Jax

Izumi for dinner. Izumi is in a very odd location on Brilliance. All the way aft outside past the pool deck and the Adventure Ocean spaces.  Finally found it.  
 

Just passed beneath the Sunshine bridge. Casino will be opening soon.  The blog will come to a screeching halt then !

Interesting phenomenon.  My cell phone seems to be working with Voom fine but my iPad sucks. The iPad will not connect to the blog site or update my emails.  Dan is using his iPad (exact same device) without issue.  So for now, I have disconnected my iPad and navigating solely with my cell phone. This makes blogging even more difficult for me b/c I hate typing on this tiny little keyboard.  WTF ?

So we got to the room about 1:30.  First time in a full suite on a rad class (that’s how long it’s been since we were on one !).  A bit narrow but the everything on a rad class is narrow.  One thing, the closets are big !  I think there’s more room in those big closets than there is in the Owners Suites closets on the bigger ships.
 

 




 

 

 

 

The lunch at Chops was, without any doubt, the worst Chops meal I’ve ever had.  Everything was cold. It was really bad. Hard to explain, too, as we were 2 of 6 people in the whole place
Next stop, Grand Suite 1552 to unpack.  That horrible meal took 1 1/4 hours !

Lunch at Chops at noon.  More from there, later

Boarding was absolutely amazing.  We left the hotel a bit before 10 AM. We had intended to get an Uber but there was a guy with a van waiting to pick up a fare.  When we told him we were going to the Port he said, “$5 each” so we jumped right in.  We were the only 2 and it was a quick ride over.  We got out of the van, dropped our big luggage with the porters and noticed that the escalator going up to the check-in area was blocked off.  Rats !  At that same moment, a guy came out of the elevator with a luggage cart.  We sauntered right into that open elevator like we knew what we were doing and rode right up to the second floor.  We were first in line to check in after which we were directed to a suites waiting area.  Of course, I failed to take any pix (I am falling back into my “old ways”).  After maybe 5 minutes we saw what were obviously B2B cruisers walking onto the ship.  Moments later they called Pinnies and within 10 minutes total, they called suites.  We were on the ship well before 10:30.  As Happy Dan always says, “I’d rather be lucky than smart”.
As soon as we got on the ship I realized I was in unfamiliar territory.  Even though we’ve sailed on radiance class ships many times, it’s been a while. I seemed all turned around. We bumbled our way to Cafe Latitude (I think ) got coffee and sat down.  We decided to find the Concierge Lounge to get our internet working, and so here we sit.

Quite possibly, Sabrina. Here is the list of options that Joyce sent for lunch

Good morning !
<clap><sway> ?Oh, Happy Day? <clap><sway>. It’s cruise day !!
Concierge Club recon


I will say that breakfast was a site better than last night’s evening festivities.  Nothing special but at least the usual suspects - eggs, bacon, bread, juice. All Continental.  Nothing made-to-order.
Beautiful morning, here in Tampa. I awoke to the sound of a ship’s horn...not sure which ship or where, exactly.  My view does not include any cruise ships. ??
We plan on leaving here at 10:00 AM.  Will call on Uber again.
A bit of disappointing news from Joyce, our Oasis Genie.  Beginning yesterday, Nov 24, Chops is no longer open on embarkation day (we had asked for lunch rezzies there on boarding day).  She stated, in her email 3 different times that Chops was closed....not that Chops was not available.  I thought, perhaps, that they were restricting Chops just to Key people, but I don’t think that is the case.  It appears, as far as I can determine, that Chops will not open at all on embarkation day for lunch.  We chose Giovannis as our second choice.  We’re going to CK for dinner that night, anyway, so we will get our filet !  Of course, Giovannis has an awesome steak, too...but we will save our steak lust for CK.
Next up - boarding Brilliance of the Seas !
 

So, we made it to Tampa. No-issue flight.  Right on time.  Good deal.
The hotel (Tampa Marriott Water Street), has a shuttle from the airport but we decided just to get an Uber.  They were charging $12 PP plus it probably would have taken them forEVER to come get us.  The Uber was $19.07 and it took her 3 minutes to get to us.  
I think the hotel is probably lovely. It was dark when we got here so it could be a dump for all I know.  We are on the Concierge floor (24) and I feel our room is very - meh.

Happy Dan. That’s his nickname.  

I was extremely disappointed in the Concierge lounge. Hopefully breakfast will be better than our evening tidbits.
The Uber driver told us that the cruise ships are less than a mile from the hotel (yippee !!) so we should have a short trip tomorrow morning.
Calling it a night soon.  Flying just wears my arse out !

+2 on the MY Pillow "not a fan club".   They just didn't work for us.
BUT......the travel size MP is perfect sized and helps for short trips.

