LIVE from the Riviera Nov 18 Crossing

[LHT28]

We went on our third O cruise this past May/June and tried a PH for the first time. Now, I'm afraid we made a mistake because we both loved it so much! Enjoy!:)

Judy

sign up on the May crossing before your Dover cruise :D

 

See you onboard ;)

 

Lyn

[findacruise]

Have a safe trip. .

 

Waiting on Marina for our TA tomarrow.

 

Weather is sunny and confortable in Barcelona.

 

I'm guessing between the Riviera people boarding and our Marina people coming early, we set a record for the number of O passengers in 1 port at 1 time.

 

And there may have been some "leftover" Nautica passengers, too as we disembarked on the 14th in Barcelona. Busy time for "O" in BCN.

[sldispatcher]

We all see it in companies and services we interact with. Being good is one thing. Being great is on a totally different level and extremely difficult to pull off. The question for me is always about whether the company is striving to be great or just satisfied to be good enough. Good and great are also very subjective and they will mean different things to different people.

 

If I told you that every morsel eaten on Oceania was perfection, I would be lying. I thought my veal filet in Polo was tender enough, but lacked in the full flavor department. Tonight in Polo, there were some dishes that knocked my socks off (the parmesan and artichoke timbale to name one). I always think the milkshakes are good, but a little on the runny side. Taking nearly 30 minutes to get two desserts out in Toscana probably is not hitting the mark. The veal marsala was probably the least flavored/seasoned dish so far, but it was extremely tender and without any blemish.

 

Just walk around and get in tune with all of your 5 senses and you can really catch on to different areas of the ship. Do that with any cruise line and you can observe all sorts of unique aspects and eccentricities of a ship.

 

To expect any cruise line to meet and then exceed your expectations 100% of the time is quite frankly, impossible. I guess because I come from a service related industry background, I tend to look at these things differently than some others might. The simple question for me is how close do they get to their stated goal and how consistently is that goal reached?

 

We’ve all heard the saying that it is far easier to be a ‘B’ student than an ‘A’ student. No difference here. I have had fantastic cruises on lines that strive for ‘B’ and do it extremely well.

 

For those of you wondering if you would like Oceania, I have a simple question for you. Can you tell the difference between good and great? Does it even matter to you? What constitutes great for you?

 

Guess that was more than one question. J

 

Having had 4 cruises on 2 different lines since the Marina Maiden Voyage, I know in my own mind what constitutes good, even very good, versus great for myself.

 

On Oceania, all 5 senses are involved in determining that good versus great difference.

 

You can taste the freshness in the preparation of the food. Even if you don’t care for the dish as much you might have thought or wanted to, you can still appreciate the quality of ingredients and work behind it.

 

You can see the differences throughout the ship. From the staterooms to the public bathrooms. There is nothing mass market about the Riviera.

 

You can feel the difference as you walk on the plush carpeting, sit in chairs in the dining room, work on the ultra clean and new appearing gym equipment, or the quality of the linens on the bed.

 

You can hear the difference with the relaxed tone throughout the ship. There is no noise pollution here. There are no loud bands playing in grand foyers. It is far easier to find a quiet place on the ship than it is to find a noisy one.

 

You can smell freshness everywhere. In food venues there are no overwhelming aromas. There is no musty carpet or even the sense of saltiness in the air.

 

Does Oceania try to get that A+ grade?

Yes.

 

Does that make it harder for them to always be great every single time?

Sure.

 

Can you tell the difference between good and great onboard?

Absolutely.

 

Will I go on another Oceania cruise someday based on just 2 days experience with the Riviera?

 

Certainly. It just makes great sense.

Edited November 19, 2013 by sldispatcher
word edit

[beardedshark]

Hi Sldispatcher, Thanks for starting a really interesting thread. My wife and I are just back from a Med cruise on Nautica and booked the return TA on Riviera in April while aboard. This will be our first TA and we are also looking forward to the relax and time to chill rather than a port a day rush. How is the ship in the mid atlantic? Is it stable or bumpy? Will we need seasickness pills?

[Hambagahle]

SLDispatcher -

Whoever said you write well was correct. Reading your posts is a great pleasure and I loved your analysis of what makes something great.

