An Adventure on The Voyager

[DeepFreeze63]

13 hours ago, DeepFreeze63 said:

Yesterday, a sea day, had semi-rough seas (I'm getting use to the rocking & rolling); last night we dined as a party of 6 in Setti Mari -- very enjoyable food, service and conversation. I don't recommend a table for 8 - you have to shout to be heard across such a large table.

Heard "officially" that there are 458 passengers including guest  my activities. Nice vibes among the passengers that we have met - had Block Party again last night, so much fun!

At the Captain's Noon announcements, we learned the ship had slowed considerably "for the passengers' safety and comfort" - putting us about 4 hours late through the Cape of Good Hope (originally called the Cape of Storms). Our port call at Port Elizabeth is going to be delayed; it had been previously changed from 8AM to 10 AM, putting Addo Elephant Park excursion in jeopardy! Not much opportunity to make up time as at present we have 40 to 50 mph winds and 12-foot swells. A Titanic photo op on pool deck!

[DeepFreeze63]

18 hours ago, DeepFreeze63 said:

At the Captain's Noon announcements, we learned the ship had slowed considerably "for the passengers' safety and comfort" - putting us about 4 hours late through the Cape of Good Hope (originally called the Cape of Storms). Our port call at Port Elizabeth is going to be delayed; it had been previously changed from 8AM to 10 AM, putting Addo Elephant Park excursion in jeopardy! Not much opportunity to make up time as at present we have 40 to 50 mph winds and 12-foot swells. A Titanic photo op on pool deck!

Another disappointment, at 6 PM, the Captain announced that our call at Port Elizabeth was cancelled and we'd have ANOTHER sea day! Rough weather continues but today with sunshine and with rugged terrain close (maybe a mile or two) off our port side.

Seven Seas Society event last night was relatively lightly attended. Per CC, only 7 Platinum and 7 Titanium members aboard.  Ass't. CD (Richard Rubin0 gave a virtuoso piano performance playing the same piece in about 7 or8 genres - a Wow that helped improve the passengers mood.

[cwn]

Sorry you missed the Elephants. That park is one of my favorites. We spent three nights in one of their really nice huts in 2015. We came the other way in 2018 (toward Cape Town) on the WC and the seas were rough then. Glad you had a good evening program the ease the pain.

[DeepFreeze63]

Seas have eased but winds remain fierce.  No loungers on pool deck or water in the pool (depth ranges from 3'3" to 5'6").

Had a TERRIFIC saxophone performance last evening - show flew by! Mostly terrific Guest entertainment on our B2B with only 1 "stinko" (in my opinion) Guest entertainer.

The affinity group on board had a "Motown Sound" event in the Voyager lounge (anyone could attend) at 10:30 last night - the ship rocked and not just from the seas.

Christmas carols in the Atrium tonight

[Boatmans Lady]

2 hours ago, DeepFreeze63 said:

Seas have eased but winds remain fierce.  No loungers on pool deck or water in the pool (depth ranges from 3'3" to 5'6").

Had a TERRIFIC saxophone performance last evening - show flew by! Mostly terrific Guest entertainment on our B2B with only 1 "stinko" (in my opinion) Guest entertainer.

The affinity group on board had a "Motown Sound" event in the Voyager lounge (anyone could attend) at 10:30 last night - the ship rocked and not just from the seas.

Christmas carols in the Atrium tonight

Sorry you have had to miss some ports but glad the entertainment has been good. 

Just over three weeks till we board the ship 😀

[DeepFreeze63]

Richards Bay - Yeah! Pilot arrived via helicopter (at 4 AM), so I missed his arrival. BIG, ugly port exporting coal from RSA's biggest mine - more tandem trucks (coal haulers) than have seen in all my years.

Went to St. Lucia Wetland - wonderful excursion for photo ops - brilliant yellow birds building spherical nests AND about 5 groups of hippos (close up); each group numbered 3 to 5 - a Wow! Sit in lower deck (shaded) and in the front. There are no bad seats but forward catches all the action.

[DeepFreeze63]

Our overnight in Richards Bay included a "barbeque" dinner on deck (optional as CR was also open) - it was a festive, beautiful event. Decorated with signal flags, four large ice sculptures, and colorful African cloths on serving tables. Wide variety of food including roast-pig carving stations and oysters.

