October 29, 2008 – At Sea

The temperature has dropped to a comfortable level in the low 80’s and the seas were calm as we exited the Straits of Hormuz and entered the Arabian Sea for our 2 day sail to Mumbai. There was the usual array of lectures, a cooking demonstration and games. Shortly after noon we were buzzed by a fighter jet and it happened so quickly that most guests only heard it and didn’t see it and we think it was a U.S. Navy F-18. The Portofino restaurant switched the menu to Indian food from today and through Mumbai. A group of 8 of us had a reservation and the meal was excellent. It was even spicy, not dumbed down the way they usually do. Captain John McNeill was originally scheduled to be replaced in Mumbai by Jarle Jensen but Jarle had a motorcycle accident and broke an ankle. Next John was scheduled to be replaced in Cape Town by Fabrizio and then this evening he was told he’d stay on until Ft Lauderdale, much to the joy of all the guests. John has been extremely popular and is around talking to guests constantly.

After dinner, as an alternative to the normal show, the astronomer lecturer Norman Caisse hosted a star watch on deck 12 forward. The lights were turned out on that deck and Norman used his “2 mile laser” pen to point out various stars and constellations. The laser shoots a beam of green light to 2 miles distance so he could easily point out the stars for us and it was quite informative. A break even night at the blackjack table finished the evening on a good note.

October 28, 2008 – Fujairah, UAE

We docked an hour early at 11:00am in Fujairah, UAE under hot cloudless sky however the sand was blowing around making it look like a fog. The temperature hovered around the 100 degree mark that we’ve become accustomed to. There were many oil & natural gas tankers anchored off shore. This was a short stop of only 6 hours and we didn’t find an excursion that interested us so we took the shuttle bus into the LuLu Mall. This area is mountainous, dry and dusty. There were goats wandering in the streets and it looked like a small Central American town. There were only a few modern buildings. The mall was very small and took almost 15 minutes to see it all. I did find some Turkish coffee beans and Iranian saffron to take home with me. We had been told in advance that there wasn’t much here so we weren’t disappointed in what we saw.

The evening dress code was country club casual (CCC) and we sailed shortly after 6:00 under a night sky, heading for Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India. We’ll have two sea days on the way. We had dinner with Dodi Bacon, the Desktop Publisher, a friend from previous cruises, then attended the “Las Vegas” show in the theater and finally spent some time &money in the casino before retiring for the night.

October 27, 2008 – Abu Dhabi, UAE

The clocks had been moved forward one hour so our 8:00am arrival in Abu Dhabi seemed early. With no shore excursion booked we waited until the inevitable rush was over and caught the 10:30 shuttle bus. We drove along the Corniche (waterfront promenade) with the skyscrapers on one side and the beautiful waterfront with clear water and white sand beaches on the other. There seems to be miles of pristine beaches all set up for recreation and swimming with shade umbrellas scattered everywhere. The skyscrapers are no different than in the past few ports. I wonder if the Sultanates, Kingdoms & Emirates all use the same architects and window glass suppliers. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE and is using its oil money to become the cultural center of the Middle East. The city was extremely clean as was Muscat and all of these places are reportedly crime free. This city had a more diverse collection of women’s abayas (the long black robes which cover all except hands and heads.) Not as many had complete head & face cover as in Qatar and many had abayas embossed with crystal or silver & gold thread. Those without the face covered usually had designer sunglasses. A lot of the men wore white robes with white headgear.

The bus dropped us off at the Marina Mall, another beautifully designed mall with marble flooring throughout. Again, most of the stores were upscale and prices were comparable to the US. The grocery stores in all of the malls we visited the past few days have produce sections unmatched in America. Products are imported from all over. In the meat department they had lamb from at least 8 different countries. The only thing missing is wine & beer. It’s a sightseeing tour just to visit these grocery stores. About ½ kilometer from the mall, along the Corniche, is the Heritage Village which depicts pre oil Abu Dhabi. It includes a Bedouin camp complete with camel, Arabian horse & donkey, souk, handicraft making rooms and an excellent but small museum covering early Abu Dhabi history. One of the buildings had a pre air conditioning cooling tower which is a square tower (about 4 ft wide on each side) rising above the roof and extending down into the room below. Wet burlap or cloth sheets are hung on the sides and the air passing through is cooled by the moisture and naturally falls down the tower into the room. There is a noticeable temperature difference below the tower. We’ve seen these towers in all stops since Dubai.

