Saturday, May 9, 2015
Since we don’t dock until noon and it is Saturday,
breakfasts all start later today than yesterday. We were up at the same time so
had a bit more free time this morning. We received an invitation to an Extended
Journeys presentation at 10am by the Oceania future cruise consultants. We
might attend because clearly we have had an interest! Also, it is in the
program so it is not clear how many were invited, like the entire ship, but
they will have a $250 shipboard credit drawing. On the program, I see a 9:30am Coffee
Chat and Needlepoint. Since I did not bring any knitting because of our luggage
restrictions, I would like to go get some needlework to see if I can use that
as occupational therapy for the tremor. We’ll see.
I apologize now for the disjointed, unedited, mostly unproof-read
nature of this trip blog. Such is the nature of blogging on the fly in
real-time vs. at home after the fact. I realize the photos not being pasted
into the text is visually least appealing but again, we have to work as efficiently
as we can.
Clay is working on getting a load of our complimentary
laundry out this morning and it turned out that we had not been provided
Laundry order forms, only dry cleaning/pressing forms. He did not assume that
was the problem, but that they would not launder socks. That took some time and
although I told him to just pick up the phone, he said he would handle it and
then didn’t a minute after I picked up the phone it was over with the delivery
of one proper form. I will leave a post-it for Henrietta requesting a supply of
them be left in the room in the future.
We went to Terrace for breakfast and it was really swaying
up there with the big gentle quartering swells. I had wanted Swedish pancakes,
but they were not available today. I had a chocolate croissant (not
recommended, so that has been done). I also found blackberries and raspberries
today so had that with a Greek vanilla yogurt and cappuccino. Clay had the
sticky bun which had been recommended by another passenger. He liked that it
had walnuts but otherwise felt there was nothing to recommend them and that has
been done for him. After, he had a toasted bagel with capers, cream cheese and
lox. He said it was not a NYC bagel!
By the time we got back downstairs, we had turned inland toward
Boston and had lost the swells and were back to our smooth ride. Hurray!
I got a small scissors case to needlepoint and she showed me
how to do it. There was also an instruction sheet enclosed, so we’ll see how I
get on. I have no scissors with me! She said if we finish our project that we
can have one more. That seems reasonable, they are complimentary and include
the needle and thread required so they are nice little kits.
The Extended Journeys presentation was an absolute farce and
an hour of our lives we cannot get back. She had a slide show or PDF file of
the cruise catalog and she displayed and read it. The catalog she was working
from was not solely about Extended Journeys but just a calendar format for all the
ships. It was more than 50 minutes of her reading before she hit any long
cruises or the topic of the benefits of back to back cruises. By then she was
just skipping through because people were leaving as Julie, the CD, had
previously announced we would be sailing in and docking at least a half hour
ahead of schedule and we could feel the ship slowing down. It was a major
annoyance to us. Plus we did not win the drawing!
We did arrive in Boston before noon. We were tied up behind
a HAL ship by 11:50am. They were hoisting the gangway below our balcony. So, we
went to Terrace to have a quick snack. It was a seafood buffet so I had a slice
of cheese pizza. I liked it. Clay had fishy stuff. We shared two odd desserts
that I didn’t like, so Clay ate them. We got back to the room and they still working
on the gangway. The ship was announced cleared at 12:30pm. The past 2 days make
me despair of the days that we have private tours booked and those people expect
us within 15 minutes of published arrival pretty much uniformly.
We’re back. I have to say that so far no matter how badly
Oceania cluster cusses the going ashore experience that we have still managed
to do everything on our list of things to do. I am not sure that reflects at
all positively on Oceania at all and is probably only a matter of informed dumb
luck on our part. We watched the gangway get set up. We saw the first 2
passengers walk down after the clearance announcement was made about 12:30pm.
When we got downstairs the line snaked in a big loop around the reception
atrium, through the elevator lobby and down the starboard hall and into the
theater. The ship’s tour groups were all seated in there and were being
repeatedly advised to stay seated in their groups and they would be called when
the could exit the ship and go right to their buses. I didn’t even try to get
to the Boston tourism/hospitality woman at the blue desk again for a map. We
had seen her come aboard with what looked like hundreds of maps under her arm.
I figured that I’d get one when we reached the curve of the line past her. I
broke out of line about 6 people away to ask for a map and she gave her last
one to the woman there in front of me. She told me to stop at the stand in the
building we’d walk through to get to the buses. I did.
