What can I say? Everything so far has exceeded our expectations. Transportation from the airport in Miani was by private Lincoln Continental which took us directly to the Biltmore in Coral Gables. The hotel was set in a historic residential area and Stan and I enjoyed walking the area to see the gorgeous homes there.

The hotel reminded me of the Queen Mum of England - elegant and slightly tired. Some of the outside area is decorated with handmade Spanish tiles and where they broke they were replaced with solid colored tiles. The rooms they gave us were actually two room suites and ours had a view of the golf course and the swimming pool. The pool was built in 1926 and at that time was the largest one in North America.

Our reception was on a huge balcony which also overlooked the pool. It had tables with white cloths and plenty of chairs for all who wanted to sit. Of course, most of us were circulating and finding old friends. Everything was spacious and nothing was crowded. So very many familiar faces including Larry and Dodie! The canapes were the best I have ever tasted. My favorite was a mushroom in puff pastry with goat cheese sauce. I could have made a full meal out of them.

The dining room was, again, spacious, and we had no feeling of being crowded. The food and presentation was spectatular. A couple of young people sang and played a soft guitar during dinner which was very enjoyable. They were soft enough that we could continue to talk to all our friends.

Near the middle of the dinner it was announced that one of the cooks from the kitchen would like to sing a song for us. He did a nice job. Then one of the waiters sang for us. Finally, another one of the workers sang. All did a nice job. BUT then they started telling short jokes and singing together. They broke into OPERA and SINATRA. We ended up with three tenors who were the highlight of the evening. People were clapping and shouting and waving their napkins in the air as they do in Greece. It was fabulous. The tenors were all circulating through the room, flirting with the women and making us all feel wonderful. It was the most wonderful Gala Dinner we have experienced. There were no long speeches which we were dreading. Mark Conroy gave a few words and that was that. What a wonderful evening.

We were taken to Port Everglades the next morning around ten o'clock and when we arrived at the ship were greeted with music, champagne and our suites were already available. Such marvelous preparation. Those not on the entire cruise were sitting in the terminal waiting until they could embark.

At noon we were all invited to Prime 7 for lunch which was delicious. We have made reservations for tonight and are looking forward to it.

The Observation Lounge is decorated in sky blue and cream and is so welcoming. The Compass Rose has maroon and white on the side areas. Yes, the chairs are heavy and somewhat narrow but Stan and I could handle them with no problem.

We have a steward and he was not at all rushed or hurried when we arrived. He took care of all our needs that afternoon with efficiency.

It has been a wonderful start to what will be a wonderful trip.

Ardis

Sounds fabulous Ardis, looking forward to your Seamail as you travel. Have a wonderful trip.

Great to hear RofF is off to such a great start Ardis! The Welden family is doing a blog we can follow too....
www.worldwideweldens.com

Keep having a fabulous time....with John Barron as your CD how can you not have fun.

Thanks for checking in, Ardis. I can imagine how wonderful your cruise will be!

Ardis --

So glad you are off to a smooth start.

Please give our regards to Larry & Dodi, we missed reaching them on a call before they departed San Diego. We do know that they have already signed up for Voyager's 2010 WC. We hope to be just like them, Stan and you when we grow up! Also, please say hi to the Weldons. They just returned from Antarctica. What life experiences those kids will have by the time they leave the nest.

We were watching the Mariner as she left Port Everglades Monday evening and turned into the ocean. A few minutes later she sailed right past us as we stood on our terrace. What a beautiful sight!

Have a wonderful trip and please check in often.

What a wonderful beginning.
So happy for you.
Have a wonderful cruise and we look
forward to reading your updated reports. :app: :app:

I wish the Weldens would adopt me!! :D

Can't wait to be on te Mariner with al of you. See you on the 13th. Barbara & Donald

Oh boy, this sounds so fabulous! Hope you continue to have an amazing time, and tell us all about it!

Ardis, I loved reading of your pre-boarding adventure at the Biltmore! How serendipitous! You are usually a poster of few words, so it was special that you would share such a lovely evening, I would love to have been there! I hope we hear more stories like this as you continue your voyage!

We are continuing to have a wonderful time and all is going well. Captain Philippe is so accomodating and available and makes us feel so welcome on board. Stan requested bridge privileges and was granted them immediately, something that was denied him before.

The first and third Trivia games were a disaster with John. He had such esoteric questions such as which river does Guinness get its water from. We were all very discouraged. His assistant, Handre, did a great job on day two and John has promised to straighten his questions out. He recognized that there was a problem.

