Less Than Two Weeks Away

Sitting here I just realized that we are leaving in LESS THAN 2 weeks, and since things didn't seem to work out with the diet anyway I decided to just grab a couple of Oreos and bring you all up to speed.

I started pulling out some of my summer clothes to pick some outfits and get them ready for packing.  Of course all my skorts and shorts are wrinkled because they've been folded up sitting on wire shelves in the closet since September.  Logically, I decide to throw them in the dryer with a damp bath towel to "steam" the wrinkles out.  Mike asks why I bother, his "solution" is to just wear wrinkled clothes and if anyone doesn't like it well that is just their problem.  I try to explain that, NO it is MY problem because people will think that his wife is too damned lazy to iron his clothes.  Which of course isn't true; the truth is his wife is too damned lazy to throw them back in the dryer!  Anyway so that leads to a discussion of just what exactly he wants to pack because he refuses to pack any long sleeved button-down shirts but all of his short sleeve button-downs are either batik (oh, I LOVE my monkey shirt, he says.  I don't bother telling him that those are LIZARDS not Monkeys!) or retro vintage style bowling shirts.  Neither of which really go with the dress slacks I have selected for him.  Unless he suddenly morphs into Cosmo Kramer which might not have been a bad thing during Kramer's halcyon days of Seinfeld but not such a good thing now post the stand-up rant...

Crap, I've eaten like 5 Oreos already

Finally I just agreed to let him wear what he wants even if that includes a pull-over windbreaker if it's chilly in the dining room and he only has short sleeved shirts, and he agrees not to throw me overboard once we're out at sea.

================

The upsell fairy came to visit and it was soooooooo painful to have to tell my TA to turn down the offer.  It was a really good offer, too, but we just couldn't justify the extra expense for features that we don't even have any need of. (i.e. butler service).  But I appreciate my agent getting right on this and attempting to hook me up!  I'm sure I've said this before, but I'll say it again, if you are looking for a good luxury travel agent  (and looking for a good price as well), I highly recommend Joe and JP from CHIC LUXURY CRUISES click here!  Seriously I wonder if we'll be chilling out in our cabin or on our balcony and look at each other and say, "we shoulda....."

================

Speaking of my TA, he finally got confirmation from Kristin at Regent that my group meeting space had been arranged.  Not at Horizon Lounge (which I had requested specifically for its outdoor seating area) but they have given me Observation Lounge for the date and time I wanted.  Further investigation, however, leads me to be happy about the change of venue because the Observation Lounge bar generally opens at 11am which is one of the earliest to open!  So we can get this party started right away :-)     Another interesting side note about this whole meet & greet affair is that I did finally get a response from someone in corporate addressing my dissatisfaction with the lack of ....hmmm, I can't think of the word..... shown by Regent compared to other cruise lines.  I also expressed my surprise at the Regent staff acting as if they had never heard of Cruise Critic when at least three of the mucky-mucks at Regent do in fact post on CC (Frank Del Rio, Mark Conroy, Tim Rubacky)

So, I did finally get a response and I'm pasting it here without the to/from info:

Neither Regent nor Oceania do the CC parties as we limit these types of functions strictly to those group functions arranged through our agent partners.

One of the most valuable resources we give our agent partners is the ability to host cocktail parties or private functions for their clients and to do so for CC, or any other internet forum, would dilute that substantially.

The beauty of the Oceania and Regent vessels is that they are human sized and thus, guests find each other quiet easily, unlike say on the 3000 passenger Celebrity ships.  

I certainly hope you understand. 

Well, sorry, I don't understand and I think that is the lamest excuse/rationale I could ever envision.  But I got my way so it's all good!!

===================

10 Oreos down.... time to stop writing before I can't zip the wrinkled shorts!

Mingling with fellow passengers

I am coordinating a Meet and Greet with some of my fellow passengers who are members of Cruise Critic .  For those of you who are new to cruising, Cruise Critic is an online community of cruise travelers who share their experiences and can offer great advice.  Anyway, I have hosted Meet & Greet events on NCL for fellow passengers and they are always well-received.  Not to brag or anything, but one of my three God-given talents just happens to be bringing people together and creating a fun event, so the Meet and Greet concept is something that I'm really cut out for.  (Oh, you're wondering what the other two are?  Well, one is spelling and the other is..... sorry! If I told you I'd have to kill you!!!)

