Day 15--Barcelona

Today:
        We docked in Barcelona before 7:00 this morning.  We had room service breakfast then finished packing our roll aboards and waited in atrium to disembark the Explorer at 9:00 am.  Once in the terminal we had a porter get our luggage and a port agent escorted us out to our limo.  The Mariner was docked at another terminal across bridge in the port.  It only took us a 4 minute drive to get there.
        We were about the first ones to arrive this morning.  Went through security check then had to sit in the terminal until noon when they started checking people in and boarding.  While waiting Jason Montague, the President of Regent Cruises, walked by and said hi to us.  We have met him several times.  He told us we would be dining with him tomorrow evening in Prime 7.  He is just on the ship for 2 days and will leave in Malaga.  Our Dallas friend, Jane VanHarlingen, flew to Barcelona a few days ago and has been touring in the city.  She arrived at the terminal just prior to boarding at noon so we took her with us through the check in process.
        Initially the check in process was a little chaotic.  You always have to fill out a health form saying you are not sick but they did not have them available.  They finally just let us check in.  Because of our Titanium status, our suite was ready to go directly to when we got on the ship.  Others had to wait until 2:30 pm before their suites were ready to occupy.
        Sure enough there was an invitation to dine with Mr Montague tomorrow evening.  WOW!  That is very special.  I have a few questions for him!
         We are basically unpacked now.  Lifeboat drill is just completed and took almost an hour.  This compares to the 20 minute drill on Explorer.  It's now 5:15pm and about to depart.  Tomorrow morning we will be docked in Cartagena, Spain.
        Busy day and now it is time to get ready for cocktail hour.  The three of us will be dining this evening in Prime 7 (steakhouse).  I did take a few photos of the Mariner today but no time to put them on today's link.  I must say she is lovely after the major refurbishment in France the past couple of weeks.  Stay tuned for more tomorrow.

ITINERARY FOR SECOND OF TRANSATLANTICS ON RSSC MARINER

ITINERARY FOR MARINER

Wed    Apr 4----Barcelona, Spain
Thurs  Apr 5----Cartagena, Spain
Fri       Apr 6----Malaga, Spain
Sat       Apr 7----At Sea
Sun      Apr 8----Funchal, Madeira (Portugal)
Mon    Apr 9----At Sea
Tues    Apr 10---At Sea
Wed    Apr 11---At Sea
Thurs   Apr 12---At Sea
Fri       Apr 13---At Sea
Sat       Apr 14---Hamilton, Bermuda
Sun      Apr 15---Hamilton, Bermuda
Mon     Apr 16---At Sea
Tues     Apr 17---At Sea
Wed     Apr 18---Miami

Day 14--Search & Rescue

Man Overboard:
        At 3:30 am this morning our Captain came on the PA system in all suites to inform us that a person had fallen overboard on ANOTHER ship, not ours, and we were taking part in the search and rescue mission along with 7 other ships and two helicopters from land.  I do not know for sure which ship lost a passenger (or it could be a crew member) but I suspect it was from NCL Spirit which has been in a couple ports with us.  The reason I suspect that ship is they had some of their tenders in the water searching also.
        The Captain again come over PA at 8:30 am to update us and said our stop in Alicante, Spain, had been cancelled due to the search.  So remained searching the area until about 10:30.  Once again our Captain came on PA to say that we were departing the search and heading to Barcelona.  We had to leave in order to arrive at Barcelona on schedule tomorrow morning.  It is the end of this cruise and many passengers have to catch flights home plus others are waiting to board for the next cruise.  The Captain said a person in the ocean here would probably only be conscious due to the water temperature for around 2 hours and really no hope of living after 6 hours.  We searched for 8 hours before departing the area.  Others are continuing the search however.
       We experienced another incident like this several years ago on a Princess cruises ship after departing Aruba for Miami.  A crew member jumped over board in the middle of the night.  We spent all night and all the next day searching but did not find him either.  It's like looking for a needle in a haystack out here in the ocean.  Below is photo of the NCL Spirit in search and rescue also.

