OCSC Mike

My wife was an avid runner for many years and recently switched to walking. This has been her routine for a long time. I'm also an early riser but I head to the CL for coffee and then find a pre-breakfast snack to go with it, not exercise, lol. I don't really have any tips for you (you already figured out to go early) and I've never been on Q-class, but on Oasis class there are usually chairs behind the aqua theater facing aft right by the track. I've brought my coffee there before and watched the sunrise and the wake of the ship while watching my wife pass by, lol. So I guess that's a tip for anyone who wants a nice quiet early morning spot and may have a cruise-mate on the track.

Safe drive across the state. Our drivers are… umm… yeah.

I die a little inside every time someone mentions eating breakfast on embarkation morning. At least it's free.

Food - As you know, this is subjective. I survived a 3/4 on Indy with no "extra" included venues but that was my only complaint. If I had ELF like you will, I would have been much happier. Pax - You're a shenanigans-magnet... does the length of cruise really matter? I could tell you they were also fine on that 3/4 but it was in July (lots of families with tiny humans) and we somehow stay in our own little shenanigans-free bubble. In all seriousness, given all you've been through based on the last few live blogs I've read, I think you'll be fine.

The app has them.

Big upgrades to me... and I actually like Sabor... but I like Playmakers more... and Mini Bites was my least favorite included food venue ever while I can always grab a taco at ELF. Don't start spelling neighbor like her. I joke about that with my UK friends who use that same spelling... that extra U just doesn't need to be there.

Yep, my group rate comparison for Wonder 7N vs. Utopia B2B in June and July (both at PC) were very similar. Utopia was a bit cheaper in June, Wonder was a bit cheaper in July. They're both high, of course, but between summer, PC, newest Oasis class, and general price inflation... that was to be expected.

Got Utopia group rates this morning and they were very similar to Wonder for my dates (factoring in OBC and 7N vs. 3/4 B2B). And as I mentioned earlier, there are some monetary benefits to shorties as far as extra spending goes. No excursions and D+ will cover all of our internet on a 3/4 since we share one account so "all-in" it's probably a little less expensive than Wonder. Still just have everything on hold until my better half is free to go over stuff but my guess is we'll be doing Utopia in June '25 and March '26. July was a bit higher and I'm not sure how many CocoCay B2B's we want to do so that one is more up in the air.

Wait… you’re prepping your stomach for a 4-nighter??? It’s 4N, go crazy! One of the few benefits to a shorter cruise… you don’t have to worry about that “uh oh, I’ve really been eating a ton” feeling by day 6 or 7. Maybe that’s just me though. Congrats on the RU!

No amenity gift for D besides the bottled water. The other stuff starts at D+.

Sweet! Then you could just book weekend cruises and take hardly any time off. Just keep going back to embarkation day and make the cruise last however many days you want!

Not pointing this out to be a jerk, but 4N weekday cruises go from M-F. You can't fly home on Thursday.

Everyone's body is different. Your method does have merit though. I think competitive eaters eat a bunch of lettuce or something leading up to a competition to expand their stomachs. For those scoring at home, Saturday night's BBQ bacon cheeseburger with bottomless fries was my last bad meal before the cruise.

This one did! Makes me want to go to our local BBQ place but I can't break my pre-cruise diet. Maybe I'll put BBQ sauce on my grilled chicken breast tonight and pretend it's the same thing.

Got Wonder prices so far... rates are about 20% higher than the same exact Wonder dates I'll be on this June and July. Not expecting Utopia to be any better but we save on some stuff there like no excursion $ spent if we're just doing Nassau/CocoCay so we'll see...

I haven't looked at Liberty's prices but that's how I felt about Adventure when it was released for PC. Sure, it's cheaper than Wonder (not saying much there) and I never priced group rates, but even as a frugal cruiser, like you said, the drop off in what it comes with is pretty significant. I wish they had left Mariner here. Not only do we have a sentimental attachment but it has Playmakers, Bamboo Room, Dog House, etc. Adventure has... ummm... not much.

Hope this works out for you!

+1 to that. The only time I gain weight besides a cruise is when we spend extended time visiting my wife's parents. And of course they even let us be Sky Class freeloaders a couple times despite our pre-vintage status.

That’s pretty crazy.

Yes and yes. Also, other free 11-11 beverages include soda, hard cider, and hard seltzer. Enjoy your perks!

Nice. I’ll raise you a Mason Jar bread pudding from Wonder. One of the only brunch items my family didn’t try last time so obviously I have to.

Given that I’m sure you weren’t expecting great prices, glad it worked out with the Star delay & getting on both ships. I have our usual sail dates on hold while I wait for Wonder & Utopia group rates. My TA said he should have them tomorrow.

Different strokes… some people sail for the ship & love CocoCay. I did a 3/4 B2B once, enjoyed it, and there’s a good chance I’ll do them again.

No reason not to share. I’ve seen those Diamond & above sales maybe twice ever but only noticed things like CocoCay cabanas (I don’t buy drink packages or much of anything for that matter). Letting people know about a sale you see has no downside, IMO. Either it will help someone or thy will just ignore it.

Hope things worked out for you.