It seems easier to write my trip journal in our suite and then upload it later.
This is our first of two sea days enroute to San Juan. The weather is warm, partly sunny with a moderate wind. We are moving along at about 17 knots – maximum speed for the Mariner because of some “pod†issues. We had an unexpected stop last night at around midnight in Freeport to evacuate a passenger in need of critical medical treatment.
The ship is brimming with activity. There are 720 passengers on board, including Mark Conroy, President of Regent Cruise Lines. I’ve seen many children, in all age groups. This is clearly a family holiday voyage and Club Mariner is likely to have a good crowd of young guests.
Embarkation was very smooth, the only real line forming for carryon screening. We had a light lunch on the pool deck and then found our suite. We met Donabel our stewardess. She seems very efficient and took our in-suite bar request and removed extra hangers right away.
The suite refurbishments seem to be almost complete – I love the colors – soft tan, rust, and gold. New carpet, upholstery, draperies and bed linens look great. Televisions are not flat screen, at least not in 913 C. I think there are new lamps in our suite – the light level seems better. Unfortunately we get very detectable cooking odor through the ventilation system – I know that’s an odd thing to complain about and I’m not sure what can be done about it, but it is a bit annoying.
It was disappointing to find there is still no WiFi throughout the ship. I asked the Internet manager about the status of that project. She said they have been “wiring†the ship but it is still not completed. She had no estimate of when it might be done. Of course not – it may take years, or hasn’t it already! Ok, enough of that rant.
I just finished a 30-minute workout in the fitness center – apparently there was no refurbishing done there – the equipment shows hard use. There are 6 treadmills, 3 recumbent bikes, 3 elliptical trainers, 1 Stairmaster and another piece of equipment that is called a strider – it doesn’t seem to be working but I think it’s Stairmaster’s version of an elliptical trainer.
I've already sent a list of Officers and Cruise Staff so I won't repete that here.
Day Two
The weather is cloudy, windy but warm, in the 70’s. I did another 30-minute stint on the elliptical trainer in the gym. We order room service for breakfast – at 8:30 sharp – just as we requested. The food was warm, and prepared as ordered.
After breakfast I took my laptop to Club.com to connect via wifi with the Internet. I posted a few notes and checked my email. After having Internet access in our suite on Seabourn, I find this is a bother. I’ve also discovered it’s impossible to upload photos. I’m not sure what the problem is.
Later in the morning Lyn Farmer did a wine and food pairing seminar in the Horizon Lounge. We tried two Sauvignon Blancs and two Pinot Noirs with goat cheese, Gruyere, shrimp and roast beef. Amazing how the flavors changed with the different combinations.
Tom and I enjoyed lunch in Compass Rose. Mark Conroy was seated at a table nearby with his wife and several friends. He’s having a Town Hall meeting with passengers on Sunday at 11.
After lunch I went to the Movies in the Constellation Theater – Casino Royale was playing on the big screen. Later I did another 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer – I’m going to try to do 60 minutes a day so I can enjoy all the wonderful food.
The Captain’s Welcome Aboard reception began at 6 PM – we were slow to dress for dinner and decided to go directly to the Mariner Lounge – we found a good vantage point to watch the parade of diners in their formal attire. This group of passengers seem to be a bit less elegant than those on our past Regent cruises. Perhaps because the cruise is shorter in length and only one formal night is scheduled.
Dinner was lovely, but I noticed that Tom wasn’t eating very much. We finished fairly quickly and returned to our suite. It was our intention to watch the Florida basketball game. Just as we were settleing in Tom started to feel ill.
I won’t bore you with the gory details, but it was a miserable night for both of us. We’re still not sure what triggered his indigestion, but this morning Dr. Jean Claude Richard and his nurse Cora made a suite call. Tom is now in the infirmary receiving fluids and should be “home†again later this afternoon. Our suite has been sanitized and we have filed the paperwork to report his gastro discomfort to the CDC. The medical staff has been absolutely wonderful and I’m grateful that he’s receiving good care and should be as good as new in a day or so. Now I’m just crossing fingers (and washing hands quite frequently) that I don’t become ill also. Luckily for our fellow passengers, we ate alone yesterday and Tom spent most of the day reading and relaxing in our suite. Hopefully he didn’t infect anyone.
Beside the miserable night we had, we regret that we must miss the special birthday celebration for our dear friend. Tonight we had planned a special dinner in Signatures. I know they’ll have a great time and we are sorry to miss that.
In the meantime I’ve just visited the laundry room and discovered all machines empty AND a wonderful flat screen TV to amuse us when we’re washing the unmentionables!
In the midst of all of this activity I was able to pop into Mark Conroy’s Town Meeting. I am so impressed with how this gentleman handles his job and his communication with all of the passengers. He is polite, engaging and seems very candid in sharing details which other CEOs might not choose to do. I came a bit late but heard him discuss the potential of a new ship (not now, but they have plans and it will be a wonderful addition to the fleet if it is built). Monetary considerations dictate this decision. He also talked quite a bit about the growth of the Regent hotel chain and explained their place in the company.
We talked about the refurbishments – Regent will spend $10 Million on the Mariner with these upgrades. Flat screen TVs are planned and they may in fact install two sets – a 32†HD screen on the wall at the end of the bed and a 19†screen in the niche at the desk area. The area where the current television sits will be converted to a shelving/storage area. This hasn’t been done yet because they are still trying to decide if this is the best installation plan.
They think we’ll have wifi on the Mariner sometime today or tomorrow! I will be the first to let you know when that happens. A few moments ago my computer detected the network but I was unable to logon because they are still fine-tuning such things. Can you tell I’m a little anxious! LOL
Later….well, the network didn’t come through so I’m back at club.com with my laptop. I spoke to Theresa about the problems I’m having with outgoing mail on mac.com and she’s trying to find a solution for me. When I told her I was posting to LCT she knew exactly what I was talking about – we are “legend!â€
Tom is on a restricted diet so tonight we’ll have room service and perhaps watch a video. As long as he’s feeling better all is good.
I’ll write more tomorrow from San Juan.
