Jan 2016 World Cruise live report

[melapatb]

Just

[Waynetor]

Today will be another of those multiple post days as I review our dining experience so far.

I’ve seen several reviews very favourably comparing Oceania food to luxury lines like Regent, Silver Sea or Seabourn. As we are not part of any high-brow culinary set or even foodaholics and rarely eat out at upscale restaurants or buy top quality meats at butcher shops what I feel is very special may be somewhat different compared to other people.

 

A few things we have been told about food on board Oceania ships. With a higher staff to passenger ratio the many cruise lines, much of the extra staff level is directed towards food preparation. Oceania has an addiction to ingredients – an example is the use of a special butter used for making croissants. 99% of food is prepared fresh on board.

 

Reading cruise reviews, I find there are those that are happy with the buffet on Carnival while others can find fault with any meal on Regent, Crystal or Seabourn. I’m not sure if this is a feeling of entitlement, expectations or a personality quirk. I’m a pretty fussy eater as far as what I like vs not like but have had no problem except trying to decide what to choose without going overboard - have to keep reminding myself these wonderful choices will be around for 180 days.

 

One problem with a trip and especially a cruise is to resist trying all the food. Cruise ship buffets are referred to as The Pig Out Palace justifiably by some people. The traditional saying is the average cruiser gains a pound per day (hafta assume this is on 7 days or less). On a voyage like this gaining an ounce per day can add up. Nobody here will be treating this voyage as a 24 hour a day eat-a-thon. You don’t see people at the buffet with heaping plates wolfing it down so they can make the next trip to the buffet again or hit the grill outlet.

 

Food generally creates the most controversy when comparing cruise lines. After eating onboard for 12 days I now have more informed opinion about the cuisine and how it compares to our other experiences either land based or Princess Cruises. In short, it is significantly superior to Princess as well as our regular restaurants at home. (It has been nearly 15 years since we were on Carnival and 8 years since RCCL so hard to compare them but no doubt since I don’t remember much about them they were not too special).

Portions tend to be smaller than served in land based restaurants but it is never a problem to ask for more, and like any long-time cruiser, we have not yet gone to bed hungry. Normally when we go out for dinner at home we will skip appetizer and desert or eat very light the rest of the day. Here on board we tend to have one appetizer and a small desert so we applaud the sizes of the portions. For us they are the right size; not too large and not too small.

On top of all of this, Oceania offers many food items that certain guests may require such as Kosher Meals, Low Sodium items or an array of other items including those with food allergies. At dinner, they also offer items on the menu including vegetarian selections and lighter side items.

Up to this point we have not asked for anything customized.

 

The milkshakes (no charge) are wonderful but we are trying to not make having them a habit – have to save room for all the other extra calorie items. I like having the option of being able to have various juices at any meal, also at no cost.

 

No review would be complete without a commentary on service. Service on a ship can be hard to define but I suggest it is a genuine attitude of friendliness and willingness to totally meet guest’s needs and desires. By this standard Oceania is the best we have sailed. Our dinning service has been excellent to this point.

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While I don’t mind the formal nights on the Princess cruises we have done, I do like not having to be too concerned about what to wear each night for dinner for a long voyage such as this (less packing also). Oceania request that there be no shorts worn in dining rooms which people seem to be following. Jeans used to be discouraged also but now are more acceptable. Those that feel like dressing up are doing so but most people are into neat, causal especially here in the tropics.

As far I know Oceania has not failed an inspection done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its sister company (same ownership) Regent Seven Seas failed once in June 2013 (largely due to poor documentation and record keeping) – this was taken so seriously that the head chef and food and beverage manager both had their contracts ended. Oceania was voted top cruise line for food by Cruise Critic Editors' Picks Awards in 2013. (Oceania also won for best suite while sister company Regent Seven Seas won for best for Luxury.)

[Waynetor]

At the Terrace Cafe the food is served for you and there is waiter service to the tables if needed. More like an informal cafe than the normal canteen on other cruise lines.

 

At breakfast there is a large choice of juice and amazing fresh fruit which is wonderful – only problem is the strawberries which are not very ripe and have very little flavor. There is a good range of items at breakfast but not a lot of variety day to day. There are about 6 cold cereals, plus hot oatmeal, yogurt, variety of pastries, items to toast, eggs to order, pancakes, French toast and many other items. We are trying to keep our breakfast size down. Freda’s favourite item so far is bagel (except when over toasted) and cream cheese while my vote goes for the blueberries. The worst thing was the pancake which seemed to have been sitting around for a while and just reheated – a crust had formed around the outside edge.

For lunch in the Terrace Café there is a variety but if we go there, we just have the daily sandwich or a make your own.

We have been using the Terrace Grille quite a bit for the edge of it had a crust as if it was under a heat lamp. They have 3 types of hot digs, and 4 burgers plus some hot sandwich items along with a salad bar there. After the buffet closes for breakfast (10am) there are items like pastries, cereal, yogurt, fruit at the grill until 10:30 available.

 

Next to the Grill area at lunch time they have set up special lunches a few times representing fresh items just brought on board. Have not tried it, but it looks good.

 

We have been up in Horizons a few times when Tea time starts (4-5 PM) but have not tried anything – all looks good and there usually is a good group size there. The string quartet is there to play easy listening music. A wooden box of tea options is brought around as well as sandwiches and other treat brought round on trays.

