boblerm
-
Posts
2,508 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Store
Blogs
Downloads
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by boblerm
-
-
Thanks so much for this fabulous report!
-
Gill, I am so happy to see that you are cruising again!
Very much looking forward to following along with you here,
and here
https://www.elegantsufficiency.org/
-
1
-
-
5 hours ago, kjbacon said:
We had a wonderful trip, didn’t we? I hope to sail with you and Jeannie again!
Indeed!
It was a pleasure meeting you and Jack, all the best to you, wishing you many more wonderful future cruises!
-
I did a review of the cruise on the Cruise Critic Review section which can be found here:
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=712368
-
3
-
-
2 hours ago, kjbacon said:
If you ask for a perfect sea day, you will get yesterday
A big +1 on that!
There was a "seafood extravaganza" on the pool grill at lunchtime which was very nice.The movie, "The Burial" was shown in the Constellation in the afternoon but since this movie is available on Amazon Prime, I decided to defer watching until I get home so that I could spend my precious cruise time on more productive endeavors. Like napping on the pool deck.Dinner at Chartreuse was a bit of a mixed bag.Jeannie had the Beetroot Salad which is always good
I was fascinated with "crispy escargot", so had to try it. This is what it looks like
Hah?But yes, there is escargot in there
The dish tasted very good, but for me, there was way too much bread and too little escargot. I think I'll stick with the CR version from now on.The mushroom soup in Chartreuse is not to be missed ; the Grandeur version seems to differ from that of the other ships in that it contains "egg yolk confit", which made this soup even more flavorful.The Dover Sole was a little disappointing, it was thicker and less moist than the one we had in CR.
The Beef Tenderloin Rossini is, IMHO, the best cut of beef that Regent offers.
The final production show, also new on the Grandeur, was, "Ignite the Night ".This show featured the dancers of the cast, the fabulous singers were present to more or less support the dancers.I have honestly never seen anything on a cruise ship quite like this one. I am no expert in evaluating the dancing arts, but I thought that the quality and creativity of the choreography and of the performance rivals any that I have seen anywhere.And whomever is responsible for the lighting and the design of the projected scenery should get an award, the stage is a 45 minute visual delight.If you are cruising on Grandeur, and only see one show - to be clear, I strongly recommend seeing all of the shows - but if you only see one, make it this one.You won't be sorry.-
4
-
-
On 2/13/2024 at 6:08 PM, taxman1 said:
The comedian last night was ok. He had a couple bits which were funny but the days of a screaming comic are somewhat gone.
We thought that he was hilarious. Different strokes.
On 2/14/2024 at 9:01 AM, taxman1 said:must say I think the entertainment aboard the ship has been some of the best at sea. The cast can dance and sing.
Agreed!
On 2/14/2024 at 9:01 AM, taxman1 said:Ok, I admit I got a little lost on the story line but I am typically 2 city blocks behind everyone else when it comes to that anyway
Definitely not everyone else. I found the plot to be incomprehensible, as I do for all of Regent's story line shows.
No matter, forget the story line, the show was fabulous.
-
We had an absolutely glorious day in Tortola yesterday.Our excursion was "Scenic Island Tour and Beach Break."We drove around in an open air vehicle for several scenic overlooks
We passed by a wall where there were many murals painted by local artists, our tour guide described several of them as we passed
Then arrived at Cane Garden Beach, we stayed about an hour and 45 minutes
This was a highly enjoyable excursion.Another winner at Compass Rose.The matzah ball soup was maybe not quite as good as Bubby used to make, but pretty darn good.Truffle meatballs
Roast turkey, asked for dark meat
An amazing rosemary garlic roasted lamb rack
Comedian Phil Tag did a return performance, we thought he was hilarious.
-
9
-
-
1 hour ago, Whinenowine said:
That's awesome...one of the best lines of a great movie. Who knew back then that Mandy was so versatile.
If anyone is not in the loop
-
1
-
-
As @kjbaconhas mentioned, St. Barts is a very hit or miss port, hooray that yesterday was a hit!
Our excursion was "Sailing the Leeward Coast, a simple catamaran ride to a pretty bay.
We had the option of swimming to the beach, (no one did), or we could take a" noodle"and swim around the boat(not us)
We were offered fruit, cheese and popcorn, water, soft drinks, rum punch or
It was a pleasant, serene way of spending time at St. BartsThere was a Carnivale parade in the afternoon.
We got back to the ship late, about 3pm, there was an Indian buffet on the pool deck.We also tried for the first time the lobster nachos. The lobster was very tender - what we could find of it. Searching for lobster chunks was kind of like being on a scavenger hunt.
