November 30 - At Sea

 I'm a little worried about my computer.  For the last few days, it has been having trouble charging.  I noticed it at the hotel in Miami but thought it was a fluke.  But it's doing the same thing now.  I've tried everything I can think of (stretching the cord, fiddling with the connector, holding it in different positions, etc) and nothing seems to consistently work.  Suddenly it will either start or stop charging.  I can use my tablet in a pinch, but it's not nearly as easy.  Fingers crossed I can keep it working.  A replacement charger cord is probably not available anywhere that we'll be.  Ugh.

Turning our clocks back set us all off so breakfast was late this morning.  We had a fun waiter, Umberto from Nicaragua, so all was good.  We went to the lecture by Dr. Clive Leatherdale (an Englishman) about Brazil.  This one was a bit better than yesterday, although his style is a bit dry.  He moves from one topic to the next with no pause or segue so it takes a little bit to change gears in your mind.  Tom says he is typically British - not much emotion, just the facts.

Next was lunch in the buffet which wasn't as crowded today.  We spent a little time up in Horizons (Michael dozed and I played on my phone or watched the ocean) before going to the afternoon lecture by Edwin Sobey, the American Oceanographer, about the Caribbean Sea.  His style is much more engaging and he has a bit of humor.

We had Jan and Tom come see our cabin (a Chevy compared to their Lexus) and they did commiserate with us about our bathroom and the tight space around the bed before they headed off to their "mansion" where they can stretch out.  Ah well, we knew it would be small when we booked it.

Tom took this picture last night at cocktail hour - I think we look pretty good.

Trivia was a bit harder, but we managed to pull off 11/16 for second place again, so no complaints.  Since we didn't go to the show again last night, I was happy to see that they scheduled the same group again for today at 5:45 before dinner.  We all went, but I must say I was a bit disappointed.  It was the Bachelors of Broadway and they sang pieces from Broadway shows, but not the ones that are so familiar.  Their voices were nice and the accompanying music wasn't too loud, but they did a bit too much of the stylized footwork and it got to be distracting after a while.  

Then it was off to dinner at the dining room where Janet was able to put us in a section where it didn't get too loud.  Again, no show for us tonight.  The weather was good again though the humidity is becoming more noticeable.  And the seas have been very mild - just enough to remind you that you're on the ocean.

November 29 - At Sea

 Here are a few pictures I didn't post earlier.

Our cabin, 6060, a Deluxe Verandah.

The bathroom is tiny.

The 2 closets are in the entry hall across from the bathroom.  Glad I didn't bring more clothes.

These are the lovely chargers from the Red Ginger restaurant.

This is the magic napkin brought out with the edamame starter.  Doesn't look like much.

But then the waitress pours hot water on it and it expands.  What a fun touch.

This is the Horizons Lounge up top on Deck 10 with a forward-facing view.

We went to a couple of lectures today, the first was a general overview of Latin America.  He had a lot of information, but he mostly read it off of his computer and was a little chaotic with his slides.  The second, by a different lecturer, was about the Bermuda Triangle.  I don't think I really learned anything new.  His conclusion was that there is nothing to the myth of it being a very dangerous part of the world for ships and planes.  He talked about the various theories to explain the missing ships and planes but didn't seem to give much credence to any of them.  He sort of concluded with "stuff happens all over the world."

The four of us played trivia with 4 others (George, Michawn, Pat and Brian).  Here the rules allow for up to 8 players.  We got 11/15 which made us second so we got points to collect.  Tonight was a Captain's welcome party with complimentary beverages, so it was packed.  Not everyone can fit into the theatre/lounge so they arrange that you can also get free drinks at either of the other 2 lounges until 8 pm.  We said hi to the Captain and the other officer and then went topside to the quieter Horizons lounge.  Jan and I had Aperol Spritzzes, my new favorite drink after having them in Italy.  After a while, it got a bit noisy as the singles mingle group was at the next table, so we went down to the Grand Dining Room for dinner.  By the time we left there around 8:30 it had gotten quite noisy too.

This is the Versace place setting in the Grand Dining Room.  There are a lot of similarities to Regent, as expected.

