OCSC Mike

2 minutes ago, Jax said:

I’m excited for you and hope it lives up to my review. Lol I am anxiously awaiting your blog and your thoughts on Paradise Beach.   

If I blog our cruise in 10 days and the one in June, that may be all I have to share by the time I get to July, lol. Not sure how many times people want to see/read about the included food on Wonder (plus Mason Jar brunch). Really going to make an effort to just make random shorter posts so I don't get blog fatigue.

4 hours ago, JC-LC said:

We debated when in Star class whether to even get off the ship!

25 minutes ago, Jax said:

I hear you! This was our first time to Roaton but we said next time we would stay on ship too! 

We didn't even get off the ship (except CocoCay) in Sky Class. I'm never gonna be in Star Class but that would be a no-brainer for me.

BTW @Jax, I keep finding more and more positive reports about Paradise Beach. It's 3 cruises away for me but I'm still looking forward to it, lol. Thanks again for your recon work there a few months back.

6 minutes ago, GatorCruiser said:

I’ll send you some pics.

Gee thanks. Unless the pics come with free drinks, that's OK, lol.

Do let me know who the CK manager and supervisor are if you don't mind. The staff we had in June was the best we've ever come across but I know several have moved to other ships (one of the concierges is on Icon for example). Keep an eye out for Vinay (wrong spelling I'm sure) from India.

5 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

In my experience Italian night is not night 1 or 2.

It’s always night 2 on Wonder when CocoCay is day 2 (1st formal night is 3) but in this case I agree night 2 is likely formal/French.

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

What am I merging this with? I am not sure...

It was already merged. Neesa had originally started a duplicate roll call. You can go back to packing (or getting others to pack). 

36 minutes ago, GatorCruiser said:

Royal loft suite ballers! Makes my GS look pedestrian

It kind of is… even I’ve been in one on Wonder before.

Being right by the SL/CK & under the suite sun deck were the highlights for me. Nothing against the nice room with its tub shower & fancy TV that comes out of the ceiling but it was having free drinks, coffee machine, & snacks literally steps from my cabin door that did it for me.

8 minutes ago, ScottD said:

It's not getting put away to use tomorrow, may as well try a little of everything if you want!

Does one actually need a reason to try a little of everything?

9 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

Part of the problem we ran into, however, is that we hoped to do some of the non-reservation game shows instead, like Battle of the Sexes, that 60 second one, etc. that take place in the smaller venues but our ship was so overfull that we couldn't always get in unless we showed up 45 min to an hour early. So it wasn't always the plan to hang out in the WJ but I ended up enjoying my time there. 

I hear ya. Some of the trivias on Wonder were like that. We sat on the floor of Spotlight Karaoke (On-Air on other Oasis class ships) once or twice, the Schooner Bar fills up, etc.

Oasis class is by far my favorite but one thing we did enjoy when we went back on Indy a couple years ago was the Star Lounge being used for some of those game show type events. Sometimes we just grabbed a small table in the back near the bar and watched the chaos while having a drink.

4 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I was going to say that I don't know if my mod powers extend that far. I have not seen a live blog by @Matt for quite some time.

Maybe he'll just drop in with a comment or two but I'm not holding my breath, lol. No biggie either way.

I'm far more concerned with actually taking pics (which I've mentioned I normally don't do) and making shorter posts here and there rather than long daily recaps like my brain is naturally wired to do. I enjoy reading both types of blogs but the long recaps start to feel more like work at times and less like sharing the fun.

4 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

I often did this as well on our last cruise. We didn't do shows several nights

This is part of what I'm looking forward to when I go back on Wonder in 11 days. When we were on her the 1st time, I think we saw shows 6 out of 7 nights.

This time around, we'll likely only see 3 shows, leaving far more free time to do whatever in the evenings.

1 hour ago, JT77 said:

how does the port handle parking in cases of B2B's like this?

Unless PC has somehow closed the loophole, because you pay at the machine as you enter the garage, you only wind up paying for the length of the 1st half of your B2B. The machine has no way of knowing when you'll actually be back to leave.

I've only done one B2B myself (a 3/4 like yours) but that was a nice bonus savings, lol.

6 minutes ago, LandstromCruise said:

He's to cool to live blog anymore 

Yeah, he popped into our roll call at least, only reason I know he'll be onboard. Ironically, he lives virtually down the road from me where my wife teaches but it will take being on a ship with 6000 people in the Caribbean to possibly run into him and say hi, lol.

2 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I always remind myself, and my family, to live in the moment.

Trying. That’s pretty much what I meant by looking at the big picture… just easier said than done at times.

5 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Awesome! A joint blog! Even better!

Maybe you can use your mod powers & get @Matt to drop in. He’s on that cruise too.

2 minutes ago, LandstromCruise said:

real life is nowhere near as fun as cruise life.  I want to live permanently in cruise life

Agreed but I can deal with "not as fun." Unfortunately it's actual negative stuff getting in my way at the moment. Trying to move on and look at the big picture (which is fine) so let's let this stuff fall away and get back to @Lovetocruise2002's planning and stories of how she's the only one who will be packed on time.

