2018 Transatlantic Cruises

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

CRUISE SUMMARY

How To View Blog:
        If you are viewing this for first time the blog posts are in reverse order and this post will appear at top.  To view from the start you will have to go to the "blog archive" under our photo on the right side.  You will see each calendar day under each month of the cruise.  Click on the day you want to see.  Start at bottom is viewing blog from beginning.  Then select by day going up.
        You should also know that if you click on the photos in a posting, they will be enlarged for better view.  When I took a lot of photos at a port I had to put them in a Google Album and put that link on the post.  You will have to "copy & paste" the link to a new tab on your browser to open it.  Then click on the first photo to enlarge it and see caption in upper right corner of the photo.  If not caption appearing, you may have to click on the "i" (info) in a circle top right.  Arrow midway down sides of photos to see next ones.

Summary:
        Even though we had been to most of these ports several times previously, this 36 night cruise has to be one of our favorite cruises for the following reasons:
1)  The crew. The most important reason is the crew.  We saw many crew member friends that we have cruised with once or several times.  They are like family to us!  We met and made even more friends on this cruise.  I was amazed several times when a crew member would address us as "Mr or Mr Weiler" even though we had no clue who they were.  They apparently have access to our photos and names and go out of their way to call us by name.  You could tell this crew was a happy one as they always had smiles and enjoyed serving us passengers.  I think you have to experience what I am trying to describe before you really know what I am trying to explain.  We miss them already!!
2)  The ship.  Explorer is an amazing cruise ship.  The most luxurious one ever built.  This is NOT Princess, RCL, etc!  This is first class in every suite and public areas.  All the rooms on Regent ships are suites, not cabins.
3)  The weather.  We have never been on a long cruise like this where the oceans were so smooth.  Most of the time I thought I was in a hotel not cruise ship.  Sunny skies every day and no rain when in the ports.
4)  The food is always good on Regent ships but I thought the chefs and cooks on this cruise were a notch above the rest.  Food quality and freshness could not have been better.  As you see in this blog I posted many photos of what we were eating.  I wanted you to see the presentation.
5)  The staff treatment.  The senior staff and officers (we knew most every one of them from previous cruises) treated us like royalty.  We were invited to dine with most all the officers and twice with the Captain Vasta.

        Well, my next blog will be middle of next March (2020) when we will be doing a 31 night cruise on the Splendor.  It is now under construction and due to sail with passengers on February 12th.  Its inaugural cruise will be from Barcelona to Miami then Miami to San Diego.  We will then board her in San Diego on March 14th.  You will not want to miss the photos of that new ship.
        I want to thank everyone who has been reading and following us on this blog.  I do spend a lot of time working on it but enjoy doing it.  Especially since I know many of you travel vicariously through us.
                                                                            THE END

Monday, March 25, 2019

HOME SWEET HOME

                                                           Saying bye last night to Kadek
                                                         Saying bye to Elena, head bartender
                                                             Dawn at port of Miami
        We docked in the port of Miami at 6am today.  They started off loading luggage at 7:15.  Room service showed up with our breakfast at 6:30.  (Too early for me to eat)  A lot of the crew had to get off and clear with immigration.
                                                      Bridge hooked up for our disembarkation
        Just as I suspected disembarkation did not start until 8:45 however we were among the very first off the ship.  Grabbed a porter right away, collected our luggage, and no line clearing immigration.  Our private van was there waiting for us so loaded all our luggage including Jane & Melissa's and the four of us headed to MIA airport.  Did curbside checking of luggage and maybe only 10 minute wait in line for security.  Anyway we were at our departure gate only one hour after leaving the ship. 
        Our plane was full but still left 3 minutes early so we arrived DFW a little early also.  We had a good DFW based F/A crew who took good care of us.
                                                                          Bloody Marys
                                                Damon distributing hot towel in first class
                                                   Bloody Mary and some hot nuts to start with.
                                           Neat feature on the tray in first class on the B737-800
                                       Rebecca enjoyed this spicy vegetable enchilada for lunch
Thought I had ordered the same online for me but this chicken wrap with blue cheese looked good too.  Too much food so I could only eat half of it.
                                         Had to save room for this freshly baked chocolate chip cookie.
        We had an hour and half to make our connection at DFW to our flight to DRO (Durango).  That's plenty of time.  Flight left 15 minutes late due to a small fuel spill under our wing.
     This flight is on an American Eagle jet.  We asked for these but put them in out bag for later. 
                We had a great first class F/A on our flight from Miami to Dallas.  He gave us all these.
        So we landed at 4:15 at the Durango airport.  The DoubleTree van was waiting for us as we parked in their lot in town while gone.  Since I am a Hilton Honors Diamond member he let us park there so saved a lot of money for taxis.  Stopped at post office and picked up our vacation held mail before stopping at Papa Murphy's to get a pizza to take home and bake for dinner.  This is our standard meal after returning from cruises.
        Got the Ford Escape unloaded and called my mom to tell her we were safely home. She worries about us when traveling.  We did have some damage to the corner wall in our guest's bedroom due to water backing up under shingles with the ice in gutter above there.  That side of the house does not get much winter sun to melt it.
        Wanted to get this posted today.  I will have one more posting tomorrow to sum up our cruise experience and explain the blog for any new viewers.  Right now we are enjoying a glass of chardonnay.  I need to get the oven on for our pizza.


