MARSHALLBERG AND BEYOND

the Hook, Shackleford islands, wild mustangs, and questions for debate

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Well, good morning. It is August the 3rd, 2026, and straight from the highly caffeinated studio. This is According to Willie B, and I, of course, will be your host for the next half hour. Or so give or take a minute or two. Okay, so I've got a couple things here, and today the title of today's show is random travel questions and thoughts. Now, when I ask questions, I absolutely expect to get a bunch of answers. I always do. And I absolutely love reading through the comments. And as I always tell you, I'll tell you it again at the end of this at this show that you can leave any comments you like on our website, which is www.according to williebee.com, or you can find us on social media literally on any platform. But for today, I want to tell you about something. Um, if this is your first time joining us, welcome. And if you're you've been a loyal listener all the way through, welcome back. Um, sometimes I spend weeks researching an episode statistics, history, travel trends, food, and and then there's days like today. Today we're just gonna have a conversation because some of my favorite episodes have started with one simple question: What have I been thinking about lately? Well, yesterday was one of those days. Melody and I headed out toward Marshallburg, North Carolina. Now, if you do not know where that is at, I'll just put it to you simply, it's on the water. So it's it's very well known, Marshallburg and and all those areas down there for the hook. Um, there's a lot of islands, it's just it's just breathtaking, just to put it to you that way. It's one of my favorite things about the east coast, it's what has made me fall in love with North Carolina, to be honest. I still think their barbecue is dismal, and you can go ahead and throw things if you want to, but that's just me being a Texas boy telling you the truth. So, but what I will say is that the destination is wonderful. Sometimes the drive becomes the memory, and what I mean by that is yesterday we got up early, and on the way down there, we kind of detoured through a little town called Baeboro, North Carolina. Uh, and because there was a pastry shop that had reached out to me on TikTok on the Mad Food Critic Reels that we do. And they we were talking back and forth, and I said, Oh, we're coming down that way this weekend. I would love to stop in. And they were excited about it, and they're like, Absolutely, stop in and see us. I don't know for sure if they were expecting me to come into full. If you haven't seen the Mad Food Critic, go check it out on TikTok and you'll see what I'm talking about. Chef coat branded uh from one end to the other, and the chef hat. Uh, and I stopped in first time I had done an in-person shoot uh with the mad food critic, and it was absolutely phenomenal. I loved meeting the owner. Uh, Annie was so full of information, and she was just so full of stories behind her business, and it was absolutely something that became part of that trip yesterday, and I will never forget it. Uh, like all things, we did have some uh sound equipment issues where the mic did not pick up, so I had to go back and do a voiceover, which it is what it is, but it did become part of that trip, uh sitting there talking to Annie and about her business, and it brought up a lot of memories for me of actually being in the restaurant industry. But anyway, so we stopped there and then we were on our way to Marshallburg, North Carolina. And one of the things that came clear to me in my memory was that regardless of where you travel, people like Annie and and others, there's always a real person behind a screen name. There's always a real person behind any business that you stop in, and getting to know those people is is an absolute treasure, and it came one of the highlights of the trip. So we boarded a boat and we headed toward what they call the hook. And if you watch that, there's have been a couple of movies, and then there's also the shackled banks, and some people call it Mustang Island. I think there actually is one island down there called Mustang Island. I'm still not a hundred percent familiar with all that area down there. I just know it is absolutely phenomenal. It's got lighthouses, it's got islands with uh wild Mustangs running around. Um, it's just I it's just it's incredible and to know that it's only two hours from from my house. And so if you've never been, just imagine miles of untouched shoreline. Now, when I say untouched, what I mean is that it's still in this natural state: clear water, salt air, the wild horses, the lighthouses, but there's no buildings, there's no uh high-rise hotels and stuff like you see in other beach resort areas. So this is why it remains untouched, and it's just absolutely phenomenal. Just understand that if you go down there and you go down there on a Saturday or a Sunday, don't throw things at me because every inch of those shorelines are covered with boats and people, and it and it's like this massive