Step side to side to side.... there's a Star in the middle!! Jan 10-28th

[Ampurp85]

Food picture dump.....

Being super fancy star class, we got shelled edamame

One of our party asked for nothing as her dessert and got nothing. 

There was also a weird yellow/orange moon last night.

We were in cabana 10 for PDCC

[GregD]

@Ampurp85 the plate with "Nothing" has me rolling

[Ampurp85]

This is mostly a picture dump/ 

The first few are of the cabana at PDCC

There are some of the bento boxed food delivery. Our attendant brought us funnel cakes just for the heck of it!

Harmony was docked near Freedom

Lastly this is the room service quesadilla and rigatoni Bolognese

[Ampurp85]

This is the 4bedroom villa. It took all these pictures to get a full view of the room. It is really hard to imagine until you actually get in it. IMHO 14 people would be way too cramped if it was adults and teenagers only.......someone might have to use the hot tub to bath.

I think it was too big for the 4 of us but a sweet spot would be 8-10.  Maybe 4 couples or 2 couples with 3 or less children. The master bedrooms have ensuite bathrooms that have their own thermostat to control the temperature. There are two "fridges/coolers," one in the living room and one in the wet bar on deck, and TVs in each room. Somehow there was 2 remotes for the living room TV. Lots of closet space but be prepared for weird smells as well. Location isn't bad especially since the elevator will put you at the entrance to most hot spots. I think it's a great way, if you can get the room, to try star class at a decent price.

[WAAAYTOOO]

My goodness that was a lot of food !  Hopefully it was all good.

[Volunteer Cruiser]

Did you like the location of your over the water cabana?

[Ampurp85]

The first 5 photos are from room 547 at the Hampton Inn Port Canaveral, which is where I stayed while waiting to board Harmony. 

The remaining 6 are from my current stay at the Hampton Inn Port Canaveral, while I wait to board Mariner. Room 347 has a couch instead of a chair and a queen bed instead of a king, so it looks bigger.

Both had/has a refrigerator, that doesn't work, and a microwave. Housekeeping is by request. 

[Ampurp85]

14 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

My goodness that was a lot of food !  Hopefully it was all good.

So much of it was wasted or eaten by the attacking seagulls......I am a smidge picky and thought the Beach Club food was the "worst" of the bunch. It was the only steak I just took a bite of and was like........no!

[Ampurp85]

6 minutes ago, Volunteer Cruiser said:

Did you like the location of your over the water cabana?

IMHO it was perfect. We were the only cabana on our side to have fish and stingray's it seems. I passed by the others and their swimming and water areas were completely clear. We were at the end, a short walk to the trailer of rest rooms, we could cut across to the Snack Shack if we dared, and our food/drinks were arriving closed to the temperature it should be.

[Ampurp85]

Day 7 continued.....

 

Freedom was docked next to us, and we spent time on the balcony waiting for them to allow us to disembark. Several people on Freedom were mesmerized by the room. We made jokes of doing stuff like getting a 'rona from our wet bar to show how vast our deck was. We didn't but we should have to blow their minds. It was extremely funny because our deck was pretty much at the level of Freedom' pool deck. Oasis class is a beast!

We were quite confused about PDCC. Both the app and planner said we wouldn't be able to get off until 11am and all aboard was at 4:30. That would have been a very short day. At 150 we confirmed with Alexa that we would be able to get off at 10:30am, so the rest of the cabana party would meet us in the room and be escorted off. Side note: I took my test at 7:30 and by 9am I still didn't have results. Me and Michael joked it would ding when I tried to get off at PDCC if something was wrong. Since we docked sort of late for a PDCC day, it was a mad house. Thank God for a Genie. Alexa has the elevator privileges. She had to go down priority in a full one so she could come back in an empty one and get us. But it beats the cluster that was happening. 

Here is where all the advice of star class comes into play. Nobody ever asked for an escort to the trams. I walk everywhere, mostly, so I had no intentions of taking the tram at all and figured if anyone wanted to, they would have told the Genie. If we wanted to use the tram, we would have to wait in line with the "poors."  I had no desire to do that, but I understand that others don't want to walk like me. Different strokes, different folks. Two out of the eight of us were already waiting in the Beach club so Ashley and I walked to the cabanas. We checked in and walked past the day pass holders into our beautiful private oasis. You have seen the pictures posted and justice cannot be done in mere photos.

