Safari + 29 days onboard Mariner starting 11/21/2015

[Travelcat2]

Hi Marcia -- will read the rest of your blog tonight or tomorrow. The jet lag plus the two sleepless nights (totally worth it) on safari have left us drained. Hopefully I am posting three elephants and a week old baby below (baby to the right of middle elephant):

 

 

To give a perspective as to how close we were, my DH's head is in the foreground. These lovely elephants were nearby. We saw many elephants and giraffe's as well as several species of "antelope type" animals (Springbok, etc.) Next will try to post some giraffe's.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Travelcat2

[Travelcat2]

Such majestic creatures:

 

Edited November 25, 2015 by Travelcat2

[poss]

Enjoying your posts, Tc.

 

I'm not sure whether your guide spoke to you about the differences between the northern and southern white rhinoceros. We have a "thing" about rhinos (have never seen one in the wild, alas), so I'm especially attuned to news about them. Actually, the southern white rhino (which I assume is what you saw since you saw several of them) is (happily!) no longer endangered. Until two days ago, there were only four northern white rhinos left on earth-- and now, terribly sadly, there are only three. Nola, a northern white who's been at the San Diego zoo for a number of decades, died the other day. I remember seeing her there in the early 90's, so it was sad to learn she'd died in any case. But three northern whites left in the whole world, oh, my!

 

I hope that the cruise is as splendid as always. Happy Thanksgiving!

Edited November 25, 2015 by poss

[Mr Rumor]

Photos are great, Jackie! Happy Thanksgiving to you and Dennis.

[Art Instructor]

Fantastic photos, Jackie! Thank you for posting. Catch up on your sleep and continue your wonderful adventure.

 

Marcia

[Patticsr]

Thanks for posting the pictures. I am even MORE excited, if that's even possible!!!!

 

I can't wait to see these beautiful animals up close and personal!!!

 

See you soon! :)

 

Patti

[CruiseMacks]

Ditto PattiCSR! Thanks for the pics! Can't wait! Next week!

 

Nancy

[Dakota0307]

Spindrift and Travelcat2,

 

Seeing photos has really gotten us excited about trip. Nice photography. It is helpful being warned to have warm clothing packed for safari. Because we are stopping in Paris enroute we will have winter coats along. I do remember lots of wind and cold on last trip to South Africa.

 

Trust you have caught up on rest and hope the ocean has calmed down. Sure the new employees onboard are enthusiastic as this is a new work adventure for them. It should not take long for them to settle in learning ship layout and work duties.

 

We look forward to following your posts and meeting you soon. Thank you for posting.

 

Happy cruising!

 

Cyndi and Tom

[Travelcat2]

Enjoying your posts, Tc.

 

I'm not sure whether your guide spoke to you about the differences between the northern and southern white rhinoceros. We have a "thing" about rhinos (have never seen one in the wild, alas), so I'm especially attuned to news about them. Actually, the southern white rhino (which I assume is what you saw since you saw several of them) is (happily!) no longer endangered. Until two days ago, there were only four northern white rhinos left on earth-- and now, terribly sadly, there are only three. Nola, a northern white who's been at the San Diego zoo for a number of decades, died the other day. I remember seeing her there in the early 90's, so it was sad to learn she'd died in any case. But three northern whites left in the whole world, oh, my!

 

I hope that the cruise is as splendid as always. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Thank you so very much for the explanation. I did hear that a white rhino passed away recently but did not know that there were "northern" and "southern" white rhinos. We were told that the black rhinos were extremely endangered. We did see two - one of which seemed to be fairly young. I'll try to post the photo. It is taking me up to one hour to post one photo. Today was a rest day (thankfully we caught up on sleep) and tomorrow is Thanksgiving so I should have time to post (assuming I can get onto a computer -- while my Kindle took the photos, I need the computer to post).

 

Very excited to see people from the Cape Town to Rio cruise viewing this thread. I'm trying to share as much information as possible.

