Monday March 9th was a busy day. We woke up early and had breakfast in the room because we had a cooking class at 9:30am. How do you like this healthy breakfast? Oatmeal, Special K and fruit.
The Oceania Culinary Center is set up for cooking classes for passengers to attend. The classes are usually held on sea days and fill up quickly. The Chef for the first three months of this World Cruise is Karlis Celms. Jackie and I had taken a class with him on a previous cruise. He is a great instructor and very personable. This class was named Brunch Around The Globe and we prepared three dishes: Scandinavian Muesli with Berries, English Cream Scones and Persian Kuku Sabzi Frittata. First some photos of the culinary center.
Scandinavian Muesli with Berries – I have seen videos of people eating Muesli but I have never tried it. Basically, oatmeal with berries. Have to mix the oats with milk and yogurt, then allow it to sit so the oats can soak up the liquid. Then you add allspice, the berries, banana, crushed walnuts and drizzle with honey. Jackie’s looked much better than mine because she followed the directions. I mixed all my stuff in the preparation bowl and was supposed to add the berries, banana and walnuts to the Muesli in the presentation bowl. It was good, no complaints.
English Cream Scone – Started off by mixing flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, mixing it well. Then, you add butter and mix it together with a fork. The butter begins to soften but doesn’t melt. You make room in the center of the mixture and place your egg yolk (no whites). Add heavy cream and use your hands to mix together. Start with your fingers and then use your palms to get the butter to melt and form a ball. Place onto a flat surface that has flour spread on it. Press it down and form a square about one inch thick. Cut into four diagonal pieces. We kept our best looking two pieces to bake at 375 F for about eight minutes. Again, tasted great with cream and strawberry jam.
Persian Kuku Sabzi Frittata – I had ZERO clue what we were making here. We heated up olive oil and stirred in thinly chopped leeks and stirred it for about one minute. We kept the heat on low and allowed it to stand over the heat. We chopped parsley, cilantro, spinach and mint, setting this aside. Then, we beat an egg adding salt and a mixture of spices. We placed the greens into the frying pan with the leeks and stirred this for a minute to get the greens hot. Then, we mixed together with the egg in a bowl using the heat from the greens to begin cooking the egg. We placed it into a small saute pan and put into the oven at 275F until the mixture was set. Removed from the oven and added Maldon salt and dollops of labneh. It was certainly different but tasted great.
We finished around 11:30am and were not hungry so we walked around then decided to try the Aquamar Kitchen. Aquamar Kitchen on Oceania Vista is a wellness-focused, complimentary venue serving breakfast and lunch with a focus on fresh, nutrient-rich, and healthy dishes in a bright, seaside-inspired setting. Key menu items include various avocado toasts, banana pancakes, cold-pressed juices, superfood smoothies, and diverse, customizable poke and Buddha bowls. Ok, read that second line again and you have to wonder what I ate at this place. Below is the lunch menu and a photo of our meal.
After lunch we attended the next presentation in the Oceania series on the Pacific Ocean. This talk was very interesting and something neither of us was aware of — Project Azorian. This Wikipedia link provides great information about this project. Project Azorian – Wikipedia
After this presentation, I went to the cabin to work on the travel blog and Jackie set off to find the identification of photos of different items around the ship to earn O points. She sent me this photo so I am unsure how many of the items she found.
For dinner tonight we took it easy and decided to eat at The Waves Grill which transforms into a pizza place in the evening. The pizza is awesome!!!!
After dinner I took this photo of the pool area. We realized that we had not been out at night since we got on the ship because of the cold and wind.
We finished off the day by returning back to the cabin to find this waiting for us on the bed. We each received a World Cruise vest and a World Cruise tote bag. In the brown envelope was information for our excursion Moorea. Also, a reminder of a cocktail party tomorrow evening for The World Cruise. Overall, it was a good day.
10 thoughts on “Day 3 March 9 – At Sea”
I found 7 items out of 60. I “earned” that drink. 😂
Yes!
You’ve really got the hang of this blog thing. Lots of great photos, but I have to admit I was hoping to see a video of Lane dancing at the Polynesian Dance Class. Maybe tomorrow? LOL
laughing…..well I have a video of me dancing at the dance class, but the Wifi is so terrible I cannot post it. Just kidding I did not attend the dance class.
I don’t have any recommendations for the blog. I’m enjoying the commentary and pictures. Thanks for taking the time to make it happen.
Thank you for following us!!!
I like the vests better than the rain jackets we were gifted on the 2017 and 2023 ATWs.
The vests are nice, but we (me) could have used a rain jacket in Honolulu…laughing.
I am eagerly following this entire trip. My wife and I want to do an around the world cruise at some point. Interestingly, I gave a report in college speech class about project azorian / project Jennifer because I intended to give a report on Howard Hughes but found out about this project when searching microfilm. Then, years later when working in the Ocean/Offshore industry, met someone who was part of the project. Fascinating stuff.
James Grant-Peterkin has done some excellent presentations in the speaker’s series. I had never heard of Project Azorian and Project Jennifer before his talk, and it was very interesting and informative. It is crazy to think of the spy activity and how all sides play into it.