Rags1

First of all, do any of you know the effort it takes to live blog while sailing with your better half and only one of you knows about said blog? I've literally absconded to the ladies room when i don't need to go
Aftermath of rack of lamb. I restrained myself from picking up the racks, ripping them apart, and eating them like the dog i am. 
Our Chops server asked us to sign.  I told Batman this was because i ordered an 85$ glass of chianti to go with my lamb and we had to pay for the overage. To his credit, he shrugged his shoulders and said ... when in Chops. Instead of giving us our bill, our waiter gave us the dessert menu. I asked if he wanted us to sign the menu like the famous people we are. 
 
Batman just asked what's taking so long in the ladies room. Back later. 
 

Agree. My first honeymoon cruise on the Mayflower was very memorable!
 
I agree.  But now at 72, and after 14 months of physically doing the work to remodel the restaurant, I’m feeling a tad beat up and old😂

We all submitted the end of cruise survey and commended many crew members. I just felt compelled to single out these two.  

Happy cruise day! Can’t wait for more!

Hi, hello, good morning, and if i don't see you later, good evening!
Just kidding.  Of course I'll see you later! We're cruising together after all. 
Our car service should be here early, before 11.
We're still grabbing stuff to pack. You'd think we were cruising for a year, not a week. 
Dropping off the brats wasn't  so bad that Batman has to endure Cats in its entirety, but it WAS a two person job that i did not manage to get out of.....
 
Anyway, it's a beautiful day for a cruise! See you onboard!

Leaving this here mainly for me in the morning. Because how do you use up milk that will expire while you're gone? Kahlua and 'Cream' of course. 
 

This is the photo i used for the WhatsApp profile pic to comm with Sweet Leticia tmw. I should've photoshopped the garbage can out ... if only this vintage knew how to photoshop ... sadly, any mad skills end at changing from color to B&W.
 

Here's the current status.
Our house looks like a war zone and I've still not found my back-up pair of blue aviator sunglasses. Do i have 8 other pairs i could take? Of course. But they are my favorite stand-by pair. 
Batman made me pack my Dyson hair dryer tonight, meaning i have to use my old ionic hair dryer tomorrow on embarkation day.
Totally my fault.
I made fun of the classy garbage bag waterproofing.
He's called my bluff, and our bags are now waterproofed from the inside with a giant painter's tarp, cut strategically in multiple pieces.  Packing the checked luggage is apparently a delicate operation only he can manage.
I watched him pack my prized hair dryer. He was right.  I may change his name to MacGuyver.
My sister failed to clear her own vacation with us (the horror!) so i fully expect another comedy of errors tomorrow morning.
Our 2 cats, Brat 1 (16) and Brat 2 (turning 8 while we're away) have fully earned their names. The brats go my sister's whenever we're away. They like it there and since Sissy works from home, they get the attention they demand. Only problem is that Sissy comes back from her vacation at about 10pm tmw.  
My thoughts: lets drop them off tonight anyway. Then we'll just check on them in the morning for food and litter. They'll survive one night alone. 
Batman's thoughts: 👎 Solid no. 
The compromise? We ran over to Sissy's today to set everything up in advance, but left the Brats at home. 
Batman insists, no problem. He's going to get both brats in their respective carriers and run them to Sissy's by himself circa 9am. 
Just for this, I'm staying in bed till 9:30.
Carryalls are a two-person operation in this house. We've had to reschedule vet appointments because we couldn't get them there in time.  Both brats scream bloody murder for the entire 1.4 mile drive between our house and my sister's. If we don't make the single light, the SPCA gets put on high alert,  suspecting us of animal cruelty. 
I sorta want to be right yet equally want to be wrong at the same time. How this plays out in the morning will be anyone's guess. 
But if we're not ready for our car service at 11am, Batman has to see Cats. Solo. And stay for the whole thing. I'm pretty sure i can get Sweet Leticia and/or Derick to collude with me on this.
After last night's 2:30am v. 2:30pm debacle, Batman has no less than 12 alarms set around the house and is convinced he should stay awake all night so he doesn't miss the ship. 
Because of course i would sail without him. Of course. Makes perfect sense. 
I'm currently being reminded of our wedding vows from 47 years ago: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS DIVORCE. 🥰

Day 1 - Seattle.
The Jetlag again to the best of us and we were woken around 4 am, after all its a cruise day.  We tried to force some sleep but at the end we just decided to pack and get organized. At 6:45 we did our way again to Starbucks Reserve to catch breakfast,  as you can see we really liked this place (and not many things open so early).

