LIVE: Explorer's First Holiday | Dec. 18-28

Live Explorer threads are all the rage right now and I'm a follower. So here we go!

We arrived in Miami (after a 4 hour and 16 minute flight...from Los Angeles?! Great tail wind.) early this morning, have caught up on sleep and are staying overnight before boarding the ship tomorrow.

This will be our (father & daughter duo) 7th Holiday Cruise on Regent and they have yet to disappoint. After a not so great year, I have been looking forward to this trip for about 16 months. It's also been 5 years since our last, so we feel we're overdue! Christmas cruises are very, very fun. The ship is decked out in decorations and the families onboard add a great energy and a slightly different dynamic. The 24-year old daughter will be the one writing all this (that's me, hello!).

We depart Miami and circle the Eastern Caribbean for 10 days. We’re very excited to see the new ship as that is our primary reason for choosing this cruise, in addition to it being my graduation/birthday/and Christmas present! We’ve done this itinerary before and are crossing our fingers for good weather unlike our last RSSC cruise in 2011 that resulted in 2 missed ports and an unexpected overnight.

Enough rambling. I hope that at least one person finds interest in reading this & if not, I’ll have a souvenir journal when I get home! I’ll do my best to upload as many pictures and info as the "high-speed internet" will allow! ;)

-Amanda

PS: ChefWoody, if you read this, I aspire to be as funny and witty as you. It probably won't go well but I hope I get an "A" for effort!

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Hi Amanda - I am very excited that you will be posting live from the Explorer - I enjoy all of the feedback from this wonderful ship.

I see that you have taken several Regent cruises. If your first experience on the Explorer is like ours, you may find yourself getting lost the first couple of days as the ship is laid out completely different than the others.

Can't wait to hear your reports. My sons (ages 30 and 25) have sailed with us on regent many times and enjoy it, even with their mom. Have a great trip.

I'll be reading it, so tell all...........

Good Evening from Miami!

We just finished a feast at Joe's Stone Crab. Exactly 15 years ago (& 1 day) we first came here before our very first Regent Christmas cruise back in 2001 on the Mariner. Stone crab, baked potatoes, lime-infused corn and of course, key lime pie. I've been preparing for the next 10 days by eating quinoa, chicken and salad just about every day for the last 2 months. Glad that's over with and I can have some fun now. If you ever find yourself in Miami and haven't been to Joe's, do yourself a favor and GO.

Tomorrow there will be 14,0091 passengers going through Miami as we are sharing the port with Royal Caribbean, Disney, Norwegian and Carnival. Yikes. Thankfully Regent is on the other side but traffic into the area should be interesting.

Weather is a warm & humid but comfortable. Tomorrow it's forecasted to be nice & muggy. We are staying at the Four Seasons Miami and it is simply gorgeous. Fish-eye courtesy of the GoPro.

Glad to see I have a few readers thus far :) don't be shy, say hi! Talk to you tomorrow on board....!

(Also I'm posting these from the CC app on my phone and I haven't the slightest if the formatting looks okay...please let me know if it doesn't.)

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Looks great!

The crab looks amazing! We have an extra night in Miami before our cruise -- may have to check this restaurant out! Thrilled that you are able to post photos on CC. I "sort of" can but it is a challenge. Look forward to your comments and photos:-)

Live Explorer threads are all the rage right now and I'm a follower. So here we go!

 

We arrived in Miami (after a 4 hour and 16 minute flight...from Los Angeles?! Great tail wind.) early this morning, have caught up on sleep and are staying overnight before boarding the ship tomorrow.

 

This will be our (father & daughter duo) 7th Holiday Cruise on Regent and they have yet to disappoint. After a not so great year, I have been looking forward to this trip for about 16 months. It's also been 5 years since our last, so we feel we're overdue! Christmas cruises are very, very fun. The ship is decked out in decorations and the families onboard add a great energy and a slightly different dynamic. The 24-year old daughter will be the one writing all this (that's me, hello!).

The

We depart Miami and circle the Eastern Caribbean for 10 days. We’re very excited to see the new ship as that is our primary reason for choosing this cruise, in addition to it being my graduation/birthday/and Christmas present! We’ve done this itinerary before and are crossing our fingers for good weather unlike our last RSSC cruise in 2011 that resulted in 2 missed ports and an unexpected overnight.

 

 

 

Enough rambling. I hope that at least one person finds interest in reading this & if not, I’ll have a souvenir journal when I get home! I’ll do my best to upload as many pictures and info as the "high-speed internet" will allow! ;)

 

-Amanda

 

PS: ChefWoody, if you read this, I aspire to be as funny and witty as you. It probably won't go well but I hope I get an "A" for effort!

