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wishIweretravelling

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    Triangle area, NC
  • Interests
    travel, reading
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Regent Seven Seas
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Everywhere

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Cool Cruiser (2/15)

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  1. Am currently on Mariner for the WC. Ship is fine. Not as shiny and new as the Explorer class, but definitely holding its own. Been on since Jan 6, and toilet has had a couple of hiccups that were quickly resolved. Decor a bit dated, but I am even more dated so not an issue.
  2. I have been told that Mike Moore is no longer with Regent
  3. Also mentioned that the 2027 WC will be on a ship that has never done a WC before. So not Mariner or Navigator. Bets are on Explorer. Also said that Starlink will be rolled out to the rest of the fleet by the end of 2024. And an upcoming website enhancement will enable us to revise excursion requests online. Doesn’t sound like the much-desired holistic revamp of the website is in the offing. The rest was mostly infomercial for things already announced.
  4. Whether (and how many different) excursions are offered depends on how many people are “in transit”—in other words, on B2Bs. There have to be enough people to make it worthwhile to set them up. Then enough people have to sign up to make it worthwhile to run it.
  5. Someone authoritative. Will tell you when o see you. - Crystal
  6. If we are unable to safely us the Suez Canal, the re-routing will have to begin well before we are in that area. We have heard that the drop-dead timing for the decision is before we reach New Zealand. It’s a bit mind-boggling to consider what must go into such a drastic re-routing. It’s not just the changes for passengers embarking or debarking the affected segments. Crew changes have to be reorganized. Whole new sets of excursions must be arranged. Provisioning of supplies need to be rearranged. Changes in fueling, removal of waste. Entertainer and lecturer changes. Pilot arrangements. Changes in needed visas for passengers and crew. And probably a few dozen other things that none of us will ever know about.
  7. Cutting back on marketing is about as “pound foolish” as it gets. Even if the brochures don’t get read, they keep the Regent name in front of you. Yes, they can (and do) use online media as well, but given the primary age demographic of luxury lines, print still has marketing value.
  8. Agree to put yourself on the waitlists. If a waitlist option is not offered on the website, call Regent (or have your TA call Regent), and ask to be added to the waitlist. Have the names and dates of the ports, and the titles and numbers of the excursions at hand when you call.
  9. Just to be clear: any alcohol that can be ordered in a bar or restaurant at no up charge can be ordered for the room. There’s generally very satisfactory choices without having to resort to the reserve list. But, if you have OBCs to burn, go for it…..
  10. The halibut entre at the gala dinner was outstanding.
  11. I find that every cruise differs in terms of which venues wind up crowded.
  12. Seriously? They need the flexibility to meet the needs/preferences of all their guests.
  13. In the category of waaaaay more than you wanted to know, here is an update of a piece I posted here last year: REGENT CRUISE ORIENTATION & TIPS Cabin Selection -On most or all of the ships: -Concierge suites are identical to Deluxe Balcony (on Voyager, Mariner, and Navigator) or Superior Suites (on the other, newer ships), with perhaps slight differences in balcony size. The differences are the amenities that come with the cabin, like an included hotel night stay and a coffee maker in the room. (However, if you book or upgrade to concierge close to the sailing date, the hotel night is generally not included.) To many, the biggest advantage of a Concierge level is earlier access to booking excursions (365 days as opposed to 300 days) and specialty dining (75 days as opposed to 90 days), as well as 4 wifi logins per cabin (as opposed to 1 per cabin in suites below concierge level). However, those at the Silver level (21+ nights) or above in the loyalty program already get the earlier access, and Gold (75+ nights) get the 4 logins. -Beware deck 10, specifically those cabins under the pool deck. Lots of morning and evening noise over your head as chairs and tables get shifted around to start/end the day. Many of these cabins are upgraded categories like penthouse or concierge, so if you get offered an inexpensive (or free) upgrade to a level that is on deck 10, make sure it’s not an under-pool suite unless you don’t mind that shuffling noise. -Carefully consider if you want to be on the lowest passenger deck, particularly on cruises with a lot of sea days. In rough waters and when sailing on open seas, the balconies there can get a good bit of sea spray and some occasional wash. Also, the further forward you are on this deck, the louder the noise of the anchor raising and lowering in tender ports. That being said, the smaller size of the older ships, particularly Navigator, means they don’t need to tender that often. -Cabins all the way forward, with forward-facing balconies, may be required to keep their balcony lights off and their forward curtains closed at night if they are below the navigation bridge, as the lights can interfere with visibility on the bridge. Check on this before booking such a cabin