5 PM - M&D were on deck 8 HS and moved up to deck 9 HS- I am very very happy in the HS but I LOVED the penthouse we had on Mariner, too - no need for butler - there is no laundry room on deck 7 so you have to go up a deck and all the way to other end of ship - German lunch served on pool deck - not one of my favorites BUT the LCT men seemed to love it! Today was a day where you just kept bumping into new and old friends - I read on HS balcony (it is very nice) and Tony took a power nap which is a first for him - he is at bingo and I am hanging on the Grand Concourse...again! We all are getting little nervous the 21st is closing in on us :eek: :eek: :eek:

Editing to say Thx, Marcie and Joanna!

Good to know! I've not been tempted by PH. Considering they are significantly larger on Mariner vs. standard (as compared to Voyager), perhaps should reconsider the "C" cabins. Butler is not a draw, either, IMHO.

The deck, and being able to close off the sleeping area .. is the temptation with the HS. We've had a "C" on Voyager with the large balcony. It was great, but did rattle/shimmy when other places were only rocking and rolling. That all depends on the sea conditions.

Cheers, Anne

whoops just realized Marcie had not signed off - of course I never bother to check before I post

Joanna...glad to know Tony is not napping in Marcie's HS :D

Keep the seamail coming - consider Petlover your nom de plume!

to all on the mariner
and to tom and marcie
sitting at home in toronto\
6 inches of snow
airport closed
21 day cruise starts tomorrow on navigator
think we will miss sailing!!
and we were leaving one day ahead
but the mess may not clear up

enjoy captain alfredo and say hello fro us ~!

Good morning from 6 hours to the equator.
Last night was a most excellent dinner with Carol and Ralph. Before we left for dinner, I was determined to have an early evening but we were having so much fun that that didn't work out!
Yet another gorgeous day on the ocean, I am so grateful that every single day so far has been smooth seas. That was one of my major concerns with this crossing, I pictured myself bobbing like a cork but that has not been the case.
This afternoon, I think I will forego my daily nap and attend the equator crossing at 3:00.
If anyone hears the Steeler score, Mark would be much obliged if you could post the results :)
Be back later.

Pittsburgh score at the half - Jacksonville 10 - Pittsburgh 7. Guess I could find you at the pool but I'm too lazy. LOL!

10:40 am - Yes another gorgeous day - there is water in the pool so I am headed there - had room service for b'fast as we "slept in" ...the little bedroom alcove in the HS is cozy and dark - had wonderful dinner with Valerie and Chuck last night in CR - we all are Valerie "fans" for the dance competition!!! Met Carol and Ralph & Mark and Karen & gang in ML before dinner for drinks AND after dinner drinks! That may have had something to do with "sleeping in" this am - I'll be back later too! Going to look for my "bake in the sun" GF, Karen -

LOL. Yep, Don & I are in HS 992. We had been waitlisted for a higher deck for a HS since the balconies are larger. It came through about a week before we boarded. I spend hours on the balcony sunbathing, taking photos, reading, & terrific stargazing at night! Editing to add: Yes, Olivia, the sunsets are incredible from our position on the ship. Have taken tons of photos trying to capture it just right.

Last night was so great for seeing stars near the equator one last time. I ran up to the Observation Deck to meet the young officers who had announced that they would be there for stargazing. They took us outside. They were having such a hard time seeing any stars. I laughed & said, "Perhaps we need to turn off the ship's running lights so that we can see them!!" They scurried off & had them turned off. Viola! Immediately, we were bathed in clusters of beautiful southern hemisphere stars! It was truly spectacular. Don has the funniest photos of us (Donna, Kathy, Jan B. & me) with our heads & arms up looking & pointing towards the sky! (Looks like we're wildly dancing!)
...... It will be SO HARD to leave this lovely cruise. Tonight, we'll be cheering like crazy for Valerie! You go girl!!

POOCH report on 11am game...Judith and Pat tied for first and at the rear of the kennel gnawing on a leg was...BETTY...She will be yipping at getting even at 2pm game.
Judith and Will, Ray and I closed down Signatures last night with awesome glasses of Port..
Tonight we will all be cheering Valerie on!!!

