Live from The Navigator- Oct. 14-24

[RachelG]

Ladymadeline, you have me laughing. I remember once we were riding the tender ashore in Falmouth UK. We were going past a "monstrosity of the seas" ship, and there was a very large man standing on his balcony with nothing on, smoking a cigar. His wife was standing beside him with a robe on. Both seemed to be oblivious that 100 people were staring at them from the tender.

[rcandkc]

So far I think your weather has been better than ours.....it was lovely in Newport and Bar Harbour, but not so much in Boston or Halifax. Hope it continues to hold for you. The colors in Saguanay were very nice when we went through.

[ededmd]

there was a very large man standing on his balcony with nothing on, smoking a cigar. His wife was standing beside him with a robe on.

 

The robe, who cares? but

One can only hope the man's large belly obscured his speedo underwear and that you were not treated to a "bits and parts" view.

[RachelG]

The robe, who cares? but

One can only hope the man's large belly obscured his speedo underwear and that you were not treated to a "bits and parts" view.

 

That was my positive thinking as well. I told George "maybe he's European and wearing a speedo".

[ladymadeline]

I joked with the waitstaff on the Pool Deck that I thought I had been transported to a Caribbean cruise, that's how warm it was today. We enjoyed a short Sydney walking tour and spent a lot of time in the lovely terminal building where the locals display their wares. I bought a Santa made out of an old mink coat that is amazing. I've seen these types of things in the U.S. at craft shows in the past, but this woman does first class work and the prices are reasonable. She collects old fur coats, Hudson Bay blankets and then crafts Santa's, makes ear muffs, fur hats, etc.... There were lots of other good local crafters throughout the building.

 

Met several people who raved about the Alexander Graham Bell tour. Haven't caught up with the people who did the Cabot Trail tour, though with this flawless weather it must have been beautiful.

 

Dinner in Compass Rose last night was wonderful. And, no, I did not order lobster, I had scallops. The wine service was almost too efficient. You'd take two sips and they were racing to the table to top it off. Last night's Beatles tribute was very good.

 

Dining with Davor, the General Manager, tonight. Should be interesting. I always like learning more about the staff.

 

Sailing away right now. On to Charlottetown, PEI. :p

 

P.S. Didn't see my friend in his robe today.:mad:

[RachelG]

Say hi to Davor for me. He is a really interesting guy, esp if you get him talking about Croatia.

[purpleally]

 

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,

;)

 

Where in northern Michigan. I live in Michigan but southeast. Spend afoot of time up north

 

Thanks for posting. I will be on the navigator nov 8

[ladymadeline]

Well, let me start out with saying I entered an entire post, loaded with detail about 4 hours ago, hit "submit" and the server crashed. Others in the computer area were cussing and hissing. I gave up as well and headed to the Gallileo Lounge for a Cosmopolitan to sooth my wounded spirits.

 

Now...here's what we did since last report:

 

Dinner with Davor was wonderful. He is a very dedicated member of the Regent team, and as Rachel commented, a real enthusiast for his homeland, Croatia. He is building a new home there and is looking forward to being home for the Christmas holidays.

 

This morning we were up at the crack of dawn, before sunrise, as our excursion was the first one off the ship. We took a tender to a very nice terminal bldg. and were transported by taxi to the Culinary Institute of Canada for the Seafood 101 course. I cannot tell you how fabulous this course is!!! It's one of the best cooking courses I've ever participated in. We did the Cordon Bleu course on Mariner a few years ago and this was ten times better. The instructor/chef (Jeff) is not only a native of PEI, but had worked in kitchens all over the world. He had an easy going style and was right next to you to help you figure out every step of the recipe. There were 16 of us in a very large professional kitchen, with excellent, fresh food from Prince Edward Island - mussels, clams, lobster, potatoes, oysters. He divided us into teams of four who were each assigned two recipes. After three hours of mincing, chopping, sauteeing, simmering and baking we ate the most amazing food! We were allowed to take pictures and the chef and his assistant were there every step of the way to help. Best part - there was a person there to clean up our dirty pots and pans!!

 

We waddled from the Institute to the downtown area and shopped a bit. It's a lovely little downtown. While we were in the cooking class a "monstrosity of the seas" entered the port and tied up at the pier. It was Brilliance of the Seas.

 

Back onboard we played trivia and lost by 1 point to a team that scored a perfect 15 out of 15. We drowned our sorrows with more tea and then perused menus. We decided on Compass Rose and I have to say we were disappointed for two reasons - 1. the adjoining table had a woman who had the loudest voice in the universe, telling stories about her multiple trips around the world, 2. the food was so-so. The Phad Thai was burning hot, hot, hot!!! I ordered bread pudding to cool my tongue afterward.

 

Heard several people complain about no sports channels on the ship. This is true. I had to race down here to the computer center to check the scores. Go Blue! My Wolverines won today!!!!

 

Called home too to check on the baby (English Setter - Lizzie). She is doing well, though her caregivers say she's missing us. (I think they made that part up?)

 

Home to Petoskey on Wednesday! :o

[RachelG]

Wow, something must have happened to the pad Thai, as I have always found it pretty tame on Regent.

