*LIVE* from the Voyager: August 12-26, 2023 Reykjavik to Southampton

[annmarz]

7 hours ago, WNcruiser said:

Hello from the Voyager lounge where we are listening to some nice music and having a black label on the rocks. We are headed to Norway 🇳🇴 after a nice day in Lerwick. Interesting place with lots of sheep and history. Didn’t take many pictures but I will post a few. 
 

Tomorrow is Alesund, our first of five stops in Norway. We plan on taking the tram tour and having lunch in town. The ship docks right in the city center. 

cant upload photos right now due to extremely poor Wi-Fi, will try later. 
 

 

 

Good choice in Alesund.  We took the tram tour last year and it was delightful.  There is an interesting history museum in town, too.  Kind of hard to find - look for steps leading to a walkway.

[WNcruiser]

Just getting ready to dock in Alesund but wanted to post photos of dinner last night. We had a fantastic waiter who we have requested for the rest of the cruise. There are many crew leaving and coming on board on the 21st in Oslo. 
 

Laat night was one of my favorites on Regent, the miso marinated sea bass with sticky rice. I also had a halibut sushi with seaweed salad and Indian patties with mint chutney. For dessert was white chocolate croissant pudding and chocolate soufflé. 
 

[WNcruiser]

A beautiful day in Alesund, Norway. Voyager is docked on the right side. 
 

[irishwitchy]

Love that town,  I got a great pair of rain boots and we stayed over night and had dinner in town.  Keep enjoying.  

[fdnycruiser]

20 hours ago, rcandkc said:

They they get Paxlovid?

Yes, they did. 

[WNcruiser]

As we sail into Bergen I will post a few pictures from Alesund yesterday. We walked in to town and admired all the colorful buildings and architecture. Such a pretty place with a river running through the middle. We took the sightseeing tram (citytrain.no) which was both fun and interesting. You listen to prerecorded commentary while being driven around the city with a 15 minute stop at the top of Aksla mountain for a panoramic view. The ride is 70 minutes and we’ll worth it. Also stopped at Jafs for fish & chips which were excellent. A very enjoyable day. 

[WNcruiser]

Had our usual pre dinner cocktails in the observation lounge while listening to piano music. We didn’t leave Alesund until 8:00 PM so had a nice view of the city and water. Dinner was very good. My courses were Asian dumplings, salmon tartare, celery salad and pan seared branzino. I usually don’t like branzino but it was excellent. Our new waiter knew me well after only one night 🤣. He said we was bringing me a sampler…and he did. Flourless chocolate cake, key lime pie, St Honore and ice cream. Although I appreciated the gesture it was too much, even for me. 
 

[WNcruiser]

Just got back to the ship after an amazing fjord cruise. It was very warm today, around 73F/21C. We started with a nice walk around Bergen stopping at the famous fish market for a look around. Again, many colorful buildings and beautiful architecture here. We then boarded our fjord cruise (rodne.no) for a 3 hour tour and nonstop beautiful scenery. The Captain took the boat right up to a waterfall and within a couple feet of a large mountain. If your coming to Bergen don’t miss it. This was booked independently as Regent did not offer any fjord tours here. 

 

[WNcruiser]

Here a a few photos of the fjord cruise. I think I took about 50 but I won’t subject you to that. Now getting ready for dinner in Chartreuse. It seems the sea air is shrinking my clothes so I’m going to limit myself to 4 courses. Stavanger is tomorrow and another fjord cruise, this one to Lysefjord through Regent. 
 

[1982CruzStart]

Absolutely beautiful pictures. Thank you. 

[puppyluv1]

Loving your descriptions and beautiful pictures. Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us. 

[frantic36]

6 hours ago, WNcruiser said:

rodne.no

 Thanks for this detail. We haven't done the Norwegian Fiords yet so this will be filed away for the future. Your photos and descriptions are great.

[WNcruiser]

18 hours ago, 1982CruzStart said:

Absolutely beautiful pictures. Thank you. 

