Two Delightfully Unfrugal Idiots sail our White Whale (Oasis OP, 9/24 -10/1/23)

[SweetPea]

Undoubtedly, there are some who find this blog bordering on hyperbolic. I can assure you that although i may not repeat everything verbatim, it's 100% grounded in truth. 

Let me provide an example. 

Let's say one of us (i won't say who) was snoring last night. So one of us (again anonymously) went into the guest room. 

I woke up to this gem.  (Yes, email for non urgent communications during the night. Batman has worked night shift for years. If it's urgent, we have overrides for calling and text).

 

[asquared17]

i love this and i am laughing right now so hard

[Ampurp85]

This blog is everything

[Rags1]

7 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

This blog is everything

This!

[FireFishII]

14 hours ago, asquared17 said:

well this is just sadness all around. i could totally swing a cool $500 for a RLS

I was thinking the same thing. 

[FireFishII]

Since no one took the bet for UNDER 5 - I will take it. LOL!  Love the luggage cover. Very Frugal. 

[FireFishII]

16 hours ago, SweetPea said:

https://thebrassrailpburg.com/our-menu/

Hey, @Matt.  Can you add an area to keep all these great restaurants, hotels, and other sites?  Maybe do it similar to Roll Call but instead divide it by states or regions? Thanks for reading. 

[Ampurp85]

I Think batman will have 8

[asquared17]

it’s almost cruise day!!! 

please tell me you’re done packing

[SweetPea]

4 hours ago, asquared17 said:

it’s almost cruise day!!! 

please tell me you’re done packing

Here's the current status.

Our house looks like a war zone and I've still not found my back-up pair of blue aviator sunglasses. Do i have 8 other pairs i could take? Of course. But they are my favorite stand-by pair. 

Batman made me pack my Dyson hair dryer tonight, meaning i have to use my old ionic hair dryer tomorrow on embarkation day.

Totally my fault.

I made fun of the classy garbage bag waterproofing.

He's called my bluff, and our bags are now waterproofed from the inside with a giant painter's tarp, cut strategically in multiple pieces.  Packing the checked luggage is apparently a delicate operation only he can manage.

I watched him pack my prized hair dryer. He was right.  I may change his name to MacGuyver.

My sister failed to clear her own vacation with us (the horror!) so i fully expect another comedy of errors tomorrow morning.

Our 2 cats, Brat 1 (16) and Brat 2 (turning 8 while we're away) have fully earned their names. The brats go my sister's whenever we're away. They like it there and since Sissy works from home, they get the attention they demand. Only problem is that Sissy comes back from her vacation at about 10pm tmw.  

My thoughts: lets drop them off tonight anyway. Then we'll just check on them in the morning for food and litter. They'll survive one night alone. 

Batman's thoughts: Solid no. 

The compromise? We ran over to Sissy's today to set everything up in advance, but left the Brats at home. 

Batman insists, no problem. He's going to get both brats in their respective carriers and run them to Sissy's by himself circa 9am. 

Just for this, I'm staying in bed till 9:30.

Carryalls are a two-person operation in this house. We've had to reschedule vet appointments because we couldn't get them there in time.  Both brats scream bloody murder for the entire 1.4 mile drive between our house and my sister's. If we don't make the single light, the SPCA gets put on high alert,  suspecting us of animal cruelty. 

I sorta want to be right yet equally want to be wrong at the same time. How this plays out in the morning will be anyone's guess. 

But if we're not ready for our car service at 11am, Batman has to see Cats. Solo. And stay for the whole thing. I'm pretty sure i can get Sweet Leticia and/or Derick to collude with me on this.

After last night's 2:30am v. 2:30pm debacle, Batman has no less than 12 alarms set around the house and is convinced he should stay awake all night so he doesn't miss the ship. 

Because of course i would sail without him. Of course. Makes perfect sense. 

I'm currently being reminded of our wedding vows from 47 years ago: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS DIVORCE.

[SweetPea]

BTW, I have to share this one. My favorite auntie gets me scratch offs for my birthday. I still need to cash it in. But the pork roll v. Ham debate is real!

 

[JVPIII]

2 minutes ago, SweetPea said:

BTW, I have to share this one. My favorite auntie gets me scratch offs for my birthday. I still need to cash it in. But the pork roll v. Ham debate is real!

Congrats on the $50 win on a birthday scratcher!! I think I need to experience this pork roll phenomenon to really get to the heart of the debate.  

[SweetPea]

10 minutes ago, JVPIII said:

Congrats on the $50 win on a birthday scratcher!! I think I need to experience this pork roll phenomenon to really get to the heart of the debate.  

Hey, I'm impressed you calculated my win the same! I showed this to my auntie and she missed the doubler!

[JVPIII]

6 minutes ago, SweetPea said:

Hey, I'm impressed you calculated my win the same! I showed this to my auntie and she missed the doubler!

We always get scratchers when on vacation. You have to go over them really thoroughly and still check them even if you think you lost. I had a “losing” ticket that got me $50 one time so you never know.

[SweetPea]

Leaving this here mainly for me in the morning. Because how do you use up milk that will expire while you're gone? Kahlua and 'Cream' of course. 

 

This is the photo i used for the WhatsApp profile pic to comm with Sweet Leticia tmw. I should've photoshopped the garbage can out ... if only this vintage knew how to photoshop ... sadly, any mad skills end at changing from color to B&W.

 

[SweetPea]

Also that pic is from 4 years ago.

