lprp

Embarkation yesterday was probably the fastest and easiest we’ve ever done. We left the hotel at 12:15 and were onboard by 1pm. We stopped by Coffee Connection, it seemed like our suite was ready in no time, the cases were in the hallway and we were fully unpacked by 4.30pm. A HAL ship, Nieuw Amsterdam was also in port. We had pre dinner drinks in The Meridian Lounge, dinner in Compass Rose, a long awaited Crab and Avocado with Beef Tenderloin for me, DH had Lobster Bisque and Clam Pasta, we both had Soufflé for dessert. Post dinner drinks in the Observation Lounge followed by the show rounded off the evening. I’m not the best at taking food photos, but I did take a few of the drinks 😋

@flossie009, BA are definitely intent on devaluing the Club Class experience, it’s a travesty! We were booked in Singapore and Emirates Business Class on our Explorer cruise at Christmas, both were amazing. We’re booked in Qatar Q Suites for another (non RSSC) trip next June and are looking forward to the flight, which isn’t something I can remember feeling like for the longest time.

Today the weather wasn’t as good - in fact despite assurances to the contrary by the weather App it was raining. Armed with our raincoats we walked back into town, having decided against the Blue Lagoon. We ended up on the HOHO. A couple of comments/suggestions; it’s lovely in Reykjavik but the HOHO is probably the worst we’ve ever been on, it’s just not very interesting, PLUS it was INCREDIBLY HOT upstairs 🥵, the windows don’t open and the A/C was MIA. I’m sure we would have been better served on a Golden Circle trip, hey ho. The most interesting fact I learned was that there are 130,000 people in Reykjavik and 230,000 in the Greater Reykjavik area out of a total 350,000 in total in Iceland, the rural areas must be very remote indeed! Also, if anyone reading this is staying at the Grand Reykjavik in future, when you check in remember to ask for your room to be serviced, fresh towels, etc. or it won’t be! It’s an ECO initiative and we only noticed it this morning - it’s written on the back of the Do Not Disturb sign . Apparently we should have been asked at check in but we weren’t. It’s hopefully being addressed now - the bath mat is a dripping mess - wet rooms are great, but….. LP

@welshfamily, almost spat my coffee laughing at your Popcorn Sundae experience 🤣 - not sure how to vote in your poll, guess it depends on how cute he was (I’ve probably just broken all kinds is rules and taboos 😝) Great review, good to hear that the F&B manager took the CR issue seriously and dealt with it. The sadly recently late F&B manager Douglas performed similar for me when the bar apparently ran out of Fever Tree 😱 - 12 bottles were delivered to our suite by the time we returned from dinner. A Perfect response. Where are you thinking of for your next trip? LP

A Walk Around Reykjavik:- 7.5km in 2 hours - our poor aching legs and feet 😬

We’ve arrived in Reykjavik 😁 Our flight was on time, unfortunately the usual 2 people in a row for 3 configuration in Club Europe was suspended so we had to squish in 3 - First World problems I know. It was to help with the Icelandic Air passengers who were stranded yesterday. Given the situation, it was hard to feel anything but fortunate that we had got away. The flight was thankfully short and uneventful. We arrived at 9am Iceland time and within 2 hours of landing we were at the Grand Hotel! Check in wasn’t available until 3pm, so we left our luggage and headed out for a (VERY) long walk in the Reykjavik sunshine- circa 15c, but very bright and hardly any wind. Photos to follow.

@swansong, this was precisely where you describe, no more personal check in for Club Class, l guess it still exists for First Class….. @Gilly It was a very recent change, I mentioned to one of the 2 BA staff that I really prefer a more personal check in experience. She was in complete agreement- her response was “Exactly” with a look on her face and inflection in her voice that left me in no doubt that she she wasn’t a fan of this latest change. At least the stewards on the plane were still human beings 🙄

We’ve checked our bags in at a very quiet LHR T5 - it was 5:10am, but given yesterday’s fiasco I thought it would be busier. Sadly BA have gone self service, even in Club Class, so you now have to print your own boarding passes and luggage tags, which you then attach yourself. There were a couple of BA staff around to help if you needed it. Even at the Lounge there is a self service kiosk, there was someone on the desk too. Our flight is about to begin boarding🤞

