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.