fudge

Sorry, forgot to mention, we are going cruise only, we only live a 1 hour flight from Athens, does cruise only make any difference?

We have recently been sent offers from Silversea. We are thinking about a cruise Athens to Athens, the deal is a two suite upgrade and a thousand dollar on board spend. If we book a Vista suite do we get upgraded to a Veranda suite? I looked on the deck plan I cannot see any Vista suites? Thanks in advance.

I can only speak for Regent, I made a call at sea to the US while sailing to Japan, it was 6 dollars a minute, easy to call from your suite.

Hi, someone from the UK, we originate from Stockport, not too far away, I worked in Chester, lovely city.

Mrs Fudges favourite photos. She is well impressed with the bathrooms over there, all kinds of buttons, one plays music to drowned out any unwarranted "noise" A cleaning system which surpasses any active volcano, and a "dry clean" thing which gives your rear end third degree burns.

He cant help himself!! From the ship in Yokohama

The British airways experience got off to a bad start, over 1 hour late leaving Japan! The on-board first-class experience was good, but in my opinion not much better than business class, glad we did it probably wouldn’t do it again unless we had an offer. Unfortunately, the plane landed one hour 20 minutes late in the UK, consequently we missed our connecting flight, thankfully BA put us in a hotel overnight, the next day we managed to get a flight at our expense, not a good end to the holiday, we are not home yet! Thankfully we secured business class status, so we are now in the Singapore Airlines lounge which is very nice indeed, even though we are flying with Turkish airlines, hey, its only money. Final summary of the cruise. The issues at Vancouver could have been handled better by Regent in my opinion, they could have asked everyone to arrive a little later when the line had reduced. Once on the ship we couldn’t help admire the overall condition of the ship, all round plenty of places to eat and drink, comfortable lounges, and spacious considering the number of guests on board. Dining The food in most of the venues for us was hit and miss, some Luke warm food, we had hardly any “wow” moments, at times the service was painfully slow except for one evening we had all three courses in 35 minutes, a world record even for us. We ate in the specialty restaurants for lunch most days, lovely service, it slowed Mr Fudges disgusting “eating fast” habit, well almost. We managed to secure four more seating than we booked which was nice. The suite I can only comment on our suite which was a penthouse suite on deck 14. Very well appointed, always kept clean and tidy, a nice change from other suites we have sailed on. The butler was OK although we never used him much. As I have mentioned earlier, we are fairly low maintenance people but he was there when required. We ordered canapes in the afternoon for the whole cruise, some arrived some didn’t, after giving the butler a black eye, they all arrived, some twice, you can only each so much cheese, right? Laundry Very efficient indeed, we used the facility a lot, generally back the following day, most on hangers, “smalls” in a bag neatly folded. By the way, we did take advantage of the pressing service the first day, the poor laundry team must have thought we were on a world cruise!!! Reception staff Quite unhelpful at times, it was best we didn’t use them much, I rang down to them once about the internet, the lady said rudely “well mine is on, so it must be working!” That was me told then. Internet Shameful at best, totally unreliable, in fact the worst internet we have ever experienced on any cruise line, Regent should be ashamed of themselves. A guest told me he bought a package to use on the ship, that’s an idea for you folks who rely on it for work Etc. Even though you should not have to. The crew Most of the time very helpful, understanding, at times frustrating, either due to lack of staff or lack of experience but it did not detract from the cruise. They were always smiling and tried very hard The weather Absolutely nothing Regent could do about that obviously, we just had bad luck for the whole cruise, we have never been on a cruise where we haven’t sat on deck by the pool, in fact most days no one did, shame really, the sunshine always helps doesn’t it? Excursions Unfortunately, when they came on line we must have been at the back of the line! We were wait listed for most of them, the ones we did go on were OK to good, nothing spectacular. Alaska was a bit of a disappointment for us, again, down to excursions, please get in early and book them even if you have to pay! Sea days! Wow, people who love sea days are to be admired, on two occasions Mr Fudge almost threw himself overboard, we would never ever do that again! Even though we scored 650 points for the games, after the first game the production team knew us by name, it was fun though. The time changes threw us good style, six go back one hour and a “ lost day” a really odd experience! Lovely people Mainly through the Vancouver experience or the silly games we met some wonderful folks, it was a real pleasure to see them throughout the cruise, my view of you “yanks” has changed a lot, my favourite saying now is “that sucks” According to cruise critic, the average guest is worth 2 million dollars, really? Us poor brits are no where near that seriously, no wonder they had that watch on board for 460,000 bucks. Its funny because Mrs Fudge does not read the blog thankfully. One day a guest came over and teased her by showing her the dig in the rib’s thing, you know the morning coffee thing, she had no idea what that was about. When we walked away, she said “what was that all about?” Mr Fudge said, “I have no idea darling” I do get away with murder sometimes! The production team Very professional, all very chatty, smiley, great shows in the evening and managing the silly games. So, that’s it folks, thanks for following us through our cruise. Would we sail with Regent again? Probably, if the right cruise came on line. Was it the best cruise we have been on? Not really, to be honest I think our expectations were far too high before we got on board, I kept saying to Mrs Fudge, “this will be the best cruise we have ever had” that’s my fault. Cheerio everyone, happy sailing, keep smiling and laughing. This boring old fart will blog our next cruise with Silversea, Doha to Muscat departing 2nd February 2024. Bye for now.

