Random thoughts from Marina's 3rd voyage

[LuAnn]

unfortunately no - it is a major disappointment as we really enjoy trivia and this arrangement is really awkward.

despite that we continue to have a good time:)

 

really no other venue available?? Just seems like it is so awkard to hold it in a theatre like setting...oh well...I'm sure we too will still have fun!! LuAnn

[JimandStan]

really no other venue available?? Just seems like it is so awkard to hold it in a theatre like setting...oh well...I'm sure we too will still have fun!! LuAnn

 

You'd be amazed at how popular Trivia is on the Marina. We regularly had 20 teams in contention (8 is the maximum team size).

 

Be Very Afraid, however, Oceania has also stepped up the bar on Trivia.

I'd say that they were more Brain Taunters than Brain Teasers

 

Can you name all of the members of the Jackson 5?

[raffeer]

really no other venue available?? Just seems like it is so awkard to hold it in a theatre like setting...oh well...I'm sure we too will still have fun!! LuAnn

 

We found it more than awkward. With the team split, sitting in two rows (4 in front, 4 behind) it was difficult to share ideas with all able to hear.

 

Bottom line it was better than no trivia and frankly, with roughly 100 people playing (maiden voyage), I'm not sure there was any other place to house the event.

[jgiblin]

Paul,

 

Reading your posts are almost as good as being there, almost:(

 

Jim

[Paulchili]

We have followed 2 Carnival ships (Splendor & Spirit) from Cabo to PV. There we enjoyed another glorious day – sunny, but neither too hot nor humid.

• Happy to report that service in MDR is “up to speed” – the earlier experience was an aberration
  
• wripro – you’ll be glad to hear that we had no trouble getting 2 extra reservations today (first day possible for extra reservations). All reservations were for 2 people non sharing @ 6:30, if that matters. The extra reservations were offered specifically on port days rather than sea days (i.e. book your first 4 on sea days if you want extra reservations later on).
  
• There were no O provided shuttles in PV but plenty of vans. They charged $5/pp to go to El Centro but the taxis back charged only $5/ride for 2 people – all very reasonable. There was a free wi-fi next to Starbuck’s in the main plaza (didn’t have to go to Starbuck’s to get it).
  

There is a young man working very hard in the aft stairway area who has a radiant and an ever present smile. I wonder if he is the same one that David had referred to in his blog (with a picture). He is very pleasant and engaging – a wonderful representative for his homeland of Burma. I often spend a little extra time chatting with him as he has indicated that he is practicing his English. I wish I could do as well as he does – he taught me how to say Good Morning in Burmese and I already forgot it (back to school for me).

To be continued…

PS Jim, I wish you WERE here with us:)

[cbb]

Paul,

It sounds as if you are having a wonderful time! How fab to be on a brand new ship with warm weather, an uneventful tendering, great food and room for one's shoes....what a sweet life!!! Have a great trip! c

[lyndenfa]

Paulchili...I love hearing that people are tending to dress up a bit more on the new ship..some peoples interpretation of "country club casual"..were really starting to become too casual...imho..

 

We were on the Maiden Voyage and noticed just the opposite: there seemed to be more people in blue jeans in general on the ship (but not in the GDR or specialty restaurants that i recall). My husband commented several times and was going to write it on his comment card and forgot. To him it is/ was sort of a respect issue. I remember when we never wore jeans to lots of places (hospitals, churches, etc.). ahhh. change.

We will pay attention on our next O cruise, but did not notice this on our last O cruise (Panama crossing Jan. 2010). Will we have those more dressed and less dressed and a smaller portion in the middle?

:confused: :eek:

[Mura]

Lyndenfa,

 

As to attire in churches, etc., when I was in college and flew home on vacation, all women passengers were in a suit and wore high heels, men were too. (Well, they dispensed with the high heels!) Nowadays I often see people in short shorts, even when they are traveling to a cold climate.

 

I am a professional singer and one of my jobs is at a church. This is a middle class, largely African-American congregation these days. Very few women wear skirts, let alone suits. I have often seen people in summer attire -- shorts, brief tops, etc.

 

To me it's inappropriate. To the pastor, he doesn't care as long as they are in church!

 

But I agree that when I'm on the ship I like to see SOME standards. Comfortable doesn't have to be super casual. And there are often times when I really feel like dressing up.

 

I never liked the formal evenings we encountered on other lines, but that doesn't mean we can't be dressed NICELY if comfortably. I recall that on Cunard the dress standards were far more stringent for men then women. Even on "casual" nights they were expected to be in a suit and tie (or maybe just jacket and tie) whereas even on formal evenings, women could get away with a pants suit. A nice one, yes, but far from formal. It didn't seem fair! (Not that I objected to benefiting from the differential.)

[happy cruzer]

Thanks for the reports! Nice to hear about the extra reservations. Is it for any of the restaurants or are they offering mainly Polo and Toscana.

 

Thanks again for all your current info.

[JimandStan]

I recall that on Cunard the dress standards were far more stringent for men then women.

 

Quite right Mura, dress codes are almost always stricter on the men.

