IRMO12HD

Onboard and working on drink #1 — no cream available at Schooner Bar for a Mudslide so l “settled” for a Kraken and Coke!
 
I walked my suitcase over at about 8:45; had to wait until about 9 to find a porter to take it off my hands, then walked back to the hotel for a shower, fresh Keurig coffee and a scone, and charging my phone.  Walked back over at about 10:15 and hit my 10:30 checkin time on the nose;-). Queuing for the initial passage in to the Security tent was a little kluge-y, as there were actually three lines set up in the tent but nothing to indicate you could use any of the three.  After crawling under the ropes two times -getting snagged once on my backpack! — I found one that was relatively clear and showed my boarding pass to get ito the queue leading into Security.  THEN, of course, the X-ray machine in my line decided to give up the ghost just as I put my stuff on the loading counter; as I mentioned, flexibility is key — and an extra dose of patience helps as well.
i made a beeline fore Shore Excursions to enter my request for a single kayak in Ensenada, and then went to the MDR to check on my table.  I put in a request for a 2-top, but am not optimistic.  My “assigned” table is a 6-top by a wall on the 4th deck, which sounds like a “fill-in-a-family” size scenario which I’m not too wild about.  We’ll see.
Lunch was a chicken burrito and a chicken taco at El Loco Fresh — no line, and the burrito was obviously freshly made.  I was trying to find a 110 v outlet to charge my phone — no luck in the Star Lounge or Schooner Bar or R Bar — so it’s on my mini battery pack for now.  BTW, I have found several UK 220 v outlets in Schooner and in the R Bar.
Next up — my plans for dinner with appetizer in the MDR and then dinner in Izumi!

Onboard and working on drink #1 — no cream available at Schooner Bar for a Mudslide so l “settled” for a Kraken and Coke!
 
I walked my suitcase over at about 8:45; had to wait until about 9 to find a porter to take it off my hands, then walked back to the hotel for a shower, fresh Keurig coffee and a scone, and charging my phone.  Walked back over at about 10:15 and hit my 10:30 checkin time on the nose;-). Queuing for the initial passage in to the Security tent was a little kluge-y, as there were actually three lines set up in the tent but nothing to indicate you could use any of the three.  After crawling under the ropes two times -getting snagged once on my backpack! — I found one that was relatively clear and showed my boarding pass to get ito the queue leading into Security.  THEN, of course, the X-ray machine in my line decided to give up the ghost just as I put my stuff on the loading counter; as I mentioned, flexibility is key — and an extra dose of patience helps as well.
i made a beeline fore Shore Excursions to enter my request for a single kayak in Ensenada, and then went to the MDR to check on my table.  I put in a request for a 2-top, but am not optimistic.  My “assigned” table is a 6-top by a wall on the 4th deck, which sounds like a “fill-in-a-family” size scenario which I’m not too wild about.  We’ll see.
Lunch was a chicken burrito and a chicken taco at El Loco Fresh — no line, and the burrito was obviously freshly made.  I was trying to find a 110 v outlet to charge my phone — no luck in the Star Lounge or Schooner Bar or R Bar — so it’s on my mini battery pack for now.  BTW, I have found several UK 220 v outlets in Schooner and in the R Bar.
Next up — my plans for dinner with appetizer in the MDR and then dinner in Izumi!

It's the Ides of March today, and only 7 days left until we set sail!  I'm finishing up a bunch of appointments this week, including one on Saint Paddy's Day for platelet donation.  It's something I do about every two weeks, and it means a lot to me.  I'll be bringing/wearing several of my ARC Platelet Donor shirts (and hats) on this cruise, hoping to raise awareness of it.  I spent this morning helping with the annual spring cleaning of our local pride and joy - an antique carousel. Here's a picture of it, with my two tasks represented in the cleaning of the railing around the carousel, and the application of wood preservative/protectant applied to the "platter."  
I've decided to go the carry on route -- although I'll probably check my suitcase to go on the ship so I don't have to lug it around.  Next step (probably tomorrow) -- clothing layout time so I know what goes where.  

Just a wake-up to go!  
 
Lesson #1: definitely keep a rain jacket easily accessible (even though it “never rains in California” - because it actually does!
Had a really nice dinner at San Pedro Brewing Company; very reasonable and delicious.

