All Aboard Regent Seven Seas Grandeur

I hope all is well in your world. If you are one of those people who love to hear about other people's vacations, this post is for you.  If not, I'll still love you and see you on Friday.

A couple of weeks ago, the Mister and I took an eleven-day cruise.   We always like to arrive a day early to our departure.  The cruise line offered a package deal with a one-night stay at the Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami. It included breakfast and a bus trip to the pier.

 

We spent some time at the pool and enjoyed dinner on the beach.

The hotel is due for a major renovation, which it desperately needs.  The crown jewel of this property is the warm, hospitable staff.

We had a glorious day to set sail on the  Regent Seven Seas Grandeur. The check-in process was smooth as silk.  We boarded the ship and had a great lunch while we waited an hour or so for our cabin to be ready. 

We had a gorgeous suite furnished with our favorite chardonnay chilling in the fridge.  

Our butler, Phaison, welcomed us and gave us the rundown on all the bells and whistles in our new home away from home.

Phaison also requested that we watch the safety video.  The TV would not be operable until we watched the video.

Every evening, before dinnertime, Phaison would bring us canapes to enjoy with our crisp chardonnay.

Our cabin was located right on the bow of the ship.  This was our first time living in the front.  We have been in the middle of the ship and once on the stern.  Both were quite enjoyable. 

Three short blasts of the ship's horn, and we were on our way!

There were five signature restaurants on the boat, and my hips can vouch that we sampled every one.  

My dress is from here.

I got so many compliments I ordered another one in green.

The food and service were exemplary.  We usually have a favorite restaurant, but on this ship, our favorite eatery was always the one that we were in.

 

The first night brought in some rough seas.  I don't mind that because I feel like I am being rocked to sleep.  But when you are the first cabin away from the bow, you can hear a bang every time the ship hits a big wave.

I didn't sleep a wink that night.  I was so worried that the Mister would be mad at me because we would have to move cabins. The Mister can literally sleep through anything. 

When I approached the subject the following day, he solemnly nodded his head and said he would see what he could do, but he couldn't promise anything. 

The Mister hates to make waves.

No pun intended.

  

And this is where this beautiful lady saved the day.  The Mister told her that his whiney wife could not sleep.  I'm pretty sure there was some eye-rolling involved. 

Sofia consulted her computer.  She then said that we could stay in the suite and we did not have to move.  She gave us a cabin mid-ship and one floor up to sleep in.  It worked out perfectly, and this sweet Mama got her beauty sleep. 

The best part of this story came on departure day.  The Mister received a call from the head concierge apologizing for the noise.  The Mister told him that it was handled beautifully, and it all worked out in the end.  The concierge then thanked him for his kind words and told him that he was sending a voucher for $3,000 to put toward our next cruise.

WE LOVE REGENT SEVEN SEAS!!!!

If you have been following me for a while, you know that I am a nervous flyer. When we are cruising, the only thing that worries me is getting sick.  I take pride in my well-equipped floating pharmacy.  

I'm glad that I had it.  There were a lot of people hacking and sneezing, especially on the flight.  Whenever we heard any sound resembling a cold, we would resanitize our hands and pop one of these in our mouths. And it worked!  We came home in good health.

 

The first day, we wore our patches, bands, and dabbed the Vertigo oil on for good measure.  I am happy to report that we did not experience any seasickness.

The suite equipped us with water bottles with labels. 

The ship had ice-cold water stations throughout.

I was in charge of writing the labels.  Pictured is the Mister's bottle, otherwise known around the ship as "Hottie."

This is where we began our day with a steaming cup of coffee, egg white veggie omelet, and a pound and a half of pastries.

This was our view.

Every day, we made a short video around the ship for Lucy.

We didn't want her to forget us.

My dress is from here.

Have I mentioned the incredible food??

The waitstaff was so lovely in all of the outlets, and they really seemed to love their jobs. 

Ought oh... Did the Mister get the bill for my shopping in the boutiques?

This sums up the amount of exercise we got on the cruise.

The ship's capacity was 744.  I would estimate that 725 of the guests were over seventy years old.  

I felt younger than Springtime.

We met some wonderful people on the cruise.  Our favorites were Mary and Doug from Toronto, with whom we spent a delightful evening.   

I always love to see what everyone is reading.

Take note of this gentleman's choice of reading material.

In the old days, I would scroll through Instagram.

In our new life, we check for new photos and videos of baby Lucy.

Dress from here.

 

We celebrated Valentine's Day on board.

You know your husband is your true partner when he says... 

 this will be a great photo for the blog.

We did not renew our vows because the jury is still out on our union.

When we returned to the suite, this box of chocolates was waiting.

The Mister tried to take credit, but the card said they were from our travel advisor extraordinaire, Sandy.

The ship was scheduled to make five stops.  The only one we were interested in was St. Bart's.  The Mister made reservations at one of our favorite restaurants for lunch on our stop.  

On the morning we were to disembark, the Captain announced that we would not be stopping at St. Bart's due to the rough seas. We were supposed to take the tenders to the pier.  Although I was slightly disappointed, I appreciated that the Captain put safety first.

Oh well... we'll just have to have another rum punch.  My coverup can be found here.
 

And another fabulous meal!

Here's to a great cruise!

Coverup can be found here.

There are not enough stars in the sky to rate this fabulous cruise.  It was our first cruise with Regent Seven Seas, but definitely not our last.  We have learned a lot through our cruise travel.  

I will pass on a tip that we received from a seasoned traveler that we met on another cruise.  He told us to always consider the age of the ship.  The Grandeur was only one year old and was positively pristine.  

We love cruising for the convenience of only having to unpack once.  We also both love the beauty and serenity of being on the water.  Great food and exemplary service are other gold-star benefits.  

The Mister likes cruising because the planning has been done, and there's no pesky bill at the end.

I like it because I don't have to hear the Mister yelling at the GPS.  

I want to take this opportunity to thank our friend and travel advisor extraordinaire, Sandy Grodsky, for her meticulous planning and expert advice.