LIVE -To and From the Amazon - 11/17-12/12/2017

[Travelcat2]

More photos

 

 

 

 

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Lamb chop

 

 

Cheese (delicious - see description above)

 

 

Delicious dessert

 

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

One more photo for now

 

The wonderful Master of the Seven Seas Mariner, Captain Serena.

 

 

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[Onkel_Ken]

Travelcat2, It may be hot where you are at but based on the pictures just posted you are eating in a grand style. Thank you for sharing! Look forward to the Amazon pictures and excursion posts coming soon.

[Travelcat2]

To paraphrase Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, I don't think that we are in Kansas anymore! Woke up to the smoke of the Amazon (which thankfully has dissipated since this morning). I don't think that I would want to be onboard if I had breathing issues. However, the scenery with our binoculars was wonderful. We were not close enough to land to take photos. Currently we are stopped for the immigration inspection that is expected to take 4 hours. It is bloody hot outside!

 

Wonderful dinner in Signatures last night. I tried the quiche with blue cheese ...... it was delicious (tastes better than it sounds) and also tried the veal tenderloin -- very tender. We definitely had too much food and wine yesterday and my intention was to back-of a bit today but, since it is Sunday, I couldn't skip the mimosas for breakfast (well, obviously I could have skipped it but decided not to):evilsmile:

 

Forgot to respond to Carnevale's question regarding non-meat options. All menus have vegetarian options and there are fish options as well (even in Prime 7). You can also order special dishes 24 hours in advance in Compass Rose. Any specific requests can be made to the Restaurant Manager. A personal recommendation is the Miso Glazed Sea Bass - cooked in a banana leaf (to die for). Unfortunately we did not eat in Compass Rose last night ....... the night they were serving it. May make a special request but it generally marinates for 3 days.

Ken, you're right - we are eating in grand style. I need to back off a bit as my clothes need to fit until December 12th.

Crossing the Equator Ceremony at 1:30 p.m. so more photos to come.

[makai 7]

To echo travelcat... I had the miso glazed sea bass last night, and it was excellent ! Setti mare has been consistently excellent as well. If you don't try the gnocchi with pesto, as an appetizer portion, you are missing something wonderful.

 

We agree, Captain Serena is wonderful. Unlike many cruise ship Masters, she is always around, speaking with passengers.

[Travelcat2]

Don't know why I have to write a post and "reply" to it before posting photos but I'm doing whatever is necessary to post photos. It was extremely hot in the sun and we have seen the Equator Crossing ceremony a few times - always great fun. Did take a few photos which I'm posting somewhere below.

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

Don't know why I have to write a post and "reply" to it before posting photos but I'm doing whatever is necessary to post photos. It was extremely hot in the sun and we have seen the Equator Crossing ceremony a few times - always great fun. Did take a few photos which I'm posting somewhere below.

 

 

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Beginning of parade from 12th deck down to the pool deck.

 

 

C.D. Lorraine with King Neptune -- posting a second picture so you can seeing Neptune better.

 

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

More

 

You can see a bit of the muddy Amazon river in the background. Changing to my iPhone for a couple of more shots.

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

From phone

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

From phone

 

 

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Hard to tell what is going on. The “doctor” is doing some surgery on a passenger (believe he is a polywog). They removed his insides that look a lot like spaghetti. No one can say that Regent is stuffy when they put on such fun events.

 

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

No clue if this brief video worked. Doing a test for when we are ashore.

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

No clue if this brief video worked. Doing a test for when we are ashore.

 

 

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Lost the video but here is a close up of the “stage”

 

 

 

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[drcandon]

Travelcat...looks like I did not get to you in time...but on the way out of the Amazon (you are going back to Miami correct?)..and if the time of day is right as you leave the mouth watch how far out to sea the brown water of the Amazon extends to the Altantic..we were there when the rainy (high water) season was over for about a month. I had to get up at 5 am as we entered the mix zone and that was around 150 miles out..so I was told..it is amazing to see deep blue Atlantic one minute and see fresh muddy Amazon the next!

 

And a comment about the buses...the best we had were in Parintins on the way out..They were small (maybe 20 seats) and had what was the best they could do for air..which was not too much..

 

I can't say about the buses in Manuas as we did the piranha fishing..which sounds cheesy...BUT that excursions takes you down a small tributary off the main river maybe for 20 miles...then you really feel like you are in the Jungle Queen movie. Yes, you do get to fish for Piranha..which by the way are not easy to catch...

 

Oh yea...on that excursions there are plenty of the brown dolphins to see!!

 

One more small thing..if you are not entomophobic (scared of bugs)...get out early in the morning before the crew cleans up the bugs for the night..let me know what you think of the size of the moths and crickets...duck when they come at you !!!

