Live and Solo: B2B on Oasis Feb 4 - 18, a Running report

[DandDM]

The hotel I booked a long time ago couldn’t arrange an early check in and can’t promise a room until 4 pm (should have thought about that before booking…). So the other day, I checked out Hotels for the Day and found a day room at a place around the corner from that hotel for $109. I can get into that room at 10am. 
 

Original plan was to use the room as a base for a run, but looking at the weather, it may turn into a napping spot!  I have no solid plans for today (or tomorrow) but will share what ever I end up doing!

[DandDM]

Forgot to take a photo from my room, but here is the general view. 

 

Sad to see the empty ship. 

[DandDM]

Killing some time…don’t think I posted these. 
 

 

 

[DandDM]

Quick update on disembarking. After breakfast, Willie the concierge came over and offered assistance. Initially I thought this would be useful to avoid some lines, but then realized that he was using the elevator!  I wasn’t about to break my perfect stair record for that!  
 

Ended up not being a big deal as the line was moving fast on deck five and I was off the ship in just a few minutes. Was pretty surprised how many people were taking their bags off, even people with two or three bags. Got one photo of the bags on the escalator. 

 

Once down stairs, quickly found my bag and went to customs, they were using the facial recognition system. Only a couple people in front of me for that, then was outside. Took maybe ten minutes total to get off the ship and most of that was walking. 
 

Once outside it took awhile for the Uber app to find a driver and said 20 minutes until arrival. While waiting, saw the confiscated items table. 

 

The Uber app wasn’t updating the countdown or driver location - my cell phone had lost its signal. I found a spot where it worked, but that wasn’t where I needed to be to get my ride

The situation was hectic- a ton of people and their luggage so it was difficult to maneuver to watch for my car, luckily I did find it, and even then, had a tough time getting people to move so I could get to it!  Was very relieved when I finally sat down in the car and was on my way. 
 

And guess what - raining again!  
 

[DandDM]

Nice, competent driver had me at the hotel quickly, arrived 9:50, just a few minutes early. Looks like a nice hotel, but we got problems!  At first the clerk said he was having a problem finding my reservation, and then admitted they were overbooked. Said that I would get the first room available after someone checked out 😞. 
 

I argued for a minute, but the guy was really nice and I’m sure he didn’t cause this, nor had a better solution, so I dropped off my bag and am now chilling at the beach. Did discuss the need for a price adjustment when (if) I get a room. 
 

The hotel is the Blue Moon. 
 

 

 

 

 

Quick update: went to the hotel where I have a reservation tonight and got on the ‘list’ for when a room is available. Will see who calls first!

Edited February 18 by DandDM

[DandDM]

Still waiting. Wandered down to South Point park. Had jogged past and wanted to check it out. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Tried to find a tour or attraction in the area and came up empty, but did find a bar. The South Point Tavern. Ordered a local Hazy IPA which is pretty good 

 

 

Fancy place. They have the Rip Van Winkle on the bottom shelf. 
 

Club sandwich was good. 
 

 

 

 

[DandDM]

Waldorf towers wins!  Got my room a little after 1 pm. When I went back to Blue Moon to get my bag, the same guy was at the desk and he apologized again and said that house cleaning was getting my room ready. Haha. 
 

Happy with the room at Waldorf and since I had a decent time this morning doing some new stuff, happy that I saved some money!  
 

Room photos, this is an ocean view corner room. 
 

 

 

View

 

Edited to add: towel animal!  
 

Edited February 18 by DandDM
Added photo

[fla33023]

22 minutes ago, DandDM said:

Waldorf towers wins!  Got my room a little after 1 pm. When I went back to Blue Moon to get my bag, the same guy was at the desk and he apologized again and said that house cleaning was getting my room ready. Haha. 
 

Happy with the room at Waldorf and since I had a decent time this morning doing some new stuff, happy that I saved some money!  
 

Room photos, this is an ocean view corner room. 
 

 

 

View

 

Edited to add: towel animal!  
 

Seems like you made the best of a rainy south Florida day!

[fla33023]

I think I have this charger box and it hasn't been confiscated in 5 cruises. Hope I'm not jinxing myself for spring break! 

[DandDM]

I sure can pick my days in Miami!

 

 

 

[DandDM]

28 minutes ago, fla33023 said:

Seems like you made the best of a rainy south Florida day!