Reddy was out attendant, and he assured that anything we needed, he would get. Bill and Eva requested a champagne toast, I got a Coco Loco. Plus, the cooler was stocked with basic bare necessities like: "rona, bud light, trulies, coke products and mini bottles of sparkling wine. The selection for the included cooler leaves a lot to be desired. We did the toast and Eva went down the slide. Took videos and photos of the cabana to post. Then she did a bit of snorkeling. Like me, Bill and Eva were from Chicago, very nice people. My only slight gripe is she took photos with people in them without asking if it would be okay to include them in her advertisement......oh yeah, she is a travel agent. I try to avoid that as not everyone wants to be immortalized on the internet, myself included.

Reddy brought us all the apps. The pita bread was amazing, I love a good bread. I don't understand the obsession with truffle but mostly everything came with truffle fries. Since I don't eat any seafood but shrimp, I was limited on entree options. I had heard good things about the steak, so a medium one it is! Now this is just me, but it was the worst steak of the bunch, and the roasted potatoes didn't have any flavor. Most got the steak and a lobster roll. I asked for a side of plain fries and received extra crispy fries doused in truffles.  Our attendant had brought one extra of everything and it sat there going to waste as it was just too much food, even for 8 people.

I ate fries until I was semi-full, and the birds had the rest. A very nice lady in our party started feeding the seagulls because she loves birds. Well, we had an entire flock sitting on our cabana screaming for food. The extra funny part is Eva is afraid of birds; it was her worst nightmare. Two tiny baby birds came and while I shouldn't have, I gave them fries. At this point the seagulls were like "you get what you deserve for feeding us" and started dive bombing the food. They got away with quite a few potato wedges. The lifeguard told us NOT to feed the seagulls. Ashley's mom was like he didn't say don't feed the fish and proceeded to do so for almost the remainder of the stay. it was adorable!

I should mention that while the day started out cloudy and cool. It got sunny and warmer as the day progressed. Also don't judge the bathroom trailers too harshly. The trailer has 5 individual bathrooms, air conditioning and is just as clean as the rest. Reddy got us all of the dessert besides the sorbet. The funnel cake was ruined by tons of caramel and some fudge......but the small parts without it were soft and delicious. The dessert was again way too much for us and the birds tried to get in on that as well.

After lunch, which was close to around 2pm, I received an email saying my results were ready. I tried to click the PDF and it didn't work so I went to the app. The app wouldn't load. I waited another half an hour and the app told me "A representative from the testing center would contact me shortly." Since no one had shown up in hazmat suits I wasn't too worried about being positive......what I was worried about is not having the results to board my next cruise. I sent Alexa a message. She informed me I was negative, but the test site was down fleet wide. She would deliver my results when it came back up. We stayed in the cabana until a little after 4 and then went back to the suite to pack.

I hate packing! But I was done fairly quick. I did a walk around the ship to get pictures of a few areas and enjoy watching Freedom sail away and Jewel pull in to transfer crew. I counted about 13 crew getting off of Harmony and lost count at 41 crew transferring to Harmony. It wasn't a long transition, and nobody had on hazmat suits, so it was fairly smooth. Me and Ashley hit the casino for the last time to play the points we earned. I ended the night up $20. We ordered room service and I have to say that the rigatoni Bolognese wasn't too bad. However, they made the quesadilla with American cheese and the Pico de Gaio cooked inside. 

So, at 9pm I still couldn't get a printout of my test results. Alexa informed me that since it was fleet wide, she would inform Mariner's guest services and port authority of my negative guest results so I could sail. We all had a good laugh, not only at the absurdity of the situation but my luck at testing so far. We went over multiple scenarios but luckily, I had a Genie and when we departed, she had my results in hand.

 

 

[WAAAYTOOO]

American cheese on a quesadilla ?  Ugh

[GregD]

11 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

American cheese on a quesadilla ?  Ugh

That's almost as bad as raisins in apple pie!! Someone really needs to talk with the people that come up with these recipes!! I'm waiting to see what sacrilegious thing they do to ruin one of the dishes in the new Mason Jar

[Ampurp85]

Disembarkation was fast, just like my Indy sailing most of the numbers were called way earlier than anticipated. We were scheduled to leave at 8:30 with our luggage and Genie. Of course, the porter was there before Alexa; I forgot 2 Genies were doing the job of 3 and this was the one time we felt it. The process was smooth, to me, and we were in the car back to the hotel in no time. We hadn't eaten breakfast and I was able to check in and partake of Hampton Inns free breakfast.