My “Lounge view” this morning. That’s the Olympic Mountains off in the distance!
 

Almost there!  Carryon only achieved!
I have to say, joining Alaska’s Lounge last year has worked really well for me.  I got the membership last year because we had a huge long layover in Seattle, and it has been so worth the $350 for the year.  Its hours, its people, its facilities and its menus (both food and bar) are incredible. Flew into Seattle yesterday afternoon, took the train into downtown, met my daughter and spent last night with her. She brought me down to SeaTac about 6 am, made it through security and up here enjoying breakfast by 7 am! This will be my 6th time using it, and I have 8 months and three more trips to go!  It does make it much easier (and comfortable) to travel with planned (or unplanned!) layovers.
 
 

My “Lounge view” this morning. That’s the Olympic Mountains off in the distance!
 

My “Lounge view” this morning. That’s the Olympic Mountains off in the distance!
 

My carryon is the Travelpro maxlite 5 International size. It’s soft side but has great internal support.  I think they come in a light purple (violet) and have an awesome warranty

My “Lounge view” this morning. That’s the Olympic Mountains off in the distance!
 

28 days to go........
On St. Patrick day I got a special offer for 50% of the DX, not that I need it, it was still $72.99/d. Current price is $83.99 with 20% off. That Royal math is crazy as hell!!! I had a moment of weakness and was going to get the UDP during the cruise planner "sale" for $142+grats. Funny enough the cruise planner glitched and said they had sold out of UDP. No biggie, I took it as a sign I should stick to my plan and try traditional dining at a shared table so I can blog about shenanigans. I check CP once a day and it's back up. 
The Premier Pass fiasco is still ongoing. I have the $50 OBC but nothing has been cancelled. I would have thought they would have cancelled the packages and then the refunds would take two weeks. But Royal hasn't cancelled any of them. Since two out of three are in Oct or later, I am not too worried. But for the April sailing, I probably will have to cancel it myself to ensure I get a refund. 
I know I mentioned on my last live blog how several of my coworkers were also cruising around the same time I was. Well, it's de ja vu, one will be on Explorer starting the 15th and the other will sail on Brillance on the 17th like me. There was a really smart one amongst us and he was able to do Quantum Alaskan sailing for 9/11. I should have looked at the list a little better. No worries, when I earn my free cruise on this one, I plan to finally try an Alaskan itinerary. 
My one coworker who did the 11N Anthem in Jan was able to make Signature in the Casino, his partner played tables and was able to make prime. They have a ton of comped cruises and are booking them as B2B and S2S. It makes me even more determined to make my brother and mother prime, we might be able to get enough offers to combine our way up to Sky class. A girl can dream😍...
Last year for my B2B on Navigator I purchased a new carry-on; it was a Kono (https://www.amazon.com/Kono-Lightweight-Hardside-Approved-Suitcase1) brand on Amazon that had amazing reviews. I inspected it, the stitching seemed weird but I chalked it up to design, and it was fine for that trip. Since all my other cruises/vacations after that would require something bigger, I put it away. Today, I got it out to do a pre-packing, you know seeing what fits, and its broken!!! Somehow the seams have just shredded apart and there is a gaping hole. It was not an expandable luggage, so maybe I packed it too hard. But to say I am dissatisfied and disappointed would be an understatement. I have been on Amazon looking for a decent carry-on. I make it hard for myself because I only want purple luggage, so my choices are always limited 😅🤣.  I have settled on one https://www.amazon.com/Travelers-Choice-Archer-Polycarbonate-Hardside my brother has the full set in green, so I can attest to the quality of this brand myself. I just hope that when it gets here it will be a light purple and not pink. Less than a month to and I cannot wait. 

Good for you on your carry-on luggage success!  I will need to try that on my next Caribbean trip. I love a good bloody mary in the morning. 

I do love a good lounge. When I travel internationally, it is my happy place while waiting for connecting flights.
I am also glad you were able to unlock the carry-on only level of flying 🤣😉

I did See it and the one they posted was slightly different ingrediencies, which is why I wanted to Show the actual paper I was given on my last cruise (which was 6 years ago because of Dialysis)   I am currently working on getting it down to a manageable size and where you can get/order any of the ingrediency that might be difficult fine in your area. I appreciate your response and I just like most of the people on this blog, Love this soup so much that I have planed vacations on if I can get this soup. 
I will update my post with manageable ingrediency a soon as I get them figured, Ordered, maid, and tasted.

