Here are the photos I took at the four Jean Ann Ryan production shows during our cruise. .
"R&R"
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
HOW TO READ BLOG
As a reminder or for first time friends to my blogs, the last blog posting appears first. On the right side below the itinerary and "about me" you will find "blog archive". Click on the month to find postings for that month. Then click on each day to see that day's post. Also when viewing photos on the postings, if you click on the photo it will be enlarged. I recommend this to get full value from the scenery. You will not see the photo caption however when enlarges for read it first. I hope this helps. If you have a problem, send me an email.
BACK HOME
Our flight from LAX (Los Angeles) back to DFW departed almost 2 hours late due to late arriving plane and then waiting on a flight attendant cruise to show up. Our flight was my first on American's new Airbus 321 which seems the replacement for their aging Boeing 757's. It holds around 170 passengers. Our first class seats were very nice with an interactive tv screen in the seat back in front of us. You could select movies, music, tv shows, etc. I rewatched "American Sniper". Our young Miami based flight attendant crew were excellent. We were even offered drinks during boarding which I did not expect since boarding started very late and the agents wanted to get the flight out ASAP. The inflight service was equally as good and reminded me of the way flight attendants were 30 years ago. I had pre-selected our dinner entrees online a couple of months ago. I like that feature on AAL's website. We both had a fairly large portion of beef in wine sauce, rice, and snap peas. For dessert there were fresh cooked chocolate chip cookies. The wine selections were nice also. It was weird and probably not good for our bodies that we were having dinner at midnight Dallas time.
We walked into the house at 2:30 am!! Two very tired puppies and I immediately hoped into bed. The house was ok. You never know what to expect after being gone on these trips especially with the sometimes violent storms in north Texas.
We were up and going by 9:30 with unpacking, picking up the mail, and just getting caught up.
Well, that was our 82nd cruise and now have 973 nights on cruise ships. This cruise was nearly perfect in every way. What made it even more special was the weather we experienced in Alaska. May is normally a rainy month in Alaska but we had nice sunny days in all our ports with temperatures around 60 degrees. The locals were thanking us for bringing them some good weather. Also, once again Regent exceeded our expectations. Of course being able to cruise with our friend, Goran, was special. We were so happy for him and the members of his food and beverage team when the US health inspectors awarded them a 100% on a no notice inspection. This is a rare score for a cruise ship. After all our cruises I can tell how it was by listening to other passengers. Usually no matter how good the food or service is you hear some people bitching. There is one area of the US that is more well known for doing this, I won't say where. People talk when on excursions about things onboard the ship. Even though they are not talking to me, I listen. On this cruise I never heard any one complaining about the food and service. I will have to admit, however, getting off the ship for our excursions was not very organized as with Regent's other two ships. All in all, we loved this cruise. Only problem is it was just too short!!
If you have not done an Alaskan cruise, we would HIGHLY recommend it. Alaska is simply one of the most beautiful places in the whole world. We know as we have basically seen the whole world.
Ok, my next blog will be rolled out for our 72 night, "Circle South America" cruise that departs Miami on January 13th next year. We did this cruise in 2012 but there are a few new ports on the 2016 version. We will be sailing on the Regent Seven Seas "Mariner" ship again. It is a beautiful ship. You will certainly enjoy the itinerary and photos. Until then, I hope you have enjoyed cruising with us to Alaska.
We walked into the house at 2:30 am!! Two very tired puppies and I immediately hoped into bed. The house was ok. You never know what to expect after being gone on these trips especially with the sometimes violent storms in north Texas.
We were up and going by 9:30 with unpacking, picking up the mail, and just getting caught up.
Well, that was our 82nd cruise and now have 973 nights on cruise ships. This cruise was nearly perfect in every way. What made it even more special was the weather we experienced in Alaska. May is normally a rainy month in Alaska but we had nice sunny days in all our ports with temperatures around 60 degrees. The locals were thanking us for bringing them some good weather. Also, once again Regent exceeded our expectations. Of course being able to cruise with our friend, Goran, was special. We were so happy for him and the members of his food and beverage team when the US health inspectors awarded them a 100% on a no notice inspection. This is a rare score for a cruise ship. After all our cruises I can tell how it was by listening to other passengers. Usually no matter how good the food or service is you hear some people bitching. There is one area of the US that is more well known for doing this, I won't say where. People talk when on excursions about things onboard the ship. Even though they are not talking to me, I listen. On this cruise I never heard any one complaining about the food and service. I will have to admit, however, getting off the ship for our excursions was not very organized as with Regent's other two ships. All in all, we loved this cruise. Only problem is it was just too short!!
If you have not done an Alaskan cruise, we would HIGHLY recommend it. Alaska is simply one of the most beautiful places in the whole world. We know as we have basically seen the whole world.