I would say that Ashley, her brother and mother are sweet, kind people who I enjoyed. While as a whole our adventure might not have been spicy enough to get picked up for a full season, Ashley's mom would get her own spin-off 

My final thoughts on the middle-leg star class sailing are........

It truly depends on the type of person you are. I could truly go either way. I felt some type of way asking the Genie to do things for me. At the same time, you HAVE to ask the Genie for what you want. I don't like attention and Star class is all attention. I feel uncomfortable when performers can make eye contact with me. Or when the restaurant staff apologize when they see the card. I would do it again with Star-class loving people but not something I would seek as my own. I can't get into the mind frame of asking someone to do something I could easily do for myself. With all the protocols, low capacity, restrictions and lack of shows, it felt overtly bougie.

On Harmony Chops has the better filet, sorry @Lovetocruise2002. CK filet won on Allure, but it was way too salty on Harmony. We also had to make a few trips to the WJ while in star class. .... such sacrilege I know!

 

Up next.......Mariner of the Seas

I had a wonderful 11am check-in time for Mariner but received the dreaded "please arrive 90 min later" email and will catch the 11:15 hotel shuttle. Let's hope for smooth sailing....

[Ampurp85]

Well it was a spectacle boarding mariner......

So boarding time was pushed until 12:30. Those who were pinnacles, in a suite D+  or with a boarding time before noon were allowed to wait in terminal. I took the 11:15 shuttle which was 15min late due to ttraffic. Got there at 11:30 with my test from harmony from Alexa in an envelope, saw my name and negative results and was like cool. As I exited the shuttle I heard cursing. Made my way up to first check point and sounds increased. Guy said  " your a day early" and I was like nope mariner leaves on the 24th. He said " you tested a day too early,  you're going to have to get out of line and test again. " I said I tested the 22nd on Saturday. Dumb letter says I tested the 21st at 8:30. I  was pulled out of line and that's when I heard more. One man was getting quite loud with a port supervisor.  ..... to be continued.

[Ampurp85]

Okay a little bit of a shouting match between a gentleman and a port supervisor was occurring as I waited to speak with him. The supervisor informed me, like me and Ashley discussed, that they had no information from Guest services. There were two couples from Harmony next to me and more on the other side waiting. Both had stayed in suites, not with genies unfortunately, and received the same letter I had. The funny part was that one couple had the correctly dated letter for the husband and not the wife.  The port supervisor went to get in contact with Harmony, but after 10min I decided, I was going to WhatsApp Alexa and get things situated. I was like thank God I had a Genie on the last sailing. I sent a quick message and within 15min I had an actual certificate available on the app. Each couple was fuming, posting to Michael Bailey, the testing place and customer services in general. The man without the properly dated test was very upset because RCG would not allow those of us, with improper test results, to wait inside the terminal.

Inside the terminal was no line. I was solo so they let me do the rest of my check-in at the suites/pinnacle line. Also, side note we had to remove our laptop for Harmony, I didn't have to for Mariner or Indy. It was the same terminal and weird enough most of the same workers as one recognized me because of my hair. Boarding wasn't until 12:30 so I took a seat in the very full waiting area. At that exact time, they call suites and pinnacles. Then D+, then Diamond and people with an 11am boarding time. They asked for social distancing but nobody, but me it seems, adhered to it and because I did, several people cut in front of me that weren't even boarding yet and had to be put to the side. Since it was after 12, I went straight to muster and got that out the way. Then I went to Izumi to make my dinner reservations. Only hibachi requires a reservation at Izumi, sushi is whenever. I then went to Jamie's for lunch, since it is to the left after you enter WJ, I got to see the crowd. Well, I saw the crowd before I entered, and it was pretty much the entire ship   

Jamie's only had one other couple in it when I sat down and only a total of 3 more party's came in during lunch. I will say already I can taste the difference in quality. My arancini was hard, like crunchy like a cracker almost. But my truffle fries were undercooked. The Bolognese was still delicious, just the pasta wasn't as firm as I like. I tried the pavlova, and it was diabetes, only one bite for me. Glad I also got the sorbet, asked for orange and received pineapple but was still delicious. Jon was my waiter, and he was friendly, too friendly because I am solo. I think he kept talking to me because I was eating alone. Room is very nice, with an amazing view. However, it says it can accommodate 4, don't know how, it's just big enough for me. I had water and cookies in my room from C&A. Went to guest services, that's where the LA was on the first day, and got my seapass card changed to reflect my new Diamond status. They clapped for me and gave me my pin. Internet is horrible in my room......don't know if it is because it is the front of ship or what. Good thing I don't have to do any work this week. Only the ice show requires reservations. Will get info later. Will go to Diamond lounge and take stock. 

