Sarah & Grandpa's Cruise. The Mariner. June 22-29, 2014

[nana541]

Sarah, my favorite place for Breakfast and Lunch is La Veranda, sit on the outside deck in the shade and enjoy the ocean air and beautiful scenery! They have a lovely buffet at each of those meals and omelet station too :)

 

 

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[sarawithanh]

Nana - I love La Veranda for breakfast and lunch too. The pool bar is also decent when going to eat later

 

Struggled to wake up this morning. Got dressed and immediately went to get a frappe latte from Coffee Connection (my new favorite). I drank that and then went to checkout the pool bar area. Hooray for granola bars to bring on excursions and for fresh green juices! I told the guy I wanted spinach and apple but no cucumber and to surprise me with the rest. Delicious.

 

Headed back to get grandpa from room and we went to La Veranda for breakfast. A little chilly in mornings so we sat inside. I love the make your own omelette fresh to order! I got an everything omelette with 1 egg and the rest whites. Light and fluffy. With crispy bacon and fruit and a few dried prunes (because I'm also an old lady). Avocado seems to be missing in action but I asked our waiter for some sliced avocado - half. He brought me an entire avocado!! Yummy

 

Our excursion was Nice & Little Train in Cannes. Tender was quick and easy and we headed straight to little train for a 45 min audio ride around Cannes. Then we boarded buses and drove an hour to Nice. The group had a 1hr walking tour but some of us broke off. Grandpa and I paired up with a lovey southern old lady and her daughter. We grabbed a snack at a cafe so we could sit and get out of sun. After that we met the group and then drove an hour back to Cannes

 

Plenty of toilets at the port where tender dropped us off. Also the public restroom in the gardens in Nice were super nice!

 

Got back to ship and gramps took a nap while I laid on lounge chair at poo area to get some sun.

 

Since we didn't really have lunch in Nice, just a snack, I got another snack around 4pm today - the salads are so fresh - even at pool grill. I got a salad and cut some of gramps burger (no bun) off. Plus sweet potato fries!!!! So good!

 

I've managed to avoid the yummy looking ice cream case, for now. But that chocolate PB ice cream is calling my name - maybe tomorrow

 

Finishing up at pool. Leaving grandpa to continue his snooze on pool deck. Headed back to shower and get ready and maybe pop my head out at 6pm for the block party in the hallway.

[journeyfan]

Don't miss the block party. They can be a lot of fun and a good way to meet your neighbors. And do try the ice cream bar. Their ice cream is marvelous.... and you are on vacation. Enjoy yourself! You can work off the pounds later.

 

Keep up the posting. We're all enjoying your comments.

[sarawithanh]

Block party was nice. Spent an hour chatting with people in my hallway.

 

then spent time on balcony while grandpa snoozed. He finally woke up an we headed to Sette Mari for dinner. Holy deliciousness. They are going to need to roll me off this ship. The appetizers were served family style to our table and were tasty. Especially the meatball and chunks of parm cheese and olives. I also liked the fried mozzarella and bread basket

 

The buffet of extra appetizers was also delish. Make your own Caesar salad etc. The lobster risotto balls were good too.

 

The creamy tomato basil soup was delish. As was the spaghetti carbonara. Mmmmmmm. The fat kid in me really wanted to see my favorite fettucine Alfredo on the menu. Oh well

 

We finished dinner and went to the desert extravaganza and pool deck party. Fresh made Nutella Crepes and chocolate fountain! And old people music and alcohol. The adults were loving it and having a great time

 

Headed off to bed around 11 or 12. Woke up this morning to thunder and lighting. The ship was still moving at 7am today, so I got dressed pretending I was going to excursion. While at breakfast the captain said it was unsafe to anchor - the wind was 42knots and a storm was going to be worse in afternoon. So we are bypassing Antibes and going in search of sun. Sea day!!! I'm sad though - really wanted to do Picasso/absinthe excursion. Oh well.

[sarawithanh]

On tap for today:

 

Reading

Gym

Sleeping

Pizza

Ice cream

6:30 at Signatures

[findacruise]

So enjoying your posts and living vicarously through you - I think I am gaining weight! Sounds like you are enjoying it all. Thanks for sharing your adventure.