 

But I think you left out one thing - when a team works well together, as Oceania's team really does, the reason is almost inevitably leadership. And I think that FDR's role in all this is outstanding. And when you talk to staff who have been with Oceania for a long time (some since the line was begun) ALL with no exception refer to him and his key role in their lives. On our last (so far only) Oceania cruise we heard this from our stewardess and the GM and others in between... worth mentioning, I think!

 

Will be looking eagerly for new posts each day. Meantime I wish you warm weather and gentle winds...

[sldispatcher]

The sky was squid ink black this morning when I awoke. Well, except for the nearly full moon, ahead and at the 1 o’clock position and about degrees above the horizon. The neon blue of the big “O” on the stack was still illuminated. Pock mark enclaves of light were on both horizons as we sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar headed for Tangier on the Northwest coast of Africa.

I had awakened early to see the sights. The problem was discovered little later that I had awakened exactly one hour before I had planned! The one hour clock set back had not hit the Gigaset phone in the room and I had failed to set my watch back. So I was up at 5am!

But no problem. To me the ship is most “alive” in the early morning hours. More like a large whale cruising through the depths while spouting from the depths the life giving energy from the engines. All of this without the myriad of crusty crustaceans awakening from their slumber and looking to eat something off the sleek marine auto-bot mammal heading southeasterly towards Morocco. Everything is undercrowded and overstaffed. (That is a play on words. Please do not flame me regarding “overstaffed” or making up the word “undercrowded”. If you’ve sailed Oceania, you know what I’m talking about compared to other lines.)

I’m fairly sure I made at least 4 roundtrips on the ship. I read in the library. I walked around the aft portion of deck 15 and soaked up the lights of two continents, the wind, and the early risers of the crew prepping the pool area. I wonder how many people really know how much they do just to get pool chairs out and readied!

Some self-serve English hot tea in the Horizons lounge was next on the list. And then it was there. Calling to me. Like a siren from ancient times. I tried to resist the power and temptation. It taunted me. I believe it even called out in a voice that only I could hear: “eat me”.

Yes, the chocolate croissant was the devil incarnate.

I sinned mightily and with great gusto.

This is no chocolate croissant with a small little ribbon of the good stuff like you get on that line that says they will treat you famously. Nope, this Lucifer of croissants had a thick, wide, band of the good stuff pancaked across the depth and breadth of the lower reaches of the perfectly baked goodie. The thing even had a built in tooth detector. I cannot lie. The crust is perfected because you can carry it with a delicate touch, but then it explodes with thousands of buttery flakes the minute it hits your teeth.

It is no longer Horizons, but the Hades lounge from now on in the morning. Pray I don’t go near it again. Of course, like a thief prowling in the night, the minions of cocoa appear elsewhere in the ship as well.

Later on, the crusty crustaceans swarmed into the Terrace Café for the morning ritual of feast before travel. It was quite crowded but never overwhelming with tremendous numbers of worker bees as usual.

The sun had finally awakened after a bit and helped lead us into the crescent shaped harbor at Tangier. The ship drifted in then pointed east before making a backing move into one of the new looking man-made piers. The structures were made of a combination of rock and then layers of concrete pilings that look like they could double as anchors. The 3 prong structure seemed to provide a natural interlocking function. The dockside itself was full of rubble and under construction. This is obviously not a regular event here. Busses were gathered midway. High speed ferries had started their crossing patterns hauling pedestrians and vehicles to the European continent.

The coast looked like it had been poured from a bottle and designed by an architect. The beaches, from what I could see, seemed perfectly groomed and shaped. A busy main highway corridor separated the beach from the rising skyline. There was old world meets new world as you looked around. Windmills on hills and a mosque standing guard on the opposite side. Neon along a street while low horsepower simple hull boats puttered out of the harbor towards fishing grounds older than any of the settlements in the States.

