GregD

57 minutes ago, Cactus527 said:

I'm discovering more and more that I value my time more than saving every single penny. It might cost me $20-30 more to fly later in the day, but I don't have to be at the airport when the bars are still open overnight? Yes please. Glad your flight(s) is/are decent times!

Same here. We actually got lucky on the flights. Southwest had a change in their schedule on our original flights, so we were actually able to change to better times for the same price, and those new flights were more convenient, but originally way more expensive, so that worked in our favor. 

While in Texas, We probably could have done a shuttle etc and saved a bit, but having the rental car for the week, and parking at the port is much more convenient, especially when you factor in dealing with crowds and the stress of trying to find your driver etc. 

This way we don't have to rush off the ship, our vehicle is waiting, and like you I value my time pretty highly.

1 hour ago, Cactus527 said:

3 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I can't wait...

I'm sitting here at the firehouse......really wishing I didn't accept that overtime, and took today off as well. oh well, I just have to make it until 6:30pm on Friday and vacation officially begins.

Current countdown status

Laundry has been mostly completed, The Boss made another Bezos order for random things. Everything is falling into place. I'll probably keep her happy and actually pack tomorrow night instead of Saturday morning before heading to the airport. 

The past few years our departures have all been really early the AM. I'm enjoying the prospect that we don't necessarily have to rush out the door at O'dark 30.

@Va4fam Here is the thread that you can read.

13 hours ago, Va4fam said:

Sounds like some fun excursions.   We are booked with Bodden for the first time and curious about the ATV post if you don't mind sharing.  I don't remember which tour we are on except we are meeting the sloths!

 

It was somewhere here on the blogs, but the poster mentioned that the ATV's are pretty beat up, and one of the reasons is that there are lots of hills, and when you descend the hills, you line up with all the ATV's in a row all touching each other and ride the brakes down the hill like a giant caterpillar. I will see if I can find that post and tag you in it.

Still on track to pack Saturday morning 

I have 35 hours of work left this week. My normal 24 hour shift on Thursday, followed by 11 hours of OT on Friday to cover Dan, who took the day off. Not that I can blame him. His flight out on Saturday is at 6 am. Thankfully we are about 20 minutes from our local airport. 

Genie stuff.

We got our survey on 12/22 so about the 60 day mark. I have a word document saved, so I make the necessary edits and copy and paste. 

Both @Jax and @Yesiamthere had great Genies with Berty and MJ respectively I was really excited knowing that the odds were in our favor for a great genie experience.

at 28 days to go, I got the email that we have Berty. We had some initial emails giving the overview of the benefits etc, and mini bar requests, and then he said he would reach out closer to the cruise. He got back to us Sunday with our initial dining and show schedule. He looks like he will be very fun to work with, so we are super excited. 

Excursion Plans:

I think this is the first time we have nothing booked through RC and doing everything on our own. We try to split our time up with activities/adventures and lounging so we have a good mix here.

Roatan: We booked the private tour with Victor Bodden again. We will be going to their animal sanctuary, doing some zip lining. We were going to do the ATV adventure with them, but saw a post that turned us off to that. We will probably get some lunch somewhere on the island too. Our friends also booked with them as well, thought we won't be in the same vehicle, so hopefully I can get some pictures of monkeys misbehaving on him. 

Costa Maya: Going to Maya Chan, Dan and family are coming as well, this will be a relaxing beach and get Dan drunk and convince him to retire day.

Cozumel: We are grabbing a cab and going to Chankanaab. Johnny said that he wanted to do a swim with dolphins again, because the last time we did this was pre-COVID, and he was so little that he could barely stand on the platform and have his face out of the water. Now that he is bigger and can really enjoy the experience he is looking forward to it. Our package includes their VIP food and bar area, which isn't the best food and highest quality booze, but it gets the job done. We will also have some time there for some beach and lounging.

It's been a busy day of cruise prep.  I got my hairs cut so I can be all pretty in any pictures. In true teenager fashion Lydia decides to tell us today that all her shorts don't fit despite us asking for weeks and her assuring us everything is fine. The Boss is currently working on a last minute Bezos order. Is it time to go yet?

So the shenanigans........

If you aren't aware, I'm a career firefighter, and it's one of the officers that I work with that will be on the ship too, and I will be showing him the suite life. One thing about working in a fire house is that if we aren't actively busting your balls, and playing jokes on someone, we are just plotting our next move.

