macbest

We did a pre cruise in Iceland in 2022. It was beyond excellent. Super tour guide. Well organized. Hotels very good despite having to walk a little with our luggage. And only about 24 with us.

Check that you have the right number of days for the cruise of interest. That is another filter. I have found when I change it the other ships open up

January 10, 2024 on the Regent Navigator, Sydney to Tahiti including New Caledonia, Fiji, Vanuatu, Apia, Pago Pago, Samoa, Bora Bora, Raitiea, Moorea, Pappete. Our 10th trip to Tahiti looking forward to visiting the rest of the South Pacific Islands.

I use the book cruise feature on a famous large warehouse store’s travel portal. Shows all cabins open. I like to view this periodically to see how many cabins are still unsold to get an idea what the occupancy is going to be prior to boarding (and if any upgrades are possible or likely and how motivated they might be based on occupancy percent). As an example, we are taking the Navigator Sydney to Tahiti next month. Using this “tool” I can see the ship is 83% full. You might be able to do this on the Regent website but it would take a lot longer.

Definitely catering to a European clientele. No Pinot Noir and only a French chardonnay. Hope this gets added to over time. In fact no American wines on this list.

I’m curious that since they mentioned they booked through regent directly vs a travel agent, would they have to give up a travel agent fee for the additional add on? I would assume so they may call Regent booked guests first?

Yes but offset by spa bookings, casino being open, shops likely open, etc.

I wonder why this is? They collect the port fees. I would assume they don’t pay them if they don’t dock. Is this just a windfall for Regent? That would not seem right to its customers.

Just got off Nautica. Nearly impossible to figure out and I’m tech savvy. You need to be logged on to their internet. Then you have to create an account to fill out the survey! All kinds of checks and balances to see if you are you (the date field is very hard to get it to what your birthdate is). I finally gave up. And I always have feedback to every cruise and this one was no exception so they won’t get the feedback. I will post one here on cruise critic for others to hear. There are a number of issues that arose that others should hear also. Very frustrating process on their part.

You are right to be concerned. We are on Nautica currently and the concierge level cabin is very small and the bathroom is practically unusable. Super small. Won’t sail her again unless we booked a much bigger cabin and bathroom. You can’t even sit on the toilet straight on without having the door open! And women forget about shaving your legs. The shower is painfully small.

Was just there last week. Very confusing. Taxis are a big pain as they always ask for more when you get picked up. So you start every ride with a negotiation. Most taxis won’t go to the correct place in part because that takes a lot of extra time and a Ticket to drop you off. We got dropped off on the main drag by a “glass box”. We walked through there and then no signage anywhere. However if you walk straight a head, you will see a sign on a glass door “Galataport”. From the doorway it looks like an office building. Once you get inside their is a big electric sign that shows the ships in port. Crazy but you can’t see it from the door! We saw no other signage outside (we walked and walked originally with our suitcases looking and finally a police officer said where are you going. He ended up taking us back towards this “magic door”. Once inside the signage is relatively good. You go down escalators or elevators and then up again. It is confusing. Keep asking everyone.

We are in the Regent Navigator Jan 10-28, Sydney to Papeete. Here are the ports we are visiting: Noumea Isle of Pines Mystery island Port Vila Lautoka Suva Apia Pago Pago And then a few in Tahiti we have been to. The ship shore excursions are pretty booked up for these generally remote islands. Looking for recommendations of private tours you have taken on each that were memorable. Thanks in advance!

Were you able to standby at one of the alternative restaurants and get in beyond your allotment? What is the spa terrace like (for conceirge suites and above)? Is it shaded, how many loungers? We board end of next week in Istanbul. The ship was near empty two months ago. Through unadvertised specials they essentially booked her completely.

Would like this back to the top and hear what recent travelers are doing on day use hotels in Papeete. Also any vacation rentals that may accommodate the same - off cruise around 9am and flight at 10:45p same day. Thanks in advance.

Last thoughts on our Regent precruise and 12 day sojourn on the Voyager. As mentioned, this was an incredible trip all around. The regent organized 4 day precruise in Iceland was well orchestrated and our guide the best we have ever had. Iceland has so much to offer and a simple cruise stop will just end up missing the real beauty of this island. Oh and don’t miss the blue lagoon. I thought this was going to be just so-so or “cheesy” and it ended up being awesome! Many people who have evening flights, I’m told, will go to the blue lagoon after their check out of the hotel around noon. Apparently there is a bus or shuttle service that will take you to the airport afterward:your stay at the Blue Lagoon and since you are generally allowed 3 hours there, this could be a good way to relax prior to your flight (vs hanging out in an airport lounge. They also have a place to store your bags while at the blue lagoon. Very convenient as an add-on. But plan in advance. The cheapest entrance fee, around $140, is booked out well in advance. You can pay the premium fare though and usually get in but that was around $400 as I recall. Many of the comments in the summary by taxare above are spot on and we agree with them except maybe for the entertainment which we didn’t care for. We too were very disappointed with the included wines. These have progressively gone down hill over our last few Regent cruises. And as I have mentioned the reserve wine list, while somewhat reasonably priced, is very limited and surprising wines like Chardonnays and Pinot noir‘s have dates of 2013-17 which is pretty old and I don’t mean older in a good sense. It still amazes me how they could have so many of these older wines, in some cases past their prime, still around. And this wasn’t unique to the voyager as we experienced the same thing on the Splendor back in February. I also was disappointed in the gin selection including the absence of Hendricks Gin which they have always carried and yet this cruise and the one we took in February did not have it on board. One exception was in the mixologist lounge on the Splendor but you couldn’t order a simple Hendricks and tonic as they had it “reserved” for just one of their specialty gin drinks. I a, hoping this is just a supply chain issue as they still carry some excellent other liquor like Patron tequila. Service was amazing everywhere. Well this is typical, it is great to see that there’s been no fall off in service throughout the ship. Practically everyone in the dining room somewhere or another new our name which was quite nice. It really is nice to be called by name and amazed that the staff at the restaurant entrance even knew our room number. It’s not like we were staying in the Regent suite, we were in a category F cabin. By the way we were originally in an G cabin and were upgraded after they sent out luggage tags with no notice (other than when I spotted it on the website prior to leaving). Taxare experience with a GTY going from G to a D is pretty awesome. Other comments, we have sailed the voyager many times. And while she was one of our favorite ships in the past once you sail on the explorer or the splendor there is a big difference. Again to each his own but we prefer the newer ships and what they have to offer. But standard things are common to both. Open spaces, beautiful artwork, towels in the public restrooms, no nickel and diming you, and fewer people - you only have to pull up to a ship like we did that holds 4000 people and see them all get on and off the ship to realize how wonderful it is to be with just 600 to 700 people. We hope you enjoyed our detailed synopsis throughout. It was fun reliving the experience as I just reread our trip now that we are home. It is quite a challenge with the ships internet to post pictures the way I did as it usually bombed once each time and I would have to start over in picture posting. I save the text externally for just this reason. Happy to answer any other questions. Until next time, happy cruising! Wayne and Laura

Post cruise - Night in Copenhagen - restaurant recommendation: Restaurant Cofoco If you are staying overnight in Copenhagen prior to flying home, here is a recommendation for an incredible dining experience that is still casual. Restaurant Cofoco. The menu is imaginative and changes often. The tasting menus are reasonably priced. And the food is amazing. Menu shown below. We opted for the 5 course meal with starter and did the wine pairings. What an experience. Super service helped explain every detail of the food and wine the wines paired so nicely. We both agreed that this was the best meal of our last 18 days since arriving in Iceland. Something to consider. Small bite a little sandwich with delicious cheeee and Iberico ham. Yummy. Trout tartare with a light horseradish cream A mussel sauce with salted scallops and apple bits. Best dish in two weeks! Grilled romaine with cream cheese dressing. Rib eye steak with beets. Very unusual combination but it worked! My dish was a chicken thigh with grilled corn and a tarragon blanquette (basically a cream sauce). Super luscious. And finally a yogurt ice cream with a vanilla foam. The wine pairings were perfect. Mostly French. A good value given the quality.

It was very nice meeting you on the Voyager this past two weeks. Safe travels on your next journey on the Navigator!

The Marriott was much improved from what you described. Although they were slammed by 50 Regent guests getting off the ship at one time the rest was fine. Lots of luggage assistance the day after. No wait at check out. Restaurant could handle the crowd. And the regent representative was still there the next day to answer questions and provide assistance. For example my taxi voucher to go to airport (frankly which was much nicer than getting on another bus!) was bent. So the bar code couldn’t be read by the taxi driver. He let me know this in advance and I was able to go to the regent rep to get it replaced.

Compass Rose breakfast embarkation day. Plus transfers to Marriott Copenhagen Since we were staying locally one night we were last off the ship and were able to sleep in marginally longer than others. We enjoyed a nice last breakfast in compass rose of fresh cantelope, eggs Benedict (not on the menu, just ask for it!), and Laura had a custom made omelette of spinach and mushrooms. Sets us up nicely for a day of sightseeing. I will recap the entire trip with pluses and negatives over the next few days. Overall it was an amazing trip. Iceland especially is not to be missed! Debarkation and Copenhagen touring. Went pretty smooth today with scheduling the after trip stay for one night with Regent. About 40-50 people decided to do the same thing for at least one night. We were one of the last off the boat and after a quick stamp in our passports and luggage retrieval, we hauled our items to a waiting bus outside for loading. Every one loaded on the bus while the extensive luggage was out in place. Well that was at least 10-15 min with the air off (was over 72 degrees when we got off ship!). I said my usual line while walking to the back of the bus, “it’s like a sauna in here” and everyone agreed. The scene at the hotel was also chaotic although there was someone who got on the bus before we got off to explain things. You had to quene in one line to get your transfer details to the airport the next day, then another line to check your handbags. There was a third line to begin the process of checking into the hotel although at 10a no one was getting their rooms until 4p. The hop on hop off bus stops right in from of the hotel. So we jumped on and we were off. For all three “routes or lines” and the voyage by boat for two people it was $70 total. We got off at the first stop and did the boat tour which was interesting albeit sunny and hot. Here are some pictures from that voyage. after the boat ride we went one more stop to Nyhavn a bustling waterway with lots of places to eat. Pricey but a fun area. We stumbled on a place with shade (now up to 78 degrees and no clouds as you can see from the pictures). Laura had traditional fish and chips and I had an artichoke soup that was one of the best I have had in ages. And then “the platter”. I took a picture of all that was on it. The highlight was the curry herring (which is didn’t think I would like but it was great). I could no way finish it but it was fun trying so many different things.

Compass Rose last night of cruise. After a nice sail-away with great seats in the Observation lounge, enjoying Andrew on the Piano, we were all packed and ready to relax our final evening. The sea traffic was the most we had seen especially the number of sailboats crossing in front of the ship. Europeans on vacation is in full force in August as this was a Wednesday. Our last night with our favorite waiter, Nino, the menu wasn’t grabbing us much. Thank goodness for the left side - always available - items. We both had the escargot, probably my favorite thing on Regent. The luscious butter, garlic, herb Melody is delicious with the snails (which are more like mushrooms for those of you going -“eww”.) We shared the Alaskan snow crab and avocado with the Bloody Mary sauce only because it was one of the items that we have had in the past and enjoyed but did not this cruise. Potato leek soup was very good but not great. A little thin. A calvados apple sorbet and then we decided to go with a steak knowing that the thickness is 1” thick they have to know how to cook this! And they did. My NY strip and Laura’s rib eye were cooked to perfection. Hurray! Last night, I decided to make mine a surf and turf and added a lobster tail. These have been excellent on the menu this trip. A few sides of mashed potatoes and veggies it was a wonderful last meal. Passion fruit soufflé with a coconut rum sauce showed up again and we enjoyed this again. Didn’t want to have a disappointing wine choice on the last evening so we ordered the only California Pinot Noir available, the Belle Glos. It was delicious as a 2017. We said good bye to Nino and tipped him nicely (along with Sai our Incredible room steward) and were off to bed. We reserved one night through regent at the Copenhagen Marriott so we can tour through this town we have been to several times but usually the one we leave out of and see next to nothing. I have dinner reserved at a place that others have described as better than French laundry (but at a fraction of the price). Stay tuned I will provide details shortly.

