Boarding Orion Expedition Cruises Orion II in Bali

Yesterday afternoon we departedSt. Regis Bali and headed for Benoa Cruise Port to board Orion II, Orion Expedition Cruises' newly christened expedition ship. We weren't sure what to expect of the Benoa Cruise Port. We knew it would be small with few facilities and that's exactly what it turned out to be. 

The boarding process was super informal. Tracy Greiner, hotel manager, greeted us at the gangway and welcomed us on board. At the Reception desk on Deck 3, Jill took our photos and handed us our room keys and ID cards. Within two minutes, literally, we were in our suite. We're on Deck 5 and we've got a small balcony to enjoy when the mood strikes us. Luggage was delivered a few moments later and then we headed back down to the Main Lounge on Deck 3 to enjoy some champagne and light snacks (sandwiches, tarts, and brownies). Orion II's musician, Emilio Madrona, played piano throughout the welcome party.


The rest of the day went by in a flash... from the Sail Away Celebration on Deck 5 Aft to the mandatory life boat drill to an introduction to the crew and expedition team... it was time for dinner before we had much of a chance to explore Orion II.


Dinner is served during one sitting in the Restaurant on Deck 2 (and, occasionally, when weather permitting outdoors on Deck 5 Aft). Friday night's dinner was indoors and the menu consisted of beef carpaccio, seafood risotto, lamb shank (and a select of alternative main courses if you didn't go for the recommended degustation menu), and lemon panacotta for dessert.


Leonard and I still haven't acclimated to the time difference so we were very ready for bed after dinner!


Our first impressions of Orion II are good ones... lovely ship that really makes you feel like you're on a boat and not in some faceless resort at sea. The crew is friendly and knowledgeable and everyone truly seems enthusiastic about these new itineraries to Borneo. The passenger complement ranges from one family with children to several couples in their 40s/50s and the rest are retirees. So far we've met guests from Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States.


We've got great expectations for this adventure! Saturday is a sea day during which we'll hear more from our expedition team and guest lecturer Dr. Birute Mary Galdikas.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for Luxury Cruise Bible

St. Regis Bali: A Few Photos & Thoughts

We arrived in Bali on Wednesday afternoon just as several other jets landed. We were getting ready for a long wait for our visa when we were greeted by a representative of St. Regis Bali. She took our passports, customs forms, and money for the visas and told as to stay put while she expedited things for us.

Within minutes she had our visas and we were waiting for our luggage (which took longer than you'd hope, but what can you do). As soon as we grabbed our bags, the rep hustled us through the airport and outside to our waiting car. Our driver provided us with cold towels, two bottles of watter, and two luscious chocolate truffles!

He then proceeded to whisk us to the resort in about 30 minutes. What a relief! After nearly 26 hours of travel, all we wanted was to get to the hotel, have a bite to eat, and go to bed! Check-in was done while sitting in the lobby, sipping tropical drinks.

We're just staying for two nights so we booked the lowest category room, a St. Regis Suite, using the SPG50 rate. For 1,000 SPG points plus $375/night, the rate includes airport transfers and the resort's famed breakfast buffet.

St. Regis Suite at the St. Regis Bali

As Seen Around St. Regis Bali

The resort is lovely and if I were to stay here again I'd definitely book a lagoon suite. These rooms have their own bales as well as direct access to the lagoon pool.

Here are a few of the things we like about this resort...

• Airport greeting/expediting service and complimentary airport transfers
• Excellent buffet breakfast with many made-to-order options
• Lovely and spacious room, even in the most basic category
• Helpful and friendly staff

Here are some of the "misses"...

• Housekeeping didn't arrive until after 12:30pm
• Food and wine prices are higher than they should be when compared to other luxury options in the area
• Nearby construction noise could be heard at the pool and some rooms have a view of the work site

Tomorrow we head to Benoa Cruise Terminal to board Orion II. We're looking forward to our Borneo adventure!

—Andrea M. Rotondo for Luxury Cruise Bible

Test Driving Cathay Pacific's New Business Class from New York to Bali

Very, very, very early this morning we'll take off from New York's JFK and head to Bali, where we'll spend a few days at the St. Regis Bali before embarking on our Camp Leakey itinerary with Orion Expedition Cruises.

With the forthcoming changes to British Airway's partner award chart (see The Points Guy's take on the situation), we decided to burn some BA miles and booked two business class tickets on Cathay Pacific.

We've flown the airline's first class product before and loved it (see our review of our Cathay Pacific first class Toronto to Bali transit last year) and so we're eager to test out their new business class seats.

I plan to take some photos of the new business class section but if you can't wait to see more, check out The Brooklyn Nomad's Cathay Pacific business class photo gallery.

On the way home from the cruise we're booked into Cathay Pacific's first class cabin (I can't wait to put on those Shanghai Tang PJs!) so it will be interesting to see how the two classes compare. We'll keep you posted.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for Luxury Cruise Bible

Delicious BBQ Dinner Under the Stars On Board Windstar Wind Surf

I've blogged about my admiration of Windstar Cruises many times. I love the line's three intimate motor-sail-yachts, the adventure-seeking contingent of guests, the calls on ports that the big ships can't get anywhere near, and the warm hospitality extended by every single member of the crew.

