​⛴️​ LIVE from Allure ​🎠​ out of Galveston - Ozark_Kid and brillohead team up for a duo-thread: Jan 22, 2023

[Ozark_Kid]

11 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Loving following along; we board on Feb 12.

How is the temperature today?

Low 80's. Nice and warm in the Solarium.  It was windy walking Central Park.  I haven't noticed it blowing around in the Solarium like yesterday but might be because we are lower portside.  Yesterday I noticed when people get in the pool they were saying cold. 

If the temperature stays like it is you will enjoy. 

[BecciBoo]

45 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

They were served Omelets!  

Because they asked!  😂Sorry, I know I'm ad nauseum about it.

[Rogueperson]

7 hours ago, brillohead said:

I chatted with the people sitting next to me at the bar, sang along to the piano player playing all the usual piano bar songs, and then headed to my room on Deck 12 around midnight to post all of this evening's stuff in this thread.  I stick my SeaPass into my door slot.... and the light is red.  Maybe I did it too fast?  I try again slower.... red light.  Maybe that was too slow?  I try again a bit faster but not too fast.... still red.  I tried a few more times before I admitted defeat.... and went down to Guest Services on Deck 5. 

(What is the deal with my SeaPass today?  I went all last week in the same room with one card, and it worked fine in the casino and it worked fine in my room door, but this week it's all kablooey!)

At this point, there is nobody up at the front desk, and I had to ring the bell and wait for someone to come from the back room.  I told him that my card wasn't working in my door, and he printed me another one.  Back to the elevators, up to Deck 12, and down the hall to my room.....and the new card gives me a red light in the door.  Seriously???  I must have tried it at least half a dozen times, not wanting this to be happening to me, but no luck. 

Back down to Guest Services, and I told him that this new card didn't work either.  I asked him if he could print me like five of them, so I could keep trying one until it worked!  So we tried something different this time, and he printed me just a key card, not a SeaPass (so it could only be used to open the door, not to charge anything or as an ID to get on/off the ship).  Back to the elevators I go, back up to Deck 12, back to my room, and back to the door that, once again, gave me the dreaded red light.  

Back down to Guest Services AGAIN, and I walked up to the guy with such a look of defeat.  I told him to give me a hammer and a screwdriver and I'd take the pins out of the hinges and get into my room that way... he started digging around in his drawer and all he could come up with was a pair of scissors. So then I started giving him a hard time because they were regular scissors, so the blade was longer than 4" (which is the limit for scissors we can bring on board), so he told me he'd just give me the tip of the scissors, not the whole thing.  I think he was relieved that I wasn't Karening all over the place, even though I was pretty frustrated at this point.  He called for a carpenter to come fix the door, and I headed back to the elevators AGAIN to go up to Deck 12.

I felt like a creepy stalker, standing in the hallway at what was now 12:30am, all alone, as people walked by.  I somehow ended up in a conversation with one guy, and we were chatting away when the carpenter showed up.  (Poor guy was probably hauled out of bed for this!)  I wasn't watching very closely because we were still chatting, but the carpenter pulled out a handheld module and was fiddling with the door lock for probably ten minutes or so, trying to program it to open.  At one point the carpenter asked for my card, so I gave him both the key card and my SeaPass. 

In the meantime, I was explaining to this random guy I was conversing with that I had a Central Park balcony, and he hadn't yet been in Central Park and didn't realize that there were rooms that looked out into that area.  Then the carpenter finally gets the door open (but still has to work on it from the inside), so I offered to show the random hallway dude my room and balcony.  Yes, I invited a strange man into my bedroom in the middle of the night, and didn't give it a second thought at the time! LOL

I leave the carpenter at the door, wielding his screwdriver at the lock mechanism and take Random Dude through to the balcony.  I showed him where Chops and Park Cafe were, and the Rising Tide bar, and the Living Wall, and pointed out where the swimming pools were two decks above.  After a while the carpenter comes out on the balcony to hand me my cards back and tells me it's all fixed.  Because who doesn't have a 1am party with Random Dude and Mr. Carpenter out on their balcony, right?  I thanked the carpenter profusely, and a few minutes later Random Dude continued on his way, and I was finally able to sit down, open my laptop, and post this evening's adventure.  

 

 

I was expecting a punchline that after all that, you went into the wrong room and someone was shocked that you broke into their room.  That would have been hilarious.

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, Ozark_Kid said:

 

 

 

So @Sea Dog Greg, I got the healthiest food I could find.  😂 Including the square chocolate cake! 

 

 

No difference between that and a chocolate donut. I think this is great!!

[Tree_skier]

29 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

 

I was expecting a punchline that after all that, you went into the wrong room and someone was shocked that you broke into their room.  That would have been hilarious.

I was waiting for her to say that she hooked up with the random dude and they are now engaged to be married.  🤯

[sunset seekers]

Hello, sorry to interrupt your cruise but would it be possible to find out what Royal Caribbean is charging per person for the shuttle from the port back to IAH.

Thank you in advance.

[brillohead]

5 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

Asking for a friend, does it have raisins?

 

I actually think it might.  There are sometimes a small roundish blob, but it's completely soft and tastes just like the rest of the apple goop.  

I'll try to dig around in my next one and see if I can get a picture of it to be sure if it's a raisin!

[FionaMG]

1 minute ago, brillohead said:

I'll try to dig around in my next one and see if I can get a picture of it to be sure if it's a raisin!

 

What if it's not? 😱

[Ozark_Kid]

Debbie, we are by the Sky Bar on deck 16 if you are out. 

