SweetPea Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 That's right, frenz, you've just stepped right on into another episode of 'Two Idiots Spending Absolutely No One's Inheritance.' Except that I am excited, a little sad, and friggin panicked at the same time. You see, Batman and I decided to retire. Our last work day will be tomorrow, 1/3/25. Voluntarily. My company went and lost its dang mind. We’ve been festering in hot water for a while, but it was starting to boil, and it was time to bail before we completely lost our health and sanity. Our company was actively looking for insane ways to get good people to quit, and we caved. I hate that we gave them exactly what they wanted and they won. For now. In the long run, I think we made the right call. I will miss my team dearly (DEARLY!), but our CEO is a hot steaming turd, and I hope he rots in hell. That wasn’t very Christian of me. Sorry. Let me rephrase. I hope he repents and finds Jesus. That’s better. Anyway, we saw the proverbial writing on the wall, and thankfully started getting our ducks in a row 18 months ago and working with a CFP so that when the next dumb thing dropped, we were ready to go quickly. Well, that dumb thing dropped towards the end of November, but we had a nice staycation till the beginning of December, and then promptly announced our retirement upon our return-to-work. December has been one WILD emotional ride. So, I think this cruise will be a GREAT way to start our retirement, and we won’t have to worry about getting back to work when we return. I don’t even know what that is going to feel like. But I’m excited to find out! Well … now that that is out of the way …. My goal has been to do longer-than-a-week in Star Class for ages and with shutdown and then restrictions, we've not had much luck. Here's how this one worked out. I didn't realize that Royal had released Bayonne/Cape Liberty itineraries for early 2025 until the evening of release day. Once I realized it, I began searching for cruises > 7 nights. Odyssey is doing two 11-night itineraries and one 12-night after the two 11- nights. By the time I checked, there was exactly one Star Class stateroom left on all 3 itineraries. It was actually a good price. I immediately emailed my TA to hold it for me, and luckily, she saw my email straight away and did so (IFKYK). I know why this cruise was the least popular of the 3 .... it has the least exciting itinerary. I would've ’d Barbados (my fave!!!) like the other two have as a port stop, but i chalked it up to kismet that the one SC room left was over Batman's birthday (Jan 6), which we typically never get to celebrate in a big way. (I truly think God knew we were going to NEED this cruise on this date!) I kept this cruise a secret from Batman for a while because …. Batman does not want stairs in his stateroom, and I knew this would be an issue because, as you know, the only Star Class staterooms on Odyssey are lofts. He HATES Grand Loft Suites! Last time we did a Grand Loft on Anthem, we mastered throwing items up and down from the bedroom to the living room and vice versa. I didn’t break this cruise to him until we went on Oasis in Sept 2023. To be fair, I didn’t exactly break it. He saw it as a booked cruise when he was checking in for Oasis and asked, “what the hell is this?” He was ok with it. And by OK with it, I mean I responded by shrugging my shoulders and him saying, “OK.” (You've been there yourself at least once, admit it!) However, I didn’t tell him what room we would be in. Our Genie Lety helped me do that while we were sailing Oasis. I used Lety like the nice restaurant a boyfriend takes his girlfriend to dump her, so she won’t throw a major scene. Batman kept his composure in front of Lety. I told him he’ll use the downstairs closets and bathroom and only climb the stairs to sleep and like it. He acquiesced. Sort of. Just two weeks ago, Batman asked me out of the blue “do we have a good room?” Sigh. I had to explain that if he wanted Star Class, I booked the only type of room available and tried to get him excited that there are only 5 SC rooms on the entire ship of like 2100 staterooms. This also prompted questions like … “how close are we to the Suite Lounge?” And, “oh, is it like Allure?” Batman thinks we’ve sailed on the Allure. We’ve never been on the Allure. We’ve been on the Anthem, which is the ship he insists is the Allure.... We are in Stateroom 8324. Maybe a month after I secured our room, I saw the Owner's Loft suite back in inventory, but it was a lot more than what we paid, too much for such a slight upgrade. I'd have booked that in the first place, because i think Batman would've liked it better. Oh well. (I stopped short of wishing a pox on the house of the person who held it for such a short time, though it was tempting!). Then, nearly a year later, someone let one of the other Grand Lofts go. By that time, Royal priced it more than double the price we paid when they put it back into inventory and got it. It was available for like 2-3 days before someone took it off the market. Good for them. I hope the crazies who paid that have a way better cruise than us in the same exact Stateroom at half the price. When I last checked cruise prices in September of 2024, the Junior Suites were nearly what we