My first Regent Cruise… live from the Splendor in Stockholm!

[knotheadusc]

My husband and I are on our very first Regent cruise.  We have previously sailed once on Royal Caribbean (Vision of the Seas), which was our first cruise.  It was a four night break in the Baltic Sea, circa 2009.  We’ve done three SeaDream cruises— two in the Caribbean and one in Europe.  And we’ve done five cruises on Hebridean Princess, which is very tiny and mostly only goes to Scotland and the environs.

 

Regent is a big change for us.  I booked this cruise because Finland won our champagne bucket draw and this cruise was the most expedient way to get to Finland and see other some places we wanted to see.  So, here we are, taking it all in…

We’re waiting for our suites to be ready, enjoying cocktails.  Lunch in the Veranda was excellent!  I like the observation lounge.

 

[registrar]

Bon Voyage!🛳️

[Chateaunole-du-pape]

We are on board as well! Our first cruise, period! What a beautiful ship! I think we're going to really like this....

[knotheadusc]

8 minutes ago, Chateaunole-du-pape said:

We are on board as well! Our first cruise, period! What a beautiful ship! I think we're going to really like this....

 
It’s definitely the newest ship we’ve been on.  Very beautiful!  My husband gives high marks to the Indian food at the buffet!

[1982CruzStart]

Have a great cruise and thanks for taking us along on your trip. 

[Guerncruising]

3 hours ago, knotheadusc said:

 
It’s definitely the newest ship we’ve been on.  Very beautiful!  My husband gives high marks to the Indian food at the buffet!

She is a truly beautiful ship. If you enjoy Indian food ask at Compass Rose for them to prepare an Indian meal for you. 48 hours notice is best but you will get a memorable meal. 

 

[knotheadusc]

That is awesome!  Thanks for the tip!

[2SailingNomads]

We have only done 1 Regent (but have multiple future cruises booked on Regent) and agree the Splendor was amazing  best ship we have been in with 20+ cruises.  Fantastic restaurants and bars, plus amazing service.

[knotheadusc]

I slept so well last night.  I think this bed is the best one I’ve encountered in a very long time.  I’m usually awake by 5AM, but I slept until 8AM today.

 

We had a wonderful meal at Prime 7 last night, although I was pretty full afterwards.  And we ran into a couple we met on SeaDream I in 2011!

Last night’s sunset was beautiful!  

 

[knotheadusc]

Today we went to Helsinki and took a very interesting cruise around the harbor.  We learned that in the winter, all of the water around Helsinki is completely frozen, and people just walk or ski across it.  The guides also mentioned global warming, which made me think I would be nervous walking on the ice.  But I don’t know just how cold it gets here in the cold months!

 

For dinner, we tried Sette Mari, which was very good.  I read about how it gets packed, so we came early.  My favorite course was the asparagus risotto.

 

Tomorrow, we go to Tallinn, Estonia for a beer tasting.  We went to Tallinn on our first ever cruise in 2009, so I already know it’s a very pretty town.  I had trouble choosing which freebie excursion to do on this stop.  There is also a visit to a museum about Estonia’s Soviet past, which I would have wanted to see.  But my husband and I both know Estonia has good beer, so the tasting won out!

 

We really enjoyed shopping at the marketplace in Helsinki this afternoon.  I would definitely like to come back sometime and explore even more. Below is a picture of our nightcaps.  I had a Brandy Alexander.  My husband had ginger ale, because he decided to teetotal after dinner..

 

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by knotheadusc

[GOARMY]

TS:

 

Just-returned from a B/t/B on Navigator, and catching up on CC Threads.  

 

Regarding Estonia, and particularly the "Soviet Past" excursion:  Did that when aboard Explorer on a 2019 B/t/B in The Baltics and British Isles. One of my interests is WWII Diplomatic and Military History.  So, took that 5-hour tour.  Sobering, including visits to a former prison in which Soviet units interrogated, tortured, then murdered numerous Estonian resisters.  Their photographs were posted in a Memorial within that complex.  Also, a visit to a nearby Military cemetery containing memorials to other victims of Stalin's hatred. 

