CintiPam

3 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

 

Allow me to introduce you to Parma Prosciutto. Add imported provolone and a hint of grey poupon and swaddle it in some excellent sourdough (e.g., Semifredde or Acme here in the SF Bay Area).

Oh mio Dio!

I consider this post very cruel, particularly because I just spent 30 whole seconds of my very busy life these days reading your post in another thread about booking your own airfare and never taking O’s business class fares when the OP will be round trip NYC to avoid any need to fly!! 😛

1 hour ago, Mura said:

I don't usually object to digressions on a list but isn't this Oceania?  Which doesn't have Blue Bayou?  And I don't recall ever seeing a Monte Cristo on a menu but I certainly could be wrong on that score since I don't tend to look for them.

 

But when someone quotes another ship's recipe and then responders don't delete the recipe ... my fingers get tired scrolling down ...

 

What I'm really asking is if you are responding to such a message -- whether it is pertinent to Oceania or another line -- please delete extraneous information.  As a pretty good home cook myself I'm happy to recipes here, even if they aren't Oceania's ... I just don't appreciate their being repeated unnecessarily.

 

Call me cranky tonight ...

 

Mura

Hi, cranky tonight, 

IMO in these very stressful times I will not object to a bit more finger exercise scrolling down through posts.  I certainly can spare the extra few seconds to do so!  😁

And I do not even eat ham!

Stay safe and stay strong, dear Mura.🤗
 

7 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

Well... I will take a few fires and every now and then an earthquake   over annual... hurricanes, floods  hail, lightning storms, tornadoes , sweltering humidity and bugs AND 4 months every year of snow and ice ( winter)

Some lightning and sweltering humidity here for sure.  

It has been three complete winters since our children (living in North Jersey) convinced us that we should purchase a snowblower rather than keep shoveling our long curved driveway.  It has been used once only, on 1/13/19.  (I took photos of DH in action with it!)

I still miss the ocean after almost 33 years out here, one of the reasons I enjoy those Caribbean cruises on Riviera!  On our March cruise, I got to swim, sail, and/or snorkel off the coasts of Aruba, Bonaire, Antigua, St. Lucia, Bequia, and St. Barts.  That 14-day RT Miami Southern Caribbean itinerary is a great one for water sports aficionados.

2 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Most definitely yes (in the summer). Maybe not to the French Laundry but then even Jacques isn't French Laundry.

Also depends on the style - they are not all the same but most are very nice and elegant.

PS On second thought, I don't see why one couldn't wear one even to the French Laundry in the summer.

I've eaten at the FL twice and I don't believe I had a jacket or suit either time. The only place in SF that required jackets for dinner was Tommy Toy's AFAIK (and I gladly obliged as it was one of my favorites).

On further reflection, perhaps my perception of the appropriateness of wearing shirts such as these is based more on the shape of the body that chooses to wear it to dinner rather than the shirt itself! 😉

5 hours ago, CptBoatface said:

We were 1st timers on a Miami rt, but we followed guidelines. Still can't get my wife to let me leave the tie at home

Yikes; I have have seen plenty of jackets worn at dinner but very few ties. 

12 hours ago, Redtravel said:

For us living in west Jersey near Philly, going to the shore is 1-2 hour drive.  With beaches limiting people, we would have to start at dawn to get there before they close it off.  We like Island Beach.  We watch the web site for open and closing times. They fill up early and close often.  Weekends close often at 9-10.   This is the summer of no day trips to the shore.  Miss it. 

Island Beach was my favorite ocean swimming place for me growing up but it certainly is a very frustrating place to try to visit with its very limited car capacity.  The only times I would ever visit on a summer weekend was after 3 pm on Sunday when many already were streaming out to drive home.  
 

I already am dreaming of next summer there.  
 

Best wishes to you for resumed Jersey Shore visits in 2021!

