Trip Report Mickey-less Lesson #1: Size doesn't matter, it's the motion of the ocean!

Yes, it's a non-Disney trip report. In a sea of Disney trip reports this is a non-Disney report. :eek: How is that pertinent on a Disney-centric fan forum, you ask? Well, this is how a solely Disney Cruise Line experienced cruising family took their first wobbly steps into non-Disney-fied cruising. Ever been curious? So were we! How the competition measures up is definitely pertinent! However, if the mods think this thread is better served in the cruise section or the other places section, I certainly understand. So sit back, relax, and slosh along with us in whatever "port" this thing sails off to.


Thread title:

Mickey-less Lesson #1: Size doesn't matter, it's the motion of the ocean! ((in my best double-rainbow dude voice)) What does it meeeaaan????? The ship we sailed is currently THE largest cruise ship on the seas: Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. This ship is huge! How big? Let me show you. Not my picture, all credit goes to fet123 on Photobucket. Lined up here in Nassau are: Majest of the Seas, Disney Dream, Carnival Dream, the NCL Sky, and Allure's sliiiightly smaller sister ship the Oasis of the Seas. Good size comparison:

1a1f90d2.jpg


Allure of the Seas is 16 decks high, 1,187 ft long, and can carry a maximum passenger load of 6,296 serviced by roughly 2,300 crew members. In comparison, Disney's largest/newest ship in the fleet, the Fantasy is 14 decks high, 1,115.5 ft. long, and can carry a maximum passenger load of 4,000 serviced by a crew of 1,450. The Allure is a very big girl!

Among Disney's fleet my family prefers the smaller classic ships. Why? It's more laid-back, there's less people, and the overall experiences we've had were more personal and intimate if you will. We like that a lot! We knew going into this cruise that we were going to be on the biggest cruise ship afloat and that we probably would not be impressed by her size. We were right. We weren't. For us, bigger does not equate better. Size doesn't matter.

The motion of the ocean can definetly play a strong hand in your cruise experience! Leading up to our cruise I discovered (no thanks to Royal Caribbean which is my biggest aggravation with the entire experience of sailing with them) via Cruise Critic's forums that the Allure had been experiencing an issue with 1 of her 3 azipods. They had been sailing her without using the center screw for over a month before our sailing. She was safe and still functioned fine. They were just trying not to use the center pod as much as possible to avoid further/more extensive damage. So the ship sailed slower. Instead of her usual 22+ knots cruising we rarely exceeded about 16-17 knots cruising. AND, because the ship was sailing at reduced power, the captain did not utilize the stabilizers to keep the ship steady at sea. The stabilizers, like wings that extend from the sides of the ship to add stability and reduce rocking side-to-side, create drag which would slow the ship even more. So, the motion of the ocean on a ship not using her stabilizers was...well...a really FUN ride for us...not so much for those prone to sea sickness. ;)

*****Just for information sake, the Allure continues to run on 2 of her 3 pods. A cruise in February was cancelled back in mid-November to allow a week-long drydock to repair the pod. I believe it is a bering issue. It's my understanding this type of problem has been a reoccuring thing with ships that utilize the different azipods for their propulsion. To date Disney has not utilized the azipod propulsion for their ships.*****


So that nobody feels the need to ask before I get to the end and give my summation of the overall experience sailing without Mickey, I don't feel like it was better or worse than any of the 7 Disney cruises I have been on. I'm not just being nice. It's a whole different experience. I wouldn't categorize it as better or worse, it's different.
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Then there was the Copa Airlines Embraer 190 heading back out.






Tracey got up to the fence right behind this one.




I video'd the same plane from where I was sitting. I couldn't get this to upload to YouTube but I did get it to go to Photobucket. You may need to click the picture to make it play. You can really see the blow back across the beach, the sand, people flying down to the water.




While Tracey was at the fence for that last plane a rock or something flew up and busted his lip open. See?




I ordered a cheeseburger to eat. It was really good!





Chandler had another White Russian and some sort of pizza.




We bought tshirts from the gift shop there at the Sunset Bar. We spent about 4 hours camped out. I'd guess-timate that we had 6 or 7 cocktails, 4 or 5 sodas, several pitchers of water, a couple appetizers, my cheeseburger, and Chandler's pizza. We closed out our check at $112. That's not bad at all!

