LIVE -To and From the Amazon - 11/17-12/12/2017

[Boatmans Lady]

Hi, just catching up with your live report and I'm really enjoying it, even the differences of opinions, so will add a few of my opinions, if I may.

 

As we are yet to cruise with Regent [still over a year away] I'm loving soaking up peoples thoughts, likes, dislikes etc.

It really doesn't worry me if the higher suite passengers board, first. We often travel on flights in business class, but very rarely board when called, I'm going to be confined long enough.

 

Interesting about placing cotton wool in both ears whilst sleeping for seasickness. We are both good sailors, but have been told that a lot of motion sickness/seasickness is caused through the ears and if you do suffer, try wearing a soft gel earplug in one ear only. The ears work in unison and if you disrupt the signals from both ears, it stops the motion sickness/seasickness.

 

Our cruise is on The Navigator [our choice was itinerary led] so will be really interested in your views.

 

We are on a different cruise line in the Caribbean for Christmas and we too have had our Islands substituted/order changed and one of our substituted Islands has re-opened, but we have been told that whilst they are open, they cannot cope with having 2, 3, 4 ships in at once, so this may be the reason why some ships are calling in and others aren't.

 

Really looking forward to your thoughts once you reach the Amazon. This is an area that we would like to visit and we are drawn to a complete circumnavigation of South America, but at the moment hubby cannot have that length of time off work, so counting down the last few years till he can scale back on work.

 

Looking forward to your next post.

[Travelcat2]

Boatmans Lady - thank you so much for the information about ears and seasickness. Thankfully we are now in calm seas (actually, we are anchored but had calm seas last night). Also very interesting about some islands having to limit the number of ships in port while they recover from the hurricane. That makes sense. It was just announced that it will only be 15-20 minutes on the tender and that there are swells so we need to pay particular attention to the crew when getting onto and off of the tenders.

 

Will definitely give as much information as I can about the Amazon but it is only fair to say that South America (specifically Brazil) is not one of my places to visit for many reasons - heat being one of them. We are more into Scandinavia, The Middle East, South Africa (even though it is hot) and Asia.

 

An interesting tidbit ........ in order to keep passengers healthy, there is no more shaking hands with officers and crew. They do fist bumps which has turned into some elbow bumps (when we are being silly). You could almost make a dance out of the moves:evilsmile:. They can give hugs - just no touching of the inside of your hands which apparently is where most of the germs hang out.

 

Mariner's Code Red issues are hopefully a thing of the past but they won't hesitate to put the ship into Code Red again if too many passengers show up with the flu, colds or any other illnesses that could be passed on to others.

 

More when there is actually something interesting to write!

[vitacura]

 

An interesting tidbit ........ in order to keep passengers healthy, there is no more shaking hands with officers and crew. They do fist bumps which has turned into some elbow bumps (when we are being silly). You could almost make a dance out of the moves:evilsmile:. They can give hugs - just no touching of the inside of your hands which apparently is where most of the germs hang out.

 

Mariner's Code Red issues are hopefully a thing of the past but they won't hesitate to put the ship into Code Red again if too many passengers show up with the flu, colds or any other illnesses that could be passed on to others.

 

More when there is actually something interesting to write!

 

Enjoying your trip report as always. I am currently on the Navigator and think you will really like the condition of the ship. Crew has been amazing; attentive and friendly as always, food has been delicious! Perhaps we will pass you in the hallway tomorrow! :)

 

Also, there is plenty of handshaking going on between officers, crew and guests on the Navigator, everyone seems healthy enough one week into this cruise. Hope everyone keeps using the hand sanitizer dispensers to keep it that way!

 

I rarely post on the boards, but do browse them often. Just wanted to wish you a great cruise and perhaps one day we will be able to cruise together.

[Travelcat2]

Enjoying your trip report as always. I am currently on the Navigator and think you will really like the condition of the ship. Crew has been amazing; attentive and friendly as always, food has been delicious! Perhaps we will pass you in the hallway tomorrow! :)

 

Also, there is plenty of handshaking going on between officers, crew and guests on the Navigator, everyone seems healthy enough one week into this cruise. Hope everyone keeps using the hand sanitizer dispensers to keep it that way!

 

I rarely post on the boards, but do browse them often. Just wanted to wish you a great cruise and perhaps one day we will be able to cruise together.

 

Unfortunately, we were just advised that the Navigator went Code Red. This means that no one from the Navigator fun with fist and elbow "bumping".

 

Hope to sail with you someday and also hope that the Navigator gets off of Code Red ASAP.

 

Bill: Does the Twilight Zone mean anything to you?:D

[woogie]

Jackie and Dennis,

 

Hope you have a great trip and a Happy Thanksgiving.

We will miss having dinner with you this year!

I am looking forward to your posts.