Excursion: Hamburg on your own, Kiel For those considering this excursion, It was a 1.5 hr bus drive to the town of Hamburg from Kiel (and then the same distance back so 3 hours traveling). You end up having only 3 hours there. So half your time you on transiting. They hand you a map and have maybe 5 min of explaining of the town. Our guide was terrible. More like someone just to get you there beyond the driver. He also couldn't explain where things were and didn’t know any facts. So be warned if you want to do this excursion, do some planning ahead of time. they didn’t clear our ship and we were delayed for 45 min getting off. Despite this, they wouldn’t change the time of our stay to accommodate this delay despite the sheet we were given specifically saying that if delayed they could move this time. I asked but of course our terrible guide and no idea how to do this. While I did research the “old town” area it was anything but old. Lacking the charm old towns found in other European cities, this was much more of a striving metropolis. One part of the old town was filled with Gucci, LV etc type store. We walked around for 1.5 hours in search of some marvelous street with cafes and restaurants typically of an “old town” and never found one. There are quite a few monuments and things to see in Hamburg but they are spread around in which a way that you either need to learn the bus or subway system or do an organized tour that would drive your from site to site. On the way there I noticed numerous, massive solar farms and. Few windmills. They will need this and much more in the winter when natural gas will skyrocket even more. They also offer a recurring shuttle to the town of Kiel which wasn’t known until the night before. Something to consider.

Chartreuse dinner, Gothenburg We saved our Chartreuse (French dining) dinner for near the end of the cruise. Often a very rich experience, we thought timing sounded good. Low and behold, one of my favorite dinners on the ship, beef Wellington, was being in Compass rose! We decided to forgo changing but it was a bit of disappointment missed the Wellington. We started with beet salad with goat Cheese and truffle vinaigrette. I have made this numerous times after previous times having this on board and it still amazes me how wonderful it is. One of the best ways to serve beets. While My version uses a basil vinaigrette, this is still luscious. Laura had the foie gras and this is the best version on on the ship. Smooth, spreadable, and the apricots make a nice touch. 10/10 I had the lobster bisque which is also wonderful. Before and after they poured the . Deep rich flavor with a piece of lobster on top. Laura had the mushroom soup, also well prepared. We talked to the maitre D on the preparation to understand how it could be so smooth. Alas they cook the mushrooms in a broth but then discard the mushrooms as opposed to blending the mushrooms with the broth. We both had the beef tenderloin with truffle royals and seared foie gras with a deep sauce. I struggled big time whether to get a fish dish as I was concerned about the steak being cooked med rare as I am in all alternative restaurants. Decided that this is their signature dish so they should get it right. Well we were wrong. It came rare. Disappointment. I guess I should have went with my instincts. We turned the dish back in and they redid it. The second version was perfect. But about 15 min elapsed. They offered to replace all of our sides (mashed potatoes and beans) which was good as they were cold. They apologized profusely. I have to wonder if guests just eat it this way vs going through the hassle and delay. You can’t un-cook a steak so maybe the approach is to undercook so as not to have to start over (although replacing ours they did indeed redo the plate and a new steak. Dessert was a Tahitian vanilla crème brûlée which was different in that they don’t have it in the typical ramekin. It was delicious especially with the vanilla ice cream. Laura had the apple tart. Quite a showing! We had a petite Chablis which was dry and crisp and then went on to the R Merlot which has served us well. I taught Laura how to play roulette after a rout at the slot machines. We started with a $100 and played for nearly an hour. Finished with $89. For most of it was just the two of us so the dealer helped explain things to her. Fun evening.

The big treat was when I realized that 150 feet from our ship was the Volvo Museum! Score! Went after lunch. Small entrance fee ($13) showing the history of Volvo cars with nearly everyone on display including many concept models that never made it to the public. here is how close the ship was from inside the museum. You can see it through the windows. Nicely organized they showed the evolution along with short movies right from the era they were produced. I especially enjoyed the most sold Volvo the 850 which I owned in 1995 and Karen learned to drive on. They had all the other models that I couldn’t afford at the time but all of which had received the most safe car at the time complete with first ever side air bags. Wasn’t aware of the extent of the trucks and even boat motors they built (under the Penta brand). They even showed the evolution of the car radios that they put in the many variants. A cute play area that I only imagined my grandson would have loved concept electric. Not too attractive. and one (XC90) built out of legos. The museum is excellent and something everyone should consider if you are at least a little into cars.

