RachelG

September 28, 2022–Bar Harbor Maine We gained our lost hour back last night. Very smooth sailing, but the foghorn continued through the night. And when we awoke, there was still a blanket of white outside, though at least I could actually see the water of the ocean again. We were to be ready to present ourselves to US immigration officials at 8 am. Ray started calling the groups to present themselves, and we were quickly through. The captain came on overhead and said the fog had to clear some before the tenders would be allowed to run, so we went to La Veranda for a quick bite of breakfast. The fog was burning off fast, but there were still 10 people who hadn’t gone through immigration. Ray came on overhead, so politely, to ask them to present themselves. He had to make 3 announcements to lure the stragglers in. Finally, he had to call out the individual suite numbers. Then the captain came on and asked those suite numbers to present themselves immediately. What’s the deal? It was clearly announced multiple times. The ship has to be cleared before they can let anyone off. I just don’t understand. Finally, we were cleared and able to board the tenders, as Bar Harbor is always a tender port. Our morning excursion took us by bus up to the top of Cadillac Mountain then to Jordan Pond. The sun had come out, and the views were spectacular from the top of the mountain. We only had 20 minutes at the top due to the delays—I could easily have spent 2 hours there. We then drove through the forest to Jordan Pond where we were served iced tea and popovers. The popovers were very good (and I have baked a few of these over the years). We had an hour here, so George and I ate quickly, then hiked along the pond. There is a new boardwalk, which made it very easy. Back to the dock, our original plan had been to have lunch in town then do our afternoon hiking tour. But we were late for the hike. Fortunately, they had taken this into account, so we just went directly on the hike. There was only another couple and us plus the guide. I had met the lady on my walks on the top deck so knew she was fit. We told the guide we were fast hikers, and she was all in for that. So we had a great afternoon hiking the ocean view trail. We even saw a wedding on the rocks. Back to Bar Harbor, George was still wanting his lobster, so we went to Galyn’s, a place we have eaten at previously. It did not disappoint. He had a huge lobster with all the trimmings for $31 while I had crab cakes and salad for $18. It was very delicious and a bargain to boot. We went back to the ship just in time for Cruise Capers, the crew show. They did a great job. We were too full for dinner, so George went to lose some money in the casino. I went to the show, The Great American Song Factory, which was basically 50s and 60s pop music. It was pretty well done, but not my favorite.

The boarding was definitely a fail, as was your spa appointment, but everything else sounds wonderful. Glad you re making the best of it

September 27, 2022–at sea yet again We were supposed to be in St. John, New Brunswick today, but the captain had announced last evening that it would not be possible due to damage to the pier by Hurricane Fiona. So we were to have another sea day. Very disappointing, not that I had big plans for St. John, but we like to get off the ship and explore. So we slept in which was really easy because the ship was going very slowly and rocking a lot. When I finally got up and looked outside, I could see nothing except a solid blanket of white fog. The fog horn was sounding every few minutes. Then it started pouring rain—again. They had a wine tasting (included)at 10:45 which I didn’t attend, opting for another try at bingo, with no win today. Lunch in La Veranda was Indian themed, which George hates and I love, so he mostly picked at his food and complained while I ate lamb Korma, chicken samosas, raita, lentils, curried shrimp, and cauliflower. Much of the complaining today had to do with the poor quality of the internet service, which was particularly terrible. I was getting texts from my dentist office with appointment reminders, but couldn’t read emails or log on to the office. George resorted to using some of our complementary phone time, which we never use, to talk to his office. There was an afternoon show starring Stephanie Baldwin who is the wife of the general manager. They are onboard with their two young sons, who are super cute and well behaved. Apparently Stephanie was an entertainer onboard a few years back, met her husband, and now just happened to be onboard. But she is a great singer. We did terrible at trivia today—very difficult questions. And almost none in my areas of knowledge. The foghorns continued to blow all day. I briefly tried to walk outside on the deck, but it was just too wet to be safe. Dinner was in Sette Mare. Very slow service, but the food was good once we got it. George wanted more sauce for this pasta. It arrived 20 minutes later after he had just gone ahead and eaten the pasta. Not sure what the problem was. Staff seemed flustered and unorganized. The show was a guy named Jordan Bennett. Never heard of him, but he has apparently been on Broadway a lot. And he is a good singer. The show was nice. and to top it off, George won big at blackjack.