This was our waitress at the Sunset Bar. I can't remember her name and failed to write it down. She was awesome, though!




Incoming! Jet Blue!







I was sure not to let Chandler miss any of the cracks at the bar.




He wanted to erase his brain.




Staying hydrated!




Here's a closer shot of the bar. I liked that they kept the arrivals and departures posted.




There was also a stage and area for live music which we did get to hear some of.




I didn't take pictures of it but the restrooms were extremely clean. I was a bit hesitant to use the facilities because, let's face it, how clean are the restrooms going to be at a beach bar? Well, they had a lady sitting on a chair just outside and she'd go in and clean frequently. It was quite nice. So, ladies, don't hesitate to go spend a day here. You're in great shape all the way around! ;)
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Tracey would like Gravelly point here at DCA... it's not as low altitude... but you get the great bank right as they line up to the runway


You can also get to the end of the runways for Dulles too over by the Smithsonian museum. At our air station where I grew up you can also stand right near the end of the runway.. but almost no heavies come in that runway. And since 9/11... not sure they'd like you lingering there :)

Still the best I've ever experienced is sitting on the USS America CVN-66 while F-14s took off. Nothing in my life has equaled what that meant in terms of noise and just raw energy. Literally, I could scream and not even hear it in my own head :) Plus... standing on the gangway while jets go off the catapult right in front of you (and over your head) ... ahh the good old days as a teen :)

So what Tracey needs to do is make friends with some Navy officers and find his way onto a Dependents Day cruise. Would be the time of his life :)

I hear ya! Navy brat here! I didn't get to do too many dependant's cruises because we didn't live with Dad. All the timing had to line up absolutely perfectly for us to make one. @obrienIII and I did get to go on one on the last ship Dad was on, the USS Bainbridge, out of Norfolk. I forget the ships numbers. Anywhoo, Dad was a signalman so we had the binoculars and other things on the signal bridge at our disposal. The USS JFK (carrier) went out on a dependant's cruise with us. We were standing on the signal bridge just hanging out when a fighter did a low pass over the top of us and broke the sound barrier directly over us. I kid you not, the boom put us on the deck. There wasn't really time to process the sound of the plane approaching before !!BOOM!! it was on us and done. My dad laughed like crazy at us. It was !!BOOM!! and we both were on the deck. LOL! Awesome stuff. Very surreal to stand in a munitions room looking down at racks of missiles. And to stand on a deck knowing that directly beneath your feet is a nuclear reactor. We watched all sorts of craft launch off the JFK while they bbq'd on the elevators off to the side. It was such a cool experience.

Coolest airplane experience I'll lay claim to was us in our 1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse running the road that parrallels the runway in New Orleans next to Air Force One taking off. Definitely before 9/11. In fact, Clinton was in office. He had come into town for some event. We used to strap the kids into the car and go ride that road next to the runway to be close to the planes taking off and landing. Well, we had gone to the Esplanade Mall nearby for something and when we came out we noticed all the helicopters and planes circling way off in the distance. Tracey looked at the skies and said, "Hurry. AF1 is about to leave." We jumped in the car, hauled butt back towards the airport, and rounded the corner at the intersection just as cops were pulling into the roadway to close off the road. We slipped in. Tracey slowed way down as AF1 made the turn onto the runway then we raced it as it throttled up. You could see the smiles on the faces of the people in the windows looking out at us. And I have NEVER seen such a HUGE plane take off in such a short distance. We were surprised to see it even attempt the short runway. It didn't need but maybe just over half the distance to rotate. It was INSANE! So there ya go. We raced Bill Clinton in Air Force One. LOL!
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
I hear ya! Navy brat here! I didn't get to do too many dependant's cruises because we didn't live with Dad. All the timing had to line up absolutely perfectly for us to make one.

Def. one of the coolest things in my life. I was about 13 when we did it.. and we had basically full run of the ship. Of course we would try to find the areas we weren't supposed to be, etc :)

The house I grew up in was in the approach to the runway so I'm numb to the low flying jets.. but the carrier cruise was nothing like anything on the ground. Those big engines on full AB that close is just indescribable.

