LIVE - Food/Wine from the Voyager 4/23

[newlondon]

Poss, Not to butt in, but I will, none of the excursions match up to staying for walking in Kotor. As Jackie said you might want to get a trip up the hill outside the city for the view. Kotor itself imo definitely rivals Dubrovnik and is way less crowded as not all cruise lines go there:)

[Travelcat2]

TC-- Kotor excursion question if you don't mind: Any clear sense of which tour is better between the one you took (K and Budva) or the one called Town of Kotor and Kotor Heritage (Perast and Gospa islet)? It'll be a Monday.

 

What are you doing in Corfu? I'll be interested to hear, since we'll be there in August. Whatever you do, I hope it's fun or at least interesting.

 

Always thanks!

 

You are definitely making me think about how much I am forgetting. I need to double check but believe that was the tour (paid tour) where we went to the wonderful former olive oil making factory where the horse walked in circles to crush the olives. Then we had the homemade wine, cheese, bread, salad and prosciutto (incredibly delicious). This was followed by a visit to a winery (not great wine) and lunch at a restaurant that served oysters (good -- but I am not an oyster person), seafood pasta and seafood risotto (risotto not done very well) If I am wrong (my memory stinks sometimes), I'll let you know tomorrow! Tomorrow we plan to spend some time pre-packing (still have 7 nights on board) but will be busy with excursions beginning in two days (all Italian ports that we have not been to). If there is a shuttle into town, we'll take that and walk around a bit.

 

Some food notes:

 

For newbies that love lamb. Two hints: first, if you do not specify that you wis to have mint "sauce", you will get mint jelly. Second, the rack of lamb is considerably better than their lamb chops.

 

New to the lunch menu yesterday (unless I posted this before and forgot) was Cream of Halibut Soup, Chicken Salad Singapore -- Lemongrass flavored chicken, crisp vegetable salad and wasabe sauce, Bouilljabaisse (horribly misspelled), and a Philly Steak Sandwich - all in La Veranda.

 

Tonight in Compass Rose there was Free Range Corn-Fed Chicken Tajine with dried apricots, chickpeas and saffron.

 

Last night was a dish that I would have loved in Compass Rose -- but we had the great meal in La Veranda. If you have eaten in a Moroccan restaurant, you may be familiar with Bastilla. It is a phyllo dough pie with chicken, almonds and eggs inside and cinnamon and powered sugar outside. This sounds gross but is quite yummy. Compass Rose had the North African version of this dish: Quail Pastilla. Crispy pie with Quail Meat, Almonds, Eggs, Cinnamon and herbs).

 

My Dh had the Canyon Ranch Spa low-calorie halibut tonight. It was delicious (note: my DH definately does not need diet food and makes me feel guilty because I'm ordering regular food:o)

 

After tomorrow we have excursions 4 out of 5 days. One day includes a Michelin rated restaurant for lunch. Another has us going through Tuscany to a winery where we will sample Tuscan wine and some tasty(?) food. Really looking forward to it.

[Travelcat2]

Poss: Just want to do a quick update about Corfu. We took the Corfu Panorama last time as we were interested in seeing the lovely views from the top of the hills/mountains. The ride was wonderful through some very narrow roads. Really a delightful place. The excursion I was thinking of actually took place in Croatia. At this point, the double port visits are blending together:-)

 

Just read about the rough seas the Navigator is going through in Alaska. Hope the seas calm down soon so that everyone on board can enjoy their cruise. The last time we did that itinerary, my DH got seasick (first time since sailing on Regent) and the seas were just choppy. The Navigator, IMO, does not handle rough seas as well as the other two ships.

 

Seas in this part of the world continue to be almost as smooth as glass with an occassional ripple. Temperatures continue to rise. We'll be in the low 80's today. For anyone who has not booked their Mediterrean cruise yet, I highly recommend booking a late April/early May or October sailing as the temperatures are moderate. In the summer, it can easily be 100+ degrees in some these ports and the number of ships goes from 1 - 2 in port to 10 - 12.

[Travelcat2]

More newbie information:

 

For all ships: When you depart your ship, there are always umbrellas, beach towels and bottled water near the exit for you. One more thing not to think about.

