WAAAYTOOO

Sorry. I should have mentioned it. I almost exclusively play Ultimate Texas Hold’Em. It’s basically a table version of Texas Hold’Em poker where you play only against the dealer. I had 2 3’s in my hand and the flip had the other 2 3’s. The table minimum on Oasis is $15 which means that the least you can possibly wager is $45 and $60 if you play the hand all the way to the end. That big money for me and I almost didn’t even sit down. The upside (for the casino) with a $15 table minimum is they collect more money from you when you fold or lose but the upside for the player when they have a $15 minimum is that when you WIN a big hand, it’s quite a nice haul. That win paid 10:1 on the blind bet ($150) and 20:1 on the trips bet ($300). Along with the other mandatory bets I won $495 on that hand. A $10 minimum would have netted me $330. So, for that single moment, I was glad they had a higher minimum ! The casino was a madhouse last night and I expect it to be like that the whole week. This cruise was on the “complimentary” list for a very long time. Many gamblers (including me) are on this cruise on a comp.

Came back from the casino a winner tonite ! Quad 3’s (4 of a kind for you non-players). Yippee ! This movie seems familiar to me (started out a winner on last weeks cruise. By the end...not so much).

....and VOOM too !

Woohoo ! Really looking forward to this blog. Have a great time !

There are seemingly 2 deficiencies (that I have, so far, identified) with the suite. Both are bathroom-area-related. There are no storage areas around the bathroom sinks to place toiletries. They are either out in the open or you have to place them in a closet. Similarly, there are no shelves or drawers of any depth, near the dressing/vanity table. Again, thru must be left out or put in a cabinet nearby. Now, these are first world problems that are not going to ruin my cruise but they are design issues that could be addressed at some point. Going to the theater to see the juggler or magician or whatever the heck it is

Dinner in CK tonite. The place was packed ! Good thing we had a reservation. Huge disappointment with the filet. It was overcooked and just -meh. Dans was cooked perfectly but he said his was just-meh as well. Sad that I wasted a specialty dining night on it. I am having desert since I only ate 2 bites of my steak. I normally skip desert. So that I have something else to bitch about, it’s freakin freezing in here ! Headliner (juggler) at 8:30. I hope I don’t regret that decision... I told Joyce NOT to put us up front. I do not want to become part of the show. Since I don’t really enjoy the sauna and Dan does, I asked Joyce if he could use my day pass and she said “of course”. Right answer. Cheesecake is waaay better than the steak

They claim both the drapes and the hot tub are fixed. Yippee !!

Mario is extremely approachable. If you see him just walk up and introduce yourself. He is a really nice guy

We were originally scheduled to have Giovannis for lunch (since they closed Chops on us) but we had decided that we didn’t want to eat that big a lunch. We decided we would eat at Portside BBQ instead. THEN a huge delivery of food from Joyce and we decided to just graze on this instead. So we never really ate lunch at all. #stayflexible Honestly, it was enough food for 4 people. This happens all the time on SC so we weren’t surprised. Speaking of good, we have Coastal Kitchen rezzies at 6:00. Allegedly it is filet night. I guess we’ll find out soon !

More lowdown on refurbishments. Joyce is so wonderful. I’m in love with her already. She assured me that the drapes ARE new. She said that all carpeting on the ship was replaced. Sabrina, JUST for you ! Joyce is going to take pix in 8330 for us. This is one of the suites she is Genie for, this cruise. In case anyone was wondering, there is a LOT of bleed over noise from the sail away deck party into our suite. It’s WAAAY louder than anything in the ATS...even with the doors closed and locked. It’s early so not a problem right now. Later, it would be a definite problem.

Ok. Back in the room after muster drill. Resuming room recon Front door and dining table it seats 7 comfortably. 8 in a pinch, maybe. Wet bar. First time ever ! Complimentary drinks. They just kept coming and bringing more and more. Door to the second bathroom on the table. Second closet Second vanity/dressing area Inside the second bathroom Shower in second bathroom Potty in #2. Wait....that didn’t sound like what I meant to say Couch Duh Winders More winders The balcony is the one aspect where this suite falls short it is TINY compared to most SC suites. Oh you’re looking for a giant balcony, this suite is not for you Hot <damn> tub ! Right now it’s inop. Said something about the drain plug. They came to replace it once and it didn’t fit. Hopefully they’ll get it fixed soon View looking forward on the balcony. The pool deck. There is no view at all (except superstructure) looking aft Our drapes keep getting “stuck”so they are working on them

I am so glad that you made it. I was concerned that the storm might have impacted your flight. Muster drill is over ! Yippee !!

Yikes ! Sorry to hear about this. Hope it all rectified itself soon

No truer words... ??

Dan schmoozing with Super Mario He told Dan he will be on Oasis for a couple of months. His office sign has been relocated from the pool deck on NAV to the pool deck on Oasis

Thanks, Dan. ??

<eye roll>

You’re like a ghost.. #ghostbot ?

Yes ! That is me ! ??

I do understand this. It’s just that we have had too many epic fails for getting our luggage delivered when SC. We now insist on keeping our luggage with us ALL the way. It has worked perfectly the last 2 times.