So, it took us a bit more than 20 minutes to exit the ship,
30 minutes after scheduled arrival and 50 minutes after we tied up at dock. We
walked out and were 6 people away from boarding the complimentary shuttle parked
there. We heard from other passengers that if we had turned right as we left
the building that we’d have found a cab line. No idea if that was true because the
tourism woman who gave me the map answered Clay’s query of where to find the T
stop with, just go out, turn left and get on the free shuttle to Quincy Market.
OK. We walked that way and in about 10 feet stopped at the back of the free
shuttle line. We were moving along until the bus filled as we were 6 people
from stepping off the curb. Then all hell broke loose for the next 40 minutes,
or more. The woman running the line (or trying, bless her) said the driver had
left the bus because he did not know how to find the drop off point. After
about 40 minutes, they took all those people off that bus and put them on a
newly arrived bus. Now, we never saw a shuttle bus leave with passengers during
the 40 minutes we stood out there. But the woman running the line swore 2 had
left already. Only one came back in that 40 minutes. Now, I grant you that
Oceania stated in the handouts that this was first come/first serve and meant
to supplement tours and other methods of transport like taxis, but come on. The
2 women who were working that shuttle line needed police or the National Guard
with arrest powers to control that mob. Oceania passengers were yesterday and
today the worst behaved I have ever experienced and that includes on Disney.
Right now I am of the opinion that I would not be able to return to or
recommend Oceania Cruises because of the shore procedures or lack of/bungling
of.
After 40 minutes out there I show Clay the map I had picked
up and been trying to study. It had directions from the cruise terminal to
anywhere we might want to go. It claimed you could take a scenic walk from here
to Faneuil Hall (Quincy Market) in 30 minutes. Clay asked me if I really wanted
to do that and I had to admit that no after spending the last hour on my feet
to travel 100 yards or less while being abused and buffeted I really wanted a
good cry and a nap, but… As the crowd erupted in madness over line breakers and
it looked like blows were about to be thrown by the Boston woman who was trying
to control the line while being verbally abused, I balked. I had earlier gotten
from her the address where the return shuttle could be found so, I just started
walking. Clay ran after me yelling, do you have any idea where you’re going. I
said some idea, but mainly out of here. I can’t take it anymore. What the hell
is the matter with people? More to the point though is what the hell is the
matter with Oceania that this is how they run their shore visits? I mean we
might have thought yesterday was just a fluke, or that today was, but given they
are our only 2 days with Oceania they are an ugly pattern and our only
experience. We walked down the block looking for the HAL cab line that was
signed and we were told was there. There wasn’t one and the cabs dropping off arriving
passengers told us they were permitted to pick up. We asked a traffic cop at
the corner where to find the T stop to catch the SL2 bus to South Station. We
could walk from there and by this time we had picked up another couple from our
ship who had not found taxis in the other direction either and were falling
back on the T. While our handed out maps were informative they were in the format
of cartoons and not all the streets were labeled or to scale. So without knowing
already, the map was confusing. He pointed out the bus shelter and told us what
to do. None of us knew the bus fare. In fact the couple who were looking for
Dunkin Donuts because that was opposite the T stop had been told it was free until
when they would pay their fare to exit South Station. That was completely wrong
about the fare. It was $2.65 per person for about a 15 minute ride. None of us
had exact change and I told Clay I don’t care if I have to give him one of my
$20 bills to get out of here. We’ve been in Boston for close to 3 hours and haven’t
left the cruise terminal complex yet! The bus driver agreed that we could
overpay, but we couldn’t underpay. I think both couples ended up overpaying by
30 cents per couple. As I told Clay, I’d have happily paid more than that to
have left an hour earlier. Another hour of our lives that Oceania can never
return to us.
So we exited up an escalator from South Station and in one
of several directions we would still wind up in the same place in about 15
minutes of walking. We came upon the Old State House first, about a block from
Faneuil Hall visible in the distance. We went in and saw the Great Hall, the
museum was closed on Saturday. I got a NPS patch. I used the ladies room and
when I came back Clay had found himself in the line for the 3pm free guided
ranger tour. We got our stickers and looked around for a while before going
downstairs to meet the ranger.
