The first day of my North Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean cruise was a sea day!
Day 1
From Southampton England to Dun Laogharie (Dublin) Ireland is approximately 420 nautical miles (about 778Kms) which took us about a day and half to sail.
On leaving Southampton we steamed up The Solent and into the English Channel, turned to starboard (that is right for the land lubbers out there) along the southern English coast before veering starboard somewhere near a Lizard and then past Lands End where we would have turned starboard again in the Celtic Sea towards the St George’s Channel and the Irish Sea where we would anchor of off Dun Laogharie on Day 2.
On sea days there are usually a number of activities onboard, including a wine tasting on this day. The wine tasting was not too interesting as it was of the house pour wines, there is a wine lunch later in the cruise, so saved the lunch time drinking for that…
A nice relaxing day to start the cruise and my break with… A couple of cocktails in the afternoon helped.
Dinner
For dinner I headed to Sette Mari, the Italian Restaurant that is also La Veranda during the day where you can grab breakfast and lunch. This restaurant has always been one of favourites on board Regent’s ships. Sette Mari has a relaxed feel to the place with great food and service and a decent selection of wines.
Starters
Bread Basket
Sliced Italian Ciabatta Bread, Crispy Breadsticks, Parmesan Knots, Savoury Pastry Stuffed with Tomatoes and Mozzarella, and Focaccia with Cherry Tomatoes and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.. Way too much for two let alone one person. Still always tasty and fresh.
Antipasti
Always served family style, ie sharing plates, also lots of food, but hard to resist, though I usually ask them to hold the La Bruschetta, have enough bread with the bread basket
Il Tagliere Di Parmigiano E Olive – Chunks of Aged Parmesan Cheese and Marinated Olives
La Bruschetta – Crispy Slice of Italian Bread with Marinated Tomatoes
Zucchine Alla Povarella – Crispy Fried Zuccini
Mozzarella Fritte – Fried Mozzarella Served with Fresh Tomato Sauce
White Wine
2018 La Scolca Valentio Gavi, 100% Cortese, Gavi Italy
| Appearance: | Bright medium gold |
| Nose: | Fresh subtle nose |
| Palate: | Refreshing |
| Finish: | Short-medium length |
| Oz’s Rating: | 3 out of 5 A refreshing wine |
And now for the food
Pasta
Lobster Tagolini – with a spicy red sauce
Nice bit of spice. Very enjoyable.
Red Wine
2017 Damilano Barbera d’asti, Piedmont, Italy
| Appearance: | Deep red |
| Nose: | Had an initial funkiness that opened up nicely with cherry and spice aromas |
| Palate: | Medium bodied with smooth lively tannins |
| Finish: | Medium to short in length |
| Oz’s Rating: | 3.5 out of 5 Nice quaffer, will be asking for this again |
Main Course
Surf and Turf – Black Angus Fillet with Prawns
Looks and smells great. Steak cooked medium rare to close to perfection, very tender, prawns excellent
More Red Wine
2018 Poggio Al Tuffo Rompicollo, Maremma Toscana Italy
| Appearance: | Medium deep light red |
| Nose: | Pleasant with a combination of orange peel, berry and a slight bit of caramel aromas |
| Palate: | Balanced, medium bodied |
| Finish: | Medium length with balanced tannins and a nice residual sweet tail |
| Oz’s Rating: | 3 out of 5 Not bad, definitely something to give at least one more go |
Dolci
I skipped dessert and went for a bowl of Parmesan Chunks – always happy with this….
Limoncello
A lighter style of limoncello, went well with the biscotti… Nice finish to the meal
Sailing to Dun Laogharie
After returning to my suite I found a nice surprise awaiting me. A gift from Regent of a set of drink coasters.
Unbeknownst to me this cruise has been selected as the cruise on which they would be celebrating 30 years of the line and so we also have the President and CEO. Jason Montague (plus his family) onboard.
An enjoyable and relaxing day, something I really needed before arriving our first port of call, Dublin.
Next up the port of Dun Laogharie (Dublin) Ireland.
Discover more from Oz's Travels
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
