OCSC Mike

We always do at home too, really don’t know why I didn’t think of it for GK.

Super heavy but I love carbonara too much and there’s shrimp like everyday in WJ on Utopia so I’ve kind of decided to avoid it in specialty, lol. Glad you found something new. Pasta is the one part of the menu I haven’t tried a lot of. I tasted my wife’s alfredo once but don’t remember it. Why did I never consider a half & half pizza as if GK isn’t like every other pizza place in the world? Thanks for ordering one, perfect way for me to try two new types. I need to try the truffle & egg one & having just shown my wife your pizza I was told she wants no part of a pizza if the other half is covered in eggs. You should see what happens when we do split a pizza & any of my pepperoni invades her half. Get well soon hubby! Having ceased being remotely athletic a while ago, this is why I won’t even try the abyss… I’m convinced I’ll wind up injuring something and it will interfere with my lounging & eating. EDIT: Sorry for the font weirdness, my post got messed up & while cutting & pasting on my phone so I didn’t have to re-type it just came out like that.

Don’t get me started. 9 more days!

That’s the goal but it will take effort. We’ll see how it turns out soon enough. All good points btw.

We were always huge GT fans and I probably like my few favorite items there more than at GK. I like more items at GK though, especially dessert, if that makes sense. I always ordered the same exact meal at GT but I’ve tried a good chunk of the menu at GK. I also like GK for lunch with the addition of pizza & more apps/desserts to choose from. I can be a sucker for variety; that’s partly why I like buffets.

You’re right of course. With how I (over) order, I was probably thinking my 2 apps, other entree, and side item were all good and I really like the deserts at GK so I’ll just let it go. I may or may not have been known to order both the filet and the osso buco, lol. This is why I need to adjust when we have the UDP. I have to order like a normal meal, not go nuts like I do when we only have a few specialty meals in 7 days.

I've had that twice... first time I thought it was one of the best entrees I'd ever had on a cruise, second time it was salty and the veal was covered in so much of the other stuff that I didn't like it at all. I'm one who usually gives things another shot (lots of stuff is inconsistent and you can get a one off bad version) but that really put me off of it. I guess that's a vote for me to try it again on our upcoming cruise.

Fast forward 11 days and the headache issue wound up lingering. The good news is it should be resolved before the 7/11 cruise. The bad news is isn't an optimal resolution (financially at least) but it is what it is. It's a home repair issue, not worth going into detail. The diet has gone pretty well. Currently visiting the in laws for July 4th. Breakfast and lunch are easy. Not every dinner will be super healthy but my MIL made salmon the other night so that was good and we're not really having a big dinner tonight so I'll have a salad and something semi-healthy from whatever she has in the fridge. Leftover ravioli is appealing but tuna in honor of @asquared17 is obviously healthier. I mostly try to cut out carbs and sugar on these pre-cruise diets. Grilling on the 4th will be bad but oh well. The only other time I eat hot dogs is at Dog House and of course I have to have a burger or two. Not sure what else we're having. I'll start the new blog in the next few days.

See, you can live blog on your own! It's not that bad and @smokeybandit may chime in some again.

Not sure I agree with this part. I’ve had an OTW cabana at PDCC & never left it. In fact, no one did except my young nieces to use the beach club pool. Even when we go there without spending a penny (most of the time) we stay in the same spot & only get up for food/drink runs or to hop in the pool. Full disclosure, we’ve also been there at least a dozen times. Someone paying for a high end cabana could very easily make the most of it, enjoy the comfort, and let the personal attendant bring food & drink. That's what I have done & would do.

First, two general comments... 1. Food is so subjective that I would expect differing opinions on everything, even items that it seems the "majority" either especially like or dislike. 2. The same exact item can be good one time and awful the next. I've ordered the same thing more than once in a short period on the same ship and had wildly different experiences. I feel very strongly about this, as you'll see below, so much so that I would try almost anything more than once even if it's not good the first time. Now for some of my own personal opinions on a few items you mentioned... They can definitely vary a lot, even from one sandwich to the next in the same day depending on the particular hunk of beef, how it was cooked, what slice you get, etc. We love that sandwich and I haven't actually seen many negative reviews. I look forward to my CocoCay lunch every trip. I think a lot of people think to themselves "there's too much other stuff to eat to bother with a hot dog or sausage." The buns can also vary a lot in my experience. They're not always soft which may be why you've read negative reviews of them. I stopped going there for a long time but recently have gone out of my way to have 1-2 sausages per cruise. As long as the buns aren't hard and crusty I enjoy them for a quick snack. Again, this varies for me. If it comes out on the crispier side, I very much enjoy a few slices as my last snack of the night. When it comes out super greasy and soggy with the cheese sliding off, it's not appealing to me.

Might have to try that again. I had one & it had way too much filling for me but I’m sure they’re not uniform. Love the donuts & cinn rolls are good but still need more icing. Cream cheese is totally fine, the leading brand is Philadelphia afteralll. The issue is the only small plate my wife would possibly eat is the ginger salad (but she’d mostly just want lettuce and dressing, lol). She actually loves ginger dressing. If she asks about the salad & it doesn’t sound like they’ll make it how she wants (don’t know why the wouldn’t) then I’ll probably get just what you suggested but both will be for me.

Agreed. Cruising in general is since you can always get something else if you don’t like it. That’s also my Izumi app dilemma. I love dumplings & enjoy tempura but I’m thinking the firecracker spring rolls are slightly more unique (although they kinda sound like someone combined a spring roll with crab rangoon). Maybe I’ll find dumplings in the CL during the 1st leg & then I’ll be more OK skipping them at Izumi.

No, not important, when you're in airplane mode your phone can't use cellular roaming anyway.

It’s somewhere in your settings. Not blowing you off but it’s easier if you just google it. I could walk you through it if you are an iPhone user but Google is quicker. It’s very simple.

Yes but you need to have wifi-calling enabled on your phone to make regular phone calls (do this at home pre-cruise). Internet-based calls/messages like FaceTime, iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. will work without WiFi-calling but you didn’t specify if you use iPhone or Android.

Yes. Airplane mode is what prevents your phone for connecting to cellular (which can be very expensive at sea).

My favorite is from Giovanni’s Kitchen. Fettuccine made with tagliatelle is interesting.

It’s not for everyone but we just did a Utopia B2B last month and have another one in 9 days. We mostly sail for the ship & enjoy CocoCay & our usual routine. It was our first time on Utopia so there were new shows to see & new things to try (like Pesky Parrot) to make it not boring. It obviously won't be new this time but that just means more time spent on what we know we like. We’re also trying the UDP on the 4N leg so that’s new. I know you have a while to go but hope you don’t find it boring/annoying.

Really miss the Table version. I like the Kitchen version but that one with the egg on top was always my favorite. If messing up dinner plans means you wind up there I’m not sure you messed up, lol. Getting closer to my first UDP and I keep thinking about my daily Playmakers credit as much as all the sit down meals. Thanks for the ongoing food pics.

Pretty sure she’s never even tried tofu. For full disclosure, I’m not even sure I’ve tried it. Unsurprisingly, that entire list sounds good to me (sub an animal for the tofu). Still deciding on an app to go with my sushi. Love the combo.

That’s my understanding as well.

That doesn’t mean that’s the correct interpretation, just sharing that others had the same impression. It’s needlessly confusing but what else is new? We’ll be on the ship using vouchers like every other Nassau day.

Thanks, I was asking for the “I only eat chicken or filet” member of my household. She’s likely to get that and/or chicken teriyaki.