I want to emphasize again that even though we wandered around on our own in Manaus, even late in the evening to the Opera house..you must keep a vigil..They can spot a tourist a mile away and even though we never got bothered ..one older lady on our cruise got a close encounter she was not too happy about. They never hurt her but she got swarmed...

I just don't want to mislead anyone!

[Travelcat2]

drcandon, thank you once again - your advice is so helpful. In terms of bugs, I plan on getting a couple of pictures of the large bugs (either on our balcony or on the pool deck). Will have to pay attention to the water on our way out of the Amazon!

 

Good to hear that there are brown dolphins - I adore dolphins but do not do a good job of photographing them.

 

The first day in Manaus five of us will be doing an 8 hour excursion which includes the following:

 

Full day tour to meeting of the waters and Rio Negro

 

Program:

8:00 Pick up at your hotel and transfer to the port

9:00 Boat tour to meeting of the waters

10:00 Observation of Pirarucu fish (Arapaima), largest sweet water fish

10:30 Jungle hike with observation of monkeys, sloths, macaws, alligators, huge Samauma trees and giant water lilies

11:30 Visit of native family with Anaconda snake

12:00 Lunch

13:00 Boat tour to Rio Negro

14:00 Swimming with pink river dolphins

15:00 Visit of an Indigenous community with presentation of tribal dances

16:00 Return to Manaus arriving 17:00

If I survive, the next day will be the Opera House. I'm finding that 10 minutes in the intense heat has me going back inside the ship. Trying to get used to it.

Note: Not swimming with the pink dolphins but look forward to seeing them.

[Pam]

Just reading the word 'anaconda' sends me into shivers of fear. Mark used to love that movie, and he watched it every time it showed on cable.

[Onkel_Ken]

Tomorrow looks like an interesting stop in Santarem. Hope the weather is not so unbearable so that you can get ashore for an excursion there. Reading up on the stops is interesting as well as zooming in on Google Earth. Thought I saw Dennis on your balcony but from the satellite view he was hard to make out. :-)

[Travelcat2]

Thank you for the great morning laugh! Today will be intolerable (for me) 94 degrees. However, I will accompany Dennnis into town via the shuttle bus Regent has obtained for this port. We did cancel our excursion since we have a long boat tour coming up but our friends are on it and I'll get a report.

 

I said that I would be 100% about my feelings about the

Amazon. First, it is beautiful - so much more so than I could have imagined. Second, if I could stay on the ship for the rest of the week I would be happy. The intense heat is just that ........ intense! Even if I did not leave the ship, I would feel that this trip was worth it.

 

Captain Serena said that they saw the meeting of the waters and pink dolphins this morning (we will see both on our excursion).

 

Better get ready to go out. Weddings rings and necklace removed, next I need to remove my watch. Is it any wonder that Brazil is not one of my favorite places (but I do understand why others love it).

[bizzie]

Hi Travelcat

We were fortunate enough while onboard last year to see the pink dolphins a few times from the ship. Never had to leave the ship. When we docked in Manaus and waiting for the OK to disembark, we were treated to seeing a few of them while we watched from our veranda. Keep your eyes peeled. Cheers ellen

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

Ken - thank you for my morning chuckle:D. Today s definitely in the "unbearable" range (93 degrees). We cancelled our boat tour since we will be doing a long boat tour on Wednesday. Our friends did go on the excursion so I'll learn how that went. So, keeping with my decision to take this cruise and doing it with a good heart, I will accompany Dennis ashore to take the Regent shuttle into town. This will have us away from the ship for two hours.

 

In case you have any interest in my preparation for leaving the ship:

 

1. All rings, watch and necklace off

 

2. Hat ready

 

3. Sun umbrella

 

4. Ice thermos

 

5. Ice pack

 

6. Two hand fans and one that goes around my neck

 

Leaving Embr Wave on the ship for two reasons....... it is too hot for it to work effectively and fear of it being stolen (I have a prototype and will protect it even more than if I had purchased it).

 

Since I am being 100% honest about my feelings for the Amazon, I must first say that it is absolutely beautiful - far beyond anything that I could have imagined. However, the heat is so intense that I would be happy to not leave the ship while in the Amazon. If I didn't leave the ship I would still feel that this cruise was worth it.

 

bizzie - thank you for letting me know that we'll likely see pink dolphins from the ship. I'll look out for them in Manaus.

 

Last - bug report........ the only thing I can say is "what bugs?" Haven't seen any. Deck and balcony clear. Could have to do with all lights on the ship being off at night so bugs aren't attracted????

