ChucktownSteve

Hi Bayonejoe, Sorry I just returned home today. No longer have access since we disembarked Saturday morning. I would have been able to retrieve that had you asked earlier. Since I can't drink wine, I didn't pay any attention to the offerings. Perhaps someone on a subsequent cruise could assist you. Bon voyage.

Not a problem. You still earned PUP while sleeping. 😁

The other night Cruise Director Ray performed the show. Besides signing, he's also a ventriloquist. Very entertaining he is. These are some of the dummies.

Going back in time on this voyage, because I neglected to post these in a timely fashion. Halifax was socked in all day. I took the Lobster and lighthouses excursion with 85 or so other people. It was a hefty walk. Let me correct that, a VERY hefty walk to the tour boat. It was windy and cold. Here you can see our view towards shore. We never could see any of the four lighthouses we were supposed to. This was the included excursion lunch. It's a 1 1/4 pounder. Then about a mile or more walk back to the ship. Then sailing out of Halifax while we were dining in Compass Rose, I looked across the dining room to observe the mast and lights from a tug guiding us out in the fog

We're not having problems with reception. However the choices are extremely limited. Have you tried feeding the hamster that turns your TV generation wheel?

Here ya go royallondon Last nights entertaining Krew Kapers show. Lots of fun by a talented crew. Sailing into Saguenay this morning.

This is a very good itinerary. I booked this cruise for the same reason. I hope you'll have a great cruise. Perhaps the problems on this cruise are just a passing post covid situation trying to staff up with new Regent crew.

I am doing well. Thank you for asking. My recent experiences on Navigator is not what a lot of loyal Regent Navigator fans or some others on this cruise have experienced so I tried not to be negative. I have mixed reactions. Some positive, some negative. However we shared a table with another couple tonight who said they've sailed five Regent cruises and rated this 65% of their regular Regent experience. I expected more from a luxury line after following the threads the last year. Two examples just this evening for me were: I order the New Zealand lamb chops which I loved the last two times I ordered it and had come out perfectly cooked. Tonight not so much. I ordered Medium rare but they came out Medium well. My excellent waiter noticed and retrieved me another pair. He came back within a couple of minutes with more Medium well chops. Nothing major but not Luxury. On the way into the show, I stopped at the bar and ordered a Walker Black on the rocks. They poured red and said the black was empty but if I wanted it, I should go to the Navigator lounge to get it. They were even out of Bailey's for few days. Luxury? There are a lot of positives, but many negatives. Sorry I forgot to bring rose colored glasses But at this price point, I expected a better experience than Celebrity or Azamara. Even our Oceania cruise was overall better. They offered to move us to a Navigator suite late last night but we declined. It wasn't worth the effort for just the final four days. Plus I didn't complain looking to gain one up. I'm hoping our next two Regent cruises, one past final payment, will redeem this voyage. Otherwise Regent may not be for us at this value proposition. I didn't mind stepping up at this price point for the concierge suite. However I would have felt the same had we been in a lower category suite. Things are too inconsistent. I'm not the only one who's felt this way after speaking with several others on the cruise. Glad for you if you had different Regent experiences. Wish I did too.

Hiya UUNetBill, Here ya go for Navigator. 160380534_CCRatingTemplate Navigator chucktownSteve.xls

Takemewithyou, I typed a nice reply before dinner but the WiFi went down and I lost the whole thing. I'll try to remember some of it. I was trying not to compare the two cruise lines because they are apples and oranges. Azamara occupies the premium space, Celebrity claims "luxury" (hahahahahaha yeah right) while Regent does reside in the luxury segment. The two main differences is overall feel. Both have bands. Azamara is more for the show while Regent is more atmosphere. We enjoyed being able to speak with new friends last night without having to shout over the music. While the food on Azamara's White Night is good, it is nothing compared to Regent's elevated selections. There were huge platters of Shrimp, sliced in half Alaskan King Crab legs, whole pigs and meat fresh off the grill offerings. Not to mention the sides and salads. If you couldn't find something, you were either not hungry or not able to be satisfied. lol The service on both are good but Regent is a cut above. We just got back from dinner in the Compass Rose restaurant. It was the best we've had in there to date. We requested a more experienced waiter and the service was impeccable. The food came out quickly and was sooooo good. My DW had the Dover sole. Anthony was a master of the preparation. When he was done it reminded me of the old cartoon when I was a kid where the cat swallowed the whole fish and pulled out just the skeleton. Absolutely nothing left on the bones. What an art! I had the New Zealand lamb chops. They were more like lollypops. Perfect MR temperature and flavorful. The scallops were neither under cooked nor over done. Perfect. The vegetables were good to the bite too. What I"m enjoying is the understated elegance. They don't have to be in your face with it. It just happens. As Janieb1962 appropriately pointed out correctly, little touches make the difference.

This morning we had a leisurely sail between ports in Bermuda. Here are a few of the wonderful views from our veranda. Our excursion this morning was to the Crystal Caves. They said there were 81 steps down 120 feet below the surface. That's true. I counted them. However they neglected to mention there were 18 additional steps down from the gift shop to the opening of the cave. I counted those also. Oh don't forget, what goes down, must come up! This is a stalactite working towards a stalagmite it helped form. These two pictures are the two underwater stalagmites. Those were formed before the cave filled with water so they can't grow any higher since stalagmites are formed by water dripping down from the stalactites. Now that water with minerals just drops into the water or your head and shoulders as you navigate the floating walkway. At 3pm we sailed for Halifax, Nova Scotia. We arrive 11am Sunday.

Depends upon where you eat. Prime 7 has been cooked to temperature ordered. I like my meats medium rare. In the Compass Rose even though I ordered duck or steaks MR, it has sometimes come out medium to medium well. At the Pool Grill the hamburger cooked to order was served at proper temperature. But meats on the buffet or in La Veranda tend to be cooked well done. Same with the self serve meats at Sette Mari. The exception is the carved meat of the day can be received as desired by which part they carve from. It's nothing earth shattering. I realize they have to feed the various types of preferences plus it's just easier to make sure it's DONE. So one either accepts the way it's cooked or passes it by. That's called personal choice.

Last evening was the Grand Deck BarbeQue around the pool deck and above. It reminded me of a similar event we experienced on Azamara but different. People began staking out their seats long before the event officially began. But there were plenty of drinks served while waiting. OK I succumbed to the request once. Here's your food porn. One of the nakkid roasted pigs. There was also lots of shrimp, Alaskan King crab, the whole roasted pigs and lots of other things that filled our stomachs while satisfying our need for copious amounts of MORE food. We set sail this morning about 6am. We will be docking on the other side of the island at St George about 8am. Then it's time to gather for our caves excursion.

Ran into Ray last evening at the Grand Deck BBQ. He mentioned he knows Jim and Sue well then returned the How do you Doooooooo!

hahaha sorry. I don't do food porn. And I'm either drinking scotch or vodka on the rocks. Nothing to see here lol Food is mostly very good. We have a wide choice so finding something to like isn't hard. I just wish some things weren't cooked as well done as they are. But not up to the point of needing a complaint.

This morning first thing room service delivered two pots of coffee right on time at 6:30am. Then we assembled for the excursions at 8:15am. We were originally signed up for the Boat excursion -Scenic Southern Shores. My DW wanted to exchange it for the Quintessential Island Drive Good choice. Winston, the driver/guide, was very informative with good personality. Our first stop was Fort Hamilton which was originally built with no installed cannons. It had a great view overlooking Hamilton and where we docked so close in. The other two larger Royal Caribbean and NCL ships had to dock at the dockyards...a long way away. We also stopped at John Smith Bay Park for a bathroom break. No we didn't pee in the ocean. But it did make for a beautiful postcard photo op. Another place we passed was the unfinished church. We met a couple yesterday that told us they were getting married there today at 2pm. No guests invited. lol Pool deck is closing at 3pm today to set up for the Grand Deck BarbeQue..the feast under the stars from 7-9pm.

Marc, I don't know the answers. They haven't even announced the detected cases and I haven't cared to ask further. I may bring it up in a future conversation if I get the chance but I''m confident they're doing the right thing. Nobody else seems concerned. Some wear masks, most don't.

RetiredandTravel, Navigator has really stepped up. After receiving many complaints, it appears Cedric, F&B Manager got things under control. Service and attention to detail is greatly improved. So the problems for me were only on the initial day or two. Absolutely no complaints the last few days. The crew just needed to adjust from 25% capacity to 100% the next sailing. I like a ship that admits their initial failings and corrects course because they care. Navigator is definitely in this category. Except when we were sailing at great speed (aka high revolutions) and into 3-5 foot seas, vibration has been manageable. Plus the older and smaller the vessel, the more this will be experienced.

We docked right in downtown Hamilton, Bermuda about 3pm Wednesday and off to a glass bottom boat excursion at 3:30. We went out to the reef. It was interesting but not as colorful as the reefs I have dived before. Our boat was litterally just a few feet above the area the captain took us to. The bow of an intentionally sunken ship from the 1800's that was an ironclad that never fired a shot in anger. The fish have been trained to go into a feeding frenzy when the bread from a bucket supplied by the boat operator is tossed overboard by the passengers. This morning is beautiful in Hamilton. The weather is perfect. Here is a panoramic view from our suite balcony . We're on the port side which isn't facing the port. 😉

I now understand How do you Doooooooo! lol Will dooooooo. Absolutely no vibrations for the show last night which was excellent btw.

Here ya go. The lazy way.

I thought I would share an interesting, what some might call frightening, episode about two hours out of Bermuda. We were in our suite and all of a sudden I thought I was back on a sailboat. The ship keeled sharply. All our bottles of champagne, Vero Water and liquor slid to the opposite end of the desk. A coffee cup slid off the saucer onto the fruit dish. My DW thought it might have been the remake of The Poseidon Adventure just more politically correct. When we went to lunch shortly afterwards, another passenger at the adjoining table told us they were in Compass Rose when it happened. She said there was a cascade of glasses and wine bottles crashing in the galley. Then she heard lots of shouting behind the closed doors and sounds of large amounts of glass being swept up. We found out shortly thereafter that they had to take the sudden and what I perceived a sharp, drastic course alteration to avoid some fishing nets in the water. Too bad there wasn't enough time for me to toss my hands in the air and shout weeeeee. Weee, weee,Weeeeeeee. 😄

Had two pots of coffee delivered via room service at 6:30am today to hold us over until Compass Rose opened at 8am. We wanted a quiet and leisurely served breakfast this morning. Yesterday was room service breakfast. I had the strip steak which was about 1/2" thick, cooked to MR temperature. I also requested eggs over easy while my DW ordered over medium. Everything was cooked as ordered. The food came out hot and in good time. Everything was on point and coffee was refilled regularly. They certainly had their rhythm going today. Let me add here that the space launch was actually taken from the starboard side. I thought starboard but my brain typed port. lol

I was going to do that today but my request to the server last night in Prime 7 got the desired results before I submitted it. I like that the verbal comment was sufficient. I was incorrect earlier. We're only through about 1/3 of the 16 day cruise.

Our Concierge Suite sitting area The Spacious walk in closet. More hanging and drawer space than we could use. 10 minutes before we sailed from Port Canaveral the Space Center launched after we did an excursion to the KSC. If you can download, then zoom in, you will actually see the rocket fuselage above the flames. This was taken from deck 10 port side. Sailing into the Charleston Jetties with the Morris Island Lighthouse in the background. Sailing in towards the USS Yorktown and Cooper River Bridge named Arthur Ravenel Bridge. First night overlooking Charleston sunset. Navigator from Charleston Harbor As we sailed out of Charleston we passed the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum where I worked part time for six years waiting for my DW to want to retire.