Mr Rumor

25 minutes ago, Hambagahle said:

The beautiful Splendor glided into her berth at San Diego at 0600 or a little before this morning.  We saw her come in and after the comments above we really hope we shall be sailing out of the harbour on her this Saturday.

 

Gerry, I was going to wish you a wonderful cruise, but now I just wish you and Ken a cruise!  Seriously, fingers crossed there will be no breaking developments and that you and Ken and the others who are carrying on with San Diego-Miami will have a splendid time.  This veteran (since 2012) Hambagahle blog reader will be looking forward to your every post/observation!

Rich

Loved your blog, Crisy--thank you!  But you did me no favors with all those terrific food photos! I think gained five pounds just ogling them (and then hitting the refrigerator)!

Rich

Roberto, I think your above post (157)  ranks up there with your NYC and Citadel posts from the past as my favorite Z & TB post ever. . . beautiful and bittersweet, just like your final day.   My thanks and appreciation to you as always for generously taking us along, and then royally entertaining us every day with your words and pics.  I probably speak for a few others when I tell you I needed every chuckle this time, given the stresses and challenges of the day.  I look forward to your final thoughts on the cruise when you have a chance to settle in back home, but what I really look forward to (positive thinking here) is to cruise with you and Pam again some day.  Would be a joy!

Rich

Got the Chuckle Meter out, Roberto!  It has been souped up and now measures guffaws!  I know it’s going to get a super workout in the days to come.  Wishing you and Pam a wonderful cruise!

So glad you've picked up the Splendor blogging baton, cruisin'!  Have a great, great cruise!

14 minutes ago, mrstanley said:

Thanks for the great reporting and pictures! We can't wait to board on Tuesday! Safe travels home!

Thanks!  Even without the CC Beatles I predict you’ll have a fab time!

19 minutes ago, 1teach53 said:

Rich, thank you so VERY much for your wonderful reporting! Always a pleasure to read. 
Please travel safe. 
Karen 

Thanks, Karen—wishing you and John a fantastic time on your maiden Splendor cruise!

Check-out time!

Meanwhile, Splendor will soon be served a bountiful breakfast (lunch and dinner).

The view we woke up to this morning. Beautiful, and just a tiny bit bittersweet.

Well, what a fab ending to our cruise!  I’m not just talking about the two-night Constellation stand by the Cavern Club Beatles...

...And the special Constellation Theater Q&A today with Julia Baird, John Lennon’s half-sister and one of the seven directors of the legendary Liverpool club where the Beatles performed 292 times starting on February 7, 1961.

I’m also referring to tonight’s early show in the Constellation—the “world premiere” of the Splendor Production Cast’s “Divos & Divas.”  The celebration, in song and dance, of vocalists ranging from Celine Dion to Freddy Mercury, Rod Stewart to Gloria Estefan, is a smash and a must see!  The Splendor cast is the best Regent Production Cast we’ve had the pleasure to be entertained by.  Their four months of rehearsals really shows in “Divos & Divas” and the three other productions that were on the schedule on this cruise.  For those of you who are Splendor bound, you are in store for a series of real treats!  

While there could be another post or three from one or more of us, I want to take the opportunity now to thank you on behalf of the team for following along, and for all your kind words.   We hope we served up enough tasty Splendor morsels to sate you until you have your chance to experience this beautiful ship and the extraordinary staff and crew.

Good night!

Our haul from the Regent Reward Prize Redemption just now: a charcoal cinch bag (40 points) and a global key chain (10 points). Thanks to our banker, Kwaj girl, for the extra several points!  (The leftover point gives us a start for our Splendor cruise No. 2 next year.)

Stowie is going to miss our wonderful housekeepers Jade and May.  So are we!

A funny thing happened on my way to the infinity pool—I ran into the Splendor’s good humor man getting a haircut from celebrity stylist Martin of Serene Spa and Wellness (he has cut Ellen DeGeneres’ and Christina Aguilera’s hair).  “It’s my birthday and christening cut,” CD John quipped.  “I’ll be 44, and still the youngest Regent cruise director!”

Good morning from Splendor’s Infinity Pool.  It’s the last of our 10 sea days and the 14th and final day of our cruise.  Miami in the morning!

Our last two nights’ headline entertainment boarded in San Juan yesterday after flying in all the way from England.  We didn’t rock much in the Atlantic but we’ll be rocking in the Constellation Theater—Yeah yeah yeah!

21 hours ago, Zqueeze1 said:

How was the piña colada in Barrachina?  We’ve had them there before, but with Don Q and They were pretty good. 
Z and TB

Drat, I should have thought to specify Don Q.  The drink was OK, but I’ve had better PC’s.  Don’t think it was a generous pour of rum—got a brain freeze but not a buzz!  

1 hour ago, Hambagahle said:

Tell Joël that I will be looking for him when we eat at Chartreuse and that I am from the Valais - but French speaking part, town called Martigny!!!

He was amazed that you responded so quickly (I read your response to him).  He seemed familiar with Martigny and looks forward to meeting you and Ken!

7 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

Even a crew member from Switzerland!!  Any idea who?  Where from??

Gerry, you are not going to believe this!  For the first time ever on a Regent cruise Ginny and I decided to have lunch today in a specialty restaurant. We chose Chartreuse because of the wonderful dinner we had there. 

We enjoy chatting with our servers.  This time Ginny spoke up first, asking Joel where he is from.  Joel replied with a smile:  “Switzerland.” 

Boing!

Joel, from Bern and on his second Regent contract, can be found in Chartreuse every evening.  He rotates between Chartreuse, La Veranda,  and Pool Grill at lunch.  You’ll like him!