My shift, we are masters at this..........

So when the guys heard he was going....the wheels started turning......and we plot for the end game. We research, and plan etc etc

Now Dan, the other guy on this cruise, is not always the smartest guy. During some conversations with guys on my shift, we discovered that he was not aware of the various clues that people use for advertising "alternative lifestyles" so of course we are capitalizing on this......after we educated him on the importance of a particular fruit....

We have already made plans to meet in our suite shortly after boarding, and behold, my latest Bezos purchase....which I will be wearing on his entry.....

There were other shirts that I was considering that were much more overt, and not appropriate to post here, but they were quickly vetoed by The Boss. Go to Amazon and search "pineapple shirts for men" it won't take you too long to find them.....

I'm looking forward to walking around the ship with him and his wife wearing this on day 1 and just seeing where this goes......

So, another things that Dan is good at, is allowing himself to be photographed in ways that just set him up for ridicule by all of us......So that will also be my goal during the week. He's close to retiring....my goal is to get some great shots for his retirement party.....

This is going to be so much fun.....

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Are you leaving it at the hotel with some kind of park and cruise option? 

For convenience, we are just going to park at the port. You can reserve a spot ahead of time so it's already paid for, and for us, not having to deal with competing with 6000 other people trying to Uber someplace its money well spent. The hotel we are staying at doesn't offer cruise parking either. 

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Good luck! You never know…

I normally don't wish people to get sick just before a cruise.....but........

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

You and me both!! 

Your blog on Harmony in the SLS with Aricelli (sp?) absolutely made us book our first star class room.

1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

Harmony has an okay Aqua show, I mean nothing is Aqua80s. But it lacks something.........also no portside or Playmakers. 

I will give the aqua show the benefit of the doubt. 

Portside and playmakers will be missed!

1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

I can afford the suites, but I stay with the "poors" because all of that razzamatazz is wasted on me...........plus I need to spend money in the casino for the shenanigans. 

I could stay with the "poors" and be happy....maybe....but for The Boss, the room is also a big part of the destination for her. She loves the bigger spaces and the perks, so it's sky class and up for us. We aren't big casino people so I'm going to be creating my own shenanigans on this cruise.......at the expense of my coworker......this is going to be fun!!

2 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

YOU CANNOT LEAVE ME HANGING HERE. my writer soul needs this story!!!! 

You'll love this story......

The b@#ch stole my job!!!!! (don't worry, she allows me to use that term. She also loves to tell this story)

So back story...this will take a bit...you will laugh, cry, and laugh at me some more.....

Years ago while I was in Paramedic School in Syracuse NY at the SUNY Upstate Medical University. I was living in Oswego NY (about 45 min north of Syracuse) where I had originally started college for biology and had hoped to get a job as a firefighter/paramedic. I was having a hard time finding a decent job locally while in school, so I had the following schedule.

Monday night I would go to Paramedic Class in Syracuse 6-9pm. I would crash on the sofa at my friends dorm at SU for the night. Tuesday I would do clinical time in the hospital then crash in the dorm again. Wednesday I would do ride time on an ambulance during the day, followed by class from 6-9pm. Following that class, I would drive back home to my parents house in Albany NY about 2hrs away. I was able to get a job in one of the ER's there as a tech. I had worked there previously during college breaks, so they were glad to have me back. I'd do a bunch of 16hr shifts Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Monday I would head back to Syracuse for class and repeat the process over and over again. On the days that I didn't have clinical time, I'd head back to Oswego to study, get caught up on sleep etc etc. 

As you can imagine, this was an exhausting schedule. I was continuously looking for something job wise locally that would allow me the flexibility to keep up with school and paid enough to cover tuition. 

Eventually the hospital in Oswego posted that they were looking for techs.....perfect, that's what I know how to do etc. I applied for the job, interviewed and got the position. My first day, I show up to work in my scrubs and with my stethoscope and they look at me funny...."what do you need that for??" Well, they pulled a bait and switch....my clinical position turned into you are just a transporter....fine, whatever, it was a job and I didn't have to do all that driving. 

After about a month in this job, I now see that an actual tech position, assisting in patient care which is what I had originally thought I was being hired for, is now open in the ED. Perfect. I do all the paperwork, and I'm told "you should be all set, and you will start in a week or two in the new position." 

