Live from Voyager Sep 12-19

Hi Everyone,

I am a long time cruise critic fan, but have mostly been lurking in the background and have only a few posts. I thought it was time to give back a little (or a lot, after you see the length of this post :).)

First, let me introduce myself. My DH and I are in our 50s and currently live in AZ, but previously lived in Castle Rock, Colorado, hence the CC moniker. We have only been on two previous cruises: Princess and NCL, both in the Caribbean. We also had booked two Celebrity cruises but had to cancel both due to unexpected circumstances.

About 9 months ago, we deciding on how we wanted to celebrate our 15th anniversary in September, and decided a Mediterranean cruise was the way to go. (DH has never been to Europe.) We were looking at Celebrity, Oceania, etc,, but found an amazing deal on this Regent cruise and jumped on it! We never thought we'd ever be sailing on a full luxury line. The fare didn't included airfare or pre or post-cruise hotels, but we like to book those ourselves anyhow.

We originally booked a Guaranty Category H (lowest category). We figured that even the lowest level room on Regent is 300 sq ft suite with a balcony. Two weeks before the cruise we still did not have a room assignment. Instead, they offered an upgrade to Category D for $400/pp, which was the same size suite, but gave us a higher deck with a midship position. Normally we don't both with such offers, but since our original pricing was so good, we decided to take it.

We flew on Virgin Atlantic (premium economy) to London. Then took Easyjet to Barcelona. Easyjet was one of the worst experiences we'd had in flying. Our flight was over 2 hours late, it was a mob scene at the gate, with people pushing their way to the front, they ran out of overhead bin storage, so we had to gate check our carry on bags, even though we paid for upgrade seats/priority and we had two 20-something girls on holiday who were sitting behind us drinking heavily and talking non-stop (and not with their "inside" voices ). Even the kids on the plane were quieter than those two. By the time we arrived in Barcelona, it was 1 am, we just wanted to get to our hotel and sleep. We stayed at Violeta Boutique Hotel near Placa Catalunya, and would highly recommend.

Setember 11 was La Diada de Catalunya (National Catalonia Day), and it was estimated that over 1 million people attended rallies and marches in Barcelona that day. Although there was a police presence, everything was peaceful and even family friendly. It was really interesting to see everyone with their Catalonia flags and shirts and signs, and it was a festive, happy atmosphere. We just wandered the Gothic Quarter and didn't see a lot of the sights that day and watched the rally at Placa Catalunya, plus we did get to see castellers performing (human tower building).

On Tuesday, Sep 12 , we spent the morning at La Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's masterpiece). That morning, we checked the Regent website to see if it showed what terminal the ship was docked. Barcelona has A, B, C, D, north and south. We didn't find that info but we noticed the suite we were assigned to was not the one we expected. We were supposed to be in Suite 947, but the website said 677. when we checked the deck plan, we discovered that it was a Cateogry C aft suite with an extended balcony. Score!

Stay tuned for more details...

Well, things look good for you. Looking forward to reading more, great detail. Have a great cruise. Rick

Sept 12 continued...

Around 1 pm on Tuesday, we took a cab from our hotel to the Cruise Port. Most passengers haveairfare and transfers included, but we didn't because of the deal we received. There is a way to take the Metro (subway) then the Portbus to the terminal, but we thought that was too much effort to save a few Euros.

When we arrived, there were no lines. we walked right up, dropped off our luggage, they confirmed our reservation, confirming we we in 677, checked our passport, gave us our boarding card ( in a little leatherette case). And we walked onto the ship. Smoothest. Boarding. Ever.

They gave us a glass of champagne and there was either a small lunch set up near the coffee connection on deck 5 or the grill by pool on deck 11. Unlike mainstream cruise lines, there were no annoying photographers. Every staff person said hello and was welcoming. The pool deck was fairly crowded because most people had already boarded, but we found a table. They had a buffet with items, but they also had burgers, chicken sandwiches, and fish. I had a cheeseburger, which was onLy OK, but DH had blackened Mahdi Maui and it was almost as good as the Mahdi we've had fresh in Mexico.

At 2:30, the suites were ready. We proceeded down to Deck 6 and our luggage was already waiting for us in the room. About 5 minutes after we arrived, our butler , yes, butler, Dhiraj, rang our doorbell and introduced himself. He gave us a rundown of various items, like how to link to Internet, what services are available, etc. we,re really more do-it-yourself type people, so I don't know how much we'll need him, but I'll let you know. Then Cherry our housekeeper, stopped by and introduced herself.