Last Night:
        We fixed a cocktail in our suite then headed down to the theater to see the crew's show for us, "Krew Kapers".  On Regent the crew always puts on a show for the passengers as part of the Captain's Farewell dinner.  The show was really pretty good.  They put their hearts into it for sure and is really appreciated by all us passengers.  After the show we had another cocktail in the Meridian Lounge prior to going for dinner in Compass Rose restaurant.  As I mentioned yesterday, beef Wellington is one of our favorites so here a photo of mine.  It was yummy!!

        After a fabulous dinner, we headed to the theater to see the production show, "The Revolution".  Music from Beetles and other groups from mainly England.  Very good show once again.

Today:
        Well, no tour for sure today since it has changed into another day at sea.  We still have not seen Alicante!!  So we both went to the gym for some exercise.  After showering we started the packing process.  By 12:30 we were mostly finished and looks like everything will fit back into our bags.  We are to sit them outside in hallway before 11:00 pm so they can collect and get them ready to leave ship too.  Normally customs will not let anyone off the ship until all bags are off.  We are not in any hurry to leave the ship as we will just have to wait until probably noon to board the Mariner.  This ship wants everyone off the ship by 9:00 am so they can get it ready for next group of passengers.  So our private car transfer is set up for 9:00.  The other cruise terminal is not very far away.
        No photo link today.  Just the two pics above.  Well, not much going on tonight.  They will be replaying the NCAA final basketball game in the theater tonight  I could care less about that.  We will be having cocktails in the Meridian Lounge as usual before dinner.  Dining in Compass Rose as I have asked the chef to make miso sea bass for our entree tonight.  It is definitely one of our favorites and not found in any stateside restaurants.  In fact I asked for a double order.  OINK!  We call the last night's dinner on a cruise, "The Last Supper".  After dinner we will be making the rounds in dining room and lounges to say good bye to our crew member friends and passenger friends.  Kind of a sad night for us.

Status of Blog:
        This blog does not end today.  No, we have another 14 nights on the next cruise so stay tuned.  The Mariner has just come out of a huge 20 day refurbishment in dry dock.  Lots of big changes to the common areas that we will be the first passengers to see.  I will be posting several photos of the newly revamped Mariner.  We are scheduled to depart Barcelona tomorrow evening at 5:00pm for our cruise back to Miami.        

Day 13--Malaga, Spain

Malaga Info:
        Today we are docked in the Spanish coastal city of Malaga.  We have visited this port on a previous cruise.  Malaga has a population of 570,000 making it the 6th largest city in Spain.  It is also one of the oldest cities in the world dating back 2800 years when it was founded by the Phoenicians around 770 BC.
        It lies on the southern coast of Spain 62 miles east of the Strait of Gibraltar separating Africa and Spain.  It has very mild winters, hot summers, and averages 300 days of sunshine per year.  There is a mountain range just north of the city that blocks the cold weather from the north.
        The most important economic drivers here are:  tourism, construction, and technology services.  It ranks 4th in Spain’s economic activity behind Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia.
        We will just miss the Holy Week celebration which is from Palm Sunday until Easter.  We arrive the day  after Easter Sunday.  It has been observed here for five centuries and is characterized by processions and parades. Most of the population are roman Catholics.  They were still cleaning up the mess in the streets but overall, Malaga was a very clean city.
        Transportation wise, in addition to the seaport, it is served by the 4th busiest airport in Spain, a high speed train, buses, and a network of roads.   

Last Night:
       We again had cocktails in the Meridian Lounge before heading down to Compass Rose for dinner.  I will let my photos show what we had for dinner.  Afterwards we decided not to go to see the magician's show but rather retired for the evening.  As I mentioned yesterday, sometime during the night we passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and into the Mediterranean Sea.