The event planning for both of my recent previous Meet & Greets on NCL were handled seamlessly with the NCL staff at Corporate and onboard. Basically, an e-mail to the event coordinator on my particular ship letting him/her know that I wanted to set up a Meet & Greet was all that was needed.  In return I get an e-mail letting me know that the date/time/location I have requested is okay -- or they offer a different location or time if my request conflicts with another event.  When I arrive onboard, there is a letter from NCL confirming my event information. NCL handles everything else.  In fact, at the one I conducted in February, many of the ships' departments were represented by their department heads (i.e. hotel director, excursions manager, food & beverage manager, etc.) and each of these individuals gave a brief introduction of themselves and an overview of their departments' processes.  It was a top-notch exhibition.  For the first Meet & Greet I did on NCL, approximately 4-5 officers or staff attended, and while they didn't give speeches, they were on hand to answer questions of the M & G guests.  In addition, both times the ship provided a sign outside the designated area indicating that a Meet & Greet was "being held here" and they provided refreshments (non-alcoholic) and pastries or cookies.  I'm writing all of this down for you so you have some background into my mindset.  Also, keep in mind that NCL is a MAINSTREAM cruise line with rockbottom fares -- nothing at all like Regent with its elegant and refined atmosphere, clientele and matching prices.

Okay, so let's fast-forward to my upcoming Mariner voyage.  My last time out on the Mariner, there were only 6 cruise critic members that I was able to "hook up" with so the idea of a formal Meet and Greet obviously wasn't going to happen (although I did end up meeting everyone eventually and actually spent quite a bit of time with a couple of them......hey Ralph & Tony!)  But this time, wow, we have got a boatload (pun intended) of CC'ers setting sail on January 11 so naturally I am coordinating a Meet & Greet so we can put some faces to our screen names.  After amassing a group of approximately 30 potential guests, I contacted Regent to advise them of my plans and to find out the e-mail address of my ship's event coordinator.  Silly me, I thought it would be as easy to do this as NCL makes it, but here's what happened.....


FIRST EMPLOYEE:  Representative had never heard of Cruise Critic -- okay, that's understandable -- immediately switched me over to someone else
SECOND EMPLOYEE:  Seemed to grasp the idea of a Cruise Critic Meet & Greet but had never heard of anyone ever doing one and did not know if there was an event coordinator on the Mariner, suggested I call a different number
THIRD EMPLOYEE:  at the "other number", offered to sell me a cocktail package at $16.50 per person and when I explained that it sounded lovely but 1) we could all very well go pick up our drinks for free before entering the room and 2) I spent all of my money on my cruise tickets and didn't have $500+ left to unnecessarily pay for cocktails for a bunch of strangers, she was totally flummoxed
FOURTH EMPLOYEE:  day 2 of phone calls because I was starting to get irate during my initial calls, and didn't want to come across as harsh in the unlikely event I actually got to talk to someone who could help me.  Employee #4 actually had heard of cruise critic (hooray!) and stated that the request had to come from my travel agent.  "Do you understand that my travel agent did not book cabins for all 30 of us?"  "Well, then their travel agents would have to set it up." "But I don't KNOW any of these people!!!"  "Is there a manager or supervisor available I can talk to?"
FIFTH EMPLOYEE (possibly a Manager, but I have my doubts): "This has to go through your travel agent"

Let me break here to assure you, kind reader, that:
1.  I was speaking English during all phone calls as were the Regent employees
2.  I am very well spoken
3.  I was not inebriated or otherwise verbally incapacitated

The point I was trying to get across to all of these employees:
 1.  I was trying to do them a favor by requesting an out of the way location of their choice for our gathering, rather than having 30 passengers suddenly storm in to some inconvenient area
2.  I was giving them the OPTION of having some staff there to promote the Regent brand
3.  I was NOT asking for any other assistance -- I WILL DO announcements, I WILL DO invitations, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING

So basically, I just gave up and called my TA, apologized for making additional work for him and sure enough, the next day he got an e-mail from Kristen at Regent who said she would "look into it but couldn't confirm anything until December." 

Meanwhile, I had this really cool idea for the Meet and Greet which I'm now going to have to tweak because not having the final confirmation until December will not give me enough time for my original plan.  I can't say what it is because I suspect that some of my fellow roll callers might pop in to read this so the rest of you will have to wait until January 13th or later for pictures!!!! 

Crossing The Equator

Making the journey from "Polliwog" to "Shellback" is a proud, ancient tradition and I have seen many discussions in the Cruising Chat Rooms of different activities used to mark the occasion.