 

For passengers departing the ship in Rome. As you are probably aware, if you do not use Regent air, you are responsible for your transfers to and from the ship. At the moment, a bus transfer from the port to the international airport in Rome is $129.00 per person (if booked onboard from Regent).

 

Passengers stopping in Corfu: There is a shuttle bus to take you into town every hour on the half hour. You will need to consider the time it takes to get to the port gate where the shuttle bus is parked. You can walk (10 minutes approximately) or take the port bus. This morning the port bus stopped at the ship next to us rather than the Voyager. Although only a block away, it took us 15 minutes after leaving the ship to reach the shuttle. There is also a shuttle bus every hour on the hour returning you to the ship. You'll follow the procedure in reverse. There is a nice Duty Free shop at the port building with extremely reasonable alcohol. Example: Patron Tequila for approx. 26 Euros. Ouzo was approx. 10 Euros for a bottle (not sure if it was a liter -- there are obviously many brands and sizes of Ouzo available in Greece:-)

[poss]

newlondon: But the excursions include several hours in Kotor as well: it's just a matter of choosing whether to do K and Budva or K and Perast. I.e. I'm not sure we need 6 hrs in Kotor, and we're still at the point where we enjoy going out for the day (not 10 hour days!) rather than just enjoying that very enjoyable ship.

 

TC: I don't think I ever noticed the beach towels! Perhaps we'll have a chance to use them in Cannes (after our St Paul de Vence excursion).

Ugh: Your mention of the heat makes me squirm. Last time we did Med it was almost insufferable at times-- and here we are doing a similar itinerary at a similar time. What does that say about us?!

Btw, I chose "Achilleion Palace, Perma, and Corfu Town." I hope that'll afford us those views you're talking about.

THANK YOU.

[Linda VH]

Am a newbie booked for September and am enjoying this thread enormously - thank you! We have been to Corfu and booked a taxi tour walking off the ship. Found it very funny that when DH said "do you speak English" the driver assured us he did with an American accent. He was a fellow from Tampa, FL who moved to Corfu to live in the house his g-father left him as his family was from Corfu. Anyway, we had a very lovely time with him. If I went again I would do the same rather than get in a bus with a bunch of people.

[poss]

Linda: what were the highlights for you on the Corfu taxi tour? (We've never minded the bus kind of excursion; in some ways prefer it to a private tour.)

I hope you love Regent-- we do.

[Robb]

Travelcat, thnak you so much for this thread. We are 'newbies' to Regent SS. We will be on the Voyager in Oct/Nov.

 

I have gained weight and gotten just a little tipsy reading your menus and bar listings.

 

After spending the last two days reading each and every message of this thread I am more anxious than ever for this cruise.

 

Thanks again. :)

[Catpow]

Yes, I agree with everyone else. As we'll be newbies in January next year to South America this has helped both in my own (mental at this stage) preparation and confirmation that we have made the right choice in travelling with Regent.

 

Thanks Travelcat!!!!

[Linda VH]

On Corfu we were driven around the top of the island through different little villages with some stops on the way. Funnily enough we did this at the suggestion of a dealer in the casino. She told me it was the only way to really "see" Corfu. We stopped at a couple of little shops (no buses in sight) and met a nice gentleman who was the last person on the island to make his own products. We ended up having lunch with our driver (I would recommend him but he was returning to the States to find a wife) at a seaside restaurant.

[Travelcat2]

Linda VH: Thanks so much for adding to this thread. The more the merrier:D

 

My posts will be few and far between the next two days as we are on longer excursions. We completely fell in love with Taormina, Italy this moning. Stunning bay -- aqua clear waters with amazing views of Mt. Etna as she continues to spew smoke (and has small explosions every month or so). Completely amazed by this port. Did a wine tour (an included one). The winery was the most beautiful one we have visited on this trip. Weather remains 75 degrees. We did have some small waves last night -- enough to rock us to sleep.

