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Originally Posted by farbster
(Post 27161328)
in April 2017 for $50,000 per passenger. The fare includes R/T biz class air, 1 night pre cruise in hotel.
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The first port! Traveling to Aix :)
So, after we sailed away from Barcelona on Thursday, we had Friday as a sea day. There are two camps regarding sea days. The first camp is that sea days are the best. The second camp is that they’re awful. I am strongly in the first camp. The more the better.
We were able to sleep in on Friday and explore the ship, lay out, go to the casino, shop, hit the gym or spa. No planned excursions, nowhere to be...Talk about heaven! Initially, our ports were 1) Florence/Pisa/Tuscany (Livorno), Italy; 2) Olbia, Italy; 3) St. Tropez, France. I was excited because we were going to get transportation to Florence. Having visited Florence once before, I was excited to be able to go back again. However, before the beginning of the cruise, Regent switched the itinerary. Instead of Livorno, they put Toulon, France in its place. Oh well, goodbye to Florence and hello to Aix-En-Provence! I believe the reason they switched the ports was so that two different Regent ships could be in the same port. They had recently done work on the other ship and they wanted to give agents the opportunity to see one of their other ships, especially refurbished. I think Kenny was more interested in the excursion, so that’s what we did :) Our trip to Aix started with the port of Toulon. In case you didn’t know, Toulon is the home of a large naval base and is the fourth largest French city on Med. Following are some pictures as we pulled in… https://goo.gl/lP8k2m https://goo.gl/eKf1AL https://goo.gl/HPT76q https://goo.gl/ajRQBp https://goo.gl/UJtsIW https://goo.gl/3SkUIL https://goo.gl/aJHXNn https://goo.gl/yxuNUq Here is a pic of the older Regent ship https://goo.gl/5mBbON We passed the private cars and headed to our bus for the morning tour. We ended up making friends with Brooke, a travel writer from Central Florida. You can see the Cruise Director waiting at the bottom of the stairs. https://goo.gl/fsrO4y https://goo.gl/T6eyFC https://goo.gl/XBawNZ There was one bathroom break at a rest stop along the way. I love seeing the different kind of food sold in different countries. Amusing signage... https://goo.gl/kQZJuY Some food... https://goo.gl/t3IRfB Did we really come all the way to Europe for Starbucks? https://goo.gl/aVq49d https://goo.gl/zKwEu8 https://goo.gl/nG84uH Aren't mojitos something with alcohol? https://goo.gl/LQjyI0 https://goo.gl/qQFRXP https://goo.gl/m0Gzj0 In case you needed something to read... https://goo.gl/rauF4r Truth be told, the excursion to Aix wasn’t that great. Not that it isn’t a nice destination, but I thought that the guide rushed us through town and then said “Ok, now you’re on your own until 2pm and let’s meet at the designated area”. Below are some pictures of Aix. As it is approaching midnight, I'm not going to give much discussion on the pics. There was a market in town and we shmied around a bit. I like trying to get pictures of the various foods and whatnot. We stopped Brooke from buying over priced bags and had a nice lunch on the main drag. Of course, Aix has a McDonalds and in the best location is a large Apple Store. https://goo.gl/BB9E9q https://goo.gl/DFwAjW Do you see the little ad in the car window for Vasareli? We'll go see his foundation on my next stop to Aix in a few weeks! https://goo.gl/cl2jfi https://goo.gl/5NX5Ln https://goo.gl/EyTQRD https://goo.gl/7djgUb https://goo.gl/jTpV5T https://goo.gl/qsBq78 https://goo.gl/ogIa6M https://goo.gl/vN8fTR https://goo.gl/2AzQQ0 The City Hall https://goo.gl/3D1Aau Exactly what are they selling here? Or are they calling their customers something? https://goo.gl/H17685 https://goo.gl/kgilCc A yummy nutella pastry https://goo.gl/I48UoN https://goo.gl/AiGeDf Could they sell this in the USA? https://goo.gl/B2vQpz My lunch. I think Kenny's is at the top of the pic. Both were tasty. https://goo.gl/EwcifO It was pretty warm if I remember...time for some ice cream! Kenny bought lunch for us, so I think I bought the ice cream? Or did Brooke? https://goo.gl/WFzvpx After the ice cream, we made it back to the bus. Of course we dared Brooke to take her shoes off and go in one of the little fountains. I think that pic is on my phone and I'll share later. Aix was a little disappointing, but I think that was a function of a bad guide. |
Originally Posted by farbster
(Post 27190710)
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Regent Suite starts around $6K/nt IIRC
(good deal vs $2K+/nt entry level regent) first of its kind / one of a kind suite at sea odd they did not have even wider living room (they put a sitting area in master bedroom..) may be better than upcoming Crystal Residences
Originally Posted by SFO777
(Post 27157478)
And your Regent cruise ship and suite looked beautiful. United E+? Not so much. ;)
others spend tens of thousands on F/charter then cheapest accommodations |
[QUOTE=Kagehitokiri
some of us fly economy then spend thousands a night on accommodations others spend tens of thousands on F/charter then cheapest accommodations[/QUOTE] True! SFO is not in both categories😉 |
Originally Posted by farbster
(Post 27153968)
In my mind, the biggest design advantage to our suite is that the bed faces the window. So in theory, you could lie in bed and look out the window. Most ships have beds that are on the side wall and thus you're forced to turn your head to look outside. I know, first world problems.
