Live Blog Splendor 2/25

[crusin7]

Hello for the second installment of the Splendor sailing!  I am traveling with my husband Jim and sister Cathy.  We flew from L.A. to Miami early Monday morning.  We stayed at Regents hotel..Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne. The weather was beautiful.  We grabbed a Margarita, chips and guacamole at their Mexican restaurant. We sat outside enjoying our beach view.

I’m ashamed to admit it but then we went to their other restaurant and had dinner.  It was very good.

The included breakfast was less successful.  The line was very long to be seated at 0815.  Everyone came at once and we waited quite awhile to be seated.  

We were on the first bus at 11:30. Check in went smoothly.  Only 3 questions about  coronavirus.   They did look through our passports to see if we had been to Asia.  

[Mudhen]

OOOO! Wow does that look good!!

Thank you for taking us along. It'll be fun to get a further perspective on how the "New Baby" is doing!

L&J

[Mr Rumor]

So glad you've picked up the Splendor blogging baton, cruisin'!  Have a great, great cruise!

[crusin7]

 Thank you both.  Our luggage came so I had to put clothes away.   My first impression of Splendor is that it is the same as Explorer except lighter and brighter.  The ship is beautiful.  Here is a photo of spa treatment room for couples.  Lifeboat off of Coffee Connection. Coffee Connection is huge. The iced latte was delish!

 

 

 

 

 

[BTinney]

Thank you for posting. I am so excited to read about the next voyage. My husband along with 2 other couples board in NY for Barcelona 4/16. We booked this cruise well over 1-1/2 years ago and its 7 weeks away! This will be our first Regent cruise. We signed up for the M&M, excursions and culinary classes. Can't wait! Enjoy every moment!

[Travelcat2]

Thank you for starting this thread.  We will read it with interest since we will be boarding shortly after you disembark (there is a TA 2-night cruise in San Diego before we get onto the ship).

 

I've a lot of photos of the ship and agree that it looks like Explorer but lighter in color for those that felt that Explorer was too dark (I didn't find it to be dark).  The extended areas in the Observation Lounge and La Veranda look nice and will likely be the first seats taken every day.  

 

I believe that Captain Serena is still on the ship (but disembarks before we get on).  Can you confirm that she is still on and, if you hear who will replace her, it would be nice for us to know.  

 

Enjoy every moment of your cruise!

[boblerm]

cruisin7, thank you for keeping the Splendor voyages alive on the Regent board!

Have a great cruise, looking forward to your observations on what looks to be a fabulous ship.

Bob

[Gilly]

Hi Crissie (and Jim and Cathy of course)  we wish we were there too, but will be sailing along with you in spirit.  Have a great cruise!

[Kwaj girl]

We were on from Barcelona to Miami and rejoined the ship today after a 5-day hiatus in Miami.   Regent securely held our bags,  and as returning guests we were first to check in and reboard.  537pm local time....awaiting departure from Miami.   Horn blows...AMF

[greenolaker]

Thanks for doing the blog. We’re doing Venice to Rome end of October and I get to sign up for our shore excursions later tonight.  We were on the Voyager in December so I can’t wait to experience the new ship. She looks beautiful. 

[crusin7]

Okay, back after a painless safety drill.  We had a beautiful sail away at 5:30.  

 

 

 

 

We we had dinner in Compass Rose.  Service was good plus.  Food was delicious. 

Started with crab avocado salad..no Bloody Mary sauce. 

 

 

Oh geez.  It took 1 hour to download my dinner pics and then they said download failed. Ugh!  I had a most delicious lobster tail.  For my main course I had veal piccata.  Then  Kahlúa soufflé.  Yummy. 

Captain Serena is not here.  We have Captain Diego Michelozzi.   It says he has been with Regent for three years. I have never sailed with him.  

 

 

[ronrick1943]

Thank you for taking the time to post, ;booking forward to reading more. n Have an enjoyable trip.

[crusin7]

Yahoooo here’s the picture of my fabulous lobster.  It was the best bite of the night.

 

 

Soufflé without sauce

 

 

food was was not going to get the better of me!

 

Veal Piccata 

 

 

[Hambagahle]

Bon Voyage Cruisin7 - keep that ship in tip top condition for us - we board along with Jackie and a lot of other lovely posters from CC on 14 March.

 

LOVE the "food porn" photos -- keep them coming!

 

Diego Michelozzi was Staff Captain on the Splendor until Captain Serena went on leave so it is a lovely promotion for him.  And I assume he was also with Serena in Ancona for the final stages of getting Splendor ready to sail.  It will be a pleasure to meet him when we board.

 

Looking forward to lots more posts and lots more great photos as you make your way to San Diego!!   We fly from here a week on Saturday (ZRH/SFO) so we are getting excited too...

Gerry

Edited February 26, 2020 by Hambagahle

[kjbacon]

Your blog is off to a great start, love the food porn!

 

What were the 3 questions at check in about Coronavirus ? 

[crusin7]

 

47 minutes ago, kjbacon said:

 

What were the 3 questions at check in about Coronavirus ? 

1.  Have you traveled to Asia/ China Hong Kong in the past month?

2.  Do you have a cough or any respiratory symptoms?

3.  Have you had a fever greater than 100.4 in the last few weeks?

I didn’t save the form but this was the gists of it.

[crusin7]

We are in a Master Suite.  Here are some photos.  We are located in the back of the ship.

Balcony

 

 

 

 

 

[crusin7]

Living Room

 

 

Couch...tight squeeze with coffee table and TV

 

[Hambagahle]

Suite looks lovely.  I am a bit surprised about the size of the living room though...

We will be in 785 - Grand Suite - also in the stern.  I know we have a small living room but I think the balcony will be more or less like yours with a shorter "return" on the side since we only have one bedroom in the suite.   Your balcony looks wonderful!!!  Looks like you are on the Port side so going north up the coast after you leave the canal you will have the wonderful "Pacific sunset" views.   I chose our suite for that very reason.

 

Photos are just GREAT !!  

[Travelcat2]

Thank you for showing the Master Suite.  We have stayed in aft Master Suites in the past and it look pretty identical (the balcony doesn't look as deep as on Explorer but the balcony size is different - depending upon what deck you are on.

 

Gerry - the living room area looks smaller than it is (because the sofa and chair are put together in a way to make a small space.  It is part of the large room with the piano table and chairs.  We had a party in there and there was plenty of room.  On the other hand, fitting people in the forward Grand Suite was cramped when we had four couples in for cocktails (due to furniture that was too big for the space....... hopefully regent put in size-appropriate furniture for Splendor).  

[ronrick1943]

Looks great, have a wonderful trip.  Food shots - WOW!  We'll be boarding April 1 for a B2B, we'll be in a Grand Suite in the front of the ship for the 1st part, moving to the center of the ship for the 2nd half.  Looking forward after reading your post, looking forward to more. Thanks.

[Christine4]

Could you please tell me the cost of the spa treatments? 

 

[Isklaar]

Thank you for posting, look forward to more. 

Food looks fabulous, as does your suite.

Have a great cruise. 

[1982CruzStart]

Thanks you for posting. Looking forward to more. Have a great cruise.

[crusin7]

2 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

 

Gerry - the living room area looks smaller than it is (because the sofa and chair are put together in a way to make a small space.  It is part of the large room with the piano table and chairs. 

We have stayed in the Master Suite on Explorer twice....once on 8 and once on 9.  Our closet and bathroom seem bigger on Splendor.  The shower is huge.  The living room seems smaller.  There is no chair by the sofa.  The sofa is pushed up near the TV.  Very cramped.