We pass St. Lucia, one of the islands we were to have visited, at sunrise. The time is 6:20am, and the sky is a whole lot clearer over MS Riviera than on that island. Within minutes, we see that a rain shower is covering part of the island. As they tend to do this time of year, they pass by quickly.
We have developed the habit to take breakfast at the Waves Grill toward the stern of Deck 12. It’s out in the open – covered, of course – and almost deserted at this time of day. You go the limited breakfast buffet and order. Eggs are pretty much the only entrée, per se, but the sides are great: grilled mushrooms, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, hash browns. Plenty of baked breakfast rolls, plus at least a half dozen kinds of sliced, fresh fruit.
The eggs and sides are delivered to your table, and the wait staff brings coffee, juice and any other beverages you want. It’s the most relaxing food venue on the ship; perfect for breakfast. We see regulars every morning. Peaceful way to start the day.
Again, we both spend time on the Pool Deck – all morning, in fact. Cathy reads (she’s up to a book a day now). Steve writes blog post about the itinerary changes, comparing the one we received on September 28thwith today’s. Ironically, the passengers are the least affected. We just go where the ship takes us. It’s every Oceania employee that really has to deal with all of the adjustments – and the countries themselves.
Today we eat lunch at the Grand Dining Room – at Table 94 (Cathy overhears Mary telling a waitperson to seat us there). It’s right in the stern almost in the center of the ship. Our waitperson is named Novi, and she is from the Philippines. She is 1) adorable; 2) cheerful; and makes us feel as if we are the only passengers on board (a talent that we have experienced with other staff members). Steve absolutely must have a photo of her. She is delighted, which makes it even more fun, and the photo at the beginning of this post is the result. Look at that smile!
The next activity for us is a perfect Sea Day one: time at the Aquamar Spa. We are having a couples massage, and Cathy has set up just what we want, “Invigorating Sea Salt Scrub Body Treatment,” which is essentially a scrub and a wrap and then a massage. The appointment is to run 75 minutes. We arrive fifteen minutes to our 3:30 appointment, and we checked in and brought to a beautiful sun-filled “Relaxing Room,” where we filled out a ton of paperwork.
Cathy then marches us back to the reception area. They looked strangely at us, saying: “Can we help you?” The perplexed look is because we were supposed to stay in the Relaxing Room until our masseuses fetched us. We hurry back, and our two technicians saying with laughs: “Where did you go? … Now don’t go wandering off on us again!” It’s an amusing beginning to our treatment and puts us right at ease.
Anggita (just call me Angie) is Steve’s masseuse; Yvonne is taking care of Cathy. They explain that the various steps and the order in which they’ll be performed. We can tell that the thorough explanation is really for Steve’s benefit, because Angie says to him: “After the scrub, you’ll take a shower. But remember, the longer you stay in the shower, the less time I’ll have to massage you!”
We finish right around 5pm, return to our stateroom practically comatose. Munch on the daily canapes. At 6:30, we head off for the Grand Dining Room for dinner. More excellent food and service. We just don’t understand why people would prefer the buffet at the Terrace Café to this relaxing, quiet peaceful experience. And did we forget to mention that the GDR has “Dessert Souffle of the Day?” We have become addicted to them.
Well, today has been relaxing with a capital “R.” Needless to say, we wander back to the room and crash. Today has taught us to enjoy the slower pace of a cruise ship, rather than totally focus on what we do off the ship. We love being on board an Oceania Cruises ship. Now even more so.
