Our first day - the good and the bad

Yesterday was a mixed bag. After a very loong wait at the port, we finally boarded Oceania's Vista around 3 p.m. We had eaten very little breakfast (read: snacks from our backpack) so we were starving by the time we got to our cabin. We dropped off our carry-ons in our room, then headed to the Terrace Cafe for a late lunch. 

 

Finally! Headed to the ship

 

We've sailed on the Vista before, but I'd forgotten just how beautiful it is. Vista is a new and very modern ship. We were barely in our room when our room attendant Jose and butler Presandt came by to introduce themselves and ask if we needed anything. I requested Diet Coke because I remembered from previous sailings that Diet Coke is hard to come by in some parts of the world (they try to pass off Coke Light and Coke Zero as the same thing, which they are not). Anyway, both were very friendly, polite and anxious to help.

 

our butler from Mumbai

We are very happy with our room! It's very comfortable with a king bed and a firm, full size sofa (a pleasant surprise, as Insignia had only a love seat) and a good amount of storage. 

 

view from entrance

looking toward entrance (2 closets on left, bath on right)

 

a full size sofa!

our balcony

bathroom

        

We were disappointed that our 4 large (50 lbs each) bags had not yet arrived in our room. But we quickly unpacked our carry-ons, made up a laundry bag for pick up, and decided to re-familiarize ourselves with the ship layout. I still have trouble with port and starboard, aft and forward, bow and stern. Being directionally challenged with perhaps a touch of dyslexia, I wander around a lot (just ask Ronnie)! While he went to the internet room to get us connected to ship wifi, I wandered down to a nearby lounge and listened to live music from the 60's. Then we returned to the Terrace Cafe for a quick dinner before Ronnie's Bible study began at 7 p.m. 

 

  

 

Our luggage still had not been delivered to our room, and we had already set sail. Very unusual, but I know that the crew is crazy busy on transition days, trying to get one boatload of passengers off, the ship cleaned and helping the next group settle in. So we were trying to be patient. In order to give Ronnie privacy while he did his zoom Bible study, I took my PC to the concierge room (TV, coffee machine, snacks, printer, tables/chairs, sofas) to entertain myself.

Months ago I had requested a bed board for our bed (basically a piece of thin wood that goes underneath the mattress) for additional support for my achy back. Apparently whoever placed it on the bed was young and didn't understand backaches. Given the number of old people that sail, you'd think they would know how to do this. But no. Instead of placing the board beneath the mattress, they unzipped the mattress cover and put the sheet of wood directly on TOP of the mattress, leaving only the fabric top between the wooden board and one's body. This was not going to work. So I asked Presandt to have them move it to its rightful place - underneath the bottom of the mattress.

But wouldn't you know it? As soon as Ronnie's call got started, housekeeping showed up to retrieve the board from inside the mattress and re-position it. Needless to say, there was a lot of talking and commotion going on as he was in his meeting. Apparently, the activity around the bed stirred up some dust (which he is HIGHLY allergic to) and caused his asthma to flare up. Thankfully he had a rescue inhaler on hand. While all of this was going on, I made the discovery that our luggage was not on the ship. ARGH!! 

We were previously notified that it arrived safely at the port, but Oceania somehow failed to get it to the ship. So we did not get off to a smooth start on our first day out. Hopefully it is being shipped to our first port of call, Gustavia, St. Barts the day after tomorrow. In the meantime, we must make do. I will cancel our reservation at Jacques tonight because my jeans and Uggs do not meet the dress requirements of "elegant resort casual attire." 

PS As of this writing, Luggage Forward is saying that our luggage arrived at ship, but Oceania says it is not on the ship. Wherever it is, we need it - soon. We are spoiled to wearing clean underwear!

 

view from our balcony this morning

PPS I confess that I like the idea of not having to plan or cook meals, do laundry or any kind of housework for the next 6 months! Now if I just had some clothes to wear! 😕

 

 

I'd love to hear from you!

Family and friends,

I'm so glad you're joining us on our second trip around the world. If you know me, you already know that I love taking pictures and sharing them. You also know that I have a very heavy shutter finger! Don't worry, I only have room to share a fraction of the ones I take.

I started this blog back in 2011 when Ronnie taught for 9 months as a Fulbright Scholar in Bandung, Indonesia The blog served as my trip diary and a way to share my photos. Since then, I've continued using it for other travel. 

We've had many experiences along the way, but it's not always easy to remember the "what, when and where" of them. So besides serving as a trip diary and a way to share photos, it's also become my "memory" of sorts. Many times we'll talk about something we saw or did and wonder "where were we?" It's nice to be able to refer back to my trip diary (aka blog) and refresh our memories. 

This Around the World itinerary is different from the 2023 one (further back on this blog). It includes some of the same destinations as before, along with many new ones. 

I would be thrilled to hear from you as well. Note: It's sometimes a bit tricky to add your name to your comment. I can't remember exactly why, but if it says "anonymous" just keep clicking and you'll figure it out. Or you can always just include your name. 

Thanks again for following along!

Jan 

 

 

 

And we're (almost) off!

Today was an uneventful travel day - the best kind! Our friend John Skrabanek arrived a little before 6:30 a.m. to drop us off at Ground Shuttle which took us to Houston’s IAH for our flight to Miami. 

 

Goodbye, TexMex!

Chihuly glass art in security

Houston IAH

           

landing in Miami

Our flight was on time and only took 2 hours. Upon arriving at Miami airport, we met the Oceania representative at the baggage claim area, along with 3 other couples who will also be going on the 180 Day World Cruise. Everyone was very friendly and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of them over the next 6 months. Eurindia and Richard are from Seabook, TX. Rod and Merry are from Kansas and the other couple (didn’t catch their names) is from Denver. We were taken to the Biltmore where we’ll spend the night before boarding our ship tomorrow. The Biltmore is a very old and prestigious hotel - much nicer than where we would normally stay!

Welcome to Biltmore Miami

Biltmore lobby

ceiling detail

view from lobby balcony

our room

our ridiculously large private balcony

waiting on uber

Rather than have dinner at one of the super pricey hotel restaurants, we decided to uber to an area called Miracle Mile which has lots of eateries and pedestrians out and about. The Christmas decorations were still up, so naturally I started snapping pictures of everything. 

 

pedestrian street with lots of eateries and outdoor tables and chairs

 

selfie reflection in giant ornament

There were choices of pretty much every cuisine you can name but we ended up at a Mediterranean cafe. Ronnie had chicken and I had falafel. We were extra hungry so everything tasted really good.

 

first real meal of the day

 

Neither of us slept very well last night so after a long day, we were both ready to head back to the hotel. I forgot to mention that we've already met a couple who were on our other 180 cruise, Linda and Craig from Ohio. They really liked us, and not just because we gave them our “free” alcohol the last time. Ha! I know there will be others on the ship that we’ve sailed with before, some for the full 180 and others just for different segments. And we’ll be getting to know lots of new folks over these next several months. In the meantime, thanks for coming along and I hope it will be a fun trip around the world for you too!