Day 3 - Arrival in Bermuda - Oceania Insignia - September 2023 - NYC to Bermuda

​Our estimated arrival was 2pm so we had a partial sea day.  We started our day with some coffees from Barristas.  The casino was super quiet once again so we played some while having our lattes.  The pastries were excellent and we each had a pistachio Madeline and a cannele which was as delicious as ones we had in St. Emilion, France. We had no plans until trivia time so we went to have some breakfast at the buffet.  

Our team was waiting for us for trivia.  The questions seemed much harder and we scored only 7/15 for a fourth place finish.  I was very impressed the same team won again with a score of 13/15.  Hopefully, tomorrow we have a better performance.

It was almost time for lunch so we looked at the main dining room menu and while it was lovely, we decided to try the buffet.  I was pleased to see the bowl power option was available here as well.  The Osaka power bowl had soba noodles, fried tofu, miso-glazed eggplant, sweet potatoes, edamame, wakame, pickled ginger, and orange miso dressing. A phenomenal plant based choice!  It was a small sample so I did return for more but they did not have any tofu.  I also sampled the Moroccan carrots and chickpeas and enjoyed them as well.  Since they had a special Bloody Mary bar, I figured I’d try one.  It had bacon, shrimp, olives, and celery.  The mixer wasn’t the best but I added some hot sauce to give a kick. 

Our plan was to grab some loungers after lunch but so many were saved by items and truly obnoxious “lounger savers.”  Could an item scream “I’m very entitled” more?  It is super tacky in my opinion.  This is one of the differences between premium and luxury we have noticed.  We instead went one deck up watch our arrival into St. George’s. 

If you have never been to St. George’s, the ships need to squeeze through a small man-made gap called “Town Cut.”  It is a fun thing to watch.  The town crier is often there on the fort near the entrance.  He rang a bell and yelled “Welcome Insignia to Bermuda.”  Although, I was just in Bermuda in June, it has been years since I’ve been to St. George’s.  Docking here was a big reason for selecting this itinerary as we have such fond memories of our time here on the NCL Majesty.

We watched the rest of the approach from inside Horizons. Our favorite beach was calling our names, so we changed into our suits and packed our beach bag.  It is very nice Oceania provides reusable bottles to take water ashore.  We definitely needed hydration during the walk.  It is almost a mile from the ship to Alexandra Battery Park where we love to swim.  There was only one other couple enjoying some snorkeling.  We had a lovely chat with them and learned they were visiting their son who recently moved to Bermuda.  While floating in the clear water, we watched many taxi tours go by.  After the walk back, Chris went up to the pool for a drink and I showered to get ready for the evening. 

I decided to head to Martinis and try a gin martini tonight.  I did a little writing but mostly chatted with the couple next to us.  Chris joined me after his shower and had a boulevardier.  The couple was from the Villages and were not shy to talk politics which is not something I would do on vacation at a bar with strangers.  We definitely didn’t agree with their ideas especially some of their conspiracies or how “Dr. Fauci should be in jail.”  I did say our daughter is studying epidemiology and if she becomes the new Fauci, please don’t put a hit on her.  Even with some of these clues, they still prattled on but we actually found it amusing but I am sure some could be offended by this.

Dinner was in the main dining room tonight and when we arrived around 6:50 there was about a twenty minute wait so we opted to share a table.  We shared with a very nice couple and had some great discussion about travel and cruising.  I started with the butternut squash which was very light option.  Chris had the beef tartare and I tried a bite and thought it was great.  For salads, I had the Sicilian salad and Chris had the hoisin duck salad.  My was a pretty standard salad and Chris thought the duck was tender and he enjoyed the flavors.  I had the cavatelli pasta with little neck clams.  The clams were great but only four in the shell and none in the sauce.  The pasta was on the bland side and not the best dish.  Our dining companion ordered it as well and he seemed disappointed in it as well.  Chris had the veal Oscar that he said was tender with rich flavor.  We also got a sample portion of the beef bourguignon, a Jacques Pepin dish and it was the winner!   For dessert, we both had the soufflé which was vanilla with pecan sauce and it was just as well prepared as yesterday.  We also shared the coconut island to try as well which was a light, fluffy dessert.  The service was very good especially the wine steward who paired different wines with each course.  Our table mates joined us at martinis for a nightcap.  He had the beverage package so I convinced him to try Macallan Quest.  We had chatted about bourbons and our mutual dislike for scotch.  I told him this was the only scotch I’ve enjoyed.  He agreed it is palatable compared to the more peaty, ash tray flavored varieties.

After our drink, Chris and I went to Horizons to work off our meal with some dancing.  We did a few dances and Chris danced with a woman we have chatted a bunch with this trip.  She did a great job following and thanked me for sharing my partner.  We stayed to see the how the Jukestar DJ system worked but only for about 15 minutes.  It was our latest night so far this trip.  Although there was no movement to rock me to sleep, I quickly drifted off in that wonderful bed.