unless you won’t mind this limitation. Also, forward-facing balconies may be subject to strong winds when at sail. -Specific to Mariner: -Avoid bathtub-only cabins if you are tall or short, or have mobility issues or problems with knee or hip flexibility. The bathtubs are raised, making them hard to get into and out of for people who are short or have mobility or flexibility problems. They are awkwardly set next to the sink, so that the trick of sitting on the edge and swinging your feet around doesn’t work because the sink is in the way. For tall people, the shower head is at the standard height despite the raised tub, meaning you have to squat to get fully under the shower. Opt instead for a shower-only bathroom. The showers are quite large, because they are placed in the footprint of what used to be a bathtub. -Specific to Navigator: -This ship has a notorious vibration in the aft cabins, which is most pronounced when entering or leaving port and on the higher decks. Some people actually like the vibration (free “magic fingers” for your bed), but most do not. -Deck 6 is a favorite location for many people because it is convenient to many of the popular venues on the ship yet the hallway where the cabins are located is quiet. All the cabins on this deck are forward. However, do be aware of the deck 5 and 6 concerns in the “all or most ships” items above. -All the cabins on deck 5 and all the port-side cabins on deck 6 are window-only. No balconies. This is the only ship in the fleet that is not 100% balconies. Know Before You Cruise/Packing -Have a special need or request? Ask for it in advance. There’s no guarantee you’ll get it, but you stand a better chance with advance notice. If you ask for it when you’re already on board, if it isn’t on the ship, you definitely won’t get it unless they can procure it at one of the ports. Examples are particular beverages or food items or kettles for tea-making. -Regent ships are set up with primarily American tastes and preferences in mind. So, imperial rather than metric measures are usually referenced, temperatures are often given first in Fahrenheit, and tea kettles are not standard in cabins. -Electric outlets are sparse, particularly on the three older ships (Navigator, Voyager, and Mariner), and can be well-hidden on the new ships (Grandeur, Splendor, Explorer--look around and under the nightstands). Each cabin has some outlets that are U.S. style and some that are European. U.K.-style outlets are rare. To maximize outlets, bring a universal converter and/or a power strip (but NOT one with surge protection) or multi-outlet plug or charging port. -Only the newer ships (Grandeur, Splendor and Explorer) have USB ports. To my knowledge, none have “C” wire ports. -The only outlet in most if not all of the bathrooms is a razor plug that cannot handle anything more powerful than a razor. A decent hairdryer is provided, but must be used in the sitting or bedroom area and not the bathroom. -Each cabin is entitled to at least 2 bottles of alcoholic beverages at the start of the cruise, and will be replenished throughout as needed. In suites with butlers, you can make your request via an online form prior to boarding. In other suites, you can ask your room steward once aboard (you can have your travel agent make the request beforehand, but that’s hit-or-miss). Your steward will hand you a list of the bottles offered, but you can ask for something different, and usually it will be provided if they have it on board and it is one of the included brands served at the bars. -What clothes to pack? Dress code is Elegant Casual after 6:00 pm everywhere except the pool deck. And of course your cabin. Basically, this means no jeans or shorts or scruffy t-shirts. Collared shirts are required for the men (polo shirts are OK—they have collars). Cruises of 16+ nights have a formal optional night. Which means that, if you want, this is the time to pull out your gowns, suits or tuxes. If not, the elegant casual reigns. I rarely see true formal attire, but some do wear it. Go with what suits you, as long as it meets at least the minimum requirements. During the day, wear whatever won’t get you arrested. Included Air All of the following are for U.S. residents only. I understand that Regent operates its air program differently in different countries, but I’m only familiar with how it works in the U.S. -Regent’s website displays two fares—on that includes airfare and one that does not. For U.S. residents, included airfare is business class on intercontinental flights and economy on domestic flights. If you have to take a domestic flight to connect to an intercontinental flight, the domestic flight might or might not be first class. Regent does not guarantee an upgraded flight on the domestic segment(s), but my personal experience has been that I’ve always gotten one. Others, however, have reported sometimes being booked into economy on the domestic segments. -You can specify the flights you want in advance. However, unless your Seven Seas Society status is Platinum or above, this will trigger a custom air fee as discussed below. There are arguments for and against doing this, particularly in these times of airline unpredictability. In the past, the argument in favor has been that you stand a better chance of getting the flight you want if you request it as soon as possible. If you don’t request it, Regent makes the booking closer to the time of departure, and you have fewer choices for alternatives if you opt for custom air at that point. The arguments against are the cost and the fact that, these