We walked both ways between the mall and Village in the 100 degree heat and were glad to get back to the mall’s air conditioning. We found an Iranian restaurant and had excellent humus, soup and lamb for lunch. Before the meal was served we were given 2 pizza size pieces of pita type flat bread, olives, pickles and goat cheese. We were stuffed by the time we finished. The air was hazy as it has been in all the Middle East stops, making it hard to get really clear photographs.

Tonight was the Seven Seas Society cocktail party and the dress was informal. We were invited to the Doctor’s table and had a blast. There were only 3 couples (we’re friends with the other two) with the Doctor who is from Denmark. He has a wonderful sense of humor and we laughed the entire meal. We were the last to leave the restaurant and had missed most of the show so we went to the casino where Pat started giving away money to the dealer. I went to the “Liars Club” in Galileo and when I returned to the Casino, Pat had recouped her losses and made an additional $100.00. Overall it was a good evening.

October 26, 2008 – Qatar

We docked in Doha, Qatar at 8:00 and waited 1½ hours for clearance. This port has been the most restrictive so far, expensive visas were required and it appeared that Qatar doesn’t really want tourists. This is Regent’s first stop here and may be its last. We had to carry passports and going through the immigration lines in the terminal took longer than it does in the US for foreigners. We weren’t interested in the few excursions offered so took the shuttle to the city. There is massive construction here just like the other cities we visited recently only Doha competes with Dubai in the amount of new buildings going up. In all of the cities we’ve visited the buildings take all shapes and forms; some twisting and some with sections jutting out is strange directions and seeming to defy gravity. There is a massive amount of green and blue widow glass throughout the Middle East.

We were dropped off at the city center mall and, with construction everywhere, we couldn’t walk away from there. Anyone taking a taxi somewhere had to return to the mall for the shuttle bus because taxis weren’t allowed in the port. Pat found a salon to get manicure, pedicure and haircut, all for $68.00 which is about the cost of a manicure only on the ship. I got to explore the mall and noticed that more women here wear the head covering with only eye slits or full veil that they can see through. It’s much like Saudi Arabia that way. As with our previous stops the mall was huge and modern with a lot of shops. There were mainly fast food restaurants and no alcohol available. We did have a tasty Lebanese lamb kabob before taking the bus back to the ship. There were a lot of complaints about the stop and the Captain is going to recommend to Regent that next year’s cruise bypass Qatar. Our team extended its winning streak at trivia (we’ve only lost 3 times since Athens.) The sun set at 5:00 so it was dark when we sailed for Abu Dhabi at 7:00. We had a nice dinner with a friend from previous cruises, skipped the show and donated some money to the casino’s coffers before retiring for the night.

October 25, 2008 – Manama, Bahrain

We arrived at the dock in Manama at 9:00 and the ship was cleared by 10:00. We were greeted by musicians, men in Arabic robes dancing in a circle, a table serving Arabic coffee and sweets and 2 men with their falcons which we could hold and photograph. It was another hot, humid and hazy day and we opted to take the shuttle bus into the city to roam on our own. Unlike the Emirate cities, Manama has dirt & litter laying around, the busses were worn and the city isn’t as organized looking. There are a few modern skyscrapers like in Dubai, but the entire city’s worth of them would fit into 2 city blocks in Dubai. We were dropped off at the souk area which consisted of narrow streets lined with small shops. There were some gold and spice shops however the majority looked like Mexican border town stores selling Dollar Store seconds. It was rather underwhelming and we returned to the ship for lunch after walking around for an hour. I’m sure there would be much more of interest to see if we had more time.