I had hopes of getting to the show tonight, but just didn't want to wait until 9:30 and we lose an hour tonight, so off to bed.

November 28 - SailAway Day

 For future reference, if you click on the pictures, they should open a bit larger.

Last night was interesting.  In the afternoon, I had a little trouble plugging in the charger for my smart watch.  The first USB port didn't seem to work so I tried the one right next to it.  Nothing, until I noticed a little black switch right above.  As soon as I turned that on, my charger started.  This isn't common in the US, but OK, just go with it.  At bedtime,. I turned off the TV right above the charger thingy and there is this big light outlining the television on the wall.  Hmmm.  Michael was asleep so I hesitated to turn every switch I could find to turn this off.  I gave it a bit of a try, but then just thought, meh - I'll treat it as a nightlight.  Here's a picture of the light.

Around 1:00 am I heard Michael get up to visit the bathroom and I told him my dilemma about the light.  He couldn't figure out how to turn it off either.  In the meantime, I remembered that I had a sleep mask so I pulled that out, and no more problem for me!  In the morning, I noticed that little black switch again and the light dawned.  I turned it off and bingo!  Apparently, that switch had nothing to do with charging my watch (just lucky timing) and in the daytime I didn't notice the light come on.  Needless to say, I felt a bit stupid.

In the elevator as we were leaving I didn't notice the big "Wet Paint" sign and brushed against the back wall to let another couple on.  The man alerted me and then everyone tried to assure me that the 2 brown streaks on the back of my shirt looked fine.  I knew they were just being nice, so I changed in the bathroom before leaving the hotel.

Our room was an "upgraded" one due to our Marriott status, but we were right near the elevator which we listened to most of the night.  I suggested to the front desk in the morning that they eliminate that room from their upgrade list.  Actually, I did the same to the General Manager when he was helping us later with our Uber request (they had to do a deviation to the route).  We also mentioned about that light switch and he admitted he didn't even know about the light!

We got to the port around 11:15 am for an 11:30 am scheduled boarding.  (Our Uber driver told us in all seriousness that the government has been able to control hurricanes and other weather for at least 50 years which is why bad weather always hits poor areas.  But that's another story).  Boarding did not go well.  We were told that the Coast Guard required a ship's drill when they arrived (maybe they meant inspection) and that delayed things for everyone.  We had to wait in a huge line and didn't get on board until nearly 1:00 pm.  I think some people hadn't done the online check-in so they took much longer.  It only took us about 3 minutes once we got to the desk.

A small part of the check-in line

We found Jan and Tom in a lounge, stowed our carry-on bags in our cabins even though they weren't actually ready for us yet, and headed up to the buffet for lunch.  It was pretty crowded, but we managed to snag a table for 4 from a couple who were just leaving.  You aren't allowed to serve yourself at the buffet and I don't know if that is just today or a regular thing.  On prior ships, that was done if there was an outbreak of norovirus or during the early sailing days after Covid, but we haven't seen it on the last couple of cruises we've done this year.  

During lunch, a crew member came around to offer reservations tonight in the Red Ginger, the Asian specialty restaurant.  They had availability at 6;30 so we accepted.  We'll meet in Jan and Tom's cabin (larger than ours) for a pre-dinner cocktail from their complimentary bottle of champagne.  We didn't get one, so maybe it's only the larger cabins.  On Regent, every cabin gets one, but we never drink it, so we just turn it back in.  But now that we have to pay for every drink, we'll take advantage this one time!  😊

While waiting for the all-clear on our cabin, we wandered around the ship.  In the main dining room, who do we run into but Pam, the Head of Entertainment for Regent and Oceania.  We had dinner with her and Andrew (the Cruise Director) while on the Regent Voyager a few weeks ago.  She was talking with the current Cruise Director, Peter Tredgett.  She's a lot of fun and we reminisced a bit about our dinner.  She suggested that we should have dinner with Peter too.  (Probably more of a request to him since it was from his boss.)  I made sure to mention that we were travelling with Jan and Tom so we'll see if we all get an invitation.

I only thought about taking pictures in the main dining room.  Maybe tomorrow, which is a sea day, I'll try for more pictures of the ship.

