Plenty of Grandeur after Oasis: Jan 15th-22nd, 22nd-27th, 2023

[Ampurp85]

Since today is a bit of a slow workday I thought I would get this thing started.

T-Minus 20 days.........

The pre-stuff might be a little longwinded as a lot of changes and stuff have occurred.

I originally booked 2 cruises in 2021 while I was on Allure with my family. My ultimate goal is to sail all the classes and in all the cabin types. Ports aren't ever in the forefront of my mind, even if I was doing the Med, I wouldn't really care where I went. I had booked Freedom and Oasis because I hadn't sailed either. In Jan I lucked up and did a S2S2S: I sailed in a JS on Indy, the 4br Villa on Harmony and a Spacious Panoramic Ocean View on Mariner. When I booked Oasis, it was originally chartered, and I changed my sailing dates to reflect that. The non-chartered sailing had nothing but balconies and interiors available, so I booked a balcony and moved my Freedom sailing around. After I completed my Jan sailings, I made diamond and then found out I was mere points away from making prime, so I booked a 2day sailing on Freedom in February to complete the goal. I had a prime cruise coming and decided since I had already sailed Freedom, I needed to look for another ship. I had earned a prime cruise, and some offers for free sailings. In order to take advantage of the free cruise offers I figured I would have to cancel both of these. Since I had booked at Next Cruise, I would only be looking at a loss of about $400.

Thankfully many people on the blog informed me that I could apply my annual prime cruise to an already booked cruise. I primarily cruise solo, so I opted to go down to the interior on Oasis in lieu of spending the extra money, at the time it was almost $800, to keep the balcony. I decided I would rather eat the cost and change my Freedom sailing. I instead booked Grandeur in a GS; I was very luck as my TA at the time was able to do this without incurring any fees......I was booked under the pandemic CWC policy. I booked the GS on Grandeur because my mother intended to sail with me. Me sailing solo on Oasis and in a suite on Grandeur would mean at the end of these sailings I would be D+. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case.

My mother decided, right around final payment, she would rather take a "vintages" trip. My mother, two of her best friends, and my BFF's mother were all planning on going to Vegas in Jan.  I was now also going solo on my Grandeur sailing. Lots of people kept telling me the cost for my suite on Vision class was not worth it, so I decide to downgrade to an interior and make final payment. Right after that my brother informed me, he would actually have some vacation time and wanted to tag along on either of the sailings. I figured the Oasis sailing would be better because we could get the UDP and live our best lives. I added him and he said not to bother getting a "better" room, he would rather eat and drink with his money. Plus, he was barely in the room on the last sailing. I realized that now I would be 3 point short from making D+ after these sailings and tried hard to upgrade my Grandeur sailing back to at least a JS. At this point everything but interiors and balconies were sold out. I thought about upgrading the Oasis but at that point a JS was going for $3200/pax, it would have been a $2900 upgrade......which is really the cost for a whole other sailing. We had the UDP, so the possibility of dining at CK wasn't a real draw. Plus, I booked the inaugural Icon sailing, so I can't be spending frivolous money on underused suites.

I knew I wanted the UDP for my Oasis sailing and I was hoping to get a 3N package for Grandeur. I was actually able to snag the UDP for both my brother and I at only $245. The current price for most 7n sailings is between $250-300+grats. During the Black Friday sale, it was still only $233+ grats. Check-in for my cruises opened on December 1st and the 8th and I was able to snag the 10:30am check-in time for both. On Dec 2nd, which was 44 days before sailing, the entertainment for Oasis opened up and I was able to reserve 4 show times. This is my first ship-to-ship sailing: I have done a B2B and a S2S, all that is left is a line to line. 

Current plan:

Originally, I was going to be a good girl: I couldn't fly out until after 5pm on Sat the 14th.  I found a flight that left at 9:12pm and they cancelled it. No biggie, I found an 8:36pm flight and it was cancelled. The main reason because they changed their flight loads. So, I stay committing the cardinal sin, I was leaving on an AA 5am flight that got in Miami at 9am the day of the cruise. They later added an 8:25pm flight but it cost almost double, which made no financial sense as I would be paying more for a ticket plus the cost of a barely used hotel. A month later I no longer had a 1pm doctor's appointment. I could actually leave the day before but now my brother was coming. When it comes to things like airline tickets, my brother is cheap. We switched from AA to SWA and will now be leaving at 11:50am on Sat the 14th. I purchased business class tickets, I am laughing as I type this, it basically means I board after all the wheelchair folks and in that first 15 of group A.