 

Cyndi and Tom - the seas have calmed down. The weather today was in the 70's but we are on the east coast of South Africa -- headed towards Mozambique and Durban.

 

Speaking of Mozambique, many passengers (including us) wish we were not going there because we are forced to get a visa ($169/person if you have Regent arrange it on the ship). Obtaining it on your own was too much of a hassle.

 

Going to see if I can post a picture or two before going to bed.

[Travelcat2]

We are used to seeing "flat lions" (aka sleeping lions). These two noticed that there was a "photo op" so they lifted their heads a bit and almost opened their eyes:D

 

[Travelcat2]

Not a good photo. The "black" rhinos wanted nothing to do with us. This is a mother and child lumbering away from us:

 

[CruiseMacks]

Thanks for the photos - - really putting us in the mood! Your comments about the weather and dressing warm, etc., made me re-think a few things.

Will pack this weekend - - almost extended to 35 days, but been to the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Brazil and people I asked said the Amazon wasn't that big of a deal. So, will save our $$ for something else!

 

See you on the 9th!

 

Nancy

[RachelG]

Lovely pics. The lions look really healthy.

[Zqueeze1]

Hi, Jackie! Happy Thanksgiving. Sounds that you are having a wonderful cruise and thank you for taking the time to share it with us. I know that the pics can be difficult to post so we appreciate the effort.

 

Since Thanksgiving is mostly a US holiday, is the ship celebrating it? If so, The Boss is interested in some Thanksgiving food porn.

 

Take care,

 

Z and TB

[Travelcat2]

Hi Roberto - Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

 

Yes - Regent absolutely celebrates Thanksgiving -- after all, they are a U.S. based company. We had a really fun parade at 10:00 a.m. and will have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in CR tonight. Santa Claus arrived at the end of the parade. Everything is festive and people are happy. Fortunately, today is a sea day!

 

We have a very good Meet and Greet this morning! Lots of people showed up and Regent put out coffee for us. The G.M., C.D. and F&B Director all showed up at the event. We are so happy to have Andreas, Lorraine and Daniella on board (Daniella was just promoted to F&B Director -- we met her before she went to Oceania for 2 years). Unfortunately, Regent continues to lose some officers to Viking Ocean. I predict that, after a couple of years away from Regent, they will return "home".

 

I am spending a lot of time trying to post photos -- and am mostly unsuccessful. I have not been able to post any photos today. There are a lot of people using the internet...... I have no idea how it will be when everyone has unlimited WiFi (thankfully the unlimited WiFi will only be for one person per suite - this is how it is done on Oceania as well). There are already not enough computers to accommodate the guests. While almost everyone has a tablet or laptop, the speed on the computers in the computer room is much better. Anyway, not going to complain on a day where we are thankful for everything that we have.

 

Really enjoying the cruise. Tomorrow we go to a Zulu camp where we will have lunch and will learn about the lives of the people.

 

Just spent two hours doing "Black Friday" shopping online. It's interesting that I can buy things online without difficulty but cannot get photobucket to work. Maybe I'll try again after dinner.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Take a moment to reflect on the many, many things we all have to be thankful for.

[Zqueeze1]

Jackie:

 

Thanks for the info on Thanksgiving. If you can download tapatalk to your device, you can upload a pic directly onto your Cruise Critic post. It is very easy and quick and I used it to post some pics during our recent Greek cruise.

 

BTW, is Olga onboard?

 

Z and TB

[Mudhen]

We're late to the party, but here now! Just finished a QM2 cruise, but that's a story for another time...

Your pictures are beautiful! What a special experience!

Relax now and enjoy your cruise(s)!!!!

So very happy we'll see you on the Explorer next Nov!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and all on board!

Linda and John

[Travelcat2]

Jackie:

 

Thanks for the info on Thanksgiving. If you can download tapatalk to your device, you can upload a pic directly onto your Cruise Critic post. It is very easy and quick and I used it to post some pics during our recent Greek cruise.

 

BTW, is Olga onboard?

 

Z and TB

 

Sorry that I did not mention Olga. No, she is not onboard. I do not have the details that you do but know that she received the news that a family member passed away while she was onboard. Apparently she will return to Regent but not the Mariner. Will let you know if I learn more.

 

I will look into "tapatalk" but am extremely frustrated at the moment. If anyone out there can take my photos and post them on CC, I would be most thankful as I have already spent hours trying to do it - even tonight when no one is in the computer room. Tomorrow we have a 7 hour excursion and there are more to follow. I have more photos of animals and about 3 photos of the Thanksgiving parade. I may have to wait until I return home to post photos unless something changes.

 

Dinner was fabulous -- really having a great time on the Mariner. The only issue I can see is the number of new crew members that may not be fully trained.

 

Anyway, going to try tapatalk and then go to bed.

[Zqueeze1]

Thanks for the update on Olga. We appreciate it. I can try loading up your pics since I brought up tapatalk. Please send me info on how to get them to Zqueeze1atyahoodotcom. I'll give it a whirl in the morning since the beer light was just turned on.

Z and TB

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited November 26, 2015 by Zqueeze1

[Travelcat2]

Thanks Roberto - I think I may be able to post one photo -- and, it isn't even the best one. Hopefully, below will be a photo that will test your eyesight:D Can you find wart hog?

 

 

After many hours earlier today and 45 minutes tonight, I managed to post one photo. I'll send you a few photos when I get back to my suite. No rush to post them. Thanks so much!

[BeginTheBeguine]

I found him....I found him - - - Waldo the Wart Hog !!!!!

 

Keep the pics coming !

Edited November 26, 2015 by BeginTheBeguine

[JMARINER]

If anyone out there can take my photos and post them on CC, I would be most thankful as I have already spent hours trying to do it - even tonight when no one is in the computer room.

 

You need to downsize (or resize) any photo you want to post on your computer/laptop device, BEFORE you try to post the image to the web.

 

With most modern cameras each photo can be as large as 4-5 megabytes. Ideally for posting to the web for CC they should be reduce by 90% or down to less than 500k bytes (under 500x500 pixels).

 

Open the photo on your laptop and find the edit tab. From there you should be able to find a resize tab. Be sure to use the "save as" button to make a copy so the original is not lost. Then post the reduce size photo.

 

The resulting upload will be 90% faster.

 

Happy Thanksgiving.

 

J

[Travelcat2]

I found him....I found him - - - Waldo the Wart Hog !!!!!

 

Keep the pics coming !

 

Thank you for naming our Wart Hog:D

 

JMARINER: Will try your advice -- should have time today because the port has been cancelled (details below). Yesterday I could not even get to the screen on Photobucket where I could ask it to upload so it probably wasn't photo size but it is worth a try re-sizing.

 

It is the day after Thanksgiving and everyone was up early (not too early) for our visit to Richard's Bay. We were going to learn more about how the Zulu tribes live. We noticed rough seas. Even though the Mariner doesn't "feel" it very much, the ship is swaying. Richard's Bay had to close their dock. The "pilot" could not get to the Mariner either by boat or helicopter. While a bit disappointing, Mother Nature does what she wants to do and we just have to accept it. With the exception of one day, the weather has been cooler than expected. It isn't cold but is cloudy and wasn't expected to go above 72 F today. Yesterday it rained.

 

Tomorrow is Mozambique which is the only port we are visiting that has the mosquito that spreads malaria. Not sure why I shared that - it was just on my mind.

 

I am working with "Z" regarding photos. Unfortunately, out of approximately 6 emails sent to him yesterday, only 1 made it through. I'm going to make the suggested adjustments to the photo size and see if that works.

 

That's all for now. Wish others would post as there are many CC'ers on the ship and I bet that at least one of them would know how to post their safari photos.

[barefootfantasy]

Arne't you suppose to be facing the lion???

 

HJ

[Zqueeze1]

From TC2: Thanksgiving table layout outside of Prime 7.

 

Note: testing uploading from tapatalk from my cell. Comments/recommendations/insults are welcome.

Z and TB

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk