Forgap & Rumor, Singapore-Sydney, Feb. 2-20, 2018--LIVE!

Forgap & Rumor: a quirky name for a law firm, perhaps, but a fun handle for a live-blogging twosome!

To accommodate Jennifer and Georges' departure tomorrow morning for their pre-cruise stay in Singapore and Chiang Mai tour, as well as my penchant for "setting the table," I'm reserving a berth on this board a few days early. We'll be joining a mini-flotilla of wonderful recent/current Regent live blogs (a special shout-out to cruisin7 and my Singapore-Hong Kong blogging bud WesW for their reports, a terrific blend of words and pics). If Forgap's and my efforts turns out to behalf as informative and entertaining, I'll be happy!

This will be the second February in a row that Ginny and I have flown to Singapore to embark on a Voyager cruise. Gin and I actually booked Singapore-Sydney before our 2017 Singapore-Sydney cruise, back in the summer of 2016. We never wavered on this booking as it is pure Bucket List for us. Bali and Sydney are the reasons.

I've wanted to take Ginny to Bali ever since we met aboard the Royal Viking Star in 1977. Of all the ports I visited during my editing stints aboard the RV Star and Sea, Bali was one of my two favorites (Moorea was the other). Even though it has been more than four decades, I still have vivid memories of the beautiful Balinese people (especially the children), the Barong Dance, the temples, the exquisite artistry in wood, the terraced rice fields, and the rich shades of green.

As for Sydney, I'll never forget the Royal Viking Sea's maiden call in early March of 1974. During the course of the Sea's hour-plus-long sail-in we were treated to a stunning purple and orange sunset. As twilight turned to dusk we sailed past the then-brand-new Sydney Opera House and docked at nearby Circular Quay, Sydney Harbor's premier address. Celebrating our arrival: a brass band! As I took it all in, I thought I was the luckiest 22-year-old in the world.

All these years later I finally get to experience a Sydney sail-in, this one at dawn, with my bride of almost 38 years on her first-ever visit to Australia. I'm looking forward to sharing this beautiful part of the world with Ginny, and am glad to have you along. I also plan to post from Sydney post-cruise as we've signed up for Regent's included "Sydney and Beyond" three-night tour. So, with Forgap reporting on her pre-cruise adventures and ol' Rumor chronicling post-cruise, we're going to be here a spell. Jennifer is one of my Cruise Critic must-reads, so I'm delighted to finally get to blog with her, and to meet her and Georges.

In closing, a brief mention of our itinerary. While we still do port-intensive cruises and the occasional Atlantic Crossing, we love itineraries such as this one where there is a nice mix of port and sea days. Here is how Singapore-Sydney will unfold:

Sea Day (cruising Java Sea)

First two Indonesian ports--Jakarta and Semarang

Sea Day (cruising Java Sea)

Last two Indonesian ports--Bali with an overnight, and Komodo

Sea Day (cruising Timor Sea)

First Australian port--Darwin

Two Sea Days (cruising Arafura Sea and Torres Strait)

Next three Australian ports--Cooktown, Cairns and Townsville

Sea Day (cruising Coral Sea)

Brisbane

Sea Day (Tasman Sea)

Sydney

Well, the table is set and I think I see Jennifer and Georges, suitcases in hand. Jennifer, over to you!

Rich

Jan & John and Scott & Jan will also be joining you on this cruise. I'll see you on-board. Thanks for reserving the blog space.

Fair winds and following seas Rich, Ginny, Jennifer and George’s. We look forward to following your travel adventures. And Rich thank you for your too kind words

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We've sat down and have napkins in laps and are eagerly awaiting the main course(s)! Have a most wonderful cruise, everyone!

Linda and John

Oh another exciting thread to look forward to. Your posts are always so detailed and interesting. Safe travels to you all and really look forward to your blog.

This board is great just now with you and Forgap blog and Wes and Ida blog. Perfect reading in the cold winter weather. Jean.

Apologies also forgot to mention the lovely live world cruise thread and the blog on the board just now too. Many threads taking us along with them at home .:) Jean.

Rich, thanks for setting the table! We did your upcoming itinerary 4 years ago and loved it - I'm sure that you and Ginny will too! We look forward to following your adventures.