At 3pm a female ranger came and told us about the Boston’s
key role in the history of the American Revolution. We walked through about an
hour of the Freedom Trail from Faneuil Hall to the Old North Church. It was
interesting. Along the way, we saw loads of string tied boxes from Mike’s
Pastry. It was like the Voodoo Donut box in Portland, OR. We walked past the
shop on Hanover St. on the tour and somehow neither of us noticed it. When the
tour ended, Clay googled it on his phone, got the address and we pointedly
headed there. About a half block before arriving, we hit the line outside. Clay
got in line and I walked up to see what was for offer. All I could see was
gelato and cannoli. I walked back and Clay said Mike is the King of Cannoli! He
had seen it on a van parked out front at the curb. I didn’t want any but Clay
did and so we waited it out and got a pistachio for him and a chocolate ricotta
for me. We walked on back to the Quincy Market area and found the Oceania
shuttle bus stop. There must have been over 75 people crowded around some poor
guy with a sign. We walked on and Clay started using his phone to route our
walk back to South Station. The last shuttle back would be at 7pm before our
11pm sailaway. I was willing to take a wait and see attitude.
We were now on
for dinner at Durgin-Park instead of lunch. That was OK with us. I ordered my
crock of $5.95 Boston Baked Beans and Baked Indian Pudding. Two dishes for
which they are famous. It came with cornbread which was also very good. Or
maybe I was just really hungry by then. Clay had already said it was a good
thing I had made us go have a light lunch while we waited for the ship to
clear. Clay had a Sam Adams lager, a half dozen of the “world’s best” oysters
on the half shell and fish and chips. He really enjoyed the lager, said the oysters
were among the world’s best and he didn’t care for the fish. It was a frying
problem and not a fish problem and he didn’t finish it. I ate his cornbread and
he had some of my beans. The beans were great! The Indian Pudding was yummy
with melting vanilla ice cream on it. I was very pleased and very full. Clay
was ready to start walking back to South Station when I pointed out we were
only a block from the free shuttle bus stop and we should check it first. We
walked across the street and around the corner behind Hard Rock Café and near
the corner of Surface Rd. & Clinton St. sat an Oceania Marina shuttle bus.
We walked right on and sat near the rear. There were about 6 empty seats left 5
minutes later when we headed out. We saw different stuff. The ride on the T was
mostly underground! The bus was on the surface (running a gas engine, I think)
when we boarded but then it stopped and connected to overhead power lines (I
know because I watched the one coming out of the tunnel at us stop by us and
reverse the procedure) and then we went on into downtown Boston in a tunnel
under the river. So, coming back on the shuttle bus we came over the river and along
the waterfront. Both buses drove right past Harpoon Brewery which offers tours
and was within easy walking distance of the cruise terminal. It was busy both
times we past it.
We got back onboard and thought to have our cannolis but
were both too stuffed. About 7pm, Clay insisted we leave so Henrietta could do
turndown service. We walked out and put out the service sign and said good
evening to her assistant as we left. We came back an hour later and the room
had not been entered. (The cannolis were very good by the way, but I could not
come close to finishing mine and we threw it away. But, Durgin-Park and Mike’s
Pastry both get a thumbs up from me!) We went in and got things to occupy us
while we sat in some other public space to give Henrietta more time. We came
back shortly before 9pm and the room had still not been entered, so I called
it. I flipped the service sign to privacy and unlocked the door. She can leave
the newsletter on the wall holder.
Tomorrow is our 30th Anniversary. We should be in
Portland, ME from 9am to 5pm tomorrow. We have no plans and low expectations
given the past 2 days. I don’t know about Clay, but I actually now feel that
maybe we dodged a bullet of sorts when Oceania cancelled our 180 day World
Cruise. I cringe to think of 90 port days handled like the last 2. Of all the things
I ever thought might be a cause for concern this was not one. We’ve never seen
anything like it and that includes a Disney ship with a lot more passengers.
This bunch acts like they’ve never done this before, which I can only imagine
to mean that they have never done it properly before. The future cruise
consultant today said that over 700 passengers onboard were repeaters on
Oceania. We haven’t not met or spoken to any other new Oceania cruisers.
Anyway, all the experienced O cruisers seem as upset and mystified as we are by
how badly the last 2 port days have been handled so something is different. Not
having been on O before, I cannot say what. I just hope they get it sorted out and
improve before we reach some ports where we have actually made firm plans and booked
guides/transportation with appointment times soon after arrival times. Fingers
crossed.