 

The crew is just about perfection and the passengers are very friendly. A lot of newbies on this cruise (and the last one). This tends to be the case on shorter cruises. Also more of the 20-50 age group along with the 50 and above. Everyone still mingles -- age does not matter. If you are enjoying yourself, others want to enjoy it with you. Just in case there are children questions, I think they is one small child and a girl (not from the U.S.) perhaps 10 years of age with her teenage sister. We have only seen them with their parents.

 

Need to begin getting ready for another wonderful meal in Compass Rose. If you have any further questions, please let me know and I'll try to find out the answer. One food note: we arrived back from our excursion really late and went to the pool bar for a burger and a chocolate martini (only my second in 15 nights:-) The ice cream area is very popular -- all of us are making plans to not eat until Christmas.

 

The service remains top notch. I'm beginning to get jealous of all of you who will be sailing the next few months as we have to wait until December.

[Linda VH]

Will they make you a rare burger or are they just doing them medium? Very excited to finally sail on Regent.

[Travelcat2]

Will they make you a rare burger or are they just doing them medium? Very excited to finally sail on Regent.

 

They will make them any way your heart desires;)

 

I was just reading a review of the Mariner which prompted me to add more to this post.

 

As has been said previouly by many, food is subjective. But, if food or service is not up to your expections in the first couple of days you need to make the General Manager or Food and Beverage Manager or Dining Room Manager aware of your concerns. If it within their power, they will fix it.

 

We had a very minor food issue at the beginning of our last cruise. The worst thing we could have done was to let Regent know at the end of the cruise via their final questionnaire. At that point, there is absolutely nothing they can do. We spoke to the right people and the issue was quickly resolved.

 

So newbies, if something isn't right, please let them know. You deserve the food and service that you paid for. Give them a chance to fix things before you leave the ship. This is my strongest newbie suggestion:)

[newlondon]

And they are sooo good! Absolutely one of the best ways to get Mr. Scale to rebuke you when you get home:D

[vlinbin]

This board has been wonderful starting with all of the great menus followed by information on the excursions. As a result, we are now confirmed for a fall Monte Carlo to Venice cruise.

 

Before embarking on our first Regent cruise in January of 2011 (from Lima to Buenos Aires), I asked cc members for food recommendations for Regent. Many responded and I posted a summary and did my best to try all of their suggestions during our 25 day cruise. I thought those recommendations might now be relevant but I have been unable to find the link. (Wish I could remember what I called that message board) I did have the info on my hard drive and will post it below.

 

We were on the Mariner and there may be some variation from ship to ship. In addition, Signatures was still a Cordon Bleu restaurant at that time and La Veranda will be changing soon. I hope they still have those wonderful salt sticks and chocolate croissants.

 

So here is the list: (sorry about the formatting)

 

Breakfast suggestions

Compass Rose

1) Swedish pancakes (not French toast)

2) Bircher Muesli

3) Crab Benedict

4) Baby lambchops

La Veranda

1) Bircher Muesli

2) Bacon

Room Service

1) Bircher Muesli

All venues

1) Chocolate croissants

Lunch suggestions

Compass Rose

1) Custom order sandwiches on back of menu

Pool grill/deck

1) Cuban sandwich

2) Vegetarian Indian curry

3) French fries

4) Mexican lunch

5) Indian lunch

Dinner suggestions

Compass Rose

1) all soups

2) sorbet

3) veal chop

4) Soft shell crabs

5) option to order filet with Bernaise sauce always or green peppercorn sauce

6) never on the menu mashed potatoes

7) never on the menu fries

8) salt sticks

9) lobster thermidor

10) chateaubriand?

La Veranda

1) Antipasti buffet

2) Escargot

Signatures

1) Cream of mushroom soup

2) Chocolate tart with choc/raspberry ice cream

3) Lamb

4) Truffle butter

Prime 7

1) Dover sole

2) Crab legs

Restaurant not specified

1) Cheese rolls

2) Tomato-pepper soup

3) Beef Wellington

4) Herb crusted lamb

5) Dover sole

6) Rosebud smoked salmon

[WKCNYC]

Breakfast suggestions

Compass Rose

1) Swedish pancakes (not French toast)

2) Bircher Muesli

3) Crab Benedict

4) Baby lambchops

La Veranda

1) Bircher Muesli

2) Bacon

Room Service

1) Bircher Muesli

All venues

1) Chocolate croissants

 

My friend loves the Swedish pancakes as well. If you wish to have it for breakfast in your room, write it on the door hanger. She did that and it always arrived without fail.