This evening there was a special complimentary event for all guests. We were taken by bus for a 45 minute ride to the Formula I race track where we were on levels 4 & 5 of the VIP tower. That’s the tower for royals and dignitaries but We didn’t hob nob with any of them because we were the only ones there. It is a beautiful modern facility and we were greeted with wine, cocktails, and snacks. The rooms were circular with balconies surrounding them to give views of all areas of the track. After about 45 minutes of socializing and gawking we were treated to an exhibition race (not formula I cars) with 6 cars doing about 7 laps. It was at night so we couldn’t see the cars well but it was a fun experience anyway. We returned to the ship for a pool deck BBQ that was one of the best I’ve had on Regent (which says a lot because they are always spectacular.) There was everything from sushi & sashimi to salads to cold seafood bar to numerous grilled meats and on and on and on. It was a real treat. The band played during dinner and then picked up the pace with a couple of hours of dancing to the band and Regent singers. Cody, of course, got us all hopping. The LCT group boarding in Cape Town is really going to enjoy the new format.

This cruise segment is port intensive – a port each day for the first 6 days and then 2 sea days before Mumbai. Sorting and loading photos on the Shutterfly link takes time and will not keep up daily with this blog, but they’ll be there soon.

October 24, 2008 – Dubai, UAE

It was another hot, sunny and hazy day in Dubai. The haze is a norm here due to humidity and sand rather than pollution. We joined some friends in the morning and took the shuttle bus to the Deira City Centre mall, a bit older than Mall of the Emirates but just as upscale and it only had 370 stores. Both of these malls are loaded with every imaginable type of shop and have a huge grocery/department store similar to a large Wal-Mart. We only bought some pistachio nuts and a couple of birthday cards and returned to the ship for lunch. Back at the harbor we saw in operation one of the dredges they use to reclaim land and it was spewing wet sand from the harbor floor to the land. Everyone had to be on board by 3:00 so we didn’t venture back to town. Lifejacket drill for new guests was at 4:15 and the Captain’s welcome cocktail party was at 6:30 on this first formal night of this segment.

Today was our friend Harry Hufford’s birthday and we and two other couples joined Harry & Jan for cocktails and dinner. The after dinner show was a jazz clarinetist and following the show we spent some time staying even in the casino. The ship sailed at 10:00pm for Bahrain.

October 23, 2008 – Dubai, UAE

Today 260 guests depart and 220 embark. In Dubai archaeologists have found evidence of settlements from the 3rd millennium BC, but modern Arabic settlement dates from 1832. Dubai’s oil will run out in approximately 15 years so the Sultan began an aggressive plan to create a modern tourist and financial center. Construction is rampant and everywhere with skyscrapers of modern, unique and innovative design are everywhere. Supposedly, one third of the world’s cranes are in Dubai. 80 percent of the population is expatriate and that includes all laborers and they cannot own property or become citizens.

We joined 2 other couples in a private van to explore the city. We started with the old city where there is an excellent museum in an old fort and the exhibits range from 3000 BC to present. The Creek, which looks more like a river runs through the city and in one section we saw hundreds of wood and steel boats tied up 3 deep and loading every imaginable type of cargo. These aren’t really ships because they hold 400 tons or less. They take the cargo, which is uninsured, to Africa, India, Iran and other Middle East destinations. The road system hasn’t kept pace with construction and traffic is a nightmare. A monorail “Metro” is under construction and slated to open on 9/09/2009. Waterfront property is in demand so they are reclaiming land to build on and there are 2 islands shaped like palm trees with drooping fronds and each frond has water on each side. An Atlantis hotel just like the one in Nassau is on one of the palm islands. Under construction is the world’s tallest building with an even taller one to begin soon. After touring around 4 ½ hours 4 of us opted to be dropped off at the Mall of the Emirates. The mall is modern, has over 420 stores, an indoor snow ski slope and is filled with top European and American brands. English is spoken everywhere and clothing sizes are shown in US, EU and Arabic. Prices are comparable to the US. We took a taxi back to the ship and planned to meet for dinner and go back to town to the gold souk afterwards but decided we were too tired for the souk. A couple who just joined the ship had also been on the Antarctica cruise with us in February so we joined them for dinner and stayed on the ship.

