PAM! YOU HIT THE JACKPOT!! :banana: :app: :lct:

WEll we missed Visby today. Arrived sun was shining but the wind was very high. The Captain dropped anchor but it would not hold. Then he moved the ship but it was still not holding. He announced a cancellation of the port. If the wind picked up any more it could also be dangerous to get the people back on board. Probably a good decision but it was a shame as we could see Visby shining in the sun in front of us.

Dinner tonight with the Cruise Director and with Freds friends. Absolutely lovely people so I look forward to that.

Tomorrow I ordered rack of lamb as a special order.

Life is good, wonderful people, great food and I am having a wonderful time. So wonderful to be back on the Voyager.

Whoops correcting to say that in my excitement I thought Pam said she WON the cruise...but still...in runnning! Apologies!

Pam, way to go!! I am sorry you all missed Visby. Ngaire, I wish I was dining with you tomorrow night :)

Karen,

Me too (suffering from Post Cruise Blues!) :mecry:

So sorry to hear that you were unable to dock in Visby. It's a charming port.

Congrats to all the potential winners! Let us hear the outcome once the winner has been picked. Hopefully, the winner is a BLISSer!

BLISSer's...thanks for the great seamail. Sorry you weren't able to dock in Visby. Sure wish I was there.

Nancy

So we had a beautiful day in Tallin yesterday, sun was shining, light breeze perfect temperature, it was wonderful. Tallin is such a pretty little town and we always enjoy walking around.

Then back to the ship to another wonderful meal, dover sole and rack of lamb (double order of course).

As we arrived in St. Petersburg we just kept sailing up the river. I have never been parked this close on the Voyager before. It is wonderful to be where we are. With a visa you could really walk into town. PRIME spot here. So that was a great start. Top that off with a gorgeous day, sun shining and perfect temperature. It makes such a difference when it is a pretty day. I hope the weather holds for the entire stay.

Got everyone off on their Red October tours today. Getting off the ship took a while so some got off early and were well on their way very quickly and other vans had to wait to fill up. The first day is always a mess.

Ken and I came back to the ship to get a little organized and we will go out this afternoon. First get the afternoon people all situated and then since we have visas we are going to do a little shopping. Looking forward to that adventure.

Time is passing very quickly and I know these three days in St. Petersburg are going to just fly by.

Once again the highlight is meeting some new wonderful LCT people. One lurker couple is really great also.

We are going to have a ROAR 2 meeting on our long day at sea to go over the options for Tom and Pam, Pammy and Jim, Jan and Charles. ROAR 2 is now officially full but we know we will have cancellations and if need be, we can expand to Mateya in the Madikwe area and to another camp in Kruger so anyone else who wants to go although they will be on a waitlist for now I am sure it will clear one way or another.

Hello again,I am so enjoying the trips through your postings and I hope pictures.
Only wish I knew about "LCT" when Ray and I did our first Regent Voyager cruise this past March,You all sound like great, fun-loving people(of course MOST cruisers are!)
I would like to know how does one become a part of of one of these groups on board,such as ROAR2 and FJORDS,etc?
Is there one for our next cruise on March 3,2007 on the PG ?

Glad to hear everyone is having a great time. Sounds fun!!

Pat and Ray - click on the Africa links on the B&K sight for ROAR2 and also go under "Cruise Roll Call" and click on FJORDS for more info. Or you can just email or call B&K since they are all bookable thru them.

How great to dock in town! I would love that. Looking forward to hearing what you did independently, Ngaire.

Pat & Ray - click on Brown & Keene cruises above and then on the Regent Seven Seas cruises block - you will see the escorted cruises listed on a pull down menu. FJORDS is the Captain Dag Homecoming cruise. All you have to do is contact B&K and sign up.

ROAR2 got started with planning on the boards shortly after we returned from the first ROAR, so if you're interested head on over to to the ROAR2 and ROAR, POP and TUSK topics to read more. POP or Antarctica on the Hanseatic got its start on the boards.

Hi Ngaire,

Are you all the way up the Neva, very near the low bridge? That's where we were years ago on the Silver Cloud.

Great for walking around!

Peggy

Pat, you can look at the roll call forum to see if there is a group of LCTers going on your cruise. Once 10 or more LCTers are going on the same cruise, we give it an acronym name.

If you mean, how do you go on a cruise escorted by Ngaire, you can view those by going here and choosing "06 escorted cruises" and "07 escorted cruises"

Thank you Leslie and Karen. I just went into the B & K website. It was awesome,just makes you want to start planning another trip.Ray is really hot on doing an African Safari (land) with in the next year or two. Now I know to speak to some one at B&K.

Ooops! :o Sorry forgot to thank JoAnn as well

Wishing you all a fantastic time in St. Petersburg. For those spending a day in Moscow, have an awesome time.

