Splendor Transatlantic 04/05/22 - 04/19/22: Crystallized Foodies try out Regent...well cuz

[Gilly]

We just arrived in Spain from UK - not on a cruise - and have followed the ever changing CV requirements to the letter, even doing a quick download and form filling exercise in the airport hotel last night, just to be sure.  A cursory glance at  our vaccination certificate barcode on the phone screen was all that was needed when we arrived at the airport this afternoon - that form last night wasn't even mentioned, an experience similar to @2012_Alaska_bound above.  Who knows?  I write this only to offer hope to those arriving in EU countries where the ever changing requirements are confusing and confounding.  One thing I can say is that the local people here in this part of Galicia are all wearing masks outdoors and in and we are happy to comply with our FFP2s.  

Heres hoping @Pathfinder88 has the homeward journey within sight!

[Pathfinder88]

Emily- thx for asking.  No, we took PCR tests on our 6th day of isolation in Madrid, only to both be positive again.  Talk about feeling absolutely helpless, confused, frustrated, angry…absolutely ALL the feels.  There’s a long post on page 13 of the Roll Call board for the TA cruise all about our ordeal.  Good news is that we did make it home on Tuesday. 
Stay tuned for my review of of the ship/cruise experience. 
 

I’m glad your trip continued to provide great sights!  Safe travels home! 

[Gilly]

4 hours ago, Pathfinder88 said:

 There’s a long post on page 13 of the Roll Call board for the TA cruise all about our ordeal.  Good news is that we did make it home on Tuesday. 

Good news indeed!  I just looked for your post on the roll call but drew a blank.  I wonder, might someone post a link, please?

[Pathfinder88]

Gilly- does this help?  I’m not at all savvy with this stuff.  It’s comment #311 on page 13 of the Roll Call for Splendor April 5 cruise. Try clicking in the message below. 

 

[Gilly]

@Pathfinder88 thank you!  Worked perfectly.  I must say, your experience was the nightmare so many of us dread.  We rely so much on everyone else's observance of the rules don't we?  That you picked up that virus somewhere along the way is something that could happen to us all - well, something that happened to us too, but we had the good fortune to be at home with all the freedom that includes.  I'm so happy to read you're now home again and hope that this won't prevent you planning to travel to interesting places and most of all, overwrite the happy memories which preceded this horrible conclusion to your cruise.  Thank you for sharing your experience here.

[pnsnkr]

Day 7 - Mo sea days

 

Still deep in sleep, we were woken up by the Captain.  Dang, how long have we been sleeping..?  We still had two more sea days before our`` next stop at Ponta Delgada.  But, getting there would involve rough seas and high winds.  So, we would stay on our easterly course and skip the port.  Well, it was only three hours till his regular noon update.  He could have let us sleep until then before breaking the news.  He was quite apologetic, though.  Multiple times.

 

The Passages featured The Country Fair, or the "fete," on the frontpage.  It was scheduled at 10a local time.  But, with successive days of losing an hour, that would mean 6a body time for us.  Captain's alarm clock didn't do it for us and we went back to bed, deciding to skip the event.  Apparently, it was a resounding success and talk of the town for the day.  We'll catch it on reruns on YouTube.

 

We skipped breakfast as we usually do on sea days.  The buffet theme for today is German.  They typically offer the featured dishes at all the lunch venues, with additional venue-specific items to differentiate.  Our lunch today would be at Chartreuse.

 

DH had their version of the french onion soup and she liked it.  I had some sort of a corn soup that was quite good as well.

 

  

 

 

For the main, we both chose the fisherman's platter.  Some of the best fried seafood we've had on a ship.  Really enjoyed it.

 

 

Dessert wasn't memorable.

 

 

 

After lunch, we returned to our cabin and lounged out in the balcony.  I spent a good bit of time trying to upload the pictures from our panasonic camera over to my phone so I could start writing the reviews.  The free wifi up to 4 devices per cabin was put to good use to transfer the pictures.

