OCSC Mike

But the other one has fun countdown gifs! You just post plain text at ungodly hours.

HEY! I guess I won't go out of my way to post in both anymore then. Hrrrmmphh!

Appreciate the effort anyway.

That’s her one topping.

Based on multiple reports, the seafood disappeared from Symphony sometime last month (possibly end of May). Don’t shoot the messenger.

@Ampurp85 Don't wanna quote the whole post but appreciate all the feedback beyond my basic questions in the Dining forum. One general comment... one reason we're trying Hooked and Chops is those are two restaurants the family is planning to try next March (I'll also try almost anything once). 150 is out (my in laws tried it on their own and hated it, my wife wouldn't eat anything there, and it doesn't strike me as kid-friendly) and half the family doesn't like Japanese plus they don't want to take my youngest niece there b/c she's allergic to sesame seeds which seem to be pretty prevalent, so Izumi is out too. We obviously can't just keep going to GK and MJ for 7 days so that left Hooked and Chops. Hooked - I've read lots of mixed reviews but I do like seafood and my wife will get filet since she doesn't do seafood either and wants to try the mac n cheese nuggets from the kids menu (b/c well, we're both big kids and she also eats like one besides enjoying filet). The biscuits are also appealing to her (can't control if we get a good batch or not, that's a general theme with Royal in many venues in my experience). I could order anything but surf n turf seems most likely b/c I don't want a plate of fried stuff and random grilled fish and shrimp seems kinda boring (plus there's shrimp in WJ almost everyday on Utopia that was actually good... jumbo cold during embarkation lunch and smaller grilled at multiple dinners). Chops - I only asked about the apps b/c we know we'll get steak (gives me a chance to try something besides filet; I actually prefer ribeye if it's a good one) and my wife will eat just about any type of potato-based side item so we'll probably pick a few. Basic isn't the worst thing in our case as long as it tastes OK. I'm sure the shrimp cocktail is good but may not want more shrimp (again, it's everywhere on Utopia). I'm definitely trying the bacon b/c that's unique and the goat cheese salad sounds good (obviously I like goat cheese) so I'm glad to hear your brother likes it. I know people seem to like the soups there but mushroom anything isn't my favorite and lobster bisque can be very hit and miss to me. Izumi - That's just for this next cruise and we're ordering just about exactly what you mentioned. Udon and teriyaki are my wife's only options and she actually likes teriyaki a lot and I prefer nigiri to rolls so I'll probably get double chef's sushi. If your brother says that's the most food too... added bonus! Thanks again.

I posted a couple specialty restaurant questions in the Dining forum. Would love some input from the live blog community if you feel like chiming in.

Title says it all. Just planning ahead for our first UDP next week when we'll be trying some restaurants at which we don't normally dine. Yes, I realize food is 100% subjective. There are also certain items I wouldn't order out of personal preference and others I'm pretty sure I'm definitely trying but I didn't want to make this complicated. So what are your favorite apps at Hooked? GO!

Title says it all. Just planning ahead for our first UDP next week when we'll be trying some restaurants at which we don't normally dine. Yes, I realize food is 100% subjective. There are also certain items I wouldn't order out of personal preference and others I'm pretty sure I'm definitely trying but I didn't want to make this complicated. So what are your favorite apps at Chops? GO!

When your travel partner won’t even put cheese on her burger (let alone bacon, sauce, onion ring, and standard toppings), sharing isn’t really an option, lol. When someone comes out with a half n half burger (like pizza), then we can share.

The missing spot on my Oasis class bingo card, as you know, so I can’t include it. Hope that gets rectified. I’m familiar and not a fan. I appreciate the encouragement. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it either way, I’m just not sure I can keep myself from overdoing it (ordering too much, trying to use all my credits, etc.)

That’s funny. We only really know crew from Wonder in recent years and don’t cruise enough to know a ton of them but we boarded Utopia last month & didn’t even get to the food in WJ before a server from Wonder recognized my wife. People tend to remember her but it always amazes me how crew remember guests. Even as an introvert, I did like going back on Wonder 5 times in less than 2 years & knowing some of the crew. I totally get how nice that must be for frequent cruisers.