October 22, 2008 – Dubai, UAE

It was hot and hazy as we sailed in to Dubai’s harbor where we docked behind the Silver Whisper at noon and, by 2:00, the ship was cleared for guests to go ashore. We left at 3:30 for a “Dune Dinner Safari” in 4 wheel drive vehicles. We had a 45 minute drive through the commercial part of the city to the sand dunes. We climbed the first hill to stop for a drink of water or soda while the drivers deflated the tires to 15 psi to get better traction in the sand. Off we went for a wild ride up, down and around the dunes, sometimes wondering if the vehicle would flip on its side. Many of the dune hills are high and steep and we traveled at breakneck speeds, sliding from side to side. Paul Simon’s song “Slip Sliding Away” came to mind. We made a stop in the middle of nowhere at a spot with oriental rugs on the sand and were served champagne, strawberries and roasted nuts. It was windy with fine grained sand blowing everywhere, including into our champagne glasses, so we dubbed the concoction “sandpagne.” We got back in the cars and continued our wild ride, seeing camels & gazelles in the wild.

At dusk we came to our “oasis” in the desert. It was a fabric walled, open roof compound with dinner tables set on oriental rugs in the center and open tents around the edges with activities. We could sample Arabic coffee, get a henna tattoo, put on Arabic dress for photographs, smoke a water pipe and enjoy beer, wine and humus. Just outside we could ride a camel or sand board. The meal was excellent with grilled lamb, lamb chops, chicken, steak and a lot more. It was a real Regent style meal with unlimited wine. After dinner Pat & I tried our luck at sand boarding on the lighted slope. It was a standard snow board, but we didn’t strap in, just put our feet against the foot holders. On sand you only go straight down and, if you fall, it’s a soft dry landing. A belly dancer put on an energetic show for us before we got in our cars for the return. Once we made it to level ground we stopped for the drivers to pump up the tires. We got back to the ship around 10:00, showered the sand off ourselves and went to sleep.

October 21, 2008 – Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

We arrived in Muscat before 8:00am and didn’t expect the view we had. We’ve never been here before and expected the flat desert sand landscape we’ve been seeing the past several ports. This time we were greeted by a circular port ringed by bare rock mountains which had several Portuguese forts guarding the port. Modern buildings surrounded the port and some luxury yachts were at anchor and the Sultan’s yacht is almost as large as the navigator. The skies were clear and the temperature already high.

At 9:00am we joined 5 others in a minivan for a dolphin watching & snorkeling excursion. The roads to the marina were beautifully landscaped with sculptures in every roundabout and the roads were totally free of litter. This is a very clean and safe country. We got on our boat and headed a few miles out into the Gulf on Oman where we saw numerous groups of dolphins, usually 30 or more at a time. Spinner, bottlenose and “local” dolphins are in abundance and the spinners jump in a twisting motion out of the water. It was windy and a bit rough, but lots of fun. We then headed to a cove for an hour of snorkeling. While the reef wasn’t one of the colorful ones, the fish were very colorful and varied and the sea snakes were supposedly harmless. The water was a bit choppy but comfortably warm, probably around 85 degrees F, and quite comfortable. On the way back to the ship from the marina we made several diversions for photos, including the 16th century Portuguese fort and the relatively new Sultan’s palace, one of 7 in the country. We had planned to take a quick shower and go in to town to explore the souk, but we found out that the shuttle busses stopped from 1:00 to 4:00 since everything closes during that time. We could have taken the 4:00 shuttle and returned on the last one at 5:00 if we wanted to spend a rushed ½ hour there so we stayed on the ship. There will be many more souks in the next several days.

It was formal night and Captain’s farewell party and, before dinner, 8 of us had a group portrait taken and each couple had photos as well. We joined Wolf & Cheryl, a couple we’ve known from several cruises, for dinner in Portofino, which has reverted to Italian/Mediterranean cuisine. Formal nights are difficult in the Compass Rose because everyone heads in at the same time and Portofino offers a more relaxed setting. The evening show was Ballroom Bravo with the Regent singers, dancers & orchestra accompanied by the Ukrainian ballroom dance couple. It was one of the best shown we’ve seen and the new format is really positive. Following the show we joined friends in Galileo for after dinner drinks and conversation.

