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

       

        

Day 9--Eastern Atlantic Ocean

Our position at noon today.  Another beautiful day for sailing in the Atlantic.  Sunny skies, 63 degrees, 20 knots of wind, and swell height of 7 feet.  So another good sailing day.  Captain Stan in noon report over the PA said the swell height will be increasing in 24 to 36 hours so our ride will not be nearly as good then.  We are 860 statute miles away from our next port of call, Funchal and will be arriving there on Saturday morning as scheduled.

Yesterday Afternoon:
        I went down to The Cafe for my usual afternoon cappuccino and had a nice long chat with Marlene, a bar waitress who we have cruised with before.  She is also a FaceBook friend of mine.
Then Captain Stan showed up for his usual afternoon coffee so he and I had a nice half hour chat mainly about flying as he does some when on vacation.  He said he now has an ultra-lite plane and was telling me about it.  I warned him they were dangerous machines!  He also wanted to know about stalling characteristics of large airliners.  I told him we only did that in the simulators.  He also wanted to know what I did as a check airman Captain for American Airlines.  We had a great discussion!  After that I stopped by the Executive Concierge's desk to have a chat with Odul.  We have known her for years also and she is such a wonderful lady.  We were having such a good time I looked at my watch and it was already after 5:00 pm.  So I excused myself and said I had to go get ready for cocktail hour.  It was a fun afternoon for me.

Last Night:
       We again enjoyed cocktail hour in the Meridian Lounge at 6:00 pm.  When just the orchestra's guitar player, Eugene, is playing during cocktail hour you can hold a conversation.  Last couple of nights they had drummer, sax, guitar, & keyboard player.  The sax player thinks he is giving a concert and way too loud for conversation.  Some lady at other end of bar yelled out between numbers, "When are you going on break?"  I went down and told her we totally agree with her.  Prior to the show starting later that night, I told John, the cruise director, about it.  (He is their boss)  He said it would be corrected so we'll see.
        Last night we dined in the specialty Asian restaurant, Pacific Rim.  This was our first time to try it.  We are not big fans of Asian food and tried to talk ourselves out of going there all day.  But I said we had to give it a try.  It is a beautiful restaurant and I guess the food was ok but we probably won't return there in the future.  They also have a French specialty restaurant called Chartreuse.  We will not be going there as French food is definitely not something we enjoy.  So we will be sticking with three other fantastic restaurants on board:  Compass Rose, Prime 7, and Sette Mari.
        After dinner we adjourned to the theater for the 9:30 show.  The headliner entertainer was Linda Gentille.  She mainly played the piano but had some funny lines too.  We had seen her show on a previous cruise and knew she was a very talented pianist.  They had a camera focused on her piano keyboard and showed it on three big screens so you could see her fingers flying across it as she played.
        Rebecca's cold is worse and she was having problems breathing last night.  We were awake from 4:00 on basically.  She has to get up and walk around to open nose some.  I think she did go back to sleep after couple hours.  We set clocks ahead another hour so lost that hour of sleep as well.  Room service showed up at 9:00 am but I just stayed in bed until about 11:00.

Today:
        I finally crawled out of bed and showered before starting writing this.  After my lunch break I finished this.  Then I decided to see how long it would take me to do a fast paced walk around the hallways of all the passenger decks:  6, 7, 8, 9, & 10.  Deck 10 was not full length as two of the specialty restaurants were on aft end of that deck.  My phone has "Map My Walk" app but the GPS function does not work on the ship.  So it took me just 17 minutes and says I burned 110 calories.               This evening I have made another special request with the chef for a veal parmesan dinner in Compass Rose for four.  Our friends from Galveston, Allison & Joe Trum wanted to enjoy some veal parmesan with us.  Tonight's show is featuring "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" for their second show.  Definitely want to see them again.
        Here is the link to today's photos.  See end of previous posts to explain how to view it if you need help.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/QqJpWoMYc0KhXnh62

Day 8--Halfway Across the Atlantic

Our position at noon today is just a little over half way across the Atlantic Ocean.  We have 1250 miles to go before arriving in Funchal on the island of Madeira, Saturday morning.  It is a lovely day today.  Best weather we have had the whole cruise so far and Captain Stan said we would enjoy another beautiful sailing day again tomorrow.  He has been warning that Friday we may experience some heavy swells however.  It is mostly sunny and 75 degrees outside  I may have to go out after writing this and enjoy some balcony time.

