Third time's a Splendor, a "live-ish" report for January 21-February 8, 2023 cruise

[CruiserFromMaine]

There’s a saying that “The third time’s a charm” but for us “Third time’s a Splendor” Let me explain.

 

We first booked the Splendor for April 2020. We were looking forward to  trying Regent since we’d heard so many good things about them and the Splendor was a brand-new ship at the time. We even got our “Splendor Inaugural Season” document holder but then Covid forced Regent to cancel. We eventually got all our money back and rebooked for January 2022. We got our Splendor Inaugural Season” document holder once again but with Omicron on the rise, Regent let us postpone and carry our deposit (actually the cruise was paid in full at that point) to another cruise. That cruise, our third try, sails on January 21st; we’ll be on for 18 nights on a back to back, which is our longest cruise to date.

 

We’ve been on a couple dozen cruises from resort ships (aka "mass market") to luxury and found that at this point in our lives, we prefer the luxury or at least premium lines. We’ve been on Crystal and Silversea for luxury lines and enjoyed them quite a bit. It's hard to describe, but we like the "vibe": not having to pull out a card for every drink order, excellent service, excellent food and wine and at least good to very good entertainment. Nicely appointed smaller ships (i.e., not 3000 pax). Some enrichment lectures are important too.

 

I’ll be posting as we go along. For any others sailing on the cruise—absolutely feel free to chime in!

 

We are flying from Boston to Miami on American Airlines on Thursday morning. We’ll have two nights in Miami at the AKA Brickell, one of which is included with our Concierge class suite. We took advantage of a two-category upgrade deal when we booked. We live in Maine but like to fly from Boston to start a trip since there are much better nonstop options from there. And we definitely like to get in a day early, two if we can, given potential weather issues this time of year. We’ll actually stay near Logan airport Wednesday night since we have a fairly early flight Thursday morning.

 

We’ve enjoyed reading the recent great reports here about the Splendor and are excited to get on board to experience the great food, service and entertainment!

[carolina cruisin]

1 hour ago, CruiserFromMaine said:

There’s a saying that “The third time’s a charm” but for us “Third time’s a Splendor” Let me explain.

 

We first booked the Splendor for April 2020. We were looking forward to  trying Regent since we’d heard so many good things about them and the Splendor was a brand-new ship at the time. We even got our “Splendor Inaugural Season” document holder but then Covid forced Regent to cancel. We eventually got all our money back and rebooked for January 2022. We got our Splendor Inaugural Season” document holder once again but with Omicron on the rise, Regent let us postpone and carry our deposit (actually the cruise was paid in full at that point) to another cruise. That cruise, our third try, sails on January 21st; we’ll be on for 18 nights on a back to back, which is our longest cruise to date.

 

We’ve been on a couple dozen cruises from resort ships (aka "mass market") to luxury and found that at this point in our lives, we prefer the luxury or at least premium lines. We’ve been on Crystal and Silversea for luxury lines and enjoyed them quite a bit. It's hard to describe, but we like the "vibe": not having to pull out a card for every drink order, excellent service, excellent food and wine and at least good to very good entertainment. Nicely appointed smaller ships (i.e., not 3000 pax). Some enrichment lectures are important too.

 

I’ll be posting as we go along. For any others sailing on the cruise—absolutely feel free to chime in!

 

We are flying from Boston to Miami on American Airlines on Thursday morning. We’ll have two nights in Miami at the AKA Brickell, one of which is included with our Concierge class suite. We took advantage of a two-category upgrade deal when we booked. We live in Maine but like to fly from Boston to start a trip since there are much better nonstop options from there. And we definitely like to get in a day early, two if we can, given potential weather issues this time of year. We’ll actually stay near Logan airport Wednesday night since we have a fairly early flight Thursday morning.

 

We’ve enjoyed reading the recent great reports here about the Splendor and are excited to get on board to experience the great food, service and entertainment!

