Navigator - Live 8/12/2022 Amsterdam to Barcelona

[liptastic]

Hi Guerncruising we were lucky to clear thr wait list for thr military museum excursion and we enjoyed it very much. 
Thanks again for the earlier information. 
Jean 

[Guerncruising]

@liptastic  No problem. A great place to visit, along with many others. 
John

[mdunne48]

Day 4 / 32 - At Sea

 

Today started out overcast and temperatures in the low 60’s. All the decks were soaked from last night’s fog / mist. Not conducive to a good walk.  We postponed the MAWC meeting until later this morning.

 

A good day to purview some photos and ditch the undesirables of which there were many. To go over upcoming shore excursions and be sensible about what I can or cannot do with this arm. Right now it just aches, No sharp pain except when DW ……..

 

Watch out for Regent accounting mistakes. We found a couple of omissions that would have cost us a few hundred. 

 

Visited CR for lunch and had a tuna dish while DW had the bouillabaisse. Both were excellent. 

 

Planned our overnight visit to Bordeaux, France starting tomorrow. It’s great that the Navigator can dock in the downtown area. It will be a special two days. We are very much looking forward to this port. 

 

Have some more items to attend to….

 

I’ll be posting some additional photos to the Voyager blog later today. 

 

10 laps around deck 11 on the Navigator is one mile for those that want to know. 
 

 

[vegasdriven]

I am finding your writing style quite amusing. Thank you for leaving the just kidding comment right after the story about the castle tower, otherwise gullible old me would be going around telling all and sundrie about this amazing, and very factual event🙄😊

[mdunne48]

Day 4 - 32 (continued)

 

The string of great dinners continued this evening at Compass Rose. 
 

I had the Shanghai dumplings:

 

Then an artichoke risotto:

 

 

The entree was a lobster tail with spinach and mushrooms. 
 

 

Although I ordered the lemon purée sauce for the lobster tail it was not used. Personally I recommend that you order the lobster slightly undercooked. The entire meal was prepared and presented perfectly.

 

The DW had a pecan Parmesan crusted chicken dish that was outstanding. Moist, tender, chicken with gobs of flavors. 
 

 

No great sunset last night in the Bay of Biscay. Reading up on and preparing for our adventures in Bordeaux. Should be a great time…..

[mdunne48]

Day 5 / 33 - Bordeaux (the approach)

 

A cloudy morning greeted us today. Visibility is not the greatest. I think that the recently contained fires in the Bordeaux region is effecting the air quality. 

 

The approach to Bordeaux is made from the Bay of Biscay via the river, la Garrone, a very brown water tidal tributary. The river is wide but not deep. 

 

Here are some photos from this morning’s sailing:

 

 

a small town as we entered the la Garrone

 

 

 

 

a dilapidated farmhouse

 

 

apartments ??

 

 

a passing tanker

 

 

Ore being loaded

 

 

The Pont d’Aquitane

 

 

 

50 foot clearance under the Pont d’Aquitane

 

 

 

The Pont Jacques Changan Delmas open for our arrival.

 

and now closed

 

 

The Bordeaux version of the Bean or an Old Woman and the Shoe

 

later everyone…..

[mdunne48]

Day 5 / 33 - Bordeaux (continued)

 

Lunch today in LaVeranda was very good.

I had a German themed lunch that was excellent. Pork tenderloin, potato salad, and sauerkraut with dumplings!!! So good

 

 

The DW has a seafood theme…..oysters, breaded scallops and shrimp plus some German style turkey dish…. All very good!!

 

 

 

[mdunne48]

Day 5 / 33 - Bordeaux (continued)

 

Ate lunch and had a massage at the same time this afternoon aboard the Navigator.

 

 

Enjoy

[Linda VH]

The picture you labeled “The Bean” is the Cite due Vin museum which has a small cafe (restaurant on the top).  “It is a place of exhibitions, shows, movie projections and academic seminars  on the theme of wine located in Bordeaux.  We enjoyed it very much. 

[Linda VH]

The cafe is located on the ground floor.  We made reservations at the restaurant on top for dinner and loved the food and the view down the river (could see the ship in the distance).  We took the tram down to it and ubered back.

[RachelG]

So glad you like the Navigator.  We love that little ship.  It isn't nearly as grand as the newer ships, but the suites are nice.  And you can go some places larger ships can't.

[rcandkc]

We love the Navigator and all it’s quirks.  We have been on her more than any other ship.  We pick by itinerary and that is how it has worked out.  We love the crew!