The internet is not good here.  Here is our ship location  If I can get this to load. 

 

Here is a speed test. 

 

 

View from the deck. 

 

[brillohead]

4 hours ago, irishgal432 said:

Is this a ship excursion or a do it yourself?  Looking for some alternatives for May?

I've been booking exclusively with Let's Go Roatan Tours for a couple years now. Josue Elias, the owner, meets you right outside the security gate and sets you up with your own personal driver for the day.  

You can customize your trip with any add-on activities you want -- tour of the island (including chocolate and rum tours), monkeys and sloths, canopy ziplines, ATV or horseback riding, etc.  

In my case, since I've been there so much and my true love is snorkeling, he just takes me to the beach and I plop my bag on the sand and spend the day snorkeling.  But there are also beach clubs where you can rent a lounger for the day for $15-$40 per person plus food/drinks a la carte.  (Higher price is for the Infinity Bay resort, which includes a big pool.) 

[LATTELOVE]

3 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Yes and looks like we were sitting on the same side.  Wish we noticed each other.  It would of been fun sitting together.  

Here is a pics of the balancing guys you mentioned. 

 

 

 

 

They are so amazing!! 

One of our favorite shows.

[brillohead]

3 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

That happened to me. Did you by any chance have your card near your phone? I was told having your card too close to your phone will cause the card to become demagnetized.

That's what confused me so much -- I haven't done anything different with this card than I've done with any other SeaPass card for the past 5+ years.  I have a soft/gel case on my phone, and I peel it back and store my card between the phone and the cover.  It's never been demagnetized on any other cruise, and I've been on several ships with the "old" magnetic strip instead of the RFID chip.  

I was in the same room with the same phone case storage all week last week and didn't have a problem.  

I think the issue with the card in the casino was just a fluke, and the issues with my door were a problem with the lock mechanism, rather than the card itself.  

Oh well, it gave me something to write about on what is ordinarily a pretty boring day for me! LOL

[brillohead]

9 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Debbie, we are by the Sky Bar on deck 16 if you are out. 

I'll stop by in a few minutes!
 

 

9 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

The internet is not good here.

 

I just checked in my room again and got much better numbers than you did up there:

 

 

[LATTELOVE]

Thank you for all of the photos and postings.

You all are doing a fantastic job.

[Ozark_Kid]

Hard to see again. 83° and toasty warm sun. 

OB - Another Miami Vice.  The guy at the Sky Bar is blending well.  He said they have one called tropical I might try later. 

[brillohead]

16 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

What if it's not? 😱

 

Well, bugs have extra protein, so......  🤣

 

 

7 minutes ago, LATTELOVE said:

They are so amazing!! 

One of our favorite shows.

Just WATCHING it made my knees ache!!!

 

[FionaMG]

5 minutes ago, brillohead said:

I think the issue with the card in the casino was just a fluke

 

I've had this happen once before too. But although my new card worked I only got the measly $2 bonus. 😂

[Ourusualbeach]

9 hours ago, brillohead said:

I stick my SeaPass into my door slot.... and the light is red.  Maybe I did it too fast?  I try again slower.... red light.  Maybe that was too slow?  I try again a bit faster but not too fast.... still red.  I tried a few more times before I admitted defeat....

I've had the same thing happen to me...except that in my case I had had too much to drink and went to the right cabin but wrong floor.  Wonder what thoughts were going through the minds of the people inside the cabin as they hear someone trying top open their door.

[Ourusualbeach]

4 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

You would think they would analyze the “new” and “improved” cards and go back to the ones that were basically indestructible.  I lost cards rarely on my cruises from 1996 until December 2022.  Then on an 8 night cruise, I had to have 3 cards, as all of the information is on a plastic outer wrap, and the wrap separates.  My DW had to have 2.  She doesn’t FlowRide.

 

I will find the DL concierge in the future, but why use this bad system at all?

t was just a bad batch,  I've had them on and off.  The concierge on one of the ships was telling me they would go weeks without any issues then someone would use a box that was from the bad batch and the issues would pop back up.

[davekathy]

21 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Hard to see again. 83° and toasty warm sun. 

OB - Another Miami Vice.  The guy at the Sky Bar is blending well.  He said they have one called tropical I might try later. 

You're holding a drink. Oh wait, now I see it. 

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, Rogueperson said:

 

I was expecting a punchline that after all that, you went into the wrong room and someone was shocked that you broke into their room.  That would have been hilarious.

Happened to my mother once. She couldn't figure out why the door wouldn't open. Turned out she was one deck off. The cabin occupants figured it out for her. 

[Ozark_Kid]

21 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I've had the same thing happen to me...except that in my case I had had too much to drink and went to the right cabin but wrong floor.  Wonder what thoughts were going through the minds of the people inside the cabin as they hear someone trying top open their door.

LOL, I did the same thing the first afternoon.  Kept trying and trying and then realized I didn't walk past Dazzles.  😂 

[brillohead]

John, where are you? I'm at the Sky Bar and don't see you.... Foot in the picture for @Ocean Boy! LOL

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

LOL, I did the same thing the first afternoon.  Kept trying and trying and then realized I didn't walk past Dazzles.  😂 

Wow, you really started drinking early.🤣

[Ozark_Kid]

Just now, brillohead said:

John, where are you? I'm at the Sky Bar and don't see you.... Foot in the picture for @Ocean Boy! LOL

We got hungry.  I think our friends are across and to the left of you.  We be back up soon.  A parade slowed us down.