[Ampurp85]

Diamond lounge is located on deck 14 across from the suite lounge.  It is very small and its packed. As a single person I sat next to a chatty former air force gentleman and the couple from boarding. They informed the concierge they won't be loyal to royal anymore. The port supervisor refused to help resolve anything. They had to get help from shoreside, I belive, said it took 5mins to resolve.....once they got through.

Boarding was delayed because a charter with 2900pax was on the sailing beforehand.  I spoke to another chatty crew member in the diamond lounge who said they played live music with giant speakers everywhere from morning to morning.  It was great sometimes but he needed earplugs......plus they danced everywhere I will get a guest count at some point.

My room is located above the solarium and the music is loud. This sailing seems very full....especially with children. Mask compliance is only about 50% and elevator compliance is nonexistent. Max says 4 or your party. I got on with 3 and 3 got in with no mask and tried to tell 4 more to come in. They claim they didn't know about the 4 rule or masking. I only used the elevator this time because I was coming from deck 5 to deck 14. Will take the stars from now on.

 

[teddy]

I hope this cruise gets better for you from here on out.

[Ampurp85]

4 hours ago, teddy said:

I hope this cruise gets better for you from here on out.

Its always great once I'm just cruising. Testing was the only hiccup....I have no control over protocol compliance.

[Ampurp85]

Day 1 continue.....

I finally figured it out. It seems congested because I am forward. I only ever sail aft. The spacious promenade oceanview cabins are only on deck 12 in the front of the ship. When I went to the aft, it was like a ghost town. After making my earlier stop at the DL, I went to the casino and put in my time until I went to my 8:15 Chops reservation.

Chops was nicely filled while maintaining the appropriate amount of distancing. My server Schubert was from India and told me that I made a good choice, dining there, amongst other things. I had the filet and a few sides. RCG makes horrible mac n cheese across their fleet. However something said to try this one and it was delicious. I can tell it was made with real cheddar. All the waiters were chatty. I have never been chatted up like I have on this cruise and it's only the 1st day.

After dinner I went to my room to charge my phone. Then it was off to the all aboard show. Marc/Mark the CD got on, made a few jokes and introduced the comedian.  He was alright,  mostly dad jokes as it was an all ages event. Marc told us Mariner was selling at 33% capacity,  only 1604 guest to be exact. So it was again almost a one to one ratio of crew to guest.

It has been a long day and I'm tired. I was only able to get 3/4 of my diamond drinks. I plan to do better tomorrow since we are at PDCC. 

 

They have water bottles on this cruise.

Hot food for room service is a charge. It wasn't on Indy.

Johnny Rockets is open 10am to 5pm.

I went to the front desk to get change. The same girl who helped me with my C&A changes was there making jokes, singing Beyonce all the single ladies because I was traveling solo. She told me the loyalty ambassador thought I was cute. We both laughed so hard.

Up next PDCC for the 3rd time.

 

[GregD]

Have a good time on this one as well!! 

[seabird]

How does it feel with so many days cruising?

[Ampurp85]

It looks like at the moment Mariner is the only ship at PDCC.  We were able to disembark a little after 8am and all aboard is at 4:30. I wasn't hungry so I decided to put in a shift at the casino.  It wasn't kind to me. I decided to get off the ship around 10:30.

I fell.

The gangway was using a carpeted covering and the end was wet. I went down on my right knee. I was super embarrassed so I told them I was fine. As soon as I started walking to PDCC, my knee started stinging and by the time I made it past splash away bay my whole right leg was throbbing. I took a seat at the first shaded area and started typing this.

The helium balloon is actually operational.  And it's the first time I saw it rise. The ride is quite short so whether it is worth it will depend on how you assign value.  Zipline is also being utilized. Sun is high and it is about 71 degrees.

[Ampurp85]

1 hour ago, seabird said:

How does it feel with so many days cruising?

I definitely got my sea legs. I just miss my cat

I realize that 3wks would be my cut off, so a world cruise would be out of the question

[WAAAYTOOO]

Did you find some ice to put on your knee ?  Hopefully it's just a temporary minor bump

[Ampurp85]

25 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Did you find some ice to put on your knee ?  Hopefully it's just a temporary minor bump

Yes I am sitting in Skipper Grill's sandy area with a cup of ice on my knee and baby chickens pecking at my toes.  I'm probably going to head back to the ship soon.