Good Day to everyone, I am new here, but this is one topic I felt I needed to weigh in on…
We (the family) took our vacation on RC for the first time(cruise many times in the past just not on RC), and we were excited for the RC experience. As we were boarding on the departure day, one of the crew  stopped us as we were in line to get on the boat. The Crew member was offering packages to us from Picture packages to dining room discounts (and their ever famous Coffee drink package), So after listening to their spiel we decided on the drink package (10% off the list price) and Dinner in the Chops Restaurant(20% off list price to eat on the first night).
Side Note: If you plan to do something offered by the ship, look for those crew members, or go to the room/office for that specific service/food. Ask the attendee if they have any specials for the first day of the cruise. You can ask if they have any specials. especially if you do not plan on getting off the boat when in port, you can get some really good discounts. 
It was about dinner time on the first night ( it was also my Birthday), we arrived at our reservation time, and were seated immediately. This restaurant was reminiscent of Ruth's Chris Steak House back home, with the dark décor. After the introductions and drink orders were taken, We start looking over the menu and right off the bat I saw the Mushroom soup and became almost fixated on the soup ( trying New things on cruises was a must growing up from my dad). Actually on my very first cruise I took as a child is where I found my love of soups to be wonderful and others would not be my first choice as a last meal… Now I am not sure what I ate for the other courses, I know I ate a salad and appetizer and I think I got the Filet as my meal. 
I was so taken by the flavors and complexity of the soup that I ordered another one for dessert!!  We finished the cruise and made our way back home. I could not get the flavors out of my mind, and told anyone who would listen about the RC mushroom soup. 
We booked  our next cruise a year or so later and I was so excited to get the soup that I could not stop talking about it. I again got a discount for the first night at chops ( we are not talking about an expensive meal at $20 per person+10% or 15%discount for dining on a slow night). This was the trip I was going to pig out on this soup. On the First night dinner I ordered soup as my in between courses, course. So if you are keeping track, that would be ( getting soup delivered between all courses) Soup, Soup, Salad, Soup, Appetizer, Soup, Meal, Soup, Desert, Soup.  wanted to get soup in a geaux cup but my wife said no more( telling me that the boat was the only thing that should be floating. 
Not able to get the soup of my mind, I convinced the group (the people we were in the ship with) to return one more night before we disembarked for home. The second night (day 4 of a 7 day cruise) I ordered my soup in moderation from the last time. Instead of ordering the soup 6 times I cut it down to 3.
On the Last night of the cruise, eating in the dining room I just wanted nothing but soup. The Maître d stopped at our table and asked if there was anything she could get for us. Before my wife had a chance to answer,  I blurted out Mushroom Soup from Chop’s. I began to tell her  about my love for this soup. She told me she would look into it, as they normally do not bring food from other restaurants. Disappointedly I went back to my meal, as she walked away. Now I was sure that I had to wait until our next cruise to taste the sweet nectar of the RC!! 
Just about the time we finished with our meal the waiter came with what I thought was desert. To my surprise he sits down, not one but two bowls of mushroom soup!!!! Elated, I thanked him and started in on the best dessert ever!!! Just about the time I was scraping the bottom of the first bowl, the Maître d stopped back by and asked if I was enjoying my soup. As I persisted to tell her my saga of the RC Mushroom Soup, a man dressed in Chef Whites, walked up behind her. I told her I wish I could eat this daily, when she turned to  introduce the person  In his Chef Whites, as the Soup Chef. He asked what I liked about the soup? I persisted to tell him the short version of the story. Pleased with my answer he handed me a piece of paper… 
On the Printed paper was the Recipe for the RC “Forest Mushroom Soup Scented with White Truffle Oil”!!! Dumbfounded, my wife had never seen me without anything to say, I stuttered to find the words I was only able to get out a choking THANK YOU!!!!
I was so impressed that the Soup Chef took time out from the busiest time of the day to make my year!! I slowly folded the Paper and put it in the most secure place I had to me at the time, the room safe with the passports and other things we needed to keep safe.
The whole way home I talked about the ability to make this soup any time I wanted to. We arrived home and I really looked at the recipe, as I was afraid that if someone knew about it I would have it taken from me. This is when I noticed the quantities of the ingredients… 4 gallons of Cream, 21 lb of Mushrooms, wtf, was this for feeding bigfoot or an army? This is when I realized (with the help of my wife), this was the Ship size portion and was what they had to make for the ship per day.
 Just about 5 months after we took that cruise, I lost my battle with Kidney Disease, and was required to start Dialysis. Because of Dialysis, I have not been able to cruise due to the cost and limited availability of the “dialysis at sea” program. That was just about 6 years ago, and I can no longer remember the taste of the soup. I think about finding a recipe that is close to the Super Sized Bowl version that was so graciously given to me. Every so often I would do a search online hoping I could find something with similar ingredients, to no avail. Now it did not help. I was not calling it by the soup name, I just searched for RC mushroom soup, this did not bode well for my search, as none of the recipes I stumbled upon, were ever close to the list of ingredients in the recipe I was given. 
Yesterday while looking through some “Important Documents” I came across the recipe. Thinking to myself I am going to break down this to a manageable amount of ingredients to serve about 4. This is when ( looking up Mushroom types and where to get them), I came across this post. I was so happy that I finally found a post on the soup I loved so much. I hope you will cherish the Recipe I am sharing with you, and may help me break down the mounts to a manageable amount..
Please enjoy the gift I was given and enjoy it!!!!!