3 minutes ago, ORV said:

Absolutely, on our Dec Riviera B2B we wound up with 3 bottles of it. After tasting the red we tried to make sangria out of it, it wasn't even good for that. I agree that nothing would be better than that stuff. We gave away the other two bottles to another couple that seemed to like it. 

We tried to give ours away to any of the other regular six players on our delightful daily trivia team, but no one would take it! If it had been the Humphry Slocombe on the other hand....😁

46 minutes ago, ORV said:

Yeah, I've had it, am quite aware it's not even a good $4 a bottle wine. I was just curious if they are now giving it out as the Complimentary Bottle in Concierge or still have a decent sparkling wine

Sorry, I do not know the answer.  Your question simply reminded me of what IMO is a recent example of some Oceania very poor guest relations decision making. 

A bottle was in our B1 on Riviera on our 2/26 - 3/11/20 Riviera cruise due to our cruise loyalty status but we were not permitted any credit whatsoever to buy up to a decent bottle.  It still was sitting there when we disembarked the ship on 3/11.  
 

I thought it was a terrible corporate repeat cruiser PR move to gift us with such plonk considering how Oceania positions itself in the cruise market.  IMO better nothing than that wretched bottle sitting there for ten days. JMO!  

1 hour ago, ORV said:

Has the introduction of the Oceania Club wine starting last Nov changed what you get?

Plonk.

12 hours ago, Redtravel said:

From day to day, we have to check if Delaware or Pennsylvania have restrictions.  So we stay home most of the time.  Not going to the Jersey shore this summer. I dearly miss it. Too many people getting sick there.  

Our daughter in South Orange lost her electricity for five days when tropical storm Isaias came through recently, so she and her husband rented a suites hotel room near the Jersey Shore with their “almost three” year old. She found the Monmouth County beaches she visited excellent regarding social distancing.  The beaches had strict limits on the number of daily beach passes they would sell so they were not overcrowded.

Just FYI if you want to reconsider or perhaps try a day trip for a dip. (I grew up in Toms River so would love to do a day trip to the ocean!)

9 hours ago, TTEllis said:

Unless we have a group from the ship doing the Land and Sea tour together I'm almost positive I'll be with Spencer again on the Beach Break and pass on the "curvy mountainous van drive" over to Jalousie. The boat ride to and from just makes the day so much easier. 

 

And you are correct that you also beat the crowds to the shaded spots and “least falling to pieces” beach chaises.  
 

I was amazed in March at the large number of snorkeling tours that stopped for 30? minutes or so during the time we spent there.  It was like an invasion fleet landing and then departing in waves of well-choreographed ballet every 30-45 minutes.

2 hours ago, Jancruz said:

Thats how I feel..look forward to it and see what happens..

Right now my grandaughters family  is waiting to see if they are evacuated..up in Northern Cal (Vacaville) so having this on my plate relaxes stress..

Jancruz1

How are you doing Paul..all ok with the fires????

It seems like there never is a dull moment if you reside in California.  Any stress reliever is welcome.  
 

Hope all you Californians stay well and stay safe! 

If “getting closer to sailing again” means sailing in calendar year 2021...!  😉
 

5 hours ago, GeorgesGal said:

 

Not so!  I make a reduced copy of my itineraries and tape them on the back of key cards.  They are in an old, large passport case, and I will frequently refer to them when my sister and I are trying to remember on which cruise we went to "X" port.  Quite handy. And don't take up much room in my desk drawer.

Or you simply could save the first page of the last Currents of your cruise.  To each her own. 😉

I look forward to the day when we both can add to our respective collections of cruise memories! 

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

I was doing fine  not missing cruising too much  until now 😲😄

 love those croissants

Fresh berries  for breakfast  YUMMM

And do not forget those scrumptious sticky buns! I actually switched out my usual chocolate croissant for a sticky bun this last cruise.  

If you indeed choose to book an Oceania cruise, pick an itinerary on one of the two “O” ships, Marina or Riviera, for the best culinary options, as several others have suggested in previous posts here.