[WAAAYTOOO]

7 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Yes I am sitting in Skipper Grill's sandy area with a cup of ice on my knee and baby chickens pecking at my toes.  I'm probably going to head back to the ship soon.

Not sure how much the baby chicks can help but it sure sounds cute !

[Ampurp85]

There were so many cute baby chickens, probably looking for food. I decided to go to the solarium and soak in a hot tub. Nobody is on the ship. It's such a beautiful day.

I love the seagulls at PDCC, they are bold. A family sat down at one of the tables while I was icing my knee. They sat their drinks down to go get food and as soon as they left, the seagulls went in for the kill. A crew member had to get them off the table. I'm pretty sure that seagull is drunk now.

Over 600 C&A members, 51 are pinnacles. That means we have close to a thousand first time cruisers..... making over half the ship newbies. On my way back to the ship I passed a group in awe of PDCC, they were on FaceTime just pure shock. It was so cute how excited they were. I have dinner at Jamie's and a production show later. My only plans besides that will be heading to next cruise when they open to book Wonder.

[Ampurp85]

There were lots of luggage issues, apparently worst than I thought because I got this letter in my room.

[Sweety]

On 12/20/2021 at 8:41 PM, Ampurp85 said:

Let's get some of the backstory out of the way.

 I originally planned, way before covid, to do my first B2B. But Covid happened and I thought, YOLO, I need to be on all of RCG ships at least once before I die. Original plan was a B2B on Mariner Jan 2021, but I had to L&S and so the dates available would put me on Indy. I decided I really loved Mariner, she was my first RCG ship, and wanted to sail her again. I found an itinerary leaving one day later so I booked it: turning my B2B into a S2S. Before all the cancellations and shutdowns, I had planned to make diamond in 2022. That wasn't going to happen but then came along the double points promotion.  I booked Jr. Suites for both sailings with the hope of maybe doing a RoyalUp to GS or higher. This was based off the idea that reduced capacity would be a thing into early 2022. As you can imagine I was excited. A whole new experience, on two different ships in spacious rooms that I have all to myself. My last Mariner sailing was with my ex-friend who booked us an Interior and complained the entire time. She would cry if I tried to leave her and said if I had drinks, it would trigger her. We didn't get off or see most of the shows, she basically was a fun black hole, but she introduced me to RCG. Which lead me to booking more cruises and joining this blog. I lurked here for a while before I began posting. During the shutdown, I read many a blog and found myself wishing I could actually sail star class.

Since I normally travel solo, star class was a bit much for me. I can't imagine the amount of food that would go to waste on just one person. Every other year we do a family vacation, but I still travel at least 2x a year on my own. My family likes to travel but they are very budget friendly. This means if I don't pay for it, it isn't happening. In some respects, it would also be wasted on them because they feel uncomfortable with too much attention. I figured SC was nothing but a fantasy and was content to keep my head in the Sky (dad joke as I sailed sky class this past Oct).  @AshleyDillowas blogging about her SC experience and posted about a SC sailing on Harmony and would anyone like to join her. I joked that I have never been, and she asked if I had plans Jan 16-23. I was sure she was joking but I told her of my S2S and she was like.......girl cancel that and get on the SC train. I laughed it off but she PM'd me and I asked some questions. My first thought was what if they lure unsuspecting folks into SC to quell their murderous lust of throwing people over luxury cruise balconies???? I pushed that crazy thought out of my head when she informed me of the price. For my 5-night Mariner I had the 3n dining package, internet and the refreshment package booked. I did the math, and the cost was only about $140 more. The math is even better because it is a 7n on an oasis class ship. After a quick look up of the room, I was sold. She had booked the 4-bedroom Villa, so even though I will be cruising with a family of new people I haven't met IRL......I still have my own room and bathroom. It will be just like college. Once her wonderful TA, Beth of MEI, added me to the booking, I cancelled my Mariner Jan 15th cruise. I was a bit sad about it but about a week later I was informed I would be WFH until the end of 2022. I decide to add an interior on Mariner leaving on the 24th.  This turned my S2S into a S2S2S. That's 3 different ships in three different classes.