 

Our Guide was the grand daughter of one of the victims.  She provided a political context for that country's 20th Century history and specifically the period from 1939-1940 until Estonia was able to break free from either Russian--then German--then Russian domination--during WWII and finally regain its independence following the demise of the "old" Soviet Union.   

 

No wonder Estonia eagerly sought, and obtained 2004 membership in NATO.

 

GOARMY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by GOARMY
Context

[knotheadusc]

6 hours ago, GOARMY said:

TS:

 

Just-returned from a B/t/B on Navigator, and catching up on CC Threads.  

 

Regarding Estonia, and particularly the "Soviet Past" excursion:  Did that when aboard Explorer on a 2019 B/t/B in The Baltics and British Isles. One of my interests is WWII Diplomatic and Military History.  So, took that 5-hour tour.  Sobering, including visits to a former prison in which Soviet units interrogated, tortured, then murdered numerous Estonian resisters.  Their photographs were posted in a Memorial within that complex.  Also, a visit to a nearby Military cemetery containing memorials to other victims of Stalin's hatred. 

 

Our Guide was the grand daughter of one of the victims.  She provided a political context for that country's 20th Century history and specifically the period from 1939-1940 until Estonia was able to break free from either Russian--then German--then Russian domination--during WWII and finally regain its independence following the demise of the "old" Soviet Union.   

 

No wonder Estonia eagerly sought, and obtained 2004 membership in NATO.

 

GOARMY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

GOARMY, my husband is a thirty year Army vet.  I bet he’d love to chat with you!

 

I am very interested in the Soviet Union years, as I spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Armenia back in the mid 1990s.  I was in the third group to go to Armenia, so it was very soon after the fall of the Soviet Union.  But, I also love good beer, and so does my husband.  😄

 

We will be going to Latvia on this cruise and will visit Karosta, which was a Soviet prison, but is now a museum and quirky B&B where people can pay to get the prisoner treatment.  😮

 

Below is the current view from our balcony as we pull in to Tallinn.

[kjbacon]

Your live post is very good reading and your pictures are great, thank you! Welcome to Regent and hope you love the line as much as we do.

[labonnevie]

21 hours ago, knotheadusc said:

 

 

I am very interested in the Soviet Union years, as I spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Armenia back in the mid 1990s.  I was in the third group to go to Armenia, so it was very soon after the fall of the Soviet Union.  But, I also love good beer, and so does my husband.  😄

 

We will be going to Latvia on this cruise and will visit Karosta, which was a Soviet prison, but is now a museum and quirky B&B where people can pay to get the prisoner treatment.  😮

 

 

If you have any time in Riga, even briefly, you would be interested in the Museum of Occupation. Small but well done. We learned a lot in a short visit. 

[knotheadusc]

Yesterday was a great day!  We enjoyed a tour of Tallinn with a hilarious tour guide named Raul, who reminded me very much of Robin Williams!  He was dropping one liners non stop as he told us about Estonia, and mercilessly teasing a Swiss couple, who gracefully took his jokes in stride.  We were in a Lutheran church and about halfway through his presentation, the organist launched into “Amazing Grace”.  It was beautiful!

 

Yesterday, we met two couples.  One is from Scotland and the other comes from Germany and happens to liver very close to where we live.  They even frequent the Italian restaurant in our neighborhood!  
 

Today, we are in Riga, and we will take a tour that takes us into the countryside.  Or so my husband tells me, anyway.  I would still love to come up to the Baltics on our own and see some of these places in a land based vacation.  Yesterday was our second visit to Tallinn, but Latvia is new to me.  My husband has been there for work.

 

Below is another photo from yesterday!

[knotheadusc]

And a few more photos from beautiful Tallinn...

 

 

Edited June 26, 2023 by knotheadusc

[Zqueeze1]

I hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we enjoyed ours.  We disembarked last Friday in Stockholm and made sure the ship was restocked on ginger ale which is my favorite mixer.  Good to see another live report. Have a wonderful cruise!

