Ramblings from the Sailing the Suez Oct 26 to Nov 16th.

[flossie009]

A number of ships in Muscat harbour today.

 

 

Seven Seas Voyager, Silver Spirit, Tui Mein Schiff, a naval frigate, two of the Sultan’s ships, numerous luxury motor yachts and the odd tourist dhow.

 

 

We should arrive in Dubai at around midday tomorrow, overnight in port then they will throw us off the ship by 9am on Saturday 😥

We are then spending another night in Dubai (at the Oberoi) before flying home to the cold & wet on Sunday.

[1982CruzStart]

9 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

Thanks for the photo of the Boeuf Tartare.  Looks better than with a sauce around it and without caviar!!   I would order it, spicy (normally around here they make it at the table and you can ask for more spice if you like (you taste it...) with frites.  But not truffle fries which I love but not with tartare!!  Picky, picky !!  

 

Your photos are great...

 

I didn't have the truffle fries with the tartare.  It was an appy. The fries were with the surf and turf entree. 

 

I think the tartare is great no matter what venue you have it at. 

[Hambagahle]

2 hours ago, 1982CruzStart said:

 

I didn't have the truffle fries with the tartare.  It was an appy. The fries were with the surf and turf entree. 

 

I think the tartare is great no matter what venue you have it at. 

I will definitely try it.  Here we eat Tartare as a main course as a rule and with either frites or toasts.  

Looks like traffic congestion in Muscat!!

[flossie009]

Our approach into Dubai was a little cloudy and slightly later than planned

 

 

 

 

The sail-in dance party was entitled “Sheikh, Rattle &Roll”, led by the band and the production cast

 

 

 

 

.............. and of course some drinks were on hand
 

Oksana ........ with the GM, Anatoli in the background watching over proceedings

 

 

 

[DeepFreeze63]

Thanks for taking me along. Whenever I get frustrated with Regent, I find a thread like this that reminds me HOW MUCH I like being aboard their ships.

[califsealion]

Thank you for the tag team live postings!  I thoroughly enjoyed following along.

[1982CruzStart]

Well it is 6:30 am and we are sitting in the theatre waiting for our number to be called to go get our luggage and transfer to the airport for our 10 am flight to LHR then onto YVR and finally home. 

 

These early mornings are brutal when we are looking at 24 hours of travel. 

[rcandkc]

1 hour ago, 1982CruzStart said:

Well it is 6:30 am and we are sitting in the theatre waiting for our number to be called to go get our luggage and transfer to the airport for our 10 am flight to LHR then onto YVR and finally home. 

 

These early mornings are brutal when we are looking at 24 hours of travel. 

Oh my!  I have really enjoyed this thread because  your trip home is just not in the cards for me anymore so only way I’ll get there.  It looks like it was a fantastic cruise. 

[flossie009]

We had a more relaxed time this morning.

Breakfast in La Veranda then off the ship about 08:45 for our transfer to the Oberoi Hotel, Dubai. Checked in and just waiting for our room to be made ready. So good to have decent Internet access, even here in the hotel lobby 😁

 

Sad farewells on the ship this morning .................. but will be back on board Voyager in the Spring 🙂

 

 

Our flight tomorrow is 2pm, scheduled to arrive at Heathrow at 6pm local time.

[liptastic]

Safe travels to all especially our two excellent reporters for the wonderful live postings.

Thanks Jean.

[Hambagahle]

Fly safely!  And again - thank you both SO much!!  I think I am more sorry than you to have this cruise end...

[ronrick1943]

Thanks again, looks like a great cruise comes to and end.  Be safe, travel safe and I'm sure you're planning your next cruise.

[Mr Rumor]

Kathy and Susan, thank you for your wonderful joint blog.  It was a delight cruising along with you!

 

Rich

[Kitekat]

Thank you for a great read. It brought back wonderful memories of our first cruise with Regent on Voyager in 2016.

 

9 hours ago, flossie009 said:

Sad farewells on the ship this morning .................. but will be back on board Voyager in the Spring 🙂

 

 

Which Voyager spring cruise are you going on?

[boblerm]

Thanks to you both for this very enjoyable report, appreciate all of the great info and pics. 

Safe travels home! 

Bob

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

I really enjoyed your journey. Thanks for all your postings. Sorry it’s over. You whet my appetite. We will be on Explorer on December 7th. Counting the days. 
Regards

Sheila

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Sorry for the awful fact of getting kicked off the ship!  But thanks for taking us along, especially since many of these ports are on our WC somewhat over a year from now.

[chuckw]

Thanks so much, we were booked on this cruise but had to change plans, at least we got to experience some of the cruise with you. 

[1982CruzStart]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. We made it home safe and sound though it was not the enjoyable trip home i wished for. It started with a less than stellar transfer experience and went downhill from there. 

 

Unfortunately our time on BA was not as good as it has been in the past. Our flights were on very old 747's that left a lot to be desired . The only upside was we were upstairs and it tends to be quieter and less hectic up there. All our flights were late leaving but fortunately the time was made up for the most part. The flight attendants were very good but the food was barely edible and have to say i was somewhat surprised that for an 8 hour flight and a 9 hour flight respectively we weren't offered better food options.  Did put a bit of a damper on the end of our holiday especially because our cruise next year ends in London and i expect BA will be the only option coming home. After this recent experience i really don't want to end another vacation with this kind of experience. 

 

It only added insult to injury that friends that booked at final payment time in the same suite class were offered Emirates business for no extra cost so had a private limo transfer to look forward and a much better experience home. 

[Hambagahle]

From personal experience (I used to be a BA Gold flyer) BA has gone down a LOT.  I do everything I can to avoid flying on BA.  It is a shame you could not be on Emirates which has a great reputation (but I have yet to fly on them).  Do they fly to Vancouver?

 

I do everything I can to make sure I fly Swiss.  (But then - the way I book our cruises air is not an option!) . 

 

[SWFLAOK]

Thanks for traveling with you on your cruise. We'll be boarding Voyager in Singapore in a little over 2 weeks for 32 nights to Sydney. I'm excited and nervous for our first trip to Southeast Asia and Australia, but we've enjoyed Voyager twice so far, and expect to enjoy our Penthouse B cabin onboard.

[flossie009]

So our vacation is over and we are trying to come to terms with being back in cold, frosty UK weather after the heat of the Middle East.

It was good to meet Kathy, @1982CruzStart, again on this cruise and am glad that our joint blog generated some interest.

 

Our journey home was somewhat shorter than Kathy's, and all went well.

Our overnight stay at the Oberoi in Dubai was very comfortable and we can certainly recommend that hotel; a spacious room and excellent service at a very reasonable price.

On Sunday we had a leisurely breakfast and then took a cab to the airport for our 2pm BA flight back to Heathrow. The flight was on time leaving and arrived early. Service on board was good and the food was OK, washed down with acceptable wine.

We do not have the traumas of changing planes or terminals at Heathrow and, as we live only about 40 mins from LHR, were back home early evening ................. then the dreaded unpacking.

 

 

A few final thoughts about Seven Seas Voyager:

Although she is not our favourite in the Regent fleet, we thoroughly enjoyed our time on board and the itinerary was excellent.

Two plus points are: 

1. The full width forward viewing deck up top on deck 12. Excellent for sail-ins and photography.
2. The comfortable seating area at the rear of the Horizon Lounge; a lovely place to while away the odd hour with a book or just watching the ship's wake. (Although Voyager does suffer a little vibration at the back on occasion)

 

 

We understand that the dry-dock refurbishment of Voyager originally planned for next year has been postponed till 2021. Some thoughts as to work that should be done:

1. Reinstate the storage that was removed during the last refurbishment. More drawers and cupboards would be a welcome addition in the spacious basic suites.
2. Refresh the bathrooms in the suites. 
3. Lighten up the decor in Prime 7. The dark colours and leather chairs are now very dated.

We also found the tables to be too close together, which further spoilt the ambience of this restaurant.

 

Contrast with Chartreuse, which is light & airy:

 

Chartreuse just needs the menu to be refreshed/rotated during longer voyages, as the main course choices are limited.

 

 

Having said all that, Voyager is still a good ship & has the same excellent Regent staff & service on board. It also sails some very good itineraries, which is why we are back on board next March on a voyage that encompasses some of the same ports that we have just experienced .......... but in reverse order.

 

 

We are now looking forward to the next blog on the CC Boards from a Regent ship so that we do not suffer from too many withdrawal symptoms!!

 

 

 

[Gilly]

@flossie009 glad you're home safe and sound after what seems like a long time!  We've really enjoyed sailing alongside, albeit vicariously but look forward to joining you on your next adventure for real.

 

Agree 100% re list of suggestions for the next refit, especially in P7.  We enjoyed dining in the Mariner P7 so much more as a result of a lighter, brighter ambiance and had forgotten how dark the Voyager restaurant is.

[1982CruzStart]

i also agree 100% with the points that Susan made including looking forward to reading other CC adventures. 

 

Susan, I hope our paths cross again. 

 

[John G]

This has been such a fun trip report. Thanks for taking the time. We were actually booked on this cruise, but about two weeks before we were to leave home, Regent got in touch with our travel agent and offered us a really attractive incentive (they substituted a more expensive cruise for the same price, plus offered us some cash) not to take this trip (apparently they were oversold on this cruise). We'll definitely be booking this at a future date — in particular we want to see Luxor and Petra.

 

Loved all the pictures and detail you provided! Felt as if I was there.