OCSC Mike

Yep, agree with all that. I used to listen to WIP a lot when I lived up there, then completely stopped a few years after moving down here. I started to get tired of the podcasts I listen to when insomnia kicks in so I actually started listening to WIP this past NFL season and kept with it, mostly Jon Johnson overnight (which I know is still on when you get up for work). I couldn't believe that some guys were still around from the late 90's, even if they're not main hosts anymore, like Jody Mac.

I know that's a popular strategy and my long time viewership of the Nathan's July 4th Hot Dog contest along with some other food eating comps lets me know that's how the pros do it but I just feel a lot better when I get home after gaining 10+ lbs. if I lost 5 before the cruise. I'm actually a thin guy and it's not a vanity thing but more for comfort.

I like it. I have a growing collection of novelty t-shirts related to Philly sports courtesy of my SIL and a few usually make it onboard. She always gets me stuff like that for Xmas but the themes have always changed. I wasn't a huge fan of every theme so I tried to convey how much I liked the Philly theme and she's been sticking to it. They range from corny to funny to more traditional. Some are just basic print on a solid t-shirt like "Ew, Dallas" or "Introverted but Willing to Discuss Philly Sports." The last one is perfect for me, of course. Others have more style and are kinda cool, like "ILL" in maroon Phillies script on powder blue or "Philly vs. All Youse!" She actually got me that last one twice, lol, but one is kelly green and the other is powder blue with a baseball for the "O" in "Youse." I think they're mostly from Amazon. They don't necessarily jump out as Philly shirts like a jersey or licensed t-shirt at first glance but people eventually notice. BTW, been following the Phillies more this year than I had been and I don't know what to think. 1st place in division, three all-star level pitchers, should be happy... and yet everything else about them is so frustrating.

We all like what we like. Many cruisers wouldn’t want to keep sailing to the same ports on the same ship over & over but it works for me.

Not that you didn’t believe me but looks like the app finally updated this one.

I remember you mentioning that. I’ve seen an unusually high amount of Philly sports gear onboard recently. It’s possible midnight green jumps out at me but it still has to be there. Maybe I’ll find them. I learned from the last one that these short cruises are definitely not just for people within driving distance.

If I didn't have a cruise in 4 days I'd be asking my wife to go to my favorite Asian buffet this weekend, lol. Big fan of large quantities of dumplings!

I don't have an excel spreadsheet set up, lol, but I'm definitely noticing the popular opinions. Those two seemed very popular to me before I started the thread. I didn't want to complicate things by mentioning any personal preferences so I left it open-ended... but I'm almost definitely not ordering the items with the most praise for one reason or another. HINT: Not everyone loves mushrooms.

Thanks, they're actually done (guy just has to come back to paint over something real quick tomorrow). It was more the dealing with it that was annoying. Then we have something unrelated Wednesday morning, but it should be fine. Hopefully after that we can finally relax (for less than 48 hours, lol) and get ready. Good thing I don't pack until the day before anyway. My wife said she'll start packing or at least getting stuff out tomorrow. She doesn't take that long but has some other stuff to do Thursday so she wants to do packing over the next few days. At least I have the first 3 days to warm up for the UDP on your leg. That first one will the the WJ/ELF/Sorrentos leg.

I was already planning on trying the cherry pie partly b/c of this. Never would have known (besides you just mentioning it) if not for @PG Cruiser's very cool visual menu project. More crust (like a tart as opposed to a slice of pie) is a plus to me if it's good, not that I don't enjoy a normal slice. Thanks for the other suggestions too.

We got back home yesterday but the other stuff is lingering (most of the repairs are being done as we speak, but of course they grew a bit, partially by choice, partially not). I'm trying to get lost in the usual anticipation and planning but life seems determined to get in my way. As things stand, everything should be settled by Wednesday morning so it is what it is. At this rate I may have extra motivation for using up our vouchers, lol.

Keep checking. It was 2 months before my cruise month for June and July sailings but recently people have reported 3 months out (which would be July) so it could be some time this month.

Nice to see some love for the crab cakes. Having grown up in the Philly burbs, I did have them as a kid in Maryland and I get it. I don't want bread crumb cakes. I'm a child of the 90's, maybe that's why I like coconut shrimp.

That's what always makes me wary to order them, thanks.

That's funny, I'm also OK with Jersey Mikes, given my local options. I'm fine with American cheese, my favorite Philly suburb place growing up used it. I had a different spot for whiz that was more on the way towards the city but my go to was in a more convenient area and baked their own rolls that were really good. What's sad is I found a couple places run by NE transplants and didn't even like those. One was a food truck run by a guy from Philly who went to Temple... I thought his was terrible. A family from Pittsburgh has a sandwich shop very close by with very good hoagies as far as the filling (generous amount of good meats) but their rolls are soft as hot dog rolls which kills it so I didn't even try a cheesesteak there. I also have Wawa but even though they're pretty common in my area, we still don't have one really close to us. Every time they're supposed to build one within 5 minutes something falls through. I think we've hijacked this thread. Apologies to others.

When you try to find one a thousand miles away, it’s much closer to always.

Fun fact: There’s a random clip of a poolside activity… that was actually taken from a RC ship a long time ago. CD Marc Walker (Bing Bong) posted about it on FB b/c it’s him running a sexiest man contest on I forget what ship. Fantastic way to kill an hour of time btw, enjoy!

Got plenty of help with Chops and Izumi but Hooked is almost nothing but oyster comments. What else did ya have? And FWIW, even though we have mostly stuck to the same ones over and over, I think there's a good chance I'll enjoy the others like you did. Many people don't like Sabor but I would (and have) go there just for the guac and one app that I love (and a margarita of course but lots of those to be had).

Yeah, 7/14 hasn't updated yet. If you check the 7/11 sailing you'll see Andy Morris and he posted this on FB... Hi Folks, below I have listed my upcoming ship bookings! Returning to Utopia Utopia of the Seas:- July 11th - August 8th

No, pretty much burgers and fries, but that's super common in the Philly area (where we grew up) and I have at times. Perfectly suitable condiment for eggs.

Thanks and I don't blame ya! Our one Alaska trip was pretty epic but the 10 days on land pre-cruise kind of spoiled us. We'll get back there but we're waiting until we're ready to make it another long one with a significant land portion. Hope you'll be blogging. I need something to read in the cabin when my insomnia kicks in (unless food coma knocks me out).

You could still post GIFs in this one. Nothing but respect for the work hours. Something has to pay for cruises, especially on Utopia.

That's more like it!