August 12 – Sailing

ship logo

asian theme lunch

18 degrees, very clear

We have no port today and are sailing around the west coast of France moving from the English Channel to the Bay of Biscay. This is a nice break from setting an alarm and getting on the go first thing in the morning. Today was all about doing as little as possible – I think we succeeded.

After a lazy sleep-in we watched one of the ship’s lectures, this one on the British Monarchy. Then it was lunch and some time at the pool watching one of the ship’s bands…this one is a 6 member Pilipino cover band…they are our favourite entertainment option on the ship. I don’t find that many of the ship’s musicians offer current selections, but this one does – I’m sure they can, but we aren’t exactly their target demographic. The pool was cold. Although it was clear and sunny, it was not too hot and sailing made it windy. We had to bundle up in towels…we were determined to see the band. The rest of the afternoon was spent reading, napping and watching the Olympics. Sadly we haven’t seen too much Olympics, they ship is showing it, but we’ve been busy.

We can’t help but compare previous cruise experiences to our current one, and always say we should make not of some things so a bit about the ship…

our favourite band

CFL game

Our room…is significantly smaller than the room we were in last winter in Asia. When we were in Asia, as with most of the cruises we have done in the past we choose the lowest category of room, this basically meant we were in what would be deemed as a ‘least desirable’ location on the ship. We never care about position on the ship – deck level or front, back or mid ship. Even the lowest category of Regent rooms (which we choose) are about 100 square feet smaller than this room. This is definitely noticeable. We were well aware of this before we arrived, but it is noticeable. When we were in Asia we had a giant balcony, due to an upgrade we had, so that was unusually AWESOME, I’m not considering that huge balcony. So far this cruise the weather hasn’t been great for balcony sitting. Another thing we’ve noticed is that there is only one electrical outlet in this room, there are actually 2 if I count the European outlet. We have 9 things that need to be plugged in, so it’s a good thing we brought a power bar…Regent rooms are better equipped for electricity, not a lot better, but better.

entryway to room

Excursions…we basically do excursions in every port on every cruise. Excursions on Regent are included in the cruise price, on Crystal they are extra. Of course in the end everything is paid for either up front or in the end. The way excursions have been coordinated on this ship is a lot more pleasant than on Regent. Once on the excursion there is no difference at all, but on the ship, getting people rounded up and off of the boat is more civilized here. Not sure if that’s because of their system or because less people take then because they are not included…whatever the reason we are pleasantly surprised! In my opinion there are always (except for the rare occasion where there is a low number) too many people on excursions. A reasonable number to me seems between 20 and 25. Typically excursions have at least 30 on either Regent of Crystal.

Food…for the first few days we were convinced the food here was better than on Regent (not that we would ever starve on either!) Now we’re not so sure. There is a lunch buffet on both and the crowd and level of franticness here is less. Menus on TV are also something we liked, Regent broadcasted each day’s dinner menu on the TV.

Laundry…having clean clothes is a BIG DEAL to me. I know people don’t go on vacation to do laundry, but I’m fine with doing laundry. The self-serve facilities here haven’t been at all busy the couple of times we’ve either used or poked our heads in to see how busy they are.

workout machines

Apparently this ship is no as full as it could be so that I’m sure has impacted our experience – 975 capacity and there are 525 now.

bathroom

I tried another flavour of French potato chip…Indian Curry…nope…won’t be having that one again!

Our wifi gizmo doesn’t work at sea, so we’re relying on the one hour per person per day from the ship.

happy hour ballet

This ship also has (different from anything we’ve seen on a ship before) a workout circuit on a few decks – like some parks have. Various kinds of apparatus here and there to use while walking the decks.

We decided to have Happy Hour on our balcony today. It was a lovely evening and we had a bottle of wine just begging to be opened! A little wine, sun, reading, French compté potato chips and…DOLPHINS!!! Seeing dolphins is always the absolute highest on my wish list, but I rarely see them, seeing them today was fantastic!