Ok, my next blog will be rolled out for our 72 night, "Circle South America" cruise that departs Miami on January 13th next year. We did this cruise in 2012 but there are a few new ports on the 2016 version. We will be sailing on the Regent Seven Seas "Mariner" ship again. It is a beautiful ship. You will certainly enjoy the itinerary and photos. Until then, I hope you have enjoyed cruising with us to Alaska.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
VANCOUVER, BC
We had a wonderful dinner last night with Goran. Our salmon in pastry was wonderful. So good I had two pieces. After dinner we walked around the ship saying good bye to all our crew friends. Then we returned to the suite and put our dinner clothes in the suitcases and set them outside our door for pickup.
The ship arrived this morning right on time at 7:00 am in Vancouver. They had to off load the luggage before us passengers could disembark. They estimated that would be 8:00 am and they actually started at 7:58. Our color was called at 8:20 and we were the first of our color to leave. In the cruise terminal I grabbed a porter and collected our 3 checked bags. There was a Holland America cruise ship also disembarking. Regent had everything well organized and we did not have to stand in the long lines that they were in. We were the first ones on our bus but had to wait another 40 minutes for the other 38 people to arrive. This bus transfer cost us $66 each but we had ship board credit that we had to use or lose so used part of it for the transfers. Not much traffic on Sunday morning so we made it to the airport in 30 minutes. The driver unloaded our luggage and I grabbed a free bag cart. Then off we went to check in at American Airlines. The agents were not there but showed up shortly. I used the kiosk to get boarding passes and let the agents know how many luggage tags we would be using. We were in the business class line which only had 3 other couples in line ahead of us. After checking in and dropping off our checked luggage, we proceeded through security. There was a line here. We had TSA Pre-check stamped on our boarding passes but still had to take computer and liquids out. Basically strip!! Then we had to clear US Immigration and Customs. We have Global Entry so used special kiosks to scan our passports and have our finger prints checked. This is great as did not have to wait in any lines. So all this was accomplished and we were walking to our gate at 10:20, just 2 hours after walking off the ship.
There is a direct flight from here to DFW scheduled at 1:00 pm but it is delayed until 1:45 due to weather in Dallas area. It is a beautiful day here in Vancouver. I asked if we could be moved to the direct flight but it was full already. So now we will sit here until and wait for our 1:40 pm flight to Los Angeles. Our flight from LAX to DFW is scheduled to depart at 6:40 pm. Just checked the Dallas area weather radar and not looking good. I am betting our flight will be delayed if not cancelled. At least the internet here at Vancouver airport is free.
After getting home I will be posting a cruise summary. Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there.
The ship arrived this morning right on time at 7:00 am in Vancouver. They had to off load the luggage before us passengers could disembark. They estimated that would be 8:00 am and they actually started at 7:58. Our color was called at 8:20 and we were the first of our color to leave. In the cruise terminal I grabbed a porter and collected our 3 checked bags. There was a Holland America cruise ship also disembarking. Regent had everything well organized and we did not have to stand in the long lines that they were in. We were the first ones on our bus but had to wait another 40 minutes for the other 38 people to arrive. This bus transfer cost us $66 each but we had ship board credit that we had to use or lose so used part of it for the transfers. Not much traffic on Sunday morning so we made it to the airport in 30 minutes. The driver unloaded our luggage and I grabbed a free bag cart. Then off we went to check in at American Airlines. The agents were not there but showed up shortly. I used the kiosk to get boarding passes and let the agents know how many luggage tags we would be using. We were in the business class line which only had 3 other couples in line ahead of us. After checking in and dropping off our checked luggage, we proceeded through security. There was a line here. We had TSA Pre-check stamped on our boarding passes but still had to take computer and liquids out. Basically strip!! Then we had to clear US Immigration and Customs. We have Global Entry so used special kiosks to scan our passports and have our finger prints checked. This is great as did not have to wait in any lines. So all this was accomplished and we were walking to our gate at 10:20, just 2 hours after walking off the ship.
There is a direct flight from here to DFW scheduled at 1:00 pm but it is delayed until 1:45 due to weather in Dallas area. It is a beautiful day here in Vancouver. I asked if we could be moved to the direct flight but it was full already. So now we will sit here until and wait for our 1:40 pm flight to Los Angeles. Our flight from LAX to DFW is scheduled to depart at 6:40 pm. Just checked the Dallas area weather radar and not looking good. I am betting our flight will be delayed if not cancelled. At least the internet here at Vancouver airport is free.
After getting home I will be posting a cruise summary. Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there.
Saturday, May 9, 2015
CRUISING INSIDE PASSAGE
A couple commented to us the other night that the dining room staff always ran to take care of us.
