Monday, July 28, 2025, Fly to New York City
Up before the sun today, 3:15am, and off to the airport for our flight to NYC! We arrived in time to eat a delicious breakfast sandwich before we boarded our flight. The plane was completely full but we had aisle seats so we were not cramped. We changed planes in Detroit and arrived in the city early. We only had carry-on so we ordered an Uber and were on our way! We arrived at athe West 57th Hilton Club and our studio was waiting us. We dropped off our luggage and ditched our jackets and took off to do a walking tour of the upper west side! Coming from no humidity to high temps and humidity took its toll. We made it to the port area and sat in the park for a bit. No sleep and heat took its toll and we headed to our restaurant reservations a bit early. We sat at the bar and enjoyed a drink and appetizers before we went to our table. We had a great dinner and hoped to find cooler temps when we left. No such luck! We slowly walked back to our hotel and showered and went to bed🤪. It was a very tiringing day!!!
Tuesday, July 29, 2025, New York City
We slept in this morning and just had time for breakfast before we did our Hilton Club presentation. We had Asha and she was lively and we actually enjoyed our morning until Rob her boss came in and was very insulting. Hugh actually called him a jerk to his face and we quickly finished up and left! It only takes one person to ruin an experience!
We. Walked up 7th Avenue and into Central Park! We visited some sights in the park and about 3:30 we stopped for a long delicious lunch complete with drinks at a great Italian restaraunt: thank you Hilton Club!
We went back to the room to freshen up before we had to get to the theater for our show. We saw Moulin Rouge and we were blown away with the sets and the talent! From the show we walked to the Empire State Building and very much enjoyed the nighttime experience! NYC at night is truly at its best!!! We got an Uber back as it was approaching midnight!!
New York City pictures
Wednesday, July 30, 2025, Embark Oceania Insignia in NYC
This morning was a slow one. We did not sleep well and we don’t know why. We packed and checked our bags at the front desk before heading to breakfast! After a healthy breakfast we went to Nordstroms for some retail therapy! I needed a headband to tame the mane in the heat and humidity! When we made it back to the hotel it was time to head to the ship and our cruise to Bermuda!!
Our Uber dropped us off at the. Door and within minutes we were onboard and having a delicious lunch! When we got to our cabin it only took a short time to unpack and press the few things that needed it. We cancelled our dinner reservations and planned to sit on the terrace for sailaway! We rested a bit and when we looked out we were sailing! It was 36 minutes early and we would have missed the best part if we hadn’t been aware. We hurried to secure space on the terrace and enjoyed a wonderful sail out the Hudson River, by the battery, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island! We sailed under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and out to sea. We stayed outside for dinner and finished in time to enjoy the strings duet before the show. Tonight it was the production company in Broadway and it really was incredible. Looks like a fun cruise!
Sailaway pictures
Thursday, July 31, 2025, At Sea
After a restless night we headed to the main dining g room for breakfast! Excellent as always! After breakfast we went to a lecture on keeping your brain healthy as you age! It was done by a doctor who had great insight as she was a person of a certain age! From the lecture we went out to work on our art scavenger hunt! This one is a doozy and we only have 2 sea days! We had a leisurely lunch in the main dining room and then worked on our art and enjoyed an aperol spritz and played cards! Soon it was time for the captain’s cocktail party! This is always enjoyable with songs from the entertainers and meeting the officers. We had been invited to have dinner with the general manager of the ship, Mariusz, and the assistant cruise director, Gabby! There were 5 other people and we had a lively long dinner! We made it to the show, Jeff Nease comedian. It was off to bed afterwards!! It was a full day for the first one!! We have not been on a week cruise before and forget we don’t have a lot of days!
Friday, August 1, 2025, Hamilton, Bermuda
This morning was a repeat of yesterday’s except our lecture was the future cruise presentation. Again I did not win the $250 shipboard credit!! We left the lecture and had a light lunch as we docked in Hamilton Bermuda! We had never been here and were excited to get out and enjoy! We exited the ship and immediately realized the atmosphere was dead!! It was Match Cup Day and everything was closed! We did a Chat GPT walking tour and there was very little to see! There were no cars on the roads, no people on the streets, and the lively culture we were excited to see was not to be found. It was exceptionally hot and humid and after several hours and some uphill climbs we were ready for a cold drink. We found no bars or restaurants open, not even the usual souvenir shops. The only store that was open was an Italian shoemaker. It was back to the ship for us. We had our drinks and cooled off. After showers we went for drinks then had a lovely dinner in Toscano! Our old friend Alex was the Maitre D. We had last seen him on our Nautical cruise to west Africa!! We made it to the show and it was our favorite "Showdown"!! Our friend Gabby won!! Yay!!!
Hamilton, Bermuda pictures
Saturday, August 2, 2025, St George's & Crystal Caves, Bermuda
This morning we were up earlier and after breakfast we met in the showroom for our tour to the crystal caves. We had sailed to St George’s early this morning so it was a bit longer trip than from Hamilton. This was our only shore excursion and we were looking forward to it. We boarded a mini bus and had a very enthusiastic tour guide. His favorite saying “thank you very much”. It was a short ride to the caves but we got a lot of info along the way. We had a guide hired by the caves and he was very knowledgeable! The caves were discovered by two 13 year old boys when their cricket ball disappeared down a hole. They climbed down, fell in to water which put out the lantern and somehow got themselves back out in the totally darkness. The cave is amazing and the way they have the walkways makes it easy to view. The crystal clear water makes it even more lovely. We were so glad we came!!!
