Voyager from Rome to Trieste, 1st to 11th October.

[Gilly]

Edited October 5, 2022 by Gilly

[Techno123]

Gilly I am glad I have found another lover of pistachio gelato - my favourite 🥰any onboard?
 

[Gilly]

Still looking for "the real thing" (ie not bright green!) on board, but on hearing its a speciality of Sicily, I just had to try.  Delicious!

[Techno123]

The real stuff looks a bit like green sludge but tastes delicious 😂

[Gilly]

Yes, @Techno123 you are spot on there - but indeed, it's the best!!

[Gilly]

@ssawjo my apologies for posting those menus without any comment but I only had my phone in my evening bag and didn't know how to post photo and text at the same time!   Hope they are self explanatory, i,e, tonight's menu for Chartreuse, where we enjoyed a truly magnificent evening.

[ssawjo]

1 hour ago, Gilly said:

@ssawjo my apologies for posting those menus without any comment but I only had my phone in my evening bag and didn't know how to post photo and text at the same time!   Hope they are self explanatory, i,e, tonight's menu for Chartreuse, where we enjoyed a truly magnificent evening.

Thank you and enjoy!

[maryogreen]

@lincsladyand @GillyWe said with Captain Dag on the Seabourn Quest to Antarctica in  2017. He was such a great presence and was always stopping to chat with everyone. We had to leave Antarctica early because of a medical emergency on board, and Captain Dag assured us he would make it up in some way. And what a way he did! He took us on an unplanned sailing to Cape Horn before heading back to Ushuaia and the itinerary through Patagonia. It was an emotional place for him as a sailor, he told us. Wonderful memories and a wonderful captain!

 

Mary

Travel Blog: www.themodernpostcard.com

[Gilly]

Voyager was in Durres, Albania today and we had the good fortune to have a really great guide on our tour to Berat, City of a Thousand Windows.  Highly recommend that one, though my knees are complaining a bit now, following the walk up a steep pathway to the castle.

 

(Nothing that a lovely sociable evening in Compass Rose won't sort out of course!)

[RachelG]

On 10/5/2022 at 4:19 AM, lincslady said:

Loving your blog - great photos.  Seeing the dolphins reminded me so much of seeing them when we went on one of the short pre-inaugural trips on Voyager, from Naples.  We knew Captain Dag pretty well, and he told us he had had the choosing of them.  I wonder if anyone on this board remembers him; the last time we met him was on a Seabourn cruise, where he did not stay  very long before going to Europa.  We had first met him on the late lamented Song of Flower - such a funny little ship, but we all had really  good times on board.

Capt Dag was also captain of the first cruise on Regent that we were on.  Istanbul to Athens on Diamond.  He and my husband bonded instantly as they were pretty much cut from the same piece of cloth.  We were on many cruises with him over the years, the last being where we went to his house in Norway. 

 

Gilly, I sympathize regarding the glacially slow internet.  Had the same situation in Canada on Navigator,, though I finally did find a sweet spot that wasn't quite so bad.  At least I didn't have to sit out in the hallway to work--which I have been known to do in the past.  The GM actually got me a chair to sit in as I was sitting on the floor. 

[Gilly]

@Techno123 our favourite flavoured souffle was one of the dessert choices in Compass Rose last evening.

 

[Techno123]

Delicious 😍😁

 

[Gilly]

@ssawjo we were back in time for lunch in Compass Rose today. Here's the menu.

[Gilly]

And all too soon, the disembarkation notice is on the bed with the luggage labels and it's Krew Kapers in the theatre 😥

 

One last day in Trieste to enjoy before coming back to pack.  

 

[Gilly]

Though we've been home for a few days now, I'm still decompressing from our short but very busy cruise.  I thought I'd do a quick round up of a few observations to sum up though.

 

Firstly, it confirmed previous experience that a cruise with no sea days is not for the faint of heart if one wants to make the most of the excursions each day.  Repeated early starts and busy schedules don't leave much time to catch one's breath.  Short cruises pack a lot in as well - no sooner has the Captain offered his welcome than the crew are bidding farewell and somewhere in all of that there's a SSS reception, speciality restaurants, maybe SS top tier events and other treats too.  No time for a block party!

 

Voyager was terrific in (almost) every respect from our point of view.  Staff continue to give their all to make sure that we are happy.  We loved seeing old faces and enjoying their company as always but it was also delightful to meet new members of staff too, especially those just starting their Regent career and who we hope to meet again as they progress.  We were utterly spoiled with good things in terms of food and drink and wanted for nothing.

 

The destination team were firing on all cylinders throughout the whole cruise and didn't put a foot wrong as far as we were concerned.  They were there in the theatre early every morning, ready and waiting to manage the ticket exchange as people arrived, so efficiently that a queue never built up and we never witnessed the kind of rush we have observed on other ships.  The morning tour routine then was calm and unhurried, well mannered and controlled.  First class!!  I have mentioned the audio guide system previously - we didn't use the Regent app at all, though one or two of the guides had their own earpiece things.  We'd have really appreciated the app in a couple of places and hope that Regent continues to make use of that very good system.

 

OK, there had to be "one thing" and it will come as no surprise that the internet was hopeless.  Not only was it slow, it was also inconsistent which made for frustration.  I was reassured that improvements are scheduled, but for now, it wasn't a patch on the more reliable service we experienced on Navigator earlier in the year.  Thankfully, we don't rely on it for work when we are on holiday.  If that were so, we'd have been sitting in the port terminals with the crew each day!

 

Our cruise was unusual in the number of UK guests on board this time - more than 200 I believe.  Many were first time Regent guests too (not sure why/how....maybe there had been some kind of promotion?)  That made for a different feel on board, compounded by a pair of very UK-oriented entertainers.  Josh Henderson is a "tribute act", the like of which we've not seen on a Regent ship before.  His Freddie Mercury evening was fun and brought the house down (again, something we've not seen on a Regent ship previously) and his second evening, whilst not so much to our taste, was in similar vein and clearly very popular.  The other entertainer, Mike Doyle was funny and a very good observational comedian.  He clearly watched people on board and related his act to that, pitching it just right for most of the time.  I think we've seen all the company shows previously and found them just about ok - possibly looking a little tired?

 

Sad to say, our busy schedule meant we didn't get to the lectures, but we did manage Trivia each day which was superbly run by John Ekin, a new Cruise Director to us, but someone we'd hope to encounter on future cruises.

 

Anything I forgot to mention?   Perhaps offer reassurance that the loos were flushing nicely?  🤭

Edited October 15, 2022 by Gilly

[RJ2002]

Thanks for your recap. Sounds similar to our recent Explorer Mediterranean cruise, but we had the luxury of just one sea day. Those port intensive itineraries can be a workout!
 

Internet complaints seem to be a recurring theme on Regent reviews. Hope they upgrade the systems soon. 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. 

 

[1982CruzStart]

Thanks for the summation of your cruise. Glad to hear all was ship shape with Voyager. She will be our temporary home in late January. can't wait. 

[Boatmans Lady]

I have to agree that port intensive cruise take some stamina if you do tours in every port. 

We have discovered that we prefer a mix of ports and sea days, or we just simply don't book tours in every port. 

I'm glad Voyager is in fine form and has ironed out earlier issues. 

Not long till we are back onboard 😀

 

Thank you for taking us along on your trip. 

[Techno123]

On 10/7/2022 at 6:55 AM, Gilly said:

@Techno123 our favourite flavoured souffle was one of the dessert choices in Compass Rose last evening.

 

Hi Gilly - now you are home I have found you something to bake - don't forget to send me a sample when you are done 😜😜