We will do one night at........

Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Miami Airport West/Doral
8051 NW 36th Street Doral FL 33166 US

I have stayed in hotels by Marriot, so hopefully this one is up to standards.

Oasis of the Seas Jan 15- Jan 22

Ports, we plan to just get off and walk around. We had the water park booked at PDCC but we thought about children and changed our mind.

1. MIAMI, FLORIDA
2. PERFECT DAY AT COCOCAY
3. COZUMEL, MEXICO
4. ROATAN, HONDURAS
5. PUERTO COSTA MAYA, MEXICO

Room: Interior 10673, on deck 10

Day 2. Aqua 80 at 7pm

Day 3. Adult comedy show at 11:30pm

Day 5. Frozen in Time 7pm

Day 7. cats at 3:30pm

Day 7. The Escape room, Mission Control: Apollo 18 at 5:30pm (to wake us up if Cats is a bad as people say)

We have the UDP, the Soda/Voom package, and a case of water. My brother wants to see if he can survive on D drinks including the DL coffee machine. We like to eat dinner around 8, so hopefully we have no problem getting any of the times we want since we will be some of the first non-suite, non-Key pax on board. 

My brother can only attend one sailing so he has a 3:30 flight back to Chi. My original plan was to have my TA make a note that this was part of a ship-to-ship sailing. But he retired back in the beginning of November. The one I was transferred to wasn't responsive and my current one says Royal doesn't facilitate any transportation to other terminals. I have every faith when I board Oasis, guest service will be able to assist me with the transfer.

Grandeur of the seas Jan 22- Jan 27

Ports. I have no plans to even leave the ship. I was very disappointed in Labadee, and we aren't in Key West long enough for me to bother.

1. MIAMI, FLORIDA
2. KEY WEST, FLORIDA
3. LABADEE, HAITI

Room: Interior 8077, on deck 8

This is an older class of ship; I probably will feel the crowds. I have the soda/Voom package, and I purchased individual lunches and dinners. I am not a huge enough fan of Chops and Grandeur only has three specialty restaurants including that one. So, Chops+1 or the UDP at $185 on sale wasn't worth it. I booked Chops for embarkment day lunch, dinner at Izumi (day 4) and Giovanni's (day 2) a la carte. I am about 500pt shy of prime for next year and plan to use this ship to reach that goal. The cost of one lunch, two dinners and my Soda/Voom package combined is the current cost of the UDP on Grandeur. I am actually pretty excited to sail her as this class will be the smallest and oldest one, I have ever sailed. 

This will be a lot of first for me as I have never sailed either ship, never sailed with my brother alone and never tried vision class. It will also be the longest I wait to cruise again, as my next one is almost 300 days away.

 

 

[JohnK6404]

We loved Oasis!  Have an amazing time on Grandeur too!

We'll be following as we're disembarking () Wonder the day you board Oasis!

[Ampurp85]

11 days to go......

I packed my luggage. Since I am doing two cruises for 12 days in total, I knew I would have to pack a checked bag. This works out as we plan to take two bottles of wine, not everyone carries what we like, and my brother can put his wine in my luggage. We will check one bag and each of us will have a carry-on and personal bag. I brought new packing cubes, the compression kind in hopes of making it easier to only do a carry-on in the future. I hate waiting for bags at the airport.

They compress pretty well but I am worried that they may cause a lot of wrinkles, we will see. I have my wrinkle release spray. The hard part will be packing my carry-on. We have 4 port days on the Oasis cruise and my brother plans for us to get off at each one. That means lots of comfortable shorts and moisture wicking attire, plus my regular clothes.  Right now, I am trying to decide if I want to do another rolled luggage and my weekender or the weekender and a backpack. 

Since I sail solo and often book the room I want, I don't normally participate in RU. I did it once during the restart and won my bid, on the minimum. I was mostly unhappy with the room because it was forward. I had picked out a perfect interior on deck 10, aft and my brother was okay with it. I got the RU offers literally the day after I checked in. At the time to upgrade for an OVB was $320pp and a neighborhood balcony was $160pp. The OVB was too expensive and neither I nor my brother really like the neighborhood balconies or interiors to bid over a certain amount. I did see an option for a spacious interior and put in the bid for that. After a bit of talking, we decided the location was too great for what we wanted so I went in today and cancelled my bid.

