New York City to Montreal on Navigator-sept 24 to oct 4--live

[xrvlcruiser]

One more "will we see" question: the World Trade Center? Ellis Island? My guess is no but wanted to ask

[RachelG]

First thanks everyone for all the well wishes. I actually enjoy doing my little reports because I can read them later and it helps me remember the cruise.

 

 

Ray is indeed the CD on this cruise. And Davor is GM. I will keep my eye open for Alberto as he is one of my favorites too.

 

As far as transport from LGA to the hotel en hotel to port we took a taxi. It was $35 from the airport to hotel and $20 to the port. Not unreasonable at all. I paid more for a taxi in NYC 10 yrs ago. Of course, Brooklyn would be different. I don't even know where the port is there as we sailed from manhattan pier 90.

 

The sail out was awesome but cold and windy. We got good views of all the skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and the bridge. We stayed up top the whole time and froze, but what great fun. Ray did commentary along the way.

 

This am dawned bright and sunny with temp about 70. A glorious day as ray always says, but it truly was. George drank his veggie health drink that he like while I did 40 min on the track. It was not windy or crowded at all, and no loungers out, so easy to go around.

 

Our tour was not till afternoon, and this is a tender port. We decided to go ashore and explore some then eat lunch before the tour.

 

Getting on the tender, something pretty exciting happened. All of a sudden the wind picked up very abruptly, and the tender began pitching and rolling pretty violently and hitting against the side of the stairs from the ship. It was almost full. We and about 6 other people were on the stairs, and I was getting worried about how I was possibly going to get on this tender when the crew members had us quickly go back up the stairs into the ship and had the tender pull away as it was just too dangerous.

 

There was a lot of radioing and running up and down by crew members and the captain came down. Eventually, it was declared to be safe to bring another tender alongside, so we boarded and had a relatively smooth ride to shore.

 

Newport is very touristy of course, but also very historic and beautiful. We walked all over, saw a bunch of really nice expensive sailboats and some old churches, including the church where JFK and Jackie were married in 1953. Had a big lunch with was too much food at the brick alley pub. It was very good and reasonably priced, ESP considering that we would have been fine splitting our order.

 

Our tour was the cliff walk and breakers mansion. We met on the pier (no need to go back to the ship). This was a included tour. There 40 of us on the bus that took us our to the walk, then we split into 2 groups, each with our own guide. Plus a regent guy from the ship came along.

 

The walk was nice but way to short. We only did maybe a half a mile. The guideways very knowledgeable and interesting, an older very fit retired guy. I liked him a lot because he knew how much to say but didn't talk incessantly. Then we ended at the breakers mansion which was the summer home of the Vanderbilt family. It is way over the top flamboyant. But it was interesting. That was a different time for sure.

 

The ride back in the tender was really rough. We had to make 3 different tries to come alongside the ship, but finally got aboard. Unfortunately, I missed trivia as that took so long.

 

No block party, at least yet. Tonight is the captains reception. Will finish today's report later but had a couple of minutes while George was in the shower as he got drenched in seaspray coming back.

[ededmd]

Unfortunately, I missed trivia as that took so long.

 

Ah boo! That's a shame. One of the best parts of the day.

At least you didn't get tipped in during your tender adventure.

Count me as another Alberto fan.:)

[xrvlcruiser]

Ray . . . what is his schedule? Off in Montreal? Longer? Back to NY?

 

Inquiring minds want to know!

[room010]

Thanks for the "on the spot" reports Rachel. As you may know, I'm not the Navigator's greatest fan but plenty of people are so let's assume you are one of them! I hope the service glitches we experienced in Alaska at the various dining venues have been ironed out now. I'm pretty certain it was a combination of undertrained new recruits and inadequate supervision so hopefully things are back to Regents usual standard.

[mimito4]

So enjoying your on board reporting, Rachel. Thanks for taking the time.

 

I sailed out of NYC once (not on Regent), and it was really breath taking. I think many times we Americans tend to overlook our own back yards, thinking that only those great "foreign" ports are special.

 

Love both Ray and Alberto. Lucky you.

 

Hope your adventure continues to be grand!

[glorygaf]

Hello Rachel,

 

We are interested to know if the CD is Ray Solaire who was on Mariner from Jan -March this year?

[Sheltieluv]

Good morning, Rachel--

Am enjoying your posts very much--thanks! If you see Alberto, please tell him that Mr. Donald and Mrs. Mary will see him in a few weeks, and we'll be ordering "Creamee Broolee"--(long story). :p

 

And thank you to you and everyone else for the information about what we will see sailing out of NYC! Adds to our anticipation.

