macbest

Was a little disappointed with the dinner choices in compass rose tonight so we headed to Sette Mari, the Italian, no reservations offering. Met up on the way up from pre dinner cocktails at the Horizon lounge with a couple from our pre cruise and had dinner together. 

The food overall was good but not great. Our pre appetizers that they deliver automatically to the table were cold. The buffet appetizer setup had a few offerings see below. These are clearly new recipes since our last cruise in Feb but not necessarily better. 

Off the pasta menu I had a mini version of the pasta carbonara. Again, good not great. Too much liquid and not enough fully cooked pancetta (when is there ever enough pancetta?). 

Main was veal Marsala with mushrooms (added) and extra sauce. Very good but not as tender as the veal picatta we had in compass rose the first night. 

We had a few desserts the cannoli and tiramisu both were tasty.

I thought the service really lacked again. Very slow, water glasses weren’t filled, slow in wine refills. The head waiter we had the first night who I talked to about the service did jump in to assist and thank goodness. With 538 people on board (max is 630) this is probably close the fullest sailing the voyager has had since Covid (don’t know this for sure but I heard there were much fewer passengers on the previous leg and I wonder if they added the extra staff needed to accommodate this fuller passenger count). 

We went to the casino for a short loss and then to the Voyager lounge to listen to the Glitter Duo for the first time. The music is all played from a computer with them adding vocals. Very Karaoke like and kind of cheesy compared to an act like Boogie and Kasha that we have seen several times before on Regent. That said they did play some good tunes and the dance floor was full including my wife and I which doesn’t happen to often - to swing Disco which was a lot of fun. I think we will practice a little more this afternoon so we can “tear up the dance floor” tonight! (Jk). 

The seas are much more friendly last night and this morning as the ship was protected by Iceland and we were only going 9 knots. We both slept like babies and didn’t wake up till 11:30 (we had a time zone change so 10:30 actually)! Now that is relaxing. I think I’m officially in the vacation zone……

We went and had Cappuccinos this morning before venturing around the ship. Ah, the good life. It appears the internet is up and working well again to do more updates to come on our precruise adventures. 

“The seas were angry my friend. Like an old man ordering soup at a deli.” (Reference George Kastania from Seinfeld)

From last night we had 10-12 foot swells as we go north of Iceland. We were woke at 7:30a in the room by the captain over the loudspeaker saying our port Husavik would be cancelled. It was a tender port and the seas were too high to safely get off. At first we were a little disappointed since we had a whale sightseeing trip that we were looking forward to and it was our last port in Iceland. But alas, safety first. 

Lunch today in compass rose was a special treat now that we have a sea day. They filled the menu with menu items from the alternative restaurants on the Splendor ship. 

We started with the tuna Niçoise salad from Chartreuse which is a modern adaptation. Beautiful presentation and yummy. 

We split one our favorites on Splendors’ Pacific Rim menu, the Duck Confit spring rolls. If this shows up, don’t miss it. 

For our entree I had the amazing Black Angus NY strip loin with Bulgogi sauce and wasabi mashed potatoes. A little much for lunch? Maybe for most but if you have had this before, you know it was not to be missed. Absolutely delicious. 

My wife had the Yellowfin Tuna salad  from Prime 7. Creamy avacado, shaved vegetables with a ginger sesame emulsion. Good but not as good as the Niçoise salad. 

That was a real treat to “bring us back” to our newest favorite ship, the Splendor that we took in February. 

Dinner Compass Rose, 2nd night

We revisited the main dining room after our less than stellar service yesterday (primarily to the crowds). We were met by name by the Matire D and led to a table by our same server Nino. Service was excellent all night. More attentative, and personalized to our requests. Definitely chalk it up to first night issues. 

The meal tonight was exceptional. We started with the “always available” side of the menu, escargot. This is always one of our favorites. I mean what is not to love. Garlic, butter, herbs and delicious bread. It did not disappoint. I think I have said it before, I could bathe in that sauce! 