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The decorations have started

The Grand Dining Room.  The plates are upside down until just before service begins.

This cabin is definitely smaller than what we have had on Regent, but we'll make it work.  We got everything put away and had a little time to hang out.  We met our room steward, Monjay from the Philippines who had a great idea about putting our suitcases away.  The beds are just a bit lower than most so these big suitcases wouldn't slide under.  He suggested we open them up and slide them in that way.  Duh!  Problem solved.

Off to Jan and Tom's big cabin for our champagne and a few light appetizers before heading to Red Ginger for an excellent dinner.  The waitstaff were all great.  Our Balinese waiter was surprised when we recognized his name as meaning first-born son.  He had a good sense of humor and we enjoyed his service.  

Off to the cabin for, hopefully, a good night's sleep - especially without that huge light!

November 27 - Miami

 Last night we had a very nice dinner with friends Bill and Jacquelyn at Sweetwater on the way to the Westin Airport hotel.  We got to the restaurant early and fortunately Bill had made reservations because it was crowded.  We weren't expecting that on Sunday night at the end of the holiday weekend.  Traffic was light and we made it to the hotel with enough time to join our weekly sibling Zoom call, which was nice since we have missed quite a few of those in recent months with our traveling.

Up early to catch the hotel's airport shuttle for our United flight.  The flight was on time and smooth.  The worst part was waiting forever for our luggage to arrive.  We started to get worried when it finally showed up towards the end of the group.  So much for Priority baggage handling, which is a perk of our status with United.  And that status comes from owning our timeshares with Marriott.  I don't understand it, but I'm happy to take it.

We were able to get right to our room at the Marriott Miami Airport and had a bite to eat in their restaurant since the flight had no meal service for breakfast, only those horrible snacks.  We hung around the pool for a while, but it was not as warm as we'd hoped so we didn't even get in the water.  I may have dozed a little bit.  This hotel is in a compound with a Courtyard by Marriott and a Residence Inn by Marriott so we just walked over to the Courtyard and had a light dinner at their sports bar.  Nothing to write home about.

We haven't talked to Jan and Tom, but I don't think their Canadian cell phones work here.  We've scheduled an Uber for 11:00 tomorrow morning to take us to the port.  Today there were 7 ships in port, tomorrow only 2 which should make it a bit easier to make our way there.  No photos today.

November 26 - Getting ready

We're off on Tuesday, November 28 for a cruise on Oceania Sirena roundtrip from Miami through the Caribbean and up the Amazon.  The Amazon is another new area for us, so fingers crossed nothing goes wrong on this cruise.  We know the river levels are pretty low, but other ships of the same size as the Sirena have made it, so we're hopeful.  

We'll spend tonight at a hotel near Dulles Airport as we have a relatively early flight and we'd rather be close to the airport.  Then Monday night at a hotel near Miami airport.  (Using our Marriott points for both, of course.)  We always try to fly in at least one day before just in case there are hiccups along the way, especially in winter.  Then we'll board Sirena on Tuesday morning.  My sister and brother-in-law, Jan and Tom, are on this cruise also, which is exciting.

Oceania is a new cruise line for us.  Like Regent, it is one of the three Norwegian Cruise Lines holdings.  We understand that it is very close in quality to Regent.  The biggest difference is the pricing structure.  On Regent, they include everything up front, including tours, laundry, gratuities, wi-fi, alcoholic beverages, and specialty restaurants.  Really the only place to spend your money is in the shops or at the spa.  Oceania does it more a la carte.  They do have some packages that include drinks, gratuities, wi-fi, and an allowance towards tours.  We did have the standard allowance of $800 to use where we wanted and we booked a few tours that used that up right away,  We chose not to do a package this time so we'll see how it goes.  We'll have to get used to bringing out our room key whenever we order a drink.

We're packed, checked in for our flight tomorrow, and now just have the last-minute stuff like unplugging non-essentials, turning off the water, and lowering the heat.  Bill and Jacquelyn are giving us a ride to the airport with a stop for dinner on the way.  Next stop Miami.  Thank goodness we didn't have to fly out today as the airports are jammed according the news reports.  Hopefully tomorrow morning will be better.