The Emperor tries on Regents New er third hand "New" Clothes - Yes an Explorer review

[Emperor Norton]

I want to know why they decided to put the ship's funnel on backwards? Am I the only one who thinks it looks strange?

 

Either they want to go in reverse a lot or it looks like Voyagers stack was installed backwards as you noted:eek:

[Eager2Travel]

Many thanks, Emperor Norton. I am greatly enjoying your posts and your delightful and informative commentary.

 

My DH, the engineer, should have fun diagnosing the vibration and frequency anomalies on our January cruise. He gets restless if he doesn't have a challenging issue to dwell on. Nice of Regent to provide one.

[Emperor Norton]

After the tasting it was time to return to town and tender back to the ship. Remember when I said one of the times you knew how big the ship was was during tendering? This was one of those times. It seems that the tender dock was shared with I think some ferries and tour boats. When they were docked, they didn't play nice and didn't share with the tenders. So when we arrived there was already a pretty big backlog of people waiting to board a tender that would be able to dock who knows when. Also there were more people than tent space so some were stuck out in the sun/heat.

 

After what seemed like forever the other boats left and we were able to board the tender. I don't know if it was the tides themselves or all the people zipping around the harbor on PWC/powerboats/yacht launches without respect to wake, but it was a slow going (slower than from ship to pier) back to the ship. Upon reaching the ship is when the show started. A few people were able to make it to the ship before the tender decided to do its best roller coaster impersonation. Some of those standing looked like they'd regretted not waiting. Eventually we were all able to disembark. At least the end of the tender ride made up for its slow progress.

 

Wandering around the ship I wound up on deck 12 where the cabanas are located. These looked nice but I think Regent was having issues with them discoloring where passengers wearing shoes pressed into the fabric to push themselves towards the back. I'm not sure if the solution will be darker materials or a sign asking people to remove footwear before use.

 

Ahoy you town apparently devoid of beaches.

 

 

Lunch was from the pool grill. The burger was at best just OK (too bad they don't serve the same burger that P7 does for lunch) with a rather bland patty and fries that might've been warm yesterday. I realize that fries can take time, but IMO cooking to order instead of stockpiling a bunch of cold fries is a more oh luxurious way to go:cool:

Edited August 11, 2016 by Emperor Norton

[Isklaar]

Enjoying your great pics and commentary as usual, EN. Keep them coming!

[forgap]

The tender crew has the most challenging job. On our last cruise we were in Taormina when the scirocco started up with a gusto. As we approached the Voyager, we were bobbing around like popcorn in a popper. It was a choreographed ballet getting each one of us off the tender and onto the ship including one gentleman with a prosthetic limb. We had a crew member on each arm and to a count we stepped forward and were lifted to safety. The last tender of the day had to make multiple passes to cozy up beside the ship and hauled up to its berth. We left Sicily about two hours late!

[Travelcat2]

Emperor, you mentioned that the hamburger at the pool deck was not as good as what P7 serves for lunch. I assume this to mean that P7 is open for lunch. It is every day or do they swap with Chartreuse as they did when we were onboard? I liked having an extra lunch option.

 

Your tender ride with a rollercoaster ending must have been difficult for some passengers (and fun for others). This, along with the experience of the last poster, is probably why so many tender ports are cancelled due to rough seas.

 

Great photos!

[Emperor Norton]

Emperor, you mentioned that the hamburger at the pool deck was not as good as what P7 serves for lunch. I assume this to mean that P7 is open for lunch. It is every day or do they swap with Chartreuse as they did when we were onboard? I liked having an extra lunch option.

 

Your tender ride with a rollercoaster ending must have been difficult for some passengers (and fun for others). This, along with the experience of the last poster, is probably why so many tender ports are cancelled due to rough seas.

 

Great photos!

 

Generally they swapped Chartreuse and P7 for lunch. Though on some sea days both were open. The only constant was no Compass Rose for lunch.

[eliana]

Thanks Travelcat. Do you have to book Chartreuse and P7 for lunch like you do for dinner. We found P7 on the refurbished Navigator rather gloomy. What's the decor like on the Explorer?

[UUNetBill]

We found P7 on the refurbished Navigator rather gloomy.

