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Hot Spots and Headlines: A Mariner Mediterranean Joint Live Blog

Mr Rumor

By Mr Rumor,
in Regent Seven Seas Cruises

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Bigdogwon

Bigdogwon

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Another wonderful evening on board the Mariner, with new found friends. The nearly full moon and the welcoming breeze was a true respite from the heat of the past few days. No new carpets this trip as I was reminded that I have one still in its shipping wrap in our wine storage room.

 

Email today from Regent the Voyager cruise we have been "thinking about" was reduced with $999.00 business class air. Bangkok to Singapore in January.

However we will probably pass, as the big move to our new home in Santa Fe occurs in April.

 

Packing tomorrow!

 

Rachel, I have a great video of you and George dancing tonight!

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

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rayjames7

rayjames7

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Hi everyone --- enjoying your posts so much! Counting down to our own trip ... Will be aboard the Mariner in a little over 2 weeks and super excited after your blog! One small favor...has anyone been able to obtain a listing of the current wine & champagne? Many, many thanks in advance!

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Mr Rumor

Mr Rumor

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Rachel as usual did a good job of capsuling our joint excursion yesterday, "Discover Ephesus with an Expert." Just want to add a few words about the expert. Prof. Cengiz Icten, whose name is synonymous with Ephesus. The prof, retired for some years now, toiled for 40 years at the excavation site, and personally located a number of the items that are now on display at the Ephesus Archaeological Museum, including a "piggy bank" that had been filled with scores of small silver and a few golden coins. Just as he had done for us two years earlier on our first visit to Ephesus, Prof. Cengiz personally led us on the tour of the museum and the Terrace Houses at Ephesus, while "Elf," our tour guide, ably handled the walking tour of Ephesus. Just outside the exit, we met up with the good professor at a book stand, where he signed copies of the book "Ephesus" that he co-authored. I don't know what was more awe-inspiring about the day--the iconic ruins that we had the honor of viewing up close for the second time, or these parting words from this dear man: "Over the last 120 years, only 10% of Ephesus has been excavated. We have a 300 year job ahead of us." One of those huge projects is the excavation of a 35,000 seat, horseshoe-shaped stadium, only recently discovered.

 

We would have been at the big Pool Deck BBQ and dance with bells on last night except for the fact that we were confined to our rooms by order of the ship's doctor. So what happened to us? Well, we're pretty sure it started with that buffet lunch at the Meridien in Giza. We thought we were being so careful by only selecting cooked foods, but within 24 hours we were reaching for the Loperamide (like many of you, we travel with a mini-pharmacy). The pills managed to keep the symptoms at bay and allow us to keep to our busy schedule this past week. But I think that schedule and the rigors of the Ephesus tour (a LOT of steps getting to the top of the Terrace Houses) caused us a bit of a relapse. The good news is that we're only quarantined for 24 hours, and the quarantine lifts just in time for us to attend the Farewell Reception and Krew Kapers tonight. We're already feeling better after our first two Cipro pills--although I could get sick again after we receive the medical bill!

 

Rich

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Travelcat2

Travelcat2

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Rich - so sorry to learn that you and Ginny were not feeling well. We looked for you last night on the Pool Deck (after we had dinner in CR). We did find Rachel and George and sat with them for a bit. Hope you are feeling better.

 

"Z" -- that is exactly the salad, the place and the owner of the restaurant that we were at in Rhodes. So you know how amazing the food and Feta cheese were. I'm wondering if Destination Services gives the menus to the restaurant to pass out. If I have time I'll ask. Anyway, GREAT pictures (and we are looking forward to trying margaritas recipes when we get home).

 

Off to pack and spend OBC's - Chocoholic Tea this afternoon - I have to go to dip a strawberry in the chocolate fountain:p

 

P.S. Two kind of off topic comments. Firstly, we have not seen so many passengers not knowing how to log on to Wi-Fi in all of our cruises. There is a line in the computer room to ask questions every day. This is normal for the first few days but rare on the last day. Secondly, we were docked next to NCL's Spirit yesterday. The noise coming from that ship was noise polution (IMO). Is it really necessary for all the ships in the area to hear their music? Sorry - loud music is a pet peeve of mine (and most people that still have great hearing -- something the younger generation may not have). I even sound grouchy to myself!

