Steve and Cathy's Blog

We are heading for Pago Pago but won’t be there until tomorrow … but it will be today when we get there!  We are crossing the International Date line between 3:00pm and 4:00pm today, and we will have an opportunity to have another May 23rd tomorrow.  Today is May 23 #1.  Oceania Cruises provides a nice explanation on the front page of today’s Currents that heads up this post.

The more Sea Days we have, it looks like the less we do.  It’s not as if we hole up in the room and watch movies.  In fact, we have seen very few, despite the fact that Oceania Cruises is very creative in the movies it chooses to put on the channel that shows them.  They choose movies that somehow relate to what is happening where we are or are topical to where we will soon be. And one of the most clever ideas we have seen, and there have been many, is that they are going to show the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray over and over again tomorrow during our second May 23rd!

We have lunch in the Grand Dining Room today.  Cathy very much prefers that because not many people do and the service is, of course, very good.  And there is always something on the menu that appeals.  And besides, we hate the hassle of the Terrace Cafe and its buffet.  The staff is wonderful, but it is just too frenetic most of the time.  Waves Grill, as good as the food is, has a very limited menu that we have sampled over and over again.  So it’s off the “the Grand” as we have come to call it.

Seeing that it’s a quiet day, we have a chance to insert some pictures of the food served there:

Pistachio cake with chocolate ganache:

Scallops with truffle sauce:

Boston lettuce with candied walnuts and stilton cheese:

Maryland crab cake:

Babas au rum with apricot puree, whipped cream and raspberries:

Slow-cooked poached egg with pea puree, pickled onions, beets and radishes:

Scallops with roasted garlic cloves and chips and green pesto pappardelle:

Raspberry pear tart with vanilla sauce:

And that’s just what we had for lunch today!!   No, seriously, these are some of the courses we have had over the past few weeks.  As you can see, the food on this ship is not only creatively prepared and delicious, but it served with great flair.

The day goes well, and so we go to Cigar Time in the smoking area  on Deck 9 at 4:00pm to play Name That Tune with Brian, Paul, Rich, Tony and others and to celebrate crossing the International Date line for the first time.  As usual, it is a great time.

This is another night when we decide to partake of the Room Service menu.  It’s lights out by 9:00pm so that we are ready for our second May 23rd tomorrow in Pago Pago!