Racing AF-1.. nice. I'm surprised he didn't drag you out to one of the last Shuttle flights. When the shuttle flew into DC for it's home at the Smithsonian... it was a big deal. I wish I could find the photo I have in my mind.. where it flies right past the road on final approach. Certainly a once in a lifetime type of event. Unfortunately I watched most of it from afar because no one had any idea how much they were gonna fly around!
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
@flynnibus , Like this?

image.jpg


When they were flying the Endeavor out to California it stopped over for a night here at Ellington Field. The boys and I went to see it. Tracey saw it flying low from his office parking lot. The orbiters are a bit of a sore subject around Houston. How does the space center where MISSION CONTROL is located NOT get an effin' orbiter? Politics. Pure & simple. We got the 747 & a mock-up orbiter. Garbage. But whatever. At least we can go to Johnson and physically SEE the live comm with the space station. LOL!
 
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Mrs.Skellington

Active Member
I hear ya! Navy brat here! I didn't get to do too many dependant's cruises because we didn't live with Dad. All the timing had to line up absolutely perfectly for us to make one. @obrienIII and I did get to go on one on the last ship Dad was on, the USS Bainbridge, out of Norfolk. I forget the ships numbers. Anywhoo, Dad was a signalman so we had the binoculars and other things on the signal bridge at our disposal. The USS JFK (carrier) went out on a dependant's cruise with us. We were standing on the signal bridge just hanging out when a fighter did a low pass over the top of us and broke the sound barrier directly over us. I kid you not, the boom put us on the deck. There wasn't really time to process the sound of the plane approaching before !!BOOM!! it was on us and done. My dad laughed like crazy at us. It was !!BOOM!! and we both were on the deck. LOL! Awesome stuff. Very surreal to stand in a munitions room looking down at racks of missiles. And to stand on a deck knowing that directly beneath your feet is a nuclear reactor. We watched all sorts of craft launch off the JFK while they bbq'd on the elevators off to the side. It was such a cool experience.

Coolest airplane experience I'll lay claim to was us in our 1996 Mitsubishi Eclipse running the road that parrallels the runway in New Orleans next to Air Force One taking off. Definitely before 9/11. In fact, Clinton was in office. He had come into town for some event. We used to strap the kids into the car and go ride that road next to the runway to be close to the planes taking off and landing. Well, we had gone to the Esplanade Mall nearby for something and when we came out we noticed all the helicopters and planes circling way off in the distance. Tracey looked at the skies and said, "Hurry. AF1 is about to leave." We jumped in the car, hauled butt back towards the airport, and rounded the corner at the intersection just as cops were pulling into the roadway to close off the road. We slipped in. Tracey slowed way down as AF1 made the turn onto the runway then we raced it as it throttled up. You could see the smiles on the faces of the people in the windows looking out at us. And I have NEVER seen such a HUGE plane take off in such a short distance. We were surprised to see it even attempt the short runway. It didn't need but maybe just over half the distance to rotate. It was INSANE! So there ya go. We raced Bill Clinton in Air Force One. LOL!
Growing up military was always fun. I remember my favorite is watching the blue angels take off right in front of us while doing pt. I've actually ridden in a jet before. I cannot for the life of me remember what kind. But I really enjoyed it. C-130's were my normal transportation in the army. I also have flown Cessna's quite a few times. Almost had my pilots license before I joined the army.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
An advantage for me was... the annual air show was for many years in late sept and fell on my birthday often. And we had the blue angels every year. My best friend's father was a fireman on the base so we would get to sit on the roof of the firestation right there on the tarmac for the show.

My father was a very significant person in the Hornet program for over 35 years so I had all kinds of access.. including being in the test range watching some of the testing for the Blue Angels as they converted to the Hornets.

Better than Maho... sitting on a small hill overlooking a basin where various vehicles are moving around... and having a F/A-18C come down for a low altitude pass to test the new night attack features of the C/D hornet... 400knts at 100ft right over our heads in the dark... that was kickass :)
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Growing up military was always fun. I remember my favorite is watching the blue angels take off right in front of us while doing pt. I've actually ridden in a jet before. I cannot for the life of me remember what kind. But I really enjoyed it. C-130's were my normal transportation in the army. I also have flown Cessna's quite a few times. Almost had my pilots license before I joined the army.

