Thursday Morning, 30 March 2017
At Sea Bermuda to Funchal, Madeira

If you have been paying attention you will notice that the Riviera is heading to Madeira, not to Ponta Delgado in the Azores as originally scheduled.  After a lovely day in Bermuda yesterday, the captain informed passengers that because of an intense storm brewing in the central North Atlantic, we would be altering our course southward in order to avoid the worst of the weather.   This is a bad news that turns out to be a double good news situation:  one, we will avoid the worst of the storm (although we can expect some rainy weather) and we will visit a place where I have never been, Madeira, instead of a place, very lovely as it is, that I visited on the Eurodam in 2009. 


But before describing my day in Bermuda, I must first catch up (as usual) on the second day at sea, Tuesday, 28 March.


Tuesday, 28 March 2017
Sailing to Bermuda


It is a beautiful morning on and off the Riviera, as she sails northeastward toward Bermuda.  The sky is bright blue with fluffy white clouds; there is a light breeze, hardly strong enough to bother anyone.  The day promises good things.


Because I decided to sleep in (until 9am), I enjoy a quick continental breakfast--coffee and madeleines in the Executive Lounge--just a few doors down from my suite.  I head for teh 10am lecture, the second on "Discoveries"--rehearsing the life and accomplishments of Magellen, whose ships were the first to circumnavigate the globe, although he was killed by natives of the Philippines halfway through the journey.


Having had a light breakfast I opt for an early lunch in the Waves Grill--sorry there is so much talk of food, but it is one of the two main highlights of a transatlantic crossing--mixed salad, Reuben sandwich and fries, a mix of chocolate and vanilla ice creams.
While wandering the ship I run into a fellow passenger from the 18-day Hong Kong to Mumbai cruise on Oceania's Nautica in March-April 2016.  I have found a few new passengers with whom to share stories and conversation.


I decide this afternoon is a good time for a long nap--the second of the two crossing highlights.  Because I don't put out a request for 5pm appetizers, and the "do not disturb" sign is on my door all afternoon, my Butler calls at cocktail hour to make sure everything is okay--nice to be looked after!


I do wake in time for a 7pm dinner in the Terrace Cafe, but I'll spare you details.  No pictures today, but I promise some after my day in Bermuda tomorrow.

Tuesday Evening, 28 March 2017
Sailing to Bermuda

I have just returned from dinner in the Terrace Café, the least formal of all the restaurants on board the Riviera.  There are still white tablecloths and fine china, but the service is casual and all the food is on display for diners to choose from.  I begin with potato- and vegetable-stuffed fritters, followed by slices of tender sirloin beef, fresh steamed vegetables, mixed salad with white endive and balsamic vinaigrette.  Dessert is a plate of sliced fresh fruits and soft-served ice cream.

We dock in Bermuda tomorrow morning and I am looking forward to my first shore excursions (that is plural).

Monday, 27 March 2017
Sailing to Bermuda

My first full day on the Riviera begins with room-service breakfast, presented and served by my personal butler.  Then it's off for the first lecture of an enrichment series that will last until we reach Barcelona:  "Voyages of Discovery."  Today's presentation, as all the others will be, is narrated by Professor Kathleen Wulf, formerly of the University of Southern California.  I have high hopes since the series of lectures on world religions on the Nautica in 2016 were excellent.

Prof Wulf today describes the four voyages of Christopher Columbus for the Spanish, seeking a trade route to the Indies.  The facts we know about these voyages are presented clearly with good maps to illustrate their different routes.  Each lecture will focus on a different navigator of this Age of Exploration.  I manage to stay awake for the entire one-hour presentation and reward myself with an early lunch of pizza and salad in the Terrace Café.