 

Your cooking class sounds great.

[Responder]

The Dining Room Manager last cruise was Chimmi (sp?

 

And he is our absolute favorite..

 

Hope he will be on our Apr 22 sailing.

[OrpingtonT]

The Dining Room Manager last cruise was Chimmi (sp?

 

Our favourite, too. He was on our very first cruise on Mariner to Alaska in 2006, though not as Dining Rooms manager then.

[WesW]

Thanks for another robust on board report Ladymadeline, we esp., enjoyed your Seafood 101 class details. It's always comforting to get our "home" pet care updates while on board--glad to hear Lizzy is doing well.

[choirlady]

Hey guys! Hope your cruise is great! DH and I are sailing on the Navigator in 2013 and were wondering if anyone has photos of cabin 919. Take care and have a great week!

 

Judy

[BBfromCA]

Lady Madeline,

 

How long will Willie be onboard as CD? We will be cruising on the Navigator on December 18 and would love to visit with him again.

Please tell him that Bill from California (the Mickey Mouse collector) says hi.

I was with him on one of his first cruises in May, 2010.

[Bfson]

Lady,

 

We are in Montreal awaiting the cruise from here to Miami next Wednesday lots of rain headin your way. Fierce storm on Sat. as our train crossed from US into Canada.

[TedC]

That was my positive thinking as well. I told George "maybe he's European and wearing a speedo".

 

Perhaps Big Belly only needed an extra small Speedo!

[TedC]

Sorry, Duplicate

[RachelG]

Haha, Ted, maybe so!

:mad:

Bill, are t you the Bill that some lady thought was Bill W (as in friends of Bill W). I told my husband that story, and he almost choked laughing so hard.

[BBfromCA]

Rachel,

 

That would be me. :)

[belacar]

the fall colors are almost gone .....too much wind and rain

[Bfson]

Lots of great fall colors in and around Montreal.

[ladymadeline]

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. It was a sea day and we never saw sight of any shoreline until late in the day. Woke up to thick fog in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Also, as it was a sea day, we were very lazy. Both had spa appointments before lunch. My hot stone pedicure was very relaxing. Tracy, the nail technician, was very good and the spa is lovely. My husband is usually skeptical of massages on ships, but raved about his "deep tissue massage." He was really happy with the treatment and loved the steam room too.

 

Yesterday was packed everywhere, but service was great. The Gallileo Lounge was packed for tea and Trivia with Willie was really a hoot. Not sure how long he'll be on board. I'll check.

 

Dinner in Setta Mare was very nice. I had the veal parmigiano and let me tell you it was soooo good, but I could only eat half of it. Had to save room for the panna cota.

 

Today we woke up to partly cloudy, very windy conditions in Saguenay. What a gorgeous place! We went on an excursion to "New France" which was really well done. It's a site that was specifically built to resemble what 17th century Quebec might have looked like, apparently for a movie set, and is now a tourist attraction. Several people there reenact what it was like to like there. The native Amerindian presentation was particularly good. We then went to the Museum of the Fjord, also very nice. Lunch back on board and then coffee and big blankets off the aft deck of 11th floor (heat lamps were on!). Elvis brought us coffee and tea. Folks just now returning from afternoon excursions and getting ready for trivia.

 

Restaurants will open at 6PM tonight, rather than 6:30, as many people want to watch the Presidential Debate at 9:00 PM. They show it on two channels in your suite and are also showing it in one of the lounges.

 

Just saw a couple Royal Canadian Air Force jets swoop low overhead. What a gorgeous place! Tomorrow is Quebec City!:)

[ladymadeline]

:( Well, where did the time go? Tonight we are cruising the St. Lawrence and heading to Montreal. You know the drill - put your luggage outside your suite tonight, wake up super early and head to the airport. Boo Hoo!

 

We had an amazingly bright, sunny, relatively warm (50 degrees F) day in Quebec City. Lovely place. We've been to Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, but Quebec is special. I felt like I was in France! Great orientation excursion called something like "old and new Quebec and Montmorency Falls." Don't miss the falls, they are quite impressive.

 

Spent the afternoon shopping in the old city and rode the "funicular" .

 

Great day, topped off by "Kruz Kapers" in the theater. Love this show. My favorite, of course, is Elvis, our Gallileo bartender.

 

Just went to the boutique to spend my last $23.00 in unused ship board credits.

 

I can't believe we're done. :( This trip has flown by. We had perfect seas, no rain, lots of sun and super people. We hear a storm is brewing off the Atlantic coast, so good luck to those going from Montreal to Miami.

 

Anyone with specific questions, feel free to ask. Otherwise, I'll see you next cruise (thinking Baltic????)

 

Lady Madeline :p

[jcross2]

Lady Madeleine, thanks so much for your great live thread!

 

We are awaiting Navigator's arrival here in Montreal. Keeping fingers crossed that the storm does not head up the east coast to meet us, yikes.

 

Enjoy your next cruise in the Baltic!

 

Regards,

Jan

[Bfson]

Let me add my thanks. We board the Navigator in about 3 hours and your posts have given us a wonderful preview of our cruise. Thanks for taking the time to write them while on vacation.