The not too controversial Explorer live holiday report!

[kjbacon]

After much ado, embarkation day is here! The weather is warm with a few scattered showers here in Miami Beach and with negative Covid tests in hand, we are ready to go. It seems unlikely to have a perfectly light and airy trip report amid the flurry of changes, but I’d like to try to keep it more fun, tipsy, and delicious than argumentative please. We booked too late to join our shipmates at the Mandarin so we are staying in South Beach and will head to the port in a few hours. I’m planning to have a small and healthy breakfast this morning in preparation for a large lunch 🍺 with traditional chocolate cake, the first Bloody Mary and Margarita Society Meeting at 3pm 🍹followed by cocktail hour 🍸 and a much anticipated dinner with drinks 🍷 Let the party start with chins and attitudes up!!

[loriva]

Putting finishing touches on packing and then hitting the road to drive to Miami in a couple of hours.  Looking forward to making this a great holiday cruise!

[Aloha 1]

Looking forward to hearing how things REALLY are on board. Bon Voyage!

[RetiredandTravel]

9 hours ago, kjbacon said:

After much ado, embarkation day is here! The weather is warm with a few scattered showers here in Miami Beach and with negative Covid tests in hand, we are ready to go. It seems unlikely to have a perfectly light and airy trip report amid the flurry of changes, but I’d like to try to keep it more fun, tipsy, and delicious than argumentative please. We booked too late to join our shipmates at the Mandarin so we are staying in South Beach and will head to the port in a few hours. I’m planning to have a small and healthy breakfast this morning in preparation for a large lunch 🍺 with traditional chocolate cake, the first Bloody Mary and Margarita Society Meeting at 3pm 🍹followed by cocktail hour 🍸 and a much anticipated dinner with drinks 🍷 Let the party start with chins and attitudes up!!

 

 

Flossie set the bar for libation consumption excellence on the Splendor.  You have big shoes to fill Mister.  Pictures & a photo of included wines always appreciated.  Have fun. 👢

 

 

 

 

 

[liptastic]

Have a great festive cruise and hope Santa is good to everyone on board. 
Jean.

[kjbacon]

9 hours ago, loriva said:

Putting finishing touches on packing and then hitting the road to drive to Miami in a couple of hours.  Looking forward to making this a great holiday cruise!

Lori … I gave Chris the wrong info for pre dinner drinks tonight … we will be in the Observation Lounge, not the Explorer Lounge. See you soon! 🍷

[kjbacon]

We arrived early to the port and had an easy time embarking. Yes, there was a glitch or two but everyone was so upbeat that it was a good experience. Lunch in La Veranda was very good. Tonight, dinner in Prime 7 and I’ll have lots of pictures posted in the morning. We met our new friends at the pool bar as planned and look forward to many more toasts! 🥂🍻

[kjbacon]

1 hour ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

Flossie set the bar for libation consumption excellence on the Splendor.  You have big shoes to fill Mister.  Pictures & a photo of included wines always appreciated.  Have fun. 👢

 

 

 

 

 

That’s Mrs 😃 and I promise to try my best to do Flossie proud! Will post wine info in the morning!

[Gcto]

Now that the mandatory mask wearing is back, does Regent supply enough masks or is it up to the passengers to bring their own ? We are going in a few weeks and I'm wondering what to bring and if so, how many. 

 

 

[kjbacon]

12 hours ago, Gcto said:

Now that the mandatory mask wearing is back, does Regent supply enough masks or is it up to the passengers to bring their own ? We are going in a few weeks and I'm wondering what to bring and if so, how many. 

 

 

There are masks in our room from Regent and we brought a box of our own disposables. I’d suggest you bring some of your own but Regent seems happy to supply them. Most people are amicably complying with the mask mandate and having a great time!

 

We are working on figuring out how to post our pictures but I can tell you that Prime 7 was fantastic and the ‘14 Bordeaux was excellent. Our first Regent cruise in the Med introduced us to one of our favorite crew members, Georgiana the sommelier. We have missed her on our last couple cruises and wow, what a delightful surprise when she came to our table last night because she heard about a couple looking for a particular Bordeaux and wondered if it was us. What a treat to see her and catch up!

[loriva]

We had a lovely time meeting kjbacon and mudhen yesterday afternoon at the pool bar!  Then a wonderful dinner in Prime 7.  The featured Paso Robles Syrah and the Sauvignon were quite nice.  And the caramel popcorn sundae as good as people promised!  Sorry, no food porn photos—not our thing.  But happy to answer questions.  One minor observation—the crab cakes did not appear to have been made from lump meat.  I’d read of restaurants near me having to switch due to the vastly increased price of lump crab meat.  If an issue, you might want to order the crab legs for your appetizer instead.

 

We arrived at our assigned boarding time, but apparently others did not.  COVID testing went very smoothly, less than 30 minutes, but the actual check-in process at Terminal J took almost an hour due to the huge number of passengers lined up.  But growing pains and most people took it in good humor.

 

A front approaching from the west forced cancellation of tendering into Great Stirrup Cay  today.  So a bonus sea day and a chance to try an Italian Getaway.  A number of other shorex cancelled in other ports as operators decide not to run them and/or conditions change due to the Omicron variant.  But just happy to be on our first Regent ship after four cancellations!

