Rogueperson's **Live** Mariner of the Seas 9/24/21

[Rogueperson]

So fun story.  I’m waiting in line and someone behind me starts yapping at us.  i turn around and its a pair of friends from home i haven’t seen in years.  Cool surprise.

[Rogueperson]

More pictures from Universal.  

 

 

[ampurp85]

Simpsons land is my favorite part of Universal. Also I actually like the Kong ride, lots of people say it isn't worth the wait but I am not a rollercoaster girl. I will be there Oct 28-30. Have HHN tickets for Thurs the 29th. Then we board Allure on the 31st. That's the way to do it, tire your self out at the theme parks and relax on a cruise after.

[Rogueperson]

I’m sooooooo tired.  I haven’t done a full day in an amusement park in years.  Added to the fact that i did this on less than 5 hours sleep and a gouged out Trenti Iced Coffee.

 

So Halloween Haunted nights

 

 

They were not kidding.  This is a serious effort.  No expense spared.  its amazing.  All the houses were awesome.  Some more than others.  I have some slight issues but overall, an amazing experience .

 

First issue.  Insanely busy and this was a wednesday night.  It is worse on the weekends.  If you want to do everything, you need an express pass.  Its not cheap.  My friend who u went with had one and we finished everything by 8:30.  Good thing too because i’m exhausted and my feet hurt.

 

Second Issue.  You get pushed through these houses pretty quickly.  there are staff members stationed every couple of yards in the house to hurry people through.  Their presence, though understandable, retracts from the experience.  People are lined up back to back so there’s no real scares as you can easily see people in front of you and unless they happen to pop up right in front of you, it’s ineffective at least for me.

 

Third.  Covid protocols.  Not blaming HHN and they managed well.  To protect their workers, they’ve utilized plexiglass shields.  They act as mirrors in some ways and they pop out through in behind the screen.  They can back away and become invisible until the next scare.  However, you can easily expect a hidden monster there.

 

And thats HHN from me.  I still have another day tomorrow.

 

A small hiccup.  I took the home proctored test.  It came back inconclusive.  I’ve never done this before.  I followed all the dude’s instruction and waited 15 minutes.  No strip.  Lady who came back to view results asked if i twirled it 3 times in the card.  I said no because he didn’t tell me to.   So i am still not cleared.  Fortunately i’m neurotic and already scheduled a test at cvs in case this was a possibility.  The lady also mentioned that they physically sell these proctored tests at walgreens supposedly.  

 

Of course i would have adventures like this

 

 

[Rogueperson]

Good Morning from Orlando again everyone.

 

I slept better last night but i’m not back 100%. I’m still limping a little because all that walking yesterday my soles started aching but not quite blister level.  I need to take it easier today.  I’m not rushing as much.  Right now, i’m sitting at a leisurely breakfast.

 

 

 There are a couple things i want to do at the park, but for all intents and purposes, I’ve done everything i wanted to do at the park and today is just gravy.

 

 

[Rogueperson]

This is what a 20 dollar breakfast at Universal looks like.  

 

It should get me through most of the day.

[lazydayz]

21 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

This is what a 20 dollar breakfast at Universal looks like.  

 

It should get me through most of the day.

 

Yikes, makes the breakfast for dinner meal earlier in your trip look good!  Have a great day, and enjoy.  We love the Mariner.  Just off it on Monday and had a great cruise.  Action packed since it was only three nights.  We had great weather at Coco Cay and really enjoyed the Beach Club. 

[Rogueperson]

I’m definitely reeling from over exertion from yesterday.  Fortunately today is just a gravy day.  I’ve made it to the park and rode a couple rides.  I’m taking it easy at Mel’s Diner before i have walk all the way back to the parking lot to catch my ride to CVS.  

 

[Rogueperson]

The testing at CVS was easy.  I was in and out in 5 minutes.  Too bad the closest CVS with an appointment was 20 minutes away.

 

Its official.  I’m negative.  I’m feeling less stressed now.  Its a go!!!

 

If I could do the test at home (meaning near me), i would do the CVS and not the home test.  Its was very much painless and hassle free.  Next time (in December), i will make an appointment near me and do it before i fly down.  Yes, expect a live thread for the first Brilliance from Tampa in December.

 

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Rogueperson

[FionaMG]

12 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

Its official.  I’m negative.  I’m feeling less stressed now.  Its a go!!!

 

Great news!

 

I know the feeling because we just did our pre-departure tests and all came back negative. It's like a huge weight being lifted off your shoulders!

[Rogueperson]

Another thing about Halloween Haunted Nights.  They offer some outlandish food.  Candied Pork Belly, Fried PBJ uncrustables and donut sliders to name a few.  I can do the houses and attraction or I can do food.  If i tried to do both, I would not make it.