Apologies, you are right, a lovely lady found us a table, its an age thing!!

We did find a table in Pacific rim for our last night, lovely meal, lovely setting. Lovely people. We had some yen currency left, Mrs Fudge decided to change it back to dollars, went to reception, the staff said “sorry, no can do, no internet, no change there then!! She asked for a comments form, reception gave her a blank sheet of A4 and said “write your comments on there I will pass it to someone!! You really couldn’t make it up! We woke early again, already packed just a wash and scrub up. Mrs Fudge is so good at packing. Looked out of the window, lashing down with rain. We left the ship at 07.40 to the bus park, no crew near the gangway to wish us good buy that’s a first. We got soaked going to the bus, no umbrellas, the Japanese people are so nice the exit to the bus couldn’t have gone smoother. At 08.10 off to terminal 3 at the airport, its Monday but a holiday so it took just 30 minutes. We arrived at 08.40, no check in until 10.15 never mind. Checked in first class, a real treat for us, straight to the first-class lounge where I write this. A 15 hour non stop to the UK awaits. Fingers crossed folks, I will work on a summary when home. Until then, thanks everyone for your kind comments, safe journey, enjoy cruising.

No idea how I got my lap top working, now in the First class lounge in Japan, Maybe its the Japanese technology, who knows?

From yesterday Tonight, it was the Krew Kapers. Volunteers from the crew perform on stage. Although we have seen it before, the crew are outstanding, they quite rightly had a standing ovation for their performance. After the performance the cruise director sad “by the way, the toiletries in your bathroom may explode at 30,000 feet!!” Everybody howled laughing, lets hope the 10 bottles of booze we have don’t explode. From there we dined at Compass Rose, a lovely meal with a shared table. Mrs Fudge had the beef wellington, Mr Fudge had the Japanese curry which was tasty. What about this, before our dinner to went to the Meridian lounge for a drink, we ordered two glasses of champagne, would you believe the barman said, “sorry we have run out of champagne, would you like sparkling wine?” Just unreal, eventually the waiter came with a bottle, he said he had to scour the ship just for us! We had a nightcap in the observation lounge with friends we have met on the ship, it’s quite sad really to leave nice people but that’s cruising for you. Before we dined, Mrs Fudge went to collect our games prizes at the theatre, all very civilised apparently. We finished with, Regent luggage straps, three polo shirts, baseball cap, a flat-water bottle and a sunhat. A smooth sailing overnight brings us to Yokohama, Japan. Until the mid-19th century Japan lived in isolation, closed off from the rest of the world, and Yokohama was a mere fishing village. However, in 1883 American naval officer Matthew Perry demanded the country open to foreign trade, and Yokohama was changed forever. The city quickly emerged as an international trading centre, and while today it is overshadowed by Tokyo, it continues to be one of Japan’s liveliest and most international destinations. It has microbreweries and international restaurants; the city has a decidedly different feel to from many other Japanese cities. Tokyo is the largest city on earth, packet with some of the world’s best shops, museums and restaurants big and small. Dazzling cityscapes await your exploration, visit Asakusa for the bright lights, the street fairs and temples. It has the largest fish market in the whole world with on-the-spot Suchi. We went on a tour; we left the pier at 09.15 we had three stops. The first stop was Sankeien Garden. The gardens a very large indeed and beautifully laid out, we had an hour there. They were created Sankei Hara, a successful business man who built a fortune through the trading of silk and raw silk The gardens are 175,000 square meters, there is an inner garden and an outer garden, it was opened to the public in 1906. It was a pleasant way to spend an hour, there were some huge Koy carp in the lake, you buy bread for pennies to feed them, we did that and they swarmed to us. The next highlight was a visit to the Landmark tower, a huge skyscraper over 971 feet at the top, you get in the elevator to the 69th floor, it travels at 750 meters per second in places but you cannot feel it. Once there are magnificent views of the city and the Explorer in the pier. Top tip, stay with your guide, it gets very confusing with different levels at the start. Our last visit was a walk along China town. A really bustling busy place with literally hundreds of people walking the sidewalks. Us being cat lovers found a cat café, you walk in there, there were at least a dozen cats in there, Mrs Fudge had her “cat fix” until we get home to our ten cats! We got back to the ship around 17.30, we are trying for Pacific rim tonight, we will camp out until we have a table, we may even bribe the Maître de with a few bucks to get in, failing that I will kidnap him and take him back to our suite until morning.

