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

[difranco]

2 minutes ago, knotheadusc said:

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!

 

[difranco]

Thanks very much for your informative reply. Looking forward to it.

[knotheadusc]

Last night, we tried Chartreuse.  My husband was especially looking forward to it, since he loves cheese.  We live in Germany and have the ability to go to France pretty often, so we've dined at many French restaurants.  Chartreuse is more of an American style French restaurant, if that makes sense.  But we still very much enjoyed the menu.  I especially liked the French wines that were offered, a Muscadet and a Bordeaux, both of which were of excellent quality.

 

We started with hors 'd oeuvres-- smoked salmon with blinis for me, and steak tartare for him.  They were a lot bigger than I was expecting, which turned out to be a good thing.  My salmon was very fresh and delicious.  I didn't try his steak tartare, but he said it was excellent.

 

Next, we had soup... lobster bisque for me, and mushroom veloute with truffle and garlic confit for him.  I do not eat mushrooms at all, so that was a pass for me.  He liked the soup very much, calling it rich and "very nice".  I also had lobster bisque in the Compass Rose restaurant earlier in the week, with a much simpler presentation and less lobster and potato.

 

For dinner I had lobster tail with asparagus and scallop mousse.  My husband had halibut with braised fennel, lemon artichoke tapenade, and green olives.  I couldn't finish the lobster, because I was looking forward to dessert.  Halibut was a treat for my husband, because we don't often get it where we live now.  Both dishes were well presented.  We also ordered sides-- mashed potatoes and haricot verts (green beans) for me, and pommes gaufrettes (basically waffle fries) for him.  

 

Finally, at the end of the meal, I enjoyed a lemon Bavarian cream with fruit.  My husband oohed and ahhed over a selection of French cheeses.  He made some faces that I usually see in the bedroom, if you catch my drift. 😉

 

Today, we are visiting Liepaja, and our excursion will include a stop at Karosta Prison, a place I've been curious about for years.  I'm looking forward to it.

 

Below are some photos from Chartreuse...

 

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by knotheadusc

[kjbacon]

Great pics from chartreuse! And a very enjoyable commentary as well (and we are all about that cheese plate too 😉) Glad to see that you are enjoying regent.

[2012_Alaska_bound]

I don't know why I haven't had the cheese at Chartreuse, but will certainly correct that on Splendor in November!!! So glad your husband thought it was worthwhile.

[knotheadusc]

Today's excursion was to Liepaja and Karosta in Latvia.  We had to change clocks again for the third time this trip, and tonight we'll be going back an hour, since tomorrow we will be in Denmark.  I was looking forward to the visit to Karosta Prison, because years ago, I had read about how they had turned it into a B&B, where people could book a stay and be treated like a prisoner during the Soviet era. 

 

I first read about this in 2009 or so, when my husband was still in the Army and we were living in Germany for the first time (as a couple-- he lived in Germany before he knew me, too).  We had to move back to the USA before we could visit the area; then we never got around to arranging a visit when we moved back to Germany in 2014.  What can I say?  Too many much more comfortable places to see, I guess...  Then came COVID.

 

To be honest, I doubt I'd want to book a night there now, as I'm not so young anymore, and I've had my fill of cheap thrills on vacation.  😉  But I did still want to check out the prison, so it was a treat to go there today and take a quick tour.  The Karosta Prison tour can include a "reality" segment that lasts three hours, complete with a local who acts like the warden.  We did see a group getting lectured as we were passing through.  Our tour guide did the talking when we visited, and I'm not sure we saw the whole thing.  Nevertheless, I have now seen enough.

 

We visited the Orthodox church in Karosta, which is very beautiful, and was for years used as an entertainment center/movie theater for Soviet soldiers and sailors, rather than for its intended purpose of worshiping God.  We also visited the beach in Karosta, as well as the one in Liepaja, the new Amber Center in Liepaja which is a performing arts venue, and a park with beautiful trees and many monuments to local musicians.  Liepaja is apparently where the most musicians come from.  I am a musician myself, so this was interesting to me.

 

I told my husband I could foresee coming back to Liepaja, booking a hotel room, and just enjoying the laid back beach and beautiful tree filled park.  We also visited a beautiful Lutheran church where two ladies were singing acapella.  I'm not sure if they were rehearsing or it was their regular duty, but they sounded so beautiful and it was a very peaceful experience going into the church.  Liepaja really is a very nice town.

 

Although the tour started off with sunny skies, the heavens opened up as we were finishing the tour.  Consequently, no one was really up for the very short "free time" we were allotted.  We went back to the ship and the driver pulled up very close to the gangway, sparing most of us from getting completely soaked! 