Last Night:
        As I mentioned in yesterday's posting, last night at 6:00 there was a party for all Seven Seas Society members.  75% of the passengers on this cruise have sailed with Regent before and are members.  We were at the doors prior to them opening the theater for the party as I wanted to be up front so I could take photos when our friend, Marcia Rector, was escorted to the stage to receive a toast from the Captain and General Manager for having sailed on Regent ships for over 1000 nights. She officially became a "Diamond" member of the SSS and received her diamond pin to signify this accomplishment.  I have several photos of this on today's link.
        After the party we were honored to have been invited by Marcia to a special dinner for her hosted by the ship's senior officers.  It was held on the side of La Veranda normally closed during the night.  There were 14 of us at the table.  Marcia, of course, and the 3 couples she had invited plus:  the Captain, Staff Captain, General Manager, Chief Engineer, Cruise Director, Cruise Consultant, and Social Hostess.  We had never been afforded the pleasure to dine with so many of the senior officers at the same time.  Everyone had a really relaxed and great time together.  We have sailed with Captain Stan before and have never heard him so open and talkative.  We were served by one of the head waiters and three other waiters.  The Restaurant Manager over saw the whole dinner.  Joliza, the head sommelier served some VERY nice wines (wines from cellar that normally cost extra--Amaroni della Valpolicella was the red $$$$).  It was a special menu with dishes taken from the 4 specialty restaurants.  We both selected "surf & turf" (small filet & lobster tail).  Besides the special cake made for Marcia by the pastry chef, I had a piece of the 14 layer chocolate cake from Prime 7.  OINK!!  I can't tell you how much we enjoyed this VERY special evening.  The highlight of this cruise and of all 87 of our previous cruises!  Maybe someday, we too, will be honored like this.  Only 400 more nights to go on Regent.
        The dinner ran long so the production show had already started by the time we got back down to the theater.  We could not find any open seats left so went back to the Meridian Lounge for a nightcap before retiring for the night. 

Today:
        Up and attem for our room service breakfast at 8:30.  We had a "refresher" lifeboat drill at 10:15 for all crew and guests.  YUK!  I went right from it to the gym as did Rebecca after returning life vests to our suite.  For lunch I went to Prime 7 and had a beef empanada followed by a pulled pork sandwich.  Rebecca stayed in the suite and had a protein bar again today for her lunch.  She has a cold now so is all stopped up and having breathing issues.  So far she had not shared that with me.
        At lunch I was sitting at a window table and saw a couple whales passing by in the distance.  They would dive then resurface a few minutes later.  Guess they were eating also.  The ocean is really nice today with only a 10 mph wind, so as I said, I may go out and sit on our balcony later.
        This evening we have 7:00 dinner reservations in the "Pacific Rim" Asian specialty restaurant.  Not really my cup of tea but have to try it at least once.  After dinner we will head to the theater to see Linda Gentille, tonight's headliner entertainer.
        Here is the link to my photos for last night and today.  Cut & paste the link to another browser to open it.  Then click on the first photo to enlarge it and you will see my captions on the right had side.  Arrow through the rest of the photos.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/IVZjBe3XNp9xsUks1

    

Day 7--Crossing the Atlantic

Our position today at noon.  Captain Stan just finished making his noon time position and weather update over the PA.  We again have a mostly cloudy day with 25 knots of wind and it is 66 degrees outside again today.  The wave height is a little less at 6 feet.  The ocean depth is now 15,000 feet.  We have 1400 miles left before arriving in Funchal, our next port of call.  He said we will reach our halfway point of the Atlantic crossing tomorrow morning at 7:00 am.

Last Night:
        After cocktails in the Meridian Lounge we headed to Compass Rose restaurant for dinner.  It's interesting to observe the dining habits of passengers.  The first couple nights of cruises everyone seems to show up at 6:30 when the dining venues open for dinner.  Everyone wants to be seated at the same time so there is a line at the Compass Rose entrance.  Then people start to dine in other venues and dine later.  So now the flow is much better for the waiters and kitchen trying to get food out in a timely manner.
        After dinner we went to the theater and grabbed our usual front row seats.  The headliner entertainers for last night's show was "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere".  We had seem them on a previous cruise and knew they would have a good show.  Adam & Tabitha sang and played multiple instruments throughout their 45 minute show.  We're looking forward to another show of theirs in a few days.