From the top of the landmark tower, 971 feet! 69 floors, the elevator sped at 750k per minute.

Mr and Mrs Fudge win the fancy dress competition.

On a tour, lovely gardens,

On a tour, this place was manic, China town

Hi all. sorry but due to technical issues with my laptop I am unable to update this thread at the present time. Hopefully I can finish it in one or two days.... sorry :(

Hi everyone, real problems with my lap top so will update in a few days.. Sorry :(

The Explorer just scraping under the bridge as we enter the harbour.

From the tour.

The bumpy night continued, rocking and rolling, the sea sick tablets certainly helps. We woke early again, the bright sunshine pouring through the window, still rocky but at least the sun is shining, Mrs Fudge took a lovely photo even though it was only 05.30. The remnants of the pizza lying in the lounge is never a pretty sight coupled with an empty whisky glass that Mr Fudge tried to disguise, Mrs Fudge used to be a detective, nothing much gets past her. If things do not change, we are on a tour today, it’s supposed to be 70 degrees fingers crossed. Today (Saturday) we arrived in Sendai, Japan. The largest city in the Tohoku region. Sendai is a sprawling bur pleasant place. It has broad tree lined avenues and a lively downtown district. The city’s castle ruins and history associated museum. Though central Sendai had to be rebuilt after World War two, its streets follow the original grid pattern laid out by Masamune in the 17th century. The main downtown area are a high-rise district of offices and shopping malls, lies on the east bank of the Hirose-gawa. Matsushima bay is officially designated one of Japan’s three scenic areas. Matsushima roots go back as far as 828. There are 400 yr. old cedar trees and cave shrines in the central avenue. For those not on a tour there are complimentary shuttles from the ship to a shopping mall, Mrs Fudge will be horrified to have missed that!! The breakfast this morning was a complete disaster! We arrived at Compass Rose 8am on the nose, led to our table for 08.02, we ordered breakfast at 08.05. Nothing special, French toast for Mrs Fudge and two fried eggs on toast, with a side of bacon and mushrooms for Mr Fudge, easy right? Now, I am a cook, I can cook this breakfast in less than 15 minutes. We also ordered a glass of champagne; we had a special celebration. After 40 minutes, no champagne, no breakfast! I did ask after 30 minutes what was happening? We were told “its on its way” well of course it is. After 45 mins the plates arrived, no toast with my eggs, Mrs Fudge has a double potion of French toast which she didn’t ask for, then came a buck’s fizz!! All in all, a shocking experience. When you pay the money, you do for a “luxury” cruise you expect them to get it right, not all the time but most of the time. The tour: We met in the theatre at 09.05, things ran smoothly, we were called to our bus number 1 for the tour, Historic Sendai, a free tour. The bus was very clean, comfortable, and spacious, about two thirds full. Our tour guide introduced himself and our driver, off we went. You can get free WIFI on here too. There were three destinations today, a four-hour 30 minutes tour. After 30 minutes we reached the Masamune’s mausoleum. Please note: This stop would not suit those with walking difficulties, those who are infirm or need a walking aid. There are at least 80 steps to climb, and steep too. We had around 50 minutes to explore the site. Our guide was very good, he had a good command of English and was very knowledgeable. We looked around several small temples, it was basically all the history of the mausoleum. There are bathrooms here which you are encouraged to use. We then drove to Sendai Castle, more steps I’m afraid, its not actually a castle, there were several monuments to take photos of. Also on site are food courts, all fast food, Mr Fudge was going to try the local cuisine however, first mistake, we didn’t take and Yen, I was told they don’t take credit cards, or dollars. A lovely lady off the ship lent me 1000 yen, (3.50 dollars) He thought great let’s try the local food, wrong, now you have to put your notes in a machine to order, Mr impatient Fudge gave up, it was in the “too hard tray”. The last stop was the city museum in a park, we gave the museum a miss, we were only there 40 minutes so we had a leisurely walk around the park. We boarded the bus for a 35-minute drive to the ship. Now then, there is always a but, here it is. Over 15 buses left at the same time, consequently most arrived back at the ship at the same time. You would think Regent would have had the foresight to think, lots of people arriving back at the same time, no! The line for the gangway was huge as was the elevators. The only place left to eat was the pool grill, we managed to get a table just, however, folks were wondering around like lost sheep!! We ordered quickly and got drinks not like the debacle at breakfast. In the end we gave our table to a couple and we took our drinks back to the suite. Mrs Fudge has already packed three suitcases, Mr Fudge has to go out tonight without underwear!!

