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Looks amazing but that's a flatbread with lobstah. 
 
fight me. 
 
On the not even close to a rant...you're not wrong. The food quality went down and we're all talking about all the time. Sounds like you said what they needed to hear but we all know things don't change easily. 
 

I should add that the first night we had booked the main ice skating show, 1977. When we showed up it was announced that it was changed to iSkate 2.0 due to injury to two of the cast members.😬
We liked it okay. M fell asleep about 2/3rd through but our two year old powered through and clapped his heart out. While waiting for the show to start we saw an extremely stressed genie who had reserved seats front row center for a family who did not show until the minute the show was starting. In the meantime he had to ask three different groups to vacate the reserved seats. When the family finally arrived, he put on a game face and didn’t display any of the stress to them. Moral of the story -  don’t keep your genie waiting!  They have a stressful job and may not always show it, but they do a lot of work behind the scenes to create a seamless experience. 

After visiting the Reversing Rapids, we headed over to the Old City Market. They gave us about 40mins here to explore. 



Hubby even had time to visit a comic store a few doors down from the market. 

We are now back on the bus and headed to the Sea Caves in St Martins. It’s about an hour away from the ship. 

Cheers to that!
 

Looks amazing but that's a flatbread with lobstah. 
 
fight me. 
 
On the not even close to a rant...you're not wrong. The food quality went down and we're all talking about all the time. Sounds like you said what they needed to hear but we all know things don't change easily. 
 

Looks amazing but that's a flatbread with lobstah. 
 
fight me. 
 
On the not even close to a rant...you're not wrong. The food quality went down and we're all talking about all the time. Sounds like you said what they needed to hear but we all know things don't change easily. 
 

Looks amazing but that's a flatbread with lobstah. 
 
fight me. 
 
On the not even close to a rant...you're not wrong. The food quality went down and we're all talking about all the time. Sounds like you said what they needed to hear but we all know things don't change easily. 
 

I do think we need to speak up, otherwise it won't change. I wasn't a fan of the MDR or WJ before the new menus and I'm still not a fan now. I feel like the WJ has too many reduced offerings. And the MDR isn't consistent. I sailed Mariner in Jan 2019 and was blown away by both. I understood it being lacking a little during the restart, even in 2021 it was okay. By 2022 it was worthless 😪 😔 😢. I did find it to be more than okay on Freedom in April but I also went in with such low expectations that if it was just hot, it would be acceptable.
I don't think it was bad of you and I don't think it has anything to do with being a suite snob. You have a refined pallette. Your taste are personal, you enjoy the truffle 😂, the MDR feeds the masses. There is no "wow" in the food, the wine helped you vocalize the truth.

It was the perfect storm…..5 nights of MDR and WJ coupled with your frustration and 💥 💥 On a serious note, good for you! 🙌🙌 By speaking up you have given them an opportunity to hear your concerns first hand vs reading them in the post cruise survey.  There are so many thoughts running through my head but I will leave it there.  

It seems strange that we are spending so much money eating in ports. We never eat in ports usually. 
I know 😉😂

 
You’re welcome! Let me know if you have any other questions that I did not answer already. 🙂
We are enjoying this cruise a lot! It’s been a lot of laughs and bickering, classic family good times. But this is very different from our usual Caribbean cruises and I think we all find that difference a bit more refreshing. Also, we knew what we were getting into so we set our expectations accordingly. 
Hubby is getting better. Practice makes perfect. He has his blue band now the last few cruises so he enjoys that a lot more. It’s more quiet when you can go to the stand up sessions. 
 
