This was a first for us and a few other people. There were about 20 of us who were completing a back-to-back (B2B) cruise. A B2B cruise is two or more consecutive cruises on the same ship.
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| View of Miami from our balcony |
The Port of Miami requires everyone to disembark the cruise ship. The only thing we were required to bring with us was our passport and key card (to get back on the ship). We went through customs which was pretty quick (we had our own line). We had to be security scanned back through and then we waited about 20 minutes before we could reboard. It was really nice to get a cabana at the pool and watch as all the new people began boarding around noonish.
Back on the Regent Seven Seas Grandeur for the Basking in the Breeze cruise. Seven nights Miami to Miami. A 735 ft ship that holds 746 guests in 372 suites. The Grandeur has a crew of 551crew members from 41 nationalities. Luciano Montesanto was our Captain.
We did go top side for Sail Away and sunset. Cruising out of Miami is pretty cool.
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| A little windy |
Restaurants All the restaurants are included, however you do need reservations for the three specialties (Chartreuse, Pacific Rim, & Prime 7) except for lunch. Pacific Rim does not open for lunch.
For this leg of our trip we were unable to book specialty restaurants ahead of time because we were connected to our friends on the previous cruise. However, we were able to get reservations once we boarded in Barcelona.
Chartreuse a classic French fare with a modern twist and ocean views.
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| Salade de Betteraven et Vinaigrette aux Truffes Beetroot Salad, Goat Chese Cream, Black Truffle Dressing |
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| Tarte Artichaut etc Truffle |
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| Halibut Filet |
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| Creme Brulee |
Coffee Connection a great spot for coffee and vodka hot chocolates.
Compass Rose is the main dining room. The left side of the menu is always the same. The right side changes daily.
Appetizers
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| Breadsticks |
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| Assorted greens, shaved fennel, orange segments, Roasted macadamia nut dressing |
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| Cream of Asparagus Soup |
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| Truffle Potato Panna Cotta Pacific White Sturgeon Caviar |
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| Duck a la Orange |
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| Brazino, Baked Potato, Created Spinach |
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| Mahi Mahi |
La Veranda is the ship's breakfast and lunch buffet. At breakfast you also have the option to order made to order omelets, eggs, pancakes, etc. At lunch there is a pasta & hot carving stations. Our favorite breakfast spot.
Sorry no pictures!
Pacific Rim is their version of a Pan Asian restaurant with sushi, Korean bbq, etc. The restaurant is an all woman run venue. It is our favorite specialty restaruant.
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| It was nice of a senior officer to take our picture |
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| Tom Kha Gai |
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| Miso Black Cod |
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| Seafood Laska |
Pool Grill is our favorite spot for lunch and an afternoon wine or beer.
Prime 7 is their version of a steakhouse. We did not dine here on this leg of the trip.
Sette Mari at La Veranda is their version of an Italian restaurant with a first come first served basis. We normally line up about 10 minutes before opening. Service always begins with the antipasti served at your table (bread, olives, cheese, etc.). We always decline and help ourselves to the buffet.
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| Meatballs One of my favorites |
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| Ossobuco Alla Milanese Slow Braised Veal Shank |
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| Pollo Della Casa Slow Braised Chicken Thighs |
When Sette does a buffet there is no waiting, you seat yourself and also serve yourself. Tonight was a Greek Dinner Buffet.
Lounges
Connoisseurs Club where the cigar smokers hang out.
Grandeur Lounge
Meridian Lounge where our favorite bartender Zuber made us fantastic drinks. Every evening he created us our own special drink.
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| Pretty in Pink |
Observation Lounge is the room with a view and a pianist.
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| Old Fashioned |
Entertainment/Things to do
Bingo is held on sea days. There are four games, each jackpot is a different amount and calculated based on number of cards purchased. Three chances for $20 or six for $30. You can also purchase an additional three chances for the final blackout/full card for $5.
Culinary Arts Kitchen for a Cooking Class. The classes are offered at an additional cost and you can reserve a spot in advance. We chose Fiesta on the High Seas this cruise with Chef Karlis again..
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| Same workstation as before |
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| Rob prepping his fish |
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| Fish is all prepped |
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| Chicken tacos |
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| Chef Karlis and the finished dishes |
I would love to have my own sous chef 👩🍳 👨🍳. They prepped and cleaned everything up. The best part of the class is eating our creations.
There is a Nightly Show each evening at 9:30 pm. On this leg of the cruise we did not attend one show as they were the same as the previous cruise, a small downside to cruising B2B.
