TransAtlantic Crossing Day 3

Insignia continues to dance across the Atlantic. Instead of the 10-12 foot swells of the past two days, however, we only had 8-foot swells today. Or so the Navigation Channel on the TV tells me. Plenty of sunshine … and comfy temps in the low-70F range during the daytime. It does get a bit chilly outside after night fall. Still, warmer than I was expecting for this crossing, so no complaints.

Today’s “change of pace” sea-day activities were at one time part of our routine.

First up, a couple of lectures … part of what Oceania describes as “OLife Enrichment.” We used to go to all such presentations, but over the years have changed this habit. Now we go only if the topic is of interest to us. Jennifer Eremeeva’s lecture today fell into that category.

The topic was the Ottoman Empire. Having grown up in Turkey, the modern-day country that was born out of the dwindling empire, we’ve been steeped in this history. For Mui, the history is even more personal as his grandfather was an officer in the Ottoman Army and, as an engineer, he later designed and was instrumental in the building of the railroad from Mecca to Hicaz. Jennifer did a very credible job of squeezing 600 years of history into 45 minutes.

I had planned to catch Jennifer’s presentation on the Byzantine Empire yesterday, but completely spaced it out. I was able to catch the re-run on the in-room entertainment system now that the series has been loaded up. I’ll probably watch the rest of her lectures on TV. That way, I won’t have to mask up as Mui and I continue to do when we are in enclosed places with a large number of people.

Next up, we went to Horizons on deck 10 forward for afternoon tea at 4:00p. Yes, yes. This is an “eating activity,” but it’s not part of our routine, so it’s OK to write about it ;-) I’ll admit it … we used to go to this “sea day afternoon event” on a regular basis. But we are trying to be better at attending as a “treat” now. We did skip dinner, so we’re still good IMHO. At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

The tea time treats were tasty as expected … even if the catering cart that comes around to each table is now entirely encased in Plexiglas. Not surprising during a pandemic, even if we are in a COVID-free bubble here on the ship. Nor was it surprising that we had live music. What was surprising, however, was the lack of attendance. In the old days — the days before the cruise lines were forced to take a COVID-break — you couldn’t find a table at tea time unless you arrived before or right at 4:00p. It was sad to see just 10-15 tables occupied by couples today … but good for social distancing, of course.

Tonight we lose the second of the many hours we will be giving up on this eastbound crossing.Read more