OCSC Mike

I would have to agree... with both of you, lol.

You got me beat with the Tupperware. We always have a stash of gallon Ziplocs though (one is designated as my cookie bag and is never empty, lol). Park Cafe on Wonder has wraps and other small sandwiches in sealed plastic to-go containers in a grab n go section. I started keeping a couple wraps in the cooler last cruise... now you've given me the idea to re-use the containers for stuff brought back from WJ or wherever so thanks for that! They should be big enough for desserts and other small snacks.

I know I'd like that one. Tell your wife it was my fault you were posting.

We were supposed to take it in 2019 but Harmony couldn't dock there due to high winds so we've never actually gotten off in Roatan. For our first time somewhere, we try to see as much as we can. After that on future trips we might just sit on a beach, not get off at all, etc. The company we're using (Rony's Tours) also offers to take you to a local school to drop off donations and since my wife is a K teacher, she wants to do that. Nice to see how locals actually live too. So the current plan is to see the animals at Manawakie, go to a school where Rony lives, go to wherever the driver recommends for views/pictures, stop for a quick bite of something local (not a long lunch, I keep reading about "baleadas" which are kind of like tacos), then seeing the West Bay area where there are beaches, shopping, etc. It's our one long excursion for this cruise. Besides that and CocoCay, we'll mostly just stay on the ship.

Sorry if I was unclear, I was only interested in your thoughts on Manawakie itself. We have a private tour guide taking us all over the island. He'll go wherever we tell him.

Thanks. The more opinions the better. We were likely sticking with it unless given a strong reason not to. I just didn’t realize Royal took people there b/c it’s not mentioned by name in the description of the excursion John took.

I might be the only one interested in non-Icon specific stuff, lol, but I keep finding random coincidences. We have a private tour scheduled for Roatan in exactly 3 weeks. I could have chosen any of the half dozen or so places that has sloths & monkeys but we settled on Manawakie b/c it was smaller & recommended. I had no idea RC had excursions that went there. Any significant positives or negatives? I could easily switch since it’s a private tour. Thanks.

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Posting this a bit late and this roll call is dead anyway but entertainment reservations opened today. They're getting earlier and earlier. It was 50 days out for my June cruise... 60 days out for this one.

TBF, ours was really only noisy during the nightly promenade parties which won't be an issue unless you go to bed early... which we do on occasion, lol. It was as quiet as any other cabin besides that. Can't argue with that. The CP view interior we had on Allure really wasn't much more than a regular interior either. If you haven't had one of those and a similar situation ever comes up on Oasis class, I think you'd like them too.

Totally makes sense to book what you had given that you needed several (not that #22 was an option anyway). It truly wasn't a big deal but it seemed like a no-brainer for us to switch once I saw the pics. We wanted to be in our own little bubble eating and drinking the day away so any extra space seemed like a positive. That said, we also sit in free loungers on CocoCay next to other people and occasionally get to chatting. And we split a cab with another couple we met when went to Nachi last October and ended up sharing a palapa with them (two loungers on either side). I'm not so anti-social that I need total solitude, lol. Now that this is settled, I can get back to focusing on the cruise I have in 18 days... which isn't this one, lol. I didn't even notice that entertainment opened this morning for the July cruise with Paradise Beach until I saw a FB post at like 2pm. Everything was still available of course and for our 4th time on Wonder in 13 months, we may not even go to any shows except for comedy, but it's nice to have reservations anyway.

Hilarious. Kinda reminds me of how my wife's best friend from college who still lives in PA sends her profanity-laced gifts like a mug that says "I f'n miss you b-word!" All in good fun. Are those burritos in the wrapper? I did re-try the quesadillas on Wonder and they were good. Didn't get to the burritos. I'm sure you can tell I'm easy-going, used to sailing with tons of kids, and don't complain about much but OMG THIS!!! We see it a lot from kids of various ages and it's so annoying. You're on a giant ship... why the stairs?!? Brilliant scam. I'm shocked that doesn't work.

Those are the exact reasons we didn't love our promenade view on Indy... only time we've had one. The layout was weird with the TV on that corner unit. We liked the CP view on Allure though. It was bigger and laid out just like a balcony room (or some of the interiors with the bed on the side wall that Wonder and maybe other ships have). We learned interior window rooms can be very different.

You guys are spot on. The included food is incredibly appealing to me (as are a few of the new drinks). Even my wife would like some of the stuff in the Aquadome Market. She wants to try Star so we'll see how bad the prices are during the next release.

It's refreshing to see some love for the WJ! We go there most nights... sometimes for dinner, sometimes after MDR. Never know what you might find. Of course I understand many people prefer to avoid it or just don't like buffets in general... and that's fine too. Different strokes.

@Jax This woman, Estefania, is so nice & helpful & clearly speaks perfect English. She got back to me and started the e-mail with “Behold, Bed #22!” We switched to the new one & she sent me a confirmation 4 minutes after I asked to switch. I would gladly send her a small virtual tip if I could. It looks a little set apart from the rest of the row (more space on the #14 side plus a little tree/plant and a bit in front of the row). If people are walking by the other side, oh well. People watching can be good at times or we can always close the curtain on that side if it’s actually bothering us but I doubt we’ll even notice. My wife also brought up the point that the new one will obviously have less wear (although I’m sure the other ones are fine, just more over-planning).

To his credit, I believe @Ampurp85 mentioned that he works out a good amount. Maybe if I did I wouldn't have to diet pre-cruise to offset the weight gain... but that's not happening.

That's exactly what we did after spending 18 days in Alaska between land and cruise. We saw Shannon Falls then spent a very long time in the Vancouver airport. It wasn't a huge deal since we were exhausted but I wouldn't recommend it if you can come up with a better option that gets you to the airport later.

I don't blame you. I don't even like doing anything shorter than 7N unless we're sneaking in one of those "bonus" October cruises b/c there's a good deal and our schedule allows. If I had to fly, forget it. We have some Utopia B2B's booked to make them 7N but I totally understand why you (and many people) wouldn't want to do just go to CocoCay twice and stay on the ship. We don't mind and spending zero $ on excursions helps offset the total cost... at least that was part of my logic. We could have done Wonder again in summer 2025 before it switches to shorties but my wife said no more Wonders, lol... and the prices were very similar to the Utopia B2B's so it was fine with me. There are other small benefits to 3/4 B2B's like we got more total OBC than we would have for a 7N Wonder and now that we're D+ and share one internet account, we won't have to spend anything on that either. (Sorry for the short hijack, @JohnK6404)

Since I know I'm not going on Icon (or Star) anytime soon, I haven't looked at a ton of them but I agree. My wife wants to try the class eventually and I showed them to her... and told her something very similar to what you told your son, lol. We'll see how bad the prices for Star are during the next release.

I'm not surprised... I think a lot of things vary from ship to ship... even sailing to sailing. You'd think tuna on the same bread would be pretty standardized but...

Paradise Beach e-mailed me back this morning to say there were people using the new daybed today but they would take photos for me as soon as they can. I thanked them and told them how great their customer service has been, especially since I haven't even been there, lol. I wish every company went out of their way like this. They could have easily said something like "the photo should be on the website in a week or so", which honestly would be a reasonable response. I'll post the pics they send when I get them for @Jax, @Debstr66, and anyone else interested.

Knowing my luck, Wonder's ELF won't have it in 19 days.

They were very high quality photos... but don't show me the sandwich counter... show me the sandwich (or crepe or pita or mac)!

A friend of mine pointed them out to me a few days ago (she repriced 2 of hers). Definitely some more palatable Utopia prices out there for certain months compared to other sailings.