Ngaire, how fortunate to be docked in such a prime location. Wish that wcould have been the case last year. However, time spent in St. Petersburg/Moscow remains unforgettable. Really eager to hear of your independent adventures.

To all the BLISSers, enjoy your visit to incredible St. Petersburg!

We are pretty far up the river, I have been a little closer before but docked here on either the Song or Navigator. There is a church on the same side as the ship that we walked to before and they are now renovating that church if that rings a bell with anyone, and where any of you may have docked before. When we were here on the Diamond we were further out and that ship can sure make it up the Neva. I do think it is "luck of the draw" and we drew a great ballot this time.

We have a good day weather wise yesterday, a little overcast in the late afternoon. Today it is bright and sunny - perfect temperatures. It can rain so much here we are so forutnate.

Of course St. Petersburg is a tiring place with so much to see and do. I think the troops are beginning to drag just a little but they are not wanting to miss anything. All out this afternoon either on a tour, Yuspov Palace and Canal Boat Ride or in Moscow. WE did stop at the flea market outside Spilled Blood Cathedral today and you know how hard it is to get Red October to do this. They had about 30 minutes to shop.

Could NOT get the same egg as I have Andy. I went everywhere yesterday, all the areas I know about and no one had this color and style together. Same style, different colors. I ended up buying you one that is the same color but has little stars on it, that was the closest thing I could get.

Arlene I got you the same style as mine but in Royal Blue.

Then I bought myself about four new ones. I am going to be "egged" out in the future.

This is a large group and we are offering many alternatives, lunch on the ship or off the ship and AM, PM or full day tours so it takes a bit of juggling to get it all squared away. I stayed on board to day so I have a few hours down time to get my "stuff" in order.

Ken is walking into town with camera in hand, by himself I am sure he will get some great pictures.

I have not done much with my visa or had great adventures, just walked around town. I need to be here in the morning and afternoons to help get the tours out so spending just a few hours each day doing some wandering about. I do so enjoy just walking the streets.

Tonight Signatures with Pam and Tom and also two other people who are not LCT but super nice. Looking forward to that.

Be back later.

Ngaire,

I am enjoying your posts! I'm glad that the weather has been good and the the ship's location is so convenient for you.
Keep having fun! Thanks!

Thanks for the update, Ngaire. Can you see the Hermitage from the ship's location? If I remember correctly, on SOF, we were docked within sight of the Hermitage.

Glad the weather is cooperating and that you have a little time to yourself!

Ngaire, You are so sweet to have remembered the egg for me. I'm sure it is lovely as you have great taste.

Wish we were back with you on this one!!

Ngaire,

Thank you so much for getting the egg for me. You are so sweet to take the time to do that. So... if you bouught 4 more the grand total you own is ???? :D (I don't blame you... they are beautiful)
I am ejoying your news of the rrip so much as Marc and I just can't seem to get to the Baltics for some reason.

This Blisser is TIRED from St. Petersburg! We had a fantastic time with Red October (three full days) and now we are sailing to Stockholm. Tomorrow we have a private tour booked with Penny and Ray and possibly one additional couple.

I have a question.....can anyone tell me about tokens? I played Liars Club last evening with Ngaire, Ken, Tim, Jan and Tom. We were victorious due to Tim's prowess and I now am the proud recipient of 20 tokens. :D Never having played any games on ship, can anyone tell me if these have any value?

Off to another delicious breakfast and perhaps a walk on the deck if the wind dies down. No sun yet, but hopefully later today.

Cheers, Pam

Greetings:

We were surprised how much we enjoyed Tallin. It's a pretty city with lots of good value shopping, especially linin.

I'm impressed with Russia! The gals are pretty
and dress rather modernly. Weddings go on continously and stretch limos seem to be mandatory. Lots of advertising around the city and many buildings are being painted and fixed up.

I think the Russians are learning how to smile and when we had dinner last night with an LCT wannabe couple, they mentioned that they used Russian words to say "thank you"; "good morning", etc. and received many approving smiles....even from customs people!

The journey to Moscow was a piece of cake and we didn't get nearly as tired as we thought we would. We have never seen so many awe-inspiring drop-dead beautiful churches and palaces. Am taking hundreds of photos and lots of video and it will be fun to relive the adventure once we get home.

Red Square...what a joy to finally walk around and gaze at this beautiful site and the shopping area is so bright and cheerful as well as "EXPENSIVE". The Kremlin...another beautiful area with so much history.

Guides are young and perky for the most part and we wanted to take several home with us.

Bathrooms...Well there are some that are, shall we say "primitive"

I have been wearing my Singita hat and it is interesting that we have met about 6 couples that have or will be visiting that area soon.

Today we are cruising to Stockholm and tomorrow we will join Pam and Tom for a guided tour.

We're so glad that we are on this cruise. Everything is going wonderfully well.

Cheers! Ray

42,560 tokens will get you the Ferrari.