[Waynetor]

The main dining room opens for breakfast from 8:00 to 9:30, for lunch noon to 1:30pm and diner from 6:30 to 9:30. No reservations are needed. Most tables are set for 2 or 4 people.

 

Service has generally been very good, we usually share a table with others and have found total time can be under 2 hours to over 2.5 hours.

 

We only eat there once for breakfast and the food was excellent and well prepared. The dinner menus will repeat but there is enough variety to keep us satisfied.

 

Insignia has 2 smaller specialty restaurants available for diner. Polo Grill is a classic steakhouse offering USDA Prime beef dishes as well as succulent seafood dishes. Toscana is an authentic Italian restaurant. Due to the restaurants smaller size it is necessary to have reservations most nights. For this voyage we were allowed 1 reservation pre cruise in each of the specialty restaurants for both the first and last segments as well as 2 reservations for each restaurant in each of the other segments – total 28 reservations.

 

At this point we have eaten in each specialty once. We both enjoyed each very much and are looking forward to working our way through their fixed menu. (may be occasional extra item.) The Caesar Salad was prepared tableside and can be tweak to taste. One of my litmus tests for a cruise ship dining room is a Caesar Salad. On Insignia the lettuce is always crisp, so I know the salad is tossed when we order it, anchovy strips are available (not for me but Freda likes a few of them) and slices of aged Italian Parmesan cheese are plentiful and savoury. Defiantly a thumps up rating from me. In Tuscana there is an Olive oil cart with choice of 6 varieties of extra virgin olive oil.

 

There is no shortage of help when it comes to wine selection. The main dining room has 5 sommelier at dinner, the specialty rooms 3 each plus a chief sommelier.

 

The main dining room menu has 7 entries that change, 3 Jacques Pepin selection (steak, chicken and salmon) that are available each day, a Red Ginger and a Jacques Signature item each day. The menu also highlights a light meals Canyon Ranch menu items. - I have found them very good. The calorie information is included.

 

In short there is something for everybody, and the quality, temperature, taste, great variety and portion sizes have been perfect for us.

 

A bit of a side note - Around the world passenger cruises are mainly a 21st century experience but I did see a copy of an advertisement in the book ‘Romance of the Sea’ for a 100 day around the world voyage on the S. S. Cleveland leaving from New York Oct 19, 1912 or San Francisco Fe 6, 1913. Cost for this Hamburg-American Line voyage started at $650. The ad noted the fare included all necessary expenses aboard and ashore.

The book also shows a breakfast menu from the Lloyd Bremen Barbarossa 1899 sailing. Breakfast included 3 fruits, Oatmeal, Hominy, Milk and cream, Jelly, Marmalade and Ginger, Fried Sole, Beefsteak, Hamburg Beefsteak, Mutton chops, Meatballs, fried calf’s liver, 3 types of potatoes, Yorkshire ham and bacon, multiple types of eggs including cooked to order, buckwheat cakes, cold roast beef, brawn, cheeses, coffee, tea chocolate, and cocoa. A passenger wrote of the experience “certain sputtering and hissing sounds backed up by sundry savoury sniffs” their promises at last fulfilled as stewards lifted the polished covers “After having duly paused awhile”. While we are for the most part happy with the service and selection at meals here on Insignia it does appear to have slipped a tad over the last century

[Waynetor]

Another mostly sunny day, with reasonable calm days – just a small rocking of the ship.

 

Following the series of port days, today we had the opportunity to lapse into semi-comatose state. It was beautiful but O made the decision to lay around hard with all the excellent on board options. Some people were hoping to see the NFL playoffs but they were not available – told the Super Bowl would be.

 

We had another CC M&G today to welcome those that joined us in Bridgetown.

 

Many thanks to you all so far, with your kind words & appreciation, it makes my time online much more fun & is Greatly Appreciated.

 

Being careful not to insult any particular island, let’s just say this is a story from one of the ports so far - At the park next to the beach we observed a strange pair of workers. One would dig a hole, the other would follow behind him and fill the hole in. They worked furiously all the time we were there without rest, one guy digging a hole, the other guy filling it in again.

I was amazed at their hard work, but couldn't understand what they were doing. So I asked the hole-digger, "I appreciate the effort you are putting into your work, but what's the story? You dig a hole and your partner follows behind and fills it up again."

The hole digger wiped his brow and sighed, "Well, normally we are a 3-man team, but the guy who plants the trees is sick today."

 

Today I have some food related thoughts for the day - "When a reviewer starts explaining how the preparation of a quiche Lorraine at the restaurant he has visited differs from the way one prepared a true quiche Lorraine, I always want to interrupt "But did you like it?" I want to shout "Did it make you happy? Did you clean your plate?" I was eating some homemade gazpacho and talking about how it differed from the more authentic gazpacho one got in Seville. The more I talked about the difference the faster I wolfed down the gazpacho - until I realized that one way what I was eating differed from authentic gazpacho was that it tasted better." - Calvin Trillin, "American Fried"

 

The trouble with eating Italian food is that 5 or 6 days later, you’re hungry again - - George Miller

 

“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” - George Bernard Shaw

[Waynetor]

One of the smallest countries in South America, French Guiana is an overseas region of France on the north Atlantic coast of South America. It borders Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west. Like the other French overseas regions on this cruise, the euro is the local currency.

