Live from RSSC Voyager sailing July 15, 2022

[mdunne48]

Good afternoon everyone, reporting from the Voyager.  I will be attempting a live blog for the next 40 + days as we traverse Northern Europe on board the beautiful RSSC Voyager. This cruise segment is one of Regent’s 30th anniversary cruises so some special events are planned. I will attempt to keep you informed of those. RSSC CEO Jason Montague is on board and will host a town hall during this segment. 
 

A step back in time before continuing. We arrived in London last Friday but were immediately whisked away to Bath, UK. We were fortunate to book a flat in central bath between the Circus and the Royal Crescent. Had a wonderful time in and around southwest England. The only disappointment was Burton on the River in the Cotswolds; very touristy, gimmicky, etc. Stonehenge, Avebury, The Slaughters, Castle Coombe were all phenomenal stops during our week. We also enjoyed Bath thoroughly. Great shopping!!!! They were preparing for a Michael Buble concert in front of the Royal Crescent that is going on right now as I write this journal. 
 

We took a car service from Bath this morning and arrived at the portion Southampton at 11:25 a.m. We were sitting on the pool deck with Champagne in hand (Monopole) at 11:50 a.m. Suffice it to say that boarding was a very easy process. They did check for COVID tests, vaccination cards and of course passports. Very efficient here in Southampton. There was an amazing amount of local staff here to assist passengers. RSSC staff were also very visible making sure that the boarding process was as seamless as possible. 
 

If there are any other bloggers on this cruise please join in with your unique viewpoints. 
 

I’ll answer any questions you might have that I can find the correct answers for. For right now got to run…….

[wcsdkqh]

I was under the impression that covid testing was no longer required prior to boarding, only proof of vaccination except for US ports. Must have misread something.

[alidor]

That doesn’t take effect until August  1st.

[wcsdkqh]

Thx for the clarification Alidor 

[DeereNan]

Excited to follow along! We will join you in Iceland!

 

[Catlover54]

If you have time, post pictures of the dining room menus (or at least the entrees) as you go along, and comment on what was good, what not so good, thanks!

 

Are you in a standard suite, or something higher up?

 

[mdunne48]

We had dinner at Setti Marie last night. We arrived early and were able to secure one of the tables outside on the back deck. It was a magical place for the sail away from Southampton, perfect temperatures and brilliant blue skies.

 

I will upload pictures in the next edition. I am having a bit of technical difficulty with transferring the images from the iPhone to my iPad (older model) which I usually do through email. 
 

The dinner was excellent. 

 

Bread and starters upon arrival

 

Spaghetti alla carbonara 

[mdunne48]

Sorry about the duplicate pictures. Also the description of the various food items was removed. 

Spaghetti alla carbonara 

Gnocchi in pesto

Veal scaloppine in a very delicate lemon sauce.

A traditional veal chop for DW

Flourless chocolate cake (so-so)

Limoncellos (a few)

 

Sailaway from Southampton 

 

 

[mdunne48]

We are in a Voyager suite on deck 9. It is quite comfortable. Very large walk-in closet and the extra 1/2 bath is a large positive. 
 

Last evening’s entertainment was the Little Opera Company. 4 British singers, 2 female, 2 male who were very, very good. They mostly did show tunes that the audience was familiar with. The LOC has 3 shows during this segment so I will get to see how varied their repertoire is. 
 

Seas are absolutely flat this morning. We are coasting along at only 1/2 speed as it really isn’t that far from Southampton to Dublin and today is a sea day. 
 

Good morning for a walk around the ship and a visit to the paddle tennis court. However breakfast will come first.  Suresh, our butler, will be delivering it shortly; smoked salmon on bagels with all the usual accompaniments. 
 

Oh, I forgot to mention that we are doing a B2B2T2B. Anybody care to guess what that is? Answer later this evening.

[rcandkc]

Many of us had a different embarkation and it was not good.  Our hotel in London did a very good job.  We got on the 10am bus as assigned.  It took 3 hours to get to port due to heavy traffic.  The bus had very tight seating but we all handled it well.  So, we enter the cruise terminal and found long lines. First a long line to have COVID test checked. Then another long line to have vaccination checked and to check in.  The trouble was it was hot without any air movement and standing for 1 1/2 hours.  Way too hot and the port people were slow.  We didn’t get to board ship until 2:30.  Off to pool deck for drink and food that was much needed.  We have decided never to stay in London for a cruise  but to do our own transfer and stay in Southampton.  

[DeepFreeze63]

1 hour ago, rcandkc said:

Many of us had a different embarkation and it was not good.  Our hotel in London did a very good job.  We got on the 10am bus as assigned.  It took 3 hours to get to port due to heavy traffic.  The bus had very tight seating but we all handled it well.  So, we enter the cruise terminal and found long lines. First a long line to have COVID test checked. Then another long line to have vaccination checked and to check in.  The trouble was it was hot without any air movement and standing for 1 1/2 hours.  Way too hot and the port people were slow.  We didn’t get to board ship until 2:30.  Off to pool deck for drink and food that was much needed.  We have decided never to stay in London for a cruise  but to do our own transfer and stay in Southampton.  