community. It's like unlike anything you've ever seen, there's literally thousands of boats, and but you have to understand there are hundreds of miles of shorelines, and there's just these little mini islands all throughout there, and everybody just they back their boat in there, they anchor, and the boats are literally a few feet apart, and it and they most of them know one another because they gather there every weekend, and it's just it's an incredible destination that reminds you of just how small this planet is. But one of the the things that I always love about it is that you go down there yesterday yesterday. The weather was absolutely phenomenal. You couldn't have ordered weather any better than what we had yesterday. Beautiful sunshine, it wasn't too hot. Uh, it was just absolutely phenomenal. I I I can't go on enough about it because it's it's unlike anything I've ever experienced. And I've traveled pretty much uh not everywhere, but I've I've been my share of places, let's put it that way. And so this place is unlike any other place I've ever been on earth. Um, it is one of the most relaxing, peaceful places you will ever visit, even with as many boats and people as I told you, because you still have so much shoreline to spread out on, and you you just have your own experience there, and it's you're looking out across all this sand and the water and the smells and the all the seagulls. It's just it's just unreal, and it's one of the greatest places you'll ever find peace. Because sometimes the best vacation isn't finding excitement, sometimes it it is all about finding that peace, especially if you've had a stressful work week. So trips like yesterday always get my brain working because every traveler has opinions, strong opinions, sometimes stronger than politics. And so today I thought I'd settle a few debates or at least start a few arguments in the comments. So, debate number one on a cruise ship, drink package or no drink package, and literally, this is one of the biggest debates out there. Uh, it it's unreal. But you know, let's be honest. Some people buy the drink package because they love having everything prepaid, and that's kind of where we are with it. We got the drink package for this fall because now they've changed it so much, it's like I don't always want a pina colada. Sometimes I just want a bottle of water. Um, sometimes I want to maybe want a coffee, or sometimes I'm, you know, it's not always about an alcoholic drink. While others spend the cruise doing algebra. If I drink three frozen drinks, two bottles of water, and one specialty coffee and have half a diet coke, how am I going to congratulations, you've turned your vacation into tax season? And personally, I think it depends on how you vacation. And there isn't a right answer, but I would love to know yours, but it's no wrong or right answer. It's just how do you and I like always like hearing people's reasons or reasoning behind why they accept the drink package or why they skip it. All right, this one I'm going to give you my opinion on this one. I'm sorry. I think this one is really it is a debate, but I think especially if you're if you're a long time cruiser and you buy your excursions through um whatever the guy's name is on the dock when you get to the port and you've had good luck for 20 years. Congratulations. You are an anomaly because I'm gonna tell you, I've had both and I do not like it. So ship ex buy your buy your excursions on the ship or do private excursions once you get to port. This one gets people fired up. You want to book the one through the cruise line, and you usually have one use advantage. If the tour runs late, guess what? The ship knows exactly where you are, and they're gonna wait for you. If you book a private excursion, this could save you money, and maybe you know, you or maybe your money is going to the local economy, which I can greatly appreciate. And sometimes they're even more personalized experiences. But the downside is if if you don't make it back, if your excursion runs late, you're gonna be on the dock waving at the ship that is no longer your transportation. It's going to be up to you to get to the next port, and that can be extremely expensive. So let's say you save $50 on that excursion because you booked local. If it doesn't get back on time, let me know how that $50 stood up against that $3,000 flight that you now had to book at last minute to get to the next port. I tell people all the time I do not recommend this. And there are some YouTube videos out there right now, they've been popping up in my feed like crazy. Uh, there are TikTok and Facebook reels talking about, you know, you want to you want to book local, which like I said, I get, and that's why I always say when you're in a port, eat at a local restaurant. Look, if you want to know the best place to eat in any port, if you ask Google, Google's gonna tell you the busiest restaurant or the one that pops up into their algorithm. If you want to know the best restaurant to eat at in a local port, ask a local. There's where you'll get your best place to eat, nine times out of