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LIVE - Marina Jan 22-Feb1 - Back to the Future

sldispatcher

By sldispatcher,
in Oceania Cruises

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sldispatcher

sldispatcher

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5f1801fb374e32bf685a7ee3485f4082.jpg

 

Twice cooked crispy chicken

 

a65ccc848438667e955a3f55aa2e8532.jpg

 

Miso glazed sea bass..yum yum

 

 

fa063f199d79e70972eb4c82d15e16d7.jpg

 

Braised Gull

 

(Before anyone shoots a flamethrower, you have to know I am VERY tolerant of most situations/can look past a lot...but this one took the cake. And we just might all do a little better by not tolerating poor behavior/entitlement actions/snowflake rage.)

 

 

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plimsol

plimsol

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Posted (edited)
I believe this is a western Caribbean itinerary that does not go to the Bahamas. We would have had the same ports had our March cruise not been changed to include Cuba.

 

Great Stirrup Cay is a port of call On Marina 12/17 TA from Barcelona to Miami.

 

My DH was there in early 60's while on one of Mike Burke's Windjammer cruises and when there was little tourism.

 

We have also booked this TA itinerary and look forward to visiting Great Stirrup Cay again but might be disappointed with all the changes and tourists. C'est la vie.

Edited by plimsol
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shedevil

shedevil

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Posted

fa063f199d79e70972eb4c82d15e16d7.jpg

 

Braised Gull

 

(Before anyone shoots a flamethrower, you have to know I am VERY tolerant of most situations/can look past a lot...but this one took the cake. And we just might all do a little better by not tolerating poor behavior/entitlement actions/snowflake rage.)

 

 

 

It is wrong that I really want to hear the full story of the "Braised Gull".......[emoji2]

 

Sharon

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using Forums mobile app

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sldispatcher

sldispatcher

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With the clock moved forward and hour overnight, my presumed 730 wake up was really 830. Sunshine smoothie and a chocolate croissant at Waves were enough to be able to tide me over to lunch. Today was Italian themed onboard.

 

One would be hard pressed not to appreciate the quality of the pasta on Marina. This stuff is tender as mother’s love. So as not to cause heart attacks across cyberspace, I dared not snap a shot of the meat filled cannelloni covered with a béchamel sauce. This could also be called an Italian Heart Attack burrito. It was good!

 

Another tea this afternoon enjoyed by the entire traveling party. Scone fans were out. Again, pretty much no repeat on the fresh sandwiches as a whole, but there might have been some strong similarities. The caramel tarts covered with Nutella. One would stop you in your tracks. So I had a second to see if it would make me go in reverse. .did tI

 

Last night, as mentioned in an earlier post, the Red Ginger feeding frenzy was ablaze in glory. The service was quick and almost overwhelming how quickly things came out. 4 total rounds of Pan Asian glory served with thoughtful but functional presentation and panache. When the main courses were delivered, we counted 19 different dishes on the table at one time. The least favorite dish was a snapper dish. Beef Teriyaki and Miso Slap Yo’ Mamma Sea Bass were at the top of everyone’s list.

 

Fresh, like the pasta, is really the order of the day here. Crisp is, well, crisp. Veggies were how they should be. The portions of sea bass were gigantic. The crispy chicken was okay. Wish there had been room for a few more.

 

The place was almost completely packed out at 630pm seating.

 

Wind was playing devil’s advocate this morning trying to convince us that a good day was not going to be had. White caps and waves were attempting to rock us in a reminder of last Monday’s portion of the trip. We were not deterred and by 2pm or so the wind had given up and gone home. The white caps were returned to their resting space in the deep blue sea.

 

Shipping lanes are starting to converge on our same path as we motor towards our final stop in Key West.

 

A split decision dinner tonight with part of the group having an Owner’s Suite in-room dining experience and others hitting Terrace again. We will amuse our bouches with some 630 crab claws and cocktail sauce.

 

More pictures and another menu shot or two coming soon.

 

Thanks for following along.

 

Let me take this moment to restate why I do this. For one, it’s fun for me. Number two, so much can be gleaned by the cruise critic community and this is my way of trying to pay it forward and backward.