The speakers have been above average. We have had two experts, one on hurricanes and the other on the cosmos. Both were energetic and interesting without being over our heads. Terry Breen has not yet spoken but we are looking forward to hearing from her. She is always riveting in her talks.

St. Barts, to me, was just another island, very small and crawling with overpriced shops such as Hermes. It is noted for its beautiful beaches. Today we are at Dominica, the Nature Island, and visited the Emerald Pool which is in a rainforest so special that it is denesigated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The business district is also very low key and delightful.

We ate at Prime 7 and had a great meal. As to be expected there were certain glitches. We are started, without ordering, with a tiny hamburger sandwich made of Kobe beef in a sauce. Stan had Oysters Rockerfellow which were superb while I had great clam chowder. He ordered a Ceasar salad which the menu said would be prepared at the table but it was not. We were told that someone had complained because some dressing had splashed on his jacket so now all the salads are prepared at the side of the room. Stan had a 16 oz. veal chop that was perfectly done while I had the two pound Maine lobster which was also perfect. Before our dessert came, we were served two tiny VERY chocolate brownies and than our chosen dessert of warm apple crisp. It was not warmed but served cold from the refrigerator which we did not like but ate as it was. We mentioned it to Chimi and he wrote it down so I expect that will be remedied.

A funny thing happened with the planned special event for world cruisers. We were scheduled for Earl Grey and Polo until it was discovered that it is not the polo season. The event was changed to the Concorde Museum and visiting the Concorde. That is tomorrow.

We were presented with our jacket and a Regent 2009 Ring of Fire cap in a tote bag. The jackets are navy blue and light weight and very nice. I can see where they will be very useful.

It is also interesting that representatives of three jewelry stores in Rio are on board. One is on our trivia team and is very pleasant. He told us that Stern is going to provide a complimentary car, driver and translator in Rio for us. They will take us anywhere we want all day and will not require that we visit the shop if we don't want to.

A very special event is being planned for world cruisers on both Mariner and Voyager. It is being called Forbidden Broadway. Our date is Feb. 4th. We will dine in Signatures and the all go into Horizon and hear a special cast flown in for the event do parodies of Broadway songs.

We are looking forward to Barbados tomorrow with a Virtuoso tour in the morning and the Concorde in the afternoon. I think we have a sea day after that! We will have earned it.

Ardis

Ardis,
Funny thing about the Barbados polo match - it was cancelled on the Navigator's visit at the end of the Discovery Cruise also, but because the rains had turned the field to mud. We're anxious to see the "new" Mariner - see you on the 13th in BA.
Jim

Ardis --

We took advantage of the Stern car with driver and translator in Rio during the 2007WC. We did spend about 15 max in their factory and showroom. Really wasn't necessary...but we wanted to see their marketing operation first hand. Didn't even think about buying anything...that's just not us.

We had two wonderful college-age young woman guides who really added to our enjoyment of the Rio sights...just wish the weather had been better. Hope you get to see the harbor and city from Corcovado if you go. It was shrouded in mist, fog and rain but certainly glad we went.

Thanks for the update! Best...

Ardis, I have received several emails from your fellow RoF cruisers and like you, it sounds like everyone is having a great time and such nice weather.

I must laugh about your trivia question.....I would have known that Guinness is from the Liffey river in Dublin because we've been to Dublin and toured Guinness factory. DANG....how come I never got that question! I'm sure those who have been to Dublin before liked it.

Hoping you have nice weather in Rio. It does have such magnificent views. If you should do an excursion, the Lesser known Rio (favelas) is excellent. I'm guessing the usual....Stearn, Sabin,. Amsterdam Sauer jewelers are all onboard and the car service they offer is wonderful!

Thanks for sending us seamail!

Ardis,
One of the best visits in Rio that they don't automatically take you to is City of Samba - it's where the floats for Carnival are created and there are displays of floats & costumes from previous Carnivals. Jim

Ardis, tell John not to make the trivia questions TOO easy, it's more fun when they are a challenge!

I agree. We want a challenge but it is not good or encouraging when the vast majority of guests are discouraged and feeling the questions are geared to a certain pattern. As I said, when the questions were changed to "general knowledge" our team tied for first on two successive days. All we want is to not feel hopeless. Winning is fun but not that important. We are there to have FUN.

Ardis