WAVE – Monte Carlo to Dover 6/9-6/19 on Seven Seas Voyager

I originally intended to make a full diary type of report when I started typing my thoughts out for a trip report; As I went further into recording this for reading, I thought it might be nicer to just highlight various parts of this trip. To some of you, I say sorry this is so long and to others, sorry it’s not long enough

I will start out saying this was one of our most delightful of cruises; The ports were interspersed with sea days nicely to give us a great time, balanced between sightseeing and cruising, both highly valued on our travel agenda. We booked this with Wendy (Wandra) and David and Fred (Freddie) and Pat (Island Cruiser)during our PG experience on PIP and we know that we had some spectacular, like minded travel companions whom we would be thrilled to travel with again any time to anywhere. There were 15 people onboard from LCT/Cruise Critic and sadly we did not get to meet them all.

RSSC Overall:

This was our 6th RSSC Cruise. We’ve been on all the ships now. There is a reason we’re loyal cruisers and this cruise was a great case example of exemplary service. Waiters, Waitresses, Estheticians, even in the Casino and Crew who remember you from cruise to cruise and your preferences. Entertainers who consider you like a friend and who seek you out to say goodbye until next time. Food that is great quality and well prepared (thanks, Chef Cornel and Franck). Good laughs with the Chief Engineer at dinner (another night closing the dining room and missing the show! – Giuseppe, we hope you will entertain us again next year when we are on Voyager again).

The ship was in perfect shape. I have nothing I can complain about. 10 days for us is a perfect number of days on board. We had lovely ports and perfect travel companions. We have a business we enjoy and dogs at home who we miss terribly when we travel too long. We also like to tack on pre or post cruise adventures when we can.

Departure/Arrival
We used our usual car service to LAX without a problem. I packed most things about a week before we cruised hoping to start the vacation early but had a work situation that caused me to stay up most of the night before we left so by the time we arrived at the airport I was more than ready for a hard earned vacation.

We met Greg, Gretchen and Cheryl at the airport in Delta’s Crown Room lounge and before we knew it was time to board. We used Regent’s free air promotion, changed flights in Atlanta and the only disappointment was that on both legs the empty middle seats we hoped would remain empty were filled since all of the flights were sold out to Nice. We slept comfortably on the way to Nice and woke up rested. We used our Bose Noise Canceling headphones with our iPods, which we will never travel without after buying them for our trip to Italy last year. Crying Babies sounds are far diminished as are all those other annoying sounds of flying in Coach.

We flew home Non stop British Air and we were more than happy to be upgraded to Economy Plus known as World Traveler Plus. Hopefully we will have that class of service again. It was better than some Delta First Class flights we’ve had. It was on time and the food was even a surprise. 11 hours flying coach is a long flight but this was very acceptable to us.

Nice/Monte Carlo: Our driver from Tour Azur met us as soon as we cleared passport control and scooped up our luggage and we were on the way to Hotel Hermitage in Monte Carlo. We checked in and had enough energy to walk around the town for several hours. We found a little café to have a light bite since it was to close to dinner time to have a full lunch. I wish I remembered the name – it was delightful; We returned to the hotel for a nap and it turned out that we slept the night away. We found that the restaurants are open mostly for lunch and dinner, closing between the two and that the only venues for breakfast were in the hotel; we ordered a continental breakfast at a cost of $50 euros for two. A bit pricey, but, I knew that we were staying at a top property. We walked around the hotel and found the Voyager docked on the back side of the hotel in all her Regent splendor. They would not let us take photos because we were on the sun deck and there were several women sunbathing in the style of the Cote Azur. (Topless)

We decided to explore some more of the town and walked to the Hotel de Paris. Monte Carlo was tearing down all the grandstands from the Grand Prix and there was a lot of activity in the small, charming town. Also a Celebrity ship had just bused a number of passengers off at the casino center; while having a Gelato, Fred and Pat spotted us, we had big hugs and a few minutes before heading back to the hotel to check out and board early. We felt that we have enough time there and decided that next time we will pass up the splendor of the Hotel Hermitage (we would highly recommend that hotel) for more modest digs in Nice.

Boarding:
Our cab laden down with our entire luggage (Travel light is not something we adhere to) promptly swept us over to the ship. A 10 minute cab ride as 50 Euros but a much better price than was the car service quoted to us by the concierge of 125 Euros. We were promptly met by Fred and Pat and not quite as importantly by the expected glass of Champagne. We had lunch at the La Veranda and were greeted by Laurent from the PG. Lunch was cooked at the pool grill and was delicious as was the company. We had pre reserved for Signatures so no need to run and book there and at 2 we went to book our spa time. We easily got the appointment times we wanted. I booked a Satin Skin treatment and massage and then an Ultimate Body and Massage, which is the SSS treatment.