While DH took a nap (a recurring theme), I unpacked everything. The suite has a full walk in closet with 50 wooden hangers, bathrobes, slippers, several drawers, and a safe. Empty luggage fit comfortably under the bed. The bathroom is a full size bath, with a tub and a glass enclosed separate shower. The shower is not as large as a full walk in shower, but there's plenty of room to turn around, shave legs, and pick up soap if you drop it!

So far we are quite impressed.

Stay tuned, more details to follow...

So glad that you are posting live from the ship. The Voyager was our favorite ship for many years. How nice that you were able to get an amazing fare with a butler!

You mentioned that lunch was available in the Coffee Connection and the Pool Deck. This is unusual. Wasn't there a lunch set. up in La Veranda? That is typically where we eat when we get on the ship.

Hope that the rest of the cruise is as positive as it has been so far. And, Happy 15th Anniversary!:D

Happy Anniversary and enjoy your cruise! Looking forward to reading your comments.

Z and TB

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

677 is a good location. When you exit your cabin, go right and enter a door that says "crew only." Go down stairs one level and open door; you will be in Horizon Lounge. I figure it should be about 30 seconds from cabin to bar.

Have fun!!!

We are following your reports; we board Voyager next month.

Marc

PS I used to live in Gleneagle.

You are going to have a fabulous cruise. We sail on the Voyager December 5. It will be our second time on it. Looking forward to reading your posts!

You are going to have a fabulous cruise. We sail on the Voyager December 5. It will be our second time on it. Looking forward to reading your posts!

See you onboard! We board in Rome and get off in Beijing; retirement trip. We have done Hong Kong to Singapore before on Mariner; will be interesting to compare the return trip on the Voyager.

Marc

PS Are the Cardinals going to trash the Tigers this week? :D

Sept 12 continued...

 

At 2:30, the suites were ready. We proceeded down to Deck 6 and our luggage was already waiting for us in the room. About 5 minutes after we arrived, our butler , yes, butler, Dhiraj, rang our doorbell and introduced himself. He gave us a rundown of various items, like how to link to Internet, what services are available, etc. we,re really more do-it-yourself type people, so I don't know how much we'll need him, but I'll let you know.

I will be really curious to see how you use your butler. We are like you as far as liking to do things ourselves but a butler was part of our upcoming package.

A great report - enjoy your cruise.

Firstly, Happy Anniversary to you both.

Being British, Easy Jet is either good or meh. Unfortunately Barcelona is a favourite hen/stag party destination and you often run the gauntlet of over 'happy' noisy groups, especially as flights can be picked up for ridiculously dirt cheap prices. But glad things picked up after the flight.

Great news on the new suite and I look forward to hearing more about your cruise.

Wow, you are a "natural" poster! Enjoying this thread immensely as we are boarding in Dubai. Thanks.

Have a super anniversary celebration.

Great report so far! We had a butler on our first Regent cruise who was a bit over-eager to help even when we put the privacy note on the door - rather than knock, he would call us to make sure we didn't need anything! We are low maintenance, so we finally had him arrange an Indian meal in our suite on the balcony. He was Indian so the meal was really over the top wonderful!

Sept 12 continued...

Around 1 pm on Tuesday, we took a cab from our hotel to the Cruise Port. Most passengers haveairfare and transfers included, but we didn't because of the deal we received. There is a way to take the Metro (subway) then the Portbus to the terminal, but we thought that was too much effort to save a few Euros.

 

When we arrived, there were no lines. we walked right up, dropped off our luggage, they confirmed our reservation, confirming we we in 677, checked our passport, gave us our boarding card ( in a little leatherette case). And we walked onto the ship. Smoothest. Boarding. Ever.

 

They gave us a glass of champagne and there was either a small lunch set up near the coffee connection on deck 5 or the grill by pool on deck 11. Unlike mainstream cruise lines, there were no annoying photographers. Every staff person said hello and was welcoming. The pool deck was fairly crowded because most people had already boarded, but we found a table. They had a buffet with items, but they also had burgers, chicken sandwiches, and fish. I had a cheeseburger, which was onLy OK, but DH had blackened Mahdi Maui and it was almost as good as the Mahdi we've had fresh in Mexico.

