mdunne48

Well the NAWC held a full meeting at 8:30 this morning. Surprisingly it was not well attended but the conditions were not that bad on deck 12. While walking, I was thinking about tonight’s entertainment, The Mersey Beatles, and a song popped into my head, “Here comes the SUN”. It tried mightily to break through the fog. Try, try, try as it did, today the fog won…..we will have low temperatures in the 30’s tonight. Would not be surprised to see some snow showers. Mid-segment report card: Foghorn — A+ (Right on-time every minute) Entertainment — A+ Food — a 2 (too much, too good, too often) Suite — A+ Staff — A++ About the only negative comment that we have concerns the in-room movies available. Definitely not first run or even third run. This might have to do with post COVID issues with the movie industry releases.

Landing in Greenland will have to wait another day. With the dense fog the tendering operation was deemed to be too dangerous to operate safely. Therefore no Paamiut!! Visibility is still measured in a few feet and the foghorn bellows once a minute. We are now going to have a sea day and continue on to Nuuk, Greenland. As I look out the balcony window the weather actually looks like it is deteriorating. Can’t imagine a more eerie scene. Flat seas, cold winds, no visibility, wet icy conditions, sounds like the perfect time for a walk on deck 12. 🙂

Working on it. Right now no Hendricks gin at the Observation or Horizon lounges.

A view from the bow of Voyager at 7:20 a.m. 7/23/2022. Forward visibility about 300 feet.

Day 9 - Paamiut, Greenland I wonder if we’ll get to see Paamiut?? Dense, cold fog is covering the Voyager early this morning. The visibility forward is only a few feet. The ship’s foghorn has been sounding every minute since around 4:00 a.m. The kind of morning at sea that tests a ship’s captain belief in the electronic package guiding the vessel. Cross reference everything on the bridge this morning…..please!!!! Irrespective of the fog the NAWC held a meeting of one on deck 12 albeit an abbreviated one. For fellow walkers make sure that you have good cross cut threads on your shoes. It helps immensely on mornings such as these where the deck is wet. Last night we returned to Chartreuse. Another excellent meal. After dinner The one armed bandit was not kind to the DW. We skipped the Little Opera Company’s show. Update later today after Paamiut…..(hopefully) with a mid cruise report… BTW, one item from the town hall that I did not mention. In the not too distant future you will be able to complete the post-cruise survey from the comfort of your living room for up to a week after debarkation.

Due to the abundance of sunshine and chocolate chip cookies there was an impromptu meeting of the NAWC (see post #82) held this afternoon on deck 12. There were a few temporary memberships granted but they did not pay the required GOW initiation fee therefore probably not permanent membership candidates. Digressing a bit, after the well attended Town Hall meeting the DW and I lunched in the Compass Rose. I believe that CR is fast becoming her favorite restaurant even in light of the slightly overcooked grouper. I had the tuna tartare which was excellent and the Chinese ribs, very good. DW switched to the tuna tartare. Of course everyone wanted to know why she didn’t like the grouper. An afternoon indulgence in sugar free raspberry yogurt and the absolutely fat “FREE” vanilla bean ice cream. Tonight it is once again Chartreuse. Can’t have too much of a good thing. Enjoy!!!! Food porn:

Unfortunately we depart the Voyager in Copenhagen 😞 We will be transiting to Amsterdam the day you board to catch up with the RSSC Navigator on August 12th 🙂 I'll try to leave a few unopened bottles but no promises…….;-)

From today’s town hall: No great earth shattering revelations from Jason. But here goes. By 1st quarter 2023 RSSC mobile app Promised website improvements (back end mostly) 2x improvement in bandwidth fleet wide (new ship board equipment that is back ordered) Looking at the LOSAT testing being done on certain Caribbean routes (other cruise companies) for near shore based internet experience. Any change for this item will take 2-3 years to implement. Grandeur on schedule for a November 2023 launch. More visuals of the planned decor for Grandeur were released. New 2024. / 2025 schedule available for booking Aug 22, 2022 Hefty price increase coming October 1st. Regent is a luxury OCEAN cruise line, not a river boat, not an adventure cruise line. We will stay true to our focus. Regent is committed to the environment. Will implement new green programs when and where they are able to. Supply chain issues effect almost every facet of RSSC. Airlines, airlines, airlines…..he explained that RSSC has increased their personnel in their air department by 50% but with all of the airline cancellations and there staffing shortages they still are having issues!!! Jason sees this as temporary but couldn’t give a date as to when it will return to pre-covid status, I.e. direct number to air. RSSC is looking at the most recent CDC recommendations concerning COVID. Expect new guidance before the fall 2022 cruising season starts.