We were pretty full at dinner time*, so had a more smallish dinner that usual - 2 courses rather than 3. Oh, the sacrifices!I started with corn and coconut veloute, Jeannie the tuna carpaccio
Scallops from the everyday side
And chateaubriand
Perfect!Somehow we managed to finish.There was another new production show "Marauders Ball".. a pirate show.In general, I am not a fan of the shows that attempt stories, as I can rarely if ever follow the plot. This one was no different. Something about pirates taking over a ship.But about 1/3 the way through, I decided to stop trying to figure out what in Sam Hill the story line is, and just focus on the amazing visuals; the glorious costumes the fabulous on stage props, the brilliant back drop scenery , the beautiful lighting. It was a feast for the eyes.Combine that with the magnificent voices and dancing, the intricate choreography that included sword play reminiscent of Inigo vs Westley....Bravo!
*This may be the first time I have uttered these words on a cruise ship.-
6
-
-
2 hours ago, Whinenowine said:
Though I married into a family who roots for their stadium-mates. Your D is great...good luck on the QB next season.
My daughter, who reminds me yearly that my greatest failure as a father was bringing her up a J*t fan, also married into that kind of family.
Thanks, we will need all of the luck we can get!
-
3 hours ago, Jlhalldc said:
oved everything about Grandeur except the theater seating configuration. The middle rows are almost impossible to enter once people sit on the ends. The moveable red chairs butt up against the immovable cocktail tables. I watched people actually climb over and stand on the bench seats to enter the middle seats. 🙂
I'm glad that you mentioned this, I found the same but wasn't sure whether or not this was different from the other ships or if it was my imagination.
Note that I encountered this issue on the first night of the cruise, not late in the cruise when navigating into any seats might be problematic! 😳
-
1
-
1
-
-
I think that any of the seats that are in front of the posts and are not way off to the side are just fine.
I second the motion of @papaflamingofor arriving at 9:15, in addition to picking seats it will give you time to order drinks if you wish. They stop taking orders when the show starts, and they start promptly at 9:30.
BTW, the current production cast on the Grandeur is as good as I have seen!
-
2
-
-
We had a very pleasant tour in St. Lucia yesterday called "Island Splendor"
We toured a mansion with a scenic overlook
We went to an art gallery where they do amazing sculpture carvings from various types of wood
We drove to the village of Anse La Raye, where there is a beach and a vendor stand. The vendors here engage in, shall we be say, vociferous marketing techniques.
Then to the lovely Marigot Bay
As a fan of a team that I am too embarrassed to name, I feel behooved to post this picture of a school that was built through money donated by by Leon Hess, the former owner of said team. It is green and white.Not the eagles.
Our tour guide was informative, engaging and pleasant.There was a top tier Seven Seas Society (gold and above) event before dinner where cruise director David Nevens a did a vocal performance, this man can sing! Fabulous voice.Dinner at CR was very nice, but Mr and Mrs boblerm had some difference of opinions.I had the Duck terrine with Asian spices and loved it. Jeannie tasted it and found it chewey.
We both had the chicken and vegetable spring roll with Thai sweet chili sauce and both loved it
I had the pan fried dorade filet and really enjoyed the bold flavor, but Jeannie found it too strong a taste. Different strokes.
Jeannie ordered the lamb chops medium rare. Of the 2 chops, one was prepared properly, the other was more medium. But still very good.
Profiteroles!
The evening entertainment was a comedian, Phil Tag, really funny-
8
-
-
4 hours ago, CJANDH said:
You missed the best part! 😁
2 hours ago, -Lew- said:
Most are available on YouTube...Good to know, because having missed the SB commercials, I will be totally out of the loop in terms of pop culture when I return home.
But David offered some interesting and informative trivia questions. For example, I learned what Heisman trophy winner never played in a super bowl and kills people.
Ok, not exactly how the question was worded🙄
-
We had a 1 PM arrival in Grenada yesterday. In the morning, attended lectures by Jim Kennedy of NASA and Jeana Rogers who discussed St. Barts.
Our afternoon excursion was a visit to Palm Tree Gardens. We boarded a van that was in dire need of new shock absorbers for a half hour drive to the gardens over a very bumby road.Thouroughly rattled, we arrived at the gardens,where there are hundreds of varieties of plants including 40 palm varieties. We were given a tour by an extremely knowledgeable young man who gave us a great education about these beautiful plants. So I think I can say that I now have a vast knowledge of Carribean flora. Or would have, surely, if I were able to retain newly learned facts for more than 30 minutes or so.
We rattled our way back to the pier. We dined at Setti Mari. We enjoyed tthe bruschetta and appetizer bar, then we each had one of the 2 minestrone choices which were very nice.Jeannie had the veal scaloppine marsala,
and I the veal chop.