 

At 2:30, the suites were ready. We proceeded down to Deck 6 and our luggage was already waiting for us in the room. About 5 minutes after we arrived, our butler , yes, butler, Dhiraj, rang our doorbell and introduced himself. He gave us a rundown of various items, like how to link to Internet, what services are available, etc. we,re really more do-it-yourself type people, so I don't know how much we'll need him, but I'll let you know. Then Cherry our housekeeper, stopped by and introduced herself.

 

While DH took a nap (a recurring theme), I unpacked everything. The suite has a full walk in closet with 50 wooden hangers, bathrobes, slippers, several drawers, and a safe. Empty luggage fit comfortably under the bed. The bathroom is a full size bath, with a tub and a glass enclosed separate shower. The shower is not as large as a full walk in shower, but there's plenty of room to turn around, shave legs, and pick up soap if you drop it!

 

So far we are quite impressed.

 

Stay tuned, more details to follow...

Firstly Happy Anniversary.......

Secondly, please look after suite 677 as we are in that very same suite boarding next week in Rome.

I will reading your comments over the next week with great interest. Like you we initially booked into an H category suite and have ended in a Penthouse Suite with a Butler, so any hints on how best to use the Butler would be appreciated. I think we are also unpack your own case sort of people but I think my wife would like to take up the opportunity of the some free ironing done on the first night. (How did this work?)

I like the short cut to the bar suggested by another poster on this thread, as I have a friend next door in 675 next week, I can collect him on the way whilst we wait for our DW's to finish getting ready.

I am also interested on whether you have experienced any vibrations in that suite as some posters have suggested that the aft suites on Voyager are prone to some vibrations.

Cant wait for some further posts.

Neil

Firstly Happy Anniversary.......

 

Secondly, please look after suite 677 as we are in that very same suite boarding next week in Rome.

 

I will reading your comments over the next week with great interest. Like you we initially booked into an H category suite and have ended in a Penthouse Suite with a Butler, so any hints on how best to use the Butler would be appreciated. I think we are also unpack your own case sort of people but I think my wife would like to take up the opportunity of the some free ironing done on the first night. (How did this work?)

 

I like the short cut to the bar suggested by another poster on this thread, as I have a friend next door in 675 next week, I can collect him on the way whilst we wait for our DW's to finish getting ready.

 

I am also interested on whether you have experienced any vibrations in that suite as some posters have suggested that the aft suites on Voyager are prone to some vibrations.

 

Cant wait for some further posts.

 

Neil

When you get to your suite, check for the laundry bags in the closet along with a form that can be used for pressing, laundry or dry cleaning. Just put what you need ironed in the bag (not sure what your limit is but your butler will know - usually a couple of items are free but I'm not positive). Put the bag inside the suite near the door and your butler will pick it up and return it the next day ironed.

As you know, the Voyager does have an aft vibration but if you expect it, it likely won't bother you. We have stayed in an aft suite on Voyager and wasn't bothered by it very much. It is a personal thing and while some people have difficulty with the vibration, others are just fine. Hope you fall into the latter category.

I would not necessarily use or recommend using the "short-cut" mentioned in another post as since, as mentioned, the door says "crew only" and having passengers in there could cause issues. The aft elevators take you right near the entrance of the Horizon Lounge.

The Voyager is a beautiful ship (our favorite for years) -- hope that you have a perfect cruise!

So glad that you are posting live from the ship. The Voyager was our favorite ship for many years. How nice that you were able to get an amazing fare with a butler!

 

You mentioned that lunch was available in the Coffee Connection and the Pool Deck. This is unusual. Wasn't there a lunch set. up in La Veranda? That is typically where we eat when we get on the ship.

 

Hope that the rest of the cruise is as positive as it has been so far. And, Happy 15th Anniversary!:D

Yes, you are correct, lunch was also available in La Veranda. I had just failed to mention it.

Thanks everyone for your comments and wishes for a happy annivesary!

Let's continue...

I forgot to mention that they provide both L'Occitane and Guerlain toiletries. We prefer L'Occitane.

The bedroom/living room areas are the same as other standard suites. King sized bed (compared to mainstream lines, with only a queen), and lovely, soft gray and beige toned loveseat, chair, table and desk chair. As others have previously mentioned, after the dry dock, there are no upper cabinets, and glasses.fridge in lower cabinets, so paperwork needs to stay either in the one small desk drawer or on the desk or in a nightstand. There are both US and European outlets at the desk and vanity area, so having a few adapters allowed us to plug in all our devices at the same time.

As of this voyage, they swapped out the Apple docking stations for a new Bose Bluetooth system. Haven't tested it out yet, but I have used other Bose Speakers and expect it will be very good.

