Splendor in Iceland!

[boblerm]

God eftermiddag!

 

I know what you're thinking - why am I greeting you today in Danish rather than Icelandic?

I'm glad you asked. Today we are in Runavik, Faroe Islands, which is a self governing entity within the kingdom of Denmark.

 

 

The champagne pairing luncheon yesterday was truly a singular experience. Far be it for me to advise anyone as to how to spend their hard earned dough, but if this is offered on your cruise and there is OBC burning a hole in your pocket, this is not a bad way to go. Be advised that if you are of those that feel the need to visit the fitness room daily, you might want to accomplish that in the AM.

 

We were quite full from lunch, so we decided to skip dinner. 

 

AS IF!!! 

 

At Compass Rose, we both started with chicken consumme. CR may be the only venue on land or sea that I would order anything called consumme ", but here it was excellent. Jeannie had the Caesars Salad, and I the Greek salad. Last night was SS Society night, so Miso Glazed Sea Bass was on the menu. Jeannie had it, but since there was sea bass on the luncheon menu, I committed what many might consider to be a Regent sin, and passed in favor of the pasta of the evening, Linguini with shrimp and a light Alfredo sauce. .

I cannot remember the last time that I had a substandard meal in Compass Rose.

 

The show last night was an encore performance, (for us, yet again) , of Andrew Bateup. Notwithstanding @snorkle lover 's characterizeation of his stage presence, the lad can sing! He did songs from The Great American Song Book. I don't know that it was something that would be to @Bearsparents' taste, but we enjoyed him (yet again), and the audience seemed to as well.

 

Today's tour was Sweeping Panoramas.

We drove along the countryside along the fjord, seeing several pretty villages, and tons of sheep. There were 3 photo stops. It was a low key but quite pleasant tour. 

 

The weather report for @mnocket - the temperatue is 13C/56F, a little bit cloudy but quite pleasant and good visibility. No rain at least as of early afternoon. 

 

 

 

 

 

[boblerm]

I would like to register a few complaints :

 

• There is no rosè wine anywhere on board. 
• There are no pretzels available in the lounges.

 

I'm not sure how much more of this torture I can take! 😂😂😂

 

[mnocket]

3 minutes ago, boblerm said:

I would like to register a few complaints :

 

• There is no rosè wine anywhere on board. 
• There are no pretzels available in the lounges.

 

I'm not sure how much more of this torture I can take! 😂😂😂

 

I absolutely hate it when there's no rose wine to dunk my pretzels in🥨🍷

[Ethereal Cruiser]

20 minutes ago, boblerm said:

• There are no pretzels available in the lounges.

 

Somewhere in a long-term memory bank, maybe from fifteen years ago, I filed a complaint that they had stopped serving hors d'oeuvres in the lounges, and the only thing available was peanuts or pretzels.

 

I'm sad that your cruise is almost over. (No, server, please don't take the thread away; I'm still enjoying it!)

 

Some thoughts for your post-cruise night in Reykjavik: The Imagine (John Lennon) Peace Tower, The Pearl Museum, and there are probably a dozen other interesting museums, and chess-related destinations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[boblerm]

24 minutes ago, Ethereal Cruiser said:

 

Somewhere in a long-term memory bank, maybe from fifteen years ago, I filed a complaint that they had stopped serving hors d'oeuvres in the lounges, and the only thing available was peanuts or pretzels.

 

I'm sad that your cruise is almost over. (No, server, please don't take the thread away; I'm still enjoying it!)

 

Some thoughts for your post-cruise night in Reykjavik: The Imagine (John Lennon) Peace Tower, The Pearl Museum, and there are probably a dozen other interesting museums, and chess-related destinations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hot and cold hors d'oeuvre are plentiful, as are nuts and chips. But me needs me pretzels! 

 

Thank you for your recommendations for Reykjavik! 

 

 

[Gilly]

42 minutes ago, Ethereal Cruiser said:

The Pearl Museum

Our half day pre-airport tour took us there.  Really interesting except for the way it seemed like every single pre-airport tour from Splendor (and maybe Oceania Marina which was also in port that day) was there at the same time, making it rather crowded.  So, unless you are taking that same pre-airport tour, I'd advise waiting a while before you make an independent visit - maybe in the afternoon when everyone has moved on?

[Fairgarth]

4 hours ago, boblerm said:

 

• There is no rosè wine anywhere on board. 

 

 

Yelp!  This is a looming disaster!  DW and her sister love rose de Provence.  We are booked on Splendor in a few weeks - our first cruise on Regent.  Our last trip was on Koningsdam where they had plenty of Whispering Angel so the sisters were happy.  So please elucidate - is this a purely temporary, highly unusual situation for Regent?  Or if not, should we contact them and request that rose be boarded for our cruise?  Can that be done?

[flossie009]

Plenty of rosé on our recent Navigator cruise. French, then towards the end of the cruise they were serving an Italian rosé.