[sarawithanh]

Sea day update:

 

After breakfast I went back to the room and fell asleep for another 1.5hrs :). I woke up and then went to get a much needed workout in at the gym. After the gym I ran into one of our cruise friends who said she saw grandpa drinking coffee with another friend. So I went in search of him. Didn't locate him but stumble into a wine tasting!!! Win some, lose some! I had a delicious Bordeaux but didn't have my phone to take a pic of bottle. Oh well.

 

Found grandpa in room. His tummy was feeling "off". So I headed up to pool deck to get some sun but first stopped for lunch - they set up a delicious Mediterranean buffet. I was sitting by myself and a wonderful lady from LA who was about my moms age (I met her during the block party last night) asked to sit with me. We chatted for a good hour and half about everything. Wonderful lunchtime experience. We departed ways

 

I got some sun and reading in. Grabbed a book from the library on board. Awesome selection of hardcover books

 

I also had some ice cream. Delicious!!!!

We changed our signatures reservation for Friday since grandpas tummy is still iffy. Oh well

 

Compass rose tonight I guess!

[nana541]

Sea Days are a gift, enjoy every minute of it!

 

 

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Edited June 25, 2014 by nana541

[sarawithanh]

Left the pool and stumbled into tea time & trivia. That was nice. Followed by Bingo but I didn't stay for that. Instead got caught up chatting with cruise friends.

 

5:30 - Got back to room - Grandpa snoozing. Guess I will shower now. And hopefully we can get to dinner by 7:30 and finish by 9:30 for the dancing show!!

[rarin2go]

Great to hear you're enjoying your cruise, Sarah - keep the reports coming please - it's easing the pain of separation! :)

 

Is the CD recovered now? She was off sick for several days before we got off.

[sarawithanh]

Is the CD recovered now? She was off sick for several days before we got off.

 

 

Yep CD is all better and back in action!

 

I had a lovely lunch with a widow from LA - she is about my moms age and traveling with her two girls - one graduated from HS and the other from college. Her husband/their dad passed away a year and half ago from breast cancer! So we were chatting about that, my masters degree, my dad's cancer, my hearing loss, her husbands Hungarian heritage etc etc etc. It was awesome. Time passed quickly!

 

Getting dressed for dinner in Compass Rose tonight. hoping to finish dinner so we can get to the theater early and snag a good spot for the show

[jhp]

Sarah, I have enjoyed each and every on of your posts along the way. You are obviously an open and friendly person, and it looks like it adds to your enjoyment as you meet others and seem to be having such a great time! Please keep telling us more!

[WesW]

Echo Olivia/jhp's sentiments above. Sarah, your cheerful/exuberant posting reflects very well the fun y'all r having. Thanks again for taking time to share with us here on the Regent board.

[Goofyisme]

One of the best series of posting I have had the pleasure of reading. Thank you so much for taking us along.

[Patti22]

I echo the above comments about how refreshing sarahwithanh's posts are. I cannot cruise right now due to family pet's health but I can relate to all of sarah's experiences onboard. Please keep posting!

[RachelG]

Too bad about the weather, but it sounds like you are having a great time despite missing a port. Though Antibes would be a port I would be hating to miss!

[sarawithanh]

Too bad about the weather, but it sounds like you are having a great time despite missing a port. Though Antibes would be a port I would be hating to miss!

 

Yup. I was mad we missed Antibes but oh well. Motown show was great last night! The JAR group is fabulous. The show ended around 10:30, I went to bed and Grandpa headed to the Casino!

 

Yesterday the Captain announced that it's very windy in Sanary Sur Mer so today we docked in Toulon. Excursions remain the same with an added 40min round trip shuttle boat. Still confused on details for that but it doesn't matter - grandpa is staying on board - his tummy is still bothering him. You can only baby an old man for so long....I suggested more water and less desserts and sticking to his reg breakfast and lunch foods...but ya know.... It's definitely all the rich foods and desserts he's not used to eating at home

 

I was planning to do the Discover Marseilles excursion without him but then I ran into the daughter and mom that we had lunch in Nice with, and asked if I could tag along with them today. Prob just do some shopping and walking around in town. Which is fine by me! I'm kind of sick of being stuck in a motor coach for two hour round trip drives and such.

