LIVE from: Z and TB go from Atlantic to Pacific in Style

[mrlevin]

Z, please say hi to Catalin and Inna from Marc (Catalin from Voyager and Inna from Mariner). Ask Catalin how was his New Year's Eve in Shanghai. Catalin will remember be as the foolish one populating the Pool Bar with temps in the 40s; Inna will remember the Johnnie Walker Black (not Red).

 

Marc

[WesW]

Roberto & Pam, thanks for continuing to entertain us with your terrific posts (and friendly & funny camaraderie among your close friends) and photos. Echo Marc if you get a chance also give our warm regards to Inna (Aperol Spritz lovers) and please find out if she will be on board the Mariner in October & November--thanks in advance.

[Zqueeze1]

Z, please say hi to Catalin and Inna from Marc (Catalin from Voyager and Inna from Mariner). Ask Catalin how was his New Year's Eve in Shanghai. Catalin will remember be as the foolish one populating the Pool Bar with temps in the 40s; Inna will remember the Johnnie Walker Black (not Red).

 

Marc

 

 

 

Catalin remembers you warmly as well as New Years in Shanghai.

Z and TB

 

 

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[Zqueeze1]

Zqueeze,

 

Please say hello to Catalin for me (Sir John, the Scotch and Diet Coke guy). I'm just about the only person who drinks this odd combo and he has prepared it for me many,many times. He is a fantastic bartender.

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

John

 

 

 

I caught Catalin with his pants down. He was surprised when I mentioned you and sends his regards.

 

Z and TB

 

 

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[Zqueeze1]

Good Morning.

Yesterday was a leisurely sea day mostly spent walking laps, swimming in the pool, and having a couple of wines. I walked for thirty five minutes but The Boss hulked out and did thirty laps in one hour.

We’ve met some couples from Australia who are a hoot as well as the others from California, one of which is a wine maker ((Bacchus, the Roman god of wine must have had something to do with that one).

The Mariner has a Seven Seas Society meeting that we missed but I will contact Brownie at reception and see if she can provide me with some of the stats by membership category.

We went to Sette Mari for dinner last night and it was excellent. We were able to beat the crowds and get a wonderful outdoor table. Besides the usual antipasti, I had a great veal chop

 

...and Pam had a chicken dish

 

And the dreaded bread basket

Service continues to be excellent. Even when there was one demanding guest insisting on getting bar service from the pool bar up to the twelfth deck, the assistant Food and Beverage Manager accommodated them.

Although the weather had been partly cloudy with a couple of sprinkles, I don’t think it’s too hot to make us run for cover.

Meals: with the exception of our Prime 7 glitch, we have enjoyed excellent meals in all venues. We are eating on the new Signatures French restaurant tonight.

Today we are in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. We arrived early and all tours have been moved up by a couple of hours. The Boss is going on a 7AM tour under protest.

 

Z and TB

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

Food looks great but I'm curious - did you only photograph the bread basket or did you taste it as well? If it were put on our table, I probably couldn't resist the bread stick and cracker-like thing.

[pingpong1]

 

"Service continues to be excellent. Even when there was one demanding guest insisting on getting bar service from the pool bar up to the twelfth deck, the assistant Food and Beverage Manager accommodated them."

 

Hi Z - And as it well should be! To quote page 6 of the most recent Regent Catalog.......

 

"Personal Service....It's all Included....Throughout your voyage, our kind and generous international officers and staff will anticipate and fulfill your every need........."

 

That "demanding guest" was merely expressing "a personal need". Hope you and TB continue to have a wonderful cruise.

[1teach53]

Food looks great but I'm curious - did you only photograph the bread basket or did you taste it as well? If it were put on our table, I probably couldn't resist the bread stick and cracker-like thing.

 

Too funny exactly my thoughts!😉

Love those salt sticks in CR too😋

Z thanks for the yummy pics!

Can’t wait to hear how your tour was today. Wow! That was a way too early wake up call, hope TB forgives you.

K

[Zqueeze1]

Food looks great but I'm curious - did you only photograph the bread basket or did you taste it as well? If it were put on our table, I probably couldn't resist the bread stick and cracker-like thing.

