OCSC Mike

I let Royal hold onto my $5.99 of OBC (for some lovely fuzzy slippers) but I'm "only" 277 days out.

Just for fun I bought a cheap water package with OBC for my Odyssey cruise to check that one, knowing damn well my cabin isn't assigned over 550 days away, ha.  It is not... and I already refunded my OBC. 

So site speed is better but posts are staying as unread after reading them still

Icy Straight Point 
This is my 1st time in this port and I really liked it. It is way less built up vs most ports with a smaller and more local port area (I still saw a jewelry store but only 1) 
I booked another excursion through Alaska Shore Excursions. This was the third stop in a row where it was excellent. Where Viator and Trip Advisor have many options. Alaska Shore Excursions limits the choices but must vet the choices because all of the local operators were high quality.
Today we had the Icy Straight Exclusive Wildlife and Bear Search Tour. Our guide has lived in the very small town on the island. We rode deep into the Tongass forest on old logging roads into places where no other excursions were going. We saw multiple bears and deer along the way. We also got to walk through deep forest and walk on deserted beaches. The scenery was beautiful and the guides description of life in the small town populated by native people's. 
 

listen i still have a final recap to do 😂

This once again seems to be the case but I have a few thoughts. Just to preface, anything that sounds negative doesn't overshadow the fact that we had a great time as always, I just come away with a couple regrets no matter how well a cruise goes.
- I know I said I was OK with it at the time but I can't help but be a little sad that I didn't have fun with the nighttime Playmakers snacks like I did in March. I was looking forward to a night of wings and more crunch rolls but it is what it is. Obviously I could just take some of the savings from cancelling the UDP for July and get something at Playmakers if the mood strikes but I'm frugal and OCD about planning. The sale is good enough that it's either the UDP plan or the non-UDP plan (with BOGO's and Playmakers dinners) and we're set on non-UDP for various reasons. Now if we turn our free play into something on night one maybe I'll get less frugal.
- Despite the above comments, I really am looking forward to the old non-UDP routine of pre-breakfast with coffee, an actual sit down breakfast, and more ELF and Dog House snacking in the afternoons like I did during the 3N leg. Sorrento's was also good (for Sorrento's) and I enjoy this one chicken salad sandwich at Cafe Promenade (don't think I posted a pic but I had one) so it's not like I won't have night time snacks, they're just obviously not as good as Playmakers. As much as I enjoy MJ brunch and GK lunch, I'm looking forward to less reservations and more freedom to have lunch or just snack whenever. 
- If you couldn't tell, we really enjoy meeting crew members and going back to spend time with them, which we did quite a bit of on this cruise. Jen will be sorely missed next cruise, we really did get close with her, but we still have some crew friends onboard (I already filled one small gift request when I went to Publix earlier b/c chips they asked for were BOGO). Snooky was also a great cabin attendant (not just for the towel animals) and we should have her again next month so add her to the list.
I feel like I'm already rambling and talking more about the next cruise than this one so I'll leave it there. Thanks, as always, to all who followed along. I don't plan to start my July blog as far in advance as this one but only time will tell. If any tangents come up and this one keeps going for a bit, that's cool too. 
I'm off to lose back my cruise weight (while finishing the Ziploc of ranger cookies in my pantry of course). July 4th is always tricky since I'm not skipping food that day so I'll just try to be pretty healthy until then and then we'll have a little over a week after that as well.

someone told me to post on here so here we are
this is such a silly post but I figured in addition to my lost and found claim I could post this here.
i just got off the utopia of the seas (june 5-8) and i forgot my pink bigfoot brina squishmallow… a stuffed animal woe is me but it’s sentimental and i’ve had it for a long time.
I was in unit 10593 and my housekeeper was Jun. If anyone, ANYONE, could get me some information about the whereabouts or if maybe good ol Jun picked up brina and sent her to lost and found instead of tossing her, I really hope I can get her back.

I had no ideas what I meant ^. We were at a bar that I think had a lot of young cast members. That must’ve been what I meant by “next gen”. Lol too much wine 😬🤪
 
i feel soooo unprepared for this cruise. I’m probably gonna end up just throwing some stuff in the suitcase and hoping for the best. I did pack our passports in my carryon already!! 