+1
You are not. I HATED it. Too fluffy and no neck support. I get severe headaches in the middle of the night if I don't have enough neck support. I am on the hunt for a good pillow. Ive spent a lot of $$ trying.

I really feel like it's going to come down to needs/demands and who it is.  I have read many great and some surprisingly, not so great Genie reviews.  As hubby always says, "It's going to be a game time decision."  I definitely don't think I would go and tip $500-$700 extra just because it's "expected".  However, I would feel terrible if our experience was amazing (because of the Genie) and we left nothing.  It's the same as how we sometimes tip some waiters and room attendants extra and sometimes we don't.  Case by case and how you feel they've gone the extra mile.

Ummm....I think I heard the exact same thing a week ago...from my husband...we have a year to debate this ?

Interesting and thought provoking topic.  Star class typically costs substantially higher than Sky class.  It's a significant difference in price.
Granted Star class comes with dining and beverage packages but those alone do not come close to explaining the difference in rates between Sky class and Star Class.  Do the thousands of dollars more not pay for the Genie's services? 
Forget casino rates or other discounts of that nature, for a regular guest choosing to pay for Star class at normal rates, are you not already paying thousands for a Genie?  Do they really need hundreds to thousands in gratuity?  The difference between a loft suite and star loft suite is often $5k per person more.  What does $10k for two get you if not the Genie's services?

Actually, we both DID complete the pillow analysis. 

Right back atcha. Following along with you, too !

We must be the only people on the planet that did NOT care for My Pillow.  Dan likes a flat pillow and My Pillow is waaaytooo fluffy for him.  I love a fluffy pillow and My Pillow is too fluffy for me.  Both of ours were demoted to the guest bedroom.

I promised Sabrina that I would do this, so here goes.
First:  I am the worst live blogger EVER since I hate to take pix.  I DO realize that long, text review/live blogs are less effective b/c nobody wants to sit and read line after line of text.  I hate it myself !  So I am going to TRY and be brief-er than usual and TRY and incorporate photos, which are 2 things I am not very good at (brevity and photography).
Who:  Dan and I (Raye)
What:  S2S cruises on Brilliance and Oasis.
Where:  Tampa then Miami
When:  24 - 30 Nov (Brilliance out of Tampa) then 1 - 8 December (Oasis out of Miami)
Why:  Because we can...and this will be our first S2S
At home, writing this but leaving for the airport (DCA) at 2PM.  Uber, cost $81.56.  We have to have an XL due to luggage. Honestly, it's not that far to the airport.  We live about 20 miles south of DC so it's not more than 15-17 miles to the airport.  Kinda high, IMO but still cheaper than parking the car in Long Term Parking for 15 days. 
We will pass some time at the American Airlines Admiral's Club prior to boarding and then fly First Class to Tampa. Flight is at 5:00, arriving TPA at ~7:30PM.  Will Uber from airport to the hotel (Tampa Marriott Water Street); used rewards points for the hotel.  We could have used airline miles for the air but we're saving those reward points for a yet-to-be scheduled Alaska trip !!

One piece of luggage still missing as it is awaiting inevitable forgotten, last-minute items.
So looking forward to Brilliance.  #1, we have never sailed on Brilliance before and #2, it has been many years since we sailed on a Radiance class ship.
PS.  I am already having fits with just 1 pic.  I don't know how the rest of you do it !!  
More, later from the Admiral's Club !!

“My pillow” has been a game changer for me. I use to to travel with my king size “my pillow” but then I saw their travel size version and am going to give it a try.  Totally worth trying in my opinion. No more sore and stiff necks.  

I have been giving "my pillow" some serious thought.  Up until this point, I wasn't sure if it was a gimmick.  Now I am considering more seeing that you like it too.
Yes, male.  Someone who sailed on November 16th just had him and they said he was amazing, even though he is new.  And these people had Charlie (who is gone now but used to be an all star Genie) to compare Andres to.  So that says a lot about him!

