Random Thoughts on Navigator 22 MAR-1 APR 14

[Zqueeze1]

".....The waiter in the rear is from Angeles City, Philippines where we lived for 3 and a half years in the late 80s..."

 

 

Zqueeze1 - A question..... NSGA San Miguel? Regards

 

We were at Clark Airbase about three hours west of Manila in Luzon. Got there as a 26 year-old Captain and lived like a king. San Miguel beer was $3.50 a case delivered to your front door, a housegirl cost $5/day, and we were fortunate enough to travel from Australia to Korea and in between. Not bad for an inner city kid from Jersey.

[1teach53]

Karen/1teach53, did you get your fill of luscious dark chocolate desserts on the cruise? Did a particular dessert stand out?

 

Rich

 

Yes, Mr Rumor I had many wonderful chocolate bites!! My DH is the dessert king, but only on cruises, never at home!! He would bring back a selection of delights & I did my best only to have one bite, all were great!!!!

Loved the dark ch. cake in Prime 7 & dark chocolate bites they would bring after your meal, OMG!!!! It was all we had dreamed of and more!! :p

[1teach53]

I'm going to go out on a limb and provide my observations as an unbiased witness. Our group of four Texans and two Floridians were actually pretty good about not indulging on any type of sweets with the exception of the Dallas rep who will anonymously be refferred to as "J." I don't think there was a dessert or three that he could pass up after each meal. He always brought back a couple of desserts so that his DW, "K," could "have some also.":D Unfortunately, he probably did not gain a pound while I seemed to have found seven of them despite the fact that the only desserts I had were in liquid form.

 

Z and TB

 

 

Oh!!!!mr. Z, we love you!!! Your observations, J strongly denies!!!! LOL:D

J DID gain a few LB's & so far has not lost them!! K is working hard to lose her dark chocolate lb's too!!!

Miss you both!!;)

[2old4this]

All in all crowds or were tours were never a real problem in any of our ports. The most crowded port was our first one, Nassau, which had about five vessels to include The Oasis of the Seas. We estimated about 15k cruisers were running amok. However, we did not feel overly crowded since we headed out to the Dolphin Encounter directly from the pier. Upon return, there was a large crowd processing through port security, but it flowed easily and quickly. I can imagine that Nassau's narrow streets were filled with cruisers and must have been a pain.

 

In contrast, San Juan looked like a ghost town and our other ports were pretty tame and crowds were not a problem. All the ports are now a blur, but I believe St Maarten had one Carnival vessel, two windjammers, and one Seabourne vessel. I took a pic from a distance as we sailed passed St Maarten one day and it looked like a cruise ship parking lot. I will try to post pics later on today.

 

Z and TB

 

Thank you Zqueeze1! I'm looking forward to more of your pictures. I had read in the St. Maarten local media recently that crowding was a major control problem for the island police. They closed access roads occasionally along the coast at Philipsburg to take off some of the congestion. Cruise ship parking lot is about the way the police described it, as well.

[2old4this]

Thank you Zqueeze1! I'm looking forward to more of your pictures. I had read in the St. Maarten local media recently that crowding was a major control problem for the island police. They closed access roads occasionally along the coast at Philipsburg to take off some of the congestion. Cruise ship parking lot is about the way the police described it, as well.

 

Also, why was St. Maarten one of your favorites? What tip can you give me so I can come away from our visit there wanting to return?

[TedC]

There's a nude beach but I forgot the name !

 

Just get fit!!!!

[2old4this]

There's a nude beach but I forgot the name !

 

Just get fit!!!!

 

Nude beaches should have three judges at the gate. No hitting the adult portion of the beach unless you got at least a majority vote. :)

[Zqueeze1]

2old4this (nice callsign):

 

I will definitely post more pics tomorrow after work since my Yankees are playing the redsox tonight and that means the world stops until the game ends.

 

In St. Maarten, we took bus tour that took us from the Dutch to the French side and back and allowed us to get an appreciation of what's available. Although there seemed to be a lot of unspoiled areas, there was also infrastructure and lots of restaurants and places to stay all in a clean environment. Sort of more to my liking. It did not seem to be crowded and driving looked pretty mild. I would compare it somewhere between Curacao and Aruba if you've ever been to any of these former Dutch territories. In addition, the rolling hills gave us some beautiful views of the coastline. On the French side, who can complain when one can get a Redstripe beer at a waterfront bar for $2.50?

 

I forgot to mention in my original comments about the block party on our third night which was a sea day. We had missed this in our first Regent cruise last year and it was a treat. We met a lot of folks and had quite a few laughs.

