TRIP HOME & SUMMARY

Our Trip Home

        We were up at 6am as wanted to be out of our suite by 8am.  Disembarkation was to begin at 8:30 and we were to be first group off.  Well, all the luggage had to be off ship before Customs would let passengers get off.  I was getting very nervous about making our 10:55 flight.  It was 9:15 before we got off!  I grabbed two guys with carts to load up our 8 bags.  A lady was there at the luggage pickup with our name on a card.  She lead us to a special line with our two carts of bags so as to clear Customs.  Then we dropped 4 of the bags with Luggage Free personnel and they will ship them to our house via FedEx.  She took us to a stretch limo where our driver was waiting.

        This all took only 15 minutes and we were off for the Miami airport.  The trip only took 15 minutes so arrived at the curbside baggage check by 9:45.  A sky cap checked our  4 remaining bags and we were off for security check point.  We had TSA pre check so buzzed through it.  We arrived at our gate one hour prior to departure time.

First class seats on the Boeing 777.  They fully recline into a flat bed.  It was a pleasure for me to have flown this plane and instructed other pilots on it but I REALLY enjoy riding back in first class now.

 By 10:15 we were sitting in our nice 777 first class seats.  There we were served bloody Mary’s.  I went up and had a brief chat with the pilots.

                                     I took this photo of the Mariner as we climbed out.
        Once airborne we were served a chicken salad for lunch, which I had pre-ordered.  Trip not over so one more bloody Mary.  We arrived at the gate at DFW on time and headed for baggage claim after deplaning.
        We landed 30 minutes early so was off plane quickly.  Our luggage was on belt in baggage claim in record time.  Amazing!  We were ready for limo at 1:15 but I scheduled it for 2pm.  Luckily our driver showed up at 1:30 and we were home by 2pm.  Now the problem was I could not find the house key.  I put it in my bag 73 days ago and forgot where.  Luckily the neighbor who had been checking our house while gone was home and got the key I had given him.  Whew!!  I later found my key.  Right where I put it!!
        The house looked good inside.  No problems so far.  The front is a mess with shredded leaves from a tree.  I have to clean that mess up tomorrow.  First thing we did was Swiffer the floors and dust furniture.  We are both allergic to dust and noses will stop up at night while sleeping.  You can imagine how much dust there was after 2 1/2 months.
        Rebecca is going through the mail now.  I have to get income tax rounded up in next day or two. I called our insurance company, USAA, from Nassau and filed claim for roof damage due to hail. The adjuster just called me and will be here tomorrow afternoon.  USAA is great!

Summary of Cruise
        Well, this was NOT one of our more memorable cruises.  I guess it was memorable but not for the right reasons.  It was plagued with problems starting with boarding day back on Jan 13th.  Never start a cruise on 13th!!!  Boarding for most passengers took 2 to 3 hours.  We missed 7 planned ports, had bad weather, ship equipment problems, fishing net in azipod, and probably biggest downer was spending half the cruise fighting the GI bug with associated reduced services because of it.  Regent has made an offer of compensation for all this but I feel it is not nearly adequate.  So I will be composing a letter to them and have our travel agent fight the battle for us.
        Two highlights of the cruise were a fantastic crew and excellent food.  We also met some very nice people and hope to stay in touch with them.  Some we will be seeing on next January 5th's World Cruise.
        Yes, my next blog will be on our 128 day cruise around the world.  Stay tuned for the link to that blog which I will start sometime in December.
        I hope you have enjoyed my narrative and photos with this South America blog.  Thanks for the comments.  I have spent a lot of time with this blog but it is worth it when I know how many folks have followed it and appreciate my efforts.  So I will sign off now until late December.

SA--DAY 72--NASSAU

 We docked right next to down town Nassau at 11:00 am.  It is 79F and mostly sunny skies today.

We will be departing Nassau at 6:30 pm for our last leg of this 72 night cruise back to Miami.