 

15 hours ago, puppyluv1 said:

Loving your descriptions and beautiful pictures. Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us. 

 

11 hours ago, frantic36 said:

 Thanks for this detail. We haven't done the Norwegian Fiords yet so this will be filed away for the future. Your photos and descriptions are great.

Thank you all for the kind feedback, it is much appreciated. 

[WNcruiser]

All I can say after dinner In Chartreuse last night is thank goodness for Lipitor. It was a wonderful dinner with excellent service. I know Chartreuse gets mixed reviews on these boards but we thoroughly enjoyed it. Courses were: blue cheese soufflé, beet salad with goat cheese, fois gras with apricots, mushroom soup, rack of lamb and crème brûlée. The wine steward was very accommodating with my requests and even brought a dessert wine with our desserts. I’m still full 15 hours later. 
 

[WNcruiser]

After dinner I somehow walked to the Constellation theater to see Oli Nez, a fantastic saxophone player and entertainer. He played a wide range of genres and it was a great show. When we returned to our cabin we had a little surprise. We ate the white chocolate truffles that were brought out with our dessert menus but left the chocolate grand marnier. We walked in the cabin and had a plate of white chocolate truffles on our table. This is the type of amazing Regent service we have experienced in our first week on board. We opened the curtains and saw the last bit of daylight, an amazing Norwegian sunset. Great ending to a wonderful night. 
 

Edited August 19, 2023 by WNcruiser

[cwn]

Loving your report! Your dinner is one of our favorites….we like Chartreuse also! Those sunsets are.my favorite thing about that itinerary! Thanks for sharing.

[WNcruiser]

Well our 7 day streak of beautiful weather came to an end today, but only temporarily. The forecast was for strong winds and heavy rains so we switched to a panoramic bus tour from our fjord cruise. It was quite nice driving around the city and country side and learning about Stavanger. The good news is we are expecting better weather for our next two ports Kristiansand and Oslo. Sorry, didn’t take many photos today. 
 

[WNcruiser]

Mid-cruise summary

 

I wanted to write a few thoughts about my first week on board.
First, The Crew.

This crew is outstanding and cannot do enough for you. Within the first two days many crew knew our names and drink/water preferences. They are always asking if you need anything, if you are enjoying the cruise and is there anything they can do for you. There have been many wonderful gestures and moments I won’t soon forget. I can’t say enough good things about the crew on board.

Fellow passengers:

We have 615 on board. I would say the average age is 70’s with most 60-80’s. There are two families on board with small children but we rarely see (or hear) them. Around half are from the US, with UK, France and Belgium making up the majority. 
Penthouse “A”:

I already spoke about our suite so won’t say too much more. It definitely needs an update as the bathroom shows it’s 20+ years. There are also several cosmetic issues that look poor on a six star cruise line. Luckily it doesn’t affect my cruise.

The Voyager:

Overall she is looking good. With 615 people on board we have never felt crowded once. Restaurants, bars, lounges, getting on and off the ship we have not seen any crowds. Voyager is easy to navigate and find where you need to go. We have had very calm seas so far but she seems to be quite stable. We do get some strong vibrations on deck 10 now and then but no complaints. 
Itinerary:

This is an amazing itinerary. 5 countries in two weeks with five stops in Norway. So far it has exceeded all expectations and I look forward to our second week.

Food:

If you have followed this thread since the beginning, you are probably surprised food is last. I honestly don’t eat (or drink) like this at home. Food is important but itinerary and service are much more important to me. We have had some excellent meals on board, and unfortunately some bad ones. The bad ones were quickly addressed and everything was done to try and make us happy and correct the issues. I really feel it is getting better though.
 

I appreciate everyone reading this live thread. It does take a lot of time and work but hopefully it is helpful to those of you who have not yet sailed Regent or visited these ports. And for the Regent regulars hopefully I brought back some happy memories. 
 