Omg! Something really bad happened tonight. I am going to tell you guys something and hopefully you all don’t think less of me. My family was mortified 😂
The suite snob was good. She stayed in the closet while I ate my dinner, made polite conversation with everyone, had two glasses of wine, and then at the very end, one of head waiters came around to check on us. We told him all was good and that our servers were awesome, which they are. Then he asked about the food. 3 of us said everything was great. I could not lie.
He asked me and I told him that everything is fine, and the service is fantastic. Then he said he is aiming for 10/10 on food and service. Well…I was at this point smiling and nodding. But he kept pressing asking me what I thought about the food. I could not keep the suite snob in the closet.
I went on a long rant/vent, while smiling the whole time, about how we have been sailing since 2002 and the MDR is not as it used to be. Told him how their cost cutting has lead to everything being just mid and no “wow” factor with any of the dishes. I tried hard to reassure him that it does not reflect on their dining room whatsoever, that I understand completely this is a corporate problem, and the “problem” is way bigger than he can fix.
Then he called the executive chef on his phone to come speak to us because he said he felt like the chef needed to hear this feedback as well. At this point the kids were so embarrassed they made an excuse to leave. I felt terrible too, but at the same time, I think all the frustration from the changes over the last few years just came out, and I might have lost my filter a bit after two glasses of wine and the martini I had in the suite lounge.
Anyway, in the end, they said they want to hear this type of feedback, because like what else are they going to say? And I told him, in the end, I know there is not much they can do because the problem starts with Mr. Liberty and corporate. And then he asked for my cabin number. Omg 🤦🏻‍♀️ sorry 😬

Yeah, cause we’re not living any food dreams in the MDR and WJ 😂 sorry, that was the suite snob that came out. I will put her back in the closet as I head to the MDR now lol

First potato donuts, then duck fat fries, and now a whoopie pie!!!!!!
You guys are living the dream, my food dreams 😍

After wandering into what seemed like a hundred souvenir stores, we found the second thing on their list; Sherman’s Book Store. It is the oldest book store in Maine. We spent quite a bit of time here. 
 

Backtracking a bit….
The tour that we booked was “An intimate tour of Acadia National Park”. It was a max of 14 people and lasted about 2.5 hours. This tour was not cheap but I would say this tour was worth it for the convenience and small group size.
My only wish would be that more time be given at the summit of Cadillac Mountain and Thunder Hole. But for the amount that you see, it was a great overview of everything. Some random photos of the tour from Hubby’s phone. He is back flowriding again. 
 

Not sure what it says about me but I think I was way ahead of the curve on this one, lol.

Unless someone is going to fund it fully for me, I have the time, but not the budget for another one lol. 
@asquared17 and @Ampurp85 yes! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous today. When we rolled in this morning around 7am, the fog was so thick I was worried. But it totally lifted and it’s not hot at all. Only in the high 60s. 
We had an excursion booked so getting off was a breeze. However, I did read on the FB roll call group that those who used the regular ticket method, it was a bit of a disaster. There were some people who could not leave the ship until almost noon. 
^^^^THIS^^^^ 

I love lobster and I love pizza but keep them separated at a respectful distance !  😜

Thunder Hole

Top of Cadillac Mountain
Video clip on IG

You are simply the best!  I can't wait to make new memories with you on this cruise!  Love you!  Nurse Ratchet

So about the blog title.  I need to bore you with some history so it makes sense.  Many moons ago we booked our September 2022 cruise. Then in April of last year my bride, Nurse Ratchet, decided we should buy a building and convert it to a restaurant. Yeah, seriously she did. Build and operate a
So about the blog title.  I need to bore you with some history so it makes sense.  Many moons ago we booked our September 2022 cruise. Then in April of last year my bride, Nurse Ratchet, decided we should buy a building and convert it to a restaurant. Yeah, seriously she did. Build and operate a restaurant.  Not retire and take a couple cruises a year. No. Open a restaurant.  At that point, I used the amazing negotiating skills I learned in my law enforcement career and within 20 minutes the decision was made to build and operate a restaurant !  So, with two partners (don't say it) we purchased a market in town that we would magically convert into the restaurant of Ratchet’s dreams. I told the family we more than likely wouldn't make the Sep ‘22 cruise because we'd be slammed serving up pizza and other delights and wouldn't have time to cruise. It was only April, surely we'd be open by September.  Right?  Without going into the joyous details of converting a market into a restaurant we soon realized that an opening date wouldn't happen before December. So we didn't cancel that cruise. We weren't ready to open and we had partners to monitor the project for a week so we went cruising last September, as planned. After a wonderful cruise, I was sitting in an airport in Florida on September 11, 2022 waiting for our flight home. To kill time before departure I might have perused available cruises for THIS September. Lo and behold, the very suite that we had just left an hour before, was available for September 10 of this year. But should I book it?  The restaurant was going to open in December so I wasn't sure we could plan another week away. But, we had partners!  (Don't say it). Yeah they can watch the restaurant. That was the thought in my head as I hit the ”book” button. 
 