Once the all ashore was given, a steady stream of O’maniacs left the gangway for the city. We were not among them. After a morning nap and stroll, we headed for lunch in the ghost town Terrace Café. I opted for a Ceasar salad made fresh and a bacon cheddar cheeseburger from Waves. It was time for some “comfort” food. After lunch, the DW had a head to toe scrub in Canyon Ranch. Nearly two hours later she apparently came out more exfoliated than a cotton crop in October. A nice touch is that there is no hard product sell. Again, details regarding service that separate good from great.

I laid on the bed and watched TV and did some work for back home (sorry, I cannot get away even on a cruise). If the beds are warm apple pie, then the sheets are the whipped cream on top. You can sleep and dream here like no one else’s business!

Prior to sail away, I stood out on the balcony and let the crisp, cool air surround me. More noises of work. The Muslim call to prayer could be heard over the din of traffic. More than 9 cranes were poised over the city with very spindly legs. Like praying mantis on a model train set, they looked like a stiff breeze could knock them over. Again, the old and new were clashing. I could only wonder where culture and progress would eventually take this city. That tug of war usually has casualties along the way.

Dinner was in the Grand Dining Room at 700pm. This was a very busy night in the GDR. I took some pictures and will not detail all of the dishes, but focus only on a few details. The tomato carpaccio had the most sublime mozzarella with it. It had obviously been blended and appeared like cloud puffs on the plate. Somewhere, the Pesto Man had married Olive Oyl because although there was no visible basil, the flavor was there. Just a perfect blend. Nothing was over salty. In fact, back home, most people would add salt. I tried to just let the natural flavors do their sublime dance. I saw beautiful fruit dishes, crab cakes, shrimp dishes, tasty salads, etc. It is true that you can spend your whole cruise dining in the GDR and be perfectly satisfied with the variety and flavor.

Sailing out of the small harbor and turning to the east and south, we left the area as I had found it. Surrounded in darkness with lights dotting both coasts.

What a day. Can this be real or just a Tangier-ene Dream?

[yorkiemomjn]

Don't get sold so fast -- there is another point of view.

 

We did a TA on Marina in 2011

Our first and likely our last.

I love sea days so much that it is a consideration for me when booking a cruise and I often turn a port day into a sea day to have more time to relax.

 

I love sea days -- but not six in a row

 

We are not big on shipboard activities (other than trivia) and it can get boring -- the "scenery" in the middle of the ocean gets old quick.

I no longer wish to sit in the sun and get skin damage for worse. I am shocked at the number of cruisers who do this.

I am a reader and a knitter so I can easily occupy my time and I love to "rest" but it gets to be too much after a while. The cooking classes saved me from extreme boredom.

It ends up that food becomes the main attraction and I do not want to overeat. 3 meals a day plus afternoon tea. Way too much of a good thing. And with little or no exercise, unless you go to the gym or walk on the deck. If you cruise for the food, maybe that's an upside. Not for us

On that cruise, when we got to stop in Bermuda after 6 consecutive sea days there was almost a stampede off the ship.

 

I know it sounds romantic and for many it is the cheapest way to get to sail on O (especially to taste a suite) but there are two sides to the story. The ship is the destination only works for me if I have the option to get off -- even for a few hours.

 

Thank you Laraine for your opinion. I showed it to my DH and he agreed with you. I guess we will take your advice and just stay on the ship more. We love to cruise in Europe, so soon we will be repeating several ports. We are repeating Copenhagen on this cruise. I love CC and this is one of the reasons. Different opinions! :D

[yorkiemomjn]

Judy

sign up on the May crossing before your Dover cruise :D

 

See you onboard ;)

 

Lyn

 

Lyn, we actually had that cruise booked, because there are so many CC people going on it that we were looking forward to meeting----you being one of them!:) However, DH looked at it more closely and decided that there were too many sea days for him, so we changed to this cruise. I would love to do them both! We do have two little fur children at home that we hate to leave for very long at a time though....

[LHT28]

Lyn, we actually had that cruise booked, because there are so many CC people going on it that we were looking forward to meeting----you being one of them!:) However, DH looked at it more closely and decided that there were too many sea days for him, so we changed to this cruise. I would love to do them both! We do have two little fur children at home that we hate to leave for very long at a time though....