We each had a side of pasta to go with.Both were excellent.There was a sporting event shown in the Constellation, but as my team has not taken part in this event for the past 55 years, my interest was only moderate.The live feed does not have super bowl commercials, so during time outs cruise director David came on stage for some fun super bowl trivia.
-
8
-
-
Our tour in Bonaire was called "Bonaire Highlights and Cultural Explorer". The excursion that we were on bore no resemblance to what was described in the excursion listing.
Oh well.We visited a museum where there was a display of a Bonairian home from years past, and we sampled Cadushi liquour
We stopped at the site of the slave huts. We had visited this site years ago, where our to guide gave us an explanation of the horrible conditions that enslaved people had to endure. Our guide only discussed it as a diving site.
Of course, there was this
In the afternoon there was a very interesting lecture by former NASA director Jim Kennedy on the past and future of space exploration.Seven Sea Society party before dinner, officers introduced and we were entertained by one of the lead singers, Erica, who has a fabulous voice.Dinner at Pacific Rim was pretty much perfection.Starters were tuna tartar
Peking duck and watermelon salad
Soft shell crab tempura
Vegetable pot stickers
We paired our starters with cold sake very nice.Our mains were lobster tempura
Chinese barbecue pork ribs
Side dishes of noodles and vegetables
Finished with Thai coconut and tapioca pudding
We loved every dish.Speaking of perfection, the Constellation featured a return performance of Patty Dess. All I can say isW O W ! ! !-
7
-
-
Yesterday we were in Curaçao.
It was raining pretty good when we left for our excursion, Curaçao Highlights.We drove around for a bit, but it was difficult to see much through the rain drops on the windows.Our first stop was to be the Curaçao Maritime Museum.Our driver parked and we walked in the rain down a few alleyways, to find that the museum was closed. Our tour guide got on the phone for about 10 minutes trying to figure out what to do, then told us that we would come back later.One would think that the tour company would know the operating hours of the places that they take you to.Oh well.
The rain stopped and it was beautiful for the rest of the day.I spied some iguanas amongst thebougainvillea
We stopped at a scenic overlook where there was a handicraft market.
Next we went to a distillery where they make Curaçao liquor and had some samples.
We returned to the Maritime Museum which was thankfully open. Our guide gave us a tour, and I learned much more about the Dutch and Spanish maritime history and industry than I ever wanted to know.
Then returned to the ship.
I thought that this excursion is only ok.For me, he stops were not great, the best part was the scenery along the drive.Walked around for a while in the afternoon.
There was an outdoor barbecue on the pool deck followed by deck party. We chose to dine are Compass Rose.It was pretty much a fiasco. They were short staffed as servers needed to be pulled for the barbecue. After we were seated our assistant waiter promptly brought our bread basket and poured water, but 25 minutes later we had seen neither hide nor hair a waiter. We flagged down the assistant waiter, she went off to speak to someone, then returned to take our order. She serviced our table for the rest of the meal, which is not her job, and did an very well.The tuna tataki was great
as were the mulligatawny soup and lobster bisque.Jeannie's bronzino was excellent, moist and flavorful
But my thai barbecue pork rack was a disaster. It was dry, tough and very plain in taste.
St Honore cake
After dinner we went up to the pool deck for the party, lots of fun.
-
4
-
-
6 hours ago, flossie009 said:
We have been comparing the pictures of Spring/Summer rolls in your posts #69 and #72.
Some differences in presentation 😧 .................. but which tasted better? 😋 😉
Thanks to all for the reports from Grandeur
The one in #69 was way better since I made it with my own little hands! 😁
-
2
-
2
-
-
Yesterday in Aruba our tour was "Aruba Sightseeing and Ostrich Farm".
First stop was the Casabari rock formations.
Our tour guide told us that it was an easy climb to the top, but easy for some I guess.
Next stop was the ostrich farm. They are really fascinating birds.
He is trying, but she does not seem impressed
Next we went to the site of natural bridge, or what used to be the natural bridge before it collapsed in 2005
But there remains a "baby bridge" which is not too shabby
Last stop, the California Lighthouse
It was a pretty enjoyable tour.Excellent dinner at Compass RoseSnow Crab Summer Roll
We had Moroccan Haira Duck Soup and Chicken Consumme Milanaise, both excellent.Always available lobster tail
And Dover Sole
The production show was another brand new one called "Broadway Unplugged". It was the 4 lead singers doing Broadway tunes completely re-imagined, done in styles completely different from the originals. Imagine "Empty Chairs" from Les Miz done in the styleof Johnny Cash, or a Phantom medley as C&W. Or King George III from Hamilton singing "You'll be Back", but instead of singing to the American revolutionaries, he is singing to his ex in the audience who jilted him.You get the idea.I have to give the Regent creative team props for originality. And major props to the singers, over the top voices.-
8
-
-
23 hours ago, taxman1 said:
The service was very attentive but felt a bit rushed in an effort to turn over the table
We always inform our server of our preference as to the pacing of service. When giving our orders, we generally tell our server that we would like a leisurely pace with some time between courses.
