This morning our arrival time was 10 am. which in a way was nice as the approach is quite scenic. The ships sails towards Zadar harbour through a channel between a long island which protects the port and the City itself. In the old days, there was only one port and the ferries and other ships all docked more or less in downtown. That was of course not sustainable with the traffic so in 2018 the commercial port in Galenka was opened, which is about a 10 minute coach drive to the East of the old town.  Then the whole old harbour area was revamped with only one cruise ship dock and a large pedestrian area along the shore.   The ms Silver Spirit was docked there and thus the two other cruise ships had to go to the commercial port, us and the Norwegian Pearl. That is not the largest ship in the NCL fleet but it can still put ashore about 3000 guests. Luckily the cruise terminal here is very large and spacious and so there is no problem handling the 3700 guests that might have come ashore. Also the parking area in the front for the coaches is extensive so  there is no problem to handle one of the “Apartment of the Seas” if they would come here. Just outside the fenced gate is a large area for taxi’s, a nice idea as it kept the taxi drivers out and there was no soliciting unless you decided to venture out of the gate voluntarily,

Our Tuk-Tuk tour was not going until 11 -30am. so we had time to get up leisurely have an apple, banana and an orange for breakfast. With so much food going around and the elaborate dinners in the evening, it is hard to keep eating when not hungry in the morning.  So we quite contently waited for the tour time to arrive.  I did take advantage to run out and get a few more photos of the areas so far not done. In the Observatory I bumped into the Chief Housekeeper, Mrs. Julanta, for a nice chat. She was waiting there for a group of her team to pop up with extra training. Again the first question was is everything ok, can we do more ?  So I do believe the ships complement does strive to make their product better and better.

The early beginnings of Regent. The logo of Radisson Seven Seas Cruises.

While going up the stairs I looked at the glass lifts and noticed the logo on the glass doors.  The logo of Radisson Seven Seas, the humble beginnings of what is now Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

The two glass lifts run in a staircase / atrium that goes from deck 12 to deck 3 (where the crew deck starts) The atrium is not very wide and that gives quite a peculiar photo

I love that although ships and companies evolve that there and there I can still find a little trace to the past. Regent will keep refurbishing the ships  and I hope that they will keep these doors.  Being successful is all about the future but it is always good to cherish your past, it helps with keeping identity.

While walking ashore we saw our butler Mr. Savanan near the gangway. delivering laundry/

There is complimentary laundry on board (except dry cleaning) and if you have your laundry out by 9 am. it comes back the same day. Otherwise the next morning. This is available until 2 days before the end of the cruise. What comes back folded goes into an individual black box for each cabin and what has to hang comes back in nice garment bags. Very posh.   Lesley really wanted to take some of those boxes home, so I could deliver the same service while ironing at home, but that did not fly. Mr. Savanan is from Madras where they have those long names of 30 characters or more and which are a headache for any immigration computer system, which normally only go to 13 characters for a last name  (My last name just scrapes in) and hence all Madrasi have short version of their name and that is where Savanan comes from.

We had to nose around ashore to find out tour as we were supposed to meet dockside, but the dock here is very big and with a large terminal. The shore side tour operator had put up signs but had stuck them on pillars towards the terminal, but sideways, so you could only see them once you had walked past. But we found it anyway and found that 8 people has signed up for two Tuk-tuks.

Th east gate of old Zadar with the Venetian Lion above the gate, Most of this area was under Venetian control in the Renaissance days and the Venetians built large fortifications  everywhere to stay in control.  This whole area has been fought over since pre medieval times and nothing has changed until the recent days.

Most of the Zadar old town is pedestrian and even small tuk-tuks are not allowed in, so the tour went all around the old city, which was of interest as the old city is so touristy that you really have no idea of how the Zadarians (?) really live. So we had a quick look at what the enemies in the old days would have seen, very high and strong fortifications and then we zipped along to the new part of the city.

Some of the many small privately owned pleasure boats.

There is a lot of water around Zadar and nearly all of it has been dyked and changed into docking space. The above photo shows a few of the very small craft (and their are thousands of them) docked just outside the old walls.  According to the driver about 10% of the Zadarians own one of these little craft. With the average wages being around a 1000 euros’ a month and a docking space costing about 5000 euros a year, it is the status symbol of the regular Zadarian to have a small boat to go fishing.

The 2nd largest sphinx in Europe is in Zadar. (The largest, home made sphinx is in London)

As there is not much of historical significance  outside old Zadar, there is this stop at an old villa, where the home owner buried his wife in the garden and just put a Sphinx on top of it. The house and the lands were later taken over by the communists. Since they left, the question what to do with the large house and grounds is still very much debated, but the Sphinx is still there.

At the downtown pier the Silver Spirit, our first luxury cruise ship was dominating the area of what once was the old port. Behind the gentleman you can see the holes in the concrete which act as air vents for the sea organ.

By circling the old city, you end up at the new cruise pier and the new steps that were built after 2018. Who docks at the downtown cruise pier, depends on various factors. A. does the ship fit, B. how frequent is the ship calling, C. .sometimes its just who pays the most. Here in Zadar it is based on frequency as far as I know.   Where the lady is sitting on the photo, is the “sea organ” located. These are pipes under the pavement and when the sea pushes into those pipes, it presses out the air in the pipes and that creates a noise. How loud depends on how strong the sea is pushing. We had nice seas today, so the sound was very minimum but still good enough to hear. I wonder what the combined pipes sounds when there is a storm blowing.

As every day but one was a port day, and we are not the sunbathing kind, we did not pay much attention to the sun bathing area, around the pool on Deck 11. But is really nice, well enclosed and also great for parties, On the one sea day we had, we had storm and the captain ordered the decks closed as the winds were very bad.

Back the ship, it was time for a quick lunch in the La Veranda (Lido) which turned into a long lunch as there was so much to eat (See the photos of the past blogs) and then it was time to pack, as tomorrow we are leaving the ship.

The Coffee station in the Atrium. Fresh coffee and cookies. Even the art on the wall relates to it. Who knew that a coffee percolator could be art.

The Coffee and Tea station in the atrium. I do not know if it was open 24 hours a day, but every time we came by from the morning to the late evening the machines were working and there were fresh cookies on a tray.

Pool deck from, above, Fresh water pool with two Jacuzzi’s. Port Forward corner, the pool bar (very busy) and opposite, not shown on the diagram, opposite Starboard side forward is the smoking area. There is an enclosed “Connoisseurs” lounge on the lower decks. I have no photos of that one as I tired to go in once, but was yelled out of the door, by a lady, when she saw the camera.

 

Employee of the month.

I think it fitting that I end this blog, with a photo of the Employee of the Month, as they are really the ones who make the cruise product. It took me awhile to find the frame, as it was somewhat hidden behind a sculpture in the Atrium. Hallo Regent…………. it would be nice if it would be displaced a bit more prominent and not half hidden. Maybe next to the Guest Relations Desk, so guests waiting in line something to look at ???,

Tomorrow we are supposed to arrive around 07.00 hrs. Interesting thing is here that Regent also offers breakfast in the cabin on the day that you leave. That is available until 08.30, although you are asked to leave the cabin by 08.00 hrs.

We should be off by 08.30 and then if all the KLM flights go well, by home by 23.00 UK time.

Last post will be tomorrow:  Review and Verdict, with how we liked it. I think you have already figured out, that we liked it very much, but I will make it official tomorrow.