CravingaCruise

I got my shirts. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you for the food reviews. Mason Jar is high on my list. I might get a cruise on Wonder. Need to break in the new credit card.

Shhhhhh, don’t let our secrets out!!

Are you still #TeamDeck17 given the choice?

Looks good to me.
We were randomly wearing bright colors that night and thought they looked good against the background but I mostly let my wife pick. I’m more concerned with food strategy than photo strategy. 😁

We almost always go with the white background but this tropical one was new for us and we thought “might as well”. 

More food strategy... I approve and agree.
We didn't want to go on embarkation day b/c we like to get settled and whatnot so we have day 3 booked for March and will likely stick with that.
We're not big on photos but we always take them just so we can choose our 2 freebies. That tropical background was one of our picks last month too. It's currently the lock screen photo on my phone in fact.

@Neesa Ranger cookies 😋 (not the ones with chocolate chips)

Going to spend the rest of the afternoon chilling out on our balcony. Trying to soak it up the best we can. I adore this view from the back of the ship. I can totally see why people love these Aqua Theatre suites now…

With that done, we headed down to the casino to redeem our $6 free play. This is why we never go to the casino…we cashed out with a whole $0.77! 
Hubby at his highest point:

In the end, a $0.54 voucher for Hubby, and a $0.23 voucher for me. 😂

After brunch, we headed to Focus to redeem our free D+ photos. Each D+ adult member gets one loaded into their account. This is one of Hubby’s favourite Diamond perks. We are building quite the collection at home with our free photos since turning Diamond a few years ago.  
As many of you saw in my previous posts, the app now allows you to preview your pictures. Saves us some time now at Focus because we already knew what we wanted when we got there. 
Here is what we ended up with this sailing. 


Hannah knew that we were headed to Focus after brunch so she offered to pick up the photos for us later today. 

This morning we slept in for a bit. Headed back to the Mason Jar for brunch. It was another great meal. Today, I didn’t even have to ask for the Mississippi Moonlight, they just brought it out as soon as we sat down. 
We had some of the same things as yesterday but the new things that we tried were the burgers, and the breakfast biscuits. This is definitely one of our favourite restaurants on this ship. It sits heavy in your stomach though so Hubby and I discussed going to the Mason Jar earlier in the sailing next time. Before food coma sets in. 😉

Last aft view post 😔

Glad I could be of assistance! Lol 
Your wife might not find me that helpful though 😂
Same! I think you, me, @WAAAYTOOO are all in that mushroom soup camp. I could have that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and be good with it 

 
 
Yeah, it’s crazy for most crew. However, in talking to some dining crew members, they are looking forward to short sailings on Utopia. For them, the short turn around means a chance for a bit more money. So I guess it all depends which department you are in. I think the short turnarounds are probably hardest on room attendants. 

Sounds like you are having the perfect date vacation!
I think that taking the best crew to a new ship is pretty standard practice in the industry. Just my gut. I'm sure Royal does it seamlessly because they have a larger crew to pull from. I remember Disney taking their best from Magic and Wonder when the Dream was launched. Service i think then suffered on the older 2 ships because the rhythm was thrown. 
We did the obligatory B2B on the Dream (3/4 night cruises like Icon ... Utopia?) because i don't get out of bed for < 7 nights, but the sentiment was the same. The crew preferred longer cruises. They towed the Disney line and said it was because they could get to know their guests better. 😁 But if you've been on a B2B, you know what turnaround day is like. Even if you haven't don't a B2B, you can get the idea. We've all received that "it was a pleasure serving you. Have a safe trip home. We hope to see you again. (Now please, get the heck out, i have new guests to prepare for)" spiel from staff on turnaround day. The last part is implied.  Heavily. Because their hands are on your shoulder as they guide you to the gangway ... 🤣

+1

That Mushroom soup!  Each cruise I email the requests to the Genie for the girls.  Snacks they want in the room, favorite drinks, Starbucks orders, which restaurants and shows to book.  For me I always have one request:  mushroom soup. From the moment I board. Hang a bucketful around my neck.  Leave a bowl on the nightstand. Fill a Starbucks cup.  I wonder how many gallons that jacuzzi tub in the RL would hold?  I just can’t get enough of it. I knew there was something I liked about you😂

Why have I never thought of this? That info could lead me to bring home pounds of them! 🤣

We usually like to sit right behind the rail, just behind the sound board guys. 
 
Royal’s coconut Ranger cookies are the best thing ever. Over covid, Royal even put out the recipe for people to try at home. Sadly, mine did not turn out lol. But they freeze well so we pack them home and freeze them. 
 
This is true. Even for genies. The short turn around is hard for all of them because now you are doing 2 turn arounds per week instead of 1. It will be interesting to see who goes to Utopia because of that. Many here on Wonder are headed to Icon. Again, they are taking the best. 

Okay again with another stupid question. First finding out I missed out on the Mason Jar last month because I mixed it up with Portside Barbecue (gees) @OCSC Mike and @Lovetocruise2002 what are Ranger cookies? Seriously, you need to take away my RCCL membership card 🤷‍♀️
As an aside, my server last month also came from the Symphony. He said he believes Vinay and the "team" will be going onto Icon. When I inquired about the Utopia even the concierges said " no way!" Reason being they hated the quick turn around, they prefer a longer itinerary. Turn around days are the hardest and most stressful for them. I was surprised I thought that would be the opposite as new and more frequent wallets onboard, who knew?!

I usually get home and say I should have brought more home, lol.

See, I told you there was no need to worry! Bad guys go after good guys... good guys win in the end! 😀
That reminds me that we have to see the show again this OCT, but from the lower-level this time. I think it's naturally more immersive when the lasers, drones, etc., are over your head. I was not a fan of the Key seating in the upper-level last JAN. We could not see part of the stage (very front) and all the action was in front of us.

Not empty. Remember there was Galaxy’s Edge purchases lol
And we always take home Ranger cookies 😉
That is so comical! If you only knew…he can barely find food in the kitchen to pack for his lunches 😂

Well watches returned, lesson learned to stay clear of any of the impulse shops.  Window shop ONLY
Just maybe with empty suitcase, you can take one of the chefs from CK home  and squeeze in a supply of Ranger Cookies as well. 
Think in between chef duties, he can be the bartender for your Oasis of Canada pool retreat..... 
Wouldn't that be the life a CK filet whenever your heart desired .........

After dinner we saw the Effectors: Crash and Burn. I was worried that this would not make sense as much as @JohnK6404 had said a while ago that this show is the sequel to what is on Odyssey. Well, it was perfectly fine watching it out of order. 
This show is amazing! The vocals are so strong (but we already knew that from Voices), the special effects so awesome, and the drone work I cannot even put into words, especially that set with Lume. There are technical elements from Symphony (Flight) and Harmony (Columbus) that I recognized here but overall Royal went over the top with this show. Hubby was saying if they sold Effectors merch after the show, it would probably sell like hotcakes. 


We had no idea this was going to happen, but after the show, the cast stays on to take pics with the kids in the audience. Such a nice surprise. Hubby made his way down to the front with the kids for a photo op. So yes @Jax, my husband is my oldest child 😂

I will upload video clips to Instagram tomorrow 😴