Day 25--Hamilton, Bermuda

Our position today is docked at the pier right next to downtown Hamilton on the island of Bermuda.  It is a beautiful day with sunny skies, light winds, and temperature in the low 70's.  Hamilton is the capital of the British overseas territory of Bermuda.  Hamilton's history dates back to 1790 but it did not become a city until 1897.  The city has a limit on the height any building can be.  Buildings cannot obscure the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity (Church of England).  Today, finance and international business drives its economy.  Of note is Bacardi rum is headquartered here. 

Last Night:
        We met our Durango neighbors, Jim & Barbara, for a cocktail prior to dinner in the Mariner Lounge.  They are also traveling with Barbara's sister and her daughter.  We then enjoyed dinner in Prime 7.
        Once again we were on the front row for the headliner entertainer, Lovena B. Fox.  This was her second show of the cruise.  WOW!  She blew everyone away with her fantastic voice and selection of songs.  She is definitely in the top five performers we have ever heard on a cruise ship.  She received a well deserved standing ovation.

Today:
        Ships sailing into the island of Bermuda can only arrive and depart during hours of daylight due to there only being a narrow channel through coral beds and shallow rocks.  We picked up the harbor pilot at 6:30 and was not docked until 8:45.  Rebecca had room service again but I went up to La Veranda for my breakfast. 
        We are not going on any tours today or tomorrow as we have been here several times over the years.  I did my exercise by walking 3 miles up on the ship's walking/jogging track on deck 12.  This morning the crew had a emergency drill that lasted nearly an hour.  This involved deploying the life boats on our side of the ship into the water.  I was watching this from our balcony as it was quite interesting.
        I had a burger up at the pool grill for my lunch.  After that I walked into Hamilton which is right across the street from pier.  It is a nice warm, sunny day so good for a walk.  I finally found a big grocery store so bought some tooth paste as not sure we had enough to last until we got back home next week.  Prices here are very high.  Cost $7 for a tube of Crest tooth paste. 
        After returning to the ship I sat out on our balcony and started reading a book that our next door neighbor had given me before leaving on the cruise.  It is titled, "Surviving Hell" by Leo Thorsness.  Leo was shot down in April of 1967 while flying a combat mission over North Vietnam in a F-105 "Wild Weasel" and spent 6 years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi.  Leo is also a Medal of Honor recipient.  The book tells his story of being tortured while captive and how he and the other POW's managed to survive.  Leo is related to Melissa our next door neighbor and they recently flew to Washington DC for his funeral with full military honors and a fly-over of Air Force fighters during interment in the National Cemetery.  As a veteran of the Vietnam War and also an Air Force pilot, I have the highest respect for my fellow Air Force, Navy, and Marine aviators who ended up being POW's in Hanoi.  These men suffered severe torture during their captivity.  I am also proud to have played a part in securing their release.  I was a B-52 pilot who flew during the 12 nights of the bombing of Hanoi during December 1972.  This bombing campaign drove the North Vietnamese back to peace talks seriously, thus ending the war.  Our POW's were released a few months later.  I talked to one POW who later was also an American Airlines pilot.  He told me all the POW's were out in the prison yard cheering the nights of the B-52 raids as they knew their release freedom was soon coming.
        Plan for this evening includes cocktail hour in Mariner Lounge followed by dinner up in Sette Mari, Italian restaurant.  Tonight's Compass Rose menu not that interesting to us.  Not much of a show in theater tonight as the ship's orchestra pianist is doing a concert.  I think several folks will be off the ship tonight dining in Hamilton's restaurants.  They are so convenient as just across the street from our pier.  Crew members may be out there after they finish work having a drink and bite to eat also.

Here is the link to today's photos:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/Tn5Vo4tn2stFQm7t2 

Day 24--At Sea

Our position at noon today.  Yellow arrow in red circle heading for the green dot which is Bermuda.  We'll be arriving there at 9:00 am tomorrow.  I guess we are now cruising in the Bermuda Triangle on Friday the 13th!!  It is a sunny day and 64 degrees outside.  Glad to report that the ocean has calmed down some but still some swells.