 

Z and TB

[555lavan1t]

Hi Z and TB and K and J

Boy, the review and great pictures really bring back the memories of a wonderful cruise. Thank you Z. B and I greatly enjoyed experiencing the Navigator with all of you in the Carib. Z, your review was right on. I agree that the ports were not crowded and very pleasant as to the number of people. I thought that Antigua and St. Lucia were a little dirty and not to my taste, although we had a very good tour guide in Antigua and really enjoyed her commentary. We got off the ship in St Lucia, but got back on in less that 15 minutes. St. Maarten was our favorite port because it was very clean and our best tour, the Americas Cup race on Stars and Stripes, was an absolute blast. Our private tour of San Juan (aka San Juan bar crawl) was on a scale all by itself thanks to Z and TB. A great time and great way to see San Juan.

 

Your picture of our little anchovy Navigator with 490 passengers docked beside the 6000 passenger whale Oasis of the Seas was the perfect example of why we love Regent. This wasn't our first time on the Navigator and we love it. Never experienced the brown water, thankfully, as that would really freak us out. While we feel the aft vibration, it is something that just doesn't bother us. There are too many good and wonderful things to enjoy on the Nav to get hung up on something that to us is a minor occurrence.

 

J can deny the dessert comment but it doesn't change his dessert consumption. TB actually made us feel a little guilty as we sat outside Galileos with our drinks while counting her laps around the deck. But alas, the guilt lasted only as long as it took for the next martini to arrive.

 

Thanks for the review Z and giving us a chance to enjoy the cruise all over again.

 

Larry

Edited April 11, 2014 by 555lavan1t

[Zqueeze1]

Larry:

 

Thanks for the kind words and for the great anchovy/whale analogy. Looking forward to seeing yous all some time in the future (Flight Deck is always operational). Do not feel too guilty about having a cocktail while The Boss was working out for she has become a full-blown cosmo addict and I now am her purveyor on most evenings.

 

Z and TB

[Zqueeze1]

Good Morning, all:

 

It is a gorgeous south Florida morning! Getting ready to prep for some friends who are coming over this afternoon for some shrimp ceviche (with Medalla light beer) and to grill a couple of Florentine steaks (a little chianti to wash it down).

 

Here a a few more pics of our recent cruise:

 

Docking in Nassau next to the Oasis of the Seas:

 

RSSC Nav docked in Old San Juan:

 

Beautiful Compass Rose dining room. Gabrielle's station was immediately on the right:

 

Seabourne vessel anchored adjacent to us in St. Barts. Notice the table settings on the right for the evening's BBQ:

 

Beautiful bay in Antigua with RCL's Adventure of the Seas on the left and our little ship on the right:

 

More to follow

 

Z and TB

Edited April 12, 2014 by Zqueeze1

[Zqueeze1]

For whatever reason, it seems that CC won't allow me to post more than six pics per entry. Also, can't figure out how to make posted pics larger.

 

One of the unique things we found in Regent was the box with loaner reading glasses available in Compass Rose:

 

 

The Boss' lobster dinner (one of four during the cruise):

 

Elvis and fellow crewmembers during Krew Kapers:

 

Dancers and great Regent Ambassadors:

 

Scenes like this is why we fell in love with St. Maarten:

 

Morning at sea:

 

Z and TB

[Sheltieluv]

Zqueeze, Thanks for sharing your pics. The one of the selection of reading glasses brings back fond memories. On more than one occasion, I forgot my reading glasses and could not read the menu, so I certainly took advantage of the ones in Compass Rose. Our favorite waiter, Alberto, would offer them with a flourish and help me select something flattering......not always with stylish results. Always good for a laugh.

 

We love the Navigator and are happy you are sharing your voyage. Enjoy!:)

[1teach53]

Mr. Z , lovvvvve your new pics, thanks!!

 

" The Boss was working out for she has become a full-blown cosmo addict and I now am her purveyor on most evenings."

 

Oh boy!!! I believe I'm to blame, guilty!!!!:p

K

[Zqueeze1]

Mr. Z , lovvvvve your new pics, thanks!!

 

" The Boss was working out for she has become a full-blown cosmo addict and I now am her purveyor on most evenings."

 

Oh boy!!! I believe I'm to blame, guilty!!!!:p

K

 

We had some folks over yesterday and she actually cancelled her workout! However, she temporarily switched to Amaretto Sours and had two of them, got the giggles, and went to bed by 9PM rambling something about going on another cruise.

 

Z and TB

[1teach53]

We had some folks over yesterday and she actually cancelled her workout! However, she temporarily switched to Amaretto Sours and had two of them, got the giggles, and went to bed by 9PM rambling something about going on another cruise.

 

Z and TB

 

Lol!!!

Well.......win the lottery, or something , & join us Aug 20!!!

Would be so great to have you both on another cruise!!:)

K & J