Got the room just in time!  But now I want another IPA…

[Jaynay]

Sorry you are getting our yucky weather in Florida.  We are further up from you in Central Florida and, well, pretty much the whole state has had constant, mostly drizzling, rain both Saturday and Sunday (today).  Really hard on all the NASCAR fans (not one) in Daytona Beach.

[DandDM]

5 hours ago, Jaynay said:

Sorry you are getting our yucky weather in Florida.  We are further up from you in Central Florida and, well, pretty much the whole state has had constant, mostly drizzling, rain both Saturday and Sunday (today).  Really hard on all the NASCAR fans (not one) in Daytona Beach.

Heard the Daytona 500 got postponed - ouch!

 

The wind and rain gave me an excuse to take a nap and not feel guilty that I was missing out on anything. 

[DandDM]

The rain calmed down this evening, in time for dinner!  Ended up at Thai House South Beach after wandering around for a while. place was kinda expensive (for Thai), this order of chicken with peanut sauce was $27.95. 

It tasted good, not great for that price, and the temperature was inconsistent. When I got the bill there was an added 18% service charge… seen that from time to time and I was going to tip anyway, but it bugged me that the final receipt (after credit card) had the total, including the SC AND also place to add a tip with recommended amounts based on a % of the full bill. 
 

Walking back, passed the Blue Moon, does look like it would be a nice place. 
 

 

[perfect match]

8 hours ago, DandDM said:

I sure can pick my days in Miami!

 

 

 

Sorry that our Florida weather hasn’t been very nice to you. We usually have pretty nice weather this time of year. This year, not so much. The good news is that tomorrow and the next few days should be way better than today has been. 

[fla33023]

10 hours ago, perfect match said:

Sorry that our Florida weather hasn’t been very nice to you. We usually have pretty nice weather this time of year. This year, not so much. The good news is that tomorrow and the next few days should be way better than today has been. 

Rain-wise but still a bit chilly!

[DandDM]

11 hours ago, perfect match said:

Sorry that our Florida weather hasn’t been very nice to you. We usually have pretty nice weather this time of year. This year, not so much. The good news is that tomorrow and the next few days should be way better than today has been. 

 

56 minutes ago, fla33023 said:

Rain-wise but still a bit chilly!

Yes, much nicer today!  Was only 60 when I left for a run, but sun is coming out now 😃

[DandDM]

12th and final run today!  More runs than I thought feasible for the trip. 
 

The run itself was just ok, after two weeks of ‘practicing’ on the ship, thought I would crush this. But of all things, my shins bugged me from the start…the only reason I can think of is that I’d gotten used to the softer track surface on the ship, so running on concrete and brick was the issue. While not what I’d hoped for, was able to get five miles in and kept time under 11 min/mile. 

 

A lot of people out, forgot that it is Veteran’s Day. A big Thank You to the veterans out there!

 

 

 

[DandDM]

Trip is winding down. Really plan to give my final thoughts soon!

 

Anyway, lunch, but first a little off topic. One of the many things I miss about my wife was her meal planning/research. She would spend a long time on her phone before meal time, finding the best place and usually a coupon or deal. I’d occasionally get frustrated with the time it took, or hesitate about her choice - but the meals rarely disappointed and I learned to go along. We (she) found some real gems. 
 

Now I don’t find the golden nuggets she did, and instead find places that look good and are close when I’m hungry. 
 

With that said, was thinking about tacos so found a place that seemed to have an ok menu and was busy so went for it!

 

Today was a place called Oh Mexico and it was fine. Not much more to say. 
 

Chips and flight of salsas (all spicy). 

 

Fish tacos 

 

Margaritas 

 

and the surrounding views. 

 

 

Once again, bill had an automatically added 20% service charge and then the request for additional tip. 

 

 

[DandDM]

A couple more photos - the outdoor ‘gym’ is really getting busy. 
And view of the roof top pad at the place next to my room. 

 

 

[sddsddean]

23 minutes ago, DandDM said:

Trip is winding down. Really plan to give my final thoughts soon!

 

Anyway, lunch, but first a little off topic. One of the many things I miss about my wife was her meal planning/research. She would spend a long time on her phone before meal time, finding the best place and usually a coupon or deal. I’d occasionally get frustrated with the time it took, or hesitate about her choice - but the meals rarely disappointed and I learned to go along. We (she) found some real gems. 
 

