FOOD - Live from the Mariner - April 2 - 20

I am finally leaving in the morning - April Fool's Day -- and will be on the Mariner April 2nd. When we were on Oceania last Nov./Dec. I did a similar thread. This thread will be somewhat of a comparison of the food on Oceania and Regent. I will also be finding out the exact coffee that is used on Regent to learn if it is different than what is used on Oceania. Again, photographs will be posted by “computerworks” who will be taking his first Regent cruise on the Navigator in about a month. I have no doubt that he will also post photographs from his cruise. I

I am starting this thread early - just in case we don’t make it to Rio in time to get on the ship. I have alluded to the fact that we are flying in the day of embarkation – something we have only done once or twice before. This was my error that no one picked up. Our final documents from Regent showed us arriving on April 1st, being picked up and driven to the hotel. Since we are not arriving until April 2nd (also indicated on the documents), there would have been no one to pick up. After discovering my error, I contacted our TA (who catches 99.9% of my mistakes) and they contacted Regent. It wasn’t surprising that there were no flights available for the correct day but I was not happy to learn that we could not have the Regent hotel credit. Although it was clearly my error, their computer somehow accepted our arrival date being the day after our hotel stay. In any event, our TA took care of things for us.

I am thinking positively and expect our three flights to take place without a hitch. We are really looking forward to seeing G.M., Franck Galzy on board. The crew love him and when they are happy, it filters down to the passengers. Willie Ames is the Cruise Director. He is such a nice and very talented man. C.D.’s tend to be busy on transatlantic cruises so we should be seeing a lot of him.

Once again, I am only taking my Kindle to use for photographs, reading, games, internet, etc. It did a pretty good job of taking food photos last time and I expect it to be the same this time. If Regent does something special for Easter and/or Passover (I expect that they will), I’ll take photographs of that as well.

One thing that I am a bit concerned about is the location of our suite (aft – above part of Horizons Lounge). Crossing my fingers that it is okay as we are booked in the same suite for the next two cruises.

Well, that is the preliminary stuff – should be on board Thursday at noon (Rio time).

Safe trip....

TC2:

Have a safe and enjoyable cruise! Please don't pull one of my stunts and speed drink caipirinhas. I missed an entire day in Rio once because of those little high-octane devils. We are looking forward to your posts and commentaries.

Safe Travels,

Z and TB

Have a great cruise. Don't feel bad about a screw up. I did something similar last year Coming home from Africa. We got to IAD and our connecting flight was AA to FLL after clearing customs and rechecking our luggage we headed for the gate to go home when we got to the gate the agent told us we were supposed to have been on yesterday's flight. The glare I got from Dan was piercing. The flight the day of my screw up was full and we were put on the stby list another glare at Mr. Wonderful who never makes a mistake. Well we got on but not two seats together.....thank God but it was in coach and Dan is highly allergic to coach and I did not want to hear his relentless bitching at me.

I had to keep my mouth shut because I am a former TWA/AA employee post merger and retired. We have unlimited passes for life on AA and other airlines but they still cost money and I had to eat the F/C surcharge. To make matters worse AA lost our luggage for two weeks as they sent it back to Africa. Nobody could trace the lost bags now I was in double trouble. In the end we did get them.

I have been told to use our miles positive space and our passes only when the flights are wide open and when is that these days. So Mr. Wonderful had egg on his face. It is funny now but not when the crap hit the fan.

Signed,

Mr. Wonderful

TC2 have a great trip. I spent hours last night pouring through your old post on menus; I am planning what food to try on our upcoming Baltic/Norway cruise on the Voyager. Your efforts are much appreciated by many.

Our first 2 Regent cruises (both TAs) were in Mariner Deck 6, starboard/aft G cabins and they were terrific, except the first had a tub (DW and I are too short for such). We had no "noise" from Horizons lounge. again, great sailing.

Fair winds and following seas, Jackie and Dennis.......

Will be awaiting your blog and maybe the occasional email...haha

Check out all of the bars and keep us posted as to the best one(s)!

Have one for us; we'll be thinking of you!

Linda

Have a wonderful trip. Looking forward to food reports.

I too have made a mistake on dates when booking flights and arrived the day after the flight I was supposed to be on. That is a real problem when coming home from overseas. I actually had to buy a one way business class ticket--though I eventually got reimbursed for most of it. So if intrepid travellers like suite travels, myself, and you can make that mistake, anyone can.

Jackie -

Have a wonderful time. Your photos last time were terrific and I loved seeing them so am eagerly looking forward to the ones from the Mariner. And don't feel badly about the date mix-up. I once did exactly the same thing...was sitting happily in my father's garden in Jakarta reading the paper when I should have been at the airport the other side of town...luckily all worked out well but we missed a day in HKG! Since then I check and then check again!

We are leaving our friend's flat in 40 mins for the Cruise port. On board, I think, at 1100. And I can't wait!! You fly safely and enjoy your very brief stay in Rio!

