Bead Pirate

Spent two weeks on her last month. The lobster (and all the other seafood) was certainly served on embarkation day.

If you are an oyster fan they only serve them through night 3, after that they are disposed of (no way to keep them alive past day 3)...

The difference between beer (Royal) and fine wine (Celebrity)...

Please don't kill the messenger...

If you choose to use the phone on board to make dinner reservations the number is 7000...

Hello, on this cruise with you (14th week on Wonder so far this year). With regard to CK, they have been letting all PINs in during the last several cruises (at least for dinner). As far as knocking on the door, the card reader has been out of service for almost 2 months now, so you just pull the door open. There has been plenty of room at early dinner time (when we eat). I often wonder where everyone went 🙂

The drink package is a must on the T/A's...

On ICON and UTOPIA there are so many B2B's (usually more than 250) that they do not even try to keep up with who is going to be staying on board. We have done 14 days on UTOPIA and 21 days on ICON and got liquor that we purchased delivered to the room every single time.

We just got off of a B4B on Utopia last week... Did the railway on two of the legs, got the reservations way ahead of time by using suite concierge. The wait list is cut off at 250 people (which I think is far too many as they can only seat 48 in each of the two cars twice a night), We actually loved both of the experiences as the food was very good (I can no longer look at a pretzel roll if it is not stuffed and baked with blue cheese). The story changes a bit as the actors have a little freedom to adjust to the crowd. It is a visual experience and also has some tasty food. BTW, I think they misnamed the Utopia of the Seas, perhaps Alpha of the Seas would be more appropriate. The over/under on Alpha calls is 7 on the four-night and 5 on the three-night.

No, it is not (Utopia) We do however have three channels of soccer...

A word of advice, we have been on Utopia for three of the three-day cruises so far (we have one more this weekend). We have eaten in CK, main dining for consecutive cruisers and Giovani's. It all pales in comparison to the seafood spread that the Windjammer puts out on embarkation day. I would not miss this if you are a seafood fan... Royal has generally raised the bar on food quality for both Utopia and Icon across the board.

Not only does Utopia have theme nights, but they also have "party ambassadors" to help people participate in each. I am onboard now (in the middle of a B4B) and the 4-night and the 3-night cruise will be wildly different in terms of energy and participation. On the 4-night most of the main events start at midnight and wind down around 2:30 AM. Night 1 - Let's get this party started and one hit wonder dance party (no color theme) Night 2 - RED nightclub experience (RED is the color of the night) Night 3 - Pool plunge party in afternoon, Rezolution dance party (WHITE is the color of the night) Night 4 - TOGA party (the ambassadors will help you dress with sheets) and Royal Kappa Chi (think a kegger party) On the 3-night be prepared for drink as soon as you can, as much as you can. The bands start later on day 1 in all the venues and the late-night affairs start around 12:30 or 1 AM and run to 3 in the Attic and Sudio B We got in last night at 3 AM to the room, up bright and early at Noon... . They repeat the same party themes as above however there clearly is a bunch of repeat passengers that climb on for the weekend (which is amazing as the current cruise is only #14 since they launched). These folks set the tone for the weekend with lots of sparkly wear every night and they know the routine and where to be...

Watched the docking on the camera this morning. The wind is blowing against the ship as they tried to "push" it just using the thrusters, It was a stalemate, ship would not move into place. Tugs came over and helped push her in that last 10 yards or so. She was tied off shortly after 6 AM

Then perhaps the pumps they are looking at have another function?

We have been on the Wonder for 14 weeks this year (many B2B's)... I can tell you that on each turnaround day there is a team of folks wearing different colored coveralls who descend on the basin when the tide is elevated. they have access areas where they go below. I have sat and watched the process a couple of times. They have 60 minutes to complete the work. The red coveralls appear to be electrical as those two guys work in the switch boxes (there are three). The blue coveralls seem focused on the water pumps as they go down and quickly inspect seals, etc. The white coveralls do cleaning of the basin, inside glass railing, etc. They all vacate the basin, run a test and return it to service in one hour. It is quite the dance..

Getting off wonder on Sunday (been on this one 3 weeks). Going home for 2 weeks and then getting on Utopia for 3 weeks (B6B)... Hoping all of the turnaround days go as smoothly as this one appears to have gone. Thanks for the review! BTW Did manage to snag 2 reservations for the train so far...

Picked reservations up for 8/19 ($75)....

The least crowded option (and it will still be packed) is the Aqua Dome Market place. A nice concept that I hope to see more of in the future (with a lot less children). Curious to see what folks think about CK on this ship. Found it closed off with no view compared to other CK's. If you want to spend some $ (it is well worth it) try empire Supper Club one night. Another neat quick bite stop is Surfside eats. One and done for us on this one, the teens take it over by day two. When 50-75 teens invade your bar and want virgin frozen drinks all at once you might as well move on...

I love my Phoenix, folds up, weighs less than 50 pounds and holds a charge for 4 days.

No one ever gets thrown off. They do say that no one can sail with us unless they have completed the check in. They have a round-up of folks who are no shows by phone, in cabin room attendant and will finally disable your card if you keep hiding. They have a quick group session in the theatre or other venue (depending on number) on evening one for all who refused to go. Why someone would not check in is beyond me. They make it so quick and easy that it takes less than a minute of your time if you have watched the videos on your phone.

We sailed right by her on way down to St Thomas (on Wonder). She came by very close...

On board now, Intense is scheduled at 8:30 and 10:30 tomorrow...

The MSC yacht club is the premier experience at sea, nothing holds a candle (and we love Royal/X)

You sure can, we have done it several times on several ships. They will usually set you up in either the music hall/dazzles or Karaoke spot. Times available will be ugly however (usually early afternoon) I just use the suite concierge to set it up before we board. I suspect you can work through guest services (shoreside) as well. Cost for a couple of hours varies from $750 to $4K (depending on if you want open bar, how many folks you are hosting, do you need a band or DJ, MC, how much food and what type, number of staff, etc..

Both wife and I are Masters, chasing the level again this year (about 1/2 way there). There are many perks with this on your card (reserved show seating, last minute access to sold out shows, CK as a dining room, embarkation lunch, expedited boarding and departure, room upgrades, daily bottles of wine, access to sold out specialty dining, etc.) I like it better than Pinnacle...