Day 10 - Horta, Azores (Portugal)

April 3, 2019 - This morning, the sun was shining as we ended our four days at sea, approaching the port city of Horta, Azores, Portugal.

After a quick lunch at the Pool Grill, we walked down the long pier where Regent Seven Seas Explorer was docked.

At the end of the pier, we found the waiting motor coaches for the 40-minute drive to Capelinhos.

Along the way, our local tour guide pointed out many interesting sights and historic facts about Horta. When we arrived at our destination, it looked like the surface of the moon. Everything was covered in meters of gray ash left after the volcano erupted. Only one story of the two-story lighthouse tower was visible in the distance.

The Interpretive Center and Museum is actually located underneath the lighthouse structure, and is quite impressive.

Our guide walked us through the museum, describing the effect of the Capelinhos volcano, which erupted in 1957 and continued to erupt for 13 months. The lava flow from the undersea volcano expanded the land mass by 2.4 kilometers.

Even though many homes, including the lighthouse, were destroyed by the volcano, nobody was killed by the event. After exiting the Interpretive Center, we could see the area affected by the eruption. The winds were blowing a very fine dust of lava ash that could easily irritate your eyes.

We departed Capelinhos for the drive back to Horta, learning more about the island along the way. We arrived back in time to watch from our balcony as Horta disappeared in the distance as Seven Seas Explorer sailed for Ponta Delgada.

For sailaway, we decided to visit the Observation Lounge for a cocktail, which we enjoyed to the sounds of Pavlo on the piano.

Tomorrow, Seven Seas Explorer will be docked in Ponta Delgada, Azores.

Day 09 - County Fair

April 2, 2019 - Today is our favorite day at sea on a transatlantic crossing, on a Regent cruise at least. That's because it is County Fair day! The County Fair is normally held on the pool deck but, because of wind and weather conditions, the Atrium has been transformed into the fairground. Each department on the ship has its own booth where guests can play a game to earn prize tickets which will be entered in a raffle drawing at the end of the Fair for some great prizes.

My favorite game was from the Entertainment Department, where a rope with rubber balls is stuffed into your pants and you had to swing the balls to knock down bowling pins. Below, you can see Rickee using her skills to knock down the pin and eventually smoke the competition! It was hilarious.

Every department had its own unique and equally fun game. At one point, a flash mob broke out dancing to Mama Mia. It was insane! And, everyone had a great time and many won some nice gift bags with their winning tickets.

After the County Fair, we had lunch at the Pool Grill. Rickee ordered a hot dog from the menu and I had a cheeseburger.

At 4pm, we treated ourselves to Afternoon Tea in the Observation Lounge. Today was Cupcake Tea Time and Remy, the Pastry Chef on board Explorer, has created several flavors of cupcakes for guests to enjoy.

We ended the day with another amazing performance by Jenene Caramielo in the Constellation Theater. Her vocals are some of the best we have ever heard on a cruise ship or anywhere for that matter.

Tomorrow, we will be docking in Horta, Azores (Portugal).

Day 08 - Cooking Competition and Juliette Primrose

April 1, 2019 - We begin our second week aboard Regent Seven Seas Explorer with a third day at sea (only one more to go!) as we sail toward Horta, Portugal. This morning, the galley crew was working hard to get the Constellation Theater stage set for an "Iron Chef"-style cooking competition between Captain Rosario Giovanni Vasta, General Manager, Michael Coghlan, and Dining Room Manager, Maria Tancredi.

Each contestant selected an audience member as an assistant and each team had 20 minutes to prepare a salmon dish. The competition was heated as Executive Chef, Dino Schwager, and Cruise Director, Lorraine Weimerskirch, gave commentary throughout the competition. It was a lot of fun to watch, and General Manager Coghlan finally took top honors.

After the cooking competition, we chose to have lunch at Chartreuse, Seven Seas Explorer's French restaurant. The menu definitely had a French flair and the restaurant is quite elegant.

I ordered the Chartreuse version of French Onion Soup, which is missing the large cheesy crust we are used to seeing. However, the broth was very good.

Rickee had a Croque Madame with layers of thinly-sliced ham and white bread wrapped in cheese and baked, then topped with a sunnyside-up egg. It was very filling.

Today we enjoyed a pre-dinner show, “A James Bond Experience,” in the Constellation Theater. The Seven Seas Explorer Singers and Dancers turned into secret agents and "Bond girls" and put on another great, and fun show. Martinis (shaken, not stirred), were served to all guests and Moneypenny was there to greet everyone.

Even Moneypenny (Cruise Direfctor, Lorraine Weimerskirch), surprised us with her own solo vocal performance. Everyone had a great time and this is a show that is not to be missed.

We had made reservations early on to dine in Chartreuse this evening, so at 7:00pm, we were back to see what dinner was like. We were seated at a perfect table for two at the back of the restaurant with an ocean view. The restaurant was packed with guests and service was a bit slow.

After dinner, it was back to the Constellation Theater for a solo violin performance by Ms. Juliette Primrose. Ms. Primrose is an accomplished violinist who toured the globe as lead fiddle-player for Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance from 2003 until 2011 including US, Canada, Europe, South Africa, Latin America and Asia. Her show included a wide variety of music styles from Country & Western, to Classical and Celtic. It was an amazing performance.

After a full day of entertainment, we are ready for bed. Tomorrow is our final day at sea before we arrive at Horta, Portugal (Azores).