DAY 2-GRAND CAYMAN

Clicking on the photos will enlarge them, which I recommend you do.

This is my work desk for blog.  We watch Fox News most of day.  Sadly, watching what happened at Ft Lauderdale airport yesterday.

At the block party we met Bob and Nicki Sass from Orlando and had dinner with them in Compass Rose. Our waiter was Mario, an old friend and one of our favorite waiters.  It was great seeing him.

                          Jason is a head waiter and old friend also.

                        Jerry is also a head waiter and old friend.

                   The veal osso bucco was probably best I have ever eaten.

The show last night featured the pop group, ABBAFAB.  They preformed songs from the late 70's group, ABBA.  Show was good but sound was not.  Base of band was covering up vocals of group.  Where we were sitting may have something to do with it.  We were also disappointed that Regent has removed two band members and now 5 members instead of 7. They eliminated the horns.  Performers are not going to like that either.

       We arrived here in Grand Cayman this morning at 9:30.  In photo below you can see they are setting up the platform and lowering life boats which will be used as "tenders" to transport folks ashore.  There is no pier here in Cayman as the waters are too shallow.  There are also rain showers in the area this morning.

BACKGROUND INFO:
       Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands.  Grand Cayman is 22 miles long and 8 miles wide.  We are sitting offshore today near the British territory's capital, George Town.  The island is probably best known for the over 600 banks and trust companies.  It is also a major cruise ship destination because of its watersports, such as, scuba diving and snorkeling.  The population here is just over 50,000.  Forecast temperature for today is 82 degrees.
WHAT WE DID TODAY:
       Breakfast again from room service at 7:30.  I was again trying to download some photos but again VERY slow.  I went to talk the the ship's IT/computer guy about the download speed.  He said all world cruisers get free internet and some have up to 4 devices logged in at same time.  His only solution was for me to download when people were ashore or late at night.
       We are not going ashore today.  We've been here several times and are not into watersports.  That leaves shopping and it is expensive.  So we will workout this morning and relax in afternoon.  We also get free phone time so I called and talked with my parents this morning.

They download and print the Dallas Morning News for us daily.  Another perk of being "titanium" status on Regent.  

 This is today's lunch buffet in La Veranda restaurant up on deck 10 aft.  This is the pasta station and I had this young man make some for me.  Excellent!!

               Seafoods and cold cut station.  I always have something from here.

                        Cheeses and some prepared salads

 Something different daily at the carving station.  Yesterday was turkey and today was pork.

                         Salad station where you can make your own salad.

 This is a photo of our door.  We have received the magnetic plaques for our longer cruises.

MEET THE CREW:
       This cruise I am adding something new to my blog.  Occasionally, I will interview a crew member so you can learn something about what they do on board, where they are from, and some family information.

This is Ronnie and he is from the Philippines.  Ronnie is 39 years old and has been working on Regent ships since 2004.  The first 4 years he worked in the galley before being promoted to bar waiter in 2008.  Ronnie said he loves his job and enjoys serving us passengers.  He hopes to be promoted to bartender soon.  If fact, this afternoon when I interviewed him, he was filling in as bartender in the Navigator Bar.  He now on an eight month contract so will not be going home until June.  Normally he has about 2 months off between contracts but Regent can either lengthen or shorten that.  His work days here on the ship are anywhere from 7 to 10 hours long, depending on what is going on.  Ronnie is single but has parents and family back at home in the Philippines.   At home he enjoys watching movies, wifi, cleaning his house, and loves to cook.  Rebecca and I have known Ronnie for several years and he always has a big smile and says hi to us.

       At 4:15 I plan on going to the theater for another Smithsonian lecturer, Dr Stanley Heckadon-Moreno.  The lecture topic is "Panama-the Land, the People, and the Canal".  I personally find the Panama Canal to be a fascinating engineering marvel.  Tonight's headline entertainer is Dale Gonyea, a pianist, humorist, and songwriter.