MaryS

Proof of the shenanigans at the juggler show that I forgot existed (I forgot he took my phone and snapped pictures) 😂


 
Oh and I forgot I took a picture at the 1400 bar!  😜

I might of been a little too under the influence to even BLUI (blog under the influence) 😵‍💫

Slight recap to last night.
My initial opinion of the ship is wow!  The hideaway area is a game changer in my opinion. We hung out there for about 4 hours yesterday, both in the pool and at the bar.  The vibe is unlike anything I’ve experienced on a cruise ship before.  We still have a LOT to explore, we walked around most places, but never even made it to Central Park.
The Aquadome and overlook are stunning!
We had the headliner show at 7:15 it was a juggler named Adam Kario.  Kelli got to go up on stage and be his assistant while I provided comic relief for him 😂.  There may be video 😎In the end it was a lot of fun!
We did make it to Coastal Kitchen for dinner at 8:30, but only managed one picture as I was feeling no pain by that point lol.

We got back to the room and had a surprise waiting for us telling us about a special event this morning.

We are beyond excited as we are dog lovers!
Now just relaxing waiting on Starbucks to arrive.

Should be a fun see day!

This is really nice!

Here’s a little bit of intel that I didn’t have 30 minutes ago…
If you forget to cash out a casino voucher (guess how I know this…) they can redeem it for you at Guest Services !   I almost left my voucher in the stateroom, certain that it was trash…but I told myself, “you have to at least TRY and get this money…”.   So I did…and nobody was more surprised than me that they could and did.  It wasn’t big money ($31.95) but it was worth the try.  I gave him a nice tip…
He did tell me though, that once you leave the ship there’s no way to redeem a voucher so even if you forget to cash it out at the casino, you must do it before you leave the ship.

Relaxing in the room after our wonderful dinner with @JustMeJoe and his wonderful wife.  We most definitely have made wonderful new friends with them.  What a great couple !
While enjoying our quiet and restful post- gluttony coma, I suddenly got a VERY strong whiff of skunk weed through the ventilation system !  At first I wasn’t sure where it was coming from but since we have NO balcony, there was only one possible source.  It went away quickly so I guess nothing to worry about.  For a while there, we were smelling it far too frequently on other ships but lately haven’t smelled it.  Was surprised when it happened tonite.  Hmph.

I hope all you suite snobs are taking notice of the fact that I am no longer among your ranks.  😥
Be careful what you wish for.  It’s a huge change of “cruise-style” when you decide to trade quality for quantity.  Maybe you guys won’t have to make that shift but we certainly did.  I’m not sorry and I’m very comfortable with my new cruise-style but it WAS a big change !

Coastal kitchen tonight

lobster fritters

 Caesar salad

Brownie

Lunch today was Port side bbqeverything was delicious, if you have never had port side I highly recommend. Ribs and burnt ends were soooo tender like melt in your mouth tender. We can’t wait to return again.

Well, this is sure coming up fast now! 13 days until I fly to Barcelona, 15 until I board Oasis. 
My Amazon purchases arrived, I'm contemplating getting the dress I bought in another colour as it's so cute and I think will be perfect for evenings around the ship.
Hoping to get the majority of packing done tomorrow, and then through the week will print all the important stuff. 
I also need to get my cruise cash - something both Jamie and I were wondering is, if we tip on top of the daily gratuities, is it best to do this in dollars or euros? My brain says euros as we're on a European cruise, but I'm not 100% sure. 
I'm going through a lot of change and uncertainty at work, but the thought of being on board a ship again for the first time since 2018 is keeping my spirits up. 

We really like the food at playmakers. Dinner was excellent.

We now have a second emergency on board. We are full speed ahead  to Azores island. Arrival will be approximately 7am tomorrow.

A little later than we wanted, but we are headed to Houston. Should get there around 6.

I have no idea why it double posted some of those pics.  I’ve only had one drink, so it can’t be that….😂

We were on board by 10:15 and had our luggage almost right away.  Marla is awesome!

 
the updated rules are as follows.
base camp included
deserted basic milkshakes included; fancy are extra
Izumi in the park officially $10 a day but she said if they do charge us for more she’ll remove.
trellis bar snacks officially $20 per day, but same thing as Izumi.  In fact she says almost no one has even been charged as of late.
chops iconic cuts…still an upcharge.
we are off to lunch now in playmakers.

I made it onto the trolley...a full size suitcase is a bit big for the aisles so it has to sit on the seat with me. Honestly if I had the time and could handle my luggage I would 10/10 do this again for the cost savings. Bonus is I can fly in day of to Miami on the first out flight that gets me in at 7:30am and do the Metrorail/trolley combo to help kill the time.

Lots of confusion from lots of people on the trolley who didn't know where they were going or where to get off..then the driver only spoke Spanish and English and most of the folks on the trolley didn't really do either of those.
They only are running the green line on the weekends so everyone has to transfer. Usually you can grab an orange line and not have to transfer.

Made it on

Luggage already arrived, more to come once unpacked.

It’s cruise day!