Hey if it keeps snowing in Toronto we may just have to stay on board until the snow melts....now wouldn't that be terrible

Karen and Mark - sorry to be the bearer of bad news - the final score is Jaguars 29, Steelers 22. The conditions were snowy and cold so you'd figure the Steelers should have won! The Browns played in snow as well and beat the Bills 8-0.

Dena

Thanks for the updates, Dena and Donna! I will have to break it to Mark gently!

POOCH winner at 2pm was southernlady better known as DONNA with a 106.....rear dognawer was Shirly.... again David poured a great wine.
For those who don't recognize David he is also knwn as.....

Waiting for the results from the first elimination round of the dance competition...

Our VALERIE is a finalist!!!! She was AWESOME! She and Igor were so hot. She did the swing with several acrobatic sets - rolls over Igor's back, slides between his legs,with a grand finale of Valerie performing a complete & incredible SPLIT!! The audience went wild. She & Igor were decked out in their tight t-shirts & jeans. SHE was so cool! LCTers were present & cheering like crazy. Congratulations Valerie! We're so proud of you!

Don & I had dinner with Valerie & Chuck after the show. We clapped as she entered Compass Rose. She was so cute - such a delicate shy person with a big heart. Chuck was so very proud of her! ...as we all are!!!

Kiwi Kruiser, aspiring sommelier!! Awesome to be getting the POOCH reports along with Dancing with the Stars. Thanks for reporting in, M&D and RPM for the reports.

POOCHers .. keep those score sheets! We must send them off to the POOCH kennelmasters, Leslie and Brad. Date and time them. Aww ... it would be so grand sharing space in that comfy, cozy kennel when those bets do not materialize.

Cheers, Anne

Valerie was AWESOME last night. What a dancer! We're all so proud of her. I admire all the contestants for getting up on that stage. They all looked so professional and have spent much of their free time preparing. Can't wait for the finals. GO VALERIE!!!!!

Woo hoo Valerie, she really was awesome! By far the most energetic of the lot! VALERIE for the win!!!!

It is so hard to believe that we only have 4 days left, the sea days have been so wonderful. I thought I would get antsy but just the opposite!

Here are some deep thoughts by Karen (and we all know they won't be very deep!!)
The new coffee bar is just a fantastic idea. I really like how it is a meeting place for everyone in the mornings. I also love the 3 computers in the hallway, you get to see everyone while sitting out here!
I have been on the ship for over 2 weeks now and I am hard pressed to find anything to complain about. Service and food are both top notch, as good as I remember it ever being. We were trying to think of something to special order but we just couldn't because everything we thought of has been served already! I LOVE the pool deck lunch themes. So far, some of the themes have been German day, French BBQ day (huge prawns and filets on the grill) Italian day, fresh fish day(with Mike, the head chef, fileting the fish in front of you to cook on the grill) and several other themes that I can't remember. They really do go all out to make sure each theme is fun and the weather has been great so we get to eat outside each day. I have not been to Compass Rose once for lunch, I much prefer the fresh air!
Ok, here is my ONLY complaint for the entire cruise and probably only me would care but oh my word, give us more tv channels!!!!! 2 weeks of the bow view of the ship and it's stats, a documentary channel which shows really good programs but 3 days straight of Michael Palin's Sahara last week drove me nuts. And then our only other channel is Fox News but with the time change, we get this Fox News program that I guess usually runs in in the middle of the night in the states called "Redeye", it is really an odd show.

Then of course we have the 3 movie channels and the ships excursion channel. I would kill for the Discovery channel or the History channel to be added to the line up! I have no idea how the ships system works but 2 weeks of Fox news is driving me bonkers.

Other than the TV channels, I really can not think of one thing that I would improve with this trip. I wonder if the wonderful group of LCTers that we have on this trip has made the experience so perfect and I would bet the answer to that is yes. Good friends, perfect service and delicious food, what more can I ask for? Maybe the SciFi channel ;)
That's it for now, the deep thoughts well has run dry!

