MaryS

The Legend about an hour before the assault occurred.

Glory's original approach from a distance.

Right after the crash the Legend had to reset some lines.


This was after the crash and near miss as she circled around for a second try.

She did a nice turn to expose her stern to us.

















If at first you don't succeed, try again.



Round two the Captain's girlfriend wasn't at the helm so it went a little better.  Practice makes perfect.

I understand based on news reports one passenger on the Glory was injured.  Thoughts and prayers for that individual.
Here is the video I shot from my balcony on Oasis.
Despite the collision with the Legend, the bridge crew on the Glory did a pretty spectacular job avoiding a collision with the Oasis.  When I first saw the bow of the Glory come into view it was close.  Too close.  It occured to me a collision was highly possible. 
As I was shooting the video I was keeping an eye on the stern of Glory.  It was getting closer.  I knew they couldn't apply a lot of stern thrust to keep the stern off us without driving the bow into the bow of Oasis.  As the bow of Glory began to clear the bow of Oasis I could see them apply stern thrust to avoid impact.  It was a tight near miss and excellent seamanship on their part to avoid a second collision.  
 
The wide angle lens is misleading.  The people on Glory were close.  I could have tossed them a bottle of water.  

So, we've arrived in Miami to rain of almost biblical volumes. We've been told that it only rains heavily for about 11 days of the year here. Unfortunately, it looks like 3 of those are the 3 days that we're here before our cruise!
Oh well, you can't do anything to control the weather so we're going to make the most of it, and the effects of the jet lag, by getting up early tomorrow and heading to Cape Canaveral for the day. Not somewhere that I thought I'd ever get to see and the boys (and when I say 'boys', you must remember that those to whom I refer are aged 40 and 46) are particularly excited about it. 
Tonight we've just checked into our hotel, where we were pleasantly surprised to receive vouchers for a free drink each in the bar and even more pleasantly surprised to find that cocktails were included. Then we went for dinner at a Cuban place around the corner called Bella Cuba. The drinks service was a little slow but the food came out pretty quickly and was really flavourful and pretty healthy. 

View from Oasis
 

Here’s a good video. Damn that’s close to Oasis 
 

Early morning or near sunset the pool and sundecks remains a great place to take it all in.

We made it!! And are settled into the Conrad Downtown. We landed at JFK in the midst of a winter squall. It was kinda funny because as we landed and people started turning on their phones emergency alerts started sounding on everyone’s cell phone. Traffic was slow into Manhattan as a result; taking about 90 minutes. A big shout out to NY City Limo as our driver was great. He was waiting for us with an airport meet and greet and got us here safely.  
Of course, the boys were starving so eating was a priority.  We found a great pizza place called Harry’s Italian beside the Conrad. Enjoyed the pizza and Fettuccine Alfredo. 

Cruise Plans
We have 2 ocean view balconies on Deck 10. Not next to one another but only a few cabins apart.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to link our bookings and get the same dining arrangements - we've got MTD and our friends have got late seating - but we're hoping to adjust when we're onboard so that either we join them or they join us.  We've also booked 150 Central park for dinner on night 6. Again we were unable to link our bookings so one of us has 6:30 and the other 7pm but we're hoping to move the reservations together onboard.
We've got an ice-show and an aqua theatre show booked. The aqua theatre is probably the thing I'm most excited to see onboard. 
After some deliberation, we decided to go Team DX. At the price we got and the current exchange rate, we'll need to drink 5 cocktails a day to break even. With a planned early embarkation, 3 sea days, a day at Coco Cay and bottled water, coffees and soft drinks thrown into the mix, I think we should get our money's worth ?
Port Plans
Again, hectic schedules, inability to link bookings and winter illness mean we haven't actually booked any excursions as of yet. As a type A planner, I find this more than a little unsettling, but I'm sure it will be fine ? We've got some ideas of what we'd like to do and hopefully we'll get something booked once we're all together in Miami. If all else fails, we'll simply wander around the shopping area in St Maarten before parking ourselves on the beach for some much-needed R&R and in San Juan we'll just have a wander around. 
In Coco Cay, we've booked waterpark passes - the second most exciting thing IMO - and I think the plan is to go there for some thrill time in the morning before heading to the beach for some chill time in the afternoon.