Last Night:
        We went to the Alford's cocktail party in their master suite at 5:30 pm.  There were 4 other couples plus Jane who were invited to it.  The master suite is on deck 9 at the very front of the ship so their balcony looks out over the bow.  Their balcony alone is twice the size of our suite.  The suite has 2 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths with separate living area and dining table.  There was a bartender in addition to their butler taking care of the party guests.  It was a fun time but the forward location was very not good place to be during rough seas, so it was difficult to stand without holding onto something.  At 6:30 we went down to the Mariner Lounge for another cocktail prior to dinner in Compass Rose.  The girls had duck in orange sauce and I had Dover sole.  All very good!
        After dinner we went to see the production show.  This time we sat towards the back as I wanted to see how the singers sounded back there.  I am still not impressed with this cast of singers.  It was all I could do to sit through the whole show.  Dancers are doing a good job.

Today:
        Once again room service breakfast for Rebecca.  I went up to La Veranda but tables were full so I came back down to the Coffee Connection for coffee and a bran muffin.  Finally ran into Jim & Barbara, our neighbors back in Durango.  We are meeting them this evening for a cocktail prior to dinner.  Jim is also a retired American Airlines pilot.  Barbara said Jim walked out of show last night.  They also have a problem with the singers.  Interesting!
        We both hit the gym this morning and at noon we headed up to the pool grill for the Tex-Mex BBQ.  This is the Regent version of Tex-Mex so not quite what you would expect.  Well, there is finally water in the swimming pool.  It was sloshing around quite a bit due to the ship's motion besides it is too cool to be swimming.  The hot tubs are busy however. 
        Thanks to my suggestion last year on our world cruise, there is now a "classic movie channel" on the tv system.  Yesterday I watched "Fist Full of Dollars", a 1964 spaghetti western starring Clint Eastwood.  Today, I am watching "Bridge Over the River Kwai".  Seen them many times before but still enjoy them. 
        At 3:00 this afternoon there will be a "Country Fair" up on the pool deck.  The different departments, ie, housekeeping, bar, entertainment, reception, restaurant and others, will setup booths with games for us passengers to play.  This will just last 45 minutes.  I have seen many of these on all Regent cruises and pretty sure the crew members have more fun than we do.
        We are meeting our neighbors, Jim & Barbara, this evening for cocktails in the Mariner Lounge at 6:00 pm.  We have 7:15 reservations in Prime 7 for dinner tonight.  After that we plan on going to the theater for headliner entertainer, Lovena Fox's second show of the cruise. 

Link to today's photos:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/ywWb5QbJetvbgV2B2

Day 23--At Sea

They finally got the map on tv fixed.  So our position at noon today is at the yellow arrow in the red circle.  Bermuda is shown as the green dot this side of the USA.  Ship is moving about some with the 12 foot waves today.  Captain Serena says the ocean should be improving later on this afternoon but it didn't.  Not bad though.  Mostly sunny skies with some haze and an outside air temperature of 66 degrees.  We have 885 miles left to travel prior to reaching Hamilton, Bermuda, Saturday morning.

Last Night:
        Last night we went to the Seven Seas Society cocktail party prior to dinner in Compass Rose.  We asked to be seated at one of "Skinny's" tables.  We have known him for a long time and is a very good waiter.  They call him Skinny because he is very skinny.  We all had the miso sea bass as our entree.  It is without doubt our favorite entree on Regent.  They marinade the sea bass in miso for 48 hours prior to cooking.  I had two pieces as they were small.  It melted in our mouths!
        After dinner I did go to the theater to see the comedian/magician's show.  He is a very young man and his show was ok.  The girls stopped in the Mariner Lounge for an after dinner glass of wine.

Today:
        Clocks back another hour last night so got an extra hour sleep.  We are now 3 hours ahead of Central time.  Room service breakfast at 8:00 this morning followed by the gym and getting cleaned up. 
        After some lunch, I watched a movie while Rebecca read her book.  I have also been working on this. Well, at 5:30 we have been invited to have cocktails in the Master Suite (largest suite on the ship).  Dwight & Mona Alford have invited us to see the newly refurbished master suite.  They were one of the other two couples who were invited by Jason Montague, President of RSSC, to dine with him early on in this cruise.  We have cruised with the Alford's before also.  They live in NC.
        Planning dinner in Compass Rose then going to the theater afterwards for the second production show, "What the World Needs Now" featuring Burt Bacharach tunes performed by the cast of singers and dancers.  It is pretty bumpy now so I would not be surprised if the show will be moved to another night.  The dancers will have tough time dancing while like this.

