Oasis of the Seas Live - We’ve been Saved by the Bell 🐾🐾 March 12-19, 2023. ​​​​​​​

[PompeySailor]

5 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

All of the above, minus a massage.

It was a GREAT week!!!  Thank you again, John.  You went over and above for us all.🥰

I sure hope you feel better quickly.  You were missed last night.

Maryann 

We will see you soon

Ill send you some X stuff once all settled 

 

The Beyond roll call won’t be as lively, 

not until we crank it up a little 🤣😂

 

Safe travels 

Graham

[Sea Dog]

21 minutes ago, niksmom630 said:

Debarkation was a tad rough. For some reason we exited deck 5, bumper to bumper body traffic, and did a complete loop around the jogging track 🏃‍♀️ ( which I successfully avoided like the plague for 7 days).

 

it was almost a full hour of shuffling until we got to the taxi line. I should have remembered how awful it was from our Symphony sailing last March, but apparently I haven’t killed those brain cells yet 🥳 

 

the problem when you exit is you have to make a decision, taxi to the right, shared rides to the left.  Chose the right (taxi) but our wait was only about another 30 minutes. 
 

$54 taxi fare from the port to the Hilton Miami Airport Blue Lagoon. Our Uber fare to the port from here was only 5 dollars more. Didn’t check Uber rates because we’d already committed to the taxi line….

 

 

 

 

We have learned the key is to get a good porter and tell him if he takes care us we will take care of him.

 

He took us to the front of the taxi line (which might have made a few people unhappy but hey it was him asking people to move out of the way not me) and we got a taxi in about 5 minutes. 
 

Taxi fare to the airport was a mere $39 bucks which was a lot better than our last taxi fare for $63.

 

We were one of the last groups debarking which helped too.

[Ozark_Kid]

3 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Then there are also a few that I'll see in about 6 weeks as we do the Hawaii to Vancouver sailing on Ovation.  Taking my son on that one which certainly kept me out of the doghouse that I would have been in if I sailed that solo.

Wow, cool Ken.  I thought it wasn't working out for you.   Good to see we will be sailing together!

For those that want to cruise with us, there are still rooms available!

[PompeySailor]

2 minutes ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

@Sea DogGreg, color me knucklehead! How could I forget you.  I am so sorry I did not mention you in my last post.  I did not mean to do that. Please forgive me!  We really appreciated all your hard work. You contributed so much for us this week as it was you who posted our first group photo and thank you for all the time that you put into the videos. We really enjoyed meeting you and Linda and spending time in the Music Hall’s Happy Hour with you guys. I’m sorry you were in such pain yesterday that it limited your activities. We really missed you in Schooner Bar last night so we could say goodbye.
 

I hope you will have the surgery that you need on your knee as soon as you can so you won’t have knee pain anymore.

 

I’m also sorry we did not get to say goodbye to @John&LaLasorry your last 2 nights turned out the way it did. Thank you for everything. We really enjoyed getting to know you more. Get well soon!

@derorim I hope you get better soon with your swollen knee.  We also missed saying goodbye to @Lionesss @ValerieJo @PompeySailor @firefly333 Take care, everyone!

 

Marty & Helen 

Sorry I missed you guys

We enjoyed drinking and chatting with you Both

See you again one day soon my friends 

 

Take care

Graham

Safe travels

[Sea Dog]

4 minutes ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

@Sea DogGreg, color me knucklehead! How could I forget you.  I am so sorry I did not mention you in my last post.  I did not mean to do that. Please forgive me!  We really appreciated all your hard work. You contributed so much for us this week as it was you who posted our first group photo and thank you for all the time that you put into the videos. We really enjoyed meeting you and Linda and spending time in the Music Hall’s Happy Hour with you guys. I’m sorry you were in such pain yesterday that it limited your activities. We really missed you in Schooner Bar last night so we could say goodbye.
 

I hope you will have the surgery that you need on your knee as soon as you can so you won’t have knee pain anymore.

 

I’m also sorry we did not get to say goodbye to @John&LaLasorry your last 2 nights turned out the way it did. Thank you for everything. We really enjoyed getting to know you more. Get well soon!

@derorim I hope you get better soon with your swollen knee.  We also missed saying goodbye to @Lionesss @ValerieJo @PompeySailor @firefly333 Take care, everyone!

 

No worries Helen. I really enjoyed spending time with you and Marty. I really enjoyed hearing about your sons who are obviously very talented.  Hope to see you again soon on another cruise. All the best wished to you!!!!!

[Ozark_Kid]

3 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

It’s nice to have wifi to quickly upload a video VS the ship’s which was intermittent at times. 
 

 

That's great.   Thanks for sharing. 

[barbeyg]

2 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Wow, cool Ken.  I thought it wasn't working out for you.   Good to see we will be sailing together!

