Regatta Circumnavigation of Australia 2018-19

[Perash]

Heading to Sydney today to join the Regatta’s 35 day cruise around Australia, with added bonus of visiting PNG and Indonesia along the way. So delighted to be able to take this trip.

We chose this cruise for the itinerary. We’ve cruised a few times over the past few years but this is our first time on the Regatta. I admit to feeling a little apprehensive due to some of the less positive commentary about this ship, but at the same time, feel determined to enjoy whatever comes our way because it’s such a privilege to be able to travel.

I plan to update this thread regularly and share my experiences and observations about the ship and the cruise. I followed an excellent thread about the same cruise last year, written by user cbb (I think) - I’ll post the link to that shortly. I admired cbb’s positive attitude throughout that cruise despite some real challenges and I hope to keep a similarly positive and objective outlook.

Edited December 12, 2018 by Perash

[Perash]

This was cbb’s review of Regatta’s circumnavigation of Australia 2017-18.

[Ken the cruiser]

I'm sure your going to have a great cruise with many wonderful memories to cherish and I look forward to reading about your adventures. We'll be going on HAL's circumnavigation next October, but it will be fun to read about some of the common ports both itineraries visit. Have a great cruise!!!

[Classiccruiser777]

We’ve cruised on Regatta 5 times, most recently this past July. Fabulous ship with a great crew. Have fun!

[cbb]

I'll be reading your comments!  Have a wonderful voyage! 

[Perash]

Embarkation on the Regatta yesterday was smooth and fast with no queues: one of the benefits of cruising on smaller ships. 

Once on board, we discovered the old world charm of the Regatta.

Our cabin was smaller than I expected, but that’s only because I cannot conceptualise square footage on paper to reality! They’ve maximised cabin storage space with drawers and cabinets in every possible place. The bed is super comfortable. There are large mirrors on one wall to make the cabin appear more spacious, light and bright. 

Once unpacked, we ventured out to explore the ship. The library is my favourite space on board! It is large and beautifully laid out with lots of comfortable reading spaces. I plan to visit often. Despite being a full ship, Regatta appeared to not be overcrowded at all, so I think they’ve managed their public spaces well. 

We grabbed a quick pizza lunch at Terrace Grill. While we were eating, a member of staff asked us if we would like to have dinner at Toscana Italian restaurant on our first night and we were delighted to agree. I think they were not booked fully for the 6.30 dinner sitting as most people wanted to go to the sail away celebration. And going under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, past the Opera House and Fort Denison are some of the unmissable delights of departing Sydney on a cruise from the White Bay terminal. We went to Horizons Bar on level 10 to take in the departure views. It was a timely departure just after 6pm. 

At Toscana we were lucky to have a table at the very back of the ship, so could continue to observe the beauty of Sydney Harbour as we dined. It was very smooth sailing, despite rain and lightening as we left the safety of the Heads and out into the ocean. Regatta must have some seriously good stabilisers!

At Toscana, the service and service were superb! The bread basket was created into an artistic sculpture of a sailing ship using bread rolls, focaccia, grissini and more. Served with a selection of olive oils and balsamic vinegars, it took the humble bread basket to a whole new experience.

The rest of dinner was a culinary delight, including Caesar Salad prepared table side, crisp calamari, pasta, chicken and fish. We ate way too much and contemplated our weight implications for eating like this every night, before ordering dessert...chocolate lasagne...what else? 

We will return to Toscana for dinner tonight and are determined to not eat our own weights in food, no matter how divine it is.

Back to our cabins, we met our room steward again as he was turning down the beds. He is a very nice man. He had clearly had a very long day. I imagine disembarkation of one group of guests and embarkation of new guests make for an unbelievably hectic day for staff, especially those charged with turning out the cabins. 

And then to bed to be rocked gently to sleep. Sleeping on a gently rocking ship is one of my favourite things! 

Now I await my breakfast in bed. I think I am going to be eating a lot. This is the life!

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Perash, if I might ask just so we can picture your cabin, which category did you book?

[Perash]

Hi Ken. We are in an A1 Verandah cabin. Its close to the middle of the ship, so good for not feeling the wave motion too much.  

Edited December 14, 2018 by Perash
Grammar

[Perash]

On 12/13/2018 at 10:47 AM, Classiccruiser777 said:

We’ve cruised on Regatta 5 times, most recently this past July. Fabulous ship with a great crew. Have fun!

Thank you Classiccruiser777. I agree 100%: fabulous ship with a wonderful crew. 

[Perash]

On 12/13/2018 at 11:24 AM, cbb said:

I'll be reading your comments!  Have a wonderful voyage! 

