Live report—Miami to Miami Jan 6-13, 2022–splendor –back to cruising Regent

[ysolde]

I'm so happy to read this, even if this is the cruise my DH and I are missing.  We were supposed to be there, but, alas, I tested positive for Covid before we traveled to Miami, so we ended up canceling. I am now at home, in isolation, reading this with a combination of envy and joy.  I can't wait to travel again (we have a wonderful cruise on NCL in November, and what will be our first Regent cruise next year).  In the meantime, these lovely descriptions are making my time at home a little bit brighter.  Enjoy your cruise, and I hope we can see you on another voyage!

[ABLAN976]

Hi Rachel,

Good you are enjoying the cruise. We cancelled a week ago. Question about masks. Are guests wearing them and if so where on the ship ?   Is it mandatory  to do so ?

Many thanks

[tripperva]

Ablan, did you make an insurance claim or forfeit the fare ? Or did Regent offer FCC ?

[ABLAN976]

33 minutes ago, tripperva said:

Ablan, did you make an insurance claim or forfeit the fare ? Or did Regent offer FCC ?

 

[ABLAN976]

Hi,

Regent offered  a FFC.  We accepted and it is being used for another booked cruise next January

[RachelG]

2 hours ago, ABLAN976 said:

Hi Rachel,

Good you are enjoying the cruise. We cancelled a week ago. Question about masks. Are guests wearing them and if so where on the ship ?   Is it mandatory  to do so ?

Many thanks

Everyone is wearing masks when indoors and not eating or drinking.  If you forget yours, they will give you one in a sealed package.  And yes, mandatory to wear inside except in your cabin or when actively eating or drinking or when outside if unable to socially distance.  I have seen a few people following the rules very loosely but not many.

[Ozzmund]

We also cancelled this cruise (on January 3rd). We were able to move the $$ to a Splendor cruise in December.

[RachelG]

January 9,2022–Harvest Caye, Belize

 

I had a great sleep and awoke early, plus we had gained an hour, so it was really early.  My iPhone and watch hadn’t adjusted, which I didn’t realize till I was already up and dressed.  So tea in coffee connection.

 

Another announcement came on overhead.  Instead of being at the dock, this would be a tender port.  Not sure why, and not ideal, but ok.

 

It was sunny with puffy white clouds.  I could see a broad white sand beach and a lighthouse in the distance.  We took the big tender over to a long pier.  Harvest Caye is NCL’s private beach resort.  It is constructed to handle a couple of thousand guests, so our paltry four hundred more or less meant the place felt deserted.  

 

We had a reef snorkeling tour scheduled for the morning.  Disclaimer—I do not like snorkeling.  Two reasons:: i hate cold water, and i hate swimming in water with a current.  But I knew George really wanted to go, and having been to Belize before, I knew the water wasn’t cold.  

 

The excursion was really pretty good.  We saw lots of tiny and medium sized fish, coral, and a few jelly fish.  The water was a little cloudy, but all in all, I would do it again.

 

We had lunch at the resort as it just seemed too much trouble to go all the way back over to the ship.  The food was actually very good and pretty reasonably priced.  George’s coconut shrimp was a real winner.

 

In the afternoon, we had kayaking in the lagoon scheduled.  There were supposed to be manatees . They gave us individual kayaks, and I managed to keep up.  We saw some iguanas lounging in treetops, but no manatees.  It was a good workout.

 

Team Gibbs is improving at trivia, today with a second place finish.

 

We had dinner reservations in the Asian restaurant.  The food was very good.  George said his sushi was the best he has had on a ship, but we had to swap main courses as his Thai red curry was too hot for him.  It was a bit spicy, but just the way I like it.  He enjoyed my lobster tempura.

 

He actually made some money in the casino afterwards, then GE and I went to the female singer’s cabaret show.  She has a wonderful voice, and we enjoyed it.

[RachelG]

[1982CruzStart]

Thanks for the pictures and commentary. So glad to be following your trip. It sounds wonderful. 

[RachelG]

January 10, 2022–Roatan, Honduras 

 

Yesterday we were supposed to be at a dock, but it ended up as a tender port.  Today was supposed to be a tender port, but surprise—when I looked outside, we were at dock.  Much more convenient.

 

It was quite overcast and humid.  It looked like rain could pour at any minute.    There was a complex of fairly new looking brightly painted shops at the dock, as well as what appeared to be a long stalled construction project—probably a casualty of covid.  Behind there was a street buzzing with activity, a cute little white church and some smaller homes and businesses, then hills covered with dense jungle looking trees.

 

Our excursion for the morning was to swim with dolphins.  We were driven to the end of the island in an ancient Toyota van.  It wasn’t that far, but the roads are very narrow and curvy, so it took a while.  Anna was sure we were being kidnapped.  We arrived at Anthonys Key and a very nice gift shop.  We then boarded the tippiest long boat, sort of like a canoe but with a motor, for the short ride across to another island where the dolphins live.  I feared for my cell phone’s life should we tip over, but we made it without incident.

 

The dolphin encounter was really nice, one of the best ship excursions i have been on.  We were able to get in the water with them, touch them and get photos.  They made photos for sale, but you could also use your own camera or phone.  Our dolphin had a baby too, so we got an extra bonus as he swam around close to his mom while she was working.

 

It never did rain, and the sky cleared off while we were out with the dolphins.  We came back to the ship for lunch.  There was a big commotion at the port entrance as apparently some taxi drivers were trying to get inside the entrance, but the security people didn’t want to let them in.  The police had been called, and there was a lot of shouting.