After a VERY hectic few months, it's almost time for our very first Caribbean cruise sailing on Allure Of The Seas over Christmas.
Itinerary 
22/12 - Embark at Fort Lauderdale 
23/12 - Sea Day
24/12 - Sea Day
25/12 - St Maarten (hopefully ?)
26/12 - San Juan
27/12 - Sea Day
28/12 - Coco Cay 
29/12 - Disembark at Fort Lauderdale 
 
The Crew
Me, husband (both Brits) & our USA-dwelling British & Canadian friends all in our late 30s to mid 40s.
For us, it's our 5th cruise - 3rd on RC having done the Med on Navigator and Independence.  For our friends, it's their very first cruise and we've told them they'll love it. I hope we were right!
We chose this sailing to fit in with my holidays from school (I'm a primary school teacher) and because I really wanted to try an Oasis Class ship.
Pre-Cruise
We've driven down to Heathrow airport from our home in the Midlands this afternoon and are spending the night at the Radisson Edwardian Blu. We stayed here earlier this year and were really impressed so we booked again. They do a deal where you get a hotel stay and parking and it's just a short Uber ride to the terminal in the morning. They have a funky bar with great cocktails and a couple of restaurants. Tonight we're trying the Indian restaurant. 
We're flying into Miami tomorrow (after original direct flights to FLL were cancelled and we had to rebook at extra cost or face going via Chicago or somewhere in Texas!) and staying at Pestana Beach hotel in South Beach. 
Our friends fly in to FLL from Detroit in the morning, are renting a car and picking us up from MIA when we arrive in the afternoon. 
We've got no firm plans ( we've all been REALLY busy, plus we thought we weren't going to be able to go at all when our TA went bust!) but we're hoping to see the Everglades and do an Art Deco architecture tour.
 

A huge change for Oasis of the Seas is the addition of the Perfect Storm water slides.




The entrance and stairs for all three slides is on deck 15 port side.









 



The slides are a lot of fun and they've been open even on port days when there are no lines and you can slide and slide again.

Remember the story a few weeks ago of the woman standing on the balcony railing taking a selfie?
A few days ago I'm eating breakfast in the Windjammer on Oasis.  Over by the Flowrider I see a couple doing a photo shoot with the woman sitting on the railing.  They took several shots over several minutes.  After looking them over she got back up on the railing and took some more.  It's at least 15' down to the deck below.
 
Stupid people do stupid things.  Sometimes they get away with it, sometimes it ends tragically.  
The hand railing is never meant to be a sitting area.
Grandpa did something stupid and a little girl paid for it with her life.  The window didn't kill the child, the grandfather did and he knows it.  It's that simple.

Don't feel bad Kathy, I just booked Star on Dec 2021 Oasis and Feb 2022 and it's just me!!!!?

The Music Hall in action...
We were fortunate to have the band Phoenix on one of these cruises.  They played on the 50th birthday cruise. 




Theatrical smoke for dramatic effect.

The thing about this is - I totally would have picked this excursion if I were on that itinerary. Volcanoes are fascinating. I've been up Kilimanjaro twice. It's still active, and there are steam vents. We were repeatedly reassured that it was safe, there was risk involved, but we accepted it. And I would do it again. Yellowstone is amazing. It could blow anytime. It is a risk we accept for adventure. That ship you're on is more at risk of sinking than odds of a volcano eruption during the short period of time you're viewing it. It's a risk, they knew it when they went, but the odds were highly in the direction of safer rather than not, when it comes down to such a short time of exposure. I also cannot predict when a car will crash into mine, or the airplane I am travelling in will crash. But I accept the risk because I cannot control the things I cannot control, and I won't let the fear of the unknown deprive me experiences. 

This is probably the last update. Just after the muster drill my wife fell badly.
She was seen by the medical staff onboard and are now in a halfcast on her left leg, waiting to get a proper medical examination at the hospital in Puerto Rico. She got a wheelchair to use while onboard, no swimming, no walking. This vacation could have started better. 

