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Published: February 1st 2008
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We started off this final segment with a new status as Platinum Seven Seas Society Members. This means we have traveled with Regent (Radisson’s new name) over 200 nights (292 to be exact). The best benefits are free laundry service (they even wash and iron your socks), free internet, four hours of satellite phone time, an exclusive event, and a variety of other benefits. The program just started April 1st, so we’re the first to take advantage of it.
Rome was our first stop this segment, and although we were excited about the visit, our expectations were low because it was Holy Thursday and we had been warned about the crowds and possible closures of places that we wanted to see. So we were pleased when it only took us an hour to drive into the center of town. During the morning, we had no problem visiting the Coliseum, where we tried to imagine the life of a gladiator. Next was the Trevi Fountain, where we threw a coin into the fountain for good luck. Lunch at the Garden Terrace Restaurant at the top of the Hotel Bernini was outstanding not only for the food but for the view of
Rome. Our schedule for the afternoon was a visit to St. Peter’s Basilica, where although the line was long, it only took twenty-five minutes to enter the center of world Catholicism. The structure contains so much, from the dome designed by Michelangelo to his famous Pieta, that it was overwhelming. Next, we had reservations at the Vatican Museum which holds one of the world’s greatest Art Collections with the “piece de resistance” being the Sistine Chapel. It was one of those days that everything went much better than expected and the fact that it was holy week only added to the memorable experience.
The European coastal towns of the Mediterranean are some of the most beautiful in the world, especially in springtime. The morning we arrived in Monte Carlo, we opened up the curtains and the famous town was right there in all its glory--the casino, the palace, and the high-rise buildings on the side of the mountains. Although it has only 30,000 inhabitants, it is one of the wealthiest areas on the planet. Because we had previously seen Monaco’s highlights, we traveled along the scenic coastline to visit two villas in Cap Ferrat and Beaulieu, France. The Baroness
de Rothschild’s Italian style mansion and its famous gardens had an extraordinary collection of tapestries, porcelain, and furnishings with a panoramic view of the French Riviera. The other was a reconstruction of an antique Greek villa with a striking resemblance to a palace on the island of Delos dating back to the 2nd century B.C. The next afternoon we docked in Barcelona, Spain where a World Cruise event dinner was held at an old town hall located in the gothic quarter of town. The high ceilings, gothic columns, and an old built in clock set the stage for our dinner of tapas and Spanish cuisine. After dinner we took a walking tour through an elegant Cathedral, lit up especially for us on Easter eve, and then we made our way to a private showing at the Picasso Museum. Our last port on the Mediterranean was Malaga, Spain, where we traveled to the exclusive resort area of Costa del Sol. We walked through the old town of Marbella with its white washed houses and narrow streets. It reminded us of what Spain might have been like in times past. In contrast, we then visited Puerto Banus, a few minutes away, built
in 1968. Here the rich and famous keep their luxurious super yachts and we had fun trying to determine which one we liked best, then we enjoyed the view from a fashionable sidewalk café. That night the ship sailed through the straits of Gibraltar and we saw the “Rock” all lit up, not close enough to see the monkeys though. Maybe next time!
One day later and 558 miles southwest of Lisbon, Portugal we arrived at Funchal, Madeira. It was a beautifully rugged island with red tile roofed buildings on the side of the mountains and every kind of flower imaginable. We visited a Botanical garden and took a cable car ride over a canyon with streams and waterfalls to visit the mountain village of Monte. Then a highlight was a wild ride down the mountain roads on a basket sled with two Madeirian men on the back riding, running, guiding, and sometimes braking us. During the fifteen minute ride, we spent our time screaming and taking pictures of the unbelievable view. That afternoon the ship sponsored a function featuring the famous Madeira wines, local food specialties, and Madeirian folk dancing.
The sea days that followed were much
needed to rest and reflect on all that we’d seen and done, plus we were starting to contemplate the prospect of packing. EEK!! But before all that, we must mention several events during these lazy days at sea. First, the World Cruisers were invited to an international dinner served by the Captain and officers in the crew mess. This is a special treat because this area is usually off limits to passengers. After dinner we all adjourned to the crew bar which is the infamous site of many crew parties. The other event was a rendezvous in the middle of the Atlantic with the Voyagers sister ship the Navigator. Passengers and crew alike lined the decks of both ships to view the Captains of both ships meet in the middle in their respective inflatable runabouts. Then our Captain disappeared around the Voyager, minutes later reappearing and towing Jamie, our Cruise Director on water-skis. They completely circled the Voyager and took two passes right in between both vessels with Jamie never falling. A truly unbelievable sight! Our only other stop during the transatlantic crossing was Bermuda, a most beautiful island, with pastel colored houses and a charming downtown. Our ship docked
right in the middle of the action and we chose to stroll and enjoy the shops and activities.
We thought it might be fun to give you a few statistics as we end this incredible around the world journey of ours.
1. The 108 day trip was divided into 53 sea days including the Suez Canal and 55 days in port. We visited 42 ports not including L.A. or Ft. Lauderdale, of which 25 were new to us.
2. From L.A. to Ft. Lauderdale we traveled a distance of 30,359 nautical miles, 34,912 land miles or 56,225 kilometers.
3. We check marked off 30 more places in our travel guide “1000 Places to See Before You Die” which gives us a total of a mere 180 places.
4. The weather couldn’t have been better. Chuck always says “Good weather follows me everywhere” and I think the captain had to agree. We could only think of 5 or 6 mildly rainy days and 2 or 3 mildly heavy sea days with no storms at all.
5. The head chef said they used over 10,000 recipes for this World Cruise. They also told us we consumed about 70,000 eggs, 3500 lbs.
of salmon filet, 12,000 lbs. of beef tenderloin, 130 kgs. of caviar, 2200 lbs. of ice cream and 150,000 liters of bottled water. Wow!
6. The grand total of Chuck’s token count was 471. His first goal was a Swarovski Crystal dragon chasing a crystal ball for 298 tokens. Many on the ship joined in on the fun when the gift shop manager “Gov” put the dragon in the window with a sign that said “Chuck’s Dragon-Only 28 Tokens to go”!! Then when he actually turned in the tokens for the dragon he was pleasantly surprised that it only took 280 and he got 18 back in change. So his next goal was to accrue more tokens than anyone previously on a World Cruise which Jamie led him to believe was 402. In the last Daily Passages, Chuck was congratulated for setting a new World Cruise record for prize winnings.
Perhaps you’ve noticed the black and white panda that has appeared in one picture in each segment photo album throughout this World Cruise, he has traveled with us since 1997 and was a gift from Linda’s sister Patti for good luck and safe travel.
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