 

This is the fried PBJ uncrustables.

 

 

Here a few more pics from HHN

 

 

[Coralc]

That looks...interesting.  And fun. 

[Bailey & Sophie]

 

Looks like a fun trip.

Your puppy is absolutely adorable.

[Rogueperson]

Good morning from Orlando.

 

My feet were done last night.  I was pretty much out by 12:30.  So me getting up at 8am is a good night sleep.  This room unfortunately does not keep light.  I have an interior in Mariner so it should be different.

 

 I’m packed and ready to go already.  I already got my coffee.  I remembered that i had points on my starbucks app but no dice, they don’t accept that here.  Lame.  I’m debating if i want to get breakfast.   my choice is to leave the resort, spend money on transportation as my friend is not here now or pay the upcharge for mediocre breakfast here.  The choices here are pretty slim.

[Rogueperson]

Oh wow.

 

The safety briefing is really simple.  Play a quick video and listen to the alert.  Last step can be completed once i board and check in at the muster station.  I just got a notification on my phone and completed it.

 

 

 

 

[Rogueperson]

Well, I’m onboard now.  We got here exactly at noon but there was a line.  The line wasn’t bad.  It was mostly because of multiple checks for negative test results and vaccination status.  I think we had to show our negative status and vaccination a total of four times.  

 

So door to door time

 

 

not great but with covid protocols, its fine

 

 

[2Martinisluvcruzin]

21 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

Well, I’m onboard now.  We got here exactly at noon but there was a line.  The line wasn’t bad.  It was mostly because of multiple checks for negative test results and vaccination status.  I think we had to show our negative status and vaccination a total of four times.  

 

So door to door time

 

 

not great but with covid protocols, its fine

 

 

Congratulations for the negative test and boarding. Looking forward to following along.  Have a great trip

[Rogueperson]

Oddly enough, my normal internet speed test keeps timing out and not working.  I found a work around.

 

 

Photos seem to upload ok.  Not O3B standard, but i knew this ship wasn’t outfitted.

 

Windjammer on embarkation day is my nightmare.  On the best of cruises, I do not like coming here.  

 

 

Its down right roomy.  Granted, some of these tables were unavailable due to social distancing, but it was easy finding a table.  This is the only time I will probably eat here on this cruise.  Usually i skip it totally.  But thats just me and your miles may vary.

[Rogueperson]

Lunch is done.  Next activity, our fb group meet up at Sky Bar.

[Rogueperson]

1 hour ago, Rogueperson said:

Well, I’m onboard now.  We got here exactly at noon but there was a line.  The line wasn’t bad.  It was mostly because of multiple checks for negative test results and vaccination status.  I think we had to show our negative status and vaccination a total of four times.  

 

So door to door time

 

 

not great but with covid protocols, its fine

 

 

FYI Record is under 11 minutes in Baltimore.  My 1st live thread.

[Biker19]

26 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

Not O3B standard, but i knew this ship wasn’t outfitted.

Something is not right if the ship doesn't have O3B - the best one can hope for latency is about 600ms - not sure what that unloaded 303 ms refers to.

[jam19872016]

1 hour ago, Rogueperson said:

Well, I’m onboard now.  We got here exactly at noon but there was a line.  The line wasn’t bad.  It was mostly because of multiple checks for negative test results and vaccination status.  I think we had to show our negative status and vaccination a total of four times.  

 

So door to door time

 

 

not great but with covid protocols, its fine

 

 

 

Looking forward to reading your live! So glad you are doing it, I have never read a live while being on that same cruise so this will be a nice treat for me 🙂

 

I boarded about the same time, we were probably very close in line. I was surprised by the line, it wasn't long and it moved along pretty fast but I wasn't expecting it. Then I remembered I had a 12:30 check in and was part of the problem lol.

 

Glad to be back on board and look forward to reading what you get up to this weekend!

[cynt]

Thanks for the Live review. I'm 12 days and counting before I board the Indy. Since cruising is down tremendously I'm having a hard time finding Live reviews to keep me occupied as I count down to my cruise. You and Jam are keeping my excitement ALIVE! I don't care how many times I cruise I still get crazy excited to board the ship. That feeling never goes away. It's been 28 months since my last cruise. I am so ready to cruise again.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Edited September 24, 2021 by cynt

[Rogueperson]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Something is not right if the ship doesn't have O3B - the best one can hope for latency is about 600ms - not sure what that unloaded 303 ms refers to.

I thought O3B got about 200 ms.  I ignored the 303 ms number and just went with the 627 number, which is average for non O3B.  I usually defer to you on these matters in the past.  If you don’t know what unloaded means, I’m useless then.

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, Rogueperson said:

I thought O3B got about 200 ms.

It is - just wondering where that 303 ms number came from.