 

Our excursion on the 2nd day in Richards Bay gets mixed reviews - a almost 2-hour ride on mostly good roads in a nice bus) to the vast, very green  Hluhluwe Game Reserve; 2 hours in park on a 10 passenger open-air, comfortable 4X4 vehicle (1 with driver and 3 rows of 3). Saw: small herds of impala, zebra warthogs; a large troop of baboons (really closeup); several rhinos (one about 15 feet away); monkeys; several kudus and similar creatures; and maybe a lioness (close to the road but hidden by dense foliage) - so didn't sight any elephants or giraffes despite our excellent and experienced guide's efforts.

[DeepFreeze63]

Maputo was an interesting port of call. It is a large, modern city bustling with autos (supposedly many are used cars from Japan). We did the "Glimpse excursion; we traveled in a 12-passenger air-conditioned van; made about 6 stops - all were interesting but not Wows. Our last stop was a LARGE craft market (with pleasant but very assertive sales people). Also, the craft market was the destination of the Regent shuttle. Immigration check was easy.

[DeepFreeze63]

Had "Top Tier" event in late afternoon yesterday; about 100 invitees. A lovely event held in Observation Lounge. Entertainment was the Production Cast singers doing Christmas carols to the piano accompaniment - terrific blending of their voices.

[Kwaj girl]

We join the ship in Cape Town on 5 January.  Who are serving as CD, ACD, and Head Sommelier at the moment, please?

Edited December 18, 2022 by Kwaj girl

[DeepFreeze63]

14 hours ago, Kwaj girl said:

We join the ship in Cape Town on 5 January.  Who are serving as CD, ACD, and Head Sommelier at the moment, please?

John E as CD - been on (except for 7 weeks) since Voyager restart in January; excellent organizer of Trivia; very affable; and an amateur magician.

Richard Rubin as ACD - zany character, gifted pianist, runs a fun music trivia (Mary played every time offered) - I told him you were coming.

Emiliano C. as Head Sommelier. Also, Ugo the GM (a South African by birth residing in Italy) is "into" wines.

All are presently scheduled to be on Voyager on 1/05/2023.

[DeepFreeze63]

Terrific day yesterday in Durban, which is a metropolis (think NYC). Rainy weather and "crazy" immigration check BUT all became great with rest of the day.

Went on Regent excursion to Tala Game reserve. About 24 of us rode in a very comfortable bus for  about 1 1/4 hours on a superhighway (with lots of traffic) though very plush farmland (mostly raising poultry) to the Preserve - about 3000 acres of verdant hillsides with mostly small tree - easy to see the inhabitants, even without binoculars. Mostly "grazers" (impala, kudu, nyala, wildebeest, rhinos, hippos and GIRAFFES but also lots of interesting birds. As it was the start of the rainy season, there were lots of recent (1 to 2 months old) foals. A group of 8 giraffes was our highlight as the females, 2 calves and 2 competitive mails came right up to us!

Returned to the ship for the final of the World Cup in the theater with a buffet spread and as the TV announcers proclaimed, "the greatest football game ever played". Packed attendance with riveted attendees.

White sheets went up in the Atrium later that night for today's revealing of the gingerbread and CHOCOLATE Christmas display - area smells wonderful!

[cwn]

Glad you enjoyed Tala. We visited the park on the 2018 WC. It was a great daytime safari. Lots of animals. We visited the Durban area on a land trip (self drive) to SA in 2015. It is an interesting area with lots to see and do. I am enjoying your report. Brings back lots of good memories!!!

[Kwaj girl]

11 hours ago, DeepFreeze63 said:

John E as CD - been on (except for 7 weeks) since Voyager restart in January; excellent organizer of Trivia; very affable; and an amateur magician.

Richard Rubin as ACD - zany character, gifted pianist, runs a fun music trivia (Mary played every time offered) - I told him you were coming.

Emiliano C. as Head Sommelier. Also, Ugo the GM (a South African by birth residing in Italy) is "into" wines.

All are presently scheduled to be on Voyager on 1/05/2023.

 

Thanks, @DeepFreeze63!  Walk up to Richard some time and shout out "ESWATINI".  He'll get a chuckle out of that.

[Boatmans Lady]

11 hours ago, DeepFreeze63 said:

John E as CD - been on (except for 7 weeks) since Voyager restart in January; excellent organizer of Trivia; very affable; and an amateur magician.

Richard Rubin as ACD - zany character, gifted pianist, runs a fun music trivia (Mary played every time offered) - I told him you were coming.

Emiliano C. as Head Sommelier. Also, Ugo the GM (a South African by birth residing in Italy) is "into" wines.