After enjoying our time there we went back to the hotel and booked Uber to the port. The Uber cost 37$ which was better than the 55$ which offered by the hotel. Around 10:15 we arrived to the  port and started the check in process. Everything was very fast compared to the horror stories I was reading about Seattle port. 10 minutes after,  we were waiting in the holding area to start boarding. They started boarding two minutes after with suite,  pinnacles and keys , we were next. The nice thing they done was locating the ship security gates outside the ship allowing many more swiping cards  stations, preventing lines in the ship entry. After boarding and completing the muster check in we went to eat our first lunch in 270, it was quite good. We continued to the music hall to use the pool table were we competing who was the worse in this game, I think I won. We then visit the WJ just to see it had huge lines so we decided to catch something in Ship&chips.  I thought it's extra money venue but apparently it was free beside the lobster. I took the fish sandwich which was good. We booked the north star which is free for port days and watch the nice view of Seattle. 




By that time the cabin was ready so we unpacked and got organized. Still don't understand why they have power outlets only in one side of the bad , are they getting percentages from some marriage consulting organizations? 
For sail away we went to to deck 15

Although we had a nice view also from the cabin
For first day dinner we decided to go to the Solarium Bistro (you can understand by now, no CK access this time) the full meal was self service not like before were some of the dishes you needed to order. It was so so, I really wanted to catch the chef to explain him how to prepare Falfel and how to handle the Thaini , hint , you don't serve it raw. I still think it's not a bad option for first day. We went to check what we missed in the WJ, which was quite empty , they served some chops and had nice desserts. 


 
We went back to the room to take some rest before visiting the very packed casino. We called it early , as we were tired although next day is a sea day.

 

I was thinking the same thing. 

Agree. My first honeymoon cruise on the Mayflower was very memorable!
 
I agree.  But now at 72, and after 14 months of physically doing the work to remodel the restaurant, I’m feeling a tad beat up and old😂

This!

This blog is everything 😍

Day 23
I can't believe we are about three weeks away. I feel like with all the stress I have been planning this cruise since 1985.
I got a new batch of RUB emails. A couple of days ago, the sailing only had balconies left and today when I checked there were 8 suites and some rooms in each category. 
As usual the lack of critical thinking and comprehension is amazing. A couple of weeks ago I sent out my 35-day email and it contained the following:
I have come up with a preliminary plan when it comes to dinning but it all hinges on times available for a group of 8. So far it is:

Day 1: Sabor (Mexican/tacos) Lunch 12/1ish, Dinner: Samba Grill(churrasco) around 8Pm
Day 2: Izumi's (Japanese) Lunch around 12/1, Dinner: 150 CP( fancy pants) around 8:30pm
Day 3: Giovanni's (Italian) Lunch around 12/1 , Chops(steak) around 8:30
Day 4: port day so port/sabor/JR, Dinner: 150 CP( fancy pants) around 8pm
Day 5: port day so port/sabor/JR Dinner: Izumi (Japanese) 7ish because of shows
Day 6: port day so port/sabor/JR Dinner: Giovanni's (Italian) around 8pm
Day 7: Chops(steak) Lunch 12/1ish, Dinner: Samba Grill(churrasco) around 8:30Pm
Both yesterday and today I received numerous texts and calls asking which restaurants we will be going to.......🙄😤 When I said to check the email, I was later met with I see the names but what type of restaurants......😬😳. A lot of vintages have started their packing, I think most are bringing two outfits a day.
I also had to field more calls about the train ride and one more with the blind gent. My mother is his primary source, yet she has told him nothing. He was under the impression we were taking the train only so far and driving to the port. He also didn't understand what he needed to cruise, so I made sure he would have his passport and cash/credit card to put down for his seapass account. She also told him not to bring food because he can get it on the train. Since all the vintages are my mother's people, I had to send out an email saying NOT to listen to her. 🤣😂
I wish I was sailing with @SweetPea, it sounds so simple and fun. 

