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

[JohnK6404]

58 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

Lunch was Portside BBQ. I hadn't eaten all day so I got the 3-meats deal.

Dinner is at Izumi but not until 8:30. I plan to pack and then head over to the DL for some tea. Then maybe spend a little time in the casino.

 

Good call with the late dinner!  

I made the mistake of having the 3-meats deal for lunch and could not eat all of my Chop's dinner! Barely got the filet down... the horror!    My wife will never let me forget... every time now... "don't eat too much for lunch, you'll ruin your dinner!"

Enjoy Izumi!

[Ampurp85]

1 hour ago, JohnK6404 said:

Good call with the late dinner!  

I made the mistake of having the 3-meats deal for lunch and could not eat all of my Chop's dinner! Barely got the filet down... the horror!    My wife will never let me forget... every time now... "don't eat too much for lunch, you'll ruin your dinner!"

Enjoy Izumi!

Haha. I like later dinners just in case I eat a big lunch. Didn't finish my lunch but thankfully it was smaller slices if brisket,  so I didn't waste much.

 

[Ampurp85]

Day 6 Costa Maya continued....

This has been a trifling voyage. This guy met a woman at the casino and got her into the DL. She was vaping and being rude to the servers while talking loudly on her phone. He won big at the casino and was able to get a comped Jr suite. She was now going and all she had to do was put her mouth on him. Everyone could hear her and we all were disgusted. We talked to a very nice couple who are now going to be B2B as the next sailing is no where near as full as this one.

I went to the casino and people watched. I talked to a nice dad who was in the casino trying to get Prime, he was as 2200 points and I cheered him on. He said he hasn't hit big here but last month on NCL he won $11k.  Another lady came and I watched her do casino voodoo.....you know the tapping and tingling across the screen before each spin. Then it was time for dinner. Izumi was super packed, its formal night. Lots of the crew were doing dinners and hibachi. Our server kept placing all the food in front of me as if I was the only one eating. It made me look greedy. After dinner we got drinks at Trellis bar and then went back to the room. While at the bar this girl, clearly drunk, asked if we were a couple and did we want to hang. I declined and she went over to the next person. He was quite vintage buy he said sure and they left.

Stray observations.

Izumi prefix is less food. If you order the rolls it will be 4 pieces. The apps are also smaller portions. So instead of two large plates when it comes to sushi it will just be one.

There is a popcorn machine in front of Blaze and they charge you. They seem to park it there when there are theater shows.

There is tons of port construction so they are offering free shuttles to the parking garage on disembarkment day.

@AshleyDillo I just looked at the app for my Grandeur sailing and Michelle Murlin is the headliner, you remember her and her jazz hands?

[AshleyDillo]

24 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

 Michelle Murlin is the headliner, you remember her and her jazz hands?

oh good, at least you will have some entertainment to report back next sailing 

[Ampurp85]

Day 7...Sea Day.

No breakfast again. We also are having UDP fatigue, so we are on the fence about cancelling hibachi. We have the matinee for Cats today......say a little prayer for us. Then the escape room and originally hibachi at 9ish. I think we will hit El Loco Fresh for a light lunch of tacos and then do JR for dinner. Since it is a sea day, I expect things to be much more congested and possibly really trifling. I am really looking forward to my Grandeur sailing, it should be relaxing. 

[Ampurp85]

We had lunch and it was a mess. The line was long and several people didn't wash their hands but proceeded to touch stuff without the serving utensils. Also every time we ate anything on deck 15 there was flying balls. Ping pong, golf, etc. None of the parents were saying anything but these balls found their way in Portside, El Loco Fresh, etc.

I then went to the casino and played the points I had earn on all the money I lost. So many people earned certificates on this cruise. My machine buddy hit 6500. That earned her balcony and JS with at least $750 in free play if she booked with NextCruise. I got a free oceanview but all the sailing are between now and April. I have Vegas and other land based vacations booked until May.

I am currently waiting for Cats to start. For a show most people hate, it is packed.

[asquared17]

may the force be with you (through the cats show). 

i know i’m mixing genres  and also the performers will be great — RCCL always  does a wonderful job with this — but it is the LONGEST show, haha

[Ampurp85]

Cats was.......yeah it was pretty much as garbage as people say.

