Oceania Marina Embarkation

        Sunday, 3 Dec 2023 – We checked out of the hotel at about 11:30 AM and awaited the shuttle ride to the airport.  Two other couples joined us on the shuttle:  a somewhat younger Asian couple from Vancouver, Canada, and an older couple from Tucson, AZ.  The older woman’s name was Eva, and she was born in Germany.  Although she has lived in the US for most of her life, she says she will never completely lose her German accent.  The shuttle made another stop along the way and picked up several more passengers.  Those passengers were dropped off first at another cruise line; then we proceeded on to the Oceania Cruise 3 Terminal.  We checked our luggage before entering the terminal; then waited for about an hour-and-a-half until our boarding group was called at about 1:30 PM.

We were told that our stateroom, 7006, would not be ready until 3:00 PM.  After going through security and checking in with the ship’s safety personnel, we enjoyed the buffet lunch in the Terrace Café.  We had been required to view a ship’s safety video prior to embarkation, so the ship dispensed with the customary lifeboat drill!  Yay!!!

We found our stateroom to be very nice, the nicest one ever!  In addition to the king-sized bed, the room had a sofa and a very large balcony.  The large bathroom had both a shower and a bathtub, which was a very pleasant surprise.  We had thought that our soak in the bathtub in Miami would be our last until we returned to Sioux Falls in January!  At first, we were disappointed with the TV because there were no closed captions, but Jesse finally figured out how to display them, which made Sally very happy!  We met our stateroom attendant, April, and later, her assistant, Krisli, both from the Philippines.

Sally spent a good part of the day napping; then we spent the rest of the day unpacking and organizing.  At first, we thought we would be shy of storage space, but we ended up with space to spare.  As usual, we forgot to pack a few things, including the backpack that provides a seat for Sally during excursions, a sewing kit, and Jesse’s compact tool kit!

Dancing was on the ship’s schedule for the evening, but we opted to just enjoy dinner in the Terrace Café and call it an early night.  Sally was happy to find that lobster was on the menu for this cruise, along with their usual scrumptious desserts!  We were afraid that Oceania may have discontinued serving lobster on a regular basis in order to recoup some of the money lost during Covid.  After dinner, we ordered decaf cappuccinos, which we had become accustomed to enjoying on previous Oceania cruises.  Before retiring, we set our clocks and watches back by one hour.