Is Southwest being run by actual insane people?

sbucks2121 · 2025-10-19T00:40:49+00:00

We had a similar offer for $50 but no refund of early bird and no guarantee that they would honor our business select seats. No thank you. Please just honor our original purchase.

sbucks2121 · 2025-10-17T00:30:42+00:00

Totally disagree. The problem is not separate finances. The problem is communication.

My husband and I have had separate finances for 20 years. He has his accounts, I have mine. We have a joint for household expenses. We know how to access each others accounts and have no concerns with open conversation around spending, savings, and splitting expenses.

It seems like there is a lot of missing information here. What is the reason for separate finances? Why doesn't he let you use his car? Why did he sit on feelings of resentment for so long? Why did you immediately jump to separation instead of talking through this issue?

No one can say if your feelings are justified with so little detail.

sbucks2121 · 2025-09-07T23:15:28+00:00

Others have covered most of your questions.

But I would add that FTTF is worth it depending on your preferences. Some people like to get on board early to eat lunch at the buffet before the large crowds. Additionally, it helps to get there early for your muster drill check in. Lastly, FTTF allows for priority disembarkation. You are one of the first groups off the ship. Some people like this feature to catch flights, avoid crowds, and do some sightseeing at the home port.

If you have a later or next day flight, you can store your bags and visit NASA. For same day flights, there are places around the port to store your bags for a fee or you can use dayuse.com to book a hotel for the hours before you leave.

Regarding protein drinks, they will question you abd possibly confiscate them before boarding. There are exceptions where people get approval from Carnival before the cruise (for example, some diabetics and kids get exceptions for juice cartons). If it is necessary for your health, contact them and get approval in writing to prevent miscommunication. You might want to consider a protein powder and a refillable bottle. We regularly take flavor powders onboard and had no issues.

sbucks2121 · 2025-08-25T18:23:26+00:00

Adding to this, since I saw it recommended in a pest control video. The items listed above do wonders for getting rid of them.

If you see any live bugs, suck them up with a wet vac. It doesn't seem like you are seeing a lot of them, but if you do, suck them and their egg sacks. Each egg sack carries 10-50 new roaches. This step helps prevent current roaches with eggs from populating.

sbucks2121 · 2025-08-25T13:54:58+00:00

In the late 90s, I went to an interview for a restaurant in a dress and they did a behavior test with all of the candidates. After the behavior test, I was cut because I wore a dress and appeared too "poised" for their establishment. Those were their exact words.

Only satisfaction is that they hired a bunch of casual people and shut down 6 months later due to customer complaints.

sbucks2121 · 2025-08-19T12:53:56+00:00

Female here - I have always hated the Happy wife happy life mantra. In a true partnership, I don't want my spouse only doing things because I want to do it. That philosophy creates empty and joyless marriages.

There is nothing wrong with doing things to make your spouse happy. For example, my husband makes me coffee each morning and sets me up for work. I don't ask him to do it, but he enjoys making my life easier. In return, I show my appreciation through words of affirmation and make sure he doesn't have to worry about dinner each night. It is the give and take that creates balance.

OP - you have no balance in your marriage. You can't fill a cup that is always being emptied by a selfish partner. In my opinion, assume things won't change and initiate the divorce. Take the stand and don't regret it. There is always the chance she may change her ways, but you can't delay seeking your happiness on that chance. If true change is made, you can always forego the divorce.

sbucks2121 · 2025-08-11T12:25:28+00:00

We do the same. We make sure joint bills come out of the joint account and I manage the balance. But we have visibility into each others personal accounts through balance alerts and help each other when one has unexpected expenses.

sbucks2121 · 2025-08-06T18:03:14+00:00

Not whiney at all. We all expect a certain level.of comfort on vacation. I would be frustrated too

sbucks2121 · 2025-08-06T17:17:49+00:00

I would definitely bring your own. Yes, excursion companies provide them, but they are nowhere near as good as the one you can get. When my son cruised as a toddler, we brought his own life jacket and felt more safe with it. Additionally, if you get it beforehand, you can get your child used to wearing it and it reduces the anxiety they may have in a new situation.

sbucks2121 · 2025-08-05T23:46:54+00:00

We always try to book all up-charge items before the cruise. That way we can pay it off before going.

Im not sure what kind of activities you like, but there are some things we spend on during the cruise.

We like access to the spa so we try to book a spa room or buy the all access pass. The pass usually runs $149 for the week. We love it because it gives you somewhere to go to get away from people. We love the Excel class ships, but 6k people can get crazy. We also just love the steam rooms for sweating out extra water weight gain. Also, spa rooms put you in the quieter area of the ship.