First of all, several people either fell asleep or got up way before the show was half done. Even before that lots of people trying to sit in star class seats even though you can clearly see the reserve signs. Also, lots of people decided to forego the night showing and wait in line for the 3:30 matinee. This meant a lot of people trying to find seats as the lights and curtain went down, using their bright as hell flashlights to look for seats.

If you have not seen this garbage, the cats start in the aisle, and it throws you off because it's just weird. They do this throughout the performance and at one point this cat knocked my cups away to climb on the railing and behave like my sweet fur baby does at home. I laughed because he was just like a real cat, but it was still annoying. I did rest my eyes for a bit and then awoke to "Memories." But the show wasn't over, and some other stuff happened and a lot of minutes later it was the end. I liked the uniformity of it all and one of them cats was giving RuPaul drag race realness. It ran a little long and so we had 15min to get to our escape room.

I had so much fun, but we ran out of time. It was eleven of us: my brother and I, this family of four and another family of five. It was four teenagers in the group. Two weren't taking it seriously at all and they cost us the mission. Not a brag but I solved 4 puzzles on my own. I got us started, I got the keys, I did the countdown, my brother got two puzzles and another girl got the rest. We were down to a minute and one of the boys refused to communicate. We would have won. I think we were the only group who didn't complete the mission. 

I can confirm that dining reservations need to be cancelled at least 24hrs in advance. So, if you try to do the hack where you book specialty dinning to secure slots, don't do it for the first night. We decided no on the hibachi as the food fatigue sat in. We did take out from JR and Playmakers. I can also confirm that the new freestyle cup only holds 12-14oz of liquid, less with ice. I got a couple of can sodas because none of the freestyles have been refilled. The cup held one can with a little ice. 

We have seen tons of the performers out and about. Many have been dining in the specialty restaurants or hanging along the track on deck 5. I met the piano player from Schooners and chatted a bit about my purple hair. My brother had an hour conversation with the ice performer who played Hans Christian Anderson. They have all been very friendly, most of the staff have been top notch. But I can tell they are tired, the bartender who was my buddy in the casino was there every time I went. Today I saw the dead look in his eyes as he made this screaming lady an espresso martini. I gave him my last tips and wish him good luck. 

I have a little packing to do and then I will be starting a hopefully less-full-of-children adventure. 

[Ampurp85]

Disembarkment/embarkation day..

Good morning, it is 75 degrees in Miami. My brother's phone has been blowing up with work calls. So we had a very early morning but a later start than we anticipated. We made it out of the room at 6min after 8. We wanted to be out on time. Nonetheless our room steward thank us as less than half the rooms in his section had been vacated. We made our way to the DL and at that point it was only half full. Around 9am it was completely full, mostly of people doing B2B. I had a bagel, some fruit and orange juice. The spread was nice. We will hang out here until our number is called.

I am glad I got a 10:30 check in time for Grandeur as I received the email saying not to arrive outside your check-in time because the terminal cannot accommodate a lot of people. I am more excited for my Grandeur sailing than I was for this one. I haven't sailed that class before and with Oasis it's really about discovering the little difference.

I waited over an hour to get my Lyft and Grandeur was already boarding the 11am people. This was the easiest boarding ever. Two minutes in total from door to inside terminal. I only see about 4 children so already this looks better than Oasis. Surprisingly enough there are a lot of teens/younger folks. I assumed it would be a more vintage crowd. Even with an eleven boarding time I have yet to walk straight on a ship. We are waiting for the ship to open up to board. Good thing there isn't any reservations to be made.

[Gory33]

HA!  This has been a fun read.  Thank you.

Does anybody know where I could find a cruise compass for this 7n Oasis western caribbean itinerary?  I only see old ones that likely don't apply to these new sailings for 2023.  Thanks.

[Ampurp85]

I have never been on vision class......ooh the materials are fancy. Old as hell but fancy.

Grandeur is a beautiful, well maintained ship. But it's that old type of classy. Like frank Sinatra and Elliot Ness. The staterooms have phones on the wall.....with a stretchy cord and volume button!!! I'm amazed at how clean the carpet is. I have already walked most of the ship, eaten my Chops lunch and made some friends in the DL and it's not even 3pm. The WJ has deck seating. I guess since the ship is so old, some rooms don't have coolers. Last cruise I didn't get my C&A gift, this time I have my sodas but no place to keep them cold/cool.