 

Afternoon tea theme was Viennese.  The presentation was quite pretty as usual.  Only thing we enjoyed were the scones with clotted cream and jam. 

 

 

 

 

 

That was a bit disappointing.  Back to the cabin to complete the uploads.  Tonight's dinner is at the Pacific Rim.  It gets rave reviews and the menu is extensive.  A quick visit to the Meridian Lounge for some 'Dancing before Dinner' with the Orchestra band but there wasn't much of dancing.  The specialty drink that includes a mist of rose water gently sprayed over the glass was the highlight.

 

 

Our reservation was at 8p but the venue was quite busy and we had to wait close to 20 minutes to be seated.  The ship's restaurants manager was quite apologetic and assured us another guaranteed visit to the venue as compensation.  We were in no hurry and didn't mind the wait.  But, the gesture was appreciated.  

 

How could one not be impressed by this! An auspicious sign to the feast that awaits us.

 

We were seated and promptly offered the welcome drink.  The plate setting is gorgeous.

 

That dip is oh-so-delicious!

 

We had earlier booked another visit to the venue for the final day and so had a rough idea for how to approach this extensive menu split between two visits.  

 

Ginormous lamp shades - this wide-angle shot doesn't do justice to capture the sheer size

 

Tempura soft shell crab for starters.  Thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Duck spring rolls.  Perfectly seasoned and delicious.

 

Foie gras gyoza 

 

Siu Mai

 

Tuna tartare with carrot and ginger sauce - yummy

 

Tempura lobster for the main course.  DH loved this better than the soft shell crab.  

 

Seafood laksa - was more like a curry but tasty nevertheless.

 

These sides were blah so we didn't take but a bite

 

Mei goreng - blah

 

Petite fours before dessert.  I'm a sucker for macarons and ate them both.

 

Chocolate Indulgence - but it has a gelatinous gooey center that the DW ate around.

 

Passion fruit cake was a disappointment.

 

We burnt a couple of hours on dinner.  It was quite elaborate and had a lot of hits, with a few misses mixed in.  We wrapped up dinner just in time to head over to the Observation lounge for some "guess the tune" fun.  I guessed one tune - woohoo!  DW faired much better and guessed 9 more.  But, not even close enough to the winners.

 

We headed back to the cabin and it was time to call it a night.

 

Or, was it...?  Technically, the activities that followed would be Day 8.

[ronrick1943]

Nice photos, looks like you’re enjoying the cruise.  Thanks for taking the time to post.

[purpleally]

On 4/15/2022 at 5:10 PM, Smbruner said:

Did you take your luggage with you or have it picked up to be taken to the ship with Regent?

 

With. Absolutely 

[pnsnkr]

Day 8 - Day of culinary mediocrity

 

Our night continued in the cabin, wide awake unable to shake the effects of time change.  We watched a movie and after that it was time to check out the room-service menu.  How about some pizza and burger?

 

We were able to customize our topping not listed on the menu - onions, and jalapenos.  The pizza was seriously delicious, way better than the slice I got from the grill earlier in the trip.  And no, we were fairly sober and this wasn't a case of the munchies.  The fries however were cold.

 

Medium-rare, just as we wanted and quite delicious.  This was our first burger on the ship and it was quite promising for what's yet to come.

 

When we woke up, we had sailed past midway point of the Atlantic - but still 4 more sea days to go.  There were steady swells from the north but the sailing had been fairly tame, though we did notice quite a few passengers sporting the patch.

 

It seemed like the ship took the day off.  The passages didn't have any special feature on the frontpage except for a full-page Ad for Seven Seas Splendor.  There was no special theme for lunch printed on page 2. (except on the last page showing middle-eastern buffet), and afternoon tea was pound cake - yay...?  The evening entertainment featured comedy by Tony Daro, so we wee looking forward to that.

 

Lunch was at the grill.  Kebab and tandoori to start.  The kebabs were juicy and delicious.  The tandoori was heavily overcooked.  Didn't eat but a bite or two.