Here is the link to photos for today:      https://photos.app.goo.gl/Pa94q4lREHfGAkLm2
 
       

Day 22--At Sea

Position & Weather:
        At noon today we are still cruising in the Atlantic with 1430 miles left to sail before reaching Bermuda on Saturday morning.  We are now half way from Funchal to Bermuda.  Well, in one week our cruises will be over and we will be disembarking in Miami.  Sad!! The weather today is not as nice as it was yesterday.  We have high overcast clouds with haze and an outside air temperature of 64 degrees.  There is more motion in the ocean with wave heights of 6 feet and swells of 5 to 8 feet. We also have a 20 to 25 knot wind today.  Captain Serena says the sea conditions tomorrow may be a little worse but not nearly as bad as a few days ago.                        .

Last Night:
        We went the Mariner Lounge again for cocktail hour.  Only stayed for half hour as we were going to be dining up in the Italian restaurant, Sette Mari, which does not take reservations.  The maitre'd, Sylvester, told me at noon that it fills up within 30 minutes of opening.  For some reason it is a very popular dining venue on this cruise.  So we went up just prior to its opening at 6:30.  There was a line but we got a nice table for the three of us.  We had a fantastic waiter from Italy, Tomas.  Photo captions describes the dinner.
        After dinner we were at the theater entrance when the doors opened at 9:00.  We got the same front row seats we had last show.  The show, "Broadway in Concert", featured the production cast singers made up of three males singers and three female singers.  I really wanted to like them but thought only one of the males had a show quality voice.  After liking the young ladies the first show, I thought their voices "screechy" and flat.  Actually, the show seemed more like an orchestra pianist concert as music was too loud.  Will try sitting in back during their show next show.  I need to give them benefit of my doubt before end of cruise critique.  Rest of audience is applauding but no standing ovations.

Today:
        Up at 7:15 again for Rebecca's room service breakfast which was delivered promptly at 7:30.  I got dressed and headed right to the gym for a workout.  After it and getting cleaned up, I went up to La Veranda for my breakfast.  One of the featured things today was banana & blueberry pancakes.  I rarely indulge in pancakes but these looked good so I went for it!!  Also had some bacon to wash them down.  Yummy!
        I then sat down in the atrium on deck 5 to wait for the 10:00 lecture to begin.  Palo came by and we had a nice half hour chat.  We met Palo on our 2010 world cruise as he was the restaurant manager for it.  Now he is manager of restaurant operations for all of Regent's ships and works at the corporate office in Miami but he said he spends half the year going from ship to ship making sure all is going well and helping with training the staff.  He is like a quality control guy.  He really enjoys this job and does it well.  I enjoyed our visit.
        At 10 am I attended the guest lecturer, William Lokey, who was speaking on commercial and naval operations by the north and south during the Civil War.  It was quite interesting and I enjoyed it.  I usually do not go to the theater for these lectures as they are replayed on our suite tv later that day.
        I think Rebecca is doing better today as not coughing much anyway.  I went to the boutique and bought some "Airborne" to take hoping not to catch what she has. 
        We went up to La Veranda for lunch at noon as they were featuring salmon in pastry at the carving station.  It is one of our favorites.  Did not want to eat too much as on tonight's Compass Rose menu is miso marinaded sea bass.  Now this IS our favorite entree on Regent.  This is always on the menu the night of the Seven Seas Society cocktail party.  This party will be taking place at 6:00 pm in the theater.
        This afternoon I went to another lecture in the theater on tsunamis by William Lokey.  After that stopped by to see if Matilda, the cruise consultant, was successful in booking our cruises on Regent's new ship debuting in February of 2020.  Bookings opened up this morning for it.  She was able to book us in our first choice of suites.  Hooray!!  So I made the deposits.  So we are now newly booked on the RSSC Splendor from LA to Miami, a 16 night cruise, on March 14, 2020.  We are also booked on the Splendor for a 15 night cruise from Miami down through Caribbean and then up to New York City on April 1, 2020.  This is a back to back cruise but we will have to go to a hotel in Miami for two nights between the cruises as Regent is hosting a big group of travel agents to see the new ship then.  Not real happy that we will have to pack everything up and go to hotel however.
        The headliner show later tonight in the theater features a second show by Joe Enock, a comedic magician.  We did not go to his first show so may go to this one. 