I'm slightly obsessed with the Palladium theater. Red is not my jam but the beauty of the place has me wanting to come to all the shows. I'm currently attending one of those port shopping seminars until sailaway and the casino opens. I have seen and counted about twenty children. But a ton of teenagers. I was talking to another guest and they said this sailing was so cheap a bunch of families booked it not realizing how old and small the ship was.

My Chops lunch was very good. I got the burger, some fries and mac and cheese. The mac and cheese from this Chops was the best I ever had on any cruise ship. It tasted like when I make it. It was hardly anyone in there at noon. If they had the burger for dinner I would be more inclined to dine there more. They are trying hard to sell dining packages. The UDP is $43/day and that's not a good deal considering they only have 3 specialy restaurants. The drink package is $89/day. They have the older larger freestyle cups.

This is the first week of the new MDR menus. I have MTD and have booked all my diners. I originally had Giovanni's and Izumi booked but I canceled Giovanni's because their food is nasty. I have Izumi night two because French night is my least favorite of the new menu. There is tons of solo cruisers and a nice amount of B2Bs.

I already did a walk through the casino and the machines are dated but I see a couple I can work with.

 

[JohnK6404]

Enjoy "act 2" of your vacation!

We’ve never been on Grandeur before, but I remember Majesty OTS back in 2010, our first cruise on Royal... Yes, huge difference!

[asquared17]

oooh the valiant lady is in port with you!! i am intrigued by the virgin cruiselines but they are pricey to me (having no status over there) so it would be a hard sell unless it was a killer deal. ship looks cool though.

grandeur looks GREAT i love the theatre and the centrum, so posh!!

not sure what the purpose is of that chair in your cabin wedged between the closet and,,,,the door?

and HOLY COW the mac and cheese looks AMAZING.

 

edit: looks like virgin will match your status if it's diamond or above

[Neesa]

OMG, that chair! I was thinking the same thing. Have a fantastic sailing number 2, has your brother left? I was waiting on that picture! I'm so happy there aren't a lot of little ones underfoot, enjoy! Grandeur is always on my radar. I want to sail her for sure. 

[Last Lion]

I am on a GOTS B2B commencing Feb. 24th.

Keep the live blog coming!

You have a very interesting writing style. I love it!

 

 

 

[Ampurp85]

Yes that chair is in the corner behind the bathroom door and blocking the closet area. I was also intrigued by that Virgin ship.

I booked my cruises with the certificate I won on Oasis. Mariner Jan 15th to the 20th and Wonder Jan 21st to the 28th in 2024. My brother and mother are coming on both, so that should be a fun time. I will see who else I can wrangle from the vintages. Also the prices are ridiculous. I got a JS last year on Indy for what a balcony is going now. They gave me a bottle of champagne and I got entries into a raffle. Indira the NextCruise rep has only been on Grandeur two months. She said her original assignment was Oasis and the day she got to Miami her assignment changed. She thinks it's too small of a ship.

We started sail away while I was at NextCruise, so I missed a little bit. I have MTD at 8 and it's on the upper deck here which is cool. My brother has tasked me with looking at the WJ offerings so I will head up there and take pictures. This is a welcome aboard show around 9:30, hopefully I'm done with dinner.

My luggage came around 3 and I met my steward who provided me with a robe and ice. Internet is a bit of a miss since we started sailing. I also got today's and tomorrow compass in my room. I'm planning a late night in the casino.

 

[WAAAYTOOO]

Glad to see that Lady G is still hangin in there.  We will be on 2-5 and 9-2.

[Ampurp85]

This internet is a drag. So is first night dining. I got in line at 7:45 for my 8pm MTD reservation. At 8:15 I was asked if I wanted to dine with others at a shared table.....literally the only reason I do MTD is to not dine with strangers....or wait 15min for a table. I waited close to ten. I got my order taken at 8:40. I got spinach and artichokes dip, spaghetti bolognese, and Key lime pie. Nothing was bad but nothing was great. I believe I got six chips with the dip. And the pasta had almost no sauce.

Pre dinner I went to look at the casino. People don't care and will just smoke anywhere. It's so small that the smell will travel but I rather not sit at a machine with a guy literally blowing smoke at me face.