Devil's Island (French: île du Diable) is located approximately 14km (9mi) off the coast of French Guiana. It has an area of 14ha (34.6 acres). The island was a part of the controversial French penal colony of French Guiana for 101 years, from 1852 to 1953 and today is basically a tourist site.

[Waynetor]

We were here once before but it was a very disappointing stop. The captain sent a tender ashore and then determined it was too rough for passengers. So they pulled anchor and left. Shortly after leaving (7AM) the captain made an announcement about the decision but by the time I jumped out of bed and got a look, we were already well on our way and it was not much more than a big rock off in the distance. Since they were saving several hours I don’t understand why they could not stay anchored for an hour or so or cruise around the island – it wasn’t rough on the big ship (Star Princess).

 

Thankfully, yesterday we learned a great deal of Devil’s Island from the wonderful destination lecturer on board. During his presentation he provided the background to this island. In total, over 80,000 prisoners were sentenced to Devil’s Island and most were never heard from again.

 

The prison remains are on the hill; there are 2 ways to walk up, a moderate sloping walk created with stone laid by the prisoners, and a shorter but steeper set of steps. I used the moderate going up and the steeper going down. The sloping walk can be done by those with some disability, depending on how bad. There is a bit to see down at water level but most is hidden from view down there. There is a nice restaurant/ bar and small gift shop at the top with a deck to enjoy the view. There is a small area you can swim if you are courageous but most area are off limit due to currents and sharks’

 

You can actually stay on the island overnight – without a cruise ship docked there it would be very quiet. Besides Insignia there were about 5 catamarans that have brought some passengers over from the mainland.

 

Some of the buildings have been partially restored and others are ghostly reminders of the terrible life people had on these beautiful islands. The setting is as beautiful as any tropical island paradise (at least currently but I understand at the time of operation most of the trees had been removed to help prevent raft building) but walking through the buildings and ruins, one can’t help but feel the ghosts of the prisoners who suffered and died here. It was no picnic either for the guards here either- with their boring existence and without supervision, some of them were sadistic. The most troubling building was for the “condemned and solitary confinement”. It is very hard to imagine what it must have been like to spend months and sometimes even years in the cells which was less than 2m by 4m (5ft x 10ft). Ile du Diable, considered escape-proof because of strong currents and sharks, was akin to a death sentence – 70% of the inmates died

 

There is a good range of wildlife on the island – I saw lots of monkeys (some people were feeding them crackers but that is not a good idea), an animal that I think was part of the coati family, an iguana, peacocks and chickens

 

This island gained fame in with the book by Henri Charriere and subsequent movie, Papillon.

 

As a strange coincidence I was passing the map showing our route for this segment one thing I noticed is the Atlas mnts. in northern Africa and it turned out at the evening trivia a question was where are the Atlas mnts. Also early in the day I was reading one of the National Geographic I brought along and an article gave me the answer about Captn Cook’s ship name.

 

For entertainment tonight they showed the move “Bridge of Spies” in the lounge. When we got back to our cabin, we saw on TV that it had just been nominated for an Academy award as best picture.

 

Today’s thought for the day - Traveling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller." ~ Ibn Battuta

[Waynetor]

We had a crossing the equator ceremony around 11:30 this morning hosted by King Neptune. Our actual crossing time will be late this evening. Over 20 passengers (tadpoles) participated in the ritual making them shellbacks. They kissed the traditional fish and got a huge ladel of ice cold water dumped on them. Later in our cabin we all received a certificate with our names making our crossing.

 

The day was mostly cloudy – there was a brief heavy shower just after the crossing ceremony.

 

By early morning the sea had turned a murky shade due to sediment from the Amazon even though we are a long way from the mouth of the river

 

(18th) Today is Martin Luther King Day in the US. Here are a few of his many inspirational quotes –

“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”

“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But, whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.

 

Now that we have had a few sea days behind us, one thing I enjoy is the lack of announcements on the PA system – the Captain does a navigational and weather report around noon. The CD usually adds on an announcement at the same time and may do 1 or 2 others during the day depending on the schedule.

 

For anyone contemplating doing a world cruise, this is the time of year to do it. While a small percent of all cruisers, there are over 10,000 passengers currently on world cruises. – On Jan 10 Cunard cruise line started 3 world cruises, 2 of 120 days and the other at 121 days, Silver Seas and Holland America MS Amsterdam both stared 115 days voyages on Ja 5 from Ft. Lauderdale, P&O Aura started 114 days, on Ja 3rd Princess started a 111 days voyage from Ft Lauderdale, Regent Seven Seas Navigator departed Miami the day after us for a 128 voyage and Fred Olsen Black Watch started 115 days on Jan 7. Crystal will be starting their 102 day world cruise on the 24th. This is nothing new for these lines so I expect they will continue for the foreseeable future. The only non-January embarkation is the Sea Princess around the world from Auckland starting in May.

 

We have been advised that once we enter Brazilian waters there will be a 25% VAT added to all purchases, including liquor, shops and spa merchandise. That makes a $10.00 glass of wine $12.50 + gratuity. If you purchase bottles of wine before entering Brazilian waters, and have them served while there, you can avoid the surcharge. The drink package is not taxed. Italy and Spain have a similar charge on ship board purchase.