 

After lunch in The Veranda, we ordered a bottle of red wine from room service.  Then, I promptly fell asleep and took a 45 minute nap.  When I woke up, the sun was shining.  We finished the wine on the balcony and now we're waiting for our 8:30 reservations at the Pacific Rim. 

 

Tomorrow is our last full day on Splendor.  When we disembark on Friday morning, we will go to a hotel in Copenhagen and spend a couple of nights, then return home to Germany on Sunday.  I actually kind of look forward to it, because I look forward to writing a very detailed travel blog about our whole trip (which started in Norway on June 16th).

 

Below are some photos from today's outing!

 

 

[1982CruzStart]

Great pictures and informative commentary. Thanks for bringing us along on your cruise. I can't believe it is almost over already.  Enjoy the end of your trip and safe travels home. 

[liptastic]

Thanks for this wonderful thread. Your explanations of the tours and visits are really interesting and photos are great. Thanks for taking the time. Enjoy your last few days onboard.  Jean.

[Hezu]

On 6/24/2023 at 9:53 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!

Helsinki is still fairly warm within Finland, the sea stays warm quite long and that moderates temperatures, although that goes also the other way around and in the spring the cold sea water cools down also air temperatures near the coastline. On some cold spells the temperatures can drop into the region of -20 °C, although this varies yearly and it doesn't always became that cold. But if the temperatures stay firmly below the freezing point for extended periods then the sea water starts to freeze and form ice, first in the bays and then also elsewhere in the coastline. If the cold spell lasts long enough, the ice will be indeed thick enough that you can go walking, skating or skiing on it. The sea ice in Southern Finland rarely gets very thick, but ice on inland lakes often will become sufficiently thick that one may drive motor vehicles on ice. Also, ice breakers will keep the sea lanes open, so rarely you can go too far into sea ice from the coast, thus for example the South Harbour around the Market Square in Helsinki is these days never in condition that you could walk on ice. And of course, the climate change means that there may not be as long cold periods as earlier, for example this winter in Helsinki there tended to be some colder spells followed by some very warm weather that melted snow and ice and then again little colder weather and so on. This meant open sea waters for pretty much whole winter.

[knotheadusc]

Last night we got to try the much vaunted Pacific Rim restaurant.  My husband said it was his favorite of the three specialty restaurants.  Service was excellent, and the food was top notch.  I enjoyed Pacific Rim, too, although Asian food isn't necessarily my favorite (too many mushrooms!).  

 

I got a kick out of watching my husband try the edamame and crackers.  I had never had it before, but was always curious about how it tasted.  Now, I know!

 

As my started, I had a lovely assortment of sushi, while my husband went with the sashimi option.  Both were very fresh and beautifully presented.  Then we had the miso soup, which was comforting and seemed like one of the healthiest things I've eaten all week!  😉

 

For our main courses, I had Chinese barbecue ribs with a side of Regent Fried Rice (duck, vegetables, and egg).  My husband had King Prawns with bok choy and a side of stir fried Asian greens.  

Then for dessert, he had Tres Leches coconut and I had Mochi for the very first time in my life.  The Mochi was basically sticky rice that reminded me of marshmallow, with little dollops of ice cream inside.  I had three; one with chocolate, one with green tea, and one with passion fruit ice cream.  It was very interesting.  I especially liked the green tea version.

 

Naturally, everything was washed down with wine...  We went with a sauvignon blanc from New Zealand, but they also had a semi-sweet German Riesling and sake, among other varieties.

 

We also visited the Meridian Bar for the very first time last night, and we tried a few of their artisan cocktails, which were fun and delicious.  I liked the Meridian Bar a lot, and wish we'd gone in there earlier in the week! I especially enjoyed the jazzy music they were playing.   Oh well.  That's another reason to book another cruise, right?

 

Here are a few photos from last night.

 

 

Edited June 29, 2023 by knotheadusc

[lincslady]

Great photos - and I especially like those where your husband appears to be saying a prayer over his food!  It all looks lovely.  Bbq ribs would have been my favourite dish -  love anything with lots of flavour.

[knotheadusc]

44 minutes ago, lincslady said:

Great photos - and I especially like those where your husband appears to be saying a prayer over his food!  It all looks lovely.  Bbq ribs would have been my favourite dish -  love anything with lots of flavour.

My husband has gotten very used to being photographed whenever we go out!  I put it all in my travel blog!  
 

I almost went for the duck last night.  It looked really good, too!  
 

I just packed most of my stuff for tomorrow’s disembarkation.  Now, we’re sitting on the balcony, drinking some of the beer we requested earlier in the week.  This cruise has been great, but it’s time to go home and rescue our sweet dog and find him a playmate.  We lost our other dog on St. Patrick’s Day, and wanted to take a vacation before adopting another.  Now that we’ve done our vacation, it’s time!  
 

Plus, I have a burning desire to make some new music!  Vacations are so inspirational!