For those that want to cruise with us, there are still rooms available!

I really wish we could, but….work. 😕 Why we had to cancel.  We are sailing HI next year though to make up for this year’s loss.  😁

 

Hope y’all have a great voyage to HI!

[SteelCityCruiser10]

30 minutes ago, niksmom630 said:

Thought about starting to dry out and maybe a “healthy” snack 

 

😂😂😂😂

 

mmm hold that thought 😉

they say it’s the thought that counts anyway!

 

[SV1432]

27 minutes ago, ValerieJo said:

We had the same shuffle around the track.  We opted for the ride share line.  It took us over an hour to get a ride.  It took us 3 tries to get a ride.   I’ll try to remember the taxi line next time.

Not to derail an otherwise fun and awesome thread, but question on the debarkation. In the ride share line, does it matter if you pre booked Uber/Lyft? It’s been a while since we’ve used Port of Miami (back when the car rental companies still had free shuttles to the airport). I’m trying to visualize how this works? We carry our own luggage and should be one of the early ones off, but wondering if pre-booking doesn’t matter if it’s just an on demand line for everyone.

 

With 4 of us and some luggage, we’ll need an XL or Taxi van so we went with a pre booked XL on Lyft. Thanks for helping me visualize the craziness of debarkation day there. 

Edited March 19, 2023 by SV1432

[Luckynana]

9 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

And just like that with the snap of your fingers we are back and our cruise is over. I’m sad. 😢

Sorry to have missed you and Linda last night, Greg.  I hope your knee is feeling better today, and that your crankles have gone back to being your ankles once again.  It was great meeting you in person this week. ☺️

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Sometimes the Indians get no respect. 😞

No disrespect was ever intended.

[Luckynana]

6 hours ago, Lionesss said:

 

And to top it off our toilets are not toileting this morning.  
 

No flushy flushy. 

Happened to us at least twice this week and had to call maintenance.🤔

6 hours ago, jmh2006 said:

Sitting in the MDR for Key breakfast and want to add my sincere thanks to @John&LaLa for making this one special cruise.  John your work on gathering this group did not go unnoticed!  Also thanks to @Sea Dog, @A&L_Ont and @Lionesss for making this thread, slot pull and keeping us all entertained!  It is truly amazing when you think about how this all transpired!  Safe travels home everyone.  Cheers  till we meet again!👋👋

+1. Great job, you guys!!!  So appreciated!  Thank you all!

5 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

We're home. First kitty to greet us. She loves being on our shoulders. She wouldn't stay still so the pictures kept coming out blurry. 

 

 

Pretty kitty!

[reallyitsmema]

7 minutes ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

No disrespect was ever intended.

 

That comment is in response to the original comment to your lovely post thanking people.  There was an over reaction that was quickly edited.  

[Luckynana]

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

John and Ken handled the cruise portion. Andrew and I handled the review and Sue did all the slot pull stuff.

Kudos to you all for a job done exceedingly well!  Thank you, John, Ken, Andrew, Greg, and Sue.  It was Epic!!!!!! 🎉🎊🎉

Until we meet again!!!!💕

[Luckynana]

48 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

Maryann 

We will see you soon

Ill send you some X stuff once all settled 

 

The Beyond roll call won’t be as lively, 

not until we crank it up a little 🤣😂

 

Safe travels 

Graham

For sure, Graham!  Great meeting you, and thank you again, for hooking me up to procuring our group photo! 😊

[grapau27]

17 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Med staff provided some

Like others have said John I wish you a speedy recovery and sorry you had to cancel your next cruise.

Graham.

[Luckynana]

@derorimI hope your knee is better today...what did you plan on doing today, since you couldn't do the Hop on hop off excursion today?

Safe travels this evening.

[Luckynana]

Easiest debarkation today.  Headed to theater a little early this morning and was told we could just leave, our number was already called 🤔 so just got on the line, which moved at a decent pace.  We were in our car and on our way well before our scheduled debarkation time.  No line to get out of garage, and not a sign of traffic our entire trip home.

[ValerieJo]

55 minutes ago, SV1432 said:

Not to derail an otherwise fun and awesome thread, but question on the debarkation. In the ride share line, does it matter if you pre booked Uber/Lyft? It’s been a while since we’ve used Port of Miami (back when the car rental companies still had free shuttles to the airport). I’m trying to visualize how this works? We carry our own luggage and should be one of the early ones off, but wondering if pre-booking doesn’t matter if it’s just an on demand line for everyone.

 

With 4 of us and some luggage, we’ll need an XL or Taxi van so we went with a pre booked XL on Lyft. Thanks for helping me visualize the craziness of debarkation day there. 

