GeorgiaPeach51

Remember that old song “Hippy Hippy Shake?”  You shake it to the left, you shake it to the right….well last night we were walking it to the left, walking it to the right.  She was rolling side to side so that it was impossible to walk a straight line.  It was fun to watch passengers ahead of us weaving down the hallways, as I’m sure the passengers behind us were doing.  It wasn’t egregious, but enough that it made you cautious.

I was wishing someone was filming the comedy show as we tried to walk down the atrium stairs last night.  I was hanging on to my husband’s arm but we were rarely on the same step simultaneously and I think I touched some stairs three or four times.  People probably wondered if we were coming down or going up.  Or trying to do a poor imitation of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing down a staircase.  I was relieved when we finally lurched our way to the bottom step.

We are doing the special wine luncheon today, which is a first.  I don’t know if I will or should take photos.  If I can be unobtrusive I will try but don’t want to be too much of a tourist.  I’ll let you know about it though.  If I’m drinking wine at lunch there may be a nap in my future this afternoon.

I’m struggling to upload a photo of the the floor in the spa area.  I thought it was so pretty.  I’m not a spa person but have heard several positive comments about the spa services, BTW.

Today is hot.  It feels like 85 to me.  I definitely did not pack correctly for this trip.  I brought too little for warm weather and too much for cold.  I anticipated it being much colder as we headed south.  I know San Juan is usually about 85 this time of year so I guess the warm weather will continue till Miami.  I’ll let you know.

1 hour ago, gwesq said:

But for Cilantro, there is actually a Gene that controls whether or not it tastes soapy.  

Well, who knew?  Really?  How fascinating that is!  No wonder people have a love-hate relationship with cilantro!

3 hours ago, Kwaj girl said:

 

Sure is!

I concur!  And before I leave this ship I will have a scone whether I ate lunch five minutes or five hours prior!  I missed them on the last cruise and will not make the same mistake twice.  I try hard to only make new ones.  Mistakes.  Not scones.
 

On my last trip report, our first cruise on Regent, there were so many things we did not do that when I started to list them I was downright startled to see so many missing experiences. Remember how when you were a kid, the start of summer was so exciting and you had just ages to play and have fun before school started again?  My husband says he and his brother would start building their tree house the last week of summer every year, just like clockwork.  Well, I find that cruises are the same….time just slides by like it’s on skates and all of a sudden…

So, you may be interested to know what we have done on this cruise that we did not do on the first one….

1.  We ate in Sette Mari several times and really love it.

2.  We are doing the daily Mensa challenges, aptly named, I assure you.  But fun.  I am always inordinately pleased with myself when I figure one out.  

3.  We have shared dining tables in the evening with strangers and enjoyed everyone we have met.  A fun way to meet interesting people.

4.  We joined a trivia team, after kindly being invited to do so, and in doing so have met the most wonderful, fun and funny new friends.

5.  We have done almost every silly but fun little passenger game challenge.  We have thrown a beanbag, rolled a ball, thrown a ball, played a type of corn hole, tossed rings and putted a ball.  And it was all fun.  Sweet-spirited passengers cheering for each other.
6.  We have gotten into the spirit of collecting points to trade at the end for something….I’m not sure what it is, but everyone seems to want it, so there you go!  I think we may have enough points for a shoelace, but we have enjoyed the pursuit.

Lunch buffet on the pool deck was Indian.  I liked what I tried and heard several comments about how good it was.  I like it when I try it but cannot say I understand what each dish is and what sauce goes with it.

Today there was an early show at 5:45 and no show this evening.  But, they had a Beatles mini concert in the atrium with the Splendor band and the dancers.  Well attended and a lot of fun.

Here is the daily for tomorrow.

Almost forgot to post the brownie tea photos from yesterday!  But first, a photo of the wings available at the pool deck.  If you catch the fries as they come out they are excellent.  Regular AND sweet potato fries, to the joy of my husband.

One thing that Regent does extremely well is their buffets.  You will not find huge piles of food that are allowed to dry and harden under the heat lamps.  Regent opts for smaller displays of every food and more frequent replenishment so the food is fresher for passengers.  Two thumbs up for that.  
 

The brownie tea was hard to resist, but I took one for the team and took only photos, nary a brownie, which was a challenge.  The brownies are not labeled, but a staff member takes pride in telling each tea attender what each brownie is…and they have scones.  
 

Dinner last night was in Chartreuse. It has come to be our least favorite of the restaurants.  The service was great and the food was good, for us, but not great.  It was the first average meal, overall, that we have had.  

Drinks in the Splendor Lounge.  My beet salad appetizer, which I enjoyed.   Beets seem to be like cilantro….you love it or hate it with not much middle ground.

