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Plays here stream straight from our feed. Prefer your own app? Hit “Listen on Spotify,” or find us wherever you get your podcasts.In this episode
Carnival’s bumping gratuities and Wi-Fi fees, and the crew takes on the internet outrage head-on — defending the crew’s raise, comparing every major line, and fielding a request to turn the ship into a homeschool. Between a fake Reese call and an impromptu Love Boat singalong, it’s the most fun you’ll ever have talking about fee increases.
What they covered
Topics on deck
Gratuity rate increase
Wi-Fi package prices
Cross-line comparison
Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, MSC
Ask John Heald
Onboard homeschool classroom
FRGC updates
Celebration’s last balcony
Don’t miss
Moments worth the wait
- The cold-open prank — a spot-on fake Reese call opens the show.
“Yes, Reese, I am so sorry, he actually isn’t here… Those are some good impersonations of him.”
- Beating a dead horse, literally — Trevor’s absurd transition into a repeat topic.
“it was a horse… And then it died right in my front yard… I was wondering if you wanted to go over and kick it with me.”
- The gratuity breakdown — where the money actually goes.
“That’s not going just to your room steward… it’s going to those people that help you have a fantastic cruise.”
- Defending the raise — a blunt reframe of the backlash.
“Everyone else is begging for a raise. And they’re giving their employees a raise.”
- The homeschool request — read in pure disbelief.
“So, you get a vacation, but your children don’t.”
- The dementia gag — Trevor loses the thread quoting old Wi-Fi prices.
“I remember when they first started with $5 a day… never mind, that’s the dementia. I got dementia.”
- The last balcony — the Celebration sells out its final one.
“All the balconies are gone, guys. They blew off the ship.”
Golden nuggets
Running bits & lore born here
- The fake-Reese call — the impersonation bit that opens the episode with Reese out sick.
- “Down with the sickness” — the System of a Down running gag tied to Reese’s illness.
- Beating a dead horse — the callback to a prior gratuities episode, now with an actual horse.
- “Welcome to the cult” — the membership-card idea for the show’s community grows.
- Oklahoma pride — the Garth Brooks vs. “Tiger King” debate returns.
- The Love Boat singalong — a rare failed sign-off collapses into the theme song.