Explorer Day 1 of 14 day Caribbean Voyage

Pingpong, We have communicated sympathetically in the past. Now I know we are kindred spirits. Top 5 breakfast cbh, eggs and LOTS of ketchup:)

The wife and I decided it was time to actually do some recon on the first excursion. We knew (and were excited for) that it was diving, but we really hadn't tried to nail down the details. This is a good place to interject my/our feelings about cruises - at least the ones we've had so far. Rule one: It's not about the destinations, it's about the ship. It's an amazing hotel where you wake up someplace new every day. Rule two: repeat rule one. Most ports are tourist traps - or, if you're given to look for the bigger picture - economy boosters for places that might otherwise have nothing to look forward to. But excursions give you the ability to invigorate your day. Some are like USA Today - just highlights of what's around and "stuff" that's happened there. Others are adventures. Some may be hits, some disasters. ALL are stories brought about by your mobile hotel. So fun!. So, that said, for all who are just testing the waters (so to speak) or felt let down by their first cruise and hope to have another make a difference.. remember - it's about the ship. And for the record, Explorer is (so far) fantastic. Now, Aruba is known for it's world class diving. Just like Portland Oregon is known for.. ok, food carts. But just because it exists doesn't mean it's going to make your day. Of course it's all subjective, but most divers of relative skill level tend to agree on the key points. As with cooking, diving is of personal importance to me. I've been a diver since I was 11 (I'm 19 now... Yes, she's shaking her head) but regardless, I've seen allot. When my wife and kids opted to join the underwater world, I was thrilled. I only wish they could have seen things prior to all of our efforts to poison it's beauty. Reefs are failing at an alarming rate. We only listen to that which makes us happier - "oh, they'll be ok... it's just a cycle..." blah blah blah. Truth is if you want to see living reefs first hand for the few years they have left.. get in the water. Otherwise Netflix Jacques Cousteau. Alright, back to today. Several things make a dive better: morning and night dives are great. Afternoon is just ok. A boat crew that's not in a hurry and has things all ready to go when you arrive. At least 45 minutes between dives (out gassing), water and snacks or fruit or both in between and after. Good diving conditions and water temperature. And most of all, close attention to all once underwater.

Ours had only good diving conditions and water temperature. I won't go into detail here, because it wasn't bad.. just not well done in any way. My wife and I love diving and any time we get a warm water dive we usually are happy with that - that's where we are at today. The excursion didn't start until 1pm and we arrived in Aruba at about 9:30. So wandering around "tourist town" was a fine morning stretch. Back on board by 5:30. Showered, cocktailed and ready for the ship Barbeque up on the pool deck. As I type this from our deck looking out at a ship called the Freewinds (apparently a Church of Scientology ship), I'm kind of fuzzy all over realizing I'm here in warm beautiful Aruba and have had such a full day. Ok, and one/two wonderful cocktails (top shelf mind you) that is part of my room nightly free-b's. (YES, I know I paid for it... but Shhhhh! Don't remind me until next month!). Also SO happy I'm on this ship and not theirs. More post BBQ.

I am loving your descriptions. George refuses to order room service breakfast for exactly the issue you describe.

My experience in Aruba on a regent ship is that the snorkeling tour is actually pretty good, but the diving not so much. But I can't do either now due to a serious middle ear issue, so can only advise. My Ent almost had a stroke when I told him I had been snorkeling in Aruba.

Love the comment about costing so much to appear so cheap. I love my bling, and expensive bling it is.

BBQ Baby! That's what I would usually say. Tonight, no exception. They did a decent job and the pool deck was buzzing. Whole pig, ribs, lamb chops, sausages, brat, chicken, fish, seafood skewers, pickled cabbage (keep trying!), sushi (yeah, it's SO BBQ..right? Who cares.. it was great), amazing desserts and the most amazing attentive wait staff I have ever experienced... and I always look!. Restaurant owners creed to success: Great food, poor service.. fail in a year. Great service mediocre food.. win for life. Now mind you I was a bit starving, but it was the perfect fit. Now a quick word on dress code of which I was overly concerned. I told you what Mike said about no worries.. well it's been proven true with each meal. Breakfast today was out on the back deck in gym garb surrounded by polite tank top/short/Sandeled sun worshipers. My wife and I in gym garb were ushered in by staff as we merely attempted to peak at the crowd. This was probably made more acceptable by the need for so much ketchup at breakfast. You know I kid but let's roll the dice shall we? Who knows who may read this?. Anyway, my point being for those worried about the presumed dress requirements for a cruise of this expense (and I doubt there are many "trashy" folks checking out this board - just say'n) no worries. We are exhausted from the day's activity and have happily returned to our room for wine, cheese and a movie which my wife will never see half of. The "people watching" on this voyage has been educational and fun.. fun only because over all it's been positive. Meaning there are enough common folk to balance or even out pace the snobs. Did I just use that word? Sorry.. I meant ... (Woody! Come to bed before you get in trouble.."). Management calls. Good night to all. Tomorrow is Bonaire and an ATV excursion through the Washikemba Reserve. AKA the next Hotel Stop. :)

