firefly51142

Hi WorldTourPrincess - thank you SO much for your exceedingly helpful information in all of your posts covering your recent Galapagos cruise. My partner and I are booked on the Silver Galapagos August 25th sailing. It was wonderful to hear of your experiences on the cruise excursions and with getting to Quito and back home from Guayacil. We were wondering about many things and we are so grateful to you for detailing what to expect.

I awoke to a fairly good pitch now taking place with the Riviera. After dressing quietly in the closet, I wandered about the ship and was summoned immediately to partake of a chocolate croissant. It was a lack of selflessness on my part as we are scheduled to have a 915am "brunch" in the dining room and I would not want to disappoint my tablemates by not appearing due to motion sickness.;)

 

I find the quiet alcove on the port side next to La Reserve and enjoy the flaky creation of indulgence. At first, the vista before me does not explain the increase in pitching of the ship. The sky is much clearer now with an unknown visibility to infinity. I can see towering cumulonimbus off to the south and east. But they may very well be 200 - 300 miles away. The horizon is so crisp and clear that the ocean looks like a peel and stick label on a child's book. The low, grey bottomed clouds are now giving the ocean a grey and somber look. There are no traces of whitecaps anywhere giving an idea that winds are dying down.

 

But the deception of the color and form is hiding the real culprit. Treble clefs of energy are moving lowly through the water giving rise to moderate swells. The backs of these swells look like a leviathan moving at a nearly imperceptible depth just below the surface. But we are in a great pod of them moving at a good clip.

 

The Terrace is practically empty at 815am. Crew members in long coats, white coats and pushing carts or carrying heavy trays gives evidence that either people are sleeping in or choosing not to fight the swaying boat.

 

It is not rough. It is not violent. Compared to some of the 130,000 ton and higher behemoths floating across the seas these days, this ship is obviously going to be a bit more nimble. Instead of shoving it's way through, it must remain a bit in harmony with the ocean that it travels.

 

Some people will bemoan the motion, others will say it really isn't much to it. Even others will defend the motion.

 

But some prefer Mozart to Williams or Wagner to Zimmer. They all make or have made music for people to enjoy.

 

No difference today. Riviera is doing what it does best. Delivering a high quality experience filled with measures of great food and service while hitting high notes on a regular basis. Today is just a different selection of musical motion. It's all part of the symphony of the sea.

A friend and I are eagerly awaiting our cruise on the Riviera from the 12th through to the 22nd of December. I have immensely enjoyed reading about your Trans Atlantic experience. You have a really wonderful talent bringing your experience on board to life and making one feel that we are there with you. I especially loved your hilarious description of your wife's after spa condition and your gustatory experience with the chocolate croissant! This will be my second Oceania cruise, the first being on the Regatta in 2008. Thank you so much for all the wonderfully tantalizing descriptions of your experience on board!! I can hardly wait to be on this wonderful ship.

My first cruise was on P & O's Orsova in 1967. My girlfriend and I sailed from Vancouver to Hawaii. It was a 5-day cruise. We had an amazing time and it only cost us $199.00 each. In those days, there was tourist class and 1st class. We had booked in tourist class but it was over-booked so we got bumped up to 1st class. Unfortunately, most of the 20 somethings (like us) were in tourist class. So, we managed to sneak into tourist class, but were caught and reprimanded - hilarious when you think of it! They actually had locked doors which separated tourist and first class.

When you compare the amenities aboard ship today, there is no comparison. We had bunk beds in a very spartan room and the bathroom was down the hall. But the service was amazing and so was the food. And drinks were only 25 cents each!! Our room steward woke us up every morning with freshly squeezed orange juice! I'll never forget how beautiful and exciting it was in the early morning hours sailing into Oahu's harbour and watching the sun come up.

The following year, I got married and it took me until 1980 to convince my late husband to go on a cruise. He had had a very turbulent trip across the Atlantic before I met him (pretty near everyone was seasick) and had absolutely no desire to get back on a ship. That all changed when we flew into Puerto Rico and boarded the Veendam for a Caribbean cruise. He was then hooked, like me.

Thanks for starting this thread Copper - it's wonderful to read of others' first cruises and it's a real trip down memory lane for all of us!

Do you know what became of the Orsova? I would love to know.

Judy

My first cruise was on P & O's Orsova in 1967. My girlfriend and I sailed from Vancouver to Hawaii. It was a 5-day cruise. We had an amazing time and it only cost us $199.00 each. In those days, there was tourist class and 1st class. We had booked in tourist class but it was over-booked so we got bumped up to 1st class. Unfortunately, most of the 20 somethings (like us) were in tourist class. So, we managed to sneak into tourist class, but were caught and reprimanded - hilarious when you think of it! They actually had locked doors which separated tourist and first class.

When you compare the amenities aboard ship today, there is no comparison. We had bunk beds in a very spartan room and the bathroom was down the hall. But the service was amazing and so was the food. And drinks were only 25 cents each!! Our room steward woke us up every morning with freshly squeezed orange juice! I'll never forget how beautiful and exciting it was in the early morning hours sailing into Oahu's harbour and watching the sun come up.

The following year, I got married and it took me until 1980 to convince my late husband to go on a cruise. He had had a very turbulent trip across the Atlantic before I met him (pretty near everyone was seasick) and had absolutely no desire to get back on a ship. That all changed when we flew into Puerto Rico and boarded the Veendam for a Caribbean cruise. He was then hooked, like me.

Thanks for starting this thread Copper - it's wonderful to read of others' first cruises and it's a real trip down memory lane for all of us!

Do you know what became of the Orsova? I would love to know.

Judy