[Waynetor]

Belem (literally "Bethlehem) founded in 1616 is the capital and also the biggest city of the state of Para with approximately 2.1 million of inhabitants. It’s located just over 1 degree south of the equator. It's a jumping-off point for those seeking for Amazon adventures and one of Brazil's busiest ports. Belem is about100km (60mi) up the Para River from the Atlantic Ocean, close enough that tides can change the water levels by a couple meters. The river is the southernmost branch of the mouth of the greater Amazon River system. One part of the city contains modern skyscrapers and the other part, the colonial section, has charming tree-filled squares, churches and traditional blue tiles.

Belem is also known as "cidade das mangueiras" (the city of mango trees) due to the large number of those trees found in the city. It is a hot (Jan average 31C 87F), humid city and the wettest season is January to May.

The city of Icoaraci is an attractive riverside little town lying 23km (14mi) north of Belem. The highlight of Icoaraci is the production of its well known pottery. There are frequent city buses marked "Icoaraci" from Av. Presidente Vargas in central Belem. It normally takes about an hour to get there.

[Waynetor]

Welcome/bem-vindo to Brazil and the Southern hemisphere. We are now about 1° 24' S. Originally we were to anchor near the port of Icoaraci but we ended up anchoring off of Belem where we did a 15 minute tender.

 

Insignia used 2 of its own tenders as well a local open air boat. I was surprised how rough the water was. The river had waves that were as large as out in the open sea. We are about 90KM (50 mi) from the ocean.

 

As this not a big cruise ship destination, the port does not have a lot of tourist infrastructure. Besides us, there will be 2 ships in February and 1 in December this year stopping here on longer voyages as well as some Hapag-Lloyd Amazon only summer voyages.

 

In talking to passengers that had been here before, they were very surprised in the massive change to the skyline over the past several years. Belam has left its old town mainly as is, and undergone a massive building spree of skyscrapers to the east of the old city.

 

Freda stayed on board and I checked out the old town colonial quarter, passing and visiting baroque churches and pastel-coloured palaces (many of which now hold various museums). Very close to the pier was the Mercado Ver-o-Peso, the famous waterfront market. The market had ,just about anything small enough to sell in a market stall – prepared meals, clothing, fruit, vegetables, fish, live animals such as chicken, geese, canaries, ginue pigs etc. Just beyond that is a small marina area with about 12 fishing boats sitting in the shallow low tide water. The boats had tossed overboard some of their reject catch. There had to be over 200 black vultures and a dozen or so giant egrets picking through the remains. Passing a couple more buildings there is the well preserved remains of a fort on the site where the Portuguese first built a fort after landing here.

 

The market and whole area is geared mostly to the local population, not tourism. Some buildings were in excellent condition while others had deteriorated so much they were not useable any longer. Besides the main water front market, there were many mobile vendor carts as well as stores with goods out on the sidewalk, and other streets that had been turned over to vendor stalls.

 

Sunrise, sunset time is virtually the same all year long here. This is quite different than back home. When we left Toronto it was getting dark around 5pm, when we get home it will be well after 9pm (an hour of this difference is change in daylight saving time).

 

The tender rides in the afternoon were rougher that in the morning. I heard 3 people were injured in the tender boats. Just like in Bridgetown, we were delayed in departing as just as the last tender was due back on the ship a passenger left on a tender for medical treatment on shore so this meant a delay of over 30 minutes. We still got to see some of the river before it got dark. Once outside of Belam there was not a lot to see.

 

The show in the lunge tonight was the comedian/magician Mel Mellers – He was once again very good with lots of laughs, especially when he poked fun at some of those in attendance. His last 2 tricks were numerical tricks which I have seen done several times before by other acts – great for first timers but not too hard to figure out how done.

 

A couple thing that I here that are different than at home. Our "OK" hand sign is a definite no-no in Brazil – it is the same as the middle finger salute for us. A thumbs up gesture is also considered to be obscene, worse than our middle finger "salute," in South America and most of Africa. In Australia, it's fine, so long as you don't move your hand, but pumping your hand up and down is highly offensive.

 

Today’s thought of the day - A wise man learns at the fool's expense. - Brazil Proverb

[Waynetor]

Fortaleza (Portuguese pronunciation: foɾtaˈlezɐ, translation “fortress”), is the state capital of Ceara located in North-eastern Brazil. This was the first state in Brazil to abolish slavery near the end of the 19th century.

The city’s population is close to 2.3 million and the greater metropolitan region over 3.4 million. Fortaleza is the 5th largest city in Brazil. Fortaleza has a typical hot and humid tropical climate with cooling breezes near the ocean. The concentration of rain is in the first 6 months of each year. It has been for decades one of the most popular destinations of Brazilian tourists. In recent years, the fame of Fortaleza has been gaining outside of Brazil. Fortaleza is graced with about 25km (16mi) of urban beaches. The highest elevation of this city is 22m (69 ft).

Fortaleza was founded in the early 17th century by a Dutchman, who built a fortress around a village. The fortress was ultimately seized by the Portuguese.

The city became prosperous in the 1800’s and became known for its ranching and as a major port for the hinterland.

This area is the second 2nd largest exporter of cashews in the world and along with tourism this represents 1 of the 2 major industries for this area.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Waynetor
Title shoud have been Jan 21

[Waynetor]

Another sunny days with puffy clouds 29C (83F) for a high.

 

Yesterday they loaded fresh fish that was used in a special buffet next to the grill area at lunch and added to the dinner menus.