The orange parka would make it so much easier to recognise you😜 Hope your flights work out and you board In Reykjavik

We’re about to set off on our cruise from Reykjavik to Copenhagen on 31 August. It’s going to be a series of firsts: our first cruise on Splendor, our first time in Iceland and (gulp 😬) my first ever attempt to do a Live(ish) report on CC!! I’ve got really HUGE shoes to fill, thinking about recent reports from @Gilly @flossie009 @boblerm@WNcruiser and @GeorgiaPeach51 to name but a few….. We’ve just arrived at the Sofitel LHR ahead of our 7:10am flight tomorrow (hopefully NATS will be sorted by then) into Reykjavik. We’re in a Concierge suite, but are flying in one day earlier because we wanted to fly BA (DH is Silver on BA so it’s just about worth it, despite all the negative stuff…..) and they don’t fly on a Wednesday 🤷‍♀️ We’ll be staying in the Grand Reykjavik; we haven’t booked anything in Reykjavik, hoping we might get to visit the Blue Lagoon, we’ll see what’s available when we get there. I’ll report back tomorrow, hopefully we will get there unscathed 🤞 LP

Hope you get home safely and without delays. Apparently there are “Technical Issues” 🤔 causing chaos to the whole UK flight network 😬. We are about to leave for LHR, staying overnight for our 7:10am 😵‍💫 flight to Reykjavik tomorrow, 🤞hoping the situation will be remedied by then. Safe travels.

@Gilly, it’s been great travelling vicariously with you, who knows one day we might even be on the same cruise ☺️. We travel to Reykjavik next Tuesday board Splendor on 31 August - can’t wait. Safe travels home. LP

@boblerm, so happy to hear that you are reporting live from Splendor, we get on her as you depart. Safe travels and happy cruising LP

@Gilly love reading your reports and your blog. We board in 11 days in Reykjavik (who’s counting 😉) and it’s definitely whetting our appetite! One quick question if I may, are many people using the pool, given how far north you are? TIA LP

Methinks it’s all the G&T’s 🍸🥴

I’ll start working on it when we board Splendor on 31/8 🍸. @Gilly Shame you won’t still be onboard.

Some of my favourite G&T’s: 1) Hendricks, Grapefruit slices and FT Mediterranean Tonic 2) Rhubarb and Ginger Gin (Whitley Neil do a good one) with FT Ginger Ale 3) Hendricks, Cucumber and FT Tonic 4) Hendricks, Raspberries and FT Elderflower Tonic Preferably they should be served with a large chunk of ice, so that it chills rather than melts and dilutes 😋

Looking forward to reading your musings @Gilly. We board Splendor in Reykjavik on 31 August so you will help whet our appetites even further 😁 Have a wonderful trip. LP

My suitcases “complained” that they had been left in the hotel room while we were at dinner 😂….…..until I acknowledged the room as a safe location on Find My!

Thanks Techno, have just checked my Amex offers - I only have the Seabourn one. I checked with Amex, apparently it’s account specific, my husband doesn’t have it either, although he has different offers to me. You’d almost think they knew what we spend our money on🤔……….

Afraid not @Gilly, we’re flying to Reykjavik joining Splendor on 31 August headed for Copenhagen. Have a great time, I hope you get to the Faroes, never been but everyone I know who was impressed. I think we may be on the same Christmas cruise as @flossie009 - Mariner to the Amazon LP

@flossie009, @Gilly seems we will all be in the same area albeit in July, August and September - almost literally ships that pass in the night 😉 Hopefully your respective cruises will call at Stavanger. LP

Thanks for taking us along on n your trip @GeorgiaPeach51, sounds like it was great overall. Safe travels home. LP

Spoke to Regent in Southampton. They looked at the correspondence from Miami which just said that they decide on the ports a long time in advance and sometimes changes are needed. So essentially operational reasons. It may well be that the 2 Aida ships have booked all the available tours, who knows? Whatever the reason, getting excited or upset isn’t going to change anything. Just looking forward to the cruise - our first on Splendor, interested to compare her to the others.

I’ve checked the FB posts, it’s a possibility, but there are 2 Aida cruise ships due to be there on the same day. According to CruiseMapper Stavanger has a very busy schedule right through the summer. I will ask our TA but pretty much except a standard “operational reasons” response. I’ll report back as and when I get a response……..