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

They have two ships that will be doing cruises in the Med:  https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/MSC-protocols-guests-go-ashore-on-excursions

Wow!  Thanks for posting the link.  

10 hours ago, Aloha 1 said:

Had 4 cruises booked from this September to July 2021....then Israel in July. 

Israel in July?  Did you intend to write a different six-letter country, such as Norway?  Your heat tolerance substantially exceeds mine.  (My husband started seeing spots and almost fainted at Ein Gedi once in mid-June.)
 

More seriously, I certainly hope you get at least some of your cruise dreams realized. Best wishes!

We had the most beautiful sailaway from La Spezia a few years ago while on Riviera because we were given a center aft table in Polo as sunset neared.  Unforgettable!

2 hours ago, TTEllis said:

I've really enjoyed being the first ones to arrive on Jalousie on the boat with Spencer at the same time I miss seeing the island and the drive over through the rainforest. 

Trying to get back to this destination next fall 2021, my day is going to be spent on one of these tours. 

I will take a speedboat over a curvy mountainous van drive anytime. I always have been a bit of a queasy car passenger so it was great on my second Spencer Ambrose tour experience to spend all the transportation time enjoying a glorious boat ride! 
 

I hope you are able to return as you plan.  I doubt I will be trying to cruise at all in 2021.  

I personally would miss the natural light far too much to book such a small cabin obstructed by one of those large lifeboats.  But I certainly could take 6030 or 6033 for a week.  

I just viewed the video that LHT28 found and posted above of Cabin 6033.  Note that the video of the view through the “picture” window was shot looking down through the window from a standing position so IMO it makes the obstruction by the small Zodiac appear much larger than it is.  
 

The bed is directly by the window and when looking from either sitting or laying on the bed, the only obstruction is the slender davit holding up the Zodiac, which is just below the level of that window so there is plenty of natural light.  We were in one of these two most forward OV, Obstructed View, E cabins (6033 and 6030) on our first three Oceania cruises, after which we sailed on new build Marina in 2011. Spouse fell in love with the “O” ships (and its two additional specialty restaurants) so we never have returned to any of the smaller Oceania “R” ships.  
 

The small size made me keep our clothes and purchases well-organized, the location both mid-ship and right by the fore elevators is excellent, and we spent our awake time elsewhere: pool deck, library, etc. 

5 hours ago, RJB said:

We have found in the last few years that a lot of the OLIFE tours have been very good and worth taking.  Had not taken many ships tours till then bet were suprised how good they were. Also some were much more than basic. Cheers to O.

I agree with you, RJB.  We NEVER had taken an Oceania ship’s tour prior to the advent of OLife, solely private tours (in Europe usually with others found through the roll call) or DIY.  We have been pleasantly surprised by the quality.
 

The three “water-based” OLife ones I took in March (snorkeling at Klein Bonaire; catamaran to Bequia and swimming at Princess Margaret Beach; and yacht sail to, and swim off, Columbier Beach, St. Barts, all were well run and simply delightful. 

21 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

 

We had a 30' Hunter Sloop at the Richmond Yacht Club for 20 years (across the street from home in Brickyard Cove). And we too have done the BVI charter thing (60' Cat). 

But as close as we get to "yachting" now is pretty much Oceania cruises.

 

Nice!  Although I grew up on the Jersey Shore, the closest I came to yachting was being in the same high school class as Gary Jobson (and invitations to motor out on my rich uncle’s 42-foot cabin cruiser, which does not count IMO.)

39 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Now retired, my clothing leans towards "yacht club casual" which is even more casual (though, in line with the cost of boat part,  more expensive) than "country club casual."

 

But, I still think I know/knew enough about men's fashion such that (when I was a "suit") I had my ties made by Seigo Katsuragawa (3rd Avenue near 47th St in Manhattan).

😎

Seigo ties, nice!  
 

Does “yacht club casual” mean you captain a boat?  I am the experienced (and only) crew on a catamaran which spouse legaleaglegreen captains when we vacation at Caribbean resorts.