Never occurred to us to pre book as we’ve never had an issue.  We got off the ship about 9:00.   Went to the ride share area after picking up our luggage.  Ordered a Lyft which said would arrive in about 15 minutes.  Waited for about 20 minutes, then Lyft cancelled our ride saying they had no drivers available.  We then ordered an Uber.  It said would arrive in about 9 minutes.  Then said 17 more minutes, then said arriving in 25 minutes.  At that point we canceled the Uber and tried Lyft again.  Finally got a driver in about 15 minutes to bring us to our hotel.   I think if you carry off and are out there early, I wouldn’t think you would have an issue.

[molly361]

2 minutes ago, ValerieJo said:

Never occurred to us to pre book as we’ve never had an issue.  We got off the ship about 9:00.   Went to the ride share area after picking up our luggage.  Ordered a Lyft which said would arrive in about 15 minutes.  Waited for about 20 minutes, then Lyft cancelled our ride saying they had no drivers available.  We then ordered an Uber.  It said would arrive in about 9 minutes.  Then said 17 more minutes, then said arriving in 25 minutes.  At that point we canceled the Uber and tried Lyft again.  Finally got a driver in about 15 minutes to bring us to our hotel.   I think if you carry off and are out there early, I wouldn’t think you would have an issue.

I'm an Uber virgin and it's stories like this that make me continue to want to be one

[ValerieJo]

2 minutes ago, molly361 said:

I'm an Uber virgin and it's stories like this that make me continue to want to be one

We use ride share services whenever we travel and always had great luck.  I think today was just bad timing. 

[Jimbo]

57 minutes ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

No disrespect was ever intended.

General statement, don't take it personal. Sorry.

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, SV1432 said:

Not to derail an otherwise fun and awesome thread, but question on the debarkation. In the ride share line, does it matter if you pre booked Uber/Lyft? It’s been a while since we’ve used Port of Miami (back when the car rental companies still had free shuttles to the airport). I’m trying to visualize how this works? We carry our own luggage and should be one of the early ones off, but wondering if pre-booking doesn’t matter if it’s just an on demand line for everyone.

 

With 4 of us and some luggage, we’ll need an XL or Taxi van so we went with a pre booked XL on Lyft. Thanks for helping me visualize the craziness of debarkation day there. 

Not exactly sure how it is handled in the Miami Port now, it's been awhile since we cruised from there but the way other ports handle it, if you have a pre arranged time for pickup with a Lyft/Uber driver you wait in a different area outside and never get in those Lyft/Uber or Taxi Lines.

 

Bayonne Port had it signed very well for prearranged pick ups for Uber and Lyft.

 

Maybe others today with prearranged pick ups through Uber and Lyft can chime in better for Miami.

[CruiszBug]

We are home! Finished packing at 2 AM, just as we were arriving into Miami. Got up 3 hours later to get ready to leave. Lovely SL Concierge, Chantelle met us at the elevators on Deck12 and to keep us and our 21 bags together. We were quickly off the Oasis and up to the top level of the parking garage to jenga-pack all our luggage into the mother ship for our journey home. I'd say we were on the road about 7:45 AM and home by 12:30 PM after one gas stop to fill the tank ($2.97/gal) and one for Wendy's to fill our tanks. First time we have left the ship hungry but we were on a mission to not get stuck anywhere in downtown Miami, especially after the embarkation traffic episode!

 

We are unpacked. Laundry can wait until tomorrow. Just enjoying the mellow after-math of an EPIC week with Bella Cruisers! Want to thank everyone who were so very kind to us and our daughter, Phoebe! She was smiling all week. Little gifts like the blinky light ring from Laura at the Bon Jovi concert in the Music Hall. The golden Bella and the plush Bella from John were lovely and Phoebe kept little Bella tucked into the front strap of her wheelchair all the way home! Thinking you know someone from the boards is so very different then meeting the real people onboard a cruise. These people are smart and funny and kind and caring and talented and beautiful. Thank you for sharing your lives with us this week. Shout out to Ken - thank you for the cool playing cards, Sue (awesome Slot Pull organizer) - thank you for the door prizes and the gifts - even for the cheerleaders, John - thank you for the door magnet, the hand-crafted name tags, and the limoncello tasting (a first for us!). Plus the entire Cruise Critic group we had a chance to have time with at Schooner's and around the ship!

 

Also wanted to send hugs to the people who were under the weather during our cruise. I am just now finding out about most of them since I could not keep up with the posts during the week. Yikes! Hope everyone is on the way to feeling better sooner than later.

 

If it is okay I would like to post a smattering of pictures of what we did during the week, even though it is now at a close? Otherwise I can start a new short thread?  Good Travels Everyone!

[niksmom630]

Off to dinner. Since I’ve not eaten enough the past 8 nights….😎

 

kind of a grey day today in Miami, but I’m not complaining…. 38 degrees in Chicago 

 

palm trees and…..other friends