Steve and Cathy's Blog

Waking up is a challenge this morning, what with the Captain’s dinner last night and having to move the clocks forward another hour.  And Steve has to face Sho at 6:30.  But the positive side is that Sho has gotten him to make a change in the morning wake up process.

He has coaxed me into ordering a mixture he says will help me: Lemonade with a tablespoon of ginger in it.  Daily.  So Cathy and I now have a standing order with Room Service: at 5:45 each day, they will deliver coffee, tea, lemonade and a hot ginger tea to our room.  Couldn’t get the granulated ginger, so we’re going to try to hot ginger tea.  When I called Room Service to set this up, the very pleasant gentleman said “Mr.Knight, want croissant?”  I hesitated for a second, and so he said “I’ll include two croissants.”  Those get added plus butter and jam. So there we have it.  Delicious croissants to counteract the healthy ginger tea.

So Room Service calls at 5:40 and someone arrives at 5:45.  Besides kickstarting our day, this will serve to put us on a schedule, which is a good thing.  It certainly beats heading for Horizons on Deck 10 to gulp down a cup of coffee before the workout.  And Cathy isn’t chomping on the bit waiting me to return from that so we can go to breakfast.  In fact, she’s still asleep, and doesn’t get up until 7:30.  We drag ourselves to Waves at 8:15, and Cathy again gets herself an omelet from the Terrace Cafe next door.

By now it’s too late for Cathy to attend Bible study, so we seek out the concierge so Cathy can ask about the artwork around the ship.  As mentioned before, these are not originals, and I’m not even sure many are actual paintings, but there are dozens of them, and all of them replicate the work of famous artists like Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh and others.  They are very pleasing to the eye, and Cathy wanted to know if there was ever a tour around the ship of the paintings and sculptures.  We are told that this ship is too small to arrange such a tour, but on Marina and Riviera, there are tours as some of the artwork is original.  So our question is answered.  We go and sit around near Destination Services, so while we are there, Cathy balefully asks Simone about How Many More Time Changes we have coming up before Cape Town.  Short answer: several. Forward and back!

Well, at 10:15 this morning, in accordance with international law, we have another lifeboat drill, except this time we have an extra wrinkle: an anti-piracy drill.  Yes, you read that right.  A couple of nights ago, when we came back from dinner, along with the nighttime chocolates, there was a letter from the Captain on our bed that began “I am writing with important information regarding our upcoming passage along the West African Coast Line and the Gulf of Guinea.  There have been reported Piracy attacks against commercial vessels, which have been mainly at anchor or traveling at slow speeds.  Insignia will be traveling through this area where the activity has been reported.”  This lengthy letter goes on to say that ours is not the type of ship that has encountered this problem as it’s faster and more maneuverable, and the captain tells us that, should they encounter a little boat that seems just a little too curious, he will initiate a course change or “even weaving from side to side to discourage them from getting too close.”  A copy of this letter is the picture that heads up this post.

So at 10:15, the two simultaneous drills begin.  As for the lifeboat drill, this time we do not have to grab our life vests, proceed to Insignia Lounge and then be conducted to stand under our lifeboat.  But we do have to congregate in the hall or, if we are not in our staterooms at the time, somewhere in the center of the ship (i.e., away from windows) and not on Deck 5.  Cathy brings her needlepoint and I play with the iPhone sitting on the floor outside our stateroom (Cathy later regrets trying to do needlepoint as it made her dizzy doing in in the hallway).  Back to our rooms.  All is well.

Apparently this piracy thing is nothing to worry about, but it sounds exotic, doesn’t it?  To our family, we say: Don’t worry.  Oceania wouldn’t be going to west Africa if this were truly a threat.  They’re just being super-cautious.

When 11:15 rolls around, we head for Insignia Lounge to hear Angela Schneider give us her third of four talks on jazz, this one entitled The Swing Era: 1930-1943.  Of course it is excellent, and we are now in the time period where we have heard of many of the artists, such as Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Louie Armstrong, just to name a few.  It is wonderful to get some bio info on the legends.

Lunch at Waves because it is quick, and we are ready to crash for a nap.  Last night is taking its toll.  While many others on the ship engage in activities, Steve and Cathy snore.  We just haven’t gotten the hang of cruise ship life, I guess.  Either that, or we need to up our ingestion of caffeinated beverages.  So after the obligatory nap, afternoon is consumed with reading and writing.

We do go to hear the Smile String Quartet in the Upper Hall at 5:45.  To get there, we pass through the Casino and the Martinis Bar.  Both places are packed with people all dressed up.  We learn that this is the cocktail party to which we have received an invitation, only ours is tomorrow.  This is “exclusive to Oceania Club members,” except that, as far as we can see, includes everybody on the ship.  Despite the prospect of free booze, this looks like it’ll be something we pass on.

Now if you’ve been reading this blog, you will have noted that, when the dinner bell rings (that’s a figure of speech; they don’t really ring a bell!), Cathy and Steve are right there in line.  But not tonight.  About a week ago, we had gotten an invitation to “dinner with Leo Lujak, Staff Captain, and Vladimir Filipovic, Safety office of M/S Insignia” in the Grand Dining Room at 7:15.

All this time, we figured this to be another dinner for dozens and dozens of guests hosted by these two officers.  But no, when we show up, they are waiting in Baristas (which is near the entrance to the Grand Dining Room) for just us and three other people.  Of course, pathologically prompt Cathy and Steve are the first to arrive and be greeted.  Then Karen and Tim from Vancouver BC and Janice from New Mexico arrive.  We all introduce ourselves around and in we go.  There are place cards at the table and so I am seated next to Vladimir and Cathy beside me with Tim to her right.

Both of our hosts appear to be around forty or so; both hail from Croatia.   It was interesting to note that, when we inquire as to the work they do on the ship, they very much want us to understand that they are not supervisors, that they have people for that and they are the officers.  I think it’s the pecking order on board a ship.  There are officers – like them – and then there is everyone else. Don’t get me wrong. It isn’t a bragging thing, but they do want us to understand the distinction.  Vladimir speaks quietly and somewhat seriously, as would befit an officer responsible for enforcing and training crew in the myriad regulations governing cruise vessels.  Leo, being the Staff Captain, reflects the casual friendliness of the people under his jurisdiction.

Vladimir is married with two boys ages 14 and 10, has worked for Oceania for six years and in the industry for fourteen.  He works three months on and three months off.  I ask him what that’s like, and he says it has its advantages and its disadvantages.  After a couple of months off, he tells me, he is ready to go back on board ship.  That’s not surprising, as each of the spouses in such a relationship do become accustomed to their independence, a fact I found out from an over-the-road driver I knew who used to be in the merchant marine.  He became a truck driver after he retired from the merchant marine as he was driving his wife nuts being around all the time for the first time in twenty years.

Cathy has a pleasant evening, even if, because the table seats seven, the only person she can hear is Tim to her right.  He grew up in South Africa, has lived in the United States and England, and settled in Vancouver, probably because he met his very interesting and charming wife Karen in Vancouver.

The conversation is very lively, as it always seems to end up at these dinners.  Cathy notes that we both had Dover sole meunière, which the waiter boned right at the table with a flourish.  It was very classy.  We are pleased to get to know three more fellow ATW passengers, and look forward to meeting with them again.

Even the prospect of watching the Smile String Quartet, who are the featured entertainers in Insignia Lounge tonight, is not enough to keep Cathy and Steve from heading back to the stateroom.  Something has to be done about the gentle rocking of this ship.  It’s an insomniac’s dream come true, I swear.