Will be right behind you on the Splendor - looking forward to your input.  We were on the ship back in July and enjoyed the time.

[cruiserj12]

We are on the second leg of your sailing. We join on Feb.1st. Can't wait. Now just to get through the next two weeks.

[Roccaforte]

We’re on your first segment - sailing from Miami on 1/21.  We were originally booked on Oceania Riviera in January 2022 but cancelled because of Omicron.  Our TA recommended Splendor so thought we’d give it a try.  We have a concierge cabin which entitled us to a one night stay in Miami but since we’re in Naples for the season we decided to take the credit and drive over to Miami in the morning.  It’s not a bad drive across Alligator Alley.

We lived in the Boston area (Newburyport) so we’re very familiar with Logan Airport and the nasty weather you might run into.  Smart move to give yourselves a few days extra.

We’ve been on lots of cruises and have missed being able to travel for the last few years so we’re looking forward to this trip.  Nice ports - some of them new for us.

Maybe we’ll run into you onboard😁

 

[crispy46]

C--- and E----, Have a great cruise!

B--

[CruiserFromMaine]

Thanks @crispy46!

[GeorgiaPeach51]

We were recently on Splendor and really enjoyed her.  We have fled Celebrity after many years and dollars and after two cruises on Splendor and Explorer, which we loved, We will be trying the Navigator next.  Regent is a happy fit for us, and your description of what you are looking for in a cruise is exactly where we are.  I hope you love it!

 

Joanie

[Zqueeze1]

We hope you enjoy your first Regent cruise and look forward to your posts.  Have a great cruise!

Z and TB

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'll contribute once in a while, I hope.  That depends on bandwidth and the fact that I won't have a  keyboard, just a phone.  We're on the 21st - 1st trip. 

 

We also have not been on a ship for a long time, since 2018.  We put off cruising in 2019 to save up for our big adventure to be, the WC of 2021.  Obviously that didn't happen.  Then we cancelled a Baltic trip this last summer, 2022, because of the risks and hassles of air travel, and the limits of our own stamina, frankly.  

 

This may well be our last cruise.  First time on one of the newer ships.  Never thought I'd be excited about another Caribbean cruise, but I am, very.  Just being at sea again will be thrilling. Seen some of the islands before, hope to see a few more sights this time.  Driving down to Miami from Dunedin, FL on Friday, staying at the Biltmore Hotel.

 

On the agenda for sure: buying fresh spices in Grenada.  We've run out of nutmeg!

[CruiserFromMaine]

Thanks @GeorgiaPeach51 and @Zqueeze1! GeorgiaPeach51, I followed your thread here about your cruise and it definitely helped get us excited for this cruise.

 

@Wendy The Wanderer--hope we get to meet on board!

Edited January 17, 2023 by CruiserFromMaine

[CruiserFromMaine]

Our journey to the Splendor has begun. Our flight from Boston was uneventful. We took a Covid test at the Miami Airport to help us with costs if we get covid onboard. (We were negative!). 

 

We took a cab to the AKA Brickell, the hotel Regent assigned us to. 

 

A couple notes—check-in is now on the ground floor, no longer on the 25th floor. However, to get to our room we needed to take the elevator to the 25th floor, walk through an area still under construction, take an elevator down the the 20th floor for our room. To go to the pool requires going up to the 25th floor, walk back through the construction area, go down to the lobby, outside across the valet parking area, then up to the rooftop pool. The pool bar looks like it belongs on a Royal Caribbean ship. It’s a big step down from the Mandarin where I believe some people are staying. I’ll let our TA and someone on Regent know. 

[Kwaj girl]

1 hour ago, CruiserFromMaine said:

Our journey to the Splendor has begun. Our flight from Boston was uneventful. We took a Covid test at the Miami Airport to help us with costs if we get covid onboard. (We were negative!). 

 

We took a cab to the AKA Brickell, the hotel Regent assigned us to. 

