On Board the Voyager Sanctuaries in the Sand/Aegean Holiday; March 30-April 23rd

[dougburns]

Great pics, Wes. Ida looks young and wonderful, but you look as if you've been rode hard and put away wet. What's with all of the grey hair suddenly? Guess the Army took its toll. Have a great time, my friend and give our best to the lovely Ida.

[OrpingtonT]

Love the pictures. The new camera is doing it's job. I especially enjoy seeing photos of people I only know by their CC name, such as WittsEnd.

[gf]

Wes and Ida,

Have a fabulous cruise! So looking forward to your reports!

I would be dizzy "as a coot" (whatever that is,) at that altitude!

[Travelcat2]

Those photos really show how dusty the air really is in Dubai. We are very happy we visited this Las Vegasesque port but would not return. The hidden poverty and imprisonment of the poor was just too much for us to take. We choose not to contribute to the faux opulence of this area. We stayed at a local hotel and dined at a fabulous Thai restaurant. Really looking forward to seeing photos from the rest of this cruise. Fortunately, Dubai was the only country thatwas not "real". Passengers on this cruise should enjoy seeing real life in Egypt, Oman, Jordan and Israel.

 

I did not make this post until now where it is early morning in Dubai. It is important to me that I not make negative posts prior to Regent passengers having the time to experience it for themselves. Hope that many passengers did research on Dubai prior to visiting there. IMO, it is easy to be taken in by the glitz and glitter of Dubai (as it is in Las Vegas). Just want to say that, based on our research, this is definitely a fascade. This city was built by the slaves in Dubai. Very sad.

 

Thankfully, I have nothing negative to say about the rest of the cruise. We loved Oman for so many reasons. Egypt is a bit of a mess but the sights are still there. You just need to avoid the hard selling locals. You will not see security anywhere in the world like they have in Israel. Very interesting place. We heard that the Kibbutz is no longer on the excursion list... too bad as it was most enjoyable. The place that surprised us the most was Jordan. . . . what an amazing place.

 

Looking forward to joining you on this adventure. Everyone should be onboard soon and we look forward to amazing photos of the ports you will be visiting. There is so much to see. . . . all quite extraordinary:)

[WesW]

We're now onboard and the Voyager looks fabulous staffed with welcoming and smiling crew. Check-n was the most efficient of our ten prior Regent cruises. They had at least ten stations set up at the Dubai Cruise terminal to check-in incoming Regent pax. Within minutes of stepping on board (deck 4) we recognized familiar faces, hugs abounded with Lei welcoming us with champagne, then the GM, Ralph De Klijn who will be on board until early July. Wonderful lunch at La Veranda, now we are at the computer room with Lee, setting up our accounts. Soon we're off to the Coffee Corner to get an expresso fix to help with the remaining jet lag. After we get our excursion tix, we will head back down to destinations desk to attempt to cancel concierge excursions and rebook with our $1200 SBC. We also have another $700 SBC for Athens to Istanbul--guess I should buy stock in the Regent boutique :).

[grapejuice]

Hey Wes and Ida, looking forward to your posts - and also any pics of your journey are greatly appreciated - especially of the ship. Thanks for taking the time to include us!!! Happy travels

[Hambagahle]

Bon Voyage, Wes and Ida! As our cruise draws to a close, yours starts! Am really looking forward to reading all you have to say about it!

Gerry

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Good luck re-booking the excursions, Wes, and tell us how it goes. I'll be doing the same thing in about a month!

[Travelcat2]

In another 12 hours the Voyager will be in Muscat, Oman. Hope most passengers signed up to see the incredibly beautiful Mosque (IMO more beautiful than the Blue Mosque in Istanbul). In addition to being able to enter both the men and womens sections, it was the first time we were able to see the area where they wash prior to entering the Mosque. Our guide showed us the washing procedure. There should be some great pictures posted from this port stop.

 

As a side note. . . .it was in Muscat that we became lost for the first time on a tour. It was in a very large souk with many winding alleys. We ended up taking a taxi back to the ship and having Destination Services contact the tour company to let them know we were okay:eek:

[Mr Rumor]

Hi Wes and Ida,

 

From the Mariner's Club.Com let me be the last to wish you a terrific cruise! I hope to do a similar itinerary with Ginny one day, so will be hanging on every word (and pic)!

 

Rich

[bsrkent]

Wes & Ida,

We left you guys a Bon Voyage post over on that Guaranteed Cabin Assignment thread you had post upon.

Do have a great cruise in spite of what Doug might say... and we're looking forward to all your reports.