 

The shrimp brochette was amazing as ever - this is a failsafe option at the grill.

 

The chicken wings are battered and fried.  Soft, juicy and yummy.

 

The handcrafted Matador burger was an utter disappointment.  It was a jumbled overcooked mess and the bun was dry and brittle.  One bite was one too many.  It's unfathomable how a grill that specializes in burgers fumbles it so bad compared to room service.

 

A bit bummed, we headed back to our room, deciding the enjoy the views of the ocean from our balcony.  DW ordered the buffalo chicken salad from room service, along with ice cream, cheesecake, and coffee.  The salad was very very good, even though the chicken was served cold.

 

 

 

We also watched a couple of whales (could have been humpbacks) in the distance; and, a bunch of dolphins decided to play along crossing the bow every so often - they were too fast to capture on camera.  Quite an enjoyable relaxing afternoon in the balcony and a worthy trade-off to pound cake.

 

We headed over to Compass Rose for dinner leaving plenty of time to catch the comedy show after.  We were seated by the window at the far end of the dining room.  

 

This never gets boring.  What a delightful way to begin dinner.

 

The dinner was also middle-eastern themed.  We both ordered the Moroccan Harira duck soup.  It was served lukewarm that pretty much took the punch out an otherwise delicious serving.  This was yet another time that we've been served lukewarm food on this ship and it was getting annoying.

 

I had the cavatelli pasta and DW had app portion of the Madras lamb curry.

 

We were served this dish on our special Indian dinner and it was just as delicious as before, albeit a bit salty.

 

For mains, I had the lamb curry and DW ordered surf-and-turf from the left-side menu.  Once again, the lobster was served cold, not even lukewarm.  The meat temperature was equally bad.  What a complete waste of a high-quality product just because it sat too long somewhere unattended.  DW would have sent it back except that the service had been slow so far and we wanted to catch the show soon after.

 

 

We were completely put off at this point and left the venue without ordering dessert.  I gave a quick feedback to the hosts in the front on our way out.

 

We headed out to the Constellation theater to catch the comedy show.  After a slow start, he was quickly on a roll and was quite hilarious.  Definitely lifted up our mood to wrap up the day on a high note.

 

 

[pnsnkr]

20 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

Nice photos, looks like you’re enjoying the cruise.  Thanks for taking the time to post.

 

Thank you.  We had a wonderful time.  Back home to the grind. 

[pnsnkr]

Day 9 - Happy Birthday, DW!

 

The original itinerary had us visiting Ponta Delgada today; and so, we'd earlier planned to celebrate DW's birthday a day later so it would be on a sea day.  Plans change and we adapt.  We shall celebrate the birthday, well, on her birthday; so we had the Prime 7 dinner changed to today as soon as we heard that we'd be skipping the port. I'd also requested our butler Zahid to decorate the cabin and it would be done when he head out for lunch.

 

A beautiful sunny day with calm seas.  

 

But, the storms were raging right behind us and making a beeline towards Ponta Delgada.  The captain still had the ship pointed due east and was getting us the heck outta dodge.

 

 

 

Zahid stopped by to personally wish DW Happy Birthday and to reconfirm our reservation at Prime 7 for dinner tonight.  There would be no theme buffet today and so we'd be heading over to Prime 7 for a sit-in lunch.  Today's tea would be banana flambe so something to look forward to this afternoon.  The Passages also boasted the special caviar bar and champagne at the Observation lounge at 6p.  When we traveled on Seabourn, we could order caviar and champagne on any day, served right in our room.  Not sure why Regent doesn't advertise such a perk.  In any case, it would be no special caviar, just the same that we'd tasted earlier at the brunch; so, we skip.

 

We made our way to Prime 7 for lunch after enjoying the calm seas from our balcony.  We we promptly seated by the window.  The seas were still relatively calm past the streaky window.  

 

 

The specials featured South East Asian dishes and that looked promising.  For starters, we had the Coconut and Galangal soup.  Yet again, it was served lukewarm.  What's going on here...? 