That was my cab!  I wanted to dash into the city to find some chocolate covered strawberries...

My first meal was lunch on boarding day.
Sammie with pulled pork.

It's a lot of food and quite filling.
For dinner another night I had the brisket and ribs.

Very tender. Fall off the bone tender.

It's so much food I couldn't finish the brisket and all the ribs.
Sauces are available at the table.

At dinner they had live music.



Turkey leg lunch on another boarding day.  I feel like Fred Flinstone the Turkey leg is that big.

All three meals at Portside BBQ have been really good.

Portside BBQ.
Where else but deck 15 aft on the port side. 





The inside section is air conditioned.

Orders placed on the left then you slide to the right for sides, desserts and beverages.

For dinner you can choose two or three meats, sides  and a dessert.

For lunch or a smaller snack you can choose some of the favorites.


The full lunch menu:

Dinner menu:

Late night menu:

The food all looks really good.

Sea Day - my favorite! 
A day to explore the parts of the ship you haven't seen yet. Or hang out in your favorite nook. Keep busy. Do nothing. I love it. 
We partied hard the night before and nobody woke up until 9am. For the first time we decided to divide and conquer. One went to the gym (guaranteed not to be me), another explored a few Bloody Marys at the pool bar. I went to watch people on the Flow Rider, then took a little nap on the deck above the Lime and Coconut. We all met up for lunch in the MDR. 
I always love looking at the Itinerary channel on the TV. The captain has to be creative when trying to stretch the short trip from Coco Cay to Miami and make it last nearly a day and a half. That, or he also had the Deluxe Beverage Package. 

We then hit the Schooner Bar for some Harry Potter Trivia (I just drank since I've neither seen nor read the stories). After a little shopping on the Promenade, we settled back into our room to enjoy the balcony for the last evening before dinner. 
Since it was a sea day and I had no sky rats, chickens, or iguanas to soothe me, I had to settle for #FakeDog. 




After dinner (I miss you already, Malcin!!!) one of the women had a slight headache and went up to the room to lay down. But the two of us left were not ready to give up yet. We headed to the Hush Party to give that a try. It was definitely amusing for a short time, although the music waa pretty monotonous, and I was done after about 15 minutes   I wanted to get to the 80s party on the Promenade! 

I couldn't remember exactly what time it was supposed to begin, so I stopped next to an elevator to check the Compass on the interactive screen.
Suddenly I hear my friend SCREAMING my name. I rush over and she dragged me into an elevator absolutely stuffed with people and the Stowaway Piano Player!!! 

I was beyond thrilled. We'd been looking out for him all week. And my friends learned this week that few things entertain me as much as the opportunity to sing out loud with fun people and fun music. It was really the funnest 20 minutes of the cruise.

The look on people's faces from outside the glass elevators, and from other elevators, was priceless. And the look when the elevator doors would open to people waiting... it varied from shock to awe. I probably would have stayed in there longer, but decided other people should be able to play, too (blah). 
It was time for Showgirls to start, so we ducked into there too check it out. The singing was good, but I was mostly impressed with the costumes. 
It ended in time for the 80s party, so I hung out there until I realized that I had not even begun to pack yet (denial was strong). It had only been 4 nights, surely it wasn't time to leave yet!!!! 