On a whim I decided to see what I could bid on now and low and behold they had OVB at 80% off. The minimum bid was only $70pp!!! I was like a balcony would be more spacious so let me put in a min bid. I was working when I got an alert from my credit card, I was now OVB #8662. So you can win a RUB with a minimum bid. I usually like deck 8-10 because there are only a few flights between my most used locations, and I don't have to take the elevators. This is actually a primo location, on deck 8 and by all the central park specialty restaurants. Although it is midship it is actually closer to aft and right by an elevator. I am amazed I won, I'm now 2/2 on my RUB. 

As long as there is no SWA tomfoolery, this is shaping up to be a wonderful cruise/vacation.......I also endeavor to be a smidge like @Neesa and let all the positive vibes in while still maintaining my honest approach to things. 

[Xaa]

Subscribed.

Be more like @Neesais my new traveling motto, but I do count on you for unfiltered reality.  I can see how some might view your takes as negative, but I've never taken that from you.  Simply revealing the less desirable aspects of things isn't in itself a complaint about them.  Things can be imperfect and still pretty great.  Always look forward to reading about your trips.

[Neesa]

Yay! Another @Ampurp85adventure, following along and looking forward to it! Thanks for taking us along.

[FireFishII]

On 12/26/2022 at 9:30 PM, Ampurp85 said:

Ports, we plan to just get off and walk around. We had the water park booked at PDCC but we thought about children and changed our mind.

If you are into water parks, I would have kept your booking.  I don't think you will have many kids on your cruise since schools will be in session.  

I can't wait to read your blog.  Thanks for taking us long. 

[Yesiamthere6]

Looking forward to your blog. Loved your last one!  Girl, if you were 20 years older we would be best buddies. 

[Ampurp85]

2 hours ago, Yesiamthere6 said:

Looking forward to your blog. Loved your last one!  Girl, if you were 20 years older we would be best buddies. 

My family says I have been an adult since I was five, so on a maturity level I am definitely a "vintage" of 50+

[asquared17]

yessssss following!!!!!

[Ampurp85]

5 Days to go......

At noon tomorrow I will officially be done with work for at least a whole week. Sometime after the 18th I will have to log into Teams or Zoom for an hour or two, but I am okay with that. My brother's workweek ends on Thurs, and he will be busy Friday trying to pack and get a haircut. Jan is our slow month and 6/8 of the employees will be on a cruise. Three will be on the Jan 14th Symphony sailing, one will be on Explorer the same day as my Oasis sailing, and the last will be on the 11N Anthem. We have been talking about cruising pretty much nonstop since the new year came in. All have cruised before but all, but one is new to Royal. 

I am very lucky to still have a living grandparent who is mostly in her right mind. She begged to keep my sweet fur baby and I dropped her off today before work. This means I can repack my luggage perfectly. We already have our Lyft scheduled and flights have been going out on time. It is also close to 50 degrees outside, which mean we will leave with nice weather and probably come back to something horrible.

The vintages were supposed to be leaving for Las Vegas on Friday, but half have come down with covid. My mother isn't sick, but her boyfriend fell, and she would rather not go any place now. Bff's mom wanted to go on my Grandeur cruise, but it has been sold out for a while in anything above interior and she needs a balcony. She is currently trying to plan something else. CP is having a "sale", but nothing is as cheap as I got it during black Friday. 

 

[Maggie M]

Oh no! So sorry to hear that they are sick! I hope you can still have an amazing time and I look forward to your blog!

[Ampurp85]

2 Days....well 1 day and a half.

Luggage tags and setsail passes have been printed, we also did our wellness check. Lots of people around us have Covid so we took test to be on the safe side. We checked in for our flight this morning, I didn't have to because I am business class. My position is A14 on SWA and my brothers is B45, which is mad odd. He literally checked in right as check-in opened, my only thought is a lot of people must have purchased Earlybird. Other than a few minutes of delays, all of my coworkers who are cruising have made it safely to their departure destinations.  We have packed and at this time of night we are trying to wind down, but you know how you are anxious whenever you are looking forward to something. I am tired but I doubt I will get much sleep.

