En Route Home from Rome, Italy

            Saturday, 30 Mar 2024 – Departures from the hotel to the airport were staggered, depending on flight times.  We were in the last group and were picked up from the hotel at 9:30 AM, along with our tour guide, Tini.  In the FCO, Rome airport, again with no wheelchair, but finally someone asked Sally if she needed one – and she jumped at the opportunity!  Our flight departed Rome at 12:50 PM.  During the flight, we were served lunch and dinner, with wine.  Jesse enjoyed watching movies, while Sally mostly tried unsuccessfully to nap.  We arrived in Atlanta at about 7:00 PM, and was met by a wheelchair attendant.  We said our good byes to the other Ivys at baggage claim.  They were all in wheelchairs this time, including Camille!  Going through customs was easy for us, since Sally was in a wheelchair and we both had Global Entry passes.

Our flight to Sioux Falls was scheduled to depart Atlanta at 9:10 PM, but was delayed until about 10:15 PM.  Kids were playing on the floor at the airport during the long wait.  Scott picked us up from the Sioux Falls airport, and we got home at about 1:00 AM.  Sally was so tired that she could barely find the things she needed before climbing into bed.

The entire European venture required a lot more walking than Sally would have thought she was capable of doing these days! 

 We arrived home just in time to celebrate Easter Sunday!

Rome, Italy

           Wednesday, 27 Mar 2024 – After another excellent breakfast, we placed our luggage outside our hotel room a little before 9:00 AM.  Then, we met in the hotel lobby at 10:00 AM for the bus ride to the airport.  We used a cart to transport our luggage to the ticket counter.  It was a fairly good distance and Sally did not have a wheelchair this time, but she made it okay.  We flew from CDG, Paris to the Leonardo da Vinci-Flumicino (FCO) Airport, Rome, departing at 2:05 PM.  After arriving in Rome, a wheelchair attendant noticed Sally struggling and offered he a ride.  Then he found wheelchairs for other members of our group that needed them.  He was extremely helpful in picking up our luggage and getting us to our bus.  Tini suggested that I give him a good tip!

First, we went to our hotel (which seemed very far from the airport).  Our hotel in Rome was the Aparthotel Colombo.  We ate dinner with the Ivy group in a nearby pizza restaurant.  The bill was so confusing that Wilbur decided to pick up the tab.  Thanks Wilbur!  Our room was on the second floor, and was a little larger than the one in Paris, and had a small refrigerator.  It was even harder here to find any TV station with English there!

            Thursday, 28 Mar 2024 – An excellent breakfast was spread in a small, compact area, but plenty was available.  We asked for “coffee-with-milk” which was made behind a counter and brought to us.

At 8:45 AM, we departed for a “Sightseeing tour of Rome.”  We soaked up over 2,000 years of Imperial Roman history as the tour guide narrated the sights, including the Arch of Constantine, the Arch of Titus, the Baths of Caracalla, and Platine Hill with the Circus Maximus where ancient Romans raced chariots.  We stopped at the Colosseum, the largest amphitheater of the Roman Empire.   There, we meant a guide who escorted us on a tour of the Colosseum.  It was a lot of a lot of walking!  The Colosseum was followed by a tour of the Roman Forum.  We were already tired, so we waited for the guide at the entrance, while our guide took the others to the Forum.  Sally sat on her cane seat.  After several minutes, Tini returned and walked us back to the bus.

For dinner, the Ivy group decided on a local restaurant, Cotto e Magnato.  The hotel clerk had described its location as “across the street;” however, we had trouble finding it.  We finally realized that it was located on a side street.  We enjoyed a very tasty Italian meal.

            Friday, 29 Mar 2024 – We had to enjoy an early breakfast, as our optional tour of the Vatican departed the hotel at 7:20 AM.  The Vatican was definitely not handicap accessible; no one used wheelchairs.  Once the tour started, there was no way out, so we had to continue through the entire tour.  There was a great deal of walking required.  Sally sat on my cane seat every time we stopped for 45 seconds or more!  Although very tiring, the Vatican was just as beautiful as it had been when we toured it in 2006!  During free time after the tour, Jesse bought rosaries for our neighbors at one of the gift shops.

Our farewell dinner was at the exclusive Tanagra restaurant, with entertainment by opera singers at various times.  There was a very large group of young people at the restaurant who were dressed in formal wear, even though many were wearing tennis shoes on their feet!  Everyone was served the same family-styled meal, which was multi-course and very good.  During the final show, the female singer selected Jesse to “dance” with her at one point, which helped to make his night!  After dinner, our bus returned us to our hotel, as we sang several songs led by the driver! 

Paris, France

            Sunday, 24 Mar 2024 – Wheelchairs had been requested for everyone in our group, except for Jesse, Earl, and Camille.  When we arrived, we were told to stay aboard the plane until the wheelchairs arrived.  There was no jetway into the airport; instead, we were required to descend a mobile stairway down to ground level.  There was not enough space on the transport for the non-wheelchair passengers, so they were told to board a bus to the airport.  There was one passenger onboard that was unable to descend the chairs, so the bus had to wait for about 45 minutes or so, until a lift arrived to lower that passenger to the ground.  After the plane crew boarded the bus, we departed for the airport.  The group was finally reunited, as the rest of the group had been sitting and waiting for at the airport entrance!  We then had to wait until the wheelchairs arrived to take us through baggage claim and passport inspection.  Finally, we exited the airport where EF Go Ahead Tour personnel were awaiting!

            We arrived at our hotel, the Mercure Montmartre, at about 9:00 AM.  The only problem was that check-in time was not until 4:00 PM.  Our tour guide was Tini, a tall, attractive, Italian woman, born in Venice, lives now in Barcelona, and has been working as an EF Go Ahead guide for 14 years.  She suggested that we explore the area until check-in time, but our group mostly sat in the lobby and dozed all day; however, we did go to the hotel restaurant with Julia & Camille for cappuccinos, and Jesse walked down the street with Camille to an ATM to withdraw a few Euros from our bank account.  Others in the Ivy group also arrived:  Dolores & Wilbur, Ella V., and friends of Ella V, XXXX & XXXX.