After about two hours in the lounge, we made our way to gate 16 and the flight to Miami. The boarding began almost immediately. It took nearly only two minutes, and we were on board. Our seat 43H-K positioned on the right side just above the wing. The legroom was nothing to write home about. And I think the chairs were pretty hard. This flight was sold out to the last seat. Push-off right on time, and after a short taxi, we were in the air at 1.13 pm local time.
As soon as we arrived at cruising altitude, the onboard meals service started. The first part of this is that you hand out menu cards even to us in economy class. We had three options for the main course. After handling out the menu, the staff came with a drink cart through the cabin. All refreshments are free, and the choice fell on a pre-dinner cocktail. Dark rum and ginger ale, we also got a small bag of pretzels. 
Now the holiday has started for real. 
Just before the crew starting the serving, the aircraft entered an area of turbulence shortly after we passed the coast of Ireland. The captain turned on the seatbelt sign, and all meal service ended.
Now the drink started to make its own, and I began to crave some food. I had set my eyes on the chicken with mushrooms. And so had everyone else in coach. When it was our turn to choose food, the chicken option was long gone. What we had to choose from was a vegetarian cauliflower curry, and mac & cheese. Looking at my personal preferences, I do not touch cauliflower, not even with protective gloves. 
So the only option left was the pasta, here is the next problem I don't eat pasta.
So now I sit here with a tray with a small green salad and two crackers, and some cream cheese. Maybe a good thing when going on a cruise. I can say that several people did not get their choice. There were quite upset feelings in the cabin. After I started eating my green salad and biscuits, a steward came by with a cold chicken wrap and a bag of potato chips. As I understood this, this came from the first-class cabin. The staff on board apologized for not getting my first choice, and I said these are my preferences, so it is my choice if I don't eat anything The wrap turned out to be an excellent lunch.
After that, I returned to wrestling with the absolute worst inflight entertainment system I have tried. Touchscreen that does not respond to touch, and an Interface design that asks more questions than it answers. Fortunately, there was one of the old-style wired remote that could control the system.
After about five hours, they passed through the cabin and offered us an ice-pop. After that is was time for the drink cart again. This time the choice just fell on diet coke. I'm going to drive from the airport to the hotel. When we have only about 90 minutes left to landing, the cabin crew started to serve a box called mile-high tea. In this box, you will find a sandwich with mozzarella pesto and arugula — also a scone, clotted cream, and a raspberry jam. I only ate the bottom half of the sandwich. I cannot eat large amounts of bread and pasta after gastric surgery.
Now, finally, we have begun the approach to Miami, and we will land ahead of the timetable.
As soon as the plane had parked, we were out in five minutes. Then it was a pretty short walk to the ESTA machines, and CBP it took about 15 minutes max before we went to pick up the luggage our bags that were already on the band. Next, stop the car rental center. I always use Alamo. We have never had any problems with this company. I always arrange everything in advance, that is: bypass the counter. I do not have to queue, go down and choose the car in the class I want. The choice this time was a Ford Fusion. Brand new with android auto so I connect with the mobile phone. After about 20 minutes after we left the car rental center, we arrived at Holiday inn Express North Kendall.
It is now almost 8 pm, and we have been on the road for 20 hours. Slightly tired after the day, we take the elevator up to the fourth floor where our room. The hotel room is very typical of a holiday Express. Minor wear-and-tear but very clean, and most important of all, the beds are comfortable. While my wife is unpacking stuff, I take the opportunity to order pizza. It's not so much about the fact that we like pizza, but it's simple, and they bring the food to us. It took a maximum of 20 minutes before the pizza guy was here, and he got plenty of tips. It is now 9 pm, and I can no longer keep myself awake. 
It is 3:15 am and I am clearly awake and incredibly craving coffee, jetlag my old friend came to visit. The wife fits asleep while I find the coffee machine in the room, and soon the room is filled with a wonderful scent of God's nectar.
I'm used to getting up at 6am every day, whether it's work or not. So sleeping to 9 has kind of never happened. Because when it is 3am in Miami, it is 9am at home. Think I can start with a nap in the middle of the day.
Today is finally time for the cruise. But first breakfast and shopping at Walmart.
I promise there will be more updates, as I write in Swedish and then translate this into English. Then make sure that the text is correct.

The next update will be later on Sunday.
Thank you for reading, and you who just look at the pictures

Oasis received the Ultimate Abyss.  Here are a few pictures taken at various times.

The suite sun deck has been refreshed.






Unfortunately the port side including bar is now a smoking area.














A local Haitian butterfly stopped by.

Here's some solarium pictures while we were at Labadee.

Upstairs looks pretty good as well.

Time to show off the Solarium.  They've done a really nice job and I love the huge forward outdoor public deck.