Next was a delicious asparagus soup. While it said, “cream of asparagus” we didn’t detect any cream which made it lighter and more enjoyable. It did have some smoked salmon that wasn’t to our liking (we still tried it because that is the rule!) but we worked around it. 

We both had salads, a mixed green and a Caesar which were nicely dressed. After a kir royal sorbet, dinner was a grilled lobster tail (our waiter steered us away from the steamed lobster on the main menu). The Beijing beef stir fry with oyster sauce and cashews was calling and this was my favorite dish of the night.  I would order this again. My wife had a simples pesto pasta with some grilled shrimp. Very tasty but would have liked pine nuts with it. We also ordered steamed vegetables which we had last night and were very enjoyable. 

Ended with a hazelnut soufflé. Yum. 

Still having challenges with the included wines. The Pinot wasn’t drinkable. Tried a merlot that was much better. I have a meeting with the sommelier tomorrow to discuss other options on board. 

We had fun in the casino losing a little more money (but much slower than last night). 

By the time the meal ended the boat was really rocking side to side. We were warned about 10 foot swells throughout the night as we sailed around the top of Iceland. You had to hold on as you walked. At least it was side to side vs front to back as it just rocked us to sleep. I’m guessing others were very unhappy with the motion. It is all part of cruising. 

Sorry for the delay. Internet out on ship for last 25 hours. The local village part of the tour yesterday continued to the cute town of Suoureyri, a fisherman’s town. We got to sample smoke salmon (done right on premise- I am not a fan but with the horseradish Mayo it was ok.) Then some fresh made cod cakes with a home made tarter sauce. Those were delicious.

And then some dried cod which was hit with a sledgehammer as shown here first. Not a fan but we tried it. We ended up at a little cafe and had cod fish and chips (when in Iceland…). Might be the best I have ever had. Super creamy cod and a batter unlike others. Literally “crunchy”. We won’t be back to ship until 3:00 so why not try the local flavor?

Our guide was super cute. Lived near us for a few years in Larkspur CA (40 miles from us) and then came back here to this fisherman’s town. She literally lives in the street above where we were. She worked in the fish house breaking down fish and smoking them, busing tables at the cafe and now a tour guide. She is seen in the picture sledge hammering the dried fish! All in all, a fun excursion. 

Dynjandi waterfall tour and local village

In Isafjorour, Iceland today, our first stop. I love waterfalls (and pipe organs) and this was a wonderful tour to see the extensive set of waterfalls. 

We had great weather (any day without rain is good!) which allowed for a trek to the top (base of the largest waterfall). It is a thundering waterfall, the ultimate expression of Icelands countless bridal-veil cascades. The hike allowed for wonderful views of the beautiful fjord including the table top mountains nearby. 

This one was completely different than the other waterfall we visited on the pre-cruise, the Gullfoss falls (preview of that excursion below). 

Boarding was painless although since we were on a Regent pre cruise, we had to Covid test at the port. We missed the “no more Covid proof tests by 1 day, it starts Aug 1). That process took maybe 30 minutes due to the 27 people that were on the pre-cruise. After that test, it  was probably 15 minutes and we were on the ship. Given our pre-cruise arrived at the port at 2 PM there was no one else there. Our rooms were ready when we walked on the ship and we went out for a quick lunch at the pool grill. The new Matador hamburger was exceptional.

One of the pleasures of cruising is to have a pre dinner cocktail. We always seek out the lounge with a piano player. Austin Ray is the pianist on board and in the Observation lounge. First impressions - wow - excellent. Very talented. This is exciting. 

The only negative as far as the drink scene goes is their is no Hendricks Gin on board like they normally have. And tonic is Schweppes. Sounds like a first world problem but I really like a good G&T and the Gin on board to me is substandard. 

Dinner in Compass Rose was packed. Arriving at 8p was probably a mistake as it took over an hour for us to get even our first dish. The staff was just slammed. In hindsight I thought about dropping into prime 7 as I’m guessing we could have gotten in as a walk-in. Despite the slow service the food was excellent. 

The beet carpaccio was simple but very tasty especially with the addition of the hazelnuts. 

The shrimp cocktail was smaller than we remember and was not cold. 