Now I don’t find the golden nuggets she did, and instead find places that look good and are close when I’m hungry. 
 

With that said, was thinking about tacos so found a place that seemed to have an ok menu and was busy so went for it!

 

Today was a place called Oh Mexico and it was fine. Not much more to say. 
 

Chips and flight of salsas (all spicy). 

 

Fish tacos 

 

Margaritas 

 

and the surrounding views. 

 

 

Once again, bill had an automatically added 20% service charge and then the request for additional tip. 

 

 

Hi, been following along as we are on Oasis in April and have 4 days in Miami prior. We are from the UK and have a totally different tip system to the US, so just need a bit of advice. Whilst we sometimes get a service charge, we would not normally tip if there is one...do you tip extra, or is it bad not to? (because 20% is a hell of a chunk!)(and thats presumably on top of the 6% sales tax which gets added on after rather than included in the 'advertised' price...weird system!)

 

Thanks for an interesting 'live' thread.

 

Simon

[fla33023]

2 hours ago, DandDM said:

12th and final run today!  More runs than I thought feasible for the trip. 
 

The run itself was just ok, after two weeks of ‘practicing’ on the ship, thought I would crush this. But of all things, my shins bugged me from the start…the only reason I can think of is that I’d gotten used to the softer track surface on the ship, so running on concrete and brick was the issue. While not what I’d hoped for, was able to get five miles in and kept time under 11 min/mile. 

 

A lot of people out, forgot that it is Veteran’s Day. A big Thank You to the veterans out there!

 

 

 

Today is President's Day. No school!

[DandDM]

59 minutes ago, sddsddean said:

Hi, been following along as we are on Oasis in April and have 4 days in Miami prior. We are from the UK and have a totally different tip system to the US, so just need a bit of advice. Whilst we sometimes get a service charge, we would not normally tip if there is one...do you tip extra, or is it bad not to? (because 20% is a hell of a chunk!)(and thats presumably on top of the 6% sales tax which gets added on after rather than included in the 'advertised' price...weird system!)

 

Thanks for an interesting 'live' thread.

 

Simon

This is different for me too! I'll share my thoughts, but welcome anyone else with more 'local' knowledge to chime in.

 

I consider the service charge the gratuity (or tip) and have not given extra. Kinda like the 18% that cruise lines add to bills (I wonder if that is where the idea came from here...)

 

Where I live (Pacific North West USA) there was a period of time where restaurants would claim to be socially responsible by adding a "Living Wage" tip to your bill. For most places it was 15 - 18% and they were upfront about it, saying that the tip ensured that employees received a 'living wage'.  If you didn't like it, you could have it taken off, or you could give extra. Once again, very upfront about it. This didn't last long and all of the restaurants I know of that tried it out, later stopped and went back to a traditional tipping system.

 

Have treated what I've seen here as being similar, but it has not been done the same way. First off, I didn't notice anything on menu or table that specifically talked about it.  Second, it was buried in the bill as a 'service charge.'.  Finally, the receipt to sign (or when the bring the machine out) had it included on the total with additional line for tip. I specifically asked my waitress about it today, I said, "This is the tip, right?".  She nodded agreement, but based on a language barrier I noticed when ordering, not 100% sure she understood me.

 

If I was going to tip extra for outstanding service, would only calculate the tip based on the food and drink cost before taxes and the service charge. 

 

Now that I've seen it twice here in Miami Beach I am guessing that it is pretty common in the area...other might have more thoughts.

 

Cheers,

Edited February 19 by DandDM
typo

[DandDM]

I have the laptop out and opened a bottle that was left after the cruise (and don't want to carry home) so will work on wrapping this up.  May have some more posts today or tomorrow as I get back, and will also make sure to update folks about the race!

 

Cheers,

 

[DandDM]

49 minutes ago, fla33023 said:

Today is President's Day. No school!

Oh, President's Day...I thought it was Veteran's!  My apologies on that; to defend myself, the ship had a nice presentation for Veterans on the last sea day, and without researching, jumped to the conclusion that it was for the upcoming holiday. I'm usually the idiot at work who will have someone say "see you Tuesday" and I'll be surprised that we don't have to work on Monday!