 

 

[Ampurp85]

1 Day to go.....

Today is travel day, my brother and I will be heading out around 8am to get to the airport. It is currently 24 degrees in Chicago, and it should be in the 70s when we get to Miami.

Fun Fact, I have never flown on a Saturday before. I am heading to the airport a little earlier just because I don't know what to expect. With work I always leave on a weekday and with international travel I leave on a Sunday evening. 

[wordell1]

25 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

1 Day to go.....

Today is travel day, my brother and I will be heading out around 8am to get to the airport. It is currently 24 degrees in Chicago, and it should be in the 70s when we get to Miami.

Fun Fact, I have never flown on a Saturday before. I am heading to the airport a little earlier just because I don't know what to expect. With work I always leave on a weekday and with international travel I leave on a Sunday evening. 

Traveling is always a challenge these days.  Hopefully everything runs smoothly today!

[MLH]

On 12/26/2022 at 9:30 PM, Ampurp85 said:

 

Thankfully many people on the blog informed me that I could apply my annual prime cruise to an already booked cruise. I

i did not know this. Thank you so very much!  

[FireFishII]

16 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

My position is A14 on SWA and my brothers is B45, which is mad odd.

Your brother's low number could also be due to people transferring onto your flight from an earlier flight. Therefore, they checked in earlier for their first flight. 

[Ampurp85]

Flight was early but completely booked. We boarded exactly on time and landed 30min early. I had some great people watching. I will update more after we get to hotel. Been waiting awhile for luggage.

[Ampurp85]

So weirdly enough the airport was super empty, but our flight was fully booked. Lots of college students going back school, families taking vacations to Key West, and people like us heading out for a cruise. We were originally sitting across from some college students and a family heading out on Royal on Monday, we talked a bit about PDCC. A couple sat towards the end, and they were chatting with us about Chicago. A family came and sat across from them, they had brought two containers of chicken strips and waffle fries. The wife of the couple at the end kept saying loudly, "omg I am so hungry, those chicken strips smell so good!" She also kept saying the little girl won't finish her strips. She was dry begging so hard; the dad was like well here and she was like make sure you give me the sauce too. As she started to eat the strips, she was still begging for more of this family's food; they had donuts and Garrett's popcorn. She then said I really shouldn't be eating this as I will be eating a lot on my vacation. The family heading out on Royal, whispered I bet their cruise is on CCL, they cater to the "ratchets." Sure, enough they were on CCL, she was clearly a "vintage", but she had long, overly bejeweled nails. The lady's husband said her $100+ nails was probably why she couldn't afford food at the airport. I said she probably is always dry begging and that's how she can afford her nails. Her husband sat next to my brother on the flight and slept the whole way through, with drool. I like the aisle and my brother likes the middle seat, total weirdo I know. The dry-begging wife sat behind us next to a family of 5 and begged. The family had Home Run Inn pizza and of course she had a slice. 

We landed early but the SWA baggage claim is for all the SWA flights, so we waited awhile for our bags. The Fairfield Inn has a hotel shuttle. We called and they said 15min, but it was full, and they skipped our stop. We were told another 30min and again it was full, after an hour we just called a Lyft. It was 5pm and we were starving. We made it the hotel and had a nice room with a view of the parking lot. Room was clean and smelled like Lysol. The host gave us bottled water and chips because we couldn't get on the shuttle. It was a very nice gesture. We walked two blocks to the Fresh market. We purchased wine, brussels sprouts, mac and cheese, asiago ciabatta, and garlic parmesan roasted potatoes. All the food was hot but it is only 55 degrees in Miami right now. Thank sweet baby Jesus our room has a microwave and small fridge. We are full and tired, so after more showers we will just get in bed and watch Diners, Dives and Drive-in.

The hotel offers breakfast and shuttles, but we will just catch a Lyft. Other than the colder than expected weather, it was a pretty chill and easy travel day. Can't wait to get on Oasis tomorrow. We plan to do lunch at Giovanni's. 

[Ampurp85]

Its cruise day!!!!

Some time during the night my brother turned on the heat. I can't sleep when it is too hot so I basically have been up since 5am. My brother is very excited, he never gets to vacation in Jan and rarely gets to cruise/vacation with just the two of us. It is only 50 degrees so we dressed in our longest, warmest clothes.