The balcony is the upgrade in this suite. It's more than twice the size of a standard balcony, I believe. fully covered, and very private. But some might find it slightly claustrophobic, because of its enclosed feeling. Note that if you have an aft cabin on a high deck, diners in La Veranda can look down and see part of your balcony. However, no matter what deck, if it rains, about 1/2 the balcony will still get quite wet, depending on the direction of the rain - we found that out leaving Barcelona. Besides the standard chairs and table, there is one full size lounger, and plenty of maneuvering space to shift chairs, table, and lounger.

A few have mentioned the problem of vibrations in aft cabins. I can vouch that this is very true, but in our cabin, you only feel it in the bathroom and closet. (Rather an odd sensation when using the bathroom, if you know what I mean.) In addition, because we are right over the Horizon Lounge, you can hear music drifting up until 11:30 pm. It's not loud, and wE don't find this a problem, but if you go to bed early and/or are a light sleeper, you may want to consider a higher deck.

I know I am a few days behind in my updates, but DH and I are meeting others CC members for drinks and dinner, so I will continue later...

We had the pleasure of Dhiraj's fine service last December on the Navigator sailing from Capetown. He coordinated some lovely special dinners for 6 of us in CR along with small pre-dinner cocktail get-togethers in our suite prior to those dinners. Ask, and you shall receive!

Again, thanks for everyone's comments and suggestions!

Marq, as for football predictions, I'm not the one to ask, but DH is napping (again), so I can't provide a witty response.

So let's keep going...

I had previously read that wifi, while free, was only available on one device per suite at any one time. That is not true anymore. Each person can have their own logins and have multiple devices at the same time. Both DH and I are often both on our iPads simultaneously and have not had any major issues. Typically, the speed is good for emails, doing a google search, etc, but don't plan on anything needing a high band width, like streaming videos.

And for anyone looking for a decent data plan while traveling in Europe, I'm having great success with GigSky. I bought SIM cards ($5 each) for our IPads prior to our trip, activated them, and purchased a European plan 15 days/1G for $20 for each iPad. (You can top up/add more data as needed.) It automatically finds the appropriate carrier for whatever country we are in, and we've been getting 3G and 4G speeds. If I'm in a new country, it might take 10 minutes or so to find the right signal, but once it's set, it kicks in, whenever I'm not on wifi.

Because I'm now 3 days behind on my posts, rather than doing day by day updates, I'm going to organize my next comments into 3 sections: dining, excursions/ports, and on board activities.

Let's start with Dining:

Since boarding, we've had breakfast at La Veranda twice, room service breakfast once, lunch at the pool grill twice, lunch at La Veranda twice, dinner at Compass Rose twice and dinner at Prime 7 once.

Except for the hamburger I mentioned on the first day, breakfasts and lunches have all been good. As mentioned earlier, the blackened mahi at the pool grill was almost as good as the fresh mahi we get in Mexico. But overall the buffet food is mostly tasty, but nmemorable. For breakfast, Room service was delivered right on time and the white table cloth was a nice touch, but I don't like having to decide what I want to eat the night before, so we'll probably only do room service again on the last morning. We were in a rush to get to our excursion this morning, so l didn't have a chance to try the Swedish pancakes with ligonberries for breakfast - bummer La Veranda is obviously quite busy in the mornings before excursions and after 1/2 day trips return, so although tables were available, we've had to wait a few minutes for them to reset the table. We prefer a spot by the windows.

On our first night, after exploring the ship, we ate dinner at the Compass Rose. The decor is mostly shades of white, with blue accent lights in the tray ceilings, which looks cool, but it almost clashes with the warm white light from the chandeliers. It was about 7:30 pm and pretty busy, but we asked if there was any chance of a window seat. As DH likes to say "you don't get if you don't ask". They were very accommodating and after a few minutes, were able to seat us at a window. Unfortunately, we had not yet departed from Barcelona, and we ended up on the dockside, looking out at steel beams and fluorescent lights. So be careful what you ask for!

I started with the Boston Lettuce salad, and then the white and green asparagus with mushrooms and potatoes as my entree. Let me say that I am NOT a vegetarian, but these vegetarian choices were delicious. DH had the lobster bisque and Maine lobster (another recurring theme). They actually remove the shell for you, after it arrives at the table. Also delicious. In fact, he also had this again when we dined there on Thursday, that night, I had the Halibut, which just melted in the mouth.