Also on this cruise; our 20th with Regent. in Penthouse B cabin (657) with 16-yr, old grandson. pull out sofa bed works well (he's 5'10") but had big chair removed from room. Just enough storage for 3 of us.

had a WONDERFUL flight from D.C. to LHR on United Polaris (yes, hard to believe). Took reserved van from LHR directly to Southampton (1 1/2 hour) in early Thursday morning. Stayed at a very nice "funky" Room2 hotel downtown (will write up separately). A five minute, 5 pound cab ride to Port terminal. Easy check-in as we had negative COVID tests in U.S. within 72 hours.; took about 20 minutes from arrival at terminal to stepping aboard. Jason M. and his family are aboard for part of the cruise.

Ship feels "empty; will ask about passenger load.

Be happy to try to answer any questions.

[mdunne48]

Here is a letter from Jason Montague delivered to all passengers this morning.

 

[mdunne48]

[mdunne48]

Prime 7 menus

[mdunne48]

Chartreuse menus

 

[mdunne48]

Compass Rose Lunch Menu

[mdunne48]

Laveranda Lunch menu

[mdunne48]

Hopefully the menus posted can be read. Sometimes the glare from the glass does impact the readability of the photo. 
 

A beautiful day in the Irish Sea. Temperatures in the mid to upper 70’s at lunch time with little if any wind. Relatively calm seas and we are still crawling along at a snail’s pace.
 

No chair hogs this morning. Plenty of front row chaise lounges and shade spots available as well. 
 

Not sure of the passenger count but it does seem a bit light. However there was a first for me this morning. Regent has a “teen camp” on this sailing. The counsellor said there were around 12 teens on this segment. Sports deck here they come…hey maybe I can get a good game of pickle ball..

 

 

[mrstanley]

Rcanddkc: We have stayed in Southampton before a cruise. Went directly from LHR to our hotel there for one night. Used a private car service. So easy and stress free.

We feel it’s ridiculous to go into London for one night.

Stayed at The Southampton Harbor Hotel.

Had a fabulous meal at Ennos …. A really good Italian restaurant!  10 minutes from hotel to port! So easy.

[rcandkc]

1 hour ago, mrstanley said:

Rcanddkc: We have stayed in Southampton before a cruise. Went directly from LHR to our hotel there for one night. Used a private car service. So easy and stress free.

We feel it’s ridiculous to go into London for one night.

Stayed at The Southampton Harbor Hotel.

Had a fabulous meal at Ennos …. A really good Italian restaurant!  10 minutes from hotel to port! So easy.

That is exactly what we plan next time.  We had stayed in London on a prior Regent cruise but the experience was not as bad as this.  We have learned our lesson. 

[tnr]

rcandkc, we were supposed to be on this cruise as well but a little bit of surgery got in the way and we had to cancel.  It would have been so nice to see you again.  
would you please say hello and give our best wishes to Tanner Fant, the asst. Cruise Director.  She was a dancer the last we saw her and has now been promoted, and will be great in her new position.

Terri/Ray

[DeepFreeze63]

11 minutes ago, tnr said:

rcandkc, we were supposed to be on this cruise as well but a little bit of surgery got in the way and we had to cancel.  It would have been so nice to see you again.  
would you please say hello and give our best wishes to Tanner Fant, the asst. Cruise Director.  She was a dancer the last we saw her and has now been promoted, and will be great in her new position.

Terri/Ray

We're playing Baggo just now and Tanner is the director of the game. I went over and gaVE HER YOUR "hELLO". YES, SHE WILL DO GOOD AT THIS.

[mj_holiday]

mdunne48 - it sounds like you had no issues with getting luggage at LHR.  Great idea to stay in Bath, I think that is what I will look into on a cruise out of Southampton.

 

Thanks for the "live" , I do enjoy reading them.

[rcandkc]

1 hour ago, tnr said:

rcandkc, we were supposed to be on this cruise as well but a little bit of surgery got in the way and we had to cancel.  It would have been so nice to see you again.  
would you please say hello and give our best wishes to Tanner Fant, the asst. Cruise Director.  She was a dancer the last we saw her and has now been promoted, and will be great in her new position.

Terri/Ray

So sorry about your cancellation ☹️.. hope all is well.  I see your message to Tanner has already been delivered.  😀 

[never2home]

18 hours ago, DeereNan said:

Excited to follow along! We will join you in Iceland!

 

We will join you in Iceland, too, and staying on until London.  It is a B2B.  Looking forward to reading about this Voyager itinerary to get us prepared!

Edited July 16, 2022 by never2home
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