BillPizzaiolo

We did that trip earlier this summer too on Nautica. It was wonderful. Interesting ports, interesting people on board and on land. Hope you enjoy it too.

We were on the 1 June cruise and found everything on board as expected, really nice shape. Even after a night of rough seas between ports off the Ireland coast. The ship handled it very smoothly and we slept soundly. Accommodation was like our three other cruises on Nautica. Food in general was the best at sea. Yet no where on Oceania can they make a good Neapolitan Pizza. I understand wood fired ovens are not allowed on ships. Guess I have to forego pizza.

+1 in cold climates use the trickle charger as mentioned. Keep it fully charged.

We've spent thirty days on Nautica in an Ocean View cabin around South America a couple of years ago. It was very comfortable. Needing clothing for all types of climates and weather. The laundry was not a problem and we were able to get it done even with the limited machines.

As far as doing Normandy there are some very efficient private tours that get you to see and learn about the details of all the events. I would check some of the previous boards to see the names of the private tour guides and the size of the groups they take around.

The folks in Ireland don't appreciate being part of the British Isles. At least that is what a very good friend in Ireland expressed to us. Was it a USA faux pas or ignorance of geopolitical/geography by Oceania marketing?

Does that then mean that Oceania will then donate 1 Euro for every appetizer ordered? As mentioned in an earlier (#9) posting?

I GUESS we don't know if that is the case. Does anyone really know if they will make the donation?

As far as recipes go you also can add Sriracha Hot Chili sauce or whatever you use to kick it up, if it isn't hot enough for you.

Does that then mean that Oceania will then donate 1 Euro for every appetizer ordered? As mentioned in an earlier (#9) posting?

Short of setting a time limit, which would be equally unsuitable (Who gets the tables nearest the railing, who gets sunset?), I don't see what else they could possibly do.

 

I certainly wouldn't want to see the aft terrace expanded

That never goes well...

 

That would be great if you wanted to land your helicopter on it. Of course it would have to be between breakfast and lunch and dinner service.:D:D:D

Except the one I had didn't have duck. It actually seemed like a simple salad with no duck. I've tried also to look it up online and didn't find anything. It was served one day in the Terrace Cafe.

They may have since that time begin to serve it without the Duck Confit. That way vegetarians and squeamish folks would order it and they would save the expense of buying and cooking the duck legs.

As you can see the sauce, or salad dressing is complicated but would make almost anything taste wonderful. With the crispy sweetness of the fried duck legs and skin added it is really very tasty.

No biggie!

 

Does someone have a menu from the Tuscan Steak restaurant? Now, I'm curious to learn if the menu actually calls the sauce "Arrabbiata" or as written in post #1 "Amatriciana".

 

The recipe for Amatriciana calls for tomatoes, pancetta (or guanciale), garlic, chile flakes, and basil. I'm thinking about a cold version of this and it really doesn't seem appealing, especially with shrimp. Arrabbiata at least sounds acceptable when served as a cold sauce, but Classic Cocktail sauce sounds even better.

Some of us on the Jersey shore eat lots of seafood. Many restaurants that serve boiled shrimp, raw oysters and clams on half shell, make the traditional ketchup and horseradish sauce but hit with lots of Tobasco sauce make it exceptionally good. Some folks might like it and some don't. You can name it whatever you like. We find it better than the Classic Cocktail sauce due to the additional flavors and spice.

Oops I stand corrected. I have confused Arrabbiata with Amatriciana so sorry. My Italian vocabulary is not that good. I should have looked it up. How does one undo the error? I should have engaged brain before putting mouth in gear.

Is it possible to get a recipe from Oceania? We were on them recently and had a sweet Thai watermelon salad that was incredibly outstanding. Would love to get the recipe for it.

 

Thank you.

We took the cooking class offered on Marina, "Oceania Favorites Red Ginger" and we made the watermelon & duck confit salad. I checked my notes and the recipe sheet that Chef Kelly made and Chef Curtis Di Fede taught us. The sweet fish sauce ingredients are:

3/4 cup palm sugar, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup water

1/2 large shallot coarsely chopped

1 stalk lemon grass bulb portion only, coarsely chopped

1 kaffir lime leaf

1/2 inch piece galangal, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 to 2 tablespoons fish sauce (Nukmam)

2 to 2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate

Watermelon & duck salad ingredients are:

Canola oil, for frying the nuts and the legs

1/2 cup raw cashew nuts

Kosher salt

6 confit duck legs, fried and shredded

2 to 4 tablespoons hoisin sauce

6 cups 1 inch cubes of seedless watermelon

1/2 cup Thai basil or sweet basil

1/2 cup mint leaves

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

1/3 cup thinly sliced shallot

Yup, it is ingredient heavy with stuff not found everywhere. So enjoy it on board and take the class when it is offered to learn the detailed techniques.

The Tuscan Steak menu shows that shrimp cocktail is served amatriciana--

The translation from Italian indicates that it is ANGRY or a bit spicy. The term is used the way we use "hot" indicating that it is with extra hot spices. That is what I would figure it means. Then again we always steal Italian descriptors and put them on dishes that don't exist in Italy.

Plus 1.

+2 from us 2

That's a lot of buses stopping at the same place for lunch. Let's be conservative and say there were only 30 people on each bus, that's 600 people, about 1/2 the ship. I guarantee you half the ship is not on ship's tours, unless the Olife included tours have taken off like wildfire.