 

Z and TB

Edited June 26, 2023 by Zqueeze1

[knotheadusc]

Yesterday we visited Riga, Latvia, and went on an excursion to see Turaida and Sigulda Castles and the Sigulda Cave, which is the largest in Latvia.  I signed up for this lengthy tour because we didn’t book until late April and there weren’t many choices available.  I knew nothing about the places we went before we visited.  
 

Overall, I found the tour very interesting, and it was nice to get out into the country.  We found some nice handmade souvenirs there, too.  I even bought a new wallet, so I can finally retire the ten year old leather SeaDream cruise wallet I’ve been carrying around for so long!  
 

I do wish we had spent a little more time in Riga itself, but we did get a lovely impromptu opera concert by a busker with a beautiful baritone voice near the town hall.  We will have to come back to Riga for a land based trip, maybe after the new railroad is built that links the Baltic capitals to Berlin.  Sometimes living in Germany is pretty handy!

 

Last night was also karaoke night, which is an activity I generally enjoy.  I did manage to do one song before we called it a night.  We were both pretty tired, and karaoke was running a bit past our usual bedtimes!  Unfortunately, we did come back to our room to find the door left wide open after turndown service.  I’m not sure what happened there, and we weren’t worried about theft or anything, but it was a definite slip in service.

 

Today, we are in Visby, Sweden.  This is a new place for me, so I am eager to see it.  We have a weak Internet connection this morning, so I'll try to upload a few photos later.

 

 

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by knotheadusc

[knotheadusc]

Last night's tasty roasted quail with mashed peas in the Compass Rose...

 

Carvings in Latvia's "largest cave" in Sigulda.  We did dip our fingers in the water in the hopes of scoring eternal youth/good health.  😉

 

A beautiful old church at the castle ruins site.

 

Riga's town hall square.

[knotheadusc]

We are now back from our tour, Medieval Visby.  I knew nothing at all about Visby before this trip.  It's an island off of Sweden and it has a fascinating history, as well as a well preserved wall that surrounds the old town.  Our guide was very informative; I heard her say that she taught at a university, but she is also a native of Gotland.

 

The old town in Visby is charming, and our guide told us some interesting stories about the houses constructed there.  They are all historic; so they're all very small and the local preservation society/museum dictates what homeowners can do to their houses.  I thought the neighborhoods were beautiful, but I think it might get old having large tour groups walking around, looking in the windows!  My favorite part of the tour was probably the botanical garden, as the trees and flowers were all so fragrant and well tended.

 

Our guide said they don't get much snow in Visby; when it does come, it's usually after December for a few days.  I'm sure climate change has made snow even less common.  She also mentioned that Visby gets the most sun in all of Sweden during the summer months.

 

We just had lunch and will be trying Chartreuse tonight at 6:30.  I think we'll just relax a bit until then.  We've had to change our clocks three times on this trip, and will change them again tonight, because we're going back into Latvia tomorrow.

 

Here are a few photos from today...

 

As you can see, we shared Visby with Oceana Marina and an MSC ship that was tendering in people.

 

 

[difranco]

On 6/24/2023 at 7:53 PM, knotheadusc said:

Today we went to Helsinki and took a very interesting cruise around the harbor.  We learned that in the winter, all of the water around Helsinki is completely frozen, and people just walk or ski across it.  The guides also mentioned global warming, which made me think I would be nervous walking on the ice.  But I don’t know just how cold it gets here in the cold months!

 

For dinner, we tried Sette Mari, which was very good.  I read about how it gets packed, so we came early.  My favorite course was the asparagus risotto.

 

Tomorrow, we go to Tallinn, Estonia for a beer tasting.  We went to Tallinn on our first ever cruise in 2009, so I already know it’s a very pretty town.  I had trouble choosing which freebie excursion to do on this stop.  There is also a visit to a museum about Estonia’s Soviet past, which I would have wanted to see.  But my husband and I both know Estonia has good beer, so the tasting won out!

