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

[poolechick]

We are booked for this excursion next February on our Splendor voyage.  Thanks for the details, review and photos!

[-Lew-]

4 minutes ago, poolechick said:

We are booked for this excursion next February on our Splendor voyage.  Thanks for the details, review and photos!

 

We are too...on February 18th.  See you there...

 

Come on over and join our very quiet roll call.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 2/12/2022 at 12:42 PM, wcsdkqh said:

Geeze. Lose you seat because you get up to go to the bar or restroom, or even in the pool. Get real.

I agree, a little draconian.  If I'm by the pool, I'm alone since my husband is not a pool person.

 

On 2/12/2022 at 2:08 PM, -Lew- said:

 

Thank you so much for your review of Spice Beach Club.  We just booked this for January 2023...looks like it's back to the drawing board for Bonaire.

 

 

Looks like Samur Sail, Beach & Snorkel might be the way to go.  We'll certainly consider it when rebooking something in Bonaire.  Thank you...

 

It's what we did on Mariner in 2017.  The snorkelling was great--you go out to Klein (Petit) Bonaire, a barrier island out in the bay. Take some reef shoes if you have them. 

[poolechick]

1 hour ago, -Lew- said:

 

We are too...on February 18th.  See you there...

 

Come on over and join our very quiet roll call.

Thanks, but we're on the Feb 8th voyage.🙂

[-Lew-]

10 minutes ago, poolechick said:

Thanks, but we're on the Feb 8th voyage.🙂

 

Yes, the cruise embarks on February 8th and the Champagne & Lobster Catamaran Cruise takes place in Antigua on February 18th.

[Shippy]

3 hours ago, macbest said:

Excursion - Antigua - champagne and Lobster catamaran sail

 

We went around and around on selecting an excursion for this port. On a previous trip we did the Nicole’s Table cooking class which was amazing. We tried to get Into the Blue Waters resort  each retreat from the beginning (the first day months ago when you could do an advance booking as a gold member) and it was sold out then! So we settled for the Dickinson bay beach break. I got a little worried when i had heard that due to Covid we might not be able to rent chairs and umbrellas (at an additional charge!). 

 

Then when we got on board the waitlist for the Blue Water resort  cleared! We were so excited as an excursion that includes  a beach and pools (and meals and drinks) would be perfect for us for relaxing. 

 

One day prior to the excursion we found out that Regent overbooked and we (and 6 others!) lost the reservation. Bummed, we wondered what would be left as we tuned our other tickets in. 

 

Mariia from destination services recommended the champagne and lobster tour. It ended up being one of the best tours yet!  Super leisurely sail to two different beaches. And between the two, they set up tables on the shaded catamaran and grilled some fabulous lobsters!  (I think I’ll have the lobster vs the cracked crab!). 

 

Now I’m not much of a lobster fan as it usually is over cooked and rubbery. Not so this time. It was perfect! And what a setting. See pictures. The booze was nonstop. Way more than champagne pretty much whatever you wanted. Wine, beer, rum punch, pina colada, etc. super relaxing great day. Highly recommend. “Champagne wishes and lobster dreams”. And no additional charge! Amazing after paying $99 a few ports back for a similar experience.  And no where near as good food as this trip. 

sailing down the coast  
first beach stop 

second beach stop 

Giorgio Armani’s house. Only $88,000 a week to rent!

 

[Shippy]

For anyone who has been on the Lobster Catamaran tour....

Is there ANYTHING else to eat ???

I so want to go on this tour but my husband does not do seafood !

[Gcto]

56 minutes ago, Shippy said:

 

one of our fav tours.... done it 4 times so far and each time it's fun

[Gcto]

55 minutes ago, Shippy said:

For anyone who has been on the Lobster Catamaran tour....

Is there ANYTHING else to eat ???

I so want to go on this tour but my husband does not do seafood !

well, you can skip the lobster and just have the salad and ... but there isn't much. They do have beer (liquid bread 🙂 )...  but it's a champagne and lobster tour... so that about covers it 

 

[ActiveCruisers]

We were supposed to be on this cruise but weren’t comfortable with all the testing and protocols. Not going to cruise until I am no longer required to mask or test.  So it may mean never cruising again.  That’s ok.  Got our money back after two long years of postponing.  

[poolechick]

2 hours ago, -Lew- said:

 

Yes, the cruise embarks on February 8th and the Champagne & Lobster Catamaran Cruise takes place in Antigua on February 18th.

