Lovetocruise2002

On this episode of Windjammer guests behaving badly...

I watched a lady just stand there at the wall next to the condiment pumps and eat her dessert..and then she just left and walked off.
This was after I watched another guest taste test stuff as she put it on her plate..just full on picking it off her plate with her hands. 🤢
 

Today we are in Nassau. There is Liberty to my left.

And Anthem to my right.

I feel like the inside of a Royal sandwich.

Others have already posted tibs and tabs about this but I don't think there's a thread devoted to it...at least, not that I know of.
There has been a CP "sale" going on for a couple of days.  It is "on again/off again" but it's back on today.
BUT - BE CAREFUL.  Some of the dining packages include gratuities in the "list price" and some do not so be careful cancelling something that you already have until you know for SURE that it's going to be a savings.
1.  It appears as though MOST of the packages - UDP and 3 night, already include the grats.  If the grats are included, it will say so below the advertised price.  If it says "Gratuities Included" then the final price will simply be the number of packages that you are purchasing, multiplied by the price of the package(s) you are purchasing.  If it says "pre-cruise savings", the grats are NOT included in that price so you will have to calculate the total price to see what the final $$ will be.
2.  It APPEARS as though the requirement to eat at least one meal on nights #1 or #2 is gone.  The CP no longer required me to choose a "first" meal time.  That's a good thing, IMO.  Hopefully you can now use your packages on any days/nights that you choose.
3.  It appears as though all of the individual restaurants still require you to calculate gratuities....IOW, the grats are not included in the posted price for individual restaurants.  Some of the individual restaurants that I checked were less $$ than when I first purchased and some were not.  Just be sure that you know what you'll be paying BEFORE you cancel anything and/or purchase at the "reduced" price.  It seems like the package prices include grats.
4.  I was not able to use any of my available OBC when I purchased/repurchased my specialty dining.  It gave me the option of using the OBC but the final price was never reduced by the amount of the OBC so I am HOPING that the OBC is still there.  This is uncertain to me at the moment.  Hopefully the OBC will reappear in a day or so.
5.  As far as I can tell, the ability to make pre-purchased dining reservations ahead of time has still not been implemented.  I was never prompted to make any specific reservations.
6.  Other items in the CP may also be on sale.  I have only looked at dining so I am unaware if other areas of the CP are similarly affected.
The prices are pretty good (considering the upward trend for specialty pricing) and I saved quite a bit of $$ by cancelling and repurchasing but it took me a while to figure out the secret code.

Thanks.
 
It's very "resting bitch face" while doing everything in your power to NOT look at your partner. 🤣
 
Right! I loved my Capezios. That was exactly my thought. These are designed for west coast swing, so the toe box isn't blocked for stands and the soles and heels are thinner. Other than than that, they feel just like my old Capezio pair. 
 
So we met up at the dance shoe store and we both bought a pair of shoes. I'm not sure what happened, but somehow a new practice skirt made it into my car as well. They had a cute tank top, but it wasn't meant to be. We have a west coast swing class tonight, so we'll try to break the shoes in. DH will have to get used to the different feel of the more plastic-y soles for sure.
Keeping this a cruise live blog and not a dance journal...I also dropped off a little bit of dry cleaning. The at home laundry saga continues as well. We can ALL officially start packing now too.

Tonite dinner was Izumi.  There is no hibachi on EX so it’s always sushi only….which is fine with me.  I’m not a fan of the hibachi menu (or the “show”) anyway.  This was night #2 of our 3 night dining package.  Chops on night #9, the last night.
Insider tip:  if you see chopsticks nearby, this is probably NOT guacamole.

We went to the casino after dinner (who’s surprised) and it was a mixed bag.  Dan and I played some Dancing Drums (b/c the pigs were all occupied) and we lost a little bit.  Dan went and played some video poker and won while  I played some UTH and lost.  Ugh.  Back in the room now.
Tomorrow is St Kitts (again) and we have no plans to get off.  Today was another visit to Grenada and we just got off for a little while and browsed the terminal shops.  I bought Dan a couple of new Caribbean shirts which he DESPERATELY needed.  He’s been wearing the same sad ones we bought in Aruba probably 12 years ago !  Most of them are missing buttons and I’m a terrible wife who has never fixed them for him.  It’s easier just to buy some new shirts !  He now has 2 new ones…

Yesterday was a very busy day. We had breakfast in Coastal kitchen and then off to hide ducks. We hid ducks till lunch at Johnny Rockets and then immediately went for the bridge tour.

