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.

DAY 141---PORT AT MOTRIL FOR GRANADA, SPAIN

        We arrived here a little late this morning.  Motril is the port city for Granada.  It is 65 degrees and cloudy here for our arrival.  By afternoon it was mostly sunny and 75.  Great day but looks like rain showers building further inland.

Historical/Background Info:

        This is another new port for us.  Motril is a port town on the Mediterranean coast.  It is the second largest town in the Granada province with a population of 60,500.  Greenhouse agriculture is important here.

        I assume this port of call is for tours to the city of Granada (population of 232,000) which is about 60 miles to the north in Spain’s Andalusia region.  Granada is the capital of the Granada province and lies at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains.  One of the most visited of Spain’s tourist sites is here, the Alhambra, a medieval citadel and palace.  The Granada area produces wheat, sugar cane, tabacco, olives, oranges, lemons, figs, almonds, and pomegranates.  Vineyards and wines are also a significant contributor to the city’s economy.

LAST EVENING

Terry Bishop is an incredible talent with his song writing, guitar playing, and production shows.

                                Terry taught a ukulele classes and they are part of tonight's show.

     The star of the show!  Marcia's poem was incredible and she is so talented to have composed it

                         Andrew, asst cruise director , and Ross, residence pianist, doing a number.

          Amaresh, Corporate Procurement Manager, joined us for dinner in Prime 7.  Ameresh began his career 27 years ago when he started as an assistant waiter.  He left the ships several years ago and moved to the corporate side of cruising.

                                               Our meats were not as good as usual tonight.

             Decadent 14 layer cake also not as good tonight.  Getting too picky so time to go home.

TODAY

        It is Sunday so I headed down to Compass Rose at 8am for my large order of caviar and eggs benedict.  I then stopped by to ask the Luggage Forward representative a few questions.  He had just come on board and wanted to take a shower so I had to wait a half hour while he freshened up.  Got my questions answered.

                                     This shot taken yesterday evening as the sun was setting.

                       The port at Motril is a commerical port with pier space for cruise ships.

        After my hour fast walk on deck 6 promenade I showered and took this shuttle to downtown.  Of course everything was closed as it is Sunday.

        The bus driver said he was not staying long before returning to the port so I jumped out and took these photos.  Above are interesting looking trees.  Not much to see or do as everything was closed on Sunday.  Most all the ship's tours headed up to Granada.

                    I wanted to get closer for a better shot of this cathedral but not enough time.

        I was back to the ship a half hour later.  Rebecca had started packing 1 or the 2 remaining pieces of luggage.  We headed up to La Verenda at noon for lunch.  I had chicken wings for the last time.  They were the best yet.

        After lunch we finished packing that bag she had started.  So now only one bag left to pack and we will wait until tomorrow for it.  She wants to workout again tomorrow morning so can't pack those shoes until after that.  They have to go in the bottom of the bag.

        So it's 2pm now and she is streaming last Friday's soaps.  I'm finishing the blog post and thinking about what I want to pack in my carry-on bag.

        There is to be an interdenominational church service at 5pm but is it a repeat service so we have decided not to attend.  The ship is sailing again at 5pm for Alicante, Spain, which is just 228 nm away.

        At 6pm is the last Krew Kappers show of this world cruise.  We will be attending for sure.  This crew has treated us so very nicely the past 141 days.  

        This is tonight's CR menu.  We will be dining here as I have requested fried calamari for our appetizer.  

        Tonight's headliner entertainers is the return of The 4 Stations for their second show.  We enjoyed their first show so will be attending.