Explorer Lisbon to Cape Town Nov 28 until dragged kicking & screaming off

[Hambagahle]

Yes - RallyDave and his wife (frequent comments on CC re Regent and other lines) had a Rhine cruise a little earlier in the autumn and they had to miss some ports because of low water!   Surprisingly a lot of goods coming to Switzerland come down the Rhine.  Our furniture did once, a long time ago!

[1982CruzStart]

Today is the Explorer's FIRST country fair. That is what passages is saying so i assume it is indeed the first one on Explorer. Our trip across the equator was Explorer's FIRST trip across it.  Hard to believe considering how long Explorer has been in service. 

 

The Country fair runs for 45 minutes from 10:30 to 11:15.

 

Our seas have been a little rocking and rolling overnight and so far this morning.  We had an extremely overindulgent dinner in Prime 7 last night. Will post some of the pictures shortly. 

 

We are on day 2 of our 3 days at sea before we hit land in Walvis Bay.  

[1982CruzStart]

I had surf & surf for dinner with no idea how large it would be. King crab legs & lobster out of their shells. I can't believe I ate almost all of it. 

I had the foie gras sliders sans buns to start, oblivious of the seafood to come. 

We started with the smoked tomato soup.  

This is someone else's desert. Berries & creme anglais. 

Everything was delicious though a little over the top.  This was our final trip to P7. 

We are off to PR tonight. 

Got to get in some serious exercise to combat the excess. 

Edited December 17, 2018 by 1982CruzStart

[flossie009]

As Kathy says, the sea swells have picked up as we head down the coast of West Africa.

Explorer is heading almost due South at a cracking pace of 20knots (37km/hr), battling a headwind of 22-27knots (40-50km/hr).

 

David went to the two piano recitals by Panos Karan last night and said that he was excellent - all 24 Chopin studies played perfectly without music.

He is performing again tonight for the SSS ‘Top Tier’ event.

 

A delicious meal again last night in Compass Rose. We both went for the lighter option of grilled prawns for our main course, and no dessert, having indulged in the Brunch earlier in the day.

 

Looking forward to the Country Fair later this morning.

[flossie009]

It turned out to be a bright sunny day at sea and .............

All the fun of the Fair .............

 

Margaret was in charge

 

The Restaurant Team got a little wet

 

A guest shaking his ‘booty’ for the Housekeeping Team

 

The Pursers’ Team just ran off with the cash

 

By guest vote, the winning crew team was the Restaurant team with Housekeeping coming in second.

Lots of raffle prizes for the guests .......... but no luck for us 😥

[Hambagahle]

8 hours ago, flossie009 said:

David went to the two piano recitals by Panos Karan last night and said that he was excellent - all 24 Chopin studies played perfectly without music.

He is performing again tonight for the SSS ‘Top Tier’ event.

How lovely.   There is another thread going on right now...on getting Regent to have more classical music.  Seems that someone is taking notice!!

 

 

[Catpow]

On 12/16/2018 at 4:46 PM, Hambagahle said:

For chocolate.  your Swiss passenger is right.   Swiss chocolate - artisanal chocolate, made in small pâtisseries and confiseries all over our country - is sensational.  Some of our "industrial" chocolate isn't bad either.  I far prefer the artisanal variety though.   Sometime come and try it!!  You cannot buy this sort of chocolate outside Switzerland because it doesn't travel well.  Too bad we don't have a port (aside from Basel) for ships to use.  And I doubt that Explorer would fit down the Rhine!

 

 

Interestingly, when we asked our Swiss passenger - and there are I think 25+ Swiss on this cruise - what HER favourite brand of chocolate was, she stated it was Frey - a brand available in supermarkets and not a premium brand at all.  Can't comment on what it's like as I haven't tasted it.😐

 

[Catpow]

OK, time for a bit of a whinge... Pacific Rim.  This was our second try at this Explorer only restaurant.  The first - with four other strangers didn't go well for a numbers of reasons, but we were happy to accept that preparing freshly cooked food for six rather than two would be harder.  We had high hopes for our dinner for two.

 

Overall, the food was overcooked and quite cold. I think they're trying to be all things to everyone in a vaguely Asian manner, and in fact succeeding at none.  They were out of sake (the ship is also out of NZ Sauv Blanc as well as Sauternes), and green tea (?!?).  I think this might be the longest single trip the Explorer has done, and some planning might have been better executed.