In my search to find out what Regent may or may not have planned for our voyage in January, I came across this journal entry which is more than 100 years old!

There is always a great time when the ship crosses "the line," as they call the Equator, and all who have not before crossed it must pay tribute to Father Neptune. The ship's stewards worked hard getting ready for this; there was a great tank rigged on the after deck and filled about four feet deep with salt water. We were ordered to report at nine and most of us appeared in our pajamas. There were the Devil, in fine guise, old Father Neptune, in correct beard and costume, and a lot of other characters, among them a gorilla, admirably imitated. These English lads are certainly bright and painstaking. First there was a parade of the characters, then the bugle called us all aft to the tank, where Neptune had his throne. The women were called first, one by one, and Father Neptune received them very graciously, putting a few courteous questions to them, then turning them over to the doctor, who proceeded to take their temperatures. His thermometer was made of one of the glass boiler tubes, and was open at each end and filled with salt water. As the woman took it in her mouth it was raised and the water went where it would do the most good! One bright lady managed to stop the end of the tube with her tongue, and then to blow hard and deliver the sea water in the doctor's face. After the temperature was thus taken each was given a tonic from a huge bottle,' then the faces were lathered with a huge brush and carefully shaved with a wooden razor about two feet long, and then the victims were discharged.

We men went through a similar proceeding, only we were told to be seated on the edge of the tank, and after we were shaved we were suddenly capsized backward into the tank, a pleasant enough finish for one who could swim. Unluckily some one went in on top of me, so that I was down at the bottom of the tank quite a long time, but I did not swallow any water, and came out all right. Some of the men resisted and one was so fearfully strong that it took all of the stewards to put him in ; when they did get him over they all piled in on top of him, then some one turned a hose with a two-inch stream of water on the struggling, screaming mob, and, afterward turned it on a dense mass of Italian third-class passengers who were watching the play. I do not suppose that the water hurt them any. After-ward we were given certificates that we had been presented at the court of King Neptune. 

Of course, having been distracted by this gentleman's experience, I never got around to finding out if anything might be planned for my voyage.  I am fairly certain that if the Mariner holds some sort of ceremony, it will be slightly less involved than this -- but I truly hope that something is done to commemorate the event for those of us who will finally have reached "shellback" status.  Either way, dear readers, you will be the first to hear all about it!

GREAT VIDEO FROM THE AVID CRUISER

Just came across this video that Ralph Grizzle (the Avid Cruiser) took showing one of Mariner's Deluxe suites.  It's funny how he refers to it as "smaller" -- clearly anyone who has ever sailed MassMarket cruiselines will agree that this is PLENTY of room!!! 
 

Port Ideas - Cartagena

I've never been to South America, so all of the stops in this country will be brand new to me. As always, plenty of advance planning will be required! My first investigation will be about Cartagena. Don't ask why this didn't occur to me before, but Cartagena is in Colombia, and I was quite surprised to find more than one reference to the potential dangers for tourists there before I realized "duh, helloooo, haven't you ever heard of colombian drug lords????" Sheesh! What a moron! In any event, my first cool idea was to visit this so-called mud volcano where you can soak in mud for I'm not sure how long and then get washed off in a lagoon by some older columbian women. But now that I've read all of the government warnings, I'm thinking more along the lines of staying close to the touristy plaza areas. I did watch this great highlights of Cartagena video and I'm going to post it here (if my plan works) so you guys can check out some things to do in Cartagena too.

IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES

I've got nothing on Charles Dickens so this isn't a Tale of Two Cities but a Tale of Two Cruise Lines!

Many prospective Regent cruisers (myself included just a couple of years ago) ask things like "Is Regent for me?" or "What makes Regent different?" or even more common, "Is it worth the money?"

After my first Regent cruise last year, I would have immediately answered the 1st and 3rd questions in the affirmative but been hard pressed to adequately convey a response to the middle one.  In fact, I believe I discuss a "feeling" in my previous blog without putting it into exact words.  Now, however, I can safely answer that middle question with authority.

Earlier this month, Mike and I treated our daughter Sara, her husband Donnie and our absolutely perfect grandson Richie to a cruise.  Nice we are, but not nice enough to fork over $$$$$ for all 5 of us to cruise Regent!  Instead, we decided to take a cruise on NCL out of New York City to Florida and the Bahamas.  NCL is typical of the mass market cruise lines we have cruised with in the past so we pretty much knew what to expect.  In all fairness to the line, I will say that I have found their staff to be more gracious and friendly than other mass market lines.  This cruise was no exception.  The pleasant staff, unfortunately, did not make up for everything else.