This is probably a good point to make some notes on the entertainment dept. On Insignia, Andy the Cruise Director oversees the Entertainment Program working with his highly talented group of professionals to schedule a wide range of entertainment and enrichment programs for all of the guests to enjoy.

He sets the tone on board the ship for all of those who are involved with entertainment and enrichment by being very focused on each guest. He has been doing this general type of work for some time and you feel he puts his heart into all of this.

His total staff includes the assistant CD and other cruise director program staff, all musicians and extras such as the lounge technical staff, the 180 day social hostess which does Special Events for those on the full voyage. In addition to the in-house entertainment, entertainers are brought onto the ship to perform for the guests and that includes vocalists, musicians, comedians, and other entertainers. Some of these entertainers have been new to Oceania. He works with them to help in rehearsals and any needs they have. Andy puts together a little TV segment each day for the activities. He also does the afternoon trivia which means he did a lot a research to come up with questions for the part of the cruise he will be on. He and his staff work every day to make each and every day is the best it can be for each guest on the ship. He also fine tunes each days programming when conditions change, such as bad weather requiring changes. He must also coordinate all of this with other areas of the ship, including Food and Beverage and hotel management. So far he and his group and doing a wonderful job.

 

Tonight we had another nice dinner at Polo Grill. They said the roast beef could only be served Med. Rare unless they grill it which they did not recommend. I usually have medium but went with the recommendation – it was the pinkest m/r that I can recall seeing. I will have to be careful next time – lots of other very nice options.

 

Tonight we had dinner with a very nice couple. She was not shy and told us she was 88 and he was 90. They had met just a year ago and got married shortly before the cruise. Since it has been a very long time since I have been on a real date, I asked her what it was like dating at her age. She told us on their first date she had to slap him 3 times. I gave him a smile and said, “So you got a little frisky a little too fast.” She jumped back in, “No, No, not that, I had to keep checking to see if he was still alive.”

Soon the conversation turned to their wedding ceremony. She joked about how emotional he had been. He was quick to note that the tears came as he stood at the altar as she came up the aisle he realized that this, #5, could very well be his last marriage.

 

Today’s thought for the day - To get away from one's working environment is, in a sense, to get away from one's self; and this is often the chief advantage of travel and change. - Charles Horton Cooley

[Waynetor]

Day 18 – voyage is already 10% over – where does the time go!

 

This was our first poor weather day. It rained solid all morning and into the afternoon. By 2 it was down to a drizzle and stopped by 3pm. The high temperature was 29C (84F).

 

We tired the main dining room for lunch for the first time – very nice.

 

We were here several years ago and did a ship tour. That included various stops such as the railway station, Martyrs square, the Metropolitan Cathedral and a beach. There is not a lot to see in close proximity to the port. We were thinking of taking a taxi to the market Mercado Central but as we are going to see lots of markets on this voyage and there is nothing special we need here, we decided to take it easy today and like many other stayed on board.

 

With the extra people saying o the ship due to the weather, they added the move, ‘The Martian’ to the afternoon schedule.

 

We have not participated, but each time we pass the area in Horizons where the ‘Artist in Residence’ program has had a class, there has been a capacity group involved. Some of the work they have been doing looks very good.

 

Today’s good news – the person taken of the ship in Belem was back on today. The bad news - Not the 88 and 90 yr old couple, but another lady at our table last night got mugged in Fortaleza today. She was walking along the sidewalk when a motorcycle pulled up, the passenger got off, pushed her over and grabbed her bag. She received some scrapes. The mugger lost his glasses and thongs in the process of running away.

 

Tonight’s show was a violinist – we did not go, heard mixed reviews (as normal) but mostly good.

 

Today’s thought for the day - He who forecasts all perils will never sail the sea."—Anonymous

[Waynetor]

Natal (Portuguese pronunciation na'taw) is the capital and largest city of Rio Grande do Norte, a northeastern state in Brazil.

Natal is known as Brazil’s “City of Sun”. The word Natal means Christmas in Portuguese; it was founded the day after Christmas.

The city had a total population of over 950,000 (1,365,000 in its greater metro area. Natal has several tourist attractions and is famous for its natural beauty, for its historical monuments and buildings (such as the Forte dos Reis Magos, the Alberto Maranhao Theatre and Newton Navarro Bridge), and for its beaches (such as Genipabu, Pipa and Ponta Negra). The city also boasts the second 2nd largest urban park in Brazil, the Parque das Dunas. Pleasant trade winds blowing from the ocean give relieve to the tropical climate. Natal has been rated as the safest city in Brazil.

Outside the city sugar cane farms and massive shrimp farms are becoming big business.

Natal is located at 5°46′35″ S.

[Waynetor]

Freda started to get a bit of a cold yesterday but so far does not seem too bad.

 

A popular excursion here is dune-buggy rides through the Saharan-like sand dunes that were very clearly visible as we coasted into the harbor area. The harbor is 5km (3mi). up the river from the sea. We passed under a very high and long bridge just where the river enters into the sea. We docked in an industrial port but there were no cargo ships in port but lots of containers waiting to go somewhere.

 

Natal gets about 3,000 hours of sunshine per year but today did not add much to the total. It was mostly cloudy, threating rain but did not get any. The cloud was welcome as it was again 29C (84F) and a bit on the humid side.