[Travelcat2]

For lunch in La Veranda -- one day a week they do a salmon encrusted in filo dough with a wonderful sauce (no calories of course). This is served at the carving station.

 

This is just a quick post before our 8 1/2 hour excursion. Had to share another bathroom story so newbies hear all the scenarios they may encounter. At a stop yesterday, there was no charge to use the restroom, however, the womens was closed and there was no one to ask to have it opened. As we are now all pretty mellow at this point, without hesitation, the women and men lined up for the men's room (3 urinals and 3 cublicles shared). There appears to be no toilet paper in the restrooms we have visited.

 

Also, our port yesterday -- can't spell it, Regent was not allowed to have a shuttle into town (quite a distance). So, Regent invented an excursion that took you into town to explore the city on your own. No one in the city caught on to the fact that it was simply a shuttle. Great work Regent!

 

May come up with more food suggestions later.

[gcmv]

TC2: Thank you very much again for your great "newbie-related" posts.

 

Please allow one question regarding your upcoming ports: Will you be allowed to anchor at Portofino or does Regent take perhaps La Spezia (Cinque Terre) instead?

[Travelcat2]

TC2: Thank you very much again for your great "newbie-related" posts.

 

Please allow one question regarding your upcoming ports: Will you be allowed to anchor at Portofino or does Regent take perhaps La Spezia (Cinque Terre) instead?

 

Great question that I will be able to answer in a couple of days:)

 

Toilet update for Sorrento: Cost: I believe it is 50 cents in euros, however, if you do not have change, everyone leaves 1 euro. Separate facilities for men and women.

 

We went on an incredible excursion today to Positano and a 2 star Michelin rated restaurant. It is really indescribable (I know that word isn't spelled corectly but have no clue at the moment -- too much wine - and, as you know -- I don't care about spelling). Anyway, check out the website www.ristoranequattropossi.com The interior has a spiral glass staircase, an amazing view the the best food we have ever had on a Regent excursion. This excursion (from Sorrento to Positano and lunch at Quattro Possi) does have a pricetag of $179/person (onboard credits can be used). I could not recommend this any higher.

 

A passenger came by a few minutes ago to comment on a post I had earlier in the cruise about passengers competing for front seats on a bus and some did not appear to be disabled. He brought up the point that some people would be sick if they sat further back in the bus - particularly on the extremely windy roads we have had on this cruise. He is absolutely correct and I appreciate the fact that he brought this to my attention. This is certainly something to think about when you board a bus.

 

I have backed off of entertainment as it will probably be different on future cruises. The current crew of singers/dancers will be leaving the ship in a few days (they were the best that we have seen). While I expect the shows to be equally professional and enjoyable, I cannot judge entertainers that I have not seen.

 

At this point in the cruise, I would like to adopt our butler (Perag) and server (Zaldy) along with many other members of the crew who have made our time on board so wonderful. We do not get off until Sunday but are already looking forward to getting home to our kitties (assuming they have not divorced us).

[MotuIslander]

For all ships: When you depart your ship, there are always umbrellas, beach towels and bottled water near the exit for you. One more thing not to think about.

 

 

I had not considered this, but as the average weather for our June 3rd sailing generally includes rain, I am glad to have a reminder that I don't need to pack umbrellas!

 

 

Thanks again TC2!

[Travelcat2]

So here is the list: (sorry about the formatting)

 

Lunch suggestions

Compass Rose

1) Custom order sandwiches on back of menu

Pool grill/deck

1) Cuban sandwich

2) Vegetarian Indian curry

3) French fries

4) Mexican lunch

5) Indian lunch

Dinner suggestions

Compass Rose

1) all soups

2) sorbet

3) veal chop

4) Soft shell crabs

5) option to order filet with Bernaise sauce always or green peppercorn sauce

6) never on the menu mashed potatoes

7) never on the menu fries

8) salt sticks

9) lobster thermidor

10) chateaubriand?

