Navigator May 30 Vancouver to Seward

[markwoll]

A bit late in posting this, we have been busy.

The refit in Vancouver was probably 99.5% done when we boarded.

There were a few contractors working up until a slightly delayed departure.

It looks like all of the public areas, restaurants, and at least our cabin were re-carpeted.

The ship has a fresh coat of paint and much of the teak decking has been replaced.

 

The weather has been pretty fine.

Vancouver was intermittently rainy , departure was in the rain.

The rain followed us to Ketchikan, which was to be expected. Temps in the 50's.

It was raining when we were picked up by the Tracy Arm cruise.

The sun broke free of the clouds as we approached the Sawyer glacier and stayed out till sunset. It was glorious.

Take the Tracy Arm & Glacier explorer tour, well worth it.

Juneau was also sunny and in the high 50's.

 

Sette Mari ( La Veranda in the evening ) is very nice. We have had two meals there so far. The service is wonderful and the food is ...wonderful as well.

It has an Italian themed menu with Antipasti and desserts served from the buffet, everything else is table service.

We do not have anything to compare it to so we are very impressed.

I have spoken with several other couples who have chosen Setti Mari as their restaurant for the trip.

Prime 7 was pretty awesome, that was out first nights meal.

 

gotta go, tour in Skagway this morning.

 

Mark.

[tallship]

Thanks for posting. Glad you like the newly done restaurant. Looking forward to hearing more.

[Travelcat2]

Thanks for the update Mark! From the photographs I've seen of the ship, she looks awesome. If you find time to post again, would like to hear whether you are finding La Veranda crowded in the morning and at lunch.

[journeyfan]

Yes, Mark. I also would like to know if La Veranda is crowded at breakfast and lunch. We have found that to be the case in previous cruises and from the photo I saw posted of what La Veranda looks like after the refit, it appears even smaller. Are they opening Prime 7 to accommodate the overflow?

[RachelG]

Does the sette mari menu change night to night or week to week, or is always the same?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On our recent Navigator cruise they did open up Prime 7 to handle the overflow at breakfast and lunch.

[markwoll]

We have not eaten at La Veranda before dinner.

There was no problem getting a table for dinner.

We rise pretty early and our excursion times have not given us a chance to try them out yet. Perhaps tomorrow.

The pool deck breakfast and lunch have suited me so far.

 

Mark

[markwoll]

Sunday June 3

A beautiful sunny day in Skagway.

We passed on the champagne and caviar for breakfast opting for more conventional fare.

Marco or Umberto at the Navigator Lounge has my quad shot of espresso ready without asking.

The White Pass railroad scenic tour was fun.

Scenery beautiful and forbidding.

The Gold Rush time must have been amazing and horrific for all those involved.

The Navigator is the only ship in port, so we have the place to ourselves.

It's pretty cool how just about every port's name translates to '50 Jewelery Shops'.

Setti Mari for dinner again tonight, and we may try Compass Rose for breakfast.

 

 

Mark

[markwoll]

quick update.

We did eat at La Veranda on the first morning at sea.

It was quick and easy, no crowding. It was early, right after they opened.

We did not order anything special.

We shall see tomorrow as our internal clocks may allow us to sleep in a bit more.

 

mark

[gresham]

Where can I find photos of the Navigator after the refit??

[markwoll]

Monday June 4

Another stunning day in Alaska.

Today was Sitka. According to the locals, the second day of sunshine in more than 5 weeks.

We had breakfast in the Compass Rose, pretty much had the place to ourselves.

Perhaps 15 others. I guess we slept in.

The seas were a bit rough over night but we slept like babies.

Most folks had tendered over to Sitka, or had been picked up by tour boats at the ship.

We tendered over with some stuff to mail from the post office.

We took in the Totem park, which is just a few blocks from the dock.

Very nice, many totem poles on a path winding through the forest along the water.

 

Then we walked through the Bishops house, another interesting bit of history.

A quick walk across the street brought us back to the dock where we joined the people waiting to

board the Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest boat.

Allen Marine does a fantastic job, I highly recommend this excursion, and the Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer.

Sitka Sound on a sunny, calm day is fantastic.

Miles of visibility and snow covered mountains and dormant volcanos every direction.

We found some humpbacked whales to watch and then proceeded to the Sea Otters.

Being very quiet, we floated by several hundred female sea otters and their pups. Pretty awesome.

Then we proceeded to St Lazaria island where there were a variety of nesting birds.

There were bunches of Puffins, ( Tufted and Horned), Marbeled Murrelets, Pleagic Cormorants.

They were all nesting and we got up almost close enough to touch.

They shared the small island with some Bald Eagles and gulls. Wow.

