Once our wayward bags arrived, we had a wonderful
cruise onboard Oceania’s Riviera. From
toasting success with champagne in the beautiful dining room to toasting on a
lounge chair on the white sand beach under azure skies, shaded by gently
swaying palms, we drank in the peaceful beauty for which the West Indies is
known. After our challenging experience
getting there, it was a welcome respite of which we took full advantage. Some
of the group enjoyed Champagne & Lobster Lunch sailing around Barbados.
Some signed on for an hour-long relaxing massage onboard. There is something wonderful about smelling
like a coconut when you are in the Caribbean. We worried for a minute or two
about those in the cold and snow back in Oklahoma until someone remarked “Hey,
they had the same chance to join us as we did.” Good point! We pushed our
sunglasses up and dabbed a bit more lotion on our bare feet. Sigh.
The time just
went by too quickly. We took advantage of new tastes in the specialty
restaurants. We were delighted by the onboard production shows and
entertainers. We ate ice cream all hours of the day and were pampered by “suite
stewards” who kept our marble countertops shiny, our luxurious bedding prepared
for naps and everything else, well, shipshape.
Our ship was
to disembark after our arrival in Miami, Florida. This is a traditionally
high-stress time, what with packing, paying final bills, getting transportation
to the airport, will our plane have “mechanical problems” THIS time? Husband
Doug was “holding down the fort” at home and was keeping me posted of the ice storm forecast to hit Tulsa about three
hours before we landed. Hardly the easy transition back into the real world.
This is an
example of when it is great to be part of a group. As the “Fearless Leader”, I
was working to reconfirm everything and was hopeful to see if there was an
earlier flight that would have us safely home before the anticipated storm hit.
As the American Airlines agent wasn’t able to see any weather issues with our
current ticket, I pleaded our case, and was able to get an audience with a
supervisor. (Part of me wanted to ask “Where the heck were YOU a week ago when
I was on meeting every American Airline employee looking for my lost luggage?”)
But I was able to get our flights changed to an earlier travel time without a
change penalty. We had smooth flights and made our connections. And... all our
luggage showed up in Tulsa.
We were home
in our pajamas before we were even originally due to arrive in Tulsa. I love
happy endings.