Before my last Regent cruise, members of both Cruise Critic and Luxury Cruise Talk warned me that once I  had cruised Regent, I'd never want to cruise mass market again.  I sort of believed them; especially after our great Regent cruise where all of my expectations were met and/or exceeded.  But I'm a pretty easy-going gal, very down to earth and the type of person who has a great time no matter what so I didn't think I'd have any real issues "stepping back down" to mass market cruising.  Wow!  Was I ever mistaken!


What follows is a list of differences that I won't miss when I get back on the Mariner again in January:


Boarding the ship ~  after swiping your key card for the first time on Mariner, you are genteely escorted to the pool deck for a bite to eat and offered a cocktail by an employee who is ready to answer any questions you may have and wants you to feel immediately welcomed aboard.   My experience on the Norwegian Gem was not even close to that (even though as a Casino VIP I did have a personal escort onto the ship).  After swiping your key card, you are herded into the main atrium and accosted by numerous staff members, all of whom apparently are there to sell you the day's special cocktail.  Interestingly enough, they don't actually TELL you it's for sale until after you have accepted a glass and then they ask for your Key Card.  I felt sorry for all of the newbie cruisers who didn't know they were going to be billed $15 for what they probably thought was a welcome aboard complimentary drink.


The Pool Grill ~  like every cruise line I've ever been on, there is always a grill or small buffet right around the swimming pool where you can grab a quick bite to eat.  The Norwegian Gem grill offered hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, french fries, salad and condiments the first day, and the second, the third, the fourth...... in fact, every day and every night that it was open, the menu never varied.  The only thing that changed was the amount of people on line in front of you.  On the Mariner, you can find traditional grill fare like burgers and hot dogs but you won't find them sitting under a heat lamp.  Those items are cooked to order and then delivered to you at the table you have selected.  And the menu doesn't stop there;  every day there is a DIFFERENT theme for the pool grill such as Mexican or Seafood or Italian which is available in addition to the traditional items.  And you don't have to stand around like an elementary school student in the lunch line waiting for someone to load up your tray!
 
The Buffet ~  on the Mariner you will find a traditional buffet available during the day.  What you won't find here, that you can find on NCL:  hordes of fellow passengers pushing their way around you, trying to get at a sliver of bacon or a soupcon of pudding as if they haven't eaten in hours;  lack of sufficient seating in the buffet area and even more importantly, lack of consideration for fellow passengers ~ nobody will ask you to join them at their table even if there are clearly additional seats available and none of the ship staff will assist you in finding a seat;  this is especially thrilling when you are trying to balance a plate, bowl and beverage and, again, doing so without any assistance from staff.  Just try doing that on a Regent ship.... you have to INSIST that you don't need help from the staff because they are all over themselves trying to help you carry plates and find tables!


The Port Visits ~  oh, the joy we experienced having a half hour wait in line to get off the ship and an even longer wait IN THE RAIN to get back on at every port.  I am not sure I am going to know what to do with the extra time in port when the Mariner stops and I can practically breeze through the efficient checkpoints coming & going.  And let's not forget that Regent provides things like umbrellas for its passengers in the event of rain and bottles of icy cold water are provided COMPLIMENTARY.  The Gem had a lovely woman at the top of the gangplank selling flimsy plastic trashbags (I mean rain ponchos) but somehow it just wasn't the same!


I could go on and on.....really....on and on and on!  Of course there are the obvious differences that everyone talks about like how you don't have to sign for things every time you turn around (drinks, gourmet food, towels, etc.).


But it's the little things that are just done automatically that you don't really think about until they're not there.....those are the reasons why people who try luxury cruising don't go back to mass market!

Oh, The Places We'll Go!

I received a NOOK for Christmas (that's the Barnes and Noble e-reader for those of you who missed the hottest tech toys of 2009!)  Anyway, that has absolutely NOTHING to do with my 2011 cruise -- other than the fact that I'll probably bring it along because I have fallen madly and deeply in love with the thing -- but basically I've spent the past few weeks doing nothing other than reading novels.  I kind of figured it was about time that I put the damned thing down and so something else; what might that something else be?? Of course, it's on to the computer to do some OTHER reading!

So, anyway, I decided to start looking at the places we will be stopping and one of the things I am most looking forward to is the transit of the Panama Canal.  Even though there is no beach.  Or no casino. Or no golf course.......