Only 3 days for the crossing :)

Not sure my DH could stand 6 sea days in a row either

 

Maybe do the May 2015 one

 

Lyn

[Terryd444]

#56

A classic piece of travelogue.....with divine descriptions of the food highlights....

 

Keep writing Dispatcher. I can see how it is a delight for you to place these words into the Internet, it's a treat to read the way you've arranged them!

 

TerryD

[pacheco18]

Only 3 days for the crossing :)

Not sure my DH could stand 6 sea days in a row either

 

Maybe do the May 2015 one

 

Lyn

 

3 days in a row is great IMO

I once booked (and cancelled) a Regent crossing because it was somewhat port intensive -- not a lot of consecutive sea days.

 

I really think crossings are not for everyone.

I would do it if i wanted to get to or from Europe for less than the cost of a business class ticket and time were not an issue. But I would not book it as one of my "trips" unless the itinerary had more ports than the usual crossing.

[beardedshark]

Wonderful prose, thank you. Looking forward to your next update

Edited November 21, 2013 by beardedshark

[Mumofnine]

Thank you "sldispatcher" for your very informative and entertaining travelogue; are you a writer in "real life"? If not, you should consider it!!

[digtexas]

The sky was squid ink black this morning when I awoke. Well, except for the nearly full moon, ahead and at the 1 o’clock position and about degrees above the horizon. The neon blue of the big “O” on the stack was still illuminated. Pock mark enclaves of light were on both horizons as we sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar headed for Tangier on the Northwest coast of Africa.

I had awakened early to see the sights. The problem was discovered little later that I had awakened exactly one hour before I had planned! The one hour clock set back had not hit the Gigaset phone in the room and I had failed to set my watch back. So I was up at 5am!

But no problem. To me the ship is most “alive” in the early morning hours. More like a large whale cruising through the depths while spouting from the depths the life giving energy from the engines. All of this without the myriad of crusty crustaceans awakening from their slumber and looking to eat something off the sleek marine auto-bot mammal heading southeasterly towards Morocco. Everything is undercrowded and overstaffed. (That is a play on words. Please do not flame me regarding “overstaffed” or making up the word “undercrowded”. If you’ve sailed Oceania, you know what I’m talking about compared to other lines.)

I’m fairly sure I made at least 4 roundtrips on the ship. I read in the library. I walked around the aft portion of deck 15 and soaked up the lights of two continents, the wind, and the early risers of the crew prepping the pool area. I wonder how many people really know how much they do just to get pool chairs out and readied!

Some self-serve English hot tea in the Horizons lounge was next on the list. And then it was there. Calling to me. Like a siren from ancient times. I tried to resist the power and temptation. It taunted me. I believe it even called out in a voice that only I could hear: “eat me”.

Yes, the chocolate croissant was the devil incarnate.

I sinned mightily and with great gusto.

This is no chocolate croissant with a small little ribbon of the good stuff like you get on that line that says they will treat you famously. Nope, this Lucifer of croissants had a thick, wide, band of the good stuff pancaked across the depth and breadth of the lower reaches of the perfectly baked goodie. The thing even had a built in tooth detector. I cannot lie. The crust is perfected because you can carry it with a delicate touch, but then it explodes with thousands of buttery flakes the minute it hits your teeth.

It is no longer Horizons, but the Hades lounge from now on in the morning. Pray I don’t go near it again. Of course, like a thief prowling in the night, the minions of cocoa appear elsewhere in the ship as well.

Later on, the crusty crustaceans swarmed into the Terrace Café for the morning ritual of feast before travel. It was quite crowded but never overwhelming with tremendous numbers of worker bees as usual.

The sun had finally awakened after a bit and helped lead us into the crescent shaped harbor at Tangier. The ship drifted in then pointed east before making a backing move into one of the new looking man-made piers. The structures were made of a combination of rock and then layers of concrete pilings that look like they could double as anchors. The 3 prong structure seemed to provide a natural interlocking function. The dockside itself was full of rubble and under construction. This is obviously not a regular event here. Busses were gathered midway. High speed ferries had started their crossing patterns hauling pedestrians and vehicles to the European continent.