Chefwoody,

Love your posts. One constructive request: Could you please divide up long posts into paragraphs? Much easier to read. Thanks!

we are loving your posts. Thanks so much. We will be on the Feb 14th sailing. Wanting to know if the water in the pools onboard is warm??? Looking forward to your reply and continued posts.

Thank you for your posts... I'm finding them quite entertaining. Quick question, we'll be sailing on the Panama Canal cruise embarking December 28th. Is the Infinity Pool open? If so, is it crowded? I haven't heard much about it on this or the previous cruise blogs. Continued safe travels!! Steve

This is a good place to interject my/our feelings about cruises - at least the ones we've had so far. Rule one: It's not about the destinations, it's about the ship. It's an amazing hotel where you wake up someplace new every day. Rule two: repeat rule one. Most ports are tourist traps blah blah blah.

I've been following your voyage and totally disagree with you about this. If you went on different ships, smaller ships, you might avoid the tourist traps. Cruise ships for me are merely taxis from one place to the next. Of course I like a ship to be comfortable with good food but that's not the priority for me. I want to land on places like Pitcairn, Tristan, Aldabra and see the remotest reefs in Papua New Guinea and the Solomons . . . and I have done.

I'm on my first Regent ship next year and hope to write up something every day as well.

Just a tip from a published author, Chefwoody - if you divide your reports into paragraphs it makes it easier to read. Keep those coming.

Thank you for your posts... I'm finding them quite entertaining. Quick question, we'll be sailing on the Panama Canal cruise embarking December 28th. Is the Infinity Pool open? If so, is it crowded? I haven't heard much about it on this or the previous cruise blogs. Continued safe travels!! Steve

Steve, I will answer your question as I am on the cruise as well. It is open and I saw no one in the pool. It is accessible by a wrap around promenade as well as through the spa. It is a small pool however but I can see the attraction. The pool splashes up against a see through plexiglass short wall to give you the infinity look.

Dennis

This is a good place to interject my/our feelings about cruises - at least the ones we've had so far. Rule one: It's not about the destinations, it's about the ship. It's an amazing hotel where you wake up someplace new every day. Rule two: repeat rule one. Most ports are tourist traps - or, if you're given to look for the bigger picture - economy boosters for places that might otherwise have nothing to look forward to. But excursions give you the ability to invigorate your day. Some are like USA Today - just highlights of what's around and "stuff" that's happened there. Others are adventures. Some may be hits, some disasters. ALL are stories brought about by your mobile hotel. So fun!. So, that said, for all who are just testing the waters (so to speak) or felt let down by their first cruise and hope to have another make a difference.. remember - it's about the ship.

I've been following your voyage and totally disagree with you about this. If you went on different ships, smaller ships, you might avoid the tourist traps. Cruise ships for me are merely taxis from one place to the next. Of course I like a ship to be comfortable with good food but that's not the priority for me.

I tend to agree with both points of view....................depending on the part of the world

In the Caribbean and on a TransAtlantic it is all about the ship

In other parts of the world it is about the itinerary and the wonderfully diverse ports and people

Chefwoody, I am thoroughly enjoying your posts...........despite your sometimes OTT inverted snobbery ;)

First and foremost thank you all for the encouraging and constructive replies. I will diligently begin corrective grammar and paragraph structure. But no promises on the late evening posts. First some business. As mentioned by Dennis (thank you Dennis) the infinity pool is a hidden and under utilized gem aboard Explorer. The only draw backs as I see them are the lack of sun exposure based on our current route, and it's tendency to turn into a wave pool in 5ft swells. Both pools are warm, but not so that they're not refreshing. I feel the nicest part of the infinity pool is its immediate proximity to the aroma therapy steam bath, ice room and infra red sauna. All available to any level of cabin... sorry, suite.