Thank you cbb. I loved following your review last year. 

[Ken the cruiser]

14 minutes ago, Perash said:

Hi Ken. We are in an A1 Verandah cabin. Its close to the middle of the ship, so good for not feeling the wave motion too much.  

Cool! Enjoy your 3 free bags of laundry per leg and those wonderful views you're going to have from your balcony!

[Perash]

Today was a sea day and it started with breakfast in bed. After last night’s dinner I could manage only a coffee for breakfast. Regatta does a good black coffee - rich and nutty - but I’m no coffee connoisseur.

After breakfast we ventured up to Horizons Bar where they were doing some social cross stitch. Cute little cross stitch kits for eyeglass cases and coin purses were provided. I didn’t feel very social so I did some cross stitching from a distance while my husband read the news to me. There were around 15-20 other cross stitchers socialising and nobody seemed to mind my lack of sociability.

Around 1230 we decided it must be time to sample the lunch menu so we descended to the Grand Dining Room on level 5. It was an extensive and varied menu. We saved ourselves the exertion of making a choice by requesting a shared Mexican sampling plate. It was perfect. First of all, I love trying lots of small bits of different foods. The Mexican sampler had 7 small dishes including empanadas, burritos, fish ceviche and more. We really enjoyed it and while we had vowed to stop eating when full, could not pass up the caramel cheese cake. It was something special.

At 2pm we attended an information session about Brisbane and its surrounding areas, in the Regatta Lounge. The talk was very well attended: the lounge was full. While it was very informative, I don’t feel the need to attend another destination information session because I am happier to read up about destinations myself and can find the most up to date and relevant information online.

After the Brisbane talk, we went to a champagne launch of the jewellery boutique. That was very civilised. We met a lady who buys jewellery on each cruise she takes - a way to remember the cruise. How very civilised! We admired all the jewellery in the boutique and then departed to have a siesta.

However my siesta plans were laid aside when I discovered a Pilates class was on at 4 pm. I couldn’t miss it. It was an excellent class and by the end of 45 minutes I felt all my muscle groups had a good stretch. The instructor did a good job of starting really slowly and then building up to some super moves by the end (at least I thought they were pretty super!) I hope there will be more Pilates classes.

The Master of the Regatta hosted a welcome reception in the Regatta Lounge. It was very well attended. We were introduced to all the executive staff over cocktails and canapés. It was a very pleasant experience with live music and pleasant conversation. Afterwards we were lucky enough to meet the Master and his little two year old son who boarded the ship with his mother in Sydney. It was very sweet to meet this lovely young family.

Then to dinner at Toscana, because you know, too much food is never enough on board the Regatta. Once again the service and food were superlative. We shared some small dishes including scampi, calamari, risotto and pasta. I skipped dessert because I have discovered my stomach only stretches so far!

And now to bed. My husband just asked: what shall we do for breakfast? Skip it, I think! Looking forward to waking up in Brisbane tomorrow. Apparently we will dock around 3-4am. I doubt anybody will leave the ship before 8!

 

[cbb]

so glad that you had a wonderful sail-away from Sydney.  We did not.

 

Because of problems with the public address system we did not sail out until 3am...bummer for those folks who had never had the opportunity to sail under the bridge and pass the Opera House.    So...Yay, y'all!!!

 

yes, the walking track and i had to be best friends for the duration of our long cruises --I blame the wonderful food. 

 

So I walked there or on 6 or 7 deck after 2pm when the cabin attendants were finished.  Nice to walk in a/c and carpet on those hot hot days or on really windy days. 

 

Others were at the gym most mornings--you feel righteous when you're done and then you can have dessert or alcohol, or both!!

 

Brisbane at Christmas was beautiful.  Lots of lights and street markets.  Have fun!

[Perash]

I was sorry to read your sail away from Sydney was not good, cbb. 

Yes, I am also going to walk around the ship a lot and do pilates whenever I can. And perhaps eat less!!

[basor]

We have close friends sailing with you....they boarded in LAX and sailed all the way across the Pacific.  They are also very much enjoying the ship and the cruise.

 

[vaitape]

Perash,

We're on the 2019-2020 sailing and are very interested in your ports of call, especially Bali, PNG, and Komodo. Thanks for posting and we look forward to more!

ps/thanks cbb for your postings last year.....they've been helpful in our planning.....

[Perash]

5 hours ago, basor said:

We have close friends sailing with you....they boarded in LAX and sailed all the way across the Pacific.  

 

We met a delightful couple who boarded in LAX. Perhaps your friends, basor.

[Perash]

4 hours ago, vaitape said:

We're on the 2019-2020 sailing and are very interested in your ports of call, especially Bali, PNG, and Komodo. Thanks for posting and we look forward to more!

ps/thanks cbb for your postings last year.....they've been helpful in our planning.....

Thanks for reading, vaitape. I remember a year ago, booking for this 2018-19 cruise and following cbb's review with great excitement too.

I am looking forward to the PNG and Indonesian ports as well because I have not visited those countries previously.

[Perash]

On 12/14/2018 at 12:25 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

Cool! Enjoy your 3 free bags of laundry per leg....

Thanks Ken. After experiencing the humidity of Brisbane today, and anticipating the increasing humidity as we sale further north, I think we are going to need all the laundry services we can get.

[cbb]

remember your sunscreen and take extra!

 

[Perash]

Today we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the Grand Dining Room before disembarking to visit Brisbane city. The ship was quite empty by the time we left as many people had gone off on planned excursions at around 8-8.30 am.

We’ve visited Brisbane several times before but this was our first time via ship. First impressions of the Port of Brisbane were not positive. I’m not sure if there is another cruise terminal in Brisbane, but where we disembarked was a working cargo port - a very harsh, industrial environment. It was however, a good place to observe some cargo ships loading and unloading goods.

We caught a complimentary shuttle bus to go into Brisbane. It was a 45 minute drive in on a Saturday morning, most of it through suburbia. 

Once in the city, we started walking towards the Botanic Gardens. But it was so warm and humid that we reconsidered our options at Eagle Street Pier. There, we discovered a hop on-hop off city ferry which goes up and down Brisbane River between Sydney Street Pier and Queen Street Pier. It operates free on weekends. So we hopped on and sat on that ferry for a good two hours, enjoying the sights of Brisbane city from the river. It was a small ferry, very popular with both locals and visitors. We got off the ferry at Queen Street Pier and walked up Queen Street, through Queen Street Mall which was remarkably busy, back to our shuttle bus stop on Ann Street. In my view, Brisbane is a nice, generic Australian city with very little to really make it stand out.

The shuttle back to the ship terminal took 30 minutes and the air conditioning was a welcome relief from the warm humidity. Back on the Regatta, we showered to freshen up and then wandered out to Waves Grill and Bar for a cool drink. Then on to Horizons Bar for high tea at 4pm. All very civilised and pleasant. Then I had a nana-nap in front of the TV in my cabin.

We ate dinner for the first time in the Grand Dining Room. The staff in the dining room were amazing as they greeted us by name, as though we were long lost friends. Tonight’s ‘world cuisine’ showcased some Cuban dishes which we shared: salted cod, chicken with rice and black beans and a root vegetable soup. We have discovered the most pleasant way to eat is to order one dish between two of us and share. This way we can sample appetisers, entrees and desserts without over eating all the time. However the staff refused to let us share a dessert as they thought it wasn’t enough...so we had to eat individual serves of coconut macaroon ice cream. Oh the hardship!!

Tomorrow is a sea day and I have to admit to looking forward to it after feeling quite ambivalent about Brisbane today. There is even is a yoga class scheduled for 3pm.

[basor]

12 hours ago, Perash said:

We met a delightful couple who boarded in LAX. Perhaps your friends, basor.

If they are from Coral Gables and named Bruce and Vicki than you are indeed lucky to have met them !

[Paulchili]

12 hours ago, Perash said:

I am looking forward to the PNG and Indonesian ports as well because I have not visited those countries previously.

We’ve been to PNG three times - once on a land trip in1998 and twice more on cruises. While it’s no longer undiscovered, I think you will enjoy the uniqueness of PNG. If you can, attend a cultural performance. Their dances, music and especially the costumes are truly unique and very colorful.

Enjoy!

[cbb]

do you go to Port Moresby?  We did and took an O excursion to the Kokoda Track--famous for Australia troops stopping the Japanese from taking over that part of PNG in WWII.

 

You definitely are out in the jungles there and overwhelmed by what the Aussies did.  (but then I'm a big fan of WWII history so of course I'd love it!)

[Perash]

Yes cbb, we will visit Alotau and Port Moresby in PNG. I am looking forward to the new, unique experiences. 

I recall you were a WWII history enthusiast. We have not worked out our exact plans yet for PNG. I suspect the weather (heavy rain or otherwise) will influence us. There is fairly heavy rain over us on the Coral Sea today. It is related to the post-cyclone Owen depression, and will determine whether we get to tender to Hamilton Island tomorrow or pass by. I do hope we get to Hamilton Island!