The coast looked like it had been poured from a bottle and designed by an architect. The beaches, from what I could see, seemed perfectly groomed and shaped. A busy main highway corridor separated the beach from the rising skyline. There was old world meets new world as you looked around. Windmills on hills and a mosque standing guard on the opposite side. Neon along a street while low horsepower simple hull boats puttered out of the harbor towards fishing grounds older than any of the settlements in the States.

Once the all ashore was given, a steady stream of O’maniacs left the gangway for the city. We were not among them. After a morning nap and stroll, we headed for lunch in the ghost town Terrace Café. I opted for a Ceasar salad made fresh and a bacon cheddar cheeseburger from Waves. It was time for some “comfort” food. After lunch, the DW had a head to toe scrub in Canyon Ranch. Nearly two hours later she apparently came out more exfoliated than a cotton crop in October. A nice touch is that there is no hard product sell. Again, details regarding service that separate good from great.

I laid on the bed and watched TV and did some work for back home (sorry, I cannot get away even on a cruise). If the beds are warm apple pie, then the sheets are the whipped cream on top. You can sleep and dream here like no one else’s business!

Prior to sail away, I stood out on the balcony and let the crisp, cool air surround me. More noises of work. The Muslim call to prayer could be heard over the din of traffic. More than 9 cranes were poised over the city with very spindly legs. Like praying mantis on a model train set, they looked like a stiff breeze could knock them over. Again, the old and new were clashing. I could only wonder where culture and progress would eventually take this city. That tug of war usually has casualties along the way.

Dinner was in the Grand Dining Room at 700pm. This was a very busy night in the GDR. I took some pictures and will not detail all of the dishes, but focus only on a few details. The tomato carpaccio had the most sublime mozzarella with it. It had obviously been blended and appeared like cloud puffs on the plate. Somewhere, the Pesto Man had married Olive Oyl because although there was no visible basil, the flavor was there. Just a perfect blend. Nothing was over salty. In fact, back home, most people would add salt. I tried to just let the natural flavors do their sublime dance. I saw beautiful fruit dishes, crab cakes, shrimp dishes, tasty salads, etc. It is true that you can spend your whole cruise dining in the GDR and be perfectly satisfied with the variety and flavor.

Sailing out of the small harbor and turning to the east and south, we left the area as I had found it. Surrounded in darkness with lights dotting both coasts.

What a day. Can this be real or just a Tangier-ene Dream?

Good move staying on the ship in Tangiers. I once started a thread which referred to the place as the worst cruise stop ever. We lasted about 10 minutes walking around on our own, and tired of being harassed by aggressive men wanting to be our guides and seeing nothing of interest, returned to the ship. A group of folks who took a shore excursion (and this was on Crystal) had it worse as they were trapped on the third floor of a rug shop for 45 minutes, forced to listen to a rug salesman after their guide vanished. Believe me, the shore excursion desk heard about it later! It was so bad that jimmy Travis, a comedian and singer/songwriter on the ship who was walking with us wrote a song about it and performed it on the ship.

Edited November 22, 2013 by digtexas

[sldispatcher]

Today we hurled into the great Nothing.

Awakening at 915, it turned out I was the only one of my group of 4 that was up before 1015am! Only one of the 3 opted for a breakfast bite. Today is a day at sea. There was some pitching and mostly rolling due to the swells triggered by a storm off to our northwest.

We were intrigued at first by the Lunch Seafood Buffet but upon closer inspection of the menu, it was geared much more towards those of a Norwegian descent. “Selection of herrings” did not grab any of us. It would be a GDR lunch day. HOWEVER, two of us made a swoop through the aforementioned buffet for a few bites. I’m glad I did ;). The salmon in puff pastry with lemon butter sauce was melt in your mouth good. The lemon caused enough tingling and the butter….well, who doesn’t like butter…..were blended in a moderately thick sauce that can’t be described. The halibut soup was also quite tasty and did not seem popular at all to the masses. They did not know what they were missing.

Off to the dining room for a variety of menu choices. The samples I had were full of flavor today and some ambitious presentation efforts for the Mexican burger my DW had for her lunch. High quality beef dressed with avocado, quality cheeses, salsa, and swaddled in a black bean tortilla wrap.