This morning found us arriving in Bonaire around 7:30am. Proud to say today I also awoke before our coffee and was properly dressed (for the gym) and had even brushed my teeth - I find this keeps people from looking down or away from me when I give them a up close morning greeting. Go figure. My wife was also back in the early morning swing of things and was quick to play back some of your writing 101 requests :). Maybe I'll try telegraph style tonight:STOP. Move along:STOP. Ok:STOP.

They've turned the corned beef crash into hash disks. Covered in eggs, smoked salmon and capers - and Ketchup of course - I managed a feeding. All be it in a gourgous invironment, I began to think of what the astronauts eat. By comparison I am very very fortunate. STOP.

Today is the Washikemba Reserve by ATV. The sun is out (10am) but earlier forecast is for possible showers. While our tour is not until 11:25, we've opted to drink champagne and play cribbage rather then venture around the immediately available tourist village. This life is rough rough rough.. ruff?.

Last paragraph until tonight. We can not say enough about the service and work ethics (yes personalities too) of the people working on Explorer. Most get only 4 hours at a time to sleep, but not one registers any complaint or sign of "issue". And Fletcher, I realize of course there are always exceptions to the rule. But the caribbean is well known to me and suffice to say when you dock a large ship (700 folks or more), it's going to be touristy. And there's nothing at all wrong with that, as I said, it's important to their economy. But the ship, well Fletcher that my friend is the constant in the equation. If your expectations are met or exceeded on the ship, well it's money well spent. And really, the people I'm posting to/for are those searching for (as I was) a reason to surrender so much hard earned cash. For us, so far we will happily say 100% YES!. Film at 11.

Forgot to proof read the last one. Environment.. sorry . And anything else wrong in there.. sorry. STOP:

I tend to agree with both points of view....................depending on the part of the world

In the Caribbean and on a TransAtlantic it is all about the ship

 

In other parts of the world it is about the itinerary and the wonderfully diverse ports and people

I could not agree more - I much prefer cruises where we go to new and interesting places, such as in Asia and Africa - I did one Caribbean cruise and was bored to tears (although I did catch up on my sleep and re-energize my batteries). Since I am not a sun/water person, but rather learn new things, the more exotic the itinerary the better.

Off topic - recently read that Buzz Aldrin was airlifted from the South Pole after suffering altitude sickness - I looked up the tour company and thought, WOW, that is a tour I want to take - until I saw the price, which starts at 64,000 Euros for eight days not including airfare to Cape Town - that will have to wait until after retirement ;)

gnomie :)

Hello Chefwoody,

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences with us. Keep the posts coming.

Chefwoody,

I hate to sound like a pedant, but could you also add a space between each paragraph (as I did below)? As another poster noted, that makes for far easier reading. Otherwise your posts are a blast to read.

If we didn't love your amusing posts we wouldn't care!

Also, I had read that sauna users were disappointed in the infrared sauna because it isn't hot enough...or hot at all. What do you and others who have used it think about it?

Also, I had read that sauna users were disappointed in the infrared sauna because it isn't hot enough...or hot at all. What do you and others who have used it think about it?

I asked my DH about this as he utilized the sauna and aromatherapy room(?) - not sure if it is a steam room or what it is - and said that the sauna takes time to heat up but it does get hot.

Dennis, our experience was also that few people were at the infinity pool. We couldn't believe how high the waves were in the pool but my DH did enjoy it for about 5 minutes.

Chefwoody- have you ever thought about doing a comedy routine on state? You are very funny as well as informative! It seems that you really "get" Regent and the Explorer.

Has John Barron done his show yet? If he hasn't, strongly suggest that you attend as we found it to be the best show on board (exception: Krew Kapers).

(But we will always cringe at the decor. As the great Dolly Parton once said "it cost a lot of money to look this cheap"!)

The first time I had heard this expression was on the Explorer and then continued to hear it a number of times - I didn't know where it came from, now I do!

gnomie :)

Just wrote a ton.. had it suddenly lost due to connection issues... will post again tomorrow.

Just wrote a ton.. had it suddenly lost due to connection issues... will post again tomorrow.

Believe me, I know how frustrating that can be and feel your pain - if you have your own device and are not dependent on the ship's computers, you may want to consider composing off line and then using cut and paste so that you do not lose what you wrote in the event of a lost connection.

gnomie :)

Alrighty then, let’s wrap up day four. Hit the dock a little early to meet with “The Washikemba Reserve by ATV” excursion folks. Very warm and a bit muggy. Earlier I had advised “management” that she may need closed toed shoes and should probably call ahead to just to see. You might be surprised, but she didn’t heed my advice. Upon arrival to our tour spot, “we” were advised that shoes would required and long pants (which I did not have) were advisable. Back to the cabin. This another wonderful thing about a small ship, so easy to the there and back.