My second-ever cruise was a Caribbean itinerary aboard Windstar's Wind Surf. Since that time, it's always been one of my favorite ships. The romance of a ship sailing the seven seas is coupled with Windstar's attention to culinary adventures. All Windstar ships put on some of the best beach BBQs in the Caribbean, but now Wind Surf is also hosting a similar on-board experience with its Deck BBQ Dinner Under the Stars.

Watch this short video to get a peek at this special event presented by Wind Surf:

We were treated to this feast during our June cruise from Civitavecchi, Italy to Nice, France. The crew masterfully transformed the Pool Bar, Compass Rose, and Terrace Bar into a fairytale setting. There was plenty of seating arranged in tables for 2, 4, 6, and even several larger spaces for families and groups.

The event is weather permitting and we lucked out with a beautiful evening as we sailed out of Portofino. As guests were just taking their seats and Top Society and the Souljourn Duo were gearing up to play some fantastic music, a pod of dolphins appeared and decided that Wind Surf couldn't leave Portofino without a choreographed show that included lots of leaps out of the water and fins splashing! It couldn't have been planned any better!

We enjoyed a table for two by the pool and felt more relaxed than we had in months. Wind Surf chefs pulled out all the stops and I tried to carefully select from the buffet so I could try a little bit of almost everything. The focus was on guest favorites like lobster tails and ribs and nothing was fussy...just excellent food that you'd expect at a BBQ.

Sample Menu from Wind Surf 

Deck BBQ Under the Stars

roast suckling pig

pork ribs

beef and sausage skewers

grilled chicken

grilled filet of fish

lobster tails

crab legs

shrimp cocktail

corn on the cob

baked potatoes

fruit tempura

a variety of fruit salads

several salads

cheese tray

strawberry tarts

chocolate-covered strawberries

flan

chocolate cake

macaroons

ice cream

fresh fruit

and more

The experience was out-of-this world and just made me like Windstar even more. Everyone having a jolly old time and the waitstaff seemed truly happy to be racing all over the decks to pour drinks, clear plates, and joke with the guests.

That night the crew also put on its once-per-cruise Crew Show. It amazes me how much energy the Wind Surf team has! I can't thank the crew enough for making our Mediterranean cruise so special.

If you've ever thought about booking a Windstar cruise, I say "go for it!" This is not a luxury line but is high-end and it's definitely one of the best values in cruising today. (I've seen per person fares as low as $999 and the line often promotes cruises for an excellent price at Jetsetter.com.)

Windstar is also embarking on a massive $18 million refurbishment project, which will make these three motor-sail-yachts even more special. I'm looking forward to more shaded areas by the pool, improved onboard Internet services, refreshed public areas, and new decor in the cabins.

I'm already thinking about our next Windstar cruise... the Costa Rica itineraries look fun!

—Andrea M. Rotondo for Luxury Cruise Bible

Doc Dancing to Bali, Borneo & Singapore with Orion Expedition Cruises

It's amazing how much my mood improves whenever cruise documents arrive in our mailbox! I was out running errands the other day when my cell phone rang. It was my husband announcing that the docs for our upcoming Orion Expedition Cruises voyage had arrived! Yay! I couldn't wait to get home and read through all the materials.


If you want to take a peek at Orion's document folder, watch the short video I made. (Note that I misspoke in one section. I refer to Sarina Bratton as Orion's founder and managing editor...she's actually the managing director not editor! Sorry!)

This cruise, Camp Leakey Faces in the Forest, embarks Bali, sails the southern and western coastlines of Borneo, and disembarks in Singapore and it's one that we've been looking forward to for a long time. We fell in love with Bali last September when we visited to celebrate our anniversary and my husband's birthday. We've also had Borneo on our "must visit" list since we are very keen on seeing endangered orangutans in their natural habitat.


I've been enamored with orangutans ever since I read Dr. Birute Galdikas' memoir, Reflections of Eden: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo. Dr. Galdikas is to the red ape what Dian Fossey was to mountain gorillas and Jane Goodall is to chimpanzees. She is the foremost authority on orangutans and is the founder of the Orangutan Foundation International. She also founded Camp Leakey in 1971 at Tanjung Puting National Park and has been researching the red ape there ever since. This Orion expedition is named after her camp.


Camp Leakey is a place where scientists can research the behavior and ecology of wild orangutans and travelers can visit to interact with these apes as well as many other animals like pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys, and macaques.

Sarina Bratton, founder and managing director of Orion Expedition Cruises, spent several years researching and developing a series of Borneo cruises. The voyages are unique...mixing the best a luxury expedition ship can offer with calls on very off-the-beaten path destinations. There are five different Borneo-centric voyages and each one of them is special in its own right. They're so unique that some travelers have booked them all back-to-back.


Camp Leakey Faces in the Forest 10-Night Itinerary

• Embark from Benoa, Bali (we'll spend a few pre-cruise days at the St. Regis Bali)
• Sea day
• Two full days at the Tanjung Puting National Park (Kalimantan) for a visit to Camp Leakey
• One day at Gunung Palung National Park (Kalimantan)
• One day in Pontianak (Kalimantan)
• Two days in Kuching (Sarawak)
• One day at Bako National Park (Sarawak)
• Sea day
• Disembark in Singapore (our post-cruise stay will focus on the InterContinental Singapore)

Access to the Internet will be sporadic throughout the trip but I'll be blogging, tweeting, and posting photos whenever I can. In the meantime, I'll spend the next few weeks telling you more about this expedition cruise.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for Luxury Cruise Bible