What We Did Last Night:
        We had a very dinner with Gudrun, the cruise consultant, and Paul & Bonnie Buchanan.  We both had the beef Wellington which was delicious as usual.  Afterwards we went to see the ventriloquist and comedian.  The ventriloquist went first and was excellent.  We enjoyed the comedians first show a  few days ago but walked out on him this time.  We had planned on going to the Beatles Dance Party but forgot all about it.
What We Did Today:
        During the night the ocean smoothed out finally.  After our usual room service breakfast we both went to workout earlier than normal.  I got out to two bags we had left to pack today.  At 11:00 I went down to redeem some "Regent Rewards" cards that Susanne was kind enough to give me.  I wanted a long sleeved T-shirt and got it.  I then stopped by Gudrun's office and made a deposit for a "Future Cruise".  I have two years to decide how to use it, and it is fully refundable if I decide not to use it.  It will give us ship board booking savings when we book another cruise.  It really is a good savings.
        We had burgers up in La Veranda for lunch.  Afterwards I went to the business center and printed out our American Airlines boarding passes for tomorrow.  We got "TSA pre-check" so very happy about that.  Don't have to remove our shoes or take my laptops out.
        I saw on three of my neighbor's FaceBook posts this morning that we had a big hail storm hit the neighborhood.  I emailed the neighbors who have key to our house to go see if there was any damage to the skylight and our windows.  Jack sent me a photo that looks ok and no water on floor so hoping no problems.  Several neighbors had broken or cracked skylights though.  A roofer will look at it closer this afternoon.  I guess the hail lasted up to 20 minutes and was golf ball size.  YUK!
        While Rebecca is finishing up packing I took a few photos from deck 12 (top) of Nassau.  Well, it's 2pm now and looks like Rebecca has packing pretty much done for now.  Will throw in some last things after returning from dinner tonight.  Susanne is joining us as the Chef Michael is preparing French onion soup and fried chicken for us.
        We should be departing the ship at 8:30 tomorrow morning.  After collecting our luggage and going through Customs, we will drop our Luggage Free (4 bags) and proceeding to the private car that Regent has as part of our Titanium benefits.  It will take us to MIA airport for our 10:55 flight to DFW airport.  Flight lands just after 1pm so I plan to be home by 3:00pm.
        There will be one more posting after this one to wrap things up.  In the mean time here is the link to today's photos:

                                         Oh, no!!  Time to pack bags for going home.  So sad.

        We have some fellow Regent cruisers who are reading my blog.  I am including a link I took of the MARINER CREW PHOTOS.  There are 121 photos.  Copy & Paste.

https://goo.gl/photos/mhvUQdjhC2QdF7TD6

DAY 71-AT SEA

This is our position at 4:00 pm today enroute to Nassau.  We just had a rain shower and the temp is 77F.  We are experiencing the roughest ride of this cruise today.  On our past Eastern Caribbean cruises the Atlantic is usually rough when returning to south Florida.

What We Did Last Night:

                  This is Marlene serving drinks at party for the full 72 day cruisers.

 Our Captain, Cruise Director, and General Manager thanking us for doing the South America circle cruise.  We each received a 4 hour DVD the ship's video guy took during the past 70 days.

     This is Mikah, the lead female singer, during the "Film Flashback" production show.

        Joining us for dinner last night was Bonnie Buchanan.  Her husband was having vertigo problems so had dinner in their suite.  Bonnie and Paul will also be on our world cruise next January.

What We Did Today:
        We did not workout today due to the rough seas.  It would be very hard to stay on a treadmill.  We have been packing today instead.  We'll have two more bags to pack tomorrow.  Rebecca does not think we can get all our "stuff" back in the suitcases.  Bet we do!
        We took a break to have lunch in Compass Rose with Susanne Peters.  They had one of our favorites, salmon baked in pastry.
        This evening is formal optional so I will be wearing my tux.  We have been invited to dine with Gudrun, the cruise consultant, tonight.  There is a Krew Kapers (crew show) at 6:00 pm but we probably will not go as have seen it twice already on this cruise.  In the showroom tonight is the comedian and comedic ventriloquist sharing the stage.  Definitely want to see their show.  At 10:45 is a "Beatles Farewell Dance Party" that is always fun.  We will be arriving in Nassau at noon tomorrow.

DAY 70-SAN JUAN

I'm not sure what I did but had this blog post all written and ready to post.  For some reason it would not post and I managed to lose it all.  I still had the photos so will let them show you what we did.

Link to today's 103 photos:   Copy & Paste

https://goo.gl/photos/GKgLFNb2vdqe94xs8

At 6 pm this evening we will be attending a party for all the full 72 day cruisers in the theater.  Not sure what that will be.  After our dinner in Compass Rose we will go see the Jean Ann Ryan company's last show, "Film Flashback".  It is this cast's last show as they are leaving the ship on Friday also.  We have really enjoyed all 16 of their performances during this cruise.

The Captain just made a PA saying our 4pm scheduled departure would be delayed until 5:30 when the winds should die down some.  The pilot advised her to delay due to safety of getting away from the pier.  Tomorrow is a sea day.

DAY 69-ANTIGUA

                                          It's 84F at noon under partly sunny skies.

