HOW TO VIEW BLOG

 

UNFORTUNATELY, THE BLOG POSTS ARE IN REVERSE ORDER (LAST ONE SHOWING FIRST).  LOOK ON RIGHT SIDE UNDER OUR PHOTO AND YOU WILL SEE "BLOG ARCHIVE".  POSTS ARE BY MONTH SO CLICK ON JANUARY AND THEN EACH MONTH TO VIEW THOSE POSTS.   THEN ON THE RIGHT AGAIN YOU WILL SEE A LIST OF ALL THE POSTS FOR THAT MONTH STARTING AT THE BOTTOM.  THERE WERE TWO POSTS IN 2022 BELOW JANUARY.

ALSO I HIGHLY RECOMMEND CLICKING ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM FOR BETTER VIEWING.  YOU CAN THEN ARROW THOUGH THE PHOTOS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN.

I HOPE THIS HELPS!

FINAL POST--ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END

                                                              HOME SWEET HOME

  TODAY

        Finally got a good night's sleep.  Very productive day today.  We got 3 bags unpacked so that makes 4 since returning home.  Now just waiting for our 4 pieces of luggage that Luggage Forward is shipping and due to arrive here on the 6th.

        I called Scott, neighbor next to us, and asked if I could borrow his battery trickle charger.  Prius still would not start and I did not want to keep jumping it.  He got it all hooked up and we had a nice chat.  We are so fortunate to have great neighbors.

        Our county property tax notice did not come before we left so now it was over due and had an interest penalty.  So I drove back in town to pay it this morning.  Only a $39 interest added on.  Property taxes here are low.  Around $6500 less than we were paying in Dallas.

        After returning home I got the net put up to protect windows on side of the house that golfers are shooting for the green just behind our house.  We had one window hit a couple years ago.  Not an easy job getting it put up.  I attach the top to the gutter so cleaned it out while up on the ladder.  Don't ask why a 75 year old is up on a high ladder.  Then I got the yard in order and removed the cover on top of the air conditioner.

                                     Hard to see but there is a net up to protect these windows.

        This afternoon I have been working on our income taxes.  Our CPA is in Dallas so I fill in the data on an online "tax organizer".  Pretty much done but need to ask Kim a question on Monday.  Should have it complete then and will send tax forms to her via FedEx on Tuesday when we go to the dermatologist. 

        Friday is "steak night" at the Weiler homestead so grilling filets this evening and I made my world famous Ceasar salad dressing earlier today.

WORLD CRUISE THOUGHTS

        We had a great time the past 5 months but 5 months is just too long.  Our other 3 world cruises were just 4 months which was better.  We have decided not to take any more world cruises for 3 or 4 years if even then.  We will be going on "Grand" cruises which are around 3 months long.

        It was fun to see lots of old friends whom we have cruised with a few times.  But the best part was seeing many crew member friends whom we have cruised with once and many more than once.  They always called us by our name and had a smiling face to greet us.  They knew what we liked and did not care for.

         We had no complaint with the food on board Mariner.  It was always served hot in Compass Rose.

La Veranda's noon buffet was not so hot but that's a buffet and expect it.  They would warm it up if you just ask a server.  There seemed to be a lot of Indian and Asian entrees which we did not care for, as you have read, we asked for "special" entrees several times.  Many thanks to Chef Anees up in Sette Mari for my many veal parmesans.  Prime 7 was never disappointing.

        Rebecca was pretty much a home body and just did a handful of excursions.  Luckily, the internet manager, Kushal, let her have the premium internet which is $10 per day for free.  She was so happy to be able then the stream her soaps.  I did not do as many excursions as I usually do.  Well, been there done that, as we had been to most of the ports once or twice before.

        Highlight of the cruise was our safari.  I hope you enjoyed those photos and enlarged them for better enjoyment.  Click on the photos enlarges them.  So thankful that the Beggs, Davis's, Marge, Marcia, Jane, and Melissa joined us.  If you ever want to book a safari in South Africa, we HIGHLY recommend       https://www.rhinoafrica.com/en    Ask for Samantha.  You can email me if you have any questions.