Our room was on the second floor, with twin beds that Jesse pushed together.  (Jesse later realized that this room was really supposed to be for Julia & Camille!)  On TV, we could get CNN with English subtitles.  At 5:00 PM, we attended a welcoming meeting on the first floor; we had wine and hors d’oeuvres.  Then, we walked down the street about 2 blocks to a local restaurant for dinner.  We (being last to get there) sat with a mixed couple from Virginia, part of our group:  Earl, his wife Tina, & Sidney (his niece).  On TV, we could get CNN with English subtitles.

           Monday, 25 Mar 2024 – Breakfast at the hotel was expansive, various meats, eggs, bread to slice, pancakes, yogurt, juices, coffee-with-milk from machines.  We had an excellent breakfast.  Today we took a 1.5-hour “Sightseeing tour of Paris.”  A very knowledgeable man gave us a running history of the city as the bus crisscrossed the Seine River.  Sights included the Eiffel Tower, the Place de la Concorde, and the Arc de Triomphe.  The city was preparing for the Summer Olympics, so lots of construction was in progress and some of the roads were blocked.  When we got back to our hotel room, Jesse realized that he left our mobile phone on the bus.  He contacted the tour guide, and the bus driver said he would bring it back to the hotel on Tuesday morning.  Later, some members of the group went out by themselves to see more of Paris, but we stayed at hotel.  For dinner, we went up the street to Clichy’s Tavern and sat upstairs with Dolores & Wilbur, and Julia & Camille.  We shared a salad, Calzone, and beer.

          Tuesday, 26 Mar 2024 – We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel.  Many members of our tour group had signed up for the optional morning tour of the Versailles Palace & Gardens.  We had opted not to participate and spent the day in our hotel room.  However, Jesse did go down to the lobby a little before 9:00 AM to pick up our mobile phone from the bus driver.  Tini thought that I should tip him, and loaned me €5.00, as he had not brought any cash down with him. 

Tuesday evening, we boarded a bus at 9:00 PM for an optional “Dinner in Paris & Seine River Cruise,” that included a night cruise of the Seine River, the only “new” thing that we did there.  First, we ate dinner at a typical Parisian bistro, Le Mesturet.  We sat at a table with Kathleen & Tina W.  (There were two Tinas in our tour group.)  We were served wine, soup, salad, and dessert.  Sally had the fish entre and we both had crème brulé for dessert.  Afterward, we took the bus to the Bateaux Mouches and boarded the ship for the night cruise on the Seine River through the center of Paris.  It was raining and the ship was very crowed, with lots of young people who annoyed us by constantly moving from one side of the ship to the other to take photos.  We couldn’t see the sights very well through the crowds, and our “night” photos were not very good.  Although the dinner was excellent, we both preferred seeing Paris in the daylight!

En Route to the Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France

             Saturday, 23 Mar 2024 – We just embarked on our first organized overseas land tour!  This tour was planned originally for December 2020 by Jesse’s sister as a tour of South Africa & Kruger National Park, with an extension to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.  The destination was changed and postponed at least twice, due to the Covid 19 pandemic and health concerns.  We had been to both places – in fact, we spent 4 days in Rome with my son Mark & his wife in 2006 and have seen everything there, but didn’t mind visiting again.  We’ve been to Paris several times, too, on short visits and had seen most of the highlights there.

            Sally’s son, Scott, dropped us off at the Joe Foss Field (FSD) Airport in Sioux Falls, SD, for our 11:05 AM Delta Airlines flight to the Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) Airport, St. Paul, MN.  Sally was taken by wheelchair to our departing gate to the Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport, Paris, France.  We arrived rather early, as our overnight Delta Airlines flight was not scheduled to depart until 5:25 PM.  A few hours later, we were surprised by the arrival of several members of our tour group from Memphis:  Verna, Earl, Julia, Camille, Dorothy, and Brooks!  It seemed like a flight to Atlanta would have been more direct, but what do we know!   We were served dinner and a light breakfast during the flight.  Sally tried to nap, while Jesse watched movies and dozed, frequently.

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Debarkation, & Return Home

         Thursday, 11 Jan 2024 – The ship was scheduled to dock Buenos Aires at 8:00 AM.  Jesse had sat the alarm for 7:00 AM, but Sally was awake well before then.  We had intended to finish packing and take go to breakfast in the Terrace Café with our carry-ons and personal items in tow.  However, since we were already up anyway, we went to breakfast earlier than planned.  Jim & Pat arrived at the same time, so we sat with them.  We ate light, since neither of us were hungry yet.  After breakfast, we finished packing and checked out of our cabin a little after the 8:00 AM deadline.

Every elevator that stopped on our deck was already full.  Finally, a group of us decided to board an empty elevator going up; that seemed to be the only way to get on!  On our way back down to deck 5, we apologized to the other passengers that couldn’t get on with us!  After finally reaching deck 5, Jesse stopped by reception to get a final cruise receipt, since we hadn’t received one.  Then Sally sat on one of the atrium steps, while Jesse stood, and waited for our group number Blue 2 to be called.

After disembarking and picking up our luggage from security, we boarded our Blue 2 bus to the famous Michelangelo Legend Restaurant.  That was one of the options given for passengers with flights leaving after 8:00 PM.  The restaurant is located in downtown Buenos Aries and is walking distance to many local restaurants and tourist sites, so it was a better place to spend the day than the airport.  The restaurant also served complimentary snacks and beverages.  Wi-Fi was also available at the restaurant, so Jesse spent the day online!  Many of the passengers took walking tours around the city; there was also a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus available.  Around noon, they passed out menus from the restaurant next door.  We had been enjoying the complimentary snacks, so we weren’t the least bit hungry.