[kjbacon]

I’ll miss your blog! Hope to see you here again or on board.

 

A question on your smoked salmon appetizer at Chartreuse. I love smoked salmon and often have that dish for breakfast, so I’ve never ordered that app. The salmon pieces look thick in the picture, very different from what I have at breakfast. Is the flavor different too?

[knotheadusc]

8 hours ago, kjbacon said:

I’ll miss your blog! Hope to see you here again or on board.

 

A question on your smoked salmon appetizer at Chartreuse. I love smoked salmon and often have that dish for breakfast, so I’ve never ordered that app. The salmon pieces look thick in the picture, very different from what I have at breakfast. Is the flavor different too?

To me, the salmon pieces were slightly less smoky.  
 

I don’t post on Cruise Critic very often because we don’t cruise much.  But I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the live posting!  

Edited June 29, 2023 by knotheadusc

[chuckw]

Great posting, enjoyed it all,  We won't be on Regent until November but you've made our wait even longer.  

[knotheadusc]

Yesterday, we went on our final excursion to Bornholm, an island off of mainland Denmark.  Once again, it was a place I'd never heard of, and since we were pretty tired and a little burned out on bus tours, we almost skipped our 4 PM excursion.  That would have been a mistake.  I ended up enjoying Bornholm the most of all of our stops on our cruise!

 

We visited a cool round church called Osterlars, a cute little waterfront town that looked a bit like Cornwall, castle ruins, and a restaurant/museum fish smoker which is the only smoker facility that still smokes fish over an open fire.  Bornholm has many places where they smoke herring, but all but one of them use modern methods due to the food safety risk.  The place we went calls itself a "museum" so that it can continue to use the old fashioned method.  We got to try the herring and wash it down with excellent Danish draft beer.

 

Where Visby was very historic and well preserved, it was quite overrun with tourists.  Bornholm didn't feel that way at all.  I will be looking into booking  a land based trip there sometime.  

 

After our excursion, we had our last meal in the Compass Rose restaurant.  I had lobster ravioli and a rib eye steak and a baked potato.  My husband had lobster bisque and followed with Thai red curry with rice and spinach.  We also had lunch in Prime 7, which was very tasty, as expected.  We were waited on both times by a waiter named Billy.  My husband's name is Bill, so at dinner, we laughed when Billy called my husband "Mr. Bill".  He had never heard of the Saturday Night Live character from the 70s.  We gave him a brief education about Mr. Bill, as well as the reason people call my husband that.  When my husband was teenager, he was actually run over by a car.  Yes, he was injured, but not permanently so.  Ever since then, when people call him Mr. Bill, it actually fits.  Oh nooooo!  ;)

 

Then, this morning, it was time to disembark.  Our plans involve hanging out in Copenhagen for a couple of days, so we were among the last to leave the ship.  Check in was at 3PM, but we were lucky enough to get early check in.  I'm glad, because I need a nap to recover from our week of tours!  I was impressed by how well organized disembarkation was.  We left Regent Splendor with good impressions.  While I think I still prefer much smaller ships, if the right opportunity presented itself, I would book again and recommend the line to others.  

 

It was a real treat to get to spend 16 nights on vacation in such a unique part of Europe.  We hit Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Denmark, and Estonia, and we even ventured into Lithuanian waters for awhile.  I'd say we got a lot of bang for many, many bucks!  

 

Thanks to everyone who has been following along with me!  It's been fun to share this experience with those who can really appreciate it.  

 

 

 

Here are some photos from yesterday's excursion!

 

 

[BuckGood]

Thank you for this detailed review! We will once again board the Splendor for our 4th cruise on her in less than a year, very excited to do Iceland/Greenland this time. May I ask who the CD and asst CD were? 

[knotheadusc]

14 minutes ago, BuckGood said:

Thank you for this detailed review! We will once again board the Splendor for our 4th cruise on her in less than a year, very excited to do Iceland/Greenland this time. May I ask who the CD and asst CD were? 

The CD was Jude.  I don’t know who the asst. CD was.  I may have that info picked in the luggage.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Thanks for taking the time to post during your vacation.  Wonderful to see the photos.  Safe travels home, really enjoyed reading about your trip!

 

Joanie

[Zqueeze1]

Great thread and pics!  Thank you so much for taking us along in your cruise.  You write very well and detailed accounts.  Safe travels home. 
 

Z and TB

[2SailingNomads]

Jude was our CD on our amazing Splendor cruise and our first Regent but now of many more to come.  We were very loyal Seabourn cruisers but lately things pre c19 had declined. We will still sail with them and will do so in just over a week but our Regent experience made us book 2 more and have 3 or so under consideration depending on pricing.  Itinerary and pricing drive our business 

[cruise47]

Thanks for sharing your vacation.