 

 

For the next course, I had the Country Terrine and DW had the app portion of the Nasi Goreng, the featured dish.

 

Once again, the Nasi Goreng wasn't served hot.

 

The terrine was exquisite and the tangerine complemented it just right.  Really enjoyed it.

 

For the main course, Nasi Goreng for me and Chili and Honey-glazed Salmon for DW.  Holy smokes, the salmon was served almost cold.  It was promptly returned to the kitchen.  This was pretty bad and something wasn't right with expediting at the kitchen, with food just sitting there feeling lonely...

 

We had a chat with the restaurant manager while we waited for the main course and provided feedback that this seemed to be a problem ship-wide; or maybe we were the unlucky chosen ones.  He was apologetic and ensured that he'd make a note for us; which prompted us to inquire - why would anyone have to make a note of it?  Hot food needs to be served hot.

 

The two of us had a laugh playing out WWGRD - What would Gordon Ramsay do - scenarios while we waited.

 

After the main course, we just nibbled at the petite dessert sampler that tried valiantly to rid of the bad taste from our experience.

 

My wanting to give a few more minutes for Zahid to decorate the room, it was time to do some exploring of the ship.  We headed down to Deck 5 to check out the SPA.  It was quite impressive, but also quite empty.  The SPA menu was also reasonably priced.  But, not our cup of tea.  We made our way to the Coffee Connection to grab our usual to go.  There are no paper cups so it was served in proper china that we carried to our room.

 

Zahid had decorated the room in the meantime and it was just right; and set the right celebratory mood.  We enjoyed a nice chilled bottle of Champagne in your balcony.

 

Our request to get a printout of the Complimentary Wine list was also delivered to the room (already posted upthread.)

 

We really enjoyed the Afternoon Tea events on the ship and tried to attend as often as we could.  Today it's Banana Flambe tea.  Not a table-side affair but still was quite good - definitely a better dessert than the petites at Prime 7.  And the scones never disappoint.

 

 

 

We spent the rest of the day relaxing in the room, basking in the decorations; and filled out the mid-cruise survey.  It's been an amazing experience so far except for a few notable hiccups - exceeding expectations.  Just the right kind of pampering for DW for her milestone birthday.

 

Zahid had been patiently waiting outside our room - and we didn't even know about it! - while we were preparing for our dinner outing at Prime 7.  He greeted us as we left our room, wished my DW one more time, and escorted her all the way to Prime 7.  Wow!  Once at the venue, he checked-in with the manager, who then escorted DW all the way to the table.  It was like the changing of the guards.  It was quite funny yet so elegant and done with flair.

 

This would be our first visit to Prime 7 for dinner.  We are from Texas.  Steak Houses on ships don't impress us.  We dined at the TK Grill on Seabourne Serenity.  It was quite good but not impressive.  We didn't come to Prime 7 for a cut of steak, we get plenty of it back home.  But, there are other goodies on the menu and that would be our focus.

 

The manager had reserved a table at the far end of the restaurant by the rear windows with amazing views.  Just the perfect start to set the tone for the celebratory dinner.  Champagne to start and a few pictures for posterity taken care of and it was time to peruse the menu.  DW had known well before the start of the cruise what she's gonna have - King Crab legs.

 

We also decided to splurge a bit and get a red wine from the Connoisseur's menu.  A short discussion with the sommelier and a wine was picked.  We haven't had this one before so hopefully it matches our tastes.

 

 

Wow!  An amazingly well-balanced wine with a smooth finish.  A quick check on the googles also confirms that the upcharge is very reasonable.  This dinner is looking ever promising.

 

For starters, we both ordered scallops and pork belly.  A simple enough dish, yet everything on the plate worked well; and of course cooked to perfection.  Delicious!

 

 

For the mains, King crab for DW and whole Main Lobster for me.  But, what I received were two lobster tails.  Still quite sumptuous.  Regent really redeemed itself from the disastrous King crab offering at the brunch.  Hot, succulent and a whole 2lbs of it.

 

 

 

The onion rings hit the spot, though I could have devoured a few more.

 

Petite fours.  DW doesn't care for fruits and chocolate combo.  I enjoyed them nevertheless.

 

 

For dessert, it was an elaborate fanfare and procession from the kitchen of bringing over the birthday cake while the staff sang.  Thankfully, the restaurant had cleared by then and we were pretty much the last two left, due to our late dinner timing.  The cake itself was quite delicious.

 

 

Wow, that was by far the best dinner experience on the ship.  Just about everything was perfect - oh yea, the hot dishes were hot.  We enjoyed the wine so much that we bought one more to take to our room.

 

 

[2012_Alaska_bound]

Prime 7 is our favorite too! Started booking on first night, so can request a second reservation after.

[Travelingwithstyle]

Great photos and information. Really glad your wife had a great special birthday.  Thank you for sharing.

 

Could you share the up charge for the Odette wine?

  Thank you

[RetiredandTravel]

13 minutes ago, 2012_Alaska_bound said:

Prime 7 is our favorite too! Started booking on first night, so can request a second reservation after.

 

Agreed, not really top steakhouse quality steaks but fun.  Nice choice on the wine.  

 

Sorry to see you were disappointed in the Matador burger its a personal fav.

 

Wondering if you intend to do a review of the entire trip.  Sounds like you had a great time but the food could have been better in spots.

 

Many thanks for taking the time.

[pnsnkr]

3 hours ago, Travelingwithstyle said:

Great photos and information. Really glad your wife had a great special birthday.  Thank you for sharing.

 

Could you share the up charge for the Odette wine?

  Thank you

 

Thank you.  The up charge was between 13% - 20% depending on baseline price.

[pnsnkr]

3 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

Agreed, not really top steakhouse quality steaks but fun.  Nice choice on the wine.  

 

Sorry to see you were disappointed in the Matador burger its a personal fav.

 

Wondering if you intend to do a review of the entire trip.  Sounds like you had a great time but the food could have been better in spots.

 

Many thanks for taking the time.

 

We once had the opportunity to taste Cos d'Estournel on a SQ flight and it was divine.  That's been our benchmark for wines around this price range.  The Odette definitely compares quite well.

 

The Matador could have been a one-off bad experience.  Since the shrimp brochettes were our go-to option, we stuck with it on subsequent visits.

 

There are quite a few reviews of the ship that have done far more justice than I could ever attempt.  So, I wasn't planning on it.  Though, the light fixtures around the ship did catch my attention.  I have a few pictures of them that I try to add in to my review.

[RetiredandTravel]

54 minutes ago, pnsnkr said:

 

We once had the opportunity to taste Cos d'Estournel on a SQ flight and it was divine.  That's been our benchmark for wines around this price range.  The Odette definitely compares quite well.

 

 

 

We had a 1982 Cos d'Estrournel for our 10th anniversary (26 years ago) in Paris, will never forget that wine.  Glad you enjoyed yourself.

 

 

[Bossa Nova]

18 hours ago, pnsnkr said:

We really enjoyed the Afternoon Tea events on the ship and tried to attend as often as we could.  Today it's Banana Flambe tea.

Question: does Regent allow open flame dessert presentations, or was this not literally a "flambé "?

Thanks for the detailed and fun posts! My first Regent cruise is five months away and this is building my excitement.

[pnsnkr]

7 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Wondering if you intend to do a review of the entire trip.  Sounds like you had a great time but the food could have been better in spots.

 

 

 

Ha!  In my post-booster - that I got yesterday - stupor, I read "trip" as "ship."  Yea, plan is to post the remaining days, plus Barcelona condensed into one post and possibly a summary of our thoughts on this maiden voyage.

[GOARMY]

Bossa Nova:  

 

Unless protocols (and safety requirements) have changed since our most-recent November, 2021 Regent cruise when aboard Explorer:  

 

Flambe' dessert presentations either prepared at tableside; or paraded through a restaurant venue to serve many tables--have not been our experience while aboard any Radisson/Regent ship.  And, this history goes back to the late 1990s. 

 

But, again, alas--memory is what it is.  Others will chime in on this aspect, if I am off-key.  

 

Have had flambe' "events" several times while aboard a Holland America (HA) or Cunard cruise.  Big hype, usually on the penultimate HA cruise night--Baked Alaska--in the Main Dining venue.  Cunard makes (made) a big deal of this service for those at the Princess or Queen's Grill Level dining rooms.  Various flambe' desserts prepared at tableside, to the delight of all at that table; and, of course, asked for subsequently, by those at other tables.  You gets what you pays for.  Very labor intensive.  

 

Regent has smaller ships; lower restaurant ceiling clearance; and all those pesky fire extinguisher spouts just waiting to be unleashed if prompted.  What a way to douse a nice dining experience by being dumped-on.   

 

A peaches melba, bananas foster--or the ultimate, Baked Alaska--if asked for, will be prepared in a safe environment; then brought to the table without setting off a fire alarm.  We have enjoyed these treats when aboard Regent ships. 

 

If not on the dessert menu--just inquire, in a kind way.  As always when aboard Regent, a reasonable request will, with a smile, be granted.    

 

See you at L.A. aboard Mariner in October.  

 

 

GOARMY!

 

 

[GeorgiaPeach51]

I’m really enjoying your review.  Very balanced and fun to read.  Thanks for taking the time to do it.  We have a long wait till our November cruise on Splendor, so I’m loving reading about your experiences.  Great photos!

 

Joanie

[ronrick1943]

Nice review, enjoying the detail and the food shots outstanding.  Thanks for giving the facts, both the good and the not so good.  Enjoy your cruise and Happy Birthday.

[padgman1]

On 5/8/2022 at 2:07 PM, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

We had a 1982 Cos d'Estrournel for our 10th anniversary (26 years ago) in Paris, will never forget that wine.  Glad you enjoyed yourself.

 

 

I also have had the 1982 Cos d'Estournel (in 1994 at a dinner in Nashville) - exquisite. Also had the 1991 ( good, not great year for Bordeaux) at family function - good wine for under $50 at the time...

[Sweetpea711423]

Hi.  I've been reading your review with interest, particularly your repeated references to playing poker in the ship's casino.  My husband and I are both "land-based" casino poker players, but have not previously found poker being played on ships.  Were these always structured as "tournaments", or was there ever just "live" poker games?  And are the  "tournament" structures themselves always the same (starting number of chips, length of play at various betting levels, etc.), or did that vary as well? 

 

Thanks for any information you can provide about this. 

[pnsnkr]

9 hours ago, Sweetpea711423 said:

Hi.  I've been reading your review with interest, particularly your repeated references to playing poker in the ship's casino.  My husband and I are both "land-based" casino poker players, but have not previously found poker being played on ships.  Were these always structured as "tournaments", or was there ever just "live" poker games?  And are the  "tournament" structures themselves always the same (starting number of chips, length of play at various betting levels, etc.), or did that vary as well? 

 

Thanks for any information you can provide about this. 

 

Both blackjack and poker tournaments were offered on most sea days, at 1:30p and 2:30p local time respectively.

 

I didn't see much activity during the evenings or at nights the couple of times I walked past the casino, so not sure if they hosted cash games.  They didn't have regular poker tables and so one of the blackjack tables was converted to host the games.

 

There were only ~550 passengers on board and it was the same set of 6-8 of us who played in the daily tournaments.  I played three times while a few of the rest played almost every day.

 

The tournament structure was the same every day: 2K starting chips and the first round of 100-200 blinds was 30 minutes long.  Unlimited rebuys were allowed during this time when the chip count was < 2K.  At the end of the 30 minutes, there's an option for one add-on with 4K chips + one rebuy.  Then the blinds went up every 10 minutes with no ante.  All rebuys and add-ons were the same price as the entry fee - $60.  The house took $10 from it.  It usually lasts about 2 hrs.