At 6:00 PM, we boarded a bus for the airport.  Passengers with earlier flights had been picked up at 5:00 PM.  Jesse snapped a few photos of the scenery as we rode to the airport.  Our checked bags were waiting us at the airport.  Several young baggage handlers were there to help passengers with their bags.  The only problem was that we were flying on American Airlines, whose ticket counters were at the far end of the airport.  Although we had requested a wheelchair for Sally, we still had to walk to the ticket counter.  About halfway there, we realized that we had left one of our bags at the drop-off point.  We gave our name and a description of our missing suitcase to the baggage handler, and we waited while he literally ran back to retrieve it.  Once we got to the ticket counter and checked our bags, we sat and waited for Sally’s wheel chair.  Going through security was much quicker than for most passengers, since we were TSA prechecked and Sally was in a wheelchair.  We also boarded the plane early due to Sally’s wheelchair status.

We had aisle and window seats.  We were glad that Benjamin, from the cruise, was sitting in the window seat on our row.  We talked with him a lot during the first part of the cruise.  We learned that he is 23 and works as an endoscopy technician.  He would like to study to become a physician’s assistance, but has been reluctant to start the rigorous training requirements.  Although Oceania had booked seats for his family, none of them were seated together on the plane.  Also, Benjamin and Joshua were on different flights from Dallas to Seattle than their parents.  Jesse was extremely uncomfortable in his seat during the 10-hour flight.  It appeared that the seats were much closer together than usual.  Jesse made several trips to the lavatory, where he enjoyed much more legroom.  He was much more comfortable after he finally decided to stow our laptop bag in one of the overhead bins.  Although our flight departed at 10:30 PM, we were served a choice of chicken or pasta for dinner; we ordered one each, but neither was very tasty after enjoying 39 days of delicious Oceania cruise meals!  Towards the end of the flight, we were each served a light packaged breakfast, along with coffee and juice.  Since neither of us were hungry, we saved our packaged breakfasts for later.

Friday, 12 Jan 2024 – After exiting the plane in Dallas at about 6:30 AM, Sally boarded a transport cart, and since seating was limited, Jesse was asked walk to the customs with our carry-on bags.  We were told that a wheelchair would be waiting for us after we got through Global customs; however, we were flagged for extra random inspections and were escorted to another area.  We didn’t realize how far we had to walk until we left the area.  Sally had difficulty engaging the escalator with her carry-on bag and came close to falling, but Jesse barely managed to steady her and her carry-on bag during our descent.  Afterwards, we told the escort that Sally was supposed to be in a wheelchair.  He said that was unfortunate and helped Sally with her carry-on bag the rest of the way.  Once we finished our “extra” baggage inspection, our escort took us to a desk where we could order Sally a wheelchair.  We were very lucky that our escort was so helpful!  After that, it was smooth sailing – so we thought!

Out flight to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport (MSP) was scheduled to depart from Gate D38 at 11:30 AM.  While waiting for our flight, it was announced that flights were being delayed due to high winds.  Jesse checked the monitor and saw that our flight was being delayed until 12:00 PM; however, he did not notice that the departure gate had changed to D2!

Although we had eaten our packaged breakfasts, Sally was still hungry; so, we walked a little way to McDonalds and ordered lunch.  During our walk, Jesse finally noticed that our departure gate had been changed to D2.  After finishing our lunch, we decided to walk to Gate D2, rather than calling for a wheelchair.  The walk was much longer than we anticipated and Sally was exhausted when we finally arrived.  Our flight was not posted on the gate’s board.  When Jesse asked about it, we were told that our departure gate had been changed to D20!  This time, Jesse requested a wheelchair for Sally.

A transport vehicle soon arrived and whisked us back to D20, where passengers were already boarding.  Since Sally was a wheelchair customer, we were allowed to cut in line to board.  The flight to MSP was much shorter and Jesse was much more comfortable.  The man that was sitting in our row in the window seat was as large a Jesse, so Sally was a little bit squished.  He was a biomedical engineer and had been working in the Dallas area and was returning home to Minneapolis.  We were served juice and snacks.

A wheelchair was waiting for Sally at the gate, and the attendant wheeled her to baggage claim.  While waiting, we retrieved some of our warmer garments from our carry-on bags and donned them for our trip to Kirsten’s house.  After picking up our luggage, we headed for the exit.  Thankfully, a local airline passenger directed us to the Uber pickup location.  We had to take an elevator to the lower level, transit a tunnel underneath the roadway, then take another elevator back up to ground level.  Jesse then ordered an Uber, which was only an hour away.  While boarding the Uber, Jesse realized that it had not been very wise of him to only pack dancing shoes and sandals for the cruise!  The ride to Kirstens was about 30 minutes.  Kirsten was still at work when we arrived, but Artem helped us get our luggage inside the house.

We spent three nights at Kirstens.  There, we enjoyed great meals with Kirsten & Artem.  On Saturday night, they took us on a tour of their investment properties; then to dinner at the Jasmine 26 Hot Pot Restaurant & Bar in Minneapolis.  There, guests enjoy cooking their own personalized meals in simmering pots filled with a variety of high-quality broths, including traditional and unique flavors.  It was a wonderful experience.  Afterwards, Jesse commented that the numerous tables with built-in hot plates must have been a significant investment!

Luckily, Monday was a holiday (Martin Luther King’s Birthday), so neither Kirsten nor Artem had to work.  Kirsten went online and checked the roads, and they appeared to be clear all the way to Sioux Falls, even though temperatures were still sub-zero.  So. after breakfast, we loaded up our vehicle and said our goodbyes.

Our vehicle started up right away; however, after about 30 minutes, we realized that the heat was not working.  At one point, we stopped by a Jiffy Lube; but they said we would need to visit a full-service auto repair shop.  It was extremely cold in the vehicle, and we stopped a few times to warm up.  About halfway home, Sally felt that she had reached the end of her endurance!  Then, Jesse had an epiphany and decided to check the controls.  He found that the controls were not set properly.  After resetting them, we had heat!  We turned the heat up to 80 degrees and enjoyed the warm temperature the rest of the way home!

Anyway, it’s great to be home again!

Montevideo, Uruguay

            Wednesday, 10 Jan 2024 – The ship was scheduled to dock at Montevideo at 8:00 AM.  Montevideo is the capital and largest city of Uruguay.

