Live from Splendor, Copenhagen to Southampton

[RELS]

2 hours ago, Gray Lady said:

Do you know if they make a French 75 cocktail on Regent? Best of two worlds….gin and champagne!

 

You bet they do! Plus a few other champagne cocktails, too, including the classic and the kir royale. There's a section in the cocktail menu just for sparkling wine cocktails.

[Gilly]

@Gray Lady yes they do.

[flossie009]

On 8/6/2023 at 9:17 AM, Gilly said:

@Mudhen I'm not 100% on this one but the man wearing a jacket (rather than the waistcoat of the others) in CR and dashing around chasing his tail all night with bottles in his hand is I Kadek.

We just joined Navigator in Copenhagen and I Kadek was lead sommelier in Compass Rose last night.

 

[Gilly]

24 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

We just joined Navigator in Copenhagen and I Kadek was lead sommelier in Compass Rose last night.

 

A different I Kadek I think, @flossie009 because "our" I Kadek was still running about in CR last evening on Splendor too 😉  

 

Have a wonderful time on board Navigator!  Hope the weather is kind and all goes according to plan.

Edited August 9, 2023 by Gilly

[John117]

Not quite live from the ship but here is how I found the cruise as far as Southampton. We cruised on Seabourn Ovation in June and join Silversea Nova in September so it will be interesting to compare the 3 cruises.

 

It was a fair walk to the transfer bus with luggage for less mobile guests. Some help was on hand for those in wheelchairs. What happened to the days when they collected all your bags at the luggage belt and put them in a luggage trolly and took them the bus for you. The bus was too small for all the luggage so some had to be stacked inside. The bus aircon was poor and consequently the bus was too hot. We arrived at the port around 12.00 and there was confusion as to what to do with the luggage. Eventually it was loaded onto trolleys and moved to the ship. The Terminal building was fairly busy but the line moved quickly. There was no need to print your boarding pass.

 

There was a fairly limited choice at the pool and la veranda for lunch but ok for a turnaround day.

The Suites were not ready until almost 15.00. 1 bag of our luggage appeared quickly but the other had not arrived by 17.00. A crew member suggested it may have been blocked by security so go to reception who sent me to security another deck down. They then took me to another deck where there was a collection of bags rejected. I found ours and after a discussion i was allowed to take my own bag too our suite to finish our unpacking. We never received a call to say our bag was held. The culprit was our extension lead which apparently is a prohibited heating item? I don’t remember this being on the list of prohibited items so beware.

 

Room service was also slow on day 1. It took almost an hour for a few snacks before dinner. It was not so good other days as our order was only partially complete and the hot food wasn’t. Breakfast in la veranda was ok but most of the hot items were cold apart from the eggs which were cooked to order. Even the pancakes are pre cooked. Coffee was like sludge so had a french press which was just ok. Most days we resorted to the machines at the pool grill and carried it into la veranda. There was never any smoked salmon at lunchtime but sometimes mackerel or trout. Budget cuts?

 

The steaks in compass rose and prime 7 on the first 2 occasions were fatty and tasteless. We got another booking in prime 7 and the fillet mignon was excellent. Obviously they had some poorer quality meat to use up first?

 

They seem to be using breakfast in the MDR as a training session for new staff. It was difficult to get several courses in the correct order. They often bring all the courses simultaneously and can't fit them on the table.

 

The food overall I would class as average with some good meals and others verging on poor. There is a huge choice on Regents menus but consequently if you do not choose wisely you may be disappointed with the resulting microwave meal!

 

Our biggest disappointment was probably the shore excursions. We spent a lot of time waiting in the theatre ranging from 30 mins to over an hour one day. Virtually all the times given when we booked the excursions had been changed but they still couldn't run them on time. We seemed to be slightly late docking most days which no doubt added to the delays.

 

 We had 2 sea days on this cruise as prior to departure our stop in Stavanger was cancelled and we couldn't dock at Ringaskiddy for Cork due to bad weather.

 

 I enjoyed our first time on this ship. I did miss the bar at the stern with a wake view and the outside area at the observation bar. This bar gets taken over by the trivia teams soon after it opens at 16.00 so if you want a quiet drink you have to visit the pool bar (weather permitting) or wait till 17.00 when the Splendor bar opens. Didn't really like the Splendor or Meridian bars as they felt dark and stuffy. Afternoon tea in the Meridian is crowded every day so get your seat before 16.00 or forget it (especially on seadays⁹. The bars at Prime 7 and Chartreuse are way too small (like 6 seats?) so never used them either. You do need to spell out precisely how you like your drink served otherwise it is pot luck. Getting a cold mixer was almost impossible unless you have it with ice. The entertainment in the bars was poor in my opinion. Pianist seemed to be intent on doing his own thing with every tune making most of them almost unrecognisable.

 

Our F2 suite was nice and quite spacious and was only noisy when we had high winds as the door didn't seal properly. Stewardess and partner did a good job of keeping the suite fresh.

 

Quite a few of the experienced staff are going home shortly and joining Grandeur when they return.