But, it is important to know about geographical "things" and really I might get the chance to try out for Jeopardy again (did you know that about me??).  So here I find myself reading all kinds of interesting narratives about the construction and general history of the Panama Canal and seriously it is quite amazing!

I've taken the liberty of "lifting" a few pictures that show 1) an easy-to-read detailed map of the canal and 2) an illustration of how the locks work.  I am now going to attempt to insert these pictures right here in the same general vicinity of this paragraph ~~ here goes!!   Okay, well they appeared kind of all around this paragraph but that's okay, a couple of months from now I'll have this all down pat again!

Here is how the route we will be taking works: Ships approaching from the Atlantic first pass through the Gatún Locks -- a series of three lock sets that lift vessels 85 feet (26 m) to Gatún Lake. Once there, ships wind through the lake's channel for about 23 miles (37 km) before entering the Gaillard (Culebra) Cut. After about 8 miles (13 km) spent crossing through the Cut, ships reach the Pedro Miguel Locks. These locks lower ships 30 feet (9 m) to the Miraflores Lake, where they pass through a mile-long (2 km) channel. Ships then approach the two-stepped Miraflores Locks that return them to sea level. A 7-mile (11-km) passage takes them out to the Pacific. From deep water to deep water, the canal is 50 miles (80 km) long.

Each of the locks is built in pairs to allow for two-way traffic. With a total transit time of eight to 10 hours, it just wouldn't make sense to run a one-way street.  To raise a ship, water is released from a lake (Gatún, Alajuela or Miraflores) or from a higher lock through valves that open on the upper end of the lock. To lower a ship, water drains to a lower lock or to the ocean through valves that open at the lower end of the lock. The locks are powered by electricity.

Because so much hinges on the locks' integrity, safety precautions prevent large ships from sailing through on their own steam. An out-of-control large ship could plunge through a lock. Large craft are instead escorted by electric towing locomotives.

To find more information, or to read the whole story, visit Panama Canal Authority -- I believe we all only have time for the Reader's Digest version!

Booking the Mariner

As readers of my previous blog already know, last year Mike and I took a luxury cruise aboard the Seven Seas Mariner to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary.  I had high expectations ~ and all of my expectations were met AND exceeded by the wonderful ship, the wonderful staff and the wonderful group of passengers we had the pleasure with which to sail.

Although I had high hopes and dreams, I thought it would be quite a long time indeed before we were in a position to spend that much money on a cruise again.  I wasn't overly morose about it; after all, I had checked the Regent website and scanned the brochures, and the Mariner wasn't heading anywhere I wanted to go at the time I wanted to go.  So, instead, I booked a cruise for Mike and I aboard the Norwegian Gem for 2010.  Sailing out of New York City was a major plus; and it enabled us to treat our daughter, son-in-law and our #1 grandchild to cruise as well since we only had to pay their cruise fare as opposed to 3 additional airplane tickets.  Having this family cruise to look forward to kept my mind off of what was going on with the Mariner.  I stayed out of the Luxury Cruise Talk chat rooms and the Regent threads on Cruise Critic (why torture myself with hearing about others' upcoming trips).  I barely glanced at the Regent brochures that came in the mail before unceremoniously throwing them away.  And I deleted all Regent-related e-mails without even opening them up.

Then, finally, right before Christmas, one of the brochure descriptions did catch my eye.  It was for 2011 sailings and it showed my wonderful Mariner heading back into warm climates in January.  Oh Joy!  Here was something I could consider ~ the first leg of their Circle South America voyage ~ two weeks in warm waters and transiting the Panama Canal (a first for us).  Then I saw the price and sticker shock set in.  Was I insane to consider paying that amount for a 2 week vacation??  I wasn't even sure I should mention it to Mike...he might think I'm even crazier than I thought I might be!  But when I showed him the dates and itinerary, he didn't hesitate at all:  "Book it!"  I hemmmmed and hawwwwwwed for a couple of days before finally calling my old friend Joe at Chic Luxury Cruises and reluctantly gave him my credit card information for the deposit.

Mike is generally more pragmatic than I am, but even he convinced me that the old cliche "you can't take it with you" is probably right on and after all what is the point of busting your hump day after day after year after year if you are never going to enjoy the fruits of your labor.  And just looking at our cabin pictures brings back so many incredible memories....we truly cannot wait to be back on board.

So, this blog begins another chapter in the cruising lives of Diz & Mike and it will probably become quite active in the second half of 2010.

Join me in my journey!