Link to today's photos:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/P0FOPlFRSxrFxOdF3      

Day 21--At Sea

Noon Report:
        WOW!  It is a beautiful day now in the Atlantic.  Captain Serena said at noon the we are now in the middle of a high pressure area giving us this wonderful weather.  We have sailed 1000 miles since Funchal and have 2000 more miles to go before arriving on Bermuda Saturday morning.  The winds are light today and the swell is down to just 5 feet resulting in excellent sailing conditions as you will see in one of my photos.  Outside air temperature is in the low 60's.

Last Night:
        We met Jane in Mariner Lounge at 6:00 for cocktails.  At 7:00 we met Donald Curbelo, the Food & Beverage Manager (F&B) on Mariner.  We have sailed with Donald several times and can now call him a good friend of ours.  He is from Honduras but now living in Lima, Peru, with his wife and three kids.  Donald had Chef Dino prepare veal parmesan for the four of us.  Well, it was good but not quite what I was expecting.  He used something other than marinara sauce.  But we had a very nice evening catching up with Donald.  It's my belief that the F&B is third in responsibility behind the Captain and General Manager on Regent.  Donald is responsible for all the dining venues, kitchens, bars, and the crew members working in those areas:  chefs, cooks, kitchen staff, head waiters, waiters, asst waiters, maitre 'ds, wine sommeliers, bartenders, and bar waiters.  Not sure if the F&B or Head Housekeeper has the most crew who are working for them.  Passing the ship's USDA health inspections is Donald's biggest responsibility.
        After dinner we headed to the theater for the first production show by a new cast of singers and dancers that boarded in Barcelona.  We got front row seats and the theater was standing room only when the show started.  The show was called "Tuxedo".  Ok, we did enjoy the show but I did not recognize many of the songs.  Also the two male singers were not projecting their voices and the orchestra covered them up.  Did not have that problem with the two female singers.  I thought the dancers did a very good job, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Overall, it was a good show.

Today:
        Clocks were moved back another hour last night so we enjoyed an extra hour of sleep.  Up at 7:15 for Rebecca's 7:30 room service delivery.  I went down to Coffee Connection for coffee and a bagel.  After that I hit the gym for an hour workout.  Rebecca waited until later in the morning.  I showered and went to the theater at 11:00 for the cruise consultant, Matilda, make a future cruise presentation.
        For lunch I went up to La Veranda with the idea of having a hamburger.  Rebecca did her protein bar as usual in the suite.  So I ordered a plain hamburger cooked medium with no fries at the pool grill and told them I was at table 53 inside La Veranda.  After about 25 minutes still no burger so I asked a waitress to check on it.  A few minutes later she came with a cheeseburger.  I had had some crab legs off the buffet so was not starving to death.  She wanted to go get a regular burger but I told her I would just go to my suite and order one as really wanted to eat it there anyway,  Well, she told Maria the restaurant manager (in charge of all dining venues on board) because Maria called me in the suite and apologized.  I told her no apology was necessary as I was completely happy.  She said she was having the chef make me a "prime" hamburger and would be delivered shortly.  I did not mean to cause a problem.  Loved the burger!!
        This afternoon we got our satellite tv back so watching Fox News.  Waiting for Trump to kick Assad's ass.  Rebecca is coughing again and started taking a Z-pac this morning for upper respiratory.  Seems she has health issues EVERY cruise.  But then she has had issues back at home also.
        At 6:00 this evening we have an appointment to talk with Matilda and possibly book a cruise for 2020.  The RSSC Splendor is currently being built and will debut in February 2020.  I am thinking we will try to book her.  Booking the Splendor begins tomorrow!  I am thinking of booking a 16 night cruise from LA to Miami back to back with a 15 night Miami to New York (down to Caribbean then back up to NYC).  I will be researching this as soon as this blog is finished.
        Our plan for dinner tonight is to go up to Sette Mari (Italian) at 6:30.  You can't make reservations so it is first come, first serve.  Silvester, the maitre'd, told me it fills up fast when they open at 6:30.  There is another production show tonight, "Broadway in Concert", that we want to attend.  We saw this show last cruise on Explorer but this is a different cast.

Link to today's photos:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/edeyoNhnTcMdK5F23

Day 20--At Sea

How To See Earlier Posts:
        On the right side below photo of Explorer you will find the "Blog Archive".  Click on the month of March to see those posts.  You can click on the day to see it.