 

We really enjoyed shopping at the marketplace in Helsinki this afternoon.  I would definitely like to come back sometime and explore even more. Below is a picture of our nightcaps.  I had a Brandy Alexander.  My husband had ginger ale, because he decided to teetotal after dinner..

 

 

What was the verdict on beer tasting in Tallinn ? We’re booked on this tour next week so would appreciate any feedback,  negative or positive. Thanks

 

[RachelG]

I am very much enjoying following along with your cruise and observations.  We have been on the same itinerary before (plus St Petersburg as it has been a while) and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I love seeing the places we visited.

 

As far as the door being open, on this ship we had an issue with the door not latching completely unless you actively pulled it closed.  So that may have been what happened.  Housekeeping should know this, but maybe just forgot. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

12 hours ago, knotheadusc said:

We will have to come back to Riga for a land based trip, maybe after the new railroad is built that links the Baltic capitals to Berlin.

Wow, that sounds great!  Our travel days are pretty well over, but would have loved to utilize a train route like that.  We spent a week once in Vilnius while at a conference, and loved that city.  At the time, it was undergoing extensive renovations of the historic areas, not sure what it's like now but always wanted to be able to explore that country and the others further.

[knotheadusc]

2 hours ago, RachelG said:

I am very much enjoying following along with your cruise and observations.  We have been on the same itinerary before (plus St Petersburg as it has been a while) and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I love seeing the places we visited.

 

As far as the door being open, on this ship we had an issue with the door not latching completely unless you actively pulled it closed.  So that may have been what happened.  Housekeeping should know this, but maybe just forgot. 

We did speak to the head housekeeper about it.  He was very apologetic and seemed surprised.  It wasn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things, as no harm was done.  But we have absolutely no idea how long the door was open.  The suite next to us is a master suite.  I imagine if it had been their door left open, heads could roll.  It just seems like a quick walk past the suites after turndown might be a good idea. 
 

I am so glad you’re enjoying my posts!  I will be writing a very detailed blog series about our whole trip when we get home Sunday!  I hope some of you might check it out.  I have a lot to say. 😉 

[knotheadusc]

3 hours ago, difranco said:

On 6/24/2023 at 8:53 PM, knotheadusc said:

Today we went to Helsinki and took a very interesting cruise around the harbor.  We learned that in the winter, all of the water around Helsinki is completely frozen, and people just walk or ski across it.  The guides also mentioned global warming, which made me think I would be nervous walking on the ice.  But I don’t know just how cold it gets here in the cold months!

 

For dinner, we tried Sette Mari, which was very good.  I read about how it gets packed, so we came early.  My favorite course was the asparagus risotto.

 

Tomorrow, we go to Tallinn, Estonia for a beer tasting.  We went to Tallinn on our first ever cruise in 2009, so I already know it’s a very pretty town.  I had trouble choosing which freebie excursion to do on this stop.  There is also a visit to a museum about Estonia’s Soviet past, which I would have wanted to see.  But my husband and I both know Estonia has good beer, so the tasting won out!

 

We really enjoyed shopping at the marketplace in Helsinki this afternoon.  I would definitely like to come back sometime and explore even more. Below is a picture of our nightcaps.  I had a Brandy Alexander.  My husband had ginger ale, because he decided to teetotal after dinner..

 

 

What was the verdict on beer tasting in Tallinn ? We’re booked on this tour next week so would appreciate any feedback,  negative or positive. Thanks

 

The tour itself was great.  Our tour guide, Raul, was very knowledgeable and hilarious.  He was by far the most entertaining of all of our guides!  So far, anyway… 

 

The beer tasting wasn’t a true tasting, in terms of talk about the beers.  We went to a restaurant, where there were two small glasses of beer, not quite full.  One was a cherry kriek like beer.  The other was a light lager.  We ate sausages and dark bread, then they brought around a round of dark beer in a goblet.  I liked all of the beers, but not everyone did.  I think a lot of Americans thought the cherry beer was weird.  I loved it.  

The sausages were very fresh and pretty good.  But no one talked about the beers, really.  We just drank them, and ate cake with berries afterwards.  Tallinn is wonderful.  We need to stay there and explore more!