We went down to drop our hand luggage and found our room ready with luggage already there at 1:30 and so we unpacked. Wendy and David arrived safely too and more hugs were exchanged. Everything was perfect. I gave our stewardess, Anna, our bar request form, went down to Muster Drill and when we returned our life jackets our bottle of Grey Goose L’orange was waiting for us. We also had a bottle of wine and a bottle of Champagne in the room. Fred and Pat and Frank & I had dinner in Latitudes that first night and the food we found to be delicious. We ordered seconds and thirds of the “Little Purses” and another appetizer. Absolutely no complaint about Latitudes from us, other than my Frank is not a fan of curry, cilantro or coriander, so it was not his favored place to eat. Servers were all Asian women and we were told that there was going to be a change in that Signatures was going to have all French/European servers, La Veranda mostly European staff and Compass Rose would be a blend of nationalities.

We retreated to the Observation Lounge and listed to Frankie Holliday and enjoyed his humor and his guitar playing before going back to the room. There was a movie in lieu of the show for the first nights entertainment which we opted out of.

For our first sea day, we used the day primarily to take it easy, had our intro to the Cordon Bleu program explored the ship, had a massage and spa time which was with the same esthetician that I had the same treatment from on the Paul Gauguin last year. Actually, by end of cruise, I had treatments from three different estheticians/massage therapists – all excellent. We had lunch and dinner in Compass Rose and were very pleased to find Adorable as our waiter whose service is always excellent and cheerful. The evenings show was a PGT song and dance tribute to Broadway which we enjoyed before going to dance to Hal Frasier’s piano sounds. He recently transferred over from the Paul Gauguin as well and we were quite happy to be remembered and serenaded more than once. Of course, dancing with my Frank and our beloved Freddie is always a treat.

Ports:

Malaga and the Alhambra

Wendy, David, Fred, Pat and Frank (and me) booked three private tours on this cruise together. We used all LCT recommended tours and in the interest of brevity will just highlight a bit for you. We used Gerri at Spanish Fiestas to take us to the Alhambra. Gerri was more of a driver than a tour guide. The Alhambra was interesting to see an the highlight for us was our lunch at the Hotel America right there. We had a typical lunch and the Gazpacho Soup (Andalusian Soup) was delish. We took a longer coast route back to the ship – all in all a very nice day. We were glad we did not take any guided tour of the Alhambra. We walked from room to room on our own and loved the views and the gardens. We did not find it necessary to hire a guide from within the Alhambra. It is a long day from the ship to the Alhambra but worth it to see.

Santilana del Mar and Santander:

We used Euro Adventures for this port; Our guide, Maria Ohena was very sweet. Her regular day job is as a tour guide for the Almira Caves and she is a college educated tour guide. She and Fred had planned our day and she wanted nothing more than to give us exactly what we wanted to see. She pointed out things of interest to each of us individually, we loved Santillana del Mar and Santander, she took us up to Cabo Mayor. We requested time for a lunch of tapas, and we walked with Maria to several places finding one that met our criteria. It was a very interesting day and I would recommend requesting her as your guide. On tipping her and then the driver separately, she was so kind as to tip the driver on her own and he was ethical enough to tell her that we had taken care of him. That was a very nice touch to see that honesty.

Lisbon:
Greg, Gretchen, Cheryl and we had a private tour booked with Tours for You. We cannot recommend them. They forgot us at the port. I posted in detail in the private guides section of the board. We ended up with a taxi tour and it was perfectly acceptable to be driven up to Sintra we spent about and hour or so there, walked around, we were shown the city of Lisbon, (which I would like to revisit sometime) and then we drove the Estoril Coast on the way back to the ship. It turned into a perfect day.

Bordeaux:

As we left the ship it was raining and we thought we’d need our umbrellas for the day but as we left Bordeaux the sun came our and it only got better from here. We (the Tahiti Six) had arranged for Jean-Denis Coulon and Alain as our guide. We drove to St. Emilion after a short tour of Bordeaux’s highlights. We asked to have a bistro style lunch and he did not disappoint. We ate at a wonderful spot in St. Emilion over looking the town with a view that will be etched in memory for a long time. The food and wine were a highlight of the day. We had a 45 minute tour of the underground cave/church which was about 30 minutes too long for us (we had been to Italy earlier in the year and our tour was heavily concentrated on churches and other religious sites). But the little town of St. Emilion was spectacular. I wish we would have stayed there longer. Alain took us to two different Chateaux to tour, taste wine and educate us as to the various processes. It was a really great day and if we ever returned, I would call Alain in a heartbeat, perhaps to revisit St Emilion or one of the other areas of Bordeaux. C’est Bon!

