Gilly

@knotheadusc we really only "arrived" in Greenland this morning as we sailed through the Prince Christian Sound and it has so whetted our appetite for what's to come - weather being the main factor, of course. I'm about to upload some photos to my blog now the internet has returned.

@katieaz I'm sorry, I know absolutely zero about how the Spa booking system works, but I hope someone else here can pick up your query!

Good Morning from the Splendor! Just before closing our curtains last evening, we looked outside to find one of those magnificent skies This morning, we woke in Prince Christian Sound, Greenland, to find an iceberg outside our window. Speaker Hugh Neighbour will begin his commentary soon - 7am - and we're looking forward to a spectacular morning's sailing. Right now, the Captain has turned into a small inlet and is taking us to see a tidal glacier at the end of the fjord. Oooh! As always, details will be on my blog later, internet permitting 😉

Flossie, glad to hear you made it into Copenhagen on the second attempt!! 😱 indeed!! We loved our time on the Navigator last summer, sailing almost the same itinerary. I wish you smooth sailing!

A good idea @cruiseatc Name your time and place and I'll do my best!

@Mudhen Torshavn was great, even if the weather did "come in" during the last half hour of our tour. I'll blog about it during the next couple of sea days - like you, we loved the place. Incidentally, this morning I said to Glen, our lovely butler ( @liptastic ) that perhaps we'd seen the last trees for quite a few days now. His answer came with a wink and followed up with two bottles of FeverTree tonic this afternoon!! (The bottle of Mermaid gin was brought yesterday!)

Not that I've noticed....🥳

Today we made it into Torshavn, Faroe Islands where we have the company of the Fred Olsen ship Bolette and the Norwegian Royal Yacht, Norge. We've enjoyed a walk around the city this morning and look forward to a tour into the countryside later. The best thing is the weather is fine!! (phew)

Strangely, @cruisevirgin24 I just left the afternoon lecture thinking that a cup of tea would hit the spot perfectly right now. Perhaps I will see if I can find a decent one!

Sadly, the Captain just announced that it's not safe to tender into Kirkwall today because of the swell and the high seas. Disappointing of course, especially since we were sitting in the theatre, ready to go with tickets in hand, but never mind. These things happen as we all well know. Fingers crossed for Torshavn tomorrow!! @Redking the G&T situation continues to improve with renewed Fevertree stocks since Southampton!

A different I Kadek I think, @flossie009 because "our" I Kadek was still running about in CR last evening on Splendor too 😉 Have a wonderful time on board Navigator! Hope the weather is kind and all goes according to plan.

@pappy1022 this one's 16 days, so not so short.

Re the number of first time Regent guests in my post above....my dh thinks I'm mistaken and the number was two hundred and something. One of us might be correct!!

Sadly we didn't manage to identify you @gabelle last evening, but we have time!! Yes, there's a very different feel to the ship, I agree - only to be expected really, but it will take some getting used to 😉 I don't think we're sailing full on this cruise and Margaret announced last night that there are over four hundred first time Regent guests (which might account for the different atmosphere?) We have a new Captain, Ubaldo Armellino and a new GM, Anatoli Makaev as Captain Felice Patruno and GM Franck Galzy left in Southampton. Oh, and just spotted a new Food and Beverage director too, in Luca Pezzolla. This morning, we have smooth sailing for our first sea day. Here's hoping that continues!

@Gray Lady yes they do.

Yes, these glasses are used in the Meridian Lounge, which is styled as a "cocktail bar" but in the other bars a G&T will be more likely served in a plain long drink glass. This evening I enjoyed two "perfect" Mermaid Gin and Fevertree Tonics as we left Southampton, enjoying the lovely landscape of the Isle of Wight (home of the Mermaid Gin) pass by as we set said for Kirkwall, the day after tomorrow. Hopefully @lprp I will have got them ok on the basics ready for you to take over on the advanced course 😉 Now @Redking brings the topic of glasses into the grand scheme of things however, we could be talking about a long term training commitment here!

Oh my...I think that you can tutor that advanced class @lprp I am still working on the basics!!

See you soon @BuckGood

I don't know if it's simply that the way of serving such mixed drinks in different parts of the world vary? I say this only because I just read an article by an American visiting London for the first time, who was surprised to be served her spirit and the accompanying mixer separately. Now I think that's perfectly normal - isn't it? (Maybe not?!) So, a straight "G&T" order on board is served in a long glass, with about a third ice and topped up almost to the rim with whatever tonic happens to be there at the time by the server, usually a large "Coke size" can which is already open and might be slightly flat. (That's not always the case...I noticed smaller, San Pellegrino Tonic cans yesterday) Of course, the flavour and character of a particular gin is totally drowned in a serving like this and I have spent our time on board devising the best way of describing exactly how I'd like my G&T served wthout sounding too picky! (But maybe I'm just that way!! 😉) I try to find one of a handful of waiters to ask, who understand what I mean when I ask for " XXXX gin, served over ice please, with a slice of cucumber (or whatever) and a bottle of Fevertree tonic on the side would be perfect!` Maybe that's not how many would like their G&T served? I don't know. Tell me what makes the perfect drink for you, please?!

It's our first back-to-back cruise and it feels really strange to not be putting out luggage out tonight - though I'll admit, it's a pretty nice feeling and one I could get used to 😎. Whilst I'm looking forward to meeting new friends, we will miss the lovely people from this one for sure. Anyway, in similar vein to my previous thread, I hope everyone will feel free to chip in here with their thoughts as we sail towards Greenland.

Coming to the end of this cruise in the morning, but we will stay here for the next one. Perhaps I'd better wrap this one up soon and start a new one, just to keep things straight. I must say, we've had all kinds of confusing messages including a set of disembarkation luggage tags and maps of Heathrow, plus a form to complete with options for tours in Southampton "for those sailing on to Barcelona" (errrrmmm, we're flying home from Reykjavik aren't we?) I understand there are 23 px in transit, but sadly none of our ace Trivia team...so we'll be looking for new friends for that.

@Mudhen no panic....it's there but it takes perseverance to find it and engineer it to a place beside your favourite gin! I too like Hendricks but there's also Mermaid Gin on board which is rather good as well 😉

@Mudhen I haven't seen her....but that doesn't mean she's not here! There are a great number of new staff - more accurately, new to us. We recognised hardly anyone when we boarded. It appears my (new) role in life is to train Regent staff to make a "proper" Gin and Tonic - i.e. one where the gin isn't drowned in a whole glass of stale, anonymous tonic water. So far, I have about an 80% success rate, though I'm aiming for 100% reliability by the time we leave 😉 Well, we all assume a mission in our lives, don't we?!

@Mudhen I'm not 100% on this one but the man wearing a jacket (rather than the waistcoat of the others) in CR and dashing around chasing his tail all night with bottles in his hand is I Kadek.

Hopefully @seasickphil , you didn't have too bad a night as we rocked and creaked our way towards Cork though we had a rude awakening when one of our french windows came open and a blast of air roared in! (Probably my fault for not securing the door properly when I'd gone out earlier 🤫 ) Anyway, this morning, we heard that we won't make it into port today because of the storm, so we'll continue on towards Falmouth tomorrow. It's always sad to miss a port of course, but these things happen, as we know. Here's hoping the storm passes through and that we return to smooth sailing before too long.