Day 8 - at Sea There was another meeting of the North Atlantic Walking Club on deck 12 this morning with perfect attendance of one. It’s quite the treat to have an entire deck to yourself. Not even any crew this morning. The weather continues to be a high overcast but the winds predicted did not materialize. Temperatures in the 50’s so walking was very comfortable. Seas today are not as smooth as yesterday. A little bit of commotion on the ocean. I agree with Deep Freeze that the Voyager theatre is better than the Explorer. Jason Montague will be hosting his town hall meeting there this morning at 11:00. Stay tuned for a report on that event.

Tonight’s dinner was at Chartreuse. It was excellent. I’ll need an extra workout tomorrow to counter the caloric intake. Warning Food porn: Entrees were lobster and rack of lamb both prepared perfectly as was everything else. There was a 30th anniversary special desert pictured below. Very goooood….

Tonight is the Regent 30th anniversary party / celebration….. here are some pictures from the atrium. The theme is the roaring 20’s. Not many guests were prepared with that costuming but the crew Is full flapper. Jason Montague hosted…..

What was partly sunny earlier this morning has turned into a solid high overcast. Temperature is probably mid to upper 50’s but there is little to no wind. I had the walking track to myself, well at least in the beginning. Not a soul on deck 12 besides me, peaceful!!! The ocean is like a calm lake this morning, hardly a ripple. At sea your eyes play a trick on you thinking that there are mountains in the distance. In reality it is the combination of the curvature of the earth and the overcast skies that deceive you. Waiting on breakfast to be delivered. Our butler, Suresh, has been right on time every morning. Speaking of crew …… Everything that most people expect and cherish about Regent has been happening on this cruise. The attentiveness, the politeness, the touches of class that elevates Regent to a higher level then most luxury crew lines is back in abundance. It is a friendly warm service. Hopefully it is not just because of the 30th anniversary cruise designation or that the CEO is onboard. We will find out as we continue on the Voyager after Reykjavik.

Here is the tumbler (set of 2) that everyone received.

Day 7 - at Sea… A very calm ocean all night into this morning. The weather looks like it will be a sunny day well at least to begin. The entertainment last night in the main theatre was Shimi Goldman. He is a tenor based in London. What a voice!! He put together a great 45 minute show that received a standing ovation. I have to say that Regent upped the entertainment quotient for this 30th anniversary cruise. There have been 4 headliner acts so far and all have been excellent. We are also going to have an Icelandic soprano aboard for the last evening. Can’t remember her name but she is internationally known. Since we did the excellent wine connoisseur lunch we decided that dinner was to be a simple soup and sandwich in the suite. Can’t rave about either but the dress code was very relaxed :-) Regent also provided each suite with a set of commemorative Waterford tumblers in recognition of the 30th anniversary. Photos to follow later today. Glad we came with a half empty suitcase. Definitely going to need it. Deck 12 beckons this morning. I’ll layer up as it is hard to tell what the outside temperature is. I think Bingo is on today’s agenda and the Pearl 30th anniversary celebration this evening in the atrium hosted by CEO Jason Montague. There is also a pre-dinner show tonight with another headliner, pianist Chris Hamilton. So much to do and enjoy!!!

The excursions in Killybegs brought out some heavier wear. Our excursion, a walk in the Blue Stacks, was quite pleasant with only a windbreaker. No gloves, nor ski caps needed. Yesterday on board ship there were a lot of winter jackets being worn by those that ventured outside. A lot of wind and temperature in the mid 50’s.

The half full decanter is a bottle of Louis XIII Cognac. I believe it was being sold at the luncheon for $85 a half ounce. Yes there were takers!!!!

The connoisseur lunch was superb. 6 pairings were prepared for this well attended event. The time invested was about 2 1/2 hours. Pictures to follow.