Ray says no, he hasn’t published it anywhere. He did give a copy to everyone who was in it, so maybe someone has posted it on YouTube

September 26, 2022–Halifax, Nova Scotia Another rocky night though not as much as the previous. I awoke to totally overcast skies. Everything-sea, horizon, sky-was variegated shades of grey, with fog on one side and rain on the other. We weren’t to arrive in Halifax until 11:00 am. This was our original scheduled arrival time, not a delay due to the hurricane. The weather forecast called for temps in the mid 60s and rain. But first we had a morning edition of trivia. We came in 2nd—my brain just wasn’t fully awake. When we docked in Halifax,it was still raining pretty hard. Our Lobsters and Lighthouses tour had been cancelled only a week ago, very annoying as all the other tours I had any interest in were full. This cancellation thing has only just been happening since covid, and it needs to stop,particularly the last minute cancellations. At any rate, we have been here before, so are just going to do our own thing. We walked along the promenade by the harbor in the rain. Not cold at all, just wet. We headed to Salty’s a lobster restaurant I had found. George had a 1 1/2 lb lobster while I had crab cakes. They had 2 lb lobsters on offer too, but George feels the larger ones don’t taste as good. He thought his was good but slightly over cooked. It certainly looked good to me, and I don’t even like lobster much as it is just too much work. It poured rain all the time during lunch. The Maritime Museum was close, so we headed there. It is best known for the Titanic exhibit, which was good, but also has a very in-depth exhibit on the huge explosion in Halifax in 1917 which destroyed most of the city—the largest man made explosion in history until the atomic bombs in WWII. There are also hundreds of models of every type of ship you can think of, and to top it off, the museum was free today. By this time, the rain had stopped, so we walked to the citadel. We could see lots of evidence of the hurricane with tree limbs down, leaves stripped off, and flowers destroyed. The citadel was a functioning military post until not that long ago. George loves military history, armaments and fortifications, so this was just his kind of place. We explored thoroughly. I learned a lot about Canadian military history from the two world wars. Since my knowledge of the subject was pretty much zero prior to this, it has increased by 100%. We walked back to the ship as it started to spit rain again. Entire day was grey. Dinner in Compass Rose was again a mixed bag. My salad and steak were perfect, but George got this very fishy crab dish that was just nasty. I had a bite and agreed, not good at all. But the chocolate soufflé was probably the best either of us have have eaten. And the sad news. The port at St. John is messed up from the hurricane. We can’t go there or anywhere else, so tomorrow will be another sea day. I understand weather, but very disappointing. The show was Broadway in Concert. I have seen this show many times before, but they are constantly reworking it, so a lot of things were new. And it was outstanding,

There are no hosted tables. We just had dinner with Ray because we know him.

No idea. I will ask Ray.

Miss you for trivia Rich. We have a slot available on our team.

September 25,2022–still at sea having successfully avoided Hurricane Fiona We were rocking and rolling all night, but in a comfortable way, not in a lash yourself to the bed, everything going crashing way. So a good sleep. We had to set the clocks forward a hour. When I awoke, I wasn’t really sure what time it was because when all the timekeeping devices are electronic, you never know when they will decide to change. But it was light outside, mostly cloudy but a little sun peeking though. I figured out the correct time, did some work, then George and I went to Sunday services led by Ray. He did a really good job. By this time, the clouds had dissipated, and I had a walk out on the upper deck. It was a little windy, but not bad with the sun out. Bingo at 11–I actually won one round. Then a leisurely lunch in La Veranda. The ship was sailing pretty quickly, which meant a lot of vibration in the rear, and then we hit a big bump. I am not sure what it was, but it shook the whole ship. Afternoon was spent mostly doing nothing. I read while George went to the gym. We went to trivia, and our team won again. Tonight was the event for the top tier customers. So we went. It was hilarious. It was a movie that Ray made when the crew were stuck on the ship inMarch 2020 due to covid. The only passenger was the Captain, our elderly friend who was deemed to old and frail to fly from New Zealand to the US. He is actually in the movie. Ray reports he is doing well and is healthy. Then we had dinner in Compass Rose with Ray. It was loads of fun with his stories of dancing with Ginger Rogers, sailing with Putin, Nelson Mandela, and many other famous people. Ray had his chance to push Putin off the pier and didn’t take it. He totally regrets that he didn’t take his chance, but had no way of knowing. And food for dinner was delicious as well. The comedy show afterwards was very funny. Even George was entertained.

