Skip the reman stuff? That warranty is doing a lot of heavy lifting in your head. 30 days from a pick-n-pull means 30 days from the day you bought it, not 30 days of the part working, and most of these places won't hand you cash back, just a credit toward another used part. I've pulled alternators that tested fine on the bench and died in three weeks because the brushes or bearings were already on their way out, and a bench test won't catch a tired voltage regulator under real load. For stuff like alternators and starters you're better off paying the core charge and getting a reman with a real warranty, or having a local shop rebuild yours. Save the yard for brackets, body panels, and sensors that either work or don't, since those you can test in the parking lot before you pay.

Three days on Carnival Magic last spring and I hit the buffet for breakfast every morning, and the made to order eggs benedict station beat anything in the dining room, which felt rushed and cold by comparison. I get that embarkation day is a zoo, but if you show up around 8am or after 1pm, it's mostly empty and the food is fresh. My only real complaint is the ice cream machine always being broken by day two, but honestly the buffet has way more variety than the MDR menus, especially for picky eaters. The MDR gets all the credit, but nobody talks about how you're stuck eating at a set time and waiting 45 minutes for a table when the buffet is right there and done in ten.