October 20, 2008 - At Sea

The temperature was down and the wind was up under sunny skies on this 5th straight sea day. After a lecture on what to do in Dubai, we went to the pool deck lunch cookout which was Arabian and quite delicious. I did some work on photos and finally set up a personal website for this cruise’s photos at:

http://bittl2008discoverycruise.shutterfly.com

After that was accomplished we attended chocoholic tea time and again won trivia. I think the other teams are getting a bit ruffled by us. There will be a good turnover of segment guests in Dubai, so we’ll have some new fish in the pond.

After Dinner we saw the show which was the Regent Singers & Orchestra doing a tribute to jazz. These guys are good. We opted for an early night because we leave the ship early the next morning in Muscat, Oman for a whale watching and snorkeling excursion.

October 19, 2008 - At Sea and Salalah Oman

Although we will have a 3 hour stop in Salalah, Oman, this will essentially be a sea day. We dock at 4:00pm and at 5:30 there will be a pool deck party with the officers serving cocktails & caviar while we look over the side at the crew unloading 3 containers and moving the provisions onboard. The officers will serve because the normal deck crew will be working on the dock. The temperature was in the mid 80’s so we had “grillades” on the pool deck. Fish, pork chops, steak, chicken & bratwurst were cooked on the grill and went well with chardonnay under smooth seas and sunny skies.

Following an interesting afternoon lecture we went on deck to watched sailing into Salalah harbor and docking next to our 3 containers. We went to afternoon tea, won trivia again and went back out on deck again to watch some of the container unloading. It was interesting that the Captain, Hotel Mgr and F&B Mgr were on the dock unloading pallets and passing boxes to crew on the gangway. None of the crew were on the dock so it must have been some stevedore restriction. The only locals seemed to be the fork lift operators. The tide was low and the ballast was shifted to the water side to lift the ship’s hold door closer to the dock level. We got dressed for dinner and went back on deck for the caviar & cocktail party. The deck was decorated with balloons and the band was playing. The containers were unloaded and provisions on board by 7:15pm and we headed out to sea again.

We had a fun dinner with friends, didn’t care for the entertainer so played a bit of blackjack and finally went to the Stars Lounge for “English Pub Night.” There were pub style decorations & English ales and the band & singers played Beatles tunes from 10:30 til midnight.

October 18, 2008 - At Sea

It was a windy day at sea, too windy to walk the deck even. The Captain announced that the stop in Aden delayed us enough that we will only have 3 hours in Salalah and we would normally have cancelled the stop except for the fact that there are 3 provisioning containers there for us and they can’t be moved to the next port. We’ll dock at a commercial port 20 km from the city and it’s not practical to run shuttle busses for that short a stop. There really isn’t anything to see there except for Job’s Tomb. We attended a couple of lectures, Pat placed 3rd in the blackjack tournament and our team won trivia again. The natives (guests) haven’t revolted yet but we’re waiting for boos & hisses when we win some more. We had dinner with some friends we met on last year’s South America cruise and went to the show to see a very entertaining magician. Following that we went to the Galileo Lounge where Cody, the lead singer for the ship’s theater group, sang and the band played 50’s rock music for dancing. It was a lot of fun and when they shut down at midnight, we spent some time at the blackjack table before retiring for the night.

October 17, 2008 - At Sea

We had another hot day sailing the Red Sea and the water was quite smooth. There have been pool deck cookout lunches but, at around 100 degrees temperature, most people eat inside. We attended a couple of interesting lectures before lunch and after lunch had a session with our Circle of Interest photographer Ken Haas to review our photographs and get suggestions. Since we will be passing near Somalia while passing from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, preparations were being made behind the scenes in case any pirates may try something. The pirates didn’t try anything so far as we know. Pat continued her winning ways be placing 3rd in today’s progressive blackjack tournament and our team again won at trivia. Martha & Steve Southerd, part time Naples residents, invited us with 3 other couples to their suite for cocktails followed by a pre ordered lobster dinner in the Compass Rose. During the dinner the Captain made an announcement that during the night we would be making a stop at Aden to send a guest to a hospital. For the second night in a row we closed down the restaurant and missed the show. We came out slightly ahead in Blackjack before retiring for the night.

