Navigator: Singapore to Cape Town

We are just putting the finishing touches to our luggage as we leave for Singapore this evening. We'll spend a few days in the city independently before boarding Navigator on Tuesday, bound for Cape Town. I've started a new thread for this segment of the World Cruise, hoping to move on from running aground and all of that!

My blog will continue in the usual manner - I'll post there regularly (connection permitting) though may post the occasional update here. So, those interested will have two stories to follow: Carolyn's Navigating the World blog https://2018worldcruise.blogspot.co.uk/ and my Elegant Sufficiency blog https://www.elegantsufficiency.org/ There may be more?

Gilly, have a wonderful cruise. I always enjoy your travel blogs, and I have been following Carolyn’s too.

It’s great to be able to enjoy the photos and posts recently from all the wonderful threads here, takes us away from all this snow storms.

Safe travels Gilly and thanks for including us to follow along. Jean.

Fair Winds and Follwing seas Gil, look forward to reading about your cruise here and in your blog.

Gilly, I enjoy the details that interest you and your writing style so I can’t wait to follow along. We enjoyed Singapore very much, especially the food tour of the Katong district, Dempsey Hill (former British army barracks now a food, art, shopping area), and the Manhattan Bar at the Regent Hotel (dark, cozy bar with great cocktails and small bites. Pricey but worth it!). Looking forward to your discoveries!

Gilly, We too are leaving for Singapore this evening. Regent is putting us up in the Fairmont and we arrive Sunday morning after a 23 1/2 trip. We will need a couple of days to recover before sail away time. I set up a tour with "Tours by Locals" for Monday and hope to see a bit on our own on Sunday afternoon if we are not too exhausted to leave the hotel. . If you are around the Fairmont, we might bump into you, otherwise we will see you onboard.

Carl

Following along, wish we were onboard.

Have a fantastic cruise and I'm another one who will read along on your blog.

Fair winds and calm seas, Sans

Have a great cruise, looking forward hear what you have to say, and how you feel about the SS Navigator. We're thinking about the ship for a cruise---we smaller ship, but we're wondering if this may feel smaller than it is. And dining, would like to hear about the food and space. Thanks, well be looking forward to reading your post, but first and foremost have a great time. Rick

The day has come and we will board Navigator later.

We took the whole Regent package - flew out on our chosen BA flight last Friday/Saturday and had a private transfer to the hotel: The Fairmont. Everything worked perfectly.

Carld, we probably encountered you in the breakfast queue (!) or elsewhere in the hotel - we found it to be 'ok' but a very busy place with cruise people coming and going (Princess Cruises this weekend) The location, however, is first class, which is the big plus in my opinion.

We have "bus 1" tickets for the transfer, meeting at 12 noon and might add that the ground organisation was very good yesterday = efficient and well prepared. Better than some we've experienced!

So, Navigator, here we come!

The day has come and we will board Navigator later.

 

We took the whole Regent package - flew out on our chosen BA flight last Friday/Saturday and had a private transfer to the hotel: The Fairmont. Everything worked perfectly.

 

Carld, we probably encountered you in the breakfast queue (!) or elsewhere in the hotel - we found it to be 'ok' but a very busy place with cruise people coming and going (Princess Cruises this weekend) The location, however, is first class, which is the big plus in my opinion.

We have "bus 1" tickets for the transfer, meeting at 12 noon and might add that the ground organisation was very good yesterday = efficient and well prepared. Better than some we've experienced!

 

So, Navigator, here we come!

I'm just going to check in here from a happy ship (well, from our point of view at least) to say how very much we are looking forward to a sea day tomorrow after three ports in a row, and how lucky we are to have (another!) extra hour tonight in that super-comfy Regent bed!

Disappointed by the lack of opportunity to enjoy the flavours of Thailand on our short stop in Phuket, a few friends joined us last night in Compass Rose where we'd requested a Thai menu. Chef Michael and his team were on cracking form and our meal was excellent from start to finish - a tasty beef and herb salad with spring rolls and the most delicious spicy mayonnaise to start, followed by Tom Yum soup and then a main course of what seemed like an endless parade of favourites: Pad Thai, fried rice, a duck stir fry in a very characteristic Thai sauce, a beef and spring onion dish, stir fried greens and another vegetable dish I enjoyed but couldnt recognise. A classic mango and rice dessert for those who still had room finished it all off nicely!

We have always loved the way the staff make such evenings so special. They work so hard to ensure everything is exactly right and last evening was such fun. Huge shout out for Donald and his first class restaurant team and Chef Michael for such a memorable dinner!

I missed the 30 minutes edit slot whilst I checked a few spellings! I might add that our evening wouldn't have been anything like as much fun had Dominic not organised everything so well and inspired Banyar, Romillo, Nawas and Nixon to play along. :hearteyes:

Oh, and I was enjoying myself so much I didn't take a single photograph . Ooops!:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Disappointed by the lack of opportunity to enjoy the flavours of Thailand on our short stop in Phuket, a few friends joined us last night in Compass Rose where we'd requested a Thai menu. Chef Michael and his team were on cracking form and our meal was excellent from start to finish - a tasty beef and herb salad with spring rolls and the most delicious spicy mayonnaise to start, followed by Tom Yum soup and then a main course of what seemed like an endless parade of favourites: Pad Thai, fried rice, a duck stir fry in a very characteristic Thai sauce, a beef and spring onion dish, stir fried greens and another vegetable dish I enjoyed but couldnt recognise. A classic mango and rice dessert for those who still had room finished it all off nicely!

 

We have always loved the way the staff make such evenings so special. They work so hard to ensure everything is exactly right and last evening was such fun. Huge shout out for Donald and his first class restaurant team and Chef Michael for such a memorable dinner!

Thanks for such a glowing report. I've filed this away for our trip on the Navigator next January.

Gill, thanks for continuing to share your voyage with us. Enjoyed your blog's snaps of Scaramanga's/James Bond's. "Khao Phing Kan, island. And your beautiful pix of Karst islands as you said, were wonderful visual reminders of our visit to Halong Bay.

I thought I'd post a little update from the Indian Ocean since the internet seems stable right now.

Wes, I thought of you this morning as we did the kitchen tour and got to see some of the people responsible for much of the magic that happens on board. Sadly no time to chat with them but it was great to be able to identify Charles, who'd made the most delicious eggplant canapes last night and who was working on something equally delicious for lunch today. I'm pleased to report that the dinng experience on board Navigator right now is second to none, with an excellent choice of very tempting offerings. Everything we've chosen has been beautifully presented, hot and fresh. I have no idea how it could possibly fail to match any expectations, however high.

I might add that we are enjoying the opportunity to have lunch in CR on sea days too, with some favourites there on the menu from Chartreuse, Pacific Rim and Prime Seven as well as a few lighter choices. One thing is sure...we are never hungry!

Our first time on Navigator, conversations here had caused us to wonder how we would like it. Actually, we are very happy and find it to be the quietest ship of all - no creaks or rumbles, no whistles or draughts and most important of all, no perceptible vibration. The only sounds come from our neighbours - perhaps the sound insulation in the suites isn't quite as effective as the other ships? I might add that none of our neighbours are at all noisy, we simply hear their TV from time to time and the occasional conversation (thankfully, not word for word!)

A lady told me in the lift this morning that I looked like a happy person and that whenever she saw me, I always seemed to be smiling. It's true! How could I be anything but happy here?

Gill, thanks for another outstanding Navigator report and really enjoyed your Sri Lanka

photos on Elegant Sufficiency--thank you.

Gilly glad to hear you are having a wonderful cruise. I feel the Navigator is such a comfortable friendly ship, and feel right at home when we have boarded. I will agree with you tho re the cabin insulation. Of the 4 ships, I feel it’s the poorest?

Like Wes also following your blog and enjoying it as always. Thanks, Jean.

So good to hear that you are enjoying the Navigator and it has surpassed all the negatives you hear. Our cruise on her is getting nearer all the time and the excitement keeps mounting. Thank you for taking time out to post. Sans

We are safely in Cape Town this morning after a rock'n'roll kind of night. I couldn't help but think of the staff trying to move luggage around the ship in such seas...I guess they are more used to it than I am (though I slept well until something crashed somewhere). Anyway, that's it for us on Navigator for now. It has been a terrific cruise and we have enjoyed it enormously. Though Navigator is different from the other ships and doesn't have the glitz and glamour, we have fallen for her and will say that the theatre is the best in the fleet when it comes to sightlines, comfort and other important aspects of such a venue. We have also enjoyed the friendliest staff on board - this is a very happy ship indeed.

Our adventures continue today, with a scoot through Cape Town to the airport for a flight to Johannesburg and on to Kapama Southern Camp for our post-cruise safari. It will all be on my blog as usual together with some more posts about events I wanted to share whilst on board. I decided to leave them for a "real" internet connection!

So, its byebye Navigator - I hope Carolyn and anyone else sailing on beyond CT continues to enjoy their journey and will keep my fingers crossed for a Tristan da Cuhna call the week after next. It's going to be a long crossing...

Hi Gilly,

Have been enjoying your posts on here and your blog.

We have just booked a short leg on Navigator for next Spring, Hong Kong to Singapore. Glad to hear you enjoyed Navigator as we have never sailed on her and were slightly worried by some posters' negative comments.

We will arrive in Hong Kong a few days early and do our own thing before boarding the ship as we know Hong Kong quite well.

However, I have a few questions about Singapore as we have never stayed there for any length of time.

• Regent are offering a post cruise package in Singapore using the 'Swissotel The Stamford'. Do you know of it?
  
• Are taxi fares reasonable in Singapore?
  
• Any 'must see' things to do in Singapore
  

Thanks for your help

Sue

Sue, drop me an email (or leave a note on my blog) and I'll gladly share a few thoughts re Singapore and that hotel etc.

We too had slight misgivings about Navigator as a result of some discussions here, but all were totally unfounded I'm glad to say. We were on deck 10, forward and even on days when there was considerable movement, we found our suite to be amongst the quietest we have sailed in. No vibration, only the occasional creak and absolutely no rattles or draughty sliding doors. Our only (slight) concern was the sounds coming from both neighbours - nothing specific, but not something we'd been aware of on previous cruises.

Yes, she's considerably smaller than the other three ships and at times, that felt good. Nothing is far away, every part of the ship can be reached in no time at all and there was a happy, inclusive atmosphere throughout. To begin with, we feared we would miss the speciality restaurants - there's just Prime 7 and in the evening, Sette Mare, neither of which we favour particularly. We had a single booking for P7 on our 25 day cruise and discovered CR to be so good, with such an extensive menu, that we even thought of throwing in that single reservation. Somehow, everything on Navigator just works well. The theatre is, I think, the best in the fleet, with plenty of room for all (no early seat snagging needed) and great sightlines all round.

OK, I guess I need to express just one niggle: we are used to Penthouse A suites, to having a bit more breathing space and room to move around and put our stuff away. Our suite was adequately sized but I never found homes for the stuff we usually stash away in drawers (techy cable stuff and camera adapters and so on, plus my art kit and so on) and I always felt our suite was cluttered as a result. Heaven knows how the world cruisers manage with so little storage space.

We wouldn't hesitate to book a cruise on Navigator again if the right itinerary comes along. OK, so no infinity pool or culinary school on board - but I'd trade those in any day for what we regarded as one of the most outstanding teams of staff we've come across since we've been sailing with Regent. There was a real sense of community on board - I believe that's partly due to the size and design of the ship, which we rather enjoyed.

Love your HK to Singapore itinerary. I could sail those waters repeatedly and never get bored.

Sue, drop me an email (or leave a note on my blog) and I'll gladly share a few thoughts re Singapore and that hotel etc.

 

We too had slight misgivings about Navigator as a result of some discussions here, but all were totally unfounded I'm glad to say. We were on deck 10, forward and even on days when there was considerable movement, we found our suite to be amongst the quietest we have sailed in. No vibration, only the occasional creak and absolutely no rattles or draughty sliding doors. Our only (slight) concern was the sounds coming from both neighbours - nothing specific, but not something we'd been aware of on previous cruises.

 

Yes, she's considerably smaller than the other three ships and at times, that felt good. Nothing is far away, every part of the ship can be reached in no time at all and there was a happy, inclusive atmosphere throughout. To begin with, we feared we would miss the speciality restaurants - there's just Prime 7 and in the evening, Sette Mare, neither of which we favour particularly. We had a single booking for P7 on our 25 day cruise and discovered CR to be so good, with such an extensive menu, that we even thought of throwing in that single reservation. Somehow, everything on Navigator just works well. The theatre is, I think, the best in the fleet, with plenty of room for all (no early seat snagging needed) and great sightlines all round.

 

OK, I guess I need to express just one niggle: we are used to Penthouse A suites, to having a bit more breathing space and room to move around and put our stuff away. Our suite was adequately sized but I never found homes for the stuff we usually stash away in drawers (techy cable stuff and camera adapters and so on, plus my art kit and so on) and I always felt our suite was cluttered as a result. Heaven knows how the world cruisers manage with so little storage space.

 

We wouldn't hesitate to book a cruise on Navigator again if the right itinerary comes along. OK, so no infinity pool or culinary school on board - but I'd trade those in any day for what we regarded as one of the most outstanding teams of staff we've come across since we've been sailing with Regent. There was a real sense of community on board - I believe that's partly due to the size and design of the ship, which we rather enjoyed.

 

Love your HK to Singapore itinerary. I could sail those waters repeatedly and never get bored.

Gilly and Susan, Glad you are enjoying your cruise. Believe all of the Penthouse and Veranda suites are the same size and shape on Navigator which is different than some of the other Regent ships. So, the only differences between the Penthouses and the Veranda Suites are the butler, concierge benefits, location, and some additional perks.

And, the vibration noted by some people are aft so your forward suite should be mostly vibration free. Hope you enjoyed your Safari.

We just booked our first Navigator cruise (London-Amsterdam 2019). Itinerary and reading reviews like Gilly’s, talking to passengers on this Mariner cruise,and reading a world cruise blog convinced us that we would enjoy Navigator as much as we enjoy Regent’s other ships.

Gilly, I'm so glad to see your positive report on the Navigator. A friend and I will be boarding her in June for a 3-month cruise, so it's good to know she's still the fine ship that I remember. Navigator was always my favorite, in part for the factors you cite, but I haven't sailed her for a few years--since before the refurbishment. We took a 72-night cruise on her 10 years ago, and enjoyed the intimacy and didn't mind the limited number of public venues. And that was before Regent's brilliant new approach to the menu in Compass Rose.

It is a shame that they removed that drawer/cabinet space in the sitting area, as that does present a problem for longer-term stays on the ship. However, a friend who has been on the past couple of world cruises gave us some pointers for workarounds, and we've come up with a couple of our own.