Capping our visit to this wonderful port, we were so tired we decided to have room service dinner from the ship. We popped the champagne and sat on the balcony while we sailed down river watching the sights and sunset. We appeared to be the entertainment for the locals, who were waving us off. People gathered in droves along the river banks to say goodbye, were honking and calling to us. It was so delightful to see this welcome by the residents of Bordeaux. Our room service dinner was perfect and a great way to end our day.

Honfleur

This was the only port we did not hire a guide and we were glad we chose to walk around this charming little port. RSSC provided bus/shuttle service from the dock to the center of town. It was a very warm day and this port was a highlight for us of the cruise. We walked around all day throughout the various streets, popping in and out of shops, taking photographs, even finding a lost dog (which escaped us while we were trying to find it’s owner). We had lunch at one of the little bistros with their special featured menu item, neglecting the seafood and Moules et frites as the best choice but not sorry we did.

On Board Thoughts:

This was my second time taking the Cordon Bleu class and I would do it again. Chef David Bilsauer (may be misspelled) from London was a delight and a lot of fun. This was even more hands on than the first time. Chef Cornel (Executive Chef) was at all of the classes and helped each of us with our preparation. The Mariner does their classes in Latitudes using the stoves in the open kitchen and the French Trolleys. On Voyager, the class is in Latitudes for demonstrations, but you actually cook in the Signatures kitchens. The people actually make the fun in the class. I had a great time, but, how could I not with Fred as my cooking partner and David and Wendy to share laughs with? We had the usual opening welcome party, the dinner in La Veranda with officers, several different dishes we prepared (Frank wants to know when I am making Chocolate/Pistachio Tarts at home and Soufflés too!) but I will make the Prawn Salad and the Tuna dish from class and the graduation in Signatures with a special menu by the Cordon Bleu chef.

One night we had Dancing under the Stars – which was on the pool deck which was a lot of fun. I went several nights to watch Karaoke in Voyager Lounge, which was a huge event with some younger people on board heavily participating. I danced from start to finish with the singers late into the night.

For the first time on any RSSC ship, we did not go to Trivia and I only popped into the Chocoholic Tea to see the pastry chef creations which were gone and the tea was only going for ½ hour. There were no extraordinary lectures, food demos that were do not miss events. I relaxed more than I went from event to event on the sea days. I also can say this is the first time that I have not dined or met with the Cruise Director or Social Hostess. They were too low key for me and seemed absent. The day we were a La Coruna/Vigo there were no special onboard activities although only 200 people went off ship and the rest were onboard.

There was a group of regular Blackjack players and we seemed to have our own table most nights in the Casino and we had a lot of fun. I left with a fair amount of winnings (I don’t play big money – just for fun so getting off the ship with $650 of their money was a plus) and I also won the Blackjack Tournament and came in 3rd on the Slot Tournament.

We went to two of the Peter Grey Terhune reviews and to the Crew Capers, All fun and entertaining. We missed a few shows being on the famous extended LCT dinners in Signatures/Compass Rose and closing the dining rooms. We had fun with Hal Fraser and Frankie Holliday. There were the usual SSS and Amex Cocktail parties both heavily attended. The night of the Amex party, Capt. Knute was greeting me and kissing me European Style on each cheek while they were looking for him to have him welcome us AMEX Platinum users. It was a pretty funny scene when they put the spotlight on us and commented about him kissing the passengers (blush!). He is more than charming.

Food:
We ate breakfast by room service about ½ the time and in Compass Rose the other half. Dinner in Compass Rose is our favorite venue; we ate twice in Signatures, once due to Cordon Bleu and once a La Veranda for Dinner.. Only one luncheon in Compass Rose did not have anything of interest to us and we ended up at the pool grill for the Lobster BBQ. Not to be missed. Again, I think that it was all perfect.

Post Cruise – London

This was my first visit to London but Frank’s third. We did the Hop On – Hop Off Original London Bus Tour and I would highly suggest that as a means to seeing the typical tourist hightlights in a short period of time - We did the full loop getting off the bus at The London Eye (we really enjoyed that view of London) and again off at the Tower of London and to see the Crown Jewels. We saw two plays and spent one day walking all of Knightsbridge window shopping. Harrods was for me a highlight of the days in London. I am sure I will be back to see more of that city, but, I was totally astounded at the prices there which for me would be a deterrent to going back in the near term for more than a day or two. Prices were doulbe for what you would pay at home for almost everything.

