Steve and Cathy's Blog

This is hard to admit, but there comes a time when these Sea Days are days we look forward to in order to recharge and catch up.  We just finished five straight days being in ports and were eager to take advantage of every minute.  And we did, so these next three days are a welcome respite.

April 14^th:  we wake up to some of the roughest weather we have had on the entire voyage.  Not a big deal, mind you, but we can really feel the “motion of the ocean” as the cruise director likes to describe it.  The waves are around twelve feet, but – and this is key – it is a following sea.  We are traveling in the same direction as the waves.  The ship still pitches and rolls, but we don’t get the jolts we would get if Insignia were plowing into the waves.

At 11am, Oceania is holding a special event just for ATW (Around the World) guests (as they call us). It is held in Insignia Lounge in the bow of the ship, and is called the Sakura Spring Get Together.  By the time the event is due to start, Cathy decides that the pitching of the ship in the bow is just too much, and she departs before it gets going.

Steve sits with Brian and Barbara.  Immediately, champagne is served to anyone interested.  We are interested, and our interest does not diminish for the next ninety minutes.

Cruise Director Ray has put together a very creative piece of entertainment for us.  He has gathered five senior staff members to be a panel. Ray then asks the audience to choose which of the five best fits a description of an event or occupation or something of that sort.  For example, Ray asks: “Which of these five, when he or she was a child, was kidnapped for three weeks?”  Or “which crew member, before joining the cruise industry, was a spy?”  Or “which crew member is a skydiver?”

The five people are (from left to right) 1) the Chief Purser, 2) the Head Concierge, 3) the Oceania Club Ambassador ( the person who books your next cruise at big savings), 4) the General Manager and 5) the Head Chef.

There were probably fifteen questions asked, and we did not get one of them correct. These five people have led very interesting lives.  We learned some fascinating things about them, and the event was really fun.  (By the way, the Head Chef was the one who had been kidnapped as a child.  His dad was a policeman, and it was some kind of threat for him having arrested some bad guys)  Well done, Oceania.

After the Get Together was over, Cathy joined Barb, Brian and me for lunch in the Grand Dining Room.  When lunch was finished, naps were definitely in order.  Fortunately, as the day progresses, the seas begin to settle down, because we are to have dinner with Margie in the Grand Dining Room.  That venue is in the stern, another area of the ship that is the most affected by the sea state.

We meet at 7:00pm and have a very pleasant dinner with Margie. She is travelling solo and has made many friends on the ship. There are about 8 solo women travelers on this cruise and they have formed a Trivia Team called “the Around the World Babes.” So everyone refers to them as The Babes .  Margie always knows lots of stuff about what’s going on around the ship with passengers and crew. So she catches us up on crew gossip: who is getting off in Bali, who is married to whom, stuff like that. After dinner she went off to attend the evening’s entertainment and we; it goes without saying, retired to our stateroom and went to bed.

April 15^th:  Steve and Cathy are still lacking in the energy needed to do much other than read, knit and blog.  In fact, there is a fabulous “Brunch In The Grand Dining Room” at 11:00am.  Normally this is a must-attend event as the food is wonderful and the entire food service staff really goes out of their way to prepare amazing dishes and the room is very creatively decorated. Sadly, we cannot muster the energy to attend.  So be it. “Oh there will be at least two more of these before the end of the cruise.” Are we getting jaded? Spoiled? Yes!

We continue our sloth-imitation schedule for the afternoon, but do rise to an occasionat 5:30.  Our good friend Pat Watt is having a small cocktail party in her stateroom. Pat has stateroom 6001, which is on Deck 6 in the bow.  Her veranda overlooks the bow of the ship.  It is a very special view and she is very generous to share it with her friends. The sun is setting right around 6:00-6:15pm, and the beautiful setting adds to the festivities.

Something tells me we have a dinner date with someone, but I can’t remember…

April 16^th:  For the past week or so, Cathy and I have been wondering about our second Philippines port of call, Boracay Island because the excursion we had chosen, Beach Escape, has been canceled.  The four-hour “tour” was to be “a carefree day at one of the world’s most spectacular beaches, an idyllic setting where you can enjoy the sand and sea in whatever way you wish.”  Now this excursion is not exactly loaded with complicated logistics that might have hit a snag.   It’s a day at the beach!  Literally.  So we figure something else must be up.

We then start to hear rumblings about Boracay Island’s beaches being closed by the government on April 26^th(the day after we are to be there) because of pollution.  Hmmm.  We had heard that rumor, and now it is reality.  Last night, we receive word from Captain Morvillo that Oceania is canceling its call on Boracay and will spend an extra day in Manila instead.  His letter is at the beginning of this post.

Cathy is so distraught when she reads this letter delivered to our room at 8:30am that she immediately goes up to the Canyon Ranch Spaclub for an “Oxygen Boost Anti-Aging” facial! No, no.  She had this planned for a week, but she does go up there at 9:00am. When she returns around 10:30, she is ‘glowing.’

Now since this is a Sea Day post and is pretty short, Cathy is going to begin her descriptions of the food we are eating on Insignia, which is, as we have said, extremely and consistently very delicious.

First, carpaccio with shaved romano and arugula. Sometimes I have a double portion of this as my entree.

I usually have soup every night with dinner. They are all amazing and come in small portions so it is not a lot of extra food. This one is beef bouillon with little tiny cheese puffs. Incredible.

Beluga caviar with garnishes and buckwheat blinis. This is another one I sometimes have a double portion as my entree. Oh, and did I mention that the dinnerware is Versace?

Country pate with puff pastry crust. One portion of this one is quite enough. Check out the jelly! It’s fantastic.

Last one: sliced foie gras terrine served with quince preserve and a tiny brioche. It’s the largest portion of foie gras I have ever had. I went a little crazy in the beginning of the cruise and had it every time it was on the menu. That didn’t work out too well so I haven’t had it recently . Margaret is probably glad I made that decision . My liver can’t seem to process liver so well any more! 😉

Well, that was fun to read!

Last words: Steve does complete four posts today.  Yay! He is only eight days behind.  So our three Sea Days in a row have been productive and recuperative.  We are ready for Manila.