days, chances are good that the airline is going to change or cancel your flight anyway so why pay more to be back in the situation of having little choice in your flights. -There may be additional charges for airfare in these circumstances: ~There is a surcharge, currently $124.50 each way, if you are flying from/to a non-gateway airport. The gateway airports, from which this charge does not apply, are ATL, BOS, CLT, DEN, DFW, DTW, EWR, FLL, IAD, IAH, JFK, LAX, LGA, MCO, MDW, MIA, MSP, ORD, PBI, PHL, PHX, SAN, SAV, SEA, SFO, TPA, YUL, YVR, YYZ. ~There is also a surcharge, I think $175 per person, for custom air (aka the “deviation fee”). This kicks in if you fly in or out on other than the days of embarkation or debarkation and are not using a Regent hotel program. It also is charged if you reject the arrangements that Regent offers you or you specify to Regent what flights you want. ~if you change your name (including spelling changes) within 1 year of departure, Regent charges you $500 (this is a new policy). ~If Regent does not have a contract with the carrier you want, or its block of seats on the flight you want is sold out, there may be a significant additional charge in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars. -Transfers to and from the ship are part of the included air, but only if you are flying in and out the days of embarkation or debarkation or if you are going to a Regent-arranged hotel or land program. In that latter case, Regent provides transfers to and from the hotel as well as the airport. Boarding -While there’s no tipping expected on board, if you hand your luggage to a stevedore at the dock, a tip is expected then. The stevedores are not Regent employees. However, if you are using Regent’s transfer via bus, usually the transport takes care of handing off the luggage, so you won’t have any opportunity to tip since you won’t interact with the stevedore. -Regent now does on-line check-in, but there’s still a final, abbreviated, process at boarding. Depending on the port, you’ll either do the final check-in at the terminal or on the ship. If it’s done on the ship, it may take place at some tables near where you enter or they might send you to the theater to do it. -On most cruises, your cabin won’t be available until sometime in the 2:00-3:00 range. They will announce when cabins are available. In the meantime, usually you can get lunch on an upper deck in La Veranda or the Pool Grill. (On rare occasion, Compass Rose , on a lower deck, is open on embarkation day instead of La Veranda.) La Veranda generally closes around 1:30 or 2:00, though it often is kept open a bit longer on embarkation day. The Pool Grill usually is open until 4:00. For beef eaters, the carving station usually has prime rib on embarkation day. You can also get a snack at the Coffee Connection at any time during the day. -Your bags might be waiting for you when you get to your cabin. Sometimes they are delayed if there’s a lot of luggage or slow baggage handling on the dock. If your bags aren’t there when you get into the cabin, they should arrive shortly thereafter. -Not long after you get to the room, your steward (and butler if you have one) will come by to introduce him/herself and give you the rundown. S/he may take special requests at this time, or come back for them later. Things like what drinks you want/don’t want in the refrigerator and what two bottles of alcohol you want in the room are the usual items for requesting. -Upon arriving in your cabin, check that your bed configuration is what you requested (i.e., twin or California king) and that any other special requests are in place. If something is wrong or missing, mention it to your steward or butler. It usually will be fixed by evening at the latest. -Your excursion tickets should be waiting for you in your cabin, or will be delivered shortly after you get there. Review them carefully, and talk to Destination Services if anything is wrong or you want to make any changes. One of the few times you’ll see lines on Regent is at Destination Services on embarkation day. Unless your issue is immediate or you are afraid of losing out on a popular excursion, hold off until later when the lines are smaller or gone. -Regent has discontinued the in-person lifeboat drill (aka muster). Instead, you are asked to watch a safety video when you do your on-line checkin. When you board, you are asked to check in at your muster station before a certain time, just so you know where it is. You are then asked to watch a video on your in-suite television. Finally, at a give time (usually 5:00 pm), there is a ship-wide announcement from the captain and cruise director that once more reviews the safety procedures. Dining -Opening hours for all the restaurants and bars are listed on the back page of Passages, the daily newsletter. The hours can vary, particularly during the day, so do check. -Between meal venue open times, you can get snacks from room service or Coffee Connection. The ice cream bar is usually open (and the ice cream is made on the ship), and there’s usually cookies to be found in various locations. Then there’s tea time in mid/late afternoon. And, during the pre-dinner hour, waiters circulate in the bars, offering salty snacks and hors d’hoeuvres. Breakfast -Breakfast venues are La Veranda (the buffet restaurant), Compass Rose (the main dining room), the Coffee Connection (continental breakfast), and the Pool Grill (limited, supposedly “healthy” selections, but a good place for fresh smoothies). If you want a peaceful, low-key breakfast, go to Compass