 

 

 

Well, you got me there. We split one piece and then had a piece of baguette. It’s the first we’ve had since Christmas and it was glorious.

Z and TB

 

 

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[boblerm]

Today we are in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. We arrived early and all tours have been moved up by a couple of hours. The Boss is going on a 7AM tour under protest.

 

Z and TB

 

 

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I don't blame her. I would be protesting too. Do I understand correctly that the tour was originally scheduled for 9, and moved up to 7??:mad:

 

Loving your reports, thanks so much for posting.

Bob

[Zqueeze1]

I don't blame her. I would be protesting too. Do I understand correctly that the tour was originally scheduled for 9, and moved up to 7??:mad:

 

 

 

Loving your reports, thanks so much for posting.

 

Bob

 

 

 

Yes the tour was moved up two hours.

Z and TB

 

 

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[RachelG]

I eat the cracker things as I don’t count them as carb. And I am allowed 1 salt bread stick per cruise.

[Zqueeze1]

Here is a breakdown of seven seas Society tiers. Thank you Brownie from reception

 

Commodore 2

Titanium 14

Platinum 34

Gold 108

Silver 255

Bronze 1

First timers 10

 

Z and TB

 

 

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[Zqueeze1]

I eat the cracker things as I don’t count them as carb. And I am allowed 1 salt bread stick per cruise.

 

 

 

That means I met your quota already.

Z and TB

 

 

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[Zqueeze1]

Part I. Good Morning. We are having a sea day due to our stop in Nicaragua being cancelled and are enroute to Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. It is another quiet morning with smooth seas.

I like to write on this thread in the mornings from the Coffee Connection. I arrive around 0620, where it’s gotten to the point that Justas will make me an Americano without my asking for it. I usually run into Jim from Hawaii and several other early morning regulars. Although there is a very nice spread of lighter breakfast items, I stick to some mixed nuts and two coffees, which is about the time The Boss comes bouncing in for a Latte before heading up for breakfast.

On a sea day we will do our laps up on deck 12 after breakfast followed by a swim in the pool which is perfectly heated. Afterwards, it all depends on our moods but there are two constants in our routine: The Boss will take a nap and I will be at the pool bar at 3PM to hang out and swap lies with Frank from LA. Drinks at 6PM at the Mariner Lounge, dinner, then we break our promise to see the show and hit the rack by 10. Life is not too bad.

Puntarenas, Costa Rica: our tour departed at 0705 and it started with a tortuous two hour bus ride on a winding, bumpy road to our destination. I read that Ron and Rick stayed in port; great call. I was getting antsy because of this road and this damned squeaky noise behind us that was rattling my bones. Anyways, all was well when we arrived for the “Walk in the Clouds” tour. It began with me cursing at myself for dressing as if I was in Disney World in July and not having a light jacket. As I looked at all the well prepared folks, I stood out like sore thumb in my shorts and polo shirt. It’s a rainforest and we are in the clouds. The Boss beat feet to a store and got herself a jacket but there were none in my size (zip it, Max or I’ll tell the story about not knowing who docked your sailboat).

Anyways, we started of with a walk through a butterfly habitat that set the tone for the rest of the tour.

 

We continued through some rickety suspension bridges and walked through the rainforest sort of like “Romancing the Stone” except that The Boss had no high heels and I’m no Michael Douglas.

 

Our guide pointed out plants, some insects, and spoke about the great diversity in the rainforest. We finished up in a hummingbird habitat.

 

The whole tour was fantastic, peaceful, and left us so glad we survived the bus ride from hell to experience the serenity of the rainforest.

Our jaunt in the woods was followed by an early lunch (1030) in which I had a salad and a pork chop that was so hard I had it registered as a lethal weapon. Pam gave up trying to eat hers. The other options were fish and chicken (no way). However, I had a wonderful cup of coffee.

The bus ride back was broken up by a stop at a souvenir shop full of coffee and artisan items as well as the usual souvenirs.

Z and TB

 

 

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[Zqueeze1]

Part II. We had dinner at Chartreuse last night and it was excellent although the service was a little slow taking about two hours and fifteen minutes to eat an appetizer, main course, and cheese plate.