Itinerary:

Independence of the seas Jan 10-14th

Ports: PDCC and Nassau

Room: Jr. Suite #1364

Harmony of the Seas Jan 16-23rd

Ports: San Juan, Puerto Rico; Charlotte Amalie, St, Thomas; PDCC

Room: 4-Bedroom Villa #12640

Mariner of the seas Jan 24-28th

Ports: PDCC and Nassau

Room: Interior #9377

Hotel stays: Hampton Inn & Suites Cape Canaveral Cruise Port, Cape Canaveral Jan 14-16th and 23-24th

As you can see, I have a 2-day break in between the first cruise and a 1-day break between the second and third. I booked the same hotel for both breaks.  It was also fortuitous that @AshleyDillo was staying at the same one. I have the earliest check-in time possible for all cruises. Originally, I was flying in the night before and staying at the Doubletree by Hilton. Unfortunately, a coworker lost someone recently and had to take time off. I have been helping my friend on the weekends with his restaurant and I am schedule to work on the 9th. Flights have been constantly changed and rearranged and now I have to fly in the day of. I am booked through Air2Sea on the first AA flight from ORD to MCO. Last time we used the shuttled and hated it, so I will be taking a Lyft from the airport to the ship. For a while they were out of the Binax kits, so I searched for a testing site close to me that worked with my schedule. I found one and have 2 appointments scheduled for Sat Jan 8th and 2 backups on Sun the 9th. It still states that RCG will test you as long as you are sailing within 3 days with them under the protocols, so that is my plan. 

Last blog I was bad about the pictures, I am camera shy, but I will try to do better this time. I set sail in T-minus 21 days......feel free to ask me anything!

 

I love your Style.

[Ampurp85]

After a nice soak, in the very empty solarium. I treated myself to a JR milkshake. They have the cookies and cream flavor on this ship, Harmony was out. JR was completely empty inside and out. I just know everyone was enjoying their time in PDCC. I decide to sit in one of the beds in the solarium and read. All aboard happened and we sailed off to our next destination.

Dinner was at Jamie's. I got there at 7:35 for my 7:45 reservation and they were packed. I had to wait a bit as all the tables but the socially distanced ones, were full. I got sat and pulled out my kindle. I was engrossed in reading which is why I hadn't notice my server was "late." He apologized profusely and I assured him it was fine. I knew what I wanted and tried to order but he wouldn't let me.

He came back around 10min later. I only know because kindle tells you how long it takes to read a chapter. I ordered the garlicky prawns and garlic bread, in for a penny, in for a pound. I also planned to use my diamond drinks for 2 glasses of Moscato. I got one right before my appetizers. I enjoyed my prawns but the bread was hard for some reason.  Entree took awhile but I had ordered my second glass, no biggie. I got half Caesar, no dressing, and the chianti braised short rib. My salad and short rib had onions, even though I said none. I picked them off and didn't like the short rib one bit. My server came and I got a half order of pasta instead. It was much better than lunch, pasta had a firmer texture. I was through with my pasta when I finally got my glass of wine. I had pineapple sorbet and was only charged for 1 glass.

I walked around, they were playing Venom 2 on deck 11. A nice amount of people were watching, wrapped in pool towels to keep warm. I popped in on the entertainment being offered around the ship and couldn't find my groove. I don't dance but certain music calls to me. The 10:15 show was a band playing different tunes. I stayed 15min and went back to my room and went to bed.

I am zero for two on getting all my diamond drinks. When I went to the casino,  they didn't charge me at all and then my waiter for the show was the chatty nice guy from the diamond lounge  who also didn't charge me. So my peak has been 2 drinks. I am determined to use them all at least 1 day. We docked in Nassau before 8am and leave after 8pm. The most basic port has the longest day. Its worse because that means a closed casino until 9pm....boohoo!

I wake up pretty early, often, but decided to hit the Windjammer for breakfast around 10am. It was a madhouse, I guess everyone had the same idea. The lines for carbs and omelets were ridiculous.  I had to walk almost around the whole place to fine a clean table. By the time I got my juice and milk, more tables had opened up. I heard several people talking about getting off and going to Atlantis. I finished my breakfast and headed to the solarium, to stake my good reading spot. That wasn't happening today. Every bed was full and taking into account social distancing, so we're the chairs. There was too much sun on deck 12 so I found a chair bed in-between 2 couples who were also reading. It's looking like most people have decided not to go to port.

[Cruisin and Boozin]

Yum the food pics look sooo good!

[Ampurp85]

My leg, that I fell on, feels like I worked it too hard. So I decided to limit my walking, especially since I insist on taking the stairs .  I got through my latest novel and a nap, all by a little after 3pm. I haven't had Playmakers so thats where lunch will be. With the UDP you get a $20 credit, which seems like not enough. But let me tell you, it's a lot. I ordered the playmaker burger, cornflakes chicken strips, and a knockout punch......$13. I thought the strips came alone but they come with fries too. I was able to do a decent chunk of the burger but only 1 strip and not even dent the fries. So ideally 2 people could go and try most of the menu. I was too full to get dessert but will go after my Chops dinner to try one.