[mdunne48]

Day 5 / 33 - Bordeaux (continued)

 

 

A visit to St Emilion was today’s main agenda. This included a winery tour at Chateau de Pressac and our own “escape” with some wine and cheese at the Amelia Cafe. 

 

All in all a good day. St Emilion has some very steep cobblestone streets so be careful if you venture there. You can hire a Tuktuk vehicle to take you around town but I don’t think you will get to see the small alleyways that are all over St Emilion.

 

The best view:

 

 

Another vantage 

 

 

The main church:

 

 

The courtyard inside the church walls:

 

 

It took me 6 photos to get a halfway decent picture:

 

 

of course I was originally on the other side🤣🤣

 

 

Part of the old walls of St Emilion:

 

 

This town’s history dates back 1,500 years

 

More later on the winery…..

[sassyw]

20 hours ago, mdunne48 said:

Day 5 / 33 - Bordeaux (continued)

 

Lunch today in LaVeranda was very good.

I had a German themed lunch that was excellent. Pork tenderloin, potato salad, and sauerkraut with dumplings!!! So good

 

 

The DW has a seafood theme…..oysters, breaded scallops and shrimp plus some German style turkey dish…. All very good!!

 

 

 

those look like mussels--they don't serve raw oysters on   Regent

[mdunne48]

5 minutes ago, sassyw said:

those look like mussels--they don't serve raw oysters on   Regent

I’ll check…..

[mdunne48]

Day 5 / 33 - Château de Pressac

 

Beautiful grounds and buildings on this large winery / Château (45 acres). 

 

A view of the buildings:

 

 

Another showing the depth of their wine making facility.

 

 

The tour of the winery itself was rushed and the guide was difficult to understand, probably my hearing. 

 

 

All the barrels used were of French manufacture. Last year they produced 140,000 bottles of wine. This Château is on its way back in the Bordeaux region. It has been in disrepair prior to the current owners.

 

 

A wine tasting followed the tour and that removed all previous disconnects. We had a 2nd order wine followed by a 1st order. There was a considerable difference in the two wines. Double the price, double the enjoyment!!!! 

 

A last look at the Château walls that date back many centuries.

 

 

Some art that graced the front lawn:

 

Reminds me of a tool used for taking the foil off a bottle of wine……

 

[mdunne48]

Day 6 / 34 - Bordeaux (day 2)

 

An overcast day greeted us this morning and poor visibility, again I think due to the wind direction and fires that were recently extinguished. 

 

I was able to capture a river boat going under the Pont de Pierre bridge. This would only be accessible during low tide on the la Garrone.

 

Approaching the bridge:

 

 

I was not sure of the span that their captain was navigating for.  The Center???

 

 

No, it was 2 spans to the left of Center. As you can see there is not much vertical clearance. 

 

 

Fully through and on their way to …….

[ICT lineman]

After Barcelona, Navigator is sailing onward to New York with a stop in Bermuda.

 

The following is a quote from the RSSC Pre-cruise and Onboard Health & Safety Requirements for passengers boarding in Barcelona.  https://www.rssc.com/voyage-health/NAV220824

 

“For cruises that visit Bermuda, all guests are required to complete Bermuda’s required Travel Authorization application, regardless of if they intend to go ashore or not, prior to arriving at the terminal in Barcelona on August 24, 2022, to board the ship.

 

During the embarkation process, guests must provide a printed or digital copy of the email confirming that their application was approved or received and pending review from Bermuda authorities.

 

Failure to start the application process will delay your embarkation and possibly the ship’s departure from Barcelona.

 

Please note, as part of Bermuda’s Travel Authorization application process you will need to upload a negative COVID-19 PCR (NAAT) test up to 4 days before embarkation or supervised COVID-19 Antigen test up to 2 days before embarkation AND present evidence of the negative test at time of embarkation in Barcelona.”

 

In October, we are doing a similar cruise on Oceania Sirena [ Portsmouth to Miami ].

 

I am curious as to how Regent will be meeting this Travel Authorization requirement for passengers who boarded in Amsterdam and are continuing on to New York.

[mdunne48]

57 minutes ago, ICT lineman said:

After Barcelona, Navigator is sailing onward to New York with a stop in Bermuda.

 

The following is a quote from the RSSC Pre-cruise and Onboard Health & Safety Requirements for passengers boarding in Barcelona.  https://www.rssc.com/voyage-health/NAV220824

 

“For cruises that visit Bermuda, all guests are required to complete Bermuda’s required Travel Authorization application, regardless of if they intend to go ashore or not, prior to arriving at the terminal in Barcelona on August 24, 2022, to board the ship.

