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20140423 Wednesday Join the Vantage Deluxe World Travel tour:

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Vantage Picture of River Navigator:

Callsign 9HKR9, MMSI 249100000, Registered Malta
It can be tracked using iOS or Android app “VesselFinder”


From Vantage: The cruise map looks like this. We will go counter-clockwise on the Blue loop.





Intentions: TBD until hotel checkout time. Then take our gear to the RN and check-in on board. Leave the RN to wander more before the formalities begin.

Actual happenings: PhotoLink-O

Dolores had a rough night because she overworked her leg yesterday. But it finally calmed down and she could sleep.

We checked out of the hotel and took a cab to the River Navigator (RN). We were settled in the lounge until our cabin could be ready. In the meantime, we met people and chatted. When allowed, we stormed into 341 and madly put things where they belong for the next 12 days. The cabin is small but efficient.

Lunch came at 1230, a buffet because many of the passengers are getting off overnight airplanes and not really that hungry. The buffet was great, as usual on one of these things.

I walked back to the train station to get an Ace bandage for D and thought I had found one. But it turned out to be a bandage rather than a compression bandage. Nuts. Had a good walk though. The day is warm - 65/70 - so you heat up walking in the sun. In the shade, it’s great. Supposed to rain this evening, but who cares?

D relaxed in the cabin through this. I returned warm and went to the Rat Pack Lounge for a beer. I’d almost finished it when D came along. We hadn’t been on the sun deck (roof) yet, so we went up there and looked around. There’s a knee-high chess set with the board inset into the deck. There’s a small walking track that probably needs 100 turns to a mile, but it’s there. Cute.

We went to the Captain’s welcoming. Champagne and nibblies. Good talk. Then the Hotel Manager addressed us on what is available through her office. Then the Cruise Director told us what she does and will do. The Concierge told us what he does or can do. We were getting tired of being addressed when they finally quit and let us go to dinner.

We pulled up at a vacant table for six. The others who joined us were a couple from near Detroit (40-years Ford) named Ryder and a couple from San Antonio TX named Henderson. We had a great time comparing travels, and surprisingly enough, many of them overlapped. Mr Henderson knows where Goldthwaite is and what is done there (previous cruise compadres live there). The Ryders took down our data from our Ireland trip to look into it themselves. They’ve been on the Cape Horn cruise on Holland America that cruises next to the continent of Antarctica and praise it highly (not the 14-day, the 17-day); we’ll have to see what’s what about that cruise. Great table with many common points.

Tonight, D feels pretty good and is navigating around the ship rather well. I’m doing fine, but I’ll probably get better after I’m done with this and do a meet-and-greet in the lounge. But there was no one to greet in the bar. Everyone must have gone to bed. So we went also.