Monday, 29 November 2021

St Barts: High Heat, Humidity, and Expense

Since I am approaching the end of the cruise in three days, I have decided to skip ahead to the two ports we will be visiting in the Caribbean. I will return to the days at sea I've omitted once I have reported on my visits to these two ports, St Barts and San Juan.

This morning, Riviera sails into the beautiful harbor of St Barts in the Lesser Antilles, or Leeward Islands, one of a small group of islands known as the French West Indies. As I mentioned earlier St Barts (or St Barth) is a shortened form of the island's full name, St Barthelmy, named by Christopher Columbus for his brother Bartolomo in 1493. During its four centuries of European Rule, St Barts and its neighboring islets, has been claimed by the Spanish, the French, the Swedish (hence the name of its main city, Gustavia, for King Gustav), and the French again. The verdant green hills and red rooftops of Gustavia provide a dramatic contrast to the deep blue of the surrounding sea

\

The island, from Riviera's position at anchor in the harbor, seems like paradise indeed. But after a somewhat rough tendering to shore and exposure to its very high temperature and humidity, this visitor from Tucson finds it more like baking hell. The shore excursions offered today are primarily beach trips, water sports, boat rides, and ATV rides in the hills--all of little interest to me. So I plan to spend the morning wandering Gustavia's two parallel streets and window shopping at the expensive boutiques. But the heavy air is so unbearable, my t-shirt and shorts are so quickly soaked through with perspiration, and all the boutiques and restaurants are really high-priced, that after a two-hour walk through town, I call it quits and head back to the ship.

                                                          

After lunch and a peaceful afternoon, I watch from the upper decks as Riviera slips out of the harbor into the night. When it gets dark, the ship's blue lights give the pool deck a dreamy and romantic glow. Tonight I have dinner in the Polo Grill: a different kind of escargot preparation in a green sauce, lobster bisque (with added chunks of lobster and a large swig of Drambuie), a well-aged Angus NY strip steak perfectly prepared as medium rare, with Bernaise sauce on the side, accompanied by haricots vert almandine. I am too full for dessert; even though the multi-layer chocolate cake is tempting, I resist and head for dreamland.

Monday, 29 November 2021

Land Ho! St Barts at Last

Many passengers are happy to see land again as we sail into the beautiful harbor of Saint Barthélemy (its full name, usually abbreviated to St. Barts or St. Barth). But I am sad that our transatlantic journey is over after nine days of smooth, calm sailing; I have enjoyed life aboard ship after the past two years' delay.

I will describe my short morning visit to this hot, humid playground of the rich in a later blog entry. But for now, blot time returns to:

Wednesday, 24 November 2021
A Partially Sunny (for a change) Sea Day

Today is a quiet day on board Riviera, although the sky gets rather busy in the early evening, presenting quite an impressive show in the sky. I was enjoying the warm weather and protection from the wind on my veranda before dinner, when the sky darkens and the rain comes down. The downpour doesn't last long, but the seas are a little turbulent during dinner. I'm glad a waiter offered to carry my plate to my table in the Terrace Cafe. Fortunately, everything quiets down after dinner and the ship sails smoothly on into the night.

The Sky After the Storm Clears (above and below)

-and-

Thursday, 25 November 2021
Thanksgiving Day at Sea

This is my second Thanksgiving on board a cruise ship. In 2000, for his 60th birthday over Thanksgiving, I surprised Will with a seven-day cruise to the Caribbean on Holland America’s old Westerdam, which has long since been sold for scrap and replaced by a much larger Westerdam (which I sailed on for 28 days in the Far East in early 2019). This was the first cruise for both of us, and the bug really bit (no kidding!). But we didn’t take a second cruise until January 2007, when Will returned the birthday gift for my 50th, with an 11-day Mexican Riviera cruise on Dawn Princess—during the break we were rather busy retiring and moving from Virginia to Arizona.

But to return to Thanksgiving…

I attend two more lectures today in the Riviera Lounge, where entertainers perform at night. The air-conditioning blasts at such a high level that I wear a sweatshirt to keep warm.