Ah ha!!! Yes! Thanks.🙂

[macbest]

Super Bowl Sunday on board! 

After a fun excursion today, we were getting prepared for the Super Bowl and thought, why go to the tellgater they were having by the pool and see if we could get in again to Pacific Rim? We called and were able as the place was empty. 

 

What a meal, maybe the best overall yet! We split four appetizers - two from last time the duck confit spring rolls and the pork and shrimp siu mai along with the Alaskan king crab roll and the tuna tartare with a carrot ginger sauce. The latter was amazing. So all four on the plate looked like this: what were your pregame appetizers?

 

For our entree, we tried the aromatic duck (delicious!) and the NY strip with a bulogi sauce and chive mashed potatoes. I ordered it med and as you can see it came med rare (which is what I wanted). So again note to self to order accordingly. This was the best piece of steak I have had onboard for the past 10 days. Tender, flavorful, delicious. 

We split the lobster tempura. Our previous experience with this on Explorer was poor. The breading was to heavy and so it was full of oil not so this time! With the three Included sauces it was amazing. Happy to see this made correctly. 

Honestly one of the best meals yet. We were told we could get in again during the upcoming sea days if we wanted. 

 

We went to the constellation theater to a fairly packed crowd watching the super bowl. This cool ice sculpture was up by the stage. Watched through half time and enjoyed the rest of the game in our room. No commercials though so we missed that portion. They play the same vignettes of upcoming shows on a ship. No network commercials. Also we left Antigua a little earlier than expected as they didn’t have a satellite signal to televise the game at the pier. So off to sea we went!

[Granite543]

Looks like a great way to watch the game! Maybe the picture is deceiving, but that steak looks medium to me. Either way, it looks excellent!

[macbest]

Lunch -Sint Maarten - Prime 7

 

Following their “special” lunches they do in the alternative restaurants on board, we had not yet been to Prime 7 so we gave it a try after skipping excursions today and relaxing by the pool. What a valentine day treat!

 

Menu shown. 

I started with the split pea soup and ham, one of my favorites. This one did not disappoint (but not quite as good as our friends Jessie which she makes with leftover honey baked ham.)

Laura had a beef empanada that was flavorful and wonderfully seasoned. 

The chicken quesadilla was tasty also with a good amount of chicken. The salsa was so carefully cut so small!

This was the yellow fin tuna “salad” with an avocado cream and a ginger sesame emulsion. This was really really good, not what was expected when you see it called “tuna salad”. 

The prime beef burger was the best burger on the ship, something you might expect in the steak restaurant! With a racer bun and “special sauce”  it also Included steak fries which were perfectly cooked. 

The dessert menu was tough, as they all looked good. So which one to choose? Well they decide for you with mini versions of all 6! How fun. 

Off to a Valentine’s Day massage before a special dinner tonight! Stay tuned! 

[macbest]

Dinner - Valentine’s Day - Chartreuse 

 

I booked this as one of my first reserved restaurants when first allowed online weeks ago. A French restaurant seemed fitting for my love on Valentine’s Day. Menu below

Warm welcome in entering, every lady received one as we left. Nice touch. 

We started with the duck foie gras terrine with sautern jelly and brioche. OMG. Beautiful presentation and oh so delicious. Living in CA we seem to live in a state that allows this one year and then not the second year. This was sooo good. 

Also tried the steak tartare with caviar and a Dijon sauce. I thought this one missed compared to prime 7. The caviar really only added saltiness to the dish and nothing much else. I chose “poorly”. 

The hit was this beetroot salad with creamed goat cheese and a truffle vinaigrette. We have had this before on Explorer and oh so glad it is still on the menu. A real highlight. Three different kinds of beets that go beautifully with the goat cheese cream and the vinaigrette was delicious. So good that I’m going to recreate this for friends. Nancy and Michele in West Palm Beach after they cruise. 

Soups are never to be missed in a French restaurant and we chose “wisely”. The presentation was part of it also. A nearly empty bowl with a few highlights and then the soup is poured in. Laura had the mushroom soup-7 different kinds of mushrooms. The texture was heavenly and the chef uses very little cream. As such you get a real mushroom Unami flavor with out the mealy-ness of chopped mushrooms. This was incredible. And yes that is a whole roasted garlic glove at the bottom. 