WAAAYTOOO,
I just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed reading your blog. You provide very insightful information. I envy you your Pinnacle status (I am Diamond) and the fact that you live in Florida and can cruise often. Keep enjoying all you can.
The Fox

Today is the last day of our journey.  Sea day.  Nothing much going on.
Dan and I both qualified for comp cruises so we spent some of our morning getting our [other] open booking from NC.  We both ended up making Prime on this set of cruises so that is one headache out of the way.
I hate the last day.  All I can think about is the dread of packing....which really only takes maybe 15 minutes but it's the idea that we are leaving....very depressing.  LOTS of people boarded this cruise last week and will continue on the "crossing" as they refer to it.  It would have been nice to stay on for the crossing but as we have made a pledge not to fly for a while, we couldn't justify it.  We'll just have to settle for Freedom and Wonder in the next week or so.
Tomorrow will be an incredibly busy day as we go home to laundry and repacking for the FR cruise the next day (4-29).  I have a ton of "home" stuff to take care of in this short visit but luckily (or unluckily, I guess) this next one is only a 4-nighter so we will be back home much sooner than we were on this B3B.  Of course, when we get back home from the FR cruise we only have 2 days to get ready for our 7 night Wonder cruise (5-5).  THEN we have a bit of a break.
Still trying to get the specialty dining changes all sorted out.  I made a ton of changes again yesterday.  I discovered through higher math (HA !) that it is actually a better deal (on a per-meal, per person basis) to get the UDP on our 4 night Utopia cruise than it is to do the lunch plus 2XBOGO.  That's a rare situation...but there's also the big bonus of getting to dine at all of the "new" (not really new) restaurants on Utopia so we threw that weighting factor in and decided to the UDP which we haven't done in a very long time.  Truly, it is too much food for us but it's only 4 nights so we will just suck it up and deal with too much food.  A good problem to have, I guess (summoning my inner @OCSC Mike).  There's also the uncertainty of whether or not the UT will be excluding low-level Pinns from the CK/SL and I don't want to wait until we find out that little gem to make my plans....so we will simply plan on NOT eating at the CK at all (unless they let us go there for breakfast which is unlikely, based on recent experiences).
Since we will be doing self-assist departing, we will meet the SL Concierge (haven't seen her at all on this leg since we were banned from the SL) at the Schooner bar 7-ish tomorrow morning.  Hopefully the disembark will go smoothly and we will be on the road bright and early.  Being a Sunday disembark will be a huge advantage.  Unfortunately, we will be making the RT BACK to PoM in less than 24 hours and that will be on a Monday morning so we have that fun to look forward to.
It's been an awesome 23 days.  I could learn to live like this.....

I decided to kill the time I am going to try using the free trolley to get to TriRail to the airport, effectively making my trip $2.25 vs a $30 rideshare.
The trolley stop is located convenient Terminal G, but hiking down from Terminal A would be rough. It's only 77 degrees and windy so it's comfortable out.
To get to the trolley stop there's a building right across from the little gap between Terminals G and F. You cross the street cut through the walkway for that building which houses the police and port safety department.
Random chickens hang out over here.

Then it's just across the street behind that building and up half a block...just to the left of the tree in the left of this photo.

 

Me too🤣🤣

Oh no! I cut DS's ear once, and we are still both a little gun shy around them. DH does his own.
 
It's about 5 hours - we're between Dallas and the Oklahoma border and we stay south of Houston in Clear Lake/Webster. Typically we stay at the Homewood Suites in Clear Lake because they have two bedroom suites for us, but the last couple times they seemed really overdue for a remodel. This time we are staying in the Hilton family but trying the Hampton Inn, just down the road in a 1 bedroom suite. Bedroom has 2 queens, and there is a separate living room and kitchenette for DH in the morning.
 
Yep, #31 comes out in November I think. It is a tad annoying, especially when they threw in Diesel from some other series Evanovich writes. Now she's trying to pick from 3 guys, but only when he's in town?
 
  When I grow up, I want to be like Grandma Mazur! Living off my kids and a give no sh!%s attitude.
 
I got the kids 90% packed this afternoon and had to stop because DH and I had a dance lesson. We just got home and threw the last load of laundry in the wash. We're probably 50-60% there. We don't really need to leave until around noon tomorrow, so I'm not stressing. Since we just did the mini vacation at Great Wolf, we're not going to do anything in Houston this time. We'll just check into the hotel and then go to dinner. There is a mall close to the hotel with a Cheesecake Factory. Right now the plan is to eat there - I have a few gift cards and everyone can just get what they want. 
Time for a glass of wine - we're on vacation!

Nope she still hasn't picked yet.  I love Grandma Mazur too and Lula just makes me laugh🤣 

Newsflash: I did not CocoCay today. Is anyone surprised? 😂
I stayed on the ship and worked. When I finally left my cabin I was greeted with another casino instant certificate..oops 😂
We are late leaving CocoCay because of a medical emergency but the captain assured us we will still make it back to Miami on time.
Saturdays at the Port of Miami are crazy, so that should be fun. I have a late flight home so I can wait out the crush and leisurely make my way to the airport. No plans to do anything to pass the time. I do have a car rental reservation just in case but I most likely will just hang at the airport for hours. Maybe ride TriRail back and forth like an excursion 😂

Ok, we made it to the JW Marriott Marquis.
I booked this with points and they were nice enough to upgrade us to a suite.














 
We don’t have a lot planned tonight other than dinner and bed.  Need to prepare the liver for this week 😉