I was just saying that to Betsy (Mrs. Hondorner), a few days ago.

"If a woman wears an oversized black tee shirt with stockings, high heels and the proper belt, she can go to the White House.

[CintiPam]

Hi, Paulchili, so nice to read your first-hand reports. You previously have provided a lot of guidance to me for our upcoming cruise, and I highly respect your opinions.

 

Hopefully, a different venue will be found for Trivia by the time we board in June, but more likely on our port-intensive cruise the number of participants will be far less so we will be able to be accomodated elsewhere. If you cannot huddle with your teammates, to me a lot of the fun will be gone out of the entire exercise.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

 

Pam

[Lola911]

Pardon my ignorance...what is an "R" ship...quoted in more than one of these posts?

[Oceans&Rivers]

Pardon my ignorance...what is an "R" ship...quoted in more than one of these posts?

 

"R" ships refer to those that were built for the now defunct Renaissance Cruises.

 

As far as Oceania is concerned, the following three ships in Oceania's fleet are the following "R" ships:

 

R One is Insignia

 

R Two is Regatta

 

R Five is Nautica

 

 

Azamara has two of the former "R" ships and Princess has three.

 

There are also smaller ships that were part of the Renaissance fleet, but most people tend to refer to the above eight ships as the "R" ships.

[dwelsh]

The 3 "small" ships of the "O" fleet, Regatta, Nautica and Insignia were originally part of the Renaissance fleet. When the company went bankrupt their ships were eventually sold to several different lines, Princess, Celebrity (Azamara).

[hondorner]

...Azamara has two of the former "R" ships and Princess has three.

Royal Princess will soon (if not already) be transferred to P & O, which also (like Princess) falls under the overall Carnival umbrella.

 

You'll hear some old-timers refer to the small Renaissance ships as "baby R ships". Originally, there were 8 of them, also.

[Paulchili]

I have two pieces of good news to report today – one is on a personal note and the other one is of general interest.

• The internet has been quite good for the past few days (can you hear me knocking on wood?) – this is a far cry from the awful speed on first couple of days. I would be happy if it stayed like this – here is hoping for it.
  
• I have just found my new favorite restaurant on Oceania and it is Jacque’s – without any doubt. The dining experience there was perfect from start to finish. The escalope of foie gras was done to perfection and the scallops with morels were delicious; the meal was made complete by having two of my favorite cheeses on the cheese tray. There are so many things on the menu that I want to try that it will take several visits to work (more like eat) my way through this menu. Fortunately we are going there again tonight (this is our regular reservation – last night was the extra). It is a nice touch that the Maitre D’ and the head waiters are French (I am sure Monsieur Jacque had something to do with this).
  

With the great food and the French staff, it would be easy to make believe that you were magically transferred to France for the evening (except the service is much better and faster) )

I think I will gladly put up with odd sized/shaped drawers to eat in Jacque’s.

Jim&Stan – I agree with you – the Trivia is indeed very difficult. 14 or 15 out of 21 often (but not always) wins first place!

Some sample questions:

Who invented the light bulb (No, it wasn’t Edison but Humphrey Davy(ies)?

Who founded the Red Cross? (no, it wasn’t Clara Barton)

Cheshire, Berkshire, Poland China (and another one) – what are they examples of ? (pigs)

If you knew the answers to the above questions, you have a very good chance to win many trivia games.

rafeer – I suppose they could hold the trivia in the Horizon’s lounge as it holds about 280 people (the theater holds about 560). The problem usually is a conflict with other events held in Horizon’s – like the tea in the afternoon, for example.

Bruin Steve – I too am in the camp with those that prefer country club casual – this was the original reason why I embraced Oceania, many other reasons followed. However, I have no problem if others wish to “dress up” – I am comfortable with myself dressed the way you described.

There is only one show at 9:45 – not ideal on port intensive itineraries. I don’t know if I can tell you about the sight lines in the theater as we tend to sit in about 3rd row on the isle with unobstructed view. One major advantage of the seating is that the isles are wide enough for people to pass in front of you very easily; the seats, OTOH, could be a bit more generous for some of us J. On most nights people come early to get a good seat – those that do not are surprised to see that the theater is almost full. I am not sure what would happen if more than a half of passengers decided to see the show on any given night (rain tickets?). I guess the odds of that happening are not very high.

Wes - thanks for your good wishes

[JimandStan]

Paul-

 

Did you finish at Jacques with the Pots du Creme? It was "eyes roll back in your head" good!

 

Best hint for Trivia: When it doubt, the answer is "Vatican City". :D

 

Have you guys had your CC get together yet?

[Jancruz]

The 3 "small" ships of the "O" fleet, Regatta, Nautica and Insignia were originally part of the Renaissance fleet. When the company went bankrupt their ships were eventually sold to several different lines, Princess, Celebrity (Azamara).

 

Originally leased

Jancruz1

[Toranut97]

My great moment of Trivia pride on the last cruise was

"What was ET's job?" (Like in what was his role on his mission) Got it?

 

 

 

Got it?

 

 

 

 

 

Got it?