Today:
       Alarm set for 8:40 this morning as I had to get ready for my tour at 9:15.  I had ordered Rebecca room service breakfast for 9:00 but I did not have any.  She decided not to go on tour but rather go do her workout as usual and read a book today.
        It is a beautifully sunny day.  I did need a jacket early as it was 55 degrees when I left the ship but later warmed up nicely into the upper 60's.  So at about 9:10 I headed for the theater to exchange my tour ticket for a bus number.  Remember on Regent most all the tours are included in your cruise fare. 
        My tour was titled, "Flamenco in Malaga".  There were only 17 of us on my tour bus as Regent never crowds the buses.  We departed the pier for the old downtown area in Malaga.  We left the bus for a walking tour of old Malaga for an hour then went to see a Flamenco show.  Our guide said this show was not the normal tourist show but an authentic one.  It was the highlight of my cruise so far.  Great show!!  I put a couple minute long videos in today's photos so you will need to turn the sound on your computer to hear them. 
        I will let the captions on my photos better describe my tour.  We returned to the ship at 12:30.  I went up to the pool grill for a hamburger.  Hamburgers at Regent's pool grills are really good.  I spent most of the afternoon downloading today's photos.  It was a slower than normal process for some reason.  I went down to the atrium where the download speed was a bit faster.  On my way back to the suite I ran into an old crew friend, Yudi.  He was a butler on our 2010 world cruise.  Super nice young man from Bali.
        We sail at 5:00 this evening for our next, and last port of call, Alicante, Spain.  It is only 300 miles from here.  This will be a new port for us to see.  Not sure if I can get Rebecca off the ship or not.  At 6:00 this evening we will be going to see "Krew Kappers".  It is a show put on by some of the crew members for us.  They are really very talented and it's always a great show.  Tonight is the Captain's Farewell Dinner.  We have another night left but everyone will be packing tomorrow.  Our favorite, Beef Wellington, is always on the menu on this night.  Can't wait!  Another production show at 9:30 tonight, "My Revolution".  Sounds interesting.
        Here is the link to last night's and today's photos.  Again, you will have to cut and paste it on another browser to open it.  Then click on the first photo to enlarge it and then you will see my captions on right side.  Arrow through rest of the photos.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ilANyMV5P2pFxzEs1

Day 12--Last Sea Day

                                                   EASTER

Our position today at noon.  Our last day at sea on this cruise.  We will be going through the Strait of Gibraltar tonight at around 1:00 am.  We are still experiencing some swells but the Captain said they will be lessening as the day progresses.  Once we pass into the Mediterranean Sea it should be smooth sailing.  It is a hazy day and 61 degrees outside.

Strait of Gibraltar

        This is a narrow strait which connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea.  At its narrowest point it is only 14 miles wide.  On the northern side is the Gibralter, a British overseas territory on the southern tip of Spain.  On the southern side is Morocco in Africa.  The Strait depth ranges from 1,000 to 3,000 feet deep.

Last Night:

        We took our bottle of chilled champagne with us to the Meridian Lounge and Tetiana put it in her cooler while we had a pre-dinner cocktail.  We had 7:00 dinner reservations up in Prime 7 so took our champagne with us up there to enjoy it.  We were seated at a nice window table.  I also ordered a nice cabernet, 2014 Joseph Phelps cabernet sauvignon.  We have quite a bit of ship board credit so used some to buy this nice wine.  You will see them open and decant it in my photos today.  There are also photos of what we ate.  Of course, the Prime 7 staff sang to us with the dessert course.

        We then went to the theater to hear our assistant cruise director's show.  David Nevin is a very talented singer and his fiance joined him on stage for one number together.  She also had an incredible voice.  Another great show!!

        When we finally got back to our suite, they had decorated it for our anniversary.  You have to see the photos!  For the last time we turned clocks forward before retiring.

Today:

        I had my clock set for an 8:40 am get up so I could go to the church service at 9:00.  I just could not get out of bed however.  It was 10:00 before I finally got up.  No room service today but I did go down and get Rebecca a cup of coffee and brought it back for her.  There was a special Easter buffet in Compass Rose from 10:30 to 1:30 so I went down at 11:00 to take some photos of it.  Then at noon we met Marcia, Sydney, & Steve at Compass Rose to enjoy the buffet.  We did not want to eat too much because had to save some room for tonight's dinner.  So we both just had an omelet.  Just lounged around the suite this afternoon working on this and reading today's Dallas Morning News paper.

        Today's 4:00 tea time theme is "Chocoholic".  I included some photos.  At 5:00 this afternoon we are going down to the theater for a special cocktail and information party for those of us on board who will be transferring to the Mariner on the 4th.