ten. I guarantee it. But back to this whole ship excursion. I get that they're more expensive, I get that the cruise ship makes most of the money. But your safety and your peace of mind is worth the difference. I'm sorry. There are other ways to support the local economy and each port without sacrificing your safety and your peace of mind. I've said my peace. Now you can say yours in the comments. I'd love to hear it. Here's one that a lot of people have an opinion on, and they'll just leave it at that. And this is embarkation day or disembarkation day, either one. So are you one of these that race on board? And or are you one of those that takes your time? Because I've I've watched a YouTube video on both, and some people are like, ah, you got to get there at 5 a.m. and you be the first one at the end of the ramp and your first one on the trip. That is not me. I'm I'm gonna be the in-between guy. I'm gonna go ahead and tell you where this is going. And then you've got the people that are like, look, I have to be on the ship at 5. Uh, so if I get in line at 4:59, no, no, no. I am not that person. I'm not gonna be the first person in line, but I'm not gonna be the last either. I'm going to work it strategically. I don't want to stand in line for four hours. I do not. I've seen those lines to get on a ship. It's not going anywhere. It's like an airplane. Same thing as standing at your gate when they start announcing, uh, we'll start boarding group one now, and the guy that's in group 15 is standing up with all of his luggage strapped around his neck, and he's standing at the gate like he's next. Look, the plane's not going anywhere. You're already there. Your seat is already reserved. Sit down, relax. It's vacation. Or even if it's not vacation, just sit down and relax. Same thing when the plane lands. It takes time to get everybody off. So just sit down and relax. But this whole uh embarkation day thing is to me, there's no right or wrong group for those that like to be the first one on. That's that's great. I'm happy for you. But for the ones that chance that last minute, I'm not so sure I fall in line with that one. But just take your time, enjoy your vacation. Now, on disembarkation, this is a little bit different because this actually came up today on scheduling some of our stuff for our upcoming cruise in October. We had to get transportation to get from this deal cracks me up. We have to get from uh Italy to Venice or from Venice to Venice, which actually the port is in Ravenna, and we're actually going to Venice, so we have to we had to get private transportation to get from the port in Ravenna to the hotel in Venice where we actually fly out of home back home the next day. So disembarkation became a thing of well, should we take our own luggage and do self-assist off of the ship? Here's the thing that I will caution. And a lot of people they do, they love to do the self-assist, and they just get off the ship and they don't have to go through all the putting their luggage out at night and and then hope it shows up the next morning, etc., or finding your luggage in that sea of suitcases. But here's the thing you gotta remember if you're gonna do self-assist, if you've never taken a cruise and you're gonna do self-assist, remember this. There are only so many elevators, and there are a lot of people on that ship. So do the math. How long do you think it's going to take you to get your suitcases from deck 10 to deck three to leave the ship? Now, if you can't get on an elevator, what's the next thing? Your next choice is down the stairs. Do you really want to go down all those stairs with those 18 suitcases? I'm thinking the answer to this is no. But you know what? It's your vacation, you do you. So it's funny because on disembarkation, you know, you've got people who've spent seven relaxing days together. And suddenly, on the last day, everyone becomes Formula One drivers trying to leave the parking lot. Everybody wants off first, everybody wants to leave first. It's almost as if customs is giving away free money to the first 20 people. We've talked about this one a few times, but might as well throw this one in there too, because this is a debate. Can someone explain something to me? Overpacking. How does one person bring four suitcases for a seven-day cruise? Are you changing outfits for every commercial break? Meanwhile, there's that one traveler carrying a backpack, looking completely relaxed, walking right past the sea of suitcases. All right, there's one word salad. I secretly admire that one that person with the one backpack. I honestly do. I I don't know how they do it. Maybe there was a time in my life where I could have, but it's not now. And then there's the debate number six balcony, ocean view, or inside cabin. Now, here's my opinion. If you're the type of traveler that spends all day exploring, an inside cabin might be all you need. If you're someone who enjoys coffee while watching the ocean wake up, that balcony becomes priceless. So there isn't a wrong answer here, only different travel styles. I personally prefer the balcony, and it is strictly