 

Ha! We found it quite intimate. Somewhat dark colors, but I thought the lighting was more than adequate. To me, it was a rich feeling - I like that in a steakhouse. I thought it had a similar feel to a lot of land-based steakhouses. Just goes to show what a challenge it is trying to be everyone's cup of tea...

[freddie]

Generally they swapped Chartreuse and P7 for lunch. Though on some sea days both were open. The only constant was no Compass Rose for lunch.

 

I must have missed something in the previous discussions regarding the ship and was rather shocked to read that CR was not open for lunch. Has anyone any idea whether that is going to be the policy on the other ships?

[Travelcat2]

Thanks Travelcat. Do you have to book Chartreuse and P7 for lunch like you do for dinner. We found P7 on the refurbished Navigator rather gloomy. What's the decor like on the Explorer?

 

No booking was required on our cruise and the restaurants were not full (although our cruise was really not typical as there were many meetings going on throughout the ship -- even in the library). While we enjoy CR at lunch, we had no problem having lunch in a specialty restaurant (although there are less choices). Also, the "new" La Veranda was so nice that we had a few lunches in there as well.

[Emperor Norton]

No booking needed for lunch time as was mentioned. The options we had on our cruise were:

 

Breakfast:

Room Service

Early something at the pool grill (lite)

coffee corner (lite)

Compass Rose

La Veranda

 

Lunch:

Room Serivce

Pool Grill (can also use table #s from La Veranda if you like A/C)

La Veranda

coffee corner (lite)

P7 (or Chartreuse. On sea days sometimes both)

 

Dinner:

Room Service

Compass Rose

Sette Mari (no res req)

P7 (res helpful, not always req)

Chartreuse (res helpful, not always req)

Pacific Rim (res helpful, not always req)

 

Sadly the Pool Bar closed at 1830 meaning no after dinner outdoor bar.:(

[JPR]

1. Re the discoloration of the two-person chaises, perhaps have a small sign asking people to remove their shoes before using them? Should not be necessary, IMO, but people are people...

 

2. Re the other two photos, you don't need no stinkin' beaches! (;>))

Edited August 11, 2016 by JPR

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Hmm, no CR for lunch. Interesting. We've enjoyed doing that, although sometimes it's a mixed blessing, since service tends to be a bit slow. But sometimes that's a feature!

[freddie]

Even though our strong preference for lunch has always been CR, we would be happy with lunch in one of the specialty restaurants, as long as there is enough capacity for the demand. I can understand why Regent might not wish to have the large CR venue open for lunch every day because of staffing/galley issues. What we would not wish to occur would be having La Veranda as the only restaurant option for lunch, as we are not fond of buffets due to the hectic nature of them and due as well to our own lack of discipline at buffets.

[morneau]

These look like some really nice options for lunch....I'm trying to plan excursions and can't find information online about the hours that lunch is served in the venues.....any information would be much appreciated!

[Island Cruiser]

Emperor Norton, did you notice how busy P7 and/or C got during lunch? Specifically, was private seating for two people always available? That is not the case with LV during busy times. If, in LV, all the tables for two are occupied during busy times, one is obliged to share a larger table.

[Travelcat2]

These look like some really nice options for lunch....I'm trying to plan excursions and can't find information online about the hours that lunch is served in the venues.....any information would be much appreciated!

 

La Veranda stands out in my mind as they open at noon and close at two unless they are accommodating early or late excursions. I've seen them open early and close late (they will also open early for breakfast when necessary and will stay open late for dinner for late arriving excursions). Compass Rose is also open noon to two for lunch (when it is open).

 

Not sure if the Mariner and Voyager will open their specialty restaurants for lunch after they are refurbished and it is doubtful that the Navigator will open their only specialty restaurant (P7) for lunch as the space in La Veranda is small and they tend to use P7 for extra seating.

 

On the Explorer, on alternating days P7 and Chartreuse open at noon but am not certain when they close (assume that they would close at two).

 

Keep in mind that room service is 24/7 and they have some lovely options.

Edited August 11, 2016 by Travelcat2

[morneau]

Perfect - thanks for the information! It's nice to know that they will sometimes stay open later for late excursions as well.