 

(It will be interesting to see what kind of "color" the trees will be showing as the Navigator makes its way North. In our area here near Syracuse, we've been in a moderate drought all summer/early fall, and the leaves are turning early as they are stressed from lack of water. We have been told here by our meteorologists to expect a lack-luster leaf peeping season--little to no rich reds/oranges. We shall see!)

[RachelG]

I ran into ray this am (yes, it is the same Ray Soliare that was on mariner Jan to Mar this year) and asked about how much longer he will be onboard. He says he will do the next cruise Montreal-NYC then go on vacation.

 

As far as being able to see World Trade Center if you leave from the Brooklyn port, I think not really as you are on the wrong side, though the new buildings going up are very high and you should be able to see the tops of them. They are well lit.

 

Ellis island you could probably see, as it is right by the island where the Statue of Liberty is, but it isn't lit up at night. So you have to know where to look. We did see it.

 

Last evening in CR, I asked Eduardo, one of our favorite waiters from Mariner, if Alberto is on board. He said yes, he is upstairs in Sette mare. I haven't seen Alberto yet myself, so don't know if it is the correct Alberto as that is a pretty common Filipino name. I will report further.

 

Last night was the captsin's reception. We didn't go as we have found it to be a big crowd. The ship is totally full, so I am sure there were a lot there.

 

Anyway, we go to CR at 6:30 on that evening before the rush hits. We did run into issues with the wine service last evening. Eduardo was right there, gave us water and took our orders. But no wine. He brought the first course. Still no wine, so I asked him to have someone bring it. The wine steward, a very young and pleasant but somewhat clueless guy, brought it immediately. He apologized profusely, and he kept our glasses well filled after that. I think we were just off his radar screen, which is weird since we were the 2 nd couple to be seated in his section. The white was some Chardonnay from Australia. We don't drink Chardonnay much, so skipped right the the red which was penfold's Shiraz. Not my favorite but just ok. The red in P7, a cab from Sonoma, was much better.

 

Anyway, dinner was quite good. They had the caviar appetizer which was at least labeled as sturgeon, cheese soufflé, prime rib, lobster. George had the selection from P7 Dover sole, as I had bragged on it so much. He was not disappointed.

 

There was quite a long break between our salads and our main course. That was right when the big rush hit at the end of the reception. George tends to get impatient (and the late wine service didn't help), but I asked him if he had some pressing appointment to attend or didn't enjoy my company. He calmed down.

 

Show was "On broadway" which is my favorite though I have seen it many times. They had some new costumes and had changed the end up some. The performers were the best I have seen on regent in a very long time, ESP the singers. The specialty dance couple are the same as we're on Mariner in Jan I think.

 

 

So far all freeze have been totally green. Obviously it is early in the season, and we will be sailing further north, so we will see what turns up.

[OrpingtonT]

George tends to get impatient (and the late wine service didn't help), but I asked him if he had some pressing appointment to attend or didn't enjoy my company. He calmed down.

 

 

Loved it. :D:D:D

[WesW]

echo Tom/Orpington's three smiley faces.

[Threechicks]

Smart lady Rachel. Agree with Tom and Wes.

[Hort96]

I was in Newport yesterday and the Navigator sailed right by our hotel during breakfast. Quite lovely and larger than I thought she would be. Later in the day, while driving through town, we saw her at anchor and wondered how the tenders would be able to shuttle people back and forth. The day was crystal clear but the wind was blowing and the water was really choppy. Newport is so pretty, it would be a shame to miss it because of snotty seas.

 

I am a long time member of cruise critic, so long that my log-in name was my real one. That's apparently how it was done "back then." Yesterday I set up a new account in the current correct manner. My husband and I sailed on the February Sydney to Singapore cruise on the Voyager and will be on the Miami to Lima trip in January aboard the Mariner. I have been a lurker on this board and decided it was time to participate.

 

I enjoy the day by day updates. Please keep them coming!

[JACKHAWK]

Just reporting that we are on the same cruise. (Completely full) We did have an excellent lunch in CR with Alberto & he addressed me by my name - couldn't figure how he knew, so I asked & he had heard my wife use it. So we introduced ourselves. Very good service & very funny.

 

We were also were very nervous boarding the tender yesterday. We did have excellent service in every restaurant so far.

 

We were at the included hotel (Intercontinental) & had a view room which was outstanding. We enjoyed Book of Morman in NYC.

 

Our server in CR was Alvin the first night, but when we asked for him again last night there were not any tables left in his section. Also very good service in Stars with Andy.

 

Really can't complain about anything & when DW asked for a sub of Reisling, they remembered the next night.

 

We are going to try SM tonight, but are going early.