La Veranda

1) Antipasti buffet

2) Escargot

Signatures

1) Cream of mushroom soup

2) Chocolate tart with choc/raspberry ice cream

3) Lamb

4) Truffle butter

Prime 7

1) Dover sole

2) Crab legs

Restaurant not specified

1) Cheese rolls

2) Tomato-pepper soup

3) Beef Wellington

4) Herb crusted lamb

5) Dover sole

6) Rosebud smoked salmon

 

Before we go tender into Amalfi I thought I'd make a couple of comments about your lovely list.

 

Beef Wellington is served (generally) on the night of the Captain's Farewell --- the second to the last night.

 

Mashed potatoes and baked potatoes now appear on the Compass Rose evening menu. French fries do not but are available.

 

Rosebud salmon is available on Compass Rose for breakfast. The salmon (not in rosebud style) is also on the breakfast buffet in La Veranda and appears periodicaly on the Compass Rose Menu.

 

Prime 7 has the Dover Sole and it appears on the Compass Rose Menu (under the offerings from Prime 7 and Signatures) at least once a week.

 

Herb-crusted lamb also appears on the Compass Rose menu several times (think it is a Signatures dish). HINT: The Herb-crusted rack of lamb is consistantly wonderful. The lamb chops are not quite as wonderful.

 

Note about Signature's mushroom soup is different than when it was under the Le Cordon Bleu umbrella. It's still quite good but does not hit the high marks that the previous version did.

 

The Seafood Buffet on the Pool Deck (not mentioned above) is very good as is the Greek Buffet (not sure if this is only offered in Greece).

 

We have not seen Chateaubriand on the menu on our last two cruises (this cruise -- 20 nights -- last one 21 nights). It is available in Compass Rose by Special Order.

Hope this helps.

[English Tim]

Thanks once again TC, for bringing your cruise to us.:)

[Travel2Learn]

Back tracking ... There are ways to find a WC or avoid the long lines. When living in France, I used to wander around the non-touristy neighborhoods of Paris and other towns for hours. I would go into a small bar/cafe, head directly for the bar, say "bon jour monsieur," and order a cup of espresso, in that order. THEN I would ask where is the WC (speaking French). In Europe, don't try to use the WC unless you are a customer. The espresso would be cool enough to drink by the time I returned. As an alternative, orange juice squeezed while you stand there is delicious. Facilities may be very old and different from the US. In the touristy neighborhoods, McDonalds and hotel restrooms are available. Only the hotels are reliably clean and have toilet paper.

 

Some of the oldest, tiny bars were actually quite beautiful and full of charm. I also enjoyed chatting with locals during the afternoon lull when they were not busy.

[Travelcat2]

Great advice Travel2Learn! I need all the help I can get on this subject.

 

Not much to say tonight, however, I did learn something. If you will be stopping in Amalfi and taking the tour to Positano (well worth the trip), the prices for ceramic items are almost double the cost in Positano. We found good prices in Amalfi.

 

We do not typically buy many things in our travels but have purchased quite a few spices that are intriguing. We were given a sample of dried tomatoes, basil and a couple of other ingredients (very flavorful -- even though they are not reconstituted). It can be turned into a lovely bruschetta quite easily (the package is specifically for bruschetta). We've also purchased some dried mushrooms and various other items that were not possible to resist. We have purchased some spices for friends -- it hardly weighs anything and is more useful than a t-shirt:p Unfortunately, the ceramic we have purchased isn't as light and will have to be put in our carry-on luggage. I'm sharing this information to give possible hints for items you may wish to buy when visiting Italy.

 

The seafood buffet was extraordinary. I had lots and lots of sashimi which made me quite happy. Tonight there is lobster on both the La Veranda and Compass Rose menus so we will continue to eat well. I've heard from a very good source that Italian items were purchased onshore and will appear in a special Italian buffet tomorrow.

 

Ciao for now!

[vlinbin]

Thank you Travelcat for your clarifications and refinement of the menu I compiled based on the recommendations of others. And thank you for ALL of your helpful comments on these boards.

 

Do you know if Regent is still serving the salt sticks and chocolate croissants? Despite all of the wonderful menu items on the list, I still remember those items very favorably. :D