We boarded a small bus and received a stern lecture about the repercussions of “goofing around” on their new (August) Yamaha ATV’s (four wheel motorcycles). I opted not to advise our host that we were easily as old as his parents and that he should respect his elders, but that would have been cliché and management would have bruised my rib cage (again). Our bumpy five mile journey took winded us through town and country side arriving at a dusty encampment holding about 15 ATV’s. There were eight of us and as we arrived we met about eight others from our ship that had just completed the excursion (three groups were staged at three different times). We traded places, put on our helmets and received instructions. Guess I picked a bad day not to have a tattoo. But who knew I’d be a biker in Bonaire?.

Three guides to our little group of eight seemed like Regent ratio planning. On our end it was two people per ATV. Management kindly allowed me first at the wheel. That put her on the back with a slightly elevated view and a nice back rest. The ATV’s also sported nice sized side boxes that could hold cameras, coats water etc.. . Once we were all checked out, it was off… dog and pony into, well by the description in our brochure we both thought it would be dense tropical something… not quite. We spent the first half mile on a paved road that passed a slightly ripe landfill, and a half empty lagoon of sorts the was filled with a mix of tires and flamingos. I yelled back to my wife that they were probably plastic and received a poke to the ribs. “Eyes on the road!”. We finally left civilization and into the great wild… um, cactus covered lava plain. A washed out road guided us deeper into the reserve where we enjoyed the dust and exhaust of the folks in front of us, and searched carefully for the wildlife held within. About half way through we finally found our prey – six donkey’s stood staring at us as our guide pointed them out as we zoomed by. Reminded me of Chevy Chase in the movie Vacation where he looks out at the Grand Canyon, puts an arm around his wife’s shoulder, looks out and nods and says “yep.. really beautiful. Now let’s go”.

The tour was actually quite fun. We explored a small cave, heard a bit of history, traveled to the far eastern side (docked on the west) of the island to the light house and back. Management forced her hand at the cave and made me her “bike babe”. Glad I called off the tattoo thing. The sun stayed with us for the entire two hours and when we returned to our starting place, a new group of folks were ready to switch with us. Probably from the Caribbean Princess as our group was the last scheduled from Explorer. Lucky us, unlucky them. The weather was changing fast and by the time we had returned to the ship (got a little walk through tourist town in too) the rains had come in force. But just for about an hour. We had some time before our Prime 7 dinner reservations so went for some aroma therapy and showers.

Prime 7… Da Steak House. The menu reads like my Christmas wish list (I love good food, what else does one need a better present?). In sum.. after they brought our wine and a teaser shot glass of a wonderful warm tomato soup covered by a layer of a cheesy foam – perfect mix of sweet, salt and a bit of umami. Dinner for me: fois gras sliders, steak tar tar, Caesar salad, prime NY strip, creamed spinach complimented by a rich bordeau. My wife had the tuna tar tar, mixed green salad and Maine lobster (out of the shell which was an option). We split a slice of banana cream pie and somehow managed to have enough energy to donate some funds to the casino. In all, a great day!

Chef Woody.....you are awesome! Love your humor, love your posts! Thanks so much for sharing!

Chefwoody, You have a Lawrence Sanders style of writing which is one of my favorite authors who is no longer with us. Hope we run into you and Management on the cruise.

Dennis

For you walkers on Explorer:

Decks 7,8 and 9 have wrap around inside corridors which is especially nice on windy sea days. 6 times around is approximately 1 1/3 miles.

The miso black cod we had last night in Pacific Rim was truly outstanding. I liked it slightly better than Crystal's version in Silk Road. And that is high praise indeed.

Our only miss so far on the cruise was the 72 hour beef short rib in Chartreuse. Hard to believe how something cooked 72 hours could be tough and virtually tasteless. But 1 out of how many? Not bad odds at all.

Dennis

Chefwoody, Thanks so much for your wonderful live blog! My husband and I just completed our first Regent Caribbean cruise a few weeks ago and loved it. We booked the November, 2017 transatlantic Explorer cruise while onboard the Mariner.

Reading your take on the ship is so refreshing! Keep up the good work and enjoy your cruise!

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