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RachelG "Live from...." Rare

RachelG

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Posted
Another wonderful evening on board the Mariner, with new found friends. The nearly full moon and the welcoming breeze was a true respite from the heat of the past few days. No new carpets this trip as I was reminded that I have one still in its shipping wrap in our wine storage room.

 

Email today from Regent the Voyager cruise we have been "thinking about" was reduced with $999.00 business class air. Bangkok to Singapore in January.

However we will probably pass, as the big move to our new home in Santa Fe occurs in April.

 

Packing tomorrow!

 

Rachel, I have a great video of you and George dancing tonight!

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

Can't wait to see the video. And you can never have too many Turkish carpets!

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RachelG "Live from...." Rare

RachelG

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So sorry to hear about your quarantine, Rich and Ginny. You missed a great party last evening. Wish you would have mentioned it to me as I have a big pharmacy in my suitcase.

 

travelcat2, I totally agree about the big ship next to us. We experienced the same thing, only worse , in the Caribbean, when there was a giant carnival ship on one side, and a giant NCL on the other. We could hear the noise even in our cabin.

 

Random observations on this seaday morning. No kids at all on this cruise. And that has been our experience on previous cruises in September, both in the Mediterranean and elsewhere. If you want a kid free cruise, this is a good month.

 

However, and this is a positive, there are a lot of people younger than us, and by that, significantly younger, in their 30s and 40s. It livens up the ship. The dance floor last pm was really popping.

 

They need to work on turning over the tables in La Veranda at breakfast and lunch better. If you arrive rather later, there are plenty of empty tables that haven't been cleaned. This am I just got frustrated , so filled my plate and went out to the pool deck.

 

The public areas and named suites have been recently refurbished last year, and they look great. However, the regular suites really need a freshening up. Our couch and chair were saggy. The upholstery is very clean, but just looks worn, as do the drapes.

 

My other pet peeve, besides loud music emanating from mega ships alongside us, is people showing up late on excursions. Unfortunately, we had an epidemic of that on this trip. And it was the same people time after time. IMO, if they aren't at the bus in a reasonable time, 10 minutes max, the bus should just leave them. Obviously, I am not talking about in Cairo. But in the other places where we were, there were taxis available and they were plentiful. In Antalya, we ended up waiting a total of 40 minutes (20 minutes at two different sites), for the same group of ladies. The next day in Rhodes, I learned from a woman who was in our group the previous day that they were again late by over 20 minutes. That time, the other passengers prevailed, and the bus did go ahead and leave without them.

 

The weather has really been perfect this cruise. It was a bit hot in Egypt, but otherwise, could not ask for better. And the seas are so calm that most of the time, you can't even tell you are on a ship. This has been our experience on the Mediterranean in September every time, and this is our 5th cruise here this time of year. Probably my favorite month to travel to this part of the world.

 

Computer internet connection has not been great, but is not terrible either. Just slow. Most of the time, I am able to connect and work from our suite, but sitting in Coffee connection or near the entrance of the Horizon lounge is way better.

 

Quite a few people got sick from the lunch at Giza. We did not, but I have very strict food rules in places like that. No ice, no water or soda in glasses, no raw fruit or veggies, eat yogurt every day.

 

Crew seems very happy and upbeat, eager to help. I think that starts from the captain and CD down, and we have a couple of the best.

 

Unfortunately time to start packing today.

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Mr Rumor

Mr Rumor

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Thanks, Jackie and Rachel! Dr. R, I wished it had dawned on me to consult with you and take a peek with you into your bag of potions. Drat! We're looking forward to seeing both of you, and Dennis and George, tonight.

