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The Bollywood to South Beach Voyage - Regent Seven Seas Voyager, October 29-December 18, 2009

Text by Snookums, Pictures by Filbert

Part Seven

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November 10 (Tuesday, Day 13, Cruising the Indian Ocean) -

Fair skies, smooth seas

We both woke up around 7 AM and Snookums was very happy that Filbert was feeling just about 100%. Filbert went to breakfast for his instant oatmeal and Snookums walked around the deck for 30 minutes. She saw a Regent employee standing watch for pirates. There are also four Israeli commandos on the ship, too, for protection in case of pirates. Snookums saw that Carl was walking, too, and recruited him for the “Muscle Mix” class so they went to that together. (Filbert wasn’t quite feeling well enough to work out.) Then she had her normal outdoor breakfast of thick raisin French toast and two orders of mixed berries. They had been out of berries for the past couple of days but must have gotten more yesterday in the Seychelles. The raspberries and blackberries are huge and very tasty.

More after the jump . . . On the way back to the room Snookums stopped to ask the Future Cruise consultant about using our $40 of unused ship credit for our next cruise. She was told that Regent doesn’t allow that anymore but we might be able to get “on board booking” savings for the May Panama Canal cruise we already booked 3 months ago. That would be a bonus! Snookums then went to the front desk to let them know that she had properly ordered Caffeine Free Diet Coke 6 months prior to sailing and was now being told that there is no more available. The front desk woman said she would look into it.

Filbert went to Jean-Michel Cousteau’s (Jacque’s son) lecture on how chemicals in the water are harming sea life. Filbert said it was pretty depressing. (“We're all gonna die and it's all our fault” was the actual summary Filbert gave.) Snookums met Filbert in the theatre for the next lecture on Mombasa, Kenya which is our next port of call.

Filbert took his instant oatmeal packets to La Veranda and ate those while Snookums had smoked roast pork and a great salad. Snookums loves the paper-thin slices of Parmesan cheese to put on her salad bar salad. While we were eating, the food and beverage manager came to our table and introduced himself and told us that the Caffeine Free Diet Coke that was delivered recently was out of date and they are not allowed to serve it. He is getting quotes for more at our next port (Mombasa) so he wanted to let us know that he is working on it. Snookums was quite pleased with that explanation and mystified how Regent employees seem to know all the guests on the ship.

After lunch Filbert sat on the balcony and listened to his short-wave radio while Snookums decided to read her book while lounging on one of the new shaded cabana-type sofas sitting near the pool. Filbert saw bunches of flying fish, several birds and he thinks he saw 3 splashes way out in the distance and a spout so maybe he saw a whale. People have said that we might see whales around South Africa since it’s the time of their migration.

Petrel? Tern? Black beak, long blue legs, and black patch on the shoulders.

Young booby (left) learning to hunt flying fish from its elder (right)

Booby

Crew? Or commando? On pirate watch?

We just watched a gorgeous sunset and had the added bonus of watching a squadron of 7 blue-beaked boobies soaring and swooping to catch flying fish that were 2 inches out of the water. For some reason, all of this activity was happening right outside our cabin so we had front row seats. Snookums used some of our three hours of free phone time to call home and found out that the weather is spectacular (in the 70s). Even great weather in KC can’t beat being on a cruise ship even when some ports get canceled and some get rained on! Tonight is formal night and we are invited to the Seven Seas Society cocktail reception for past cruisers. However, since liquor is free anyway and since Filbert is not drinking for the next week or so, this doesn’t hold any appeal. And, since Filbert is not going to eat dinner in the dining room for the next week, we’re just going to skip the whole formal thing and eat dinner in (again!).

November 11 (Wednesday, Day 14, Cruising the Indian Ocean) -

November 11 Sunrise

Filbert went to the lecture on the water scarcity is a major source of turmoil in Africa, the Mideast and Asia. Snookums met up with him after that for the Zanzibar port lecture. It sounds like Zanzibar is safer and has nicer inhabitants that Mombasa. (i.e. Don’t walk alone at night in Mombasa. Make sure the taxi takes you to the door and doesn’t drop you off a block away.) In any event, we are doing guided tours in each port so we’ll be safe. That's the theory, anyway.

Constellation Theater

We ate dinner with Carl and Lynn and Matt. This is Lynn and Matt’s first cruise. They decided to finally try a cruise since Lynn had rotator cuff surgery 7 months ago and she wasn’t sure she would be ready to haul luggage around for one of their normal land vacations. They’re both loving it. Snookums met Lynn on the bus ride back from the Cochin snake boat races and listened to Lynn lament about the lack of butler service when they paid for a cabin with a butler. Of course, Snookums gave her some advice (schedule a meeting ASAP with the hotel manager) and since then they have been running into each other often. So, Lynn and Matt invited us to dinner. We had a 3-hour dinner and the 5 of us had a great time. We’re planning on doing it again prior to the three of them getting off in Cape Town. A lot of the passengers on this cruise boarded in Mumbai and are getting off in Cape Town. There are 110 passengers on the ship that are taking the full 75-day “Discovery” cruise which is made up of 6 smaller segments that passengers can join for 1 or more. We’re booked for 3 of them.

Deck 4 Atrium, looking aft towards the Compass Rose Restaurant

Next: Mombasa, Kenya and the drive to Tsavo East National Park