Off to cocktails and dinner. Until tomorrow…

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by WNcruiser

[loriva]

20 hours ago, WNcruiser said:

Penthouse “A”:

I already spoke about our suite so won’t say too much more. It definitely needs an update as the bathroom shows it’s 20+ years. There are also several cosmetic issues that look poor on a six star cruise line.

 

Any idea if Voyager is scheduled for a dry dock and renovation in the next year or so?  Regent's little sister Oceania did a major renovation on a number of its ships last year and the bathrooms on those are now excellent.

 

And thank you very much for your excellent live report!  We'll be on a different itinerary but sailing Voyager for the first time in February 2025 so eagerly following your comments on the ship and life onboard.

[WNcruiser]

1 hour ago, loriva said:

 

Any idea if Voyager is scheduled for a dry dock and renovation in the next year or so?  Regent's little sister Oceania did a major renovation on a number of its ships last year and the bathrooms on those are now excellent.

 

And thank you very much for your excellent live report!  We'll be on a different itinerary but sailing Voyager for the first time in February 2025 so eagerly following your comments on the ship and life onboard.

I have heard a few things on board but I don’t like posting rumors. Let me check with some of the officers and see if I can get any “official” word. 

[WNcruiser]

Didn’t haedly sleep a wink last night. We were in thick dense fog from about midnight until around 5:00 AM. The ship was sounding their horn every 2 minutes and it was impossible to sleep. I know it is a safety requirement so not complaining, just something to expect I guess. 
 

I went down to La Veranda and there was a nice champagne and cavier breakfast. A little too early for me but others were enjoying it. 
 

Edited August 20, 2023 by WNcruiser

[WNcruiser]

It was a gorgeous day in Kristiansand today. Low 70’s and clear blue sky. After breakfast we set out on a walk around the harbor and city center. Kristiansand is compact and easy to walk with beautiful parks and city sqaures. The city seemed shut down with hardly anyone around and very few stores open. The fish market was also closed on Sunday which I was looking forward to seeing. We walked for about two hours and saw most of the city. 
After returning to the ship we found two sun loungers calling our name and laid out at the pool with many others enjoying the warm sun. Kind of crazy to think we are in Norway sunbathing but it was a nice recharge. Back to Prime7 tonight for dinner and a new entertainer from the UK. 
Some photos of Kristiansand:

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

On 8/19/2023 at 11:37 AM, WNcruiser said:

I appreciate everyone reading this live thread. It does take a lot of time and work but hopefully it is helpful to those of you who have not yet sailed Regent or visited these ports.

We fall in the the not yet sailed Regent  category but have our first cruise with them booked on the soon to be released Grandeur.  Thank you for this live review.  Although our itinerary will be different from yours, your commentary and info is so very helpful.  I also have learned quite a bit by the subsequent comments posted by fellow followers.  

 

May you continue to enjoy your cruise this week as much as you did last week!  Eagerly following along...

GP

[WNcruiser]

Good morning from Oslo. We will be here for two days leaving tomorrow at 6:00 PM. It was a very scenic sail in through the Oslo fjord. It was quite dark and rainy looking but clouds are moving off and blue sky is starting to appear. We have a 3 hour panoramic tour in the afternoon. 
 

Another excellent dinner in Prime7 last night. Crab cake, beef tartare, goat cheese tart, hearts of romaine Caesar and the 18 oz prime bone-in ribeye. The infamous popcorn sundae and the bread pudding also showed up. I have raised the white flag for food. 
 

[WNcruiser]

I haven’t talked much about the breakfasts and lunches. We mostly go to La Veranda but the dining room is also open for a more formal atmosphere. Each day La Vernada offers a breakfast special such as stuffed French toast or eggs florentine. Pastries, oatmeal, cream of wheat, fruit and cereal are available every day along with the usual eggs and breakfast meats. The lunch is also themed daily with pizza, pasta and a salad bar available every day as well along with desserts and ice cream.

 

Yesterday I asked if they had papaya and this morning low and behold…papaya. Coincidence or not? 🤷‍♂️