Life at the Macchi’s Returned to Normal

February 3, 2016. Life at the Macchi’s returned to normal after we arrived home from LIS/CPT on Regent Seven Seas Mariner. We got home just after Thanksgiving, so Christmas was looming large, but we made it through the holidays and January turned our attention to the next adventure! Three adventures actually. First, we are getting our master bathroom redone. We’re pushing out a wall to increase the size from extra small to small. Lots of noise and dust. Second, we’re getting things in order for our next trip, Rio to Miami, meaning Brazilian Visas, and third … a HUGE birthday!

On to Brazil! Zika, Carnival, Samba - bring it on! Rio to Miami on the Mariner March 4, 2016! 21-nights - I’m in heaven!  What is so cool about this trip is cruising the Amazon to Manaus and back before cruising north through the Caribbean to Miami; 16-days in Brazil, a visit to Devil’s Island followed by Barbados, Antigua, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. It is a nice mix of days at sea, new ports of call and familiar Caribbean destinations. It’s all good; I just wish I could have had the time to cruise from LIM to MIA as that would cover South America for us. As it is, we still have LIM/GIG on the list... maybe next year.

The biggest challenge we have encountered so far is obtaining the Brazilian Visas! Oh my! They are proving to be even more difficult than the Chinese Visas we acquired last year! You must apply in person at a Brazilian Consulate, BUT, first you must fill out the Visa Request Form on-line and submit it on-line before you get the Visa Request Form receipt for your application number. You then take your Visa Request Form with your application number, 3 months of bank statements, pay stubs or “international” credit card statements as proof of income, a letter addressed to the Consulate with detailed information on your trip, tentative dates of arrival and departure, places you are planning on visiting, contact information, hotel, etc., a passport sized photo, passport (valid for 6 months with two blank visa pages. Uh, oh) and a money order for $160 (price of visa fee varies by country)! You with me so far?

I did have two blank passport pages but, when I read that the endorsement pages don’t count, and since I had one page on 15 and one on 28, I was afraid the pages would have to be consecutive. PANIC!  I determined that I best apply for a new passport just to be on the safe side!

I looked into going to Miami to apply for my passport in person, but they require that you be departing for your trip within two weeks OR that you needed a visa to travel within the next 4 weeks before they would give you an appointment... neither applied. I would have to wait to go to Miami, or apply by mail. It was a timing toss-up between sending my passport off as I was out of pages and waiting for a passport appointment in Miami. I opted to apply via mail and “expedite” the process. So off it went to Philadelphia, shipped via USPS on Friday, January 18 - MLK weekend. It didn’t actually go anywhere until Saturday, I figured, with the holiday, there was no chance for it to arrive before Tuesday and thought I was passport toast. Wow, was I wrong. Someone signed for it on Monday and believe it or not, my new passport was in my hands on Saturday, January 23! All 52 new, clean, empty pages! Fantastic! I could finally breathe again.

Tuesday, January 26 we drove to the Brazilian Consulate in Miami which will only take visa applications Monday – Friday 10 a.m. to noon. You take a number, sit tight while you wait and no cell phones (oops)! You are given a pick up date 15 business days from the day you applied; you get a visa receipt with your name, application number, notation of the $160 paid, and a pick up date... for me February 17, at the consulate between 2-4 p.m. I’m sure there’s another number involved and some more sitting too.

All in all, I’m thrilled. Passport and Brazilian visa are pretty much in the bag! Delighted to report that friends will be joining us as well, so it will be a grand PARTY! Actually we start the party for my birthday, with friends arriving for the party on the 20th and some are staying, headed down to Rio with us, and then cruising! It’s going to be a birthday to remember... as well it should be. This is a “big deal” birthday, one where they can’t fit all the candles on the cake and if they could the fire department would have to be on standby. In fact, if all lit at once, they would probably be visible from space!

After the excitement of the party dies down, we'll get down to business and start serious, nitty-gritty cruise planning, putting together my “cruise closet” then try to figure just how to get the “cruise closet” into a bag or two for the trip! But that’s another story! I’ve promised myself not to over pack this time... but then what would I have to leave home?

As each day passes, I’m more and more excited. I keep thinking of all of the wonderful staff and crew we will be able to see again... Can’t wait to see Danella and see how she is doing with F&B, as she was just taking over full responsibility on the ship when we cruised LIS/CPT, Teddy (Theodora) the head of housekeeping that not only was so generous, but took the trip with us to the Artisans Market in Cotonou, Benin, Jose at the Mariner’s Lounge with tasty Rosetta’s ready and waiting, Michel & Pauline in Signatures, Stephan, the Maitre D'; Stoyan, the Bar Manager; Vladimir, the Restaurant Manager and Nenad (Shawn) the IT god just to name a few! It will be a delightful homecoming! I promise to keep you posted and up to date with all our antics and adventures!

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South America
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Seven Seas Mariner
21-night South America - Rio de Janeiro to Miami
[Rio de Janeiro, Cruising the Coast of Brazil, Cruising the Coast of Brazil, Recife, Cruising the Coast of Brazil, Cruising the Coast of Brazil, Amazon River, Amazon River, Amazon River, Amazon River, Amazon River, Amazon River, Amazon River, Amazon River, Devils Island, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, Bridgetown, St. Johns, San Juan, Cruising the Bahamas Islands and the Atlantic, Nassau, Miami]