Now I told you all of that to tell you this:  It's Aug 28, 2023.  The restaurant is not open.  There are no more partners. But by golly we're about to go cruising!  Shortly after we returned home last year the partners requested we buy them out because the project was more expensive than they had planned. So that happened. (And yes, we're still all friends).  And the construction, which I do myself, continued.  As did the requests, requirements, questions, inspections and fees from our wonderful County Building and Safety, Planning, and Health Departments. Sometime around March or April I told the girls we needed to cancel. But we didn't. I said it again just before final payment was due. But we didn't cancel. A few weeks ago I told them to go without me because this is a critical time in this restaurant and I needed to be here. And then really just days ago I finally decided that this cruise is a go - for all of us!  I need the break. Dealing with the County is like trying to un-ring a bell, wash a cat and put toothpaste back in the tube – all at the same time. I won't mention which County. (It's San Bernardino, California 😂). Their emails flow like blended Mojitos on the pool deck. Their direction changes as quickly as Captain Johnny trying to outrun a storm.  I feel like I'm caught in the middle of the Escape Room and the Quest!  I need a break.  And I think a cocktail on the balcony as we sail out of Galveston will provide that. So,in just 12 days we will board a Southwest Airlines jet, with two good engines, and fly from Palm Springs, Ca to Las Vegas, NV, to Tucson, AZ, to Houston Texas.  With the price of the room, budget air is a necessity ! 
 
I know this is an early start to the Blog. But after making the decision to go and reading @Lovetocruise2002live blog I need to switch from restaurant mode to CRUISE mode!  I hope some of you will follow along as Stacy, Katie, Taylor, Melissa and I head out for 7 wonderful days on our favorite Allure of the Seas.  Now I can spend a few days of not only thinking about it but writing about it. Makes it seem more real this way
 
.  Not retire and take a couple cruises a year. No. Open a restaurant.  At that point, I used the amazing negotiating skills I learned in my law enforcement career and within 20 minutes the decision was made to build and operate a restaurant !  So, with two partners (don't say it) we purchased a market in town that we would magically concert in the restaurant of Ratchet’s dreams. I told the family we more than likely wouldn't make the Sep ‘22 cruise because we'd be slammed serving up pizza and other delights and wouldn't have time to cruise. it was only April, surely we'd be open by September.  Right?  Without going into the joyous details of converting a market into a restaurant we soon realized that an opening date wouldn't happen before December. So we didn't cancel that cruise. We weren't ready to open and we had partners to monitor the project for a week so we went cruising last September, as planned. After a wonderful cruise, I was sitting in an airport in Florida on September 11, 2022 waiting for our flight home. To kill time before departure I might have perused available cruises for THIS September. Lo and behold, the very suite that we had just left an would hour before, was available for September 10 of this year. But should I book it?  The restaurant was going to open in December so I wasn't sure we could plan another week away. But, we had partners!  (Don't say it). Yeah they can watch the restaurant. That was the thought in my head as I hit the ”book” button. 

Taken from the tender, leaving the ship and arriving at the dock in Bar Harbor.
It’s quaint and very pretty here. Like something out of a Nicholas Sparks novel 😉
 

Day 5 - Bar Habor