My husband’s salad. Delicious mushroom soup that we both had.

My main course was Dover sole.  It was okay but definitely not the best I’ve had.  My husband had the scallops AND the Chicken Supreme.  He didn’t love either one snd got both so he would have a backup plan.  And, the crème  brûlée, which we both thought was excellent.

Beautiful morning again.  Warm, I am guessing it will be close to 80 today,  the pool deck is busy!

here is the daily for today.

@Brownie54 Thanks for pointing out that the brunch is only on three ships.  I didn’t know that.  I wish more people would post things they know like what you posted…. Because I’m too new to Regent to know anything except my own little experiences.  I confess to locking our cabin and standing in the hall with my head down, trying to remember which way is La Veranda and which way is the Observation Lounge.  
 

Directions have been a trial and a source of aggravation my whole life.  It is just not in my brain and I have a twin sister who is equally challenged.  The two of us in a car in the days before Garmin with a map in hand should probably been declared illegal.  My fighter pilot husband, who could navigate himself to the moon and back, knew he was in trouble when we were engaged and headed somewhere and he handed me a map and I proceeded to attempt to read it upside down.  He looked at me incredulously like I was an alien species but married me anyway.

@vegasdriven Here you go…all the times for dining.  
 

Wow!  Sunday brunch is wonderful.  Reminiscent of Sunday brunch at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead, Atlanta. The photos will speak for themselves…

this brunch is not to be missed.  They come round with mimosas and Bloody Mary’s and champagne as soon as you sit down.  I give it 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

Morning!

Beautiful morning.  Just came in from sitting on the balcony.  So peaceful.  She has a little sway going on this morning but very minor.  
 

Here is the daily…take note that today they are offering the caviar breakfast in the Veranda and Sunday Brunch in Compass Rose.  So, lots of morning options.

and then there is the brownie tea this afternoon.  We have yet to make it to a tea because we are playing trivia each day at 4:30 but I will try to slip in today to take a few photos for you if I can.  And, honestly, just how far can you test the limits of elastic and buttons.  When you come on Regent and encounter all this wonderful food, elastic is your friend.  Just sayin’.

Notice that the movie today is Elf…so I am wondering when Christmas decorations might appear.  That would be exciting!  I hope it happens while we are on board.

It is so clever of Regent to do the photo scavenger hunt.  It is amusing to see so many passengers wandering around with the photo sheet, pencil in hand. (I am one).  A great way to have people examine some of the wonderful art works on board.  The staff members are tolerant and kind in the manner of parents watching their children sing a song off key as passengers wander in and out of their bars and restaurants and offices in search of the man with the top hat or the playing cards.  
 

We ate dinner in Sette Mari last night with our trivia team.  It was really fun and we are so blessed to meet such wonderful and interesting people.  The place was absolutely full and the staff was run off their feet but managed it with good grace, I thought.  Service was definitely slower but the food was fantastic.  Please be sure to have a steak in Sette Mari when you board, and I promise, you will thank me for the suggestion.  In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, my husband had panna cotta for desert which he didn’t love.  Not the preparation,  because it was good.  But the waiter, the same one we had previously, noticed and without saying a word, quietly brought him the limoncello/ orange cake because he remembered my husband liked it the other two times we ate in Sette Mari.  That kind of service just touches my heart.  It is so rare these days, isn’t it, so such exceptional attention really stands out.

I said this before in my previous blog and will say it again in this one.  IMO, where Regent really shines is in their HR department and their Training Departments.  Some people somewhere in HR have a keen eye for the qualities that can turn a person into the employee who is determined to say “yes” to a passenger if at all possible, rather than just plain no.  And some people somewhere in the training departments have the skills to translate that yes mindset into specific acts of service from the most basic skills to the ones that demonstrate true finesse.  
 

I was a regional manager in my later working life, and I know, as you do, that employees make or break you.  Your business is as good as your worst employee.  Employees can drive you absolutely crazy, and sometimes it is easier to find a winning lottery ticket than a good hire.  Regent has figured out the secret code for sure.

So, Regent wows me with their lovely, smiling, “what can I do for you” people.  
 

We have not encountered any shortages ourselves, but heard last night that wine stores are rather depleted.  Apparently the supply chain ridiculousness has affected this ship, but I do not have specifics for you.  A fellow passenger gave me a copy of the wine list and left it to me to post it or not.  The problem with wine lists is that they lead to expectations that may not be met due to the aforementioned supply nonsense. So, I am pondering whether to post it or not, lest someone board thinking they will xyz wine only to be disappointed.  I have, and probably we all have a certain level of sympathy for the end user who cannot lay hands on this widget or that part or this wine or that model.  I’m sure Regent is scrambling like every other business in the entire world.  If we can’t find the part to repair our one refrigerator, imagine being the person who has to find thousands of parts.  No thank you.  Thankful to be retired.

