ROATAN BACKGROUND INFO:
Roatan is the largest of the bay islands of Honduras and is located 40 miles off the coast of Honduras in the Caribbean Sea. The island is 48 miles long and just 5 miles across with a population of 110,000. The island lies at the southern edge of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef which is the largest barrier reef in the Caribbean Sea and second largest in the world after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Roatan is an important cruise ship, scuba diving, and eco-tourism destination now. Tourism is the economic driver here but fishing is an important income source for the locals. Even though mainland Hondurans speak Spanish, English is the main language spoken here due to the island’s history as a British colony.
Last Evening
We headed down to the theater just prior to 6pm as I wanted to stop at the Mariner Lounge and get a Manhattan to take to the Captain's Welcome Reception in the theater. They serve wines and champagne there so Rebecca & Jane were served there.
Captain Saro called all of his senior officers to the stage and each one introduced themselves and briefly told their responsibilities. Then three of the production cast singers each sang a song. The two male singers were very, very good. The female singer not so much as I could not understand a word of her song which I had never heard of before.
We then went to the Mariner Lounge for another drink prior to dinner. This is Wendy and Elvis. We have known both for years. Elvis does a Elvis Presley imitation song during the Krew Kapers Show at the end of cruises. Wendy is a waitress mornings in Coffee Connection and bar waitress in the evenings. Elvis is a bartender.
At 7:00 we met our special dinner hosts just outside of the dining room and we led to the Captain's table but the Compass Rose maitre d, Dominic. As I mentioned yesterday, our table hosts were: Captain Saro, Andreas (General Mgr), and Bea (Cruise Consultant). Also at the table besides Marcia, Jane, and us were George & Lily. They are also Diamond status and we have cruised with them several times.
Dominic could not get us all in one photo so took two on both sides of the table.
L to R: Lily, Captain Saro, and Marcia.
L to R: Jane, George, and Lily.
Andreas and Rebecca
OINK! OINK! I had two orders of the escargot to start with. I can only get (read afford) escargot when on board a Regent ship. I shared one with Rebecca. Jane and I had Beijing style duck with plum sauce as our entrees. Rebecca had Saki glazed salmon which she liked. The duck was not so good as very tough. Food was not that important. What was important was the great conversation around the table. We were very honored to be invited to dine at the Captain's table this evening.
After dinner we returned to the theater for Zoe Tyler's show at 9:30. Yes, it was past my bedtime!
She was originally from the UK but now lives in Florida. She had a great voice but talked too much between songs. I left half way through her show.
Today
Our position today is at Roatan off the coast of Honduras. Yellow arrow in red circle is our location. Blue line is where we have been. Red line is where we will be going.
We woke up at 6am as our curtain was not fully closed and daylight was coming through. I got up and started work on my laptop. Decided to get dressed and run down to get Rebecca's coffee at Coffee Connection. Coffee also for me plus a bran muffin.
Rebecca had ordered room service for 8am and we were sooooo surprised and elated when Skinny showed up right on time. Skinny was also very surprised to see us and very happy also. We've said it many times, the crew is part of our family.
Once again room service was probably the best EVER. Rebecca said her scrambled eggs were perfectly cooked and best she has ever had, anywhere. Coffee was super hot.
At 10:30 this morning there was special brunch in Chartreuse, the French restaurant, for the top tier Seven Seas Society members. Today it included Commodores (over 2000 nights), Diamonds (over 1000 nights), and Titanium members (over 400 nights).
Bloody Mary display
Desserts
Omelet station with Wayan as the cook and Marlinda as a waitress.
Abin, manning the salmon station.
L to R: Dominic (Restaurant Mgr over all the dining venues), Olivier (Executive Chef from France), and Pascal (Chartreuse restaurant chef).
This is Jennefer Teegen, the Corporate manager of the Seven Seas Society. We are having dinner tonight with her and her husband.
Catalin, Food & Beverage Manager, and William (I call him Wild Bill), the Executive Concierge.
Bea, the Cruise Consultant whom we dined with last night, and Rachael, the Social Hostess. Rachael basically takes care of all the singles on board. They meet for happy hour in a lounge then go to dinner.
This is our Cruise Director, Dean.
For lunch we went up to La Veranda on Deck 11. This was the view of the dock from our table. I ordered a hamburger and fries from the pool grill which is just outside of La Veranda. The burgers there are the best ever!!
This is Bernalyn who is now an assistant head waiter. We love her to death as she is so sweet. The guy is Armando whom we had not cruised with before. He is the maitre d of Sette Mari, the Italian restaurant. One side of La Veranda is turned into the Italian restaurant at night. We definitely want to dine in Sette Mari as I need some veal parmesan.
There is pizza for lunch.
Hot foods on the buffet change daily.
No desserts for me!
There are also salad fixins, cold shrimp, mussels, cheeses, and other foods available. Always a cooked to order pasta station.
Yasen is the Staff Captain. We know him from past cruises.
My burger was so good I had to go out to the pool grill and thank the chef. He was so happy I did.
We had a 2pm appointment with Bea to book cruises. We booked a cruise from Miami to Honolulu for January 11, 2026. It is a 21 night cruise and the first leg of the 2026 world cruise. It is on the Mariner (ship we are now on) but Mariner is due a huge dry dock overhaul prior to this cruise. We understand all the suites will be totally changed including the closets and bathrooms. A modernization overhaul, Big advantage of booking onboard is the deposit was only $1000 instead of $3400 had we booked at home. We also booked a "Return With Regent Credit" which they used to call a "Future Cruise Credit". Same only $1000 deposit and we have a year to decide on a cruise to book. We have a good idea of what we want to do but the itinerary has not been released.
After that I did a short walk around the pier to take some photos.
It started raining about 3pm today. I decided to go up to the Observation Lounge on the top deck and order a Mai Tai.
My son told me to go have one for him, so here's to you Jeff. I don't really care for them as too sweet for me. But you have to do what your son tells you to do.
At 6:00 this evening is the "Shipwide Block Party". This is only done on Regent ships. A bell is rung from the bridge over the PA and everyone is invited out in the hallways to meet their neighbors. The suite stewards/stewardesses will be there to serve wine and snacks. In the meantime the Captain, General Mgr, and Cruise Director race up and down all the hallways greeting us. It is a fun event.
After that we will head down to the Mariner Lounge for pre-dinner cocktails. We have been invited to dine with Jennefer Teegen and her husband, Kevin Murphy. Jennifer is a corporate officer in charge of guest relations. I will get her exact title tonight. We will be meeting them outside Compass Rose at 7:00. I sent our nice bottle of champagne down at noon to be cooled so we can enjoy it with them.
The production show, "Divos & Divas", is at 9:30 in the theater. We have seen this show several times but not with this cast of singers and dancers.
Tomorrow we shall be docked at Harvest Cay, Belize.
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