Our first and only time in Ecuador was in 1973 when Kevin and I were on our honeymoon. Our flight stopped in Quito en route to Buenos Aires, so we really haven’t seen much of this small country. After crossing the equator, for which Ecuador is named, we arrived in Manta on a rainy Sunday morning. Regent planned an overnight excursion to Quito for all of the “rounders.” Because of the rain and fog, the airport was closed in the small port city. But after several hours wait, we were able to board our charter flight to the capitol city perched high in the Andes Mountains. At 9300' elevation, Quito is surrounded by some very active volcanoes and is located in a lush valley. The city, which runs the length of the valley, is 35 miles ... read more

Two months after leaving Sausalito and driving 5500 land miles across the United States, it was time to start putting some nautical miles under our belts. We sailed out of Port Everglades at dusk on a balmy Florida evening. Our friends Mike and Sherry were watching us on the port webcam as we made our way out to sea. We called Ralph and Joann Acker who live in a nearby condo and they saluted us with a flag and flashlight as we passed by their building right at the harbor opening. Fortunately we had two sea days to get settled into the shipboard routine, meet old and new friends and start focusing on the adventure which lay ahead. We immediately ran into many staff with whom we have cruised often. Luis Teixeira, recently promoted to F&B ... read more

On the last day of May we cruised into the Bay of Lisbon. However, it appeared like we were cruising into San Francisco Bay. I was looking around for Alcatraz! Actually there are many similarities between Lisbon and San Francisco. Both are beautiful port cities located on large bays entered by passing under identical suspension bridges and built on seven hills. Because they are at approximately the same latitude, their climate and vegetation is similar. The cities are located near famous vineyards and both were virtually destroyed by violent earthquakes. I don’t know if Lisbon has a song comparable to Tony Bennett’s ballad about San Francisco but they do have little cable cars that climb halfway to the stars. We cruised up the Tagus River past the Monument to the Discoveries and under the Ponte 25 ... read more

Before arriving in Civitavecchia, we had another special event. This one was the Cruise Specialists world cruiser farewell dinner. Several of our “rounders” were leaving in Rome, so we wanted one last get together for all of us who had journeyed around the globe. We joined Captain Scala at his table for the last supper. About five hundred passengers left the ship and another 550 new cruisers boarded in Civitavecchia. We had a very short turnaround time so we decided not to go into Rome but rather just to spend time in the port city. Civitavecchia was the first beach town in Italy. A rail line was built to take Romans out of the sweltering city to the cooling waters of the Mediterranean. The port and surrounding areas were heavily bombed in WWII prior to the ... read more

JERUSALEM We had an early wake-up call so we were able to watch the sun rise over Judean Hills. Our touring began with a drive up to the Mount of Olives which has a commanding view over Old Jerusalem, Gethsemane, Mary's Tomb and the Jewish and Muslim cemeteries. All of the old religious stories of Christ came came back about the Agony in the Garden and the betrayal by Judas. Nurit pointed out the steps where Jesus walked to enter Jerusalem. From there we drove to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum. It is hard to put in to words the feelings and emotions that I experienced when faced with the grim reality of this memorial. The approach to the building is the Avenue of the Righteous Among Nations. This is where trees are planted to honor ... read more