First Impressions of the Explorer - 2/21/22

[rkaratsu]

So we are off on the Explorer. Although we have cruised on Regent before, first time on the Explorer so just some random observations.

 

- First of all, the embarkation process was pretty painless. Took shuttle from Coral Gables Hyatt Regency. I guess this is the last (at least for now) cruise that will have the on-pier COVID testing but I thought it was done very efficiently and the staff did a good job. (But one thing I might do differently if I had to do it again would be to take a Lyft over to the pier.  Would have been far faster and avoided sitting on a crowded bus).

 

- Really like our cabin (PHC 840). Although I would like a bathtub, the sink area, storage, sitting room, veranda, etc. are great. Butler and room steward are also excellent (as are the rest of the staff we have encountered thus far).

 

- For those curious about the TV/movie offerings, it looks good. The movie selection is definitely better than what was on our AA flight over from LAX.

 

- The lunch buffet was good. (IMO opinion, can’t ever go wrong with butter chicken!) And dinner tonight in Pacific Rim was quite tasty! Miso black cod, soft shell tempura were the stars of the show. (We were given option of Pacific Rim since there was a 15 minute wait for Compass Rose. We still have our reservation later in week for Pacific Rim so we are happy).

 

- The cooking kitchen is still demo only so our two reservations have been converted to credits (which should hopefully be transformed into better wine and/or casino credits; actually the Raymond Cabernet is good so we will be drinking this for the most part).

 

- Went to the show this evening (“Divos and Divas”) with low expectations but we were really impressed! If we see nothing else, the performance of “Born This Way” was memorable. 
 

- Finally, the internet still kinda blows. 🙁 Not sure how much I will post (my hat is definitely off to those who posted all the great photos!) 

 

Anyway, off to the private island manana. More than anything, just feeling grateful to be back on the high seas. At times thought this day would never get here!

[Kelleykrazy]

Looking forward to following your Cruise with you.  I will be on the Explorer in April, Venice to Barcelona.  Thank you for your insights.

[rkaratsu]

Actually, there was one other thing that *really* impressed me: When the butler introduced himself, he mentioned that pressing (ironing) was available. I was under the impression that it could be for something we were going to wear for the first evening but he said “as much as you like sir”. Now personally, wrinkles in my shirt don’t really bother me (I figure if I wear it, eventually the wrinkles will straighten themselves out) but my wife has other opinions. I asked him if I needed to fill out a laundry ticket and he said to just give whatever clothes to him and he would get it done that evening.

And voila, a few hours later I have a lot of nicely ironed shirts to wear. Impressive! 😀

[1982CruzStart]

Thank you for whatever posting you do. It is genereous of you take us along whenever you get the chance. Have a super cruise.

[PaulaJK]

We loved Divo/DivAs. The cast is quite talented and a few excellent productions awIt you ( based on last cruise). A couple of times the production failed the cast. Thought the 2 headline entertainers were quite poor. .JMO

[rkaratsu]

So a few days later (just did the mid-cruise survey so this is not good; time is flying!), have more first impressions (since we have experienced a few more things…)

 

First of all, according to Lorraine the CD (just randomly met her at the pool grill while waiting to get into Sette Mari), there are 494 passengers on this voyage and *no* reported COVID cases thus far. And considering this is the last mandatory mask cruise, I am surprised/impressed by how people are good about wearing masks while on board. (Oh, and here is an image neither my wife or I will never forget anytime soon:  While eating at Pool Grill for lunch, out comes (to be polite) a seriously overweight male (won’t call him a gentleman) out from La Veranda carrying a plate of food. (I assume he filled up in the buffet line). But he is NOT wearing a shirt! Or shoes. Just some board shorts. Oh yes, and a perfected fitted face mask. As he took a seat in the Pool Grill area, it was just kinda surreal. Guess you had to be there (but then again, be glad that you weren’t…)

 

Anyway, some other first impressions:

 

- Thought Sette Mari was *really* good. Maybe because it doesn’t require reservations it isn’t considered a “specialty” restaurant but I *loved* the penne bolognese.  Pasta was perfectly al dente, lovely sauce and rained some Parmesan Reggiano on top. Will definitely go here again.

 

- Also arranged to have an Indian dinner tonight. Read in another thread that you could request this so we went through our butler and tonight it was served in Compass Rose. Impressed! TBH, we have had better Indian food but the fact that we had a great 4 course Indian meal (started with samosas then rice, lentil soup (dal), naan bread, papardum, lamb korma and an interesting bread pudding-like dessert) on a cruise ship, can’t ask for much more!

 

- Have also eaten at some of the other restaurants and as much as we have enjoyed the fish (monkfish at the Pool Grill was particularly good), lobster, roast chicken, any number of side dishes and the baked goods (except maybe the sugarless cookies), not loving the duck preparations we’ve had or the beef. (With the beef, I think it is just not great product. Still might try the prime rib in Prime 7 but I am done with the steaks).

 

- The only thing thus far that my wife asked for but wasn’t available was coconut water.

 

- Did a couple of tours and no complaints. Probably not the most exciting ports (Puerto Rico and St. Kitts) but were still interesting.

 

- Saw another production show (“Music of the World”) and this one I would skip. (Left early). As someone else said, cast is talented but in this case, the production failed them. 
 

Well, en route to Dominica.  Life is good… 😀

[sb44]

Have you been to the fitness center? Other than the pool, is there some nice outdoor space for reading? Afternoon tea? Thanks for the tip on Sette Mari. Going on a new ship is always a bit of a challenge so your posts are great.  Thank you!

[RachelG]

Enjoying your report.  My husband and I Agee about your assessment of the beef. We own a ranch and raise black Angus cattle.  We obviously are accustomed to excellent quality beef at home, and though I have had a few pretty good steaks onboard, I can get better from my own freezer.  My husband feels it is because the beef onboard is grain fed, while ours is grass fed.  Definitely a different quality and taste.

[rkaratsu]

5 hours ago, sb44 said:

Have you been to the fitness center? Other than the pool, is there some nice outdoor space for reading? Afternoon tea? Thanks for the tip on Sette Mari. Going on a new ship is always a bit of a challenge so your posts are great.  Thank you!

I’ve been to the fitness center a couple of times (once on a sea day, once while in port) and you could have fired a proverbial cannon in there (there are two separate sections) and not hit anyone (except the fitness coordinator and (I think) one of the entertainers.  Re: outside reading space, the only other space I might consider would be at the infinity pool. It is a bit of a maze to get to it but again, the one time I was there, there were only a couple of people in the pool (and no evidence of lounge chair hogs… 😀) And a BIG yes to the afternoon tea! (Unfortunately) the more I try the various baked goods, (unfortunately) the more I try more baked goods.  Vicious cycle I guess…

[labonnevie]

The best beef we had on our recent Explorer cruise was the Chateaubriand in Compass Rose. Unfortunately, it didn’t appear until late in the cruise. It was our best meal by far, very tender and tasty. So much so that we and our whole table of six ordered it (ahead) for the final night. If you like beef, I suggest ordering it early in the cruise. YMMV 

[PaulaJK]

We tend to agree about the steaks w the exception of the filet mignon,especially its rossini preparation in Chartreuse. We found

the Peking Duck dinner scrumptious…thought that enveloping the fried rice 

in a thin egg crepe was a nice play on traditional fried rice. The fish dishes have been varied and quite delicious.

We have had two guest entertainers so far this voyage..a female vocalist who had a nice voice but whose style was to involve the audience/ not a personal favorite. We really enjoyed the concert pianist, both for his artistry as well as his personality.

There are lots of nooks where you can read, including the library…and tons of outdoor space.

May have seen your man 😅or some members of his family. Am surprised w men coming to pool bar bare chested and at the number of baseball caps in La Veranda.

Crew works very hard and supervisory personnel are ubiquitous.

Forgot to mention that they make their own ice cream and it is truly delicious.

 

 

 

 

[fdnycruiser]

We’ve seen our share of bare chested no manners men at the pool grill on Regent, as well as Silversea and Seabourn. Disgusting! Nothing like having a few chest hairs in the buffet. Hard to believe that he made into the Veranda like that with no one of ships personnel stopping him. Don’t even get me started on the sweaty baseball caps on the table 

 

[PinkMEB]

Just ended two weeks on Splendor. Fortunately I did not see any bare chested men at the pool grill. 

[mrstanley]

The beef served on Regent is not Prime Beef as is served in some of the top steakhouses in the US. 
 