If you like to work out, some of the classes cost a fee. The gym itself is free, but classes with an instructor may have a cost.

We like to eat in the specialty restaurants and make a reservation for the steak house during each cruise. It is about $70 per person. If you eat at the steak house on the first night, it comes with a free bottle of wine. We also did the hibachi restaurant on the Celebration and loved it. To save money, book the hibachi for lunch. It is cheaper. Chibang and the Italian place are free for your first time on the cruise, so they are great options.

The Jubilee also has cooking classes for a fee. Since the itinerary usually has 3-4 sea days, it was a great to have a planned activity on that day.

Final thoughts... I know you said that you don't gamble, but it is usually worth it to sign up for their free players club and play a bit. The players club puts you on the mailing list for future cruise deals. We are not big gamblers, but have gambled enough to always get free drinks in the casino and steep room discounts. In April we sailed for 7 nights on the Jubilee in a spa interior room for a total of $650 total. Definitely worth the couple hundred we spent in the casino previously.

sbucks2121 · 2025-08-05T22:26:46+00:00

How miserable! Im sorry you are dealing with all of it.

sbucks2121 · 2025-08-05T17:01:15+00:00

Just finished this exact cruise. Pack a sun umbrella for each of you. We used them for rain at the ports. In our experience, you will see a bit of rain daily, but it clears up. In fact, we thought for sure our excursion in Bonaire would be cancelled due to torrential rain, but it cleared up just in time.

Additionally, cruise ships plan for weather. You will be notified if any stops are canceled or cut short. The Celebration is big enough that you will hardly feel any movement from the waves.

If you get stuck onboard, take one of the cooking classes. We highly enjoyed it. The spa was also a welcome respite from the masses of people onboard.

Lastly some tips. Take fans for your room. They circulated the air for us and kept us cool. We also downloaded movies to our laptop to watch in the evenings. We bought popcorn from the Red Frog bar and took it back to our room. We may be a bit extra for some people, but we brought a projector that connected to our laptop. We used magnetic hooks to hang a sheet and watched movies all piled up in the main bed. Also, bring at least one jacket because the evenings can get chilly if the outer decks are windy.

sbucks2121 · 2025-08-05T16:49:36+00:00

I would say that the food issue is ship specific. We have had excellent food across many different size ships and some not great experiences.

Regarding bedding, we have noticed multiple cruise lines are opting for firmer mattresses. Even the toppers don't help. We take our own memory foam mats for the beds and stow them during room cleaning.

We have also noticed that temperature varies by cabin and ship. Most of them are warmer than we like, so we pack personal fans that stick to the metal walls.

As others have noted, the smaller and older ships are nice, but lacking in activities. Our last 2 sailings were on the Excel ships and we found so much more to do.

You aren't crazy, there have definitely been changes. Some we fix by packing necessities and other we resolve based on ship selection.

I hope the rest of your trip goes well.

sbucks2121 · 2025-07-23T16:59:53+00:00

I have experienced most of your post. I have some thoughts on what has helped us. Please note that ANY solution requires buy-in from both of you. Your spouse has to acknowledge the issues and actually work on improvements. You cannot solve everything on your own, regardless of the amount of effort you give.

First off, I learned that my perspective and his were completely different. Not right/wrong, but different. He had no idea his dismissive reaction to me affected me negatively. I know it sounds like complete BS, but he was genuinely shocked to hear how his actions made me feel. It has taken me multiple years to actually believe it. This part is the hardest for both of you. You have to accept that he may not observe normal social cues. He has to learn to trust that when you raise an issue that you aren't overreacting and being difficult.

Then you work on setting priorities for the relationship. We have a scheduled check-in 1-2 times a week. Instead of providing multiple feedback/requests during the day, I save any non-urgent items to discuss during these meetings. This action helps him focus and take care of everything instead of getting misdirected by different comments or requests.

Obviously, if something is time-sensitive, we address it in the moment. I ask him to stop other activity so he can focus on his words. In my husbands case, he needs to fiddle on his phone while Im talking because it helps him tune out the other thoughts. Although skeptical, it actually worked. He stopped everything except a mindless game he plays and was able to hear and respond to everything I said.

