Day 9 Tuesday 26 March – At Sea
Our second sea day started with the sun streaming into our cabin.
We went to the Ligurian restaurant for breakfast. After my excesses of the day before I tried a Bircher muesli and then broke my good intentions of the day by adding Scottish pancakes. My diet was saved somewhat, as the pancakes were very hard, overcooked and all burnt especially where they have been kept on the hotplate to keep warm. Plus there was very little in the way of maple syrup to help soften them.
After breakfast I went to the nightclub to listen to the Art Gallery manager present on the life and works of Jack Vetriano. This was an artist whose art gallery talks I had missed on earlier cruises. I was keen to hear all about him. The talk did not disappoint and I came away with a sneaking admiration for the artist. I am amazed at the size of the royalties that he receives on his images as they are used time and time again on packaging all around the world.
There was a reminder about how all artist develop their craft by looking at other artists images and then making their own versions.
Morning walk
After the talk I did a 2 mile walk around Deck 7 to try and walk off some of my food excesses.
Our lunch was in Cafe Jardin at the top of the Atrium. This was a very busy place and we had a short wait before being seated immediately insisted that guests in front of us used to hand sanitiser – which was very reassuring. I had a pizza plus a salad and only a small piece of cake for desert.
Afternoon walk
Then it was out on Deck 7 again for more laps before settling back on a balcony to read and to watch the sea.
The ship was accompanied by sea birds flying along side. Oceana passed both small the dhows and some big ships.
Evening
We went back to our favourite bar on board, the Blue Bar, to have pre-dinner drinks and to catch up on the day with our friends. The restaurant had empties a little when we finally went for dinner. Unusually we were shown shown to a table without a wait. This evening I had whitebait (only half a dozen or s), then the P&O mixed grill (way too many calories) and finally a cheesecake.
In when is bar we attempted to answer the questions in the evenings Motown/Soul quiz. My knowledge of album titles from Motown artists is woefully lacking. All the contestant scores were helped by earlier questions giving the answer to a question a couple of times. When it was well after 10 pm we headed off to see the Headliners show in the Theatre.
As we walked along Deck 7 we noticed that all the doors to the outside deck were now covered.
We had had an announcement earlier that the ship will be travelling overnight with its lights dimmed and that we should not have balcony lights late. Our time in the pirate zone had truly started.
From the Cruise Log
Tuesday 26 March – At Sea
Noon Position 19°58.5’N 058°56.4’E
Temperature 27°C
Wind South-Easterly Force 3
Weather Partially Cloudy, DryOceana made her way southwards following the coastline of Oman throughout the day at a distance of around 8 mites off the coast.
At 04:41 the vessel entered the ‘High Risk Area’ where piracy is known to occur. Oceana was already prepared for for entering these areas with a Royal Navy Liaison Officer and three private maritime security guards trained in transiting these areas. A speed of at least 18 knots was maintained throughout the transit until arrival to Salalah.