Jesse had set an alarm for 7:15 AM, in order to do a little laundry.  We could have taken our dirty clothes home, but we both prefer to return home with mostly clean laundry.  The laundry room wasn’t scheduled to open until 7:30 AM, but when he arrived, the washers and dryers were already filled.  However, it wasn’t very long before two washers were available.  Instead of returning to our cabin, Jesse stayed in the laundry room and conversed with other passengers.  He met a woman from Malaysia who shared some of their political problems.  There was a man and woman there, who were both recently widowed.  They had both taken advantage of one of the newly added “Solo Traveler” bookings.  The woman shared information about the ship’s 10-day internet outage.  The passengers had assumed incorrectly that the outage was due to a lack of satellite coverage; however, that was only partially true.  Apparently, the ship had been scheduled to be the last Oceania cruise ship to be retrofitted with a new Wi-Fi system, but they were extremely behind schedule.  Anyway, the previous Wi-Fi contract expired at the end of December; hence no internet!

When Jesse returned to our cabin, it was about 9:00 AM.  Some of the laundry was still damp, so Jesse hung it in the bathroom to finish drying.  Sally was already awake, so we went to breakfast a little earlier than usual.  Since today would be our last day to have a substantial breakfast, in addition to our usual breakfast, we loaded up our plates with bacon and waffles, covered in maple syrup!  When we returned to our cabin, we retrieved our luggage from under the bed and started packing for our return trip home, while Sally lay down and rested a bit.

We hadn’t gotten very far with our packing when it was time to leave for our excursion.  We had booked ‘’Highlights of Montevideo & Tango.”  Our tour guide was Mercedes and our driver was Henry.  We rode through central Montevideo as Mercedes narrated the sights. The city was full of monuments.  We made a photo stop at the glorious Legislative Palace built from over 50 varieties of marble.  We rode through the tree-lined Prada neighborhood, dotted with turn-of-the-20th-century mansions.  We drove past historic Centenario Stadium, built in the 1930s, where Uruguay and Argentina battled it out in the inaugural FIFA World Cup championship.  We made a photo stop at a larger-than-life bronze oxcart sculpture.  The sculpture was cast in France, and supposedly, when Mussolini saw it, he was so impressed that he forbade them from shipping it to Montevideo.  After negotiations, he finally agreed to release the sculpture.

Our final stop was at Plaza Independencia, the central square.  It is towered over by the iconic Palacio Salvo, once the tallest building on the continent and still an Art Deco stunner.  The Plaza Virgilio’s monument to Fallen Soldiers of the Navy for commanding city views.  Our time at Casona Mauá proved to be the high-point of this excursion.  This impeccably restored venue once belonged to the visionary banker responsible for printing Uruguay’s earliest paper currency.  The Baron knew good taste.  Original 1870s beveled glass, Carrara marble, and magnificent floors, ceilings, skylights and moldings were captivating.  There, we watched a breathtaking classic tango performance by a male and two female dancers.  At one point, the dancers invited a few guests to dance with them, including Jesse!  We were also served complimentary drinks in shot glasses, for individual toasts with the dancers.

After getting back to our cabin, we resumed our packing.  Although we had promised to meet Ed & Alicia for dancing, we were unable to make it.  At 7:30 PM, we decided to break for dinner.  On our way to the Terrace Café, we ran into Jim & Pat and took a photo with them.  They wanted to eat outside on the terrace, so we didn’t sit with them.  We preferred to eat our last dinner in Maribeth’s section!  Afterwards, we said our goodbyes and resumed our packing, finishing a few minutes after the 10:00 PM deadline.  When Jesse set out our luggage, none of the bags had been picked up.  Jesse checked in for our flights before retiring.

Punta del Este, Uruguay

            Tuesday, 9 Jan 2024 – At 8:00 AM, we were scheduled to anchor off the coast of Punta del Este, a city and resort in southeastern Uruguay.  Uruguay, officially Uruguay’s Eastern Republic, is located in the southeastern region of South America and is home to an estimated 3.45 million people.  With an area of approximately 68,000 square miles, Uruguay is geographically the second-smallest nation in South America, after Suriname.

Although Punta del Este has a year-round population of about 9,280, the summer season greatly adds to this number.  Punta is known as “The Hamptons of Uruguay” – a place where celebs and jetsetters may outnumber the surfers, yachts are plus-sized, and elegant residential high-rises rival those of South Beach. It’s also renowned for its outstanding natural beauty, a resort city rimmed by miles of gorgeous beaches.

We had our usual breakfast in the Terrace Café, then returned to our cabin.  From our balcony, we had a wonderful view of the city’s very impressive skyline.  For the first time since 30 Dec 2023, we were finally able to download our e-mail.  Sally started looking through the hundreds of e-mails that were downloading.  She eventually tired from that task and lay down for a nap.

We had booked an afternoon excursion, Highlights of Punta del Este & Car Museum, scheduled to meet on the pier at 1:30 PM; however, when it was time to leave the ship, Sally said she was too tired to participate, so Jesse went on tour without her.  As we were waiting on the bus, Jesse realized that the tour guide was waiting for missing passengers, and told her that Sally would not be coming.  Two other husbands did the same, which accounted for the missing passengers.  So, we began our tour.  Our tour guide was Karina and our driver was Juvial.

From the start, it was evident that tourism was Punta’s main industry.  As we rode along the coastline, we saw rows and rows of high-rise condominiums, which, according to Karina, are mostly empty during the winter months.  The public beaches along were all filled with scantily-clad swimmers and sunbathers.  Our first photo stop was Casapueblo, a one-of-a-kind cliff-hugging complex built over decades by a Uruguayan artist who was famously averse to right angles.  We rode through elegant San Rafael and Beverly Hills, and the trendy La Barra de Maldonado, a neighborhood approached by an undulating hanging bridge.  The bridge resembled a roll-a-coaster.  According to Katrina, some of the locals use to speed along the bridge for a thrill before law enforcement cracked down on the activity.  Our final stop was the Car Museum, where several meticulously restored automobiles from various eras were on display.  The display also included an ancient suit of armor that seemed to be out of place.  Also on site, was a private Catholic church, which they opened for us to visit.