WHAT'S NEXT

        Our next cruise will be mid November on Regent's new ship, GRANDEUR, which is coming out then.  We are flying to Barcelona on November 22nd and will spend two nights at the Hilton again before boarding on November 25th for a 14 night transatlantic cruise to Miami.  Then we have been invited to stay onboard for the 5 day special christening cruise on her.  This free christening cruise is because we are now "diamond" status with over 1000 nights on Regent cruises.  Yes, I am planning to blog again.  Want you to see photos of the new ship.

Thank you for following us on this world cruise blog.  I hope you all enjoyed it because I enjoy having you traveling with us.  

        

                   

FINALLY HOME

        This pastry was on display outside of Compass Rose and shows our world cruise routing with the pink strip.

 LAST EVENING

        We left Philadelphia on time and was last row in business class.  Another good group of F/A's but food not quite as good.

                            We had some Italian white wine.  Ok, but not chardonnay.

        We both chose the chicken entree with over cooked potatoes and veggies.  The salad was good and there was a shrimp appetizer.

         The flight was a bit bumpy but we landed early and headed to baggage claim.  While waiting for them to come up on carousel I called the Hilton airport to see where we should be to meet their shuttle.  I positioned Rebecca out there and rolled our luggage out in two stages.  I called Hilton to send the shuttle and it was there in less than 10 minutes.  It was just a 5 minute drive to the hotel and the driver was most helpful.

        Our room had been upgraded to the Executive floor.  It was 7:30 when we got to the hotel and we were both TOTALLY exhausted.  We hit the hay at 8:30.  Our alarm was set for 4:45am as our flight was at 8:36.  Rebecca said she got 4 hours of sleep before being too stuffed up to breathe.  The comforter was feathers and that stuffs her up.  I finally got a towel for her to cover with.  I was awake about all night.  Tossing and turning.  Surprisingly I don't feel that bad this morning.

   

TODAY

        We did not have tickets for our flight from PHX to DRO as we had planned to use our AA retiree free passes (which we rarely use).  But as I lie awake last night I decided to see how many miles it would take to fly.  I got up at 4:30, showered, dressed, and hit the laptop.  There were two first class seats left on the aircraft and it only cost me 30,000 miles total for us so I booked it.  Now we are seated in first class.

        We caught the 6:30 Hilton shuttle to the airport.  Our nice driver called ahead and had on of this buddies to meet the shuttle with a big cart for our luggage.  That saved the day!  He loaded our luggage and took us to the priority check in inside the terminal.  We were checked in and went through TSA check with no line there so on our way to the gate before 7am.

        Not a long walk to our gate this time.  I found Rebecca some scrambled eggs and I got a bacon, egg, cheese biscuit.  So now it is about 35 minutes until boarding time.

        We left the gate on time and taxied for takeoff.  The flight time to Durango was only 50 minutes.  

We had a really good F/A in first class.

OOPS!!!  Broke my rule again and we had bloody Mary's at 9:30.  Durango time was an hour ahead of Phoenix so was maybe 10:30.

                                               Happy Campers as we are about to be home.  

         We landed early and this time did not have to wait very long for our checked luggage to show up on the carousel.  Melissa was not there but we did not have to wait very long.  She is such a sweet heart and hate to see them leaving us.  They have began to move stuff out of their house.  They are staying in Durango area a few miles from the airport.

        We got to the house about noon and stowed luggage inside.  Not planning on unloading them right away.  I have too many house projects.  Need to get net up to protect master bedroom windows from golf balls (no broken windows so far).  Then I have to wash down our patio, uncover patio furniture and wash it.  Got to uncover the outside air conditioning unit as will need air soon.

        Rebecca dusted the bedroom as we both have dust allergies.  During the flight I made a grocery shopping list.  First thing I did was jump start the Prius as battery was dead.  Lexus was ok as I disconnected the negative battery cable.  I drove it for 15 minutes.  I'm sure the battery is still pretty low.

        I hopped in the Lexus and headed to town.  First stop was the post office to pick up our mail and restart delivery.  Next was Walmart as we needed to restock all our staples.  Third stop was Central Market for some things Walmart did not have.  Last stop was PJ's (just across the street from us) to get some filets and other things I like to get there.  They have the best meat department!  Oh, yes, I picked up a Papa Murphy's Cowboy pizza.  Pizza is traditional first night home dinner.

        We both got our carry on bags unloaded.  It is 5pm now so I need to publish this before HH and dinner.  There will be one more post to summarize our thoughts of this cruise.  May not be for a day or two however.

