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

[Emperor Norton]

Thanks Emperor for all your insights. I am a little confused by lunch arrangements on board the Explorer. Are buffets still available in the Terraza and have the lunches in the CR been transferred to the speciality restaurants? If so, are their menus like we used to enjoy in the CR and served at the table, or do the menus more reflect the speciality restaurants speciality?

 

When I was on lunch went something like this:

 

Port Day

• La Veranda
  
• Pool Grill
  
• Room Service
  
• Chartreuse OR Prime 7
  

 

Sea Day

• La Veranda
  
• Pool Grill
  
• Room Service
  
• Chartreuse
  
• Prime 7
  

 

The lunch menus in both P7 and Chartreuse were reflective of what they served at dinner.

[BarbarianPaul]

E Norton....

Would you book a cruise on this ship again? And how does it compare to similarly priced vessels on which you've travelled in the past? I've loved Crystal...which for me is the gold standard...but we booked a voyage on this one for the fall because the itinerary was unique and the maiden season of a new cruise ship was hard to pass up. Now I'm a little concerned, especially about the food. It can't just be good. For this price it has to be fantastic. So, is it? How many of your issues do you think are the result of a new ship getting its "sea legs," vs. longer term problems that you don't think will go away?

 

 

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[Emperor Norton]

I've had fantastic food on Seabourn (depending upon the chef...), in the Wine Spectator restaurant on Oceania (but not the rest of the ship - how hard is it to poach an egg or not freezer burn prime rib?) and some of the dishes on this cruise (I'll be re-trying Crystal next year). The problem is in the SF/bay area you get spoiled for restaurants, especially Asian, Italian and French. That being said, there were some dishes that I'd order again that I thought were quite good, and others that I think should go back to the drawing board.

 

Another thing about food: As I think I previously mentioned you have salt and pepper mills on each table with grind size issues. I'm not sure you can always change the grind size. Obviously with the pepper this was an issue. The salt however was a victim of this as well. The salt in the cellars was not a finishing salt and needed to be ground down to a much finer consistency IMO and the grinders didn't always play nice (whether of fixed grind or just annoying to change end results were the same).

 

I'll comment more when I reach the end about would I sail them again:cool:

[BarbarianPaul]

Copy that...and thanx!

 

 

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[Emperor Norton]

A refreshing Cuba Libre before heading off to Asia.

 

It was big but I didn't find it impressive.

 

The pre-pre-dinner cocktail rush outside Compass Rose and Pacific Rim

 

This is the prayer wheel that I heard cost a pretty penny in and of itself and then required bits of the ship to be redesigned to support its weight.

 

Behind the Green door. Really?

 

Hello Pacific Rim

[Emperor Norton]

In case you forgot where you were dining.

 

Different restaurants have different signature drinks, different liquors, different wines, different beers and different teas. Because its soo luxurious, they do indeed limit these items to their own individual restaurant (food I can understand, beverages not so much). It might be too much luxury to offer those beverages ship wide.

 

It looked like someone was playing Tetris above your head.

 

 

 

Even the chopstick sleeve served to remind you where you were

[Emperor Norton]

I do like how they offered pairing suggestions for the Sake and am not sure why they didn't do that with the wines printed on the menus each night.

 

Generic tasting sweet and sour sauce with a seafood (or was it shrimp?) cracker.

 

Little Thai influence in the windows?

 

Interesting change from every other restaurant on the ship. The servers were all women and most were wearing one of these 1960s Star Trek inspired uniforms.

 

Citrus and Crab Salad was nice and light and refreshing.

 

The next two dishes could have been good. However they all were brutally murdered. The murderer an over zealous cook and the weapon I believe a robo coupe (or over application of a knife). The fillings in these were massively over blitzed. There wasn't much if anything left in the texture department and after that it seemed the flavors were kind of a blah mixture. Were I to return Id ask they hand cut the fillings and make sure you can see and taste the individual ingredients.

 

Gyoza

 

mystery roll

Edited August 18, 2016 by Emperor Norton

[Emperor Norton]

Su Mai, about what you'd get from one of the better places in SF.

 

I dont think the mushrooms helped this take off of Tom Ka, but otherwise it was about par for this type of soup.