[tikcho]

I was on the ship on Monday as part of a ship tour for top sellers. I had been on the Mariner two years ago and the Navigator was somewhat different in the layout but the color scheme and cabins were pretty much the same as was the service. The food is always exceptional - we had the chocolate mango cake in the dining room and it was outstanding :) The only thing that bugged me a bit was that La Veranda on the Navigator is much smaller than the Mariner and seemed kind of dark.

Enjoy your cruise and hope you get some sunny weather!

[RachelG]

What a great day!

 

Jack hawk, make yourself known to me. George, my husband is the big cowboy with cowboy hat, jeans, boots. Even wears boots to dinner, but not the hat. I am petite with short dark hair. I run/walk every day on the track when the weather is good, so a lot of people know me that way.

 

Anyway, today was overcast, about 70F, and a little breezy but not bad. We had a morning walking tour of the north end ( included) where we visited multiple Italian stores. Bakery, cheese and meat shop, coffee place, green grocer, liquor store. It was really good. Probably on my top 5 list of best ever ship excursions. Our guide was excellent. Very knowledgeable and engaging. We got to do lots of food sampling. There were 2 groups of 20 each and we went completely different routes , so no crowds. Really a great morning.

 

ThEre was a shuttle to/from the ship to/from Quincy market all day.

 

Goerge and I had lunch with some friends we had met on the South America cruise this past January, Linda and Bob. What a great time. Then they too us to the museum of fine arts where we had a quick explore. I could definitely spend at least a day there. Then they drove us back to the ship.

 

I did an hour up top on the track while George did business on the phone.

 

Dinner was in Sette mare. We were first in the door, and the place filled up fast, really fast. If you were not there by 7, you would have to wait. It was really good. I am stuffed as a pig. Great service to with the wine glass never even close to empty. Grappa and biscotti to finish things off. Yum!

 

As far as dress code in the evenings, here is my observation thus far. All ladies are nicely to elegantly dressed. At least half the men have worn suits or jackets with or without ties in all venues, including Sette mare. George did bring a sports coat but no tie. No jeans seen after 6 in any dining venue or bar.

 

I did smell the distinct odor of cigarette smoke in the stairwell on deck 7 this am. Weird because it is not near anywhere that smoking is allowed. So either someone who had been smoking heavily passed brought recently or someone was smoking where they should not have been. I have smelled traces on deck 6 by the smoking lounge but nothing really bad. They keep the door closed mostly.

 

No kids at all onboard as far as I can tell. Average age is probably mid sixties.

[xrvlcruiser]

Rachel,

 

Glad to hear the North End tour was good - I'm doing it on the next cruise . . .

[room010]

Hmmmmm. It seems the wine service issues in CR still haven't been fixed which is a pity. If I was a cynic ;) I'd wonder if the slow service is an attempt to slow down wine consumption and therefore costs? I'm also sorry but not surprised that you need to get to Sette Mari early in order to be seated promptly. It's never going to work in that small space [climbs off soapbox].

[xrvlcruiser]

Hort96,

 

Come join the roll call for the Mariner trip (January7-March 20,2013 Circle South America by Segment) in the Regent Roll Call Forum. . . . .

 

By the way, when I used to post on the old (pre-aol) CompuServe Travel Forum, we used our real names as well . . . I liked it!

 

Peggy

[ededmd]

CompuServe Travel Forum

 

Peggy - compuserve? you are dating yourself!

[xrvlcruiser]

Yes . . . . Although I don't post there any more, it is very interesting to me the number of names I see when I check back there - 2-3 time a year - are ones

I remember.

 

Using real names keeps everyone honest . . and you learn pretty quickly whose postings you can depend on.

 

A caveat I don't mean to make it sound as if I don't "believe" here, this is as ededmd said - ancient history.

[mariners]

Rachel, thanks so much for posting. I hope that you will get to experience the magnificence of the fall colours.

[Travelcat2]

Rachel, the information you are posting is very helpful and I am not looking forward to Sette Mari on the Voyager. It seems that dining early works best in both Sett Mari and Compass Rose.

 

We have also sailed out of New York on Silversea. It was lovely. Continue enjoying your cruise.

[OrpingtonT]

Rachel, the information you are posting is very helpful and I am not looking forward to Sette Mari on the Voyager. It seems that dining early works best in both Sett Mari and Compass Rose.

 

 

I don't understand. You don't have to eat in Sette Mari if you don't want to.

[rcandkc]

Rachel,

Anyone really using hot tub? Not sure I need to bother with swimsuit.

How heavy of a coat are you using?

Any need for shorts?

I am on your cruise next week.

Thanks.