I’ve not been able to get onto Shutterfly for the better part of a 24 hours now. I have no idea why, but I will have some heavy photo updating to do when that does become available again.

The afternoon had a variety of enrichment lectures, games, bingo, movies, etc. planned by the onboard staff. I’m sure people had fun. I had a nap. It was the kind you wake up grouchy from with no good reason. But it feels good to have had the nap and be grumpy.

A family member had a spa day for nails. Another read. My DW and I attended an afternoon lecture concerning Prince Harry the Navigator and Portugal conquests.

From there we got ready for dinner in the dining room. There we had a variety of dishes. The lobster soufflé appetizer was yummy. The salads were lacy and delicate with quiet amounts of dressing. Around the table was a stuffed quail, venison tenderloin medallions and a black cod dressed in a knock-your-socks-off blend of Asian sauces and seasonings.

A quick trip via the casino and back to the room we went. Tomorrow is Funchal, Madeira. We will disembark at some point and wander around.

The day has been routine. If you are still reading at this point you either suffer from insomnia or need to branch out in your life!

A day at sea….it really was much ado about nothing.

[Paulchili]

A day at sea….it really was much ado about nothing.[/font][/size]

 

...unless you were into collecting those big O points :D

Roy seems quite happy to throw them our way in huge quantities - thank you, Roy :)

At trivia yesterday afternoon, for example, we had these results:

3 teams with 1 point for 13/15 questions

11 teams with 2 points for 14/15

9 teams with 3 points for perfect score of 15/15.

I have never seen this many geniuses/genii(?) (or CD generosity :)) on any prior trivia on any ship.

All continues to go smoothly - nice fellow passengers, fantastic staff, great food, meeting up with some old friends - both passengers and crew.

One minor disappointment was in Polo last night. They have removed the Kobe burger with foie gras and now have a trio of sliders instead. I used to enjoy that foie gras as an appetizer. :( Oh well...

PS that was Prince Henry (the Navigator) and not Harry (a Prince we can all relate to easier) :D

Edited November 22, 2013 by Paulchili

[ChatKat in Ca.]

We had a marvelous time in Tangiers. We hired a private guide with a group of 8; He navigated every twist and turn on the streets for us, kept us from being hassled; Then he took us for a gastronomic feast of Moraccan specialties that will keep us talking for a long time. We all agreed that the meal was spectacular. We would have stayed until the ship boarded had half our party not wanted a nap after lunch. The culture was a lovely feast for the eyes. I loved the expressions and weathered looks on many of the vendors faces.

 

Today the captain gave us glorious weather in Funchal. We wandered the streets for a while and then did a loop on the hop on hop off before returning to the ship for lunch. The captain just set sail for Bermuda so I better go get ready for dinner in La Reserve tonight before I am not appropriately dressed for evening.

[NC&KY]

We had a marvelous time in Tangiers. We hired a private guide with a group of 8.

Who did you use?

[Jancruz]

We had a marvelous time in Tangiers. We hired a private guide with a group of 8; He navigated every twist and turn on the streets for us, kept us from being hassled; Then he took us for a gastronomic feast of Moraccan specialties that will keep us talking for a long time. We all agreed that the meal was spectacular. We would have stayed until the ship boarded had half our party not wanted a nap after lunch. The culture was a lovely feast for the eyes. I loved the expressions and weathered looks on many of the vendors faces.

 

Today the captain gave us glorious weather in Funchal. We wandered the streets for a while and then did a loop on the hop on hop off before returning to the ship for lunch. The captain just set sail for Bermuda so I better go get ready for dinner in La Reserve tonight before I am not appropriately dressed for evening.

 

Did you not go on the sled in Funchal???

Jancruz1

[digtexas]

We had a marvelous time in Tangiers. We hired a private guide with a group of 8; He navigated every twist and turn on the streets for us, kept us from being hassled; Then he took us for a gastronomic feast of Moraccan specialties that will keep us talking for a long time. We all agreed that the meal was spectacular. We would have stayed until the ship boarded had half our party not wanted a nap after lunch. The culture was a lovely feast for the eyes. I loved the expressions and weathered looks on many of the vendors faces.