The bumpy night continued, rocking and rolling, the sea sick tablets certainly helps. We woke early again, the bright sunshine pouring through the window, still rocky but at least the sun is shining, Mrs Fudge took a lovely photo even though it was only 05.30. The remnants of the pizza lying in the lounge is never a pretty sight coupled with an empty whisky glass that Mr Fudge tried to disguise, Mrs Fudge used to be a detective, nothing much gets past her. If things do not change, we are on a tour today, it’s supposed to be 70 degrees fingers crossed. Today (Saturday) we arrived in Sendai, Japan. The largest city in the Tohoku region. Sendai is a sprawling bur pleasant place. It has broad tree lined avenues and a lively downtown district. The city’s castle ruins and history associated museum. Though central Sendai had to be rebuilt after World War two, its streets follow the original grid pattern laid out by Masamune in the 17th century. The main downtown area are a high-rise district of offices and shopping malls, lies on the east bank of the Hirose-gawa. Matsushima bay is officially designated one of Japan’s three scenic areas. Matsushima roots go back as far as 828. There are 400 yr. old cedar trees and cave shrines in the central avenue. For those not on a tour there are complimentary shuttles from the ship to a shopping mall, Mrs Fudge will be horrified to have missed that!! The breakfast this morning was a complete disaster! We arrived at Compass Rose 8am on the nose, led to our table for 08.02, we ordered breakfast at 08.05. Nothing special, French toast for Mrs Fudge and two fried eggs on toast, with a side of bacon and mushrooms for Mr Fudge, easy right? Now, I am a cook, I can cook this breakfast in less than 15 minutes. We also ordered a glass of champagne; we had a special celebration. After 40 minutes, no champagne, no breakfast! I did ask after 30 minutes what was happening? We were told “its on its way” well of course it is. After 45 mins the plates arrived, no toast with my eggs, Mrs Fudge has a double potion of French toast which she didn’t ask for, then came a buck’s fizz!! All in all, a shocking experience. When you pay the money, you do for a “luxury” cruise you expect them to get it right, not all the time but most of the time.

Its a shame Regent dont supply a pack of those drips you get in hospital, they would be perfect!😁