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Interesting point. I hadn't thought of that. We haven't been in real rough water, except for one night in the North Sea or something up there. All of our other cruises have been in the Med and Caribbean, so the water was calm.
Originally Posted by YVR Cockroach
(Post 27192897)
In my estimation (based on my last cruise but one), I'll hazard to guess most beds are in line with the longitudinal axis of the ship for easier sleep in rough seas. On my particular voyage, the ship (huge) was rolling 15 degrees and while sleeping in the normal position was difficult, sleeping in line with the ships roll was causing me to red out when the ship ended rolling with my head travelling in that direction.
SFO777 is in a league of his own. That being said, having points has totally changed how we fly internationally. We don't pay for our flights and wouldn't "waste" points for domestic first/biz. I look at the flight as a means to get to the trip. Does that make me a heretic here in FT?
Originally Posted by offerendum
(Post 27192030)
True! SFO is not in both categories😉
Ok, I'm sitting down to write about or next day's excursion... |
Originally Posted by farbster
(Post 27193480)
Interesting point. I hadn't thought of that. We haven't been in real rough water, except for one night in the North Sea or something up there. All of our other cruises have been in the Med and Caribbean, so the water was calm.
That said, a lot of ships especially with interior or window cabins do have beds aligned perpendicular to direction of travel (but typically facing in). Then again, these cabins are much closer to the waterline (low in and middle and centre longitudinal axis of the ship seems to be a preference for those who get seasick). The 2nd but last ship I travelled on had no stabilisers despite its length (1,200') and beam (152') but we were much higher in the ship (I estimate 120-140' above waterline). Lots of travel when it rolls up there! |
So the excursion on Sunday was called "The Maddalena Island Experience". I'm not really into wine or olive oil, so that helped eliminate two of the possibilities. Again, Kenny let me pick the excursions.
The description was "Drive to Palau Harbour (approx. 1 hr). Sail to La Maddalena (approx 20 min). Panoramic drive of La Maddalena (approx 40 min). Guided visit of the town (approx 45 min) followed by free time in La Maddalena (approx 1 hr). Return sail ride to Palau (approx 20 min) and drive from Palau to the pier (approx 1 hr). Please note: comfortable walking shoes are recommended. Shoulders and knees must be covered in order to enter religious sites. Ok, off we go. The bus ride wasn't so bad. Look at the ferry in port. Very colorful! https://goo.gl/EtTNEb Various governmental flags along the way https://goo.gl/4HAxVq https://goo.gl/ZWQQ1G Sometimes, the small things impress me. I liked this gelato display and how it rotated. Pretty smart idea :) https://goo.gl/roHBXo This is a big ... can of chips. And I do mean that if you eat this whole thing, you will likely end up with a big A$$! https://goo.gl/O53Hpm https://goo.gl/6BKPD6 https://goo.gl/mPj1TC On to the ferry we go! https://goo.gl/FDeVJv At this point, I really owe my older daughter an apology. Before she went on her school trip to Israel, we got her a selfie stick. I thought it was really stupid. Now, I do see the benefit of being able to take pictures with the selfie stick. Mine was one that my wife got for free from Bloomingdales because she spent more than some amount of money. Here is a group selfie... https://goo.gl/JUCCJb https://goo.gl/Y6d3K9 https://goo.gl/gx379k https://goo.gl/aO6doM https://goo.gl/0Gok6A https://goo.gl/xo2bVq https://goo.gl/RZ2zl1 https://goo.gl/DFGiXp https://goo.gl/VpzPD7 Here I am with a statue of Garibaldi... https://goo.gl/Xl3YDg So here's a funny story. There was a small museum in the municipal building. I think it had some stuff about Napolean. Anyway, I asked the tour guide where the museum was and she said to go down the main street and it would be on the right. Then I asked her if the place would have a bathroom. She said it would, because it was a municipal building. I responded by saying that I could then kill two birds with one stone. She got a very confused look and said that I wasn't allowed to do anything like that because it was a national park or something like that. It took me a moment to realize that she actually thought I was going to hunt birds with stones or something. I got a good laugh out of that and she did too once I explained the expression to her :) https://goo.gl/6oKfTh https://goo.gl/f1tHDu https://goo.gl/rKT71M https://goo.gl/gUCII6 https://goo.gl/AXjJ4G https://goo.gl/bQNnnc And back to our glorious home... https://goo.gl/oytsyT https://goo.gl/ORrZly Tomorrow, we head to St. Tropez, our last port of the trip. |
[QUOTE=farbster;27193480]SFO777 is in a league of his own. That being said, having points has totally changed how we fly internationally. We don't pay for our flights and wouldn't "waste" points for domestic first/biz. I look at the flight as a means to get to the trip. Does that make me a heretic here in FT?
