Sunday Morning, 2 April 2017
Still at Sea; Still en Route to Funchal, Madeira


As we continue to sail toward Madeira the weather has taken a more pleasant cast, with bright blue skies, fluffy clouds, and smoother sailing.  Even at its worst on Friday, wave movement was not intense enough for me to put on an Rx patch.  I sometimes use my cane to battle side-to-side movement, but there has been little of the ups and downs that really cause queasiness and distress.


Since days at sea tend to take on a relaxing pattern of similarity, I will summarize the past few days rather than posting separately for each of them.  When we start landing at ports again I will return to the daily format.


Thursday, 30 March-Saturday, 1 April 2017
Days and Nights at Sea


Morning Activities:
I divide my breakfasts between the Grand Dining Room--which offers a select menu and waiter service, with all food prepared to order--and the amazing buffet in the Terrace Cafe.  Since I have already warned you that there will be much description of food (the main activity on sea days), for breakfast I have some kind of eggs, potatoes, meat, lots of fresh fruit, Scandinavian cold cuts and smoked salmon.  Although the food is displayed as a buffet, everything is put on plates by the ship's servers and even carried to your table if you so desire.  Fresh-sqeeed orange juice and coffee with hot milk help wash everything down.  And after sitting down, passengers need not get up again for refills or even new selections, since servers are always nearby to fetch whatever they desire.


After breakfast (right now in real time) I work on my blog in the computer center until the 10am daily lecture on famous navigators of Spain, Portugal, and England.  Although Oceania provides a Lenovo laptop in each Penthouse Suite, they do not supply a mouse.  I use the laptop when I am posting photographs--there wont be anymore until we reach Funchal--but otherwise it is faster to work on desktop computers in the Computer Center.


After the one-hour "Discoveries" lectures from 10-11am, the Riviera usually provides some other useful diversions to fill the hour until lunchtime, from a presentation of upcoming cruises available for reservation, to shopping tips, to presentations of what to see in port.  One day, for variety, the ship's officers challenged passengers in a series of deck games which were fun to watch.


Lunch and After-Lunch:
There are four venues for lunch (including room service), so I again share my presence with the folks in each of them.  Sometimes, I even share my table with other travelers, and have been rewarded with pleasantly cliched conversations, which description includes my own contributions.  Lunch is sometimes a full meal--such as the Italian lunch buffet on Thursday, but more often I have a sandwich and salad in the Waves Grill, outside on the pool deck.  No ordinary sandwiches here, but Angus beef hamburgers, frankfurters with a variety of condiments, hot Reuben sandwich on focaccio, and steak-and-lobster on buttered baguette (best of all).


After lunch is sometimes a new film in the Riviera Lounge, with popcorn supplied.  I watched "Jackie" with Natalie Portman and was fascinated both by her performance and by the detailed recreation of the events surrounding the first years in the White House and the assassination itself.  On another day I watched Mel Gibson's "Hacksaw Ridge" in the comfort of my suite--and I enjoyed it more than I expected.  There is too much repetition of violence (yes, I know it is a war film, but the director should be making aesthetic and judicious decisions), and the central character's idealism, although based on the life of a real person, is too extreme to fully believe.  The supporting cast, including Vince Vaughan, is excellent.


The culmination of each afternoon is a lovely nap in the comfort of my queen-size bed, followed by a fresh-brewed latte and snacks from the Executive Lounge just a few doors down the passageway.


This posting has gone on quite long and I must hurry to make the 10am lecture on "Portugal:  Past and Present."  One extra little plus of these lectures is that Professor Wulf begins with a detailed update of the weather, including maps and projections.  She gives us much more useful information than the Captain does during his daily noon talk.


I will return tomorrow with a summary of evening activities during our days at sea.  And then a much more interesting posting, I hope, after my day in Funchal.