Almost there!  Carryon only achieved!
I have to say, joining Alaska’s Lounge last year has worked really well for me.  I got the membership last year because we had a huge long layover in Seattle, and it has been so worth the $350 for the year.  Its hours, its people, its facilities and its menus (both food and bar) are incredible. Flew into Seattle yesterday afternoon, took the train into downtown, met my daughter and spent last night with her. She brought me down to SeaTac about 6 am, made it through security and up here enjoying breakfast by 7 am! This will be my 6th time using it, and I have 8 months and three more trips to go!  It does make it much easier (and comfortable) to travel with planned (or unplanned!) layovers.
 
 

I had done this on my Grandeur Jan 22-27th sailing.  It was a five night so cannot attest to the lobster. The first night I ordered two apps and one entree. They brought out one app then the other after I finished, then my entree. The portions were small so the second night I ordered one app and two entrees. They brought the first entree and then when I was close to done, they brought the other. The third night was Mexican night and I wanted to try a couple of apps and two entrees; apps all separate. But my waiter asked if I wanted the entrees together, so she brought them out within five minutes of each other. Since she was my dedicated server, she would bring my apps still separate but entrees together for remainder of the cruise. They do this to ensure the food is still hot, but you can ask for all of it to be brought together. 

Almost there!  Carryon only achieved!
I have to say, joining Alaska’s Lounge last year has worked really well for me.  I got the membership last year because we had a huge long layover in Seattle, and it has been so worth the $350 for the year.  Its hours, its people, its facilities and its menus (both food and bar) are incredible. Flew into Seattle yesterday afternoon, took the train into downtown, met my daughter and spent last night with her. She brought me down to SeaTac about 6 am, made it through security and up here enjoying breakfast by 7 am! This will be my 6th time using it, and I have 8 months and three more trips to go!  It does make it much easier (and comfortable) to travel with planned (or unplanned!) layovers.
 
 

Almost there!  Carryon only achieved!
I have to say, joining Alaska’s Lounge last year has worked really well for me.  I got the membership last year because we had a huge long layover in Seattle, and it has been so worth the $350 for the year.  Its hours, its people, its facilities and its menus (both food and bar) are incredible. Flew into Seattle yesterday afternoon, took the train into downtown, met my daughter and spent last night with her. She brought me down to SeaTac about 6 am, made it through security and up here enjoying breakfast by 7 am! This will be my 6th time using it, and I have 8 months and three more trips to go!  It does make it much easier (and comfortable) to travel with planned (or unplanned!) layovers.
 
 

Almost there!  Carryon only achieved!
I have to say, joining Alaska’s Lounge last year has worked really well for me.  I got the membership last year because we had a huge long layover in Seattle, and it has been so worth the $350 for the year.  Its hours, its people, its facilities and its menus (both food and bar) are incredible. Flew into Seattle yesterday afternoon, took the train into downtown, met my daughter and spent last night with her. She brought me down to SeaTac about 6 am, made it through security and up here enjoying breakfast by 7 am! This will be my 6th time using it, and I have 8 months and three more trips to go!  It does make it much easier (and comfortable) to travel with planned (or unplanned!) layovers.
 
