I didn't take the time after my last post from the Mariner to keep up with seamail. Anyway, I really did hate to have to leave the ship after 21 days. Met a lot of nice new people, one couple we had dinner with are clients of BK and may be interested in ROAR 3 in time, if anything opens up. I hope they start posting on LCT!

Sometime during the cruise when we were still on the Amazon, I got an invitation for tea with Captain Felice in his quarters, so that was the perfect opportunity to present him with the DRAGON pins Ngaire sent with me to fill out his collection. It was really nice, there were just 5 guests, 3 of the solo travelers, and the parents of one of them. It was a delightful time, and I think the Captain is using this as an opportunity to meet and spend time (maybe more with solo guests) with more passengers where he can still be right next to the bridge. He was truly bound to the bridge for a great part of the cruise starting with the trip down to Antarctica, and continuing on the Amazon. Pilots aboard alot. He explained to us the diffulties of the Amazon, as the topography underwater is constantly shifting, so a Pilot and the latest set of charts and keen attention are a must. No buoy lights or visible navigational aids in the water here. Terry Breen was also there, and added some great Brazilian lore to the mix. She is truly a remarkable and knowlegable woman, and I enjoyed many of her lectures on TV late at night or in snippets during the day. Now she is off the ship for some time off, and will rejoin the Navigator when the Alaskan season starts. Back to the DRAGON pins, as it was time to leave,I went into my purse to take them out, and the darn thingc had attracted several safety pins and it was rather embarrassing to sit there picking them off! They even de-magnetized my room key! Felice said he likes those magnets because they are so strong! One of them went straight to the wall beside his desk, and the others he added to a box he keeps for his daughter, collecting them for her in all the ports he can get off the ship. She's eleven, truly the apple of his eye, and will be joining him later in the sumer season to spend some time with him on the ship. And she has told him clearly that she does NOT want to be known as the Captain's daughter!

I also really enjoyed Florian the F&B manager, what a charmer he is! He joined us after dinner in CR the last night for a glass of wine, and we just had a great time. He's off the ship now, or maybe after the charter, for some needed time off, and on his way to French Polynesia.

I'm sorry I didn't get to know Anthony the GM a bit more, but a couple of attempts for dinner just didn't work scheduling-wise for either of us. For the time I was on, Anthony was hosting a dinner with guests almost every night. I finally told him once in CC that I thought he needed a night off! He said "I took one, last night!"

Debarkation was slow, as it often is in FLL with the Longshoremen thing. I made it to the airport on a Regent transfer in plenty of time, but some people were a little more nervous than they needed to be. Curbside luggage check in for $2 a bag plus tip, and you are done, no lines. We had cleared customs in St. Thomas. Easy, easy.

The staff had been preparing for days for a big health inspection, as well as the charter coming on that promised a lot of partying people (younger demographic) from some company, can't remember which one. Frank del Rio was coming aboard with Mark Conroy and other suits, I don't know if just for a few hours, or whether they were staying for the 5 day charter.

Peggy and Jerry and I and another couple walked over to the Navigator while in St. Thomas and paid a visit. I have many great memories of my first cruises ever on her, and was impressed with the refurbishments everywhere there were changes made! Prime 7 is small, but handsomely appointed. I already knew the space it was occupying, so no surprises there. On the whole, the Navigator is just a more intimate ship, as it holds so many less passengers, and I look forward to getting back on someday in the future.

Of course, I can't comment on the vibration issue, as we were in port.

All in all, it was a fantastic cruise! Plenty of time to relax on sea days, or you could stay busy all day with all the activities aboard. Trivia competetion was pretty tight, but our LCT team triumphed more often than not!