By the time Jesse returned to the cabin, Sally had finished going through the e-mail, most of which was junk mail.  We quickly dressed for dancing in the Horizons.  Ed & Alicia were there also.  They had a dinner date in the Polo Grill, so they didn’t go with us to the Terrace Café.

2 Days at Sea

            Sunday, 7 Jan 2023 – We went to our usual breakfast in the Terrace Café.  As we walked across the pool deck to the restaurant, we noticed the temperature was getting much warmer as we traveled north from the Falkland Islands.  We sat at a table for two next to Mike & Jody, whom we had met yesterday on the ship tender.  Sally was still tired from yesterday’s excursion, so she lay down for a nap.  Jesse went to his pedicure with Stephanie at noon.  Quite a bit of crust had accumulated on the soles of his feet since his last pedicure.  He asked Stephanie questions about the tools she used, and told her that he planned to purchase some similar ones online.  She cautioned him not to use tools designed for pedicures on his hands!  After returning to our cabin, Jesse went to the laundromat to do a small load of laundry.  There were lots of passengers there, some waiting for dryers; however, there was an empty washer available and since Jesse did not plan to use a dryer, there was no problem!

Jesse returned to the Beauty Salon/Spa at 3:00 PM with Sally for her massage appointment with Mary.  While waiting for her, Jesse went to the fitness center to ride one of the exercise bicycles.  A man on the elevator and the man on the bicycle next to Jesse’s were both online, so Jesse tried unsuccessfully to get online also.  Sally was very happy with her massage!

Before dinner, we went to the Horizons again and danced to the 4 Corners Band.  We arrived there at the end of a private cocktail party, apparently for Oceania Club members.  We hadn’t realized that Oceania had scheduled two separate cocktail parties.  That explained why ours was so sparsely attended!  Ed & Alicia were there also, and there were several other dancers on the dance floor.  After dancing, we walked across the pool deck to the Terrace Café.  It was windy, but the temperature wasn’t too bad.  During dinner, we saw Jim & Pat, who scheduled a lunch date with us in the Grand Dining Room.  Jesse stayed up late and finished addressing his portion of the postcards.

Monday, 8 Jan 2024 – We went to the Terrace café for breakfast at about 9:30 AM.  It was very crowded and we had a difficult time finding a seat.  Then two other couples offered us their seats, but we were only able to accept one!  Since we would be eating lunch later, we ate very light.  When we returned to our cabin, Sally addressed her portion of the postcards.

We met Jim & Pat for lunch in the Grand Dining Room at 12:15 PM.  Sally ordered a fruit plate and Jesse ordered soup and salad with grilled tuna.  And we both enjoyed a glass of Riesling wine and tiramisu for dessert.  We enjoyed great conversation during lunch.  We learned that Pat had worked for the Government also, and they had met in an evening training class.  They have been married for 36 years and have four children; their youngest is 27, and they have no grandchildren.  Like us, they hadn’t been able to get online since 30 December!  While returning to our cabin, Jesse stopped to talk with Robert & Marinella.  Robert lived overseas for a few years before retiring from the Air Force; then he worked in computers for several years.  However, he said that Marinella knows more about computers than he does!

After lunch, Jesse went to the reception desk and mailed our postcards.  Then he went to Internet Services on Deck 14 to ask about access to the internet.  The Internet Manager informed him that there had been no significant internet available on the ship since 30 December.  Those online were using either What’s App or Facebook messenger, neither of which is currently on our mobile phone.  He said that access to the internet may be available by tonight, but he couldn’t make any promises.  There were about six Oceania computers available in the Internet café, through which passengers were able to access their e-mail, but all six were occupied.  While in the area, Jesse discovered the Baristas Bar & Aperitivo, which is adjacent to the Internet Services.  There, coffee and snacks are available throughout the day!

Before dinner we went to the Horizons for dancing again.  Two members of the Marina Show Band were performing, the pianist and the trumpet player.  We were the only dancers.  There weren’t many passengers in the Terrace Café tonight, so we took the opportunity to take a photo with our favorite waitress, Maribeth!

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

            Saturday, 6 Jan 2023 – We were scheduled to anchor off the coast of Port Stanley at 8:00 AM, but according to the ship’s log, we arrived in port well before 7:00 AM.  We were scheduled to visit Port Stanley during our cruise aboard Oceania Insignia in March 2020, but we were not be able to stop there due to high waves.  (Tenders cannot operate safely in rough water.)

The Falkland Islands comprise an archipelago of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 smaller islands.  These remote, windswept islands with a human population of about 3,000, support half a million sheep, and as many as a million penguins during the summer nesting season, making it on one of the world’s great penguin capitals.  Five of the 27 species of are represented – Rockhoppers, Magellenic, King, Gentoo, and Macaroni. 

As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, and the United Kingdom takes responsibility for their defense and foreign affairs.  The Falkland Islands' capital is Stanley on East Falkland.  At various times, the islands have had French, British, Spanish, and Argentine settlements.  Britain reasserted its rule in 1833, but Argentina maintains its claim to the islands.  In April 1982, Argentine military forces invaded the islands.  British administration was restored two months later at the end of the Falklands War.  Almost all Falklanders favor the archipelago remaining a UK overseas territory.  Major economic activities include fishing, tourism, and sheep farming.

For today, we had scheduled an excursion, Bluff Cove Lagoon Penguin Safari, and were scheduled to meet on the pier at 1:15 PM.  We went to our usual breakfast in the Terrace Café; then, returned to our cabin to wait for our excursion departure time.

At noon, we boarded a ship’s tender and arrived at the pier at about 12:30 PM.  On the tender, we conversed with a couple sitting next to us from St. Louis.  We didn’t’ get their names, but she is the same age as Jesse, 74!  They were scheduled for a walking tour of Port Stanley, not the Penguin Safari.  On the pier, when we heard an Oceania representative calling out bus numbers for boarding, Jesse asked him for our bus number.  He said they were running behind and would be assigning bus numbers for our tour at about 1:30 PM.  So, Sally found a seat under a shelter, while Jesse wandered around the pier.  He looked through two gift shops, but didn’t find anything to purchase.