 

Our mains (duck and giant prawn) looked great, but frankly were nothing like up to scratch.  I don't think we are overly fussy - the rest of the food in other restaurants has been superb - see Flossie's post on the exceptional Sunday Brunch.   The rice was gluggy and short grain; the prawn chips chewy, the duck spring rolls not crisp etc, etc.  Desserts were tasty, and the best part - but desserts in general have been a standout on this cruise - all kudos to the head pastry chef.

 

Maybe it's the wrong restaurant for the ship, despite the prayer wheel.  Style over substance?

[Travelcat2]

36 minutes ago, Catpow said:

OK, time for a bit of a whinge... Pacific Rim.  This was our second try at this Explorer only restaurant.  The first - with four other strangers didn't go well for a numbers of reasons, but we were happy to accept that preparing freshly cooked food for six rather than two would be harder.  We had high hopes for our dinner for two.

 

Overall, the food was overcooked and quite cold. I think they're trying to be all things to everyone in a vaguely Asian manner, and in fact succeeding at none.  They were out of sake (the ship is also out of NZ Sauv Blanc as well as Sauternes), and green tea (?!?).  I think this might be the longest single trip the Explorer has done, and some planning might have been better executed.

 

Our mains (duck and giant prawn) looked great, but frankly were nothing like up to scratch.  I don't think we are overly fussy - the rest of the food in other restaurants has been superb - see Flossie's post on the exceptional Sunday Brunch.   The rice was gluggy and short grain; the prawn chips chewy, the duck spring rolls not crisp etc, etc.  Desserts were tasty, and the best part - but desserts in general have been a standout on this cruise - all kudos to the head pastry chef.

 

Maybe it's the wrong restaurant for the ship, despite the prayer wheel.  Style over substance?

 

Your comments mirror ours for the first several times that we dined in Pacific Rim. We love Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisine but are not fans of "Asian Fusion".  The only thing that I liked was the sake.  So, we tried it again and ordered the Lobster Tempura and it was great.  Now I can look forward to dining in Pacific Rim on our February cruise and know what to order!    Having said that, it is astounding that Explorer ran out of so many things.  Without sake, we would not even dine in Pacific Rim.

[Hambagahle]

8 hours ago, Catpow said:

Interestingly, when we asked our Swiss passenger - and there are I think 25+ Swiss on this cruise - what HER favourite brand of chocolate was, she stated it was Frey - a brand available in supermarkets and not a premium brand at all.  Can't comment on what it's like as I haven't tasted it.😐

 

That is FUNNY!  Because the industrial brand I like the least is Frey.  It is only sold in the Migros, one of our supermarket chains.  I don't like its taste at all.  Tastes "dusty" to me.

[1982CruzStart]

9 hours ago, Catpow said:

OK, time for a bit of a whinge... Pacific Rim.  This was our second try at this Explorer only restaurant.  The first - with four other strangers didn't go well for a numbers of reasons, but we were happy to accept that preparing freshly cooked food for six rather than two would be harder.  We had high hopes for our dinner for two.

 

Overall, the food was overcooked and quite cold. I think they're trying to be all things to everyone in a vaguely Asian manner, and in fact succeeding at none.  They were out of sake (the ship is also out of NZ Sauv Blanc as well as Sauternes), and green tea (?!?).  I think this might be the longest single trip the Explorer has done, and some planning might have been better executed.

 

Our mains (duck and giant prawn) looked great, but frankly were nothing like up to scratch.  I don't think we are overly fussy - the rest of the food in other restaurants has been superb - see Flossie's post on the exceptional Sunday Brunch.   The rice was gluggy and short grain; the prawn chips chewy, the duck spring rolls not crisp etc, etc.  Desserts were tasty, and the best part - but desserts in general have been a standout on this cruise - all kudos to the head pastry chef.

 

Maybe it's the wrong restaurant for the ship, despite the prayer wheel.  Style over substance?

We were in PR last night and didn't have the experience you had. We ate early so maybe that made the difference.  I had the duck spring roll & it was very crispy. 

 

It was extremely disappointing when they told us they were out of sake.  People don't seem to be a boozeyer group than normal yet they have run out of quite a bit. 

 

I had green tea last night so maybe  I took the last one. I am sitting at the cafe & just order green tea so maybe someone just didn't want to go get some. There is certainly some on the ship. 

[flossie009]

Fun on deck this morning. Today’s “Officers Challenge” was shuffleboard.

 

Stephane (F&B Director) taking support from Captain Serena and others:

 

Margaret (Cruise Director) took her match very seriously:

 

........... but both lost to their guest opponents 😀

Edited December 18, 2018 by flossie009

[flossie009]

A late report from David about his shore excursion in Ghana last Wednesday:

 

First, a big thank you to those on this thread that recommended visiting Cape Coast and Elmina Castles. I therefore opted for the paid all day Regent excursion visiting those locations.

Two comfortable buses, each with about 35 guests, set off on the long journey to Cape Coast Castle. We had two guides on each bus and then a local guide at each location gave an informative guided tour.

The stories of slave capture, incarceration and ill treatment prior to eventual transportation were harrowing.

 

Cape Coast Castle:

 

 

One of the holding cells for slaves before transportation:

 

Door of “no return”

 

Views of the coast:

 

 

[flossie009]

Ghana excursion (continued):

 

After lunch at a beach resort  we travelled through the bustling fishing market to Elmina Castle

 

Beach Resort lunch venue

 

The bustling market

 

Elmina Castle

 

Cell for male slaves

 

Cell for female slaves

 

Door of “no return”

 

After our visits and tours we re-boarded the buses for our return trip. A  bumpy ride for some of the trip as a badly parked (and clamped) taxi was blocking access to the main road, so we had to take an alternative route.

 

A very interesting day that made me dwell on man’s inhumanity to man.

Thanks again to those who suggested a visit to these locations.

[flossie009]

21 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

How lovely.   There is another thread going on right now...on getting Regent to have more classical music.  Seems that someone is taking notice!!

 

Visiting performers are booked months in advance of each cruise so the current thread about classical music will have had no effect on the booking of performers for this cruise.

However, the entertainment on this particular cruise demonstrates that some Regent cruises do have a reasonable classical content. If Regent attempted to increase the classical content at the expense of other types of entertainment I suspect they would upset as many guests as they would please.

We have enjoyed the balance of performance types during this cruise on Explorer.

[Hambagahle]

24 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

 

Visiting performers are booked months in advance of each cruise so the current thread about classical music will have had no effect on the booking of performers for this cruise.

However, the entertainment on this particular cruise demonstrates that some Regent cruises do have a reasonable classical content. If Regent attempted to increase the classical content at the expense of other types of entertainment I suspect they would upset as many guests as they would please.

We have enjoyed the balance of performance types during this cruise on Explorer.

It is all about "balance" - I totally agree.  A bit of this, a bit of that and everyone is happy!!

[flossie009]

We tried Prime 7 for lunch today. Very good indeed.

 

The dessert selection, served as mini-pots to share, was delicious .............. and because they are mini-pots surely they must contain mini-calories   

 

 

After much deliberation the “Key Lime Pie” took the award for most tasty 😀

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

3 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

It is all about "balance" - I totally agree.  A bit of this, a bit of that and everyone is happy!!

 

I agree! Balance is the key. 

Sheila

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

2 hours ago, flossie009 said:

We tried Prime 7 for lunch today. Very good indeed.

 

The dessert selection, served as mini-pots to share, was delicious .............. and because they are mini-pots surely they must contain mini-calories   

 

 

After much deliberation the “Key Lime Pie” took the award for most tasty 😀

 

We will be on Explorer in March.. must do lunch in P7. These dessserts look great! Who cares about the rest of the meal?

sheila

[wcsdkqh]

Flossie-- I believe your spelling of the word "mini" is incorrect. The correct spelling is "many" as in many-calories 🙂

 

 

[1982CruzStart]

Well whining seemed to work. Got an invitation to the gallery tour yesterday afternoon. It was a pretty large group but I think everyone was able to hear what Chef Michael had to say. It was a very good tour of about 45 minutes.  

Here are some pictures. 

[1982CruzStart]

In the last picture you can see some of the gingerbread houses that have been made as a large display of a Christmas village that was being installed last night in the atrium. 

Here are a couple more.

can't wait to see the final display. 

[Hambagahle]

23 hours ago, flossie009 said:

We tried Prime 7 for lunch today. Very good indeed.

 

The dessert selection, served as mini-pots to share, was delicious .............. and because they are mini-pots surely they must contain mini-calories   

 

What happens if you do not like to share?  Neither Ken nor I do.  Can one get one of these wonderful concoctions all to oneself?

 

 

 

 

 

[flossie009]

7 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

What happens if you do not like to share?  Neither Ken nor I do.  Can one get one of these wonderful concoctions all to oneself?

 

This is Regent - Ask and it will be given 😀

[flossie009]

15 hours ago, 1982CruzStart said:

In the last picture you can see some of the gingerbread houses that have been made as a large display of a Christmas village that was being installed last night in the atrium. 

 

can't wait to see the final display. 

 

Gingerbread villages now on display in the Atrium and outside La Veranda