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Is this the new method of putting a sock on the door?

Wait till you see what we found in the drawers!! we found this in the living room of the suite while unpacking the suitcases!!!

After dinner, we wandered a bit.. @TheBoss518 found the Luis Vuitton shop.....this will probably not end well for my bank account.... We were able to get her away empty handed.....for now..... We came back to the suite to change and get ready for Grease. The star class food coma is already setting in, because we had second dessert waiting for us. I'm gonna gain a million pounds this week.....

The Facebook group for this sailing is getting interesting. People are actively recruiting for pineapple type activities! The most recent one included a photo of a bikini clad derrière

Turns out this is third coffee did a couple laps on the track this morning too. I was moving!

Other stray observations. So far everyone seems to be respectful of each other and friendly. Not a lot of pushing and shoving while leaving the theater tonight. People were actually curious and letting rows empty before coming up the aisles themselves. @TheBoss518 did witness some vintage shenanigans as a well lubricated one was dancing her heart out while someone else was trying to hold her up so she wouldn’t fall and break a hip. So far no ALPHA ALPHA ALPHA’s were called so she must have been successful and kept the vintage in her feet.

My record is 19 pounds on 7 night sailing. A million is a bit ambitious… Key is starting at a lean base and then say no to nothing. Also somewhat counterintuitively, working out each day stimulates appetite and thirst and results in the ability to consume larger amounts of unhealthy items. good luck

Part 3 - Aquadome, The Wizard, And Rover, oh my! After dinner we stopped back at the room and it was made up for night time - since we only had one person for the couch bed, they just made it up that size, it didn't pull out to a full size bed. Definitely helps to leave some more walking room. Also got some nice sunset views out the "balcony" We then went to the Aquadome/overlook area to check it out and we're able to get one of the pods. Very cool area and just feels like a totally different place than rest of the ship. We also got to meet Rover - who is definitely a good girl We then went to see the Wizard of Oz and it was a fantastic show. Well, my wife and oldest went, the younger two didn't want to so my youngest went to Adventure Ocean and son just went off exploring. Huge cast that was very talented and the little be orchestra makes a big difference. The effects/staging was amazing, can't recommend enough, it's a must do (we definitely may try to see it again) Only issue is the show starts at 8:30 and is 1 hour 40 mins lon so we were anxious about picking up yh you get for AO since now a bit after 10, but the line to pick up kids was super long so wasn't an issue Thus ends a great first day - definitely feel like we got a lot done and yet parts of the ship we didn't even step foot in yet Coming up next, a cloudy / raining but very fun day - including the (official) start of the bar crawl!

It’s a crime against humanity and the cruise gods to be up at 6:30am.

Suite lounge options First breakfast

And like clockwork, I’m on vacation, overindulging, yet I still woke up at 6am. I’m off to the suite lounge to enjoy in the word of Danny Harr my nice Italian coffee. (Everyone else is still unconscious, I can also say I did not need the liquid IV this morning. We have a standing Starbucks delivery order with Berty set up for second coffee. I don’t think we have too many daytime activities planned yet. I do know Berty has is scheduled for lunch at Sabor and CP150 for dinner. Johnny is a big fan of “looking all fancy” so @asquared17 stay tuned for some nicer family photos. My favorite morning view They are just now putting the food out in the lounge so I will have first breakfast soon!

After sail away, we all had dinner at Coastal Kitchen together. We got to experience the first crack in the genie magic. As we walked in, Berty was there to meet us and brought us to a table for 4. We had made plans with him to have a table for 8 for all of us. He quickly admitted that he completely forgot Thankfully there was a table for 8 all ready to go, so it was no big deal. Amazingly, we have discovered that the genies are human too! We all tucked in for a very nice and enjoyable meal. Appetizers consisted of the Buratta Salad, shrimp cocktail, escargot, caesar salads. I failed as a blogger since I didn't manage to get pictures of everything, but I assume everyone knows what a caesar salad, shrimp cocktail and escargot look like As you can see in the picture below, I somehow managed to get the smallest fillet at the table....Lydia filled up on bread, so I ate the rest of hers. I also discovered during desert that the espresso martinis are very good! 10 out of 10 highly recommend. I did try to give the creme brûlée the benefit of the doubt.....0 out of 0, would not recommend......again, I make that myself at home, and if I do say so myself, its damn good. For main courses, it was Filet all around. Johnny chose to get the grilled chicken because he is picky about his steak....again my fault..... All in, today was a great start to the cruise. It's nice to sail with friends and share our love of cruising with them. Dan and his wife were happy to find out that all the wine and drinks they had at dinner were covered in the suite lounge happy hour. They typically don't drink too much each day, so this benefit really works out well for them being in a suite.