The other highlight of the day is Thanksgiving dinner.  All of the restaurants--Terrace Cafe, Grand Dining Room, Polo Club, Toscana, Jacque's, and Red Ginger--are serving the same turkey dinner (along with their daily selections). I decide on a non-traditional holiday dinner. Because fresh veal is so difficult to find in Tucson, I opt for a beautifully prepared, very large portion of Wiener Schnitzel! But I begin dinner with Maine Pumpkin Soup, which at least nods toward the holiday.

In the previous blog I included photos of my stateroom and some of the interior public spaces on board Riviera. Today I offer the poll deck's outdoor spaces.

Sunday, 28 November 2021

Still Sailing Through Tropical Seas to St Barts

This morning promises to be very busy on board Riviera. At the moment (8:45am), I am enjoying breakfast in the relaxing atmosphere of the Grand Dining Room, where I have been having most of my meals, away from the crowds at the Terrace Cafe buffet. After breakfast I will be attending another lecture for an hour, and starting at 11:30am, the Pool Deck will be transformed into a “Country Fair”—a once a cruise event of fun and games—and prizes—for passengers and crew. Sun Seekers (there are many on board) will need to move to the upper open decks (there are several available), since the pool will be closed and all the deck chairs and loungers will be removed during the festivities.

At the close of the fair raffle tickets, given out for each game entered and extra for each game won (I won at high-low card picks, and I got all nine destinations correct from photographs, but I only guessed two out of six spice aromas), are drawn for a variety of simple prizes. One of my tickets actually won a prize: a CD of one of the ship’s entertainers, E. Sarah Carter, “the fantastic fiddler.” A prize is a prize.

I will show photos of the festivities in another posting.

For lunch I reward myself with my third Steak and Lobster sandwich in the Waves Grill on the pool deck. I could have one every day, but I thought I should leave some for other guests.

But now it’s back to an earlier day.

Tuesday, 23 November 2021

Another Sunny Sea Day with Another Big Announcement 

As Riviera continues its journey to St Barts and then to Puerto Rico and Miami, Cruise Director, Dottie, announces that Oceania's head office in Miami has received permission from the CDC to reduce Covid restrictions on board. Since all guests and all crew members are fully vaccinated and tested before boarding, and since no breakthrough cases have occurred, the wearing of masks and reduced elevator capacity for guests has become voluntary. All crew members must continue to wear masks.

There is some light rain this morning, but it dissipates well before noon. Since it is a quiet day at sea, I'll provide some photos of the ship's interior spaces, especially for new readers of the blog who might not have seen this ship from an earlier cruise.

My Stateroom Bathroom

Individual Shower Stall

Full Water-Jet Bathtub

Sink and Mirror Area--Lots of Shelves Behind Side Mirrors

My Concierge-Level Veranda Stateroom 

(Deck 11, Mid-Ship, One Deck Below Top)

Grand Dining Room

(Where I Eat Most of My Meals)

The Grand Lounge 

Atrium Lobby with Swarovski Crystal Decor

View from Above

The Grand Bar

Remodeled Concierge Lounge

Martini Bar

In a later entry I will post pictures of outdoor public spaces. And soon I will go back and post more photos from EXPO 2020.

 Saturday, 27 November 2021

Still Sailing Westward to St Barts

The day after Thanksgiving I awoke to find Christmas decorations--tasteful but ubiquitous--adorning the public spaces on Riviera. Not what I expected this early, especially as we are sailing westward through warm tropical seas (below the Tropic of Cancer). For those interested there is a special Hanukkah dinner on tap for the first night (reservations required).

Monday, 22 November 2021

Sailing South Along the Coast of West Africa

Riviera continues southward, very close to the coast of Morocco, whose shoreline I can see in the distance. Although I am disappointed that we are unable to visit Casablanca, I have been to Tangier for a day in 2017. Later today there will be another disappointment when the captain announces that we will not be visiting La Palma because the continuing volcanic eruption is belching noxious poisonous vapors into the air that could seriously damage or even destroy the ship's air filtration system. Oh well, the vicissitudes of travel. So westward we sail toward St Barts.