Not worth ordering beef onboard unless it’s Beef Wellington. They prepare that quite well.

 

[LewiLewi]

After 160 cruises on most other cruise lines, we found Regent Explorer to be far and away our favorite ship. We loved dining in all of the restaurants, Pacific Rim and Prime 7 were our favorites. Lunch in La Verandah was delightful; buffet plus burgers and hot dogs delivered to our outdoor table by a wonderful crew. Tea at 4 PM was a must. Even room service was excellent. We just left the ship two weeks ago, but cannot wait to cruise with them again. I wonder if the Navigator would be as comparable an experience?

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

It’s not necessarily the quality of the beef…. It’s the cooking method. Most good steak is prepared on a grill or gas stove. There is no open fire in the ships kitchen. Everything is electric. Hence, steaks are not great. 

[Aloha 1]

For those wondering where Navigator is she’s going back and forth from San Juan to Nevis. Sadly, still without passengers.

[Granite543]

Speaking of Navigator, anyone going to be on the first 2022 Navigator sailing on March 9? I'm going on her April 1 and would love to hear some fresh perspectives before my cruise. I may start a new thread as I have some unanswered questions about her, too 

[Aloha 1]

And apparently Navigator sailing upside down. No clue why it posted that way. 

 

I'll save my pics for posting after we return on 3/3.

[Aloha 1]

I second pretty much everything RK has posted. We've eaten in Compass Rose, Prime 7, Pacific Rim, and the Pool Grill for dinner. Pacific Rim is far and away the winner except for one glaring glitch. How do you have only one sake (and that being Nigori) in an Asian restaurant?? I expected at least a Junmai or as it is Regent, a Junmai Daigingo.

The 2 lbs of King Crab is the best dish in Prime 7. Easily $60 market price if not more. Rohan at the Pool Grill dinner is fantastic on the grill. Perfectly cooked fish and lamb chops. You don't need to dress and it's a nice change of pace.

 

Service throughout the ship has been fantastic in all venues. Since almost every crew member says hello to me by name I fear I have become notorious !😂

[Aloha 1]

RK, just caught your post on our roll call. You can find me at the pool bar about 5:30 PM the next couple nights imbibing a proper Hendricks martini.

[Stickman1990]

22 hours ago, fdnycruiser said:

Don’t even get me started on the sweaty baseball caps on the table 

or the dirty mobile phones

or the women’s purses and bags 

 

There’s plenty of things that get put on tables that are possibly contaminated 

 

One can only hope that the tables are wiped down regularly

 

[mpclaw]

If you were in the gym, did you notice if they had spin bikes? 

Thanks!

[rkaratsu]

16 hours ago, mpclaw said:

If you were in the gym, did you notice if they had spin bikes?...

There are two different kinds of exercise bicycles in the gym, the regular ones (that have a TV) and then other more streamlined bicycles that look to have a place to put your phone.  (I personally am not familiar with a spin bike but whatever these are, there are a bunch of them! Brand is Technogym if that helps).

 

(And the only scale I have found on board is tucked away in the gym as well. I sure hope it was broken when I tested it... 🤕) 

[rkaratsu]

So here is another impression that would probably be of interest to first-time Regent cruisers (although I would also be interested in what more experienced Regent folks have to say). It is about THE POWER OF THE MID CRUISE COMMENT CARD.

 

First of all, if nothing else, the comments definitely gets read. (At least ours sure did!) I pretty much just complimented staff that I thought gave great service and within the next couple of days, those staff mentioned were seeking me out and acting like I gave them a million bucks! (I also got a nice phone call from Lorraine, the CD, again thanking me for my comments. Since she is now my BFF, I might see if I can leverage our newfound friendship into trivia contest answers...)

 

But the nicest thing was that my wife commented on her card was that the only thing that was missing was coconut water.  Well the next day, the Beverage manager found us and asked where would we like our coconut water delivered. My wife was totally thrilled (and has been texting people back home about this).

 

I guess bottom line is that it is probably a good idea to fill out the mid cruise survey. (It is just a blank box so you can write just about anything you like). The comments get read.  Compliments are free (and it seems like supervisors are passing them along) and at least if you want an endless supply of coconut water, Regent will make that happen! 😀