paid on release day for our GL. This cruise was the poster child for booking on opening day. Here is the itinerary: Jan 5 Sun: Cape Liberty, Depart 3pm Jan 6 Mon – Jan 8 Wed: @sea (3 consecutive sea days) Jan 9 Thurs: St Maarten 8a-6p Jan 10 Fri: Antigua 8a-6p Jan 11 Sat: St. Kitts 8a-6p Jan 12 Sun: St. Thomas 8a-6p Jan 13 Mon – Jan 15 Wed: @sea (3 consecutive sea days) Jan 16 Thurs: Cape Liberty 6am We do have excursions booked at every port through Royal except for St. Maarten (sadly Holland House is sold out that day, so we are heading next door to Nu Love). Batman is not exactly thrilled with 2 of the excursions, but that’s what you get when you’re Mr. Just-Tell-Me-Where-and-When-to-Show-up-and-What-to-Bring. I’m especially excited for what I booked us in St. Thomas. Only because Batman has been complaining about it for months. I think it’s going to be hilarious. I can’t wait to see how this plays out. I booked these excursions over Labor Day, thinking I’ll get them locked in and then go to town on the Black Friday sale. Nah, the prices shot up after Labor Day and then returned to Labor Day pricing on Black Friday. This was only annoying in that i was constantly barraged by notifications to not miss the Black Friday sale! Hurry! BEST PRICES OF THE YEAR!! Now, I know that this is @asquared17’s worst nightmare. NJ. January. What could go wrong? Well, when you’ve survived the Norwegian Breakaway Bomb Cyclone cruise over NYE 2017/2018 (you can google it or search YouTube for videos as we did make the CBS Evening news!) …. I’m sure this will be a walk in the park (I hope I don’t come to regret these words). We’ll see. What a great retirement kick-off it will be either way. We're just going with it at this point! Once again, Batman doesn’t know I’m blogging, and I like to keep it that way, despite having to blog from a bathroom or closet. Or pretend I’m doing something else when he asks why I’m on my phone so much. I need some more creative excuses. For half the Oasis cruise, he believed I was on my phone playing Wordle ... Wordle! Then he played Wordle himself and realized, “I’m confused: this doesn’t require a lot of typing?” I never responded to that question but instead handed him a beer and changed the subject. So far, he hasn’t figured out that I’m on my phone way more on Royal cruises (blogging) than Norwegian ones (not blogging). Hiding this blog from him has literally turned into a Blood Sport, and it entertains me greatly. Someday, I’m bound to meet one of you on the ship, and you’ll undoubtedly ask, “hey Batman, did you remember your underwear this time?” and then I might have some explaining to do. And for the record, he will want to know how you know his nickname is Batman, but the underwear comment will likely go over his head (he’s sorta proud of surviving the week with one pair of undies, like a badge of honor). #WelcomeToMyMarriage JohnK6404, InmyElement, Debstr66 and 19 others 6 4 11 1 Quote
PPPJJ-GCVAB Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 This is going to be a fun blog to follow! Your writing style is spot on! Thanks for keeping the entertainment going on the Live Blog channel… ! ALSO…CONGRATS on your retirements! Life is grand…for sure especially when cruising is part of it! Cactus527, SweetPea, Sweety and 2 others 3 2 Quote
InmyElement Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 39 minutes ago, SweetPea said: That's right, frenz, you've just stepped right on into another episode of 'Two Idiots Spending Absolutely No One's Inheritance.' Except that I am excited, a little sad, and friggin panicked at the same time. You see, Batman and I decided to retire. Our last work day will be tomorrow, 1/3/25. Voluntarily. My company went and lost its dang mind. We’ve been festering in hot water for a while, but it was starting to boil, and it was time to bail before we completely lost our health and sanity. Our company was actively looking for insane ways to get good people to quit, and we caved. I hate that we gave them exactly what they wanted and they won. For now. In the long run, I think we made the right call. I will miss my team dearly (DEARLY!), but our CEO is a hot steaming turd, and I hope he rots in hell. That wasn’t very Christian of me. Sorry. Let me rephrase. I hope he repents and finds Jesus. That’s better. Anyway, we saw the proverbial writing on the wall, and thankfully started getting our ducks in a row 18 months ago and working with a CFP so that when the next dumb thing dropped, we were ready to go quickly. Well, that dumb thing dropped towards the end of November, but we had a nice staycation till the beginning of December, and then promptly announced our retirement upon our return-to-work. December has been one WILD emotional ride. So, I think this cruise will be a GREAT way to start our retirement, and we won’t have to worry about getting back to work when we return. I don’t even know what that is going to feel like. But I’m excited to find out! Well … now that that is out of the way …. My goal has been to do longer-than-a-week in Star Class for ages and with shutdown and then restrictions, we've not had much luck. Here's how this one worked out. I didn't realize that Royal had released Bayonne/Cape Liberty itineraries for early 2025 until the evening of release