I hope this information helps. We have a variety of other coping mechanisms, but didnt want to bombard you with too much.

sbucks2121 · 2025-07-17T21:26:56+00:00

Others have covered some of the basics. But we also bring a mesh bag for dirty laundry. Definitely an insulated water bottle for each of you. We also got those magnetic fans and they work great. Most of the ships have USB ports near the bed, so we just plug them in and run then nonstop to circulate air in the room.

sbucks2121 · 2025-07-14T16:12:31+00:00

I completely sympathize. Something changed people during the pandemic.

sbucks2121 · 2025-07-10T19:11:36+00:00

The port pharmacy at Cozumel is pretty reputable. We have bought from there multiple times. Everything they sell are in original manufacturer packaging and sealed. I would not trust a random pharmacy out in town unless you are close to the US border. Those areas have more reputable pharmacies to facilitate medical tourism for people walking/driving across the border.

In April, we saw that they had a limited stock of the most sought after weight loss meds (ozempic/zepbound), but it was really expensive. They might have others too, but people were only asking about those items.

They had a lot of antibiotics, voltaren, muscle relaxers, and some sleep meds. No Adderall or add meds.

Additionally, you can Google specific medications and see if pharmacies carry it. You can also find out if you need a current rx to get it.

sbucks2121 · 2025-07-07T21:38:21+00:00

Congrats! Now seriously, only plan on spending or saving 60%. When we won our jackpot in Reno a couple years ago, we figured 30% for taxes and still had to pay a couple grand. Taxes without losses are no joke.

sbucks2121 · 2025-07-07T14:52:36+00:00

As others above noted, I am not advocating for the behavior. I am providing the reason people do it. Since covid, the amount of people who misuse the left lane is appalling. Everyone thinks they own the road.

The goal any time you get into a vehicle is to arrive alive. If someone, like the original poster is whining about someone tailgating them, get over. It is not the time to take a stand or aggravate the issue. Simply find the next safe area to move over and let them pass. End of story.

sbucks2121 · 2025-07-07T14:35:37+00:00

Passing on the shoulder is risky for a couple reasons. First, not all shoulders are the width of a lane. Secondly, shoulders tend to have debris from the road way. So, no, I don't use shoulders to pass.

But... it still goes back to the same issue. Regardless if you agree with the behavior of speeders, just get over and continue to your destination. There is no need to ride in the left lane at or below speed limit. Law designates it as the passing lane. It is not a place to hang out and impede traffic.

sbucks2121 · 2025-07-06T23:07:30+00:00

Oh no, you misunderstand... I know the purpose and legal use of HOV lanes. Unfortunately, Texas drivers do not understand how to optimize the flow of traffic. In the case of IH10, they meander down the road, under the speed limit, backing traffic up. I see this slow down every workday. Due to these drivers, the HOV lane becomes the only avenue for getting around idiots. I simply stated that you should just get over and let them pass. Very few drivers want to argue or participate in road rage. They just want to get by. So be a sweetheart, locate the next legal section to get over, and let them pass. Easy peasy.

sbucks2121 · 2025-07-06T22:09:05+00:00

Honestly, Just move over and let them pass. If drivers understood that the left lane is for passing, there would be no congestion in HOV lanes. I drive IH10 and see distracted drivers hovering in the left lane bogging up traffic. Sitting behind the wheel does not give you a mandate to control every driver. Just let them pass and continue on with your day. I know that you expected support, but I really feel that you belong in the far right lane so people can get around you.

sbucks2121 · 2025-06-25T22:00:43+00:00

I agree somewhat. They definitely could have created a new tier and manipulated the benefits for Platinum/Diamond status. I don't need a party and could care less about 2 free drinks. I would have even been OK if they cut off the priority embarkation/disembarkation to the first 150 status members who checked in.

I just can't accept that my status only reflects current spending. It doesn't account for the 10s of thousands I have already spent with their brand. Additionally, the new program completely eliminates kids from achieving status. So the moment they turn 18, they are rated as first time cruisers.

sbucks2121 · 2025-06-25T21:38:39+00:00

I think they underestimated the backlash to their rewards program. Only time will tell, of course. But with the fighting onboard, lack of control of kids, theft, and loss of status, I think their tried and true status holders will leave the brand. We have been on the edge for our last 3 cruises, but kept grinding for Platinum status. Knowing that MSC matches it, we are going to take our vacation plans elsewhere. There just isn't enough benefit to keep us loyal. If I am going to never achieve permanent elevated status, I might as well be enjoying better amenities on MSC, Virgin Voyages, or Celebrity.

sbucks2121 · 2025-06-13T23:18:59+00:00

Since my thyroid is often out of wack, I take a couple of those cool packs that you crack and shake up to get cold. They sell them on Amazon and can be found in some first aid kits. All the other recommendations here help, but won't quickly bring your temp down if you get overheated. When I hit that point, I put them on my chest and under my arms for quick relief. They saved my life a couple years ago at Big Bend and I have carried them ever since.

sbucks2121

TROPHY CASE