September 24, 2022–at sea avoiding Hurricane Fiona When we awoke, the sea was rolling some, and it was very grey outside, but not raining. I could see land in the far distance though no idea what land. Apparently we are anchored. We had a leisurely breakfast in La Veranda as we had no pressing appointments. It was way too windy, very gusty, to walk on the top deck. I tried to go around once, felt in fear for my life, and gave up. Tried to work some online but the internet was so slow, it was just an exercise in frustration. So a bit about the ship. Some people hate the Navigator, claiming she is too old, outdated, and vibrates too much. George and I quite like her. Yes, there is some vibration, particularly aft, but none in our mid ships suite on deck 6. Yes, there are fewer dining venues, but quality of food and service is very high. Since the ship is smaller,you get to know the crew more easily. And we just prefer the smaller size in general. They have created a nice coffee connection area on deck 6 mid ships, and it is a quick convenient walk from our suite. The theater remains probably my favorite of any ship. There literally is not a bad seat in the house. There is still the same old dog barf carpet in the hallways—they must have gotten a good deal years ago and bought out the entire factory. But Prime 7 and Galileo’s have new furniture since last time we were on and are beautiful, as is Compass Rose. The regular suites are adequate though the shower is tiny. I am not a large person and feel cramped. All the suites still have separate tub and showers. There is plenty of storage. There are also plenty of electric outlets, but no USB ports. La Veranda can be very crowded during peak times, particularly when it is too cold to sit outside, and the area at the buffet is pretty tight. The pool deck has lots of seating. There is a small walking track around on the deck above the pool, but I haven’t been able to use it yet. We went to the shop which was having a sale. I bought 4 nice shirts for George for $106 which was a great deal. Then we played bingo, and did not win. We had the connoisseur wine lunch scheduled, and it did not disappoint. Excellent wines from the premium list and food to match. I definitely recommend. We had a nap then went to trivia where we won. I then attempted another walk around the top deck, this with more success as it wasn’t as windy. Tonight was the captain’s welcome then Ray did a pre dinner show. We missed the first part as we were face timing with our grandson, and a 17 month old definitely takes priority, but Ray’s show was great. Dinner in Compass Rose was a mixed bag. We both had the asparagus soup, which is always great, and a tomato salad, also excellent. I had a vegetarian curry dish, which was good , but they forgot my rice and my extra sambal, and once they brought the food, there was no waiter to be seen. So it was bland. George’s lobster was seriously over cooked, but again, no waiter to be seen. There was a movie tonight, but I wasn’t staying up for that as the clocks are set forward an hour. The ship is now moving again and things are really rocking and rolling.

We usually have drinks at 6 then dinner at 7. Show is at 9:30 and there is plenty of time.