 

A couple notes—check-in is now on the ground floor, no longer on the 25th floor. However, to get to our room we needed to take the elevator to the 25th floor, walk through an area still under construction, take an elevator down the the 20th floor for our room. To go to the pool requires going up to the 25th floor, walk back through the construction area, go down to the lobby, outside across the valet parking area, then up to the rooftop pool. The pool bar looks like it belongs on a Royal Caribbean ship. It’s a big step down from the Mandarin where I believe some people are staying. I’ll let our TA and someone on Regent know. 

 

Do you have trip insurance? If so, why bother with that covid test, as you would have coverage if needed.

[DavidTheWonderer]

6 hours ago, Kwaj girl said:

 

Do you have trip insurance? If so, why bother with that covid test, as you would have coverage if needed.

We did our tests today. The reasoning was that if we end up on the ship with covid and quarantined, our insurance is unlikely to fork out any cash reimbursement but Regent might.
And doing the test and getting a negative result is always reassuring regardless of insurance issues.
Our tests were done with a fellow watching us do the test via Zoom, and showing him the result by holding the little test module up to the camera on our laptop for him to see. I thought that was pretty cool, but also it would be pretty easy to cheat. And it must be weird to have a job which involves watching people put a swab up their nose.

[CruiserFromMaine]

Well, after three years we finally got to board the Regent Splendor!

 

Despite some warnings, we took the Regent bus from the hotel. We arrived about 50 minutes late and joined a big crowd to check in. We boarded about 50 minutes after arriving. Yay! (But lesson learned first hand—just get a ride share to the port.)

 

Had a nice lunch at the Pool Grill, very prompt drink service. Then we toured the ship, got the obligatory photo op outside Pacific Rim. At 2:30 the rooms were ready, so we unpacked. A trip to the hot tub was next. The hot tub temperature is good and hot. 

 

Then, uh oh, old school muster drills are back. Everyone tromps off to their assigned station for 30 minutes they’ll never get back even after watching the required video before boarding. 

 

That interlude delayed the “Welcome to the Regent Family” party and pool deck sail away. Sail away was great with scenic views of sunsets and Miami. We like piano music so we went to the Observation Lounge for the pianist who played tunes we like a lot. 

 

Around 7:00pm we headed down to Compass Rose. Another uh oh—a big line to get in. OK, let’s go to Sette Mari. Got in and started a nice dinner. Uh oh—one of the women at the table right next to us literally starts vomiting on the floor! She finally listens to her table mate and leaves. The staff apologizes to us but really, they’re just as much innocent bystanders as we are. In almost 30 cruises, that’s fortunately a first for us.

 

Concierge suite is great with a huge shaded balcony and nice walk in closet. Plenty of storage. Double sinks in the bathroom. There’s a little vibration now that we’re underway. Still trying to figure out what light switch goes with what light. 

 

The first night’s show was good, an overview of upcoming shows. We are already big fans of the pianist, Gino de Luca, in the Observation Lounge. He’s great! 

 

The casino is a good size for a ship this size. As a sometimes blackjack player I was glad to see a $10 table and that it pays 3-2 on a blackjack; many ships only pay 6-5. 

 

We are waitlisted for the wine lunch. I forgot to sign up until later in the day. We’re supposed to get a call back from the head sommelier about other options. 

 

Big Sunday brunch on the schedule for today!

 

Some key people on board:

Master—Luciano Montesanto 

General Manager—Franck Galzy

Cruise Director—David Nevin

Senior Executive Chef—Dino Schwager 

F&B Director—Stephane Carriou

Guest Lecturer—Bob Ray

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

We drove to the port and thus got aboard fairly early. There were logistical problems land-side so didn't get to our suites until 2:30, so we enjoyed the Pool Grill. I must admit this is a very, very nice cabin, Concierge. Very lovely dinner in Prime 7. Huge compared to the older ships, and beautiful, plus great service. Haven't explored much yet since we're kind of slow. Got separated at muster drill and we both thought the other was missing. Turned out we'd been sent to different rooms. Their scanning system didn't seem to be able to be able to tell me that David had already checked in. All was well in the end. Had a wonderful sleep in our huge bed. Looking forward to enjoying our large balcony which must be almost twice the size of ones we've had on Voyager, Mariner or Nav. So far everything is perfection!

