Mr Rumor

Hi Victoria, I hope fellow blogger Jim (DeepFreeze63) sees your post, as he knows Barcelona well and would have some good suggestions.  Ginny and I will actually be strolling far into the madding crowds, having booked Gaudi and “Gourmet Foodie” half-day tours.  

We’re technically en route, having made it 70 miles to our Albuquerque Sunport area hotel this afternoon.  Only 5507 miles to go starting with a 12:22 p.m. flight to Dallas tomorrow.  When our third flight touches down in Barcelona on Monday afternoon, we’ll be greeted by partly sunny skies and a predicted high of 66.  The forecasts for the rest of our Barcelona stay, as well as Cadiz and Funchal:  sunny or party sunny with highs ranging from 57 to 64.  That’s almost toasty for us!

Thanks, Terri and Ray, I was happy to deliver that hug to Ginny just now.  Regarding Z and his walking boot on the Explorer—I recall that’s how I met my blogging buddy in the Constellation Theater!  I have a feeling that Ginny’s cast will function as her ID tag to one or more of our Splendor fellow cruisers.

Marcia, you ace reporter you, thanks for sharing the Splendor Ancona photo and especially two of the pages from the very first issue of Splendor’s Passages. I was interested to read that the Production Cast is already at it with the “World Premiere” of the disco-themed “Club Wonderland,” one of five new shows created exclusively for Splendor.   By the way, I understand that CD John has also prepared a new one-man show for the Splendor.

One of the reasons we decided to arrive in Barcelona early is for Ginny to get her Gaudi fix.  As you see below, she and Stowie have been doing their Gaudi homework.  I have no doubt that Ginny will impress our guide, a Gaudi expert, with her knowledge.  

About the other reading material in the photo, we’re aware that Barcelona has been called the pickpocket capital of the world, and we plan to take the appropriate precautions when we’re out and about (including at La Sagrada Familia)!

1 hour ago, 1teach53 said:

Rich, John and I are SO looking forward to you taking us along on this cruise! Your reports & pictures will be the highlight of our day! Hope Ginny continues to heal and will be back to 100% ASAP. 
This report will be of special interest to us as we will be on the February 25th sailing Miami to San Diego. 🥂🎉🥂 Rich, please make sure you have them work out all the “kinks” for us!  LOL! 💗

Best , Karen & John 

Karen and John, wonderful to have you at the table, and thanks for the sweet Ginny wishes.  She said to send Karen and John a hug (can you feel it?).

Tell you what, I'll see to it that 97% of the Splendor kinks are worked out by the time you board.  But you want there to be at least one or two residual kinks--it'll make the cruise more interesting!😄

19 hours ago, Kwaj girl said:

Oh, yes...., @Gilly - Ernie and Sherwin will likely join the crowd

What, Sandy, no Penny, Robbie or Mickey?  They'll pitch a fit!

19 hours ago, Zqueeze1 said:

Rich:  I am so looking forward to reading your excellent posts. They are always entertaining and well written. You have the gift, bro. Have a great time in BCN and have some pan con tomate for us who are left behind. Also, there’s a great restaurant called Caracol just off of Las Ramblas. 
Following this thread will be the highlight of my day. Too bad we are not on the Splendor until 2021☹️.
Fly safe. 

Z and TB

Thanks, Z and TB!  Z,  we've booked a "Private Gourmet Foodie" tour with a Tours by Local guide who operated his own Barcelona restaurant and who is obviously a gourmand.  I'm sure pan con tomate will be among the temptations along our route! That will be a perfect choice for vegetarian Ginny.

17 hours ago, gnomie1 said:

Hi Rich!

Will Shauna be joining you on this adventure?

gnomie

Not this time, gnomie.  But we're planning to make a Splendor 2021 Caribbean booking for three while onboard!

16 hours ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Hi Rich and Ginny

We sailed  with you on the Explorer TA in 2016 and had lunch in San Tropez. Hope you remember. 

Sheila 

Sheila, I might forget why I walked across the house from my office to our kitchen, but I clearly remember our meeting.  Ginny and I were seated at an outside table at a Saint Tropez cafe when you scooted up with a friend.  We moved a few inches so that you could make it to the table next to us.  We had a nice conversation and amazing crepes!  I was surprised with myself that I had the restraint to take this quick photo before devouring this gorgeous thing!

Ha,  the parade of food porn pics has started and I haven't even left the Land of Enchantment!

22 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

Now a job for you Rich if you don't mind -- can you find out once on board who will take over from Serena when she goes off duty.  We were hoping she would be our captain out of San Diego but apparently she won't.   We know Franck will be our GM.  And John the CD.  But the captain ??  

15 hours ago, JAG2003 said:

Rumor has it (no pun intended Rich 😂) Staff Captain Diego (Feb 06-25) will be promoted and take over as Captain when we leave Miami Feb 25.  A great guy, as are all Regent Captains (or gals!). Some of us will have sailed with him before.  