 

It's the Ides of March today, and only 7 days left until we set sail!  I'm finishing up a bunch of appointments this week, including one on Saint Paddy's Day for platelet donation.  It's something I do about every two weeks, and it means a lot to me.  I'll be bringing/wearing several of my ARC Platelet Donor shirts (and hats) on this cruise, hoping to raise awareness of it.  I spent this morning helping with the annual spring cleaning of our local pride and joy - an antique carousel. Here's a picture of it, with my two tasks represented in the cleaning of the railing around the carousel, and the application of wood preservative/protectant applied to the "platter."  
I've decided to go the carry on route -- although I'll probably check my suitcase to go on the ship so I don't have to lug it around.  Next step (probably tomorrow) -- clothing layout time so I know what goes where.  

With three (3) days to go (really 2 days and a wake-up!), I have finished:
1. packing (had to wait and see if my team (Go Zags!) made it to the Sweet 16 (they did, for the 8th straight year), so I could add all of my Gonzaga gear to my suitcase (didn't want to jinx them)
2.  checking in for my first flight (it's never direct from Eastern Washington to anywhere -- except Seattle, Denver, SLC or Vegas)
3.  eating up all of the leftovers in the refrigerator that I know my better half won't touch
4. finishing up the chores (well, most of them) that I wanted to get done before I left.
 
On to planning my first day on the ship:
1. Figure out where my table is in the MDR
2.  Checking with Shore Excursions about my preference for a single kayak in Ensenada
3. Signing up for reservations on the app for the Ice Show
4. Locating and consuming my first Diamond drink of the day :-).  Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what it will be (or should be)?

It's the Ides of March today, and only 7 days left until we set sail!  I'm finishing up a bunch of appointments this week, including one on Saint Paddy's Day for platelet donation.  It's something I do about every two weeks, and it means a lot to me.  I'll be bringing/wearing several of my ARC Platelet Donor shirts (and hats) on this cruise, hoping to raise awareness of it.  I spent this morning helping with the annual spring cleaning of our local pride and joy - an antique carousel. Here's a picture of it, with my two tasks represented in the cleaning of the railing around the carousel, and the application of wood preservative/protectant applied to the "platter."  
I've decided to go the carry on route -- although I'll probably check my suitcase to go on the ship so I don't have to lug it around.  Next step (probably tomorrow) -- clothing layout time so I know what goes where.  

Almost to single digits!  Which means, I've got to start thinking about packing.  My decision "tree" looks like this:
 
Carry - on Only > 
+ Much easier to navigate Seattle streets and LA train/bus routes
+ Don't have to worry about losing my luggage
+ Will impose some packing discipline on myself
- Means I can't bring a favorite vintage of wine with me, unless I can find it in San Pedro (unlikely)
- Reduces my ability to bring back souvenirs.  Hey, wait a minute -- that's probably really a +
- If elevators are out, I'll have to lug it up/down stairs (but at least it's small!)
Checked Bag >
+ Pretty much no limits on what I can bring (like snorkel, mask and fins; extra set of cool weather gear; Washington state wine; cruise gadgets)
+ Gives me another chance to use my Xmas present (a 26" Travelon softside suitcase)
- Gives me more room for souvenirs that I really DON'T need to bring home
- If elevators are out, I'll have to lug it up/down stairs
 
Hmmm - what to do, what to do?  Well, first step now is to start drawing up my lists of "have to" take items and "want to but don't really need to" take items. 

HOW COULD I FORGET -- DESSERT???
Here are my favorite desserts -- on longer cruises, I limited myself to one dessert every three days (especially on the Transatlantic!).  However, since this is a 5-night cruise, I'll probably do more stairs and less elevator, and make a concerted effort to go to the Fitness Center at least twice, so all bets are off.  What desserts am I most looking forward to?
1.  Creme Brulee
2. Soft serve ice cream
3.  Adult milkshake at Johnny Rockets (yeah, that will be a dessert 🙂 )
4.  Ranger cookies