OCSC Mike

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!!!

Gonna be packing even later than usual I guess. We both got busy with other stuff this morning. My wife was out and even though I was home and got some items ready, I don't feel like I did all that much... although maybe I really don't have much to do. We both have some things scheduled for early afternoon and something else came up on my wife's end so not sure we'll do much/any actual packing until late afternoon/early evening. @asquared17 would be in panic mode except she knows we always pack late and just have a short drive in the morning so it's not that big of a deal.

Cruise Eve thoughts… - I’m not in the best sleep pattern right now but what else is new? Been waking up way too early & not getting back to sleep enough. Just need to shift things ahead a couple hours so I’m staying up later & not waking up THAT early on the ship. - I feel like I’ve done zero prep in terms of packing b/c a lot of our stuff is already gathered from last month’s cruise. My wife got her clothes together yesterday, a lot of my clothes from last month went into a guest room closet after laundry for just this reason, and she takes care of most of the toiletry type stuff, so I guess we’re on our usual schedule. - I mentioned this before but cruises really sneak up on me at the end. It definitely happened again this time between being away for a week around July 4th and my mind being elsewhere lately. Time to spend the day getting into cruise mode in between actually packing and finishing pre-cruise prep. My wife has a few non-cruise things to do but sometimes I think she just wakes up on cruise day ready to relax. We’re both planners but she’s not concerned with overplanning for repeat cruises (which I do for fun so it works out well). I gave her my little schedule of our meals, shows, activities, etc. yesterday. She uses it as a guide for packing/planning outfits. I think I might be a genie in an alternate universe. That’s all I got. On to the actual blog in a little over 24 hours.

Maybe on a random Wednesday, who knows? Can only just keep checking. If I purchased more items pre-cruise, I’d have a nice collection of deals from very random sales. Most of them were pretty close to sailing too. That’s OK, it should be easy to catch up, large chunks are usually devoted to tangents. Or just read the intro, skip 3 pages, and wait for me to board tomorrow for actual Utopia info. EDIT: Looks like you already caught up. Thanks. Something will pop up again, I’m just thankful for the temporary lull. Hope you get a similar reprieve soon.

There have been some very good DBP sales over the past month or two. Some people have posted prices well below $60.

WHEW!

Glad it wasn't when we sailed together... that's some crappy luck.

The crowds really aren't bad in our section, even once every lounger is taken (and we've been there with 2 Oasis class ships twice now... Sunday will be the 3rd time). If it felt overcrowded, I would definitely put more value in Hideaway, but the only result is there might be a few people in front of me when I go to get food or a drink as opposed to almost no wait when we're there with an older, smaller ship. I don't even want to know how long it would take them to close down, sanitize, and refill Oasis Lagoon for a code brown, lol. Definitely never seen that happen. It's not Icon.

I'm sure it is but zero interest. We've sat by the free pool a dozen times with kids, eating Snack Shack and Chill Grill, enjoying the 90's music from DJ iPod, and always had a great time. My wife would eat zero new food items from Hideaway, we obviously don't need a heated pool in July, and we aren't looking for a loud band (we can find that onboard). I'm sure we'd have a fine time there too, don't get me wrong, but what am I getting for $70? A few new food items like fancier pizza, fried shrimp, and empanadas? The math just doesn't math for us.

I don't know what other bar that could be. I've been on Wonder (almost the same layout) for 35N and Utopia for 7N. If there's another bar with food, I'm not aware of it.

Oh I’m familiar with Giovanni’s Wine Bar, thanks. They have a lot more than tapas, including pizza. No idea when I’ll fit that in though. It’s mostly only open (for food) from 5-9pm on Utopia so I could go at 5pm for a “snack” in between big meals I guess but not sure I should be eating something from GK just before dinner.

This was indeed resolved earlier btw and it turned out to be nothing to worry about (which is of course a good thing). Full speed ahead with laundry, packing, etc. My wife decided on her evening outfits so I know what color polo to wear which night. Gotta be color coordinated for those free D+ photos, especially since we get 4 instead of 2 b/c of the B2B. It's admittedly corny but has become a ritual and we do have some nice pictures to show for it (even though they're all pretty casual).

That's below mushrooms, sorry (and there are very few things I truly dislike). Sounds kinda healthy too. I'm only considering a salad b/c fried goat cheese is involved.