🌞Summer Vibes: Raise a Glass to Freedom; Symphony of Serenity; A Wonderful Life – FR 06.30.2025; SY 07.27.2025; WN 08.17.2025

[OCSC Mike]

7 hours ago, SweetPea said:

Yes, totally Erin related. A lovely eastern itin (Tortola, St. Maarten, Puerto Plata, San Juan, Bermuda was turned into Bahamas + Bermuda, with us staying at Pier 88 or slipping into the NY harbor for the 1st 3 days. 

That sucks.

9 hours ago, SweetPea said:

THANKFULLY, we're with 11 friends and fellow troublemakers so we'll cope.

I have little doubt you'll make the best of it!

[OCSC Mike]

10 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

They already are. We ordered Giovanni’s and I kept it simple with their soup and spaghetti and I was able to eat it all and keep it down. Finished off with a ranger cookie for dessert!

Great! Hopefully you're working your way back to full meals. Some GK > no GK and you have the rest of the cruise.

Given that it was our first time with the UDP and how much I enjoy my food, I was very happy that my one night of not feeling well wasn't during the UDP half of last month's cruise or I would have been pretty upset.

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

I’m counting on Erin to race forward and leave @Lovetocruise2002 alone along with everyone else on cruises being sidelined by HER!  Darn hurricanes !

[lovetheplaya]

Oh no! Sorry to hear you were not feeling well. I had to laugh at hubby still on the wave! I need to find something I love that much.  

here’s to better, calmer, sunny days ahead! 

[AshleyDillo]

19 hours ago, MLH said:

Thats what I was thinking.  Did you guys ge reservations.  I found it hard to believe they would allow buyouts on the President's cruise.  Maybe when the genie reaches out e can confirm.

I don't know if we've heard back from our shoreside Genie for that one. We have too many booked and I'm not in charge, so I get them all confused 

14 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Maybe the internet is just all jacked up from the weather....

That was my first thought, too.

12 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

On another note I thought Chops on Wonder was below mid.

It's been a loooong time since I've been WOWed at all by any Chops experience. Not sure if it's just the general trend of declining service and quality or my over exposure, though.

[Sweety]

I am loving the food pictures, especially the red velvet cake. School is on and popping. I love my classes. I am teaching physics. This is great, because I know the juniors. I have first and eighth periods off. My last year is starting off amazing. My Dad is doing well and driving. Royal gave me travel credits for my missed cruise. I already spent it.

[Lovetocruise2002]

10 hours ago, SweetPea said:

Yes, totally Erin related. A lovely eastern itin (Tortola, St. Maarten, Puerto Plata, San Juan, Bermuda was turned into Bahamas + Bermuda, with us staying at Pier 88 or slipping into the NY harbor for the 1st 3 days. 

Yikes! In the end, as it was yesterday, that is expected during hurricane season. Like you already said though, still better to be on a ship than at home. 

[OCSC Mike]

I know I'm the weirdo who just had Chops for the first time last month (on Utopia) but I really enjoyed my meal... except for the ribeye which was average at best and not nearly as good as any of the filets I've had at Giovanni's, CK, or the Beach Club (and I usually prefer ribeye to filet). I really liked the pretzel rolls, goat cheese salad, bacon app, multiple potato-based sides, and the red velvet cake.  My wife thought it was OK (I am never using the word "mid", sorry, lol) but didn't love it b/c she also preferred all the other filets to her Chops filet and she was pretty much limited to Caesar salad as far as apps due to pickiness.

All that said, I still prefer GK and MJ, our usual go-to specialties, so Chops will likely only be an UDP meal for us.

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

I’m counting on Erin to race forward and leave @Lovetocruise2002 alone along with everyone else on cruises being sidelined by HER!  Darn hurricanes !

 

47 minutes ago, lovetheplaya said:

Oh no! Sorry to hear you were not feeling well. I had to laugh at hubby still on the wave! I need to find something I love that much.  

here’s to better, calmer, sunny days ahead! 

Already back to normal today! Thank you for the good wishes. 
 

2 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Given that it was our first time with the UDP and how much I enjoy my food, I was very happy that my one night of not feeling well wasn't during the UDP half of last month's cruise or I would have been pretty upset.

I was the opposite, I looked in the mirror this morning and was happy I looked slightly thinner

20 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

It's been a loooong time since I've been WOWed at all by any Chops experience.

Same! Utopia in March was the only exception. Maybe that is why they are being dethroned as the most popular. 
 

5 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

I know I'm the weirdo who just had Chops for the first time last month (on Utopia) but I really enjoyed my meal..

 

I can back you on that. UT was miles ahead of other Chops in the fleet. It was a noticeable difference. 