        Hopefully we both can sleep better tonight.  Getting use to the 8 hour time change from Europe to Durango takes a few days.  Our bodies will take a while to get adjusted.  That's why I did not like flying European trips.  I much preferred South America trips as just 1 or 2 hour change in time. 

        

HOMEWARD BOUND

        I changed our private car pickup time from 7:15 to 7:00 for this morning.  Our driver was there at 6:50 in a nice big van and off we went heading to BCN (Barcelona airport).  We arrived there by 7:30 and the driver got a couple bag carts for us.  There were multiple places for all the airlines to check people in.  It was hard to figure out where American Airlines check in was.  Of course opposite end on the terminal.  No line there for our check in.  All our bags weighed ok.  

        Next stop was Passport Control but as we were flying business class we were "Fast Track" and no line there either.  Next stop was security but we have TSA Priority so no line there either.  I had to take my laptop out of my carry on and we both had to remove jackets, belts, and everything out of pockets.  Kind of a hassle that the US is not doing now if TSA Priority. 

        We then headed to a private lounge which we had access to since we were business class.  I had a coke and Rebecca had some water.  Then the sign said to proceed to our gate so off we went.  We walked a long way to find out there was a gate change so another long walk.  We arrived at the gate and got in the priority boarding lane but had to wait.  We were the first ones on the airplane and still an hour before departure.  I got our carry on bags stowed and we plopped in our nice seats which were "lay flat" seats for sleeping.

                                   This is our plane as it was a long walk down the jetbridge.

                                         This is the engine of our 787.  They were refueling it.

        We were served champagne during the boarding of the other passengers.  There were 4 other couples from our ship in business class.  I went up to the cockpit and had a chat with the 3 pilots.  Super nice guys as were our flight attendants.  We had a short delay pushing back off the gate as our tug broke down so they had to get another.  The Captain explained we would be arriving in PHL before Customs opened at noon so they could not let us off the airplane until it was open.

        This was the menu.  During boarding the F/A took our drink and entree preferences.  We both picked the salmon entree.  We broke our rule about not drinking before 5pm.  I had Woodford Reserve bourbon (3) and and a glass of wine.  Rebecca had chardonnay during lunch.  It was 10:30am when the lunch service began after takeoff.

        Drinks came out first followed by this nice salad, shrimp, and sourdough bread starter.        

              Rebecca in her "cocoon" seat.  I was next to her but there was a divider between us.            

        We both chose the salmon entree with rice and veggies.  We both agreed that the salmon was better then we ever had on our cruise.  The veggies were over cooked but ok.  We really enjoyed everything that was served on the flight.  I must say the F/A's were very nice and did a great job.

                                                              I had this hot fudge sundae.

        During lunch I started watching a movie on the tv right in front of me.  There were hundreds of movies, tv shows, etc to pick from.  I watched a Vietnam was movie called "Ambushed".  After it was over and lunch was over I made my seat lie flat, got my pillow and blanket, and tried to sleep.  Not sure if I did as we were on the back row of BC and on the other side of the wall was a F/A work station.  Even though their service was over they talked some.  Our flight was 7 1/2 long.  With 4 hours left I started watching another movie.  I think it was called "Robber".  It was pretty good.

        With 1 1/2 hours left of the flight here came meat pies, fruit, chips, and chocolate pudding.

        We landed at 11:30 and taxied to the gate.  As I mentioned earlier they would not open the door for deplaning until noon so we sat there.  We were again first off the airplane but Rebecca does not walk as fast as me and it was another long walk to Immigration.  We both have Global Entry so went to a kiosk and it took our picture and issued a voucher which we showed the official and were on our way to collect our luggage.  With all our bags I need a cart which I had to put $6 in to get one.  It ripped me off as I still could not get one.  There was a porter with big cart standing there so I grabbed him.  Very glad I did as he retrieved our bags off the carousel and led us though Customs (again just flashed the Global Entry vouchers) and on the where we rechecked our bags on the Phoenix.

        Then we had to again go through TSA security.  This time we did not have to take stuff from our bags.  We are now at our departure gate but the flight is not until 4:45 so have a long sit.  I'm making good use of it as working on this blog post.  Free airport internet.  

        We will not arrived at the PHX airport until 7pm and there is no flight to Durango until tomorrow morning.  So we will be spending the night at the Phoenix airport Hilton.  Our flight tomorrow morning is at 8:36 and we are using our free airline passes since the flight has a lot of availability.  While sitting here I checked in for that flight.  We should get first class seats tomorrow.