QUOTE] Both true....On European flights I rarely use points as often the fees are higher than the paid fare:confused: |
So the final excursion for Kenny and me is the one that goes to Grimaud and Port Grimaud. We didn't feel like going to St. Tropez and I thought I'd scout this out for my return visit in a few weeks.
The night before the excursion I set my alarm on my phone. Kenny was up a bit later than I was, and I'm not sure what time he got in. My alarm went off as planned and I planned to lay in bed for just another minute or so. Can you guess what happened? I had fallen back asleep and woke up on my own about 15 minutes before the excursion. I yelled to Kenny to get up and he said "forget it". Well, that's not exactly what he said... Ok, where were we? Off to the excursion. This one, like the others started out in the theater. We waited there until our group was called and then off we went. This is a trip of two parts. Grimaud is an old castle that has partially been restored. The castle sits up high and there are some decent photo ops. The second part, Port Grimaud is a sorta fake Venetian like area that people like because nearly every residence has their own boat berth. Interestingly, Port Grimaud also features The Church of St Francis of Assisi with stained glass windows by Vasarely. The first batch of pictures will be from Grimaud and following that will be pictures from Port Grimaud. https://goo.gl/kH1Mmj I believe this was our bathroom break https://goo.gl/kla1Ws Follow the group please! https://goo.gl/k6yjCK Our tour guide was very nice and I complimented her on her English. As it turned out, she had lived a few miles from me while her husband was working in Baltimore and Hopkins. Her kids attended Towson High, the same school that Michael Phelps attended. Ok, back to the tour... https://goo.gl/h0mCrW https://goo.gl/VYRhA7 https://goo.gl/JU8dM6 These candies are all over, including the airport in Nice :) https://goo.gl/6wY6Oc You can see our ship in the distance. I broke out the zoom lens for this one! https://goo.gl/7nxAWr https://goo.gl/krTAyB https://goo.gl/rIjKbG https://goo.gl/3JelYf https://goo.gl/R168Ab https://goo.gl/R7DWGe https://goo.gl/y9bncR Some more candy... https://goo.gl/rOzQY3 Don't drink the water. I wonder how many people know the word "potable". https://goo.gl/9Vb9gm https://goo.gl/3N4Wat https://goo.gl/rNSHIQ https://goo.gl/5o9ME3 It might have been around the time I took this picture that I lost my group... https://goo.gl/VGnirO https://goo.gl/02Lv5t With this view, it is not hard to understand why they placed the fort here... https://goo.gl/yoT5cy https://goo.gl/dYwxKn https://goo.gl/KBv5mB The windmill was accessible if you walked through the cemetery. I started to go towards the windmill, but changed my mind as I got half way there. I didn't want to hold everyone up if I was the last person (very likely) and more importantly, I didn't want to get left behind!! https://goo.gl/rXzikk https://goo.gl/LR4J9P Look! One more candy spotted along the road... https://goo.gl/cokn50 Some soccer fields for the kids to play on... https://goo.gl/gBU0VZ Now we're on our way to Port Grimaud. At one point in the day I popped into one of the local real estate offices and took this picture on the wall. It gives a good overview of what the area looks like. https://goo.gl/2jr5cE Ok, I'm sure you're asking why I keep mentioning Vasareli. Many years ago, my inlaws bought some limited edition book of his artwork. The book was sitting in a closet somewhere collecting dust. We were constantly reminded that the book was valuable and when they die to not just toss it. About 10 years ago, my wife and I cut out of the book 6 of the prints and had them framed and hung on a large wall in our foyer. The rest of the book is back in the box and I think it's under the sofa in our living room LOL. When I saw that there was a Foundation Vasareli in Aix, I made plans to visit it on our return trip in just a few weeks. The Vasareli stained glass windows are in what I would consider a pretty plain church. https://goo.gl/8FZjQj https://goo.gl/YRr6cd https://goo.gl/ftPh1c https://goo.gl/zuYRVr https://goo.gl/lksDoA All of the colors remind me a bit of Murano/Burano. I loved taking pictures of the various boats. The first picture below is another boat of the same type that drove us around the canals. https://goo.gl/3ApfH3 https://goo.gl/N8vpKR https://goo.gl/bNyoOx https://goo.gl/5IK7jr https://goo.gl/0KXZJH There is even a little town center https://goo.gl/gySC9p https://goo.gl/UHUxKa https://goo.gl/B3ts0X I did a little