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

[cruiseluv]

Wes, thanks so much for the pictures. The M&G looks like a success!

 

TC, I didn't realize you were on board for this one.

[turtlemichael]

Can I make a suggestion? As interesting as your asides and pix are TC2, I am more interested to hear from and see pix of the current cruise. I am a touch confused as to what is happening this time and what happened on some previous cruise. If you haven't already could I suggest you do a separate trip report?

[Travelcat2]

Hope you have all enjoyed your sea day. Tomorrow is beautiful Salalah. The weather looks good -- hope you all have wonderful adventures while ashore and will report back to us.

[WesW]

tonight was the Captain's welcome, below is a pix of all the Voyager officers serving us on board. Next is a pix of count Florida (Mike and Pat) and Ida and I before we left for a wonderful dinner at Compass Rose (Pat, Ida and I had the Dover sole; Mike the Prime rib)

 

Voyager Officers on board:

 

 

count Florida (mike & pat):

 

 

Ida and me:

 

[OrpingtonT]

Ida looks lovely, Wes looks dashing and, though i am 85 years old, I have never seen a jacket like Count Florida's.

[TheSeaAroundUs]

Ida looks lovely, Wes looks dashing and, though i am 85 years old, I have never seen a jacket like Count Florida's.

Ida is indeed lovely. And Colonel, is that your real hair? You look 10 years younger than I and I'm only 53 with a widely acknowledged baby face.

 

... but, most importantly, uhuh, Count Florida's jacket is absolutely astounding. I've seen jackets that try going halfway there (have one myself!!) ... but that is clearly a masterpiece, no question whatsoever. I'd buy it in a heartbeat. And, it somehow makes me want to sit at his dinner table....

[Travelcat2]

Ida is indeed lovely. And Colonel, is that your real hair? You look 10 years younger than I and I'm only 53 with a widely acknowledged baby face.

 

... but, most importantly, uhuh, Count Florida's jacket is absolutely astounding. I've seen jackets that try going halfway there (have one myself!!) ... but that is clearly a masterpiece, no question whatsoever. I'd buy it in a heartbeat. And, it somehow makes me want to sit at his dinner table....

 

What happened to the gray hair that dougburns made reference to on an earlier page? And, I think Count Florida's jacket is a winner and I'd sit at his dinner table anytime:)

[Wellseasoned]

Wes, happy that you and Ida are having a great time! please describe your procedure for posting the pics. you are stirring memories of these wonderful ports! hope you remember the frankincense. all the best from Debbie and me.

 

Dieter

[Travelcat2]

Wes, happy that you and Ida are having a great time! please describe your procedure for posting the pics. you are stirring memories of these wonderful ports! hope you remember the frankincense. all the best from Debbie and me.

 

Dieter

 

Frankincense -- now that is a wonderful memory (that I am happy that we continue to enjoy)

[mimito4]

Well, well seeing Wes actually posting pictures, I mean inserting them right into the body of his entry is very exciting to me!

 

Yea, you go Wes. See how easy that was?

 

And TC2 also posting pictures! Yes. All good.

 

I'm proud of you all for learning how (not hard) and for taking the time to upload the phots. The pictures are glorious. Helps bring us all along on your adventure.

 

May your glorious adventure continue unfolding in profound and memorable ways. Enjoy every single minute.

[TheSeaAroundUs]

TheSeaAroundUs - Perhaps you might consider the Shinola mode of hair color made famous by Ronald Reagan and Rod Blagojevich - two men of vastly differing political views but of the remarkably same view with regard to banishing the gray.

Your mention of Shinola reminds me of an old saying of my father's....

 

Frankincense -- now that is a wonderful memory (that I am happy that we continue to enjoy)

I think I still have a few chunks of Frankincense around the house from my college days (only used it once or twice) ... should still be good I guess!...

 

TC, somehow one of your comments made me look back over this thread. I haven't been on cc very much lately, and I had somehow skipped over the first few pages! Looking back, I got to see more of Wes's photos of happy cruisers as well as your gorgeous architectural shots. (I tend to only take pictures of places, not the people I'm there with. SO, I appreciate both your shots as "I would have taken that!", and Col. Wes's shots as "I wish I'd have thought to take that!"....)

[grapejuice]

Wes and Ida - absolutely loving your posts, and I think the pics are the best part, words speak volumes but the pictures are truly magical - you are both STUNNERS - thank you once again for sharing, especially your ship adventures with the rest of your fellow cruisers. Thanks again.

[grapejuice]

ALso Wes I think the posters talking about your fabulous locks are just jealous and BALD!!!

[WesW]

Thankyou for your kind words Tom, The Sea Arond Us, dear friend T, Grapejuice.

 

Wellseasoned/Dieter; Ida took care of Debbie's request, in fact she picked up four bottles of Frankensense today in Salalah--

 

A few pix from today's Salalah excursion; Mughsail's beach & Job's tomb

 

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

What I want to know is, whatever happened to Elegant Casual? Haven't seen long gowns on a Regent cruise for a while.

[txladycruiser]

What I want to know is, whatever happened to Elegant Casual? Haven't seen long gowns on a Regent cruise for a while.

 

 

Since this is a 17 day cruise, the Captain's Reception was probably a Formal night.

 

 

 

Karen

[Pepc]

Col. Wes -

Very proud of you!

You look sharp with your jump wings and mini decorations on your tux - - Defense Superior Service, Legion of Merit, Meritorius Service, Army Commendations and Army Achievement in the top row!