Otherwise, 20 tokens is a pretty good haul. You can get a nice clock or a set of napkin rings. I even think you can get the jewelry case for less.

Glad everyone is enjoying the Baltics!!!!

Ray, so glad you had a good time in Russia. We only got to St. Petersburg. You are lucky to have continued on to Moscow to enjoy the fascinating sights. Stockholm is one of my favorite places. Enjoy!

So happy to hear that you enjoyed your day in Moscow, Penny and Ray! It's a visit that will stay with you forever!

Pam, visiting St. Petersburg is exhausting but enthralling! You are fortunate to have spent 3 days there. We did the same and wanted more and more time!

Congrats on your big token win!

To all the BLISSers, enjoy Stockholm! Beautiful city! If time allows for you to stop at the Grand Hotel and try their smorgasbord, I hope you're able to do so. It was fantastic.

A visit to the Vasa is a must, if at all possible, as well.

A few photos from BLISS:


Spilled Blood Cathedral

St. Petersburg - Venice of the North

St. Issacs Cathedral

The Market outside of Spilled Blood Cathedral

Franke, Asst. F&B, at the Vodka and Caviar Night with vodka bottle gun

Brown & Keene Cocktail Party. Ellen & Ed (Fred's friends)Penny, Jan and Tim (Tuskers) and Ray

Pam drawing a Free Cruise Winner at the B&K Party

The New Logo

Thanks Ken for your beautiful pictures -

Ken - great pictures as usual. Thanks for sharing them. Looks like the weather is gorgeous!

Dena

Hello from Stockholm,

I have really and truly been indoctrinated into LCT cruising. I just played my first game of afternoon trivia! No tokens today, but the winning team had seven answers correct (not anyone from LCT). This was a poor score considering there are 15 questions. The team we scored only got one answer correct. :eek:

It has been a relaxing day. The trip to Stockholm was fantastic and we docked about 30 minutes ago. Tom and I are meeting a sweet older couple for dinner this evening, non LCT, we met them on our tour to Delft and the Hague on the first morning of the cruise. Compass Rose has scallops on the menu, so my choice is already made. They served grilled shrimp (and other items) at lunchtime and the shrimp were fabulous.

Off for a nap before the evening fun begins!
Cheers, Pam

Pam: Be careful as LTC cruising becomes highly addictive - I'll pass on any pratical things around the house ( redo kitchen why? my least favorite place to spend time) redo bedroom? fine just the way it is - BUT book a LCT cruise???? Absolutely - sounds like you are having a wonderful time - :3smile: - Joanna

Thanks BLISSers for the great reports and photos!! I'm lovin' it!!!!!!

Wonderful photos, Ngaire and Ken. Please send our best to Tim and Jan! We really enjoyed cruising with them last year!

We are in Stockholm now. Many at the "Ice Bar". We ate at Latitudes tonight and I have to say it was wonderful. This is not my favorite restaurant but tonight it was rack of lamb and lobster --- yum yum. They even cooked it specially for me without onions. The service and ambiance of Latitudes is really wonderful.

We have had great weather. No rough seas at all and mostly sunny days. Very fortunate. Today sailing into Stockholm with the scenery of all the islands was terrific.

Shame it is winding down, it has been a great trip. I had only met 15 of the 70 onboard so it was a lot of new faces. Amazing really how quickly you can met and get to know people on a cruise ship. They all feel like old friends now.
This is always one of the big highlights of cruising particularly meeting LCT people face to face.

The staff of the Voyager has gone above and beyond. It is wonderful to come onboard it feels like home, and they always rise to any situation and take care of everyone so well. I do love being on a Regent ship!!!

Hi Ngaire and all other Blissers,

Wow! St. Petersburg with blue skies looks so much prettier that I remember. And sailing into Stockholm during the day must be spectacular.

Continue enjoying and thanks for sharing!

Loved all of your posts as well as the photos!!

What beautiful blue skies in St. Petersburg!!

Today we woke to brillant sunshine and a gorgeous blue sky again. We have been so blessed with the weather.

Not been a shore yet, handling some emails but will be heading that way shortly. Great day for photography Ken is itching to get into town.

Be back later.

Thanks for keeping in touch with us, Ngaire...Ken's pictures are fabulous! I'm truly sorry we had to bail out of BLISS but there will be chance to go again soon!

Wonderful day in Stockholm. Never seen such a blue sky and perfect temperatures. It is a spectacular city at any time but with that kind of day it just sparkled.

We are now sailing toward Copenhagen. The sea looks like a lake. Having a big barbeque on deck today and I am hoping for Lobster on the Barbeque! They do that sometimes and I eat my fill of that yummy food.

Been a great trip - weather, people, the food, service and the sights. Ending it up with dinner with Ray and Penny tonight.

The Dining Room Manager here, Arjan is going to on MUSH - he is terrfic so glad he will be on board

Thank you for checking in, Ngaire. This is a cruise on our "must do" list in the near future!!