Sunday, March 24, 2019

DAY 36--LAST DAY AT SEA

What We Did Last Night:
                                            Nice bottle of champagne we enjoyed with dinner.
                                                                            Cheers
                                           Melissa, Jane, & Rebecca in Meridian Lounge
     Elena, head bartender on left, joined the ship today in George Town.  We love her to death!

                                                        Georgiana, the head sommelier
                                                        My beef Wellington with lobster tails
                                       Lovena Fox's show was fantastic.  Great song choices!

What We Did Today:
        Well, this is the last day of the cruise so must be packing day.  Sebastian & Hazel got our luggage out from under the bed for us.  Great service!!  Rebecca is back from the gym so let the packing begin.  It is a very windy day and the ship is moving about some.  Temp outside at pool is 75 degrees.
        We started packing after Rebecca got back from the gym and showered at 10:30.  Took lunch break for hamburgers (yes, Rebecca actually had a cheese burger instead of protein bar).  We actually was finished packing by 3:00 pm and did it without a fight.  I usually get stressed out and pick a fight!  During that time I realized I had not checked in for our flights tomorrow.  Went online to do it and then I got VERY stressed out when American Airlines did not show a seat assignment for me.  Luckily, we get 9 hours of free phone time for every cruise segment so I immediately called the AAdvantage reservations desk.  First agent could not help other than to say wait and check in at the airport tomorrow.  So I asked to speak with a supervisor.  She could not figure out why it did not show me assigned seat 4A next to Rebecca as said I WAS booked in it.  Well after an hour I on the phone I finally tried to check in again and this time it did show me in 4A.  Whew!!!  I ran down to the ship's internet business center and printed out our boarding passes.
                                                          Midway through packing process
                                     When finished packing I celebrated with this Viennese coffee.
        So we have 2 large bags full (weighing very near 50 pounds each) and locked.  The other 2 are still open as will have to throw some clothes we wear to dinner in them after we return from our, "Last Supper".  This is what I call dinner on the last night of all our cruises.  The 4 checked bags have to be outside our suite by 11:00 tonight and will be taken ashore for us in the morning after docking.  We also have to pack our carry on bags (1 each) in the morning.
        Disembarkation is to begin at approximately 8am tomorrow.  I say approximately because all the luggage has to be off the ship before any passengers can leave.  Sometimes the longshoremen can be a pain in the ass as they are unionized.  One of our Titanium benefits is a private limo from the ship to the airport.  I have talked them into providing a larger one so Jane & Melissa can also ride with us.  They are also on our flight but in coach.  So there will be a total of 7 large bags plus 4 carry ons plus the 4 of us.  Better be a big one!!
        Our limo is scheduled for 8:30, so if everything goes off on time then we should arrive at the Miami airport around 9:00.  Our flight departs at 11:04 to DFW.  There we will connect to an American Eagle flight on to Durango.
        I have one more bottle of champagne like the one pictured at the top of this post which we will have at dinner tonight in Compass Rose.  After dinner we will walk around the dining room and rest of the ship saying goodbye to as many crew member friends as we can.  It is a sad time for us.  The harpist has another after dinner show but we DO NOT do harpist shows!
        For me, tomorrow is a stressful day so will be glad if all goes well and we arrive back in Durango around 4pm.  I will be putting one more posting on the blog about that experience.

Saturday, March 23, 2019

DAY 35--GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN

Background/History:
        Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman islands and is a British overseas territory.  The island is approximately 22 miles long and at its widest point being 8 miles wide.  It is located south of Cuba. 
        Grand Cayman is probably best known for its offshore banking.  There are just under 600 banks and trust companies located here, including 43 of the 50 largest banks in the world.  Because of this large financial presence, banking, investments, and insurance drive the economy on the island.  Also tourists come here for watersports such as snorkeling and scuba diving to see the coral reefs and ship wrecks.

What We Did Last Night:
                                                      Cocktails in the Meridian Lounge
           Raymond, long time friend and a head waiter, posed with the ladies in Compass Rose
                                                 Very disappointed in our seafood dinner.

                            Beatles dance night in the atrium after dinner.

What We Did Today:
We arrived at our anchorage by 8:30 this morning but it took them 45 minutes to get the tenders in the water and put the shoreside equipment in the first tender ashore.
It took them just over an hour to get all those going on tours ashore so we both went to the gym for our workouts.
 I was in the first tender ashore after the tour folks had been landed and on their way for the tours.  I left the ship just after 10:30.
My mission today was to go to this pharmacy just a 10 minute walk from where the tender dropped me.  Still looking for more Nasonex for Rebecca.  It costs $125 per little bottle in the US.  It was a prescription item here but the pharmacist let me have one bottle as an "emergency" supply.  It cost $40 here.  Got it in Santiago, Chile, for $11.  Should have bought more there but did get 8 there.  Drug prices in US is highway robbery!!
                                                          Just a short 6 minute tender ride.
                                        View of our home for the past 35 days.  Will miss her!
Really going to miss these two:  Sebastian & Hazel.  They have been taking such good care of our suite on this cruise.

        I returned to the ship at 11:30.  Right after I boarded I ran into our super good friend, Elena.  She just returned to the ship this morning from her vacation.  She is replacing Karolina who just left on vacation and is the new head bartender.  So happy we will get to see her for two days at least.
        I guess it is time for me to get off the ship as I did not enjoy the lunch in La Veranda.  My fault as I chose the wrong things.  I am going out to sit on the balcony for until we sail again at 3:00 this afternoon.  There is a nice breeze and it's 80 degrees under cloudy skies.
        This evening is another formal optional dress so I will be wearing my tux again.  James Bond!!
At 6:00 there is the Krew Kapers show in the theater.  That is a show put on by some of the crew members.  Hazel said she will be dancing in it.  This is the Captain's Farewell dinner so here is that menu.  Love the beef Wellington!

        Tomorrow is our last day at sea before arriving in Miami early on Monday morning.  It will be a busy day of packing, which I hate to do.

Friday, March 22, 2019

DAY 34--AT SEA IN THE CARIBBEAN

FYI--If you click on a photo, it will be enlarged.