The cauliflower soup with chicken canelle was incredible. Soup smooth and silky, great cauliflower taste (with  some snipped chives). 

We both had the veal picatta (mine shown with extra sauce). Best veal I have had in a while but I recall that is typical for Regent. 

A Kalua coffee soufflé and cheesecake finished the evening off nicely. 

Wine selections tonight were not to our liking. We ordered off the limited menu a New Zealand Pinot Noir ($70). Nice fruit forward on the nose but typical of most NZ Pinots the taste falls off in the back of your mouth. It was, however, good with the veal picatta. 

The limited wine list only has 3 Pinots just like in Feb. This is very disappointing. Surprisingly they are all relatively old also. Ours was a 2015 and the others are of similar vintage. A 7 year Pinot is getting near end of life. While I would have expected this due to the build up during Covid on our Feb cruise, I’m surprised to see this now

Overall summary of the precruise- excellent. Our guide was one of the best we have had on any precruise. Ingvar Einarsson. Super knowledgeable and somewhat a local (went to boarding school here) he spoke perfect English and knew all the perfect pronunciations of Icelandic dialect. He really knew his history about Iceland. While it is the luck of the draw on who you get, if you get him I think you would be very pleased. 

The geology and geography is as interesting here as anyplace we have been. Especially when it is explained in great detail on why. Like the numerous Table Top mountains that I though only existed in Cape Town South Africa. The heavy ice during the ice age, near the north and south poles “weighed” on the land creating a similar mountain type that is only here, Canada and Cape Town. 

The hotels were very good and comfortable and the bus very comfortable (holds 50, we were 27 so plenty of room to sit). I would definitely recommend this precruise despite the what seemed like a relatively high cost ($3999 as I recall per person). The entrance fees can add up (Blue Lagoon is $140 alone) and they did a lot of surprise, unique experiences like the lunch at the tomato greenhouse, and the lava tube let alone the famous falls, geyser, etc. and everything is expensive in Iceland. More to come on the adventures and meals precruise. 

We stayed at the Hotel Borg in downtown Reykjavik the first night. I had followed Rick Steve’s advice (I pick up his books in every European country for tips, tricks, dining, and touring advice) and are at the Food Cellar, about a 5 min walk from the hotel. Food was excellent. The pepper steak and the Angus ribeye were both tender, perfectly cooked and nicely accompanied with sides. We started with a tuna tartare and a Jamon Iberico (here shown half eaten) both which were excellent.

 I was amazed at the Gin Menus in Iceland restaurants (this one shown from the restaurant above) 

Fun. 
Here was the itinerary for the pre cruise. I’ll add pictures of the highlights soon. 

Precruise July 27-July 30 

Voyager July 30-Aug 11

Post cruise Aug 11/12 Copenhagen

We are a 40 year married couple in our early 60s that have cruised on Regent for 130 nights (and many other cruise lines). Regent has always been our favorite cruise line and we are excited to be back on board the Voyager. This cruise was a rebook twice due to Covid. We love the line so much we did a future cruise credit rebooking so they wouldn’t have to refund us during those tough times in 2020 when so much money was being returned. That Future cruise credit enabled our 14 day Caribbean Splendor cruise in Feb. I’ll post that link shortly. 

This post will be a near daily update on our adventures with a heavy weighting on food and drink. We sailed the Spendor in Feb and did a similar post that was well received so we thought we would do it again. 

I hope this is viewed as complimentary to the excellent post started by mdunne48 and not a competition. Just a different viewpoint.

We paid for a flight deviation and got an Alaska flight SFO-Sea, 4 hour layover and then an Icelandic Air nonstop to Reykjavik. Both segments were business class. Ironically we had more legroom on the Alaska flight than the Icelandic flight. I asked for another routing through Newark on United connecting United to Reykjavik but it was $3000 extra. 

The included business class lounge in Seattle (upstairs from gate S9) was nothing special but frankly way nicer than the mob scene at the gates. 

Icelandic air has been well written about and all is true. No bed in business class. So so food. Ok service. 