Oh i did forget to post this yesterday but given my downstairs roommates @Rags1 and @asquared17 won't be joining me, we passed. Plus it's sold out anyway. I only offer this to gage min bid from OP to RLS
 

I just came home from the chiropractor to find one suitcase like this:
 
#classy
 

Agree. My first honeymoon cruise on the Mayflower was very memorable!
 
I agree.  But now at 72, and after 14 months of physically doing the work to remodel the restaurant, I’m feeling a tad beat up and old😂

Agree. My first honeymoon cruise on the Mayflower was very memorable!
 
I agree.  But now at 72, and after 14 months of physically doing the work to remodel the restaurant, I’m feeling a tad beat up and old😂

Since it's going to be raining here on Sunday, Batman has just now decided we should go shopping for hard-sided luggage. Today. 
I'm not thrilled with this idea since he suggested Target or Kohls (because hey, i mean do they sell BEIS?!) and we already have 863 pieces of luggage we don't use. 
I say we live on the edge since we have free laundry. 
Stay tuned to see who wins this battle. 

Agree. My first honeymoon cruise on the Mayflower was very memorable!
 
I agree.  But now at 72, and after 14 months of physically doing the work to remodel the restaurant, I’m feeling a tad beat up and old😂

Cheers to two weeks before ‘I do’ and a little over a month from sail away! Went ahead and booked Wonderland for night 4 after talking with DH. I told him it was a “love it or hate it” experience, and he’s all about doing things outside of the box sometimes. I will say I’m looking forward to it now after watching a few vlogs of pros and cons. 
 
We are slowly collecting our cruise necessities. SPF 100, magnet hooks, hats, card holders etc.
Work for both of us has been insanely stressful the past few weeks. It’s like they’re making us earn our vacation. 🥲

After over a year of planning, it is almost time for (future) dear husband and I to depart on our honeymoon and first ever cruise! This forum has been a great help in planning this trip, and I hope it lives up to the other awesome live blogs I've enjoyed in that time. We are obviously very excited, but I am more so excited for DH because he has never been out of the country, much less traveled a lot within the US at all. This was more of a "him" trip than for me as I've had my "big" trip to Paris several years ago. Cruising was on both of our lists to try one day so I thought, go big or go home. Wonder of the Seas has more than enough for us to do and if we never have the chance to cruise again, I want to experience it all if possible. We depart three weeks after our "big" day. <3
Pre-cruise: We'll be driving to Port Canaveral from Central Mississippi a couple of days before, with a pit stop in Alabama to visit some family. Altogether about a 12 hour road trip with the plan to arrive the Saturday night before to rest up. Staying on Port Canaveral and have a fun little meetup with a FB cruise group at Fishlips that night. 
Who - Me (Holly, 31) - travel bug, type A and pina colada enthusiast and Dear Husband (DH 32), ADHD techie who still thinks we're going to St. Lucia (even though I've told him the destination 5 times)
Itinerary 
10/29 D1 Embark
10/30 D2 Coco Cay
10/31 D3 Sea Day
11/1 D4 St. Thomas
11/2 D5 St. Maarten
11/3 D6 Sea Day
11/4 D7 Sea Day
11/5 D8 Cry off the boat and drive home
Room - Ocean View Balcony on Deck 12, Midship. We managed to find what we thought was a decent price on an ocean view balcony room during black Friday last year. 
Excursions/Extras
Champagne, Strawberries, and 24 pack of water. We're not big drinkers so I'll problem bring the allowed wine on board, but I wanted to splurge on Evian if that's still what they're stocking. It's so cheap in Paris and I honestly got hooked on it after that trip.  Beach bed on South Beach at Coco Cay. I know we wouldn't have had an issue finding chairs on Coco Cay, but we liked the idea of having a designated home base that we wouldn't risk losing if we wandered around the island. Being a little more secluded from the lively areas also appealed to us and it comes with the coolers with water.  150 Central Park Night 3 - We debated doing Chops plus one and using the plus one for 150 CP, but we're not really steak people so we just booked it by itself. We weren't thrilled by the menu for Night 3 (Taste of France) so we specifically booked for that night. This will also be Halloween. Day 4 St Thomas - Skyride, Drake's Seat, and Magen's Bay. Since we're only in St. Thomas for 8-hours we didn't want to risk being rushed or waste the time there. Booked through Royal on sale during Black Friday We've debated on booking Wonderland for Night 4 since we'll miss our reserved dining time of 5:15pm. We don't have anything like it here and we know we'll either love it or hate it, but life is about experiences. If not we'll just wing it that night. 
Booked all the shows, even the ones that sound a little cheesy. We're mostly looking forward to inTENse and TapFactory. 
Check in starts next week, hopefully we are the lucky ones to get those coveted early slots. We definitely want to take advantage of every minutes on this ship. Aside from this being our Honeymoon, this is a much needed vacation overall as DH has had several surgeries this year, long hours at work, promotions for us both (yay), and overall wedding planning is just stressful. We are easy to please people and simply can not wait for this adventure. Hoping this first time cruisers perspective makes you giggle at what I find fascinating. 😛 