Rose. But be aware the pace is often slow, so it may not be a good choice if you have an early excursion. -When dining in La Veranda (the buffet restaurant) or the Pool Grill, get your table first. (I know, this is considered rude on some other cruise lines. On Regent, it’s expected.) Claim your table by moving the napkin to the back of the chair and putting something on the table (I usually use the folder with my room key if nothing else is at hand). Note the table number, because you’ll want to give that to the person taking orders when you order anything freshly-made, so they know where to deliver it (no, you do not need to stand around and wait for it). That being said, I’ve found that the waiters rarely have a problem finding me if I forget my table number, as long as I can tell them what side of the restaurant I’m on. -If, like me, you dislike the coffee they bring around in the dining rooms (and through room service), ask for a Café Americano or something like a latte to get barista-style coffee. On Grandeur, Explorer or Splendor, you can also get a French press in Coffee Connection (or through room service if they have enough available). -The orange juice that they bring around at breakfast is packaged. You can get fresh squeezed if you ask for it. -The best omelets are from the omelet station in La Veranda. The ones from Compass Rose (the main dining room) or room service can sometimes be a little rubbery by the time they get to you, due to internal cooking as they make their way from the galley. -On Sundays, caviar is served with breakfast in both Compass Rose and La Veranda. You can also request it from room service. If a sea day falls on a Sunday, a lavish buffet brunch may be presented in Compass Rose, usually starting around 11:00, on Grandeur, Explorer and Splendor. It also has been known to turn up on the other ships as well, but not as consistently. -On Saturdays, there is a build-your-own Bloody Mary stand in La Veranda at breakfast. -If you use the hang tag to order room service breakfast, you can write onto it anything you don’t see listed that you think they have on the ship. This includes the better coffees and fresh-squeezed juice mentioned above. -Room service often does not bring the little things you’d think would be automatic, like butter for your toast or cream for your coffee. So do remember to explicitly include these items in your order. Lunch -Available lunch venues vary by ship and by whether it is a port or sea day. On all ships, La Veranda is almost always open for lunch, as is the Pool Grill. They are near each other, so you can get your food in one and sit in the other if you’d like. On sea days on Grandeur, Splendor and Explorer, Prime 7 and Chartreuse usually are both open for lunch. On port days, one or the other is usually open. On Voyager, Mariner and Navigator, Compass Rose is usually open for lunch on both port and sea days. You can also do room service or pick up something light in Coffee Connection. Dinner -Dinner venues that don’t require reservations are Compass Rose and Sette Mari (the Italian restaurant that is La Veranda during the day). Compass Rose’s menu has one page that contains an extensive list of a la carte items that are available every day, including items that most diners would consider a treat (e.g., escargot, lobster tail, Dover sole, etc.) and a page of daily specials. Compass Rose is the main dining room, but unlike on some cruise lines, some of the best meals on the ship can be found here. -Seating in Compass Rose and Sette Mari is open. You just go in whenever you want during open times, and indicate whether you want to be seated with others or alone (or with a group you’ve already formed). Sitting with unknown people can be fun, and gives you a chance to get to know more people. Regent seems to have this down, so that you don’t have to wait a long time for a table to form and everyone is being served at the same pace. There’s usually no wait, or at worst a very short wait, for a table in Compass Rose. Sette Mari can be a little harder to snag a table quickly, since it uses only one side of La Veranda. Your best chances are to arrive right when it opens, or much later in the evening. 7:00-8:00 is the most popular stretch of time for people trying to get tables. -All other alternative restaurants require a reservation. They are Prime 7 on all ships, Chartreuse on all ships except Navigator, and Pacific Rim on Grandeur, Explorer and Splendor only. You can make one reservation per venue ahead of time online. Once on the ship, you can get additional reservations if available by going to the dining reservations desk. Your chances of getting another reservation and/or getting an in-demand dining hour are increased if you indicate you are willing to share a table. -If you know at the time of making your online dining reservations that you want to share a table with specific people, you can make the reservation for yourself and those other people online, as long as you have their booking number. That reservation will, however, count toward their pre-cruise reservation limit. Wine -Early in the cruise--often the first sea day--there is usually a wine tasting that features a fairly extensive selection of the included wines that will be poured in the dining rooms during the cruise. If nothing else, it can give you an idea of what wines to request if you don’t care for what’s being featured that evening. It’s usually held around 10:00 am. Yes, you read that time right. The head sommelier on a recent cruise claimed that this is because the palate is at its cleanest