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Published: January 13th 2011
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Voyager in Miraflores Lock
Web camera picture compliments of Ken & Shirley Lyon After seven months ashore, the sea was calling. It was time to begin the world cruise. So after a month in Florida we spent Christmas Day packing up, dropping our van at the car dealer, picking up a rental car and having our last phone chats with family and friends. We drove over to Ft Lauderdale on a cold morning (38˚), dropped our luggage at the cruise terminal, dropped our rental car at the airport and boarded the Voyager. She would be our home for the next 23 weeks and float us around the world in style. Regent has decided that this 2011 world cruise will be the last one---at least for a while. We plan to enjoy this cruise to the fullest and try to see and explore all the nooks and crannies along the way. After our passage through the Caribbean and transit of the Panama Canal, we will cruise up the coast of Mexico ending this first segment with an overnight in San Francisco. We hope to have time to spend a few hours on our boat in Sausalito, pick up our mail before heading back to the Voyager to welcome our world cruise guests. We sail out
Luis, Fabien, Florian
Food & Beverage and Head Chef the Golden Gate en route to Hawaii, Polynesia, New Zealand and Australia. From there we cruise up to Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Israel, spending several weeks in Europe and ending in Southampton. It is amazing to think of all the cultures, time zones, seasons, latitudes and longitudes that we will be passing through over the course of the next five months. Our frame of reference will be a little different. Instead of wondering what to cook for dinner, our big decision will be which restaurant to eat in. Sunrise and sunsets take on a new importance along with wind speed and wave direction. All of our mail will be via the internet and simple tasks like making a bed, grocery shopping and housecleaning are not part of the daily routine. Instead of dogs and cats our current animal kingdom consists of flying fish, dolphins and whales. We have settled into our stateroom and made it our home. We hope to have good neighbors and good weather. Now the world is before us and we can’t wait to explore it!
The day of departure happened in
the midst of one of the bigger East Coast snowstorms of the decade, with airports closed, trains stalled and roads impassable. Fortunately only 26 passengers missed the ship’s departure from chilly Ft Lauderdale. We were happy to be heading south towards warmer climes. Even the Cayman Islands were a tad cool but since this was our only port in the Caribbean we forged ahead with plans to go snorkeling. We dove on a reef and a ship wreck. Cayman is famous for their great coral reefs. We saw big tarpon and gorgeous tropical fish. The sunken ship, named the Cali, was jammed packed with bags of rice when she started taking on water. As rice is wont to do in water—it swelled up and soon busted all the rivets and steel plates in the ship and she sank. Now the Cali is home to many varieties of sea life with visits from divers.
On New Year’s Eve day we missed our scheduled stop in Cartegena, Columbia due to rough seas. This was too bad because Cartegena is one of the loveliest Spanish colonial cities in the Western Hemisphere. We bid farewell to 2010 at dinner with Captain Pier Paolo Scala,
a charming Italian gentleman who also happens to be a good tennis player. The ship presented a festive Broadway show and then the official countdown to 2011.
To welcome in the New Year we transited the Panama Canal. This is always such a fascinating passage going from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. We sent an email to family and friends giving them the internet address of the Panama Canal web cam so they could watch our progress through this engineering marvel. My sister Judy and friends Ken and Shirley emailed us pictures of our ship in the Miraflores Lock. The photos came out so well that we printed up 8”x 11” copies and gave them to all of our guests and many of the officers on board. As soon as we reached the Pacific we dropped anchor in order to take on fuel. We had our first Cruise Specialists party on the aft deck and were treated to a beautiful sunset to end the first day of the New Year.
We pulled alongside the pier at Puntarenas, Costa Rica where it seemed like the whole town was sleeping off the long holiday. Things were very quiet except for some
protesting fishermen who managed to block several tour buses for a couple of hours during their demonstration. We avoided that by taking a long walk on the beach and visiting the local crafts market.
We have cruised with many of the staff and crew in previous years and they are so welcoming. Lorraine, the CD and Elda her assistant are pros at their jobs and nice people. Florian and Luis run the food and beverage side of the operation. Emilie is the Destinations Manager and is a former professional tennis player. Sunny, the Chief Housekeeper, had our cabin arranged just the way we like it and Chimi runs the restaurants expertly. We always talk about our cruise family and our home away from home. And that truly is the way it is. And to add icing on the cake, many of our passengers are repeaters and friends.
Puerto Chiapas is a new port for cruise ships and is located on the Mexico/Guatemala border. We opted for a cruise through the mangroves to check out the local flora and fauna. We didn’t see too many birds but the boat ride was very pleasant—it was like gliding in a gondola on the
canals of Venice. When we left port our ship was bounced around by some long Pacific Ocean swells as we were disembarking the pilot. Lots of broken crockery but no serious damage.
Huatulco is a lovely resort area built by the Mexican government and is situated along nine beautiful bays. We drove up into the mountains and took a six person raft down the Copalita River all the way to the ocean. It was a pretty gentle ride with only a few spots of white water rapids. Our Italian guide told us that next week he is going to head up a group on a 27 day rafting trip down the Colorado River. Several hours paddling a raft was fine with me.
We arrived in Acapulco at sunrise. Because of all the recent problems Mexico is having with the drug cartels many passengers were reluctant to get off the ship. We went on an excursion to the Pierre Marquez Resort where we had use of the pools, beach and tennis facilities. The next morning we read that 14 headless bodies had been found by the shopping center in Acapulco. It is sad that all this narco violence is occurring in
this lovely country.
After a short stop in Cabo San Lucas we will spend a day in San Diego and then head up to San Francisco for the official world cruise bon voyage gala. It will be great to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge to one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
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sheryl wetzel
non-member comment
Pierre Marques
I am excited to be sitting in Vero beach, fl. & feel part of your trip. We spent many years at the Pierre Marques. We know of the problems in Acapulco, but hope the Hotel is still in good shape. 228 & 229 were our favorite rooms. What a wonderful staff they had. Chico was the main Pool attendent for many years. You picked the perfect spot for Acapulco. We were with you last year from Hong Kong to Florida. We wish you a wonderful & safe journey. I am the one you met on the dock in florida & my Family lives in alcester, South Dakota. Have Fun, Sheryl