Valerie is a star, no doubt - we all are very happy and excited about her performance she is a talented and beautiful woman! Sun out again yeah!! We had so many laughs at dinner last night with Pat and Ray and Paulette who is on ship doing cooking demonstrations and has written 13 cookbooks - she was telling us she left home in October and has been on Seabourn and HAL and now Regent - what a life. I had a delicious shrimp dish in a yummy sauce - we retired to ML for few more laughs and Kiwi Dave sat with us - we have had some problems for 2 days getting on Delta site wonder if the storms and flight problems are creating havoc - back on the Grand Concourse and as Karen said this area is a nice addition - Latte, LCT and sightings - nice way to start the morning - whoops sun just went in probably better than full sun which is very hot - more later :hello1:

Karen, loved your DEEP thoughts! As I remember part of the problem with the TV programing is satellite reception in the middle of the Pacific - not too many customers there so no service! I wonder if the new video service will solve that problem?

Anyway, it's great to hear all the positives and we all wish were were Lambs too!

We thoroughly enjoyed the dance competition last night. Valerie was truly a shining star and did fantastic. Most of the LCTers were sitting together and just cheered and cheered for her. I can hardly wait until the finals. On all our cruises I have NEVER seen Constellation theater so packed....such a great turn out. It was nice too that in the very beginning Barry made an honorable mention of Tom. Said something about him having to drop out due to back injury, even had him stand up and put the spot light on him.
One of the other finalist is a sweet gal that we've cruised with many times (Dotty) and she is our next door neighbor on this cruise (J & T are on the other side of us). RSSC spends thousand$ and thousand$ hiring entertainment when all they really needed was this to pack 'em in.

Yesterday was Neptune's equator crossing ceremony for pollywogs. That's always fun and entertaining. Today is the Country Fair on the pool deck where they have all the misc. booths set up like ring toss, throwing water balloons at the Capt. and officers etc. It looks like another pretty day on the pool deck.

Last night was a bit crazy for me. After dinner and laughs in Horizon Lounge I went to casino and played 3 card poker (not profitable!) then ended up all over the ship. Even was up in a friends' cabin on deck 9 to see some clothes she thought would fit me. Then it was Observation Lounge, then STARS. I think by then I was the only one from LAMB still up. Around midnight I called it a night. We moved the clocks up an hour last night so this morning we were dragging. Now I'm sitting on the Grand Concourse next to Joanna just catching up till the noon games begin. We still play Texas Hold'em every afternoon....always fun and we'll sure miss that. After my win the other day, I haven't come in the $ for a couple of days but Mark, Tom and Ralph all have.

Dinner last night with Karen, Mark, Jim and Jan and then out of no where Herb (our new friend we play poker with) came and joined us. I agree with everything Karen said...food, service and this entire cruise has been spectacular, especially the people!

Enough blabbing......

Well they tell me I should stop lurking and do a post or two. Having way too much fun on this cruise. Val last night was the best. Trying to figure out how to vote more than once for the finals. She is the star by far. Have never done a crossing or this many sea days. They are the best. Maybe Regent could do a cruise the goes out in the Pacific and just does circles for a week or two. Dinner with everyone are so much fun. Meeting and getting to know so many new friends is just the best. Poker in La Veranda in the afternoon, again lots of fun, much better than the casino. A good way to meet some folks that you would otherwise not meet. Verna, Frank Herb, All fun people to play poker with. It is also grest fun to play with Tom, the pushem in guy, and Mark.

The coffee area is truly a fantactic improvment to the experience.

Will close for now but can hardly wait for CAVIAR in the summer.
Ralph and Carol

Everyone, thanks for your great reports. So glad that the cruise is fantastic. Enjoy your last very days.

Nancy

Pat and Ray, you picked the perfect time to be away. They reported on the news yesterday that this has been the most snow for December since 1944. Enjoy the warmth while you can.
Pat

Thank you for all the reports. Sounds like a great time (woo hoo, Valerie). Hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise.