Gerry

Jackie - safe and timely journey for you and DH. Looking forward to your posts from Mariner and your food evaluation. I understand that Willie put on a terrific show a couple of nights ago.

I will be on Oceania Marina in May. Having gotten off of Mariner in March, I plan to do the reverse food evaluation , although I probably won't post, and if I do, no pictures.

Sitting in Seattle Delta lounge where drinks are not complimentary:( Regent booked the flights. Although we prefer non-U.S. airlines, we could not find better flights on our own. We drove to Vancouver - went through border then exited Canada at the airport and 're-entered the U.S. at the same airport (reciprocal agreement between our countries). Should you wonder why in the world we didn't just drive to Seattle, Vancouver is much closer and our return flight (on BA) takes us back to Vancouver (and our car).

Flights so far are on time and Delta isn't bad (except for the very expensive drinks in the lounge).

Thanks for all the well wishes and wrong date stories. Now I don't feel so bad. I am on my Kindle and it makes more typos than I do. Will check in again in Atlanta.

Have a great trip TC2, I'm particularly looking forward to your food reviews as we are trying a Regent cruise for the first time later this year. :)

Jackie, Have a great trip. Question, do you have a Kindle that takes pictures or is it the Fire or some other tablet? I am not aware of a Kindle with a camera and would want one asap.

Now in Atlanta... on time. Next flight appears to be on time. Beautiful airport ... lousy lounge.

Regarding Kindle, yes the Kindle DX has a camera. While not as great as my Canon, it is very easy and fast to send email and photos (but the only way I can post pictures is with help. When I get onboard and have time I will send you the link with the model. I used the IPad and found it complicated. This is simple. One moment I'm playing Cribbage or Gin on it then taking pictures, etc.

Finding Delta service to be excellent. Food is poor .... sorry.... no pictures:). Next post from Mariner.

Hi Jackie, On receiving your affirmative answer I went right to Amazon. I'm afraid what you have is a Fire hdx not a Kindle. Never have liked the Fire, in fact gave mine to my daughter and returned to the Kindle.

Bill

Hi Jackie, On receiving your affirmative answer I went right to Amazon. I'm afraid what you have is a Fire hdx not a Kindle. Never have liked the Fire, in fact gave mine to my daughter and returned to the Kindle.

Bill

Why didn't you like the HDX? And, what options does have that you don't care for? I actually have three Kindles -- the basic one for my DH, the Kindle Fire for my everyday reading (because it isn't heavy) and the HDX for traveling.

Got on the ship an hour ago and immediately thought I lost my Kindle. So, I went through La Veranda writing down menu items which I will list below. Kindle is found so I can start taking pictures later.

In La Veranda there was:

Rigatoni or Spaghetti with tomato, Bolognese sauce or Linguini al Pesto Genevese, Pesto Sauce and Green peas. this was at the Pasta station. It was prepared well but was not hot enough.

Also on the buffet was:

Cream of Vegetable Soup

Pita Pocket with tuna Fish

Pita Brad Babaga Ganoush (misspelled -- there will be other misspellings)

Cold Cuts

Marinated pickles

Crudites

Grilled Vegetable Terrine

Olive Baguette w/tomoto and Mozarella

Chicken Piccata

Stir Fry Beef w/vegies and oyster sauce

Pan Fried Fish w/Kalamata sauce

Roast Leg of Lamb

Baby Shrimps

Calimari

Smoked Trout

Smoked Salmon

Pizza station

Warm White Chocolate Pudding

Cookies

No Sugar Cookies

Carrot Cake

Raspberry and Chocolate Mousse

Assorted Tartlets

Mango and Coconut Moose Cake

Lemon Cake

Cup cake with mariange (misspelled) top

Brie Cheese

Gouda Cheese

Longres Cheese

Provolone

Danish Blue

Outside - special barbeque (South American)

Cheezy Croquettes Quinona

Columbian Coconut Lentils and Rice

S. America Beef and Chorizo Corn Chili

Emanadas de Carne

South American Pulled Pork

Long Skewers of Brazillian beef and pork..

Ceviche De Longostino

Casa Rellenne Con Pollo

Chimi Churri Sauce

Guacamole

Columbian Black Eyed Peas salsa

Grilled Potato Saladl

The Pool Bar also has hot dogs, hamburgers, etc.

That is an idea of the first meal of La Veranda. I ate very little (some pasta and small bites of Brazillian food. Really cannot make comparisons based on this.

Love our suite (aft) Rooms are ready at 2:30 p.m. and muster is 4:15 so not much time to shower and unpack. Hopefully will start taking photos later.

One thing I really love on Regent as opposed to Silversea is the different outside buffet by the pool every day. The South American theme sounds very good.

Here we go...all aboard!

The first batch of Food Pics has arrived

"...Tiger prawn cocktail ... ordered grilled."

 



 

"...mussel and clam appetizer ... yummy."

 



 

"...So many plates for consomme."