Ah, Diamond Lil has her sources--I like that!  Gerry, one of us will be sure to confirm once we're onboard.  

Good morning!  I just now had the chance to read all the 33 (!) first day's posts and I'm knocked out that already seven Splendor bloggers--Marcia, Jim, Sandy, Artie, Barb, Victoria (and me)--have posted.  Our number compares favorably to the eight who contributed regularly to the 2016 Explorer MV blog, which I was also pleased to host.  Go Team!!  And thanks and a sincere "We've been expecting you!" to all our guests who have taken their seats at the table.  On behalf of your hosts, we  hope you brought your appetites!

Rich

Jay travels in comfort!  Stowie can't wait to meet him--and Opus, and Paulie, and all the other Splendor stowaways!

Hello, friends, it's setting-the-table time for the maiden Splendor joint live blog! It's a big table this outing, with many leaves, as we're expecting a lot of you for "dinner" (and "breakfast" and "lunch")!

By the way, did you notice I just wrote "maiden"?   I've been itching to use that word in conjunction with the Splendor's February 6-20, 2020 Barcelona-Miami cruise after failing to locate "maiden" in any Regent description of this singularly special sailing.  (Regent finally came close in a recent e-mail by referring to our cruise as "Seven Seas Splendor's inaugural voyage"). 

You don't think Regent's decision to not use "maiden" in its marketing of Barcelona-Miami is a ploy to deny me my "Maiden Voyage" door plaque, do you?  I've been counting on placing that plaque next to my Explorer 2016 Maiden Voyage plaque on the side of my metal file cabinet!

Inaugural. . .  pre-christening. . .  maiden. . . however this cruise is described, we suddenly saw it flash before our eyes when Ginny fell at home early this month and fractured her left wrist!  Thankfully, the ER doc did such a good job re-setting it that her orthopedic surgeon decided to take a wait-and-see approach regarding surgery, which would have involved the insertion of a metal plate.  As long as the broken bones behaved themselves and didn't move inside Ginny's tight cast (a stylish number with a tightening dial) she would be "out of the woods."  Last week, a couple of sets of x-rays later, she finally was.  Phew!

So with three functioning arms between us, Mrs. Rumor and I will be Barcelona bound on Sunday.  We had originally signed up for Regent's pre-cruise tour "Timeless Barcelona and Medieval Cardona," but then decided to save the $1189 per person while keeping the early flights and do our own thing in Barcelona for three nights (we've engaged a local guide for a couple of tours).  Since there may be other contributors to our  blog who are planning an early Barcelona arrival, I decided to launch it a few days early, to accommodate those who might want to post about their pre-cruise adventures.

I'm looking forward to sharing the blogging baton with fellow Cruise Critic stalwarts Marcia aka "Diamond Lil"/JAG2003, Sandy/Kwaj girl and Jim/DeepFreeze63, among others.  I'm also hoping that Roll Call participant Popdog1,  a first-time Regent cruiser (you really know how to pick a cruise, Barb!), will pop in and grace this blog with her thoughts on Splendor as well as the overall Regent experience. 

A confession: Barcelona-Miami was actually a Splendor replacement pick for Ginny's and my 21st cruise with Regent.  I had originally booked the cruise that dozens of you will be on:  Los Angeles-Miami.  But even though I had some concern about chancing the Atlantic so early in the year (others must have, too, as the cruise hasn't quite sold out), I decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity for us to be aboard an "inaugural" voyage and a maiden Atlantic crossing at the same time.  It took me two cruises on the Explorer in 2016 to accomplish that feat.

And what better way to get familiar with a brand new ship and to renew acquaintances with favorite staff and crew, beginning with Captain Serena, the first woman in cruise industry history to helm a new ocean cruise ship at launch, than to spend 286 hours of our 324 hours-long cruise at sea?  Our original itinerary listed nine sea days, but we got a tenth one after Regent recently replaced our overnight Bermuda stop with an 18-hour call at San Juan,  to "facilitate a smoother disembarkation process" in Miami. (We plan to apply the $500 per person cruise credit Regent is providing for the 11th hour schedule change to an onboard 2021 Splendor booking.)

To spice up our time aboard the Splendor, Regent will be treating us to five new productions shows  and no fewer than 19 new "signature cocktails" boasting intriguing names such as Bon Soiree, Unlucky Irish and Quintessentially British (I felt a little woozy just typing that).  As I make my Splendor rounds, pocket notebook and pen at the ready,  I'll be sure to pause in the Constellation Theater.  My main beef with sister ship Explorer--it might have been yours, too--were the lousy, verging on non-existent, sightlines from the balcony.  Regent assures us that that issue has been addressed on the Splendor.  How many new cruise ship PR releases do you recall extolling the theater's "clear sightlines" in the first paragraph?  

While I'm Random Notes gathering or just drifting off to sleep after fooling myself into thinking I'll be watching a movie in our cabin, Ginny vows to keep crafting.  She has a couple of projects in mind that she is convinced she can execute largely one-handed.  If the results are as cute and sweet as I think they will be, I'll be sure to share a photo.

