Saturday, 5/7 (and conclusion). Departing was an ordeal. At the cruise terminal our passports were given an entry stamp, which was silly since we’d already entered the country. The very modern airport required three x-ray checks, including two physical inspections of my backpack. Our passports were checked three times at the ticket counter line. Overall, passports were inspected at least eight times. They even performed an old-fashioned Q&A to make sure we had our stories straight. 

14 hour flight was fairly straight forward. Wonderful to not have a layover!

The high points of the cruise were, as usual, the excursion destinations and the face-to-face interactions with the crew. The food was a high/low point. It was superb, but it became clear that the menus have a decidedly vegetarian tilt. pasta sauces and pizzas with meat were very rare. Why they couldn’t serve naked pasta and offer a variety of sauce options escaped me. And the complexity of the choices seemed made to be complex. There’s a reason why “chocolate chip cookies” are America’s favorite, without added incredients. However, the sushi bar was extraordinary. 

The wine by-the-glass selections were all $6 and all very pedestrian. Yes, a wine snob observation.

The inevitable cattle-call routine of the excursions was tiring. Slow people (kudos for their desire to travel), dense people (guides explaining for the fifth time when we’ll regroup), number of people (about 30) all took a toll on the enjoyment aspect. To be fair, I’m used to small-group tours of 15 or fewer people. So I had unreasonable expectations.

I suspect that one aspect that prevented a really positive experience was that the crew still wore masks. Besides my having trouble understanding them, the mask created a superior/subordinate relationship that I found uncomfortable.

Good plus bad equaled mediocre. We have one more Ocean cruise booked in Scandinavia. An Alaska cruise is on my bucket list. Other than those, I don’t see us getting aboard a ship again.