day. Once I realized it, I began searching for cruises > 7 nights. Odyssey is doing two 11-night itineraries and one 12-night after the two 11- nights. By the time I checked, there was exactly one Star Class stateroom left on all 3 itineraries. It was actually a good price. I immediately emailed my TA to hold it for me, and luckily, she saw my email straight away and did so (IFKYK). I know why this cruise was the least popular of the 3 .... it has the least exciting itinerary. I would've ’d Barbados (my fave!!!) like the other two have as a port stop, but i chalked it up to kismet that the one SC room left was over Batman's birthday (Jan 6), which we typically never get to celebrate in a big way. (I truly think God knew we were going to NEED this cruise on this date!) I kept this cruise a secret from Batman for a while because …. Batman does not want stairs in his stateroom, and I knew this would be an issue because, as you know, the only Star Class staterooms on Odyssey are lofts. He HATES Grand Loft Suites! Last time we did a Grand Loft on Anthem, we mastered throwing items up and down from the bedroom to the living room and vice versa. I didn’t break this cruise to him until we went on Oasis in Sept 2023. To be fair, I didn’t exactly break it. He saw it as a booked cruise when he was checking in for Oasis and asked, “what the hell is this?” He was ok with it. And by OK with it, I mean I responded by shrugging my shoulders and him saying, “OK.” (You've been there yourself at least once, admit it!) However, I didn’t tell him what room we would be in. Our Genie Lety helped me do that while we were sailing Oasis. I used Lety like the nice restaurant a boyfriend takes his girlfriend to dump her, so she won’t throw a major scene. Batman kept his composure in front of Lety. I told him he’ll use the downstairs closets and bathroom and only climb the stairs to sleep and like it. He acquiesced. Sort of. Just two weeks ago, Batman asked me out of the blue “do we have a good room?” Sigh. I had to explain that if he wanted Star Class, I booked the only type of room available and tried to get him excited that there are only 5 SC rooms on the entire ship of like 2100 staterooms. This also prompted questions like … “how close are we to the Suite Lounge?” And, “oh, is it like Allure?” Batman thinks we’ve sailed on the Allure. We’ve never been on the Allure. We’ve been on the Anthem, which is the ship he insists is the Allure.... We are in Stateroom 8324. Maybe a month after I secured our room, I saw the Owner's Loft suite back in inventory, but it was a lot more than what we paid, too much for such a slight upgrade. I'd have booked that in the first place, because i think Batman would've liked it better. Oh well. (I stopped short of wishing a pox on the house of the person who held it for such a short time, though it was tempting!). Then, nearly a year later, someone let one of the other Grand Lofts go. By that time, Royal priced it more than double the price we paid when they put it back into inventory and got it. It was available for like 2-3 days before someone took it off the market. Good for them. I hope the crazies who paid that have a way better cruise than us in the same exact Stateroom at half the price. When I last checked cruise prices in September of 2024, the Junior Suites were nearly what we paid on release day for our GL. This cruise was the poster child for booking on opening day. Here is the itinerary: Jan 5 Sun: Cape Liberty, Depart 3pm Jan 6 Mon – Jan 8 Wed: @sea (3 consecutive sea days) Jan 9 Thurs: St Maarten 8a-6p Jan 10 Fri: Antigua 8a-6p Jan 11 Sat: St. Kitts 8a-6p Jan 12 Sun: St. Thomas 8a-6p Jan 13 Mon – Jan 15 Wed: @sea (3 consecutive sea days) Jan 16 Thurs: Cape Liberty 6am We do have excursions booked at every port through Royal except for St. Maarten (sadly Holland House is sold out that day, so we are heading next door to Nu Love). Batman is not exactly thrilled with 2 of the excursions, but that’s what you get when you’re Mr. Just-Tell-Me-Where-and-When-to-Show-up-and-What-to-Bring. I’m especially excited for what I booked us in St. Thomas. Only because Batman has been complaining about it for months. I think it’s going to be hilarious. I can’t wait to see how this plays out. I booked these excursions over Labor Day, thinking I’ll get them locked in and then go to town on the Black Friday sale. Nah, the prices shot up after Labor Day and then returned to Labor Day pricing on Black Friday. This was only annoying in that i was constantly barraged by notifications to not miss the Black Friday sale! Hurry! BEST PRICES OF THE YEAR!! Now, I know that this is @asquared17’s worst nightmare. NJ. January. What could go wrong? Well, when you’ve survived the Norwegian Breakaway Bomb Cyclone cruise over NYE 2017/2018 (you can google it or search YouTube for videos as we did make the CBS Evening news!) …. I’m sure this will be a walk in the park (I hope I don’t come to regret these words). We’ll see. What a great retirement kick-off it will be either way. We're just going with it at this point! Once again, Batman doesn’t know I’m blogging, and I like to keep it that way, despite having to blog from a bathroom or closet. Or pretend I’m doing something else when he asks why I’m on my phone so much. I need some