Speaking to the Head Sommelier, he said he was relieved that the supply chain issues that plagued them for months after the restart were mostly now resolved. Similar comment from the GM regarding other ship supplies 🙂

 

[kjbacon]

17 hours ago, boblerm said:

I would like to register a few complaints :

 

• There is no rosè wine anywhere on board. 
• There are no pretzels available in the lounges.

 

I'm not sure how much more of this torture I can take! 😂😂😂

 

I hear you, it’s no easy life on a regent ship!! If there’s still time left on your cruise, it is worth a mention that you are wanting those items. In some cases they will pick up for you in the next port. If Georgiana is on board, she almost always can find something! 

[Gilly]

6 minutes ago, kjbacon said:

I hear you, it’s no easy life on a regent ship!! If there’s still time left on your cruise, it is worth a mention that you are wanting those items. In some cases they will pick up for you in the next port. If Georgiana is on board, she almost always can find something! 

@kjbacon was it you who drank it all by any chance?  🤣

[boblerm]

14 hours ago, Fairgarth said:

- is this a purely temporary, highly unusual situation for Regent?

In my experience, yes, absolutely. In fact, for us this is a first. 

14 hours ago, Fairgarth said:

Or if not, should we contact them and request that rose be boarded for our cruise?  Can that be done?

That can often be done, but in this case, I don't think that it would help. There is a guy (who shall remain unnamed) that has been crying about it all week 😭🫢

 

FWIW, I have been told that they hope to have it avaliable for the next segment. Fingers crossed for the ladies. 

[boblerm]

1 hour ago, kjbacon said:

I hear you, it’s no easy life on a regent ship!! If there’s still time left on your cruise, it is worth a mention that you are wanting those items. In some cases they will pick up for you in the next port. If Georgiana is on board, she almost always can find something! 

Honesty, for me, it would be nice, but I only generally drink rosè with lunch, and I can suffer 😂 through it I have a nice Chardonnay  

Now the pretzels, though........ 😉

[boblerm]

 It  seems that I owe you an apology, as I greeted you yesterday in Danish, but it turns out that the Faroese have their own language that is completely distinct from Danish. Accordingly, I wish you a

 

 

 Góðan dag!

 

Yesterdays excursion was panoramic in nature, so needing a little exercise we strolled around the downtown area for a while. 

 

After drinks in the Observation Lounge we dined at Chartreuse. For us, this venue has been the most hit or miss of all the Regent restaurants. Last night was a hit +. We have learned over time that there are certain items that we know that we enjoy, and others that we do not, so we went with tried and true choices - for Jeannie it was mushroom soup, beet salad and dover sole ; I had the lobster bisque, steak tartar and the beef tenderloin rossini. Every course was wonderful. IMO, the beef tenderloin rossini here is the best beef 

dish on board. We finished by "sharing" the crème broulèe. And upon leaving Chartreuse, you are presented with a gift of  French  macarons to take with you, in case you are struck with severe hunger pangs later in the evening. 

 

Those that cruise on Regent frequently know that you are likely to see the same production shows over again. This does not bother me very much since I really enjoy most of the shows, each new cast puts somewhat of a different wrinkle on it, and let's face it, at my age I'm not going to remember a whole lot of them anyway. But last night there was scheduled what  for me is a rare occurance, namely a new (to me) show. It is called "Crossroads", a battle between county and rock 'n roll aficionados. I was quite stoked in anticipation, but at 6:30,Margaret came on the PA to inform us that due to illness in the production cast, the show had to be scrapped for the evening. She said that in it's stead, there would be (I hope that big vin isn't reading this), an Abba dance party in the Atrium. The cast did a great job, and the dance floor was full, everyone seemed to be having a great time. 

Margaret is hopeful that they will be able to reschedule the show for our last night of the cruise. And so am I 🤞

 

Today's excursion was "The Island of Vagar" (pronounced "voo ga").

We had another scenic drive through several tunnels to the island. We had a stop in a quaint town where we enjoyed coffee and cake in an historic little house. Then on to a waterfall at a seaside cliff, next a beautiful red roof church.

 

We are very happy to have had the opportunity to spend time in the Faroes, and would recommended it highly.

I ❤️ the Faroes! 

 

There was a Tex-Mex lunch at the pool grill 😋

 

Sail away was lovely. 

 

Weather today was 12C/54F,it was raining pretty good as we left for our excursion, cleared up mid morning, the afternoon is gorgeous! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. 

[2012_Alaska_bound]

WOW for the beautiful rainbow pictures!

[pappy1022]

Any hint of COVID for the production team that was sick? It must have spread somewhat for multiple people to be sick.

[boblerm]

21 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

Any hint of COVID for the production team that was sick? It must have spread somewhat for multiple people to be sick.

FWIW, the "c" word has not been used. 

When the cruise began, 1 male and 1 female lead were out, and 2 secondary singers from the dancing team filled in. 

We did not know this until the end of Broadway in Concert, when Margaret explained it (we would not have known as all of the singers were phenomenal). 