OTOH, if you are in a bit of a rush, say, to catch a show, a heads up to the server will help as well.
-
4
-
-
Yesterday morning, Jeannie and I took a culinary arts class called "Wok and Roll".
I approached this with a bit of trepidation, as my cooking skills are pretty much limited to making toast. But I think that I did pretty well if I do say so myself!
We cooked tom kha gai soup, duck and pomelo spring rolls, and shrimp pad tai.Jeannie's roll
Bob's roll.
The chef paid me a complement for my inventiveness, he said that he never saw a roll before that looks like a dog bone.!😁Jeannie's work station
Bob's work station
Everything tasted great.We had dinner at Compass Rose, @kjbacon mentioned that she thought that service was slow, but for us it was perfectly paced. We generally ask for leisurely paced service with some time between courses, because if we don't, we sometimes find that service can be rushed.I had the always available escargot, always great.
The panko encrusted shrimp, if this is on the menu I would alway get it. If I have a specialty the evening it is offered, I would special order it for another evening.
The Cajun Spiced Snapper may have been the only fish dish that I have had in CR in recent years that was somewhat disappointing. The flavors were OK, but the fish was a little dry and overcooked.
Jeannie had the seared scallop dish that kjbacon had, and agree, it was wonderful.Grand marnier souffle for desert.
The show last night was called "Icons", new for the Grandeur, featuring music from the Pointer Sisters, Hall and Oats, the Bee Gees, the Carpenters, Adele, and Celine Dion. The singers and dancers of this cast are all top notch.I found the first half of the show to be rather uninspiring. While well performed, I just wasn't into the song choices very much. But for me, the show hit it's stride half way through, and I loved the second half.When we returned to our room, we found mid cruise comment cards. Let's see... third night of a 12 night cruise... I question the mathematics here. 😂-
5
-
-
2 hours ago, Mahogany said:
You didn't even like the last scene in Barbie? 😂
I did, because the movie was over.
In fairness, Mrs boblerm wanted me to post her review
-
2
-
-
Very nice relaxing sea day yesterday.
Here are some activities available on deck 12
-01.jpeg.11ba4b7b8a1a570f1359ca6b25d48659.jpeg)
-01.thumb.jpeg.1b98bafcecdba8e898b5e52915b69283.jpeg)
We attended an interesting lecture by historian Jeana Rogers on an introduction to the Caribbean.There was a wine tasting at 10:30AM, because one can never start too early, apparently.In the afternoon there was a Big Screen Popcorn Movie : Barbie.Here is my reviewThe popcorn, however, was great.Dining at Compass Rose on this ship is like being in a Gaudi wonderland
Dinner was great. We both had the cream of asparagus soup, I don't think that I have ever been disappointed with soups in CR.
I had the beef carpacio from the Always Available side, I think this is the first time I have had this, but it surely won't be the last 😋
The Duck a l'orange was very good
But the star of the evening was the sake glazed salmon
The evening show was Diva Extravaganza by a guest entertainer Patty Dess.I hated.... for it to end! She did songs by Aretha, Diana, Ella, Etta, Whitney, Tina. Her dynamic vocals and charisma brought the house down. The good news is that she is doing another show later in the cruise, can't wait!1 hour ago, kjbacon said:. I have mentioned before that our cabin is noisy but it needs saying again, our cabin is way too noisy!
I guess it's just the luck of the draw, our cabin is quiet as can be.-
5
-
-
On Grandeur, in the Observation Lounge, the forward windows are tinted. I do not recall that being the case on Explorer or Splendor.... but then again, I don't always recall everything correctly.
At 6PM the side windows
The forward windows
Suboptimum.
-
1
-
-01.jpeg.11ba4b7b8a1a570f1359ca6b25d48659.jpeg)
-01.jpeg.4162af7cd326306e6fb9bfef6391a06f.jpeg)
My Cruise, Tauck Ms Joy, A review
in River Cruising
Posted
@Maybelline Truedid you just disembark today in Amsterdam? If so, we were on the same cruise! And I couldn't have said it better (really, I couldn't possibly! 😁) it was a fabulous cruise, highly recommended.
It was a great itinerary the cuisine was fabulous the tour directors and local guides were first rate, the cuisine was fabulous ... did I already say that?
Anyway, let me second your remarks about Keueknhof, I had high expectations for this place, and my expectations were exceeded.