 

During the embarkation process, guests must provide a printed or digital copy of the email confirming that their application was approved or received and pending review from Bermuda authorities.

 

Failure to start the application process will delay your embarkation and possibly the ship’s departure from Barcelona.

 

Please note, as part of Bermuda’s Travel Authorization application process you will need to upload a negative COVID-19 PCR (NAAT) test up to 4 days before embarkation or supervised COVID-19 Antigen test up to 2 days before embarkation AND present evidence of the negative test at time of embarkation in Barcelona.”

 

In October, we are doing a similar cruise on Oceania Sirena [ Portsmouth to Miami ].

 

I am curious as to how Regent will be meeting this Travel Authorization requirement for passengers who boarded in Amsterdam and are continuing on to New York.

For those boarding in Amsterdam who are going to NYC a negative COVID test within the required timeline was required prior to boarding. Regent had testing available at the pier for those passengers. 

[mdunne48]

Lost day 6 blog in Bordeaux due to an IT issue. Bummer!! Will need to recreate. 
 

 

[mdunne48]

Day 6 / 34 (Bordeaux continued)

 

The city of Bordeaux tour….. or how to waste a few hours. Regent has an app that allows all guests to hear a tour guide within a reasonable distance. Why won’t the tour guides use this feature? We brought our iPods with us for this express purpose and haven’t used them once!!!! The guide would stop holding her Regent signage and wait for half the group to be around her. Then she’d start whatever explanation as the 2nd half of the tour group was still approaching.  WHY????

 

Of course the “schedule”!!! Gotta be here by X and there by Y. 

 

It will be a large negative for my end of cruise survey. 

 

Enough pontificating…….

 

What did we see? Part was on a bus….

 

A German u-boat facility from WWII:

 

 

A crane from the 40’s ???

 

 

Will continue….

[mdunne48]

Day 6 / 34 (Bordeaux continued)

 

The major part of the official tour was Bordeaux’s Cathedral, Saint Andre Primatalie Aquitaine, a very impressive structure. This was definitely worth our time.  At the conclusion of this part of the tour we bid our adieu’s and continued on our own. I will do the same and continue the blog on a separate entry.

 

 

The left spire:

 

 

The main altar:

 

 

Love pipe organs:

 

 

Stained glass everywhere (example)

 

 

Ornate gates:

 

[mdunne48]

Day 6 / 34 (Bordeaux continued Jardin Park)

 

After leaving the tour group we continued our exploration of Bordeaux. The first major place we encountered was the Monument aux Girondins. 

 

 

 

The Ferris wheel in front of the Girondins. 
 

 

We decided to have lunch at Paul’s cafe near Cours de Verdun. It was a quite fortunate stop as the heavens opened not more than 5 minutes after being safely seated under an umbrella eating lunch. 

 

Our next stop was Jardin Park!!! Much to our surprise we spent a few hours there. It is a magnificent property right in the heart of Bordeaux. We can’t recommend this place high enough as a stop for you. Tranquil, gorgeous, well developed, exquisite!!!! Gardens, pools, winding rivers, museums, children’s play area featuring a carousel.  I hope that you enjoy the pictures…..

 

Jardin…….

 

 

An inviting entrance

 

 

A basket of flowers

 

 

Purple tomatoes 

 

 

Squash

 

 

 An enormous tree with a succulent directly behind

 

 

A series of beautiful buildings

 

 

 Ponds and winding waters throughout the park

 

The carousel 

 

 

Our grand finale was some retail therapy.  However there was a purpose. DW wanted to see some antique shops. Wouldn’t you know that only a short distance from Jardin were 5 - 6 therapy inducing locations. We ducked into one shop and the rains started. Then they stopped as we meandered to another. On and on…… lots of smiles. When DW had enough therapy she asked to go back to the Navigator. To the corner we went, turned left and presto right in front of us……

 

 

 Had a great day…. Pool grill here we come.

[rcandkc]

Oh, I do love the pool grill after an excursion or outing.  I wonder how many miles y’all have walked on your Voyager and Navigator adventure 🛳?

[mdunne48]

Day 6 - 34 Bordeaux (continued)

 

What a difference 12 hours makes and a bit of rain to clear the air. The same bridge that I shot this morning and again a few minutes ago.

This morning with overcast…..

 

 

This evening basking in sunshine

 

 

A few more photos:

 

Manhattan over Bordeaux 

 

 

Sunset in Bordeaux 

 

 

The Ferris wheel lit
 

 

Monument aux Girondins

 

 

Another sunset: