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3. 2. 1……Does a Mariner Wonder the Allure of Cruising 1/15/24-2/2/24


Ampurp85

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17 hours ago, She Sails Away said:

PS: those parents setting their baby on top of the piano… I don't know, is it just me? That seems incredibly rude. Would you pick up a grown human and set them on top of the piano? Probably not.
 

Our piano player guy has had people walk in and set plates of half-eaten food on top of his piano so they can free their hands up to rifle in their tote bags and stuff. I just find it unbelievably disrespectful.

No, not just you. We have never made the elevator with the piano player. And it bothers me when people stay on the elevator and there isn't room for anyone else. One time we were waiting at the elevator and saw the piano player. There was no room for us as there was a family singing along. NBD. The elevator went down, then eventually up to us again (still waiting) and the same family still didn't get off (and still no room for us). 

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2 hours ago, ScottD said:

I chuckled every time I read "fat baby"  but yea, putting the fat baby on the piano is kinda rude and gross. 

It was the cutest fat baby; legs and arms were Michelin man levels of rolls. I think if they put the baby on there, took picture and was done, it wouldn't have been so bad. 

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IT'S CRUISE DAY!!!!!!

I can see Wonder from the hotel. It is 8am and I am packed up, rested and ready to go. My brother is in the shower. I have three Evian bottles left from Mariner and I hope the port workers let me through with them.

First stop will be our muster station then the Mason Jar. 

It is cold, so we both have on pants, the weather is supposed to get better this week. I have to walk this ship and take lots of pictures. 

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21 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I love my mother but we cannot stay together.

But reading your posts there were so many solutions to this. Like the escape room, book it just for her and make sure they look the doors. Or the person in the casino who wanted you to join him in his cabin, you could have sent your mum. Or even her flight home, just change it to a one economy class way to Australia.

Next time just be creative and the problem will go away.

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This will be a bit of a photo dump.

But we took the shuttle, it got us here at 10:15, by 10:23 I was on the ship making my UDP reservations. It is so clean.....so beautiful 😍 🤩 👌. There are a couple of bathroom photos because they are clean and modern.

Right now we are walking and taking pictures. We took pictures in the WJ and park Cafe. We are holding our appetite for brunch.

Just an FYI on the app it says bunch started at 10:30 but the Mason Jar opens at 11:30.

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I love how happy you two are. Your smiles had me smiling right back at you! Enjoy it, I love that you are bringing us along again! And yes, the weather will improve so much as the week goes on. I am freezing right now but by Wednesday it will be a sauna here. Have the best week!

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3 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

There are a couple of bathroom photos because they are clean and modern.

Wait til you find the ones with the crazy art work. That one is boring (but yes, very clean).  😁

Awesome WJ pics... great illustration of why I repeatedly post that the WJ is not necessarily a madhouse on embarkation day if you get there as soon as it opens. Also, the kids section has some good stuff. It's not just for kids.

I'm obviously already a huge fan but I think the Wonder portion of your blog is really going to get me ready for my March cruise. TIA for how much I know you'll be sharing.

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I love this ship so far. Just how clean and new everything is. I can see why there is so much hype for inaugural sailings.

Now one thing about Wonder blogs is not enough casino stuff. I will post some casino stuff 😂🤣😂😅😍. Both casinos have an area for snacks. The machine selection is great. Only two days, embarkation and San Juan, does it open after 5.

We have been able to get elevators easily despite the ship beginning to fill. Playmakers is popping because of games. We are going to wash hands and then head to our brunch......it's about to go down, my brother wants the whole menu.

 

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12 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

my brother wants the whole menu

Eagerly waiting to see how he/you handle this. I can leave off some stuff but I'd still like to order quite a bit.

FWIW, I thought the blackberry moonshine lemonade went well with breakfast items and seemed like a good morning/noon drink.

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57 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

But we took the shuttle, it got us here at 10:15, by 10:23 I was on the ship making my UDP reservations. It is so clean.....so beautiful 😍🤩👌. There are a couple of bathroom photos because they are clean and modern.

 

Oh my gosh…that is an amazing time!  I believe you said the shuttle picked you up at 10?  So this definitely sounds like something I need to check into for my Sept. cruise!

Not to bother you but did you check out the breakfast at the hotel?  And do you mind letting me know how much the shuttle cost and how to book it?

Your photos are awesome so far.  Totally looking forward to this week of posts!

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32 minutes ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

Oh my gosh…that is an amazing time!  I believe you said the shuttle picked you up at 10?  So this definitely sounds like something I need to check into for my Sept. cruise!

Not to bother you but did you check out the breakfast at the hotel?  And do you mind letting me know how much the shuttle cost and how to book it?

Your photos are awesome so far.  Totally looking forward to this week of posts!

The shuttle is $8pp. You meet at 9:45 to leave at 10. We had two stops, the Norwegian epic and Wonder, it was oversold so 2 people stood while we drove. Traffic was a little heavy with people leaving, which is the only reason it too 10min. You can book it when you check in. If they aren't full you can book up to an hour before departure.

I checked out breakfast for you. It's waffles, sausage, eggs, extra fixings which was peppers and onions. Plus cereal, yogurt, fruit, breads and juices.