 

Today the captain gave us glorious weather in Funchal. We wandered the streets for a while and then did a loop on the hop on hop off before returning to the ship for lunch. The captain just set sail for Bermuda so I better go get ready for dinner in La Reserve tonight before I am not appropriately dressed for evening.

 

Kathy, I am sincerely happy to learn that Tangiers has redeeming value and that you and your group enjoyed it. We looked forward to it but were totally turned off by what we experienced.

[Paulchili]

Kathy, I am sincerely happy to learn that Tangiers has redeeming value and that you and your group enjoyed it. We looked forward to it but were totally turned off by what we experienced.

 

Perhaps you may want to consider Tetouan next time you are in the area. It is a much smaller version of Tangier and very low key (comparatively speaking), yet it offers much the same experience (Medina, Souk, etc).

That is what we did and enjoyed it.

[pacheco18]

Tangier is one of my favorite ports

I have had memorable experiences both times I was there -- decades apart

 

Each time I paid to have a photograph with a cobra around my neck.

Tangiers has some of the best shopping opportunities anywhere.

I find it exotic and exciting.

 

I know some are bothered by the aggressive vendors but that's part of the mystique IMO.

[sldispatcher]

Someone once told me a very obvious truth: The choices we make determine the lives we lead. Like a rudder on a ship, those decisions can set a course that is not always easy to veer onto a different heading.

 

Earlier in this voyage, the captain had to make a choice of whether to stay with the itinerary and sail into stormy weather or choose a different stop in the Atlantic Ocean. None of us will probably ever appreciate the amount of work that causes from the bridge to the offices in Miami. The decision was not taken lightly but resulted in an altered course. It was a choice to be made.

 

I awoke early this morning. Very early. By the time I got dressed and headed for breakfast we were making the last few adjustments into our berth. The ship would be facing east with Funchal off the port side and the ship was resting gently along the pier on the starboard side. The ocean was behaving properly.

 

Breakfast was alfresco on the Terrace with a bountiful breakfast as we planned to go ashore today and explore. The vista reminded me of something quite proper but remotely familiar. Terra Cotta colored rooftops adorned mostly beige and white square buildings up and down the coast. The air was 68 degrees and not as humid as I would have expected. The craggy valleys draped with vegetation would have been at home on Kauai or Costa Rica. The residential section was laid out like a blanket on the valley and lower mountain reaches. Very pristine and inviting if I do say so myself. We are in Funchal, Madeira (Portugal).

 

I have not been to the Azores, but the choice the captain made in our course change yielded a great stop. We took the complimentary shuttle from dockside into the city center. The line for the shuttle was a tolerable 15 minutes or less with a 5 – 8 minute ride into town. Flowers grow like Johnson Grass back home. Everything from birds of paradise to lantana to poinsettias to agapanthus were just lapping up the nutrients from the volcanic soil and basking in the temperate year round climates.

 

We lucked up with a taxi driver who was aggressive in his sales technique but good in his command of the English language. As my goal for the day was to do some sort of independent tour such as this, I hopped at the chance for the discounted rate. We were whisked away on a 4 hour area tour. We saw a great market with a little bit of everything that can be grown on this island. We saw fish that appeared to be thin and 3 feet long with black shiny skin and eyes the size of saucers. These volcanic fish can only be found here and along the shores of Japan. I pass.

 

A beautiful garden was the next stop where we strolled for an hour or so. The driver was thoughtful enough to put us out at the top of the hill and we made our way down the slope. There were plants from all over the world represented here. It ended at a bird sanctuary with some of them causing more racket than a baby shower at a country church.

 

Next to some private viewpoints and then on to watch some toboggan sliders go down the hill in wicker rafts and two human brakes/rudders riding along the steep paved 2 km incline of a road. Something tells me they smile each time a cruise ship enters the harbor. It’s more of a sure thing than the regular attendees at the trivia contests onboard the ship.

 

Our next stop to the west was an overlook featuring the 2nd highest cliff in Europe. Of course, the glass floor did not stop the DW from prancing out there and looking straight down. I did well just to step out on the metal grate stairs leading out to the Platform of Certain Death. I made a choice not to walk on a glass platform looking straight down 1600 feet.

A fishing village stop and look out near a balcony where Winston Churchill would retreat to from the UK was the final part of the excursion. I should comment that every inch of near vertical land that did not have a house on it seemed to have some matter of agriculture taking place on it. Everything is “organic” as there is no need for pesticides or fertilizer out here in the middle of the ocean (or so we are told). Some homes are reached by 200 – 500 stairs. That’s right. They are in good shape. Fish, fresh vegetables and fruits, and walk, walk, walk.

 

Funchal is a beautiful place. There are many parts of the world that can look like this if only smarter choices were made by people and governments. But then again, that is a choice. And those choices determine the course for so many.

 

I don’t know about you, but it always “magical” to return to a ship after being at port. Walking through security and onto the Riviera, like the Marina, is a rather quiet affair. With only 1250 guests, lines are hardly ever an issue. There was no water to buy, just bottled water to refresh if you so liked. This is relaxed cruising. And since relaxation is at a premium, then this really is “upper premium” travel.

 

Speaking of courses, tonight would be the Connoisseur Menu at La Reserve. If I can ever get patched back into Shutterfly, I’ll post the course by course pictures. As with my Marina review, I think that some things are meant to be discovered. I have been blessed to be a part of some amazing dining and travel experiences. Unlike some, who wish to spend all of their time talking about the cruise they just took or the next one on the books, I can just say that La Reserve is a special experience onboard. 8 tasty courses were served in succession with a medley of wines for which I dare say I am not a vino person at all. However, I could appreciate some of the subtleness and appropriateness of the pairings. My standout favorite courses were the ravioli with the pumpkin soup. The lobster was tender and succulent even though I think the crustacean is generally overrated. The Kobe beef had a sauce infused with cocoa and those wonderful Frank’s mashed potatoes. Anytime mashed potatoes have a ratio of 50% potato to 50% butter, you know they are worthy of partaking!

 

I do not think it is for everyone. I am not here to judge who is right for it and who is not, but this particular menu has a very steep price most likely associated with the cost of some of the wines served as well as some of the ingredients utilized in the preparation. As trusted CC member Hondorner would correctly state, food (and drink) are wildly subjective and up to the individual’s taste and requirements.

 

Am I glad I chose to do it? Yes. Would I do it again? Maybe, but only if it was one of the other menus. Not because I didn’t like the menu this evening, but I would rather want to try something new. For those who question the sort of thing about a service charge and whether tips are included, I was instructed specifically by the person in charge there that everything was taken care of in the initial fee.

 

So at the end of the day, whether you read this and wonder if you should sail Oceania, wonder if you should do a Transatlantic journey, or participate in a La Reserve wine pairing dinner, it is all a matter of choice.

 

We are all fortunate to have those choices more often than not. I really love the Oceania product because they choose to strive to make it the best possible option at sea. Will they get it right 100% of the time in your eyes? Nope. But they do hit the proverbial nail no the head with regularity more than any other line I have encountered.

 

So no matter if it is a 10, 14, 28 or even 180 day cruise that you might you join Oceania Cruises on, you can be guaranteed that your life will be enriched by it. It’s not just your choice, it is Oceania’s choice as well.

 

Is the course laid in? Aye, aye Captain.

[Travelcat2]

sldispatcher : Lovely words..... but, are you feeling the storm that has other ships rocking and rolling or not? Does the change the Captain has made avoid this? It has been posted on another thread that the crossing (they arrived in Bermuda today) was the roughest they have experienced. Really would like to hear from the Riviera. Thanks:-)

[JustRich]

sldispatcher : Lovely words..... but, are you feeling the storm that has other ships rocking and rolling or not? Does the change the Captain has made avoid this? It has been posted on another thread that the crossing (they arrived in Bermuda today) was the roughest they have experienced. Really would like to hear from the Riviera. Thanks:-)

 

 

God morning!

 

Skies are clear but we have a bit of chop and rolling this morning. Nothing too severe, though. We have a forward-facing balcony, so we may feel it more than other passengers. I love the motion!

 

Rich