 



after the tour we went for a 3 o’clock show. We saw The ventriloquist again but a different show this time ,he was very funny. We lost another hour at 2 pm.time will not change today.
dinner last night was 150 service was off we may not go back there on this trip.

Filet

veal

 
fried cheesecake

Greetings, RC Blog friends! It's me, Mrs. Regular, back again for another blog. This year we are leaving the Regular kiddos at home and making it an extended family affair! Follow along for preparations, travel, and semi-live updates from the Brilliance of the Seas!
Background Info
Picture it... Sicily, 1929... Just kidding. I'm in my Golden Girls era so I often channel Sofia when I begin telling a story. Picture it... my living room, November 2022. Alaska 2024 deployment would be announced and bookings opened within a few days. We already had cruised in the Mediterranean, cruised from NYC down to the Bahamas, and were booked for summer 2023 on the Mariner of the Seas for my 40th birthday. Generally we are a "one cruise at a time" kind of family but something struck me about the 2024 Alaska deployment that just felt.... right. Like it was the exact right time for Mr. Regular and I do book something for ourselves. A treat. A reprieve. Alaska has been on our bucket list for a long time and at first glance when bookings became available, the price was pretty good. I knew I couldn't just book something without speaking with him first, so I laid out all the benefits and trade-offs (small ship! leaving from Vancouver! Aft balcony! I just got a pretty sizable raise so I will foot the bill! He saw no tradeoffs, lol), and got his ok to contact the travel agent. YES! It was so early in the deployment I got to hand pick our room and with over 600 days to go, we started planning and researching.
Eventually, our other extended family (mainly our parents) caught wind of our plans. We scheduled a mid-May itinerary for a few reasons, one of the best being our kids wouldn't be able to go. I know, we are Regular mean parents. But also because the likelihood of the ship being overrun by school kids would be lower. We love kids, we have two, we have kids in our family and extended friends group. There's nothing wrong with kids. But, we loved our experience cruising during a non-break time. The last two cruises we've taken have been with our kids during school breaks and they have been vastly different experiences. Not bad, but different. We wanted to return to those non-break vibes. But this time in Alaska. Anyway, our parents wanted to tag along and we were ok with that. Getting my sister to come rounds out our merry group of 6!
The Intergenerational Regular Family Tree
Me, Mrs. Regular. 40 years old. Working at a university full time and full time PhD student. I am finishing up coursework and successfully defended my proposal last month. This itinerary falls over the one break I have between spring and summer terms. I have been on 3 RC cruises and will reach Emerald on this cruise.
Husband, Mr. Regular. 45 years old. Working at the same university and teaches snow sports on the side. He is bummed there will be no skiing or snowboarding while visiting Vancouver or Alaska. Has been on the same cruises as me and will reach Emerald.
Regular Mom. My mother! 70 years young. Doesn't travel much, retired 3rd grade teacher. Has always wanted to go to Alaska. Will be her first cruise.
Regular Sister. My sis! My best friend. 38 years old, never cruised before. Just there to show up and have fun!
Regular Father-in-Law. Mr. Regular's dad. 79 years old, has cruised once before from FL. Certified renaissance man, he is an acrobatic pilot, flight instructor, motorcycle racer, and welder. Ran a multi-million dollar business but never earned a bachelor's degree. He is just so cool.
Regular Mother-in Law. Mr. Regular's mom. 84 years old, has cruised once before from FL. Recovering from a mild stroke in January, she is a remarkable person. She's improved so much in 4 months mobility and speech wise. She's still sharp as a tack but just a little slower than before. In her 80's but acts not a day over 60. 
Why are we "regular people"?
My username and the name of my cruise blogs came out of an observation that post-COVID restart, most people in the RC Blogs were taking their "revenge" travel trips and there was a run for a while of suites only travel blogs. No shade to the "suite snobs" out there or to those who are blessed enough to cruise frequently at the premium of a suite. But, while I am still fairly new to cruising I wanted to read more from perspectives that didn't go for all the extras or bells and whistles. Thus, "regular people cruising" was born! Not only do we not tend to travel in suites with the amenities, we also don't splurge on other luxuries like drink packages, unlimited dining, spa treatments, a lot of excursions, etc. Now, this will change a little bit this trip because I think Alaska affords some special opportunities.
Our Itinerary
My in-laws are flying in on their own schedule, but mom, Husband, Sis, and I are all traveling together from NJ on a direct flight to Vancouver on the 11th. Crossing fingers for smooth travels! We are all staying at the Sheraton downtown and will get brunch on the 12th before heading to Canada place to board our ship!
Day 1 - Vancouver
Day 2 - Inside Passage/At Sea
Day 3 - Sitka in the afternoon. No plans other than walking around port and maybe going to the totem poles
Day 4 -Juneau. Mom, Sis, Husband and I have the dog musher's camp excursion in the morning. Regular in-laws may or may not get off the ship, much will depend on how MIL is doing. She can do activities in small bursts but then needs time to sleep and recover. We will be done at the camp by 1 but the ship is in port until 7 p.m. so I am sure some sub-group of us will explore Juneau a bit. This night Husband and I have date night at Chops.
Day 5 - Haines. We all have the White Pass Railroad excursion booked through RC. Most looking forward to this one!
Day 6 - Tracey Arm and glacier viewing/At Sea
Day 7 - Inside Passage/At sea
Day 8 - Vancouver. The Regular In-Laws are staying at a hotel on Vancouver Island to relax for a few days and traveling home later in the week. The rest of us have a red-eye back to NJ. We will look into storing luggage somewhere and taking a tour around Vancouver before heading to the airport.
Next Update: Packing! Packing! Packing!