The hotel has a included hot breakfast, but we just got juices and muffins because we want to save our appetite for the ship. I am repacking my luggage and carry on to include the wine. We plan to get our Lyft around 9:30 heading to the port.

[USCG Teacher]

Enjoying following along, have a fantastic trip!

[AshleyDillo]

I am waving to you from Terminal G!

[Ampurp85]

@AshleyDillo are you on explorer or Grandeur? I will be in terminal G after this.

[Ampurp85]

Thanks for all the well wishes.

This was an easy embarkation and I got all the restaurant times I wanted. I am currently sitting in Giovanni's. Staff is friendly and people are being their usual trifling selves.

We got to the port around 10am. There was a huge line. Lots of people in the suite and Key line had to get out because they were in wrong line. Around 10:15 they called for 10:30 and we bypassed most of the people because tons had much later times. It was less than 5min to get to waiting area. Lots of B2Bs so we didn't start boarding until 10:45. Went right to eMuster and then to book our specialty dining while we waited for Giovanni's to open. Several guest stole the Coke cups while we waited to check in and get ours. Two pax got into some sort of tussle and dropped their wine and it burst everywhere. Staff escorted them somewhere. We took pictures and then took a tour of the Vitality Spa. The thermal pass is $119 for the length of the cruise.

My brother is super happy and has already committed to another cruise with me. We are enjoying a glass of shiraz and glass of Moscato, people watching. Everyone has on coats and keep asking where ours is.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

Really enjoying your blog so far.  Hope you have the best weather ever!  Looking forward to reading all about your trip and especially about your brother’s excitement!

[Ampurp85]

So internet is bad. I wanted to see if I could do wifi calling and it won't work. Thankfully I'm in port so I can check in on my fur baby with cellular data. The rooms opened up at 1 on the dot and we found our luggage about 15 doors down. We came up from the aft and saw them. Boarding early plus tipping the porters means fast luggage.

The room is hot because it is directly in a sun spot, we thought Miami weather had improved, the joke was on us. Nice layout, we decided my brother will get bed and I will have couch made up. There is 5 outlets and a European one, one is behind the bed. Giovanni's was good but desserts left a little bit to be desired if you know what I mean. We do have our C&A cookies, which thankfully are wrapped in cling foil. We changed, showered and plan to walk the rest of the ship until sailaway. I have done casino recon, my machines have been picked. Got first D drink and no signing for anything. I have seen a significant amount of children.

[AshleyDillo]

5 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

@AshleyDillo are you on explorer or Grandeur? I will be in terminal G after this.

Explorer, 6 nighter.  Terminal G has nothing on Terminal A..but the embarkation process was super smooth and I never encountered a line outside of about 20 people ahead of me at security.

[Ampurp85]

So many children that we had a hard time getting pictures on deck 15. Also so many people who just cough. No covering of mouth, just coughing in the air. It's weird right???

At 4:19 there was still like 500 pax who hadn't completed eMuster. We sailed away past 5pm and we watched from our balcony, the people next to us were screaming something about the Bills. I don't know if they are in the footyball........????

There is a liquor tasting around 7, my brother will make an appearance while I play at the casino until dinner. He had second lunch at El Loco Fresh and said a lady just took one of his tables, didn't ask. Also people keep assuming we are a couple,  then flirting hard when they find out we are siblings. The ship is moving fast and I can feel the rocking.

[asquared17]

wait i’m sorry i’m gonna need a MOMENT to get through this chicken strip experience. 

I CANT 

[Ampurp85]

I went to the casino had a good run. It was so crowded, the guy next to me was playing $6 hands and hit $3200. I played my free play, $58 in total, for about an hour, left with $6 and 200pts. But I haven't spent anything yet, tomorrow the casino is open all day at PDCC. My brother turned his $8 in free play into $23 and cashed out lol.  He almost tripled his money so he said he will play that all the rest week. He said the liquor tasting was a mess. It was some drunk girls just bumping into people and fondling them. As soon as he was touched he joined me in the casino. The lady next to me hit $500 and offered to buy my brother a drink, I think she was flirting.

Dinner was at 150CP and of course that bread. My brother can eat, he is tall and skinny with high metabolism. He ate two and a half breads. Plus 2 apps and the lobster Thermador, which actually taste like a sausage pizza thanks to the seasoning. We each had the garden martini and finally got charged for diamond drinks with a receipt.