We attached the Apple AirTags to our luggage (actually put them inside) and it gave us a nice comfort knowing where our bags were at all times. Both while at the airport and also when bags were moved by hotel porters and Regent. Others on the precruise had lost luggage so something to consider. 

We arrived a scant 7 hours later in Reykjavik and were swiftly picked up by the Regent representative at baggage claim. We are doing the Regent 4 day precruise in Iceland to see the highlights and the golden circle. I’ll include some pictures of that as we go. 

Overall summary of the precruise- excellent. Our guide was one of the best we have had on any precruise. Ingvar Einarsson. Super knowledgeable and somewhat a local (went to boarding school here) he spoke perfect English and knew all the perfect pronunciations of Icelandic dialect. He really knew his history about Iceland. While it is the luck of the draw on who you get, if you get him I think you would be very pleased. 

The geology and geography is as interesting here as anyplace we have been. Especially when it is explained in great detail on why. Like the numerous Table Top mountains that I though only existed in Cape Town South Africa. The heavy ice during the ice age, near the north and south poles “weighed” on the land creating a similar mountain type that is only here, Canada and Cape Town. 

The hotels were very good and comfortable and the bus very comfortable (holds 50, we were 27 so plenty of room to sit). I would definitely recommend this precruise despite the what seemed like a relatively high cost ($3999 as I recall per person). The entrance fees can add up (Blue Lagoon is $140 alone) and they did a lot of surprise, unique experiences like the lunch at the tomato greenhouse, and the lava tube let alone the famous falls, geyser, etc. and everything is expensive in Iceland. More to come on the adventures and meals precruise. 

2 hours ago, mdunne48 said:

Day 16 / 1 - Reykjavik 
 

Turnaround Day

 

A beautiful morning here in Reykjavik. Partly sunny, hardly any wind and temperatures in the upper 40’s. Hopefully the forecasted rain holds off until we have few hours to explore Reykjavik. 
 

 

Reykjavik beckons……… 

 

 

We join you today. Did the Regent three day precruise. Our guide was excellent. One of the best we have had. 
 

I wonder if the great entertainment will continue on the next leg? We generally haven’t been to impressed with the entertainment but what you described over your last segment sounded excellent! 
 

I’ll be starting a new blog with a focus on food porn and a few of our adventures. 

9 hours ago, mdunne48 said:

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

Darn. I have a hard time believing this is a supply chain issue. Wonder if they are starting to phase out (slightly) higher booze. 

Can you let me know if they have been able to restock Hendricks gin on board? Ie it is actually at the bar vs maybe just on a list? Appreciate it!

Enjoying your blog. We join next week in Iceland after the three day Regent precruise. 
 

What has the attire been on the excursions? All bundled up?

On 7/7/2022 at 7:49 AM, bobmcm said:

And we are going on the Voyager on July 30!  So we still need to get the test!!

We are on that cruise and the precruise. If you are doing the precruise they will test us the day before the cruise. Their expense. 

1 minute ago, briar14 said:

And . . . She decorated our suite beautifully for my birthday and followed us when our suite was changed. I would have loved to get to know her better, but Covid restrictions kept that from happening. She is very professional and competent.

As i mentioned with the problems with the warm water (not cold) we had, and when it went up and down the ladder of command to make a decision, she was ready to move our room items to a new cabin. So very energetic and as you said, professional. We opted not to move 1) the cabin was in the front and more motion; 2) we were already settled in and repacking/unpacking/learning new cubby holes and the light switches would have been too much to continue our relaxing; hence she came back and put the cold bottle of water in our bathroom to brush our teeth. Again, always thinking ahead. 

4 minutes ago, briar14 said:

Macbest, thank you for your posts. We loved Suzanne on our Sept/Oct Splendor cruises. A Regent treasure!

So amazing that you had the same cabin attendant! Can’t believe how on top of everything she was and how she quickly learned our nuances to make our cabin perfect twice a day!

58 minutes ago, vegasdriven said:

Thanks! At the risk of sounding like I have a problem😊, does coffee connection serve beer or wine?

I assume Meridian, and Splendor lounge are not open during the daytime.

No wine and beer at coffee connection. If there is an event going on (like bingo in the Meridian Bar) then they open the bar. But in general during day they don’t serve alcohol. But they are “open” if you want a quiet place to read. 

Splendor

Final summary

I could go on and on with final impressions. Ok, i will! There’s so many cool things that Regent does that just cannot be ignored but not the things that you would know about unless you sailed with them. The “Million Little Things” that distinguishes this level of luxury cruising. I’m sure everyone has a list of their favorites but many of these items you don’t think twice about until you don’t have them (either on another cruise line or at home)! 

The Little towels in all the public restrooms. And on this new splendor, you can wave your hand in front of a reader at public restrooms and it will open the door for you to go into the bathroom or out of. So you don’t have to touch doorhandles. Although if you want to, they have these little dispensers with paper towels to open the door. We like ice and lemon with our sparkling water. Presto it always appears. The bar help knowing the special way that you like your drink and then repeating it with confirmation of “the usual?”  

Going to a “top loyalty tier” event and seeing not only passengers being awarded for their next loyalty level but also recognizing the major milestones of years of service of the staff. Having the head of HR on board to award these achievements wow that speaks volumes of how they treat staff. 

The replacing your used napkin with a new napkin when you get up to leave the table temporarily. 

The Included ice cream bar with a daily changing list of ice creams available by the pool. A huge indulgence I take advantage of on every Regent cruise! (Note ice cream is not made on board anymore except for the vanilla and chocolate in Prime 7 for some reason). 

The stateroom additions that come with such a modern ship like electrical plugs on both sides of the bed. A light switch that is barely lit up on both sides of the bed that turns on a faint blue light in the hallway so you could go to the bathroom at night when no light is present and not trip but also not wake of your spouse. Turn it on when you get up and off when you are comfy back in bed. [Note there are many light switches in your cabin. It takes 3-4 days to figure out which ones turn off lights but worth it to have more control over lighting]. 

Included Laundry. This is huge. On this cruise, we loved having it done whenever you wanted at no cost (dry cleaning had a small charge). We sent our laundry out probably 5 times during a 14 day cruise. Everything comes back beautifully folded and delivered in a nice box. This is a wonderful change added in the last few years (and this isn’t for just platinum plus members - everyone gets this.)

It’s the little things but done well that makes such a difference in luxury cruising. 

The ship itself is beyond gorgeous - one of the nicest we have ever sailed on. And because it’s so new, everything is very modern and everything works; elevators are super quiet -you almost can’t feel them going from floor to floor. 

I also really like the coffee connection area especially on Splendor where you can also sit outside which is partially blocked from the breeze that is generated when the ship is moving, so you can enjoy your coffee and not feel like you’re getting blown out when the ship is at sea. And comfy couches to relax in while you enjoy your morning brew. The make it yourself machines are very convenient and very good but if you want they will make it with the fancy machine also (with a smile). 

The staff is beyond friendly - in a great way. While always the case on Regent, we really felt it this trip. How wonderful they all are. 

Comments

There often are small challenges on every sailing, areas that you need to have addressed. And we had a few in our cabin this trip. Examples: The shower door kept coming off it’s tracks. The door to our walk-in closet was not installed correctly and they had to remove half the closet to fix it. But prior to the fix, the light would not go off and made a loud buzzing noise (like there was an electrical short) that you could hear at night. And for our room, 837, we could not get cold water. At the coldest setting the water was quite warm which is very awkward when you brush your teeth. I’m fully aware of how they desalinate water on board, but we had cold water in all the public restrooms so it wasn’t like they only send the new “desalinated warm water” to the cabins. We called on this four times and they said after four visits that’s just the way it is and nothing could be done to correct it. I’m hard-pressed to think that all the other cabins had warm water coming out when the lever was set at cold. It is like the valve at the sink was faulty (I suggested this) and let warm water in when it was in the cold position. Very odd. After that fourth call about five days in to our cruise, they offered to move us to another room. But after you’ve unpacked and settled in, it just didn’t make sense (and the room they were going to put us in was closer to the front of the ship which we would feel more rocking motions.) So they ended up accommodating us by providing a bottle of water in our bathroom to brush our teeth with which at least was room temp and not warm to hot. I will include this point on the suite guru posting for room 837. 

The location of our cabin, starboard, mid ship, deck 8, however was perfect. You use the rear elevator when you often go up to many of the activities (deck 10 for alternative restaurants or 11 for pool and La Veranda / Sette Mari - but to dinner you use the front elevator (to compass rose as you can’t get there from the rear elevator on deck 4). Either way was about half the distance to the elevator. Bottom line it was perfectly placed. Further, there was very little motion throughout sailing. This was much more noticeable in the upper floors and forward and aft. During February, the Caribbean waters had this time roughly 7-12 foot swells pretty much throughout our trip. Motion mid ship and on deck 8 was very minor. 

Staff 

The staff on board is beyond amazing. Everyone is super friendly, they all have to say hello to you as they pass which is wonderful, and they remember you and what your likes are. Many ships do this also but it certainly was aided by only having 430 people on board out of a possible 750 and everyone just got to know you that much better. 

Our cabin stewardess (Suzanne) was incredible. Always would greet you when they saw you in the hallway (even all the way down the end) and were amazing putting our room together each morning and evening. We asked for sparkling water and lemon slices and they were always refilled along with a bottle of Chardonnay (and refilled when needed). 

Entertainment 

We were not impressed with any of the entertainment in the main constellation theater. This may just be us as others seemed to enjoy it. I was surprised there was never a comedian! The magician, Levine, that was there early on they said was a comedian, but he wasn’t. 

The entertainment or music and each of the lounges was OK to good. we are big Boogie and Kasia fans, and the regent orchestra that would play in the Meridien lounge each evening was good, but seemed odd when they introduced a trumpet player. The lounge is very small and someone playing a trumpet can be incredibly overpowering in terms of the volume and really making it difficult to even talk to somebody else next to you. And Andrew, the pianist in the observation lounge, was a good piano player but a terrible singer. He would be better off being silent and just playing the hotel. So for us, the entertainment was not a big draw. 

Casino

Minimum blackjack was a $10 table. Another played a smaller group with a $15 min. Roulette was $1 min. They had a craps table if you wanted to play. The slot machines were numerous but no one player 95% of them as they were the new ones that have like 20 lines to play and were all “electronic led type screens). We NEVER saw anyone playing those. We played the 5% that were “normal”. However, it felt they were making up for the casino being “closed for two years during Covid” and nothing paid out. 
 

By the way, the super bowl “pool” where you buy a square was run by the casino. The payout was 90% of the monies paid in. They kept 10%. Maybe this happens elsewhere but I was surprised this happened. 

Arriving/Departing

I discussed embarkation earlier. We decided to arrive at 1p and almost literally sailed through. 40 min from arrival to being in our room. And that included Covid testing. This was likely due to sailing with only 430 guests. But arriving later vs earlier will be something to consider in the future.
 

Disembarkation was even easier. We chose to get off last so we could enjoy our last breakfast on board and didn’t want to fight the crowds. Note we did not find an elevator once you get into the terminal to get down to your luggage so you have to walk down steps with any hand luggage you didn’t have them pickup the night before.
 

Easy to get an Uber/Lyft or taxis were just sitting there after customs. A garage is across the street just for this terminal J (generally for Regent and Oceania) so that would be very convenient also. 

Length of cruise

At 14 days, this was our longest cruise yet and really was perfect length. It took us nearly 7 days to get into “the zone” and then we really enjoyed the last 7 days. The two seas days in the beginning and end were perfect to unwind and relax. 

The pool area.
Super nice loungers that have terrycloth like covers that are replaced daily (and after each use). These are soft and comfortable loungers that you could lie down in all day (and we did two days for nearly 8 hours). Mind you these aren’t the “waffle or strap like loungers” found on many lower end cruise lines or resort hotels. Can’t speak highly enough about the comfort of these. I spoke extensively about the lounger hogs and that has been covered extensively already on my thread. Enough said. 