for that. I'd love in the morning to set out on the balcony and have a cup of coffee. There's no better view, there's no better feeling, and it's part of the vacation experience for me. The same thing for in the evening. I go into the room to get ready for dinner. Maybe I'm ready, but the wife is still finishing up. Great. I can step out on the balcony and watch the views. There's just something about that view while you're either in the morning or in the evening. Or even at night, when you finally come back to the room from all the excitement, and you just step out on a balcony and you just take it all in for a few moments. You see that other cruise ship off in the distance, and maybe you stop for a minute and wonder I wonder if there's someone on that cruise ship on a balcony staring back at me. I'm quite sure there probably is. All right, debate number seven, formal night. Love it or skip it. Now we're getting into an area where people don't really care for formal night anymore. And if we think about our genres throughout the years, you remember your grandparents. If they went into town grocery shopping, I remember my grandfather especially. If we were going into town to the piggly wiggly, that man was dressed in a button-down shirt, tucked in, pressed pants, and a hat. It was almost like we were seriously going to the theater. And now go to Walmart. You know what I'm talking about. So I think it extends a lot from that. Because you know, people used to on the cruise ships, Formula Knight meant tuxedo. Uh, a lot of people would rent tuxedos and take them on the cruise, or they would rent a tuxedo from on the ship. And now people pack Hawaiian shirts and some people wear shorts and wonder why everybody's staring. I always loved formal night. And it's not so much that I just enjoy dressing up, but it was just it was a special event. You dressed up, you got your picture taken, your significant other was dressed to the nines, you went to dinner, and it was just an amazing experience. And being dressed up was part of it. And I honestly miss that. And now for me, a formal night, I I probably won't pack a jacket because that's just extra weight in the suitcase that I could bring t-shirts back home. But I do like at least having maybe a button-up shirt and a tie and making it a special event on that formal night. So that's just my opinion. So what's your opinion? Where do you fall? Debate number eight. Now, this one's really not a debate for me, but some people it is. The buffet says eat whatever you want. The dining room says, slow down, we'll bring dinner to you. Now, I kind of enjoy both because what is a cruise without at least a few visits to the buffet? But also, what is a cruise without going to dinner, sitting down at this massive table that seats at least a dozen, and having a five, six, seven, eight-course meal brought to you in portions that are well maybe minuscule, you'll be amazed at how full you are by the time you finish dessert. Now you started out ravishing with hunger, and by the time you get to the fifth, sixth, or final course, you are miserably full and need to walk around the ship. So to me, I I enjoy both. Just depends on the mood, depends on the day, and depends on whether I can smell fresh bread. Debate number nine. Now I've never really considered this one to be a debate, but for some people it is. The alarm clock. This one surprises people. Do you set an alarm on vacation? Or absolutely not. Some people wake up every day at six in the morning, regardless of what day it is, determined to maximize every minute, while others proudly sleep until 10 while the world revolves around them. And that's because sometimes that's the first time they've relaxed all year long. Neither one is wrong. Vacations should look differently for everybody. Me personally depends on what's going to happen that next day if we've got something, if we've got an event or if we've got a port of call. Absolutely, yes. I want to make sure that I'm up. I want to be standing on that balcony as we pull into port. I want to visit to visually experience every single thing that I can. That's just me. That's not a right or wrong way to do it. And that's what I love about travel. There isn't one right way to do it. Your perfect vacation may be somebody else's nightmare. And that's okay. So today I want you to jump into comments, whether it be on our website, www.according to williebee.com or any of our social media outlets, and tell me which side are you on? Drink package or no drink package, private excursions or ship excursions, balcony, inside cabin, early riser, or sleep in. I'd like to hear your opinions because some of my favorite episodes start with your comments. I'm Willie B. Remember to make the memories in the mouths because that's where the memories are made. Don't forget to film your own 4K video that'll live forever right inside your own brain. Until I see you again next week, right here behind this big old mic. Have a great day. Do not forget to caffeinate and conquer because that is extremely important. I'll see you again next week. Have a great day. Bye bye.