 

After lunch out on the pool deck, I decided to go out to the shopping area inside the port complex.  I didn’t find anything worth buying.  The gift shop at the dolphin place was much nicer.

 

We did not do well at trivia, missing a couple of questions because we changed answers, which is not a good idea.  George and GE had another cutthroat tennis match.  

 

Our dinner reservations are at Chartreuse at 6:30, and they are showing the football championship both in the theater and in the suites tonight.  We are planning to watch in the suite.

 

[RachelG]

[RachelG]

[RachelG]

I would post more dolphin pics, but the internet is being really slow, and it takes 5 minutes to do each one today for some reason.

[LATTELOVE]

8 minutes ago, RachelG said:

I would post more dolphin pics, but the internet is being really slow, and it takes 5 minutes to do each one today for some reason.

Thank you for the photos, at least there are couple of pictures with

the dolphins, all the photos and reports are great!

Thanks again.

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by LATTELOVE

[RachelG]

 

January 11, 2022–at sea

 

We had a nice sleep-in after staying up late and losing an hour as well.  The morning was clear with comfortable temps in the 70s and smooth sailing.  But it was very windy—so much so that they had all the loungers and tables on the top deck by the walking track tied down and the walking track closed off.

 

GE and I had scheduled a cooking class previously, but once onboard, we were advised it would be a cooking demonstration only “due to covid”.  I am not aware of any way that preparing food could spread covid more easily that watching it being prepared, but that is that.  Since it was a demonstration,they refunded the fee we had paid.

 

The class was good though.  I cook a lot as does GE (since I taught him), and I think we are both pretty good at it, but I learned a few new things.  The most important is why one should use unsalted butter when baking.  I knew you were supposed to, but thought it was just so you could adjust the saltiness of the final product.  While that is  true, the real reason is that salted butter has 20% more water in it than unsalted, so if you use salted butter, the batter or dough will have too much moisture.  

 

I have a friend who made cookies at the beginning of the pandemic using salted butter because she couldn’t find unsalted in the store, and they didn’t turn out well at all. We couldn’t figure out why as the recipe was followed same as usual otherwise, except no adding extra salt.  Now I know.

 

We ate lunch inside at La Veranda to stay out of the wind.  It was German themed, with some very tasty pork loin being the highlight.  

 

After lunch, the wind had died down enough that they opened up the top deck, so I got my steps in while George went to the gym.  He is annoyed because they make you wear your mask all the time, even if you are the only person in there.  

 

The Gibbs trivia team did well today, coming in 2nd, again with one player missing as Anna was getting a massage.  Again, if she had been there, we would have won as she knew the missed answer.

 

Dinner was in Pacific Rim again, and was really good.  The sushi again got rave reviews.  Asian cuisine is not my favorite, but they really do it well.

 

The show was a Broadway review, and it is totally rewritten from previous.  Totally different, but very good.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Rachel, could you explain or describe the walking track on Splendor?  I saw a video and it appears to be on a lower deck, and go through enclosed corridors--is that correct, nothing up top?

[ABLAN976]

Hi Rachel,

This looks a great cruise. I would like to ask you some covid questions. Have there been any cases of the guests or crew ?   Have there been mandatory tests onboard ?  Have any guests or crew reported sick thru covid. 

Many thanks

[califsealion]

16 hours ago, RachelG said:

The class was good though.  I cook a lot as does GE (since I taught him), and I think we are both pretty good at it, but I learned a few new things.  The most important is why one should use unsalted butter when baking.  I knew you were supposed to, but thought it was just so you could adjust the saltiness of the final product.  While that is  true, the real reason is that salted butter has 20% more water in it than unsalted, so if you use salted butter, the batter or dough will have too much moisture.  

 

I have a friend who made cookies at the beginning of the pandemic using salted butter because she couldn’t find unsalted in the store, and they didn’t turn out well at all. We couldn’t figure out why as the recipe was followed same as usual otherwise, except no adding extra salt.  Now I know.

 

Now I know why the cookies I attempted to bake last weekend were a failure - thanks!

 

Thanks also for the live updates, I'm enjoying reading along.

[RachelG]

6 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Rachel, could you explain or describe the walking track on Splendor?  I saw a video and it appears to be on a lower deck, and go through enclosed corridors--is that correct, nothing up top?

The walking track is up top and outdoors.  It is the level above the pool deck.  

[mrlevin]

Just now, RachelG said:

The walking track is up top and outdoors.  It is the level above the pool deck.  

In addition, you can walk around Deck 5 which does have a corridor up front and you have to walk around the infinity pool in back.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Thanks for the clarification, guys!

[RachelG]

5 hours ago, ABLAN976 said:

Hi Rachel,

This looks a great cruise. I would like to ask you some covid questions. Have there been any cases of the guests or crew ?   Have there been mandatory tests onboard ?  Have any guests or crew reported sick thru covid. 

Many thanks

They have not told us of any current covid cases at all.  There are 403 guests onboard and 553 crew members.  There are some crew members on the mandatory quarantine that they have to go on when they rejoin the ship, but not because they are infected.  And there are a couple of crew members still on quarantine from having tested positive last cruise.  
 

No mandatory testing for guests onboard during the cruise as we didn’t go anywhere that required it.  The passengers in transit tomorrow are required to be retested, and they provided testing for anyone needing it for international flights.

[Pcardad]

1 hour ago, RachelG said:

They have not told us of any current covid cases at all.  

 

[grumpyathome]

Headed to the splendor tomorrow, keeping my fingers crossed.