September 23, 2022–Baie Comeau, Quebec First off, let me comment on how irrational some people are. Yesterday when it was announced that we would miss Corner Brook and Sydney due to the impending hurricane, and would stop at Baie Comeau today, one lady actually told me she was never sailing Regent again. Really? So Regent can control the weather now. We have friends on another ship doing basically the reverse cruise. They are stuck floating on a ship outside of Boston right now. Definitely worse off than us. Anyway, rant over. On to today. We awoke at the dock in a beautiful small port. Big sunshine! Looking outside, I could see lots of tree covered hills, one with a church on top. To the left stretched a road along the coast leading to a town. Temperature was in the low 50s with intermittent strong wind gusts. George and I took off hiking toward town. There was also a shuttle bus running continuously between the ship and the town center. In addition, several departures for a panoramic bus tour and tour of the church were available. We walked along a nice paved pathway past a nice marina with many expensive looking sailboats to a ocean side park then into the town. Baie Comeau was founded in 1929 as a paper mill town. The paper mill closed 3 years ago, and now there is just a huge empty building there right by the downtown which consists of one main street with a really good sporting goods and clothing store, an excellent shoe store, a couple of cute boutiques, a coffee shop, 2 barber shops, a chocolate store, and a soap factory. Also lots of empty store fronts. We shopped a little, and I bought some insulated quilted pants for our upcoming polar bear expedition scheduled for the end of October. The store owners were really happy to have our ship in port. One said they only get about 10 ships a year, but it is a huge boon to the economy. All the houses are wood. Most have a little enclosed front porch where I think people must leave their show boots in the winter. The town is very neat and clean, but George noticed that a lot of the roofs are in really poor repair, probably 1/3 needing urgent replacement. We went back to the ship for lunch as there weren’t a lot of options in town. La Veranda had Moroccan and Middle Eastern food, and it was delicious. Hummus, lamb skewers, couscous, a soup made with almonds and veggies, feta cheese—all so good. We took the shuttle back to town and went to a wooded park around a lake that is right in town, but you would never realize that once in the park. You could be far out in the woods. It was quiet and so pleasant with the sun Back to the ship, we again placed 2nd at trivia. Questions were very hard today. Out of a total of 18 possible points, the winning team got 9. We had 8. We sailed out of port to go west to avoid the storm. It was still brilliantly sunny. The proposed course is to take us west aways, then allow the storm to pass to the north. We’ll see how that works out. Dinner in compass rose was delicious. I had a mixed bag of crab spring roll, Moroccan duck soup, and lamb curry. All very nice. Then topped off with a coffee soufflé. The show was Tuxedo, a sort of big band/Broadway type production. Just my thing and I enjoyed everything about it.

On this ship, no USB ports at all

No football games as far as I can tell

I am posting pics from my iPhone as I can do that without using the ship Wi-Fi

The statue of Virgin Mary

Saguenay pics

Incredible Quebec City pizzas. Very low carb

Don’t know why the last one is upside down or how to fix it

A few pics from Quebec City

September 22, 2022–Saguenay Quebec Saguenay isn’t really a town per se, but rather an area at to end of a fjord with several small towns and villages. We had been here before on a bright sunny warm day, and it was spectacular. Contrast to today—cold, dark, and damp with 77%chance of rain. It looked like that could happen at any moment. We were supposed to be at a dock, but last night, they announced it would be a tender port, so there is that too. Our tour was to depart at 7:30–Hiking in Saguenay park. We had done this previously and liked it enough to want to repeat. We rode in a school bus to the park-about a 40 minute drive, which took longer due to road construction, with the road winding through dense evergreen and deciduous forest punctuated by small villages. The park is very long and narrow along the fjord with trails and opportunities for kayaking. When we were here before, the guide made us stay right with him, but this time, he was willing to just tell us when to be back at the bus and let us do our own thing. Those who wanted to move more slowly could hike with him though. George and I took off on a trail though the forest that climbed up alongside the fjord. It had been raining,but the trail was hard packed dirt and rough cut granite steps, so not muddy. And my new hiking shoes have great traction, so I didn’t feel worried about falling on the wet stones. We moved pretty quickly upward, stopping to take pictures at a few scenic overlooks and a little waterfall. George saw a grouse really closeup. There were a few squirrels, but not a lot of other wildlife. Some trees were turning, but few. After an hour we arrived at the high lookout, and for about 30 seconds, the clouds lifted, and the sun was out. Really beautiful. I didn’t want to the “that person” late for the bus, so I made George turn around and hike back, even though I knew coming down would be quicker than going up. Good thing we got our pics on the way up, because a huge fog bank rolled in, and for a little while, we couldn’t see more than about 20 feet up the trail. We rode back to town, and it had gotten much colder with a sharp wind. But our guide had told me about a treat that I couldn’t miss—chocolate covered blueberries, so we set out in search of these delicacies. The town is small but has some cute shops. The church was open for those who wanted to visit. We were able to find a store with the blueberries, but also a lot of other delicious looking foods, so we left with a big sack full of goodies. The space at the dock was now occupied by a huge NCL ship—guess that is why we got bumped. While we waited for the tender, George pulled out the blueberries to sample—oh, so good. Back onboard, he decided we should eat at the pool grill. I thought this was a terrible idea as it was really cold and windy, but they brought me a thick wool blanket, and I ate hot soup, so not too bad. We were fixing to go to trivia when the captain came on overhead in the suites with an announcement. Never a good sign. Apparently hurricane Fiona is headed straight towards us, so we are going to have to skip stops at Corner Brook and Sydney, but tomorrow, instead of a sea day, we will stop at Baie Comeau Quebec, a port which has never had a Regent ship. This should be interesting. Then 2 sea days to follow. I am disappointed about the two ports we are missing, but at least, they have attempted to made some lemonade out of lemons. We had a 2nd place finish at trivia with very difficult questions. We cruised through the fjord with granite bluffs and forest on both sides. Very scenic, but too cold to stay outside for long. Pretty soon we came along the famous Virgin Mary of Saguenay statue perched high up on the ridge. Ray did an excellent narration of how this statue came to be there. Dinner was at the Main dining room and was excellent. I started with pork dumplings, then had cod with peas and potatoes. George had salad and pork chop. All excellent. We both finished with ice cream-mine the sugar free coffee which is imo one of the best ever. Entertainment was a comedian who was actually very funny. I laughed a lot.