Last night:
        We did not take part in the "block party", but rather, had cocktails in Mariner Lounge.  Jane did do the block party and joined us later in the lounge.  Donald, Food & Beverage Manager (F&B), stopped by bar to chat with us.  He is an old friend of ours.  He called Chef Dino and had him come to talk with us about how I liked my veal parmesan prepared.  So Donald, Jane, and us will be having veal parmesan prepared for us in Compass Rose tonight.  But last night we dined in the French specialty restaurant, Chartreuse.  We had a problem with the service but Stephane, the maitre 'd took care of that.  The food was good but probably won't go back.  After dinner Rebecca and Jane went to hear the pianist in theater but I retired. Rebecca said the show was good.

Today:
        Experienced big swells and rough seas last night again.  Captain Serena says it should improve this afternoon.  Let's hope so.  Got our satellite tv today so we are getting FOX NEWS again.  Also did not get a news paper yesterday but got one today.  So far we still have internet, so that's good.  We had room service breakfast again this morning.  It is just not as good as it was on Explorer.  It arrives on time but not real hot.
        We both went to the gym this morning.  I had lunch in Compass Rose.  Just a Caesar salad with chicken.  Rebecca had another protein bar for her lunch.  It is mostly sunny and 62 degrees outside today with some wind also.  Now 4:00pm and still have some swells but better ride.

        Link to today's photos:     https://photos.app.goo.gl/Z8fr2I5QcP0bbw7C3
       

Day 19--Funchal, Madeira

FUNCHAL

        We are back once again to Funchal on the Portuguese island of Madeira.  I put background info about here on my March 31st (day 11) posting in case you want to review it.  You can look on right hand side of blog to find "Blog Archive".  Then click on "March" to find those posts.

        The ship's map on tv system is still not working, and in fact, now we have no satellite tv at all.  A lot of things going wrong on board now.

Last Night:

        The "block party" and production show were cancelled do to the rough seas.  Early this morning it did smooth out but probably because we were protected from the swells by the island as we approached.  Anyway, we had cocktails in the Mariner Lounge prior to dinner in the Compass Rose restaurant.  After dinner we all retired for the evening.  Yesterday afternoon I left a note with Reception for Jim & Barbara Edmunsen.  They live about 6 houses down the block from us in Dalton Ranch (Durango).  Jim is also a retired American Airlines captain.  Have not seen them around on the ship yet.

Today:

        Up at 7:45 as I had an 8:30 tour, "Monte Village & Botanical Gardens".  Room service for Rebecca as she was not leaving the ship again today.  I went down to the Coffee Connection for a donut and cup of coffee.  Jane met me there and off we went on tour.  I almost decided not to go on tour today as it was overcast and some rain in the area.  But I went!!  Glad I did too!

        Hopped on the bus #6 for short trip to the cable car station.  Up we went in cable car for 7 minute ride up the hill to the village of Monte.  Here we saw a small church then rode a toboggan part way down the hill (1 1/4 mile ride).  You will have to view photos of this adventure.  They have been using these toboggans for over a hundred years and even before it became a tourist attraction.  Back on the bus for ride to the botanical gardens.  As you will see in the photos, the gardens were very beautiful.  Even I enjoyed walking through them.  Last stop was at a small embroidery shop to taste some Madeira wine.  Taste was VERY small indeed.  Got back to the ship at 1:30 pm so headed up to pool deck for a sandwich.

        It is 3:30 now and I am working on the blog.  Should finish in about 15 minutes.  We sail at 4:30 and will be at sea the next five days.  The sun is out now and it is upper 60's so quite pleasant this afternoon.  Just prior to sailing Captain Serena will tell us how the weather will be tonight.  Hopefully much better than yesterday.

        Drinks in Mariner Lounge after the block party (doing it tonight instead of last evening) for drinks.  The three of us have 7:00 pm reservations to dine in Chartreuse, the French specialty restaurant.  Rebecca and I do not care for French food or their wines but decided to give it a try.  Not sure if we will be going to the show after dinner.  The headliner entertainer is Antonio Salci, a pianist.  I am not big on listening to piano players.  Move clocks back again tonight so gain another hour of sleep.

        Here is the link to my photos there are 77 of them today.  Second link is a bonus for you.  They are photos that I took last year when on our world cruise.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cqnKyNM42ftNUfDh1

https://goo.gl/photos/gCGge6tvp5eSnQkv8