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

[DatawCruiser]

We took a bus tour today. We stopped at the natural bridge that fell into the sea in 2005.
 

 

A second bridge then formed to replace the original.

 

[PinkMEB]

We opted to stay on the ship today rather than take a tour in Aruba. We had the pool area to ourselves for awhile. Very nice day. 

[RetiredandTravel]

On 2/5/2022 at 6:52 AM, natshala said:

I’m really enjoying this thread and all of your contributions. Thinking of booking with Regent after Crystal troubles. Any solos on board? Special solo activities? 

 

We haven't cruised post Covid but on our last Regent cruise there were several solo cruisers and several solo activities.  You may want to start your own thread and I'm sure you'll get plenty of information.

[labonnevie]

On 2/5/2022 at 7:12 AM, macbest said:

 

 

 Also noticed no Hendricks gin on the menu but if you ask for it, they will find it and give it to you (classic Regent great service). 

 

On the Explorer, Hendricks was on the menu in the Observation Lounge, not sure about the other bars. Enjoyed it a couple of nights. 

[macbest]

9 hours ago, labonnevie said:

On the Explorer, Hendricks was on the menu in the Observation Lounge, not sure about the other bars. Enjoyed it a couple of nights. 

It isn’t on the list of alcohol in the observation lounge on Splendor. Last night I asked for it while there for some pre dinner music and now they said they don’t have it. While I was told they would “go get it” when requested earlier in the cruise, yesterday they would not in the observation lounge. But it is on the Meridian Lounge mixologist list.

[macbest]

Dinner in Compass Rose, Aruba night. 
 

We tried to get our waiter from last night but there were no tables for two in his station there was actually one but it was right next (< 2 feet) to another couple and we wanted a little more social distance). I always feel that if you get someone you like and is fun to keep them throughout. They will quickly learn all your nuances (ice in water with lemon, pace desired of meal, etc). It makes a meal feel much more comfortable and relaxing. 

 

We started with a panko crusted prawns with a spicy Mayo. The prawns were huge!  Tasty and not oily.

A corn and pablano chili soup with pancetta and crispy pumpkin seeds made this soup a highlight.

Also tried the pesto pasta with shrimp. I don’t know why they call it pesto when it’s not green but we have seen this before on regent. Either way it was delicious with bits of shrimp not while shrimp.

The obligatory sorbet, today was William pear and Rosemary. 

 

For entrees I had the jerk marinated black grouper with fennel, mango and a few other items.

It was good but I wanted to also try a small portion of the schezwan (sp?) beef stir fry (when on regent why not?). This was amazing. Super flavorful and super tender I wish I had gotten a full size of this and half size of the fish.

Laura had a mushroom crepe with a béchamel sauce. It was light and very flavorful. 

 

Dessert included a grand Soufflé with a Chantilly vanilla cream. The daily soufflés are so amazing. They come out so puffed up and in such a short time between requesting and at your table. Laura saw that another desert had butter pecan ice cream with it. She asked for just the ice cream and they delivered. That is one of her favorites and she was very happy. 

 

We continue to work with the same wine steward and again asked about  the complimentary wine list. He claims one doesn’t exist. But that he would introduce us to every wine they have on board to continue to seek out our favorites

[Ccohen314]

Two requests, if possible.  Can you post (take pic) some menus?  And anybody have an accessible cabin?  Trying to see if any ramps to bathroom or balcony.  Thanks.

[macbest]

Here are the menus from tonight. Awesome dinner. Really shows why Conpass rose is THE place! Full write up shortly on what we had. 
Tonight’s specials. 

 

The left side (always available)

 

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by macbest

[DatawCruiser]

One interesting note.  Our original health advisory required COVID antigen tests before excursions on Bonaire and Grenada.  It appears these are no longer necessary.  We are in Bonaire tomorrow.

 

[kjbacon]

Really enjoying this thread and the great pictures 😁 we also loved the zucchini chips in Sette Mari!

[macbest]

11 hours ago, DatawCruiser said:

One interesting note.  Our original health advisory required COVID antigen tests before excursions on Bonaire and Grenada.  It appears these are no longer necessary.  We are in Bonaire tomorrow.

 

In addition we received notice that our next 4 ports (Grenada, st. Vincent, Barbados, Dominica) all won’t require Covid tests but they only allow you to go ashore on a scheduled tour. In other words no just walking around. But all the tour options available you can do pretty much everything that is guided anyway. 
 

in Bonaire today some local “health” official looked at (for the first time this cruise other than at embarkation) our vaccination certificate. Makes sense here is a bot of 450 and if you want to come to their island we want to make sure you are least vaccinated. 
 