more creative excuses. For half the Oasis cruise, he believed I was on my phone playing Wordle ... Wordle! Then he played Wordle himself and realized, “I’m confused: this doesn’t require a lot of typing?” I never responded to that question but instead handed him a beer and changed the subject. So far, he hasn’t figured out that I’m on my phone way more on Royal cruises (blogging) than Norwegian ones (not blogging). Hiding this blog from him has literally turned into a Blood Sport, and it entertains me greatly. Someday, I’m bound to meet one of you on the ship, and you’ll undoubtedly ask, “hey Batman, did you remember your underwear this time?” and then I might have some explaining to do. And for the record, he will want to know how you know his nickname is Batman, but the underwear comment will likely go over his head (he’s sorta proud of surviving the week with one pair of undies, like a badge of honor). #WelcomeToMyMarriage OMG!!! This is the best blog ever...I don't even know where to start...first another cup of coffee and reread everything again..you are so damn funny and share the same sense of humor..Congrats on retirement!!! its the #1 best way to start retirement.. we did the same thing in May..I had a similar experience and left after 30yrs...I still can't believe it and its awesome!!!!!!! So looking forward to this and thanks for sharing.. CravingaCruise and SweetPea 1 1 Quote
SweetPea Posted January 2 Author Report Posted January 2 14 minutes ago, InmyElement said: its the #1 best way to start retirement.. we did the same thing in May..I had a similar experience and left after 30yrs... Thank you! I had 30 years as well! I'm excited but good grief am i going to miss my team. I had to compose my goodbye tribute to them from home because i was a hot mess. In part, I told them they were only losing me but i was losing all of them at once, and so in an odd way, I'm also in a bit of mourning. I'm curious if your emotions ran the gamut as well? Curt From Canada, MaryS, CravingaCruise and 4 others 6 1 Quote
InmyElement Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 Yes, very similar. I had a small team and over the years brought every one them onbboard..interviews, training, etc..we were very close. I realized it was time for the new kids to take over..I certainly miss all the antics, with our work you had to joke and have fun or you would be a mental case..They still include me in parties and outings, which is great!. We call them wellness days, its just a bunch of drinking and catching up on the gossip.. I don't miss the circus, but i miss the clowns . I wish you the best!! SweetPea, Ampurp85, Cactus527 and 6 others 6 1 2 Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 Wow ! Congrats on the retirement. Sorry it came after emotional shenanigans but it’s done now ! Retirement is the best ! SweetPea, Sweety, Ampurp85 and 2 others 3 2 Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 3 minutes ago, InmyElement said: I don't miss the circus, but i miss the clowns . I LOVE this ! Probably going to steal it… PPPJJ-GCVAB, Jax, asquared17 and 8 others 4 1 6 Quote
SweetPea Posted January 2 Author Report Posted January 2 6 minutes ago, InmyElement said: Yes, very similar. I had a small team and over the years brought every one them onbboard..interviews, training, etc..we were very close. I realized it was time for the new kids to take over..I certainly miss all the antics, with our work you had to joke and have fun or you would be a mental case..They still include me in parties and outings, which is great!. We call them wellness days, its just a bunch of drinking and catching up on the gossip.. I don't miss the circus, but i miss the clowns . I wish you the best!! I could've written this exact post! Well, except i think the only reason the rest of my team is staying is that they can't afford to leave just yet so will white knuckle it until they can. I pray they're not in for the rocky ride that i foresee. Thank you all. The Live Boards have been a godsend lately. I've been sobbing one moment and then feeling relieved the next. I always planned for an early retirement, but this feels abrupt. I'm sure I'm going to be another hot mess turning my equipment in tomorrow. Curt From Canada, Ampurp85, Pooch and 9 others 10 2 Quote
OCSC Mike Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 Congrats on the early retirement! Sounds like the timing of this cruise is pretty perfect! Sweety, Ampurp85, CravingaCruise and 1 other 2 2 Quote
Jax Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 That was a lot to take in!! Congrats on your retirements. I laughed as I read about Batman’s reactions..so similar to Lindsay’s. You were right “brother from another mother” This will come as no surprise but Lindsay doesn’t like the lofts either; he said they should close in all that wasted space and create a second bedroom. Looking forward to following along and hearing all about the experience leading up to your cruise and who your genie is!! CravingaCruise and SweetPea 1 1 Quote
SweetPea Posted January 2 Author Report Posted January 2 31 minutes ago, Jax said: That was a lot to take in!! It was cathartic! And yes, I'm convinced Lyndsay and Batman would get along! CravingaCruise and Jax 1 1 Quote