        I called Melissa, our neighbor who has been watching the house, and asked if she wanted to make $50 by picking us up at 11am tomorrow at DRO airport.  She will.  She said Scott, neighbor on other side of us, had mowed our yard and it looked good.

        This is a VERY LONG DAY for us and we will be beat by the time we get to the Phoenix Hilton as our PHX flight is another 4 hour flight.

STAY TUNED!

        
        

DAY 143---BARCELONA, SPAIN

                                                        

              Well, here we are docked in Barcelona.  Our 2023 World Cruise has come to an end.  Now just have to get home.

LAST EVENING

Captain Abhi Nicki came by every table in CR to say good bye.  First time that has happened on a Regent cruise.  KUDDOS!

                                The veal parmesan Chef Anees sent down for us.  VERY good.

            First dessert, Key lime pie, Rebecca has had on the cruise.  They brought is from Prime 7.

                                                             I had the plain ole apple pie.

TODAY

                    Taken from our balcony.  The tower was some sort of a cable car tower.

        Up at 6am with breakfast from room service at 7:00.  We were ready and left our suite shortly after 8:00 as that is when they asked us to be out of the suite so it could be prepared for the embarking folks.  We waited in the Horizon Lounge with John & Cathi Begg.  They were also going to the Barcelona Hilton as we were.

        It was 9:09 when they called our color luggage tag to disembark.  There was a long line as they called several different colors at the same time.  Seemed like half the ship.  Immigration line wait was not too long.  They just wanted to stamp our passports.  No Customs to check bags.  The terminal room was pretty small for all the bags and people.  I had to wait a while for a porter to help with our 8 pieces of luggage.  Finally loaded on his cart and out we went.  Dropped the 4 Luggage Forward bags and got in line for a taxi.  We were second in line but still took a while for a larger taxi that our luggage would fit in.  Got everything loaded in one and the driver asked if we were Sue Jones.  She had a reservation so we unloaded and back in line we went.  Finally off we went for Hilton.

        The Beggs left after us but beat us to the hotel.  Our fare was 15 euros and they said theirs was 19. When I started the check-in process she said our room want not available but before we had finished getting checked in one was ready.  We are on the Executive floor and the Executive Lounge is just outside our door.

        I immediately signed my laptop into the hotel's internet (free) and went to the American Airlines website and checked us in for tomorrow morning's flights.  I could not print our boarding passes so took my laptop down to the front desk.  The nice lady I had checked in with let me sign into her desk computer and I got the passes printed that way.  All ready now and we are on the back row (row 5) of business class on a 787.

                                          I had a hard time finding the Hilton hotel sign.

                                             Finally could barely see it through the trees.

        Next door is a Starbucks and McDonalds.  We got some take-away from McDonalds for lunch.  Rebecca got a caesar salad and me a big Mac.  We took it up to the Executive lounge to eat.

        This hotel is also the layover hotel for all the American Airlines crews.  I had a nice chat with a pilot and male F/A.  They were Miami based.

        This afternoon we took a little stroll outside.  Lots of people on the sidewalks and I noticed a LOT more people here smoke, especially women.  May watch a movie as I am getting Amazon Prime to play now that we are off the ship.  Not much on the room tv in English.

                                                      Found this interesting meats deli.

        From 6 to 8pm the Executive lounge will serve some hot and cold snacks, beer, wine, and sodas complimentary.  I brought a bottle of our La Crema chardonnay and a thermos with some Markers Mark Manhattans already mixed up.

        Our private car is scheduled to pick us up at the hotel by 7:15 tomorrow morning and take us to the airport.  I have our alarm clock set for 5:15.  Our American Airlines flight to Philadelphia, then connecting on to Phoenix, is scheduled to depart at 9:40.  We may have to spend the night in Phoenix before catching a flight on up to Durango.

        Captain Abhi provided some statistics about our WC:  We traveled a total of 39,000 nautical miles (converts to nearly 45,000 statute miles).  We visited 67 ports in 39 countries and had 59 days at sea.

        I will be making another post after getting home, but it may be a coupe or three days.

        

DAY 142---ALICANTE, SPAIN

 

        We were docked and cleared by the local officials by 9am in Alicante.  It is a beautifully sunny day and 75 degrees.