 

The beef was good

 

 

The fried lobster was HORRID. You could taste the fry oil, you could taste the excessive batter. You couldn't taste the lobster. One bite one bite to verify the first and that was it. (Yes, I know I shouldn't order fried lobster)

 

Dessert was pretty, tasted good and fell apart when you went to eat it. But still it initially looked good and it kept tasting good.

[Emperor Norton]

Next stop was Barcelona where I had a rematch waiting from my last Regent cruise here.

 

Our port "security"

 

Hardly working

 

Hard at work

 

As you can see we were not at the new cruise terminal, Seabourn took that spot.

 

Setting up the tent. Unlike other lines they never seemed to have water, juices and soda in the tent. Nor do I recall ice cold towels that I think even Regent used to offer.

 

I don't think this was a race

 

There's Seabourn taking the best spot. We got stuck with a RCCI ship and all its traffic.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Emperor Norton

[flossie009]

I am really enjoying this thread....................including the refreshingly ironic comments :)

 

Keep it coming

[Pookie2]

I am also enjoying this thread Emperor. And yes, you shouldn't have ordered fried lobster!

[Mudhen]

Quickie question on Pacific Rim.....

Do they offer sushi ?

[vrhiatt]

I love your review. It made me laugh out loud several times. You are hilarious!

[lincslady]

Emperor Norton was on a particularly expensive maiden cruise - not a freebie - and is fully entitled to mention things which are less than absolutely top class. He did a similar style review on a Seabourn cruise a while ago. I absolutely agree that expectations should be met at whatever level you are cruising on/paying for. And Regent do rather set themselves up for criticism, with their over the top claims for their line, and in particular this new ship. All cruise lines claim to be wonderful, but I do find Regent's advertising more excessive than any of the others.

[Travelcat2]

Mudhen, yes there is sushi and sashimi on the menu but not a large variety. The sashimi that I ordered was delicious while Dennis' sushi wasn't quite as good.

 

Emperor Norton, loving the photos - what type of camera are you using? Also, how long are you on the Explorer for?

 

 

 

P.S. lincslady, Silversea has a new trademarked "slogan" (for lack of a better word) that is at least as over the top as Regent's (something to do with "ultra luxurious......" IMO, the Explorer is the most luxurious ship ever built (currently).

[Notts Outlaw]

IMO, the Explorer is the most luxurious ship ever built (currently).

 

I agree with you about the ship but it is a great pity that the actual cruise did not live up to the billing:mad:

[LynnRuns]

Great review and beautiful photos! I appreciate the candid review.

[BarbarianPaul]

I'm enjoying the candid review as well! It's smart and funny. But I'm booked on this ship for a November cruise and would love to hear if anyone else has actually sailed on it and might have a more positive take on the experience.

 

 

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[Suite Travels]

A luxury looking ship is one thing. Luxury service and food is another.

 

As they say, you can put lipstick on a pig but it is still a pig.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Suite Travels

[BarbarianPaul]

Did you have negative experiences as well? What were they?

 

 

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[JVNYC]

A luxury looking ship is one thing. Luxury service and food is another.

 

As they say, you can put lipstick on a pig but it is still a pig.

 

 

Opinions of what luxury is will differ. Some expect more and are harder to please. Others are not.

[BarbarianPaul]

Agreed! And it would be great to hear from different voices!

 

 

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[Emperor Norton]

The cameras used were a Nikon D800E w/24-70 f/2.8 and a Sony A6300 with 35mm equiv of a 24-75 variable aperture (junk), 24mm f/2.8 and a 105-300 f/4.

[warburg]

Greetings, Emperor Norton, from South Beach. Thank you for a very entertaining thread. I appreciate all the information you provide. We have been cruising fo many years, and your in-depth reporting is highly educational. and dining aboard will be different this time.

 

We live South of Fifth, and are surrounded by a nice choice of fine restaurants. This neighborhood is the Bermuda Triangle of restaurants. Survivors have earned their stripes. Your descriptions of food on board hit on issues that diners can't help noticing. Hopefully, an executive chef will address some of the problems you describe.

 

Sailing on a vessel floating sometimes miles above solid ground, far from land, does make me a bit more tolerant sometimes. There are no supermarkets or gourmet shops out there. Provisions had better be perfect, but sometimes they are not.

 

Emperor Norton, you are a fun read.

Mary

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[Johnthesailor]

Emperor Norton - please keep posting. Also, I'll bet that nobody outside of the Bay Area has ever heard of the historic Emperor Norton.