Today:
        Moved clocks ahead another hour last night so moved our usual room service delivery time to 9:00.  Worked out as usual in the gym then cleaned up before lunch time.  Every sea day they feature a different nationality food buffet at the pool grill.  Yesterday was a Greek lunch buffet but it was moved inside La Veranda due to the weather.  Today was a Tex-Mex buffet and it was moved down to Compass Rose, again due to the weather.  They keep things pretty mild and not spicy on the ship.  Even today's jalapenos were mild.  I did not want to eat too much.  At home we do not have much at lunch time.
        Just called and talked with my mother.  Think we may watch a movie after I finish this.  Will be going to the Seven Seas Society (Regent's frequent cruiser program) party at 6:00 this evening.  One of our friends, Marcia Rector, is going to be honored at it by the Captain for being elevated to "Diamond" status.  To become a "Diamond" member you have had to sail over 1,000 nights on Regent ships.  It is quite an accomplishment!!  We are now Titanium going over 600 nights on this cruise so still have a long ways to go.  Afterwards the ship's officers are having a private dinner party for her at 7:00 up in the side of La Veranda that is usually closed at night.  Marcia has also included us as guests for dinner.  It's going to be a very special night for sure.  Will have photos of it tomorrow.
        Another production show tonight at 9:30.  Hopefully we will be finished with the special dinner as want to see it.
          Ok, here is the link to last night's and today's photos.  Cut and paste it to browser.  After open, click on first photo to enlarge it and then you can see my captions.  Arrow through rest of the photos.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HVswXl5GK51ecv3y2

Day 6--Crossing the Atlantic

This is our position at noon today.  Still 2000 miles to go before reaching Funchal.  At noon Captain Stan said it would be two more days prior to us reaching the halfway point.  Weather today is cloudy with early rain showers and windy.  30 knots of wind, 66 degrees, and wave height of approximately 7 feet.  Still our ship is riding pretty well and Captain Stan says weather should improve later on.

Last Night:
        We had pre-dinner drinks in our suite before heading up to Sette Mari for dinner at 6:45.  Basically there are two sides to the La Veranda restaurant.  Breakfast and lunch time buffets are served there.  In the evening one side is transformed into the Italian restaurant, Sette Mari.  The other side is generally closed at night.  As you will see in one of my photos, at night the shutters are raised so you see right into where the chef and cooks are preparing our foods.  Veal parmesan was not on the menu but they did have a veal chop in creamy marsala sauce.  So I went over and asked Chef Ronaldo if he could make me a veal chop parmesan.  He agreed to.  I took a photo of the kitchen team.  We always enjoy dining in Sette Mari.  My veal parm was excellent and Rebecca had the veal scaloppini with lemon and capers.
        John Barron's show was REALLY good.  He could be a full time guest entertainer on cruise ships but guess he enjoys being a cruise director instead.  It was one of best shows we have seen with great singing and British humor.  We turned our clocks ahead again before retiring last night so now we 3 hours ahead of central time zone in the US.  We will change clocks again tonight.

Today:
        Changed our normal routine today.  Rebecca had room service breakfast and went to the gym as usual but I had a cooking class scheduled for 10:00 am.  So I showered and went down to The Cafe for a cup of coffee and danish prior to heading up to the Culinary Arts Kitchen.
        They have cooking classes every sea day at 11am and 4 pm.  Today was ways to prepare fish.  Besides the instructor, Chef Kelly, she was assisted by 3 other sous chefs who cleaned our stations, put out fish for us, and set cooktop to proper temperatures.  It was a very well organized and run school.  My photos will show you what I prepared.  The instructor chef would demonstrate how to do it, then we would go back to our stations and prepare our own.  They had induction electric cooktops for us to use.  I hate my regular electric cooktop at home.  Would prefer gas but no way to get gas line run to the cooking island in our kitchen.  Loved the induction cooktop so will have one installed this summer at home.
        Took some more photos around ship this afternoon:  library, card room, & Explorer Lounge.  Was about to watch a movie on tv and it went black.  Guy at reception said it is a ship's problem and they are working on it.  Hope it is fixed soon.
        Ok, here is the link to last night's and today's photos.  Cut and paste it to browser.  After open, click on first photo to enlarge it and then you can see my captions.  Arrow through rest of the photos.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BzAPME5QAyVjrKqW2