Finally, we were assigned to bus number 36; however, it was about 2:00 PM by the time we boarded the bus.  During our 30-minute ride to the Bluff Cove Lagoon through Stanley and past battlefields from the 1982 Falkland Conflict, the driver/tour guide pointed out significant sights and narrated some of the history of the Falkland Islands, mostly concerning the 1982 conflict.  He was quite a military historian and gave us lots of details.

After reaching Bluff Cove farm, we continued on to the Bluff Cove Lagoon via a newly constructed road.  Previously, the cove was only reachable via 4x4 off-road vehicles.  Upon our arrival, we were given a two-minute briefing by a park ranger; basically, we were told to stay behind the white flags and to give penguins the right of way.  There were about four different penguin colonies at the location, all appearing to be of different species.  Although we had been told that Magellanic penguins sometime swim over to visit from another island, there were none present today.  We spotted a wide range of seabirds intermingling with the penguins, and witnessed many less tolerant penguins fend off their overly friendly neighbors.  Jesse asked one of the park rangers about the weather in the Falkland Islands.  The climate is very mild and dry, with very little snow, but it could snow during any season of the year.  Temperatures don’t fall very far below freezing and the average snowfall is about two inches, although the record is six feet.

After visiting with the penguins for quite a while, we made our way to a cozy beach-side café where we were served complimentary hot chocolate and home-baked treats.  Bluff Cove Museum was also on site, where we saw and touched unrefined sheep wool and a primitive spinning wheel, as well as a gift shop and restrooms.  Jesse purchased postcards from the giftshop.  During our return trip to the pier, our driver/tour guide continued narrating the history of the islands.

We arrived back at the pier at about 5:00 PM, where ship passengers were waiting in a long line to board tenders back to the ship.  Jesse held our place in line, while Sally sat on a bench under a shelter.  She stayed there as long as she could before rejoining Jesse in line.  Luckily, from that point forward, there were benches available for Sally to sit on.  While waiting our turn to board, we talked a lot to a family from a few miles north of Seattle, parents, with two grown (or teenage) sons.  The mother looked very young, and we had wondered earlier whether she was the boy’s sister or their mother.  During our tender ride back to the ship, we sat next to Jody & Mike from Phoenix.

We were back in our cabin by 6:30 PM, much too tired for dancing.  After resting, we went to dinner at the Terrace Café.  We sat at a table adjacent to Ed & Alicia, who had missed us dancing in the Horizons.  They had gone ashore earlier and taken back-to-back excursions, but were back onboard by 1:30 PM; then had taken an afternoon nap.  At about 9:00 PM, Jesse went up to the Beauty Salon/Spa and made Sally a reservation for a Swedish massage with Mary, and himself a reservation for a pedicure with Stephanie.  We retired early and both slept very, very well!

Cruising the Drake Passage & the Scotia Sea

            Friday, 5 Jan 2024 – Today, we were scheduled to cruise back across the Drake Passage and the Scotia Sea to South America, specifically, the Falkland Islands.  We went to our usual breakfast in the Terrace Café.  It was still cold cutting across the pool deck, but nothing like last night.  Maribeth was working behind the buffet as a server as she had been quite often, so we didn’t benefit from her personalized service.  After we got back to our cabin, we got ready for Sally’s 11:00 AM pedicure.  However, when we arrived, we were told that her pedicure had been scheduled for 6 January, not 5 January.  Anyway, we were able to reschedule her pedicure for a little later today at 12:15 PM.  Back in our cabin, Sally read until time to return to the salon/spa.

Sally had the same pedicurist again, Elizabeth.  Jesse went next door to the fitness center again.  The exercise bicycle that he had used previously was occupied, so he chose an alternate one.  Actually, that one worked a lot better.  While cycling, he watched part of the movie, Gringa, which was pretty good.   Sally’s toenails looked as stunning as her fingernails.  After returning to our cabin, Sally started her afternoon nap.

Tonight, we had been invited to another Oceania Club cocktail party at 5:45 PM.  We had found that the passengers tended to dress up more on this cruise segment, so we decided to dress in some of the formal attire that we had brought along.  Several of the women were wearing semi-formal dresses and many of the men were wearing dress jackets; however, other than the members of the Marina Show Band, Jesse was the only one wearing a tuxedo.  We received lots of compliments on how sharp we looked!

We didn’t see Keith & Carol, so we sat at a table on the dance floor.  We limited our complimentary drinks to one each, rum punches.  We started dancing before the program started and were soon joined by several other couples.  After the program concluded, we continued dancing to the Marina Show Band, and later to the 4 Corners Band.  Ed & Alicia joined us at 6:45 PM.  This was their first Oceania Cruise, so they had not been invited to the Oceania Club Cocktail Party.  When the crowd thinned out, we spotted Keith & Carol sitting in the audience.  Carol was still suffering from a cold and warned us to keep our distance.

Sally was tired after the dancing and drinks, so we left the Horizons at 7:00 PM and went to the Grand Dining Room for the first time.  We sat a table for two.  The dinner was okay, but menu-wise, we would have both preferred to eat at the Terrace Café!  We saw Ossman there, working in another section of the dining room and Jesse went over and spoke to him.  Jim and Pat were also there.  Jim suggested that we share a meal before the end of the cruise.  Jesse gave him our cabin number.   We were back in our cabin before 8:30 PM.

Cruising Iceberg A23A & Elephant Island

            Thursday, 4 Jan 2024 – Since the ship was scheduled to cruise past the Iceberg A23a at about 7:30 AM, Jesse set our alarm for 7:00 AM.  There was no sign of the iceberg, so he delayed waking Sally.  By 7:50 AM, there was still no sign of the iceberg, but Jesse needed to leave for his 8:00 AM haircut appointment.  Before leaving, he woke Sally and asked her to try to photograph the iceberg when the ship got there.

Jesse’s hair stylist was Arul, from India.  Arul had been a member of the Oceania crew since 2019 but had worked previously for Regent and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.  As with other people that Jesse had met from India, Arul had not visited the Taj Mahal!  Arul first colored, then cut Jesse’s hair.  Jesse was very pleased with his haircut.

