Tinbergs on Tour

March 4, 2026 – At Sea – Gulf of Mexico – Mostly Sunny – 80F

The room was quiet so we got some sleep. I took a shot of the sea from the cabin window when I first got up - it looked scary but it would be representative of the rest of the day.

I was up early enough to shave and shower.  The shower is still a little tight but I confirmed that the water pressure was great and the handheld shower head is a plus.  The toiletries are high end and nice.  The towels are plush.

I went to the Terrace Café around 7:30AM (when it opened - a little late for me but OK) and got a seat on the veranda on the far right side (my seat for the whole cruise).  It was still cloudy out there.  

There was a little rock and roll but within reason.  I had a bowl of Special K with raisins, two mini-waffles (made to order in the back) with cottage cheese and jam (no sour cream and I didn’t want to start with that).  Also tried the scrambled eggs.  It was OK but I will try a different option tomorrow. The coffee did get refilled often.

After breakfast, I went back to the room by going across the pool deck - warm and nice.

Later that morning, I took the Kosher Meals forms (that were dropped off last night) to the Grand Dining Room (I was told that they had to be there by 10 to get the order that night).  We both ordered Ribeye Steaks.

My first talk, “Identifying the Famous and Infamous”, was at 11:00AM in the Insignia Lounge.  I got there around 10:40 AM to set up with Gilbert, the super nice AV Manager.  Actually, I set up the system by myself.  Gilbert plugged in the laptop and fitted me with the headset (which worked perfectly).  Peter came by and gave me a brief introduction.  The turnout was pretty good (no way of telling how many people were there).  My pace was good but the ship was moving and I nearly got flattened by one wave (I don’t know how I managed to keep standing).  I hung on to the podium at that point which I felt altered my delivery.  The talk ran 46 minutes.  I wrapped up as they wanted the theater for rehearsals. NOTE: Gilbert wanted to know why I plugged in my laptop.  I told him my battery failed once.  He suggested charging fully and not plugging in.  That really made setting up and breaking down so much easier. 

NOTE: Oceania does not have an app so the daily program, Currents, is the source for all the activities and information.  The writeups for the Speaker Series are truncated and do not really say enough to describe the subject matter. The TVs in the cabins are Smart TVs that have dining information (available after the previous meal has completed), account info, movies, TV shows, and reruns of the lectures (only the slides and not the lecturer).   

I met Ellen for Lunch in the Terrace Café (we ate outside). We both ordered off the Waves Grill Menu - an Impossible burger for me and a Breaded Cod Sandwich for Ellen. Both were good – the fries were also good. 

We spent the afternoon on the shaded part of the Pool Deck – the outside Deck 5 was too windy (the ship was still rocking and rolling).

At 5:30PM we went to the Martinis for the Complementary Cocktail Fest – no watered down drinks here, like rum punch - I had an Amaretto Sour and Ellen had her favorite, an Apricot Sour (some ships can’t make this because they don’t stock Apricot Schnaps).  Some nice nuts and canapes made for a nice time along with some nice piano music by Robin Rose. 

We got a nice table on the Terrace Cafe Veranda and told one of the suits that we had special meals.  In a little while our dinners arrived – perfectly cooked, ribeye steaks – hot, tender, and tasty.  The meal started with a Cesar Salad and we both added mashed potatoes.  Tea and coffee finished off a fantastic meal.

We stayed on the veranda for a while – it was still warm.  The table we found turned out to be perfect – a table for two against the back wall center.  This minimizes any wind or air rushing out of the café. We'll get up to the veranda early each night so we can try and get that table.  

We also captured the first "magic moment" of this cruise.

We passed on Showtime tonight – Violinist Katerina Rossa was the headliner and we have seen her before and we are not big on violinists.  We did not hear her or the backup Show Band in our room so being under the theater is not going to be a problem.

Clocks move forward one hour to Atlantic Standard Time to synch up with out first port, San Juan, Puerto Rico.