Day 62 – going Baltic
- After packing, we checked out and left our luggage to go to breakfast.
- After grabbing our luggage, we took one of their very large bendy buses with four doors. We had an easy bus ride to the cruise port. We met a Norwegian woman and offered our condolences on the loss of their King. She said she was sad, but confident that the country would be okay with the month lag (to honor him before replacing him), leadership of the Prime Minister during that time, and the replacement in line. It was sweet to hear her say those things. It made me long for Obama.
- At the dock, check-in was easy (and much shorter than the one we boarded in Reykjavik). This ship was a little smaller. The process was a little more spread out. They also seemed to have the same amount of staff. I guess it was a Perfect not-Storm.
- Going through the on-board motions was pretty typical with about three places to check in (including Muster) before going to Deck 9 for lunch. This “casual” dining room was a tight fit, quite crowded, and absurdly hot. I was hoping that was only because there were so many people all at one time and that the experience wasn’t an indication of our future. I wasn’t exactly having an anxiety attack, but I was hot and anxious. I also was reminded of the Oceania drink process that I don’t like. They bring your wine/whatever. Then, as they see you thinking about leaving, they ask if you want another beverage, and when you don’t, they ask for your state room card. Even though we paid for a drinks package, they still track the data. I understand all the good (and unfortunately bad) reasons why they need to do this, but they take far too long to record that I had a single glass of wine with lunch and return my card back to me. They need a gizmo on their phones that can let them enter that data tableside. I guess I need to make a habit of giving them the card when I order and know that I’m only having one. The food was okay, nothing special, but there were several Cuban options which I appreciate.
- The ship is pretty and is decorated with a lot of both our high schools’ colors of blue and gray/silver/white.
- Once we got to our room, we were greeted with a bottle of prosecco, like we had on the last Oceania ship. That’s a nice touch. Because we were repeating a cruise on this line, we also got a bottle of wine. I don’t know if that data tracking is why, but we got a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Oceania (wine?) Club (Cyclo from Maule Valley, Chile), a ~$15 USD bottle. I doubted I’d have complaints. If their data tracking is why we got the Cab Sav, then well done, Oceania.
- We got unpacked, prepped our first batch of included laundry, settled in, got Wifi working on my laptop (!!!), listened to the final mandatory briefing, and even got a ticket in to engineering for the right power adapters for the ship (our’s have a cord, which isn’t allowed). I picked out my outfit for dinner, best I could for their not casual, but not formal expectations. We got our tiny fan going and powered down everything we could in an effort to cool our state room. Dang, embarkation days are a lot.
- The harbour in Oslo was just as busy as the other times. We saw the Color Line ferry/cruise leave for Kiel, Germany. There were several sail boats and a few ferries. We saw one of the mobile saunas headed toward what we can only assume was a private cove for peace and “natural” enjoyment.
- We changed outfits for the first time of many today. I swear, getting dressed is a time eater on a cruise.
- During push off, I was charged for wine after he poured it. Grrr. Turns out, we had a perk on that first cruise on this line (and we have a small credit on this one; one glass used nearly 25% of that) so that explains the why, but that doesn’t excuse him not warning me. It also doesn’t match the color of our cards (from the previous cruise on this line), which are coded.
- Push off during a rainstorm was kinda cool. The rain coming down the angled front windows looked a bit like being inside a car wash.
- He left “to go pee”, was gone longer than that, and surprised me with the better beer/wine drinks package (a financially solvent decision. LOL!).
- We saw some of the same sights from before, but also some new ones.
- The second singles mixer happened to be beside us and it was grim. There were like 8 women and 2 men. Of the men, one had a literal hole in his head. Of the women, one loudly declared she would not remember anyone’s name and another declared herself as “your future travel agent”. 🤮
- The china at dinner was Versace. Dayum. This voyage wasn’t that expensive. The same Sommelier from lunch remembered us.
- He tried to use the HDMI input on the TV to connect his ROG, but that was a no-go. Womp womp. While he did that, I actually fell asleep. Then, we headed to the welcome show. It was weak.
- Next, we tried the Horizons bar with the Electric Eclectic duo and it was also weak. Plus, they kind of hid the “Jukester Jukebox” behind the drum set.
- We just went back to our state room and got online. This cruise only had one sea day, so we knew we’d be plenty busy.
Day 63 – Skagen, Denmark
- We had to get up earlier than we’d like to get food. It’s really the only thing I don’t like about cruises.