We did this cruise last year and it was so much fun with all the sea days. The only negative part was that the last 2 or 3 days coming into LA the temperature got too cool to enjoy the pool deck during the day and we hope you have better weather this year. It's still a great cruise anyway with everything the Regent staff does for you. Enjoy!!!
Less than 6 weeks to ICE and we're ready to go.
Jim & Pat

LOVE all your reports - thanks so much!

So when are the finals of the dance competition and how many finalists are there? Tell Valerie we are all rooting for her.
Lynn

Finals are Dec. 19 and there are 5 finalists.

Well here's the latest....due to strong easterly winds since leaving Nuka Hiva we're not due in to LA until 3:00pm. They're putting the guests who have flights up at the LA Hilton hotel (dinner, breakfast incl) Friday night and telling everyone to reschedule their flights no earlier than 8:00pm Friday night!!

We're not affected much since we have no flights but I know most of the LAMBs had flights around 2:15pm or so. These will all have to be rescheduled for either Friday night or Saturday. This will not be easy to do the weekend before Christmas!!! :eek:

Of course this will affect all the new passengers boarding on Friday too.

OK! Here's the truth. I am the "David" who wines the poochers and I am not " Kiwi Cruiser".
Yours faithfuly, ( AND I MEAN FAITHFULY!)
Englishusa

David, I am SO happy to see you register!!! Now we don't only have email to keep in touch ;)

Another travelers nightmare :eek: Wishing all the LAMBies good luck with their homeward bound flights. Just what you don't need after a relaxing cruise. Joanna, tell Tony not to stress!

So happy I paid the extra for Regent air for return to Houston. Don't get home until 10 PM Saturday night, but so happy I don't have to stress about changing the flights on my own. And they put me in 1st class. From all the talk in the coffee bar it sounds like it will be Party Time at the LAX Hilton Friday night. All I need at this point is for Regent to "cater" my Xmas Eve and Xmas dinners. :) A girl can dream.

David - my apologies! Good to know who the POOCH sommelier is for future cruises. Any future sailings booked?

Mary Ann and Bill - the HAL Istanbul to LA sounds like a great sailing! So far, we've booked sydney to hong kong legs of the Mariner world cruise in March-April and the Black Sea Sept. 18 departure on Navigator for 2009. The auckland-LA looks tempting for late 2008, especially since it includes the days in Tahiti.

Great to hear from you! Happy Holidays.

Cheers, Anne

Anne - he's on GAME/SAMBA. Are you ROARing or GAMEing? I can't keep everyone's cruise schedule straight. :)

Anne - editing to add I am considering the Black Sea cruise but haven't booked it. But I do have an onboard I need to apply to something. Will look at it seriously after the 1st of the year so don't add my name to any roll call - YET!

Edited:

Thanks Betty! I will keep a place on the roll call for you. C'mon along. It's a great itinerary and a good time of year to be out of Houston!! We need a quorum for playing pooch (and you don't have to gnaw on your leg when you're in the kennel).

I'm ROARing in September. I also signed up for SAMBA. Not sure I'll materialize for the date of departure, though. Gary is largely clueless about any of 'his' future plans. He responds to: Get out the suitcase, we are leaving next week.

Gadzooks! I can't keep my own cruise schedule straight, let alone anyone else's. Heck, I'm struggling with Christmas cards this year. I just took my ICE stuff out of my "don't lose this stuff" binder. The stack is an inch thick, EXCLUDING the documents. Ack!

Cheers, Anne

Thank goodness Karen called us this morning and told us we had message on our door about late arrival - who knows when we'd have read it?? We got Delta flight out Saturday 6 AM (ugh)- Delta is charging us HUGE $$$$$$$$$$ change fees!!!! NOT happy about this at all!!!! Susie you know Tony he is convinced we won't arrive Friday at 3 PM - always the pessimist - so interesting watching and listening to people handle this news -

Just got a chance to catch up here. Oh my!!! I hope you LAMBies do not have too stressful experiences getting home. Good luck!!!

Good luck with your getting home flights LAMBies, sure hope it all works and things go smoothly.

Sounds like the fun just continues on and on. I think you guys are right up there with us CROSS'ers for fun.

Great job Valerie - good luck in the finals.