I was hoping to post pictures but with this internet I'm lucky to get this out.

[Sweety]

I will be on Lady G in April with my parents. Lady G is my first Royal ship. She will always have my heart.

[Ampurp85]

I have never been in a worse casino. I don't think I will go again. The machines are tight and dated. Plus I'm getting super sick from all the smoke. I guess I will just be reading and people watching.

[Yesiamthere]

Their spaghetti is my favorite. I’m going to order it on our cruise in February…..multiple times, even though we will be star class. 
 

The chair does look a bit funny where it is located, but I would use it to stack my dirty clothes.  Who wants to sit that close to two walls?  
 

Now, get out there and tell me who is messing around on whom. 

[Ampurp85]

I have been struggling for over an hour to post this post. You would think the internet wouldn't be too bad early in the morning. 

I had to take 2 extra allergy pills because of the casino. I didn't sleep well and woke up congested and with a headache.  I am also starving. The UDP spoiled me and I use to a bit more food than I actually had. At 9pm the park Cafe opens again and starts serving hotdogs,  sandwiches, and pizza. I think the pizza is bad and don't eat any of the other offerings.

As far as drama, this is a different crowd. The most spicy thing I saw was some teenagers/youths fighting. One girl won diamond earrings from the shopping raffle and her friend was jealous. So she was flirting with the other friends boyfriend. They were arguing on the deck while an NFL game was playing. I was getting an ice cream....which seems to be self-service.

I also forgot to mention the reason MTD line was so long and bad was that a ton, and I mean a ton, of people with traditional dining were waiting for tables. A crew member made the announcement twice while I was in line. People still went up to the host and were told to go down stairs. It is a ton of new cruisers or people from CCL on here and many say they are disappointed.

Today is Key West. I'm going to head to breakfast and then get off and do the hop on, hop off tour.

[Ampurp85]

Internet seems to be working okay so I will post my rambling thoughts.

I decided to get breakfast at 9am in the WJ and it is congested. It's the design more so than the people. I could easily find a seat but getting eggs, like navigating a concert.

I caught a bit of the welcome show and these comedians aren't really made for the likes of me. I like a good dad joke but key word is good.

Grandeur doesn't have hand wash stations but does have hand dryers in the bathrooms. In the WJ crew member stands at the entrance with sanitizers. Most people walk on by.

The Centrum is a pretty cool design. You can sit on multiple floors and listen to live music. The singer last night was really good.

The shower is old. If you turn on the water without angling it completely down it shoots straight out, scorching hot. I keep getting extremely hot water showers. I like my water closer to lukewarm because I bruise easily.

I am accustomed to venues being in venues but it's weirder on Grandeur. I thought I was in one place but it veered off into another and then another.

The solarium on here is sort of connected to Vitality Spa so staff yesterday were trying to sell services while people relaxed.

I have two American outlets and two European ones. Since I have European adapters, I have plenty of power, they just are in inconvenient areas.

When you sit in the WJ you can hear and feel all the motion from the deck above. It's really bad when people are running.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

 

Today is Key West. I'm going to head to breakfast and then get off and do the hop on, hop off tour.

I love Key West and did the hop on/hop off trolley while there.  Definitely a nice way to get around.  Best part of Key West…the frozen chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick!  
Hope you have a great day.

[GregD]

I'm fashionably late to this party, if you want to call it that. Ive just read the entire blog up to this point and have been laughing non-stop. While I too have witnessed many adults and kids hacking and coughing and in serious need of some good discipline, I somehow have managed to avoid all of the drama that you seem to find. I'm sure it happens on every cruise though. I would love to be a fly on the wall in the crew lounges because I am sure there are the "you would never believe what I saw today" conversations all the time. I also picture a write board with tally marks for cheating wives/husbands, drunk idiots etc etc.

Hopefully my trip on Oasis in 26 days, 22 hours, 11 minute and 5 seconds is far less exciting. I doubt it though, because it's prime vacation time for us in the NE, so I picture a fully booked ship with 40% being under 18, all of them hacking and coughing and full of other forms of Tomfoolery. It will be our first sailing having reached Diamond status, so I look forward to the looks we all get since we are young and with children in tow(who have also earned diamond status on their own).