October 16, 2008 - At Sea

We turned our clocks forward one hour and enjoyed the first of 3 sea days where we can rejuvenate our tired bodies and enjoy some lectures and pool deck lunch cookouts. As it turned out, the outside temperature was 106 degrees F so we went to the Compass rose for a light lunch. The ship’s air-conditioning failed mid afternoon so it was like a sauna inside. Pat has been playing in the progressive blackjack tournament and she won today’s round and collected $120.00 or her effort. The Seven Seas Society (guests who have sailed on Regent previously) was held before diner. We joined two other couples for dinner and closed down the Compass Rose. Since we had missed most of the show, we went to the casino where Pat won $400.00. We turned the clocks forward 1 hour and went to bed late.

October 15, 2008 – Luxor Egypt

This morning we had a buffet breakfast where we could choose from American, Japanese and Egyptian styles of food. We checked out of the hotel and at 8:00am took a 15 minute ride to the Karnak Temple which is the heart of the cult of the god Amon. The temple spans 50,000 square feet, has 134 massive columns and had additions from each pharaoh over 2000 years. There is still some traces vivid color paint on some upper arches. There is also a 97 foot high obelisk of Queen Hatshepsut, carved from a solid piece of pink granite. There is a considerable amount of broken and toppled statuary and columns needing restoration. During the 3 hour drive back to Safaga we stopped mid way to change security guards on the busses and several children from the village on the other side of the highway came to say hello. They were dressed in colorful Bedouin clothing and they clustered around the last two busses where we happened to be. We were able to get off the bus and photograph them.

220 guests all arrived at the dock at the same time and we were greeted by the Captain, senior officers, stewardesses and others with the band playing music on the dock to keep us happy while we endured the long line boarding the ship. We sailed away while eating a late lunch on the pool deck. After a leisurely dinner we enjoyed a magician show and went to bed, quite exhausted after 3 days of intense walking.

October 14, 2008 – Safaga & Luxor, Egypt

Regent had a complimentary excursion for those of us sailing on the full cruise. We docked in Safaga, Egypt to visit Luxor and The Valley of the Kings. Those on just cruise segments had a complimentary day trip to the area or option to overnight for a charge at a different hotel from us. Most of the ship went and the planned 7:30 am departure was over an hour late due to the number of people and the filling of 15 or so busses. All the busses left at the same time in an armed police escorted convoy and each bus had a “police guard” on board. Tourism is Egypt’s second largest source of revenue after the Suez Canal and they don’t want terrorist interference. Because of security concerns, the 3 hour trip was made without a toilet stop. There were toilets in the busses, but the uneven road surface made using them a challenge. We arrived in Luxor more than an hour behind schedule so our visit to the Luxor Temple was cut a bit short. It was overcrowded with tourists and that made the visit less enjoyable than Petra. Also, our guide tended to go into such historical detail that we didn’t see all we could have (and we forgot most of what she said anyway.) We went to the Sonesta Hotel for a buffet lunch that had a good selection on Egyptian foods. We got back on the busses and went to The valley of the Kings where all of the pharaohs tombs are located. We visited only 3 of the tombs, including Ramses VI and Ramses IX, and we were highly impressed with the vivid colors still on the walls and ceilings. The rooms and walkways were heavily decorated with the hieroglyphics detailing the pharaohs’ lives and afterlives. We only had about 15 minutes in each tomb, but the views were spectacular.

We left the valley and stopped for a 15 minute photo op of the Hatshepsut Temple, a massive building of a series of grand terraces extending up a cliff, with rows of square granite columns blending in with the mountainside. Following that we made a short photo stop at the Colossi of Memnon which are two 75 foot high, 1000 ton statues of Amenhotep III. The faces were obliterated and the statues were in poor shape. Most of the statues in temples had the faces chiseled away by religions in later years who were afraid of the spirits represented by the statues. We then returned to the Sonesta to check in and refresh ourselves before our dinner event.

