Arriving in Montevideo after a day at sea.

Yesterday was a day at sea and not much to report, but we arrive in Montevideo soon and will be going ashore to walk town.

We come back here after we visit Buenos Aires where we will be there for 3 days and also a visit to the Iguazu Falls all very exciting. 

Thought you might be interested in some fact about our ship so included this below.

Regent's innovative, no-compromise-for-quality

approach in luxury cruising even extends to Seven

Seas Mariner’s engineering systems.

Instead of normal propeller shafts, Seven Seas

Mariner utilizes the latest Azipod Mermaid

propulsion system, a wonder of 21st-century

marine technology. This configuration utilizes two

self-contained propulsion pods located on the

underside of the ship, which are able to rotate

360° in any given direction. With a 20ft propeller

attached to each pod, the ship can literally turn on a

dime and navigate quite precisely in tight quarters,

almost entirely eliminating the need for tugs.

This unique electrical system produces a much

quieter operation than conventional propellers

with increased power efficiency and reduced fuel

consumption and environmental pollution. From the

Navigational Bridge, electronic course waypoints

are received from the GPS (Global Positioning

Satellite system), which sends commands to the

automatic pilot, again supplying corrective signals

to either pod. In the stabilizers electronic system,

a vertical gyroscope detects changes in pitch or

roll, along with the bridge gyroscope detecting

changes in heading. The electrical plant and main

switchboard produces 30,000 KW of electricity

from four diesel generators and from here it is

diverted to the electric propulsion system and

partially transformed and distributed all over the

vessel, converting it along the way into 440 volts,

220 volts, and 110 volts in order to feed power to

every appliance on board, including your in-suite

hairdryer.

Each diesel generator provides the same

horsepower as 100 standard automobiles and

combined they burn 115 metric tons of heavy fuel

oil per day to maintain cruising speed. Hundreds of

tons of seawater are pumped into two evaporators

and condensed to create 600 metric tons of fresh

water per day. Some 400 cubic meters are used

as drinking water but most are used for flushing,

boiling and washing.

In a closed loop, water is chilled to 8°C and

circulated throughout the air conditioning system

to create an ambient temperature of 23°C (73°F)

throughout the vessel. Black water and waste water

are treated on board using our state-of-the-art

Membrane Bio Reactor advanced treatment system

to become discharged as white water 12-miles from

shore in the open sea. Such a complex system of

engineering is just part of the experience of when

luxury goes exploring.