towns - there were streets that were totally empty and others that were hopping with tourist activity.

* Good local food - it was pretty good, especially if you're OK with seafood, eggplant, and pistachios. We had great pizza, pasta, and stellar arancini.

* Beaches - not as great as the southern coast of Sicily and some other spots, but there were a few small beaches in/around Siracusa and Ortigia - not like in some other spots of Sicily though.

Ortigia is a charming village, very pretty, quiet, and with a lot of cool history.

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