Then we headed back in and saw some more rafts of male sea otters and females also.

Lots more whale spouts, but no tails. Lots more eagles too.

Back to the ship for lunch at the pool bar and more whale spotting once we got under way.

 

Dinner at Compass Rose tonight, just right!

Tomorrow Hubbard Glacier. Hoping for lots of sun.

 

Mark

[Travelcat2]

Monday June 4

Another stunning day in Alaska.

Today was Sitka. According to the locals, the second day of sunshine in more than 5 weeks.

We had breakfast in the Compass Rose, pretty much had the place to ourselves.

Perhaps 15 others. I guess we slept in.

The seas were a bit rough over night but we slept like babies.

Most folks had tendered over to Sitka, or had been picked up by tour boats at the ship.

We tendered over with some stuff to mail from the post office.

We took in the Totem park, which is just a few blocks from the dock.

Very nice, many totem poles on a path winding through the forest along the water.

 

Then we walked through the Bishops house, another interesting bit of history.

A quick walk across the street brought us back to the dock where we joined the people waiting to

board the Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest boat.

Allen Marine does a fantastic job, I highly recommend this excursion, and the Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Explorer.

Sitka Sound on a sunny, calm day is fantastic.

Miles of visibility and snow covered mountains and dormant volcanos every direction.

We found some humpbacked whales to watch and then proceeded to the Sea Otters.

Being very quiet, we floated by several hundred female sea otters and their pups. Pretty awesome.

Then we proceeded to St Lazaria island where there were a variety of nesting birds.

There were bunches of Puffins, ( Tufted and Horned), Marbeled Murrelets, Pleagic Cormorants.

They were all nesting and we got up almost close enough to touch.

They shared the small island with some Bald Eagles and gulls. Wow.

Then we headed back in and saw some more rafts of male sea otters and females also.

Lots more whale spouts, but no tails. Lots more eagles too.

Back to the ship for lunch at the pool bar and more whale spotting once we got under way.

 

Dinner at Compass Rose tonight, just right!

Tomorrow Hubbard Glacier. Hoping for lots of sun.

 

Mark

 

Really enjoyed your update -- sounds like you're having a great time. Here's hoping for sunshine tomorrow.:)

[forevertravel]

Thank you for the daily reviews. We are doing this cruise but north to south in August. We booked Tracy Arms and also Sea Otters (among others) so I'm glad to hear you recommend them. Please keep on posting.

 

Forevertravel

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On another site I saw pictures of the new Sette Mari--there appears to be a big round area in the middle of the room--can you tell me what that is? The photo is taken from the entrance, with the buffet areas on both sides, and this big round thing right in the middle--looks like a bar perhaps.

[markwoll]

The round area is where omelets and egg dishes are prepared in the morning.

In the evening they saute dishes and prepare risotto and other dishes there.

There is a bit of traffic in that area as a result, but nothing to fret about.

 

The pace of the dinner meal at Sette Mari is much faster than Compass Rose.

Not rushed, but paced so that one course is replaced by another with a short pause. Our third meal there was not as satisfying as the first two due to our lingering over Antipasti when our entree's were ready. There was a short pause as they were re-prepared.

 

The menu, at first glance, does not change each evening.

What they are doing is preparing the same 'range' of base ingredients in a new manner. You really do need to read the descriptions of each dish, pretty inventive.

 

Mark

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Sounds nice. I guess if you want to linger over antipasti, you need to wait before you order your mains?

[markwoll]

Tuesday June 5th, Cruising Hubbard Glacier

 

Wow, another beautiful sunny day.

As we cruised up to the glacier there were whales spouting all around the bay.

It was pretty quiet, wildlife wise, as we approached and stopped, about 8am.

We approached to about 4 miles, just short of the ice field.

The glacier encompassed most of our field of view.

It was not windy and the temps were in the high 40's (9-13C).

Hot chocolate for everyone!

A tender was sent out to retreive chunks of bergy bits for our farewell this evening.

 

As we turned and began to leave Disenchantment bay we saw some eagles fishing amongst the ice bergs.

Upon exit from Disenchantment Bay in to Yakutat Bay we were treated to a large

number of whales and calfs breaching along side of the ship..

According to Terry Breen, this is a pretty unusual as the Bay is poor fishing.

We were also treated to the sight of whales breaching against the backdrop of the glacier.

It was several miles away and visible through binoculars.

It is now just about 1:30 and as we sail up the coast it is sunny and bright and as calm as the Inner Passage.

I will try and post some photos later.

Mark

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Wow, lucky you!

