OCSC Mike

Backing up… We went to use our free plays before dinner. My wife quickly lost her $8.00. Then she played mine… If we understood the game correctly, she was one pepper away from winning $11K. The bonus round she activated lasted forever. We took the $80 and ran. First free play win since last summer.

It’s pretty sweet with just schnapps but still good. I’ve been sticking to vodka with the schnapps but mostly depends how much of the peach syrup/puree stuff any given bartender uses I guess. Yesterday’s had almost no tea. It was like drinking vodka peach (if that’s a thing).

If not for the forums I wouldn’t have had the slightest clue what the heck the dot was, lol. When the crew member scanning for reservations saw it and lowered her scanner it was like the Red Sea parting.

Instead of aqua show reservations, the CL concierge gave us the special dot! I feel so fancy now.

Crown Lounge snacks (not a fan so far, just gimme the basic stuff like dumplings, mozz sticks, chicken wings)

Trellis Bar for @GatorCruiser Another Peach Tea What day is it?

I often use the same logic. Along those lines, the embarkation buffet on Utopia has huge shrimp so I’ll probably skip the shrimp cocktail at Chops. The MDR version is pretty sad.

Based on glancing at menus and reading blogs, good ship for it! I was looking forward to the one new bar on Utopia… Icon has several. Thanks. I’m trying to slowly ramp back up since we have the UDP next leg. Dog House & pizza for lunch may not sound like it, lol, but you know I would normally have more than that. Yep, my wife goes back to work in late July (kids start in early August here). We’re used to it though & this 3N leg has honestly been more relaxing than the last one. Kids in places we don’t hang out can be preferable to the party crowd invading the Solarium. Felt like a lot more people got off on Nassau this time too. It wasn’t terrible last time, just pointing out a noticeable difference.

That sucks about the road. It’s been closed for so many years! We spent two nights at the backcountry lodge, then one at the cabins on the way out in 2018. That was definitely one of the biggest highlights (including the long ride to the back & out) but I don’t blame you for skipping it. After all the stuff we did in the back of the park (plus the bus rides), don’t think we did much for the half day we spent at the front but I do remember a really good pizza place in the “downtown” area that I want to say they call Glitter Gulch (like Vegas). Reindeer sausage. That’s where we stayed & did whatever the longer fjord tour was… loved that too. You booked the land portion through Pursuit, yes? Sounds great. Will follow along from Utopia when I put the food & drinks down. My only regret was not doing more during a couple of the port stops but that was such an over the top vacation for us (especially total cost) that I felt the need to cut something out.

3rd cruise in a row with a refund, $12 each this time, biggest yet.

Ship is empty. Went down to deck 5 for another Painchiller and back with no stops either way. Beginning to wonder where the tiki glasses went.

Something else we use them for is to clip to the middle shelf of the night stand (we usually keep water or something there overnight). It saves room since the night stands can be tiny (cell phone & whatever else on top, one side has the cabin phone, etc.) and also keeps condensation off them. I think they were actually designed for desks and it’s only the blog community that uses them for lounge/beach purposes. Thanks, that certainly didn’t help & I needed sleep for sure but there was something else too. I felt awful. At least I slept through another “we have no offense” Phils game.

Wife’s custom Sorrento’s order… burnt cheesy bread (yes, she wants it that way). I don’t need it that well done but it is pretty good. And she finally contributed to the voucher cause. For some reason they’re using large glasses for daiquiris this cruise. I grabbed a Polish sausage from Dog House while they made her pizza & had a Twisted Tea. Still trying to take it a bit easy after last night. No pics, it looked like a hot dog & a can. Also had some of her cheesy bread.

@Hoppy2BHere found me in the Solarium. I’m managing to meet quite a few posters lately.

The fact that you had to ask lets me know I’m not the only one confused. Its head. I think those are nostrils. The back legs are kinda stretched out. Couldn’t find an angle to show the face & the whole body.

Cow? Dog? Lime & Coconut, first drink of the day. Not that many of my drinks are strong anyway but want to keep it light after last night. Would have gone to Mason Jar for Moonlight or Tea but didn’t feel like crossing the ship. Not much to share, wife is making friends in the hot tub. More people are in here now but definitely not crowded. Oh, and we’re pretty convinced that there are definitely more kids than the last 3N leg. This feels like a typical summer cruise (small catch, we weren’t out and about doing adult stuff like Perfect Couple or Schooner Bar last night). Update: wife’s new friend asked about our cup clips. Where’s that affiliate link, @asquared17?

I knew it was Portuguese but my pronunciation is more fun. Tough language. Every 5th word seems similar to Spanish but the rest is totally different.

Thanks, I missed trying 1-2 drinks but that was my favorite frozen one from last time.

Salmon & onion omelet from Solarium Bistro which starting to fill up. They put cheese in my wife’s “plain” omelet but quickly made her a new one when she took it back. I do like how Royal is usually good about rectifying small mistakes whenever possible. I’ll start saying “no cheese” after “plain” like I’m used to doing for my wife’s burgers that often wind up with cheese. After that we popped into the CL to ask for aqua show reservations. He said come back after 7pm for a special pass. No biggie, we could go standby, but might as well get reservations. No idea what a special pass is. Then we stopped in WJ for my fruit bread & some pastries from the kids section. Updated set up with food & my wife’s telescopic travel fan.

Some Nassau beach club pics. I haven’t followed too closely since I’m not paying those prices but looks like progress. Actual buildings and at least one pool. I’m too lazy to walk around to take pics of the rest.

Wife’s cabin snacks (now in a ziploc). Our setup for the day. When my wife got up here she said there were only two people in the entire Solarium… and they chose our spot by the hippos. So we’re in the same spot on the other side. No hippos, just rocks. So far it’s still fairly cool in here. May get warmer once we’re docked and it’s later in the day but definitely seems like they have the air going stronger than last month. Pretty big deal since these enclosed Solariums on Wonder/Utopia are virtually greenhouses. Clearly they really can be climate controlled as long as the a/c is cranked up.

Last random comment… Super peaceful in here… until a woman decided to make a phone call in an otherwise silent CL (besides the background music).

That's better. I’m starving after lack of eating last night, lol. Random observation. My wife’s naked chocolate croissants are now called “pain au chocolat” which is really what they are. @dougalsgirl will appreciate that part.

Figured out why so many crew. They’re redecorating the food area with fake plants n stuff. It’s lovely… but I want danish & donuts! Food is out but no tongs & I don’t wanna get in their way. Oops, someone else did, guess I’ll follow along. Quiet in here as usual besides the unusual amount of crew. I bet it’s 2 guys done at 6:30 for the rest of the cruise.

Wife went walking and I headed to the CL. Trying to move forward from last night. Windy with some clouds as I walked across deck 16 (I really do enjoy that early morning walk). Hoping to have a bomb day! OK, I felt old typing that, lol. I started taking pics of all the languages but there are like a dozen and I wanted coffee. Looked like food was being put out (it was done at 6:30 last month) but there are like 4 crew members in here setting up displays, possibly training a new guy, not sure. So I’m sipping my americano (I transitioned from cappuccino) and waiting. Will have something with my 2nd cup then bring croissants back for my wife.