How do you pronounce Caribbean?

I know it seems like a silly point, but do you say Kara-be-an or Car-ib-e-an?
Although the pronunciation most favoured in the UK is Kara-be-an if you’re in the islands the pronunciation the locals use sounds like Kar-ib-e-an.

Gratuities - I think I've changed my mind

Anyone who has read my blogs before will know that I’ve always been pretty against tipping when it’s been made compulsory. It’s not that I’m tight, (honestly), I just begrudge having to pre pay for a service that I haven’t received yet.

It’s also always irritated me that society only deems certain occupations as ‘tip worthy’.
Why should I tip my taxi driver but not my bus driver?
Why tip my waiter in a nice restaurant but not the serving staff of McDonalds?

A Cartoon about Tipping

For anyone who reads my blog regularly who will know that I enjoy messing around with different formats and it is with this in mind that I have made a cartoon for you all from a blog I wrote recently about tipping. Anyone who wants to read the original blog can do so here, it raises some interesting points about the fairness of American style tipping, but I think the video below keeps the same message across in a much more fun way. Let me know what you think. (for anyone who has trouble playing the video, or if you just see a blank black or white square, just try clicking it with your mouse once or twice and it should play)

Vodka martini please, stirred not shaken

One off the big questions I get asked by first time cruisers is, “how do I make sure I don’t stand out? I don’t want people to know it’s my first cruise!” No one likes to seem like a novice at something, especially thousands of miles from home. My advice is almost always the same. Don’t worry, just be honest about it being your first cruise 99% of people will be really nice and bend over backwards to make sure you enjoy your first sailing. But it did get me thinking the other day about silly novice mistakes; whilst I was watching a James Bond movie when it got to the typical casino scene and he ordered his martini, ‘shaken, not stirred’. This always, always bugs me.

To Tip or not to Tip……..what Mr. Pink Thinks

I know tipping on board an American cruise liner is always a bit of a contentious issue, especially to us Brits, unaccustomed to the American style of inclusive gratuities. I know this always leads to a heated debate on both sides of the argument, but I’ve always wondered what the Americans themselves thought of this style of tipping.

I was watching Reservoir Dogs the other night on T.V when I heard Mr. Pink having a bit of a rant about tipping and it occurred to me that I had never heard an argument with all the pros and cons of tipping so well put, (assuming you don’t mind ignoring the swearing).
I have enclosed the argument below, with all the swear words blanked out, although I would probably say if you are easily offended don’t click the read more button.
Let me know what you think after you have read it and if it has changed your opinions at all.
Again, if you are easily offended please, please dont click the read more button.
Thank you.