asquared17 Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 4 hours ago, SweetPea said: Last time we did a Grand Loft on Anthem, we mastered throwing items up and down from the bedroom to the living room and vice versa. i need to be a fly on the wall for this 4 hours ago, SweetPea said: didn’t break this cruise to him until we went on Oasis in Sept 2023. To be fair, I didn’t exactly break it. He saw it as a booked cruise when he was checking in for Oasis and asked, “what the hell is this?” what the hell INDEED 4 hours ago, SweetPea said: Just two weeks ago, Batman asked me out of the blue “do we have a good room?” AS IF SHE WOULD PUT YOU IN A CAVE, SIR?!?!?! 4 hours ago, SweetPea said: This also prompted questions like … “how close are we to the Suite Lounge?” And, “oh, is it like Allure?” Batman thinks we’ve sailed on the Allure. We’ve never been on the Allure. We’ve been on the Anthem, which is the ship he insists is the Allure.... perhaps in his fever dreams he has been on allure…. 4 hours ago, SweetPea said: Now, I know that this is @asquared17’s worst nightmare. NJ. January. What could go wrong? INDEED IT IS. WINDS ANS SWELLS. GOODBYE FOREVER. 4 hours ago, SweetPea said: Someday, I’m bound to meet one of you on the ship, and you’ll undoubtedly ask, “hey Batman, did you remember your underwear this time?” and then I might have some explaining to do. this poor man has no idea that his undies have become such a hot topic among so many people…. I AM HERE FOR THIS BLOG!!!!!!!!!! InmyElement, Ampurp85, MaryS and 7 others 8 2 Quote
OCSC Mike Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 Just now, asquared17 said: AS IF SHE WOULD PUT YOU IN A CAVE Now we're cave-shaming??? PPPJJ-GCVAB, CravingaCruise, Ampurp85 and 2 others 5 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 @SweetPea congrats on your retirement! I am most envious…retired and 7+ nights in SC, and in one of my favourite suites!!! I am so happy that you are blogging. I remember when you first told me about booking this sailing. Who cares that’s it’s out of cold NJ when you have so many nights. You and Batman are going to have a great time! I cannot wait to follow along. Sweety, Cactus527, SweetPea and 4 others 6 1 Quote
OCSC Mike Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 28 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: I am most envious I am mostest envious (and I don't need the SC part), lol, I just didn't wanna share it, but since you did... I'm thankful for what we have but it's not likely in the cards for us. I don't think I'd want anything in the world more than an early retirement, as much for my wife as myself. CravingaCruise, InmyElement, SweetPea and 5 others 7 1 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 27 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said: I don't think I'd want anything in the world more than an early retirement, as much for my wife as myself. You’re a good guy @OCSC Mike. I can tell by that statement alone. Ampurp85, Sweety, Cactus527 and 6 others 8 1 Quote
MaryS Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 Congratulations on the early retirement! I always look forward to your blogs. They keep me laughing while I'm working (still have 2 years until I retire). I also looked into your Odyssey cruise (and the one going to Barbados also a favorite) but the solo prices were crazy for a balcony cabin. CravingaCruise and SweetPea 1 1 Quote
Ampurp85 Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 Congrats on early retirement! I know there is some bittersweet aspects to the whole thing. I am in a similar situation as you as far as work. I am 23 years in, 24 in May, and the last couple of years the bigwigs have really taken the company in a direction that makes absolutely no sense. Financially, I think I am about a good 5 years away from being able to retire but the goal post keeps changing thanks to shenanigans. It is also sweet that you finally are able to do a longer cruise, however with the way Royal is handling and taking SC, I am wondering if this will be your last cruise with Royal for a while like @asquared17 MaryS, Sweety, OCSC Mike and 4 others 6 1 Quote
asquared17 Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said: Now we're cave-shaming??? omg i simply knew sweetpea would never put batman in an interior since it’s not their vibe SweetPea, OCSC Mike, Sweety and 7 others 2 8 Quote
OCSC Mike Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 1 minute ago, asquared17 said: omg i simply knew sweetpea would never put batman in an interior since it’s not their vibe I know, I know... I'm just a sensitive guy. OK, obviously not, it was just another of my many attempts at humor... Some jokes land, some not so much, it's a numbers game. MaryS, Jax, CravingaCruise and 3 others 6 Quote
SweetPea Posted January 2 Author Report Posted January 2 48 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said: however with the way Royal is handling and taking SC, I am wondering if this will be your last cruise with Royal for a while like @asquared17 Yes, with the changes, i fear we will leave Royal 2 points shy of Diamond. We'll see! I've learned to never say never! CravingaCruise, Jax, Ampurp85 and 1 other 1 3 Quote
