Day 4 March 10 – At Sea

Tuesday March 10th was another busy day and the good thing today was the sun came out and the temperature increased. The morning started off with getting laundry together and Ketan, our butler picked up my shoes and had them shined. As World Cruisers we get free unlimited laundry which is nice. The first day I had my dress shirts, dress pants and sports coats dry cleaned. The laundry is a one-day turnaround so if you turn it in by 9am you will receive it back the next afternoon. My shoes did not even look this nice when I bought them…laughing. The temperature had increased enough that we could eat breakfast outside aft of the ship. Steve Lefort your favorite color with some good breakfast food.

After breakfast we returned to the cabin and our new vests had been returned to the cabin. The ones that were left for us the night before were too small. I wonder if we gained weight in four days? We had to send in our requested sizes about 3-4 month ago and obviously we ordered the wrong sizes. But Ketan was able to exchange for us.

Jackie then went to an IT class Social Media Basics and I went to the cigar lounge to read emails and view the video that Kelsi had sent me explaining what had gone wrong with the blog and how to fix it if I click the wrong places again. I should have told him not to put any buttons on the screen if I am not supposed to touch them. 🙂 The Lync Digital Center is great as there are employees available at a couple different times during the day to help you with issues you might be having with the internet. Unfortunately, they cannot do anything about the slowness of the internet on the ship. It is a complaint you hear from many passengers. Below are photos of the Lync Digital Center classroom and the cigar lounge. I am thinking we need an addition to the house and not for an IT Digital Center….laughing.

We met up again and headed for the cafeteria……I always call it the cafeteria….hold on let me check on the proper name. The Terrace Cafe is what it is called but when you from Golden Meadow and now Cut Off, it is called the cafeteria. On the way there we met up with Stephen Deboo and his wife Lorna. They are originally from the UK but have been living in Portugal for the past 24 years. Stephen and I have communicated before coming on the ship as he also has a blog. His is only about 20 levels above where mine is. Sadly for him, the internet on the ship is killing him as he does a great job with videos, but it is impossible to post a video while the ship is at sea. I encourage you to view his blog page when you get a chance. The URL is World Cruise Blog 2026 – Our Around the World Cruise Blog. After speaking to Stephen and Lorna we headed to The Terrace Cafe and passed through the Waves Grill. I mentioned either yesterday or the day before they normally cook or mostly grill something different every day. So, we pass through and I found heaven on the ship……sausage po’boys!!!! In Jackie’s afternoon class she used me as her guinea pig when she created a short featuring me and my po’boy. Jackie went to the cafeteria and returned with her lunch which included a muffaletta sandwich (not quite Louisiana quality) and a slice of vegetarian pizza.

In the afternoon we had a few things to occupy our time. First, we went to the next presentation in the Pacific Ocean series. It was an informative talk about Amelia Earhart. This guy doing these presentations is on top of his game and keeps you interested in the subject he is covering for the day. Then, we decided to stroll over to the afternoon tea with the focus of the tea on cheesecake. Before getting to our seats we ran into Hari Heller. She and her husband are from Florida and we had connected via Facebook before the cruise. It is awesome to meet these people in person. We had some tea and sandwiches and couple desserts. Jackie then went to her 4:30pm class Facebook Basics.

After Jackie returned from her class to the cabin, it was time to quickly get ready for a cocktail party held for the passengers doing the entire World Cruise. Currently, there are 1081 passengers on the ship. 540 passengers are doing The World Cruise either starting in Los Angeles in December, Miami in January or San Diego in March like we did and all finishing in Miami July 6th. Of the 1081 passengers the three largest numbers of nationalities are Americans, Canada and the UK. This current segment ends in Papeete, Tahiti. The captain and cruise director spoke to The World Cruisers and each officer introduced themselves to the group. It was a good time. The captain is Luca Manzi which is almost like The Godfather’s Luca Brasi but the ship captain is not as big. Scary thought we get another bottle of wine or Prosecco when the new segment starts in Papeete.

When we were in San Diego we ran into a couple at the CVS who were also on The World Cruise. This evening getting on the elevator we met them again and had a chance to spend time with them at the event before it started. They are Romulus and his wife Sylvia Trevino. They live in Monterrey Mexico. We exchanged phone numbers through WhatsApp and I am sure we will connect with them again. A really nice couple and again, it is so cool to meet people from all over the world.

Tonight we ate at Jacques which is a signature, high-end French dining venue inspired by Master Chef Jacques Pépin.

Menu & Dining Experience: The menu focuses on traditional French favorites, including rotisserie meats, artisanal cheeses, and rich desserts, often with tableside preparation.

Inspiration: The venue is named after and designed by Jacques Pépin, a renowned French chef and culinary director for Oceania Cruises.

Atmosphere: It is designed to be an intimate, sophisticated space reminiscent of a classic French bistro.

There are four specialty restaurants on The Vista: PoloGrill (steakhouse), Toscana (Italian), Jacques (French bistro), and Red Ginger (pan-Asian). All four are outstanding and as a World Cruiser we get 10 reservations at each restaurant over the 120-day cruise. We have made 28 of 40 reservations thus far and I’m not sure we can even make the 28 reservations. Here is the menu for Jacques. I apologize for the shadows. Any suggestions on how to deal with the shadows when taking photos, please pass along your suggestion or remedy.

Jackie said she was only eating half of anything she ordered and actually only ate half of everything she ordered but then the dessert speedbump got her. Me? I made no such declaration or promise 🙂

I forgot to start with the bread and the spinach/cheese pastry pie. That bread was hot and I think was the devil. That bread was great!!! Jackie said next time we eat here she is ordering bread, butter and wine.

Jackie: Lump Crab Meat Salad, Onion Soup, Filet Mignon, Mashed Potatoes, Flan Parisien

Lane: Scallop Gnocchi, Onion Soup, Lobster Thermidor, Mushroom Risotto, Stuffed Cream Puffs

So, that was our Tuesday. Jackie asked what are we doing on Wednesday? I said the same thing I said I was doing Sunday, Monday and Tuesday which was sleeping late and taking an afternoon nap. Which means I will be awake at 4am and will not see the bed in the afternoon. Hope you enjoy our activities of this day, Tuesday March 10th.