I feel bad that you didn't like Giovannis. We had good meals there. I agree with @WAAAYTOOO though, Jamie's is just garbage. I never liked any of his cookbook recipes so I didn't have high hopes for the restaurant. I think the only thing that they do well there is the meat plank, and that's because those are really hard to screw up.

I hope you have a great time on Grandeur. I wouldn't mind sailing some of the older smaller ships, but getting The Boss on them is a hard sell since she is prone to motion sickness. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FireFishII]

36 minutes ago, GregD said:

I hope you have a great time on Grandeur. I wouldn't mind sailing some of the older smaller ships, but getting The Boss on them is a hard sell since she is prone to motion sickness. 

Tell 'The Boss' to get the patch.  I use it all the time.  I get motion sickness just sitting in the back seat of a car. The trick to the patch is if a full disk is too much, cut 1/3 off of it.  But make sure you either wear gloves or immediately wash your hands.  Because you don't want that medication anywhere need your eyes. 

[GregD]

1 hour ago, FireFishII said:

Tell 'The Boss' to get the patch.  I use it all the time.  I get motion sickness just sitting in the back seat of a car. The trick to the patch is if a full disk is too much, cut 1/3 off of it.  But make sure you either wear gloves or immediately wash your hands.  Because you don't want that medication anywhere need your eyes. 

Oh, she is well aware of the patches!!

[Sweety]

I love Key West.

[Ampurp85]

I have done hop on, hop off a lot of places and this was the first time I felt cheated. It was my fault I sat next to a super chatty Cathy. Well she sat next to me. She talked the whole loop and then I got off at CVS for chips and when I got back on, she was there. I ended up going back to the ship around noon since it was mostly shopping and none of the restaurants called to me. I got lunch in the WJ, it wasn't bad I had mac and cheese and some bbq pork chops. The desserts continue to be bad.

But back to chatty Cathy, this lady could talk. As she was vintages I didn't want to be rude but she told me all her business. This is part of a month long B2B with her best friend. They are widows living off of stock options. Their children/grandchildren are also on this sailing. One is gay so I can't have that one but the other is recently divorced, 48 with his children all in college. She said he likes colorful girls. I believe she corrected herself because I definitely heard colored. Then she said some questionable things about her gay son I don't want to repeat. I thought she was doing this tour because it was less walking but it sounds like her family made a choice. She also complained about the casino. She said a lot stuff. I will admit I was tuning in and out but Grandeur is small so I already saw her again.

I might go nap and then sit on deck and read my books.

[Ampurp85]

Went to DL and I'm the only person here, I'm sure there are ghost. I needed a little quiet time, the pool deck is packed. Since no dessert was calling to me I got ice cream. Everyone else got in the line after using hand sanitizer. This one lady came opposite way, reached over a couple for a cone and cut in front of a child. There was clearly a line. She gave her husband the one she made and them proceeded to reach over me. I told her it was a line. She tried to say I can only make one so I had to come back. I said it was a line and you can't cut. She looked around and I proceeded to make my ice cream and the person behind me did same. She started talking to her husband in Polish as she was "forced" in the back of the line. Several people thanked me for saying something because she apparently has done this many times. I believe in line etiquette,  I might smile a lot but apparently I'm no nonsense .

I've been watching the people on speedboats and jetskis. I like Key West, I'm of the minority but no on chocolate covered key lime pie. I ended up throwing mine away.

Also I been trying to get my brother to agree to posting a picture, he said if I photoshop the hell out of it yes. Unfortunately I don't know how to work photoshop.

On day two my consensus is while beautiful and full of amazing crew, Grandeur is too old to do solo and....well period. There is nothing but dancing and trivia on the books for tonight....not to mention the lack of dining options. I keep getting sleepy. I was trying to chalk it up to allergies but it can't be the meds.

[Yesiamthere]

Come on, we gotta be friends. Everyone would be saying:  

“Here comes the old white woman with her colorful friend.”  

[Ampurp85]

14 minutes ago, Yesiamthere said:

Come on, we gotta be friends. Everyone would be saying:  

“Here comes the old white woman with her colorful friend.”  

Lol I would love it,

 

I never realized purple hair, plus purple accessories, equal royal princess. I've been called that once or twice in the past week and I thought it was because I sailed a bit.