Very cool! I love watching the Angels from up close. You get pretty close when they fly around in Pensacola if you're over at the Naval Aviation Museum. Their hanger base is literally next door. It's fun to watch the C-130s flying into Biloxi when at the outlet mall. Always fun. Tracey soloed in a Cessna 172. He's flown a 150, 152, 172, 206, and a PA 28. For now he flies his flight sims here at home but I definitely see him getting back out there and getting that license before he's done with this life. ;)
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Kinda off the subject in a way, but I guess I didn't realize beforehand that the beachgoers might not be fully clothed. I mean, I'd seen pics of kids and stuff there before. At some point in the afternoon prob'ly after Brian had announced he needed to go for a walk for the 2nd or 3rd time Tracey mentioned that there was some topless chicks out there. Well, I guess now I know why Brian needed to go for "walks". :hilarious: Don't worry, I checked the photos and videos for nudity. We didn't capture any that I could see.

We timed everything closing out our check, etc. so we could all get out to the center of the beach just before 2:00 island time. This was our only shot at a "heavy" for the day, an Air France A340 that was arriving from Paris. It's not as impressive as a 747 but it's still a massive plane to have come so close to you. Here's the pictures Chandler took with my camera:








I took this as we were all in the moment:




And, of course, there's video. Topless chick is in the bottom right of the frame as the plane is approaching but she stays with her back to the camera. Trust me, if Tracey has a plane or a topless woman to look at he's going to choose the plane every time. LOL!




Now I'm not the aviation nut my old man is or near the fans my sons are but, man! What a RUSH that was! The blast of air as it passes over, the screaming of the engines, it's crazy cool. Words just can't describe it!

So as soon as the Air France had landed we scurried off to find our taxi driver who had agreed to meet us this afternoon for the return trip to the port. We needed to get a move on in case the drawbridge was up or there was any other traffic problems. What's normally a half hour or so ride can easily turn to over an hour. We couldn't miss our ship. It felt early and we wished we could stay but we had to get a move on. Back to the taxi.

I so wanted a better pic of the sign!




Our taxi driver stopped over at the other side near the runway for us to watch the American Airlines plane leave.




Still can't believe we're here together. Totally awesome time for all of us.




There it goes.




Our taxi driver told us this is probably the owner of Victoria's Secret's boat coming in. He was due in. The drawbridge that goes over to the airport on the Dutch side of the island was actually widened in the past few years because this guy wanted it done so his boat would fit thru. He told the government officials, provided the funding, and it was done. Can you imagine having this as a "thing" in your life? Yes, my boat is too large to fit thru your drawbridge opening so here's a check for $$$$$ for you to widen it for me so I can come here when I want to. Thank you. Must be niiiiiiiice!




I tried to so hard to get a picture of the ship waiting for us but totally failed at every stinkin' turn.





Not what I hoped for but it's what I got.




Mountains. This is why I think @obrienIII needs to get his butt to St. Maarten. It's all the island/ocean awesome like Grand Cayman but there's mountains, too. This is where you belong, brother!


 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The taxi ride back took about 35 minutes. When we stepped out of the cab we started getting sprinkled on again. Did I mention I'm sick to frickin' death of frickin' rain??? Luckily, it never fully opened up on us so we made it back without too much of a soaking.

On the way back to the ship we stopped for the ship's photogs again. We had to. It'd been such a glorious day and we were on such a high!




Tracey wanted this one.




Going back.





We got back on the ship around 2:30 ship time. Lemme just say there was always this effort to translate while out on the beach between the time we had which was ship time and the time the island was on. It wasn't the same thing. Add drinky-drinks and I'm confused. I just kept asking Tracey. LOL!

We hurried up to shower and hop in bed for a solid nap. Slept until 4:00. Much needed!

Tracey took some nice pictures out on the verandah.






Still lots of people heading back to both ships.





Today our neighbor was the Royal Princess from Princess Cruise Lines. We were faced directly across from verandah staterooms on that ship. We could see inside many rooms and they looked really nice, every bit as nice as our stateroom on the Allure or the staterooms we'd had on the Disney ships. Hmmmm....sure gets ya thinking.

