Live from the Voyager, R/T Venice:"long time, first time"

[boblerm]

Jeannie had the asparagus soup and whole lobster, I had the caviar profiteroles and duck. All was excellent except for the whole lobster which was just ok. Not that it was bad, but we are comparing it to the lobster tail that we had several times on the Explorer, which was much better.

Service felt rushed, but we were in and out in about an hour, which does not suit our dining style. We have to remember to advise our server that we want some time between courses, we should know this by now.

 

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[boblerm]

You may recall that in April of 2010,a volcanic eruption in Iceland crippled air traffic to, from, and within Europe for nearly a week. We were booked on the Mariner at that time, on a Venice to Rome trip beginning with an overnight in Venice. As we have not been to Venice before, we planned on arriving 2 days early. And a good decision it was, since our flight was among the very last to make it across. Our first night on the Mariner was just sad, it was almost like a ghost ship.

 

The reason for this little trip down memory lane is this -on the first morning when we woke up it was announced that we would be staying an extra day in Venice in the hope that more passengers would be able to make it, but would be skipping our planned stop in Kotor. To be sure, this was absolutely the correct decision, as a number of our fellow passengers were able to make it to Venice, some with heroic stories of overland arrangements to get there. While we were disappointed to miss Kotor, we accepted that it would have to wait for another time. We thought that would be in 2016 when we had a cruise booked on the Explorer, but as I indicated previously life intervened and it was strike 2 on Kotor.

 

So now that we have finally made it, the question is, was it worth the wait?.....

 

Spoiler alert:

 

 

yes!

 

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[boblerm]

Mr. Lazybones did not make it out of bed early enough to get out on deck for the sail-in to koto but that's why God invented verandas.

 

 

 

 

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[briar14]

Brings back really good memories! I still remember the sail out—rainy, cool Saturday night, sitting in Mariner’s observation lounge with a Limoncello. The Captain sailed a 360 around the small island, one last look at that beautiful place, quiet and peaceful. Keep your great reports and pictures coming!

[boblerm]

Our tour today was "Highlights of Montenegro". It started with a drive up a long winding road up a mountain with hairpin turns, 25 to be exact [emoji849]with beautiful vistas along the way, to a lookout point with great views of the bay. And just in the nick of time, too, since literally within minutes of our arrival, the entire bay was engulfed in fog.

 

From there, we went up several more turns [emoji849][emoji849]to a restaurant where we were given ham and cheese sandwiches and beverages. And just in the nick of time, too, since it was at least an hour and a half since breakfast.

 

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[boblerm]

Happily , the ride down was on a different road, smoother, less dramatic turns [emoji3]to a little village called Certenje. We had a choice of a museum tour of the home of King Nicholas, or exploring the town on our own. We chose the latter.

 

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[boblerm]

We had a stop for an overlook of Budva

then back to Kotor for a walking tour

 

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[boblerm]

Our tour guide was a wealth of information. I returned to the ship with a vast knowledge of Montenegran history. But as that was about 4 hours ago, I have forgotten nearly all of it.

 

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[boblerm]

Brings back really good memories! I still remember the sail out—rainy, cool Saturday night, sitting in Mariner’s observation lounge with a Limoncello. The Captain sailed a 360 around the small island, one last look at that beautiful place, quiet and peaceful. Keep your great reports and pictures coming!

We are in the Observation Lounge as we speak, sailing out, me with a Bicardi Limon, Jeannie with a Bombay Sapphire martini. Unfortunately, it is quite hazy, but still beautiful.

[tulok]

My sister and her husband was on the volcano cruise with you. They were ones that missed the first day but made it the second. There ongoing love of Regent is one reason we decided against our "only river cruises" pledge.

Your pictures are making me sure we made the right decision.

[boblerm]

My sister and her husband was on the volcano cruise with you. They were ones that missed the first day but made it the second. There ongoing love of Regent is one reason we decided against our "only river cruises" pledge.

Your pictures are making me sure we made the right decision.

Please tell your sister and brother in law that I am so pleased that I talked the captain into waiting for them[emoji3] . More likely than not, we must have met them on the cruise, there were so few passengers on it, that I felt as if I met everyone.

 

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[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Your humor and style of writing and photos are fabulous! Thanks for taking the time and sharing this great cruise!

Sheila

[tampadee]

Our tour guide was a wealth of information. I returned to the ship with a vast knowledge of Montenegran history. But as that was about 4 hours ago, I have forgotten nearly all of it.

 

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OMG, sad to say I can relate!!

[tulok]

You could remember my brother in law, he has red hair and a lot of personality.

I will tell them, you were the one!

[boblerm]

Your humor and style of writing and photos are fabulous! Thanks for taking the time and sharing this great cruise!

Sheila

Sheila, thank you so much for your kind words!

 

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[poss]

Loving the sail-along.

[cruisealert]

Who is your cruise director. We get on in Barcelona on July 22!!

[tulok]

Who is your cruise director. We get on in Barcelona on July 22!!

Are you sure it's not July 23? We get off the Voyager on July 23.

Maybe we get roommates on the 22nd.:o:o:o:o

Edited June 14, 2018 by tulok
Misspelling

[boblerm]

Loving the sail-along.

Thank you, Poss.

 

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[boblerm]

Who is your cruise director. We get on in Barcelona on July 22!!

Cruisealert, the cd is Paul Reynolds.

If you plan on boarding on the 22nd, please be in St-Tropez! [emoji6]

 

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[boblerm]

A question for Regent veterans - the pool grill is open for dinner. Is it possible that this has been the case for years and I just never noticed? Or is this brand new?

 

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[boblerm]

Some shots of Kotor sail out that we missed on the sail in.

 

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[boblerm]

Dinner in Compass Rose last night.

When I go to a restaurant, no matter where I am seated, I always have a fabulous view.

But last night, as a bonus, we were seated at a window seat with a view to the west.

 

For dinner, we both had panko crusted shrimp as appetizers, for mains, Jeannie had scallops, I had the Dover sole, both from the always available menu. Everything excellent. I enjoyed my Dover sole far more than I did at Chartreuse on the Explorer in March.

Waiter Vijay spaced the meal perfectly.

 

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[rxlowry]

Enjoying this so much! Great photos especially Kotor! We hiked to the top of the fortress 2 summers ago...not easy but amazing! Glad you finally made it to a spectacular place!

[boblerm]

The first production show was last night, called Ligts, Cameras, Music. I know that not everyone are fans of cruise ship production shows, but we are. Last night's show was the very first that this particular Troup has performed together, I know this only because cruise director Paul told us on the morning show, otherwise I never would have guessed. The show was, in our opinions, spectacular. The singing, dancing, scenery on the LED back lit stage, lighting, sound system, all superb.

We feel that Regent has stepped up entertainment significantly in recent years.

 

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