And remember

[ScottD]

Cruise day!!! If the build up was this good, I can't wait for the actual cruise.  I bought the scratch off a few times because it cracked me up-they know what they're doing!  Between that one in NJ and the Cat\Dog one in PA, it's like they know me. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

You are hardly vintage!! Lol

Wishing you and Batman a fantastic cruise day and sailing! 
 

[LandstromCruise]

Cruise day!  This blog makes it feel like I’m getting on the ship too. Have a great trip! 

[asquared17]

ITS CRUISE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOD BLESS AND GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS MESS 

(i feel like i’ve been living in atlantis with all this rain)

[Lovetocruise2002]

11 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

ITS CRUISE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOD BLESS AND GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS MESS 

(i feel like i’ve been living in atlantis with all this rain)

No kidding!! My sisters and I have been in NYC since Friday and yesterday was just gross. On the bright side, I did take your advice and go to Serafina, it was delicious! And I found truffle potato chips at Eataly

[JVPIII]

Cruise day!! Have a great trip!

[WAAAYTOOO]

Yippee !!  Have a great time.  Thanks for bringing us along.

[asquared17]

36 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

On the bright side, I did take your advice and go to Serafina, it was delicious!

SERAFINAAAAAAA

MY KINGDOM FOR TRUFFLE PASTA

how were the chips????

[Lovetocruise2002]

24 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

SERAFINAAAAAAA

MY KINGDOM FOR TRUFFLE PASTA

how were the chips????

Don’t know yet. I am taking it home to share with Hubby.

[USCG Teacher]

12 hours ago, SweetPea said:

BTW, I have to share this one. My favorite auntie gets me scratch offs for my birthday. I still need to cash it in. But the pork roll v. Ham debate is real!

 

Fun fact: my wife helped design that game. She does design for NJ Lottery. Now back to your regularly scheduled live blog hilarity.  Have a great cruise!

[SweetPea]

1 minute ago, USCG Teacher said:

Fun fact: my wife helped design that game. She does design for NJ Lottery. Now back to your regularly scheduled live blog hilarity.

Awesome!!! That is a totally fun fact! Thanks for sharing!

[SweetPea]

Hi, hello, good morning, and if i don't see you later, good evening!

Just kidding.  Of course I'll see you later! We're cruising together after all. 

Our car service should be here early, before 11.

We're still grabbing stuff to pack. You'd think we were cruising for a year, not a week. 

Dropping off the brats wasn't  so bad that Batman has to endure Cats in its entirety, but it WAS a two person job that i did not manage to get out of.....

 

Anyway, it's a beautiful day for a cruise! See you onboard!

[Rags1]

Happy cruise day! Can’t wait for more!

[SweetPea]

[Traveler]

Have a wonderful cruise !

[SweetPea]

Of note @Lovetocruise2002, Oasis has 9am on Wed as dedicated SC hour for FlowRider. Leticia says make sure hubby goes because it's never crowded. 

@ScottD, our plans were to eat at Playmakers, but it's PACKED. We're in the concierge lounge where there is an assortment of fruit and a lone ranger cookie. 

[SweetPea]

It's a pretty overcast day. Whatever.  Cheers!

[SweetPea]

And oh, we're convinced the OP exists to make you feel bad about your every day house and is designed to make you never want to leave! Pics to follow, before we start leaving our very large foot prints....

Leticia says our cruise at near full capacity. She's already priority passed us 3x in the elevator. 

Any questions lmk!

[LandstromCruise]

8 minutes ago, SweetPea said:

@ScottD, our plans were to eat at Playmakers, but it's PACKED. We're in the concierge lounge where there is an assortment of fruit and a lone ranger cookie. 

Football season. Playmakers will be packed all day today I’m sure. 

[asquared17]

12 minutes ago, SweetPea said:

and a lone ranger cookie. 

i confess… couldn’t tell if this was a play on words or not

ps: YOU MADE IT!!

[SweetPea]

First casualty and I'm only one drink in so i know it wasn't me ... Shower door handle is busted. Batman thinks i did it and is trying to fix it himself.....

 

 

Also we've got one checked bag so far and it's not wet at all. 

[OCSC Mike]

17 minutes ago, SweetPea said:

Also we've got one checked bag so far and it's not wet at all.

Of course not... Batman waterproofed it!

[SweetPea]

[SweetPea]

I took those from our balcony.  The weather is miserable and we're freezing so just taking it very slow this the first day. Leticia just showed us how to turn the heat up (Spoiler, it's not on the blue screens where we thought it was), and we're waiting for room to come up to temp. 

For any fellow Bloody Mary afficionados, it's Mrs T's in the CL. Disappointing because it's the most bland mix ever. There is just no saving that. 

We're rallying ATM. I've been nursing one glass of white wine since the Bloody Mary. I think it's time to give up on that and try a filthy martini. 

Batman is disappointed the WOW bands are purple..... He thinks they should be black. I have no words ...

And I'm nearly giddy to report the number may actually be 0. We either have a casualty of being lost in the garbage bag/painter's tarp waterproofing fiasco or we just haven't found them yet. Depending how this plays out, i can assure you that he will not hear the end of it. 

Tonight is Chops at 7, and I'm trying to decide between between the spicy Jumbo shrimp and the rack of lamb.  Since our lunch plans were a little waylaid, we never did wind up eating, unless you're counting the olives with my Bloody Mary.  I think I'll enjoy being hungry now because I'm usually waddling by Day 3 ...