souvenir shopping, buying some placemats for home and a magnet for the fridge. As I was walking back to the bus, I got an alert from my Air France app that it was time to check in for my flight. But then I got some other offers or something and they were a bit confusing. Are they saying this is my meal? I didn't order any meal in advance of my flight and I certainly wasn't paying for anything. This makes it look like I chose to pay for a meal. https://goo.gl/wPnEaI https://goo.gl/kVDzVP Now we're back to the pier to get our tender back to the ship. There are many nice yachts here in St. Tropz. Probably one of the top spots in the Med, if not the world! And the ones in the background are the schleppy ones! https://goo.gl/b87BWV Do you think the National Basketball Association approves of this bar? https://goo.gl/TZxxeD Some kind of monument... https://goo.gl/MNYa7S This merry-go-round is a good landmark if you're near the boats. https://goo.gl/zrQxxK And here is our tender. The water was pretty choppy, but we got back with no problems. https://goo.gl/lBnafI |
That Asian restaurant food looked awesome. Can't wait to hear about the rest of the ship.
I noticed that the in-suite dining food was not placed on a dining table: Was there one in your cabin? Thanks for the TR! |
The food was awesome. I'm still craving those lamb chops. OMG.
They served the food on the table that was in the room. I guess it was a coffee table? I think maybe one person sat on the sofa and the other the chair from the room? Definitely not a "dining" table, but the height was ok. The worst thing was that they just forgot to use the table cloth. That would have made it look nicer.
Originally Posted by 747FC
(Post 27216583)
That Asian restaurant food looked awesome. Can't wait to hear about the rest of the ship.
I noticed that the in-suite dining food was not placed on a dining table: Was there one in your cabin? Thanks for the TR! |
Love the pics of the giant sweets! :)
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Flight from Nice to Washington - finally another segment to post! TY for waiting...
So, it is finally time to head home. Glad there was not a scale that weighed us before we embarked and when we finally disembarked. I'm certain I wouldn't like the results.
We woke up and headed to breakfast. I don't have any pictures of the food, but I do remember that it was a nice breakfast. Not the "hey, you're leaving today, so we don't care what we serve you", but a very reasonable breakfast. Brooke found us at breakfast and we decided that we'd meet up at the theater for our bus to the airport. Unfortunately, the buses were pre-assigned and it didn't seem like they would be able to switch anyone. These are very typical yachts for Monte Carlo. https://goo.gl/ns0qyr https://goo.gl/aHBJVj Here's a picture of more of the port of Monte Carlo. I'll talk about the bad part of being in a bowl like that later... https://goo.gl/4Ck5o4 The ride to the airport was very easy. Our departure was prior to the horrific incident that would occur in just a few days, so security and what not was pretty normal. Here is a quick snap of the airport as we drove up in the bus. https://goo.gl/63aNs9 It worked out anyway, as Kenny and I arrived to NCE about 15 minutes earlier. Since Kenny got a flight allowance from Regent, he was booked on LOT from Nice-Warsaw-New York. He was going to stay with a relative overnight in NYC and then fly the next day to his home in Florida. So Kenny and I said our farewells and I waited for Brooke. Kenny promised to let me know how the LOT lounge was. Brooke pulled up a few minutes later and we then checked our bags. But first let's look at more of the candy sculptures! Even in the airport :) https://goo.gl/vfHfnn I'm still not used to using these machines and in my excitement, I failed to properly document the onscreen cues etc. My blue bag did get all of the tags! The Eagle Creek bag didn't have the built in luggage tag, so I made sure to have several others attached. https://goo.gl/7VcDFJ Checking the luggage was a bit of a pain. They wouldn't let you check more than two hours prior to the flight, so everyone just stands there waiting to bull rush the line monitor. You know how it goes. You stand there waiting your turn and certain people pretend they don't see you and try to push ahead. Ugh. Not sure why they don't allow you to check earlier, perhaps it is a matter of space to store the luggage? Brooke and I headed to the Priority Pass lounge to pass the time. I had access through either my Citi Prestige or my Amex Plat, but if I used the