I have a full house of shows to day. At 7pm I am seeing Goddess, who I believe was a contestant on the Voice. She is Phillipino and will pay tribute to women in music. I have dinner at 7:45, so I will miss the end. At 10:15 is the ice show and the comedian at 11. I am determined to get all my drinks, at the moment I am 1/4 but with dinner and two shows later, it shouldn't be a problem.

There were 3 other ships with us in Nassau.  RCG Freedom,  Disney Dream and the Carnival Liberty.  Most weren't in port as long as we are. It's dress you best and many of the little girls have on the cute dresses. The rest of the ship seems to be business casual to frat party in attire.

[Yesiamthere]

I really, really want a Johnny Rockets milkshake now!  

[Ampurp85]

Goddess was very good. I was sad to have to leave early as she really does have the vocals. Her band was very talented as well. It was fairly empty but around 15min into the show a lot of people joined us. I left her belting out Whitney Houstons "I will always love you" and headed to Chops.  Full dining room. Sat close to a couple who had been on the chartered beforehand.  Said it was 3 nights nonstop EDM DJs. They got no sleep and everyone had the drink package.

 

As we were leaving the captain got on to inform us a small number of crew have tested positive during their routine training exercises.  They have been quarantined, so no need for the guest to worry. This is what grinds my gears about guest who shirk the protocols.

[ellcee]

What books are you reading? I know it's a sort of weird question for a blog but you mention it and I'm curious. I read a ton and vacations are my favorite for reading - besides all of the obvious cruise things.

[Fairlynew]

I may be almost as sad as you are that your adventure is coming to an end.   I have thoroughly enjoyed “accompanying” you vicariously.   You have truly made me feel like a part of your journey.   Thank you. 
 

I am also an avid reader and I am always looking for new books so I would also be interested in your book choices.  

[Ampurp85]

@ellceeI am currently reading the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. There are eleven books in the series and I'm on eleven. I started them on my Oct cruise, and with work, I was only able to get through the first five. I didn't read much on my star class sailing. But between Indy and my hotel stays, I started Mariner on book ten. With today being a sea day and my flight after 2pm, I should be finished with the series. Like my cruise, I am sad to see it come to an end.

 

@Fairlynew I love most urban fiction. Something with lore and possibly supernatural creatures involved. I get enough of the real world, take me away.

Also thanks for following along. I love living vicariously through others as well. After I disembark tomorrow I won't be stepping on a cruise ship again until Oct.  It will be a very sad ten months.

[Ampurp85]

I didn't get all my drinks. I would have but I was "brought" a drink while at Chops. Then I only had 1 at the ice show and left early from the comedy so I forgot.  I attempted to sleep in, but ended up at the Windjammer for breakfast a little after 9am. Two ladies asked if I was eating breakfast alone. I said yes, so they invited me to join them.

They were actually 3 sisters;  Callie,Emily and Natalie,  who took this cruise as a 40th birthday gift to Callie.  They were shocked I was alone and that I remembered their names after introduction.  They invited me to join them for the rest of their day. I said I would hang for a bit. I watched two of them rock climb and then do the Skypad bungee thing while I played on one of the hammocks. We then did Friends trivia, our team got 13/15, were I met Lauren and Walt. I then went to the art auction because it is funny to see people bid on not real art. I left early to the slots tournament.  It was a $25 buy-in with a $20 re-up if you didn't place in the top 6. I gambled some,  I shouldn't have, and watched some people fight over a machine.

I saw Lauren and Walt on my way to pack and we chatted for an hour. Their names sound old but they're in their early 20s. They were super impressed with Mariner and I showed them pictures of Allure and Harmony,  they made an appointment with next cruise to book a bigger ship. I packed and tried, very unsuccessfully,  to reply to a couple of emails. Everyone I have talked to says they are having internet issues.

Tonight is Izumi and several more shows.

Oh I almost fell again.  Some little boy was taking the social distancing feet mats and placing them randomly. I was engrossed in watching him do it, that I tripped over a newly but wrong placed one. Thankfully I had a table to catch me. A few more crew members tested positive,  so there were a lot of self service in the Windjammer today. Hence a child being able to move things around while the parents drank bloody Mary's.