Cactus527 Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said: Now we're cave-shaming??? It's a CAVE SUITE. Let's call it what it is! OCSC Mike, MaryS, Ampurp85 and 5 others 8 Quote
Cactus527 Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 Congrats on retirement, @SweetPea! May you and Batman enjoy this phase of life together and not end up on the 6:00 news trying to kill each other. I love the idea of a much longer sailing like what you're doing. Spouse and I did 14 nights in Alaska back in 2010, but we left our toddler with her grandparents and the other one was a bun in the oven. We agreed at the time that six nights wasn't enough but 14 nights was too much, so we're doing 11 this summer. You'll have to let us know what you think of the length of yours! (You know, like the three bears- too long, too short, or just right) Aaaaaand I just reread that and it sounds completely naughty. Going back to plans for my cave suite now... MaryS, PPPJJ-GCVAB, Ampurp85 and 4 others 1 6 Quote
Curt From Canada Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 Following with great interest. Have a great time … Curt from Canada CravingaCruise and SweetPea 1 1 Quote
SweetPea Posted January 2 Author Report Posted January 2 2 hours ago, Cactus527 said: May you and Batman enjoy this phase of life together and not end up on the 6:00 news trying to kill each other. Amen, Cactus, amen. My parents have this market cornered so Batman and i are determined to continue being bemused and amused as opposed to annoyed and impatient. We get front row seats to that and it's not a good look! 1 hour ago, Curt From Canada said: Following with great interest. I got you! I can't wait to tell Batman what i have to do for a friend. I've done this before for others. He'll ask, wait, why are we doing recon again? I simply say .. for a friend who is sailing soon, and he doesn't give it any thought. I'm wondering when he'll catch on .... I mean, we literally have all the same friends and he has no clue. Never asks which friend, nothing. CravingaCruise, Jax, Curt From Canada and 6 others 1 1 6 1 Quote
Curt From Canada Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 1 hour ago, SweetPea said: … I got you! I can't wait to tell Batman what i have to do for a friend. I've done this before for others. He'll ask, wait, why are we doing recon again? I simply say .. for a friend who is sailing soon, and he doesn't give it any thought. I'm wondering when he'll catch on .... I mean, we literally have all the same friends and he has no clue. Never asks which friend, nothing. Your help is above and beyond. It really appears as though we will be « living » in the Music Hall and 270 for most of the cruise. Any advanced information will be helpful. I have told our travel mates that I have a « Spy » on the JAN 05 sailing. They have no clue what I am talking about. I think I will claim a clairvoyant power as my « predictions » come true. Any and all information is greatly appreciated. I can send Batman flowers if that would help. Thanks again … Curt from Canada CravingaCruise, SweetPea, OCSC Mike and 2 others 3 2 Quote
Ampurp85 Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 I love that none of the husbands know anything about anything. Not what ship they are sailing, what city they flew in, the friends you may or may not be talking about. I am glad I haven't remarried; one dumb husband was enough for me......which is to not to say I don't miss him dearly as a friend. Pooch, Cactus527, Jax and 7 others 1 7 2 Quote
OCSC Mike Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 26 minutes ago, Curt From Canada said: I can send Batman flowers if that would help. Please send them regardless. I just want to hear about Batman's reaction if he walked into their cabin and there were flowers with a card that said "Dear Batman, Bon Voyage! From Curt in Canada." PPPJJ-GCVAB, LTR, Gilley and 5 others 7 1 Quote
OCSC Mike Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 3 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said: I love that none of the husbands know anything about anything. Not what ship they are sailing, what city they flew in, the friends you may or may not be talking about. I am glad I haven't remarried; one dumb husband was enough for me......which is to not to say I don't miss him dearly as a friend. Ahem... MOST of the husbands. Given that she has to put up with me and I work from home while she grinds out her teacher salary with rugrats all day, researching and planning our cruises is the least I can do. Still not sure how she manages that first part but I digress... PPPJJ-GCVAB, MaryS, CravingaCruise and 4 others 3 4 Quote
Cactus527 Posted January 2 Report Posted January 2 I truly want to meet Batman someday to ask him about his underwear. Just because I think it would be funny. Jax, CravingaCruise, Ampurp85 and 6 others 1 8 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 3 Report Posted January 3 4 hours ago, Cactus527 said: I truly want to meet Batman someday to ask him about his underwear. Just because I think it would be funny. Shhh! He is not supposed to know that you know about his undies, or lack of @SweetPea would be lost to us forever. Lol Jax, MaryS, Ampurp85 and 5 others 8 Quote