Eventually the Royal Princess pulled out of port. As she was leaving she picked a bit of a horn battle with us. Disney's ships have Disney tunes for their horns. The classic ships have just 1 song but the new ships have several. Just when we thought the cool-factor of a Disney tune for a ship's horn couldn't be topped we met the Royal Princess. She plays the theme from the old tv show "The Love Boat". See???




I loved it! I love the humor! Awesome! The Allure has no tune. Just a couple long, loud hoooooooooonk. Hoooooooooonks. Um, the Allure just got their butt handed to 'em by the Royal Princess. ;)

Buh-bye Royal Princess. Thanks for the laughs!






Now we can see the island again.


 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After we sailed away we went down to On-Air, our favorite "watering hole", for a few drinks. Tracey was on the Bloody Marys now.




I decided to try the Torched Cherry Sangria.




Nice presentation but it looked a lot darker than the picture on the menu. Still a good drink.




We walked a little bit and stopped by Sorrento's Pizza on the Promenade for a few slices to hold us over. Tracey's exact words: "This tastes like Tombstone pizza." Yes, it did.

Next we headed down to deck 4 to wait for the doors to open for the "Ice Games" ice skating show. We were the first inside so we grabbed seats front & center to the ice.




From our seats this is a look back up to the entrance.




@Disneyfalcon , I know I'm not doing too swooft on the quality of my work but my toes went to see Ice Games!




While we waited for the show to start Tracey & I each had at least 2 more drinks each. Maybe more. LOL!

We had great seats. Getting there early is soooo worth it! The show was fantastic. Great music. RHCP never disappoints. We got some interaction during the show, too. The whole show is set up like you're playing a board game. Monopoly. There's rolling of the dice then you go into different scenes based upon location on the ship. It was all musical and ice dancing and figure skating. Very cool production. My favorite moments from the show were: when the tacky tourist couple were on & the lady clocked her man in the head with her wine glass. She really whacked him! I could tell because he skated so close to us and I could see a huge red mark on his head. I don't know if she meant to do that as part of the show or what. But, put a few drinks in a girl and a dude gettin' whacked is stinkin' hilarious beyond words. LOL! THEN, the guy who got whacked skated up to Tracey's mom for a kiss on the cheek! Woooooooo!!!!! For one of the dice rolls they brought out a giant dice. The main guy brought it over to Tracey to have him roll it. When he did he landed on "Go to Jail" (everyone laughed) which set off a whole Jailhouse Rock scene. It was very very cool!

Here's a performance not from our cruise but it's the Jailhouse Rock scene.




I really enjoyed the show. There's definitely a lot of talent here.

I took this at the very end after the final bows. What can I say? I'm a little slow.




Different perspective lookin' up all those wire sculpted dress skirts.




The main dining room was serving Thanksgiving dinner tonight but we weren't feeling like dressing up. We'd had a big Thanksgiving dinner before we left home anyway. It's not like we hadn't had any turkey and cornbread dressing yet. Chandler, Tracey, and I decided to go hit up our new favorite dinner spot: Johnny Rockets. LOL!

I had Chandler stand next to the statue for a pic.




Tracey was intent on some serious tunes tonight.




We were the only guests there so the service was beyond awesome. Appetizers and ketchup face? Yes please!




We were feeling the sillies tonight. We played with our food a little.




Tracey ran out to the nearest bar for another Bloody Mary. As if he needed more fuel for his goofiness. I guess a Bloody Mary is the perfect thing with a float. LOL!




Is it me or does this cheeseburger look like it's smiling at me?




I had another Coke float for dessert. Mmmmmmmm....




And then the entertainment began. Tracey was in rare form tonight. We got us some Boogie Shoes playin' so he thought he'd do the dancing for the staff tonight. It's only fair, right? Good times.





I seriously LOVE those last two pictures! We had the BEST time this night and these pictures totally capture the awesome-sauce of our day.

After dinner we did a little wandering. We played some putt-putt. Brian found us out on the putt-putt course. From there we headed back to our room for the night. Brian ordered room service and we watched tv. I fell asleep around 11:30. I have no clue when Brian left. LOL!