Our first specialty restaurant was Prime 7 on Wednesday night. Because we were originally Cat H, when we booked our dining reservations (@ 12:01 am, on the day the opened to us), the only time slot was 9 pm. We arrived about 15 minutes early and they were able to seat us immediately. Note that because this is only a 7 day cruise, the reservation desk was not allowing additional reservations at the specialty restaurants on embankment day so that everyone who had not yet made their first reservations still had an opportunity. However, they put us on a wait list for later in the week.

I had the American Onion Soup (a slight twist on French Onion soup), 6 oz filet mignon with bernaise sauce and asparagus and mushrooms. Classic and very good (but Scottsdale as some amazing steakhouses, so not the best I've ever had). DH wanted the rib eye, but also a couple of crab legs. When they brought out his dinner, they had given him a 1/2 order -- one pound -- of crab legs with the steak. The crab legs were so good that he ate all of them and only finished about 1/2 his steak. We were to full for dessert, but they sent us back to our cabin with a small plate of flavored fudge to enjoy.

It's a good thing we're trying to get in 10000+ steps every day, otherwise, they'll have to roll us off the ship at the end of our week.

Stay tuned for on board experiences and shore excursions to follow. Hopefully I haven't put everyone to sleep yet (expect my husband, who is napping again.)

Loving your reports. Your experience with "bathroom vibration" was the same as ours - it makes me laugh to think about it.

I'm curious about the two log-ins. Are you a Gold Seven Seas Society member? Regent's website still shows one log-in per suite. Just checking.

We had the "American Onion Soup" on the Mariner a couple of weeks ago. it was different but quite good. BTW, you can have Swedish pancakes in Compass Rose for breakfast every day if you want - they are on the menu are are quite good!

Keep the reports going!

It's a good thing we're trying to get in 10000+ steps every day, otherwise, they'll have to roll us off the ship at the end of our week.

Hahahahaha! I feel your pain, although I found it easier - and much more relaxing - to not count steps and just avoid any scales in the weeks pre- and post-cruise.

;p

I'm curious about the two log-ins. Are you a Gold Seven Seas Society member? Regent's website still shows one log-in per suite. Just checking.

I was wondering about that myself - my wife and I just got Gold this past cruise, but we'd been grandfathered in to the unlimited WiFi so we'd had multiple logins for a few years. Wonder if that policy changed??

I was wondering about that myself - my wife and I just got Gold this past cruise, but we'd been grandfathered in to the unlimited WiFi so we'd had multiple logins for a few years. Wonder if that policy changed??

I am trying to remember how this all went down. There was something about people that were already Silver at the time that new policy went into effect that grandfathered them. People that became Silver after the change will not get two log-ins until they reach Gold. I forgot about that and am glad that you brought it up. IMO, the last thing that we need is more people slowing down the WiFi. Unless/until Regent does something, internet will continue to be poor when everyone is on line at the same time.

Loving your reports. Your experience with "bathroom vibration" was the same as ours - it makes me laugh to think about it.

 

I'm curious about the two log-ins. Are you a Gold Seven Seas Society member? Regent's website still shows one log-in per suite. Just checking.

 

We had the "American Onion Soup" on the Mariner a couple of weeks ago. it was different but quite good. BTW, you can have Swedish pancakes in Compass Rose for breakfast every day if you want - they are on the menu are are quite good!

 

Keep the reports going!

No we don't have any status. The person who did the New cruisers seminar said one log in, but the guy at the internet/computer lounge, said that had changed and multiple logins allowed, and I can confirm it's been working for us.

And thanks for the info on the swedish pancakes. Unfortunately, because we are taking excursions each morning, we haven't had a chance to enjoy a leisurely breakfast in Compass Rose.

See you onboard! We board in Rome and get off in Beijing; retirement trip. We have done Hong Kong to Singapore before on Mariner; will be interesting to compare the return trip on the Voyager.

 

Marc

 

PS Are the Cardinals going to trash the Tigers this week? :D

Lamar JACKSON is the best QB. We have seats on the 50 yard line and think we will send the Tigers home with their tails between their legs,

Look forward to meeting you! Rome to Beijing? What a way to retire!

Hahahahaha! I feel your pain, although I found it easier - and much more relaxing - to not count steps and just avoid any scales in the weeks pre- and post-cruise.

 

 

 

;p

I'm with you Bill. I'm on a low-carb diet. But during the holidays and in vacation I assume that any food I eat uses zero carb flour and sugar.

Than I wait a month before stepping on the scale or getting my blood drawn.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums