Sept 15 out of London on Explorer

First day on our cruise on Explorer:

The ship looks fantastic. Very much impressed.

Safety drill has both good and bad.

Good - did not have to stand outside at the lifeboats.

Bad -The space assigned using the upper section of the theatre was very hot. Too hot to leave life jacket on.

Staff very polite and friendly. But only if recognized. I was ignored or not seen by staff at bar and sitting in observation lounge. Hmmm, not a good start. And ordered a drink and a glass of water but had to remind the server of the water.

Best meal I've ever had on 300 plus days sailing Regent - ate at the Asian Restaurant.

Really nice room. Excellent closet and bathroom. Nicely appointed.

Returned to room tonight and have the whistling door to the balcony. Hmmm - would have thought this was fixed by now! Call to reception says they will have somebody look at it tomorrow. What about tonight?

Have to say, based on first day, Fail on the Explorer. Hopefully better tomorrow.

Thanks for reporting, and sorry to hear about the disappointments.

The whistling door would make me absolute bats. Really hard to believe that Regent hasn't fixed those problems yet. I hope you will post your suite number here, please, and also make note on Bill's thread about goods and bads of specific suites on the various ships (top of Regent threads).

Mainly I hope that things will be lovely from here on in.

I thought all the whistling noises had been fixed. They need to do this ASAP.

Also surprised that doors have not been fixed. One thing that has worked for some people is playing with the door handle .... moving it a bit can sometimes stop the whistle.

Well, I tried the handle trick and while I was not talented enough to play a tune, moving it did vary the sound but did not stop it. Thought it would interfere with sleep but it did not. Slept like a log. Morning came and no sound but we were already docked. Maybe it stopped during the night but I don't know. Or, maybe the ample pours of wine during that incredible dinner made me not care. And it was an incredible dinner. We are off to breakfast so I'll report more later.

Best,

John

have a wonderful cruise and thanks for taking us along. Good luck with the door.

So happy to hear you had a great meal.

Put a rolled up towel in front of where the air is coming in and see if that works.

Peggy

Hope that the towel or something else that the crew may suggest - other than taping the door shut which is what we had to do in the Grand Suite. It was fortunate that the Grand Suite had two sliding glass doors and only the one in the bed whistled.

Also surprised that doors have not been fixed. One thing that has worked for some people is playing with the door handle .... moving it a bit can sometimes stop the whistle.

Is that what you're supposed to have to do on "the most luxurious ship in the world?"

SailorJohn, I hope you will post your suite number. If not while you're on board, maybe after? (I would not sleep like a log.)

Is that what you're supposed to have to do on "the most luxurious ship in the world?"

In my opinion, she is still the most luxurious ship that I've seen. Yes - she isn't perfect but nothing is. I am a bit surprised that the door issue has not been corrected but must assume that it was more complicated than just changing the door seals as they were going to do that shortly after she was launched. She likely will go into dry dock next year. At that time they can fix the door seals, work on the lighting in CR and a few other things. Not sure if the sight lines in the theater can be corrected but we would still rather sail on Explorer than any other ship in the fleet.

While we were on excursion on day two, they apparently came in and replaced or augmented some of the weatherstripping on the door. When we sailed there was no whistling. When we were getting ready for dinner, no whistling. Had a very good dinner in Setti Mari (possible spelling error?). Returned around 11 and there was some whistling but just background noise - more like white noise. Not objectionable but it was there. Awoke this AM and there was none. I can understand how some could find this to be an issue but we are not. Yes, Poss, if it continues I'll post the room after the cruise but let's give it a bit more time.

Anyway, We are really enjoying the ship. As has been discussed so many times, the theater has issues. It is what it is. Hopefully some of that will be corrected on next ship. I did not go to the show but my wife really enjoyed it. Not modern but not ancient and the performing cast was apparently very good and had more members than in the past. Sorry I missed the show.

Although it is too early to judge, the common spaces are large and well appointed.

Jackie - I don't think it will be the only ship we will sail but I completely understand why it is for you. It IS very nice but I'm still very comfortable on Mariner and Voyager. Conceivably, the Explorer could be number one for us but if not it will certainly be right up there with the others.

Best, John

No noise from the door last night at all. And we really like the room, closet and drawers.

Good dinner in chartreuse last night but somehow not as "Wow" as on other cruises. Good quality, good service, well prepared but I just was not as impressed as in the past. So, we are going to go back again and see for a second time. Maybe it was just me. Possibly I was just so blown away by the Asian restaurant that a great French dinner was just very good in comparison.

We are liking the Explorer. Was anticipating a glitzy experience but have found that it is a very tasteful more modern experience.

Best,

John

Good to hear that the door is keeping quiet! Chartreuse and P7 are both a bit on and off. We found that dining in either restaurant at lunch met our desire to have meals there and we did not visit them at night very much. Must say that you have us drooling over Pacific Rim and we won't be on Explorer until February. Have you tried the lobster tempura? We also enjoyed trying different saki's and learned that we could drink quite a bit of cold saki without feeling it but did feel one small glass of it when it was heated. It is a shame that that the prayer wheel will not be on Splendor - it is such a magnificent piece.

If you will be onboard on Sunday that is a sea day, I'll be interested to learn if they are still doing the wonderful buffet in CR for brunch. It was really a lovely set-up and the food offerings were amazing.

Continue to enjoy your cruise.

Jackie