I think it already has. They’re very similar but Utopia has a much much better aqua show (literally my favorite vs. least favorite), Pesky Parrot for new drinks (really liked two of them), GK is nicer up on deck 11 (not important, same food, but it’s a difference). I still prefer Wonder’s ice show but liked Utopia’s a lot too and there are small changes to the Utopia Solarium and the pool deck layout just outside the Solarium (our 2nd shade sloth spot) that makes me slightly prefer Wonder for lounging but that’s not really a big deal. I know it’s only 7N vs. 35N but I can’t imagine suddenly feeling differently after this next 7N. *I’m also leaving out the WJ seafood on Utopia since it will go away eventually but for now that’s a big plus to me too. There were some other small differences that make me prefer Utopia’s WJ too.

More for me!

Someone has to defend WJ embarkation lunch. Even when we’re going to Mason Jar on turnaround day I’m popping into WJ for some lobster first.

I could try to bring one but I'm pretty sure monkeys are on the prohibited list. I wouldn't want the poor little guy to wind up in the naughty items room with banned extension cords. After muster, since we don't mind WJ if you get there as soon as it opens, I usually grab a drink at Mason Jar (right next door) then head for the seafood spread. Hopefully we'll catch up at some point. Please do! I enjoyed the last joint blog I did, especially since the other poster was in Sky Class and doing far more specialty than we were that cruise so there was little overlap. Just in case I'm not hungry enough onboard (OK, not possible), seeing/hearing about specialty for our 3N leg will just get me even more ready for the 2nd leg UDP. We're a little busier than I'd like right now (some good stuff like visiting family for July 4th, some annoying stuff like home repairs and appointments this week) so I'm not as focused on how soon the cruise is as I'd like but I'll definitely be ready by Friday. See ya onboard!

Hey, those little drops add up. Some of mine were for <$25 but the total savings has been > $1000 between the two cabins I've been checking. Definitely a nice feature to have. That's one thing mine doesn't do but since we've been booking almost nothing but group rates close to release, I normally don't even check. I don't mind doing it myself and I'm just happy to have saved my in laws some money since they're treating us to some nice add-ons for this family cruise.

Fast forward to today and suddenly the prices that have repeatedly gone down for these cabins I've mentioned are suddenly WAY higher than I've ever seen. In the past week or so they went from the lowest I had seen to higher than the original booking prices from April. Just like cruise planner sales, it really pays to check everyday if you're keeping an eye on cruise fare price drops.

Thanks, you're too kind. It was great meeting you and Dan and we felt the same way. I'm sure we'll cross paths again but glad that it happened to work out last month since our cruise windows are so limited. Maybe you need to work on those casino offers... I see a lot of people mention that they wind up on Utopia with them.

Exactly, the catch is that Royal has been screwing with the schedule lately so keep checking for a new flyer. For several years, a new flyer would come out on the same day every week and the sale would only last for 2 days. This week long "Last Minute" flyer just started recently. That could be the new routine... or they could change it again, who knows?

Yeah, I've told you we're not big into sitting there listening to anything for very long; that's why I enjoyed the adult comedy from the other guy. He was unique and amusing. Every time the Rising Tide Bar stopped on deck 6 across from Schooner he would stop singing and yell/chant at the people on it "WE NEED A HERO, SOMEONE STAND UP AND CHUG THEIR DRINK, WE NEED A HERO!" Naturally someone did every time and got a huge round of applause, lol. Just going by straight music, I'd sooner listen to guitar too. I'm not a big music guy in general but listening to the Elton John, Billy Joel, etc. songs that piano bar singers always do really isn't my thing.

That's kind of you to say. We've randomly brought chocolate before and my wife brought some Easter candy when we sailed on Easter but this is the first time she thought to ask specific crew members if they missed anything in particular. It's mostly her if you couldn't tell, not that I don't think it's a nice gesture or mind. It's not like these are huge lavish gifts but I think the gesture will be appreciated. On the plus side, you don't have hurricanes to worry about. Plenty rainy here and too hot... we go to the Bahamas to cool of a bit, lol. I don't want it to rain, of course, but I have no problem with a cloudy day since I need shade anyway.

There's no code for the Going, Going, Gone flyer (that used to be the name of the PDF sale you posted). The catch is there may only be so many cabins available at those prices so it's possible that they're gone (or never actually showed up) by the time you searched for one. If available, they should automatically show up on the site when the sale begins.

I'm actually not although I don't dislike it (I've seen all movies but not the Disney+ shows). I was just struggling to find a title and for some reason the thought of coming up with a movie franchise with many sequels popped into my head knowing I had 5 of these Utopia B2B's on the books. I used to be a big Marvel fan so I thought of those but Star Wars is literally numbered with different titles I could play off of so it seemed like a good choice.