Cruising in the Time of Covid: Explorer January 19 – February 4, 2022, San Diego to Miami

[donna r]

GONAVYFAMILY Thank you so much for your posts, I really enjoyed them. My husband is retired Navy as well and spent most of his career tracking SUBS.

We too live in the Atlanta area, sadly we will embark when you disembark and will miss meeting you.

GO NAVY BEAT ARMY!!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

So glad you got to do the Cartagena stop.  We have great memories of this walking tour of the old city, and of Colombia in general.  The only thing that gave me pause were those views from the harbour, of all those glitzy, towering condos and office buildings.  Gave me pause.

[GoNavyFamily]

3 hours ago, donna r said:

GONAVYFAMILY Thank you so much for your posts, I really enjoyed them. My husband is retired Navy as well and spent most of his career tracking SUBS.

We too live in the Atlanta area, sadly we will embark when you disembark and will miss meeting you.

GO NAVY BEAT ARMY!!

There are a good number of Atlantans on this cruise and not surprisingly, given the average age of the passengers, many military veterans. I hope you have the same great weather we have experienced on your cruise! The Atlantic side has definitely provided more rocking motion but for me, it has been soothing. Although I know I will be swaying for a couple of days once ashore while I regain my "land legs"!

 

And we thank you and your husband for your service. Our oldest is still serving as a Naval aviator and is currently on his CO tour.

[forgap]

A few more photos and comments about Cartegena:  one of the beautiful aspects of the old town was its architectural integrity.  

 

Our guide pointed out door knockers and their symbolism.   The reptile denoted royalty.  
 

 

The lion denoted military.

Anything fish related denoted fishermen.

 

 

 

And the closed fist denoted clergy but I didn’t come across an example.  

The sobering part of our tour of Cartagena was that the massive fort and walled city was built by the hands of African slaves, brought over by Spanish ships that then returned to Spain with silver, gold, and emeralds plundered in the mountains.  There was a moving statue of a priest, San Pedro Claver, who ministered to and converted slaves to Christianity.  By accepting the faith, the slaves found their freedom denoted by the upper arm bracelet.

 Our guide also spoke about being a part of a multi racial family of both European and Indian descent.  I asked him privately about racism in Columbia, which, unfortunately, is alive and well.  His girlfriend is Afro-Columbian and he spoke of witnessing racism directed to her.  
 

Finally, there is a sculpture by Fernando Botero in the old town that should be posted by the doors of all the restaurants on the ship.  Note to self:  eat healthy and exercise on reentry! 
 

 

Edited February 2, 2022 by forgap

[donna r]

7 hours ago, GoNavyFamily said:

There are a good number of Atlantans on this cruise and not surprisingly, given the average age of the passengers, many military veterans. I hope you have the same great weather we have experienced on your cruise! The Atlantic side has definitely provided more rocking motion but for me, it has been soothing. Although I know I will be swaying for a couple of days once ashore while I regain my "land legs"!

 

And we thank you and your husband for your service. Our oldest is still serving as a Naval aviator and is currently on his CO tour.

We thank you and your Navy Family for your service & Congratulations to your son ⚓️🇺🇸⚓️

[GoNavyFamily]

Chocoholic Tea and Sea Skys

 

Yesterday tea...intricate chocolate confections

 

 

Edible chocolate box

 

 

My favorite part of being at sea -the ever-changing and beautiful sky.

 

Squalls

 

Rainbows end this morning...how many times do you actually see the end of the rainbow?

 

[PaulaJK]

I have been enjoying this thread, especially as we will board Explorer on 2/14. One question…Is Compass Rose open for breakfast and lunch these days?

 

loved the superb photos of Cartegena.

[forgap]

This is our last day on Explorer, always bittersweet as we collect our things and start to anticipate our journey home.  Since we are experienced Regent cruisers and my co-blogger, Fran, is new to this cruise line, our two points of view might be of interest to this board.  
 

First of all, the Explorer is a beautiful ship with aesthetic details that surpass the older ships in the fleet.  The carpet, the upholstery, the marble tile work show harmonious attention to detail.  As in any project though, there are design failures which I hope are corrected on Splendor and Grandeur .  

