With a morning at sea, I had a chance to explore another couple of decks, enjoying the artwork and noticing one or two things which had previously escaped me.

I am becoming quite the Goethe scholar, reading these German quotations which are nearly – but not quite – in the correct order.  Once again, I’m starting my route on the forward staircase of Deck 10.

One of the first things we noticed on board Explorer was the Atrium.  Most ships have a light well in this area and here it seems to us to be very un-shiplike, for some reason.  Maybe the sharp rectangular design, maybe the enclosed windows? 

Beyond that point, though, looking towards the stern of the ship, there’s a corridor on either side with suites to the left and service access to the right (vice-versa on the other side, of course)

Along these residential corridors, there are collections of really cute photographs of a bygone age.  As soon as we spotted them, we loved them and have enjoyed making a note of our favourites as we’ve moved about the ship.

We’ve imagined our parents and grandparents in similar poses, even though neither of our families would ever be able to dream of doing such things.  But the fashion, the style and the demeanour of the people is so reminiscent of photographs we have, even if ours were taken at Hornsea or Minehead!

So, at the stern of Deck 10, on the Starboard side (I think!) is the steakhouse, Prime 7.  There’s a small bar at the entrance; perfect for pre dinner drinks and the Maitre D’ is right there on hand to keep everything running smoothly.

The atmosphere is spacious and lighter than previous versions of Prime 7 we’ve known.  We like this one very much indeed and lunch yesterday was a real treat.

This was especially so with the lunchtime dessert, which came in the form of a small carousel of treats – help yourself to Red Velvet, Brownie, Key Lime Pie, Banana something-or-other, Pecan and Caramel sandwich or Pear and Blueberry Cobbler!   Take two if you can manage (we couldn’t!)   What a great way to style small, lunch-sized desserts.

Whilst sitting enjoying lunch, our eyes fell on the artwork in here, much of which was bovine-related (Steakhouse…yes?)   Knowing that a huge sum had been spent on the artwork for the ship and understanding that there were some rather fine pieces here and there, we asked Catherine, our server, if there was anything special we might look for.

She thought there might be a Picasso in the small, private dining room adjacent to our table and suggested we take a look.

This small, exclusive venue has been referred to as both The Study and as La Chambre.  It’s not somewhere we’d choose to dine, so we’d paid no attention to it until now – but if there was a PIcasso in there?  (There wasn’t)

So we asked Sergio, Maitre D’ if he knew where it was.  “Right here, behind me!” he said – pointing out the small plate-sized piece behind his desk.  “Oh, and there’s another one over there”

On the wall of the bar area…

Just next to the drawing by Chagall!

Oooo.

We thanked Sergio for a delicious lunch and the art spotting assistance.  Regent staff are extraordinary and really do go “above and beyond” in every respect.

Next door to Prime 7, on the other side of The Study, is Chartreuse, the French restaurant, occupying a similar sized space but on the Port side of the stern area of Deck 10.

Again, there’s a small bar for pre-dinner drinks.

The restaurant is designed in a slightly Art Nouveau style, with touches of chartreuse green (of course) and specially designed china (as in all the restaurants on board).

We look forward to dining here on an evening shortly, but lunch here the other day was super!

From here, then, it’s a straight walk back along the Port side corridor of even numbered suites, where the collection of photographs continues to make us smile.  Before long, I’m back at the forward staircase and have completed my walk around Deck 10!

What do you reckon so far?