Excursion: Gothenburg city tour small group. Beautiful weather on the 60s today made the 8:30a departure a little easier. We did the small group tour which has a total of 14 on a smaller bus. The tour was well done by the guide with several stops over the city and then a walk through the somewhat or an old town called the Haga. What I especially liked at this stop was a visitor bureau person just off the gangway that gave us all maps of the downtown area. Super helpful for getting around and your bearings. overview pictures. We stopped at this Lutheran church in Masthuggskyrkan on the hillside that was all wood inside. This is what they said was a pipe organ(looks all wood) This symbolized baptisms. and near the candle lighting “in memory of” was the book you sign noting the special memory. Can you believe someone right before us would have written this in this book? We stopped for coffee and what was described as huge cinnamon rolls. Well this qualified when it broke my rule number 1: never eat anything bigger than your head! So I shared it with Laura. It was mighty tasty especially where the cinnamon was hiding. Alas, we couldn’t finish it and this is what remained. But wait, we were not the only ones that couldn’t finish it. Others has the same issue: A few more monuments, this one called Poseidon. And another overlook. It was a fun town and an enjoyable excursion. The Haga area

Prime 7 tonight. Oslo We looked online at the menu and both of us couldn’t find something appealing in compass rose. So we called the reservation line and asked if any late night cancellations at Prime 7, the steakhouse. They said no but would put us on a waiting list. 10 min later they called and our room and said we were set for 6:30p! Got to love it! Dominic the head waiter got us to a wonderful window table (only 4 in the restaurant) where we were on the non-sun side of the ship. Beautiful view out the window the whole dinner. Laura tried the crab cake that I had last time and was completely enamored. She loved it. The little pickled onion with it adds such a nice accent to the wonderfully cooked (and totally non fishy smell of the crab cake). I tried for the first time the scallop appetizer with pork belly, pistachio nuts and pomegranate seeds. Very unusual. Many people on this board have found it amazing. It was very different. I think the pork belly could have been cooked differently and it would have been even better. They brine theirs for 36 hours, press it for 8 hours and then pan sear it. What remains is a pretty fatty piece of pork which doesn’t hold up well to the rest of the Ingredients. I talked to Dominic and suggested they “consider” sous vide and then finish on the flat top. Will see. I found the dish to be just a 6/10. Laura had the caesar and they only gave her half an anchovy so we added to that. I had the wedge and substituted off menu for a 1000 island dressing. I think they may have whipped something up in the kitchen vs leveraging the excellent 1000 island in the compass rose. It was ok but not great. Laura went with the surf and turf (fillet and lobster) and I had the veal chop for the first time. Oh and why it add a mini lobster tail to that? Once again her fillet was raw (I never understand how they cut the meat, they know how thick it is, and how long to cook it. It should be like science to control for all the variables, thickness, doneness, temperature etc) but they still can’t get a steak right. At least to me. My veal chop was excellent. And both our lobsters were great. But at prime 7 it is all about the sides. We had the luscious mashed potatoes, cream spinach, crispy onion rings, asparagus and mushrooms (these were exceptionally good!). I really wanted another Pinot noir so we ordered from the reserve list (they were serving as an Inclided wine J Lohr Syrah, maybe an $8 bottle of wine). Only one I had not tried was Archery Summit, 2015 (!!!) Pinot noir at $135. I had the sommelier taste it first but as expected it was a bit past it’s age. And tasted like an Oregon Pinot which is often very “earthy” vs the fruit forward nature of California Pinots. A shame as we were hoping for something special for this special night. Key lime pie and the delicious Carmel popcorn, peanut sundae finished the meal. Service was good. We wanted a slow meal and they gave it to us, maybe 2:20 on the timing. The view out the window was excellent so we sat and enjoyed our experience.