 

Around the city some of the popular sites are Dunas State Ecological Park (1,172 hectares of land), many museums, Natal Aquarium (exhibits about 60 marine species and serves as a surgery center for sea animals), the Major cajueiro du mundo is the biggest cashew tree in the world (70x average size) covering an area of 8,400sq m (90,416sq ft), and the Historic Center.

 

We had to take one shuttle bus from the ship to the port entrance so no one was walking around the industrial part of the port. Then we took another shuttle that was advertised as being to the city centre. This shuttle took us to a single building that included various craft shops, about 20 or so. The driver warned us it was not safe to go out into the surrounding area. I had taken the first shuttle out of the port and was on the first shuttle back – The only good thing was this craft building was on a bit of a hill which offered some good views of the beach area and the fort at the river entrance. I noticed that any building that looked nice had walls around it and most had spikes or barbed wire on top of the wall. The shuttle was useless if you wanted to see any of the city sights. There were taxis available at the port. They were lined up and you basically had to take the first one in line.

 

Other than the port building nothing seemed wheelchair friendly.

 

Tonight’s show was ‘Master Guocho’ – a wife and husband team doing and act reminiscent of the Argentinian cowboy. He did some whip cracking demo, Tango dancing and a lot of Boeadoras – twirling a rope with a knot at the end in a rythemitic way – left lots of marks on the dance floor in the lounge – hopefully will come out with a good waxing.

 

Shortly after leaving Natal we pass the closest point in the Americas to mainland Africa or Europe. From there we sail about 300km (186mi) south-westerly towards Recife before then doing a relatively short 5 day trans-Atlantic crossing.

 

Today’s quote of the day - “We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path.” - Paulo Coelho Brazilian novelist

[Waynetor]

Recife is located where the Berberibe River meets the Capibararibe River to flow into the Atlantic Ocean. It is a major port on the Atlantic Ocean. Its name is an allusion to the sandstone coral reefs that are present by the city's shores. The many rivers, small islands and over 50 bridges found in Recife city center characterize its geography and give it the moniker of the "Brazilian Venice."

The population of the city proper was 1,555,039 in 2012.

[Waynetor]

The weather has improved over the last couple days with today being a sun/cloud mix, 30C (mid 80’sF) and just a bit humid. It had rained a lot here recently so we timed it just right.

 

When we last stopped here we took a ship tour that included the traditional market Mercado de sao Josethe Casa da Cultura which showcases local crafts on the premises of an old jail (each cell has been converted to a vendor stall), then a walk around old Recife’s colonial buildings including Federal Square and the Monument at Maco Zoro plus a stop at a very popular beach.

 

There is a new modern port terminal including a Bureau de Change and a tourist information desk where tours can be booked, with a little folk group entertaining you as you arrive. There were taxis available outside. A shuttle bus was provided to take us from the ship to the terminal.

 

Recife’s beautiful northern neighbour Olinda is one of the best-preserved colonial cities in Brazil. Its downtown area is a World Heritage site with baroque churches and other buildings reflecting its early Dutch and Portuguese history. Most of the city is on a hill overlooking Recife and the ocean.

 

With 3 couples I booked a tour to Olinda. A standard tour includes Olinda, Recife highlights and the beach area. We all wanted more Olinda and skipped the beach. The tour was for 4 hours. Recife’s carnival start Feb 6 and some preparation was already underway including some streets blocked off and some parks and statues being boarded up to help protect them. We went up to the highest point in Olinda and toured around there (nice sea view including our little ship) and then walked down a steep street (nice that our van driver drove down to meet us). On the route was a building that was originally a slave market. Part of it had a dozen or so carnival costume that are about 3 -4m (10-12ft) tall and go over someone’s head resting on their shoulders. Across the road was a small beer warehouse. Two of us were able to buy a 12 pack of beer for the equivalent of $8.50us each.

We made a few stops including the Mercado de sao Josethe Casa da Cultura, a park, and the area along the river where 5 streets meet and will be one of the main areas for Carnival.

We prepaid the tour I the port terminal. They quoted a local price of US$ price. As one couple still had a lot of Real, he paid for everyone and when he converted to US based on his cost it was a fair bit cheaper than the US price quoted price. It worked out to be $17US for the 4 hours with guide and driver.

 

Some in our group wanted to stock up on wine but there were no supermarkets along the route we were taking.

 

The internet has been bad today due to the satellites used are based out of New York and are being effected by a winter storm there.

 

Boa Noite/goodnight and adeus/farewell from our last Brazilian port. We don’t know when we will be back again but for now we have other continents to explore.

 

Very shortly after our departure an announcement was made that the 25% Brazilian tax was lifted (earlier printout said not until 8am tomorrow). I’m sure the boutique workers are very glad – business is slow on this voyage with many doing the full voyage, the last thing the shops needed was a tax to keep customers away. One strange thing I saw in the shop was coffee mugs with the name of the current 5 ships imprinted – with another new ship joining the fleet in a few weeks one would expect these to be greatly reduced in price.

