flossie009

Thank you for your kind thoughts .............. which obviously worked. Our BA flight to LHR left Amsterdam on time (11:40) and arrived at LHR early. We only found out about the "chaos" when we were driving home from the airport. Now back home, unpacked and wondering which bartender will be making our drinks this evening .......... oh, that will be us then 🤣

We are now at Schiphol airport awaiting our flight to Heathrow. The amount of walking we have done since check-in to reach the departure gate, we must be halfway there already 🤨

Everything was in good order. As I reported in post #47, Navigator will be in dock from September 09 to 21 (after her next cruise ending in Barcelona) We understand that some carpets are being replaced and the teak planking on the Pool Deck will be refreshed. Our suite (deck 6) was very comfortable & well maintained. The bathroom is dated but that would be a major piece of work to replace all the suite bathrooms on the ship.

This morning we sailed into Amsterdam, arriving around midday. It was an afternoon of sunshine and heavy showers for the last day of our cruise. Bags are packed and out in the corridor. The ship stays overnight in Amsterdam and we will be leaving in the morning for our short flight back to London. It has been an excellent cruise and we are sad to be leaving the friendly Navigator. We met some familiar faces, crew & guests, and made new friends as well 🙂 Till the next time …………

It was sunny for our departure from Hamburg yesterday afternoon, and there were some very nice properties and beaches to be seen as we sailed along the Elbe Krew Kapers last night had some great talent performing. Always a well attended and much appreciated performance towards the end of the cruise .

We are just completing a Regent cruise and have seen no evidence of cost cutting or lowering of standards. Our bottle of Veuve Cliquot was waiting for us in our suite on embarkation as always, but we would have had no issue if an alternative brand of equal or better quality had been provided.

They should reimburse your expenses plus compensation of 600 euro per person https://www.britishairways.com/content/en/de/information/delayed-or-cancelled-flights/compensation (sorry it is a German link because of where I am located at present, but should be the same for USA or UK)

U.K. CAA rules regarding reimbursement of costs and provision of compensation should apply to the delay suffered by @WNcruiser …………….. and there is no excuse for BA poor customer service ☹️

For our second day in Hamburg we chose an excursion to Neuengamme concentration camp. This was just one of an extensive network of forced-labour camps in use before & during WW2. The site is now a memorial to all those thousands who perished under a cruel and inhumane regime. It was a very poignant visit under leaden skies. We were fortunate to have a very knowledgable guide who gave us a very clear history of those dreadful times, but also afforded us plenty of free time to explore the artefacts and survivor testimonials at our own pace. The Camp today - a memorial centre. Only the brick buildings remain, containing exhibitions & survivor biographies. The wooden huts were destroyed after the war. A model of the camp as it was immediately after WW2 Contemporary records Scrolls inside the memorial building which record the thousands who died in the camp

Just catching up on our last few days on Navigator. The first day in Hamburg we were on the same tour as @crusin7. Very picturesque but we didn’t find the guide to be overly informative. Some photos inside the impressive St Michael’s church: We also stopped near the City Hall; another impressive building, inside and out: In the evening there was an extensive Deck BBQ and fortunately the weather stayed mainly dry for the event. The restaurant team had all options covered by setting up both outside on deck and also in La Veranda. F&B brought various German foods & drink on board. David sampled the German sausage accompanied by a beer called “Hamburg Hell” 😱 He said it was heavenly 😋 The band and singers were originally scheduled to perform on deck but, because of the uncertain weather, that portion of the deck party was moved down to the Seven Seas Lounge.

Laundry & pressing is available to guests in all suite grades on all Regent ships. Dry cleaning is charged as the list below Dry cleaning is complementary for those of Titanium SSS level or above (400+ nights sailed)

On our Navigator cruise the Production Cast came up with their own version of a diamond (tanzanite) caper called “Bond Voyage”. It was a very skilfully crafted performance mixing film shot around the ship and live performance; all set to the music of Bond movie themes. It was very entertaining and kudos to Anthony, one of the lead singers, who directed the show, created by the talented performers themselves during their time on board.

For fans of the “Blackpool Boy”, we can report that Ray Solaire is back on board Navigator and will take over as CD from Dru Pavlov at the end of this cruise (Amsterdam on August 28th)

Angry Orchard cider is on Navigator

Today was a sea day but unfortunately it was not pool deck weather ☔ The scheduled Country Fair was moved inside; spread around decks 6 & 7 The restaurant team were a lively crew Destinations set some devilishly hard questions The bar staff set numerous challenges from downing a shot to kissing a fish Housekeeping were very popular ……. and joyously noisy Dru tried to keep order The raffle draw at the end had a good selection of prizes but sadly our tickets were not winners ☹️ A great time was had by all 😃

Well, we made it out of Leith dock, in very calm weather Plenty of room each side in the lock 🤔 “Nae bother, pal” or as our Captain might say “kanéna próvlima fíle mou” The Haggis made it on board yesterday so David tried it last night in Compass Rose with the traditional accompaniments of neeps & tatties. We both had delicious Scottish mussels to start. A very enjoyable meal, sharing with @Jlhalldc We are now on our way to Hamburg, arriving tomorrow August 25th and staying overnight.

On our last few Regent cruises the apple cider offered has been Angry Orchard David is pleased that Regent have reverted to Angry Orchard as he finds it to be far superior to Strongbow if you want Strongbow then you could put in a special order in advance of your cruise

Some of the dishes from yesterday evening’s buffet Haggis did not make it on board due to our non-docking, The fish & chips were very authentic, but we failed to track down any mushy peas - some might say that was a good omission 😉 The Battenberg cake was delicious, although in the wrong colours. So delicious that we requested a take-out to enjoy with our early morning coffee 😋

Last night was a “British” themed buffet in La Veranda Not sure that the menu exemplified modern British culinary expertise ………….. but as usual we found some tasty morsels to stop our stomachs rumbling

Yes, we made into Leith this morning and Navigator is docked near the Royal Yacht This morning we took the shuttle into the centre of Edinburgh and then returned later on the newly extended tram (a very frequent, efficient service which is very popular) We went on an exploration of one of the narrow closes that were built over during the 18th century. A fascinating guided tour bringing to life the inhabitants who lived through the difficult times of squalor & plague in the 17th and 18th centuries https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_King's_Close https://www.realmarykingsclose.com https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g186525-d191321-Reviews-The_Real_Mary_King_s_Close-Edinburgh_Scotland.html There are other steep closes running down from the Royal Mile that are still in use today Advocates Close The Royal Mile in the centre of Edinburgh was full of tourists, street performers and students handing out fliers for the festival fringe events. Weather is still looking calm enough that we should be able to leave Leith on time later his afternoon 🤞 Hopefully with nae bother

Message passed ………… and returned by Luke 300%

Shuttle services & their frequency vary from port to port - some shuttle services are run by Regent, some by the port authority - in some ports you are within walking distance of the town, so no shuttle required - in some ports the shuttle only operates from the ship to the port gate (safety reasons in industrial ports) - sometimes shuttles are not provided because of pressure from local taxi drivers who do not want to lose trade. Details of any shuttles available and the timetable will usually be available from Destinations the evening before port arrival

The Health & Safety Protocols page on RSSC.com gives all the information you require. If in any doubt contact Regent; or for general travel health advice your medical practitioner.

The forced day at sea gave another opportunity for an Officers v Guests challenge; taken very seriously by both sides. Today it was Baggo The scorers were concentrating throughout Captain Aris took on the last challenge Very even today with guests winning more rounds ………….. but officers scored most points 🙂

No, Leith can only accept the smallest cruise ships due to the size of the entry lock. There are various locations used for cruise ships to access Edinburgh (https://cruiseportwiki.com/Edinburgh) If your schedule says that you will tender into Newhaven then that is likely where you will anchor. Still convenient for a tram ride into Edinburgh and a short distance to see the Royal Yacht Britannia When Navigator could not enter Leith dock this morning, the Captain did look at alternatives. However another cruise ship was occupying the anchorage at Newhaven and Rosyth had some technical difficulty.