All I can say is that we (and our friends who are traveling with us) did not have to do a second one. Nobody at the port was asking anyone for it as far as I could tell, and we were in Montreal for 2 days prior to embarking.

Yes

September 21, 2022–Quebec City, Quebec After a great sleep, we awoke as the ship was docking. It was chilly, still in the 50s and overcast, but not raining. I tried to be optimistic regarding the weather and applied sunscreen. Our walking and tasting tour for here had been cancelled a few months ago, due to “operational issues”. The problem was that all the other tours in which we were remotely interested were full. We waitlisted one, but it did not clear, so onto plan C. George and I have been to Quebec City a few times previously. It is our 2nd favorite city in Canada (with Vancouver being number one), and it is a great walking city which is what we like. So we were off on our own. We walked all over, through the old town and up the stairs to the terraces by Chateau Frontenac, along the esplanade to the plains of Abraham and citadel then along on top of the fortifications. There were beautiful views on all sides. The trees aren’t really turning yet, but it should be great for color in about 2 weeks. We headed for a pizza place highly touted on TripAdvisor, LaPizzaio, and it did not disappoint. It is a tiny place with really good salads and thin crust pizza. We split a Caesar salad, then had margarita pizza and a pizza with black olives, sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese. We were stuffed. We took a leisurely walk back to the port and ship. George wanted a postprandial nap. We rested until trivia at 4:30, where we won by a landslide. Pre dinner drinks in Galileo’s with Ray. He is such an interesting guy and kept us well entertained. Then dinner in Sette Mare. It was way too much food. It is so easy to over eat in that venue, but so good. I had a bunch of appetizers and pasta with shrimp. George had lamb chops, and he did not think much of them. Lamb is tricky—sometimes you just get one with an off flavor. George went to the casino where he did well for the second night in a row. I am waiting for the ax to fall. I went to the show. Last night I skipped as it was a lecture about the St Lawrence seaway—really? How is that after dinner entertainment? At any rate, tonight was a proper show. World Rhythms. It was a mixed bag. I loved the Spanish and Irish parts as well as the Filipino, but the India and Africa parts were pretty much lost on me. That being said, performers are very talented and gave a great effort.

Covid tests aren’t required to enter Canada from the US even now. But they are required to embark on a ship in Canada. We just did this yesterday. Because we spent a few days in Montreal precruise, we had to do the Inspire proctored self tests in our hotel as the test can’t be over 72 hours prior to embarking. Don’t know what that means regarding testing after Oct 1 though.