4 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I am counting on you to take over the live blogging on 3/17!

Because that's the only way you get to see food from the WJ and other places the poors eat?

I'll start one and @GatorCruiser said he will be contributing but no promises as far as how much or what I wind up posting. Unfortunately real life is getting in the way of my being able to relax and look forward to the cruise like I should be but I'm hoping it either passes or I'm able to just block it out once embarkation day gets here. I have no doubt I'll enjoy the cruise itself but how much I blog is TBD.

Looking forward to another entertaining blog filled with suite snob activities to keep me busy until I leave on Wonder as you return!

7 minutes ago, jeffmw said:

It's the 5-star meal that I don't want people to have expectations for.

Completely agree with this.

Maybe I was just taking the "don't cruise for the food" aspect too strongly or literally because that's a huge part of why I do, lol. It's just not fancy food.

39 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

So I take 2-3 bites and don't like it then sit for another 15-30 min for them to bring another dish. Oh and don't forget the 5-10 min for them to get me a menu again so that I may look at it and decide what I want.... What a wonderful dining experience.

Yeah, I'd either order multiple from the start or not bother.

28 minutes ago, jeffmw said:

It's more so that a lot of people still have the perception that high-quality (even fancy) meals are a big part of the cruising experience.

Fair point here, especially if you mean the included venues like MDR/WJ.

28 minutes ago, jeffmw said:

I've told the dad who I'm friends with not to get too excited about the food. Not that it's bad or that everything is going to be awful -- just not to have high expectations. The food quality isn't horrible, it's just not a reason go to on a cruise anymore.

This is the subjective part I disagree with, which is of course OK. As I posted before, it's still a big reason for me.

I never cruised for fancy meals nor did I find the MDR all that amazing even 15 years ago (I agree it was better than it is now though). I very much still enjoy the simpler included food but I have simple tastes and I enjoy buffets. Others prefer nicer sit down meals. It's different preferences and opinions IMO.

I enjoy having standard breakfast food in the morning like cook to order omelets with usual sides, bagels and lox, the McMuffin from Park Cafe, pastries from wherever, etc. The rest of the day I enjoy making several trips to places like El Loco Fresh for tacos, Park Cafe for a kummelweck or panini, the WJ for random items (often Indian food), etc. I've even found Sorrento's much improved recently although that's generally just a late night snack. By the time I get to dinner, I'm not looking for a 5-star meal. Unless we're doing specialty dining (we don't do much), I'm content with some pre-dinner snacks from the CL, the current MDR, and some WJ.

I completely understand that food won't be a reason for some people; it is for me. The casino or shows or just sitting on a balcony are reasons for many... and those are definitely not big reasons for me (I do enjoy some of the shows but don't gamble or use a balcony even if I have one). Everyone likes what they like and that's why I find cruising so appealing. There are an infinite number of ways to enjoy it.

Apologies for being so long-winded; it's just how I am on forums and I've given up trying to work on it, lol.

7 hours ago, Cactus527 said:

4061047684302 quarters in Ziploc baggies

Sounds like a slot machine budget to me! You can get way past Prime with that much coinage!

1 minute ago, RCIfan1912 said:

Is this something new?

It may not always be enforced but it is a policy RC implemented a while back; not just an Anthem thing.

10 hours ago, CanHardlyWait said:

I go from MDR to Windjammer after every meal.

I used to do this religiously. May skip a night here or there depending on plans but I still like to pop in just to see what the WJ has each night. Never know when you might find something different or interesting to try. I'm also rarely full from the MDR as I find the portions small (yes, I could order more) but it's fine.

31 minutes ago, Mariau94 said:

Hello 

im going on a cruise on may this year, I want to do the helicopter and dog sledding tour, however there are many companies and don’t know which one is the right one. Any recommendations? 
also, where should i do it, in Skagway or Juneau? 

We did it in Skagway in 2018. Can’t remember the name of the company though, sorry. It was actually a late replacement as we were supposed to do it on land before our cruise but bad weather forced us to reschedule. Had an amazing time though.This guy was born 6 weeks before we got there. Not quite why you go dog sledding up on a glacier but he sure was cute.

1 minute ago, LandstromCruise said:

I'm thinking of trying get Wonder in while it is still doing 7 night cruises

Sorry you wound up not feeling well and glad it has passed. Any blog is a good blog in my book!

I wholeheartedly support the Wonder idea... but you could have guessed that. My wife finally said "No more Wonder!" when this last batch of cruises was released so we're moving on to Utopia B2B's after the Wonders.

3 minutes ago, Neesa said:

Sorry @OCSC Mike I'm keeping your cabin!! 

If I'm not in it, I'm glad you are! Would have loved to have joined you but you know I couldn't pay the premium. I'll actually be on Wonder during the "new" inaugural now (getting home a day before you).

We did recently book a couple Utopia B2B's, they're just much farther in the future... and my actual cabin location on Wonder/Utopia going forward is a deck 10 forward interior, lol.