OCSC Mike

With rare exceptions, agree with the cliched "those days are long gone"... for now at least.

Nooooo! We love Mason Jar & are very strategic about not doubling up specialty dining with days we know I’ll stuff myself, lol. Thanks for the response. I like to eat & will try as many Mexican items as I can but my picky wife will likely stick to American fare so glad you mentioned the pizza. A YouTube review I watched said it was good. I like the idea of smaller portions when it’s all you can eat so I can try more things. We went to Mason Jar brunch when we were with an extended family group of 8 and tried a large portion of the menu. I’m trying to figure out how to order when it’s just the two of us. I liked so many things I don’t wanna skip any of them. Thanks again for the review & response!

Thanks for sharing. Going there for the 1st time in July. I prefer smaller portions b/c I like trying lots of different items. Even if you want to stick to 1-2 items you can just keep ordering more. My wife barely drinks. How was the smoothie?

That’s been my experience as well & we are also big fans. Good signature drinks in addition to the food too!

No, I was going by old reports. Haven’t seen it discussed in a while so thanks for your update. Personally, the only time I’ve ever bothered to try to use them was on my one & only B2B in 2022 (no issues there). I hope you’re right about the standardization though.

Can make some nice drinks with that stuff.

Based on reviews I’ve read, including a live blog from December, I’ve heard very good things & am definitely looking forward to it.

Thanks for sharing. Favorite food items? Any unique drinks you enjoyed?

We're trying it for the 1st time in July. Didn't have the best time at Nachi in October. Quiet and relaxing but some drinks were awful and food was meh. Have heard good things about Paradise Beach. Enjoy!

On some ships (I believe it was like this on Allure in October but my memory is awful) you will see 5:00-5:15pm posted outside the MDR for early seating. My understanding is you're really supposed to be there within 15 minutes of the start time. As mentioned above, showing up significantly late just messes up everything (for both staff and guests). It's banquet-style dining, not a restaurant. Courses are meant to come out at roughly the same time for everyone.

Just an FYI going forward... being able to use vouchers on disembarkation morning can vary from ship to ship and sailing to sailing. Some are able to, others aren't.

Same for us in June (and July) on Wonder. We were supposed to go there in 2019 but high winds prevented Harmony from docking. 😭 And we actually were there last June with extended family but they don't really get off the ship and were treating us to Sky Class (which is the only time we'd have it) so my wife decided she didn't want to ditch them knowing we'd be going back this year. 🤣

The actual sale now runs THU-FRI (it used to be earlier). The flyer from that link varies but usually comes out earlier in the week. I'd say just check randomly on Monday, then Tuesday, etc.

It can't hurt living here and if you book TA group rates (which have refundable deposits) you can always keep an eye out for last minute deals and then decide if you want cancel any cruises you booked early. I did find one last October less than a month out and I had a friend find a good deal on Wonder in a GGG sale in the fall... they are just nothing like what they used to be. In 2022, there were multiple 4N cruises on Indy out of PC with a base price of $129pp in the GGG sale. We also squeezed in an October cruise that year and would have gone more than once if we were more flexible. It's those deals that are currently long gone (for several reasons).

Not with how full ships are these days. I used to book fairly last minute (3-6 weeks out), sometimes during the GGG sale, but even those deals are few & far between.

Don't feel guilty. If you didn't enjoy cruising you wouldn't have taken however many you have. We're extremely frugal in everyday life. I had to force myself to get my brain to accept that we are fortunate enough to be able to cruise a few times/year and it brings us happiness so it's worth spending on.

Good to hear. You made it sound like you weren't getting anything you valued at D+ since you referred to them as "Two Hershey bars and a Coke." Maybe I just took it wrong. I have no interest in breaking down the dollar value of various perks.

One of our favorite excursions ever. Going back on it in a couple weeks after 7 years. Can't believe it's been that long.

Some info in here although Paradise Beach is mentioned several times and not on your list. We're trying Paradise Beach this summer after Nachi wasn't great for us in October.

I will but I'm likely just booking group rates and forgetting about it. I found last minute deals to squeeze into October the past two years that included one random day when my wife's school was closed (in-service day or teacher non-workday or whatever) but beyond that I'm just assuming there won't really be any for our restricted schedule. You're probably right but they mattered before this latest release, even for me. My Spring Break 2024 and 2025 Wonder cruises are significantly cheaper (percentage-wise) than my June and July 2024 Wonder cruises (same cabin type, group, etc.). Summer 2025 and Spring Break 2026 on Utopia are virtually identical. Yeah, I went over the rates I priced for a few different ships with my wife and she asked about Star... which I left out for obvious reasons.

You'll be on her before I will. I'm up to booking Summer 2025 and Spring 2026 (at yes, not great prices, but we're locked into the school schedule so it is what it is).

As someone already in the process of booking Utopia, one mention of the Back to the Future possibility made my wife say "Then we're booking Utopia." 🤣

As a couple, I'm looking forward to our 2 additional free drinks per day, 2 BOGO specialty meals, and 2 more days of internet. Not saying you should value the additional perks but I will.

Given than I have a few Utopia cruises from last week's release on hold as we speak... I concur! 🤣 Wife said 5 times on Wonder was enough and if we do B2B's on Utopia we'll spend nothing on excursions since it's just CocoCay/Nassau which helps with the overall cost. That's my logic at least.

Utopia will have it. And I agree it was one of the best meals I've ever had on a ship.