 

We continue to feel better as the day progresses, and we're making the most of our confinement by puttering around the room, going through papers, figuring out what we want to wash, etc. I heard that only 18 of us are continuing on to Athens, which means the laundry room will be ours tonight and tomorrow a.m.

 

Oh, and by the way, Peggy, I will continue to live blog through October 5. Enjoyed your recap of Hot Spots and Headlines to date, Rachel, and look forward to yours, Jackie. Will be missing all my fellow live-bloggers. Hopefully another CC blogger will be embarking tomorrow and will want to post on this thread.

 

The Beatles dance party used to be held during the course of a cruise rather than on the last night. So smart to schedule it instead tonight and bill it as the "Beatles Farewell Dance Party." We plan to be there, as it is sure to be quite a scene, especially if the younger folk who Rachel mentioned show up. We'll have to watch our twisting and shouting this one time, however, less our tummies start reeling and rocking!

 

Rich

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Travelcat2

Travelcat2

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Posted (edited)

rayjames7, unfortunately, since we packing and leaving tomorrow, I won't have a chance to type up the wine choices. However, if you do a search on the Regent board, you'll find some very recent lists of wines and champagne -- nothing has changed. This cruise we have been having Hess Cabernet just about every night but there are many other choices.

 

Can't say how great it is to be sailing without children. It does make a difference. We certainly understand that there will be children on Regent during the summer and school breaks, but we are always hopeful that the rest of the time Regent will be pretty much adults only.

 

"Z", thankfully we did not see rude behavior on this cruise. Perhaps this is because more than 50% of the passengers are not from the U.S.? Not meaning to bash my own country, however, in recent years, children are not receiving much discipline of any type and it really shows on cruises. It is bad enough to have adults with a sense of "entitlement"..... but when children show the same obnoxious trait, it is unbearable.

 

This cruise has been particularly special due to the wonderful CC'ers on board. I typically try to avoid M&G's but the folks we met on this cruise are great. Meeting Rachel was particularly special since we have been posting on CC for many years and met for the first time on this cruise.

 

Not sure if I'll do a recap when I get home...... depends upon jet lag. I hope to get home and pack for the November cruise immediately so I won't need to upset my kitties by having the suitcases out for too long.

 

The internet right now is "sort of" okay. It goes from medium slow, kinda slow, very slow and snail slow.

Edited by Travelcat2
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orchestrapal

orchestrapal

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Thank you to all the posters that have made such an effort to allow the rest of us to enjoy your cruise. You interesting days and delicious nightes make us even more anxious to board Regent for the first time.

Cheers to you all and safe travels.

Edited by orchestrapal
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53flygirl

53flygirl

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I have never enjoyed CC more then the past week and it is all due to your wonderful blogging of the voyage!

 

As much as some of you are sad to end the cruise, I am so sad to see this thread go quiet:( My only hope is that some of you will take up the challenge and cont posting your experiences.

 

We do not leave till next year, but your posts helped me reassure my friends that Cairo, Alexandria and Israel were safe at this point and not to get to concerned yet lol.

 

 

Safe travels to all

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Mudhen

Mudhen

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Like a broken record, just want to say AGAIN, how much fun it was to read about everyone's travels and adventures. Thank you for taking us along. Fair winds and following to seas to everyone, no matter where you're headed!

Linda and John

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Gemlea

Gemlea

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Oh, and by the way, Peggy, I will continue to live blog through October 5. Enjoyed your recap of Hot Spots and Headlines to date, Rachel, and look forward to yours, Jackie. Will be missing all my fellow live-bloggers. Hopefully another CC blogger will be embarking tomorrow and will want to post on this thread.

 

 

Rich

 

Can I just add my own thanks to the 'live' bloggers onboard. We are due to join Mariner for the Cape Town to Cape Town voyage on 24 November and everyone's descriptions of life onboard have wetted the appetite immensley. I previously read Mr Rumour's 'live' blog from Navigator in Alaska, May 2013 which we should have been on, but unfortunately had to cancel at the last minute. Reading your daily blog during that cruise kept our spirits up and interest alive. We finally made it to Alaska last year doing the same SF to Vancouver itinerary and are now looking excitedly towards our next Regent adventure in South Africa. Enjoy the remainder of your cruise Mr Rumour and safe journey home to rest of you.