The theater has been critiqued quite a bit in this forum and I agree. The massive columns destroy sight lines and I doubt that the balcony has any good seats.  I also miss an aft outside lounge which was our favorite perch on other ships.  The infinity pool and loungers are aft but it is very circuitous to get there.  In my opinion, the spa area takes up more than its fair share of real estate.  I always felt like an intruder as I wound my way past treatment rooms to get to the pool area. 
 

The bars and the coffee connection are particularly beautiful with staff who are both professional and charming.   The main pool area is very inviting with plenty of loungers and double “love nests” .  The menu at the pool grill also seems expanded compared to the other ships.  
 

All of the restaurants have been critiqued in depth.  My only regret is loosing my appetite by day ten due to stuffing myself like I was a contestant in a Coney Island eating contest.  
 

The cabins are very comfortable.  We were in a concierge cabin with a large, well appointed balcony.   I liked the new Illy machines that brew both expresso and a standard size coffee.   The bathrooms and closet are large with lots of storage.   The only shortcoming is that American style plugs are in short supply.  Remember to bring European adapters to increase your options.  
 

Covid protocols were honored for the most part and it was a nice change not to catch any respiratory or gastrointestinal illnesses.  The big downside was that there were not many opportunities to socialize with other passengers.  No block party, no gold and above get together, no dance parties, no deck BBQ, no ship tours, no Sunday brunch, no country fair, and no Krew Kapers!  True that my remarks may be skewed as we did not participate in any of the sport events, or dance instruction, or bingo,  or trivia, or afternoon tea.   I don’t think I ran across the ships officers at all.  

Finally, the best part of this trip was the staff.  In all venues they were helpful, charming, and seemed to take genuine pleasure in helping passengers and anticipating their needs.  
 

I really can’t wait to be back!  We have a Silversea trip planned for August just to see how we like it, and three more Regent voyages planned for this year and next.  If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to try to answer them.  

 

 

Edited February 3, 2022 by forgap

[GoNavyFamily]

5 hours ago, PaulaJK said:

I have been enjoying this thread, especially as we will board Explorer on 2/14. One question…Is Compass Rose open for breakfast and lunch these days?

 

loved the superb photos of Cartegena.

Here is a good idea of meal options on this ship. At lunch, in addition to the pool grill and La Veranda, one specialty restaurant is open. 

[RachelG]

Love the chocolate tea time pictures.  Fortunately on Splendor, they have corrected a lot of the flaws of Explorer.  Notably, the big columns and poor sight lines in the theater have been corrected.  Theater on Explorer would be my least favorite of any Regent ship with Splendor being my favorite, followed surprisingly by Navigator. 

Also, in the suites, they have put in ample USB ports and US wall sockets so that issue is resolved. 

[BBWC]

1 hour ago, forgap said:

No block party, no gold and above get together, no dance parties, no deck BBQ, no ship tours, no Sunday brunch, no country fair, and no Krew Kapers!

I guess it is different on every ship. On Mariner, we had a nice deck BBQ last segment. Officers routinely eat in the dining rooms (not with guests), and I have seen the Captain a few times in La Veranda. While we did not attend, yesterday they had the SSS party with the Captain present. They also had a get together for the world cruisers to receive their pins.

[mrlevin]

8 minutes ago, BBWC said:

I guess it is different on every ship. On Mariner, we had a nice deck BBQ last segment. Officers routinely eat in the dining rooms (not with guests), and I have seen the Captain a few times in La Veranda. While we did not attend, yesterday they had the SSS party with the Captain present. They also had a get together for the world cruisers to receive their pins.

My experience on Splendor was same as forgap; I guess when there are only 148 of you Regent will still try to provide trip quality we have all come to expect.  On our trip the "touches" were definitely missing  with no apology provided.

[Gilly]

1 hour ago, RachelG said:

Fortunately on Splendor, they have corrected a lot of the flaws of Explorer. 