SweetPea Posted January 3 Author Report Posted January 3 I know i mentioned this to @asquared17, but i didn't mention this in my blog at the time. I had someone come up to me on Oasis. God bless him. He waited till Batman went to the restroom to approach me in the pub to ask if i was the one blogging. We chatted for a bit, but he was on the lookout for Batman the whole time, and when Batman came back, my new friend changed the subject on a dime and acted like we'd just randomly started a convo. I'll never forget his kindness. I still pray for him Cactus527, Debstr66, asquared17 and 10 others 2 7 2 2 Quote
Ampurp85 Posted January 3 Report Posted January 3 Do you and Batman work in the same field? Or did you just both happen to retire at the same time? Do you have any plans to do consulting work or part-time? I only asked because I had several coworkers retire between 2023-24 and many have done just that. SweetPea, InmyElement and CravingaCruise 2 1 Quote
SweetPea Posted January 3 Author Report Posted January 3 1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said: Do you and Batman work in the same field? Or did you just both happen to retire at the same time? Do you have any plans to do consulting work or part-time? I only asked because I had several coworkers retire between 2023-24 and many have done just that. Batman and I met at work in 1999 and eventually wound up on the same team, so yes, same exact field. We work (worked! ) in a 24/7/365 environment. As it turned out, 90% of the time, Batman relieved me. I work(ed) 3pm to 11pm for the most part. Batman 11pm to 7am. Let's just say that if my hand- offs to him were not wrapped in a silver bow, i heard about it. We had the same support manager. However, despite our shared last name, many took ages to realize we are related (by choice!). Our job is extremely niche. I knew another comparable job wouldn't be easy to come by. That's why i told our CFP that he better not give us the green light to retire if he thought we'd need to find work again ever. Our current plan is to recover from work trauma and shift work until September. Travel to see family. Swedish Death Cleaning. Then i may volunteer at the hospital 3 blocks from our house. Batman just wants his body to adjust to being awake among the living. Ampurp85, Curt From Canada, asquared17 and 10 others 11 2 Quote
asquared17 Posted January 3 Report Posted January 3 9 hours ago, SweetPea said: I know i mentioned this to @asquared17, but i didn't mention this in my blog at the time. I had someone come up to me on Oasis. God bless him. He waited till Batman went to the restroom to approach me in the pub to ask if i was the one blogging. We chatted for a bit, but he was on the lookout for Batman the whole time, and when Batman came back, my new friend changed the subject on a dime and acted like we'd just randomly started a convo. I'll never forget his kindness. I still pray for him i remember this and i’m still laughing about it CravingaCruise, Ampurp85, InmyElement and 1 other 2 2 Quote
SweetPea Posted January 3 Author Report Posted January 3 Look at me waxing all nostalgic after 1am on a weeknight. If you guessed that i posted that while drinking champagne after discussing when we're going to make our last appearance at work to hand in our equipment and that i was half excited and half crying, you'd be right. Didn't know this was going to turn into an autobiography instead of a cruise blog, did you? I hate when i do that, but warts and all ... Now back to our regularly scheduled nonsense. Cactus527, asquared17, PPPJJ-GCVAB and 7 others 6 4 Quote
Curt From Canada Posted January 3 Report Posted January 3 15 hours ago, OCSC Mike said: Please send them regardless. I just want to hear about Batman's reaction if he walked into their cabin and there were flowers with a card that said "Dear Batman, Bon Voyage! From Curt in Canada." This would be off the charts hilarious. However, to be serious for a moment. I had thought about: "Dear Batman, Thanks for bringing us along on this cruise with you! Curt from Canada" or ... "Dear Batman, Thanks for letting your wife spend so much time in the closet! Curt from Canada" ... I have more, but not to be shared in "polite company" To maintain @SweetPea's "cover" (I am certain Batman would figure out what was going on), I instead have sent flowers to my soulmate. She sends her thanks to @SweetPea for spending so much time in the washroom and closet. Have an incredible trip ... Curt from Canada CravingaCruise, MaryS, SweetPea and 4 others 7 Quote
SweetPea Posted January 3 Author Report Posted January 3 Timeline for a January 5, 2025, embarkation date: Booked: February 2023. Nov 22, 2024: Received our welcome email from our shoreside Genie, Jerryme. Never received a pre-cruise Survey or Questionnaire separately. He included a link to the survey in the welcome email and asked me to complete it if I hadn’t already done so. (ha!) I, like virtually every other experienced Star Class Cruiser, am not a fan of the new shoreside program. I thought about responding to Jerryme: Please book us for all our favorites: Hooked, CP150 x2, every single Ice Show, the Aqua Theater Show (BTW, can you tell me if it's Hiro or Aqua80? I'm having trouble finding it in the app, thanks!), and, most importantly, please rent us out the Rising Tide Bar! I should have. it would have at least prompted a response that I am not