 

[ellcee]

21 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I get enough of the real world, take me away.

This is exactly what I tell people when they try to recommended anything not fiction.

[Ampurp85]

I ended up pretty tanned talking to Lauren while Walt did the flowrider. With the bad weather, mid talk, her flight was canceled. Luckily she didn't have to return to work until Monday. I went back to the room and packed, I knew I would be out later than the 10pm bag drop. Around a little after 6pm I went down to catch Gallery of Dreams. I had seen this on my first Mariner sailing and was excited to experience it again.

As has been the constant with all the shows, it started late and the sound was horrible.  The main guy couldn't carry a tune to save his life and it really took away from how amazing the lead women voices were. There was no blending of harmonies. I left halfway as it got worse as the medley of songs went on. Dinner was originally supposed to be 8:30 hibachi but I changed it because I was originally going to the production show at 9:15. The show was added after PDCC so most dinner plans were already set.

Izumi on mariner is really popping for hibachi, not so much sushi. Keep in mind that their prefix menu says 1 starter, 2 mains and a dessert. With the UDP its the $35 credit, which isnt the same. I got the vegetable fried rice, chicken kaarage and shrimp tempura. Also the Japanese strawberry is my favorite drink on any ship. It's very funny, even though I start out eating alone, either someone asks me to join them or start including me in the dinner if they are next to me. I really only ate my 2 JR lunches alone.

After I ordered my meal, a family doing hibachi sent for me. There were about 7, from either Brooklyn or the Bronx. It was 2 cousins, their adult children and spouses. They were themed in dress each night: they did all white, 1920 flappers, 80s and all black. We chatted about how similar our states are while the hibachi chef started making his noise. Two of the seven were celebrating birthdays and I realized I saw them at the slots tournament. The chef sang happy birthday and did his hibachi thing.

My plan was to catch Adult Majority rules and karaoke as I have never seen it on a RCG ship. Hibachi was going long so at 8:50 I excused myself. Went to the bathroom and just barely found a seat. Everyone I had met was at this game show and we split off into the teams required. We got 7/9 but weren't the winners. Oddly enough it was the family who brought ther 11/12 old child, with food, to an 18 + show. Eventually they took him out but not before he heard some things.  Little caveat, that show was explicit.  Not just the questions but it was full of uninhibited drunks. I went to the bar to get diamond drink #3 and this guy kept telling me about his nether regions. The prize was water bottles.

We stay through to karaoke....Walt was going to sing. I think they allow for maybe 12 singers each session. The first girl was pretty bad, then 2 older people got up and sang really old songs. There was a girl who sounded like Adele with a sniffle while singing Adele.  She was the best. Poor Walt was nervous and a woman got up to assist him.....it put him on key. They ended up making room for Tim because it was his birthday.  He sung "Baby Got Back"......also he looked just like Riff Raff. A white dude with braids and tomfoolery. I saw him several times and he always had a bud light. He made sure to let us know he was traveling with his mom and that wasn't his wife. My favorite was this super drunk guy who wanted to sing the "Thong song" but was too drunk to sign up properly.  He kept running down and dancing to each song. At one point his shirt was off and being waved around. His wife had to come get him off the floor twice.

After karaoke they had Latin music. So we parted ways and I head to Cafe promenade for a few slices of pizza. If you don't know, mariner doesn't has a Sorrento's.  They server pizza at the Cafe. The selection had varied but it carnivore, cheese, veggies and pepperoni.  The dessert were pretty basic. I went back to my room and finished packing my carry-on. All the luggage were  still in the hallway closed to midnight. I selected the very last departure as my flight was after 3pm. Breakfast was a mess at 8am so I took my food back to the room to eat. With so few people disembarkation took shorter than anticipated.  My luggage tag 40 was called at 8:40 and not 9am or 9:15 as requested.  I was planning to leave at 8:45 anyway but a few minutes before that my room steward let himself in my room. It was weird. It took another maybe 10min to get through customs and by 9am I was waiting for my ride to the airport.

I booked my flight through Air2Sea, they don't book before noon, so my flight was much later in the day. I decided to book GoPort to transfer to the airport,  figuring it would kill some time. Lots of people were upset because they had been waiting since 8am and it arrived closed to 9:30. We got to the airport an hour later. I have access to lounges with my credit card so I figured I will kill the time there. Nope.  I was too early and would have to access security again. I have pre check but MCO is a mess. I found a nice seat, took out my laptop and knocked this post and a few emails while I waited.

I will give my final thoughts later.