Played roulette last night for about an hour.  We allow $50 each per day for the casino and not a penny more.  (Big spenders!).  There is a charming man who has a gambling budget for the day that translates into stacks and stacks of $5 and $25 chips….and he flings them over the board in piles of 5 or 10 on single numbers.  I get so stressed watching all those piles and piles of chips be swept off the table by the dealer!  I keep thinking….there goes a mortgage payment!  😃. Nevertheless, I started with $50 and ended with $125, which helped make up for my husband’s lost $50, so we ended up a whole $25 up for the night and I stood up and ran for it.  We will go back tonight to give it back to the casino, more than likely, but it was fun.  The casino staff is super, BTW.  This casino is busier than it was on the Explorer, post Covid, so it is more lively.  The craps table seems to be pretty busy in the evenings.

I’ll let you know how the Sunday brunch is and will return with photos.

9 hours ago, sassyw said:

Can you ask David Nevins if he will still be aboard in January?

I asked and he will be!  

3 hours ago, tripperva said:

Where is Splendor today?

We are somewhere in the Atlantic!  Do you want coordinates?  I can attempt to post.

BTW, the temps today were close to 80 and sunny.  Beautiful day.  Blessed by the weather for sure.

I agree with @Anchorbuoy.  I tend to run cool, and I always need long sleeves and/or pashmina in  every venue.  Especially in the evening you see many ladies with a pashmina or sweater of some kind.  This does not pertain to our lovely UK friends, who are sleeveless when it is blowing a gale!

We had another cooking class today.  Pasta. We learned how to make pasta from scratch, run it through the pasta machine to make fettuccine and made three different kinds of sauces.  Excellent class.  Great facility.

Not too hungry at lunch after the pasta class but there is always room for ice cream in my world. In this case, caramel with caramel sauce and a few nuts.  So good.

haven’t said much about how pretty this ship is.  I’ll start sprinkling in a few photos of things that catch my eye.

Below, the lighting at the entrance to the Observation Lounge.  When you look closely, they are not the same…

And, finally, the fresh flowers.

1 hour ago, sassyw said:

Can you ask David Nevins if he will still be aboard in January?

Sure!  I’ll let you know.

@Techno123 You bring up a point I had not addressed.  We have done TA’s both East and west and far prefer West, like this one.  The clock changes are frequent and they made a difference going East.  We found that we were worn out just from that one thing.  But going West you keep gaining time (sleep) which is a gift, no matter how old you are.

We went to the CD’s show tonight….David Nevin.  He was just FABULOUS.  WOW, can he sing.  Nice stage presence and great variety of songs to suit his audience.  And his last song was Nessum Dorma which is quite a feat.  I thought he hit it out of the park.  
 

Had a nice, relaxing day.  Played Baggo against the officers and I did not help the passenger cause.  But it was fun.  Ate lunch at the pool deck.  My husband had the German buffet which he pronounced very good.  I had salad and some Buffalo wings that were good, crispy, and had some zing.

I’ll get back to photos tomorrow.  

Forgot to say that the Captain announced temps of 80 today, and it is a sunny, beautiful day, but I don’t think it is 80.  My husband, hearty cold weather soul that he is, went to the aft pool and gave it up after an hour after getting chilly.  But it is probably about 74ish out there.  The pool deck area is full of people enjoying the sun…but not many in the pool when I last passed by.

the ship is a little rocky….a gentle sway back and forth that does affect walking just a little.  Last night I no sooner posted that all was calm than she started her swaying thing.   It it is not enough to have you lurching from left to right as you stagger down a hallway.  

The photo is the scavenger hunt…find the area in the photo and write the location.  For points.  

re sea days, we find there is plenty to do.  Two speakers today, games for play vs officers, and against other passengers.  Yesterday I watched the second Downton Abbey movie, the first quarter of which I saw on the airplane.  So I was thrilled to see how it ended.  Movies come complete with popcorn, drinks and soft drinks.

at no point, really has the ship felt even the slightest bit crowded.  The passenger to space ratio is excellent.  The only very small line was last night to get into the Seven Seas Society cocktail hour.  Other than that, it’s just really easy to move around and never feel cramped.

I have yet to encounter a grumpy passenger.  Everyone is uniformly smiling, and sociable.  We are doing the Mensa quizzes each day and so must visit the library to get the sheet.  Love the libraries on Explorer and Splendor.  
 

We have agonized over what to book next…definitely not a problem, just decisions to be made.  We are cancelling our Vancouver to Tokyo cruise in September 23 because it has too many duplicate Alaska ports….we went back to Alaska since booking that cruise.  I believe we are doing a Med cruise in October 2023 that starts in Athens, goes to Istanbul, the Holy Land, to Cairo to see the pyramids, and multiple ports in 

Greece other than Santorini and Mykonos.  So, it covers three bucket  list items and we want to do it while we are sturdy and strong enough to do so many back to back ports.

Then in 2024 I think we will try to do a Northern Europe cruise in hopes of seeing the northern lights…want to try to connect it with seeing the Tatoo in Edinburgh….at any rate, we have an appoint with the cruise consultant at 5:30 today.  

and, here is today’s Passages…

I’m VERY remiss!  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  They said a turkey meal was available in every restaurant tonight.  It certainly was on the Compass Rose menu.  However, the menu also featured miso sea bass and there’s no way I will pass that by.  We have another reservation in a pacific Rim tomorrow night and that means I will have had the same entree three nights in a row.  Happy camper, though.  I’ll take quality over variety any day!

Here is a photo of the decorations today.  Nice of them to do them!  I took it while standing on the stairs so it looks smaller than it was.  Well, it won’t upload.  I will have to try tomorrow.  Hope you had a nice day today.

2 hours ago, Gpilon said:

Have 2 classes booked for our March Miami to Lisbon cruise. Also did 2 last March but because of COVID protocols they were instructional only. How are the seas on your cruise?

The seas are very calm.  Just slight rocking at times, but very stable.  Still no creaking or odd sounds in our suite or anywhere on the ship that we have noticed.

Temperature about 74 today and partly cloudy.  No rain.  

Last night we shared a table in Pacific Rim with s great couple, Ruby snd Gary.  Had s great time, just lovely people.  The meal was excellent.  We both had sushi, not the best I’ve ever had, but good, then the miso sea bass.  If you enjoy fish at all, put this on your bucket list.  We.also tried the lobster tempura which we liked more than our first time on Explorer.  A great meal.  We love PR.

this morning we had a Mediterranean cooking class at 10:00.  Full class, 18 people, soon to be 17.  Turns out all dishes but one had almonds and my husband is allergic.  They very kindly offered to refund the class fee and away he went.  I thought the instructor was excellent and the whole thing was well orchestrated and efficient and perfectly timed.  We made almond milk, a pasta dish, a street food with salad, a cake soaked in limoncello and a seafood in tomato broth dish.  All excellent.  

I recommend the cooking classes.  They also give you the recipes, BTW, so you can practice and dazzle people at home.

17 hours ago, Kristal Blade said:

Those “hardy souls” will be the Brits, delighted to be escaping the wind and rain at home! 
Really enjoying the daily updates, thank you. I have one small query for you. Are there any fitness classes? I’m hoping to have some sort of aerobic class, Pilates, yoga…

Thanks for any info and thanks for taking the time to report on your experiences.

@Kristal Blade  here you go! This schedule was available at the reception desk of the spa, which is below the fitness center.

@KenzSailing I would agree with @Kwaj girl based on our two experiences in Sette Mari so far this trip.  On our first visit it was packed at 6:30, but there were open tables starting at 8:00.  On our second visit the next night there were plenty of open tables the whole time we were there, but it did get busier by 8:30 as the later diners came.  So I think it will suit your schedule.  We will certainly eat there several more times and if it is different I will let you know.

I have to honestly report on one aspect of our Jeep tour this morning.  Ya gotta drive.  If you want to see the good volcanic interior stuff you have to pay the windshield time penalty.

And,  also, Jeeps need steps.  When we saw the Jeeps as we exited the ship, I gave them a malevolent glare, cause really, the floor of the stupid thing hit me at mid hip.   The seat was at shoulder level for cryin out loud.  And I am 5’8”.  
 

So do you attempt to kind of hop up so you are then sitting on the floor?  This presented a whole different realm of unappealing options that were no better.  I perused the door.  There was only the handle.  There was no bar of any kind so I went for it, grabbing anything I could get a grip on, felt momentarily hopeful, but found myself sliding backwards. I contemplated this fact as I hung on the side of the Jeep, too far up to go back down because of the effort already expended, and yet, too far down to assure victory.  So I hung there, sloth-like wondering how best to preserve a little shred of dignity and pondering the dark heart of the person who refused to install a grab bar of any kind.  
 

Suffice to say every exit of the odious Jeep required a similar ignominious repetition of the above described debacle.  Every woman in the Jeep was similarly tortured until finally my seat mate Leslie put her foot down, folded her arms and refused to exit the Jeep again until she could see the Splendor and was assured of escape.  So, Dear Splendor Excursions staff, please make a step stool a required item.  At least half the ship will thank you.