December 18, 2023

We started our journey from West Palm Beach – we were picked up by our car service at 10:30 AM and we stopped by Adam’s hotel in Miami to pick him up on our way to the ship. Embarkation was fast and easy and we boarded the beautiful Vista (just inaugurated in May 2023). We were greeted by carolers in the atrium and a very beautiful display of a gingerbread village. Very talented pastry chefs!

We had a quick lunch, unpacked our bags and set out to explore the ship and she is just beautiful. When we returned to our room, in addition to the orchid plant that is in our room and is pretty traditional for Oceania, we found this stunning centerpiece. We had dinner in Polo and it was great to have the family together. But we were so busy catching up that we didn’t have a family picture taken! We will do that in the next couple of days. 

Here are some pictures of our sail away out of Miami. We all went to the show after dinner and I spent some time in the casino. For the very first time I saw a player at our table get a royal straight flush – and he didn’t have a bet placed on the “6” (three of your own cards and the best two of the dealer’s cards). It would have paid $5000 on that $5 bet. Everyone in the casino erupted. He was sitting next to me and I felt very bad for him. He placed that bet always after that but that luck didn’t come again. Tomorrow is a sea day so I will post about the activities then.

Adam and Mark on stage at the Vista lounge!