We joined 8 of our friends in the hotel bar for cocktails before boarding busses for the ½ hour journey to the Habu Temple. This was a special event for only those of us on the full cruise and about 80 of us attended the dinner. It was dark as we arrived, under a full moon, and we walked between rows of lit oil lamps and young men dressed in pharaohonic garb holding torches while music balred from speakers. Just inside the temple we were greeted with fruit juice cocktails to enjoy while we marveled at the views of the interior walls. Next we proceeded to the main hall, which had no roof, where tables of 8 were set for dinner. The temperature was very comfortable with a clear night sky of stars and the full moon above us. A classical trio played music for our dinner pleasure. The food had been prepared by the Sonesta hotel and served on their china. The waiters were dressed in clothing of the period of the temple’s heyday. The decorations were exquisite and we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening in that delightful location.

October 13, 2008 – Aqaba, Jordan

The alarm went off at 3:00am and we left the ship with 13 other people to drive 2 hours from Aqaba to the ancient city of Petra. Petra had been occupied since Neolithic periods, later by the Edomites from around 1200 BC and finally occupied by the Nabataeans around the 5th & 6th centuries BC. By the 4th century BC it became the center of Nabataean culture and a crossroad and watering center for the spice traders from China, Greece, Egypt & India. The archaeological area we explored was actually the Nabataean burial area and not accessed by the spice caravans. Petra is situated in a sandstone cliff area and the Nabataeans were obviously skilled in sandstone carving before arriving t Petra. They carved from the top down so that falling slabs wouldn’t ruin any finished areas. The burial chambers and tombs are carved into the sides of the cliffs and some are several stories high. The entry to the area is along a high walled valley carved out by the annual rains & floods over millions of years. The Nabataeans developed a sophisticated system of water channels and cisterns to carry then through the 9 month dry period. It was a magnificent site and we were fortunate to enter it just before sunrise and view the most important structures before the throngs of tourists arrived 3 hours later. The visit involved over 3 miles of walking downhill and the same distance back up the same route. Donkeys, camels and horse carriages were available for hire, but you would miss too much that way. Some areas have extremely colorful striping’s of color in the sandstone with colors ranging from brown to yellow to red to blue to purple and mixes of the colors. It was a truly exceptional experience. After 6 hours of walking, viewing and photographing, we were taken to the Movenpick hotel for a delicious Middle Eastern buffet lunch. We returned to the ship around 4:00pm and were so stiff & sore that we took a good soak in the whirlpool. After dinner we had an early night because departure the next morning was at 7:30 for an overnight excursion.

October 12, 2008 - At Sea

We slept soundly through the night and missed the reboarding of the groups that overnighted in Cairo – they didn’t return until around 2:00am. The sea was calm and we awoke to a clear sunny day in the Red Sea. At breakfast there was a self serve caviar setup in the restaurant. We had pre booked a “Circle of Interest” excursion where we have some photography seminars with Ken Haas and then will be accompanied by him to Petra on Monday. More about that in the next post. At today’s seminar we learned very little on camera techniques and watched a multitude of offshore oil rigs and onshore refineries pass by on both sides. We docked in Aqaba, Jordan around 9:00pm. Aqaba is on the Red Sea and the Israeli city of Eilat is next to it, separated by a small strip of land. Israelis and Jordanians regularly cross the border to tour each other’s tourist sites. After dinner there was a pool deck showing of a tribute to The Three Tenors (filmed in Rome in 1990.) It was in honor of the 1 year anniversary of Pavarotti’s death. We watched some of it and went to bed early since we have to get up at 3:00am tomorrow.

October 11, 2008 – Suez Canal

Today we entered the Suez Canal before 6:00am. We stood on Deck 12 above the bridge and watched quite a show as several small boats came along side to board pilots and other “officials.” We will have to tie up in a parallel canal, a canal version of a rail siding, while the northbound convoy passes. The Egyptians require an open boat to pull the ropes to the buoys and, since we don’t have one on board, we had to hoist a small one a couple of feet out of the water and carry it with us. The safety officer required that the 2 men in the boat have life vests so two were passed to them. One almost fell overboard while doing that. It was a far more entertaining show than a sitcom. We arrived at a waiting spot around 10:30am and tied up to the shore – literally. There are bollards sticking out of the sand for the ropes and the ship is pulled up against the underwater bank, much like pulling into a dock. While tied up, a tug type boat came alongside demanding cigarettes and the officers ignored them, so they tried ramming the ship causing damage only to their boat. The captain announced that we are ship number 3 in the convoy and the captain negotiated with the pilot to be able to jump ahead of the others in a lake area to get to the Suez port sooner to pick up guests who had an overnight in Cairo. That will still be around 11:00pm. The Suez is nicknamed the “Marlboro Canal” due to the exorbitant supply of cigarettes and liquor needed to pay bribes to get through the canal. It is reputedly the most expensive passage in terms of bribes in the world.