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Okay I don't know if I mentioned this but my brother doesn't eat read meat or pork. He was pescatarian for almost 2 decades. In the mid 2010s he introduced poultry back. So we got the whole menu. I had the blueberry Johnny cakes and the chicken and waffles. He ate everything else. The moonshine drink is amazing but I had 2 so I'm a little loose.

He is working on po'boy and chicken sandwich.  Then it will be dessert

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23 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

The moonshine drink is amazing but I had 2 so I'm a little loose.

It's easy to have several, glad you liked it. Hitting up the bar more often (when not eating there) is in my plans. The adult root beer float with vodka and Kahlua was a nice dessert drink if you're a big kid. I think there's an orange creamsicle one too I didn't try.

23 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

we got the whole menu

Legit or slight exaggeration? I'm not self-conscious about eating a ton but I'd feel better knowing a party of two ordered that much food, lol. The sandwiches didn't make the cut as we ate at 10:30 I think and I was focused on the more breakfasty items. We have 11:30 or 12:00 for our upcoming cruises though so I'll definitely be trying the po' boy. Chicken sandwich looks good but I loved the chicken n waffles so it's a little redundant.

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@Sweety we have a dinner later in the week. He got the shrimp po'boy because they were out of oysters. It was a little spicy. But most stuff is Cajun, so some spice will be there.

@OCSC Mike we got almost the whole brunch menu. He ate it all and his favorite thing was the watermelon salad.

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1 minute ago, Ampurp85 said:

we got almost the whole brunch menu. He ate it all and his favorite thing was the watermelon salad.

Thanks... people seem to love that salad and that would be so far down my personal list. Nothing against it, it's just that a salad will never jump out at me when I see stuff like chicken n waffles, stuffed french toast, johnnycakes with pulled pork, red velvet pancakes, etc.

It can't possibly be filling though so I'll give it a shot!

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Mason Jar brunch continues.

My brother got about 75% of the menu. I found the biscuits to be drrrry and the tator tots just fried mashed potatoes 🤮🤬. I got Georgia peach ice cream and my brother got the bourbon butter pecan. We split the cinnamon roll and wanted the red velvet to try but had to make an executive decision,  sadly it was the wrong one. The ice cream was good, the cinnamon roll was meh.

I was tempted to get an adult milk shake but I was way too full. During brunch an announcement told us our staterooms were ready around 1pm. Our cabin is 10454, an interior virtual balcony, which I love. This feature makes the room appear to be smaller. It's fine for 2 people but no more. Our room is tucked off into a corner and was a bit of a pain to find.

One caveat about newer ships. The doors aren't as heavy so make sure it closes. We had someone open our cabin door because my brother assumed it would close automatically. You need something in the slot for lights, I always bring my old ID just for things like this. Our amenities were already here. My brother has already had a glass of the wine. Storage and outlets are plenty. The bathroom has the standard all in one plus are upgrade toiletries for being D+.

The cooler is tiny, I don't know how cold it will get but we have tons of Evian to test it with. I got an invite to get free drinks and possible free play from the non-smoking casino. I am getting ready to unpack.

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20 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

I was tempted to get an adult milk shake

You have all week to try it with a voucher. The bar is very popular at night with the country trio.

FWIW, we really liked the Gone Bananas dessert. I'm sure the ice cream was good but, like salad, my brain says "It's just ice cream, get the more interesting stuff." The fried oreos were just OK. I'll probably try the bread pudding next time.

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5 minutes ago, asquared17 said:

deconstructed

Now you sound like my picky wife. Whatever you'd remove to "deconstruct" them, she would call "contaminants."

Most any sandwich she eats consists of bread and protein (and possibly a condiment)... although turkey is apparently better with lettuce.

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So Wonder might be my favorite Oasis class, I have symphony in Jan of 2025 but until then, it's this ship. The bathrooms are touchless for most things.....eliminating germs if you actually wash hands.

I went to the casino event, I got 3 champagnes and 1 blue marg. I chatted with a Canadian B2B who had win $68k when he was last on Wonder in April. The casino was late opening: instead of 5:15 it was 5:55 because we departed late. I played next to him and he blew through $500 in 15min because he was playing $7.20 hands. Meanwhile I was playing only $.60, I go low on new machines, and I hit the bonus twice. Of course I went to my favorite machine and it was unkind 🤬.

I played until our 8:30 reservation at 150CP. None of my dining reservations are showing in the app. I told the person making them to just schedule a different restaurant each night at 8pm. Therefore I don't know where I'm going. I had to pop in Giovanni's and ask them. I will say that Giovanni's, Chop's, and 150CP had maybe 4 tables each.

We are going to try it. By "it" I mean heading to Playmakers for wings right after 150CP. My brother wants to eat hard.

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9 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

We are going to try it. By "it" I mean heading to Playmakers for wings right after 150CP. My brother wants to eat hard.

Did you make it to Playmakers? I'm normally stuffed after specialty but never been to 150CP which doesn't looking very heavy compared to say Giovanni's. Regardless, props to him for wanting all that AFTER you had lunch at Mason Jar, lol.

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