I agree 100% with you @RachelG  We appreciated the small (and not so small) "corrections" which have been made to those surprising design flaws on board Explorer, especially those in the theatre, which seemed so odd.  Why place seats behind pillars?   Thankfully, Splendor is practically perfect in every way!  (And yes, Navigator's theatre is terrific, I agree)

[PaulaJK]

Who makes the decision re: the ‘no’…..cruise director?

as someone reading Splendor and Mariner blogs, I was not anticipating this rather comprehensive list of no s. Wonder if Regent management

realizes this is happening. It often is the special touches which bonds you to a line.

[sassyw]

2 hours ago, forgap said:

This is our last day on Explorer, always bittersweet as we collect our things and start to anticipate our journey home.  Since we are experienced Regent cruisers and my co-blogger, Fran, is new to this cruise line, our two points of view might be of interest to this board.  
 

First of all, the Explorer is a beautiful ship with aesthetic details that surpass the older ships in the fleet.  The carpet, the upholstery, the marble tile work show harmonious attention to detail.  As in any project though, there are design failures which I hope are corrected on Splendor and Grandeur .  

The theater has been critiqued quite a bit in this forum and I agree. The massive columns destroy sight lines and I doubt that the balcony has any good seats.  I also miss an aft outside lounge which was our favorite perch on other ships.  The infinity pool and loungers are aft but it is very circuitous to get there.  In my opinion, the spa area takes up more than its fair share of real estate.  I always felt like an intruder as I wound my way past treatment rooms to get to the pool area. 
 

The bars and the coffee connection are particularly beautiful with staff who are both professional and charming.   The main pool area is very inviting with plenty of loungers and double “love nests” .  The menu at the pool grill also seems expanded compared to the other ships.  
 

All of the restaurants have been critiqued in depth.  My only regret is loosing my appetite by day ten due to stuffing myself like I was a contestant in a Coney Island eating contest.  
 

The cabins are very comfortable.  We were in a concierge cabin with a large, well appointed balcony.   I liked the new Illy machines that brew both expresso and a standard size coffee.   The bathrooms and closet are large with lots of storage.   The only shortcoming is that American style plugs are in short supply.  Remember to bring European adapters to increase your options.  
 

Covid protocols were honored for the most part and it was a nice change not to catch any respiratory or gastrointestinal illnesses.  The big downside was that there were not many opportunities to socialize with other passengers.  No block party, no gold and above get together, no dance parties, no deck BBQ, no ship tours, no Sunday brunch, no country fair, and no Krew Kapers!  True that my remarks may be skewed as we did not participate in any of the sport events, or dance instruction, or bingo,  or trivia, or afternoon tea.   I don’t think I ran across the ships officers at all.  

Finally, the best part of this trip was the staff.  In all venues they were helpful, charming, and seemed to take genuine pleasure in helping passengers and anticipating their needs.  
 

I really can’t wait to be back!  We have a Silversea trip planned for August just to see how we like it, and three more Regent voyages planned for this year and next.  If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to try to answer them.  

 

 

We are on the Splendor and we had a gold + party and a fabulous Krew Maker shoy

[PaulaJK]

2 hours ago, GoNavyFamily said:

Here is a good idea of meal options on this ship. At lunch, in addition to the pool grill and La Veranda, one specialty restaurant is open. 

Thank you for posting this…gather Compass Rose is closed at lunch. Wonder if this is another Explorer ‘no’. 

[GoNavyFamily]

Since I am a first time Regent cruiser, I did not even realize all these special touches and activities described in above posts are missing from our cruise. I did expect that this would not be a "normal" cruise experience. We have booked two more in 2023 so it will be very interesting to compare our experiences then.

 

Meanwhile, we greatly enjoyed an exotic fruit buffet at the pool grill today! Fruits included passion fruit, dragon fruit, sawo, zapote, luilo, mango and more traditional varieties. Really delicious!

 

 

 

 

There is a pre dinner show tonight so we will be soon packing up and getting ready for our last evening on board.

[RachelG]

There was a Krew Kapers show on our Splendor cruise last month, but no special events for SSS members, no block parties ( not a surprise), no captain's welcome receptions (again no surprise).   No bowls of nuts or chips in the lounges--not that we lacked for food. 