Our butler would bring fresh fruit every day and the bananas would never get ripe. So I left a message on this one. Suresh is very serious but I bet he smiled when he saw this.
I packed this morning while Rebecca was working out. She is packing this afternoon. This is our least favorite day of any cruise. Packing and saying good bye to all our crew member family. This nine night cruise has gone by way to fast. This is why we like to take long cruises. Our next cruise will be in January 2016--72 nights, "Circle South America". Yesterday I booked another cruise for November 2016. It is a 54 night cruise from Barcelona to Singapore. It will stop in Israel, go through the Suez Canal, stopping in the Middle Eastern countries along the way. It will also stop in Myanmar and India plus many other places. We saw these places in 2013 with the exception of Myanmar.
Tonight we will be dining with Goran again. He will also be leaving the ship tomorrow and flying to Europe so as to join another Regent ship, the Mariner. His wife and two lovely daughters will be joining him on the ship in June for 21 days so we know they are all very excited about that.
Tomorrow morning at 7:00 am we will be docking in Vancouver, BC. We should be disembarking the Navigator shortly after 8:00. After collecting our luggage on the pier we will clear Canadian customs and board a bus to be transferred to the Vancouver airport. I believe we will clear US customs at the airport also. Our flight is not until 1:40 pm. We fly on an American Eagle plane to Los Angeles then connect to an American Airlines flight on to DFW. Dallas weather tomorrow says 80% chance of heavy thunderstorms. We are scheduled to arrive DFW at 11:00 pm but just hoping we get there sometime tomorrow night. We are booked in first class for our flights so that will help make a long day a little nicer.
Here are some of our crew member friends:
There will be at least one more posting made after we get back home. This evening we will be doing some scenic cruising and may see some more whales. I have my camera with telephoto at the ready. We did see two small dolphins playing this morning.
Friday, May 8, 2015
KETCHIKAN, ALASKA
Ketchikan is the southernmost city in Alaska, located on the southern part of its panhandle, and has a population of 8,000. Oddly enough this makes it the 6th largest city in Alaska. When you include the borough, the population is 13,000. The city is known as “the Salmon Capital of the World” and Ketchikan Creek flows right through downtown where you can see plenty of salmon swimming upstream.
Ketchikan is located on Revillagigedo Island was established in 1885. It is surrounded by the Tongass National Forest, 700 miles north of Seattle and 235 miles south of Juneau. The Tongass National Forest stretches the length of Alaska's coastline. It's the world's largest temperate rain forest. Air service and ferries are the only way to get here. As you might suspect cruise ship passengers fill the small town during the summer months. Ketchikan’s economy is based on government services, tourism, and commercial fishing. Their lumber industry was basically shut down by the Clinton Administration in 1996. Is that Federal government getting involved in a State’s rights?? Ok, off my soapbox. More trivia for you: Ketchikan has the world’s largest collection of standing totem poles.
WHAT WE ARE DOING
We woke up to sunshine this morning. This was a very rare sunny day here in Ketchikan. We went to the fitness center for our normal workout after having some cereal for breakfast. We could not do the workout yesterday due to our long whale watching excursion. We arrived at the dock in Ketchikan at noon (1 hour late due to currents). At 12:30 we headed off the ship for our excursion, "Cruise George Inlet & Crab Feast". Our bus took us along the scenic coastline with our guide giving us information about Ketchikan and the area surrounding it. We passed by canneries, an old sawmill, totem poles, and waterfalls on our way to the George Inlet Lodge. Here we boarded a 36 foot, fully enclosed pontoon boat. We then departed for a cruise along Alaska's Inside Passage and the beautiful George Inlet. Once again we lucked out by having such a beautiful day for this. We crossed the fjord to a remote estuary where they pulled some crab pots to show us some crabs up close and personal. They showed us how they measure the crabs.
Kate, our guide, pulled up this pot with about 7 crabs in it. It was baited with a salmon head and other fish parts. She demonstrated how to handle the crabs without being pinched.
We arrived back at the ship at 5:00 pm. Tomorrow we will spend the day cruising the Inside Passage. Tomorrow is the last day of our cruise as we arrive in Vancouver Sunday morning.
Tonight is the Captain's Farewell Dinner and crew show. We will miss the show due to me writing and putting photos on this post. Still full from the crab but will be having our favorite, beef Wellington tonight in Compass rose. At 9:30 tonight's headline entertainer is Jade Milan again. This time she will be singing soul classics. She is very talented.
Tonight is the Captain's Farewell Dinner and crew show. We will miss the show due to me writing and putting photos on this post. Still full from the crab but will be having our favorite, beef Wellington tonight in Compass rose. At 9:30 tonight's headline entertainer is Jade Milan again. This time she will be singing soul classics. She is very talented.
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