 

 

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Hi Amanda. Look forward to meeting you and your Dad. He is probably more our fintage altho we think young😎😎

Welcome aboard. We have been O since Rome and this ship is a beauty

We will be joining you tomorrow. We are anxiously awaiting both our Explorer and our holiday experience. We were on the Mariner last Christmas and enjoyed it so much, decided to do it again. Looking forward to meeting you and also to share our impressions here as well. Cheers!

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Looking forward to hearing a younger perspective than what I typically read on this board.

I am amazed that Joe's is still a hit after all of these years. We are in Miami often but have not been back in several years. I will be there in February, so will need to try it again!

Lynn

Keep in mind Joe's does not take reservations and they are always busy.

Keep in mind Joe's does not take reservations and they are always busy.

But worth the wait!

We live in Miami and eat at Joes quite often. If you go when they open you will be seated immediately. They open at 5 for dinner. During season the wait later in the evening can be up to 3 hours on a weekend!

We just had dinner there this week and it was as great as always.

If its too busy, you can go to their take out next door, pick up lunch or dinner and walk down the street to south point park and have your meal there, or just eat in the take out, its very nice for a quick meal.

We're awaiting the "rooms are ready" announcement so I thought I'd give just a quick update. More details to follow later.

The ship is everything everyone said it is--unbelievably gorgeous in every way. The details are second to none. It's so nice being on a ship that's SO NEW. It looks like it's hardly been used and that isn't something that comes around often.

I heard through the grapevine there are 50 passengers ages 1-18 onboard. I've already seen about a dozen myself.

There are wreaths, red ribbons, gingerbread houses and Christmas Trees everywhere. Pictures to follow :) We even have carolers in the atrium!

An absolutely beautiful day in Miami. More to come later tonight!

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Greetings from South Beach, Amanda. I like your breezy style. Thanks for posting. DH and I live a block away from Joe's. We buy at the Take-Away quite often, and dine at the "Real Joe's" when we feel festive. The food is very good as is the service. What many people do is wait at the bar or at the outside tables while having a few drinks. Not a good idea if driving is on the schedule. Take Uber or Lyft if that's a plan.

Joe's is only one of a large collection of excellent restaurants within two blocks of our building: Red, the Steakhouse, Milo's, The Bake House, Il Mulino, Prime 112, Prime Fish, Prime Italian and Fogo De Chao for starters. For those on a budget, Big Pink on Collins and Second Street, is a good choice.

Explorer is pulling out today for a ten day cruise. If I time my pooches' walk right, I will see it from South Point Park. If I miss it, there will be other chances. Riviera was here last week and it was in the front on Dodge Island, instead of terminal J. We are sailing on Regent's TA on Explorer March 26th. On the same day, Oceania's Riviera is sailing out on its TA and will be in Bermuda with us.

Mary

Amanda - thanks for the lovely photo! When I read your comment about children (50 is really a lot for Regent), it occurred to me that this is a Christmas cruise with many families onboard. I'll be interested in your "take" on how well parents and Regent do in terms of keeping the children occupied and happy. Side note: When school is in session, most Regent cruises have 0-4 children onboard (number of kids - not their ages:-)

So good to hear that the Voyager looks like a new ship. She was our favorite ship for years (now the Explorer is but still look forward to being back onboard the Voyager).

Looking forward to more posts and photos:)

Jackie

P.S. Mary, really suggest that you make a request to visit the Riviera (if you haven't seen it already). She is truly a beautiful ship and is worth seeing. Requests need to be made through Regent (or your TA can get you the online paperwork) 30 days in advance. Just a suggestion!

I am sure you will do a wonderful job!

Chefwoody missed his calling as a standup comic! LOL

Amanda.....am loving your posts! I spent my early mornings with Chefwoody...now it's your turn!. While I live in South Florida and eat stone crabs frequently, Joe's is always special. And to those going for the first time, yes, get there at 5 so you can be seated. Then just take your time over drinks, etc. Otherwise as others have said, you'll wait hours!

Looking forward to hearing Explorer details! Thanks and enjoy!!

Some pictures to enjoy while we await the lifeboat drill...

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I am sure you will do a wonderful job!

 

Chefwoody missed his calling as a standup comic! LOL

Carolsoll. Are u on the ship now??

The photo's look great and your post an easy read, looking forward to reading about your cruise. Looks like your having a great time with more to come - enjoy!

Rick

The decorations are lovely. Thanks for your posts.

Wow - the Voyager now looks like the Explorer. Wonderful photos!

Wow - the Voyager now looks like the Explorer. Wonderful photos!

It does because it is! We're on the Explorer :)

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Enjoying your posts and photos and looking forward to more. Have a great festive cruise.