Cruise Critic Chris

Also in Estonia: We have found the most overt and public anti-Russian sentiments in Tallinn, although signs of support for Ukraine have been visible throughout the region. Big protest display outside the Russian Embassy in Old Town, as well as anti-Putin statements written on cafe blackboards. Our guide Gregor said that Putin has spent millions in the recent decade trying to destabilize democracy in Estonia and the other Baltic countries. "It wasn't a surprise to anyone here," he said, of the Ukraine invasion. "We have lived with this reality for 20 years." Estonia is poorer than many European countries but is spending 1% of its GNP to help Ukraine, we were told. The country is still trying to get back to its pre-pandemic level of tourism. I know many people aren't traveling to the Baltics because of the Ukraine war; but I'm glad i'm here.

Excursion offerings are always being tweaked. Oceania is currently adding several new categories to their excursions: Go Local (where you do something more off the beaten path); Go Green (highlighting the environment) and Beyond Blueprints (where you focus on architecture). I was supposed to try one of each of these on the trip, but the Beyond Blueprints tour in Helsinki was canceled. I am doing Go Local on the last day in Stockholm. The Go Green option on this trip was in Tallinn. It turns out it was the first time they had EVER run the tour, so our group were the guinea pigs. We met our guide Gregor outside the ship, where we walked to a nearby tram. Instead of heading to Old Town, our tour would focus on the Telliskivi neighborhood - a trendy area of reclaimed warehouses and industrial buildings. Our first stop was a store of a designer, Reet Aus, who does "industrial upcycling" - making clothes from leftover factory fabric. The salesperson did her best to explain the process. We then had free time to shop and look around the area, where there were various vendors and people enjoying the day. The second part of the tour took us to Fotografiska, a photography museum that has branches in Stockholm and New York. There we visited some exhibitions - although cool, none of which had green themes - and had lunch at the restaurant; which focuses on sustainable cuisine. The selected meal - trout with zucchini and peas with an oil made from the pea pods - was very good and fresh, a nice counter to some of the heavier food on the ship. I found the tour enjoyable but wondered how many cruisers would choose something like this. We were docked in Tallinn until 11 pm so I had time to go visit Old Town and do more typical touristic things. Others in the media speculated that it would appeal to younger cruisers (The tour needs more work; I think, before it reaches that goal). I am also well aware that travel journalists being shown a new tour are not actual paying customers spending their hard-earned vacation dollars. For me, it felr a bit like a day that I could have in New York rather than something unique to Tallinn. Gregor did give some nice insight into modern Estonian culture, but you had to pry the more interesting bits out of him. And It was nice to see something beyond the tourist area where normal people might spend a nice Saturday afternoon. But there was a lovely market in a reclaimed train station that could have fit the Go Green topic just as well and perhaps been more interesting. What, if anything, are you looking for in new tours? What kind of tours do you wish were on offer that Oceania is not currently providing?

I didn't post menu and photos from our Grand Dining Room meal last night. Here you go, with a bonus martini from Martinis! Soufflé of the day was hazelnut. Husband had the standout dish in the Dover sole.

Yes! Here is the picture of the current staff.

Yes, the tour went through the history of the market and its significance. I've had good guides on this trip (doesn't always happen as this group knows).

No but there was a shuttle that went between the ship and Old Town regularly.

Today we were in Riga, Latvia. What a great port! I am really enjoying these lesser-known cities that have been added since Russia was dropped from Baltic itineraries. In every port, there are multiple things I want to do. I'll have to come back. Today I did the Culinary Collection tour where you visit a market and then cook a dish back onboard. I've done these excursions on other lines (Viking, Seabourn, Silversea) and generally enjoy them. This one was notable because the guide assigned people in the group to buy the ingredients which forced us to interact with the vendors. (We were given a cheat sheet of what to ask for and what to pay). The Riga market is extensive and full of sights and smells (and very clean - no flies like you see in some markets). Loved my time here, both with the guide and free time. Back in the kitchen, we made Latvian meatballs. We were also fed many items we bought in the market, along with local drinks and beer. The cooking lift was easy and the food was pretty good! My only sadness is that I had to miss most of Old Town Riga to do the market tour. Riga has over 700 Art Noveau buildings. Gorgeous. As I told my husband, the Baltics are the new Med (haha!) Weather has been outstanding too. Mostly 70s, blue skies. Beats sweating in Rome.

The ones they showed and talked about were the Lyre's brand.

Dinner was in Polo Lounge. I forgot both how much I like the space and how extensive the menu is. The oysters Rockefeller had a bit too much cheese for my taste - hard to find the oyster! But the veal chop was delicious. Love the dessert sampler at the end.

We did the California Cabernet wine tasting - it's $95 per person. I was a bit surprised by the leader - she was nice and is taking WSET training but she is not a somm. The wines were ok - nothing you haven't heard of - but people had fun.

Port stop: Lithuania, a new country for me (and many). I took the excursion to the Soviet nuclear missile site of Plotskine. Fascinating. and sobering, especially for those of us who grew up during the Cold War. Our tour guide had a good sense of humor and kept things interesting. Recommend.

The wine dinners are definitely in Privee. The Culinary Center was originally going to be a place to have a meal with the chefs after a demonstration but public health rules might not allow that. So for now, that space will be used for demonstrations and tastings of all kinds -- wine, olive oil, butters, etc.

Franck is at Explora Journeys, the luxury line that MSC plans to launch.

We had a typo - sorry! see above. It's now corrected

Duh! Thanks for catching the typo. We'll correct.