During the wait our team again won trivia. We were late heading back into the canal and the sun had set so we missed the scenery. The mosques along the shore were all lit up with green fluorescent lighting. We joined a group in the Galileo lounge for drinks and then went to the Compass Rose for dinner where 6 of us at the table had pre ordered seared fois gras. Instead of the standard one piece appetizer, they brought out a tray of it so we each had 4 or 5 pieces – it was heavenly. After dinner we watched the ship’s production group show and then went to bed.

October 10, 2008 – Alexandria, Egypt

We arrived in Alexandria, Egypt around 7:00am to a bright sunny day. A large portion of the guests took either a full day or an overnight trip to Cairo and the Pyramids. We had seen them previously so we stayed local and took a 3 hour tour of Roman Alexandria. The tour included the underground catacombs, a Roman amphitheater and Pompey’s Pillar. There were only about 12 of us on the tour, but there was security guy with us who looked like a secret service agent, wearing a brown suit and sunglasses. There are armed guards all around the city and the archaeological places have their own police force. After lunch on the ship we took the shuttle bus back into the city and walked around. We were constantly hounded by offers of taxi or horse & carriage tours. They have a hard time understanding the concept of “NO!” We won trivia again. We joined some friends for dinner, saw the show and went to bed.

What made this stop memorable for us is that, since Egypt is on the African continent, Pat & I have set foot on all 7 continents in 11 months, all while travelling on Regent.

October 9, 2008 – Rhodes, Greece

We docked in Rhodes at 8:30, but the ship wasn’t cleared until almost 10:00 and we had to be back on board at noon. We had a leisurely stroll through the beautiful walled part of the city which was crowded from several large cruise ships in port. There were multiple jewelry & tourist shops as well as tavernas and restaurants. Lunch was a Greek cookout on the pool deck followed by the standard at sea activities. Our trivia team from several cruises won with only 11 of 15 correct answers. The evening dress code was formal, we skipped the Captain’s welcome party and had a fun dinner in the Portofino restaurant with 2 other couples. The show didn’t sound interesting so we played blackjack and came out even for the night.

October 7, 2008 – Athens, Greece

We left Miami Saturday afternoon October 6 and arrived in Athens the next day. We were met at the airport by a Regent representative who had a car to take us to the Marriott where we checked in and wandered around the area for the afternoon, had a Greek dinner at the hotel and got a good night’s sleep. On Monday we felt comfortable in the new time zone and had a full day tour of Athens with a side trip to the Temple of Poseidon 50 km down the coast. We stopped at a taverna in a small village for a marvelous Greek lunch. There were 8 cruise ships in port so our guide, Stelios took us to the Parthenon first toget in before the crowds. That was fortunate because by the time we left there were dozens of groups waiting to get in. We saw all the important sights in the area and had a most delightful day. We had noticed a nice looking restaurant by the hotel the previous day so we went there for a Greek dinner and we weren’t disappointed.

On Tuesday the 7th we transferred to the Grand Bretagne hotel where all on the full cruise were put up for the night. Since we got there before those arriving from the States that day we wandered around the Plaka, the old city, and had another fabulous Greek lunch. That evening there was a dinner for all of us to meet and greet, but it was a standard fillet & potato meal and everyone was hoping for a local style meal. There are 84 of us doing the full cruise and I know at least 60 of them from previous cruises so it’s quite a reunion.

On Wednesday our busses left the hotel at 9:30 to avoid the crowds that would gather at 10:00 for a public transit strike and we were given priority check in. Our rooms were ready by noon and we joined another couple for lunch in the marina area. The ship left at 5:oopm for Rhodes.