OCSC Mike

3 minutes ago, Cruising_Figure_Skater said:

Do I need paper copies of anything? Or can I get by with having everything on my phone?

I print our set sail passes for the heck of it, but no, your phone is fine. Just add your set sail passes to your Apple wallet (if iPhone) and/or take a screen shot so you don't have to worry about any app or internet issues. Easier to bring them up that way then actually going through the app.

2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

30 days out, luggage tags available, yet it still seems sooo far away.

For anyone who found that sad, cough... @WAAAYTOOO, cough... a nice live blog of next week's sailing would definitely help make the time go by faster.

30 days out, luggage tags available, yet it still seems sooo far away.

16 minutes ago, CruzOnBye said:

I've seen your posts on here and know you love Wonder, we are very excited for this experience. I think she will be our favorite...although I say that every ship we step on lol.

I totally get that. Picking a favorite Oasis class ship for me is really close to splitting hairs. They're not THAT different. I just really liked some of the tweaks/additions to Wonder like Mason Jar brunch, new WJ layout, big open ELF with attached bar (that has one of my favorite margaritas), two coffee machines in the CL, etc. When we went on Allure last minute in October, I enjoyed the stuff Wonder doesn't have like Sabor, Giovanni's Table, a CL with a view that's not in the basement, etc.

I'd happily sail whatever Oasis class ship is at PC... and that just happens to be Wonder/Utopia for the next few years so I'm not complaining (except for the prices). Seems like you prefer PC as well.

Whether Wonder becomes your favorite or not, I'm sure you'll have a great time!

2 minutes ago, calvink669 said:

We’ll see what we get into here today

I recommend getting into the food & drink but you already knew that, lol. Enjoy PDCC!

2 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

We will celebrate that milestone with some Patron!

I didn't even realize I earned mine when I did and got no notice in our cabin, let alone someone to drink Patron with, lol.

I got to call C&A when I got home and wait 6-8 months for it to be shipped. I got my paperweight though and that's all that matters... I think.

8 hours ago, Heymarco said:

Royal raises money from us for MAW to give Royal a huge tax break. The they take money from MAW to put people on cruises. Come on.

The alternative is to not raise money for MAW... so who wins in that case? 99% of people who may see the t-shirt/walk and decide to donate the $25 or whatever it costs were unlikely to be planning to donate to MAW in the first place.

8 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

I hate to bother my TA when I'm comparing prices on several different cruises

I felt the same way about bothering my TA when I first starting using them but both of the TA's I have used (one from MEI) have told me they don't mind quoting whatever I want. Clients shopping quotes and never booking (or even booking cruises and then cancelling with a refundable deposit) is just part of the job. They're used to it. Additionally, if you're looking for group rates (maybe you're not), that's the only way to get the prices.

If I could look up group rates myself I gladly would.

8 minutes ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

My MEI TA gives me quotes fairly quickly and his refundable price IS always cheaper than his non refundable one!  His prices seem to always beat the price I am finding on the Royal website too!

This.

Find a TA with group rates (like MEI). You'll get refundable deposits and a lower price than the NRD website price as mentioned above.

19 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Wonder on Sunday.

 Hope you don’t have blog fatigue.

2 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I count the casino as my excursions

I love that logic! Entertainment is entertainment!

6 minutes ago, CruzOnBye said:

We will just miss you on 6/2! Hope you have a wonderful time, we are in the final stretch! 

Back at ya! My teacher wife's summer break doesn't start early enough to be on your week (I assume you're the week before us). The kids are done but she has post-planning for 2 days after Memorial Day.

8 minutes ago, Rory said:

Thanks Matt. See you onboard on the 19th!

If you can find him... he was hiding when I was onboard Wonder with him in March.

44 minutes ago, calvink669 said:

we managed no further food pics at Paradise Beach

It's OK, sounds like there was a lot more drinking than eating going on anyway, lol.

Someone else live blogging this week will be there tomorrow.

5 minutes ago, Debstr66 said:

Sorry I took so long to get back to you! Rained out twice by rain squalls rendering my ship's pool towels useless.  Oh well, an hour later after each storm the sun was shining but not long enough to dry out the towels.

No worries. Thanks for sharing and sorry the weather didn't cooperate.

The aqua show has been announced as "Aqua 80s Too".

It is rumored that there will be a Back to the Future stage show.

6 minutes ago, calvink669 said:

They were really good!

The tacos or Kelli's comments? Or both?

2 minutes ago, calvink669 said:

ok I have a confession, Kelli attempted to take over the blog after a few margaritas and may have used profanity

Now that I'm done lol'ing...

Love the "1st round" description and those are 3 items I will almost definitely order.

6/2/24 - Wonder

7/14/24 - Wonder

28 minutes ago, calvink669 said:

let me know if you want to see anything else specific, I will likely post review and more pics either later today or tomorrow

Very kind of you to take the daybed 14 pics. Someone was there a few days ago and was nice enough to do some recon as well. I don't think we can decide to switch or not until the new daybeds are actually installed and Paradise sends me pics.

I saw pictures from behind those adirondak chairs where I assume #22 is going and the only slight negatives I could see would be that the sports equipment hut is off to the right (when facing the ocean) but fairly far away and if they keep the walking path to the pool area, we may not want people constantly walking past us. The trade-off, of course, is that the daybeds are fairly close together so it's either a walking path or a daybed on that side.

No other specific requests... just order (and take pics of) as much food and drink as you can handle!

I guess I was the only one cheap enough to change far in advance. We downgraded from balcony to interior when we hit Diamond, lol.

5 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

He has high hopes that when we make it to Pinnacle (hopefully eventually) that we can go back to our standard balcony cabins.

Hopes or wishful thinking?

13 minutes ago, Mrs. Regular said:

water proof outer shell

Dunno if it's important based on your listed excursions (or if this is included under the above) but we found froggtogg waterproof pants very useful... however we also did 10 days on land pre-cruise, a glacier hike, dog sledding up on a mountain glacier, etc. so we used them more for being on the ice/snow than for rain, although they worked for both of course. They fit right over your jeans/hiking shoes.

22 minutes ago, calvink669 said:

Today is Cozumel and Paradise Beach!

Will be eagerly awaiting reviews and food/drink pics. Have a great time!

The above answers say it all.

I'll just reiterate to check the app as soon as you're connected to the ship wifi (a certain % of spots are held back for booking onboard) and don't stress because you can easily see every big venue show without a reservation via standby if you have to.

Enjoy my favorite ship and my favorite ice show!

One tip for Effectors (which is very much geared towards kids/families)... if it works for your son, try to sit in the lower level. It gives a better of view of the ending which is pretty cool (I'm leaving out spoilers in case you're not familiar with it).