 

Tonight at diner we had a table for two very close to our larger table. The elderly couple must have been hard of hearing as they spoke on the loud side and it was hard not to overhear that they were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. At one point during desert the man says to his wife “Dear there is something that I must ask you. It has always troubled me that our ninth child never looked quite like the rest of our brood. Now I want to assure you that these 50 years have been the most wonderful and your answer cannot take that away, but I must know, did he have a different farther?” The wife dropped her head in shame, unable to look her husband straight in the eye. She paused for a moment, the she replied Yes, yes he did.” The man was shaken. The truth seemed to hit him hard. With a lump in his throat, he ask, “Who? Who was he? Who was the farther? Again the wife hung her head, saying nothing at first seeming to try to muster the courage to tell her husband the truth. Finally, she says, “You.”

[Not landlubbers]

Really enjoying your very detailed account of your voyage! My partner and I have had great out loud laughs with some of your stories....what a treat for us to start our day with a smile! Thank you and continue to enjoy your adventure !!!

[deus]

What a treat to be able to come along with you on your cruise! I am just loving every detail you have given us. I hope you don't mind but I am copying and pasting your entries of each place you visit. Love it!

[Waynetor]

Thanks to everyone for all the positive encouragement. It makes the difference when torn between vegging out watching a movie and keeping my goal of writing every day. I’ll reply to questions next time. Here is the new dispatch:

 

We now have 5 straight sea days – this is the longest stretch (will also have 5 between Hawaii and Los Angeles) – 5 blissful days of sun, sea, and whatever we want to do, great chance to sit back and relax or at least let Oceania entertain us for a stretch. We had a one hour time change and will have 2 more by the time we hit land again.

 

I did see a couple of the same birds escorting the ship that I had seen in the Caribbean but no other sign of life – human or otherwise, except some irritating flies that have decided to emigrate to Africa as stowaways.

 

One extra point for yesterday in Recife – there was an Oceania shuttle to the city centre. While we were at the market Mercado de sao Josethe Casa da Cultura I saw a person holding up a Oceania shuttle flag and people waiting so I guess that is where it went –another place where there is not much to see other that the one building.

 

The weather was very pleasant, mostly sunny with some puffy clouds with a nice breeze across the deck. The weather in New York continued to cause satellite problems in the morning and afternoon.

 

For dinner tonight the Terrace Café featured a South American buffet. We did not go but it must have been successful as the main dining room was definitely less busy.

 

The show for tonight was a Battle of the Chefs – team Victor (GM) vs team Farid (Ex chef). It was half comedy and half cooking demo. Sitting at the back of the lounge it was a bit hard to follow all of it but good fun.

 

Today’s thought for the day - The only person who got all of his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.

[Waynetor]

Another gorgeous day at sea, mostly sunny, verily smooth sailing: very light seas with small white caplets (the Pool area is busy). As of noon we are about 1,500 East of our 1st port in Africa heading ENE. I’ve seen some of the bigger lounge chairs being saved but generally there is not much of an issue with chair hogs.

 

The things to do today besides the usual are they have started a quilting group. They have on board a master quilter who will lead the group in a project to be discussed at the first meeting. There is also bridge class, Mah Jongg (non hosted), Draw and African Elephant in the art class, and 3 lectures: The Beginning of Time, to the edge of the known universe, 2) Sea route to Asia, and 3) Getting creative, more travel Photography tips for cruisers. I saw just a part of these but they all had large crowds.

 

Tonight’s entertainment was Italian classical guitarist Costanza Savarese. While she has played at many cities in the US and other countries, this was her first time ever on a cruise ship. It was not exactly my cup of tea – I did not recognize anything she was playing but most of the guest there seemed to be enjoying it (except the gentleman in the front row that slept through most of it).

 

I heard an interesting story on board Insignia today. One of the new orchestra musicians has been having difficulty keeping time with the rest of the orchestra. Finally, the captain said, “Either you learn to keep time or I’ll throw you overboard. . . . It’s up to you, sync or swim.”

 

Today’s thought for the day - Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. - Sir James Barrie

[Waynetor]

The weather today is much like the previous – only difference is the Atlantic is even a bit calmer.

 

There is more than enough event and programming going on for anyone’s taste while we are at sea. You can stay busy all day if you like. One of the big activities today is “The Insignia County Fair”. They removed all the deck chairs from the pool area and each ship dept. has set up booths. At each booth there was a game where you could win tickets for a special prize drawing at the fair’s conclusion. In all there were about 15 booths and activities included human slot machine, ring toss, bounce Ping-Pong ball into cup, rope tying, match photo and city etc. You got awarded draw tickets for each activity. Prizes ranged from key chains to a free bar drink and up to a massage. This took place from 11 – 11:45 this morning.

 

At the captains noon announcement his update included we were 1,166 nautical mi from Recife with 1,179 to go to our next port. We are 1°9′S - We will cross the equator tomorrow.

 

Today’s 3 lectures were ‘Ship and Explores – part I’, ‘Photo Transfer, Part I; Capture your memories’ and ‘The wonders of Hubble’.

 

On a lot of the sea days there has been some kind of bar tasting event (usually up in Horizens). Yesterday it was Caipirinha tasting and today it is rum tasting. Besides just tasting there is some history, info of the types and how ratings are done. These programs cost $15.50 plus gratuity.

 

Tonight the Terrace Café featured an Indian buffet.

.

With 180 days onboard I’m trying to keep my activity level up, while keeping food intake down – so far have not noticed any shrinkage in my clothing – still long way to go!

 

We love the mix of sea vs port days this itinerary gives. I’m continuously inspired by the by simple vastness of this great ocean. There has been no sign of another ship or airplane since we left Recife. We did manage to see a pod of dolphins at lunch – unfortunately they were going in the opposite direction and passed by quite quickly offering a brief glimpse of their backs as they surfaced.

