DAY 3---AT SEA

 OUR SHIP

        The Seven Seas Navigator was built in the Mariotti Ship Yards in Genoa, Italy, and first sailed in 1999.  It's most recent refurbishment was done in 2023.  Contrary to some reports on Facebook, I think she is in good condition.  It is Regent's smallest ship with a passenger capacity of only 490 guests and a crew compliment of 345.  As you see the guest to crew ratio is a very low 1.25 guests to 1 crewmember.

You will never see that on the new mega cruise ships of other cruise lines.  

        There are 13 decks, of which, 8 are guest decks.  There are 17 suites on Deck 5 with no balconies.  Most all other suites including the Penthouse suites are the same size at 301 sq ft with an additional 55 sq ft balconies.  The Master suites, Grand suites, and Navigator suites are larger.

        The dining venues include: 

Compass Rose--the main dining room

Prime 7--the steakhouse

La Veranda--the breakfast and lunch buffet

Sette Mari--La Veranda turns into an Italian restaurant for dinner

Pool Grill--Lunch

        There are 3 lounges:  Stars, Galileo's, and Navigator.

Laundry service is free however there are self service launderettes available on 3 decks.  There is also 2 boutiques.  And if you need, there is a medical center, staffed by a doctor and some nurses.

LAST EVENING

FUN NIGHT

        At 6:00 we headed to the Stars Lounge for a cocktail.  It was packed as they had not opened the doors for folks to enter the theater.  The bartenders recognized us and I got my Makers Mark Manhattan and Rebecca her chardonnay right away.

        The doors opened and everyone headed into the theater for the Captain's Welcome Reception.  They were serving champagne, wine, drinks, and canapes while the ship's orchestra played some music.

                                                               Big crowd showed up.

                           Captain Loris giving us his nautical background and career.

                                The senior officers each introduced themselves and welcomed us.

        Ray then entertained us with a song and then brought out one of his puppets.  Ray is also a great ventriloquist and has several puppets.  Looking forward to more of his shows.

        At 7pm we joined Nicki, our General Manager, and Marcia for dinner in Compass Rose.  What a fun dinner it was with lots of great conversations.  Marcia has a great sense of humor and kept us laughing.

                                  Nino was our waiter.  Fantastic service and a fun guy also.

        I knew Nicki liked champagne so I brought our nice bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne to be served.  We had a nice toast to start dinner.

        I enjoyed this Criss Cross old vine zinfandel from Lodi, California.  They had Rebecca's La Crema ready for her to enjoy.

I started with some escargot followed by cream of asparagus soup.  Rebecca also enjoyed the soup.

                    We both had the Peking duck with rice and bok choy.  Very yummy!

                         Marcia had some roasted chicken, and of course, green beans.

           Chef Jaroslaw stopped by our table to make sure all was well with our dinner.

        My dessert.  I forgot its name but was basically chocolate cake with butterscotch sauce in it.  Also served with some ice cream.  VERY good!

        After dinner we adjourned back to the Stars Lounge while waiting for the 9:30 show in the theater to start.  Boogey and Kasia were entertaining in Stars.  They have been lounge singers on all of Regent's ships.  Captain Loris had invited Marcia to have an after dinner drink with him.

                                           Marcia joined us for the show.  We had great seats.

        Solomon Jaye's show was one of the best we have ever been to.  He sang soul songs and was an incredible tap dancer.  Very energetic show as he had a lot of dance "moves".

                                       We got to meet him after the show.  Great guy!

        Our clocks moved forward an hour during the night so now we are 2 hours ahead of Central Time.

TODAY

        Up at 7:45 as had room service breakfast ordered for 8:00 (it showed up at 8:15).  We opened the curtains to find a beautiful sunny day and calmer seas.

        Our position at noon today.  Mostly sunny skies with 20 to 25 kts wind out of the south and 79 degrees.  Wave height of 8 feet.  We are still experiencing some movement of the ship due to the wind.

Ship's speed is 17.5 kts.

        After getting ready for the day, I went to the 10:00 lecture about ships in the theater.  Rebecca went for some treadmill time as usual every morning.

        The 11:00 lecture by Brian Unger on the island of Grenada was much more interesting as he is an excellent lecturer.  

        After listening to Captain Loris's noon time update on our position and the weather on the ship's PA, we headed up to La Veranda for some lunch.

        This is Harry, the maitre'd of La Veranda and Sette Mari.  We have known him also for years.  I told him we would be up some evening for veal parmesan.

                     This is Helen, a waitress in Sette Mari, who was on our 2023 world cruise.  

        

        I had Helen order this burger and fries from the pool grill which is just outside of La Veranda.  The pool grill hamburgers are the best in the world!!  Fries better than McDonalds.

                                                                  Pool grill

                                  People are enjoying the sun today.  Skin cancer tomorrow!!

        Jane and Rebecca went shopping in the boutiques this afternoon and came back saying there was nothing they needed.  Good news!!  Then at 3pm they went to hear a lecturer, Steven Rivellino.  He is one of most successful executive producers and general managers on Broadway.  Today's lecture was on the current trends taking over the theatre and a look at the current and upcoming Broadway season.  I watched a couple movies on tv.

        I ran up to the pool bar this afternoon to have a Arnold Palmer (orange juice and tea).  I also got some sweet vermouth so I could make a Manhattan in our suite this evening.

        

        At 6:00 there is something unique only to Regent ships.  It is called the "shipwide block party".  A bell is rung over the PA from the bridge and everyone is take a wine glass out in their respective hallways to meet their neighbors.  The stewards and stewardesses will be serving wine and canapes as we mingle.  In the meantime, the Captain, GM, and Cruise Director will pass through the hallways on every passenger deck greeting us.  It is a fun time.  That is why I needed some sweet vermouth to make a Manhattan as I take it out in the hall.  Remember I have a bottle of Makers Mark bourbon already here in the suite.

        We will dine in Compass Rose and then head to the theater for the 9:30 show featuring Linda Gentille.  She is an amazing pianist and injects comedy into her shows.  We have seen her shows many times on other Regent ships, and now, are friends with her.

        Tomorrow we will be visiting the island of St Barts.