Riviera Lounge After Morning Lecture

Grand Staircase in Central Atrium

I plan to have tea (and goodies) at 4pm in the Horizons Lounge at the top of the ship, but opt for blogging instead.  One of the perks of the Penthouse Suite is a personal laptop computer for use during the cruise, practically stored in the desk drawer.  When Will and I sailed in a Penthouse Suite on the Marina in December 2015, we were never able to find the computer because it was stored in the vanity table drawer, a place we are not inclined to visit.  I had brought along my laptop so we never asked further about the complimentary one.

Fresh appetizers are delivered by the butler at 5pm as I am getting ready for the Captain's Reception in the Horizons Lounge.  The reward for standing in line to shake the captain's hand is free drinks at all the bars on board the Riviera--primary labels included. 

Grand Dining Room

After a very strong martini I am off to Toscana, the specialty Italian restaurant, for a beautifully presented dinner that starts with a variety of excellent breads and my choice of olive oil from a selection of over seventy on offer.  My first course is Carpaccio di Manzo, made with raw, aged prime beef, select olive oil, thin slices of Parmesan cheese and crispy fresh arugula.  This is followed by traditional Caesar salad prepared at the table, and veal scallopine alla limone with rosemary roast potatoes.  The veal is very tender but is overwhelmed by too-much thick lemon sauce (I was able to scrape off quite a bit).  To fill the time waiting for dessert, the server brings a plate of three varieties of Italian biscotti.  Real dessert is a simple traditional crème brule.

I decide to skip tonight's entertainment, a guitar-playing comedian, and opt for an early night's rest.  Tomorrow is another sea day and I expect my activities will be much the same as today--but they will have to wait for the next blog entry.

 

 

Monday, 27 March 2017
Sailing from Miami to Bermuda

Today is the first full day at sea as we sail from home port in Miami to Bermuda, where we arrive on Wednesday morning.  Although the sky was a bright and beautiful deep blue when I was having room-service breakfast (elegantly presented by my butler), lunch time has brought overcast skies; at least the sea is still peaceful and calm. By late afternoon, blue skies have returned.  It is interesting to watch from my veranda as we run parallel and fairly close to a Regent cruise ship (a sister company to Oceania).  I will describe the little bit of activity I joined this morning, after first returning to the adventures of boarding the ms Riviera yesterday and the first night at sea.

Regent Explorer Sailing Parallel to the Riviera

Sunday, 26 March 2017
Departing from Miami

Getting from the Miami airport to the cruiseport, where up to ten large ships may be docked at the same time, is usually easy and efficient, especially when using a fixed-price taxi.  But today there is lots of contruction at the port, there are more ships than usual, and the ms Riviera is not docked at its usual berth at the Oceania terminal.  Instead passengers must endure a maze of traffic detours, with which my cab driver is totally unfamiliar.  He is forced to circle the port three times because he cannot find the route to the Riviera, although I have been helpfully pointing out the correct signs, which he chooses to ignore.

But I am finally arrived at 10am with just one hour's wait for early boarding of passengers in Penthouse Suites.  The Riviera is identical sister ship to the Marina, on which Will and I sailed the Mayan Coast of Mexico and Central America in December 2015, so there is no need to spend time exploring.  So instead I enjoy a quick lunch in the Waves Café by the pool on Deck 12--my favorite steak and lobster sandwich on a buttered baguette.  After that I am ready for a power nap until sail-away at 6pm

Penthouse Suite

Sailing from Miami

Sail-Away and Dinner

The Riviera moves at a rapid clip as she pulls away from the pier.    So rapid, in fact, that I hardly have time to finish my martini as we pass the southern tip of Miami Beach and the breakwater and out into the Atlantic.  All the other ships but one have already left before us.  We make a sharp turn to port and head north-northwest to our first stop, Bermuda.

While I am dressing (casual for all meals on Oceania ships), my personal Butler (whom I share with a few other suite passengers), introduces himself with a tray of petit four sandwiches and a welcome bottle of champagne.

