flossie009

The original itinerary for this cruise had us being in Indonesia on Saturday April 13th, but a few months ago we had a communication saying that the Indonesian port had been dropped in favour of an overnight in Phuket. All well & good, but on closer inspection we found that we were actually leaving Phuket at 8am, so the day in Indonesia had been substituted for another day at sea. To add to the confusion, the itinerary published in Passages on the first day of the cruise had a mis-print showing us leaving Phuket at 8pm (see post #13) 🙄 This was corrected back to 8am after a few days. No one on board can quite understand Regent Miami’s thinking in scheduling three days to sail from Phuket to Sri Lanka.

The ship was docked overnight in Phuket and some evening excursions were available to go into town for a show and/or dinner. However, most decided to stay on board for the Grand Deck BBQ & Dance Party Not just one suckling pig …….. …………,.. but one each side of the deck …………… and desserts, of course F&B and the entertainment team did a wonderful job. ………… but it was very hot & humid all evening, with the temperature remains in the high eighties Fahrenheit

Our guide pointed out a cave entrance and the boat driver steered us in for a closer look Next minute we were going through and out the other side, narrowly missing the stalactites We stopped for lunch at a village built on stilts in the middle of the bay Although some of the houses were dilapidated, some were very grand properties; particularly the home of the restaurant owner who obviously does a roaring trade from all the tourist boats that call in every day During our tour around the bay, we saw the island made famous as Scaramanga’s lair in the James Bond film “Goldfinger”.

Friday April 12th - Phuket, Thailand Back in Thailand, we were up in time for sunrise ready for our trip to see Phang Nga Bay; a popular excursion chosen by half the guests on the ship, but split among 10 buses we were never crowded (apart from in the Stars Lounge checking in for the tour 😉) After a fairly long drive from the cruise ship we boarded our long-tail boat for the tour around the bay. First through mangrove swamps and then into open water to see the towering limestone rock formations.

@forgap, Thanks for the pre-cruise and cruise blog. Interesting descriptions & beautiful photos.

Agree that it is more productive to raise issues with the relevant staff on board rather than making the complaints on social media On Navigator at present and we are offered delicious canapés in the bars before dinner. Not sure why they are not being offered on Explorer 🤔

There were also static displays showing the life cycle of butterflies & moths Malaysia’s largest moth …………… and interactive encounters with stick insects and other creepy-crawlies 😮

Numerous varieties of butterflies were seen at the impressive butterfly farm facility, from where they breed and export various species

Thursday April 11th - Penang Island, Malaysia Susan stayed on board, but David took an excursion to a spice garden, followed by a visit to a butterfly farm The drive to & from the venues was along the coast road, with some good views David said that they were liberally dosed with citronella before waking around the spice garden, but he still suffered some insect bites. The guide was appropriately dressed 😉

We finished the tour with a walk around the outside of the impressive Blue Mosque and then a photo stop outside the old Palace. We were fortunate to avoid the monsoon downpours that others got caught in during the day in Klang

Then it was off to see the big Buddha and a temple Maybe the temple wheelbarrow isn’t sacred enough to stop theft !!

Now that we have some time on our hands with three sea days, it is time to catch up on this blog. (Anyone else who is on the cruise is welcome to chip in with their thoughts) Wednesday, April 10th - Port Klang, Malaysia Our tour started with a visit to a small house where we looked around the garden and then went inside for coffee, mulberry tea and snacks A Malaysian family were enjoying a game There were various items of produce for sale, including what we would call pork scratchings

Yes, that Regent dessert is not a soufflé but is a “Queen of Puddings”. Very sweet !

We were disappointed with the entertainment, or lack of it, offered on our Regent Christmas cruise. I am pleased to report that thus far the entertainment on this cruise has been excellent. Production Cast singers & dancers are extremely talented. The band is very good. The cocktail pianist, Kelly, is both a good pianist & a very melodious singer. Visiting performers have also left a good impression: Martin Kaye - an incredibly energetic & highly talented musician. His Elton John show last night was fabulous. Dave Kristian - a very entertaining stand-up comic Both Martin & Dave will be leaving soon to be replaced by others, who we hope are as good.

Safe journey home Crisy, Cathy & Jim. Hope Jim recovers soon & that we see you all on another cruise soon.

An interesting, but disturbing, sign seen in Malaysia today

I suspect that this waterfront property, nestling in the trees, is worth a few million SGD. Nearby is an example of what happens when the architect forgets to take his ruler to work

Abseiling back onto the ship was a challenge 🤣 ……… but we made it just in time for a late lunch The gift shops were full of bling, but we resisted

Today we are in Singapore. Knowing how congested passport control can become in Singapore, we waited until after the Regent excursions had left the ship. We opted to try out the Singapore Cable Cars It was a perfect day for good views

Yes, just the same as all the other ships. Complementary laundry & pressing; dry cleaning also available for a charge.

Today is a day at sea on our way to Singapore. Captain Abhi tells us that he had Navigator at full throttle this morning and we certainly seemed to be zipping along through the calm waters. Weather is still very warm, but we passed through a few heavy showers. Today’s schedule

Our excursion in Ko Samui was the “Thai Traditional Cooking Class” (KOS-003); a paid tour. We started with a look around a local food market, where all manner of ingredients were on display After a visit to see the local Buddha we then went to a hotel by the sea for our cookery class. First the chef demonstrated the ingredients & method for each dish …………… then we were let loose to show our skills After preparing each dish (3 in total) we then sat down to eat our delicious results ………….. washed down with beer, wine or soft drinks. It was a very enjoyable day 😎 😋

Yesterday we visited the beautiful island of Ko Samui. Navigator dropped anchor some distance from shore and local boats were used to ferry guests from & to the ship

This is the senior team looking after us on board. Plenty of familiar faces among the crew plus some new ones. All very friendly, helpful & efficient. The production cast gave a stellar performance; singing & dancing was some of the best we have seen on Regent. Looking forward to their other shows this cruise.