Day 1 - Friday, December 29, 2023

Miami Florida

Today is Embarkation Day for this 16 day segment leaving Miami to transit the Panama Canal and teminating in Los Angeles on January 14, 2024. It is the preclude to the actual 180 day Around the World (ATW) cruise which starts in Los Angeles. So we will be on the ship for a total of 196 days flying back to Victoria on July 12.

Prior to joining the ship we spent the Christmas week with Janice's brother Ricky and sister in law Chantale renting an airbnb on the beach in Sunny Isles Florida. Since we had too much luggage for one load, we dropped luggage and 4 cases of wine at our precruise hotel The Biltmore Coral Gables one day before our included one night stay.

We boarded the bus at 11:00 for a 25 minute drive to the cruise terminal. Upon arrival our luggage was taken off the bus plus our four cases of wine. I will talk about the wine later in the blog. It was a seamless transition from the bus to the ship. Our passports were collected and we were provided with a ship card which can be used for all purchases and determining whether you are on or off the ship as you must scan your card when leaving and returning to the ship.

We meet our friends, Bev and Glenn from Victoria who had already boarded for lunch at the Terrace Cafe. They will be on the cruise for 3 segments until Sydney. Although the cruise capacity is 684 passengers, there are usually around 400 world cruisers and the balance are segment passengers. During our lunch a lady who had been on the bus with us came over to suggest that perhaps a truck may have run over our wine cases. These cases were not collected with our luggage but left curbside with a valet who said he would get them safely to our room. To our surprise only two bottles were broken. Oceania is one of the few cruise lines who allow passengers to bring wine and alcohol on board and Janice likes her Acrobat Pinot Grigio.

A big thank you to our neighbor Linda who was responsible to ensure that our 4 shipped bags were sent on time from Victoria to the ship using a service called Luggage Forward - a world cruise perk.

We requested a three drawer chest and surprisingly there was sufficient space in our cabin for everything by using our big suitcases as under the bed storage.

Sail away was 17:30 with the band and the cruise staff on deck to welcome us aboard.

The ship is 90% full for the sixteen day cruise.

After a quiet dinner we returned to our stateroom to finish unpacking.

A note was in our room that night about our first port change. Instead of visiting Grand Cayman it is off to Port Antonio, Jamaica due to inclement weather. We are assuming the Acapulco stop will also be changed due to the recent hurricane. My choice is Puerto Vallarta rather than another sea day. Time will tell.

If you followed us on out first attempt of the world cruise in 2022 you will know that changes often happen especially at the last minute. We are however hoping that this will not be the Magical Mystery Cruise #2 and that we will get to travel west from Tahiti as per the itinerary. The Red Sea and The Suez Canal is another story but we have confidence that Oceania will make sure we stay safe. Another positive this year is that no one is wearing masks and there is no mandatory isolation for Covid Cases. If you recall Janice spent 13 days in Covid jail.

All in all we're very excited about this journey and are happy to share it with you.