I had the best soup of the cruise, the lobster bisque. The broth was a deep rich rue color not unlike a New Orleans gumbo. It was fantastic. 

For entrees we had seared scallops with chorizo! The sauce was fish stock, Pinot noir and Madeira wines and of course butter. This again was sooo delicious. Really a highlight. We replaced the butternut squash spaghetti (Laura not a fan) with creamy mashed potatoes and haricot vert. The former used to soak up all the rich. The scallops were huge and perfectly cooked. But the chorizo added this wonderful kick. 

I had the baked lobster tail with a scallop mousse with an almond broth. The lobster was very good but the heaviness of the crust above and below (and their was a potato below that) took away from the tasty lobster. I thought the almond broth was very odd. I have never seen something like this with seafood and I don’t think it was too successful. I again, “chose poorly”. 

For dessert we decided to have cheese and crackers. Normally, PC (pre-Covid) they have this huge cheese cart they wheel around with 6-10 cheeses. Alas, no cart but a selection of 5 cheeses. They were all delicious (with names I can hardly remember (goat, compte) but the one on the right side of the picture was special with truffles. The chef takes a cheese and adds his own truffles to totally make it his own. Who does that on any other ship? This was the perfect ending to a lovely Valentines meal. 

The ship was decorated a bit for Valentine’s Day. Similar to another Regent cruise we took to China and Japan. 
 

Kasha and Boogie were playing fun love song music in the Splendor lounge and everyone was up dancing the night away. This was our latest night yet at midnight!

 

One of our two sea days starts tomorrow (love these!) along with a cooking demonstration and a special (and additional charge) winemakers lunch in compass rose. Stay tuned for that!

[DatawCruiser]

We enjoyed the Wine Connoisseur lunch today. Fun commentary by the head sommelier and a good selection of food and wine.  Macbest was also there and will most likely have better info than I.

[macbest]

Wine connoisseur lunch, second to last day on ship (a sea day)

 

We tried the optional wine lunch today at our first day at sea. Menu attached. Really nice wines and one bonus wine. It was a 12:30 start and still felt like if you were part of the “elite” class of Penthouse and above (or titanium and above) who all sat in the middle. We are Gold with Regent (145 nights) and stayed in an F1 suite. And we were stuck behind a pillar. Again. Oh well as I said early on, we are going with the flow in times of Covid. 

The meal had a number of smaller portions of some of our favorite dishes like the NY steak from Pacific Rim and the scallop dish I bragged about last night from Chartreuse. The food was exceptional. But all seemed a little like repeats. Nothing was new and different for this event. And it was a wine and food event. The explanations were all about the wine and yet, Jolizza explained them somewhat. I learned some new things (we own a short term rental house in Sonoma - www.Kenwoodcottage.com, shameless plug) so we are well versed in wine). But the part I was hoping for was a comparison of why they selected the particular wine with the food pairing. They brought out all the chefs that prepared each dish in the beginning and to Introduce them personally but not their dishes, but then they were not to be seen as the dishes were unfolded. I think they could have done so much more in explaining to everyone why this wine that they selected paired so well with the food. Because they were good pairings but even I was challenged to figure out why they work so well. This would have elevated the event to another level that would have been so easy to do. They “educate” so well in the cooking school on board, that should Carry over here with the price charged. 

 

For example, first course had a lovely champagne rosé (see list for selection) served with tuna and avocado poke with a little bit of macadamia nuts and cilantro. It was a great pairing. I finally found someone that said the bubbles in the champagne cleanses your palate with the soy-sesame oil emulsion of the tuna poke. And they were right. But we didn’t hear this from the head sommelier, But from Anthony from Italy (one of the onboard sommeliers). 

It was delicious. 
 

The second course was the killer seared scallop topped with chorizo and the Pinot noir and Madeira wine sauce that we had last night. An excellent dish that would have been better served with a nice Pinot noir (of which the ship had been absent of due to the supply chain issues since the second night - ok, I’m going with the flow).  We ordered the only California Pinot noir off the reserve (paid) list on the second night, a Belle Glos and were told it was the ONLY bottle on board!). A shame as a Pinot noir sauce would pair well with a Pinot noir wine. They chose a Sauvignon blanc from Italy. Hmm. A nice wine and it kind of worked but I’ll bet when they get “restocked” they would pair this differently. The scallop and chorizo and the sauce is incredible. 

The third dish was a surprise in part because I normally wouldn’t order duck breast and it was on the Chartreuse dinner menu last night. The cherry sauce was beautifully paired with the fat of the duck breast and was incredibly enjoyable. The French Bordeaux (left bank) was a real surprise and very good with the dish. This was one of the surprise wines (and food) for us today. 

They also served between this course and the next an Amarone wine from northern Italy. I think this is an acquired taste as it was a bit harsh (but quite the bargain on the wine list during dinner if someone wanted to try something different). 

Next up was one of my favorite dishes of the cruise and certainly of the Pacific Rim menu, the NY strip steak with the bulgogi sauce. And a perfect pairing with the Shafer (Napa) Syrah. Wow. Served with the chive mashed potatoes and the maldon course salt flakes (you have to squint to see on the top of the plate, pick some up with your fingers and sprinkle on the meat. Yum). Once again a perfect dish and perfect pairing. 

Dessert wine, Dolce from Far Niente is a favorite. Always has been. Very expensive ($110 a half bottle on board) it was paired perfectly with the lemon Bavarian cream and berries. What a treat. 

Lunch was $169 pp. The wines were probably worth that (see the prices of each wine on board on the final menu below with my detailed notes) but it would have been nice to have some new dishes vs the ones that were already in the other restaurants. Mind you all were good, but this is a chance to showcase the talent of the chefs on board! And have them come out and talk about their dish and show the passion what they were thinking along with why they helped select the wine pairing (vs the other way around). What an awesome event this would be with that one-two punch.

 

I would recommend. But better with a wider election of onboard wines. 

My notes

Edited February 15, 2022 by macbest
Typos

[RetiredandTravel]

Great job with the trip report Macbest, much appreciated.

 

The food looks great.

 

Glad you are enjoying yourself.

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

5 minutes ago, macbest said:

Wine connoisseur lunch, second to last day on ship (a sea day)

Wayne, I must thank you for your wonderful food narratives and great pictures.  I am not normally into food porn at all, but I find your photographs excellent and love the commentary--you could have made a living doing this.

 

I'm a bit concerned that as a Gold SSS member, you feel like you're not being treated as well as some others.  I'm Gold as well, but have always loved the fact that everyone on a Regent cruise gets treated equally.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise, and thanks again.

[macbest]

2 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

I'm a bit concerned that as a Gold SSS member, you feel like you're not being treated as well as some others.  I'm Gold as well, but have always loved the fact that everyone on a Regent cruise gets treated equally.

This is the first time I felt this way. This cruise was a result of a 125% bonus on a cruise we could not take in 2020 due to Covid. The 25% bonus was sufficient on a very expensive cruise that we are taking this summer to Iceland to cover at least 3/4 of the price of this cruise.

 

It almost feels that since the revenue generated from us on this cruise, new revenue!, was less than others may have paid that the shortfall in some areas on the ship have shown up.
 

Earlier someone had quoted why do they ask for your cabin number when you arrive at any of the restaurants.  I think there is some kind of coding on your loyalty status, level of cabin, and revenue generated for this cruise that is taken into consideration. This is my opinion only but it’s what I have observed. While this may not be totally uncommon as I observe in business (larger companies receive bigger discounts from vendors), it’s a shame for someone that has sailed nearly exclusively on Regent for many years. Again, we are “going with the flow” and hard to compare if you paid full price or close to it, but something to be cognizant of in these times of “future cruise credits”. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

40 minutes ago, macbest said:

it’s a shame for someone that has sailed nearly exclusively on Regent for many years.

It certainly is a shame, for you, and especially if it continues, for everyone.  As someone who worked hard for over 20 years to get to that Gold level, with our only hope of Platinum dashed by our cancelled world cruise, we expect to be treated very well by Regent, as should everyone on a cruise.  And our money, if we pay up in May, will be "new" money, not an FCC.

 

I totally understand how these first Caribbean cruises must be a bit 'hit or miss' given the quarantining and the testing, and the staffing issues.  Willing to cut them some slack, but now it's time to settle down and deliver their product as advertised. 

[macbest]

30 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

It certainly is a shame, for you, and especially if it continues, for everyone.  As someone who worked hard for over 20 years to get to that Gold level, with our only hope of Platinum dashed by our cancelled world cruise, we expect to be treated very well by Regent, as should everyone on a cruise.  And our money, if we pay up in May, will be "new" money, not an FCC.

 

I totally understand how these first Caribbean cruises must be a bit 'hit or miss' given the quarantining and the testing, and the staffing issues.  Willing to cut them some slack, but now it's time to settle down and deliver their product as advertised. 

I think you are spot on Wendy. As someone who has followed your posts on this forum for years, I am in the same spot as you - hoping to make platinum soon (ideally in my case, prior to retirement so we can enjoy those “perks” when we are retired”). 
 

The cruise has overall been wonderful. The 14 day is the only way to go (and our longest cruise yet) as after two years of being couped up at home, it took me a full 7 days to be able to get “in the zone”. the staff nearly throughout has been amazing. Our cabin attendant, Suszanne is amazing and so on top of it all. 

 

My comments are relatively minor (but hope Regent reads and takes notes that we are seeing the small cracks in the armor) in the big scheme of things and we both went in with very realistic expectations. We wear masks everywhere. We realize there are supply chain issues (dam on the lack of Hendricks gin!) and we only have 430 on board which means less revenue overall for regent.  We will do a final synopsis at the the end with a few other items of criticism but that is what this forum is all about. 
 

Many positives from this also, you pretty much can get into any speciality restaurant when you want to due to low customer count. We will likely never see that again!

 

I just want to provide a balanced perspective on what I’m observing and experiencing. 

[islandchick]

Thank you so much for showing pic and menus for the wine lunch. I was considering that for our cruise but not worth the money imo for food from the regular menus. The wines would have to be pretty spectacular for me. 

[macbest]

Dinner -Compass Rose second to last day. 

 

After our wine makers lunch, the rest of the day became a “low tech” afternoon, meaning no major decisions decided so relax on balcony and nap time.
 

We were excited to check the compass rose menu on our Tv that beef Wellington would finally make an appearance this trip. 

 

Still in awe of how beautiful the table is set in compass rose. These “pre” plates from Versace are just gorgeous. They stay on the table until the meal is ordered. 

Given that this is our 12th day we have gone through many of the left side of the menu (non changing) items and it was time to revisit our favorites. We both started with one of our favorite items on the ship, the compass rose escargot. Shown again below the garlic butter sauce is amazing. 

I had a Caesar salad and shown is what I mentioned last time about dicing up the anchovy really small and then tossing back in salad. This so changes the taste of a Caesar. Try it!

Laura had the mushroom soup. It was similar to what she had the previous night in Chartreuse, but she said actually better. Creamy and filled with mushrooms blended so fine that it isn’t gritty. A touch of cream makes it. This is going to show up at home when I recreate. 

Kevin, our amazing waiter and I highly recommend him, suggested we try the pasta “purse” that was stuffed with ricotta with an asparagus cream sauce. This was really tasty and had great texture. I have never seen this pasta shape before. Although rich and heavy I highly recommend this. 

We had the beef Wellington and while very good (by the way we forgot the “required by law” - extra sauce and Kevin quickly obliged and provided!) the mushroom duxelles is too heavy - it was more like a stuffing instead of an Unami “add”. I have been making Gordon Ramsay’s version of beef Wellington with a crispy crust and much prefer that version. It was still good and impressive, just not over the top. 

Had the chocolate soufflé with a vanilla sauce. I don’t know of any other cruise line that has different soufflés on the menu every night. What a treat! I have enjoyed at least 8 different versions. 

With some money still on our shipboard account, again we received a lot of shipboard credits that are nonrefundable, we ordered a bottle of New Zealand Pinot noir. It was OK but nothing like a California Pinot noir as those were all sold out on the ship (on day 3!). 

 

More money lost in the casino and a little Kashia and Boogie and we called it a night. Tomorrow is our last sea day (have i said how much We enjoy these)? My second cooking demonstration class will be on the list of things to do (I’ll provide a write up of both I have taken shortly) along with lounging by the pool (and the requirement to get up at 7a to get a spot from the chair hoggers) - late add- ACHIEVED!

 

[RachelG]

Macbest, I have to agree about the beef wellington served in Compass Rose--just too heavy for me.  Also agree about your comments on the wine lunch.  While it looks fabulous, it would be nice to either have some different off the menu food items or an explanation of the pairings. 

 

I find the lounge hogging really reprehensible.  Not an issue for me as I am not one to sit out on the pool deck in a lounger, but it should not be allowed.  If you are gone from the lounger for 30 minutes (plenty of time to take a swim or go to the bathroom),  your items should be removed and put in on a table of shame over to the side somewhere.