Super secret tip. Most do not know that the rear loungers by the infinity pool are available to everyone not just spa clients. If you don’t want to go through the spa to get to them, go outside on deck 5 on either side of the rear elevator and walk along the outside walkway to them. We loved this area especially at sea as there is more shade there (and less chair hogging). You do get the sound of the waves and engines as you are sailing but it creates a nice white noise to put you to sleep. There is no bar service there however. But the bathroom in the spa and the water and tea available in the spa is right there. Don’t miss out on the infinity pool either. Especially when at sea. It sloshes you around in the water which is really fun. The staircase that leads you into this pool could not be more welcoming and easy to get into of any pool I have been in. Those less stable would really appreciate this cool pool and ingress into the pool with handrails. 

All in all, a wonderful vacation. Regent continues to be amazing. And now with 149 days of sailing with Regent we continue to be very impressed and will continue with our next sailing from Iceland to Copenhagen end of July 2022 (on Voyager). I will likely do another blog on that cruise here also if others would like to hear our comments. 

Hope you enjoyed “living vicariously” through my cruise and the food and excursion experiences with me! Happy sailing. 
 

PS after getting home we both didn’t gain any weight! How is that possible after what we ate on this cruise! More cruising!!

Last day/ night on cruise/ last sea day (Feb 16). 

Sorry for the delayed post. We got all hung up with disembarkation to squeeze this one in. 

For our last day on board we enjoyed the day by the pool (grabbed a spot at 7:15a and parked it there). Caribbean bbq lunch was just ok. 

Got back to room and suitcases were on the bed. Bummer. So we packed. Despite this being our longest cruise at 14 days we were disappointing to go home. It has been such an amazing trip and super relaxing and great to get out of the house and great to not think too much about Covid, just wonderful. 

We went to the Meridian lounge (as we have done each night for their great drinks) and we sat at the bar to watch Viktoria do her magic. What a treat. Wish we would have done that earlier! Tried the Monkey 47 gin drink (the only gin drink they charge for, $29) as we had a few remaining non refundable shipboard credits. 

Off to last night at compass Rose. Enjoyed a number of repeats, the crab and avacado stack with Bloody Mary Sauce, escargot (for those following along yes it’s that good), potato leek soup (so-so) and then the Thai red chicken curry (nowhere near as good as in pacific rim), and the Veal schnitzel.

As you can see this is generally pretty dry looking but with a squeeze of lemon over the top or a couple of sauces that we ordered it was actually incredibly well prepared, very tender, and delicious. A passion fruit soufflé finish the meal. All in all a decent meal but not one of the best which was kind of a shame given it was our last night. Also noticed that the compass rose was extremely busy that night and the waiters were very busy. I’m wondering if all the alternative restaurants are not occupied on the last night, something to consider.

The safe shown on splendor below is 15” wide. Maybe 12” deep. Easily will accommodate most laptops. 

1 hour ago, 2012_Alaska_bound said:

Culinary Arts question....

When it is actually a cooking class (in the old days), do they let you know what you will be cooking ahead of time?  I see many classes listed on our TA, but are they different each time or do they repeat?

You pick a theme class that you sign up for. No you don’t know what you will cook other than that theme (seafood, Mediterranean, etc). When you get into class they give you a guide on that theme covers. And then they pick 3-4 recipes you will cook over a two hour period. Then you eat it! They are so much fun. 

I have been on three cruises on regent with them. I think they are fun. Getting people up to dance is tough and she has the way to do that.

boogie is the real talent here in my opinion. When he is solo (like at the tea time) you can hear his excellence. 

Spa

i enjoyed the spa twice for a massage during the cruise. Both times were excellent with Paulina. I chose the 75 min version as it Was the best price point (Swedish massage). They do a 50, 75, and 100 min length. The 75 is quite a bit less per minute than the other options. 
 

here is the price list on our cruise for the various modalities. Note that they add an 18% tip in addition to prices shown. 
 

Daily passage - list of activities. 
 

