Around the World - Segment 1 Recap

Segment 1 out of 11 was from Miami, Florida to Rio de Janeiro, starting January 6 to January 24. True to confusing perception, it has seemed like we have just started the voyage while also feeling like we’ve been on board for months already.

Ports of Call

I’m not going to copy over the notes for each port of call as you can see and read the details of each port in the Weekly Wrap-Ups. Below is just a summary of the stops for this segment.

• Jan 9: Gustavia, St Barts

• Jan 10: Roseau, Dominica

• Jan 11: Bridgetown, Barbados

• Jan 13: Devil’s Island, French Guiana

• Jan 15: Belem, Brazil

• Jan 17: Fortaleza, Brazil

• Jan 20: Salvador Brazil

• Jan 22: Buzios, Brazil

• Jan 23 / 24: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

On Board Entertainment

As promised, I’ll try to summarize the entertainment from Segment 1. With that said, because I am not an expert in this area, my descriptions will likely seem written by an oblivious child. The shows ranged from Motown hits to classical piano to musical theater to rock & roll to full production shows. Each show seemed to be top of its class for the genre, in that Oceania really does hire quality acts. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next!

I’ll highlight that while I can’t talk in detail about the specific songs sung or notes played, I’ve had the opportunity to chat with some of the performers while in the lounges, coffee shops, and hallways.

Motown Evolution

This group was the first show I saw on board and was great to start off the trip with songs that I am familiar with. Since I’m writing this summary a few weeks later and a lot has progressed, I can’t recall many details about their show, but would go back if they were to return to the ship.

Oli Nez

Oli Nez, the saxophonist from New York. His expert interaction with the audience brought everyone into the moment, wanting to be part of the experience. He continually showcased the capabilities of the Vista Orchestra who were supporting his show, by creating moments for them to play solos and telling the audience how talented the individuals are. My favorite moment of his shows though was when he read a poem that he “wrote”, clarifying after he was through that it was heavily authored by ChatGPT. He sent me a copy of the poem, so I’ve copied it below for you all to enjoy as well.

Lisa-Marie Holmes and Josh Henderson

Next, Lisa-Marie Holmes and Josh Henderson, both from the UK. Lisa was classically trained since a young age and has spent her entire career in the entertainment industry. Josh initially worked in a corporate environment, but after meeting and marrying Lisa, finally gave it up to tour full time with her, primarily on cruise ships. They each did two shows separately and one final show together.

Panos Karan

I only went to one of Panos’ shows because my brain has been fully conditioned to fall asleep to classical piano music as I’ve been doing so for years! I decided to try to go to the 5pm show one day, hoping that it was early enough that my brain could fight the urge to doze, but alas, my head was bobbing, and not necessarily to the music. With that said, he was absolutely fantastic! It’s amazing how quickly his fingers moved along the keys and all from memory!

Carson Turner

Carson is actually our Cruise Director and has a background in Musical Theater. He created a full evening show, telling his life story through songs from Broadway shows. This performance was the most emotionally moving of the entertainment from Segment 1. He mentioned working on a new show that will be debuted later in the cruise.

Vista Production Crew

Oceania is set up a bit different than the other cruise lines I’ve been on where the Entertainment team are not only singers and dancers, but they also lead the games and host other events around the ship. It was also fun when half of them were also part of the cooking class I took as it give you a chance to get to know the team personally and find myself rooting for them even more during their evening shows.

Onboard Activities

True to my norm, since Day 1, I found myself wandering around and around the ship, finding new little nooks and crannies or activities to do. One area that wasn’t very difficult to find is the Puzzle Table outside the Casino. I found this very comical, especially since the first puzzle was Star Wars. For those that aren’t aware, I stayed at my sister’s from Thanksgiving to Christmas, completing over 10 jigsaw puzzles in those few weeks, including a 3000 piece Where’s Waldo puzzle. Needless to say, I haven’t been compelled to actually sit and puzzle yet, but plenty of other people have been working diligently on them.

Other activities that are different from other cruises is the Culinary Class and Art Class onboard. I wasn’t able to get signed up fast enough for the Art Classes, but did take on Culinary Class. It was a fun break on a Sea Day to learn something new!

Lastly, there were two events that surprised me during sea days - Crossing the Equator Ceremony and the Country Fair. Along with most of the other passengers, we found ourselves laughing and playing along with the shenanigans, and…. Kissing a fish!

Onboard Food

There are four specialty restaurants on board in addition to the Main Dining Room and three other cafes. I did not do a great job (or any real effort) to document what I ate where and when. Luckily, I get one reservation per specialty restaurant per segment, so fingers crossed for all you foodies that I remember to take notes of the details. For now, you’ll just have to look at photos :)

That’s a Wrap

Headed on to Segment 2, which starts in Rio de Janeiro and ends in Buenos Aires, Argentina.