 

Dear Regent - this 32yo is struggling with waking up for your insane 8:30am meeting times for half day excursions. News flash - that means your 70+yo customers are struggling even more especially those that had a 6hr or more time difference. Also I have many choice words for the descriptions or lack of consistency and inaccurate ratings of difficulty of activities. (We received a correction sheet on board - it's more corrections than the editor of a newspaper makes. Jesus) The excursion options and information get 1 out of 5 stars from me. You must mention bathroom options and hills and number of steps and be consistent when describing what excursions consist of. Your customer base is 55+. Important information!! [end rant/]

[gnomie1]

Yup. I was mad we missed Antibes but oh well. Motown show was great last night! The JAR group is fabulous. The show ended around 10:30, I went to bed and Grandpa headed to the Casino!

 

Yesterday the Captain announced that it's very windy in Sanary Sur Mer so today we docked in Toulon. Excursions remain the same with an added 40min round trip shuttle boat. Still confused on details for that but it doesn't matter - grandpa is staying on board - his tummy is still bothering him. You can only baby an old man for so long....I suggested more water and less desserts and sticking to his reg breakfast and lunch foods...but ya know.... It's definitely all the rich foods and desserts he's not used to eating at home

 

I was planning to do the Discover Marseilles excursion without him but then I ran into the daughter and mom that we had lunch in Nice with, and asked if I could tag along with them today. Prob just do some shopping and walking around in town. Which is fine by me! I'm kind of sick of being stuck in a motor coach for two hour round trip drives and such.

 

Dear Regent - this 32yo is struggling with waking up for your insane 8:30am meeting times for half day excursions. News flash - that means your 70+yo customers are struggling even more especially those that had a 6hr or more time difference. Also I have many choice words for the descriptions or lack of consistency and inaccurate ratings of difficulty of activities. (We received a correction sheet on board - it's more corrections than the editor of a newspaper makes. Jesus) The excursion options and information get 1 out of 5 stars from me. You must mention bathroom options and hills and number of steps and be consistent when describing what excursions consist of. Your customer base is 55+. Important information!! [end rant/]

 

I could not agree more with regard to Destination Services and the description and rating of excursions. My Mom is 87 years old and although she is in excellent health, she needs to pace herself and needs a railing for stairs. We have been on many excursions with an "easy" rating that I had difficulty with and I am in decent shape. Our worst experience was on our Amazon cruise, we thought we were going to see waterfalls and after walking for 40 minutes, the guide expected everyone to climb up a mountain which no one would do. It was pure chaos, because the bus was suppose to meet us on the other side of the mountain and she had no cell phone. Long story short, no one saw any waterfalls, we walked very slowly back to the origination point and waited 90 minutes for the bus to pick us up. Still waiting for an apology from Regent. On the other hand, I have been on excursions marked "very difficult" which I did on my own believing it would be difficult for Mom and it was so easy I could have enjoyed it with my Mom.

 

DS needs a complete makeover - it is one of the weakest links of Regent.

 

gnomie. :)

[Mudhen]

I agree as well. There is considerable discrepancy in Regent's description of their shore excursions. Most have been fine, but there is the occasional glitch. Although I consider myself fairly fit, some of the "3 little running people" symbols, should be more like 5! Some of the "3" are more like 1.........I think maybe it's time to review some of their descriptions!

[debijaynes]

Dear Regent - this 32yo is struggling with waking up for your insane 8:30am meeting times for half day excursions. News flash - that means your 70+yo customers are struggling even more especially those that had a 6hr or more time difference. Also I have many choice words for the descriptions or lack of consistency and inaccurate ratings of difficulty of activities. (We received a correction sheet on board - it's more corrections than the editor of a newspaper makes. Jesus) The excursion options and information get 1 out of 5 stars from me. You must mention bathroom options and hills and number of steps and be consistent when describing what excursions consist of. Your customer base is 55+. Important information!! [end rant/]

__________________

 

Sarah-- So nice to read your daily postings and know that you are having fun!! I agree with your above statement as we had a terrible time finding trips for my Mom that were easy enough. I had it out with the excursion desk about the same things. I will disagree with you about the times! My husband and I are early risers (he's 66 and I am almost 60) and we love the early departure times as it gives all afternoon to do as we please.