It will be great to have you following along!  The goal is to give you a taste, in words and (lots of) pics, of what you have to look forward to when you board the Splendor yourselves in the weeks and months to come. Enjoy, and don't hesitate to post your Splendor questions.  One of us will try to get you an answer.

OK, over to you, Splendor blogging mates!

Rich

That's my Ginny, perfectly cast for a Splendorific experience! 

Thanks, @boblerm, Ginny and I are looking forward to a Splendorific experience starting very soon, and are counting on your sailing along with us!

I was in fact lucky to be able to download Image Size from my stateroom while I had a good connection but agree it is best to download Snapseed and/or Image Size from home, and then get comfortable with the app(s) before pressing them into service onboard. 

I'm very curious to see how good of a connection we'll have aboard the Splendor.  No doubt that will be the subject of a post or three.

Rich

@Gilly and @boblerm, thank you so much for the introduction to, and mini-tutorial on, Snapseed.  On our Mariner Asia cruise last year, I downloaded Image Size in a near panic when I began receiving one "Upload Failed" message after another, and it was a blog-saver.  Now I have two file-downsizing options, which is extra comfort as I prepare to host a very special joint live blog starting some time next week!

Rich

Kathy and Susan, thank you for your wonderful joint blog.  It was a delight cruising along with you!

Rich

Hi friends—a quick note to let you know we made it back safely to the Land of Enchantment, and that Ginny and I have already hit the road again.  I can’t miss my 50th high school reunion!

I’ve had a chance to revisit all of your kind comments.  I appreciate every one and thank you for following along.  It continues to be my pleasure to live-blog our cruises, and I hope you’ll join me next February when I crank out my maiden set of Random Notes aboard the brand-new Splendor!

In closing, just because I like photo finishes, one more shot of Shauna, Regent’s newest Golden Girl.

12 hours ago, cr34102 said:

 

Sorry, forgot to sign off - 

 

Colleen Rucker

Hi Colleen—it has been a while!  We’re so glad you and Allan will be joining us on the Splendor.  We’ve signed up for the Meet and Mingle and are poised to finally join the Roll Call.  Maybe we could continue our chat there?

On 10/15/2019 at 5:22 AM, Kwaj girl said:

Thanks for taking us along,  Mr Rumor.  We will see you on Splendor!

Stowie is already beginning to count down the days!

On 10/15/2019 at 3:45 PM, boblerm said:

Rich,

Thank you for yet another interesting and informative trip report.

I'm glad to hear that you are doing a "test run" for us on Splendor, we are on the March 14 voyage (along with over 40 CC members).

Bob

Bob, I've referred in the past to my first blog post as "setting the table."  On Barcelona-Miami it looks like my entire blog (actually, joint blog, I hope) will be setting the table for the CC40+ on San Diego-Miami.   And I'm delighted with that!

Speaking of bidding adieu, look who we got to say goodbye as we were walking off the ship!  Captain Ari, it was a delight cruising with you—let’s do it again!

She looked beautiful when we first set our eyes on her in Montreal. She looks beautiful today as we bid adieu. Kwaj girl, Linda and John, pingpong1 and any CCers I missed, I hope your Navigator cruise is every bit as terrific as ours was!

Docking in the Big Apple—a wonderful cruise comes to an end!  (I was a part of the huddled mass on Deck 11 for the sail-in an hour before dawn.  Lady Liberty was magnificent, my photos in the dark were’nt!)

3 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

Rich - when are you and Ginny on the Splendor ??  

Good morning, Gerry!  Just under two weeks after our stewardess— Barcelona-Miami!

Packing continues apace.  Shauna is amused watching mom and dad scurrying around from the comfort of the couch.  She was a champ on the Cliff Walk and up and down The Breakers’ stairs this morning.  Her reward was a nice long nap.

We just learned that our wonderful stewardess Suzanne (Philippines, fourth Regent contract) has been assigned to the Splendor!   On January 23 Regent will fly Suzanne from the Navigator in Melbourne to Ancona, Italy where she will join the  Splendor in Ficantieri’s Ancona shipyard.  Her and her fellow stewardesses’ charge will be setting up the furniture and preparing the cabins. “This will be my first time on the opening team,” she said  said.  “I’m excited!”  Ginny and I look forward to catching up with Suzanne when we board the Splendor a little less than four months from now!

7 hours ago, Anchorbuoy said:

Rich:

Did you stay up late last night and check out the Cape Cod Canal ?

I saw it in my dreams, Jim!

Blue breaking over The Breakers this morning.

The Amazing Grace will be assisting in our Newport tendering operation today.

Gnomie and Linda, thank you for your posts about the Navigator’s NYC sail-in!  We wouldn’t dare miss it and Lady Liberty!  What a great cap to a wonderful cruise this will be.  We’ll bundle up and savor every second!  (And, gnomie, we’ll be waving back!)