A few more photos from the Vista preview lunch.

Here's my wrap-up from the Town Hall, just published. Have a read -- I think it answers some of the questions here. https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=7063

We had reservations at Jacques and decided to go ahead with them, despite the injury. I'm glad we did. Really enjoyed the classic French meal here. And the wine list is pretty divine (I am WSET Level 3). My items: a crabmeat salad, which came wrapped in greens; escargot; coquilles St. Jacques and -- not on the menu! - crepe Suzette. I saw an end-of-bin Chablis that I couldn't resist. We didn't finish but you can save your wine for another night. This end of the day didn't quite recoup the pain and embarrassment of the accident but it was a great start! Also an excellent sunset/moonrise. I really do love this itinerary. The Baltic has been nice and calm.

So, the unfortunate end to my excursion. As we were coming into port, I thought I was going up a ramped area to the sidewalk, following the guide. I did not. My bike hit the curb and I fell, landing square on my mouth. As you can imagine, it created quite a commotion. Luckily, nothing broken. Scrapes on my knee and shoulder. My face though. When I got up, my nose and mouth were covered in blood. Judging by peoples' reactions, I knew it wasn't good. People gave me disinfectant wipes and I was able to figure out that my nose and jaw were fine. I had, however, chipped my front tooth. Half of my lip was extremely swollen. Oceania shoreside came and asked if I wanted to go to the hospital. I declined. A local Danish tour operator fixed up my knees and then I went to the medical center - my first time in 9 years of covering cruise. He continued to work on cleaning me up. The doctor came in and recommended that I get a tetanus shot. They also gave me tylenol and extra duty disinfectant cream. As soon as I got to my room, I called my dentist back home so I can get the tooth fixed as soon as I return. That's really the worst part. I also have a fat lip and bruises but if I wear a mask, no one can tell (so that's what I've been doing). People often talk about the high medical center costs so I'll be transparent here. The bill is below. I have very good insurance through TripAdvisor (our parent company) so I should be fine. HR back home has already sent me forms so I can file a claim. Perhaps the biggest injury here is my ego. I ride bikes a lot at home, both on the road and stationary. I'm a relatively in shape 53 years old. But if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. Get travel insurance!!

One of the things I'm loving about this trip are the smaller stops. We stopped in Bornholm, a small Danish island, and it quickly became one of my favorite ports! I took the biking excursion and it was delightful (until the end, which I'll describe in another post). We biked about 18 miles through town and into the country. Along the way, we stopped frequently for commentary. Just a very cute island and town.

Later in the afternoon; they had a cocktail preview. Vista is debuting a lot of new cocktails, as well as new zero-proof cocktails. I couldn't drink because of a bike accident on my excursion and I had just taken a Xanax (more on that later). But everyone, including my husband, said the cocktails were great (albeit some a little strong). A media colleague who doesn't drink was particularly impressed by the zero-proof cocktails. This kind of cocktail program was much needed by Oceania, in my opinion. Azamara has a new cocktail bar on Onward, and all larger ships now have impressive cocktails. Pictures/menus below. IMG_1247.MOV

Some Vista preview items were around the ship yesterday. First up: some new pastries that will be part of the Bakery near Baristas. Pretty tasty. You might not be able to read the names in the photo so here they are: Pink Praline Choquette; French Apple Chausson; Choquette; Nutella Beignet; Cranberry Twist; Apple Beignet.

Hi all, good questions and feedback. For today's Town Hall, they have told us that there will be no Q and A. Instead, we were asked to submit questions ahead of time. I put in a question about NCLH's covid policy but who knows if it will be answered. In the earnings call yesterday, Frank Del Rio indicated that the company had its third largest booking day since the pandemic when the change was announced. He did not break that down by line, however. FWIW, Cruise Critic's own surveying of our readers has continuously noted that people prefer vaccine requirements. Frank is no longer coming to today's Town Hall. We'll see if Howard Sherman or anyone else answers the question.

Great questions, everyone! Will have lots to report from the upcoming Town Hall and Vista preview. Our sailing is about 70 percent full but a lot of that is media. Besides the US group, there are journalists and writers from Germany, Australia and Europe. In terms of Covid, you are correct - no test was required to board (although we tested before we left; just in case). No test to get home either. Some people wearing masks in elevators but that's a minority. Crew do wear masks. A few photos from the first day. We boarded in Copenhagen and the hotel was Skt. Petri. We took advantage of our jet lag and took an early morning walk to the Little Mermaid. No crowds at 7 am! Onboard, we had a special media dinner at Red Ginger so not the full choices. I had the twice fried crispy chicken and my husband had the miso cod. Very good. Choosing your own chopsticks was a nice touch, even if I'm a butter fingers with them. I usually don't like Chenin Blanc but this was a nice one. Cabin-wise, we are in room 11024 - a Penthouse suite. Butler seems on top of things.

Hi all! I'm going to be sailing on Marina, Copenhagen to Stockholm, on the Aug. 7 cruise. There are going to be quite a few press people and Oceania executives onboard; besides trying the revamped Baltic itinerary, we are getting a preview of Vista dining and a new cocktail program. Here's who will be onboard from Oceania: President and CEO Howard Sherman, Senior VP Franco Semeraro, Director of Culinary Programs and Development Chef Alexis Quaretti. I'll be posting photos, info and links as I go. I have sailed Oceania before but on the smaller Insignia. I have also had the privilege of trying the Dom Perignon menu when it debuted a few years ago, so I'm well aware of Oceania's rep for great food and wine! Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer them here.