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Live from The Navigator- Oct. 14-24

ladymadeline

By ladymadeline,
in Regent Seven Seas Cruises

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ladymadeline

ladymadeline

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Greetings from the Navigator! We are currently at anchor in our first port (Newport, Rhode Island) since departing Brooklyn last night.

 

First things first. Overnighted at the Intercontinental Times Square. The way I judge a pre-cruise hotel is asking myself if I would pay to come back to this particular hotel? The answer here was no. We were unfortunate in being in a 3rd floor room overlooking a street light. Rather than the requested king bed, we had two queens. Not a big deal, but the room was clearly for disabled travelers and the closet was only 36" off the floor. Others raved about their spectacular view of the Hudson River and roof tops of New York. So, I think we just didn't luck out on room selection.

 

The bar area was noisy and adjoined the CaVa restaurant, which was packed on Saturday night. We were delighted with our restaurant choice - Keen's Steakhouse, a short cab ride away.

 

Breakfast buffet in the morning for cruise passengers. A large Princess group was also at the hotel.

 

Waited way too long for transfer to the ship. Our group was supposed to depart at 1:30 pm and we didn't even see the bus until 2:30 pm. The good news was we were the last transfer to reach the Brooklyn cruise terminal, so getting onboard was a breeze. As we entered the gangway, cruise director Ray was exiting for his vacation. Willie Aames is cruise director for our trip.

 

As we've been on Navigator before, we instantly felt right at home. All of our excursion tickets, spa appointments and that lovely bottle of champagne were awaiting us in our balcony suite. Luggage arrived within mere minutes and we went off to explore.

 

Dinner was in Setti Mari. We recognized several of the wait staff and had a lovely window table. The Italian themed menu did not disappoint. I started with a spaghetti carbonara and had the Veal Limone as a main course. My husband requested the Lasagna as a main course. The wine was a lovely crisp white wine and the dessert selection was great, especially the panna cota!

 

For sailaway, we went to the Pool Deck, which is the only place my husband could smoke a cigar. We had a gorgeous view of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty as we got underway. Sailing under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge was a thrill.

 

To bed early. No noise, no vibration, no motion. Awoke entering Rhode Island Sound. Breakfast in La Veranda and now posting in the Internet Cafe looking out on the harbor. Emerald Princess is at anchor here also.

 

Time to head to the tenders! I'll check in later.

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rcandkc

rcandkc

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Just got back last night from our New England cruise. Hope you have a great time. I found the service on this last cruise to be great! I had many names of cruise staff for great service on my comment card. We also met many nice fun fellow travelers. There were 330 repeat Regent cruisers out of the 480 passengers on board.

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ladymadeline

ladymadeline

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No problems loading the tenders for the short ride to Newport Harbor. Having been to Newport in the past we were looking forward to our "Vanderbilt" tours. The day was unseasonably warm and no chance of showers. We promptly boarded the coach (aka bus) and were driven to the first Vanderbilt mansion - The Breakers. We were told how long we had to go through the tour and when to return to the bus. We returned early to the bus and asked the driver if we could diverge from the itinerary and walk to the next home - Marble House, since the weather was fine and we had almost 45 minutes to wait. He proceeded to berate my husband and tell him we could not walk on ahead of the tour group and if we chose to do so, he could not guarantee we would be transported back to the harbor. Yikes!! We went to the bus and waited until everyone was seated and proceeded to Marble House. We ate a quick bite at the (Tea House) lunch room outside the Marble House (this is good to know, since we left the ship at 10:45 am and were due back at the harbor at 3:00 pm).

 

Overall, if you've never seen the Vanderbilt mansions, this is a good excursion. That being said, we could have covered more houses in the time allotted and found a better lunch spot on our own. But, as I've said, we've been here before and are familiar with Newport.

 

By the way.... the tender service is superlative.

 

Back on board we met the captain and the crew and had a lovely meal in Compass Rose. I can say the duck was wonderful, though I agree with an earlier post by Rachel that the wine service was lacking. We asked for Chardonnay, rather than the night's featured Sauvignon Blanc and waited and waited for refills.

 

Went to the lounge for a grappa and grand marnier and enjoyed watching the "monstrosity of the seas" (a Princess vessel) disappear behind us.

 

Tomorrow is Boston! I'll keep you up to date!

 

Good Night

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OrpingtonT

OrpingtonT

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Great thread, Ladymadeline, thanks. Looking forward to reading more of your travels on Navigator.

 

There were 330 repeat Regent cruisers out of the 480 passengers on board.

 

The numbers of repeat passengers says to me that Regent are still giving guests what they (the guests) want. Since I have been cruising with them the percentage of repeats steadily goes up.

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Travelcat2

Travelcat2

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Enjoying reading about your cruise. Looking forward to more reports.

 

In terms of repeat customers, our experience indicates that some itineraries have a high percentage of repeat customers while others have a very low percentage. On our two Med. cruises last spring, the event for Gold and above had so few passengers, it was held outside of La Veranda. On a previous cruise it was held in the theater (way too many of us:-)

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xrvlcruiser

xrvlcruiser

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On the Navigator last week, the SSS party was in the theater.

 

The Gold/Platinum/Titanium party was held on the deck behind La Veranda. Two separate events. This one was far smaller.

 

I don't know how many were invited to the latter party but the repeaters I know were not there - and I just went for a minute. Too cold!

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ladymadeline

ladymadeline

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We are pulling out of Boston Harbor under a clear night sky. Sun is just setting and it is impressive to watch Navigator back out of the harbor.