       Captain Vasta met us promptly at 5pm yesterday by the Reception Desk to escort the four of us up to the bridge for our private tour.  He spent 45 minutes with us explaining all his "toys" and how he uses them.  I've seen several other cruise ship's bridges but this one was the most impressive.  The ship is only 3 years old now so has all the latest computer displays and electronics.
                                                            The "cockpit" of the bridge.
There are two officers on the bridge at all times plus two other seamen as a minimum.  Depending on the weather or situation there may be more.  The Captain and/or Staff Captain will be on the bridge during bad weather and while coming into and departing ports.  These nice chairs are slide up so they can monitor displays and control the ship's steering, engines, and bow & stern thrusters.  The thruster are used in docking to move the ship sideways.
                                    Melissa                                                                                     Jane
 These 3 computer displays can be changed to show data and information the bridge officers need.  He said the most critical information he needs during docking is the wind and current.  Both are doppler instruments:  wind from sensor on top of the ship and ocean current from sensor on bottom of the ship.  They load the navigational waypoints in the computer before leaving so the autopilot can track the course to the next port.  Much the same way pilots upload their flight plan into the plane's navigation system.
Between and aft of the two chairs is where the "helmsman" stands.  He is the one who will change the ship's heading as the captain commands during arrivals and departures from ports.  The ship is normally on autopilot at sea.
 On each side of the bridge is the "wing".  It sticks out over the side of the ship so the Captain can see all along the ship's side during docking.  He can maneuver the ship from these wings also.
 He can also see the ship's front side with this window in the floor.  He said this was especially useful during our transiting through the locks of the Panama Canal.
All the ship's communications equipment:  Two VHF radios, two satellite phones, portable radios plus more.  The blue portable radio is set to 121.5, the emergency frequency used by all commercial airplanes.  So if in range they can communicate with planes in distress or ships in distress.
This was in a room just behind the navigational part of the bridge.  It is a "war room", if you will, as is where they control any emergency going on inside the ship.  The biggest threat to a ship is fire.  From here they can close the air tight doors located throughout the ship to isolate the fire while it is being fought by trained crew members.  They can also turn the ventilation off in the area of a fire to limit the oxygen that feeds fires.  There are smoke and fire detectors all around the ship that monitor for a fire situation.  Every suite has them also.  If one is set off an alarm goes off on the bridge and a team is sent to check it out.  There are sprinklers in all suites and all other areas.  A "fog" system is used on the bridge to fight a fire as water would not be good on all the electronics.
I thought the lantern on the left was a huge spot light.  It is actually an instrument used to simulate the heat of a fire in order to check all the fire sensors located in the ship.
 This bottle of water holds the ceremonial water when the ship was first floated out of dry dock in Genoa, Italy, where the ship was built.
     This is a first officer and second officer.  They will be on duty this evening during our departure.

What We Did Last Night:

       I bought this bottle of pisco sour when on a tour in Peru.  Finally got around to opening it in the Meridian Lounge.  Jane & Melissa went to Chartreuse, the French specialty restaurant, for dinner.
 Rebecca and I went up to Sette Mari, Italian restaurant, for our dinner.  They transform one side of the La Veranda buffet, during the day, into an Italian restaurant at night.  I love the way they can open the big sliding door on Explorer so we can watch Chef Bogdan and the other cooks prepare dinners.  It was very entertaining to watch them in action.
 I asked Chef Bogdan to make me some veal parmesan.  Showed him my photo of how I wanted it.  It was huge!!
                                           Just the way I like it.  I almost ate the whole thing.
                                                     Rebecca had the veal limone.
                                                            Love this photo of us.
On left is Teresa, the maitre d in Sette Mari.  Dewi was our waitress.  Jeff, Teresa is available!!
                                     No dessert for us.  Just coffee, biscotti, and limoncello.

                                               GREAT DINNER AND GREAT TIME
                                                                Production show
What We Did Today:
        Relaxing day at sea.  We worked out in gym this morning and I spent rest of the morning working on adding the above photos.
        I actually got Rebecca to join me for lunch in Prime 7 today.  Normally she stays in the suite and has her Atkins protein bar at lunch time.  But now that the cruise is nearly over she has decided to enjoy some real food.  This is Vishnu.  We both had a Ceasar salad with a piece of grilled salmon.  We like our fish cooked medium I had to send mine back for the very first time as it was a little over cooked.  Chef Pieter personally brought my second piece out and apologized.  I told him there was no apology needed and that he was still my favorite chef.  Well, actually, I have a lot of favorite chefs on this ship.
        At noon the Captain said it was sunny and 81 degrees outside.  The Caribbean is nearly 5,000 feet deep here and we are sailing at 17 knots.  Another smooth sailing day!  The water is an incredible blue today.
        Here is what is happening today.  I think if you click on this photo it will be enlarged so you can maybe read it.  Not doing any of it as Rebecca is reading and I have a letter to compose on my laptop.
        There is a James Bond special performance event in the theater at 6:00 this evening but we'll probably just go to Meridian Lounge as usual.  Marcia will be joining the four of us for a special fried seafood dinner prepared for us by Chef Dino in Compass Rose.  I think this one will be better than Chef Sean's was last segment.  No show after dinner tonight as there is a Beatles dance party in the atrium instead.
        The Captain said we would be arriving in George Town on Grand Cayman at 8am tomorrow instead of the scheduled 9am.  There is no dock there so we will be using the tenders to go ashore.  We are not doing a tour but I do want to go ashore for awhile.