Jackie

We're in the final frenzy of crossing off our "to do" list before our departure tomorrow morning. I told Rich (Mr. Rumor) that i like to be organized and complete packing well ahead of time because there is always some wild card to muck up the works, and so it went this trip!

Georgia has been getting some brutal weather this January - wind, cold, snow, and ice. Last week we thought it would be prudent to check on our mountain cabin - a quick day trip. Limbs littered the drive and as we rounded the corner a pine tree was resting on the roof. We called the tree man and the roofer and the stars aligned. Tree was taken care of before three days of snow and ice that immobilized the state and there was no roof damage. Took another unplanned day trip to check on the house and make sure all was locked up tight. We have been busy!

We are flying on Delta - 14 hours to Tokyo then 8 hours to Singapore, arriving in Singapore in the middle of the night. Hoping mother nature is good to us. It's disconcerting to open the NYT today and read about the Tsunami warnings on the west coast and an earthquake in Jakarta!

See you in Singapore!

Mr Rumor and Forgap:

I am all set and ready. This should be an awesome thread and we look forward to sailing with you via your writings and pics. Have a wonderful cruise and be safe.

Z and TB

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Sounds like a great trip! Mr. Rumor, I agree with you about Bali - it is our all time favorite place.

Have a wonderful time. Looking forward to the highlights!

Wow, what a treat! So many live posts and cruise reports from my favorite fellow cruisers! Hope you have a wonderful cruise! George and I will board in Sydney when you debark, so I will humbly try to carry on the torch when you pass it over.

Can you tell I am excited? Lots of !!! In my writing!

Good morning! Jennifer and Georges are now Singapore-bound, so on behalf of Forgap & Rumor, thank you, Wes (your blog continues to dazzle), Linda and John (hope to serve you some tasty cruise vittles now that you're properly settled at the dining table), Jean (a blog I participate in wouldn't be the same without your support--thank you!), Jackie (hope our reports will bring back great memories of your and Dennis' 2014 Singapore-Sydney cruise), Roberto and Pam (when are we going to cruise together again. bud?!), LynnRuns (Bali high five!) and Rachel for the wonderful cruise wishes. Rachel, I couldn't think of a better Regent cruise chronicler to pass the Voyager blogging baton on to than you! I hope our blog will register more Rachel exclamation points as departure day nears for you and George.

Johnthesailor, the more the merrier with a joint blog (heck,we had eight CCers contributing to the Explorer Maiden Voyager live blog in 2016 and it was Big Fun), so it's great that you will be participating. Ginny and I look forward to meeting you and Jan, and Scott and Jan.

Forgap mentioned that she and hubby will be able to negotiate Atlanta-Singapore in two flights (Atlanta-Tokyo-Singapore). When, after having inched into Platinum status last year, we made our first use of Regent's free deviation perk on this cruise, I was delighted to be first pitched a two-flight option out of Albuquerque (almost always three-flights-to-anywheres-ville): ABQ-SFO-SIN.

Then I looked closer and saw the tight 75-minute connection in San Fran and the arrival time--9:05 on a winter's night--and didn't want to risk it. It was partly a case of once-bitten-twice-shy, as we had barely made our 2017 flight to Seoul/Singapore after our ABQ flight to L.A. was delayed two-plus hours due to torrential SoCal rains. I still shudder a little thinking of our frantic 37-minute scamper through LAX to our Singapore Air gate.

So, we asked Regent Air to propose another itinerary and wound up with the same three-flight itinerary as last year. Travel time is six hours longer, but we have a comfortable connection time of nearly three hours at LAX this time, and we'll be flying our favorite airline, Singapore Air. And as of this a.m. I'm pleased to see that the Albuquerque and L.A. weather reports are most favorable for next Tuesday: partly cloudy with predicted highs, respectively, of 59 and 79.

Now if only the Singapore weather report would vary a little. For days I've been greeted by a column's worth of little thunderstorm icons when I check out the 10-day forecast!

Rich

Safe travels to all! Looking forward to your reports. Thanks for taking the time to share your wonderful Voyager vacation with us.

Look so forward to your blog. We shared a table (actually side by side tables in St. Tropez - for lunch - Explorer crossing - 2016. I was the lady on the scooter.

Safe travels!!!

Sheila

Thank you, RJ2002!

Great that you'll be following along, too, Sheila! I remember the moment at the St. Tropez cafe that I moved my chair a few inches so that you could scoot by me and claim the outdoor table next to Ginny and me. Weren't those crepes amazing? I noted that you were on the Explorer fall 2017 Atlantic Crossing as well and hope that you had a wonderful time.

I got some Voyager staffing info tonight that made the DW and me quite happy and that I'd like to share:

Captain: Felice Patruno. We sailed with Captain Felice on our first Regent cruise in April, 2010, Monte Carlo-Venice. It was a cruise we will never forget because 1.) We got to celebrate our 30th anniversary in Rome, the Eternal City, and 2.) We couldn't get home for seven days following our debarkation! Can you guess why? That's right--that ash cloud from the Iceland volcano that blanketed much of Europe! Regent pretty much won us over for life for how well the company took care of us for the six extra nights we spent in Padua and Mestre waiting for the skies to clear enough for us to be able to fly home (don't feel badly for us--we had a great time exploring Padua and every nook and cranny of Venice). This will be our first cruise with Captain Felice since 2012.

General Manager: Massimo Arzani. We sailed with the former Oceania GM on his first Regent cruise, in October of 2013, Montreal-Miami, as well as three times since (most recently, the Explorer maiden TA in 2016). I've found Massimo to be warm and affable, and a pleasure to interact with. It will be great to see his big smile again.

Cruise Director: Ray Solaire. Ray was a guest artist (puppet show) on our Regent "ash cloud" cruise in 2010, and he has been our CD on three cruises since. Our fondest memory of him is how sweetly he interacted with our special-needs daughter Shauna on our 2013 Montreal-Miami cruise. He drew with her one day on the Pool Deck, danced with her at the Beatles bash, and even did a mini-interview with her and mom and dad for his TV show. It was another side of Ray, who I've come to view in the tradition of the classic performing CDs of the early days of the Royal Viking Line. (We've sailed with six Regent CDs over the years, and I appreciate how each has his/her own approach to the job and special skill set.)

By the way, I believe Ray will be celebrating a milestone event this year: 50 years at sea! Confirmation and details to follow once I'm onboard. . . .

Rich

Rich, thanks so much for letting us know who the officers are on the Voyager. After the Voyager does its thing "down under", we'll pick her up in Bali on her way back to Asia (not sure if Bali is in Asia - I should know that:halo:). We did know that Massimo would be onboard. Paul Reynolds was originally going to be the CD but there was a change of plans which is not unusual. Really difficult sometimes to keep track of who is where and even who is working for Regent. There is apparently a new G.M. that I only about last month. Hopefully things will remain the same on Voyager - at least until we get onboard in March!

Looking forward to your cruise! Regards to you and Ginny from Dennis (and me too)!

WHOO HOO! I'm salivating. I'm hanging on your every word. Rich and Jennifer is a winning combination. Thanks for taking the time and thank you all for your kind words on 1st leg of world cruise blog.

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I'm only just catching up in Polynesia....can't wait to follow your continuing travels, forgap, especially with Rumor's input as well.

Our memorable story with Capt. Felice: having edged the ship into a particularly tight spot one day, he appeared on deck and stopped for a chat with my dh, who remarked on the considerable skill required for such a manouevre. "Oh," said he, "sometimes I just close my eyes and hope for the best"....with a wink ;-)

We are finally at our hotel in Singapore after too many hours flying across the Pacific. Our connections were perfect and our luggage arrived with us. It’s now 2 am and I am both wired and tired. I did want to share our beautiful sunset takeoff in Tokyo with Fujiyama in all her glory in the distance.

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Thanks for posting the officers, Rich. I really like Captain Felice. Have not sailed with that GM though. Of course, have done many cruises with Ray as CD. Will start studying my Harry Potter immediately for trivia.

I can’t say I feel rested, but it’s daybreak in Singapore and my body says its time to wake up!

Our flights were on time and, for the most part, very smooth. In fact, the flight from ATL to Narita was without a bit of turbulence. I think this was the first time I have been on a flight where the seatbelt signs were on only for takeoff and landing. Our route took us straight north to Canada and across the arctic and down to Japan.

For those of you who care about business class configurations, we flew a Delta 777 that rivals the British Air 2-4-2 seating and the United “Let’s Fly Backwards” seating for worst in class. The 777 was uniquely awful and claustrophobic. We had the center seats which we like as we can talk, hold hands, and toast the good life. Unfortunately, I called our seating the “angry and sulking” configuration. The center seats are in a V design with a partition so that your seat-mate only gets a cold shoulder view that is reminiscent of a BAD fight scenario where someone needs to make a groveling apology. The other design flaw was placing the window pods on a diagonal so they blocked the windows. I’m not a relaxed flyer and I like to see what’s happening on takeoff and landing. The whole design reminded me of a sci-fi movie where some giant alien spider is hoarding human snacks for later consumption. Yes, it was a long flight and my mind wandered a bit!

We arrived in Singapore 45 minutes early, navigated customs and baggage, and we were into a taxi in short order. The Singapore airport is very orderly, signage is good, with plenty of people to direct you to your destination.

We decided to stay at the Hotel Indigo which is in the Katong neighborhood. We like to immerse ourselves in local culture and this hotel seems to fit the bill. This is a boutique hotel with a unique design inspired by the Peranakan culture - a cultural blend of Chinese and Malay. Our hotel celebrates this rich design heritage in the use of vintage tiles, color, and patterns, mixed in with modern amenities. We even have a smart phone that is ours to use throughout our stay!

Our foot bath! We’ll need this later today!

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Thank you for posting about Delta Business Class seats. I'm a bit surprised that they are copying British Airways (that we actually like but still would not fly a U.S. based airline overseas). IMO, you were fortunate to arrive in Singapore early as this time of the year can cause delays. When we cruised from Singapore to Sydney 4 years ago, fights to Singapore were very delayed due to de-icing the planes. We arrived in at our hotel in Singapore many hours late -- just in time for breakfast. We were tired when we arrived and just wanted a shower. Unfortunately, as soon as we arrived in our room, a notice was slipped under the door of our room advising us that we needed to have our luggage out in an hour. Thankfully, the breakfast was good.

Looking forward to your reports.

TC, I don’t want to leave you with the impression that the 777’s are representative of Delta’s BC seats. The flight to Singapore was lovely and we have been to Europe numerous times with spacious seething. In fact a man on the trip to Singapore described his “suite” on his leg from Detroit to Narita. The 777’s are just dated and a flawed design. (IMO )

Jennifer, glad you and Georges made it safe and sound to Singapore. I see we're on a Singapore Air 700-300 ER, so I guess that means we'll be cold-shouldering each other, too. But our traveling dynamic is different as Ginny will probably be absorbed late into the night working on a craft project (I call her the Willamina Rogers of crafts--she never met a craft she didn't like and want to get good at). She told me she's planning on bringing origami and beading supplies this time.

Crisy/Cruisin7, great to have you following along while you continue to make memories of your own at sea. Your wonderful Papeete post earlier today made me a little sentimental, as Papeete was Ginny's and my first date on land almost 41 years ago to this day. We had met only a week earlier, two days into an eight-night, nine-day sail from L.A. to Papeete. I'll be forever grateful for that long stretch at sea It was more than enough time to fall in love. . .

Good Captain Felice story, Gilly! By the way, if I haven't remarked that "An Elegant Sufficiency" is one of my very favorite travel blogs, I'm telling you now. If during my magazine editing days a Gilly piece had crossed my desk, I would have been on the phone to you immediately.

Jackie and Rachel, I have another Voyager staff announcement that I know will bring big smiles: Food and Beverage Director Daniela Oancea's break is almost over and she be moving over to the Voyager! I'm hoping she will be embarking in Singapore--will keep you posted. We saw a lot of our favorite F&B director in 2016, when she was on each of our three cruises. That included the Explorer's Maiden Voyage, where she served in her old capacity as Head Sommelier after a particular crew member's sudden departure, and the Explorer's inaugural TA, where she oversaw one of the most impressive Regent appetizer spreads I've laid eyes on, for the CC meet and greet.

Rachel, I can already hear the groans in the trivia crowd when CD Ray utters the name "Harry Potter"!

Rich

Daniela told me that she "might" be onboard Voyager. This is fantastic news - we adore Daniela.

Have a great flight to Singapore😊