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I was the opposite, I looked in the mirror this morning and was happy I looked slightly thinner

 That would cause me to ensure I made up for it during the rest of the cruise. When I woke up feeling perfectly fine after that rough night where I barely ate dinner and had no late night snack I couldn't wait to get back to eating!

3 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I can back you on that. UT was miles ahead of other Chops in the fleet. It was a noticeable difference.

Weird but I'm not complaining... especially since our next UDP is also Utopia and I don't expect to have it again anytime soon after that unless another crazy 55% off sale pops up.

[Lovetocruise2002]

Back to our regular scheduled programming lol

[Lovetocruise2002]

Also, Hubby was dead serious this morning before he left for the wave. He said for future bookings, I need to keep in mind the ships with 2 flowrider and prioritize those. There are suite snobs…and there are flowrider snobs

[twangster]

14 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Also, Hubby was dead serious this morning before he left for the wave. He said for future bookings, I need to keep in mind the ships with 2 flowrider and prioritize those. There are suite snobs…and there are flowrider snobs

Guess you're stuck on 4 ships for the foreseeable future then...

[Geezer Of The Seas]

37 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Also, Hubby was dead serious this morning before he left for the wave. He said for future bookings, I need to keep in mind the ships with 2 flowrider and prioritize those. There are suite snobs…and there are flowrider snobs

Wet decks, bobbing & rocking ship, why did he need a Flowrider?

[LandstromCruise]

12 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Hubby was you know where lol

DEDICATED!!  We are a special breed us flowriders

[Lovetocruise2002]

52 minutes ago, twangster said:

Guess you're stuck on 4 ships for the foreseeable future then...

I did not say I agreed with him. I just told him his thoughts were noted I also pointed out that Royal is sticking to one wave on all new builds since WN. 

27 minutes ago, Geezer Of The Seas said:

Wet decks, bobbing & rocking ship, why did he need a Flowrider?

Forget that! Yesterday we could barely walk straight in the cabin lol

22 minutes ago, LandstromCruise said:

DEDICATED!!  We are a special breed us flowriders

Indeed! Anyone who was out there yesterday morning is dedicated. 

[LandstromCruise]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Also, Hubby was dead serious this morning before he left for the wave. He said for future bookings, I need to keep in mind the ships with 2 flowrider and prioritize those. There are suite snobs…and there are flowrider snobs

Completely agree.  I won’t NOT go on the others, but if I can I’m going to try and book with 2 flowriders 

[Lovetocruise2002]

Some things I forgot to note because I couldn’t get on my phone much: 

The Crown Lounge has now relocated to Deck 16 aft, port side. According to the concierge, it has only been open there for a few weeks. It is nicer with the windows, but for me, I prefer it on Deck 4. It’s nice to run into there before a show to grab a drink. Poor Hubby tried to go make me some tea yesterday and said they took the CL away. He went to Deck 4. It’s literally on his way to the wave each day as it’s right next to the port side sports deck door.

Also, at one point during the day yesterday, D17 went to grab some disposable cups for me from the CL and they did ask to see her card, even though she got in the door with her card. 

[Jax]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Also, Hubby was dead serious this morning before he left for the wave. He said for future bookings, I need to keep in mind the ships with 2 flowrider and prioritize those. There are suite snobs…and there are flowrider snobs

And this is why I haven’t mentioned a hold I have on X to Lindsay. I can always win over Reyd with a big deck; this flowrider obsession is more difficult.  Lol 

[Lovetocruise2002]

Just now, Jax said:

And this is why I haven’t mentioned a hold I have on X to Lindsay. I can always win over Reyd with a big deck; this flowrider obsession is more difficult.  Lol 

In that case, don’t tell him about the flowrider FB group lol

[Jax]

33 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Hubby tried to go make me some tea yesterday and said they took the CL away. He went to Deck 4.

“Took the CL away” Haha it’s almost as if you are talking about Lindsay with the exception he has no idea what a CL is.  

 

35 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

It’s nice to run into there before a show to grab a drink.

Good tip. Now that we are diamond that’s an option if we are not star class.  

[WAAAYTOOO]

12 minutes ago, Jax said:

Good tip. Now that we are diamond that’s an option if we are not star class.  

Yeah, right !  Like that's ever gonna happen !  

[Lovetocruise2002]

50 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Yeah, right !  Like that's ever gonna happen !  

You beat me to that comment! There is no way she ever would

[Lovetocruise2002]

Ribs in CK today. Not as good as SY a few weeks ago. They did not fall off the bone, and were not tender like the ones on SY. Also, @OCSC Mike, I asked Shereen (probably the best CK host/hostess in the fleet) where Vinay is now and he is in the MDR. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

The plan for the rest of the afternoon is to get off the ship for a bit because the kids want to. Hubby is on the wave until 1pm and we will leave shortly after that. D17 wanted WJ and D19 wanted ELF so they are all fending for themselves for lunch. 