 

I don't understand why Regent can't give more info so that we are able to make a more informed decision about our days. After all, the trips don't differ from cruise to cruise!

 

Keep having FUN!!!!!

Debi

[sarawithanh]

Yesterday we were excursionless and did our own thing. Toulon ended up being a very cute port. We took the shuttle boat from dock to Toulon. Free to Regent. we grabbed a milkshake and coffee and then took the 12pm little train all around Toulon. It was very informative and awesome. Then we grabbed pizza nearby. Afterwards we put her mother on th shuttle boat back to ship and me and her daughter wandered around and shopped a bit. Then we headed back

 

5:15-6:15 we had the Chris Plante talk since that is the group we are with. My grandfather is obssessed. Personally I think it's disrespectful to refer to the president as "Hussein". The talk ran over and so I rushed upstairs to a 6:30 prime 7 reservation. Grandpa was 20mins late bc Chris Plante was still talking

 

Sat next to a lovely British couple for dinner. Steaks were amazing. Great dinner

 

Then we saw the pianist play music. Ran into more friends and planned our day. Grandpa went to casino and I went with him for a bit before I went to bed.

 

This morning we ordered room service to save some time but I don't think I will do that again. I prefer my omelette hot....but everything was still delish and it was delivered to us. Can't be that picky

 

Did the Ciudadella highlights excursion but quickly fell behind in group. So we walked around shops and did our own thing. Then met the group and headed back to ship. We got our respective old ppl on ship and settled for lunch. Also had a quick bite of paella and salad. Ship did a great job. Then daughter and I caught the shuttle bus to Mahon and walked around. Shops closed 1-5 but some were still open. Then we got back to ship. Chilling now

 

Dear Regent. Please send updated sheets with times for excursions. Had no idea we had PM departure times for tomorrow's Ibiza excursion. Would have been nice to know also - for excursions that are large and divided among multiple groups - there should be separate groups for slower folks. And sep groups for fast folks so we are not holding people back. In addition, the first two rows of bus should he reserved for those 70+ or hard of hearing. I had to kick 2 20sethings out of first row for the bus ride back to ship so that my grandfather and the 81yo lady could sit. Grrrrrrrr

[WesW]

Thanks again Sarah for another enjoyable (love your honest/open reporting) on board report. Concur strongly about first few seats being reserved for handicapped/disabled folks--thought Regent put reserved seat cards down on the first row of seats (tho our last Regent voyage was Dec 2012). However, on the last three dozen Regent excursions we have taken 2011-2012, there are a few folks on most excursions who disregard the reserved seat cards and take the seats for themselves. Would like to see Regent adopt escorts (entertainers, boutique personnel, enrichment speakers) for every bus on each excursion to prevent improper front seat takers as well as be there in case of an emergency (e.g. lost pax, pax injury).

[sarawithanh]

Signatures for dinner tonight. Service impeccable. Food was just alright. I get better French food at A'berge Chez Francois in Great Falls, VA. I was unimpressed with Signatures. Maybe I didn't order correctly. Desserts were underwhelming too. Prime 7 and Sette Mari are far superior....

 

Tonight's show was Cirque Rock n Roll. Love love loved it. Yes I know shows can be cheesy but regent shows are fabulous Singing and dancing is great

 

Tried to spend money in boutique. Wasn't feeling inspired. We have $300 OBC to spend. I got $30 earrings. Lol I keep pushing grandpa to get a spa treatment or buy something. He told me to buy stuff or go to spa. So maybe after half day excursion I will go see about getting my gels removed and a simple manicure. But only if it's $70 or less. Bc I just can't stomach spa prices. Or push comes to shove I'll grab a couple Swarovski necklaces and hope something I pick out is something my mom would wear. Lolol

 

Sore throat officially. Waking up in 7hra. Ibiza!!!!!!!!! Goodnight.

[RachelG]

They have some cute purses in the shop.

 

Hate that you didn't love Signatures as that is my favorite. Did they have the open faced lobster ravioli? That is awesome. Also really like the halibut, but it can be spectacular or just pretty good, depending o who is the chef.

 

I hated Cirque rock and roll. Guess I am just old now!

[Sunprince]

I used up my OBC by buying a great pair of Maui Jim sunglasses. Wear them all the time despite have 4 other pairs of various brands! They are the best!