Grandeur Live! New York to Barcelona Transatlantic Crossing

[RachelG]

2 hours ago, Redking said:

Out of interest, where is the trivia quiz held? We're not quizers and on our most recent cruise (another cruise line) found that we couldn't enjoy a quit pre-dinner drink because the quiz was held in the only lounge bar at the same time. Being much larger ships, I'm sure this won't be an issue on the Explorer class ships but we're curious newbies to Regent.

Trivia is in observation lounge deck 11, but it is at 4:30 and always ends by 5, We generally went up at 5:30 to 6 for pre dinner drinks, but there are 2 other large bars on decks 4 and 5 as well, and small ones outside of Prime 7 and Chartreuse.

[RachelG]

April 24, 2024–disembarkation in Barcelona, Spain

 

We had to be up early as our flight was to leave at 10:15.  Cutting it close I know, but we had flown out from Barcelona a couple of times previously, and I was confident we could make it.  
 

We were first off the ship, through customs, and in a taxi by 7:15.  Checked in at the BA desk, went through security and customs again, and were sitting in the very nice lounge by 8:30–no lines anywhere except a short one for checking in with BA.

 

Flights were uneventful.  We had a very tight connection in LHR, but no issue making it. 
 

We had a good trip.  George didn’t like all the sea days, so we probably won’t do a trans Atlantic trip again anytime soon, but it was great seeing all our friends.  I did book a cruise for October 2025 while onboard from Trieste to Barcelona.  The draw is that every port is an over night, which I quite like the sound of.  And we have several other cruises planned in the meantime.  Next up will be the Kimberley in Australia in July on Silversea.

[frantic36]

30 minutes ago, RachelG said:

Next up will be the Kimberley in Australia in July on Silversea.

 

Enjoy the Kimberley region as I think the landscape is stunning. We did it last year for a week on a small ship that had a helicopter and will be doing it again this June on Seabourn Pursuit with no helicopter so interesting to see the variance. We did some good hiking last year there, especially seeing the Aboriginal rock art. 

[NYC-London]

12 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

 

This is precisely why my wife and I only partake in trivia on about half of our sailings - on occasion it gets so cutthroat as to not be enjoyable, which is the entire point of doing trivia if I'm not mistaken.

 

We've met some good people in trivia, and we've also done the first day or two and not returned, so much of it depends on who's playing.

I could not agree with you more - it should be a fun way to spend 30 minutes, yet some people act as if the winner gets a free cruise, rather than points to redeem for stuff one may or may not need and if one can afford a Regent cruise, they can afford to buy any of the items that are available for points. And the level to which some people cheat is beyond me. On one cruise it appeared that someone was sitting in a corner with an ipad and communicating with a member of a team who was wearing ear buds. 

 

Jeopardy is one of my favorite shows, and watching from the comfort of my recliner and shouting out the answers is a great way to spend 22 minutes (I tape and watch later in the  evening). I probably would not enjoy the pressure of standing on the Alex Trebek stage and playing the game in person - that is how I feel about trivia on some cruises - it is so cut throat  that it takes away the enjoyment of the game.

[lprp]

8 hours ago, RachelG said:

Next up will be the Kimberley in Australia in July on Silversea.

It’s been fantastic reading the TA reports each day with the fabulous photos. Thank you.

We’re doing the Kimberley in June - 17 nights in a 4 wheel drive vehicle 😬 followed by 11 nights on a Ponant ship, Le Jacques Cartier, which I hope will assist with recovering from the fairly arduous 17 night land trip.🤞

We disembark in Darwin on 1 July, probably just as you start your journey to Australia!

[papaflamingo]

On 4/24/2024 at 7:09 PM, RachelG said:

I did book a cruise for October 2025 while onboard from Trieste to Barcelona.

If that's on Mariner we will likely be there.  We booked Barcelona to Barcelona a few months ago as the last leg (cruise you have booked) was scheduled Haifa, to Barcelona via Egypt.  Obviously that changed, so now it'll be Barcelona to Istanbul to Trieste to Barcelona.  Still, like you, the overnights they've added sound really interesting in order to really see some of the beautiful ports.  

One comment....if you don't know this.... the Trieste to Barcelona cruise is the last cruise for Mariner before she goes into major overhaul.  So one wonders....what will the condition of the ship be?  

Anyway, may see you on board. 😎

[RachelG]

4 minutes ago, papaflamingo said:

If that's on Mariner we will likely be there.  We booked Barcelona to Barcelona a few months ago as the last leg (cruise you have booked) was scheduled Haifa, to Barcelona via Egypt.  Obviously that changed, so now it'll be Barcelona to Istanbul to Trieste to Barcelona.  Still, like you, the overnights they've added sound really interesting in order to really see some of the beautiful ports.  

One comment....if you don't know this.... the Trieste to Barcelona cruise is the last cruise for Mariner before she goes into major overhaul.  So one wonders....what will the condition of the ship be?  

Anyway, may see you on board. 😎

Yes, that is it.  We will look forward to meeting you.

[papaflamingo]

3 minutes ago, RachelG said:

Yes, that is it.  We will look forward to meeting you.

Excellent!  We originally booked this cruise for Israel and Egypt, because (long story short) we were booked on the "ill fated" Voyager cruise last Oct.  Well, I woke up on the day we were to leave for the airport with the dreaded Covid!  Turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we had to cancel and I had insurance.  A week later Hamas attacked Israel and the "rest is history."  

Anyway, found this cruise starting in Haifa, looked at the previous cruise, started in Istanbul, so what the heck..why not?  Then saw the one before started in Barcelona and by the time we were done we'd booked 3 B2B cruises for a total of 32 nights!!!!  😱

Anyway, not surprisingly, the third cruise changed completely, but all three have amazing itineraries with a few repeats in some beautiful ports.  😎

[RachelG]

1 minute ago, papaflamingo said:

Excellent!  We originally booked this cruise for Israel and Egypt, because (long story short) we were booked on the "ill fated" Voyager cruise last Oct.  Well, I woke up on the day we were to leave for the airport with the dreaded Covid!  Turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we had to cancel and I had insurance.  A week later Hamas attacked Israel and the "rest is history."  

Anyway, found this cruise starting in Haifa, looked at the previous cruise, started in Istanbul, so what the heck..why not?  Then saw the one before started in Barcelona and by the time we were done we'd booked 3 B2B cruises for a total of 32 nights!!!!  😱

Anyway, not surprisingly, the third cruise changed completely, but all three have amazing itineraries with a few repeats in some beautiful ports.  😎

I too had looked at it when it started in Haifa and was just waiting to book until onboard to get the benefits.  But as time passed, with current events, I knew the itinerary would change.  Which is fine.  The nights in port are a bonus.

[GMIAC]

On 4/25/2024 at 5:34 AM, NYC-London said:

I could not agree with you more - it should be a fun way to spend 30 minutes, yet some people act as if the winner gets a free cruise, rather than points to redeem for stuff one may or may not need and if one can afford a Regent cruise, they can afford to buy any of the items that are available for points. And the level to which some people cheat is beyond me. On one cruise it appeared that someone was sitting in a corner with an ipad and communicating with a member of a team who was wearing ear buds. 

 

Jeopardy is one of my favorite shows, and watching from the comfort of my recliner and shouting out the answers is a great way to spend 22 minutes (I tape and watch later in the  evening). I probably would not enjoy the pressure of standing on the Alex Trebek stage and playing the game in person - that is how I feel about trivia on some cruises - it is so cut throat  that it takes away the enjoyment of the game.

 

Unbelievable. I just shared this with my trivia team friends, and we’re bringing an iPad and ear buds next time!  🫢