Day 5 - Moving to Hamilton - Oceania Insignia - NYC to Bermuda - September 2023

​Chris set an alarm for before 6:00 AM to watch our departure from St. George as we love the scenery that passes by and the squeeze out of the harbor.  We were the only passengers in Horizons and it was pitch black outside.  When the sun came up, we were off to Hamilton at about 6:30 AM. It was beautiful watching the sunrise as we sailed out enjoying the island views.  

Breakfast was at the buffet and we decided to relax by the pool until we arrived at Hamilton.  At 8:00 AM, we were disappointed seeing the amount of items saving chairs, especially on a port day.  I did some writing while Chris read his book. Two water bottles enjoyed the lounger until we left around 9:45.  Chris decided to move the bottles as people kept walking by looking for chairs.  We talked about going into Hamilton but since it was Sunday, many stores were closed.  We opted to enjoy a nice time at the pool and went to our cabin to change into our bathing suits.  

Upon returning after 11:00, the bottles were still waiting near the towels area where Chris had put them which we found to be unbelievable.  We both enjoyed the pool and chatting with some passengers while floating in the refreshing water.  It was becoming another very hot day.  Another couple placed their stuff next to us, and said ok let’s go for our walk.  They must’ve gone into town as they were gone hours.  The owners of the water bottles returned almost five hours later and remarked “I guess if you’re gone an hour you stuff gets moved.”There were still empty seats in the shade so it truly was not necessary to be such a chair hog.  We had a lunch from the grill, a power bowl and spring roll for me and a burger and fries for Chris.  The Waves Grill is probably the best grill I’ve experienced on a cruise so far.  I enjoyed my lunch with a refreshing champagne cocktail.  We had dinner plans tonight and trivia at 4:00 so we decided to get our showers before trivia. 

At trivia, we learned that the “winning team” had the internet was one of their teammates.  It really takes the fun away from the game when people do this.  We scored a 10.5 but it landed us in fourth place.  Tonight, we were all meeting up for dinner so everyone went to get ready.  Since we had already showered, it didn’t take long so we went to Martinis for a pre-dinner drink but it was packed.  We headed up to Horizons instead for our Negroni. 

For dinner, this evening Chris and I started with the Polynesian-style tuna tartare which was very fresh and flavorful.  Chris tried the Mediterranean chicken purse which was very large for a starter.  I had the Mykonos salad with “just like feta” and it was a great vegan option.  For our main, Chris had the five peppercorn beef tournedos which was cooked to correct temperature and was not overly peppery.  I had the chicken fafa which was my first entree that was a real disappointment.  It was a huge bowl of poached chicken with about four pieces of spinach.  My second bite I had a huge amount of raw ginger which was not too pleasant.  The rest of the dish was super bland.  For dessert, we both had another lovely soufflé.  Tonight’s special was chestnut with pear sauce.  We also shared chocolate profiteroles which was another lovely dessert.  The desserts have been really outstanding this cruise.  The fantastic company of our trivia team made up for my entree.  We could not linger too long after dinner since we had reserved the connoisseur cognac tasting tonight. 

There was only one other couple who joined us for the tasting.  Our chairs were all in a row and each chair had its own table.  The set up really showed that something special was about to happen.  Our first selection was Remy Martin 1738 which had a very strong alcohol smell.  It was a nice cognac and it did pair superbly with the dark chocolate truffle.  The chocolate smoothed the flavors.  Next, we sampled Remy Martin XO which had much less of an alcohol aroma.  The difference between the two was very noticeable.  This was paired with a vanilla macaron.  Last, but certainly not least was the star of the show, Louis XIII . I have only had this once before and was excited for Chris to try it.  We were given one full ounce of this phenomenal cognac.  It was paired with a lemon tart but truly it needs no pairing.  We savored every last drop.  

Tonight’s show was Cory Kahaney’s second performance.  We wanted to attend but knew we would be arriving after most seats would be taken so our trivia pals saved us seats.  Thankfully, we arrived right on time as comedians often have fun with latecomers.  Cory did another great set and I truly loved her bit on vaccines and research with a witty comparison to Viagra.  It didn’t get huge laughs due to the demographics but I applaud her for doing that joke.  We thanked our friends for our seats and complimented Cory on the show.  She invited us to Horizon to join her for a drink and we gladly accepted.  

The entertainment in Horizon was karaoke so I was glad to have some fun conversation instead.  We really enjoyed sharing a nightcap with her.  Cory invited us to join her for dinner tomorrow night.  We made plans to meet in Martinis for a pre-dinner cocktail and said our good nights.