This morning the sky over Riviera puts on quite a show:

In the evening there is another LGBTQ get-together in the Martini Bar, with the same usual suspects. There may be as many as 30 gay couples on this cruise as well as assorted older singles like myself. The Assistant Cruise Director, who is gay, organizes a mass exodus to the dining room for a group dinner, but I have a reservation at Toscana, the specialty Italian venue (there are no extra charges for the four specialty restaurants, but reservations are necessary and in high demand).

The menu in Toscana is exactly the same as on my previous Oceania Cruises--but why change a good thing. I start with beef carpaccio, sliced so incredibly thin I can almost see through it; followed by a Caesar salad with anchovies and a perfect lemon Dover sole, deboned at the table by a server with incredible expertise. Of course, I must have dessert--a tiramisu parfait.

Saturday, 27 November 2021
Sailing Westward to St Barts

I have been attending a series of presentations by two lecturers, one each morning and one in the afternoons. Dr Ken Beattie is not only a retired professor of botany and expert on the exotic plants of the world, but in his younger days hosted a weekly Canadian television series in which he traveled the world to all sorts of exotic places, meeting locals and sampling all sorts of strange foods--kind of an early Anthony Bourdain. He shows video samples  of his early broadcasts, tells lots of (half-hearted) jokes, and in general approaches his subjects in a light-hearted way.  So far, he has lectured on: Healing Plants of the Berbers; Born of Fire, Canary Islands; First Peoples of the Caribbean; Healing Ways of the Caribbean; Plants of Poor Repute.

Dr Christopher Witcombe, Emeritus Professor of Art History at Sweet Briar College in Virginia, is more formal in his presentation and presents much technical information in an interesting way: Pirates and Privateers in the Mediterranean and Caribbean; What About Atlantis; Introducing the Atlantic Ocean; Transatlantic Adventure, Conquest & Glamour; St Barts and the Caribbean. 

Witcombe is especially obsessed by tectonic plates, earthquakes, and volcanoes--particularly useful information on this cruise. He presented a universally-accepted chart of volcanic intensity in active and potential eruptions that runs from zero to eight. An effusive volcano, such as Kilauea in Hawaii, ranks at zero. Cataclysmic, such as the Icelandic volcano of 2010, ranks at four. Krakatoa in Indonesia (1881), ranks at six, colossal. And the big daddy or mama of them all, ranking at 8, is the mega-colossal at Yellowstone. When that one blows (once in every 10,000 years), it will obliterate Seattle, Portland and San Francisco to the west, and everything up to and including Chicago to the east. Be very afraid.

If Yellowstone fails to blow during the next week or so, these lectures will continue on all sea days.

Sunday, 21 November 2021

Sailing Through the Straits of Gibraltar

Although I have passed through these "Pillars of Hercules" many times, the passage has always been in the dark. I did spend a day in Gibraltar while on a cruise in 2016, but this is my first day-time passage, as we continue to sail toward La Palma in the Canaries.

Riviera enters the straits at around 11am and the full passage takes about an hour. It is quite windy on deck, but temperatures are rising and I have a warm cup of cappuccino from the Baristas to keep my hands warm. There are a number of other ships, mostly cargo and tankers, sailing parallel and each is assigned a specific sea lane. The Riviera's lane is closer to the African shore than to Gibraltar, so the views are much better to the south.

Three Views of the Coast of Africa as Rivieria Sails Through the Straits of Gibraltar

After passing into the Atlantic and turning southward toward the Canaries, it's time for crew members and passengers to compete in a number of "athletic" activities on the Pool Deck--golf putting, ping pong, bean toss, etc. The games begin with the crew team parading the Oceania flag around the upper deck. Needless to say, I am an observer not a participant.

Members of the Crew Hold the Team Flag

A Team Member Carries the Flag

Golf Putting Competition

For lunch--there isn't much else to report on sea days except for food, so please indulge me--the Terrace Cafe is serving an Italian buffet, along with its multitudinous regular selections. I enjoy one of the best servings of cannelloni I have had in a long time. The food is displayed as a buffet, but passengers are served by crew members; the food is kept behind heavy sheets of clear plastic. Everybody wears a mask in the food service areas.