[pnsnkr]

57 minutes ago, GoNavyFamily said:

Since I am a first time Regent cruiser, I did not even realize all these special touches and activities described in above posts are missing from our cruise. I did expect that this would not be a "normal" cruise experience. We have booked two more in 2023 so it will be very interesting to compare our experiences then.

 

Meanwhile, we greatly enjoyed an exotic fruit buffet at the pool grill today! Fruits included passion fruit, dragon fruit, sawo, zapote, luilo, mango and more traditional varieties. Really delicious!

 

 

 

 

There is a pre dinner show tonight so we will be soon packing up and getting ready for our last evening on board.

 

Love tropical fruits! Is this a standard offering in every cruise or if this based on itinerary?

 

BTW, this is a hilarious video of tropical fruits tasting on Regent:

 

 

 

 

[mrlevin]

We did have Krew Kapers but imagine not having any entertainment staff.  Jukebox in Splendor lounge was only entertainment last night of Christmas cruise with no staff beyond bar staff.  Next week they promoted stage manager from Krew Kapers to headlining his own show (since there weren't any entertainers and didn't bring on any emergency entertainers in Miami).  I understand that these are unique times but I will say that the fares we paid were not unique and not adjusted nor any apology provided.  It has been four weeks since disembarkation and I guess you can tell I am still bitter.  

 

Oh well, 94 days on Navigator coming up this summer; it has to be better.  😀

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, PaulaJK said:

Thank you for posting this…gather Compass Rose is closed at lunch

Compass Rose has never normally opened for lunch on Explorer (or Splendor)

 

 

 

Edited February 3, 2022 by flossie009

[forgap]

I’ve given some thought to the protocols in place due to Covid and I think that they are appropriate.  Regent has had to pivot on every cruise to find the balance of a great passenger experience while keeping staff safe.  I feel for the staff as the only way they can get infected is through contact with passengers.  We all entered the ship Covid free (we hope).  Crew is quarantined before going into service and they are not allowed off the ship.   So, the positive cases we have had must have come from contact with passengers who are not tested along the way.  Dining venues are difficult as staff lean in and passengers are maskless due to eating and drinking. 
 

So, even though we did not have some of the fun bells and whistles, I think Regent made the right call to keep us as socially distant as possible by eliminating up close and personal events. 

[labonnevie]

I echo @forgap’s points above. A lot of Regent’s extras are definitely missing and missed. Many comments to that effect from seasoned Regent guests. I would add no Regent employees on shore excursions, which could be a serious problem if an issue arose that required quick action by Regent. Also no staff or entertainers having dinner with guests, or even visible on board. And not seeing staff smiles really takes something from our interaction with them. Same with other guests except when eating/drinking. Given the Covid situation, I can give Regent a pass for most, but not all, of this. Why do some Regent ships have some different protocols?
Our net on this cruise is it is Regent “not exactly”. 
Are we glad we did it? Yes, it fit our timing well, we used up our FCC’s and enjoyed the food, fellow passengers and some of the ports. 
Would we take another Regent cruise before the protocols revert to the real Regent we know? No. 

[frantic36]

8 hours ago, forgap said:

This is our last day on Explorer, always bittersweet as we collect our things and start to anticipate our journey home.  Since we are experienced Regent cruisers and my co-blogger, Fran, is new to this cruise line, our two points of view might be of interest to this board.  

 

Thank you for your comprehensive review and wonderful photos. I will be taking my first Regent cruise on Explorer in 2023 and this is very useful. Good to know the faults as well as the pluses before boarding so I have a realistic expectation. Also interesting to read how those faults have been improved on Splendour. My TA who is a high selling Regent agent has sailed on Splendour but never got to sail Explorer prior to the Covid shut down and Australia shutting the borders. So she would not know of these Explorer  issues.

 

Edited February 3, 2022 by frantic36

[Aloha 1]

4 hours ago, RachelG said:

There was a Krew Kapers show on our Splendor cruise last month, but no special events for SSS members, no block parties ( not a surprise), no captain's welcome receptions (again no surprise).   No bowls of nuts or chips in the lounges--not that we lacked for food. 

No nuts and chips??That is just sad and for no reason. Serve individual bowls like Oceania does.