Oasis 8 dec trip report ** Ongoing **

[swemto]

Everything I write here is from my perspective and may not match someone else's opinion. I want to use this time to say that English is not my primary language. This text is a product of nine years in the Swedish elementary school system in the seventies and the eighties. And we all know the seventies were the seventies. You might find some writing and grammar oversights. 

If the number of posts is dropping during the week, we likely have a lot of fun. I'll try to keep adding more and respond to all the questions you may hold. 

You lovely bunch, have likely already seen countless hours of footage from Oasis and hundreds of photos. So please excuse me if you view another picture of sliced roast beef in a kummelweck roll for the 356th time.

I love arranging the holidays as much as I like traveling on them. I am using lots of tools to help stay prepared. My preferred weapon for this is tripit.com. I also keep a binder to keep all documents and a few bits and parts together. I am sure there is a proper diagnosis for my behavior.

So who are we?

My name is Mikael, and I write this.

With me on the trip is as always, my lovely wife for the last 26 years Kerstin. I work as a field service engineer, and my wife is a registered nurse.

We live in a middle-sized area about 21 km northwest of Stockholm, Sweden.

 History and booking:

After our first cruise, on NCL Getaway in 2016. We fell in love with the cruising holiday product. After this, we have been on MSC Divina and Royal Caribbeans Oasis of the seas for a back to back cruise.

We want to cruise more, but the prices for the trans-Atlantic flights and the pre-cruise hotels are draining a hole in our vacation budget.

When we investigated the possibilities to get to the cruise, we had so many choices ranging from direct routes to flights with layovers. The layover flights usually are the more inexpensive alternative. 

After careful searching for a lengthy time, we noticed a ticket sold by Virgin Atlantic with a layover in London Heathrow. For this ticket, we paid almost four hundred USD return. That covered checked bags, and we made this our choice.

We are flying coach class, so we can afford to travel more. Its an uncomplicated equation for us. A few hours of cramped travel equals one more holiday week a year — an absolute win-win for us.

 

Pre-cruise travel Itinerary:

December 6th

Radisson Blu Airport Terminal 

December 7th

07:15 CET - 09:35 GMT ARN - LHR

https://www.flightview.com/flight-tracker/SK/525?date=20191207&depapt=ARN

10:15 GMT -12:05 Club aspire lounge 

12:55 GMT - 18:05 EST LHR - MIA

https://www.flightview.com/flight-tracker/VS/5?date=20191207&depapt=LHR

EDT 19:25 pick up the rental car at Alamo.

EDT 19:45 Arrive at the Holiday Inn Express Miami Airport Doral Area

EDT 20:00 Papa Johns on order 

EDT 21:05 Lights Out.

December 8th

EDT 07:10 Hotel Breakfast.

EDT 08:00 Last Minute Shopping at Walmart and Walgreens.

EDT 11:00 Return the rental at the airport.

EDT 11:15 Board the Almo courtesy bus from the airport to the port. 

EDT 13:00 Raid the buffet and get that bar tab going.

 

With this part completed, let's go forward with our semi-live travel report.

 Although we live so nearby to the airport, we decided to go a day earlier and check-in at the Radisson BLU Arlanda Terminal hotel. I reserved this with points that I have gained during many of my work trips. We had to add breakfast, which is an extra cost at this hotel. The price is about 160 Sek or $ 16 per person. This arrangement is rare for a hotel in Sweden. It may sound like an overprice to pay for a simple breakfast, but this is more like the breakfast in the windjammer than a typical American hotel breakfast.

 

At 7:00 pm, there are only two real possibilities to get to our flight. The first obvious choice is a taxi for about 60 dollars. The second choice is to drive. There is no problem to find a parking space at Arlanda. Pick from outdoor to heated indoor parking. You have to let the wallet decide what right for you. As winter is officially here in Sweden, the choice fell to a covered parking space near the terminal. This cost almost 90 USD for the ten days we are gone. Indoor parking may not be the most affordable option. Still, it sure beats an open-air parking space with the risk for iced windows and a few inches of snow surrounding the car when we return.

 

The drive to the airport was smooth even in the light rain, and we arrived after about 35 minutes.

We drove on a more or less an empty highway to the airport. We pulled up to the indoor parking space and headed up the ramp to the 3rd floor. That gives us direct access to terminal 2. Our first stop today is the Radisson hotel at SkyCity. All terminals on Arlanda airport connects with indoor walkways, and it is a comfortable walk for about 15 minutes. After the check-in at the front desk, we went up to our room. Our room is on the first floor, and we checked out the amenities and bed. After the compulsory bed check, I headed down to the self-service kiosks to get my luggage tags and boarding cards. So we can use the self bag drop at the star alliance area. Time well spent that will give us a few extra minutes to enjoy that pricy breakfast at the hotel.

Now its time for the room tour. This hotel room is not large more on the small size, but it is adequate for a night's sleep.

The room is clean and decorated in a trendy Scandinavian style. The bathroom is bright and tiled from floor to ceiling. Here we will most likely sleep well in the bed that is not in the bathroom. 

We headed down to SkyCity to get something to eat. The choice fell on the restaurant "on my way." And what does a swede eat at the airport, Swedish meatballs of course. That plate of restaurant meatballs with lingonberry and sweet pickled cucumber and the velvet-smooth cream sauce are as good as it gets. After that dinner, we went back to the hotel room to shower and wind down before the early wake-up call.

 

More to follow in tomorrow

 

 

[Missymo]

. You are coming a long way  and your trip so far is fascinating.  I want to be the first  to welcome you to the US and Miami,.  Should you need any info concerning Miami, just ask.    I too, will be on the December 8 Oasis of the the Seas sailing. Hope to meet you on board.. 

[swemto]

25 minutes ago, Missymo said:

. You are coming a long way  and your trip so far is fascinating.  I want to be the first  to welcome you to the US and Miami,.  Should you need any info concerning Miami, just ask.    I too, will be on the December 8 Oasis of the the Seas sailing. Hope to meet you on board.. 

Thank you. This is the 5th time to florida and the 12 time to the us. This will be the 3rd time on oasis

Edited December 6, 2019 by swemto

[blueridgemama]

We will be on the Oasis of the Seas in February so I will be interested in your review. Safe travels for the rest of your journey to Miami.

BTW; We stayed at the Holiday Inn Miami Doral area for our last cruise from Miami and found it to be a very nice hotel and much more reasonable than the hotels closer to the port.

[Crazy planning mom]

Will be following your report.  Your Swedish meatball dinner looks delicious and the Radisson looks lovely.

Have a safe flight and Bon Voyage.