I too have been on over a dozen cruises - on Royal, Princess, Celebrity, and Carnival. From what I'm seeing, from the types of failures being reported, and having decades of experience with operations management, there is a significant operational issue at Carnival that needs to be corrected. Is it improper maintenance, unqualified workers, or something else? Who knows. What I do know is that if Carnival doesn't get a handle on it, and soon, they will be hurting for a long time to come.
The Time Warner saga of pain continues. But there may be a happy ending. I am experimenting with a WiMax subscription that can be shared with several homes around me. We are considering all leaving Time Warner and sharing data off of a single hub. Down and up speeds exceed what we have now, and even with the loading factor will be better than the current situation. I see a potential service here that can help people cut the cord with monopolies like Time Warner.
Of all the companies I have dealt with in my 52 years on this planet, Time Warner is the absolute WORST of them all. The WORST. How this company is in business, and is profitable, is beyond me. The only reason, I believe, is that it has a monopoly in the majority of the markets that it serves. If people had more choice, I am sure they would move away from this company.
There are other options. Price out what it would cost to go to a WiMax (4G) hot spot and dump the TV channels. We did and we're not looking back. We're sick and tired of the monthly outflow for what is increasingly less of a value. Part of the blame goes to the content providers, who are gouging the cable companies for their content (case in point - ESPN, which to me is a completely useless channel yet costs TWC about $3 a head to carry).