 

So I salute all of the cruise critic members who have gone before me and will give a couple of more reports for those that will follow.

 

The mix of cruise line, ship, and itinerary can be a daunting task for anyone to try to make a decision in regards to their vacation dollars and TIME.

 

Only one of those is a commodity that once spent cannot be earned again.

 

Spend wisely.

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Crow&Heron

Crow&Heron

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Thanks for following along.

 

Let me take this moment to restate why I do this. For one, it’s fun for me. Number two, so much can be gleaned by the cruise critic community and this is my way of trying to pay it forward and backward.

 

So I salute all of the cruise critic members who have gone before me and will give a couple of more reports for those that will follow.

 

 

David, as yet another of your cruises winds down, and you have shared your experience with us, you can take solace in knowing you were not alone in your endeavor. In fact, at this writing, your Thread has attracted 14,921 views under the Cruise Forum: Oceania Cruises heading. To put that into perspective, of the the 349 pages in this category, your writings are currently on Page 3 (and quickly making their way to page 2).

 

Thanks again for all of this and I will no doubt use your writings and especially your photos to help us in making meal choices when we board Marina on February 8.

 

PS: Your writings of your maiden voyage with Marina is #4 on that list (after the Stickies) on Page 1...but you knew that. ;-)

 

Cheers!

 

Mitch

Edited by Crow&Heron
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Iamthesea

Iamthesea

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I second that! :D

 

34a035dd9e970393f2f895668da15654.jpg

 

Taken just one minute ago from deck 7 'shortcut'

 

 

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Please elaborate on the shortcut of Deck 7. :confused:

 

It is wrong that I really want to hear the full story of the "Braised Gull".......[emoji2]

 

Sharon

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using Forums mobile app

 

I do! I just hope that the braised Gull is not on the menu later this week. :rolleyes:

 

Leaving in the morning!

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Semolina

Semolina

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I too have been enjoying your writing. I don't know what you do for a living but I hope it incorporates writing and of course a sense of humor. We have been on many Oceania cruises but haven't been on Marina for a while. We will be cruising on her in March and also Riviera in September and I must say you have reminded me of some of the advantages of travelling on the bigger ships, most notably the extra selection of fantastic food items.

I just wanted to say that one of the things we really like about the smaller ships is the more friendly feeling from crew and passengers alike. Obviously smaller is more intimate and we tend to make new good friends on the smaller ships rather than on the bigger versions. I think the same applies to the GDR and other restaurants on the ship. So there are advantages and disadvantages on whichever version you choose.

On our last cruise on Sirena we also suffered some abominable behavior in Tuscan Steak. I think it sounds like a different sort of bad behavior from what you endured. Ours was more of a sickeningly bad taste behavior and it certainly shocked us plus some of the waiters. There certainly are a few cruisers to avoid but on the whole we find the Oceania clientele to be a very well mannered and friendly crowd.

I hope that we may meet on another cruise whether it is on Cruise Critic or on the actual ship. I have certainly enjoyed your artistic descriptions and your mouth watering photos. Have a good journey home.

Jennifer

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sldispatcher

sldispatcher

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41db90bd3b2edebe81738a323c9e6e29.jpg

 

Horizon Lounge setup for cattle call immigration run through this AM in Key West. Will make for easier disembarkation tomorrow in Miami. My only real frustration is that a ship that keeps track of every movement on/off really should have no immigration issues that need checking.

 

Fortunately I'm not so easily triggered and for the last 9 days my safe space always seems to be stocked with chocolate croissants.

 

Wonder which Hollywood mental giant we could recruit to help take up the inhumane treatment of cruise ship passengers? I was detained once on Celebrity in San Fran because 2 MENSA candidates did not respond to overhead pages for 90 minutes. That was when clearance was done onboard on day of disembarkation and EVERYONE had to clear before the cruisers were allowed to leave.

 

So hopefully today will be smooth and trouble free. Otherwise, I'll have to escalate from chocolate croissant to sticky bun as a participation trophy.

[emoji849]

 

 

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