 

As I mentioned on another thread, this is the first time we encountered limited space for a post excursion cocktail. We were hoping to sit at a window seat in Gallileo for sailaway, but Bingo was in full (loud!) swing. We tried Stars Lounge, but it was closed for a private function. So we found a couple chairs under the heatlamps on the aft deck outside Gallileo and enjoyed the sights.

 

We started off this morning with another great meal in La Veranda. The staff is so efficient and so accomodating. After breakfast we decided to explore Boston on our own until our afternoon tour. You can easily hop on a shuttle and explore the area before lunch, as we did, and have plenty of time to return to the ship for an afternoon tour. We are history buffs and signed up for the Adams House tour and the Kennedy Library. Both were extremely well done and we had the pleasure of a very lively tour guide.

 

We are off to Setti Mari for a nice dinner and then settling into our jammies to watch the second Presidential debate. Tomorrow - Bar Harbor, Maine!!

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ladymadeline

ladymadeline

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Wow! Where did the time go yesterday? We were packed with activity. Tenders were prompt and packed to the gills! We were wedged in like sardines, but everyone is good spirits as the day was sunny and mild. Apparently the day before had been rainy.

 

We did the Acadia Park tour which included a lobster lunch. The park is really beautiful and this was our first chance to see some beautiful fall foliage. Don't miss this park if you take this cruise. The view from Cadillac Mountain is amazing! Our tour guide was originally from Michigan and retired to Mt. Desert Island 12 years ago and was very knowledgeable. The lobster bake, as they call it, was fun, messy and tasty. There must have been 100 of us and the restaurant served us all in no time. For those unfamiliar with eating a whole lobster there were plenty of staff on hand to assist diners get every last morsel out of the shells.

 

Barely made it back to the tenders for a 2:30 pm departure and 3:00 pm sailaway. It was so warm many folks congregated on the pool deck until it was time for tea, or trivia or dinner. I admit to losing badly at trivia as I played alone. Groups are now forming and vying for best trivia team. Tonight was the block party and we strolled our deck (7) meeting people from St. Louis, Scottsdale AZ, Des Moines, IA, Chicago, and on and on. Met the captain, who is only 36 yrs. old.

 

Dinner in Prime 7 was excellent. I started with a french onion soup, which was very good and enjoyed 2 lbs. of king crab, which they removed from the shell in the kitchen. Dessert was New York Cheesecake and coffee. I'd like to say we stayed up for the show, but, no. Just couldn't do it. We also had to set our clock forward one hour, as we are entering Atlantic Time.

 

Woke up to entering Halifax. Again, sunny! We are off to do a tour of Lighthouses and learn more about Lobsters!

 

More to come.....:)

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pingpong1

pingpong1

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ladymadeline - I am so envious! Whole lobster for lunch, followed by 2lbs of crablegs for dinner? Wow - and I hope a wonderful chardonnay or reisling (my preference) to go along with all of that. Believe it or not, right smack dab in the middle of Acadia National Forest (on the mainland side - not on the island), near Winterharbor, and squirreled away behind huge trees and some fences, there used to be Naval Communications Station. I was once stationed there. We used to think of lobster like most folks think of hamburgers! I once was buying live (and kicking) lobster right at dockside - fresh off the boats - for $2.50/pound. Me and my fellow sailors could easily down 2-3 of them each - all "flushed down" with lots of Canadian Molson beer. Yummmmm! The good old days!

 

Have a great cruise. I'm enjoying the reports. Regards

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ladymadeline

ladymadeline

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To answer Jan's previous post, yes, the fall colors are hanging on, especially nice in Bar Harbor and along the coast here in Halifax.

 

Halifax is a beautiful port. Three ships here today - Holland America, Silverseas and us. Our Lobsters and Lighthouse excursion was nice. A brief cruise around the harbor, saw a couple lighthouses, watched a demonstration of how a lobster pot is checked and then....Lobster lunch.

 

Confession - yes, we ate more lobster today. Can't seem to get enough when it's so fresh. I'm from Northern Michigan where I can get fresh whitefish, walleye and perch, but shellfish? No. So, when I'm places like this I order it.

 

After lunch we shopped a little, toured the Museum of the Atlantic, which has beautiful scale model ships and a fascinating exhibit about the Titanic. The city of Halifax played a significant role in recovering bodies and dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy. Very well done. An easy walk from the ship to this museum. If your excursion doesn't include lunch, we passed many fine looking restaurants right on water.

 

We felt we needed a little rest and as it is gloriously sunny, we sat around the pool with a nice wool blanket over our laps and read for a couple hours (dozed a little too!)

 

I skipped Trivia today as I was hopelessly beaten yesterday. Tonight we are joining another couple in Compass Rose and will valiantly stay up for some entertainment. :p

 

I'm writing this in the Computer Center, as we have just pulled away from the dock. Brilliant sun, clear skies. Captain says we'll have fair seas, winds out of the southwest at only 10 knots. Next stop Sydney!

 

Oh....one of my favorite things to do on a cruise is people watch. Here's one that I just have to share. As dozens of us were waiting to go ashore at 9:30 this morning on deck 5 (we were following a crew member to the gangway), we were treated to the sight of a rather large gentleman, wearing slippers and a bathrobe, and sunglasses, calmly seated in the coffee lounge opposite the library, enjoying his coffee. Flash forward to 3:00 PM, Pool Deck. Same man, same outfit, though this time he is smoking a cigar at the designated smoking area. I can't help but think he's been out there all day enjoying himself! ;)

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