I hope my trip report gave you a flavor of what our WAVE cruise was about. I am happy to answer any questions. For those of you who are considering this itinerary or sailing on the Voyager, I can say, it’s definitely a worthwhile cruise.

Welcome home Kathy and thanks for such a detailed trip report! It sounds like you had a great time!! I'm glad Alain worked out well for you in Bordeaux, he was wonderful. I'm soooooo sorry about Tours for You and Josue. I just can't imagine Josue standing you up since he was right there for our group and for others I've recommended him too. So sorry for you and your group!!

Glad to hear you all had such a great time!!

Kathy, next time you go to the Alhambra, hire a guide. I have done it both ways and a guide greatly adds to the experience.

Glad you enjoyed the Voyager!!1

Great trip report, Kathy. I enjoyed reading about the cruise. Thanks for taking the time to write about it.

Marcie,

It was not Josue personally who stood us up. It was Rita Mateus. When I called her from the dock, I woke her up! She forgot to book the guide - she took the reservation.

Marc,

If I go back to Malaga, I probably would not tour the Alhambra a second time. I would go to Bilbao for the museum there. We were able to hear the guides in each room we were in and I did a fair amount of reading about it before we went. After all the tours we did in Italy in November, I wanted a different experience than being guide led in the various venues.

Yes, we really did enjoy the experience.

Kathy, wonderful hearing your adventure! Thanks for taking the time to post such a detailed report. I too, am sorry you did not have a good experience with the company that we used in Lisbon with great satisfaction! Someone messed up here big time.

Kathy,

I've been looking forward to your trip report. You did a fine job and posted in record time!

Thanks for sharing your wonderful adventures and experiences. I am sure as time goes on, I will be gleaning more information from you, as we sail a very similar itinerary next year!

Welcome home! Thank you!

Kathy, welcome home and thanks for the interesting read! Your report makes me long to be on the Voyager again!

Kathy, Thanks for your great review. Your report makes me wonder if we should be doing this cruise in the near future. Glad you had a great time. See you in Vancouver.

Kathy, thank you for the informative review of your trip. We had originally booked this one but then moved our booking to the Mariner, Australia to New Zealand in November.

However, we will be in London (I know I will be in for sticker shock) for three nights this September after another cruise to the fjords etc. Can you share with me any info on the plays you saw or to see, along with your hotel information?

Enjoyed your review.

Thanks for the review, Kathy!!

Masaki

Kathy,

Great report. Thank you for sharing your experiences. We are really looking forward to our similar trip in August. I think we may be contacting Alain in Bordeaux. Hopefully we'll have as wonderful a time as you did!

I agree that London can be pricey. Since we're on the East Coast, it's easy for us to do a long weekend in London without breaking the budget. We tend to go in the Fall or Winter. We love it. I wouldn't do any shopping there; it's really not worth it, unless you're trying to find something unique in the Notting Hill markets or something like that. We try to stay in different neighborhoods every couple of trips to learn and see more. We are pre-cruising in London in August at the Milestone Hotel in Kensington. This will be our fist time to stay in Kensington. One of our favorite pubs is just around the corner, so at least we'll have some familiarity with the area!

One thing we highly recommend is the London Walks (www.walks.com) They are terrific. There are so many to choose from every day and they are just 6 pounds per person for about a 2 hour walk. A couple walks that are a must are the Beatles walk and the Jack the Ripper walk.

Anyway, I'm sure we'll have more questions as our cruise gets closer. Thanks again for the info.

John,

We used London walks a few weeks ago during our brief stay in London. Had a marvelous time and would recommend them in a heartbeat!

Kathy,

How would you compare your private guide costs vs. RSSC's excursion costs? Private touring will most likely be just for Alan and me and not shared when we cruise your itinerary next June. As you know, we prefer private touring and would rather go that direction, if financially feasible.

Thanks!

Thanks Kathy for a great report..sounds like your trip was perfect.

DD - We stayed at the Sheraton Park Lane. Great location, nice neighborhood. We used AMEX Miles to stay there otherwise our room would have been $450 per night. We saw Blood Brothers (We loved it) and Hayfever with Dame Judy Dench. We left at intermission, partly because of the dry humor (Noel Coward) but because the theater had no Air conditioning and it was roasting. Oh, Bus Company price included a boat ride on the Thames and the London Beatles and Jack the Ripper Walk. We just did not take them. We are big fans of the Hop On/Off buses.