I was tired so I went back to the room and my brother went to get coffee from Cafe promenade and returned with 4 slices of pizza.

[FireFishII]

16 hours ago, asquared17 said:

wait i’m sorry i’m gonna need a MOMENT to get through this chicken strip experience. 

I CANT 

 I mean, right!!  I couldn't stop laughing about it.  If I was the person with the chicken strips - I would just tell the beggar where she could go.  And I don't mean where she could go to get the chicken strips.    But that is just me. LOL!

[Ampurp85]

Day 2 PDCC

Oh the scandal!!!!

First I slept pretty weird on the double sofa bed. The dent in it makes it impossible to get really comfortable. I slept more than I normally do and woke up around 7am. I decided to try to put in some work and make prime. So I showered, got dressed and headed to the DL. Nobody was in there at 8:24 when I came in. I got a hot tea, some orange juice and a croissant. I then made my way to the casino.

I played for over 2hrs and I won a lot and then lost it all because I was trying to get my points. It was hardly anyone in there so I had my pick of the machines and could avoid all the smoke. I shuffled between two or three machines and I made my prime goal. But oooooh let me tell you guys the scandal of it all.....

So I was playing next to this couple. They were kissing and she was sitting on his lap, she was playing, screaming, and bouncing each time she so much as hit a penny. I was on a bonus round and I saw a guy rushing our way, he yelled out "Sarah WTF, not again!!!!" And snatched her off the guys lap. Me and the guy looked at each other in confusion. That lady was cheating on her husband...for the second time on THIS cruise. He aired all her laundry and she talked about his nether regions being old and dried up. I was so engrossed, their children were waiting for them to get off and enjoy PDCC.

Oh but it gets better. On the way back to room was a juicier scandal. This guy was begging my room steward to let him in to the room a few doors down. He said he couldn't, the guy was like it's my friend's room and I'm looking for my wife. The steward said no because the sign was on the door for cleaning. He started talking to me, in hopes the guy would leave. I told him I didn't want the sofa let out. Then he opened the room and it was two naked ladies.......doing stuff. We all were embrassed. I'm shocked because I wrongly assumed the friend the guy was looking for was a guy. Also they wanted to get caught because they put the magnet on the wrong side. It was a lot of screaming and at the exact moment my brother was just coming from the gym. He told me another scandal.

During embarkation we met a group of 23 who had gotten custom Hawaiian shirts with their faces on them. My brother saw one in the gym and they told him poop hit the fan because one told another's husband he is actually the father of his first child. They apparently thought they could handle cruise liquor,  this was their first cruise. However they have done a lot of group vacations but he never said anything......so much good reality TV.

[FireFishII]

@Ampurp85 I don't think you are on a cruise.  I think you are in a soap opera!  These stories are just amazing!  

[wordell1]

18 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Day 2 PDCC

Oh the scandal!!!!

First I slept pretty weird on the double sofa bed. The dent in it makes it impossible to get really comfortable. I slept more than I normally do and woke up around 7am. I decided to try to put in some work and make prime. So I showered, got dressed and headed to the DL. Nobody was in there at 8:24 when I came in. I got a hot tea, some orange juice and a croissant. I then made my way to the casino.

I played for over 2hrs and I won a lot and then lost it all because I was trying to get my points. It was hardly anyone in there so I had my pick of the machines and could avoid all the smoke. I shuffled between two or three machines and I made my prime goal. But oooooh let me tell you guys the scandal of it all.....

So I was playing next to this couple. They were kissing and she was sitting on his lap, she was playing, screaming, and bouncing each time she so much as hit a penny. I was on a bonus round and I saw a guy rushing our way, he yelled out "Sarah WTF, not again!!!!" And snatched her off the guys lap. Me and the guy looked at each other in confusion. That lady was cheating on her husband...for the second time on THIS cruise. He aired all her laundry and she talked about his nether regions being old and dried up. I was so engrossed, their children were waiting for them to get off and enjoy PDCC.

Oh but it gets better. On the way back to room was a juicier scandal. This guy was begging my room steward to let him in to the room a few doors down. He said he couldn't, the guy was like it's my friend's room and I'm looking for my wife. The steward said no because the sign was on the door for cleaning. He started talking to me, in hopes the guy would leave. I told him I didn't want the sofa let out. Then he opened the room and it was two naked ladies.......doing stuff. We all were embrassed. I'm shocked because I wrongly assumed the friend the guy was looking for was a guy. Also they wanted to get caught because they put the magnet on the wrong side. It was a lot of screaming and at the exact moment my brother was just coming from the gym. He told me another scandal.