Happy Sunday everyone! Today I thought I would share our list of “must take” travel items. What’s on your list?? 
“My Pillow” travel size - I can’t rave enough about how My Pillow has improved my overall quality of sleep. Love their travel size version.   Saje pocket pharmacy is a remedy convenience kit consisting of peppermint halo, immune, eaters digest, stress release and pain release.  I carry immune with me at all times as it acts as a disinfectant .. I put it under my nose on the airplane and use it as a hand sanitizer. There is so much eating on cruises that sometimes eaters digest comes in handy!  I never leave home without this pocket pharmacy; it’s nice and compact and made for travel.  Dr Ho’s Pain therapy system can help relieve most pain and is compact enough that it is easy to take with you.  We have used it while traveling on sore feet, back and neck.  It’s a game changer.  Mouthwash. I know it may sound weird to take this with you but we learned from experience that not all cruise lines sell mouthwash. On our last Disney Cruise my hubby realized he forgot his mouthwash. When we contacted our concierge host we were told that it was not available on the ship. As only Disney can, we had mouthwash delivered to our stateroom within the hour.  We later learned it came from our concierge host’s personal supply. It made for some fun laughs with our concierge host and her husband throughout our cruise. And yes, my husband was mortified when he learned they gave us their mouthwash. ? The next 2 items are from Beauty Counter, a company that offers safe products without the harmful and toxic ingredients found in so many of our beauty care products.   Beauty Counter Cleansing balm - has many uses but we use it if we get a bit too much sun. It takes any redness and pain away.  Sunscreen is a must. This offers the same protection while not compromising on safety.  Have a great Sunday everyone and for those in Canada planning to watch the Grey Cup enjoy!! It’s expected to be 4 degrees in Calgary today with chinook winds   

If it’s any consolation to you, our Genie has made our lunch and dinner reservations for us for embarkation day and they are not appearing in our cruise planner, either.
We have had our Concierge and/or Genie handle reservations for us, precruise, literally hundreds of times and never once have we failed to have the correct reservations when we arrived.
If they’ve told you it is taken care of, it is taken care of.  Don’t worry, and don’t expect them to show up on the app or cruise planner.  Their process is separate and very dependable.
??

It can be done, but then you will find yourself befriending the Genies or trying to steal your friend's Genie to "pretend" that you sailing Star Class. ?
 

Hey guys. 26 days till we leave and 28 until we board the Anthem. I should be hearing from our genie any day! Until then I have been busy finalizing pre and post cruise hotel accommodations and transportation.  I feel like I have spent a lot of time on this but reliable transportation and a great hotel and location is important to us. Hoping some of this may help you with your future planning.  
Hotels: I quickly realized I underestimated the cost of hotels in NYC over Christmas but booking early has helped offset a portion of these costs. I started booking as early as last January and February. I focused on location and our preferred hotels but soon realized that 2 double beds is the norm in NYC when travelling with a family. Downsizing from a king to a queen is a stretch but losing another 6 inches...?  As a result we have made some compromises to ensure we were able to stay at our preferred properties.  Pre cruise we settled on 2 doubles with a double sleeper sofa and post cruise we have a king with a sleeper sofa. In both cases the sleeper sofa mattress has been recently upgraded to a memory foam mattress for added comfort.  More to follow on the bed situation I am sure!  
Transportation: I was overwhelmed by the number of transportation options available so I read lots of reviews and eliminated all those with consistently crappy reviews. (I was surprised how many bad reviews there were) For us reliability was more important than price.  We will have 4 checked bags so that means an SUV for us at a higher cost. If you can keep your luggage to 3 or less you can definitely save money. 
If you are wondering who I booked with:  
Airport from JFK to Manhattan and return -  NY City Limo $134 + tip each way. Driver meet and greet in airport.  
Manhattan to Cape Liberty Cruise terminal and return - Dial 7. $119 + tip + toll each way.  Feel free to pass along any transportation raves!       

Hey guys. 26 days till we leave and 28 until we board the Anthem. I should be hearing from our genie any day! Until then I have been busy finalizing pre and post cruise hotel accommodations and transportation.  I feel like I have spent a lot of time on this but reliable transportation and a great hotel and location is important to us. Hoping some of this may help you with your future planning.  
Hotels: I quickly realized I underestimated the cost of hotels in NYC over Christmas but booking early has helped offset a portion of these costs. I started booking as early as last January and February. I focused on location and our preferred hotels but soon realized that 2 double beds is the norm in NYC when travelling with a family. Downsizing from a king to a queen is a stretch but losing another 6 inches...?  As a result we have made some compromises to ensure we were able to stay at our preferred properties.  Pre cruise we settled on 2 doubles with a double sleeper sofa and post cruise we have a king with a sleeper sofa. In both cases the sleeper sofa mattress has been recently upgraded to a memory foam mattress for added comfort.  More to follow on the bed situation I am sure!  
Transportation: I was overwhelmed by the number of transportation options available so I read lots of reviews and eliminated all those with consistently crappy reviews. (I was surprised how many bad reviews there were) For us reliability was more important than price.  We will have 4 checked bags so that means an SUV for us at a higher cost. If you can keep your luggage to 3 or less you can definitely save money. 
If you are wondering who I booked with:  
Airport from JFK to Manhattan and return -  NY City Limo $134 + tip each way. Driver meet and greet in airport.  
Manhattan to Cape Liberty Cruise terminal and return - Dial 7. $119 + tip + toll each way.  Feel free to pass along any transportation raves!