Denise, Some of our guides had tiered prices based on the car size (Alain for one). We paid $560 Euro for a van for Bordeaux. Euro Adventures was $500 Euro regardless of number for a driver and guide. The drivers need a special license for that area. For 4 to 6 people, prices were equal and even less expensive than the RSSC excursions. When we did the taxi tour in Lisbon it was 120 Euro for 5 of us for 5 hours - far less than the RSSC tour.

Kathy,

Thanks for writing your report. It sounds like a wonderful trip.

Mary Ellen

Thanks, Kathy, for the info. I'm sure I'll have numerous questions along the way as we plan this great cruise. I appreciate your input.

We spent our first day in London on the hop on/off bus. I agree, Kathy - a great way to get around London, effortlessly. We did off-the-beaten paths and Tower of London with our guide, Fedora Jones, London Walks.

We stayed at the Rembrandt Hotel, South Kensington. Fantastic location.

Great report Kathy - sounds like you had a wonderful time. We loved WINE last year (reverse itinerary) and St. Emilion was one of the highlights, although it sounds like a private tour is better.

Welcome Home. See you in a couple of months.

Thank you Kathy for the input on the plays. I think we will skip Noel Coward's and look at a couple of others. We haven't done the hop on hop off bus for years and may take that to toodle around to reacquaint. The London Walks sound intriguing too.
Your information was helpful and appreciated.

Great review Kathy! we were in London 2 weeks ago and agree that the AC is not so great. It was very hot. we saw Billy Elliot which was great altho there is one scene involving a puppet of MArgret Thatcher and a song to go with that is a little off-putting. She is not very well-liked, at least in the theater! I also agree that London Walks is a lot of fun for very little $. We did jack the ripper with Donald who is "the" expert on the ripper. Didn't get to do the Beatle Walk---Oh well, next time.We also did a combo Thames cruise and London Eye champagne flight which was worth the price because you skip the line. You can buy that online from London Eye web site. London is a great city with lots to do and see.

We "rode the WAVE" with Kathy et al and thought we'd offer a different perspective. First, let me point out that we did not do a lot of the things Kathy did (Spa, Cordon Bleu, etc.) and did several things she did not (Tea, Lectures, etc.). So, hopefully we'll be able to add information. The comments below are sort of a "mushed together" view from the three of us.


FOOD: Excellent! I was particularly pleased with the Scallop appetizer in Signatures. We were all pleased with the pool deck lunches (especially the grilled lobster tail and caviar). La Veranda was also exellent. We did not do Latitudes.

GUEST LECTURERS: This was a mixed bag but, mostly good. I thoroughly enjoyed Sandra Bowern's presentations, but Gretchen and Cheryl found her "passionate" presentations a bit of an acquired taste. The guest PhD's presentations on Columbus and the Counter-Reformation were excellent. His final on Renaissance Women was a bit weak I thought. The Olive Oil presentation and Wine Tastings, and Chef's demonstrations were FANTASTIC. Very well done. I really liked the comparision of CA Merlots to French Merlots. The Norwegian Chef was also excellent. He was traveling with his wife and three kids. We were very fortunate to be able to share lunch with them once. The Olive Oil presenter was someone from RSSC staff and he was very entertaining as well as knowledgable.

VIBRATION: Once again we were in 777 (aft of the laundry rooms) and while we noticed the vibration it was not disturbing at all. HOWEVER, a couple we met were on deck 6 about the same distance aft and the vibration caused their cabinets to rattle loud enough to keeep them awake the second night. (I guess the effects of prolonged vibration had loosened fasteners). They said maintenance came in the next morning and "tore the whole wall apart" trying to isolate the rattle. Apparently, it worked as they never mentioned it again.

CRUISE DIRECTOR: We agree with Kathy. Way too low key for our taste. Other than introducing shows and the Captain we didn't see him. This is about 180 out from Barry on our Auckland to LA cruise, so maybe our expectations were different.

DINING ROOM SERVICE: We were not particulary happy here. When we choose to linger over an extra cup of coffee or after dinner drink with dining companions a 3.5 hour dinner is our choice. When we are seated at 1825 and don't even see a dessert menu until 2145 that's not good. That happened to us twice. This is not the type of service we've come to expect. Two different nights in La Veranda we were brought soup and not offered "fresh ground pepper." (Do I sound like I'm whining yet?) I know this is a really small thing...but it IS different than previous RSSC cruises. I ordered cheese and port four nights in Compass Rose. Two nights met the expectations I've been "trained" by RSSC to have. Two other nights were a bit disappointing. On one, when I ordered the Cheese and Port I was simply brought a plate of cheeses off the tolley. On the other I was asked if I wanted a "taste of all the cheeses or a particular selection." In neither case was the trolley wheeled up to the table. Again a small thing but not what we've come to expect.