All are presently scheduled to be on Voyager on 1/05/2023.

 

Can I ask if there is entertainment in all the venues in the evening? 

We were on Voyager early on her relaunch and there was a fab pianist in the observation lounge after the show or film and a duo in the Voyager lounge. 

There was no orchestra and I just  wondered if the orchestra there was one now. 

How would you rate the entertainment as a whole 😀

 

[DeepFreeze63]

On 12/19/2022 at 2:40 PM, Boatmans Lady said:

 

Can I ask if there is entertainment in all the venues in the evening? 

We were on Voyager early on her relaunch and there was a fab pianist in the observation lounge after the show or film and a duo in the Voyager lounge. 

There was no orchestra and I just  wondered if the orchestra there was one now. 

How would you rate the entertainment as a whole 😀

 

Yes, there is entertainment every evening A very nice pianist has played every evening from 6 to 6:45 in OL; almost always natural duo has played in the Voyager lounge; and the 9:30 in the theater is either the Production cast or a Guest Entertainer. Late night has the return of the OL pianist (sometimes as Music Trivia), the Natural Duo in Voyager, and the Orchestra in Horizon Lounge. DW and I think the entertainment has been either very good or excellent with only a female violinist from whom we departed early. Both of our last nights has featured "Beatles Night" at 9:30 in the Horizon Lounge - great fun!

[Boatmans Lady]

12 hours ago, DeepFreeze63 said:

Yes, there is entertainment every evening A very nice pianist has played every evening from 6 to 6:45 in OL; almost always natural duo has played in the Voyager lounge; and the 9:30 in the theater is either the Production cast or a Guest Entertainer. Late night has the return of the OL pianist (sometimes as Music Trivia), the Natural Duo in Voyager, and the Orchestra in Horizon Lounge. DW and I think the entertainment has been either very good or excellent with only a female violinist from whom we departed early. Both of our last nights has featured "Beatles Night" at 9:30 in the Horizon Lounge - great fun!

Thank you so much. 

Sounds as if we are in for a blast. 

Have never had a Beatles night on any of our previous cruises, so here is hoping 🤞

[DeepFreeze63]

Home safe and sound. 

Disembarkation was LONG as 3 ships arrived in Cape Town together and had to share immigration staff, baggage handlers and busses. We were scheduled to disembark at 8:55; we got of at about 10:30.

Regent provided "included" 1/2 day tour of CT for those with late planes. For those of us on 9 PM flights we were provided "included" day-rooms (yes, real rooms) at the Commodore hotel near the waterfront - lovely hotel. Regent bus to airport left at 5 PM; Regent personnel at airport to help. Will provide summaries of each of our cruise segment after my jet lag subsides. Spoiler alerts: 1st leg was wonderful (despite canceled ports) but 2nd leg had highs and lows.

[DeepFreeze63]

Forgot to report on our stop at Mossel Bay -i was wonderful.

Short tender ride in a beautiful harbour ringed with beaches (loaded with campers - their holiday season). Prosperous town and immediate suburbs but further out packed with "alternate housing".

We went on the Regent excursion to Botlierskop Private Game Preserve - a Wow! Bussed about 35 minutes from tender dock.  About 20 in a large, covered, open-sided truck, which was acceptably comfortable considering the terrain. Rugged, hilly (almost mountainous) terrain - narrow trails were not for the faint of heart - DW had eyes closed often. Saw up close herds of grazers (especially zebras), 3 lions and 3 giraffes. "Close enough" to several elephants. Great photo ops!

[ronrick1943]

Wishing all of you a wonderful cruise, looking forward to reading more.  Have Fun and enjoy.

[DeepFreeze63]

Summary: Lisbon to Cape Town – November& December 2022

 

A.   What We Loved

1.   The Regent experience of an affable, competent crew and staff working hard to make the cruise memorable for the passengers – especially on a full ship.

2.   The fellow passengers who were seasoned travelers and delightful dinner companions we almost always share a dinner table.

3.   The gifted Guest Entertainers – many were WOWs!

4.   The Voyager’s pristine, spacious public areas – very relaxing

5. “Included” laundry – Our heroes are the laundry staff who handled our daily offerings beautifully and the main reason we contribute to the Crew Fund.

6.   The terrific variety of the dinner menu in CR.

7. “Beatles Night” in the Horizon Lounge, the return of the “Block Party” and Crews Capers show.

