An O newby sails Regatta - April 6, 2022. Trans pacific, Papeete to Los Angeles

[gbldcl]

1 hour ago, jondfk said:

Well that was easy.  As with our arrival in PPT we elected a private transfer from the IC to the pier, having an 11:30 boarding time we ask for a driver at 11:00 he was precisely on time.  On surprise, he ask us whether we would be willing to share with another couple, we elected graciousness and agreed.

 

We were hussled (well, flow of traffic) to the pier and met by a gaggle of porters.  There was a short line to get through the first checkin station, this was outside in the intense sun.  From then on it was shady, we arrived at the gangway at the back of a line of 10, 4 at a time were allowed up and onward through security and to the lounge for checkin.

 

we were seated at Terrace Cafe by noon.  Great.

 

Now, when those 4 busses that were loading up at the IC I’m guessing progress will slow markedly.  The usual rules apply when the herd goes right, turn left.

Jon...Thanks for providing all the great info. We too are defecting from Princess after 25 years and looking at alternate cruise lines. Oceania is one we are looking carefully at so your info is invaluable.

Hope to see you on another cruise in the future. I do hope they expand their West Coat offerings, especially from SFO.

Gordon

 

[jondfk]

Embarkation lunch in Terrace Cafe.  Wow the quality is immediately obvious.  I had nothing other than a build your own salad, and trust me, I care little about salad dressing but wow it was great.  Okay I lied, a chocolate chip cookie for dessert, also great.

 

Then off to GDR a for muster check and onward to our PH cabin, really nice, popped the champagne immediately to get the party started.

 

life has definitely taken a turn for the better!

[Verokaren]

BON VOYAGE!!  We just disembarked from the Regatta this morning and are having a beautiful day at the Hilton Tahiti, which I also highly recommend. The French Polynesian islands are magical, and I know you'll enjoy your first cruise with O.  
 

Tell Arif in Martinis that the Smiths will miss him!

[SophieM]

We also just got off. It was magical! Please tell Arif that the Mellers miss him already, too!

[Verokaren]

And WE will miss the Mellers! Looking at that Aug.18th trip on the Riviera!

[msn123]

Would love to know who the GM is and who the cruise director is.  We will be on Regatta in early May and can't wait to be back on board! What is the mask situation at the moment?  It is fun to follow everyone's travel adventures.  Thanks for posting.

[jondfk]

I promised menu photos and look at that, I’ve already failed, will try for better future nights.  About dinner itself, no surprise, attendance was light.  A long travel and a challenging embarkation, first night dinners are usually light in our experience.  The food and service however were superb, absolutely as advertised.  We kept it simple with two courses plus dessert, DW started with her customary shrimp cocktail, I with the Sicilian salad, both were great.  DW ahead the salmon as her main, I the turkey tornadoes, I have to say this was the best turkey I can ever recall eating.  Desserts were shared, her soufflé was only okay, my chocolate browny with vanilla ice cream was the clear winner.

 

One disappointment was that our cabin steward never made it by to introduce herself, and did not make up the room while we were out.  A minor disappointment but we have an early excursion and needed the breakfast card, a call to the butler solved the issue though I really missed the opportunity to start a relationship with the housekeeper, perhaps today.

 

A handful of guests are wearing masks, we do in crowded interior spaces and elevators, but this is no different from where we live.

 

Today, Bora Bora, if my posts stop it means the sharks got me 😂 

[jondfk]

First nights dinner menu was still posted early this morning allowing me to redeem myself.  I will get the orientation sorted tomorrow.

 

[Clutj]

GM is Victor Conceicao of Portugal.  Ran into him leaving the ship and walked with him along the pier.  Nice guy. 
 

CD is Julie James. 
 

Early highlight is an excellent singer and pianist in Martinis on her first contact with Regatta, named Kelly from Western Australia.  We like her style much better than another pianist we had on another Oceania ship in last 6 months. 

[jondfk]

11 hours ago, Clutj said:

 

Early highlight is an excellent singer and pianist in Martinis on her first contact with Regatta, named Kelly from Western Australia.  We like her style much better than another pianist we had on another Oceania ship in last 6 months. 

We agree Kelly is great, nice collection, something for everybody.  They could due with turning down the volume about 25% as conversation is basically impossible aside from the breaks in her sets.

 

The first 36 hours have been mostly great, but honestly frantic, from the o boarding process, straight to unpacking, first nigh dinner, early shore ex in Bora Bora, only this, our second morning finally feels relaxed.  Luckily we have no planned activity today!

 

We’ve  had one issue with our cabin, shower door latch falls off every time you touch it, and always around 1:00 am while sleeping.  They’ve “fixed it” twice which apparently just means shooting a bit of glue into the stripped threads.  We shall escalate today because, while a small issue, two failed repairs are one too many.

[jondfk]

Here is the night 3 GDR menu, I missed night two but can recall we very much enjoyed the Lobster Thermador and a very nice slice of prime rib.  Dessert was a very nice apple crumble.

 

 

[mauibabes]

Waiting for you to get to Polo or Toscana and see what you think of your dining.  Also in the GDR, if you get bored with rich foods, try Jacques Chicken. It is my wife’s go to favorite. 
steaks must come from Polo, all the beef is Prime and outstanding. The Maine Lobster is also awesome. Toscana, just ENJOY the experience there. 