[Emperor Norton]

Emperor Norton, did you notice how busy P7 and/or C got during lunch? Specifically, was private seating for two people always available? That is not the case with LV during busy times. If, in LV, all the tables for two are occupied during busy times, one is obliged to share a larger table.

 

The times I visited P7/Chartreuse for lunch, Chartreuse we were seated in under five minutes and P7 took about ten minutes as the Maitre d' wouldn't tell a group monopolizing his time (chatted with them pre-seating, on the walk to the table and after seating them all) that there were about a dozen people waiting to get seated and that no, he didnt have time to talk to them about life at that point in space and time.

[Emperor Norton]

This is P7 on the Explorer. I wouldn't call it gloomy but I wouldn't call it as warm and cozy as some other steak places.

[Emperor Norton]

See that hard to see white splotch in the middle of the picture? It and others like it stood out like sore thumbs on the Deck 7 windows looking in on the forward elevator shaft. Ditto hand and other prints/marks on the glass fronted elevators. For some reason these were never cleaned. For the entire trip:eek: (now it may be those were resins/chemical residue left from construction but it gave those windows a very unclean appearance).

 

Yes, I know its hard to see, I spent the cruise trying to get a decent photo of something that was very visible to the naked eye and I don't think it worked out:mad:

Edited August 12, 2016 by Emperor Norton

[Emperor Norton]

After a scenic walk, a bit of wine, and some libations at the pool bar it was time for dinner. Tonight would be my first in Compass Rose (throughout the cruise I would hear horror stories about CR from people that never once set foot in there for dinner. Yes, I did experience each of the horrors, just not all on the same night).

 

Interesting tech note: When the cruise started out staff were doing things the old fashioned way: pen/paper. By the end they were using what appeared to be Droid tablets to take orders.

 

The first thing you notice when you walk into Compass Rose is that somethings really, really wrong. The ocean is above you. This goes well with the paintings of what appears to be the Titanic hitting an iceberg and the Titanic split by an ice berg (port side aft section of the room in the lower ceiling area). The ocean of glass (ha-ha) leads to the front center section of the room.

 

Upon being seated (most days it was a sub 5 minute wait, aside from the day it was well over an hour -BOO) you realize that someones definition of luxury must be buying name brands for name brand sake.

The Versace charges went with the Versace bread plates that went with the Versace flower vases.

 

These were nice looking lights on day 1. A few days later and one was already borked blinking on/off.

 

Lobster Bisque, I was expecting it to be covered in the puff pastry, not served as a side. It wasn't the best I've had, but it was far from the worst.

 

Crab and Waldo Avocado salad (Why Waldo? He was hiding with the avocado).

 

The mixed greens were nice. The obnoxious grind change method on the pepper mill not so much (wait staff use the pepper mills on the table rather than bringing around their own. If they remember to ask if you want pepper).

 

Yay for foie gras. Supposedly the best was the terrine in Chartreuse, but I prefer it seared so skipped on that.

[Emperor Norton]

My ordered as a lark dish. It was chicken in a sake sauce with corn and mashed potatoes. The chicken was moist and tender, the sauce had a nice but hard to describe flavor. Also the dish had a bit of heat to it (I'm happy that Regents including more dishes with heat, but am confused as to why they still seem to shy away from garlic - more on that later). My only regret with this dish was that it wasn't on the always available menu. There were several nights where I would have liked to have had this again.

 

The worlds saddest scalloped potatoes

 

Petit fours were served every night. They made for a good game of see how close each comes to its description.

 

A very nice apple strudel finished off the solids portion of the night

 

Then I went through a human bug zapper

Edited August 12, 2016 by Emperor Norton

[Emperor Norton]

Turns out the bug zapper lighting is the entrance to the Observation lounge. A small nit to pick: Every time the cancer room door opened you could smell the smoke. At least it was relegated to a room however.

 

In the lounge I was able to observe a pack of irate passengers. It seems they very much didn't care for the blinking lights hanging down above the dance floor.

 

Oh look, a sidecar!

 

You are now looking at the most annoying bar to setup/take down on the ship. For some reason lockable cabinets weren't included here so each day every bottle needs to be put out and every night each bottle needs to go back to jail.

 

 

 

Makers in my rocks glass, more likely than you think