I have an advance dinner reservation tonight (the first of four I made on-line before the trip), at Jacques, a French bistro designed by Oceania's executive chef, Jacques Pepin.  The meal begins with an astonishing array of breads and two small amuse bouches, one of deep fried Parmesan and the other of garlicky eggplant.  Since I am still a little tipsy from my earlier martini (I just can't seem to hold my liquor anymore), I stick to Pellegrino for dinner. The first course of escargot in garlic-butter, served in a traditional ceramic dish, is followed by a light-as-air lemon Dover sole, filleted at the table by my server, accompanied by haricots vert.  Dessert is "Charlotte Cecile":  one lady is Vahlrona chocolate ice cream and the other lady is vanilla ice cream, both encased in lady fingers.

I drop into the Riviera lounge, where this evening's "production show" is already underway.  Any hopes I might have for professional-level singing and dancing are quickly dashed (as usual on cruise ships) by two non-look-alike Madonna's--one in red Marilyn Monroe "diamonds" dress and one in white virginal bustier--although I admit the costumes are quite astonishing.

I have already blathered on for some time, so I will save Monday's report (the first full day at sea) for the next blog entry.  For now it is time for sleep.

 

Martini and Snacks at Sail-Away

View of Downtown Miami

Pool Deck on ms Riviera



 

Sunday, 26 March 2017
Miami, Florida

I am safely and comfortably arrived at Miami International Airport.  The first class upgrades gave me a much more comfortable seat and significantly more leg-room.  A free drink and cookies was the only special amenity to differentiate from economy.  American Airlines doesn't even offer morning coffee on its red-eye flights--a serious shortcoming.  The flight from Las Vegas was a mere four hours, so there wasn't much point in providing flat-bed seats.  I did manage, however, to nod off for a while.

Efficiency took a sharp downturn after landing.  The wheelchair service was especially slow and I had to change transport modes twice.  Although I have used airport assistance for the past 15 years because of painful neuropathy in my toes, it has become even more necessary since breaking my hip last October.

Then there was a one-hour baggage delivery delay, some of that time already eaten up by the slow wheelchair service.  Since the elderly gentleman assigned to my wheelchair was huffing and puffing after picking up my luggage, I decided to abandon him and head off for a quick breakfast and coffee at Au Bon Pain.

At this moment (8:27am), I am sitting in an airport lounge passing some time.  The cruise port doesn't open its doors until 8:30 and my early boarding privileges don't start until 11:00am.  Once on board I plan to have a restful afternoon before sail away at 6:00pm and my dinner reservation at Jacques, a Claude Pepin French bistro on board the Riviera, at 8pm.

I shall also return with more blog news, once I am settled on board.

Saturday, 25 March 2017
Tucson, Arizona

Getting Ready to Depart for Miami

I am in the final stages of getting ready for the first leg of my trip:  the 90-minute drive to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.  Will and I have been enjoying all week the company of Will's niece Lisa and her husband Mike, from Detroit .  And they have been enjoying all week the warm sunshine of Tucson, where it's been in the low 90s for the past few days but has returned to a more normal mid 70s today. So while Will is busy showing them the town, our friend Anita has volunteered to drive me to PHX.

One of the best advantages of sailing on Oceania ships is that round-trip airfare is included (it was my choice to leave from PHX rather than from TUS).  Flying west to east usually means a red-eye unless you wish to arrive late at night.  Since the Riviera sails at 6pm, the red-eye will have to do.  The bad part of the schedule is that I fly from Phoenix to Las Vegas and then Las Vegas to Miami, arriving at 6 in the morning (the direct flight from PHX to MIA does not fly any longer).  The good part is that I just confirmed a really inexpensive upgrade to first class on both American Airlines flights (I could afford the upgrade since I didn't have to pay for the flights in the first place).  The upgrade, of course, requires repacking, since I am no longer bound by luggage limitations.

I should be able to get some sleep on the plane.  I plan to have breakfast at the airport in Miami and then take the price-fixed taxi ride to the cruiseport.  I have early boarding privelegs at 11am and we sail at 6pm.