Next is a suite recon. Sabrina, it is my unprofessional opinion that the only thing that has been refreshed in this suite is the mattress and MAYBE the carpeting. I know for sure the drapes are not new. There’s a possibility the couch/sleeper bed might be new. Dressing table (and bathtub reflection) in MBR Closets next to dressing table Same closets, open Closets/ drawers on the other side of the dressing table Opened One more set of closets Inside Star Class laundry bag. Sorry it’s upside down ! This is one of the great under-advertised joys of SC. You can send your laundry out every day ! I already have 2 bags full from Brilliance even though I sent our out once on Brilliance Ginormous bathtub His and hers sinks Each sink area has its own outlets for electric razors. Wish they gave power outlets the same priority ! Beautiful walk-in shower Door to the potty Potty and bidet ! Yippee !! Coming down from the bathroom into the bedroom You can see that the privacy shades are up. They come up from the bottom and this is as far up as they go. When we got to the suite it was as hot as h, e, double hockey sticks in here. I think they like to “present” the suite with all the drapes open but that heats up the room like a broiler. First thing I did was close every drape and shade and turn the AC down to “quick freeze”. Outlet situation on both sides of the bed. Still wholly inadequate. That’s it for the bedroom/bathroom areas. It’s almost muster drill time so I will come back later with the Living room area

So we’re finally here ! Yeah ! Embarkation was awesome. Only epic fail was in getting the taxi driver to drop us at the right place. We are 1 for 5 on this issue. Not sure why we have such a hard time getting to the SC banner (so far only successful at Port Liberty) but we schlepped our bags down to the purple banner and made contact with the SC kiosk. Of course, we had to fight off numerous porters trying to take our bags but we trekked forward until we reached our destination. Then we had to fight off the SC greeter who also insisted that we surrender our bags but our will was great and our mission clear-our bags are staying WITH US ! So once we cleared the greeting area our next challenge was Security. Dan wasn’t particularly pleased when he realized he was going to have to pick up all of the bags and place them on the security conveyor himself (the price you pay for keeping your bags WITH YOU.). I thought I had captured the bags going through the scanner but I guess I didn’t. They did, however, all make it through successfully and our next stop was up the elevator to the Suites waiting area. That luggage cart would become very important in about 5 minutes. The moment we walked into the Suites waiting area, they announced that boarding was beginning. We had to wait for Joyce, but it was no more than 5 minutes and I spotted her. We met and she summoned a ship’s porter to help us with our bags. So for those who wondered how it works (to keep your bags with you rather than having the porters bring them), here it is in action They loaded up the luggage cart and on we went, straight through boarding to our suite (Grand Panoramic Suite 1758). There are no stairs on this suite so I had the porter just drop the bags inside but if we had been in a Loft suite, I would have asked him to take them upstairs. I really, really like Joyce. She is funny and has an infectious smile. Look what she did for us before we even got to our room ! It is on our Suite door. Dan claims he never wants to leave the suite. It is, in fact, the nicest room we’ve ever had.

Good morning, to you, Daniel ! Thanks so much. It’s another beautiful Miami day !

Great job, Ashley. You were a true blog sleuth and not afraid to go out of your way to report every detail. Thank you for the time and effort it takes to do that.

Today was incredibly busy and I am beat. Will give a very brief overview Walked off with self assist at 7:15 with the Suites Concierge. Without a doubt the best disembarkation ever, including Star Class. Dan and I were #3 an 4 off the ship. Basically never even slowed down. Walked straight off. First disappointment - no National Rental car shuttle but in fairness, it was 7:15. I suspect they showed up later. We grudgingly paid $8 ea for a shared shuttle to the airport where we got our ride for the day from Tampa to Miami. Total cost - $17.09 b/c I wanted XM radio. Great deal (used points). We did 2 real estate recons and neither really suits our needs. Honestly, The only thing that is going to make Dan happy is a high rise condo in downtown Miami that overlooks the port. That’s all.... After leaving our second stop (Lakewood Ranch), we began the very long and very boring drive to Miami. I thought it would never end ! Finally pulled into Miami airport to return the rental car a bit after 6 PM. Called for an Uber to pick us up but he never found us and cancelled the trip on us. Very annoyed ! Ended up taking a taxi from MIA to the Marriott Biscayne Bay. It didn’t cost much more than Uber would have been but it was still annoying. Is there a way to rate an Uber driver if you don’t actually complete the ride ? We hadn’t had anything to eat since b’fast at Chops at 6:30 so we were famished. The slop they were offering in the Concierge Club was utterly unappealing so we went down to the restaurant downstairs. I had forgotten (until I looked at the menu) how awful the food was the last time we ate there....but I was out of options so I ordered a quesadilla. Ugh. 2 bites and I was done. The truth is when I am very tired I just can’t eat so I don’t think I would have enjoyed it even if it had been appetizing. Dan gobbled down his poke bowl. Can’t wait to board Oasis in the morning. We anticipate calling an Uber at 10:00AM. Sorry you are having to disembark, Ashley. I enjoyed your blog so much ! Night, all.