Historical/Background Info:

        Alicante is a port city on Spain’s southeastern coast and the capital of Alicante province with a population of 333,000.  Its old town has narrow streets, colorful houses, and a nightlife scene.     

LAST EVENING

Captain Abhi kicked off Krew Kappers

                             Oksana, one of our favorite bartenders is also a great pianist.

Olla, doing her exotic belly dance.

                                         Hanna, our asst waitress, did a Vietnamese dance.

                                  Elvis was in the house.  He is a legend in his own mind.

       Officers, staff, and crew representatives from all the departments were on stage at the end.

       Krew Kappers performers taking a final bow.  We thought this show to be the best ever.

                            Murphy with the rest of my nice "Trilogy" wine from last night.

                                                                     Beef Wellington

                             Pecan cheese cake.  It was very good but I was full already.

                                                                              Benjie

                                                                  Another good show.

TODAY

             Started docking procedure at 8:30 and was secured at the pier by 9am, right on time.

                          The linemen on the pier are receiving the ship's lines to secure us.

        I had a tour scheduled for this morning at 9:45.  It was a tour of a local market then walk to a restaurant where I was to learn how to prepare paella and then have lunch.  But I canceled it as needed to finish packing.

        Rebecca did her treadmill time as usual then we began packing our one last piece of luggage.  It was a 2 1/2 hour stressful time for both of us.  She kept saying she would not be able to get everything in that bag.  So we crammed some stuff in some of the already packed bags.  It was about 1:15 when we were confident that all would fit in.  We have our two carry-ons to pack after dinner and tomorrow morning.  She did a practice pack with her carry on.  Mine is mostly ready to go but have to add bathroom things I will need in the morning to get ready.

        

        These are the bags we are shipping back to the house with Luggage Forward.  I reweighed them and all right at 40 pounds (we were allowed 50 in each).  I then had to attach the shipping tags to the top handle with zip ties.  They told us we could not lock the bags in case Customs wanted to open one.  But would could use zip locks to lock them, which fortunately, I brought.  The Luggage Forward instructions said they should arrive at the house June 6th to 8th.

        We will also have to have our other 4 pieces of luggage out in the hallway by 10pm so all 8 can be offloaded upon arrival in Barcelona tomorrow morning.  These last 4 bags will be going with us on the airplane.  They are all between 46 to 48 pounds (limit is 50 pounds).  We will do that after dinner.  There is a Beatles Dance Dance Party at 9pm but not going.

                          So after packing I went up to deck 12 and took some photos of Alicante.

                                                       Long pier to drive to get to town.

                                       Santa Barbara Castle, an old fortress, on top of the hill.

        This is tonight's Compass Rose menu.  However last night I asked Benjie if I could have Chef Anees (Sette Mari chef) make me a veal parmesan and have it sent down to Compass Rose.  At lunch Chef Anees came to our table with a big smile and said he would be happy to do it for me.  Love him!!

        

        Our World Cruise will be ending tomorrow morning upon arrival in Barcelona, Spain.  We should be docked by 7am and then the massive task of unloading all the luggage begins.  In the terminal it will be sorted into areas according to our colored bag tags so we can find it easier.  The ship gives our colored tags according to how soon people need off so as to catch flights.  As we are not flying out tomorrow we will be last ones off.  

        We still should be off the ship by 9am if all goes well.  We will grab a porter and collect all 8 of our bags so as to clear Spanish Customs with them.  Once through Customs we will drop the Luggage Forward bags with their representative to be shipped by DHL.  Then we will get a taxi to take us to the Barcelona Hilton.  Our flight is not until the next morning.  Sounds easy but things never seem to go as planned.  Fingers and toes crossed for tomorrow.

        I have our alarm set for 6am with room service breakfast at 7:00.  Rebecca does not like to be rushed in the mornings.  It takes her a while to do her hair.  We are supposed to vacate our suites by 8:00 or shortly thereafter so they can be cleaned for the passengers embarking at noon tomorrow.

        We were supposed to depart at 4pm but but Captain Abhi said we will be departing a little early.  We were scheduled to be docked in Barcelona at 7am but he is doing a high speed run of 19 knots tonight so as to arrive an hour earlier to facilitate getting our luggage and us off ASAP.

        There will be another post tomorrow from the hotel.