Sandra

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Mr Rumor

Mr Rumor

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I'm sure I speak on behalf of "The Team" when I thank you for all of your lovely comments! (Sandra/Gemlea, I remember you well and am so glad that you and your husband were finally able to do the SF-Vancounver cruise.) I'm also wishing everyone a safe return home.

 

With big thanks to Executive Chef Kelly Cochrane here is some food for thought, literally, on how much food was consumed on our cruise (numbers are for passengers + crew/staff). All numbers are daily per person, except where noted. Prepare to be amazed!

 

Beef, 3.37 lbs.

Cheese, 6.8 lbs.

Chicken, 2.83 lbs.

Chocolate, 3.58 lbs.

Coffee, .5 lbs.

Eggs, fresh, 1,395 per day (number is for entire ship)

Eggs, liquid (breakfast, baking), 6.78 liters

Fish/seafood, 2.85 lbs.

Flour, 2.95 lbs.

Milk, 2 liters

Nuts, 30 ounces

Rice, .5 lbs.

Tea, 1.5 pieces

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warburg

warburg

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Very enjoyable thread. Thanks to all of you for the fun. Our next cruise, Mariner, Caribbean , November 15th, 2016, is a natural because we live on Miami Beach, South of Fifth. If my dogs and I are in South Point Park at the right moment on departure day, I will see Mariner sail by. The thread I started is very quiet right now, but I hope it will liven up as embarkation draws closer. Of course, the Caribbean is not the most exotic itinerary. Bon Voyage on your next cruise, TravelCat2. No kitties here, but there are doggies. At off times, I pack our stuff in plastic bags and store them in boxes in the closet. When I get the bags at the end, filling them is very quick. Next stop, a closet. When we fly to our first port, we use Luggage Forward. The anxiety producers are gone, and the dogies relax. This time, when they go to doggy camp, the bags will come out. We live 30 minutes from the port, so doggies go to camp the same day.

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Suite Travels

Suite Travels

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Thank you for this thread about your travels and very smart to keep the blogs under one title instead of many...one stop reading. I am really interested in the ports that were visited and what you liked and made some notes accordingly.

 

I think we will forgo the Fish Spa they sound like little Piranahas and we are having smelts tonight at a local Greek resturant. Now I have a visual in my head.:eek:

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Mr Rumor

Mr Rumor

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While Ginny and I were waiting to be sprung from our confinement, the Hot Spots and Headlines trivia team was giving it a go one last time. We know this because Rachel and George sought us out in the Horizon Lounge minutes before the Beatles dance party started and plopped six more one-point Regent Rewards cards in my hand for Shauna shopping. Now we're up to 39 points--plenty for some serious Regent bling. Thanks, Team!

 

The Beatles hour was a blast. Before Ginny and I knew it we were being escorted to the dance floot by Nathan and Lucy, respectively. There was a line dance for "Penny Lane," rows of zany "drivers" for "Drive My Car" and a dance floor full of twisters and shouters for "Twist and Shout."

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Zqueeze1 "Live from...." Rare

Zqueeze1

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"Z", thankfully we did not see rude behavior on this cruise. Perhaps this is because more than 50% of the passengers are not from the U.S.? Not meaning to bash my own country, however, in recent years, children are not receiving much discipline of any type and it really shows on cruises. It is bad enough to have adults with a sense of "entitlement"..... but when children show the same obnoxious trait, it is unbearable.

 

I know what you mean, but, coincidentally, the three main incidents we witnessed were one from the US and two from another English speaking nation.

 

Would it be OK to drop a line into the fish spa while you're using it? :eek:

 

Thanks, everyone, for your excellent reviews and we wish you all safe travels home.

 

Z and TB

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