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Ribs in CK today. Not as good as SY a few weeks ago. They did not fall off the bone, and were not tender like the ones on SY.

Sorry to hear. You know I’m convinced that anything can be hit and miss at this point… even on the same ship in a short time frame let alone across different ships. At least you got to experience the good version first so you know why my family liked them so much.

5 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Vinay is now and he is in the MDR. 

I guess that’s better than crew mess but he’s still being wasted. I’m sure he does a fine job but that’s too big a venue for him to possibly show the exceptional personal attention we got in CK.

[Lovetocruise2002]

10 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Sorry to hear. You know I’m convinced that anything can be hit and miss at this point

For sure! It’s all ship dependent.

11 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

guess that’s better than crew mess but he’s still being wasted. I’m sure he does a fine job but that’s too big a venue for him to possibly show the exceptional personal attention we got in CK.

I agree with you on that one as well. The one right now is definitely not Vinay level. 

[Jax]

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Yeah, right !  Like that's ever gonna happen !  

Haha never say never! (I do have a hold over on X) Let’s just say I will need LOTS of help from all you guys when that day comes. And can you imagine my blog. It is embarrassing how little I pay attention to certain details when I cruise.  

[Jax]

58 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

You beat me to that comment! There is no way she ever would

You have a point with Royal BUT did you miss the comment of me having a hold on X. No genie, no flowrider. If I am being honest there is a better than 50% I won’t commit. I hate the non refundable deposit and then having a gun to my head to rebook with X if plans change.  

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, Jax said:

You have a point with Royal BUT did you miss the comment of me having a hold on X. No genie,

No my friend, I did not miss your comment. I just know you well enough to not take that comment seriously

[Lovetocruise2002]

This afternoon we got off the ship for a bit in St. Thomas. There was a ton of seaweed that washed up. The smell wasn’t great either.

Came back and did some reading. Back to Mason Jar for dinner. I have never tried the chicken pot pie before, I liked it. Would probably order it again. They did have Mississippi Moonlight tonight. We had the same waiter as boarding day and he brought me two lol. I finished both. Love that drink! D19 got the peach tea again. 

After dinner we went to the ice show. These ice shows all blend together after a while. For some reason I thought this one had drones, but it had snow instead. All around good day! 
 

[bellemiche]

Lovely family pictures! I'm happy to see you're smiling and feeling better.

[OCSC Mike]

9 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

They did have Mississippi Moonlight tonight. We had the same waiter as boarding day and he brought me two lol.

Never seen one in that glass before. They used to come in actual Mason Jars (with a handle), then they stopped on my Wonders, then they had them again on Utopia this summer.

9 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I have never tried the chicken pot pie before, I liked it. Would probably order it again.

My wife got it the first time we went and liked but didn't love it then tried it again this summer and liked it.

My ribs are missing but I spy several items we order. 

9 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

These ice shows all blend together after a while.

Not if you see the same one five times in a row, lol. Wonder's is still my favorite.

Sounds like you guys had a good night!

[Sweety]

Love Mason Jar.

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

Never seen one in that glass before. They used to come in actual Mason Jars (with a handle), then they stopped on my Wonders, then they had them again on Utopia this summer

When I look back at all my Mississippi moonlight pics, they all come in different glasses. I think the only time I got the drink in an actual Mason Jar was two years ago on WN. 
 

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

My ribs are missing but I spy several items we order. 

Hubby wanted to order it but he was wearing white and decided he would get it the next night we have dinner at MJ. 
 

[Lovetocruise2002]

Today we are in St. Kitts. We will probably do the same as yesterday. Wait for kids to wake up, wait for Hubby to get off the wave, then go and walk around for a bit.

This morning I had the Chorizo flat bread in CK. Another food item that is not as good as SY a few weeks ago. 

[lovetheplaya]

Nice to see all of your happy smiling faces and food pics! have fun in St Kitts!

[Sweety]

Alexander Hamilton was born in St. Kitts.

[Lovetocruise2002]

Back from walking around. They all want to go to the WJ

[OCSC Mike]

15 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Back from walking around. They all want to go to the WJ

To be fair, I’m guessing not many options around 1pm on a port day on Wonder.

You know I’ll find something anywhere & don’t mind the WJ but when we had the UDP on Utopia, it was really nice that GK and Izumi in the Park were open for lunch on Nassau days. Can’t remember how early ELF opened but I feel like it was fairly early for a port day.

Totally understandable why many/most people wouldn’t want to do the shorty B2B’s but if you sail for the ship there are little hidden benefits like that.