- Sakgen is tiny. Cute, but tiny. It was also dreary and overcast, so our trip through town was short. Several of the restaurants were very Americanized. The scarves that I half-way considered were 750KR/$116USD, which is just nuts for a “one-sided” scarf, and these were the ones that they hung outside.
- By the time we had seen just about all of the “strip” (that was open on a Sunday, that is), it started to rain a little, so we headed back and were in our cabin well before 1200.
- The schedule was all stuff we have zero interest in: bridge, baggo/cornhole, trivia, captain’s cocktails, etc. Even the main show was yacht rock.
- He tried to take the TV out of Hospitality mode so he could hook up his ROG, but Oceania staff are smart enough to change the password from the default. Dang it.
- Lunch in the Waves grill was nice despite it being a tad chilly.
- We spent the afternoon working/gaming/resting. I watched a movie before pushoff, which was about 15 minutes early…..and still an hour and a half before dinner would start.
- We had a fantastic dinner at a sharing table with Milton & Kit from Delaware, who we happened to be in line behind on the way in. They were lovely and we were the very last four to leave the Dining Room. We hoped to get to spend more time with them.
- We grabbed a night cap at Martini’s casino bar and met another couple. We chatted with them until we were ready to turn in for the night.
Day 64 – Copenhagen, Denmark
- We were awakened at 8am because they broadcast the morning announcement into our state rooms. Local regulations don’t let them play it outside, so in our rooms was their only choice. However, they didn’t warn us. Our Cruise Director seems to be one step behind at every turn.
- Breakfast was chaotic. I think they were missing a dishwasher or something. Tables weren’t set. We waited a long time for glasses and cutlery, but when she came back with them, she set other tables instead of ours. We sat so long that I suspect they thought we had already eaten and dishes had been cleared. The asshole next to us was watching videos on his speaker. I could see the captions; I guess he can’t read. So, we moved to a table on the other side. The dishes problem was the same, over there, but they took care of our table instead of ignoring us.
- At the dock, we got on the Hop On Hop Off. It was pricey, but it was rainy. It gave us a good overview of the city.
- He learned that Denmark babies sleep outside like in Iceland and Sweden.
- We passed the Cab Inn hotel. 🤣
- We were reminded that Denmark has more bikes than people. And the automobile drivers seem quite respectful of them.
- When the bus circled back to our ship, we popped in for lunch.
- I had an avocado, (mushed) peas, and egg salad sandwich. It was very good and would be perfect for a tea.
- They also had some yummy Edam cheese, Grommit! I put that on our shopping list for when we get back. I love that stuff.
- The Swedish meatballs and potatoes were great.
- We then decided that our boarding time of 1530 was just too early to go back into the city center, do anything, and get back to the boat without being ultra rushed. So we decided to work/game/rest for the afternoon.
- Our seating for dinner wasn’t until 9pm, so we went to the afternoon tea service. He liked it a lot; I thought it was an awkward setup.
- During push off, we explored the only part of the ship we hadn’t yet seen and bumped into Milton & Kit for a nice little chat.
- Still fearing being starving, as if that’s ever possible on a cruise ship, we ordered a couple of salads from room service.
- And then, we got a little magic from the sea: a good old fashioned rain storm. Thunder echoed off the water, flashes of lightning reflected, and we could see the rain coming toward us. The sea was calm, so it was lovely. It was also quite brief.
- We headed out for a pre-dinner drink and let them clean our room. At Horizons, we had a lovely chat with our bartender Davian from Jamaica who had some great travel tips. (We were supposed to go in 2020 and haven’t made it yet.)
- At 2030, we hedged our bets and went to dinner in case they could take us early.
- Turns out, they had called our state room and we could have gone even earlier. We’ll do better with future reservations as they are all a late seating.
- We were seated by the large windows at the back of the boat facing the last glimmers of sunset.
- I had the crab cake, the lobster bisque, a filet, potatoes au gratin, creamed spinach, and a slice of key lime pie. He got a Caesar salad, a NY Strip, a baked potato with bacon, and a slice of apple pie ala mode. We weren’t the last in the restaurant this time, but almost.
- Our first Polo night (on the previous cruise) was mediocre: weak service, bad neighbors, not great food. Our dining this time was redemption and proof that giving things a second chance is worth it. My steak was too charred, so I didn’t finish it (or the potatoes), but I headed that off with the sides I picked. The creamed spinach was some of the best I’ve ever had.
- At Martini’s we had a night cap while we listened to the pianist and his wife, one of the ship’s vocalists, have an unscheduled jam session because both of their parents are on this voyage. It was all very sweet. They also improvise well together.