On our way back to the shop we got a tour of the area and we were surprised at how expensive the real estate was. Houses ranged from the lower millions to 30-40 million. The area is lush and green with hibiscus growing everywhere! We ended our tour with a turn around in the small downtown area of St George’s!. When we arrived back at the ship we decided to walk into town and have one of their famous fish sandwiches and a rum swizzle, the island's drink of choice!! We ate at the White Horse and their version of the sandwich was delicious… fish, lettuce, tomato and special sauce on toasted raisin bread. It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon! We then walked around the town going into the town hall and also seeing the dunking chair and stockade once used. It was very humid and we were drenched when we arrived back at the ship. We were not surprised to see the rain come a little later in the afternoon. We showered and rested a bit before heading to the Terrace for a light dinner. The food was amazing, a British Market menu. We then looked for art before going to the deck party. The music was fabulous and we even danced a bit! There was a bit of drama to make it more lively! We have a groper on board and he got caught by his wife. Let’s just say she was not amused even though the woman he groped didn’t seem to mind at all. We stayed through the last song and then headed to bed!!
Crystal Caves
Sunday, August 3, 2025, St Georges & Royal Naval Dockyards
This morning we slept in a bit and headed to the Terrace for breakfast. We did not have to rush as we are not sailing for several days. After a great meal we went to a Q&A with Mayor Michael, the town crier. We then headed out to get a taxi to the Royal Naval dockyards! They seem to be in the only area that is open on Sunday. As we left the ship a local police woman told us it would be over $100 taxi ride each way and we should take the bus! We did as she said and took the bus from the dock to Hamilton and then changed to the dockyard bus! The buses were very nice but the roads were narrow and very winding! We both felt a little funny when we arrived!
This area was bustling and we started off looking at the fish from the dock. The water is very clear and we saw sponges, colorful fish, and some mussels. From there we walked to the old staging area where things were packed to ship. Here we decided to have lunch at the Frog and Onion. The food was great and the building was very interesting including the Poop Deck which was the bathrooms. From lunch we went to the museum and saw a wonderful exhibits of the shipping, boat wrecks, the electrification of Bermuda, and other history! We then walked through the mall area before getting our bus back to Hamilton and on to St George. A cool point of interest is that on the bus we crossed the shortest drawbridge in the world, Somerset Bridge, with an opening only large enough for a sailboat mast to go through. When we got back we rested and showered before going to the dining room. After dinner we walked back into town and just enjoyed the cool night air. Back on board we went to the lounge for the second show of Jeff Nease. Then it was off to bed!
Royal Naval Dockyards pictures
· St George's pictures
Monday, August 4, 2025, St George's & Sail Away
This morning we slept in and missed breakfast. We dressed for exercise and headed on top to the track. Midway through our second mile something in my foot pop and the pain was bad. I had to take a break and did some laundry. I was not feeling well from the methotrexate and it only got worse as the day went on. We had a light lunch at WAVES and soon it was time for sail away! It was funny that the captain sailed early today also. We went up top to see the ship sail through the tiny hole. We are the largest vessel that can get through and it was fun to see Michael the ex-mayor of St George’s waving goodbye from the rocks. It was very windy but the views were beautiful! Later we rested some before dressing for the O Club party. We arrived for the event but very few others did. The calm Atlantic that we had sailing over gave way to high winds and rough seas. We made it through the presentations and my already upset tummy got even worse. I went to the cabin and Hugh went up top to eat. He was back shortly not feeling great and off to bed for him. He said people were getting sick everywhere and even the kids were begging to go home!! We slept fitfully and about 3am Hugh went to reception for some meds. We slept well after that.
Tuesday, August 5, 2025, At Sea
This morning we thought we slept too late for main dining room so we went to the Terrace . About half way through our meal we realized that we had gained an hour last night. Oh well! It was still delicious! I still had a bit of methotrexate tummy and ate light. We finished our art and Hugh went to walk while I packed! We met a bit later and shopped at the boutiques to use all our shipboard credit! We made some great purchases …. Maybe some Christmas presents or maybe I will keep them all!!! The scavenger hunt reveal was at noon and we got 100%! We received our 40 Big O points. We had a delicious light lunch in the main dining room and Hugh went to pack while I journaled! We went to Martinis and had drinks and played cards until Hugh was ready for his nap!! I played games and rested until time to dress for dinner in Polo! We had a private table and a very delicious meal! We had a little time before the show so we journaled and then walked the ship one last time! The show tonight was all the different entertainers and musicians. It was called Acoustics and it was amazing! Such a strong talented group! It was off to bed as we have a long day tomorrow!
Our Ship, Oceania Insignia pictures
Wednesday, August 6, 2025, Disembark in NYC, Fly Home
Up at 7 and out of our cabin before 8. We had our last breakfast in the main dining room and it was sad to say bye to Jessa who took such good care of us! We literally walked off the ship, no line, through the terminal , and out the door! It was the easiest disembarkation ever! Our Uber came quickly and it was a slow go through the city! When we arrived at LGA we got in line to see if we could get an earlier flight but no seats were available! We went through security quickly with the new facial id and we upgraded my American Express to Reserve and went to the lounge! Lovely place to spend the morning!!! We had a long wait for our flight and then over four hours in Cincinatti before getting to Salt Lake City at 10pm. Nice to be home... when can we go traveling again? /susan