I was thinking I would have to make a trip up, too! My voyage is only about a 2.5 hour car ride though 😂

Royal's pro tip:

 
SweetPea's Pro tip: Don't drink and Zazzle your own Duck Tags after watching the movie The Help:


Oh, you didn't think we were Duckers, did you?
Yeah, good call. We're not.
Let's just say this turned into a series of "It seemed like a good idea at the time." 
I know what i was thinking, partially anyway.  I was 🤔 that I'm going to have a hard time getting Batman to leave the room. Hiding ducks would give us an opportunity to explore the ship.
I've since come to learn the error in that logic.
Because we all know exactly what's going to happen here. 1) i will bring some with me from Point A (our stateroom) to our next destination to hide while trying not to hold up Batman too much or 2) Batman will tell me, "Yeah, you have fun with that. I'll meet you back here when you're done. If you see our guy, get me some more Coors Lite on your way back. Thanks. Love you. Mean it. "
But now I'm committed and we're just going with it ... And by "we," clearly i mean "me" here. 
Obviously, Batman knows about the ducks. 
He's not seen the tags.
I can predict the conversation once he begins packing for us. I'm wondering if i should foretell it now to see how accurate it turns out to be?
Oh i should? 
Fine. 
Undoubtedly, it will start with ... "you're an idiot." (I think that's a given and by now well-established).  Followed by 'the font on the front is too small, but maybe that's a good thing" And finally, "who the hell is SweetPea? You're Batgirl."
Now i feel i have to explain that last part. Batman has always been Batman. I don't know why.  He just is. One cruise about a dozen years ago when we were sailing with Batman's family, Batman's sister announced in a booming voice, "GOOD MORNING, SweetPea!" (For the record, it was about 2pm).  She did this in a quiet but crowded outdoor bar. It was a smaller ship with the same crew grabbing a few drinks at the same bar at the same time every day.  My "Norm!" became "SweetPea!" when i would arrive.  No one knew my given name that cruise. Everywhere i went it was "SweetPea!" The end.
But my point is ... that is NOT what Batman calls me. 
Also, for the record, i do not eat Pork Roll, and I'm not sure what i was thinking with that helpful piece of advice, but those stupid tags were like $70 & I'm not changing them now. (i can almost hear @OCSC Mike's eyes rolling .... 😆)
 

I went letters and emails back after my cruises. I love to send encouraging words after my cruises.