By the way, my Grilled Salmon Fillet with roasted artichokes and celeriac, gherkin salsa and champagne Hollandaise sauce was outstanding.  The salmon was cooked just as I ordered it, medium rare.

25 minutes ago, krm55 said:

Thank you Mr Rumor for sharing your experiences. I love when you travel and share. Where are you going next? We are lucky to be boarding on the 25th also. Safe travels.

 

Karen

Thank you, Karen!  Ginny and I are very excited about our next Regent cruise, Copenhagen-Reykjavik aboard the Explorer in July.  Please pull up a chair to that one!

If I had known about the good luck symbols Captain Serena would be sporting by the time we set sail on this Maiden Voyage, I might not have agonized about booking a transatlantic in the middle of winter.  I came so close to passing on this cruise.

You see I had a certain image in my mind.  It is an image that Ginny—who normally lets me have my blogging fun without any interference—would not permit me to post until we had our “Certificate of Crossing the Transatlantic” safely in our hands (we received them last night): 

I was on this ship!

It was my second cruise as the brand-new Royal Viking Sea’s first newspaper editor, and the Sea’s and my first Atlantic crossing.  

Here is how I summed up the experience in a post on the Royal Viking Line Veterans Facebook page several years ago:

“Winds that reached hurricane force. . . Seas that peaked at “very high” (nine to fourteen meters!). . . Speed cut at one point to four knots. . . Eight (count ‘em, eight!) route changes. . . Waves that were strong enough to put a dent in a brand new ship’s gleaming white nose. . .

“Yep that was some maiden Atlantic crossing. . . .  You could describe the January 5-12, 1974 storm that was felt from the East Coast of the United States to the west coast of Norway as the Sea’s second christening, by King Neptune himself.

“And yet the Sea, on only its second voyage, was a mere two days late sailing from Southampton to Ft. Lauderdale.  The 100-or-so mainly British passengers had a story to tell for the rest of their lives.  And so did a 22-year-old SKALD editor brand new to cruising—me!”

And now I’ve shared that story with you.  May your future transatlantics be like the Splendor’s maiden crossing, and nothing like the Sea’s!

An Atlantic crossing, especially in the dead of winter, can be a chancy thing.  Which is why, even if for a veteran mariner like Captain Serena, you want every edge.  So in Ancona, shortly before the Splendor set sail, the captain went shopping.  She returned to the ship with two pendants, one of aquamarine, said to bring good luck to sailors, the other of an owl, a symbol of knowledge and wisdom. The pendants complement a stunning cathedral-window pendant created by Croatian artist Seba Dizajn artist that has a special personal meaning to the captain. With these powerful symbols, how could the Splendor not have have had a beautiful crossing!

37 minutes ago, Hambagahle said:

Even a crew member from Switzerland!!  Any idea who?  Where from??

I’ll find out for you, Gerry—I’m curious, too!

I read it in Passages, so it must be true:  Krew Kapers, signaling the near end of our fantastic Splendor maiden voyage, is scheduled for 6 p.m. today.

Kapers, long a part of the Captain’s Farewell and a cruise super highlight for so many of us, is my cue to share some crew stats with you.

Our Splendor 576 crew members—we passengers are outnumbered by crew on this cruise!—hail from 45 countries.  Males outnumber the females by a hefty number, 429-147.

As always, the Philippines leads the way with 222 crew members, 167 male and 55 female.  India follows with 91 males and two females, and Indonesia is third with 34 males and six females.  

Here is the complete Crew Nationality Breakdown for Seven Seas Splendor’s Maiden Voyage, Barcelona-Miami, February 6-20, 2020:

Philippines, 222

India, 93

Indonesia, 40

Ukraine, 30

Honduras, 20

United Kingdom, 18

Italy, 17

Romania, 13

Serbia, 13

France, 11

Myanmar, 9

Bulgaria, 8

South Africa, 7

United States, 7

Croatia, 6

Mexico, 6

Mauritius, 5

Poland, 5

Panama, 4

Peru, 4

Venezuela, 3

Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2

Canada, 2

Chile, 2

China, 2

Germany, 2

Jamaica, 2

Kyrgyzstan, 2

Macedonia, 2

Montenegro, 2

Portugal, 2

Russia, 2

Albania, 1

Australia, 1

Bolivia, 1

Belarus, 1

Colombia, 1

Greece, 1

Malaysia, 1

Moldova, 1

Nepal, 1

Saint Lucia, 1

Slovakia, 1

Slovenia, 1

Switzerland, 1

We loved OSJ and are looking forward to walking its narrow streets again—this time with daughter Shauna—on our next Splendor cruise just over a year from now. 

My fave shot of the day in OSJ:

Z, we took our guide Ingrid’s suggestion and tried Restaurant Barrachina on Fortaleza.  Not only for its version of mofongo, but also because it vigorously lays claim to being the originator of the pina colada—to the point of etching the claim in marble next to its front door!   (Ingrid told us that San Juan’s Caribe Hilton has a dueling claim.)

The pina colada has a special place in Ginny’s and my life as it was the drink we ordered on our first date aboard the Royal Viking Sea in January of 1977, only several hours after we met (I was the Sea’s editor while Ginny was traveling with her parents and grandmother).  We have a tradition of toasting our charmed meeting with one pina colada per Regent cruise.  We figured that better place this time around than Barrachina?!

Also, Z, big thanks for the tip about “mofongo,” the local specialty. Glad we ordered just one between us (vegetarian to score hubby points with Ginny).  Have the grand Pool Deck BBQ tonight!