        There is a pre-dinner show at 5:45 featuring the music of Peggy Lee.  We are not planning on going to it.  Tonight's headliner show in theater is featuring a comedic magician, John Lenahan.  We will be going but not sitting on the front row tonight.

        Here is the link to today's photos.  See previous post as it tells you how to view the link, in case you don't know by now.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/u7bh9WSIYM2HvoT92

         

Day 11--Funchal on Portuguese Island of Madeira

OUR 34TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

After 5 days at sea we arrived this morning at the port of Funchal on the Portuguese island of Madeira off the coast of north Africa.  It is an absolutely beautiful day with calm wind and temperature in low 70's..

FUNCHAL INFO:
       Funchal has been the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira for over 500 years.  The island is on the same latitude as Dallas, TX, is and is located 320 miles off the coast of Morocco in North Africa.  It is 600 miles from Lisbon, Portugal, to Funchal.  Funchal is the largest city on the island with a population of nearly 112,000 making it the 6th largest city of Portugal.  Half of the people living on the island live in Funchal.  It is one of Portugal’s main tourist attractions as many cruise ships make this a port of call.  It also has an international airport for tourists to fly in and out.
       This is the 4th time we have visited Funchal and the island of Madeira.  The island is just 35 miles long and 14 miles wide.   The island was formed by a volcano some 5 million years ago and its volcanic soil is very fertile.  It is a beautiful place and one of my personal favorite ports of call.  The city is very clean and modern with very nice people.  It enjoys very even year round temperatures in the 60’s & 70’s.  Funchal lies inside a natural U-shaped valley with gentle slopes beginning at the ocean and rising up to over 3500 feet.
       Settlement of Madeira began in the early 1400’s and it became an important maritime port between Europe and the Americas.  It had rich soil which produced sugar cane during the second half of the century and onward.  The wine industry also appeared then and today the island is very well known for its unique “Madeira wines”.
       The Funchal Airport is located 8 miles east-northeast of the city.  We have never flown here as all our visits were via cruise ships.  It opened in 1964 with two 5249 foot long runways.  Folks that is VERY short!!  Due to increased tourist demands the runway  length has been extended twice since and is now 9124 feet long.  It is still considered one of the most perilous airports in the world.  The History Channel ranked it as the 9th most dangerous airport in the world.  Pilots must undergo additional special training to land here.  I’ll come by cruise ships, thank you!!

Last Night:
        We had a cocktail in the Meridian Lounge at 6:00.  The band combo toned down the music so we could actually hear each other talking.  The band leader came over and asked if they were doing better so I guess the cruise director did speak with them.  We dined in Compass Rose and think my photo captions will cover our experience there.  Another great dinner!!
        We were waiting for the theater doors to open at 9:00 for the 9:30 production show.  We like sitting on the front row for the shows.  Six singers of the production cast were featured singing many Broadway show tunes.  It was a very good show.  I believe one female singer, Sammie, is talented enough to be on Broadway in NYC.  Prior to the show we struck up a conversation with a couple from San Diego area.  They had conservative views just as we do.

Today:
        My alarm clock went off at 8:15 this morning as room service was scheduled at 8:30.  When I open the balcony door curtains we were just passing by the NCL Spirit cruise ship that was already docked.  Glad we are not on it as it is about 3 times larger than our ship and not nearly as luxurious. Our names were on the tv this morning wishing us a happy anniversary.  Yesterday we decided to cancel our tour for today.  We have visited Funchal 4 times already.  So instead we worked out and then walked into town after lunch.  It is such a great day for taking a stroll.  I even got Rebecca to get off the ship.  So after working out then a long walk, we should be able to eat more in Prime 7 this evening where we will be celebrating our anniversary.  I only had a hot dog for lunch!
        Funchal is a very beautiful town and a VERY clean city.  It is Saturday so many locals and passengers from both ships we sitting out at the many outside cafes and restaurants lining the streets.
        When we returned to our suite there was a nice little anniversary cake and two glasses of champagne awaiting us from the ship's General Manager, Andreas.  I am having the suite steward chill our bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne.  This is another one of our Titanium benefits.  If you are not familiar, this is an expensive bottle of champagne.  We will take it to Prime 7 (steakhouse) this evening as we have dinner reservations there.
        Tonight's show is featuring our assistant cruise director, David Nevin.  He is a singer and his resume includes performing in many musicals.  We will be there!
        We will be departing at 5:00 this evening for our next port of call, Malaga, Spain, which is 775 statute miles away.  So tomorrow will another sea day and the last sea day of this cruise.  We will be spending Easter Sunday at sea.
        Ok, here is the link to the photos I took last night and today.  Funchal is a beautiful place and one of our favorites in the whole world.  As a review, you will have to cut and paste the link onto another browser to open it.  Then click on the first photo to enlarge it.  Then you can read my captions which are very informative also.  Arrow through the rest of photos.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ue98JxbI4eAf3XBr1