Shortly after....I'm told, hang on, you will be starting in your new role in the fall. We hired someone who was in nursing school for the summer.....greeeaaaaaatttt........WTF.......

So a few days later, I'm working, so I head down to the ED, to see who this "nursing student" is that they hired......So I'm sitting down there chatting with other staff members that I am friends with, and around the corner comes Heather.....and I think to myself......damnit....she's really cute. I can't be mean to her and giver her a hard time.......

So we start chatting and becoming friendly with each other and getting to know each other. After a few days, I had to head to Albany for about a week. I had some time off from classes, and I was working on the medical team at a music festival. When I got back to Oswego and was at the hospital for work, we ran into each other, and she gave me a big hug exclaiming "where have you been" etc etc. I thought to myself.....wow, that was not the reaction I was expecting, so I asked her out on a date. Stupidly she said yes. 

Having had some conversations previously, I knew that lasagna was her favorite, so I made that for dinner before our date. That went over well. Then, at the end of our date, honest truth the battery in my car died, so she had to drive me to Walmart to get a new battery for my car.....the whole time, I'm thinking......"wow, did I make a great first impression"

For some silly reason, she agrees to a second date, and now almost 20 years later....here we are!

So, now any time someone asks how we met, its always "the b@&ch stole my job"

Spending someone else's money:

So I am the unofficial cruise planner for all of my coworkers, and have helped a few with their cruises now. I convinced one of the Captains that I work with to book this cruise. Not only did I get him to book the cruise, I convinced him to book into a Grand Suite. He has cruised with RC a few times now, typically in an OV or Balcony Cabin. It didn't take a whole lot to convince him to book the suite. He likes the finer things in life. As if it hasn't been said before, booking early for the best price is key. He booked this cruise about 7 months ago, while I booked the day the itineraries were released. His GS is about $200 shy of the cost that I paid for my Star Class room. He is happy though to have the extra space. He has a young daughter who is also bringing a friend with her, so to have the extra space will be good for them. 

At our holiday party, I spent time chatting with his wife about all of the sky class benefits, as well as suite benefits in general. She is super excited. I don't see this as a one and done for them.

Now I just need to figure out how to get a commission for this

Royal Up:

I did submit a bid to Royal Up to the RLS. When bids were first available the opening bid was stupid money, but a few weeks later, they dropped to moderately crazy. I put in a minimum bid for the room. Its been booked for quite some time, so I'm not holding my breath.

Hello again!! In the words of @SweetPea, do we REALLY need another week long Star Class cruise report on Oasis Class?

I certainly hope so, because here we are again. After great blogs by @Jax and @Yesiamthere highlighting their trips on HOS, it's now our turn, in you guessed it, a ATS2BR. I hope to keep this fun and lighthearted.

Get ready for some shenanigans and other tomfoolery that will rival what @Ampurp85 and @asquared17 experience. Will it approach #starclassbehavingbadly? We shall see. 

Who:

Myself, The Boss, Heather, Lydia and Johnathan. Sadly my sister Julie is not joining us. For some silly reason she has decided to be responsible and try to save money so that she can buy a house.

What/Where:

We are sailing on Harmony of the Seas out of Galveston. It is the typical Western Caribbean route.

Feb 17 - Arrive in Houston and head to Galveston

Feb 18 - Cruise day!!

Feb 19 - Sea Day

Feb 20 - Sea Day

Feb 21 - Roatan

Feb 22 - Costa Maya

Feb 23 - Cozumel

Feb 24 - Sea Day

Feb 25 - Eviction Day etc

Feb 26 - Back to reality

Flights:

Flying Southwest into Hobby the day before. We initially had Delta flights booked through Air2Sea, but swapped to Southwest when their schedule was published. We were able to get more convenient flight times, and at a better rate. We are staying an extra day and flying back on Monday which helps as well.

Pre-Cruise plans:

We arrive in Houston at 7:30pm. We are driving to Galveston that night. We grabbed a Tru by Hilton right on the beach. The Boss has status with Hilton due to her job travels so we always go that route. Nothing fancy since we are really only there to sleep for the night. Since we are staying the extra day, we rented a car for the week. Due to corporate discounts  courtesy of The Boss’s job and the fact that nothing is open early on Sunday mornings, it was actually more cost effective and convenient than two one way rentals, or doing a bunch of Ubers etc.