So just going with the flow in Paradise!

[macbest]

Curaçao

 

We are developing a fun routine which I love about cruising. After a day with an excursion with a “trolley car” that took us around the downtown area (few pictures below) we came back to ship for lunch and then relaxed the rest of the day. We check out the menu for our restaurant (all on the tV screen in your room) and take a nap. 

 

We head down to the Meridian Lounge around 6p to enjoy the mixologist and a new type of fun drink. So many to try! The Regent band plays (pianist, saxophonist, guitarist, and drummer) and we relax some more. Then on to dinner!

 

Compass Rose tonight

 

The items on the special menu (right side of menu) were excellent tonight. Some of the best yet. We started with the seared tuna loin that was under a vegetable tartare. A little wasabi Mayo and pickled ginger finished the dish off. This was incredible. Really over the top. The vegetable tartare included carrots broccoli asparagus and a few others but the texture was amazing and very flavorful. 

 

Next were the pork and chicken dumplings. The broth they were in was so tasty! Two for two fun and delicious dishes. 

 

We split both of the pastas, an anchovy and broccoli with a little olive oil (simple but good) and also an artichoke and cheese risotto. Both again excellent. The artichokes were a bit firm when gave it a nice contrast to the creamy risotto.  

 

Laura went to the left side of the menu and ordered a pasta with pesto and grilled chicken (all custom ordered not really on the menu) and I had a bourbon marinated New York strip steak with a mushroom gravy. Asked for medium I will let you be the judge. It was very tasty although as I mentioned before the steaks are a little tough. 

 

Tonight’s soufflé was pistachio which was amazing. 

 

The featured wine (included) tonight was a Pinot blanc from France. So tasty. And then with my main course they served a Wente vineyard merlot (Wente is in Livermore CA about 30 min from our Bay Area house). Few people are drinking merlot these days due to the “Sideways” movie and it’s a shame! This one was excellent. 

 

Really fine dining today! 

 

We listened to Kasha and Boogie in the splendor lounge and then retired. Another relaxing and delicious evening! On to Bonaire

[RachelG]

your food pics are making me hungry!

[BBWC]

The tuna loin is one of our favorite appetizers , and we totally agree with the Wente Merlot.

[macbest]

Excursion review in Bonaire- Spice beach Resort

 

We looked at the pictures online and read the description. Sounded like a fun way to enjoy a beach and snorkel and relax under shade in addition to the  swimming pool. 

 

Well the reality wasn’t like the description. No umbrellas to rent despite the description stating these would be available. Uncomfortable lounge chairs. Little shade. You couldn’t sit where you wanted. A group of chairs were what we were allowed to use. The good, shaded seats were reserved for their resort guests. A beach that wasn’t very accessible (it is essentially man-made). You couldn’t go farther in but to soak your feet (the water would not even get to your ankles). 

 

The snorkeling was from a dock and staircase into the water. While there were a lot of fish I didn’t see any equipment to rent (for us fins would have been nice as we did bring our own snorkel). The coral promised was non existent. a bunch of what appeared to be cement blocks under water that coral may grow on, say, 50 years or more. 
 

From the pictures below, this was nothing like what was advertised. We spoke to everyone that came on our bus and everyone was disappointed. I wouldn’t recommend. 

Edited February 8, 2022 by macbest

[boblerm]

4 hours ago, macbest said:

I wouldn’t recommend. 

I really appreciate your candid opinion of this excursion.  Based on the description, this may well have been an excursion that we would have chosen, but seeing your depiction, I think that we would have been sorely disappointed.

 

Thanks for your great reporting, and enjoy the rest of your cruise!

 

Bob

[macbest]

The evening started with a special invitation to the “top tier” regent customers, those with gold status and above.”  This is the first “organized” event on board this trip. It was about recognizing the other frequent regent travelers (we had one lady on board recognized for over 2600 nights! That’s like 7 years! And she was young!). They’re were 108 gold members (like us) and 30 platinum (over 200 nights). They then recognized staff on board for years of service. They even had the head of HR on board. I thought this was quite moving. They had three singers perform one song each for the group. 

 

Dinner Pacific Rim, after Bonaire day

One of the alternative restaurants on board, Pacific Rim covers Asian inspired food. Think Japanese, Thai, Indonesia, etc. We first experienced it in the Explorer in 2018 and were impressed although you did need to order “wisely”. There are a lot of different options that have not seen other than in fine restaurants in those countries like the use of truffles and foie gras. 
This 1/2 million dollar art piece “welcomes/scares” you as you enter. 