As an extra bonus, I am adding some really good photos of this island I took when here back in November of 2011.  I know you will enjoy these as some are in countryside.

https://goo.gl/photos/4F8dGPi5tAhZPyj37   

Day 10--Cruising in Atlantic

GOOD FRIDAY

This is our position at noon today.  We are now 400 statute miles (350 nm) from our next port of call, Funchal on the Portuguese island of Madeira.  We will be arriving there tomorrow morning around 9:00 am.  It is a sunny day at sea with light winds and an outside air temperature of 63 degrees.  We are starting to get some swells now.  Captain Stan said they will be increasing to 15 feet swells this afternoon and evening hitting the ship broadside on port side (left side) which will create a rolling motion of the ship.  Our stabilizers are deployed but will not be able to fully dampen the rolling motion.  SO, I put on half of a transderm scopolamine patch behind my ear.  Just practicing "safe cruising" as do not want to have sea sickness.  The ocean looks smooth but you can see and feel the swells.

Last Night:
       We went to the Meridian Lounge as usual for cocktail hour.  Elena, the head bartender, arranged to have some cream cheese stuffed jalapeno peppers for us as a hot hors doeuvers with our drinks.  She said we will be having them served to us every evening now.  At 6:30 we met Joe & Allison Trum at the entrance to Compass Rose as we were having dinner together.  They wanted to join us since I had requested veal parmesan again for our entree.  We also had fried soft shell crabs for our appetizer.   We met them back in 2012 on our Circle South America cruise then cruised again with them from Beijing to London in 2103.  They live in Galveston, TX.  Seems we never run out of things to talk about.  It was a great evening!!
        Last night's headliner show was the return of "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere".  We really enjoy this couple and their unique musical style.  They will be leaving tomorrow in Funchal.  After the show I walked out into the Deck 4 atrium and there was an incredible Easter display made by some chefs on board.  Very artistic and obviously a lot of time spent on it.  Photos on today's link.

Today:
        I bought Rebecca some Contact in the shop yesterday to hopefully help with her breathing last night.  It did help.  Hopefully this will run its course soon.  We lost another hour of sleep last night as we moved clocks ahead another hour.  Now we are 5 hours ahead of Central time zone in the US.
        Once again room service brought our breakfast promptly at 9:00 am.  We got our workout in before getting cleaned up for lunch time.  Even Rebecca went for lunch (instead of having her protein bar for lunch) as in La Veranda they had salmon baked in puff pastry.  This is one of our favorites.  Right before leaving for lunch, the Destination Services desk called me to say we would be getting a private car upon disembarking the ship in Barcelona to take us to the cruise terminal for the Mariner. He said we would be in last group off the ship around 9:00 am as they want everyone off Explorer by then.  Will have to wait in the cruise terminal where Regent's Mariner will be leaving from until they start the boarding process later that morning.  They are offering a Barcelona tour for those of us who will be switching ships but we have done the Barcelona tours on previous cruises.  Besides the weather forecast is for rain that day.
        There is a Passover Dinner this evening for those Jewish passengers who wish to attend.  We plan on dining in Compass Rose as have requested one of our favorite salads on Regent.  It has avocado, heart of palm, cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, lettuce, and green goddess dressing.  It used to be on the menu but now we have to ask for it.  After dinner there is another production show called "Broadway in Concert".
        Ok, here is today's photos link.  Cut & paste it to another browser to open it.  Then click on the first photo to enlarge it and then you can also see my captions on the right side.  Arrow through the rest of photos.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/1FTQfUYiLSLsDFqs2