Final thoughts

This was a fabulous experience and we both would take the trip again, as we would like to see the River during the dry season after seeing it during a record setting wet season.  However, there are many other places we would like to visit before we would return to the Amazon.   Regent provided an enjoyable experience and the Navigator is a small comfortable home for extended traveling.  Some on the ship were very ready to get off at the end of 25 days, but we both are willing to try an even longer cruise.

One thing that made the trip so enjoyable were the lectures offered by Michael Scott from the Smithsonian.  A Scotsman who wore his kilt on formal nights, he introduced us to each port and provided both history and context for what we were going to see. A botanist by education, he is married to a marine biologist.  His stories of her work on the remote island of Tristan da Cunha were every fascinating.  Michael will be the lecturer on the segment of the 2018 world cruise scheduled to visit Tristan da Cunha.

Also contributing to our enjoyment were our fellow passengers.  There were a good number of folks from Canada, Australia and New Zealand.  Most have traveled extensively and this made for good dinner conversation.  On Regent ships, you do not have a set dinner time or table.  When you wish to eat, you go any restaurant.  You will be asked if you want a private table or want to share a table.  We almost always ask to share and dine with new travelers every evening.

Since we last traveled on the Navigator, there were a few changes that were disappointing.  One was the timing of the nightly shows.  Most were scheduled to begin at 9:30pm.  Due to the late hour, we only attended one show.  We also missed the cheese trolley.  If you are unfamiliar with this practice, it is a cart with an array of cheeses that is brought to your table, usually for dessert.  You pick the cheeses you want and the server prepares a plate with your selections.  It was one of my favorite things from our Alaskan cruise but, alas, it is no more on the Navigator.

If you travel to a hot, humid location and travel with a camera, be prepared for your lens to fog up.  Taking a camera from an air conditioned room to the outside resulted in a 20-30 minute delay before we could take a picture.  We missed serval great photo ops due to this issue.  By the end of the trip, the first one up was responsible for placing the cameras on our balcony so they could acclimate.

We hope you have enjoyed the blog and pictures as much as we have enjoyed doing it.  If you want additional information regarding our trip, please feel free to post using the comments.  We will periodically check the blog over the next few months and respond.  Our future plans include making a book of this trip and researching where to go next.

Link to photos:

6/15/17 Final days

Our final frontier....Barbados, Antigua, & Puerto Rico (6/12-14/17)

The last few days of our cruise were filled with sun, food and relaxing.  Because we have visited our last three stops many times, we only scheduled tours on catamarans.  It was grueling, but we survived!

In Bridgetown, Barbados, we took a four-hour sail that included both snorkeling and swimming stops.  It is a tour we have taken before and each time we have loved the experience.   During the second stop, the crew grilled lunch and, during the sail back, we enjoyed a buffet lunch, rum punch and good music.  Our only concern for the day was to make sure we had applied enough sunscreen!

During a previous trip to Barbados, we experienced a noticeable earthquake.  We had stopped for a brief swim at a beach, when the open air bus we were traveling in, began to shake.  We asked the guide if Barbados frequently had earthquakes and he assured us they did not.  As we made our way back to the ship, we passed schools and government buildings that had been evacuated with everyone standing outside.  Unfortunately, all of the local craft shops at the pier were also closed.

Our stop in St John’s, Antigua, was a repeat of Barbados, only a little longer.  For a total of six hours, we sailed, bobbed in the water and again enjoyed a freshly grilled lunch.  Once again, we were careful to avoid sunburns.  Not everyone on the sail was as careful.  Some of the folks on today’s sail were with us the day before and some should have used a little more sunscreen.  Many did not realize that medication they were still taking to protect them from malaria in the Amazon made them more susceptible to sunburn.

We did not leave the ship in San Juan.  We were scheduled to take an excursion that included a rum tasting, a fort visit and a walking tour of old town San Juan.  Unfortunately, we both were catching a cold and the weather forecast for high heat and humidity influenced our decision to cancel.  The rum tasting would be the only new experience and the prison tour and old town were a lot of walking with no shade.  We heard from others that took the tour that the group voted to skip the fort due to the heat and go shopping instead.  They also came back very wet due to a pop up rainstorm!  I guess we made a good choice.

We did actually get off the ship, as everyone on board was required to pass through immigrations in San Juan.  Passports in hand, we queued up in the terminal to have our documents reviewed.   Once cleared, we planned on reboarding the ship directly.  However, US immigrations would not allow anyone, including the captain, to re-board until everyone was cleared and there was a discrepancy of seven passengers.  After about 30 minutes, they found the error and back on board we went.  Well almost, just as they gave the all clear, an ambulance arrived to pick up a passenger from the sick bay.  This briefly closed the gangway again.

Link to photos:

Barbados, Antigua, Puerto Rico (6/12-14/17)

Crossing the line...The Equator (6/9/17)

Although we actually crossed the equator for the first time earlier in our trip, we did not celebrate in the traditional manner until today.  Documentation of equator crossing ceremonies can been traced back to the 1500’s.  The festivities themselves help to break up the monotony of being at sea as well as testing a sailor’s seaworthiness and endurance. 

A historical reference from 1784 describes enduring intense midday heat and cruel and demanding tasks (walking the plank, eating raw eggs and live fish, being smeared with tar and grease and water immersion.)  As usual, the Regent cruise ship version is much less demanding and only requires passengers to watch.  However, a large of amount of water is required to “clean up” both the pool and the participants.  Since we needed to conserve water while actually on the Amazon, the ceremony was delayed until our first sea day once back in the Atlantic Ocean. 

So, at 3:15pm, we headed to the pool deck, ordered a glass of champagne and waited for the show to begin.  The ceremony is focused on “pollywogs”, crew members crossing the equator for the first time, and “King Neptune”, the captain of the Navigator.   After a parade down the pool deck, each Pollywog stood to hear their “crime”.  Following the reading, the passengers announced their verdict, always guilty, and the Master at Arms initiated the punishment.  Each Pollywog kissed a live fish, was covered in raw eggs and a slimy goo (really icing), and pushed into the pool.  Once this rite of passage has been completed, crew members are referred to as Shellbacks.

There are elite levels within those that have crossed the equator.  A Golden Shellback is one who has crossed the equator at the 180^th meridian, better known as the International dateline.  The rarest of all Shellbacks is one that crossed the equator at Prime meridian, known as 0 degrees Greenwich meridian.  This sailor is known as a Royal Diamond or Emerald Shellback.

Link to photos:

Crossing the Equator (6/9/17)