This once again seems to be the case but I have a few thoughts. Just to preface, anything that sounds negative doesn't overshadow the fact that we had a great time as always, I just come away with a couple regrets no matter how well a cruise goes.
- I know I said I was OK with it at the time but I can't help but be a little sad that I didn't have fun with the nighttime Playmakers snacks like I did in March. I was looking forward to a night of wings and more crunch rolls but it is what it is. Obviously I could just take some of the savings from cancelling the UDP for July and get something at Playmakers if the mood strikes but I'm frugal and OCD about planning. The sale is good enough that it's either the UDP plan or the non-UDP plan (with BOGO's and Playmakers dinners) and we're set on non-UDP for various reasons. Now if we turn our free play into something on night one maybe I'll get less frugal.
- Despite the above comments, I really am looking forward to the old non-UDP routine of pre-breakfast with coffee, an actual sit down breakfast, and more ELF and Dog House snacking in the afternoons like I did during the 3N leg. Sorrento's was also good (for Sorrento's) and I enjoy this one chicken salad sandwich at Cafe Promenade (don't think I posted a pic but I had one) so it's not like I won't have night time snacks, they're just obviously not as good as Playmakers. As much as I enjoy MJ brunch and GK lunch, I'm looking forward to less reservations and more freedom to have lunch or just snack whenever. 
- If you couldn't tell, we really enjoy meeting crew members and going back to spend time with them, which we did quite a bit of on this cruise. Jen will be sorely missed next cruise, we really did get close with her, but we still have some crew friends onboard (I already filled one small gift request when I went to Publix earlier b/c chips they asked for were BOGO). Snooky was also a great cabin attendant (not just for the towel animals) and we should have her again next month so add her to the list.
I feel like I'm already rambling and talking more about the next cruise than this one so I'll leave it there. Thanks, as always, to all who followed along. I don't plan to start my July blog as far in advance as this one but only time will tell. If any tangents come up and this one keeps going for a bit, that's cool too. 
I'm off to lose back my cruise weight (while finishing the Ziploc of ranger cookies in my pantry of course). July 4th is always tricky since I'm not skipping food that day so I'll just try to be pretty healthy until then and then we'll have a little over a week after that as well.

How am I supposed to live this down? 🤣

I don't blame ya, big difference between your cruise frequency and mine, lol. After next month, that's the next cruise I have booked and my only GTY. Other than a thermal spa sale b/c my wife just tried it for the first time and enjoyed it, I have nothing else to check (besides the cruise fare but that takes less than 2 minutes).

Not a fan of short cruises so this was supposed to be yet another B2B but life got in the way and we had to chop off the 3N leg. 4N > 0N.
Anyone on this one?

I think I have 8 GTY casino comp bookings in the pipeline and I can't be bothered to check. I'm too lazy to do anything about it even if there were better options. I dedicate my time to price checking for free upgrades instead.

This once again seems to be the case but I have a few thoughts. Just to preface, anything that sounds negative doesn't overshadow the fact that we had a great time as always, I just come away with a couple regrets no matter how well a cruise goes.
- I know I said I was OK with it at the time but I can't help but be a little sad that I didn't have fun with the nighttime Playmakers snacks like I did in March. I was looking forward to a night of wings and more crunch rolls but it is what it is. Obviously I could just take some of the savings from cancelling the UDP for July and get something at Playmakers if the mood strikes but I'm frugal and OCD about planning. The sale is good enough that it's either the UDP plan or the non-UDP plan (with BOGO's and Playmakers dinners) and we're set on non-UDP for various reasons. Now if we turn our free play into something on night one maybe I'll get less frugal.
- Despite the above comments, I really am looking forward to the old non-UDP routine of pre-breakfast with coffee, an actual sit down breakfast, and more ELF and Dog House snacking in the afternoons like I did during the 3N leg. Sorrento's was also good (for Sorrento's) and I enjoy this one chicken salad sandwich at Cafe Promenade (don't think I posted a pic but I had one) so it's not like I won't have night time snacks, they're just obviously not as good as Playmakers. As much as I enjoy MJ brunch and GK lunch, I'm looking forward to less reservations and more freedom to have lunch or just snack whenever. 
- If you couldn't tell, we really enjoy meeting crew members and going back to spend time with them, which we did quite a bit of on this cruise. Jen will be sorely missed next cruise, we really did get close with her, but we still have some crew friends onboard (I already filled one small gift request when I went to Publix earlier b/c chips they asked for were BOGO). Snooky was also a great cabin attendant (not just for the towel animals) and we should have her again next month so add her to the list.
I feel like I'm already rambling and talking more about the next cruise than this one so I'll leave it there. Thanks, as always, to all who followed along. I don't plan to start my July blog as far in advance as this one but only time will tell. If any tangents come up and this one keeps going for a bit, that's cool too. 
I'm off to lose back my cruise weight (while finishing the Ziploc of ranger cookies in my pantry of course). July 4th is always tricky since I'm not skipping food that day so I'll just try to be pretty healthy until then and then we'll have a little over a week after that as well.

It's been two whole days! Joking aside, I'll be checking at least twice daily, it's just in my nature.

Enjoyed every post!  Don’t hesitate to post randomly while waiting for the next cruise.  I mean look how long we manage to keep @asquared17 blogs going after she docks!!

This once again seems to be the case but I have a few thoughts. Just to preface, anything that sounds negative doesn't overshadow the fact that we had a great time as always, I just come away with a couple regrets no matter how well a cruise goes.
- I know I said I was OK with it at the time but I can't help but be a little sad that I didn't have fun with the nighttime Playmakers snacks like I did in March. I was looking forward to a night of wings and more crunch rolls but it is what it is. Obviously I could just take some of the savings from cancelling the UDP for July and get something at Playmakers if the mood strikes but I'm frugal and OCD about planning. The sale is good enough that it's either the UDP plan or the non-UDP plan (with BOGO's and Playmakers dinners) and we're set on non-UDP for various reasons. Now if we turn our free play into something on night one maybe I'll get less frugal.
- Despite the above comments, I really am looking forward to the old non-UDP routine of pre-breakfast with coffee, an actual sit down breakfast, and more ELF and Dog House snacking in the afternoons like I did during the 3N leg. Sorrento's was also good (for Sorrento's) and I enjoy this one chicken salad sandwich at Cafe Promenade (don't think I posted a pic but I had one) so it's not like I won't have night time snacks, they're just obviously not as good as Playmakers. As much as I enjoy MJ brunch and GK lunch, I'm looking forward to less reservations and more freedom to have lunch or just snack whenever. 
- If you couldn't tell, we really enjoy meeting crew members and going back to spend time with them, which we did quite a bit of on this cruise. Jen will be sorely missed next cruise, we really did get close with her, but we still have some crew friends onboard (I already filled one small gift request when I went to Publix earlier b/c chips they asked for were BOGO). Snooky was also a great cabin attendant (not just for the towel animals) and we should have her again next month so add her to the list.
I feel like I'm already rambling and talking more about the next cruise than this one so I'll leave it there. Thanks, as always, to all who followed along. I don't plan to start my July blog as far in advance as this one but only time will tell. If any tangents come up and this one keeps going for a bit, that's cool too. 
I'm off to lose back my cruise weight (while finishing the Ziploc of ranger cookies in my pantry of course). July 4th is always tricky since I'm not skipping food that day so I'll just try to be pretty healthy until then and then we'll have a little over a week after that as well.

It's been two whole days! Joking aside, I'll be checking at least twice daily, it's just in my nature.

This once again seems to be the case but I have a few thoughts. Just to preface, anything that sounds negative doesn't overshadow the fact that we had a great time as always, I just come away with a couple regrets no matter how well a cruise goes.
- I know I said I was OK with it at the time but I can't help but be a little sad that I didn't have fun with the nighttime Playmakers snacks like I did in March. I was looking forward to a night of wings and more crunch rolls but it is what it is. Obviously I could just take some of the savings from cancelling the UDP for July and get something at Playmakers if the mood strikes but I'm frugal and OCD about planning. The sale is good enough that it's either the UDP plan or the non-UDP plan (with BOGO's and Playmakers dinners) and we're set on non-UDP for various reasons. Now if we turn our free play into something on night one maybe I'll get less frugal.
- Despite the above comments, I really am looking forward to the old non-UDP routine of pre-breakfast with coffee, an actual sit down breakfast, and more ELF and Dog House snacking in the afternoons like I did during the 3N leg. Sorrento's was also good (for Sorrento's) and I enjoy this one chicken salad sandwich at Cafe Promenade (don't think I posted a pic but I had one) so it's not like I won't have night time snacks, they're just obviously not as good as Playmakers. As much as I enjoy MJ brunch and GK lunch, I'm looking forward to less reservations and more freedom to have lunch or just snack whenever. 
- If you couldn't tell, we really enjoy meeting crew members and going back to spend time with them, which we did quite a bit of on this cruise. Jen will be sorely missed next cruise, we really did get close with her, but we still have some crew friends onboard (I already filled one small gift request when I went to Publix earlier b/c chips they asked for were BOGO). Snooky was also a great cabin attendant (not just for the towel animals) and we should have her again next month so add her to the list.
I feel like I'm already rambling and talking more about the next cruise than this one so I'll leave it there. Thanks, as always, to all who followed along. I don't plan to start my July blog as far in advance as this one but only time will tell. If any tangents come up and this one keeps going for a bit, that's cool too. 
I'm off to lose back my cruise weight (while finishing the Ziploc of ranger cookies in my pantry of course). July 4th is always tricky since I'm not skipping food that day so I'll just try to be pretty healthy until then and then we'll have a little over a week after that as well.

Pursuit... https://www.alaskacollection.com/

Not surprised considering you JUST switched for that sailing..give it a little time to marinate!

After being on vacation for 2 weeks, my belly is a little too happy 🤪

So am I. My wife got a new laptop a while ago with Windows 11 and I don't want to upgrade, lol.

On Mariner, we've used our C&A vouchers at Playmakers for a pitcher of beer and just paid the $4 dollar difference.  PM is one of my favorites, fleetwide. 
 

All the excursions where you know you’ll see wildlife are great but just seeing critters pop up randomly is cool in a different way. I remember walking along the water on a sidewalk in Seward & finding a sea otter just offshore. We just hung out watching him for 10-15 mins.
Having a moose & her baby literally run across the street in front of our shuttle van (fortunately they were fine) was less fun but yeah, the wildlife really is everywhere.