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GregD

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Everything posted by GregD

  1. Royal Theater tour and more: In the theater we were met by the Cruise Director, the male lead for Columbus, who is also "Rump" in Grease, and the Production Manager. We got to do a little Q&A, they each talked about their roles on the ship, and how shows are worked, rehearsed etc etc. It was mentioned that the female lead in Columbus was very new, and that was her first show. She had to take over for the original cast member who was out on injury after fracturing her toe. It was during this tour @asquared17 that the Production Manager stated that he would be leaving the ship on Sunday with us and heading to Miami. He will be the production manager on Utopia and it was he who confirmed that Utopia will be getting the Aqua 80 2. He said that the original was so popular that they are giving it a refresh kinda like The Effectors. So we can expect another awesome sound track, and hopefully and awesome show! The next few weeks will be getting everything in order and getting a cast in place and rehearsing etc etc. He wouldn't talk about any of the other shows. Theater related, and another RC cutback. We were talking shows with Berty, and he confirmed that just recently RC made the change that there will only be a headliner performer on cruises that are 8 nights or longer. Berty said in all seriousness, to bring it up in the survey.
  2. Saturday was our last sea day on the ship. This was a busy day for all of us, and it really was a magical day that Berty really pulled out all of the stops. All 8 of us met at CK for breakfast where we discussed the pier running story again, and talked about what we all had planned. Berty had galley and bridge tours set up for us, we also had the behind the scenes tour of the theater as the C&A benefit. During breakfast, Dan and I were discussing the differences between the genie tours, and the all access tour that you can purchase in the cruise planner. He had done that tour before on Wonder and really liked it. He didn't do it this time because he felt the girls would be pretty bored. The girls piped up and said they would like to see the bridge. I mentioned that Dan should go talk to the concierge. I remember getting an invite when I was sky class on Anthem years ago. We went over, because I was curious as well. She said that sky class can get tours, but they need to ask, first day is best, so that it can get set up etc etc. We felt that was understandable. I had vaguely remembered that the Anthem concierge had asked if we wanted that tour early in the week and we replied that we did. Nothing more was thought on it, and we finished our breakfasts. Except that wasn't the end of it. Right after breakfast The boss, freeloaders and I went down to the theater for that tour. As I sat down, I got a message from Dan. The concierge had called him and told him that he and his family could come during our bridge tour!
  3. After Columbus, we, as already discussed, went to the quest......it's crazy all right. Not much more needs to be said that hasn't already been said.
  4. I'm not exactly sure what you are asking here, The casitas, you reserve in the cruise planner on the website. These I don't think are worth the money. On the suite sun deck there is various types of seating. There are chairs, loungers, couches, beds, and more private cabana like areas. These are all first come first served. We found that our favorites were the beds.
  5. Apparently I uploaded the wrong picture....she did smile at first. Yeah, they are aware that they would have been finding their own way home.
  6. So they are on the deck above the pools. My thought is if you are already in a suite, there is no need to spend money on those. Just use the suite sun deck, that is what we did. They are also set back along the edge of the ship, so even if you were in one and wanted to keep an eye on kids down below, they would be set too far back for that I believe.
  7. Following Chops, we headed to the theater to watch Columbus the Musical. This is the story of the hapless distant relative of Christopher Columbus, Marvin as he tries to find his way, and "not let his father down" The story follows him along as he captains a ship, meets goofy sharks, deals with pirates, and finds love...and all ends in a goofy sequence 600 years in the future. The set is amazing, and the productions is really good, and was thoroughly entertaining. People of all ages will like the show because most of the music is modern and recognizable. Its sill, fun, and a do not miss.
  8. @OCSC Mike Here is some food porn for you. Dinner that night was at chops. Everything was delicious as usual. Apps were Caesar Salad, Shrimp Cocktail, Crab cake and the goat cheese salad Heather and Johnny shared the rib-eye, Lydia got the small filet, and I got that with the lobster....I managed to remember that the camera is supposed to have the first bite a little late. Desserts were apple pie...again no raisins, but there is a new flavor in the pie, possibly citrus....It doesn't quite taste right. Lydia said she would rather eat it with raisins vs how it is now. I got the cheese cake Both freeloaders got some strawberry ice cream