Jesse could see the iceberg A23a from the window of the Salon, but the sky was so overcast, it was impossible to see anything except the lower outline of the iceberg, where it met the sea.  Sally had been unable to see anything at all, so she did not take any photos; however, Betsy Lee sent us copies of hers.  Also, Jesse found much better photos on the internet.  The iceberg broke off from Antarctic’s Filchner Ice Shelf in August 1986, but after drifting only a few hundred miles, it became grounded for three decades.  It began drifting again in November 2023.  A23a is more than three times the size of New York City and about 100 million times heavier than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Upon returning from the Salon, it was 9:50 AM when Jesse exited the elevator on Deck 7.  There, Sally was waiting for him, so we went directly to the Terrace Café for breakfast.  Although, it was wet and windy outside, we walked across the opened deck to the restaurant.  We managed to get our breakfast items before the buffet closed; however, we soon learned that a special Brunch Extravaganza had been scheduled in the Grand Dining Room from 9:30 – 1:00 PM that we could have attended!  When we returned to our cabin, Sally lay down for a nap, while Jesse dozed on the sofa!

At 3:00 PM, we went to the Beauty Salon/Spa for Sally’s manicure and pedicure.  Jesse went next door to the fitness center to wait for her.  Sally argued with the manicurist, Elizabeth, and insisted that she was only there for a manicure.  Apparently, there had been a miscommunication between Jesse & Sally.  Jesse watched an episode of The House of Dragons while he rode a stationary bicycle in the fitness center.  Her fingernails looked stunning!  Elizabeth had also removed some of the dead skin around Sally’s nails, for which Sally was very pleased!  As we were leaving, we heard an announcement that whales had been sighted alongside the ship.  So, we went out on the open deck for a few minutes to see them, but we were not dressed for the cold, so we quickly came back inside.  Anyway, we had seen so many whales on one of our excursions in Alaska, that the prospect of seeing more wasn’t really that exciting.  When we returned to the cabin and Jesse found out that Sally had not gotten her pedicure, he called and rescheduled it for the following day.  It should be mentioned that this was Sally’s first professional manicure and pedicure, and this was all Jesse’s idea.  Sally was very resistance because of the cost and considered it all overly extravagant, but Jesse finally convinced her to do it because we were using complimentary cruise credits, not real money!

It was a little after 4:00 PM when we returned to our cabin, and the ship had just began sailing around Elephant Island, an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is huge, and it took quite a while to sail past it.  The Antarctic Expedition Team narrated the tour, and gave the history of the island and told us about one of the most famous stories of survival, when in 1916, the shipwrecked crew of the ship Endurance survived there for 4.5 months!  Soon after Elephant Island was no longer visible for the ship, the Antarctic Expedition Teams said their good byes and thanked the ship’s captain and the Antarctic ice pilot for an unforgettable tour of Antarctica!

Before dinner, we went dancing again to the 4 Corners Band in the Horizons.  The sea was rough, but we tried dancing to a couple of songs, but finally gave up.  Ed and Alicia were there, but Ed had given up on trying to dance before we arrived.  A few of the other dancers, including Alicia, were successful in dancing in groups while holding hands.  There were much more daring than we were!  We sat in Maribeth’s section in the Terrace Café for dinner again.  We both had help from the wait staff bringing our food back from the buffet!  Jesse has been doing well limiting the portion size of his meal, but he still enjoyed two desserts!

Cruising Deception Island, Half Moon Island, & Admiralty Bay, Antarctica

            Wednesday, 3 Jan 2024 – We were scheduled to start our cruise past Deception Island at 7:00 AM, so Jesse set our alarm.  Deception Island is in the South Shetland Islands close to the Antarctic Peninsula with a large and usually "safe" natural harbor, which is occasionally affected by the underlying active volcano.   The island was named "Deception Island" because of its outward deceptive appearance as a normal island, when the narrow entrance of Neptune's Bellows revealed it rather to be a ring around a flooded caldera (volcano crater).  At first, it was so foggy that Jesse was unable to see anything, so he waited until about 7:45 AM to wake Sally, after some of the fog had cleared.

We went to our usual breakfast in the Terrace Café.  We were much earlier than usual and there weren’t any tables for two available, but we were invited to six at a table for 6.  The couple at the table were from the UK.  They recently purchased a house and had it remodeled for retirement – wider doors, etc.  They were mostly done with breakfast when we arrived, so they soon said their goodbyes.  The woman sitting alone was Frances, from Baltimore, MD.  We talked for quite a while.  She was traveling with her husband, but he was listening to a lecture.  She was an only child, and has two artificial hips.  They have two children and no grandchildren.  Her 36-year-old daughter has long Covid and lives with them.  We talked a lot about family history.  She wishes she had discussed the subject more with her parents.

We returned to our cabin by 10:00 AM, in time for the scheduled visit to Half Moon Island, a minor Antarctic Island, lying in McFarlane Strait of in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula region.  It was still foggy and rainy, so we weren’t able to see very much.  Before beginning his talk, the narrator announced that two members of the expedition team became officially engaged as of yesterday!

Soon, Sally lay down for a nap and Jesse went to the Beauty Salon/Spa and made himself a reservation for a haircut and Sally, a reservation for a manicure and pedicure.  Ordinarily, we would consider that splurging, but we still had a lot of cruise credits to spend.  Then, Jesse did a load of laundry.  He set alarms to return to the laundromat at the end of the wash and dry cycles; however, he fell asleep after he shut off the alarm for the dry cycle.  When he got back to the laundry room someone had removed the clothes from the dryer and placed them in one of the laundry baskets, which is customary.  Jesse wasn’t happy about that, but he could only blame himself!  Luckily, the clothes hadn’t wrinkled yet.

At about 3:00 PM, the ship entered Admiralty Bay, an irregular bay, 5 miles wide at its entrance between Demay Point and Martins Head, indenting the southern coast of King George Island for 10 miles, in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. The western sore of Admiralty Bay rises to a maximum elevation of about 1,148 feet and is shaped by glacial and coastal marine processes.