Took some photos from sail away. Love the view from the balcony, no matter what ship I’m on! Learned a little bit about the ship wreak you can see as you are leaving port, the SS Selma. Was intentional sunk there! I don’t remember seeing it the last time we left from Galveston, but @GregDreminded me that it was foggy, cold and cloudy so we didn’t sit outside for sail away. If you zoom in on the one photo, you will see 2 dolphins! Apparently there are lots of them that like to hang around there, saw over 10 of them. The kids weren’t outside with us and when I told them they missed out, they had real FOMO!

So is this guy

Wanna feel out of place? Live blog while staying in an interior and doing almost no specialty dining like I may do next month. The horror!

Thank you. I very often feel out of place here!

Thank you! I’m really having fun with this one so far, and I’m glad you are too. I also really appreciate everyone for taking time out of their day to read along and comment

Lets get caught up here. Breakfast at CK today. Johnny got his french toast, Lydia, eggs and sausage, granola for Heather, and I got the Baja Eggs. Everything was good as usual. After breakfast and a little wandering, we made our way up to the suite sun deck. Dan and his family met us there. The kids were off in the pools while the adults relaxed. It was really a nice time.

Congrats ! Sounds like you have all of the intel correct. You will be so spoiled by that big, beautiful balcony ! An aft JS was my very first step into suite snobbiness. It only gets worse from here ! It is a long walk to the aft but it's worth it. Enjoy.

Tonight we saw grease. Heather and I both thought that the cast was really good. It was very entertaining. We have officially crossed the line where our daughter is now old enough that she understood all the innuendo and raunchy jokes. I’m not sure who was more mortified, us or her. Pre show, I really liked how they had screens that showed the cast with a bio, like a playbook you would get at a broadway show. It really highlighted that the cast members aren’t just “cruise performers.” All of them are quite accomplished and I kinda wish this was done on other ships. The real star of the show was this guy though. Sitting behind the sound booth we could see this monitor with what I can assume is the musical director. He was singing and bopping along to everything while playing the keyboards. He was almost as entertaining as the cast! It’s been quite the day….it is now bedtime! There is a strong possibility I might need that liquid IV in the AM..

Oh my, I really really think they were originally the chips I hid, and forgot about them! The plan was to split between the kids for their airport wait, but more chips appeared later that day, that I ended up using. But that was way back to January 19th, certainly they can’t be the same ones!

When I had soft-sided luggage, I would actually sew the most atrocious looking fabric I could find to it for 1) easy identification at the baggage carousel, and 2) no one with two brain cells would want to steal something so ugly. We're talking ugly fabric covering 75% of the side. One time it was dinosaurs wearing sombreros, another time it was orange/purple chevron zigzags, etc. It's the only thing I miss about having hard sided luggage now - maybe I should apply stickers?

Lunch today was Sabor.........and we can say it is a one and done for us. The meal started out good. Our apps were good and the margs tasty. But, like has been mentioned before.....the rest sucked. I'm willing to try everything once, and for us, that was enough. Our final dinner on the ship is also supposed to be here, but we will change it. All was not lost though, because we had a pirate sighting!! He must be on vacation because he looks dressed for casual Friday and his parrot was nowhere to be found. After lunch we all felt quite full, we headed back to the room...and we time traveled for a bit. Now we are all getting ready for formal night. We will do some pictures etc. Dinner is at 150CP. We also have the adult comedy show scheduled as well.