Safe travels,

Pepc and her Sergeant Major, (US Army, retired)

[Travelcat2]

Your mention of Shinola reminds me of an old saying of my father's....

 

 

I think I still have a few chunks of Frankincense around the house from my college days (only used it once or twice) ... should still be good I guess!...

 

TC, somehow one of your comments made me look back over this thread. I haven't been on cc very much lately, and I had somehow skipped over the first few pages! Looking back, I got to see more of Wes's photos of happy cruisers as well as your gorgeous architectural shots. (I tend to only take pictures of places, not the people I'm there with. SO, I appreciate both your shots as "I would have taken that!", and Col. Wes's shots as "I wish I'd have thought to take that!"....)

 

It's good to see you on the boards again:) We gave our Frankincense "chunks" away when we got home but I do have some oil in a nice perfume container. The scent is quite nice.

 

In terms of photos, I enjoy seeing places on CruiseCritic as they are often of ports we have been to or ports we have yet to visit. My concern about posting people pictures is that I don't know if everyone I have taken a photo of on board would be comfortable having their picture posted. I know that would not. Also, I enjoy the idea of everyone thinking that I look like a black cat;)

 

Just remembered that I have begun taking photos of the television screen (kinda weird but it helps to remember where we were). Here is one showing Salalah and the area surrounding it (slightly crooked). The Voyager is likely in the Gulf of Aden now.

 

 

 

Wendy: I agree that I haven't seen gowns on our cruises in ages. . . however, Karen was correct, there are two Formal Optional nights on this cruise. We also "opt out". On this particular cruise there is a "Country Club Casual" day listed. Must be a typo as that designation has been gone quite a while.

[RachelG]

Col Wes, love the camel pictures--that's a lot of camels.

[aussiechick7]

Great pictures Col Wes,

 

This cruise will definatley have to be put on my bucket list !!!!;)

[WesW]

Wendy, Karen/Txladycruiser was spot on, Monday nite was the Captain's welcome (Formal Optional) am guessing at least 30% of pax were in their formal finery (this cruise is fully booked)..

 

Pepc, Hooah! Thank you for y'alls service and we're proud of you too.

 

Rachel, our bus stopped so we could get the shot, ran a bit, and used the telephoto on my canon elph to get the shot.

 

Aussiechick--glad you like the pix--thank you.

 

Last night we had our first dinner in Compass Rose--outstanding. Noteworthy was the wine service by Ricardo, sommelier--we enjoyed a Gavi with our seafood (shrimp risotto) course, then one of our fav comp pours Emiliana (Chilean) Syrah (wonderful body) with (pork medallions). We have a large (about 65) gospel/singing group on board who had their own DJ last night in the Horizon Lounge--was motown nite.

 

Today is the first of three sea days enroute to Luxor. Jam packed day of activities; two enrichment lecturers (on the middle east); cooking demonstration, dance class with Dieter and Ilse; international buffet on the pool deck, Flambe Tea Time, spinning class. Tonight we go back to P7 for dinner and the vocalist Paul Roberts will provide tonight's entertainment. We also will relish the hour we get to turn our clocks back.

[count florida]

On longer than 16 night cruises, they may include optional formal nights, but not always (check out the Mariner's 17 night crossing from Monaco to Rio this coming November). This cruise, part of Regent’s substitute World Cruise, does have two. Since we do have formal wear, and had upgraded to business class, allowing an extra suitcase, or in this case a commodious garment bag, we decided to go for it.

 

As to the Madras dinner jacket, for those of you who just must have one, go to any Joe Banks and see if they have their Madras sport coats, then get some formal buttons to replace the ones it comes with, and you've got your attention-getting dinner jacket. I actually got the idea from the manager of the JB in our mall in Sarasota. My sister was marrying off her daughter a couple of years ago, and she or the daughter "requested" family come formal. I was complaining about this to the manager, and told him I just might buy the Madras sport coat and wear it to spite the idea when he suggested wearing the jacket with formal pants and shoes, etc. but with the regular buttons replaced by formal black cloth covered buttons. He offered to supply the buttons, so I bought the jacket and wore it to the wedding, to the chagrin of my sister but the delight of her daughter and most of the rest of the wedding party.

 

I do have a white dinner jacket I used to bring along when formal nights were a regular part of cruising, but now I just bring the Madras with my formal pant and accoutrements. Sometimes I also bring my tux jacket, as I did this time. Once per cruise is all the Madras is good for, but the pants and other stuff work with either jacket, and in case no one noticed, my wife looks FANTASTIC in a long gown.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Hey Count, I'm going to show this jacket to my husband--he has a penchant for things like this. I've been bugging him about buying a new suit for an upcoming family wedding, and he would just be tickled to show up something like this (Don Cherry, of Canadian hockey fame, is one of his sartorial heroes!)

 

But went online, and all I see is plaids--he wouldn't go for that.

[Threechicks]

Hey Count, I'm going to show this jacket to my husband--he has a penchant for things like this. I've been bugging him about buying a new suit for an upcoming family wedding, and he would just be tickled to show up something like this (Don Cherry, of Canadian hockey fame, is one of his sartorial heroes!)

Hey Wendy, watch those "Pinkos" if your husband starts dressing like Don Cherry.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I know, funny eh? He's always threatening--he particularly likes the high collars and fancy ties (windsor knot?)