Forgap & Rumor, Singapore-Sydney, Feb. 2-20, 2018--LIVE!

[WesW]

Rich, thanks for sharing Peter’s fresh note.

 

No wonder your clothes are snug, you only did 13 workouts in a 18 day voyage. However, your terrific blog makes up for you slacker workout schedule :)

 

 

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[Mr Rumor]

Wes, I confess there were a couple of mornings that I woke up at about five and was tempted to go back to sleep but then was stirred by your exemplary exercise ethic and hauled myself over to the gym. I’m always glad when I do!

 

We love an itinerary with a first-day sea day. If we can have a last-day sea day, even better!

 

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

Rich, you are still young so don't overdo it. I know from experience that the number of people that need hip/knee replacement surgeries are increasing at amazing levels every year. Better to do less weight and more reps. Really don't think that you want to go through the painful surgery caused from overdoing it. I am impressed with how you look and you don't need to change anything! Just advice from an older person:halo:

 

Just read this https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/18/asia/cruise-ship-brawl/index.html and since you are in Australia, this is another reason to be happy that you are on Regent.

Edited February 19, 2018 by Travelcat2
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[Mr Rumor]

After rereading all the comments about the finger limes post I think it’s a shame that we can’t rename our blog “Forgap, Rumor & Finger Lime”!

 

Rachel, you and George are in luck: Executive Chef Hamsa reports he still has enough finger limes for your Captain’s Reception. He’s planning to make another crunchy salsa for whatever fresh fish special he does that night.

 

Jackie, you may be in luck, too, depending upon when you and Dennis will be on the Voyager. The ship returns to Townsville on March 15 and Hamsa plans to make a beeline for the same open-air vegetable market where he found the finger limes last time.

 

When Hamsa walked that market on February 16, “I was digging for it. Everyone kept telling me, ‘No, we don’t have it.’ But I kept looking”

 

Finally at a corner stall amidst a display of chilis he hit finger lime paydirt: “She had 15 pounds. I bought it all.

 

“It’s in my personal refrigerator,” Hamsa continued. “Nobody is allowed to touch it except me!”

 

February 16 marked the finger lime’s debut appearance on a Chef Hamsa Regent menu. “It has an amazing taste,” Hamsa said. “Very lime-y, but also with a taste of calamansi,” an Asian citrus fruit.

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

We board in Bali on March 24th and will ask about the finger limes immediately. Thanks so much for the heads up!

[pingpong1]

If it were to happen on Regent (fights similar to those on Carnival), people would be pushing their walkers into each other and striking each other with walking canes!

Edited February 19, 2018 by pingpong1
clarification

[forgap]

Today is the dreaded packing day and the ship is rolling about from the long swells generated by Cyclone Gita. We had considerable tilt-o-whirl movement during the night plus we lost an hour so there are many sleepy faces about with a bit of a green edge to them.

 

After a nap, another Stugeron, and a room service pizza, I tackled the task ahead of me.

 

 

I plan to continue to write until I get home. We are doing 3 days in Sydney before returning home so, perhaps, there will be some helpful hints for the “do it yourselfers” out there!

[forgap]

One more interesting tidbit from the captain - our pilot from Brisbane was unable to get off the ship at the appointed spot due to the rough sea conditions. So, he gets an unexpected mini vacation to Sydney on the beautiful RSSC Voyager.

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

Hope that the Stugeron worked - that is what we use.

 

 

What a lucky captain! He could not have been stranded in a better place!

[forgap]

Stugeron and the nap worked! Ready for champagne!

[harrodsfan]

Thank you, RJ2002!

 

Great that you'll be following along, too, Sheila! I remember the moment at the St. Tropez cafe that I moved my chair a few inches so that you could scoot by me and claim the outdoor table next to Ginny and me. Weren't those crepes amazing? I noted that you were on the Explorer fall 2017 Atlantic Crossing as well and hope that you had a wonderful time.

 

I got some Voyager staffing info tonight that made the DW and me quite happy and that I'd like to share:

 

Captain: Felice Patruno. We sailed with Captain Felice on our first Regent cruise in April, 2010, Monte Carlo-Venice. It was a cruise we will never forget because 1.) We got to celebrate our 30th anniversary in Rome, the Eternal City, and 2.) We couldn't get home for seven days following our debarkation! Can you guess why? That's right--that ash cloud from the Iceland volcano that blanketed much of Europe! Regent pretty much won us over for life for how well the company took care of us for the six extra nights we spent in Padua and Mestre waiting for the skies to clear enough for us to be able to fly home (don't feel badly for us--we had a great time exploring Padua and every nook and cranny of Venice). This will be our first cruise with Captain Felice since 2012.

 

General Manager: Massimo Arzani. We sailed with the former Oceania GM on his first Regent cruise, in October of 2013, Montreal-Miami, as well as three times since (most recently, the Explorer maiden TA in 2016). I've found Massimo to be warm and affable, and a pleasure to interact with. It will be great to see his big smile again.