booked on an Oasis class ship. I would have taken any response at all. What I did respond with (on Nov 25) was, please schedule us twice at Chops, twice at Giovanni’s Wine Bar (if they even take reservations), once at Izumi Sushi, once at GK. Schedule us for shows first, then dinner whenever possible. For CK, we’d like to do filet mignon night, lamb chops night, and lobster night and whatever other night you think has a good menu. Call me if you have questions! I have no interest in piecing a puzzle together myself with limited information. I did that for the last 25 years of my job. This is vacation! Besides, that is how I always responded to our ship Genie, and I expected to be able to do the same with this shoreside nonsense. As of Dec 30, I’d not heard anything back from Jerryme. At all. Nada. I was determined not to chase anything down and see how everything played out organically. Obviously, this experience is GITCC (‘going in the comment card’ for any casual readers out there). But I am also taking it up a notch. Given my current situation, I had an idea and so I drafted an email: Hello and Greetings, Mr. Bayley I am a seasoned Star Class cruiser looking for a career change. I would like to offer my resume of cruising experience and would welcome the opportunity to serve as a shoreside Genie. Give me a trial run. First two weeks free, and then let me do my thing and be your lead shoreside Genie. You must know the new program is severely lacking and is subpar for a Star Class experience. I can help you fix that. In fact, it would probably be my dream job right now. Call me. We’ll figure this out together! xxoo SweatPea That email is still sitting in my Draft folder, but Batman is really encouraging me to send it. After the abysmal roll out of this program, imagine opening your email and scrolling to the bottom to find Best Regards, SweetPea! Royal Genie Services Royal Caribbean International Once I'm a Genie-light, yes, i will be adding adding that ! after my name. Yahoo! Jeb! SweetPea! As it happens, November 22 would be the first, last, and only time i heard from Jerryme. I did, however, hear from our actual Genie, Rafael, on the 30th via email. Even better. I sent him back a quick message, alerting him that Jerryme ghosted us (well, i was nicer about it ... i think.... I hope. ) and that we had no reservations at all. If he had no info from Jerryme, to let me know and i would send him our preferences. I included both our numbers. The next day, Rafael set up our WhatsApp and asked if he could call. Batman and i were actually supposed to work over New Years, but once we announced our retirement, by God's grace, we were excused from the holiday. It was too late to plan anything and so we had stayed home and watched movies and ordered in Chinese food. Needless to say, our call with Rafael made our night. We got to chatting, and we're a great fit. Rafael sent along our itinerary the next day, NYD. What a way to start the New Year! This cruise is upside-down for us as we are doing early dinner (7pm, yuck!), but there aren't exactly early shows on this cruise, so it is what it is. We typically prefer 8/8:30 dinner, but not at the expense of missing nightly entertainment. But in other news, this was an especially special itinerary because it took 2 pages. Two pages! That says a lot because the only things on our list are a small number of afternoon activities, dinner, and shows. Two pages! This! This is what made me happy!! I can die now. Happy. Cactus527, Jax, Lovetocruise2002 and 7 others 9 1 Quote
SweetPea Posted January 3 Author Report Posted January 3 12 minutes ago, Curt From Canada said: This would be off the charts hilarious. However, to be serious for a moment. I had thought about: "Dear Batman, Thanks for bringing us along on this cruise with you! Curt from Canada" or ... "Dear Batman, Thanks for letting your wife spend so much time in the closet! Curt from Canada" ... I have more, but not to be shared in "polite company" To maintain @SweetPea's "cover" (I am certain Batman would figure out what was going on), I instead have sent flowers to my soulmate. She sends her thanks to @SweetPea for spending so much time in the washroom and closet. Have an incredible trip ... Curt from Canada I'm crying. You're right, though. I have NO idea how i would explain that one. I probably wouldn't and resort to my usual. That's: Step 1: Stare like I'm thinking. Step 2: Give up and shrug my shoulders. Step 3: Hand him a beer. Step 4: Run to the restroom in the hopes he'll forget what he just asked me when i return. The issue here though, is that i would have to hide the flowers so that wouldn't play out each time he eyed the flowers again .... In the middle of night, I'd catch him Googling "cruise + Curt from Canada." Which would lead to Step 5: Divorce. Ampurp85, MaryS, Cactus527 and 6 others 9 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted January 3 Report Posted January 3 9 hours ago, SweetPea said: As it turned out, 90% of the time, Batman relieved me. I work(ed) 3pm to 11pm for the most part. Batman 11pm to 7am. Ah! This finally explains why you two are always up so late on a cruise and sleeping in! CravingaCruise, SweetPea, Ampurp85 and 3 others 3 2 1 Quote
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