 

Ron, how in the heck did you do that so fast? I went from Compass Rose to the computer room and it's already posted. You are amazing - thank you:)

I want to "review" our meal. The only tiny things that were not perfect were the consomme and the Boston lettuce salad. I loved the soup but my DH tasted a spice that he did not care for. He had the Boston lettuce salad and found a few wilted leaves and thought that the nuts (forget what they were) were a bit rancid. The scallops were the best we have ever had. Note: Regent and many good restaurants on land serve scallops a bit under cooked. The only way that either of us want a scallop is cooked through. Zaldy (my "son from another mother") remembered that we like them "well done". They were cooked to perfection! The fresh fish tonight was from the rivers of Brazil. While I found that Brazil is cleaning up the city (somewhat), their waters are still polluted. We would not order fish from their local rivers.

I cannot really compare this meal to anything we have had on Oceania. I believe we had scallops once in Jacques which, as I recall, were fine but do not match up to what we had this evening.

Our luggage arrived late -- sometime after muster (meaning sometime after 4:15 p.m.) I'm quite tired and will end up finish the unpacking tomorrow morning (a sea day).

A couple of notes. After learning that Regent sells some cruises at half-price in the U.K., the number of Brits on board remind me of this every time I hear them speak (note: although my DH is British, I do not "hear" his accent".) Also more Asians that I have seen on any Regent cruise. There are three children from a Asian family (believe they live in the U.S.). Can't help being upset with parents that would take children out of school to go on a cruise with no other kids to play with (note: children are fairly young -- one or two are school age - grade school). When we left Compass Rose, they had already been sitting at the table for 2 hours.

Still haven't had a caipirinha, how in the heck did you do that so fast? I went from Compass Rose to the computer room and it's already posted. You are amazing - thank you:)

I want to "review" our meal. The only tiny things that were not perfect were the consomme and the Boston lettuce salad. I loved the soup but my DH tasted a spice that he did not care for. He had the Boston lettuce salad and found a few wilted leaves and thought that the nuts (forget what they were) were a bit rancid. The scallops were the best we have ever had. Note: Regent and many good restaurants on land serve scallops a bit under cooked. The only way that either of us want a scallop is cooked through. Zaldy (my "son from another mother) remembered that we like them "well done". They were cooked to perfection! The fresh fish tonight was from the rivers of Brazil. While I found that Brazil is cleaning up the city (somewhat), their waters are still polluted. We would not order fish from their local rivers.

I cannot really compare this meal to anything we have had on Oceania. I believe we had scallops once in Jacques which, as I recall, were fine but do not match up to what we had this evening.

Our luggage arrived late -- sometime after muster (meaning sometime after 4:15 p.m.) I'm quite tired and will end up finish the unpacking tomorrow morning (a sea day).

A couple of notes. After learning that Regent sells some cruises at half-price in the U.K., the number of Brits on board remind me of this every time I hear them speak (note: although my DH is British, I do not "hear" his accent".) Also more Asians that I have seen on any Regent cruise. There are three children from a Asian family (believe they live in the U.S.). Can't help being upset with parents that would take children out of school to go on a cruise with no other kids to play with (note: children are fairly young -- one or two are school age - grade school). When we left Compass Rose, they had already been sitting at the table for 2 hours.

Still have not had a caipirinha. Mudhen - checked out two bars -- neither are up to "our" specifications (have not tried the Observation Lounge yet but will attend a Meet and Greet there tomorrow morning)

More tomorrow.

The scallops look amazing. And i definitely want mine cooked through.

Shrimp look smaller then when we were on the Mainer in November.

Scallops well done? Usually will come up rubbery.

"There are three children from a Asian family (believe they live in the U.S.). Can't help being upset with parents that would take children out of school to go on a cruise with no other kids to play with (note: children are fairly young -- one or two are school age - grade school). When we left Compass Rose, they had already been sitting at the table for 2 hours."

Don't you think that is a rather rash/harsh judgment? The last couple of weeks in March through Easter is Spring break in many parts of the country.

Sounds like everything is going pretty well. So glad to hear all of your luggage arrived!(giggle!)

Food looks good, although for some reason, I seem to be a little underwhelemed (is that a word?!) Of course taste is key here! The thought of rancid nuts in a salad (or anywhere) is kinda off putting.

I will patiently wait for a "bar report"! Figure if I'm not happy with some of the food, I can always drink! haha!

Looking forward to further reports! Hugs....L&J

Thank you both for the lovely pictures and descriptions - I am looking forward to the rest of your posts. From a Brit who has booked her first Regent cruise because of the half price offers 😄 I can siarad Cymraeg tipyn bach or at least speak English in a nice Welsh accent if you prefer?

Do they do the salads without dressing or at least 'on the side'? I don't like too much dressing on a salad and that Caesar salad looks a little too well dressed for me. I used to have to stand at the salad bar on O's Insignia Terace and ask for a tiny bit of dressing and even then I usually had to ask them to pour half of what was in the ladle back into the pot! Some very perplexed expressions from the servers at first but they soon got used to me.

Very excited about my cruise in the summer but until then iechyd da to you all!