The lead female returned for Diamond Run.

As of last night, the male lead had still "not been cleared" to sing. The show had to be canceled, since in that particular show, no one else was trained to fill in. 

Margaret emphasized that it was the flu, and nothing more serious. 

I suppose that we can take that with as many grains of salt as we wish. 

[RachelG]

Big grain of salt to swallow there.

 

your pictures of the Faroes are spectacular.  When we were there, it was cold, very overcast,with strong wind and intermittent blowing rain.  I was happy to leave because the weather was so terrible.  How much a place is enjoyed is certainly afftected by the weather.

[kjbacon]

4 hours ago, Gilly said:

@kjbacon was it you who drank it all by any chance?  🤣

Kiss and tell, maybe, but drink and tell? Never!

 

3 hours ago, boblerm said:

Honesty, for me, it would be nice, but I only generally drink rosè with lunch, and I can suffer 😂 through it I have a nice Chardonnay  

Now the pretzels, though........ 😉

Can’t wait to be suffering like you in just a few more months 🥳

[Fairgarth]

4 hours ago, boblerm said:

In my experience, yes, absolutely. In fact, for us this is a first. 

 

FWIW, I have been told that they hope to have it avaliable for the next segment. Fingers crossed for the ladies. 

 

Thank you for the feedback, we appreciate it.  All's well that ends well.

 

Having cruised 21 times on seven different lines but never Regent, we are following your reports with great interest so thank you once more.

[labonnevie]

7 hours ago, RachelG said:

Big grain of salt to swallow there.

 

your pictures of the Faroes are spectacular.  When we were there, it was cold, very overcast,with strong wind and intermittent blowing rain.  I was happy to leave because the weather was so terrible.  How much a place is enjoyed is certainly afftected by the weather.

Agree, we had a rainy day in the Faroes, but still enjoyed it. My favorite picture was this man cutting his grass...

Edited August 30, 2023 by labonnevie

[boblerm]

17 hours ago, 2012_Alaska_bound said:

WOW for the beautiful rainbow pictures!

This may be the most dramatic rainbow that I can recall seeing. 

[boblerm]

 

Óhugsandi*!... 

... that it is our last day of this cruise already! 

 

We dined at Seti Mari last night. We have learned to not over order there, as by the time I have my fill of the breads, bruscetta, cheese, etc on my table, and then take samples from the appetizer bar, I am already pretty full. But we had no trouble finishing our minestrone soups, and pasta specials, penne bolognese for me, and a seafood linguine for Jeannie. We asked for the meal to be paced leisurely, and we were accommodated nicely. 

 

On the subject of things that are not available on board - Jeannie asked for Vin Santo for dipping of biscotti. The head waiter said that he is asked for that so often, but Regent does not carry it on any of its ships. Then the people at the next table asked for it as well. So, if so many people ask for it........ 

 

The show last night was Divos and Divas. Great songs by great artists that we all know and love. Also Barry Manilow. Very well performed. 

And on an optimistic note, there was a male singer that I have not seen before, presumably the aforementioned lead singer that has been out of sorts, and Crossroads is listed in Passages for tonight's show. So I am very hopeful. 

 

After the show, CD Margaret did a "Cotton Club" show in the Meridian, very nice. 

 

 

We set our clocks back one hour last night,😊 but it availed us naught since we are sailing all morning, arriving in Heimaey at 12:30 PM., so we were able to sleep in anyway. 

 

At breakfast today we decided to try, for the first time, the highly touted cronut to see if it lived up to the hype. Did it ever! Our intention was to just try a few bites to see how it was. Jeannie succeeded, I failed miserably. 

On a negative note, they seem to have run out of Steevia (Truvia) sweetener. 

 

We went to an enjoyable lecture on the history of cruise ships  by lecturer Adam Tanner, only to return to our room to find the dreaded SUITCASES ON THE BEDS! 

 

We are on our way to the Island of Heimaey, in Iceland. We have a tour this afternoon called, appropriately, "The Island of Heimaey." 

 

 

*This is the closest Icelandic equivalent that I could find for "Inconceivable!) 

 

[boblerm]

Shortly after I posted, the captain announced that it was unsafe to tender in to Heimaey. 

 

C'est la vie de croisière. 

[Gpilon]

47 minutes ago, boblerm said:

Shortly after I posted, the captain announced that it was unsafe to tender in to Heimaey. 

 

C'est la vie de croisière. 

C'est vrais! 

[maryogreen]

@boblerm That rainbow photo is a stunner! I love how you captured it disappearing over the golden hills. Just magical. I know what you mean about it being the most dramatic you've ever seen. A few years ago, I witnessed an extraordinary rainbow on a sea day in New Zealand and serendipitously had my camera with me. I've never experienced anything like it since. Maybe these are the rainbows with pots of gold at the end.😊 Wishing you continued happy travels and a safe journey home.

Mary

The Modern Postcard