Tomorrow is another sea day and I will continue the report on the adventures aboard the Riviera.

Thursday, 25 November 2021

Thanksgiving Day at Sea

Yesterday's quiet day at sea ended as early evening lightning and thunderstorms put on an impressive show in the sky. I was enjoying the warmer weather and protection from the wind on my veranda when things started to blow up. The rain didn't last long, but the seas were a little turbulent during dinner (although we returned to smooth sailing before lights out), and I am glad that I had help carrying my dinner plate from the buffet to the table in the Terrace Cafe. The "Spanish Market" buffet on offer displayed a beautiful (and tasty) array of local dishes from southern Spain.

Saturday, 20 November 2021

Return to Cartagena

But as usual the blog returns to an earlier day as we sail into Cartagena's port, one of the most important in this part of the Mediterranean and home to the Spanish Navy.

I have been here twice before. First in late October 2016, while on board Holland America's brand-new Konigsdam, I fell as I was getting out of bed, broke my left hip, and spent 12 days here in hospital. Most of you are already bored by this story, but if you want more details, link back at the bottom of the page. 

My second visit was in April 2017, just six months later. After a 14-day transatlantic cruise on Oceania from Miami to Barcelona, I spent a few days in Valencia and then took the train farther south to Cartagena. I hadn't had time for true goodbyes and thank yous when I was whisked away to the airport in Alicante in the early hours of the morning after my stay in the hospital. So I spent the night here and visited the hospital with a large bouquet of flowers and really surprised my surgeon (he recognized me by my Tucson cap and my quick little jig--they don't get many patients from Tucson), as well as the nurses on the ortho floor.  I also had time for seeing the sights (check out the link below), before returning to Valencia.

So on today's visit to Cartagena, I take a shore excursion to the inland city of Murcia, provincial capital and largest city of the area. The weather is cloudy and dry as we drive the 50 minutes to Murcia, although there will be intermittent showers throughout the morning.

We drive through vast agricultural land, with vegetables and fruits growing that will be exported throughout the world. Although this is an arid area and like other parts of the world has suffered drought fora number of years, irrigation is supplied from a local river, a canal from Madrid (like the CAP system in Arizona), as well as desalinization plants in an emergency.

The first stop, just before reaching Murcia, is a visit to Fuensanta Sanctuary, a hilltop chapel dedicated to the Virgin. Today is Saturday, the busiest day of the week for weddings in Catholic Spain, and we witness the guests of one this morning. The small chapel has the usual baroque ornamentation (built 1694), and the wedding guests are all beautiful too.

As we enter the city of Murcia itself we cross the "old bridge" over the Segura River, containing a large sculpture of a sardine, a local catch and symbol of the city. At the end of Lent each year, when Catholics can eat meat again, there is a major celebration ending with the burning in effigy of a large papier-mâché sardine.

Our walking tour takes us from the gardens between the river and the City Hall (scene of secular weddings) to the Royal Casino (more of a municipal club than a gambling palace), which currently houses a remarkable series of rooms originally decorated in the early 20th century. The architecture combines modernist and eclectic styles.

The current building dates from the early 20th century. It was refurbished 2006-2009. The present building was reopened on 5 November 2009. Its beautiful rooms contain paintings and sculptures by local artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

Our last guided visit is to the Cathedral, officially closed for reconstruction. But because today is Saturday--wedding day--our guide sneaks us in during a ceremony so that we may wander around very quietly.

Work on the foundations started in 1385 and the first stone was laid in 1388. The cathedral was not finished until October 1467. The building continued to evolve until the 18th century, demonstrating a variety of artistic styles: the interior is largely Gothic; the facade is Baroque (architect Jaume Bort i Meliá).

The bell tower, built between 1521 and 1791, stands 90 metres (300 ft) tall—95 metres (312 ft) with the weathervane. It is the tallest campanile in Spain. It ascends in five levels of different widths. 

The tour began at 11:30am and we return to Cartagena about 4:00pm. Tomorrow we will sail through the straits of Gibraltar at about 11am. So look for more photos in the next blog.