TEA: This was perhaps the most disappointing of all. If we arrived after Tea had started it was not easy to get a cup of tea. It was harder yet to get re-fills. Worst of all when the waitress asked "Tea sir?" and I said Darjeeling please. I was met with a "you want what?" or a deer in the headlights look. Again, small but not what I've come to expect.

POOL DECK SERVICE: Like our Tea experience, getting someone to take drink orders was a challenge but re-fills were easier. BAR SERVICE though was excellent. I took to stopping at the pool bar on the way to lunch to order drinks then went to get a table for lunch.

CABIN SERVICE: We had a fantastic stewardess for two days! Then she transferred to the Mariner! Our replacement stewardess was efficient but never did come by to introduce herself. What can I say? I have been spoiled rotten by RSSC in the past.

RECEPTION: These guys were fantastic! Helpful, accurate and cheerful all at the same time! Even when dealing with some truly nasty passengers. I heard some lady who was upset about something and using language I haven't heard since I was on active duty. All the while the lady at reception (wished I had gotten her name) remained calm and professional. She deserves a bonus.

PASSENGERS: We met some truly lovely people. In addition to the LCT crowd everyone we dined with was a charmer. But, I saw some things that gave me a full body shiver. Besides the lady above; I heard someone berating RSSC Tour desk for RSSC's "stupidity" in stopping in Malaga on a Sunday and in Lisbon on the eve of the Feast of St. Anthony; I overheard a passenger berating another passenger in a laundry room for because, "...you're not supposed to use but one washer at a time. Everyone knows that!"

COMPUTER CENTER: The SA here was fantastic. Not only was he infinitely patient with the computer illiterate among us (under some trying connectivity conditions not of his making); but, he taught soe really neat classes on PICASA (a GOOGLE photo editor), EXCEL and WORD.

TOURS: We took the same Bordeaux Tour as Cathy and can echo all of her praise of the company. Our guide was Maria and she tailored our tour (in accordance with our wishes) a bit from Cathy's group but it was still fantastic. In Nice we had AZUR CHAUFFEUR pick us up the morning of our sailing at our Nice hotel with all our baggage and take us on a tour of St. Paul du Vence, Eze, the palace at Monte Carlo, the top of Castle Rock at Nice last minute request), the Rothschild Estate on Cape Ferrat and then drop us at the ship. With tip 380 euros for a 6 hour tour. Brought a big Mercedes Van for just the three of us to hold all our luggage. In Normandy we used Normandy Sightseeing Tours and they had a very nice van for the 7 of us (Woody and Vivian; and Mary Ellen and Bruce joined us) on a very nice tour of Normandy beaches. Websites:

www.normandywebguide.com

www.azurchauffeur.com

POST CRUISE: Rented a car in Dover. Drove through Canterbury to London. Stayed in a B&B near the Arnos Grove station on the Picadilly Line. Full English breakfast and free parking for 64GBP per night for the three of us.

http://www.baytreehouse.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

Very nice place and very convenient...but I know B&Bs aren't for everyone.


BOTTOM LINE: We had a very good time. We loved the Ports and our guides were excellent. The cruise part was good, but not the great I've come to expect. Gretchen summed it up best perhaps when she said, "If this had been our first RSSC cruise, it would have been our last." It wasn't bad, just not a lot to distinguish it from, say, Royal Caribbean. We do not mind paying more for a superior product but this time I think the "value proposition" just didn't make it.

All that said, we are booked on PG Fiji to Tahiti next summer. We're hoping for a rebound.


Greg

Kathy, thanks for the review! This itinerary has always interested Peter and I, so we hope to do it soon.

Kathy & Greg,

Thanks to both of you, for your reviews! Interesting to read different perspectives on the same cruise. Appreciate you taking the time to report!

Hi Greg,

I just PM'd you with some questions about your cruise and transport. I then noticed your post on this thread. Sorry! Fine information from you, as always! Thanks for sharing your cruise and touring experiences with us!

Greg,

There was one lady on the cruise who was a major complainer. She was on the shuttle with us in Honfleur but was very upset that we stopped in Malaga on Sunday because "there was no shopping and RSSC did not do their due diligence". Then she was upset because we were in Lisbon on St. Anthony's Day and RSSC should not have gone there on a holiday. There was no personal responsibility to find out about her destinations. I'd wager that she was at Reception when you were.

There were quite a few characters on the cruise.

Greg and Kathy, your "complainer" sounds familiar. Wonder if she was on portions of the WC this year?

Donna,

There's one on every cruise

She was from Tennessee, and about 70. She was with another woman from Tennessee, they were Bobbi and Tommy (can't remember which she was). She spent much of her time being wheeled around in a wheel chair, but she was also capable of walking.