Those are loofas!!! Never thought I would want to use things that I would wash my bits and pieces to identify my luggage....hopefully they are new and not....contaminated...... Pasta Carbonara pasta made with eggs....Breakfast Pasta!!! Thank you. We have a rental car. It was 3.5 miles from our hotel to the port. About 12 minutes to drive there.

Jamie's had a great cheeseburger, it was replaced by the chicken sandwich.

are those bows or shower thingees? I use ribbons but those look a bit wild! Yes I am vintage…really getting used to that description now! I love “pet” names. Several years ago one of my granddaughters started calling me “Juicy”..no clue why but regardless the name stuck and now all 5 grandkids lovingly call me by that name!

No ! The good news is, you will be prime until 3-31-25. Since you made prime before 3-31-24, you will get an annual tier casino comp (free cruise) which will be available to you some time in mid-April. The points that you begin accumulating from 4-1-24 through 3-31-25 will determine your status for the 25/26 casino year. You are always working a year "ahead".

My style exactly! Except with no foreseeable freeloading suites in the near future, I have to go all the way to the CL on deck 4... but hey, Wonder has a virtual balcony view down there, so there's that! Joking aside, I often grab multiple cups to go and head to Park Cafe when it opens at 6:30am (not all ships) for my first breakfast and the early AM atmosphere there. I spy my wife's favorite chocolate croissant. Thanks for the food pics, especially non-specialty... you know, the things us poors actually eat.

I am a sucker for those chocolate covered donuts

Shhhh. This is still a dirty little secret.

Not bad at all considering they are free. IMHO the Doghouse is an excellent option for a quick and satisfying bite to eat (especially on boarding day). The location on the boardwalk is great! The Red Stripe is just icing on the cake. As for the chili dogs, head over to Johnny rockets.

Challenge accepted!!

i think the best part about your live-blogging is the commentary. sometimes i even wish it wasn’t so painfully accurate/disturbing liSTEN. SOMETIMES. THERE ARE NEEDS. i am only slightly envious of the contraband bags of chips and chocolate truffles!!! jk jk ENJOY!! and happy first night aboard

I'm going to guess it's a plug-in disco ball.

Calling all vintages. Is this the new way of identifying your luggage?

Part 2 - Drinks, Food, and Getting our Bearings While set up on Thrill Island I did order my first drink of the trip from a passing bartender: got the Category 6 from th Basecamp Bar. This was really good, but definitely has that floater of Kraken at the top - strong first sip! Kids wanted to go swimming so we went to the main pool in Chill Island which was quite nice and bounced between the pool and hot tubs. Picked up margaritas from Cantina Fresco which were quite tasty! We then went to Windjammer for lunch - or, considering they still have the steak and l better and other seafood, it is definitely the Wind Jahmehr! Good way to start off the cruise foodwise Rooms were ready at 1pm so we went there and also able to locate all our suitcases, which was great. Kinda were enjoying the infinite veranda part - my son definitely liked playing with the window (probably more than his siblings enjoyed him playing with it.) We are a full day now in the room and the space is really nice - the you get two having there separate area is really nice and kinda keeps them and their stuff contained. The infinite veranda area is nice for relaxing in - the chairs are comfy. One negative so far is there isn't enough storage - struggled a bit to put away all the stuff for 5 people. Could use more drawer space especially. Having the split bathroom is really nice but it does result in each part feeling a bit tight. We will see how we feel at the end of the cruise but so far more positives than negatives but not perfect. Oh, and as a size comparison, this is my 5'5" wife on one of the bunk bed beds - she fits no issue and they are great for my 12 and 9 y ah old but would be tight for like a teen who is like 5'10" or more We then heard they were selling Wow bands so we went to get two for the younger two and then went to check out Adventure Ocean and the Teen Club. They said my 12 year old could use either - but had to pick one, he couldn't be registered at both. He decided on Adventure Ocean as he met some kids his age there and there is a ton to do there and so much space - definitely a big step up from the club on our last cruise which was on Symphony of the Seas. I then got another drink and hung out with my sone in the Peal Cafe area - this is quickly becoming one of his favorites spots and he enjoyed watching the other ships leave port before ours left. Unfortunately we missed sail away as we had 5pm dinner and it didn't happen until then - we could actually see us start to move out the windows int h Main Dining Room which was cool. Dinner was good the first night - I got escargot and the prime rib. My son tried the escargot and went back for a 2nd so guess he liked them Coming up, evening entertainment, enjoying the Overlook, and a cloudy start to day 2

My experience, based on 3 different sailings in Jan this year, was they only play it when they announced we have arrived now.