During embarkation we met a group of 23 who had gotten custom Hawaiian shirts with their faces on them. My brother saw one in the gym and they told him poop hit the fan because one told another's husband he is actually the father of his first child. They apparently thought they could handle cruise liquor,  this was their first cruise. However they have done a lot of group vacations but he never said anything......so much good reality TV.

Wow, either Allure is much tamer or I'm hanging with the wrong crowd! 

[Neesa]

Oh my word, and this ladies and gentlemen is why I always follow along with @Ampurp85. I look forward to every notification, you are making my day! Standing by for more, can.not.wait!!!!

I'm having so much fun, my sailings always pale in comparison. I need to sail with you!

[Ampurp85]

It has to be close to if not over a thousand children on this sailing. So many knocking over people and in to things, sneezing and coughing without manners. I saw a group of teenagers using the PDCC wheelchairs for fun. The old lady in me said those are for people who need them. They looked at me and kept taking them. So many people not washing hands and eating, throwing trash everywhere. We are the only ship here and certain areas of the island are still too congested. I finally did the helium balloon.....not worth it. I got it for a little under $50 black Friday. It's too cool for me to be in water and stuff, I'm sure Mexico will be warmer.

While the ship is empty we went around taking pictures including a trip to the WJ. The selection is appalling,  the desserts are lackluster. Glad we got the UDP. My brother is eating cheese and bread while I type this. There is a pinnacle couple across from us complaining to every crew member who walks past about breakfast this morning and the children.

I know there's an iced tea rumor, Oasis has it along with lemonade but no fruit punch. Also park Cafe no longer has chips. The new menus are up in the MDR. I heard it was a complete shitshow last night.

 

 

[asquared17]

i thought i had hit my threshold with the chicken strips, but,,,, i sTAND corrected!!!!!!!!

THE CASINO ARE YOU KID DING ME.

and when i had finally recovered from that (it was the "again" that put me over the edge) -- there was the cabin shenanigans and i nearly FELL OFF MY CHAIR.

i,,,,,,, i have no words.

ACTUALLY NO WAIT I HAVE A FEW --

can you IMAGINE being a cabin attendant, like!!!!!!!!!! i used to think flight attendants had the wildest west of the landscape but FORGET THAT. ITS CABIN STEWARDS.

can someone give this poor person some serious hazard pay?????

also can YOU ALL HAVE SOME HAZARD PAY????

shEESH. i'm going to need to lay down from all this drama.

[Yesiamthere6]

Old woman here is a bit upset!  
No. Mo. Chips. at Park Cafe?  
What am I going to smuggle off the ship to snack on at the airport now?  

[Ampurp85]

@Yesiamthere6 I am so upset about the chips, I didn't bring any because I was counting on the lays plain and salt and vinegar.

[Sweety]

45 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

@Yesiamthere6 I am so upset about the chips, I didn't bring any because I was counting on the lays plain and salt and vinegar.

Love those chips

[Ampurp85]

Also the drama has been too real and it's only day 2. I can't imagine what will happen on the sea day tomorrow.

After our disappointing stop at the WJ. We back to the room and took a nap. We woke up and answered some emails. We then went to Schooners for our first diamond drink and to listen to jazz piano, not for me. We then made our way to the Aqua show. I loved Aqua80, it might be the best one.

There was a bit of drama at the show, lots of people on standby. The theater was only half full 15min to 7. All the standby guest were mad because only the you will get wet seats were left. The look on people's face when the water hit them was....*chef's kiss* so many children screaming. My brother thinks my thousand children estimation is off, he believes it might be close to double that. He expected little to no children and I told him it would be a good amount but this is sort of ridiculous. I am having the best time......until I encounter one. I rarely use the elevator, caught it from WJ. Family got on with like 3 or 7 children,  all drinking soda and coughing. Hit all the buttons to stop even though they were just going to deck 11.

We are doing dinner and second dinner. Apps and splitting an entree from Chops then wings and dessert at Playmakers. it's crowded in Chops, and we are sat at a two-top between several two-tops and can hear everything people on either side are saying.