Bobbi and Tommy spent all day shopping in Bordeaux, and loved it. They were both characters.

Wendy, they sound much more delightful than the "complainer" on WC ;) .

The woman on the shuttle in Boardeaux from from Florida via NY. Different complainer - same complaint! Maybe one heard the other on in one of the lectures.

You're right Kathy, there may have been several of them, picking up on each other. The first I heard was in the presentation the onboard consultant did, and I didn't actually see the woman's face, so it might have been a different lady. Somebody used the phrase, "due diligence" and all the complainers picked up on it! <img border="0" alt="[bang]" title="" src="graemlins/banghead.gif" />

Kathy,
Just found your review. It was great. The one thing I was curious about was how you would compare the ships now that you have been on all of them. So far, my favorite is the Voyager, but tht might change in about a week when I board the navigator.
I also stayed at the Park Lane (before it was Sherton) nd found it to be a chrming hotel. The location is great if you like to walk, and I do. I hope you go back sometime and get to know the city. It is my favorite to just bum around in.
Thanks again for the travelogue
Lynn

Thanks so much Kathy, Greg and Wendy; really enjoyed all your reports!

Any idea when we might hear from the inimitable Freddie? :D :app:

Dearest gf - Another Kathy - oh, what have you unleashed in your inquiry about hearing from me, the unlimitable (despite all efforts to the contrary by the ship's bartenders) Freddie?? I had not intended to post anything further about the wonderful cruise, in view of the excellent and thorough posts of Kathy, Wendy, and Greg. However, I do in fact happen to have a bit of time and a full highball glass of good single malt; so I will indulge in a stream of consciousness about the cruise (I love streams of consciousness because they require no discipline whatever - lordie, if I want discipline, I'll find a nice German dominatrix named Helga, or Hans).

I have already posted a few times about the cruise (Sea Mail - "WAVE" thread) and will try to not be too redundant to either those posts or to the informative posts of the three previously-attributed fellow travelers (okay, okay, I don't need any angry messages from you history buffs about "fellow travelers" being people towards whom Joseph McCarthy aimed his evil attention). We'll call them "fellow LCTers".

On most issues I agree with Greg, with the notable exception that our overall impression is that the "value proposition" was definitely a positive one. This cruise was certainly comparable in nearly all respects to the two previous ones we have taken on Voyager (Baltics and Norway). We loved the cruise and found that, contrary to all of the doom-and-gloomers' predictions, Regent is not going to hell in a lifeboat. Further, we had excellent service in Compass Rose on each of the many occasions we dined there, even when we were the last passengers to leave the restaurant after a three-hour dinner. We felt neither hurried nor harried to hit the road and were even offered another armagnac despite the fact that we four or six were the only passengers left in the whole joint. Now that is good service, no??!!

A few random highlights and lowlights:

Highlights:

1. The Le Cordon Bleu cooking class - terrific, magnifique, superbe!! Cooking in the galley of Signatures, while sipping good wine and getting marvelous tips on technique from our instructor and from the ever-patient and delightful executive chef of Voyager, Cornel Ruhland, was one of those "Great Cruise Memory" events.

2. Dancing to the music of Hal Frasier in the Observation Lounge and Frankie in the Horizon Lounge with Kathy, Wendy, and Helene. (See also Lowlights on this same topic...)

3. Tasty pan-Asian menu and absolutely charming service in Latitudes (they even gave me seconds on the delicious chicken & crabmeat "purse" and the delectable garlic & galangal chicken thighs, perhaps fearing that I might expire from hunger if they did not cater to my gluttony - perhaps coming from Asian countries where food is less abundant, they are not quite used to creatures like me who act like "black holes" of good grub).

4. Terrific service and good in Signatures, made even more pleasant by a long and charming tableside visit from the tall, blond and handsome chef of Signatures, Michael (a Cordon Bleu grad, of course).

5. Santander and Santillana del Mar, Spain - two beautiful towns, made even more fun by a long and indulgent lunch of tapas and sangria (except for my unfortunate choice of a very nasty version of squid).

6. St. Emilion - One of the most beautiful little towns we have ever visited. It most definitely merits another, much longer, visit. Lunch at the little restaurant built into the rocks, with a view over the whole town, was another great taste and travel memory.

7. Honfleur - Another little town of great charm, without cloying cuteness. Our lunch of a huge pot of mussels, accompanied by a bottle of chilled muscadet, was the perfect conclusion to our port visits.