 

Reception told me the ship is sailing at about 200 passengers under capacity.  Has made it easy to find a lounger by the pool!

[kjbacon]

Finally ready to post some pictures!

We were festively welcomed at the port and at La Veranda.

The sweets table at La Veranda

 

Wines by the glass at the Observation Lounge:

More soon!

[cwn]

Pictures look good…..can’t wait to cruise again!

[kjbacon]

We had delicious hors d’oeuvres in the beautifully decorated Observation Lounge including Greek Salad with Feta, Tomato Veggie Mousse, and Smoked Salmon with Caviar

 

 

Dinner at Prime 7 on embarkation day was fabulous. We started with a roasted tomato soup amuse bouche that was particularly good. Apps were clam chowder and tuna tartare, with the tuna being the better app. Both mains were great, ribeye steak with Bernaise and lobster tails with drawn butter. Too much of an excellent 2014 Bordeaux ended dinner before dessert 😃

 

 

The creamed spinach that we ordered with the lobster tails was especially good. The service was great and couldn’t have had a better first night.

 

[kjbacon]

Yesterday was scheduled to be a day at the private island but an impending storm changed that to a day at sea. It was windy but sunny and warm so lounging by the pool was great. We started our day with an especially delicious sunrise breakfast at La Veranda of Huevos Rancheros and fresh fruit. 

After breakfast, I watched the crew load the transport boat with the lunch provisions and was impressed with how hard that crew works but more impressed with their cheerful attitudes! Hours later I watched the crew return the provisions and was amazed at a diverse crew of officers, servers, maintenance working together to get the job done. I thought they worked hard loading but unloading was a sight to see. And again, all fine with great attitudes and fully masked. 

We shared an order of Lobster Nachos for a lunch appetizer. I tried to behave and stick with a Caesar salad but the ribs from the bbq were just too good to pass up.

 

[Aloha 1]

I have truly missed seeing food porn. Keep it coming!

[kjbacon]

Dinner last night in Chartreuse was hit and miss. Another ‘14 Bordeaux was as good as the night before!

The halibut was a big miss, overcooked and under seasoned. The floating island , while beautiful, was too sweet for our taste like corn syrup poured on sugar.

 

Otherwise, my blue cheese soufflé app was a huge hit as was the apple tarte tatin.

 

My husband felt the foie gras was too processed and his tornadoes just average and overcooked.

 

The truffles were very nice and the macaroons were delicious, even if I forgot to take a picture!

 

Edited December 22, 2021 by kjbacon

[RetiredandTravel]

Unfortunately that was our last experience at Chartreuse, Prime 7 also great for us.  We love Sette Mari  maybe you'll get lucky and Nixon will be there.  Very nice man and knowledgeable on wines.

 

That you for the updates.

 

Safe and healthy travels

 

enjoy.

[1982CruzStart]

thank you for all the wonderful pictures. 

[rkaratsu]

Be still my beating heart! 😀 Thanks for the report (particularly the food porn!)  Our time on the Explorer comes in February so seeing the photos only makes the anticipation even greater!

[kjbacon]

A beautiful sunrise started our day.

 

If you’ve never checked out the spa, it’s gorgeous and the heated infinity pool in the back is the best kept secret on the ship. Perfect.

 

We are heading into stormy weather for tonight and tomorrow. We had the best chocolate tart for lunch in La Veranda, not too sweet but creamy thick and dusted with just a touch of gold in a crisp, buttery crust. One of the best sweets I’ve had. Decadent!!

The clouds are rolling in so we will enjoy trivia today instead of going back to the pool.

Edited December 22, 2021 by kjbacon

[Mudhen]

Finally checking in’ Can’t add much to what KJ has already posted! Unfortunately haven’t done any bmm society meetings as bar has been over run  haha! Dinner was in prime 7 tonight…. Outstanding!!! Tomorrow is special wine luncheon… Will report back…Carry on!!!

[RJ2002]

Really enjoying these reports and great pictures.  Looking forward to more...

[Zqueeze1]

Really nice pics and great start to what will hopefully be a wonderful cruise.  love the food porn!  Looking forward to reading your posts and reliving the dream.  
Good to see the aft infinity pool is looking great. We were not really able to use her on our cruise due to some needed upkeep and repairs.
We don’t sail again until May and can’t wait.  Safe travels!

Z and TB

[kjbacon]

Thank you all for the nice comments and glad you enjoy the food porn as much as I do!

 

Cocktail hour in the observation lounge is a favorite part of the day. We miss Ross but Eddie is doing a good job on piano. Last night, the hors d’oeuvres were crab salad on a crisp wonton and cream of corn soup, both delicious.

Dinner in Pacific Rim was amazing and so far, my favorite of the trip. We had a friendly reunion with Natasha, one of the great crew members we have sailed with before. We decided to share an array of dishes and each was scrumptious. The bonus appetizer was edamame and sesame crackers with miso dipping sauce.

We shared beef tataki rolls, assorted sushi, duck spring rolls, pork & shrimp shumai, Korean lamb chops with Brussels sprouts, and mee goreng noodles. What a fantastic meal!

We are expecting rainy and maybe stormy weather today. We love al fresco dining for breakfast and lunch so will wing it today! We have been looking forward to tonight for a special Indian meal served in our cabin. Talk about a treat!

Edited December 23, 2021 by kjbacon