OCSC Mike

Thanks but not necessary. I have enough trouble using up our 10 vouchers b/c my wife provides little help (not that I mind).

Drinks on you? Which bar and when? Congrats on the promotion, awesome timing!

After lunch we tailgated our way into the suite lounge to find Jen, who was the CL concierge last month we became friends with. She seemed happy to see us & surprised we remembered to bring her the Chinese hot sauce she had asked for. She told us to contact her if we need anything but we wouldn’t bother her & rarely need much concierge help anyway. She told us last month that she prefers the CL & it definitely seemed that way. It never dawned on me but being a SL concierge on a ship doing shorties means she has new e-mails to send out & requests to fill twice a week. Just our luck, today was her first cruise in the SL. I jokingly said “now we get suite lounge access, right?” And she said sure, she’d let us in. We’d never do that of course and without the perks it’s the same as the CL. It was good to see her though so maybe we’ll sneak in again just to say hi. She also gave my wife her social media info to keep in touch. I stopped back in Mason Jar to get a Peach Tea (with very little tea, the bartenders are all new compared to last month), then grabbed the raspberry cheesecake dessert from Spare Tire on our way to the Solarium. We’re just chilling here for now. It’s much cooler than last month; hopefully that continues. Suite Lounge Peach Tea (mostly peach) Raspberry Cheesecake Chimi

Moonlight WJ lobster & shrimp Churros Random desserts Welcome display

Susan, the MJ manager, called down to Royal Railway where Eric (Jocelle’s significant other) was taking reservations. She told him a guest wanted to speak to him b/c they were unhappy with him, lol, and he hung up on her. Apparently she’s a prankster. She called him back with the real message and we went down to see him, give him his gifts, and took a quick photo. He said Joelle was doing well & let us take a peak inside. He also said he thought we met before. As it turns out, he was a manager in Giovanni’s on both Indy & Wonder so we probably saw him multiple times in the past 3 years, even before we met Joelle. He was also offering 20% off for dinner tonight (to anyone). I don’t think the Railway ever goes on sale pre-cruise so just a heads-up for anyone interested.

We breezed through boarding & walked right on the ship before 10am again. It’s crazy empty so far. Stopped in Mason Jar for my wife to drop off some gifts (her manager friend was all smiles & gave us each a hug). Going to get my usual Moonlight first drink & wait for WJ to open.

Uneventful drive. Parked in the lot around 9:35; front row again. The garage was open this time. Terminal doors not open yet so @Hoppy2BHere is probably watching us wait here in the 10:30am queue just behind the suite/key/pinn queue.

Leaving shortly. Next update from the port!

We get there crazy early and park in the lot which wasn't even open at 9:15am last month (machine wasn't activated yet); it opened 3 minutes later. Garage opens later these days and has gotten messy from what I've read. It really depends if you want to be on very early, if you're parking or being dropped off, etc. I can respond more later.

Back at ya! Is there a bad day for a cruise? Hope to run into ya onboard.

Yep, I'm with ya on all counts... though I manage to get my boxers on right side in, lol. As long as my wife sleeps better (which is more important), we get up together and just head in different directions. If not... it's back to getting dressed in the dark and sneaking away. It's kinda backwards on cruises since I need to get dressed in order to go get my coffee across the ship. I've certainly seen bath robes in the CL, but that's not my style, lol, and I also wouldn't want to cross the length of the ship in one. Maybe when the CL was below us on deck 4 (nah, not even then).

Family cruise is next March (also a Utopia B2B and they got everyone the UDP for all 7 days). This is a test run of the UDP with just the two of us (not really, it was the 55% off sale, happy accident).

Cruise day!!! Stayed up a little later last night & still woke up early but that’s OK. 5 hours sleep isn’t optimal but we should be up later on the ship. I did want to get up early to go to the CL more often & my wife wants to walk more if she sleeps better. Weather looks OK for today & nothing too ominous for the Bahamas right now. Can’t trust any forecast though so not worried about it. Supposed to be rainy here in FL early next week (sorry @dustfsu) but rain on turnaround day isn’t a big deal, especially when you chill in the Solarium. Just made coffee, need to finish packing, then will get on the road sometime after 8an.

I feel like after that statement everyone wants to hear it even more now!

Nice catch.

I won't forget any bar... I'll have a list on my phone of what drinks to try where, lol. It's not like trying the Pesky Parrot menu which is one new bar on a ship I was already familiar with (from Wonder). I feel like I'll need a tour guide to find all those new places (between bars and food venues) when I finally try Star.

5pm update... My wife is mostly packed. She did some prep yesterday but somehow did everything else today in between a 7am 3-mile walk, a doctor's appointment, a trip to Walmart, a 90-minute voice acting lesson, and she's currently recording auditions. I helped with a few things but it was mostly her. Oh yeah, she also received a few Bezos packages that weren't really cruise-related, she just ordered them on the first day of the Prime Days sale so they'd get here before we left. She plans to print some stickers later to put on the small crew gifts (she has some nifty little sticker maker thingy). I think I posted pics of the Easter stickers she made in April. I feel like I've been sitting on my all day by comparison. I did manage a haircut and a quick trip to the pharmacy and I pretty much just have my t-shirts and polos left to fold and pack. I also may or may not have increased the cruise note on my phone to include some specialty info... as if I won't remember what to order once I sit down with a menu in front of me. That's me getting into cruise mode I guess.

That's what makes the blogging community here so great. I have nothing against blogs on other sites. I've certainly enjoyed and learned stuff from them but the entertainment value just isn't ever going to be there, lol.

Thanks. They re-stock in PC so you should be OK. I only have those first three days to get my fill of the included venue stuff so I gotta make them count before I disappear into specialty dining.

Good point. I guess I can humor him and go there... as long as we've gone to the coffee one first. I like the bars with the unique drinks (you already know that though) and Icon/Star seem to be full of them! My niece was telling me how much she liked the one in Surfside with the split menu of half kiddie drinks and half adult drinks. I'll brave tot town to try new drinks, lol.

At this rate, I could use all the reminders I can get. On top of having routine appointments and other things to do today already scheduled, minor issues keep popping up. Everything got resolved and my wife did fill her packing cubes earlier, but it definitely doesn't feel like the day before a cruise. If I don't use all my vouchers tomorrow, I never will. I foresee multiple trips to Mason Jar and Pesky Parrot. Unless lunch and unpacking count, I don't think we have any firm plans besides WJ dinner whenever and Aqua80TOO at 8:30.

I suggest Star March 14, 2027 (as long as you guys leave the suite area to come meet me at the commoner bars).

Appreciate it. @ScottD wins but he had the literal home field advantage.

Well, it accepted my answers after about 7 minutes this time and we got express boarding, but there was no confetti screen.

Here we go again, got this message last time. Give me my express boarding!!!