I love those chocolate croissants. I get two and a cup of fruit from the Crown lounge, since I rarely stay in suites, and I am good to go. I believe on both Allure and Wonder they did the screens with info about the cast of the shows. And it is nice to read about their lives. Maybe this will be a new trend going forward. I always forget that Harmony has Sabor because both times I was on her were during the restart and Sabor wasn't open.

we usually aim for an arrival about 45 mins before boarding just to avoid traffic and such. the past few times, we’ve left FLL between 8:30-8:50, which puts there around 9:30/9:45 for our 10:30 boarding. i recognize this is earlier than most, but i’d rather wait sitting down in the terminal, than queued up outside or in a traffic jam. depending on how fast they keep things moving, you can typically expect to be there ahead of the initial rush.

oh my gosh, can you imagine?? lest we forget — i am a PRE vintage

I actually was in the mood for a burger for lunch, but I was happy with that chicken Sammy. It was really good!

They asked if we wanted to, we said no, it's not really our thing. We have had pictures done before and weren't happy with them. Not yet, but I have not been looking. I'll do some research and let you know.

Prices in general are crazy but for some reason the UFS on Symphony seems to be immune. It was priced almost the exact same for Aug 2025 as we paid this past August 2023 in Europe. So after swearing up and down to my kids (and myself) that having a slide in our room was a one and done experience, we are now booked again for the UFS out of Bayonne in 2025. Given the rise in Star class prices more broadly, it was only like GBP 2k more for a family of 4 for the UFS than a 2 bedroom aqua suite, and with 2 kids under 10 I think the UFS is a no brainer at that price difference.

The “complete your muster drill” announcements have started. As of 2:30pm local time 841 guests have not completed their muster drill requirements. Time to make them walk the plank!

I’ll skip the stateroom photos since there have already been a bunch recently. I can confirm that nothing has changed since @Jax and @Yesiamthere6 sailed

Arriving to the port, we got our first glimpse of our home for the week! We pulled in at about 10am. As you come into the port, we kept right and the entrance to the parking lot is there right on the left. We got a spot about 100 feet from the terminal. As has been reported, the suites/pinnacle area is well marked and easy to see. The star class greeter was right there. She called a porter who took our bags and we were escorted inside. We had to wait a few minutes at the bottom of the escalator because they weren’t quite ready for everyone. About 5 minutes later we were allowed upstairs and through security. All of the genies were already there in the lounge waiting so we met Berty right away. Shortly after, checkin was completed and we were on ship! I took the picture of the ship while in the car at 9:59. The Boss took this photo at 10:30. While we were going through our boarding process, I kept in touch with our friends. Their boarding process was also smooth. They arrived at 10:28 and were on the ship at 10:48. We had the following conversation

So, we are on the ship!! this morning was a whirlwind of activity. After I returned from our target/starbucks run we loaded up the car. @TheBoss518 wanted a picture on the beach, so we made that happen. Once that was completed we headed off to the port.

We stayed at a Tru by Hilton. It’s right on the sea wall. It’s nothing fancy and good for one night. It’s also one of the combo places that also has a home2suites attached.

On Feb 10 for Icon, we had an early check in time and were in a suite. We were there around 9:30 - 10 and it was crazy. 6 lanes of cars backed up trying to pickup people and drop off people/luggage. We took an immediate left and up the ramp (just before the backup) into the parking garage and parked. Waited just a bit to finish our morning coffee and rolled our luggage down to the drop off (to the right when you get off elevators). Second in line to check in and second to board the ship. Worked well for us. There was a bit of a delay to start check in, but once open went very quickly.. YMMV. J&S

I love the way Dan and you cruise.