Hugs,

Carol and Rich

[UUNetBill]

Bill: Does the Twilight Zone mean anything to you?:D

Most recently, there was a song by the Dutch band Golden Earring that comes to mind. Other than that, no, not really...except for maybe traveling...traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination...

[labates629]

Travelcat2 - I am enjoying reading your thoughts very much - just sorry there are some who want to detract from the purpose of this thread and nitpick!

 

We have not cruised Regent before, only Seabourn (in the luxury line category), and have a cruise booked on Silversea to the Galapagos in January. We are considering Regent, mostly due to the itineraries and included excursions - the only aspect that concerns me slightly as I have been given the impression from the boards that there may be more children on Regent than say, Seabourn or Silversea - perhaps you can report on that for your cruise if you happen to notice? Hopefully parents would not bring little ones on a trip to the Amazon though - in view of the heat/potential for bugs etc. but you never know! Not that I don't like children, but mine are away in college now and I prefer not to see noisy, unruly children on luxury cruises....

 

Looking forward to hearing more about this journey and how you cope with the dreaded heat! Enjoy St.Barts - one of my favorite Caribbean ports - so much great shopping and beautiful scenery. Alas, not so good for the credit card :)

[UUNetBill]

Travelcat2 - I am enjoying reading your thoughts very much - just sorry there are some who want to detract from the purpose of this thread and nitpick!

 

We have not cruised Regent before, only Seabourn (in the luxury line category), and have a cruise booked on Silversea to the Galapagos in January. We are considering Regent, mostly due to the itineraries and included excursions - the only aspect that concerns me slightly as I have been given the impression from the boards that there may be more children on Regent than say, Seabourn or Silversea - perhaps you can report on that for your cruise if you happen to notice? Hopefully parents would not bring little ones on a trip to the Amazon though - in view of the heat/potential for bugs etc. but you never know! Not that I don't like children, but mine are away in college now and I prefer not to see noisy, unruly children on luxury cruises....

 

Looking forward to hearing more about this journey and how you cope with the dreaded heat! Enjoy St.Barts - one of my favorite Caribbean ports - so much great shopping and beautiful scenery. Alas, not so good for the credit card :)

I'm not Jackie (TC2) obviously, and I'm sure she'll chime in with her hands-on observations, but it's been my experience that Regent isn't too 'kid saturated' except on their Alaska itineraries. In fact, that was the reason we chose Regent for our first cruise - our kids were out of the house, too, and even though we enjoy kids, we didn't want to deal with them on vacation if ours weren't there. In fact, we took our kids on exactly one Regent cruise - to Alaska - when they were 17 and 18. Haven't ever seen more than a handful on any other sailing...

[travelerpair]

As usual, you are so funny! Serena and Olga speak so highly of you and TB. Wish that you were still onboard as you could make fun of me and my craziness about the heat. Also wish that you had been sitting next to me at the pool bar (where Olga is at lunch) having a nice Mexican Butterfly when the sky opened up and poured on everyone. Even I got wet and laughed about it all the way back to my suite

 

You have an uncanny way of putting things into perspective and for making people laugh. Just want you to know how much you are appreciated!

 

No craziness about heat. On one trip to Brazil a girlfriend and I bought bottles of cold water to empty on our heads. Felt so good and others followed. Glad there are now other options and I intend to bring mine. Really enjoying all of your posts!

[Travelcat2]

Jackie and Dennis,

 

Hope you have a great trip and a Happy Thanksgiving.

We will miss having dinner with you this year!

I am looking forward to your posts.

Hugs,

Carol and Rich

 

We did have quite the Thanksgiving dinner onboard Explorer. We will be having Thanksgiving with Linda and John - they were also at our table last year. Hugs from both of us.

 

So, about St. Barts (85 degrees and most of us were melting ....... we're not even in the Amazon yet). I will post photos later. There was so much damage - only some of it can be seen from Gustavia - on the main road. A lot is on other parts of the islands. As reported in many publications, including the one from St. Barths, they were amongst five or six islands that were damaged the most. They had no electricity or water for two weeks - now it is 90% restored. I have read various stories about whether France helped out with the rebuilding. I know that St. Barths is a rich island but devastation is still devastation - regardless of how much money you have. The rebuilding that is going on is amazing. It is still a beautiful island with great water. Across from the tender area are two boarded up shops - so sad to see (the pictures I took of them did not come out....... I was pressing the "off" key instead of taking the picture. Must work on that.

 

In our three visits to St. Barths, I've always wanted to find the airport where the planes land over the beach. Finally saw it and got a picture from the taxi. The famous Eden Rock Hotel is closed until next year. Not a lot of visible damage but we were viewing it from the road. What did make me smile is the new growth on the plants and trees. You can see bare palm tress with only a couple of new "shoots" coming out of the top. So good to see the recovery.