The kids were quite a bit younger and we didn't even know there was a Flowrider - we bought tickets right in the port.  If they are offered on the cruise planner, I think I would go that route just to be sure that Justin has a reservation.  Under FAQ's the website does say you can buy tickets there - I would just be concerned about availability if there is more than one ship in port.  

There sure is lol - my crew have enjoyed it.  There is also an Effy store - so you will both enjoy the port lol.

There was no option to change ships/itineraries on my letter yesterday.

Just told Hubby this morning that we are headed to Grand Turk in July in place of Labadee. He is excited because it looks like there is a Flowrider at the port area, much like Puerto Plata.

Just told Hubby this morning that we are headed to Grand Turk in July in place of Labadee. He is excited because it looks like there is a Flowrider at the port area, much like Puerto Plata.

There was no option to change ships/itineraries on my letter yesterday.

There was no option to change ships/itineraries on my letter yesterday.

My purse arrived, and I was a little disappointed, but not surprised, that the pattern was not aligned as in the photo. 
 
However, when I opened the flap, she was waiting for me! I have no idea why I find this so amusing, but I'm taking votes on names. 🤣

 
I mentioned to DH last night that I want some dance sneakers for the ship, and he jumped onboard. I know this may seem weird, but cruising is actually our second obsession. Our biggest concern wearing our usual dance shoes is water or spilled drinks on the floor because they have suede soles. Getting them wet would break down the glue, or cause long term sticking or slipping issues in the case of a spilled drink. Because of that, we leave the cabin in our everyday shoes and carry our dance shoes with us to change into when we want to dance on the ship. It's a little inconvenient to carry them around when we want to also do other things like go to a show or hit the casino without dropping them off at the room first. Plus we still have to worry about someone spilling a drink on the dance floor. I rationalized that I could wear a hard sole dance sneaker around the the ship, and I can use them to teach in this fall - I'm teaching dance at our co-op next semester. Anyway, we're meeting up to buy some for both of us this morning when our local(ish) dance store opens at 11. 💃🕺
I'm sure this seems nuts to most of you, but we all have that one thing, right? 
This also happened yesterday! One more to go!

Dinner last night Chops

the wedge
lobster

petite filet
key lime pie
crab cake
spicy jumbo shrimp

Red velvet I think it’s for @Sweety hope I got that one right

Captain just came on and said we have a medical emergency. He will be stopping near Bermuda for medical evacuation. Should arrive around midnight. We will be moving full speed.

Time change notice. This is really weird because it’s not happening over night.

After lunch we did escape room completed with 3 seconds left.

Lunch was Izumi

This morning we enjoyed a dirty duck swap. Renee was the big winner.

Suite Lounge must be boring. The Pinns keep infiltrating the Crown Lounge and blinding me with their bling 😂

Here's the Crown Lounge snacks since I was up here to grab a coffee..



 

Wonder if they realize they forgot to turn off the bridge cam...

Just got the announcement of a medical evacuation in the next 30 mins...the helipad will be closed.