Such an amazing day!
 

FlaggNL

Well-Known Member
I can tell you, back in our younger years when we had each other and our dreams, that exotic beach with the crazy planes could've been the moon. Neither of us ever dreamed we'd actually be able to go there someday. But here we were this opportunity and seeing a massive 747 was THE dream. Just in case you can't visualize why this is such a big deal, lemme help you out. Here's a YouTube video for you. This is not Photoshop'd or altered in any way. Mind you, this is a pretty low approach but you'll get the drift here.



Wow, what a movie :) And not to mention that the plane is a Dutch plane :)
 

Tidbit

Active Member
I know! It seems like it's been forever since I was in PCola. Well, it's been since I was there during this report. I didn't see anyone from my family at Christmas. Really stunk. You should have been her these last 2 days! We had "snow-ish" type stuff everywhere, and the whole flipping place about shut down!!! LOL!!

The pet place we used was VIPet in Kissimmee. Thanks! I have clients that ask me all the time for "options" for the pets, and I'm like ummmm the Disney place! LOL! Anyway, are the prices around the same as Disney? More? Or less?

I love my little black cocktail dress, too. I just wish I had more events to wear something like that for. If I don't cruise I live in pajamas, jeans, shorts, etc. My regular life simply doesn't include dressing up. For anything. Me too! However, we do go all out on New Years Eve, and that dress made me think....hmmmm might need to check this brand out!!!

Okay, now I'm jealous! 14 night Italian cruise?! That sounds fabulous!!! I guess I can safely say that when Tracey and I have nothing else to do on a ship we find drinks and entertain each other. He's nonstop fun on the dullest of days, tho. Yeah, it was a big all girls family cruise with my mom, and aunts! We had a blast OFF the ship, but blahhhhhh on the ship! I'm just not a fan of cruising I guess, but I got to get my butt on a DCL!! LOL............Hmmmmm Sweetpea's Sugar Daddy nonstop fun? Nahhhhhhh! Say it ain't so! LOL

Brian seemed to get more out of the Allure than Chandler did. Chandler isn't a physically active guy, tho. He'd rather people watch and chill than go climb a rock wall. You know? My youngest is the SAME WAY!!! That's why I asked. My oldest he'll do whatever to have fun! I can see him doing all the sporty stuff! Both my boys said they're not interested in sailing Royal again. Both said they'd rather be on a Disney ship but this statement is definitely skewed by the fact that I've raised proper Disney-philes. Yup, mine too! Of course they'd rather be on a Disney ship....especially when they aren't paying for it! LOL! Chandler has added that he feels the Royal cruise would be more fun after he turns 21. ;) I figured I would ask since your kids seem sooooooo much like mine, and before I even think about cruising I wondered what "they" thought!

Rum Cake Factory! I sooooo wanted to go! I'm sure I'll see Nassau again before this life is over with. It's definitely on my list of places to visit there!
 

Tidbit

Active Member
Remember that Insel Air MD-88 that just landed? Well, here it is on it's way back out. This pilot likes puting on a show. Notice how he swings way out close to the fence. Then, during the video when he spools up the engines he holds the plane so the fence surfers get a good ride.




Chandler rocked the series of shots on this American Airlines 757-200.






Tracey video'd it.




HOLY CRAP!! THAT'S CLOSE!!!!
 

Tidbit

Active Member
Very cool! I love watching the Angels from up close. You get pretty close when they fly around in Pensacola if you're over at the Naval Aviation Museum. Their hanger base is literally next door. It's fun to watch the C-130s flying into Biloxi when at the outlet mall. Always fun. Tracey soloed in a Cessna 172. He's flown a 150, 152, 172, 206, and a PA 28. For now he flies his flight sims here at home but I definitely see him getting back out there and getting that license before he's done with this life. ;)


oK I love love love love the Blue Angels, but I live directly across from the runway & hanger on the other side of the water.....I can see the Lighthouse from my house. I can watch the show from my house, and the only time I get upset with them is when it's 8 "flipping" AM and they start to practice for a show! OMG it's crazy my windows shake....it's loud!! I have know several Blue Angel pilots over the years and they have a tough job!
 

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