Some pictures from the decks this morning. All the pool deck chairs stacked away. Deck 12 is roped off this morning. Temperatures probably in the upper 40’s. Wind is NNE @ 33 knots with partly cloudy skies. Welcome to the North Atlantic Ocean!! A view from the observation lounge. As you can see the seas are not that turbulent.

Before moving day 5 to the memory lane a few items to revisit. Last night’s dinner at Compass Rose was excellent. The best of the cruise so far. DW had the filet mignon with mushroom sauce cooked to a perfect medium rare temperature. I had the cod filet also perfectly seasoned and prepared. Sides were spinach and potatoes for DW. food porn….. Today we have the wine connoisseur’s lunch in Chartreuse…I’ll try to take lots of photos of both the wines and food presented. Need a 2nd cup of coffee or a martini. Wouldn’t need to shake the martini as the ship is providing quite the stir…..

Day 6 — North Atlantic or “Rock ‘n Roll all night”. No Gene Simmons was not performing last night on board the Voyager. Mother Nature however was…..let’s call this act “heavy seas” or “shake it up baby”’ which happened to be the last song played last night by the Mersey Beatles, a full Beatles replica cover band. How prophetic!! BTW, they were pretty good. This morning as we speed along with the sun shining, since 4:10 am or thereabouts, we are still enjoying a roller coaster ride. There are not that many whitecaps visible nor do the swells look particularly large. We probably are running against the current causing the “commotion on the ocean” ( stolen from Ben Woodwind). Should I venture out for coffee or wait a few hours until breakfast.? Decisions decisions……. I think coffee wins over safety or sanity….later

Ship’s executive concierge insists there are 529 paying passengers on board this segment. Now does Jason Montague and family count???? He asked if I thought there were any stowaway’s on board and I told him, YES!!! I even gave them a name and bad photo of the perpetrator, Bill alias UUNetBill. Last seen at all bars simultaneously!!!

Day 5 - Killybegs, Ireland Definite change in the weather this morning. Temperatures in the 50’s with substantial cloud cover with the threat of rain showers. A typical Irish morning I am told. Killybegs is a deep water seaport in county Donegal, the northwestern corner of the Republic of Ireland. It was noted for its fishing industries in past years but in recent times that has not been true as evidenced by the number of trawlers docked in port. Today we went on the tour, A walk in the Blue Stack Mountains. A 30 minute bus ride through the lush green Irish countryside brought us to the beginning of our walk adjacent to a soccer pitch. Up, down and around the Blue Stacks for 2.5 miles with expert commentary by our Irish guide, Moira. She was the proverbial fountain of knowledge concerning Irish history and folklore. Her specialty is in Neolithic civilizations, not necessarily Irish. Listening to her explain the connection between Ireland and the Ukraine was fascinating. If you are ever in this port on Regent I highly recommend this tour. Back to the ship by 12:15 and a light, by Regent standards, lunch in LaVeranda. Rain started at 1:00 p.m……but very light. All is good aboard RSSC Voyager.

Day 4 - Belfast We docked in Belfast very near the city’s Center, only about a15 minute bus or cab ride in / out. There is a massive Titanic exhibit that we experienced today. Takes about 2 hours at a minimum to gather in all the information. It was well presented and broken into different genres to keep your interest. Kudos to Belfast and the creators of this experience!!! We also did the Hop on hop off bus through and around Belfast. The city in certain areas was very vibrant and alive with activity, mostly university areas. There are other areas where the gates close and are locked at 7:00 pm to keep the religious/ political factions that have divided this city for generations apart from each other. Very sad, indeed very sad…..In the central downtown area you would never think that there was such discord only 2 miles away. Everyone was laughing, sunning themselves and having a really good time on a hot summer’s day. Pictures to follow…. We returned to Voyager via cab, 9£, from central Belfast around 2:00 pm. Grabbed a quick lunch on the pool deck and then retired to the cabin for a break …. Trivia at 4:30 for me but didn’t do to well…. Off to Setti Marie again for dinner. We were able to get one of the outside tables after some questions as to whether the outside section would open due to the wind. Once settled we enjoyed a very good dinner. Outside with a sail away view such as the first picture…..can’t beat that. Food pictures: 1). small lasagna 2). swordfish with potatoes DW 3). braised chicken thighs with polenta 4). not pictured - gnocchis that were excellent again…..