Cabin:

We really like the ATS2BR. We are on deck 8. The Boss loves the balcony and those Aft views. We also really like to watch the Aquatheater show from there. Johnny already said that since its not Aqua80 so we will probably hate every minute though. IYKYK. We had considered moving up to deck 17 since my sister wasn’t going to come with us, but by the time that decision was made the two star lofts were already booked. We also had tossed around the idea of inviting other family/friends so keeping the ATS was needed. Someday we will try the gated community.

Post-cruise plans:

We are going to go to Moody Gardens on Sunday after getting off the ship. The rest of the day we will play it by ear. Lydia mentioned she wants to find a good BBQ place for dinner so if anyone has any suggestions that would be great. I have a few people that I know down there that I will also be reaching out to. That night, we are staying in another Hilton by the airport. Our flight home is early in the AM, so being close to the airport is key. The Boss is not a morning person.

6 hours ago, asquared17 said:

wait I LOVE THIS. this is so cute

wait till you here how we met......

1 hour ago, asquared17 said:

we have some REALLY kickass italian food in NJ

The same here in NY, as well as my own kitchen! I grew up cooking with my Italian grandmother, which is why The Boss tolerates me. On our first date I made her favorite food, lasagna. She was hooked from then on. 

For me, I still like Giovanni's over Jamies. I have not had the opportunity to try GT. I do keep my expectations in check knowing that it certainly isn't authentic, but it's mostly edible. I will always have a gripe with Jamies for serving tartar sauce with calamari.....stupid Brits....(actually, I don't really like anything that Jamie Oliver does) but there are a few things there that I do like.

side note: I find it funny that most of the pictures on the RC site for these restaurants show dishes that aren't on the menu. 

The dragon coaster is lots of fun!

2 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

It also felt like it took so much time out of my day

Blogging can be a full time job sometimes. This is one reason I’m glad I’m somehow an early riser on cruises. I typically wake up before anyone else and can find a quiet place on the ship to enjoy a coffee and do some posting. 

7 minutes ago, Jax said:

Haha, where’s the fun in that.  I want to see some #starclassbehavingbadly content! Berty saw pictures of our photo shenanigans; we joked with him about them having a board in back of office with our pictures pinned showcasing all the outrageous stuff star class guests do.  Looking forward to your blog.  

I will see what I can do! I did tell Berty that we like to have fun, but would most likely keep our shirts on

Sneak preview……I am recruiting a new suite snob on this trip. One of my coworkers is sailing this cruise too, and if you know firemen, all we do is play pranks and mess with each other soooooooo, I’ve been busy spending his money and the guys and I on my shift have been plotting ways to mess with him while on the cruise…..more to come

13 hours ago, asquared17 said:

it’s a surprise aqua show!!!!!

PURPLE RAINNNNNNN!!!!!!

(once again. me wondering where the loud music was coming from )

Best Day EVER!!!!!

Followed by............

2 hours ago, asquared17 said:

it truly is the worst day

Have a safe trip home. I truly had fun following along here. I feel like this spin on Oasis was maybe less spicy than some of the others for you, despite the crazy weather etc.

Now that you are "done" I can start mine I'm looking forward to some shenanigans. It won't be anything like @Jax, my shirt will be staying on, but there may be some things that @Ampurp85 can relate to. 

More to come........soon

12 hours ago, She Sails Away said:

That sounds amazing!! Our relatives would love that. Thank you!

 

what amazing photos!

You're welcome. I took 1500 pictures while on that cruise

I also can reccomend the Lysefjord boat cruise while in Stavanger. You get to see quite a few things. At one point the captain of the boat nosed up to a waterfall, collected water to pass out cups to all the passengers. 

25 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

where is your live blog

Coming soon. I will start it early next week. 

2 hours ago, asquared17 said:

also i hope you are proud of my lunch beverage choice

I approve of your beverage selections. 

My Bezos order arrived today with some cruise items. We got our new cups clips, and some items that The Boss wanted. I left out a shirt I ordered that will make an appearance for Shenanigans that I am causing myself...more to come on that next week.

The dog was not from Bezos, but he has been the ultimate freeloader..... 

2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Meant to post this yesterday but forgot. You seem pretty knowledgeable about this stuff but my wife just started using this tea for sore throats. FWIW, it was recommended to her by people in the voice over industry.

The adolescent in me always chuckles every time I walk past these teas in the grocery store. Their marketing dept. are my kind of people.