Amex I would have had to pay for her. So we used my PP card from the Prestige. Here are pics of the lounge. It was nothing great, but better than sitting by the gate. https://goo.gl/FyiA0h https://goo.gl/nxzEVg https://goo.gl/Y1iIE1 https://goo.gl/C2XxnY https://goo.gl/15lFcl https://goo.gl/ZDjTyZ It was time for us to head to the gate. Brooke and I were on the same flight to Paris and we exited the lounge together. Following are some more pics of the airport and what not... This plane may or may not have been our flight to CDG... https://goo.gl/TH4MSF Always a Duty Free shop. https://goo.gl/uyL72k https://goo.gl/4wYq24 https://goo.gl/p0eETH Here's an Easy Jet plane. I've never been on one. Maybe one day if it suits the itinerary. https://goo.gl/JQkNZr Another shot of the terminal. Not a bad airport to fly in or out of. https://goo.gl/uLFfvm Okay, now we're on the plane. I can't remember, but I think I paid a nominal amount for some more legroom on this flight. Either way, I ended up with Emergency Exit Row. In case you can't tell, my legs are fully stretched out. https://goo.gl/m8YohF That's the engine right? https://goo.gl/hCz6zZ Here's an airline you don't see often. Oren Airlines. Wikipedia says they're now part of Rossiya Airlines. https://goo.gl/Wha568 https://goo.gl/TSbYwk This is either the snack or breakfast on the flight. I'm not on Regent anymore LOL https://goo.gl/DdU2DD The French Countryside https://goo.gl/O1swoB And just like that, we're in Paris at CDG. Just a few of the international airlines that are here. Shalom El Al :) https://goo.gl/w4Y9FQ At some point, Brooke and I realized that we were in different terminals and we said our final goodbyes. Once we landed, I checked my Air France app and found that I could upgrade to their version of Economy Plus for about $100. That was a no brainer for me. I was so happy, especially since it was just a little before the flight. Here are some shots of the airport. I'm not sure that I went to the lounge. I did purchase a sandwich at a cart just in case the food was not good or whatever. Can't go wrong with a sandwich. https://goo.gl/dGpkHK https://goo.gl/FvbTQm https://goo.gl/SNAO4W https://goo.gl/5JpLFn It is always interesting to see all the places you can go... https://goo.gl/OJA5e7 Here is the Hermes store. Even in the airport, they have great windows. https://goo.gl/pWWVIg If you need a way to pass the time... https://goo.gl/PDMdBp Our plane for the ride across the Atlantic. https://goo.gl/md87Er https://goo.gl/jlaeCA I snuck a shot of the business class cabin. I'll be back with my wife in a few weeks and we'll get to actually fly in that cabin :) https://goo.gl/sfAi9f That being said, the Premium Economy was plenty fine. The legroom was more than adequate, certainly an improvement over coach. Either way, I'm just happy to go on vacation. https://goo.gl/Cxupbo Assuming this plane is from TYO, it's only 6,048 miles from home according to GCM. https://goo.gl/MZDbxh My flight is much shorter than Tokyo. https://goo.gl/8dV0NV In the words of SFO777, "it's showtime!" Now the menu says Economy. I know I'm not in biz, but I sorta thought that Premium Economy on AF was more than just the seat. I thought they had better food? Maybe someone could answer that question. In either event, the food was just fine. https://goo.gl/IZzBH7 https://goo.gl/8cVC4n https://goo.gl/7PCfe2 https://goo.gl/3gA6Bk https://goo.gl/linj6Q The food tasted better than the picture would indicate. I also ate my sandwich somewhere along the way. https://goo.gl/3UK5BG I passed the time watching some movies. I watch most kinds of movies except for Hollywood Blockbusters. I refuse to watch a movie on a tiny screen that demands to be on the big screen. Sometimes I watch terrible romantic comedies, Korean mysteries, or whatever. Sometimes even a Bollywood movie :) I think they gave us a light breakfast kind of meal before we landed. Either that, or this was a picture of food from our flight to CDG and it got out of order. One of the great mysteries of the world I suppose. https://goo.gl/lV2gSn And finally, our plane has landed in Washington. I had a great time on the cruise and being with my friend Kenny and new friends. The new Regent ship was spectacular. The food was amazing. I wouldn't hesitate to book it for a future vacation. https://goo.gl/74lXiM I got my luggage and got the shuttle back to the hotel where my car was parked. After a quick pit stop, I went directly across the street and purchased a 950 gallon soda to drink on the way home. |
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