[Cattravel10]

Appreciating your wonderful posts very much, especially since we're on the 6/20 sailing. Who is your captain and do they now supply binoculars? I know they haven't in the past but thought I'd ask anyway.

 

Barb

[markwoll]

The captain is Teo Srdelic.

His english is interesting.

Don't know about the binoculars. Perhaps in the big suites.

 

The breakfast rush after Hubbard glacier was not bad at la Veranda.

We were able to find a table without trouble.

A small serving pan of scrambled eggs was the only issue.

It was only good for four or 5 servings and a replacement was slow in arrival resulting in a slow spot in the line.

Orders of eggs seemed to come out of the kitchen promptly.

 

Even after the Crew Capers let out this evening Compass Rose did not fill up.

 

Tomorrow, Seward and disembarking. Sigh.

We have a Kenai Fjords wildlife/glacier cruise tomorrow before the train to Anchorage and then a red eye south.

 

This has been a great time.

Regent did not disappoint us in any substantial way.

We will cruise with them again ...someday.

 

Mark

[kjmcruise]

Thank you Mark for the updates on your cruise. Your last statement says you are taking the train to Anchorage.

 

We were told by Regent that they are no longer offering the train transfer from Seward to Anchorage. We will be on the next Northbound sailing and would love to get to Anchorage via train if available.

 

Did Regent mis-inform me?

[cruiseej]

Thank you Mark for the updates on your cruise. Your last statement says you are taking the train to Anchorage.

 

We were told by Regent that they are no longer offering the train transfer from Seward to Anchorage. We will be on the next Northbound sailing and would love to get to Anchorage via train if available.

 

Did Regent mis-inform me?

 

Since Mark may or may not have a chance to respond before disembarking, I'll take a stab at this.

 

I don't think Regent misinformed you. There used to be a mid-day train which Regent used, but the only northbound train from Seward now leaves at 6 p.m. and gets to Anchorage at 10:15. This is not ideal for passengers getting off a cruise ship at 9 a.m.; it's geared around people who spend the day in Seward. Since most flights out of Anchorage are at or after midnight, this works well if you're flying out that night. Even though you've just come off a weeklong cruise, taking a day cruise to Kenai Fjords can be very enjoyable, and I recommend it -- and if you do that, the evening train back to Anchorage (keeping in mind sunset isn't until about 11:30 p.m.) could make for a great last day after your cruise. My guess is that Mark is paying his own way to take the train after their boat excursion.

 

-- Eric

[rallydave]

Since Mark may or may not have a chance to respond before disembarking, I'll take a stab at this.

 

I don't think Regent misinformed you. There used to be a mid-day train which Regent used, but the only northbound train from Seward now leaves at 6 p.m. and gets to Anchorage at 10:15. This is not ideal for passengers getting off a cruise ship at 9 a.m.; it's geared around people who spend the day in Seward. Since most flights out of Anchorage are at or after midnight, this works well if you're flying out that night. Even though you've just come off a weeklong cruise, taking a day cruise to Kenai Fjords can be very enjoyable, and I recommend it -- and if you do that, the evening train back to Anchorage (keeping in mind sunset isn't until about 11:30 p.m.) could make for a great last day after your cruise. My guess is that Mark is paying his own way to take the train after their boat excursion.

 

-- Eric

 

Eric, you are mostly correct but, Regent didn't use a scheduled train for either direction to or from Seward, at least for our cruise 2 years ago. I know for that year, Regent chartered the train and that it started in Seward picking up the people right off the ship taking them to the Anchorage airport and we got on the train around 1 PM taking us to Seward and the Navigator. If there was a midday train from Seward to Anchorage, it was a public train.

 

Only reasons I can think of at the moment as to Regent not using the train is that Regent couldn't make enough money with the train and thus stopped chartering it or the Alaska Railroad simply didn't want to charter the train to Regent. May be other reasons but, doubt we will ever know the true story but, at least for 2010, Regent chartered the train each way and pretty sure it was the same in 2011 and prior to 2010.

[Toby45]

Thank you for the wonderful updates. We are first time cruisers sitting in the Captain Cook hotel waiting to board a bus for Seward to get on the ship. So far Regent has surpassed expectations. From the time we got off the plane they have been there ready to help. We have not touched a bag since we landed. Reps have been helpful and funny. I had a question about water for my CPAP machine. Reps had some great ideas and were very helpful. Problem solved. Found it in the hotel newspaper shop. Now we just wait for the bus...I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas.:o

[kjmcruise]

Thank you Cruisej and Rallydave. Our flight home from Anchorage is mid-day so unless they have a train scheduled for early morning we would not get to the airport in time.

 

Unfortunately we can't can take any additional time as I think the train would be the perfect way to end our trip.