 

Cruise Director: Ray Solaire. Ray was a guest artist (puppet show) on our Regent "ash cloud" cruise in 2010, and he has been our CD on three cruises since. Our fondest memory of him is how sweetly he interacted with our special-needs daughter Shauna on our 2013 Montreal-Miami cruise. He drew with her one day on the Pool Deck, danced with her at the Beatles bash, and even did a mini-interview with her and mom and dad for his TV show. It was another side of Ray, who I've come to view in the tradition of the classic performing CDs of the early days of the Royal Viking Line. (We've sailed with six Regent CDs over the years, and I appreciate how each has his/her own approach to the job and special skill set.)

 

By the way, I believe Ray will be celebrating a milestone event this year: 50 years at sea! Confirmation and details to follow once I'm onboard. . . .

 

Rich

 

Was Ray Solaire ever on the Royal Viking Queen? Our first cruise was through Greece and I think he was our cruise director in September 1992. He was so fun. We loved the Royal Viking Line. We were on the World cruise when they hit the reef in the straits of Tiran. They handled things so beautifully.

[Mr Rumor]

Hello Sydney!

 

 

 

 

 

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[forgap]

The sail in was beautiful and in stark contrast to our night on the Tasmin Sea. I have never experienced that lovel of rocking, rolling, and shuddering. We must have been in a storm with winds as the movement was much worse than it was throughout the day! For once I am glad to get off the ship!

[forgap]

We disembarked with the last batch of passengers, caught a cab, and settled into our Airbnb by 10 am. We decided to stay in Kirribilli which is just across the harbor from the opera house. Our views are stunning!

 

 

The most delightful part? There is a family of lorikeets who visit the window ledge for handouts!

 

 

 

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[briar14]

Even though ashore, still providing all of us with wonderful pictures! Thank you so much.

[Travelcat2]

We disembarked with the last batch of passengers, caught a cab, and settled into our Airbnb by 10 am. We decided to stay in Kirribilli which is just across the harbor from the opera house. Our views are stunning!

 

 

The most delightful part? There is a family of lorikeets who visit the window ledge for handouts!

 

 

 

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Great photos and the birds are absolutely stunning!

[RachelG]

If you had had your telephoto lens on, you could have spotted George and me at the opera house.

 

Great pics.

[forgap]

If you had had your telephoto lens on, you could have spotted George and me at the opera house.

 

 

 

Great pics.

 

 

 

Did you see me waving from the window? We rushed home from our foray into the Kirribilli village center, to open a bottle of cold Australian Riesling and toast you a bon voyage!

 

 

 

Th lorikeets were too busy eating to say goodbye but I heard them mumble something that sounded like “Bon Voyager” as you sailed by but it could also been “more seeds and make it snappy!”

 

 

 

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[Mr Rumor]

Our Sydney & Beyond tour began with a Sydney Harbour cruise. It didn't take long for Ginny to become friends with the captain:

 

We liked the Starship and bet it's very popular for weddings and grad nights. The first deck is a banquet hall, the second a comfortable lounge. Here you can get a glimpse of the former and a little more of the latter:

 

Although the 250 Regent participants packed the banquet hall for the quite good buffet lunch (salads, beef lasagna, pumpkin ravioli, beef, chicken and calamari) there was plenty of room on the boat for everyone. Only a few, like me, spent a significant amount of time on the open-air top deck. I spotted some Harbour Bridge climbers while up there:

 

Later in the nearly three-hour cruise, Ginny and I witnessed a partial eclipse of one Sydney Harbour icon by another:

 

After we departed the Starship we rejoined our bus and paid a short visit to Manley Beach where Ginny entertained a couple of curious locals with a little shell-hunting.

 

Several brief photo stops rounded out the tour. At the North Head Manley Area Lookout we viewed the same scene, minus skyline, that Captain James Cook made note of in 1770 before deciding not to proceed further, thinking the area didn't look particularly interesting:

 

The Four Seasons' location is superb, within walking distance of The Rocks, Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay and the various ferries, and the Royal Botanic Gardens. Dinner was in The Rocks at a little Italian spot called Zia Pina. The Penne Arrabiata and the homemade tiramisu were delicious and we enjoyed the personable young wait staff.

 

Tomorrow: the Blue Mountains!

 

 

 

 

 

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[Mudhen]

"And the beat goes on!"

So delighted to see more of Oz and both of your adventures!

Lorikeets were wonderful! What cuties!

Sightseeing vessel looks great!

Sail on and enjoy!

[Gilly]

Thanks for keeping the party going! Wonderful pictures of a favourite city.

[RachelG]

Forgap, if you look really hard, you can see me there on the top deck waving back to you.

 

Rich, we nearly crossed paths. The Four Seasons was where we had our Uber driver pick us up to go back to the ship.

[forgap]

This is a birds eye view of our sail-in to Sydney. Jason Montague, the president of Regent, posted this picture on his Facebook page. I was curious why a helicopter was circling the ship! It was too early for sightseeing and I wondered if it was a traffic copter on a joy ride! So impressed with this beautiful shot!

 

 

 

 

 

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[Mudhen]

mmmm! Lovely shot, but it has nothing on that great photo you got of the Voyager from your balcony! That's a brochure worthy photo!

[Travelcat2]

Agree with Mudhen - definitely a shot worthy of being in a magazine!

 

Rich, we stayed at the Pan Pacific post cruise and also loved the location! Such a beautiful area. Must say that I found the prices near that area extremely high (likely due to the $15/hour minimum wage that was in effect when we visited there four years ago). We found some great local places to eat once we walked outside of the tourist area!