FIRST PEOPLE NEWS: Helen we met Helen and Helen on the first zodiac ride. Helen from Minnesota asked where my accent was from and I told her New Zealand but that I live in Dallas now. She then asked me my name and her face lit up and said “I know who you are and you know Helen”. Amazing how quickly that happened. So we discussed the trip where you met, along with Rachel and George. Of course we talked about Jerry’s singing and George’s cowboy hat! She is a lovely person and I am looking forward to having dinner with them at some point during the trip.

THE SHIP: We boarded the Silver Discoverer just in time for the life boat drill. They have NEW life jackets that are being mandated by the powers that be on Maritime safety. Very difficult to work with. Double clips but the main clip takes a brain surgeon with lots of strength to open. Not sure if this mandate is just for expedition type ships or all ships. Everyone was struggling even the staff trying to help. If there really was an emergency these new “secure” clips will not be very secure if no one can get the life jacket on in an emergency. Fortunately we have small life vests to wear when we are in the zodiacs or going ashore, the same ones we have had in the past.

Dinner the first night was really good. I had a nice mussel soup and a piece of King Salmon with the “always available” fresh vegetables. Good choices on the menu of about three appetizers, two soups and four mains. Then we went straight to bed the 3.30am bedtime was catching up with us.

We got upgraded a nice suite that has a bedroom and a living room. That has not happened anywhere for a long time. Lots of drawer space and two closets. We will be very comfy here. All cabins are showers only, I like a bath so I will miss that. I have not seen a standard room yet but will do so soon. There are only 79 guests on board if the ship is full it holds 121 guests. So all the zodiacs get out very quickly. Groups 1 and 2 go out and 10 minutes later groups 3 and 4 and all are out at the same time. No waiting for the first two group to come back before the second two groups can go out.

Not really toured the ship yet. The décor is nice, light woods and lots of blue colors. We were delighted to see Martin Cliff as the Dining Room Manager. He was one of my favorites on Regent, he is British with a great sense of humor I am sure some of you will remember him. Our room stewardess was also with us on Regent. Nice to see familiar faces.

Our first zodiac expedition began this morning at 8.00 am with a visit to the Holgate Glacier. It was a little windy but not cold and the sun was shining. The glacier looked beautiful in the sunlight and did a lot of calving for us and put on quite a show. We were at about a 400 meter distance. That zodiac ride lasted an hour and we are now back on board. We tried to get on the internet it is priced at $20 per day with unlimited access. You can select the days you want to be on but we will just sign up for the entire voyage. In this fjord there is no reception but as soon as we sail I am sure we will be “on line”.

Just had lunch. The main restaurant serves the same food as the pool deck lunch. Burgers, fries, onion rings, hot dogs etc.Then the buffet dining room has more food selections. Salads and desserts of course. The main dishes were fried calamari, grilled corvina, beef roll, sliced to order roasted sirlion, mixed veges, bok choy and roasted potatoes. Good variety of food.

We are going out again at 1.00 pm. Too much swell for the planned landing site. Plan B is in a more protected bay. This is the PUFFIN stop with three different breeds of puffin.

Be back later