8.   The terrific variety of the dinner menu in CR.

 

B.  What We Liked

1.   The itinerary, as we very much enjoyed the ports/excursions in a part of the world that we had never visited. It was not without challenges of immigration checks, last minute changes and weak infrastructure that was probably just returning after COVID. Note, we could use dollars or credit cards everywhere and didn’t need local currency.

2.   The Production cast for their shows and the interactions with them throughout the ship. Male voices weren’t spectacular but the choreography, costuming, staging and music support of the high energy shows was most enjoyable.

3.   Our “civilized” breakfasts in CR on sea days - excellent service and an extensive menu of delicious foods.

4.   Lunches in La Verandah – for us the best meal of the day. DW had the daily pasta and a tasting from the carving station, and bites of several desserts. I usually had several small portions of the salad offerings and a cheese plate.

 

C.  Disappointments

1.   Yes, missing Senegal and Ghana was disappointing but understandable as we were early to a section of the world that hadn’t seen many tourists since the beginning of COVID and the tourist infrastructure was just beginning to recover.

2.   The conditions of our cabin – it was kept immaculate by Housekeeping BUT it has had hard wear and needs refurbishment and updating.

   

[Kwaj girl]

@DeepFreeze63thank you for your thoughts as we join Voyager 5 January in Cape Town.  Could you elaborate on the "needs updating " aspect?

[DeepFreeze63]

1 hour ago, Kwaj girl said:

@DeepFreeze63thank you for your thoughts as we join Voyager 5 January in Cape Town.  Could you elaborate on the "needs updating " aspect?

Our cabins (711 and 715) both had fabrics on the chairs and sofas with noticeably worn edges and slight stains.

The sitting area of the cabin has almost non-existent space for clothes storage; we used the space (glass-fronted) usually used for the ice bucket etc. to store some clothes for our 24 day cruise.

The color scheme and the counter top in the bath looks to me like that of a motel bath of long ago.

[DeepFreeze63]

Summary: Cape Town to Cape Town – December 2022

 

A.   What We Loved

1.   All of the items that I mentioned above in the Summary of our 1^st leg from Lisbon to Cape Town plus,

2.   Regent providing day – rooms for us at a very nice hotel on embarkation day great to be able to freshen up before our LONG flight home.

 

B.  What We Liked

1.   All of the items that I mentioned above in the Summary of our 1^st leg from Lisbon to Cape Town minus some of the itinerary and some service issues (see below).

 

C.  Disappointments

1.   I think that this itinerary was bound to disappoint as Regent Corporate chose (and published) a schedule that didn’t reflect the difficulties of the rough seas (known since Vasca De Gama) and the immigration checks after COVID. We were behind schedule from the start and had many time revisions as well as missing Port Elizabeth – South Africa is a long way to come for sea days. It might have been better to eliminate Walvis Bay and perhaps add a port in Madagascar.

2.   There was a large change over of crew in Cape Town after our first leg. Dining venues several times felt understaffed and/or inexperienced. On our last night, 4 of the 6 dinner entrees at our table in Prime 7 were returned as poorly done!

3.   We had an affinity group of significant size (at least 50) with us. They brought their own DJ and Lecturer; set up their “Destinations” table near the Library; held lectures, a Sunday prayer meeting and at least two loud entertainments in the Voyager Lounge (with “Blue World” Travel” stanchions) at times when that venue would otherwise been open to any passenger. I voiced my disapproval of perhaps a new Regent business model to the GM and rated this cruise as “Poor” on the on-line cruise evaluation – the only non-excellent evaluation that I have given any of our 23 Regent cruises.

[ssawjo]

DeepFreeze63, you meant to say that we missed Cote Ivorie instead of Ghana.  

 

For one more "Dislike", when the ocean was rocking, our cabin (742) sounded like my knees.  It was very creaky and there was nothing that could be done about it.  I realize the Voyager is an older ship but it was hard to sleep fitfully.  We are light sleepers anyway.  

 

We found our cabin steward to be a bit off standish.  She was nowhere to be found when we boarded which was around 3PM (we were on the Lisbon pre-cruise).  Did not meet her until the next morning. So, we did not receive certain items we had requested beforehand the first evening. 

 

I found the guest speaker, Mr. Alex Tanner, to be very good and very informative.  The other speaker, I can't recall his name, knew his stuff but was a rather dull presenter.  He had a tendency to wander off topic.  

 

It was hard to get specialty restaurant reservations.  I guess having a butler helps immensely.  

 

Otherwise, we had a great time.  Would have liked to have spent more time in Namibia.  

 

Bill and Kathi