 

travelerpair - I definitely would put bottles of cold water on my head...... it is really hot. The lovely suite we are in has a lot of windows which is great unless you are trying to keep out the sun. Right now. at the coldest temperature setting, our suite is registering 74.8 degrees. Typically when the air is on full blast, we can get it down to 68-69 degrees.

 

labates629 - agree completely with Bill - very few children on Regent. I thought that I heard a baby the first day but haven't seen a baby or anyone under 21 years of age on the ship since then. As mentioned previously 100% of the approximately 688 passengers onboard are repeat customers. Our last cruise was in late August/early September and there may have been 3 or 4 children . You may want to do a search for Regent vs. Seabourn threads on Cruise Critic ...... or perhaps you could start a thread and hear from people that sailed both cruise lines. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) I need to keep this thread on tract as much as possible.

 

P.S. Bill, my Twilight Zone reference had to do with this thread:evilsmile: :halo: :rolleyes:

Edited November 20, 2017 by Travelcat2

[poss]

Tc: You SHOULD be treated special in recognition of your 400 nights on Regent. Lucky you!

 

Btw, I'm one who gets sea-sick fairly easily (though Bonine usually works), so I've been interested in the back-and-forthing on the subject. I'd never heard of the tissue in the ear thing, so I did some googling-- and read several reports that echoed what Boatmans Lady said, i.e. putting in one ear rather than both.

 

Continue to enjoy-- and go for 500!

[Travelcat2]

Thanks poss. Now I'm going to try to post photos. Wishing myself luck

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

Thanks poss. Now I'm going to try to post photos. Wishing myself luck. These photos were taken from a taxi driving by the water.

 

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

The only way that I know how to do this is to "reply"to a message so here are two more (hopefully)

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

There is obviously much more devastation but it was hard to get photos from the second seat in a taxi. The last two are not of devastation. One is of the Mariner and a SeaDream ship and the other of the runway where planes seem to almost land on the beach

 

 

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Edited November 21, 2017 by Travelcat2

[Travelcat2]

There is obviously much more devastation but it was hard to get photos from the second seat in a taxi. Below is a picture of one of the garbage piles. The last two are not of devastation. One is of the Mariner and a SeaDream ship and the other is the beautiful airport. You can't really see the beach at the end of the runway but people say that when planes land, it seems as if they are going to land on the beach.

 

 

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[suzyluvs2cruise]

Following along as we're booked on this itinerary next November. First time Regent cruises and grateful to find your "live" thread. Thanks for sharing your adventure.

 

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[Travelcat2]

I just remembered to check "Passages" for any dancing events. Tonight 6:30 pm. there is "Horizon Dancing" where you take to the floor with music from the Tritones Duo as early evening canapés are served and the bar team are on hand to offer a relaxing aperitif. 10:45 p.m. is Variety Dance Night when The Regent Signature Orchestra entices you to the dance floor with a variety of upbeat dance favorites to take you into the night. Will try to keep up with dance schedules.

 

I want to discuss the suite again. When I mentioned that it was over 74 degrees in the suite, this is only in the afternoon when the sun is setting on our side of the ship. Most of the time the suite is 70 degrees which is comfortable. On the way back from the Amazon, the other side of the ship will have sunsets (happy about that).

 

Still no noise from the Observation Lounge directly above us. I typically warn against suites under restaurants and lounges and am not 100% confident about other suites on Mariner. However, based on the noise that we heard on Explorer from the Observation Lounge, the Mariner is much more sound proofed.

 

For anyone new to Regent, the Mariner is truly a unique ship -- the only one built in France -- the most stable at sea and very sound proof. I had no clue that France was in the ship building business but, IMO, they did a heck of a good job on this ship. If the lower level suites were larger, I would likely prefer this ship over Voyager.

 

I did a post a couple of days ago that ended up being "gobbly gook". I was trying to say that people on the Navigator were still shaking hands and on Mariner we are fist and elbow bumping to avoid contact with the palms of each others hands which is where the germs tend to be. Now that the Navigator is Code Red, I'm hoping that they try the "bumping" because it can be a lot of fun (hugs are okay - just no "palm" contact".). Lorraine (C.D.) does elbow bumps and air hugs down the hall. This is so much better than being on Code Red!

 

Going ashore for a short time this afternoon (we arrive around noon in St. Kitts). It isn't the heat that is getting to us as much as the very high humidity. We're taking it one day at a time. If the heat becomes overwhelming in the Amazon, we will stay on the ship which won't be a big deal for us. We still want to see the Amazon River and have one full day private tour that we will go on (with my ice pack and everything else that I have to keep cool).

 

Service on the Mariner is wonderful - the food is great -- what more can one ask for? Will write more after our visit ashore. We are just pulling in now........ don't know how Capt. Serena gets us to ports early but we've loving it (and she is a wonderful person as well as a great Captain -- she is around the ship chatting with guests whenever she is not on the bridge).

[Linda VH]

Reading along! Probably will never get to the Amazon except vicariously through your posts, so thank you. We're on a Christmas cruise on Explorer and expect children but our Sept. Explorer - Southampton to Barcelona had 1 child (the captain's son).

[purpleally]

[quote name=Travelcat2;54596611

 

In our three visits to St. Barths' date=' I've always wanted to find the airport where the planes land over the beach. Finally saw it and got a picture from the taxi. The famous Eden Rock Hotel is closed until next year. Not a lot of visible damage but we were viewing it from the road. What did make me smile is the new growth on the plants and trees. You can see bare palm tress with only a couple of new "shoots" coming out of the top. ....

We always walk to that beach and sit at a bar on the beach and watch the planes. You can see the passengers faces!!

[Valor3]

I am enjoying this vicarious travel adventure! :cool: Thank you for taking the time, and for posting pics!!

One thing that saved us on port visits during our Panama cruise, was packing wash cloths in ziplock bags of ice. We kept rotating them from "the bag" onto the back of our necks. Definitely low tech, but effective for us who did not have your presence of mind to pack for the heat, in advance!!!

Looking forward to hearing and seeing more of your Amazon adventure.

[Travelcat2]

We always walk to that beach and sit at a bar on the beach and watch the planes. You can see the passengers faces!!

 

That sounds like it would be great. There wasn't one person anywhere near the beach -- it seemed as if everything was closed. It appears to be near Eden Rock Hotel which was so damaged by the hurricane. Based on our tour, it seemed that this was one part of the island that was badly hit.

 

Just did a quick walk around the port area -- quite hot. We were scheduled to do an excursion but cancelled when we were approved to visit the Navigator. Since she is Code Red, I'm happy to stay away from the passengers since the Mariner is finally running Code Green for the second voyage in a row.

 

Tomorrow we hope to buy spices in port. We are cancelling the 4x4 excursion as it would put us in direct heat -- something we are avoiding.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Sorry to hear the heat has caused you to cancel your excursion.

 

I'm also one who is bothered by the heat. I've found a Chilly Towel to work well. I have more than one and it doesn't need to be refrigerated or frozen. Just soak in cool water, snap and put it around your neck. I keep a couple with me in zip lock bags and refresh as needed.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Chill-Pal-Cooling-Athletes-Instant/dp/B00XKLYWFU/ref=sr_1_5?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1511288537&sr=1-5&keywords=cooling+towel

 

Thanks, again, for letting us follow along. I'm 6 days post knee replacement so hearing more about Regent and this itinerary takes my mind off the discomfort and give me something to look forward to.

[Travelcat2]

Sorry to hear the heat has caused you to cancel your excursion.

 

I'm also one who is bothered by the heat. I've found a Chilly Towel to work well. I have more than one and it doesn't need to be refrigerated or frozen. Just soak in cool water, snap and put it around your neck. I keep a couple with me in zip lock bags and refresh as needed.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Chill-Pal-Cooling-Athletes-Instant/dp/B00XKLYWFU/ref=sr_1_5?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1511288537&sr=1-5&keywords=cooling+towel

 

Thanks, again, for letting us follow along. I'm 6 days post knee replacement so hearing more about Regent and this itinerary takes my mind off the discomfort and give me something to look forward to.

 

Wishing you a speedy recovery. I went through the surgery three years ago and never thought that I'd be walking in high heels (2 - 3") now.

 

I have all kinds of things for the heat that work well at home but are not touching the heat with high humidity. We technically could do these excursions but would rather put our emphasis on the Amazon. We have been to the Caribbean a few times before (not our favorite ports -- many of us on the West Coast prefer Hawaii, Tahiti or Fiji). If I'm going to be super hot, I'd rather it be in a place that is different .... something that I think that the Amazon will be.

 

I'm particularly looking forward to our sea day on the Amazon river and hope to take pictures of what we see along the shore. The weather forecast Manaus shows rain and thunderstorms in the foreseeable future so I'm happy that I purchased plastic shoe coverings as it will likely be muddy.

 

It is now 3:00 p.m. on the ship - we've had all windows covered and lights out all day. It makes quite a difference in the suite (current temperature 70.7 degrees which is much better than yesterday. So, closing drapes/blinds and turning off lights is my tip for the day.

[Kwaj girl]

We did the 2016 Circumnavigation of S America which included about 1 week in the Amazon - I was truly amazed about the width of this river - often you could barely see the coastlines....and when you get to the "merging of the waters' you will definitely see the brown water vs the black water. And the pink dolphins!