[kjbacon]

I’m excited to follow your trip report! We board just after you on February 8 so those of you on board are making our anticipation all the better.

 

Bon voyage 🐬 wishing you a wonderful cruise!

Edited January 22, 2023 by kjbacon

[CruiserFromMaine]

Great Sunday brunch today, serving as breakfast and lunch. So many places to eat! Got coffee at Coffee Connection this am. I’d like then to have to-go cups there but those are single use do maybe that’s why not. I know they’ll deliver and there’s a coffee maker in the room but the in room one makes small cups. I spent too much time on that, it’s a very minor point. 
 

The ship is gorgeous. Service is first rate. Went to the infinity pool this afternoon. Now just way for Bob Ray’s photography lecture. 

Pix to follow later. Internet is good now. 

Edited January 22, 2023 by CruiserFromMaine

[makai 7]

We purchased “to go” cups from the on board shop (on Voyager ) and they were great to use on board.  Will be packing them to use on our next cruise.

they were a little hard to find, up on a top shelf near the Regent logo wear, and pricey, but what else do you do with on board credit 😊?

Edited January 22, 2023 by makai 7

[-Lew-]

7 hours ago, CruiserFromMaine said:

Concierge suite is great with a huge shaded balcony and nice walk in closet. Plenty of storage. Double sinks in the bathroom. There’s a little vibration now that we’re underway. Still trying to figure out what light switch goes with what light.

 

LOL!  How true!  We're in a Concierge Suite also on this, our first Regent cruise.

 

7 hours ago, CruiserFromMaine said:

Big Sunday brunch on the schedule for today!

 

Excellent brunch...what a great way to kick off a cruise!

 

Enjoyed Prime 7 yesterday evening with Sergei from Ukraine as our waiter.  Rack of lamb was superb as was the service.

[boblerm]

Many thanks to those that are posting from this cruise.

 

Are crab legs being served in P7?

I have heard that they were not available on some cruises.

[-Lew-]

20 minutes ago, boblerm said:

Are crab legs being served in P7?

 

My DW had a seafood combo last night that included one crab leg.  There was no entrée of just crab legs.

[gwesq]

Glad to see all these positive reports about the Concierge suites (but all with Vibration, or just certain location) as we'll be boarding Feb 8 in Concierge. 

 

I thought everyone did away with herding all the passengers for a muster drill.  

[DavidTheWonderer]

4 hours ago, gwesq said:

Glad to see all these positive reports about the Concierge suites (but all with Vibration, or just certain location) as we'll be boarding Feb 8 in Concierge.

We're on deck 10 port side aft. There certainly is vibration. Not as much as on lower decks aft on Navigator but there. I don't mind it but know folks from Nav who would be bothered by it a lot.

 

So far this is easily the best ship I've experienced, despite the for me minor vibration issue. Beautiful ship, great cabin, astounding šervice, etc. Remember the Beach Boys song ''Good Vibrations'?

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Dinner in Sette Mare tonight to avoid the CR crush after Captain's Welcome. The staff seemed rushed and made missteps. Took forever to get wine. But our waiters were eager to please. Food very nice, including the antipasti, but the buffet was sparse. The salad offerings were meager in the extreme. The desserts listed tiramisu but there wasn't any--waiter offered to go to another restaurant and get me some. I declined and settled for a divine panna cotta.

 

Internet decent most of the time, but spotty at peak hours, which seem to include 4 a.m.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

5 hours ago, gwesq said:

 

I thought everyone did away with herding all the passengers for a muster drill.  

That was a Covid thing, back to normal now.