 

There must be some error here, maybe 18 or 20 people? Ship scuttlebutt which is never reliable? Perhaps I misunderstood what you posted.

I dunno the exact amount of buses I just took a wild guess. It seemed like half the ship was in Split for lunch at the same place and we ended up being late getting back that day as I remember. We ended up being so late getting back we ended up missing our cooking class that day. BTW Oceania did give us a cash credit due to the lateness of the tour. The food on that tour was just ok nothing to really write home about. Sorry if it looked like I exaggerated the amount of buses. We were on bus number 14.

Interesting! But, I don't think it started there. I didn't go on that tour. I got sick 8pm on Nov. 3rd, but was quarantined on the 5th and 6th. Besides, I had learned that the virus was prevalent on the cruise before ours. Bill, did you get sick?

No we didn't get sick. I attribute that to taking a daily Probiotic to help boost our immune system. As well as OCD hand washing and use of hand sanitizer. DW did get a cold after landing in the USA. I guess she is allergic to airplanes.

We were on this 1 November cruise on Marina. I believe on the second day out when about 18 or 20 bus loads of tours all ate lunch at a questionable restaurant as part of the tour the problem began. Does anyone think that was the beginning?

I am doing an eight (8) day combo river and land cruise of Cairo and the Nile in February of 2017 with Uniworld river cruises. That line is very comparable to Oceania in quality and standards. If you really want to see Egypt, I would recommend considering options other than Oceania.

 

I had once hoped to do a cruise with Oceania either originating or terminating in Istanbul. That is no longer possible. I am therefore searching out other options to see this ancient city for next fall or 2018.

We did that one last year and it was great. Would do it again. We were treated like VIP's.

I would pick whichever had the lower airfare. If arriving in Newark, take the train to Penn Station then a cab. This would be way faster than a cab from the airport to the pier and cheaper.

As a long time New Yorker and now a New Jersey-ite my preference exactly. It might seem an issue taking a train, but EWR is on the other side of the river from Manhattan piers. The train would be the cheapest way. There are plenty of cabs, buses, and limos that would get you there in no time. Just avoid the rush hours in the morning and evening. :)

+ 2 from our household !:)

For any of you solo cruisers out there, I got a very quick response from Mike Moore

 

"

 

If anyone at O is reading this, Mike deserves a raise for answering so fast and on weekends:D

In a word, YES. We enjoyed them, we picked up new learning and we met new friends. I guess it depends on how you approach the classes.

When I am spending $1000+ per day to go on an Oceania cruise I should NOT need to be well versed in EPA procedures and plan my own chemical antiviral assault.

So you are not going to wash up after using restroom, or touching anything outside of the ship and then bring it on board so others can get sick? If so don't spend your money on an Oceania cruise. Other passengers don't need the additional exposure especially if they have compromised immunity due to age or illness.

I think you are loosing sight of the big picture. Even if you do all of the above and do not get sick if there is a Noro outbreak on the ship it will affect you and everyone else. Including those who are O.K. Missing ports, closing different areas of the ship, all the washing of walls, etc. Not fun for anyone. Insurance could help compensate a little for those things.

People are swine. They have no idea about living in close proximity with others. That is why we never cruise out of ports where people don't have any idea of how it impacts others. We have cruised out of many 3rd world ports and not had any issues. It is not the ship but the passengers. We bring the critters on board. We make the crew sick, we make each other sick. Think about it. Who on board are transient? It is the passengers. The bug, the virus, the bacteria, are brought on board by us the passengers. The ship is clean to start. It is made dirty by the passengers.

There is no reasonable way to insure that someone some where will not bring something on board that will impact a person that is not careful about their own cleanliness. It is up to us the passengers to protect ourselves. Think about it. When was the last time you saw someone leave the rest room and by pass the sink and wash their hands? Did you touch that same door handle barehanded?

Given this issue and the related compensation/credit resulting issues, maybe Oceania should offer an optional Norovirus insurance. If the Oceania passenger buys the insurance and 1) is officially quarantined and 2) the CDC issues a Norovirus condition report for that cruise then the passenger receives compensation in the manner and amount stated in the policy conditions. If you do not get sick (quarantined) or the CDC does not declare a Norovirus situation on that cruise, then Oceania keeps the money.

 

To the best of my knowledge, no standard travel insurance pays for Norovirus

quarantine losses other that related medical costs incurred.

The best and most inexpensive Noro insurance is to take a probiotic for a few weeks before & during the cruise, wash hands almost compulsively, avoid touching face with unclean hands, use hand sanitizer after touching menu, don't let menu touch your charger plate,knife and fork, avoid touching hand rails, door handles, and to fist bump or elbow touch in lieu of shaking hands. Remember shoe laces, shoes, packs put on floor of cars and buses, unless sanitized before boarding in ports may carry things on board too.

According to the CDC - "Vessel Sanitation Program - Cruise ship outbreak updates" there have been 8 sailings with reported (on their site) outbreaks so far in 2016.

 

Five of these sailings had the "causative agent" declared to be "norovirus".

 

Four different cruise lines were involved with the declared Norovirus and three other cruise lines had an Unknown "causative agent.

 

This is an industry problem.

It is my belief that it is a people problem. They don't wash their hands enough or at all.