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| Abba Night Dianara waving to us |
Ports of Call & Excursions - There are free excursions which are included and there are choice excursions which come with a cost.
The afternoon before our first port we received a special invitation that included a Welcome Reception and a package for a special excursion. We're still not quite sure how we rated this but we didn't complain.
Costa Maya, Mexico 🇲🇽 Arrival 8 am Departure 6 pm
The excursion we chose was the Chacchoben Ruins with Beach Lunch provided by Distinctive Voyages. The excursion we had originally booked was Buggies Through Mahahual & Beach. Our guides were Victor and Gabby. Driver was Jose. There were only 12 people on the tour.
Off to a "Pineapple Plantation" 🤔 there were some pineapples and we had a delicious 😋 tasting.
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| Pineapple sprinkled with chili powder and a squeeze of lime |
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| I was looking for SpongeBob |
Lunch at Machos Mahahual Restaurante & Bar. We had the choice of fish, chicken or beef tacos.
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| Thirst Quencher No taco picture but they were really good |
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| Tequila Tasting |
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| Carnitas & he got to keep the cup |
A cool spot! Rhonda our host was great!
Harvest Caye, Belize 🇧🇿 Arrival 8 am Departure 6 pm
Harvest Caye is a private, 75-acre island in southern Belize owned by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), serving as a resort-style destination for cruise passengers with beaches, a large pool, water sports, and local artisan shops. It features a saltwater lagoon, zip lines, and a nature center. The day we visited the weather was not great, but the plus was we were the only cruise ship there, so we pretty much had the island to ourselves.
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| Beautiful beach |
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| Flighthouse - Zip Lining |
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| Plenty of Lounge chairs |
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| Kids Splash Park |
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| Heard a woman scream, she didn't realize the bucket would dump over |
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| Several pool areas |
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| Water was not too cold |
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| The boa constrictor is the largest snake native to Belize. |
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| Butterfly House |
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| Blue Morpho Butterfly 🦋 |
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| Keel Billed Toucan |
Our favorite port!
Roatan, Honduras 🇭🇳 Arrival 8 am Departure 4:30 pm We docked at the same place we did in April.
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| Slide still broken |
Our excursion was the Gummbalimba Preservation Park. It was 1 of 24 free excursions.
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| Gumbalimba Insectaruim |
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| Gross yet cool |
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| The moth with the longest tongue 👅 is found in Honduras |
Did you know? Butterflies do not grow, only the caterpillar grows. Also, beetles, flies and bees do not grow.
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| Iguana Crossing |
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| I'm just hanging out |
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| Stop taking pictures 📸 I want to get off of this bridge |
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| Scarlet Macaw |
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| Birdman |
No monkeying around!
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| White Face Capuchin Monkey 🐒 |
This was a pretty cool excursion.
A Roatan send off:
Cozumel, Mexico 🇲🇽 Arrival 10:30 am Departure 8 pm. Again we chose not to do an excursion. I was on a mission to find a Cozumel Sign and I found several.
Mission accomplished back to the boat.
The Puzzle Table usually has two puzzles going. We enjoy the wooden Liberty Puzzles.
Mensa Quiz, Sudoku & Crossword puzzles available daily in the Library.
The Speaker Series are always informative and entertaining. The topics are geared towards the area we are visiting. This cruise we only had one speasker, Bill Cashell, an award winning speaker, author, and former college teacher. His topics:
Island of Ancient Mayans & Natural Splendor
Exploring the Secrets of the Mayan Civilization
Cozumel & Costa Maya: Land of the Ancient Mayans
The Magic Music of the Caribbean
Amazing Underwater Discoveries
True Pirates of the Caribbean
How You Can Have A Magic Memory
Sports Deck
Thanksgiving
We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in Compass Rose.
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| Assorted Greens & Roasted Beets, Goat Cheese, Pumpkin Seeds, Vinaigrette |
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| Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey, Giblet Gravy, Vegetable Sausage Stuffing, Green Beans, Sweetheart Potato Mash, mango Cranberry Relish |
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| Honey Pumpkin 🎃 Pie 🥧 Soft Marshmallow Meringue |
In addition, which we did not get, they offered Deviled Egg & Dill Marinated Salmon
And Curried Butternut Squash Soup.
It wasn't the same as being with family and having my niece's homemade green bean casserole (that is the bomb!!), but we enjoyed ourselves. We even got to watch a Ravens game.
Time for a happiness letdown!
Cruise Dates: November 24 - December 1, 2025
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