Day 7 - Sea Day - Oceania Insignia - September 2023 - NYC to Bermuda

​The day started with our usual routine of coffee at Baristas with some writing for me.  This was followed by some casino time until Chris met me there.  We decided to have breakfast at the buffet.  The pool deck was crowded pretty early but not with people, just with items saving chairs.  It is so tacky and annoying.  We found some chairs in the not so prime first row but it would be fine as they were in the shade for now.  I did more writing while Chris read his book.  We did take turns going to do crazy golf putting for Big O points.  It is a fun activity but only takes about five minutes.  

I returned to the cabin to find the tarp laid on the bed for the suitcase but also with two presents.  We received pins and luggage tags as a welcome gift to Oceania Club.  This was a very nice surprise that made the idea for packing a little better.  It’s never fun when you return to the cabin and see it is time to pack.

Trivia was up next and we met our team.  I was hoping we would pull out a win but we scored 10 points which was fourth place.  After trivia, we stayed and enjoyed some nice conversation.  We might not have won any rounds but it was a win for me to meet such fantastic people. 

The menu in the Grand Dining Room seemed interesting so we chose a relaxing sit down lunch for our final sea day.  We both really like the concept of the Taste of the World either as a starter to share or for a complete lunch for one.  Today’s theme was flavors of the Caribbean.  We shared jerk chicken, dirty rice, crab cake, lemon-marinated fruit salad, accras de morue (fish fritter), dhal puri flat bread, and hearts of palm, avocado and pineapple salad.  We thought all the choices were quite good and a fun variety to sample.  I ordered the braised kingklip since after reading the description of the fish online which compared it to monkfish.  It was a mild fish but overall the dish seemed bland even with the creamy tomato-shallot sauce.  The carrot mousseline and potatoes were very good though.  Chris chose the grilled Korean-style beef flank steak with vegetable stir-fried rice.  This was a winner, the steak was tender and had great flavor as did the rice.  After tasting this dish, I realized I was missing more Asian flavors in my meals.  While the quality of ingredients has been very good, the flavors can be lacking.  We both skipped dessert thinking tea time might be a better option. 

To help work off our meal, we went to the sports deck for the usual afternoon activities of shuffleboard, bean bag toss and putting.  On all the previous days, all activities were available for points at once.  Today, a different member of the entertainment staff was there and he said we could only do shuffleboard.  We also had to sign up.  Quite a few people were ahead of us so we passed.  We did play all the holes of golf just for fun.  It was definitely run better all at once as it minimized the waiting around in the hot sun.  We felt it an odd choice to change it up the very last day.  The pool was crowded and besides the same sports deck activities, there wasn’t much else to do.  We spent some time in the casino and I tried an espresso martini.   It was not the best, very alcohol forward as it is made with no fresh coffee, just coffee flavored alcohol.  I didn’t finish it and I will say it sat next to my machine way to long as it was still there hours later when I returned after finishing up our packing and getting ready for dinner.

I met up with Chris for our pre-dinner Negroni in Martinis.  We also had to redeem our big O points at 5:45 and a bit of a line was forming at 5:25.  The line moved fairly quickly and thanks to the generosity of our trivia friends, we had enough points for each of us to get an Oceania jacket.  The prizes are a big step up from NCL where you are lucky to get a cheap tshirt.  Although it is still better than Celebrity where most activities, including trivia are just for fun.  

After checking the menus for dinner, we decided to try the buffet tonight.  The menu was not the best plus we weren’t in the mood for a long dinner and likely a shared table.  The buffet was a delight with lots of choices and not many people.  We both had grilled lobster tails and shrimp cooked to order which were delicious.  After that, we did a sampling of the sushi and it was decent but not the “finest at sea.”  Our favorite wine steward, Anna provided excellent service and we had a nice chat with her.  She is the best onboard I felt in both service and knowledge and I let her know.  

We walked outside after our dinner and were treated to a spectacular sunset.  The seas have been like glass all day.  Cory waved to us from the deck above and we went up to say goodbye.  Half of our trivia team was up there as well.  We convinced them to join us for Name that Tune with Walisson.  It was just for fun so of course we scored a perfect ten!  We had fun talking about the entertainment on Oceania and discovered a mutual enjoyment of magic (and ukulele for some of us).  After exchanging information and hugs, we said our goodbyes.  Hopefully, we will cross paths again soon.  

The theater was showing a movie, Book Club:  The Next Chapter as the only entertainment.  This was the second night of showing a movie which is pretty lame in my opinion.  We went to the casino and up to Horizons for the show band at ten.  The music was mostly their “greatest hits” we heard throughout the week.  We had a few dances but the best entertainment of the evening was up next.

While we were dancing off and on, I noticed a couple sitting a few seats down at the bar.  Each were doing the needlepoints provided complimentary from Oceania.  When the music was over, I noticed that a drinking contest was going on.  Each took turns selecting a liquor to shoot.  At first, I thought they were just trying new things, so I suggested Macallan Quest since they had the upgraded beverage package.  I’ve never seen anyone drink that so fast.  We learned they were staying overnight in New York so why not make the most of the package.  The husband pondered aloud, “why doesn’t everyone do this?”  I went to the Jukester to find a fun song for them.  Since they didn’t have Shots, I selected Blame It on the Alcohol by Jamie Foxx instead.  This made them laugh. The wife sounded scarily sober especially when she taunted him about his choices or needing “training wheels” with his tequila shot.  After quite a few rapid fire rounds, he left to use the restroom and announced upon his return that he was drunk.  The wife showed no signs so I made him a white flag out of my cocktail napkin and stirrer.  The wife was still needlepointing and I said I would have sewn my hand into the canvas with that many shots.  We left before they did so I do not know how the story ends.  It was some memorable entertainment and I will say that a difference between mainstream lines and premium/luxury is that most drinkers are pros unlike the amateurs who make a mess of themselves and the floor.  We returned to the casino but it closed about 15 minutes after we arrived.  With the time change, it was only 11 but we went back to the cabin since there was not much else to do and we would be getting up early to leave the ship.