[Boatmans Lady]

Hi Jackie- We are here on the mariner with you. I think you are getting special treatment in the dining room because of your status; we are only silver. Many of the dishes we have been served, including soup, have been tepid at best, never hot. It doesn't matter where we are seated in the dining room. Our table had problems in Prime 7 as well.

 

We will politely asked for any tepid/lukewarm meals to be changed to hot meals.

If the replacements are still tepid/lukewarm we will politely refuse them again, whilst requesting to speak to the appropriate person to get this rectified.

To our minds, food that isn't hot, has either been hanging around cooling too long, or worse, hasn't been cooked properly to reach the correct temperature and this is a big no no, as nasty bugs just love this situation and will breed rapidly and these can make you very ill indeed.

[mariners]

TC2, thanks for posting about your experiences. I'm very interested in what, if anything, works for you in the heat as I am also someone who finds the hot cruises a challenge. Like you, it doesn't stop me from taking them.

 

I am also looking forward to reading about your private excursion, and your other Amazon experiences.

 

Thanks!

[makai 7]

We will politely asked for any tepid/lukewarm meals to be changed to hot meals.

If the replacements are still tepid/lukewarm we will politely refuse them again, whilst requesting to speak to the appropriate person to get this rectified.

To our minds, food that isn't hot, has either been hanging around cooling too long, or worse, hasn't been cooked properly to reach the correct temperature and this is a big no no, as nasty bugs just love this situation and will breed rapidly and these can make you very ill indeed.

Since posting, all meals have been perfect. I did submit the mid cruise comments and received several calls to discuss our constructive criticism. I also did praise several crew members and Sette Mara. First world problems....

[UUNetBill]

Since posting, all meals have been perfect. I did submit the mid cruise comments and received several calls to discuss our constructive criticism. I also did praise several crew members and Sette Mara. First world problems....

Glad to hear that they were responsive. Of course, everyone is always happier if things are just correct the first time around. I, for one, prefer not to have to point out any problems, although I won't hesitate to do so if need be!

 

Maybe if people keep pointing out the minor issues, eventually the teams will figure it out and get things right so we don't need to mention it. I know that any minor service issues I've encountered in the past have been corrected quickly and completely, and usually with follow-ups to make sure we're satisfied.

 

Happy to hear that things have clicked into place. Enjoy your cruise!!

[Travelcat2]

TC2, thanks for posting about your experiences. I'm very interested in what, if anything, works for you in the heat as I am also someone who finds the hot cruises a challenge. Like you, it doesn't stop me from taking them.

 

I am also looking forward to reading about your private excursion, and your other Amazon experiences.

 

Thanks!

 

Okay - I now how a good sense of what works and what doesn't.

 

1. Small ice bag with easy to carry portable thermos that promises to keep ice cold for hours. Although I went through all of the ice in 1 1/2 hours, it keeps you super comfortable. I rate this #1. The challenge remains to find an ie bag that keeps the ice from melting so fast.

 

2. Sun umbrella. While it does not really cool you off, it keeps the sun from beating on your head (I was wearing a hat but the umbrella was a huge help). Definitely something I would recommend.

 

3. Fans - around neck and I hand. They are okay - better than nothing.

 

4. Embr Wave (I still have a prototype - what they can and cannot do is on their website but these items are backordered until September, 2018. I rate this highly for at home when you need to cool off a bit in warm weather or, alternatively, if you need a little heat (it has a setting for both -- kind of like a heat pump).

 

5. I did't mention the "cold necklace" but I did wear it as well .... here is a link on Amazon https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MTNJCAD/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1.

 

While this works well at home, I am unable to freeze it onboard (despite our butler's repeated attempts to keep it on ice.

 

If I had the right ice container and ice pack as well as the sun umbrella, that is all that I would need in the Amazon. I've concluded that I will only be able to maintain coolness on our 8 hour excursion for 2 hours.

 

Took the shuttle into town and back (about 40 minutes round-trip). Today is a holiday and there are festivities around the town. Santerem is not much different than other small towns in Brazil. Being in the Amazon, I did not expect to see such a large city (other than Manaus).

 

An interesting point is that the water in town is brown and blue(ish) where the ship is. It seems that the "meeting of the waters" can be seen in many places. I will post a picture taken from our balcony later (along with a few random shots of the city.

 

It felt amazing to get back to the ship and the air conditioning!

[Onkel_Ken]

An interesting point is that the water in town is brown and blue(ish) where the ship is. It seems that the "meeting of the waters" can be seen in many places. I will post a picture taken from our balcony later (along with a few random shots of the city.

 

 

 

I found this description on the RSSC site about the meeting of the waters you may have seen.

"The town is situated at the point where the Tapajos and the Amazon waters meet. This is called the "Wedding of the Waters" and is one of Santarem's major attractions."