 

A few of the crew need some training on how to maneuver the tender boats preferably when they are not full of passengers. There are plenty of scuff marks down the side of Spendor from this last cruise to support this view.

[RachelG]

On 8/7/2023 at 7:06 PM, Gray Lady said:

Do you know if they make a French 75 cocktail on Regent? Best of two worlds….gin and champagne!

yes!

[annmarz]

What is an extension lead?  We always bring an extension cord for the CPap machine.  Will we have delayed luggage delivery?

[John117]

One adaptor gives 4 UK sockets for low current devices such as phones, tablets, toothbrush

[CruisetheCs]

8 hours ago, John117 said:

One adaptor gives 4 UK sockets for low current devices such as phones, tablets, toothbrush

Did Regent tell you not to use this or was it actually confiscated?  I'm curious because I usually bring an extension cord with me when I travel anywhere.  Too often hotel rooms or other locations don't have enough outlets or the outlets are inconveniently located.

[purpleally]

On 8/7/2023 at 1:46 AM, Gilly said:

I don't know if it's simply that the way of serving such mixed drinks in different parts of the world vary?  I say this only because I just read an article by an American visiting London for the first time, who was surprised to be served her spirit and the accompanying mixer separately.  Now I think that's perfectly normal - isn't it?  (Maybe not?!)   So, a straight "G&T" order on board is served in a long glass, with about a third ice and topped up almost to the rim with whatever tonic happens to be there at the time by the server, usually a large "Coke size" can which is already open and might be slightly flat.  (That's not always the case...I noticed smaller, San Pellegrino Tonic cans yesterday)   Of course, the flavour and character of a particular gin is totally drowned in a serving like this and I have spent our time on board devising the best way of describing exactly how I'd like my G&T served wthout sounding too picky!  (But maybe I'm just that way!! 😉)

I try to find one of a handful of waiters to ask, who understand what I mean when I ask for " XXXX gin, served over ice please, with a slice of cucumber (or whatever) and a bottle of Fevertree tonic on the side would be perfect!`     Maybe that's not how many would like their G&T served?  I don't know.

 

Tell me what makes the perfect drink for you, please?!

That sounds perfect to me!

[cruiseej]

10 hours ago, CruisetheCs said:

Did Regent tell you not to use this or was it actually confiscated?

 

A simple extension cord or strip with multiple outlets should be fine. But a strip which includes a surge protector is not.

[sanne]

I had this same problem with an extension  cord when Embarking in Sydney this year on a Seabourn ship. First bag arrived promptly but by 5 pm the second had not. DH found it himself at security. This same extension cord has been used on every cruise we’ve taken and never have we had a problem before. Next time it’s going in my hand luggage. 

[John117]

13 hours ago, CruisetheCs said:

Did Regent tell you not to use this or was it actually confiscated?  I'm curious because I usually bring an extension cord with me when I travel anywhere.  Too often hotel rooms or other locations don't have enough outlets or the outlets are inconveniently located.

Well that was their intention. The security officer asked me to open my case and give it to him but unfortunately I didn't have the key for the lock. So after a discussion about the increased risk of this charging block vs 4 separate adapters in 4 different sockets he told me to take my bag and return the extension to him later. I pointed out that I was on holiday and an expensive one at that and if he wanted the extension he could collect it from my suite. This never happened of course and I heard no more.

[John117]

2 hours ago, cruiseej said:

 

A simple extension cord or strip with multiple outlets should be fine. But a strip which includes a surge protector is not.

This was a simple unit with no protection other that a fused plug. I am a Chartered Electrical Engineer with 50 years experience.

[John117]

1 hour ago, sanne said:

I had this same problem with an extension  cord when Embarking in Sydney this year on a Seabourn ship. First bag arrived promptly but by 5 pm the second had not. DH found it himself at security. This same extension cord has been used on every cruise we’ve taken and never have we had a problem before. Next time it’s going in my hand luggage. 

Security will of course pick it up as they scan your hand luggage on boarding but at least your bag will not be delayed. On newer ships with USB points beside the bed the need is not so great but it is still useful to charge all your devises in one area of the suite.

[mj_holiday]

We had a tool in our suitcase that security didn't like.  Our cabin steward came and told us one of us needed to go to security because of our suitcase.  Our steward when with me. I opened the suitcase and found the tool for him to look at.  He gave me back the tool and said I needed to keep it in our suitcase for the cruise and I said I would comply, but I also would have let him confiscate it.  I realize that security has a very tough job and if they are successful in their jobs no one notices because nothing happens.

[irishwitchy]

2 hours ago, mj_holiday said:

We had a tool in our suitcase that security didn't like.  Our cabin steward came and told us one of us needed to go to security because of our suitcase.  Our steward when with me. I opened the suitcase and found the tool for him to look at.  He gave me back the tool and said I needed to keep it in our suitcase for the cruise and I said I would comply, but I also would have let him confiscate it.  I realize that security has a very tough job and if they are successful in their jobs no one notices because nothing happens.

Curious minds want to know - what was it?  

Edited August 13, 2023 by irishwitchy
Misspelling

[mj_holiday]

A Gerber tool, but that really doesn’t impact the story.