Day 65 – Gdansk, Poland
- We had a late docking of 1100, so breakfast was a shit show with everyone eating at the same time. The day before, we also left Copenhagen early (1600), so clearly, this should have been a sea day. Since no one could get off the boat, everyone was having a late breakfast in “our” (usually quieter) time slot. And, the veranda, which is probably 30% of the seating, was closed “due to weather” but it was a pretty morning. Breakfast in the dining room only goes until 0930. All this adds up to no seating at 9:30am. I felt rushed and pressured and decided just to go back to the cabin. He went to the Grand Dining room to find breakfast. Hey Oceania, when that happens, you need to extend the Dining Room breakfast hours. None of this is our fault; it’s all yours.
- Our tour meeting time was at 1245, but they didn’t open lunch until 12noon (instead of the posted 1130). The choices were also weak and carby. WTF?
- Pano tour
- On our tour bus, we learned the probable reason why the ship docked so late: this day was the 87th anniversary of the first shots (fired at Poland by a German ship) to kick off WWII. The port was full of high-ranking dignitaries for the early-morning (0447) ceremonies. Oceania should have adjusted for all of this.
- Our pano tour was a lot of driving through residential areas and looking at churches.
- At the end, he showed us where to meet and set us free. We found a bar for a drink and some tiny snacks. We saw people eating very tall soft serve, pretzels, and long klobasneks (?) with a white dip (sour cream?).
- On the walk back to meet our guide, we could feel the rain trying to come. And we found the rain on the drive back to the ship.
- Sadly, there seemed to be no stickers in the whole town of Gdansk. We went into several shops.
- We spent the next bit in our cabin for rest/work/gaming before heading to dinner.
- Dinner came with a window with a great view of push off and a massively-wide rainbow. Our food was pretty good. We felt like we were in the forgotten corner for service, though. And the two guys behind me were such snobs that the sommelier told them to bring their own wine next time. Ha!
- We tried the World Music show, but the first four songs were too bad for us to stay. The performances were great, the music was not.
- Martinis/casino was loud, but Horizons was much quieter. The tablet jukebox didn’t work at all and skipped all my songs. When the show ended, the duo started their set. They were okay.
Day 66 – Liepāja, Latvia
- We wanted to eat early and get off the ship before they had a crew drill. We went to the Grand Dining room to avoid the chaos at the Terrace Cafe. It’s more formal and far less crowded, so it’s usually quiet, but service was slow and all the side work they were doing was quite loud. I think they were distracted and working quicker on side stuff to be done before the drill.
- We were among the last people to get on the shuttle bus before the drill started.
- The town of Liepāja was a dud. There were a lot of clothes stores, but fashion was odd. I couldn’t tell the difference between stores with new clothes and thrift shops. Everything was dull and just bad. By this point, it was after 1000, and many places were still closed. There also wasn’t a single souvenir shop; we aren’t into those other than to get a sticker, but they didn’t have even one. There were a couple of sculptures that said Liepāja 2027. The town has been named the European Capital of Culture for 2027. We were only in town for about an hour.
- We did some work/game stuff until 1240 when we thought it would be safe to go to lunch, but it was the same chaotic mess as the day before. I didn’t figure out the trick to eating on the ship. If not for Milton and Kit who saw us making laps through the space, we wouldn’t have had a table. They saved their seats for us since they were done. Also: 1230 to 1830 (or for us on this day, 1230 to 2015) is way too long to go from lunch to dinner. I also didn’t like the lunch options. The main theme was Asian, but the ramen was not warm enough, didn’t have any veggies, and was made with pasta instead of rice noodles. I ended up having a hot dog. And then, they ran out of the little chocolate desserts before I grabbed one. What I wouldn’t give for a decent deli counter, some chips, french fries, and other “normal” food.
- We spent the afternoon resting/working/gaming and trying to kill time until our later dinner seating. It was supposed to be at 2100, but they had called earlier in the day and asked if we could do 2015, so at least we got that. I was also nursing a bad headache that started the day before and kept resurfacing.
- We got hungry, so we went to the cafe for a light first supper, and then killed a little time between that and our Toscana reservation at 2015.
- Toscana was pretty good. He loves their lasagna. It was better than the same restaurant on our other cruise on this line. However, the Sommelier was kind of snooty and the dessert selection was so bad that we both passed.
- We had no interest in any of the entertainment for the evening, so we just went back to our state room. He opened that bottle of wine they gave us so I could try to drink away my headache while relaxing in a quiet room instead of sitting in a louder bar.