 

 

Botanist!

 

BTW, I also love "country club casual" but I hate slovenly. That bugs me a lot more now. Our Insignia cruise surprised me with the number of guys in jackets (not so many ties). Maybe because of the cooler weather/older clientele????

[wripro]

Paul,

 

thanks for your great reports. And the info that extra reservations were readily available. This is really important to me. My original four are all for sea days which isn't hard on the 19 day crossing so the extra ones should be easier to obtain.

 

Looking forward to trivia no matter the configuration though it sounds like we should bring Watson with us.

[MightyQuinn]

I have just found my new favorite restaurant on Oceania and it is Jacque’s – without any doubt. The dining experience there was perfect from start to finish. The escalope of foie gras was done to perfection and the scallops with morels were delicious; the meal was made complete by having two of my favorite cheeses on the cheese tray. There are so many things on the menu that I want to try that it will take several visits to work (more like eat) my way through this menu.

Paulchili, I'm so happy to read that you found your favorite restaurant on Marina. Jacques was my biased favorite based only on sample menus (and I loved his Rotisserie Chicken on Regatta), although I'm also intrigued by the non-traditional Red Ginger. You still have plenty of time to eat your way thru the Jacques menu! Do you plan to eat at La Reserve and/or Privee? Do dish! :):)

[Paulchili]

It’s a sea day on our way to Acapulco – sunny and low 80’s. I brought several books with me and just barely had time to start the first one – that’s good. We’ve been busy with this and that.

• If Jacque’s transfers you to France, visiting Baristas takes you straight to Italy. Both gentlemen there are Italian and just sitting there for a while you will likely hear about everyday life in Italy or learn some Italian as both of them are very engaging and enjoy conversing with people and teaching them Italian (they use as much Italian as they can and still be understood). It’s also the favorite hangout of the few Italian guests onboard, further making it feel like you are in Italia. The 2 most frequently requested coffees are cappuccino and latte. I have (reluctantly) gotten used to the paper cups. It is probably a matter of logistics – many people take their coffee to go and it’s easier to do that in a paper cup. Also, the sheer volume of coffees served would require another person taking away and bringing new cups constantly. Maybe they could offer a choice – paper cups to go, china to stay?
  
• Internet is still good and fast J
  
• La Reserve has the strangest looking chairs. They look like something I would expect to see in a kindergarten classroom – small and very low. I don’t know how to attach pictures now, but will take some and post them after we get off the ship. For those who have dined there – are they comfortable? The one comment I heard here from people who ate there was that their hind quarters hurt after the dinner – the chairs were very firm. Another couple was so oblivious to the chairs that they couldn’t even remember if the chairs had arm rests or not (they don’t). Everyone did like the food & wine though – I guess that is what counts.
  

cbb – we are having a great time indeed

Pam – thank you for the compliments. It would be nice if they came up with a better solution for trivia, seeing how popular it is. I will mention it on our mid cruise evaluation form, but do not hold out too much hope.

Lyndenfa – just to clarify – my comments re: people dressing more formally was for dinners in all venues (except Terrace Café), not during the day.

MQ - we do not plan to it at La Reserve as we do not drink. However, would very much like to taste the food.

J&S – Marsha had the pots de crème and loved it.

We had the M&G on second day (1st sea day). It was in the Horizon’s and somewhat awkward as people broke into groups of 4 – 6 around each small table and you basically just met the people you sat with (we had to settle money matters with our tour organizer, so that was our group).

Azamara had a nice solution to this. Not only were the officers present and introduced themselves but the microphone was then passed around the crowd and everyone briefly stood up and introduced themselves by name, CC name, etc. Thus even though we were seated separately around small tables, it gave everyone a chance to put a face to the names they already knew from the roll call. This could easily be done at Oceania M&G as well (even without O sponsorship, as long as they could provide the microphone). Just a thought.

My Burmese vocabulary is expanding very slowly – most of the time I can remember to say Good Morning and Thank You (have a cheat sheet, just in case). I am not sure how much further I will be able to go as the language is difficult and most unusual (for me, any way).

PS Here is an example of how crazy and unpredictable the trivia can be. Today was game #6. So far we have placed in every game (1st,2nd or 3rd) – no thanks to me. Today we had a grand total of 9 points – did not place. Winning team had 14 (their first win or even just points on this cruise). Today we just didn’t know anything – tomorrow is another day J

[Paulchili]

Sorry - duplicate post

[dwelsh]

My idea to overcome the paper cup situation is to take an insulated coffee mug with you. Idea???

[Senior Citizen]

I, too, noticed that the men wore jackets in the specialty restaurants---more so than on the R ships. We ate in the specialty restaurants 7 times during the maiden voyage, always at a table for six, and only once was there a man at our table with a long sleeved shirt, no jacket. I thought that perhaps due to the cold weather, men brought and wore jackets. Anyway, I was just relaying this observation to our friends who we will be cruising with in a few weeks. The last time they cruised with us on O, men wore nice polo shirts or Hawaiian shirts and looked fine. Of course, a number of men wore suits or jackets as always.