[DDaley]

1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

Also I been trying to get my brother to agree to posting a picture, he said if I photoshop the hell out of it yes. Unfortunately I don't know how to work photoshop.

Haha! I Photoshop for a living so you just let me knowwww if I can help get this photo to the people! 

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

Right with you on the line etiquette.  I’m the one who almost always opens my mouth if someone is trying to weasel their way in.  Not on my watch!!!  

Sorry you aren’t fond of the frozen chocolate key lime…there are definitely a few things I won’t eat and everyone else thinks I am nuts!  But that’s not one of them. 

Call me antisocial (which I am not) but I truly do not like it when someone I do not know begins a conversation with me.  It’s happened on airplanes, in line at grocery store, outside the school while waiting for my grandkids.  I just prefer being left alone.

I am truly enjoying reading all your blogs.  

[Ampurp85]

Day 2 continues....

So the new menus are a meh. I really struggled to find something I liked both nights so far. Also the portions are much smaller, presentation wise the food looks way classier but I think the smaller ships are struggling. Like last night I waited almost 20min just to get my order taken after being sat. I had a Ceasars salad, the beef tenderloin and apple crumble. You can only get the beef in two temps: medium rare or medium well, with exactly three asparagus. The salad was meh and the beef was good but not at all fulfilling, I ate my entire bread basket with it to get full. It was just 3 rolls and 1 slice of French braid, so don't judge me too hard. The apple crumble was nasty, I'm not at all fond of caramel and that's what it heavily tasted of. Burnt caramel, mushy apples and cooked sugared bread.

I'm not a fan of dancing so the Tango B....show was not for me. I like how you can peek in the theater without really interrupting anyone else. I went to the casino and watched some of the people I met the first night lose their money. It was three, yes three, couples looking to swing. My two casino peeps are beautiful, mature married women. One husband doesn't gamble and the other's husband doesn't cruise. These couples tried hard and were bold. They were only going over to what they thought were single women. When the third one came to me I pointed them to the other two. I believe I helped to make a love connection. Side note, why do so many people try to swing or whatever on cruises????

Three different happenings were occurring tonight. The piano player in Schooner's, Latin flavors in the Centrum and the nightclub thing, I shy away from nightclubs because I can't dance and I'm scared of roofies. But if you are on deck 6 by the Ben and Jerry's you can hear them all competing. 

There also seems to be some sort of septic issues. It smells like sewage across the aft of the ship on multiple floors. I used a bathroom on deck 4 and all of the stalls were disgusting except one, I used that one but someone was drinking coffee in there....it was a cup of coffee on the toilet. I came back to the room and my bathroom smells weird, a little like sewage as well. I texted my brother and he thinks the sewage tanks might be full.

I took a shower to wash the casino off of me and the smell got worse. If it gets worse I will tell guest services. 

 

[Neesa]

While this is super sad to hear, I really appreciate your candor and detailing the good, bad and the ugly. It helps to temper my expectations for my sailing her in the future. 

I agree about the menu, for me French night would probably be my least favorite. Wishing for you an amazing turn around for the rest of this sailing. 

[Xaa]

That Beef Tenderloin entrée looks like an appetizer or the size you would expect from Nutri-Systems.  At least it is speeding up dining in the MDR..oh wait, nevermind.

Love your style and sharing your experiences.  I'd also like some of those Kettle Cooked Jalapeno chips.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

Question about meal choice.  Do they still have a separate Vegan menu or would the only choice on French Night be the butternut squash soup and the risotto dish?

I am beginning to be very fearful of dining choices for our July cruise on Oasis.  There are maybe 4 or 5 of my group of 17 with very strict eating restrictions and these new menus are scaring the heck out of me!  I’ve been hyping up our family cruise and now the dining part (which is such a huge part of the cruise experience) is looking very bleak!  UDP is not an option for this group so I am hopeful there will be a few more choices in the MDR?

[GregD]

9 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Side note, why do so many people try to swing or whatever on cruises????

Pure speculation here...

I bet it's a combination of someplace new/exotic, lots of people with decreased inhibitions, and a decreased likelihood of finding a partner that would have a personal connection to back home so being more brazen with approaches is easier since the likelihood you would never see that person again is so small.

[She Sails Away]

I've been lurking and am really enjoying your blog! You are so much fun. And wow--the things you've seen on ship!