 

Notice we skipped out on the bread and dessert. Pam was so hungry that I got scared because she was eyeing me as if I was a juicy morsel for her enjoyment.

I had some incredibly tasty escargot followed by lamb chops and Pam had soup and scallops with a side of their chicken.

We finished dinner with some selections from the cheese tray and a glass of port wine. Again, no late night show for us, bed time and getting ready for another great day at sea.

Here’s the time for an unsolicited endorsement. I am asking you folks to please take a second and write a sentence or two to convince my cheap friend Max to reach under his mattress and pull out some cash and book a Regent cruise. Tell him what you think of a Regent cruise. He and Peggy have three boys they are putting through college (one already graduated and is a great young man), and Max is getting ready for a third knee surgery. I think they are more than ready to join us. DO IT, Max!!!

 

Z and TB

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

Learned a lot from your experience in Costa Rica and we won't take that excursion (although the butterfly was gorgeous).

 

The lamb chops look delicious - that is my favorite dish in Chartreuse. Hmmm, you called TB by name while you were taking a photo of her chest:evilsmile:. Seriously, her scallops look very well prepared and yummy!

 

Max - BOOK REGENT or you will never hear the end of it. Z is right that you will likely enjoy every moment that you are onboard a Regent ship. Book something together - you'll have a blast!

[1teach53]

Z, as always love the pics and your entertaining report, thank you!

Looking forward to our first Chartreuse experience.

Max, Z is right , just do it! We are retired & on a budget so we shop the most reasonable (?) Regent Cruises. ( sure wish $$ was no object!) oh well! I have to say we have enjoyed each & every RSS cruise without exception!

Continue to have fun & hugs to Pam.

K

[Zqueeze1]

Thanks to Brownie from reception, here is a list of passengers’ nationalities:

 

Australia 33

Belgium 4

Brazil 1

Canada 52

Denmark 2

France 6

Germany 8

Ireland 1

Japan

Luxembourg 2

Mexico 1

Netherlands 4

New Zealand 4

Norway 2

Spain 2

Sweden 2

Switzerland 6

UK 95

USA 445

 

Z and TB

 

 

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[Zqueeze1]

Here is a beautiful pic of a hummingbird from our tour yesterday. It was given to me by a fellow pax:

Z and TB

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

Thanks to Brownie from reception, here is a list of passengers’ nationalities:

 

Australia 33

Belgium 4

Brazil 1

Canada 52

Denmark 2

France 6

Germany 8

Ireland 1

Japan

Luxembourg 2

Mexico 1

Netherlands 4

New Zealand 4

Norway 2

Spain 2

Sweden 2

Switzerland 6

UK 95

USA 445

 

Z and TB

 

 

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Good mix of passengers (much better than our "mix"). Love the photo of the hummingbird.

 

Wondering how much abuse "us posters" can give you........ running out of snarky remarks:evilsmile:

[Mudhen]

Pictures have been stunning! Food looks wonderful!

Any chance if you might know if "Alberto", a waiter in CR is on board? If per chance you run into him, Linda, John and Twila are singing "Peggy Sue" to him! Wonderful waiter, had been recommended by Risky. He saw us thru the Amazon!

[Boatmans Lady]

Fantastic pictures and love the hummingbird one, kudos to your fellow passenger,

I'm so looking forward to tasting all this yummy food ourselves.

[Zqueeze1]

Pictures have been stunning! Food looks wonderful!

 

Any chance if you might know if "Alberto", a waiter in CR is on board? If per chance you run into him, Linda, John and Twila are singing "Peggy Sue" to him! Wonderful waiter, had been recommended by Risky. He saw us thru the Amazon!

 

 

 

I’ll check around and get back to you.

Z and TB

 

 

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[Zqueeze1]

Good mix of passengers (much better than our "mix"). Love the photo of the hummingbird.

 

 

 

Wondering how much abuse "us posters" can give you........ running out of snarky remarks:evilsmile:

 

 

 

I’m always up for some abuse. :)

 

Z and TB

 

 

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