You are greeted with a welcome drink and then this starter. The sauce on the right reminds me of a “yum yum” sauce found at some teppanyaki restaurants. Delicious!

 

We both started with the duck confit spring rolls. These were amazing! Chewy yet crispy and both sauces, a spicy Mayo and a hoisin sauce matched well with it. You could make a dinner out of these!

We shared two more starters and glad we did as both were incredible. A pork and shrimp siu mai a “little pocket of happiness” with a mirin soy sauce and a chicken and foie gras dumpling (potsticker). Again these are not to be missed although if you choose only one I would select the siu Mai. 

On of my favorite Thai soups is Tom kha kai a coconut broth soup with lemongrass, galangal, green onion, mushrooms and a red chili. This was their version. None of the items visible but likely in the broth. On the side was mushrooms and truffles! Excellent. 

 

Laura had a seaweed salad that was incredible she said. Underneath was Wakame with a black pepper dressing. 

Main courses included a bbq Thai short ribs reminiscent of Roy’s famous appetizer in Hawaii. So good! Lots of meat. And you could pick up with your hands if you wanted to (they give you a hot towel). I enjoyed a red Thai chicken curry. One of the best things yet on the ship. We did a few sides, sautéed veggies, duck fried rice, and Indonesian noodles.

Ended the meal with mochi, a Japanese dessert made from a sweet pounded rice dough wrapped around ice cream. We had three flavors: strawberry, mango and green tea (not a fan of the latter). 

They had a few different sake concoctions like a Japanese martini that i tried. Wasn’t my thing. And the wines offered unique to this restaurants are those that pair well with the spicier foods - Riesling and gewürztraminer and three different Pinot noirs (the Pinots were all disappointing). An enjoyable dinner that would be fun to come back to for a few of the other options like their famous miso black cod and lobster tempura. 

Edited February 9, 2022 by macbest

[dodgerdoug]

On 2/8/2022 at 11:42 AM, macbest said:

Excursion review in Bonaire- Spice beach Resort

 

Most unfortunate that you picked this one. We were on the Explorer holiday cruise recently and went on the Samure, See & Sea in Bonaire. Of all the ports this was one of the best for us. The snorkeling was excellent with good, provided, equipment. If you stop in Dominica, try the River Tubing and Emerald Pool, this was another one that we enjoyed a lot. Enjoy the Splendor of it all!

[macbest]

Arrived Grenada at 2p today which was nice given the port intensive nature of this portion of the cruise. We slept in (another 9.5 hour night!) and worked out prior to coffee. Played the golf putting tournament (they guys won today - I nailed two great shots) so 3 more regent tickets (hooray). We then played bingo where I won the blackout! That has never happened. 

 

We had lunch in Chartreuse today. What a treat! 

 

 

 The entrance and our view at our table as we come into Grenada. 

We started with a charcuterie platter with a oh so delicious duck terrine. 

The chartreuse version of Niçoise salad. Super yummy (but not enough dressing). 

A yummy lentil and sausage soup (everyone here has been talking about it so had to try it!)

Probably the best was the leek and Gruyère cheese quiche. Wow that crust!

Main was a duck confit and foie gras (because why not!) salad and a veal cordon blu. Both were excellent. 

Again what a treat for lunch and such a beautiful setting. 
 

… on to our next adventure!

[Aloha 1]

5 hours ago, macbest said:

We had lunch in Chartreuse today. What a treat! 

 

 

 

Your food porn is killing me!  Keep it up.

We board Explorer in a week and a half and I already feel heavier!

Edited February 10, 2022 by Aloha 1

[RJ2002]

Just catching up with your reports, and agree with many others - just great.  I'm especially enjoying the food pictures and descriptions.  After a couple of false starts, I think we are finally on track for a return to Regent in June.  This thread is certainly setting the stage.  Thank you for taking the time to post.  Keep it up please!

[macbest]

Finished our 4 hour excursion and as we walked back to ship i saw this opportunity with a sunset and the ship. 

 

After a quick “turnaround” we went down to Meridian lounge with the mixologist. I didn’t mention a few days ago that Laura ordered a Cosmo and it wasn’t the way she likes it. We asked to see the mixologist and asked if she could make it more like what i create at home. She looked at my recipe and said yes no problem. Laura likes it with more lime juice and less vodka. Mind you we are talking 1/4 oz differences but it makes a difference. She completely accommodated and now we have “Laura’s cosmo”! So as we entered today she recognized us and Laura ordered one and it was exactly like she wanted. Yet another personal, go out of your way touch offered! 

 

Dinner in Compass Rose, night of Grenada. 

 

We were taken back to our original section with the excellent waiter, Kevin. But again the staff up front wanted to put us tightly packed with other couples. We wanted some “space” and they accommodated. I mean the restaurant was maybe 1/3-1/2 full so why cram us in? 

 

I have been waiting since our last Regent cruise to order my favorite (left side of menu) appetizer, escargot. I know some of you are freaking out thinking of snails in your yard. This is so far from that you have to try it. It is like a little mushroom in terms of texture. And the garlic pesto type sauce is the bomb. And it fully delivered. This will definitely be a redo in the days ahead. 

Laura had a mushroom tart with a red pepper coulis.  It reminded us of the mushroom duxelles found in a beef Wellington. It was delicious. 

A standard “left side” menu item is a Caesar salad and I needed to try it again. I know you are looking at the anchovy and going yuk, I hate those! Well a good Friend of ours, Jessie, told us to put it on the side and dice it up really small and then toss throughout the salad. This adds so much Unami to the salad! Try it that way and let me know what you think. And no dismissing it saying you don’t like it when you haven’t diced it up like I am describing. And if you don’t end up liking it, heck they will bring you another salad without it!

For entrees Laura had a coq au vin. One of the other cruisers on a Regent ship just had this and posted on another thread and said it was awesome. I mentioned the rave reviews and Laura decided to try it and she really loved it. Made with chicken thighs vs breasts it was moist and flavorful.  I’ll be making this when I get home. 

I had the special, the prime rib. Worried that it would not live up to the beef that I have had elsewhere on the ship I ordered it medium (wanting it medium rare). It looks well done but when i cut into it was med rare just what i wanted. So you have to trick them into potentially asking it to be cooked one higher level to get it the way you like it. This is pretty much throughout the ship. I asked for horseradish and it was a nice add. The potato was delicious but look at the included broccoli with hollandaise sauce. One little spear! Oh well I expected it so I did a side order of another entree and asked them to make it small. It was a green curry vegetable dish. It was perfect as a veggie add. 

Dessert was just ok. This was supposed to be a banana and macadamia nut pudding. It was more like a cake. But the butter pecan ice cream was excellent. 

Another fine dining. Experience with great service. We went for a circular walk on the top deck (12) to work off dinner. Ok, no we didn’t do 2000 laps but it is the thought that counts

Edited February 10, 2022 by macbest

[vegasdriven]

Mac best- I dub you Sir Regent dining critic extraordinaire!

 

Fantastic pics, and detailed descriptions. 

[macbest]

Excursion - St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Catamaran Sail to Bequai (Bek-way)

 

This was a $99 add on excursion that picked us up at the pier on a large catamaran. Held 45 people and had plenty of shade. We rode to the island of Bequai where we first stopped at a snorkeling spot called Moonhole. The waters were pretty rough and snorkeling was quite a workout. Fish were actually pretty minimal too. With 45 people on board it takes a while for everyone to get there gear and into the water. They have a nice staircase that leads into the water that makes it a easier to get in. 
sail away

 

We dropped one our prescription snorkel sets while getting in and it immediately sunk to the bottom. Great. Well the skipper jumped in after everyone that was going in the water did and with a long pole was able to retrieve it!  Needless to say this was huge for us (and we gave him a nice tip!). 

snorkeling here

 

We then sailed to the busiest cove (few people on the island so you technically don’t see many people at all) and then over to a private beach where we could swim and also were served lunch. We stayed on the beach for 3 hours! Chairs were $5 per person and we just kept backing them up into the shade as the sun came around. 

Lunch was just ok. Salad, Mac and cheese, fish and chicken legs. And served with punch. 

 

The highlight was just floating in the water taking it all in. After 7 days I’m officially “in the zone”! The best part? We have 7 more days to go. Let the vacation really begin!

 

The sail back was nice and relaxing. I would recommend this excursion. Very relaxing. 

Edited February 10, 2022 by macbest
Added more pictures.

[poolechick]

Thanks Macbest. We are booked for this excursion next February. 

The first time we saw Bequia was when we took a Windjammer cruise in 1999. Can't wait to see it again!

Edited February 11, 2022 by poolechick
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