Escape from reality / Splendor Feb 3rd. 14 days southern Caribbean

[macbest]

The time has finally come, our cruise begins tomorrow. I have been reading everyone’s topics daily about their live experiences on Regent over the past 6 weeks in preparation for this cruise as an escape from “normal life”. And now I’ll share my time (complete with food porn) over the next two weeks for all those that are in the same position that we were in - waiting patiently for their upcoming cruise. 
 

The most exciting part is getting back on a Regent ship. We have cruised with Regent for 113 nights but nothing in the past three years. And it has been a long wait to say the least. The exceptional food, beautiful ships, staff, service is what always keeps us coming back for more! 
 

So follow along if you would like on our fun adventure. 
 

We are in our early 60s from the San Francisco Bay Area. 
 

Arrived in Miami this afternoon and are staying at the Marriott Biscayne Bay with a view of the cruise ship terminal. All empty now but will be exciting to see the Splendor tomorrow morning. 
 

It has been very stressful with all the testing and not knowing if we would test negative. We feel great but so many people I work with felt great and got Omichron  so not knowing for sure until the proctored test that Regent is promoting would we know! Well that happened yesterday at home, 48 hours prior to sailing. NEGATIVE! So here we are…..

[kjbacon]

Your weather is beautiful today for sail away … Bon Voyage! Let’s get the food porn started 😀

[DatawCruiser]

I'll be joining in to help with this topic.  Spent a very restful night at the IC Miami after a stressful drive in yesterday.  One last testing hurdle and we'll be on board later today.

[EAGLESLOVER]

[EAGLESLOVER]

Our view this morning. See you on board

[macbest]

2 hours ago, DatawCruiser said:

I'll be joining in to help with this topic.  One last testing hurdle and we'll be on board later today.

Yes DatawCruiser and EAGLESLOVER please add in! We can make this “escape” from three different viewpoints. 

[macbest]

We decided to eat locally to our hotel last night and Casablanca on the Bay seemed like a good choice. The food was good but the service was poor. I wouldn’t recommend to others until service can be improved. 

In no particular order: This first dish was crab stuffed shrimp. Good spices and flavorful but the heavy breading and cream sauce made it oh so heavy. On Wednesday they have free oysters on the half shell. Well you know what free means when it comes to sushi and oysters, stay away. These were definitely substandard. Fried calamari was good. The tuna tartare was very good. Great sauce underneath, very fresh. The last dish was excellent: black grouper (aka poor man’s lobster) with a mushroom sauce, bok choy and mashed potatoes. Good Enough to want to come back for. 

[islandchick]

We will be following your live thread closely.  Bring on the food porn!  If at all feasible, could you also post the daily passages (specifically activity and dining schedules, and show information) as we will be joining this ship shortly and really want to see what is going on onboard in the time of covid.

Edited February 3, 2022 by islandchick

[RachelG]

Good luck on testing negative!  Can't wait for more reports.

 

BTW, I am really hoping you didn't actually eat those oysters. 

[macbest]

2 minutes ago, RachelG said:

Good luck on testing negative!  Can't wait for more reports.

 

BTW, I am really hoping you didn't actually eat those oysters. 

Yes a little stressful for that last hurdle. And no, I chose not to eat the oysters. Didn’t want to risk it!

[RachelG]

Just now, macbest said:

Yes a little stressful for that last hurdle. And no, I chose not to eat the oysters. Didn’t want to risk it!

good call.  Testing positive for covid and not being able to board would be terrible, but spending the first days of your cruise confined to the bathroom would be terrible too. 

[1982CruzStart]

Thanks to all of you for taking us along on your trip. Can't wait to see the pictures and read about your adventures. Have a great cruise everyone. 

[sassyw]

Already on Splendor eager to start second leg of our cruise. We have had 10 dinners so far and every restaurant has been superb. 

[macbest]

Boarding was a breeze. We decided to wait until just after 1 to arrive at dock. Walked right in to tent for Covid paperwork. Then test. Start to finish up was 30 min. Very efficient and well done. Getting your barcode saved a lot of time with EuroFin (and he company they use for the testing). We then walked over to the terminal and again no lines whatsoever and checked in. Never happened to us like this before. 
 

We were on the ship and in our room just over 45 min from arriving at the port. That was really nice (and yay final hurdle of that last test is done!). 
 

The ship is amazing. Beautiful. So much attention to detail. It will take days to soak it all in. 
 

Signed up for spa treatments and then a quick lunch and drink (ice cream for me!!!) by the pool. Let the escape begin. 
 

One other side note. The process for muster is so much improved. You check in to your station anytime after boarding and then that is it. You watch a safety briefing at home and there is a long announcement in your room. But no Schleping your life vest to some packed assembly station, not using the elevators, etc. Again it has been 3 years since our last cruise and this was a welcome improvement.

[macbest]

Pictures of our F1 suite. Similar to the Explorer - well laid out. Beautiful colors and tones though and love the bathroom.

 

[macbest]

Pictures of some of the relaxation rooms in the spa and the infinity pool. 

What a beautiful vantage point. 

Edited February 3, 2022 by macbest

[labonnevie]

Really like the lighter colors on the Splendor, the Explorer is so dark everywhere. 

[RachelG]

Why is there a fan in your room?  Is that something you requested or is the air conditioner not working properly?  Have never seen this on a regent ship before.

[macbest]

Standard item we like on every cruise. Great white noise. 

[tripperva]

Never saw a fan in the suite on any Regent ship. Special request ?

[macbest]

Yes special request. 

[DatawCruiser]

Our experience for the check in process was similar.  We called for a baggage handler and our car at 10:30 at the IC Miami.  We were in our car 10 minutes later and arrived at the Terminal at 10:45.  After offloading our bags and parking in the J parking lot, we went to the testing tent. There was no line and maybe 10 other guests waiting for results.  After a quick test and a 10 minute wait (yea - negative), we entered the terminal.  We had to wait for about 15 minutes until they opened the gates for everyone, and we were in. So, about 30 minutes from when we entered the Testing tent.  Our muster station was the Meridian Lounge, so we checked in there. Across from the Meridian Lounge is the Coffee Connection, which was conveniently pouring champagne, so we toasted our embarkation immediately (several times) sitting on the out side deck there.  A wonderful start.

[pnsnkr]

4 hours ago, RachelG said:

Why is there a fan in your room?  Is that something you requested or is the air conditioner not working properly?  Have never seen this on a regent ship before.

 

I thought everybody carried fans with them.  We do, though they are small table side ones 😀

[macbest]

Dinner at prime 7 last night. The Splendor version of Prime 7 is bigger than the explorer. The lighting leaves a lot to be desired especially on the sides with two person tables. This can be seen with the dim pictures below on my side of the table and full light for my wife. Usually we are one of the few at prime 7 on opening night. But not this time. It was packed!
 

This is always one of the meals that is hit or miss for us. I want to love the meal and restaurant as the menu is awesome. However it often fails to deliver. Getting the steak cooked the way you want is usually the hardest part. 

We started with the amuse, tomato soup with a blue cheese foam. Refreshing and savory. I had the crab cake which was delicious. Not fishy and nicely cooked. The tarter sauce with a squeeze of lemon was perfect. My wife had the tuna poke with cucumber and Acacado which was a highlight even thought there was no avacado in it! The wedge salad ranch dressing was watered down and hardly enough for the two wedges provided. It just didn’t have that zing given is as so watered down. The hard boiled egg and bacon were a nice touch. 

While there is no excuse, we forgot to take pictures of the main course! And a shame as the two lbs of Alaska crab legs was a big disappointment. This has been my go to in Prime 7 the last few trips. Although they remove the shells,  there were many shells and cartilage still in the crab. Much of it was over cooked and rubbery. I mentioned to the head waiter and after conferring with the chef, they realized something was not right. During Covid, Alaska king crab has skyrocketed in price ($40/lb at Costco in California). Usually when the price goes up that much, the quality goes down. That may be the case here?
 

That said, Laura had the surf and turf (fillet and Alaska crab) and her small amount of crab was very good. The side dishes are always a joy. Mashed potatoes (which are as creamy as can be), creamed spinach, crispy onion rings (as ordered by our waiter) and the green beans all were a hit. We finished with a red velvet cake /cheesecake combo that was delicious and the Carmel corn sundae (a real treat). 
 

The wines were not as good as in the past. However, we just need to start asking for something different. I’m sure we will find something better. 

[labonnevie]

1 hour ago, macbest said:
 

The wines were not as good as in the past. However, we just need to start asking for something different. I’m sure we will find something better. 
 

Ask any of the wine stewards to have a complete list of the complimentary wines for your cruise sent to your suite. Then you can pick what you want to drink right from the beginning and not wait for them to pour it later in the cruise. We immediately found a cab, a chardonnay, a Sauvignon blanc and a zin that carried us through the cruise nicely. The list was two plus pages long.