The weather had cleared a little, so we were able to see quite a bit of the shoreline.  Jesse snapped photos of some of the glaciers, penguins, and science stations.  The highlight of the afternoon was a huge rainbow that stretched over one of the islands!

Before signing off for the day, the narrator announced that he hoped to visit Iceberg A23a around 7:30 AM tomorrow morning, currently the largest floating body on earth.  Sadly, Jesse made a haircut appointment for 8:00 AM tomorrow morning!

Before dinner, we went to the Horizons again and danced to the 4 Corners Band.  Ed & Alicia joined us on the dance floor, along with another couple, occasionally.  At dinner, we sat in Maribeth’s section in the Terrace Café, and were joined by Betsy Lee.

Cruising Dallmann Bay, Neumaya Channel, Paradise Bay, & Wilhemina Bay, Antarctica

Tuesday, 2 Jan 2024 – Marina’s ice pilot, Ulf-Peter, whose ability to analyze the current ice conditions, visibility and ice flow patterns would be invaluable during our tour of Antarctica.  Our tour would be narrated by Neil Gilbert’s Antarctic Expedition Team.

A little before 9:00 AM, the ship’s captain announced that we had entered Dallmann Bay, a bay lying between Brabant Island and Anvers Island, connected to Gerlache Strait by the Schollaert Channel, in the Palmer Archipelago.  There, we had spectacular views of snow-covered islands and icebergs.  

We went to our usual breakfast in the Terrace Café, and continued to watch the specular scenery through the windows.  When we returned to the cabin, Sally lay down for a nap and asked Jesse to waken her for any interesting sightings.  After a while, Jesse stopped snapping photos; there was just too much beautiful scenery! 

Later, the ship’s captain announced that due to extremely favorable weather and sea conditions, the ship will be able to transit the Neumaya Channel.  The channel is 16 miles long and about 1.5 miles wide, separating Anvers Island from Wiencke Island and Doumer Island, in the Palmer Archipelago.  Neumayer Channel is known for its majestic cliffs, an attraction for tourists who come to the region. It is said to be like a maze with no visible exits because of its inverted S-shape.  Its entrance and exits both have sharp bends.

It is very unusual for a ship of this size to be able to navigate the channel. 

We exited the channel at about 3:30 PM, and sailed past or to the entrance of Paradise Bay at about 4:45 PM.  Paradise Harbor, also known as Paradise Bay, is a wide embayment behind Lemaire and Bryde Islands in Antarctica, indenting the west coast of Graham Land between Duthiers and Lenix Points.  The name was first applied by whalers operating in the vicinity and was in use by 1920.  When it comes to Antarctic scenery, Paradise Bay is a longstanding favorite.  Enormous glaciers tower out of the steel-blue sea, shattered icebergs simmer along the shoreline, and there’s a fair chance you can spot whales, gentoo penguins, or crabeater seals as well.

The route/itinerary for Antarctica had been very confusing.  The original itinerary shows Half Moon Island on 2 Jan and Paradise Bay on 3 Jan; however, the Oceania Currents shows the itinerary for 2 Jan as Dallmann Bay, 9 AM; Paradise Bay, 1 PM, and Wilhemina Bay, 4:30 PM.  Of course, the itinerary does account for our unscheduled transit through the Neumaya Channel.  If we had been able to go online and get a better map of Antarctica, we may have been able to sort out the itinerary.  However, we have not been able to get online since the day before New Year’s Eve!

At about 6:00 PM, the ship’s captain announced that we would be reaching Wilhemina Bay before dark, at about 8:00 PM.

Before dinner, we went dancing to the 4 Corners Band in the Horizons again.  It had started raining and snowing, so we didn’t walk outside through the pool deck to get to the Terrace Café.  During dinner, we talked with Alicia.  She & Ed celebrated New Year’s Eve in the Martini’s Bar and danced to the music of the Marina Show Band. There was no dance floor in Martini’s, but they danced outside the door in the casino!  Several people there said that the Horizons was too crowded.  We also talked a little with Keith & Carol, who told us that Carol wasn’t feeling well.

Around midnight, Jesse noticed light shining through the draperies and thought that the balcony light might have been left on.  When he checked, he found that it was still light outside!  We had encountered a similar situation, previously, when cruising along the coast of northern Norway, the land of the Midnight Sun!

Cruising the Drake Passage

            Monday, 1 Jan 2024 – The Drake Passage is a deep waterway, 600 miles wide, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans between Cape Horn (the southernmost point of south America) and the South Shetland Islands, situated about 100 miles north of the Antarctic Peninsula.  Though bearing the name of the famous English seaman and global circumnavigator Sir Francis Drake, the passage was first traversed in 1616 by a Flemish expedition led by Williem Schouten.  The Drake Passage played an important part in the trade of the 19th and early 20th centuries before the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914.  The stormy seas and icy conditions made the rounding of Cape Horn through the Drake Passage a rigorous test for ships and crews alike, especially for the sailing vessels of the day.  The passage has an average depth of about 11,000 feet with deeper regions of up to 15,700 feet near the northern and southern boundaries.

We went to breakfast in the Terrace Café at about 8:40 AM, almost an hour earlier than usual.  (Jesse had set an alarm for 9:00 PM, but Sally woke up before the alarm went off.)  The ship was doing a lot of rocking, which made walking difficult.  One of the crew helped Sally take her plates from the buffet to her seat.  After breakfast, Sally tried napping, and was a much more successful this time.

The ship’s captain made several announcements, such as sightings of an iceberg and sea lions (or walruses) on the port side of the ship.  He also announced when we had made it across Drake Passage.

Sally spent the afternoon reading, while Jesse watched TV and worked on his laptop.  He has not been able to download or send e-mails or text messages since the day before New Year’s Eve.  We had a similar problem at Christmas due to heavy Wi-Fi usage by the ship’s passengers.

Before dinner, we went to the Horizons, where the 4 Corners were performing.  We tried dancing, but the sea was much too rough, so we sat and listened to the music.  As usual, we went to the Terrace Café for dinner.  Maribeth was not working in the area where she had been assigned previously.  Afterwards, we learned that she had been moved to the other side of the dining room.