Dlove707

So far, always cheaper for me to bundle but you do have to do your homework and make sure.  They will sneak one past you if they can !

Day 2 dinner was at Izumi. The only thing different about it was our entertainer/chef, Gerry. He was the best we’ve had, in land or sea. His laugh is infectious (probably a bad word to use)  it was really pretty much the same jokes and antics but he had a new way of doing it all!  Ask for him if your going anytime soon. I didn’t take one photo this time but you’ve all probably seen fried rice in the shape of a heart😂. There was no launching shrimp through the are and into your mouth. CDC must object to that. 
 
Our show was the Aqua theater at 10 p.m.  At about 10:05 the CD came out and announced it was canceled due to rough seas. Rescheduled for Thursday. Some of the crew did the casino and then dancing and some of us just went back and hung out in the suite. 
 
 

I'm okay with that.  I've seen way too many guests drop the handle of a serving utensil into the food contaminating the whole tray or reach in with bare hands, touch something then put it back.
In some cases the cough shields are so low you have to be double jointed to access the food.  
Safer all around to have dedicated servers dispense food at a buffet.  Even without a pandemic.  

If the CDC wasn't so slow to react and lethargic the protocols could be more dynamic.  While we are in a period of low transmission take down the plastic shields or face masks for vaccinated.  If a new variant comes along and actually begins to show impact, reintroduce protocols as required.  
But I digress.  

There's no way the CDC is ready to let go like the virus isn't still with us.

Tonight’s sunset.  

Good morning from….take a guess. I’m planning on grabbing one of the loungers and try to catch up. I know it’s a slogan but it really is a perfect day. My Bloody Mary is in transit to the cabana. 

On Mariner, trivia and many events were moved to Ellingtons, which is open to all guests
Cruise Compass from my sailing: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/mariner-of-the-seas/fri-10082021-0000

Amazing.  I'm at home ironing and you have already finished eating at Sabor.

Maybe Star Class is better than Twangster Class.  

This isn't about the law or doing what's right.
This is about politics and pandering to a base to gain support on a national level for a run at the presidency.  He is out to get his name in the national headlines.  Fining Carnival millions accomplishes that goal.  Anything with "cruise' in a headline gets massive media attention.  It's a perfect storm for him.   He needs attention at any cost.  
Royal has never "required" proof of vaccination to sail.  Not up until the Bahamas required proof of vaccination.  Carnival did require proof of vaccination to sail.  They denied service to unvaccinated.  They have more potential exposure in this matter.
That doesn't mean he won't go after Royal too but he knows he'll lose in court so he might not.  Carnival on the other hand will make for a nice juicy headline in the media.    

Yesterday started with breakfast on the balcony from Johnny Rocket’s. I was worried about the temperature of the food but it was still hot.  
 
Today was a sea day and our first formal night. The big kids roamed the ship and we took the little one to the pool. I haven’t noticed any capacity limits for the pool but they were enforcing a limit of 7 (or 8 ) on the circle current thing that makes you swim around in circles. Not sure what it’s called but it was really neat and after a a few minutes we were told to get out, even though there were no people waiting to get in. I’ll take pics of it later.
For lunch, half of us went to Johnny Rocket’s and the other half went to Izumi for sushi. I don’t eat sushi but they said both the food and the service was great!
 
Our waiter at Johnny Rocket’s began telling us all the prices and how shakes were extra and then I asked if it was included in star class and he was like, “oh you have a black card? Forget everything I just said” Told us we could order anything we wanted and as much of it we wanted and then told us we could take the chairs if we wanted😂 Kids thought it was hilarious! It was also really great seeing the staff dance. DD6 got up and danced with them and it was so cute 🥰 
 

It did not...  I think we've never seen the Balloon actually fly 🙂    The winds at 100ft were a little too high for safety requirements.   The attendant did tell us that although we signed up for a specific time, they'll honor your reservation no matter what time you show up (would've been nice to know since we left the ship early to get there, and missed the call (into our room) that canceled the Balloon ride..  🙄 )   Also, he mentioned that the best chance for the Balloon to fly is during the Late Spring/Early Summer timeframe..  May/June/July. 
We're shooting for May now!!  

We got my least favorite thing in the cabin today, the departure flier. Nooooo!

But we also go invited to a game night in the Suite Lounge. Something I hadn’t seen before. I think they were trying to add some value since there are no ship tours allowed right now. 

It ended up being sort of a quiz show, with many prizes handed out. I won this bag of logo gear — day pack, hat, water bottle, cell phone charms, and bottle opener:

I also noticed today that there is breakfast served in both Chops and Giovannis. Chops is for suite guests and Giovannis is for Pinnacles. 


I don’t know if that sort of thing has always been the norm, but since the two restaurants are right next to each other it was more obvious.
We also did a Macallan whisky tasting in the pub. I know next to nothing about whisky, so it was fun!

 

I'm 12. 🤣🤣🤣
 
Then I realized you were referring to a bird or fish. 

After getting ready for dinner, I wanted to check out the Top Tier Party for Diamond Plus and Pinnacle guests. 
I think @twangster said it best when he said it’s important to go to these events so they keep them going. 

In our stateroom was a special adventure ocean cloth mask for the kids, along with their wristband

Eventually the second test result came in. About 90 minutes in total waiting. Not what I wanted, but far from end of the world. 
Embarkation was same as usual. 
 
We had lunch in Windjammer and then it was up to register the kids for Adventure Ocean. 
 
Voyagers (9-11 years old) were limited to one session sign up, whereas Explorers (6-8) were able to register two sessions. 
 
They will open up more sessions to book tomorrow at 2pm (yes, I set my alarm to know the moment I can sign up for more).