Lowlights:

1. Injuring both of my feet early in the cruise. First, badly stretching an achilles tendon while jogging in Monte Carlo and watching Voyager dock (just like in "An Affair to Remember", I "was looking up" rather than looking at the cobblestones on which I was jogging). Second, I managed to give myself a stress fracture dancing to the captivating tunes of Frankie - I may have to sue him for playing that bewitching flamenco riff to which Helene and I performed our wild interpretation of Spanish dance.

2. The guy with major anger-management problems who yelled a shockingly obscene verbal assualt at Hal one night and then the next night at the Cordon Bleu graduation dinner in Signatures decked Pat when Pat suggested that he owed Hal an apology. Fortunately, after a week in France and ten days on Voyager, eating vigorously all the while, Pat had abundant posterior padding and survived being knocked to the floor with nothing but his dignity injured. (Considering the proximity of tables, chairs, and support posts in Signatures, we were most lucky in that regard - a considerably worse circumstance might have occurred, involving cracked skulls and the like.)

3. Having to leave Voyager in Dover. As it was, we, along with Kathy & Frank, were the last passengers to disembark. We had considered hiding out in the lifeboats but were afraid that they might turn the firehoses on us to get us off the ship.

Guides and drivers:

Malaga - barely better than a non-English speaking taxi driver, even though he was from England.

Santander - EuroAdventures - excellent.

Bordeaux - Jean-Denis Coulon's operation, with Alain as our guide - superb. John & Tanya - You will not go wrong with this service. Try 'em; you'll love 'em!!

So, dear friends who have not yet fallen asleep or leapt off the nearest balcony to avoid reading any more of this report, the cruise was good, very good. We are eagerly looking forward to our Grand Crossing from Monte Carlo to Ft. Lauderdale on Voyager in November, 2007.

But, of course, we must now gird our loins, take our prilosec, and lace up our dancing shoes to prepare for MUSH... Alaska, here we come...

Cheers, Fred

Excellent review, Freddie! We LCTers would expect nothing less than that from you! Thanks!

We will certainly contact Jean-Denis and request Alain for out Bordeaux touring.

Hope your feet are doing better!

Freddie,
What a delight to find your reply; so glad you had the glass of scotch to unleash the stream of consciousness!

I can't even imagine the "anger management" guy's behavior; what, if anything was done after he decked Pat?

I'm even more eagerly looking forward to the MUSH reports, especially from you! But your posts always make me LOL, so don't wait until then! :D

For me, one aspect of this cruise has been mentioned but not sufficiently emphasised: the sail by Gibraltar. It was about 10 PM, the rock was lit up, and Voyager stayed nearby for perhaps half an hour broadside to it.

We went up to Deck 12 and I just stood there in amazement: my heartrate went way up, shivers were running up and down my spine, a totally awesome experience. I know that at least one other cruiser reacted similarly (hi Patrick!).

The only comparable experience was sailing up the Bosporous on the Diamond a couple of years ago.

One other small addendum: I'm surprised that in Fred's lovely post he didn't mention one highlight of their experience. In Honfleur they took a lovely boat excursion around the harbor, and the main attraction was getting to see the Voyager. I believe the guide emphasised how rich people had to be to be able to afford such luxury.

-- David

David and Fred, glad to read about your experiences.
Fred, what is this about Pat being decked in Signatures by the jerk that insulted Hal?? What's that about? Was Pat hurt badly? What did they do to the jerk who hit Pat?

Marcie - Fortunately, Pat was not hurt when he was shoved to the floor by the intemperate fool. As I noted above, nothing but his dignity was injured (and his glasses bent a bit - fortunately, they are titanium frames and survived the crisis well). I even hesitated to include the incident in my little post; but it was certainly was the most bizarre thing to happen to us on any of the cruises we have taken. How better to end a cruise than a little assault & battery, no??!! We would prefer not to discuss this matter further in this public forum because of libel and slander issues. However, please understand that to the best of our knowledge there is nothing Regent could have done to prevent such a peculiar event. And, indeed, the incident, however outrageous it may have been, did not ruin our fabulous cruise or even our last night, which (after completing our packing) we spent relaxing in the Observation Lounge to the delightful music and songs of Hal Fraser. Frankly, we were much more depressed about the prospect of having to leave the ship the next morning than we were upset about the ridiculous encounter with the pathetic creature. Now we are focusing on MUSH and trying to lose the grotesque amount of weight gained on WAVE in order that neither of us be mistaken for the aquatic mammals during the whale-watching trips!! Cheers, Fred

Freddie: Sad story- you are right not Regent's fault - they (passengers) look good, smell good, dress OK - who knows what they are really all about?? So we'll look forward to MUSHing - promise, Pat, NO PUSHing...Joanna