  9. PB&J and Ham and Cheese TBH, I kept forgetting about the tuna sammiches from park cafe.
  10. Here is the Pier Runner story!! So when we got back to the ship, I sent Dan a message that we have snacks if they are hungry. He responded they were still on their excursion. This was at 3:30 ship time. All aboard was 4:30. I thought perfect, I'll park myself on the balcony with a beer and wait for them, snap a picture of him in the crowd, and promptly send a where's Waldo text to everyone at work. Well, passengers are coming back on board, and it's a large crowd. The Norwegian Epic was docked next to us, so their crowd is mixed in too. We saw all sorts of people in varied states of sobriety....I remember seeing one woman being helped along by her partner because she was so intoxicated she could barely stand.... 4:00, still no Dan..... 4:15....The vomit comet from the mainland arrives and begins disgorging passengers....I'm scanning the crowd looking for them......still no Dan and family.....uh oh 4:30.....Still no Dan...... 4:43......There they are, looking very worried walking with security!!! Turns out, they were THE LAST 4 to get on the ship, and that we were all waiting for them..... Here is how it all unfolded. They booked this excursion through the concierge. They had something short in the morning, and wanted to do a little bit more. Their guide assured them that they had plenty of time, and that they would get back to the port with an hour to spare for shopping etc. Well, the only problem is......The tour operator got the ships wrong....He though they were on the Epic, which was due to leave at 5:30!!! Dan said there was ship security at the entrance at the port checking names of people as they returned, so when he said theirs, the officer immediately called on the radio "We've got them!" and hurried them back to the ship. They also didn't realize they were late because their guide assured them they had plenty of time. The concierge gave the tour operator hell, and they did get a partial refund at least. Moral of the story, For long excursions, book through the ship....we have first hand knowledge that they will wait for you, Also make sure you know your all aboard time!! Shenanigan meeter - 100,000 for being an inadvertent pier runner!
  11. All right everyone, we are back!! To recap, we were at Chankanaab doing our dolphin excursion. Once we finished our swim, we got changed and headed back to the port. There were already taxis lined up to take people back to the port, so that was super easy. Soon enough we were back on the ship. We did a cursory glance through some jewelry stores looking for the type of necklace that The Boss wanted.. Once we got back to the suite, we were met with this..... I think there is a disconnect between us and Berty when it comes to "light snacks" These were also sitting on our bed.....You know they are coming, but it always hits too hard..
  12. I hate it here….. These past couple of days got away from me, we were quite busy. i will have updates for you all soon. @OCSC Mike we will get back to your food porn, @asquared17 I’ll have a little more info on Aqua80 2, more shenanigans including pier runners! a special treat for The Boss…. Alas, as you can see we are back in Galveston. I’ve tried asking nicely, I’ve laid out the water works, I groveled, I even tried full on Karen…..to be able to stay on the ship…..but with all the RC cutbacks happening, they said GTFO. One final breakfast at CK shortly and then we will be escorted off. We are staying a full day here in Galveston/Houston with so we will have more fun today
  13. Hot off the press!!! Utopia of the seas is getting Aqua80 2!!!! guess I have to get to next cruise today!
  14. So, back to Day 6, Cozumel.....how are we almost done with this cruise already!!?? Anyway, I woke up early again but hung around the suite. Our day was going to be somewhat relaxing, unlike our friends family.....more on that later. Our day was going to be spent at Chankanaab. The kids wanted to swim with dolphins, which The Boss readily agreed to. We have done it before, for me it's a take it or leave it type of thing. Johnny though, was really little the last time we went, so he couldn't really enjoy the experience, so when he asked to do it this year, that was an easy yes for me to say. We booked directly with their website which was about $300 cheaper than booking through Royal. Having been to Cozumel a few times now, we felt comfortable venturing off on our own. I booked us for 1:00pm which is noon ship time, so that would give us plenty of leeway for random delays, or if The Boss saw sparkly things that she liked..... After morning Starbucks was delivered, we headed up to CK for breakfast where we all got our usuals. We met with Berty to discuss the plans for the day etc etc and headed off the ship. While heading towards to taxi stands, The Boss wandered through the Effy Store. She is searching for a particular necklace to match some earrings we found on Oasis. I got lucky that trip, I had planned on spoiling her with something nice, turns out the one that caught her eye the most was a simple set of earrings that were dirt cheap. She has been on a hunt for a matching necklace. Her earrings are round stones in a bezel setting, nothing fancy or spectacular. It seems the ships are focused on giant stones now, which just aren't her... Unfortunately that store didn't have what she was looking for, she sadly left, while my wallet left happy We got in line for our Taxi. The rates in Cozumel for taxis are set by their union. Our ride to the park was 15 USD. It's also customary to tip a couple of buck too. Carry the specific amount with you that you want to pay. We met another couple who said their driver "didn't have change" so their tip was 33% Here is a photo of the current rates. They are based on vehicle size, 1-4 passengers, 5-8 passengers. Price is total for all people. Sorry that it's not the best photo. When we arrived at the park, if you do this on your own, you first check in at a small dolphin discovery kiosk right by the regular ticket boots. They give you a wrist band that gets you entrance into the park, and direct you where to go. Once though the gates, you are directed to the main Dolphin discovery building where you finish your checkin, they try to upsell on the photo package. It's $40 per picture or $70 per person for the package, which includes a voucher for the cab back to the port. Our first time here we weren't really impressed with the pictures, so we passed on this. Food, which isn't that good, drinks that are very watered down were also included in our package as well as using the park throughout the day. We wandered a bit to check things out. There are plenty of vendors there selling all sorts of souveniry things, and fake Luis Vuitton bags. We quickly escaped from that area, found some spots by the pool and parked. Speaking of delays, they were already behind when we checked in, so our meeting time for the dolphin experience was pushed to 1:30 (12:30 ship time) We were suited up in our life jackets and headed off to our swim pool. They have a large area for the Dolphins. All of them were born in captivity and some are quite old. Our dolphins were Charlie, and 10y/o and Marieta who was 20. Our guide described them as Charlie is the younger brother who is mischievous and loves to play, and Marieta is the moody older sister who says leave me alone. Both are food motivated, as would be expected, and will do just about anything for a snack of fish and squid. What I did notice was that the guide did give the dolphins a choice. If one wasn't feeling an activity, she would send it off and with to the other. I was also impressed by the ability of the dolphins to communicate with each other. Our package included a foot push, where each dolphin would push you by your feel into a standing position. There were a few of us that it took a few tries to get it right. It was really neat to see that the dolphins worked together for this task.
  15. So bigger updates tomorrow, but…. The Boss and I went to our first Quest…. Shenanigan meter - 1,000,000 The phrase that man’s balls were just touching the floor was said….. excuse me while I go puncture my ear drums and sterilize my eye balls y’all are nasty….
  16. We wandered the ship for a bit. We looked at some expensive watches. I tried this guy on. This was a 22k Hublot. I sent the picture to my brother, who is a watch guy, his response is that they are overpriced trash…..not that I would buy it anyway. The salesman says they have one in the Hublot store that is 94k. Hard pass… We took a spin through the art gallery. There were a few nice looking paintings, but nothing that would make me want to sit through the auction. Eventually we ended here thanks to Johnny and Berty. While chatting with Berty at the start of dinner, Johnny mentioned that he wanted to see the aqua show from the splash zone. We didn’t have anything planned, so he made it happen. Of course, I was forced to sit with that jerk while The Boss was safely outside of the splash zone. Somehow I got more wet than Johnny did….oh well. Our original assessment of the show still stands. While entertaining, not our favorite. Another note, if you are watching the aqua show from the theater, sit towards the back row. There is a significant amount of aerial work, and times that cast members are spread out, so if you sit really close, it’s hard to take in the big picture.
  17. Dinner was back at Jamie’s. I have to say, this one has converted us to fans. I still refuse to eat calamari with mayo though….. I have to apologize, we did not live up to Star Class expectations. We only got two orders of bread, and one order of Bruschetta for The Boss and I to share. Johnny ate the burger, and Lydia graduated to the adult menu and had the chicken parm. The Boss ordered the same and they both agree that it was very good. I tried a bite as well, and had a moment of nostalgia. The sauce had a flavor very reminiscent of my grandmother’s homemade sauce. I was instantly transported back to big family dinners at their house on Long Island with all of the extended family lots of laughs and a giant bowl of pasta. Anyway, I need to move away from the guy cutting onions…..making my eyes water like that…. I got the lamb chops. They were perfectly cooked and very tender. I may have forgone the for and knife, and just grabbed and growled. Our small appetizer order was a bit of strateegery…because we all had room for dessert! Johnny loved his banana split, Lydia tucked into some gelato The Boss had the cheesecake I rounded things out with tiramisu Fat and happy we finished our meal and headed off for evening activities!
  18. Docked next to us was the Mein Schiff 6, and all I can say is those Germans are a different breed. Yes I know Europeans have a different view on bodies and modesty butttttt…. (no pun intended) Let me introduce exhibit A Then this lady made an appearance…..at least they looked clean…. the worst offender was a vintage male on a lower deck wearing just a robe…..he crossed his legs flashing the twig and giggle berries one to many times for it to be an accident. As we sailed away the number of people coming out on their balcony in just their underwear was comical.
  19. After returning to the port, we took the obligatory “we were here” photo. Once back on board, were again met by “light snacks” from Berty.
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