Chapter Zero: Prelude
A Focus Group of One
11.16.2023 - 11.16.2023 75 °F
Prelude to "Size Matters"
Thursday, November 16, 2023
B4 and I are sailing aboard the Allure of the Seas for only three days. Until she reads this, the trip is a surprise to her. How special is Paul and how lucky am i that he would plan a surprise trip! He put this on my calendar months ago and never gave me a hint until yesterday.
Ours is a 'focus group' cruise with B4 being the group and me being the convener. The thing upon which we will focus: What is it like to sail aboard a ship that cost $1.2 billion to build, can hold up to 6,780 passengers in 2,742 cabins? The size of the crew: 2,384. We have done several 'taste offs' with our friends Chuck and JoAnn. We had a 'chocolate syrup off' with Hershey vs.Bosco along with all of the jingles, we had a 'tuna off' between our favorite brands, and now Paul and I are doing a 'cruise ship off', unfortunately without Chuck and JoAnn but hopefully they are reading the blog.
Royal Caribbean's 'Allure of the Seas' was, for six years, the world's largest cruise ship. Today, she's the only the fourth largest. But, she's sailing from a port close by and the journey, unlike the ship, is very short so, why not?
What's it like? B4 (and I) will tell you everything you want to know and some things you probably don't want to know. Will she love it? Will she hate it? You'll have to wait until tomorrow for my 'first impressions'. Will she hate me for bringing her aboard it? I could never hate Paul. irritated, maybe but never hate. The truth is Paul is the best, a definite keeper. [u]There is though something though that Paul did not tell you. We have debated many a different cruise. I always said 'no' to these huge ships - i didn't think they would be my cup of tea. Paul always said they were the best, so much to do and the space per passenger is no different than the smaller ships. Since he couldn't convince me to try, he has kidnapped me instead. So now we shall see what we think.
If you have successfully opened this Prelude to Size Matters, you will receive 4 more entries, one per day over this weekend, beginning with Chapter 1 tomorrow.
Too soon? We did just finish our "Queen Elizabeth" trip which generated well over 4,500 views. For some, the suitcase saga was the highlight of that trip. Only carry on bags for this trip!
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Thanks,
B4 and Paul
