jam19872016

Tea time met my expectations. I really wasn't expecting much and it delivered. It was a nice afternoon snack and something to do. Don't expect some fancy, elegant experience and I think you will enjoy it. One thing that did rub me and several others the wrong way was the push for specialty teas. No tea was served to start. A guy came around with the fancy teas for everyone and naturally everyone went to grab them, it is tea time after all. I told my mom it was a cost. He said no only nominal fee. Yes that is a cost. No just a nominal fee. Whatever, no thanks. He moved on to the next lady, same thing. My mom stepped in and let the lady know what I told her. He actually tapped my mom on the shoulder and shushed her and asked her to keep it to herself. Really. She said no thanks. The next table was not so lucky and there was quite a commotion when the free tea finally came out a good five minutes later. I could hear them upset that they were presented with no option but the upcharge tea like it was required. I also heard another lady upset she was being charged when you said no charge. He agreed, just a nominal fee. I'm not sure if his English is not good, or if this is a purposeful deception but it certainly seems intentional. Very shady and not a good look. Otherwise I enjoyed the experience and would go again. Just beware of the tea pushers.

I had to go back and look and I think you are right. I worked around it either way.

Pastries.

No two tops, only sharing table. Sandwiches incoming.

Time for some tea.

Probably. Luckily there is a nice jogging track except when it's raining. It's too warm in the gym for me unless we are in port and the sun is bearing down on the track with no air flow.

Treadmill it is.

The plan is to hit tea time today. That's at 3 so I'm gonna spend a little time in the sauna and walking track if it's not still wet outside. Will do treadmill if it is.

I left a message for the ED at guest services but have not heard back. I'll try to ambush him at the vifp party today.

The fog has lifted and been replaced with rain, storm clouds, and choppy seas. I feel fine but out of an abundance of caution I went ahead and took a pill. The inside areas are packed on this gloomy sea day. I feel bad for those looking to enjoy some sun on their only sea day this cruise because that isn't happening.

Banana cream pie.

Brunch burger at 1202. Oops called it brunch burger, that is the voyage burger.

I love a good one. This one is not bad just went a little heavy on the salt.

Assigned dining is probably better if you don't want to potentially have a long wait. Also keep in mind that guaranteed dining priority assignments for diamond becomes priority and priority for platinum becomes not a thing.

Bloody Mary 1153.

Table ready at 1135. Whisked to my table by a white shirt who knew me by name and my table without me telling him. It's nice having status for one more day. Tomorrow I will just be another face in a sea of diamonds 😆.

Checked in for brunch at 1130 with under 10 minute wait.

I thought about getting my vifp water but I didn't want another open bottle of water in my suit case for the move. It started out pretty miserable but once it started it cleared out pretty quick when Andy informed the crowd it wasn't a spectator event if you were there to watch, you're taking up valuable space, get the fun out. I think he said fun, he may have used a different word 😏.

Thanks for following along. Some observations from my one Journey cruise last year. It's a much more calm crowd and more, ummm, mature. It will be filled with people who enjoy traveling and most will be a joy to be around and share experiences with. Some will be miserable and you will wonder why they are there. Sounds just like CC. Like any large group, there will be bad apples that stick out. Less packs of roaming kids, more speeding scooters that will mow you down if you don't move fast enough. I never saw a line at guest services or for pizza. In fact, you had to ring a bell for service at pizza pirate. Tables were hard to come by at lunch. Card players take over Lido. MDR fills up fast and turns over slow due to more diners who like to eat early and linger over a leisurely dinner. There will be lots of unique menus and activities although the activities will start to get repetitive after about day 10 or 11. Expect lots of trivia and ball room dancing. Things in general just move a lot slower and if you are down with that it is such a great experience. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm sure I'm forgetting something but those are the differences I remember best.

I'm not a bread person so the thought never even occurred to me. You can bet it will next time I find a sauce that yummy 😋. I told my mom if I was at home I would have picked up my bowl and licked it clean 😀😃

I've just been spotted 👀. Thank goodness it was in the Promenade I was recognized and not last night at Quest 😱 Nice meeting a fellow CCer thanks for stopping by.

Grabbed a coffee. Brunch wait is 10-20 minutes but I'm not ready yet anyway. I'll keep an eye on it in case the wait time goes up. It is a very foggy day outside.

+2.6 lbs since two days ago. Steps: Already got 3k steps in today.

Good morning. I'm moving slow this morning and I can't imagine why 🤔. Not too bad just could use some more sleep. Gonna get moving soon and get some brunch and a coffee or maybe coffee and then brunch.

I've got a few posts to respond to and some of my night to fill in but right now I need sleep so I'm gonna get caught up in the morning. Thanks for following along, good night.