Someone had asked early on what these looked like so I am attaching those that I saved. These aren’t necessarily in order. But the last one is the last sea day 

Cooking classes on board. 

I attended one each of the last two days at sea. Alas they won’t allow you to actually cook right now so it is a demonstration. They do refund your money if you were there for demonstration but you do still receive a booklet with a copy of the recipes as shown. I still found the class incredibly informative as the chef on board is absolutely amazing. She’s funny, she’s super informative and she explains everything until you understand it. There are quite a few of tricks that she shares with you some of which are in the booklet sandwich or not so bring a pen with you. 

I also asked her when they would resume actual cooking and she said as soon as they do the crossing over to Europe. It’s the CDC that is preventing the cooking classes from happening on this side of the Atlantic. 

I attended a “Seriously Seafood” class and a “New world Mediterranean” class. Seafood can always be imposing to most people she said and most people get stuck buying the same thing like cod or salmon. She went through and explained how to buy, what to look for and then how to prepare in a number different ways: poaching, frying, baking, etc. very informative and a lot of interesting tricks she shared along the way. 

These are not imposing classes at all. They are not just for those with kitchen skills but those that have them will still learn something new. I can recommend these to anyone. The recipes are not complicated and they are Inclided. While an inexperienced chef would benefit more from doing vs watching, they are still great. I think this is one of those best kept secrets on sailing with the new Regent ships. The kitchen (identical to the one on Explorer that we participated in 2018) is wonderful with individual workstations (so it is limited to maybe 10 or so). And when i did it previously, they do all the clean up. Fancy cameras project what she is doing so everyone can see. 

Here are a few pictures from both classes. Fun!

Dinner -Compass Rose second to last day. 

After our wine makers lunch, the rest of the day became a “low tech” afternoon, meaning no major decisions decided so relax on balcony and nap time.
 

We were excited to check the compass rose menu on our Tv that beef Wellington would finally make an appearance this trip. 

Still in awe of how beautiful the table is set in compass rose. These “pre” plates from Versace are just gorgeous. They stay on the table until the meal is ordered. 

Given that this is our 12th day we have gone through many of the left side of the menu (non changing) items and it was time to revisit our favorites. We both started with one of our favorite items on the ship, the compass rose escargot. Shown again below the garlic butter sauce is amazing. 

I had a Caesar salad and shown is what I mentioned last time about dicing up the anchovy really small and then tossing back in salad. This so changes the taste of a Caesar. Try it!

Laura had the mushroom soup. It was similar to what she had the previous night in Chartreuse, but she said actually better. Creamy and filled with mushrooms blended so fine that it isn’t gritty. A touch of cream makes it. This is going to show up at home when I recreate. 

Kevin, our amazing waiter and I highly recommend him, suggested we try the pasta “purse” that was stuffed with ricotta with an asparagus cream sauce. This was really tasty and had great texture. I have never seen this pasta shape before. Although rich and heavy I highly recommend this. 

We had the beef Wellington and while very good (by the way we forgot the “required by law” - extra sauce and Kevin quickly obliged and provided!) the mushroom duxelles is too heavy - it was more like a stuffing instead of an Unami “add”. I have been making Gordon Ramsay’s version of beef Wellington with a crispy crust and much prefer that version. It was still good and impressive, just not over the top. 

Had the chocolate soufflé with a vanilla sauce. I don’t know of any other cruise line that has different soufflés on the menu every night. What a treat! I have enjoyed at least 8 different versions. 

With some money still on our shipboard account, again we received a lot of shipboard credits that are nonrefundable, we ordered a bottle of New Zealand Pinot noir. It was OK but nothing like a California Pinot noir as those were all sold out on the ship (on day 3!). 

More money lost in the casino and a little Kashia and Boogie and we called it a night. Tomorrow is our last sea day (have i said how much We enjoy these)? My second cooking demonstration class will be on the list of things to do (I’ll provide a write up of both I have taken shortly) along with lounging by the pool (and the requirement to get up at 7a to get a spot from the chair hoggers) - late add- ACHIEVED!