Mauibabes

[jondfk]

Our first sea day, finally, we’ve many more ahead.  Seas are running 8 feet or so today at an awkward angle into the starboard bow which is causing both pitch and roll, a bit of a corkscrew.  Tolerable but not pleasant, pool is drained.

 

So, what did we do?  A couple of enrichment lectures this AM, watched a bit of round 3 coverage of the Masters.  Leisurely lunch in Terrace Cafe, great as it has been every lunch.

 

Our shower door has finally been properly fixed, much thanks to our butler. 
 

Our first specialty is tomorrow at Toscana, very much looking forward though we have zero complaint with GDR and in fact have been very much impressed with just about everything ordered.

 

tonight’s dinner menu, apologies for the image quality, better than nothing I hope

 

 

[jondfk]

Tonight’s menu is not posted outside the GDR, so grabbed a few screen shots of the stateroom tv.  We’re off to Toscana so no comments on this menu.

 

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by jondfk

[mauibabes]

Sure hope you enjoyed the bread selections, especially the focaccia AND  the Olive Oil and Balsamic vinegar trolly cart. Lots of amazing selections and most all the pasta can be served in appetizer or entree sizes. My wife grades any Italian restaurant we ever eat in based on Toscana’s Lasagne Bolognese.  Also, anytime you have a Quintet offered for desert, one of you has to try it.  A bite or two of some great deserts that can be shared. 
Enjoy,

Mauibabes

[kibutzer]

23 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

Sure hope you enjoyed the bread selections, especially the focaccia AND  the Olive Oil and Balsamic vinegar trolly cart. Lots of amazing selections and most all the pasta can be served in appetizer or entree sizes. My wife grades any Italian restaurant we ever eat in based on Toscana’s Lasagne Bolognese.  Also, anytime you have a Quintet offered for desert, one of you has to try it.  A bite or two of some great deserts that can be shared. 
Enjoy,

Mauibabes

You are right focaccia was terrific, really light. Lots of new apps and desserts on Toscano menu, and chef pasta on Saturday was amazing.  Best meal so far.

[kibutzer]

Did you know you can always get a quintet portion of deserts in T without adding entire quintet.

[Host Jazzbeau]

37 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

the Olive Oil and Balsamic vinegar trolly cart

Maybe I missed something with this.  They did offer it both times, but it felt like buying the proverbial 'pig in a poke.'  All these bottles of oil and balsamic, but you have to choose one which is then the only one you get to taste.  We have done 2 shore excursions to olive farms, and the range of tastes is quite wide.  From that, I know that I like Greek EVOO made with Koroneiki olives – they didn't have that in their selection, and the presenter really wasn't helpful on figuring out which one would be closest.  So my humble suggestion is:  don't raise my stress level at the beginning of dinner:  just give me the EVOO you think matches your cuisine and leave it at that!

[SophieM]

As we say here in the Ozarks, I’m cornfused. I have always been able to sample more than one olive oil. Hmmmmm. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

14 minutes ago, SophieM said:

As we say here in the Ozarks, I’m cornfused. I have always been able to sample more than one olive oil. Hmmmmm. 

12?  I will say that I'm happily bourgeois – give me that terrific unsalted butter that all good restaurants and ships have.  No stress [except on my arteries, and Lipitor deals with that!]

[Jancruz]

1 hour ago, SophieM said:

As we say here in the Ozarks, I’m cornfused. I have always been able to sample more than one olive oil. Hmmmmm. 

If you ask you can get several..

Jancruz1

[Clutj]

A couple people on this cruise have bemoaned that their lobsters (or tails) are over cooked.  I tell them just to be sure to state you want it “medium” or whatever is not over cooked.  If warned, they seem to look out for you and do it right. 

[jondfk]

Last night dinner in Toscana, our first specialty.  A few notes.

 

The food, as everywhere on the ship was very good or better.  Service however was just okay, frankly the GDR was more responsive, not bad service mind you, but certainly not exceptional.

 

Olive oil trolley, I’ve seen it in videos, but last night just a single choice, poured without description.  It was fine, and to be honest I probably wouldn’t know what to choose anyway, but when something expected doesn’t appear….  Bread was great, as we have come to expect, some interesting choices.  Caesar salad prepared at the table, nope, prepared en masse across the room, I expected to be able to customize (more croutons please) but no, they made a large bowl and scooped out portions for ~ 8 tables.  The only option was anchovies yes or no.

 

The chefs special pasta was a high point, some sort of veal ravioli, very nice.  Veal limone was great, capers would usually be expected, but their absence didn’t detract much.

 

We shared the red berry tiramisu for dessert which was very good.

 

We have two more bookings and will report back if our experiences change, there was nothing at all wrong on our first visit, but very little “special” either.  As I’ve commented previously one has the impression they are working a server of two short which necessitates reducing individual service to compensate.

[SophieM]

From our experience, I agree with your comments, although I was able to request specific number of croutons. 🙂 We continue to hope that they are just getting their sea legs, so to speak, but it was not up to our previous O cruises. 

[ORV]

Since they've done away with the Holy Oil, which was quite a few years ago, I've become rather blase about the whole oil & vinegar thing.