                                         Tomorrow we'll be in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

        Antigua is an island in the West Indies with a population of just over 80,000.  Christopher Columbus named the island in 1493.  Today, its economy is based on tourism with agriculture supplying its domestic market needs.  It is basically a round island 54 miles in diameter.  It is said they have a beach for every day of the year since there are 365 of them.
What We Did Last Night:

 Our waiter, Ivan, serving our veal parmesan last night in Compass Rose.  Susanne Peters also joined us.

This was Chef Michael's best veal parmesan of the cruise.  After dinner we went to hear the comedian, Steven Scott.  He was very funny.  We enjoyed his show.

What We Did Today:
        We docked here at 10:00 am.  Downtown St John's is just in front of the pier.  I decided to walk into town and take some photos.  It was already above 80 degrees so I did not last long.  Besides there was not much to see other than shops.  I had an excursion scheduled for noon.  It was to be a 3 1/2 hour "Best of Antigua" tour.  I decided not to go on it as it is just too hot and I was afraid the small buses would not have adequate air conditioning.  Besides I want to stay close to the internet today as my dad is having an operation on his hand.
        We did not work this morning but will in the afternoon while everyone is on tour.  As soon as our suite stewards finish cleaning our suite we will order chef salads from room service.  I may try to pack another bag later in afternoon.
        We were invited to join other Seven Seas Society members for a sail-away party at 4:30 on the forward part of the ship's deck where passengers normally are not allowed.  Too hot so won't go.  We will be sailing at 5:00 pm for San Juan.
        Tonight we have 7:00 reservations in Prime 7.  The show tonight is featuring the comedic ventriloquist, Jerry Goodspeed.  We'll probably go see him.

                                   This is what they call a "dolphin".  Ships tie up to them.

                                             He sells sea shells by the sea shore!

DAY 68--BARBADOS

                                   PALM SUNDAY

 We're docked at the commercial pier in Bridgetown, Barbados today from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm.  It is a lovely, sunny day with temperature of 87F but there is a 20 knot wind blowing so it is pleasant day.

                                       Our next port is at St John, Antigua tomorrow

        Barbados is in the Lesser Antilles of the Eastern Caribbean.  It is 21 miles long and 14 miles wide and lies south of the Atlantic hurricane belt.  Its 280,000 inhabitants are mostly of African descent.  It used to be a part of the British empire but is now independent.  Tourism is a major part of their economy but they do export some sugar.

What We Did Today:

        We did not take any excursions today.  We have been to this island several times, and besides to us, all the Caribbean islands look the same.  I did take the dock shuttle from the ship to the cruise terminal to do some shopping.  I got a T-shirt.  Working out this morning was easy as everyone was on tour.  Rebecca figured out that since the cruise began she has walked 225 miles on the treadmill.

        We had breakfast down in Compass Rose as on Sunday's they have caviar and champagne.  I had caviar but neither of us has champagne.  We had lunch up at the La Veranda buffet.  This afternoon I plan to sit out on our balcony and work a crossword puzzle as we sail in the beautiful blue waters of the Caribbean.  

        At 5:30 we will be going to an interdenominational worship service led by our cruise director, Jamie.  We are having dinner again tonight with Susanne.  I have asked the chef to prepare calamari for appetizer and veal parmesan for our entrees.  The show tonight at 9:30 in theater is featuring the comedy of Steven Scott.  Four entertainers left the ship today and two new ones came aboard.

 Ice carving at last night's "James Bond" cocktail party.  Carving of "007" and "machine gun".

 Got the fresh grill salmon last night.  It was soooooooooo good.  Also had baked potato and carrots.

            Every Sunday morning in Compass Rose they have caviar and champagne.

                                        Gideon from South Africa, was serving the caviar.

                                          Processed sugar comes here for exporting.

                                                           The "sugar shack".

                                   That sugar is taken via big conveyer and loaded on ships.

                                            The beautiful blue waters of the Caribbean

                                                       Bridgetown, Barbados

 This is cruise terminal.  I took shuttle (we're docked in commerical port so had to take shuttle from ship to terminal) to cruise terminal.  This is Palm Sunday so they said most of the downtown shops are closed today.  Most of the terminal shops were open though.

                                                                      WHAT!!!

                                                I found myself in "Lost and Found"

 The ship got some supplies today and they are loaded right below our suite.  The ship brought out some hamburgers for the 3 works who loaded stuff on the ship.

                                       This and following photos are of La Veranda buffet.

                                                               Bread pudding

                                                           I had some pasta.

                                                  smoked salmon, tuna, muscle meat

Here is the link of the photos I took on a tour back in 2012:

https://goo.gl/photos/znPDSyaQnwMWhrDg9