DAY 2---ALTCANTE, SPAIN

 ONCE AGAIN A REMINDER TO CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM FOR BETTER VIEWING.

ALICANTE, SPAIN

        Alicante is located in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.  It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic port city.  The city’s population is approximately 350,000.  The Port of Alicante has been reinventing itself since the industrial decline the city suffered in the 1980’s.  In recent years, the Port Authority has established it as one of the important ports in Spain for cruises.  In 2025 Alicante is expected to welcome 98 cruise ships with an estimated 200,000 plus tourists.  This is our 3^rd visit here.

        Alicante is one of the driest cities in Europe with average annual rainfall of just 11 inches per year.  It enjoys one of the sunniest and warmest winter daytime temperatures in Europe.

 LAST EVENING

        We headed down to the Meridian Lounge at 6pm with one of my bottles of Makers Mark bourbon and a small bottle of Woodford Reserve cherry bitters to have the bartender keep there for me.

                      Kristine was our bar waitress and made sure we were well cared for.

                                       Joie, was the bartender who made my Manhattans.

Of course Velton, the Beverage Manager, stopped by to make sure all was well with the service.

        As we were leaving at 7pm for our Prime 7 reservation, Viktoriia, showed up as a second bartender.  We have cruised with her before.  Very lovely lady!

        Cathi & John Begg joined us for a drink in the lounge before dinner in Prime 7.  Great friends and a good time catching up.

        When ordering, I asked our waiter to have the chef select two rib eye steaks that were very well marbled (fat in the meat) and bring them to the table for me to select one of them.  I'm sure no one else ever makes that request.  Rebecca asked for a filet.  We bring our own Lawry's lemon pepper along and I season both sides of our steaks before the chef grills them.

                       I started with the French onion soup.  Really good and quite filling.

                                          Rebecca started with a crab cake.  Love them!

        My rib eye.  I chose a Chilean carmenere red wine to wash the steak down.  Rebecca had her La Crema chardonnay as always.  Kadek stopped by a couple times to make sure we were happy.

         Rebecca's filet.  Both steaks perfectly medium rare just like we ordered them.

                     No dinner in Prime 7 is complete with me having a popcorn sundae.

        After dinner we headed back to our suite.  We were still getting adjusted to the time difference.

TODAY

        I woke up at 7am and Rebecca had her alarm set for 7:30 as she had ordered 8am room service the night before.  I headed to the gym to do my back therapy exercises after warming up on the treadmill.  My lower back is NOT good.  After that I walked the deck 7 hallways for another 15 minutes.  Despite all that my back is still "grabbing" when I stand up.

        Yes, today is my birthday.  77 years young now!  I'm sure our suite will be decorated for it later when Saga cleans it.

   I brought the birthday sign for our door.  The other plaques are from our world and grand cruses.

        I bring magnets to put things on the door and walls.  Walls are metal with a covering.  Magnets work well.

        Sunday's on Regent ships is caviar and champagne in Compass Rose and La Veranda at breakfast.  After showering and getting cleaned up for the day, I headed down to Compass Rose.

                                                                               OINK

                                                                       OINK! OINK!

                                                                 OINK! OINK! OINK!

    Dara was my waitress and she made sure I had plenty of caviar.  Three orders to be exact.

                        Also on Sundays, they have eggs benedict.  Had to have it too.

        As I was finishing breakfast we were pulling into the harbor at Alicante.  Scheduled arrival was 10am and we were a little early.  When I got back to the suite Rebecca was heading to the gym for 40 minutes on the treadmill.

        Tonight's Compass Rose menu.  We're thinking cream of asparagus soup, Caesar salad, and Bejing style roasted duck.  Of course we are dining with Luca, the General Manager at 7pm.

                                                      This guy is giving the ship a bath.

  

Not sure what they are doing way up there.  

        While Rebecca was getting cleaned up I walked off the ship into the terminal.  Nothing there so right back on the ship.  I decided to take photos of what is on Deck 5 for today's blog post.

                                 Destinations Desk where you book or change bookings of tours.

                                                                   Reception Desk

        Reception area.  Also here is offices for the General Manager, Internet Mgr, Cruise Director, Cruise Consultant, and place to book the specialty restaurants.

                                           Pretty flower arrangement in Reception area.

        Above photos are of the Coffee Connection.  Large one on Splendor.  Here you can make coffee/tea/etc from the machines 24/7.  During morning and noon there is some foods/snacks available.

        Another Kadek is barista in mornings with Cyrel waiting tables.  He will make any coffee drink you may want,

        Other side of ship by Coffee Connection is the Meridian Lounge (our evening hangout).  Two photos below are of lounge.

                               Entrance to the specialty restaurant, "Pacific Rim".  Asian menu.

                                                                   Inside Pacific Rim

        Other side from above restaurant is the spa.  Hair salon, pedi, massages, steam room, and sauna.  You have to pay for services here.  And $$$$$.  Think I pain $250 for a massage on a previous cruise.

        At front of the ship on Deck 5 is the balcony of the theater.  Door was closed but I went in for this photo.  They were about to have a rehearsal for tonight's show.

        When I returned to our suite just before noon, the Dallas Morning News had been delivered and hanging on a bag on the door.  Rebecca was finishing getting ready so we headed out for lunch so Saga could clean our suite.

        Lunch in La Veranda with a view of Alicante.  Anna is one of the head waiters.  She has arranged for us to have jalapeno poppers alternating evenings with pigs in a blanket during our evening cocktail hour in the Meridian Lounge.

        I started with things I usually don't get at The Tradition.  Green shell muscle, anchovies, gravlax, and shrimp.

              Spaghetti again today but later I saw pizza out at the pool grill I should have had.

        There is an old fortress on top of the hill that protected the harbor during olden times.

                                                  Some views of Alicante from the ship.

        Rebecca wanted to get some books at the library.  It was a very large one but there were no book authors that she wanted:  Daniel Steel & James Patterson and 5 other author's books not there.  She is NOT happy.

        This plaque is in all Regent libraries.  Names of all the Commodore status folks.  People with over 2000 nights on Regent ships are Commodores.  We are Diamond with over 1000 nights and will never make Commodore.  Several of our friends are on this list as we have cruised with them all.  Yes, Marcia Rector, you're on it.

        While up on Deck 11 at the library, I went back to the Observation Lounge,  Below are 3 more photos of it.  It is very aft looking at the ocean.

Finally back at the suite at 1:30 and Saga was just finishing up.  He had decorated for my birthday.

        I had mentioned earlier today to Frances that our flowers were not very fresh.  She is a housekeeping supervisor and brought us nicer flowers this afternoon.

        We sail again at 6pm.  Kind of strange as at 6:00 the Captain's Welcome Reception is to be in the theater.  He is to introduce the senior officers on stage after greeting everyone as they enter the theater.  

Hey, I'm not going to drive this boat out of here!!  I'm having my Manhattans and jalapeno poppers then.  

        Another port tomorrow.  Tomorrow's post will tell about my birthday dinner with the General Manager and tonight's performer at 9:30 in the theater.  It's now 4pm here and my back needs to lie down before dinner.