[WesW]

Elsie, Karen/Wayne, Rachel, Doug (somewhat), Tom, GF, Grapejuice, Gerry, Wendy (re booking went like clockwork--no problems) Mr. Rumor, Barb and Ken; thanks so much for your cruise well wishes.

 

Pls see pix today from our first excursion in Oman (Muscat); however we we're disappointed we did not get to go inside the Grand Mosque, but we did take some pix. Pls see first few pix embedded below.

 

Finally, our cruise critic meet & greet was a smashing success thanks to the terrific support we got from Regent. Willie Aames had a mention on his daily video update, announcement was place in today's passages, signs outside observation and inside observation lounge. Social Hostess, Food & Bev mgr, GM, CD, all Regent dancers showed up and most importantly 13/14 of our invitees made our M&G. Pix below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cruise pix Meet & Greet Pix:

 

Peter, Nancy (GM) Ralph de Klijn:

 

 

Ida, HanL, Karin and a few of the gorgeous Regent Dancers:

 

 

Walju (Walter, Julie) Colonel(Ret.)Wes, Witt's end (Katie and John)

 

[WesW]

More Sanctuaries in the Sand unofficial CC & Regent M&G pix:

 

count Florida (Mike & Pat), jkjsdj; Stephanie & Jim

 

 

mcozy/Stan, Franzr (Beth and franz)

 

 

cavergirl (J.R., Beverly)

 

 

Klala (Karen & Gord)

 

[Travelcat2]

Any more photos of Muscat and the gorgeous Mosque?

[WesW]

We had an outstanding dinner in Prime 7 last night considering the flintstone sized Prime Rib..portebella mushrooms with goat cheese app was delish. Signatures for dinner tonight with Peter and Nancy (on board the Voyager untill Copenhagen), mushroom soup exceptional, halibut, and lobster salad paired with pouilly fuisse to die for.

 

Tonight is first Regent show; Vocalist Paul Roberts (think Rat Pack tunes crooner)

 

Tomorrow we have our first Enrichment Lecture, with Dr. Michale Boll, "Gulf Oil Monarchies." We are having our first lunch buffet at the pool deck, Oriental (Sushi anyone?). We are planning to attend the Dance Class with Dieter and Ilsa (our fav dance instrctors on land or sea) in the early pm. Then after the Captain's reception we have "Broadway Tonight" with the Jean Ann Ryan Singers and Dancers. Will post more pix after dinner.

[Hambagahle]

Looks like your "M&G" was better done than ours. Ray popped in and Elda (Asst CD) provided some real help in getting people to introduce themselves but that was it. Nametags are a great idea! Wish we had done that. On balance I think that Ray doesnt much like CC and though he was willing to set up anything we asked, that was it...

 

These M&Gs should be institutionalised, IMO.

 

Hope Oman was as good as promised... Cartagena certainly was today!!

Gerry

[OrpingtonT]

Great pictures again. Thank you for spending valuable time uploading them on your vacation. That goes beyond the call of duty.

[dougburns]

You're doing a great job with the pics, Wes. Brings back memories for us of the 2005 trip from Singapore-Rome. Please give our best to Dieter and Ilse. They are long time friends of ours. Ida will really enjoy their classes, but I'm not sure they can handle your 2 left feet. We miss being with you both.

[Eager2Travel]

We are loving every post you send. We hope your trip continues to be wonderful. Don't get out of shape with all that good life. You still have the Petra hike ahead of you.

Ann and Shel

[RachelG]

Really nice pics, Wes. Enjoying traveling along. And I do want to hear all about Petra.

[Travelcat2]

Really want to share the photos of the extraordinary mosque in Muscat. Hope this works.

First is another view of the outside of the mosque.

[Travelcat2]

Guess I need to do them one at a time. This picture is of the

Swarovski crystal chandelier

chandelier inside mens mosque:

[Travelcat2]

Inside mens mosque (the room is huge -- impossible to get a proper photo)

 

[Travelcat2]

Where your shoes go before entering the mosque:

 

[Travelcat2]

This is taking up too much room. The next (and last) one is the room where men wash themselves before prayer. It is a very specific routine -- there is a protocol for how many times you wash your left hand, right hand, left arm, right arm, head, etc etc. etc.

 

 

I need to repeat myself here. . . . in all of our travels, we have not been given this much access to a mosque and the rituals therein. Our guide showed us the Koran and read a bit of it to us (do have photos but it would be overkill on a CC board). He also washed himself and went into an indepth discussion of both the mens and womens (much smaller) mosque. Very interesting and eye opening.