 

Special drink - I was forced to imbibe several of these concoctions in order to correctly identify the ingredients so as to accurately report upon them. (As I am sure you understand, being a serious journalist occasionally requires some level of personal sacrifice). Freda’s favourite cocktail is a Cosmopolitan while I like a Long Island Ice Tea which is today’s drink of the day- Rum, gin, vodka, tequila, triple sec with some lemon or lime juice and a bit of Coke for colour.

 

As we are collecting ‘O’ points for prizes at the end, today was a very good day. My team won shuffleboard and golf and I got a bonus point for a hole in one and later our team won both the afternoon and evening trivia – a 15 point day

 

Today’s thoughts for the day – "Someday is not a day of the week."—Anonymous

The lazier a man is, the more he plans to do tomorrow. - Norwegian Proverb

[Waynetor]

Good morning people and welcome to sea day numero quatro.

Weather remains nice, seas remain verily calm and temp is supposed to get to upper 20’sC, mid 80’sF.

 

We had a compulsory muster drill today at 10:15 – there are done embarkation day for each segment plus day 14 and 28 of each segment if there are those many days. The promenade deck was damp from spray so we skipped that part of the drill – no complaints from anyone.

 

Tonight we had another wonderful diner at Toscana. The show tonight was again the Piano showman David Howarth – he is very talented, not all my style but still entertaining. Once again the room was near full.

 

We will again cross equator tonight heading back into the Northern hemisphere for a few days – no ceremony as there are no newbies now on board.

 

I overheard another story today. An elderly lady aboard was not impressed by the lively quartet blasting their music in the atrium. When a waiter came around, she asked, “Will they play anything I ask?” “Of course, my lady!” replied the waiter. “Then tell them to go play shuffleboard!”

 

On a more serious note Jan 27th marks the 71st Anniversary of the Liberation of the Concentration Camp in Auschwitz. While the number of people still alive that experienced the horror of those days is dwindling, it remains important that it never be forgotten.

 

Today’s thoughts for the day: "Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart?" - Anne Frank

and "You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Waynetor]

Finally – I’ve caught up and am posting about the current date.

 

A Short Update from a tired reporter, at Sea – land is getting closer. / According to the map up on deck it’s only a few more inches to go. At breakfast we saw a small fishing boat so there is life out there.

 

We started the day again with an hour time change. After near 4 weeks, the Brits and many of the other Europeans on board are back to familiar time zone.

 

Today started quite hazy with the sun barely breaking through. The sea was the calmest yet. With 5 days at sea, seeing nothing but water as far as the eye can see, it’s hard to believe that there is a shortage of water in so many places but such is the way of life here on planet earth. The ocean not only serves as the backdrop, but becomes front and center as we enjoy reading and relaxing on the promenade or around the pool area.

 

Today at 10am they had a sale of wines set up on tables outside the boutique area. Some were in limited supply and went very fast. We bought 4 white wines that were regular $49 each, reduced to $36. The usual 18% gratuity is added. There was a range of prices, with some reduced to $110

 

I think nearly everyone on board seems pleased with the sea days we’re currently enjoying but at the same time are looking forward to our time in Africa.

 

A few days ago we received an invitation for a special dinner tonight for all those on for the full 180. At that time they did not have all the details worked out except it would be at 7pm. Overnight we got notice for a reserved table at Toscana. This will immediately follow the Oceania Club Member cocktail party.

 

Someone asked about if I did some of this travelogue ahead of time – Yes – all the port intros were done ahead. For the daily notes I started with known details such as what we did before, excursion itineraries, and special dates. For the quotes I kept notes of any special ones I saw plus used Google under many different searches. I tried to make most of them travel related but could not find enough good ones so branched out somewhat. My little stories were picked up from various are places and have been tweeked to fit where we are. Remember I was originally booked on the world cruise starting Jan 10/15 so have had lots of time.

 

After 5 days at sea, today’s thought for the day - One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. - Andre' Gide

[Waynetor]

The next 2 days will be busy so I’m not sure if I will get a chance to post. I will give my tour plans here and do a review as soon as I get a chance.

Lome, Togo - There is not much for someone with mobility issue here so I am doing a tour as a single with some other passengers.

The tour was booked with African Travel Seminars as will be the next days. The schedule is:

Pick at pier as soon as ship cleared

Drive approximately 20 minutes to Tuvinu on Lake Togo

In a dugout canoe cruise Lake Togo to historical village Togoville

Visit Togoville including cathedral

Return to Tuvinu by canoe

Drive to Lome, visit the fetish market

Drive to and visit the Museum of African Art

Drive to and visit the National Museum

Visit the Grande Marche

Return to ship by 4pm

 

Cotonou, Benin - The tour schedule is:

Pick at pier as soon as ship cleared

Drive to Kpasse Sacred Forest (1 hour visiting forest)

Walk to the local primary school

Drive to museum of history, a former Portuguese slave trade post – 45 minutes there

Drive to the Temple of Pythons – 15 minute visit

Drive the Slave Route to the Door of no Return

Drive to Abomey-Calavi

Cross Lake Nokoue in a motorboat

Visit Ganvie, Africa’s largest village on stilts – 30 minutes

Return to Abomey-Calavi and then to ship around 4pm