The cruise begins with two days at sea before our first port--Bermuda.  Since I have never been, I am looking forward to that. But don't expect very interesting blogs from the first few days at sea, although I will try to post something every day (free wifi, after all).

Tucson, AZ
Wednesday 8 May 2017

Happy Health and Travel News

Greetings to all my faithful readers, some of whom have kept in touch over the period of my recuperation since my accidental fall and subsequent hip fracture on Holland America's Koningsdam on 20 October 2016, and others who are waiting patiently for news of my recovery and future travel plans.

Regarding my recovery:  I am glad to report that I have been officially released from the care of the orthopedic surgeon here in Tucson who has cared for me since I returned from Spain on 3 November of last year.  On 5 February of this year I finished nine weeks of thrice-weekly physical therapy, although I continue a regimen of home exercise.  I have been very fortunate to not have had much pain during all of the medical treatment and recovery, although I continue to have pangs of bursitis if I sit too long in one position (such as when working on my blog on the computer).

Most of you also know that my partner, Will, had spinal fusion surgery in late December with hopes that it would alleviate the constant pain and numbing in his leg.  However, he is having a much slower recovery than we had expected and his travel plans are still on hold for now.

But I am again heading out to sea.  Conventional wisdom says if you fall off a horse (or is it a bike?), just get right up on it again.  So I hope you will join me, via this blog, on a 14-day transatlantic cruise, "Atlantic Artistry," from Miami to Barcelona on 26 March--only 18 days away!  This will be my third cruise with Oceania Cruise Lines, my fifth transatlantic cruise, and my 22nd cruise overall since 2007.  I have chosen this particular cruise on Oceania for several reasons:

• I have become really spoiled by the all-inclusive, super deluxe nature of Oceania's cruises.  I will enjoy the luxury of a 425-square foot Penthouse Suite, with access to a private executive lounge, and the services of a dedicated Butler.
• I most enjoy sailing on medium-sized ships, rather than the behemoths that plow the seas for other cruise lines.  Even Holland America has turned that corner; the ms Koningsdam (on which I was sailing when I broke my hip), carries over 2600 passengers--the newest and largest in HAL's fleet.  In contrast, Oceania's largest ships (Riviera and Marina) carry only 1200 passengers.  I will be sailing on the Riviera on this trip.  Previously I have sailed on the Marina and the even-smaller Nautica (625 passengers).
• The 14-day crossing will allow much time for relaxation.  The ship visits only four ports between Miami and Barcelona:  St George, Bermuda; Ponta Delgada, Azores (Portugal); Tangier, Morocco; and Palma de Majorca, Spain.
• Because Will and I had to cancel our cruise from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro on Oceania this past November (for which we received a full refund),  I still had a very large credit from a previous Oceania trip that I would lose if I didn't use it right away (in fact, Oceania was gracious enough to extend the deadline for that credit so I am able to use it to pay for a portion of this trip).  
• And to top off the perks, this cruise has a significantly reduced single supplement, free shore excursions, as well as the usual Oceania freebies:  round-trip airfare, all non-alcoholic beverages, dining in four specialty restaurants, and unlimited wifi.

ms Riviera

Three Views of Penthouse Suite

Atlantic Artistry:  Ship's Route

After disembarking in Barcelona on 9 April, I will spend six more days in Spain before flying home to Arizona on Saturday, 15 April.

I will be back with more information about this cruise during the next three weeks.  I will also be giving you a preview of two trips that Will and I have planned for later in 2017, both with our good friend Anita.  

• First, one week in Hawaii at the end of July.  We will be spending the time at Anita's two-bedroom time-share condominium in Waikiki.  We already have our airline tickets and are looking forward to seeing Hawaii again--this will be my fourth visit and Will's second.
• And then, a 14-day Mediterranean cruise on Oceania's ms Marina in November, sailing from Rome to Barcelona, with ports in Israel, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, and Spain.