in the morning, so you get the best sense of the wine. Or something like that. -Many cruises offer a lunch at which premium wines or champagnes are paired with each course of the meal, as the head sommelier explains the qualities of each pour. And, yes, they will re-fill your glass if you want, but keep in mind that you will be drinking at least 5 different wines. These lunches cost extra (in the $179 neighborhood), but on-board credits can be applied to them. These lunches are not usually widely publicized, since they try to keep the numbers limited. They are often mentioned at the wine tasting described above, and you can sign up there. Otherwise, just ask a sommelier about it--the earlier in the cruise the better. -If you don’t care for the wine being poured with dinner, you can ask for any other included wine. Or, if you want to pay extra, a wine from the premium list. Entertainment & Activities -Most evenings, there is a 9:30 show in the Constellation theater. It might be a revue presented by the on-board troupe or a headliner such as a comedian, magician, singer, instrumentalist, or other such talent. It generally runs about 45 minutes. Every so often there will be a movie shown instead of a live show. -At times, local talents from the port will come on board to present a show--usually cultural in nature. The times for these will vary depending on the ship’s schedule in port. -Toward the end of the cruise, usually on the last or second-to-last night, the crew will present a show called Krew Kapers. It’s usually at 6:00 or 6:30, and is followed by a farewell to and from the crew as a whole. It’s quite entertaining and fun the see the people who have served you so well show off their talents. It generally runs about 30 minutes. It tends to be very well-attended. -There is also evening entertainment in the lounges, and it can vary as to which lounge hosts what. Usually, a pianist will play at a venue before and after dinner, a duo or small band will entertain somewhere (with dancing encouraged), and the Regent Orchestra will play for dancing before and/or after the show (they usually are onstage accompaniment during the show). There also may be karaoke or a disco later in the evening, Liars Club, or a themed dance party. -On Grandeur, Explorer and Splendor, the Meridien Lounge features an extensive craft cocktail menu. Only a limited array of these cocktails is available in the other lounges. -Other entertainment usually ceases during the show in the Constellation Theater, and resumes after the show. -During the day, particularly sea days or other periods when a number of passengers can be expected to be onboard, there will be other activities. There’s almost always a destination lecturer who will talk about the history, culture, geography, etc. of the regions and ports being visited. There may be other lecturers as well. The officers might challenge the passengers to deck game competitions. There also might be an afternoon movie in the theater, or bingo, or some other such pursuit. -Every morning you can pick up a crossword, sudoku, and mensa quiz to challenge yourself. And, each afternoon is a team trivia event. Mensa answers are given at this time too. -Instead of prizes for trivia, mensa, and games, winners are given points that they can then redeem toward the end of the cruise for their choice of prizes like hats, t-shirts, bookmarks, etc. How nice the prize depends on how many points accumulated. Watch Passages for the announcement of when and where the prize redemption takes place. This is one of the few times you will see a line on Regent, since the best prizes go first, so line up early to get your pick of the best. -There usually is a Captain’s Welcome Aboard and Captain’s Farewell party on each cruise, as well as a party for Seven Seas Society (loyalty program) members. There are usually special items on the Compass Rose menu on these evenings. There is also often a special event for the Society members at the levels of Gold and above on each sailing. -On usually the second or third evening aboard, Regent holds a block party. At the sound of the gong--usually around 6:00 pm--you are asked to grab a wine glass from your cabin and step out into the hallway. Stewards will then come around with wine and snacks, and you can then introduce yourself to your neighbors. A group of senior officers will come racing through to meet everyone. Excursions -You can book excursions in advance online. Most are included, but some have an upcharge. These are called “Regent Choice.” You can use onboard credits (OBCs) for them. Do not assume that the Regent Choice excursions are better than the included ones. This is not always the case. They are usually longer, involve some element that costs Regent more than the average to add them in, or are unusual enough that the cruise line must pay a premium to offer them. -One type of Regent Choice excursion is the small group (SG) tour. The upcharges for these generally range from $49 to $99. If the tour is mostly on a bus, or involves a lot of free time, a small group is probably not worthwhile. Regent usually doesn’t completely fill a bus, and rarely puts more than 30 people on a given tour, unless it’s a port with limited infrastructure. Where the small group can be worthwhile is on walking tours or when going to a small or crowded site. -Excursions may be cancelled if not enough people sign up to make them worth running, the operator can’t get the staff for it (an increasingly common occurrence in the emergence-from-covid environment), or if conditions like weather make them unsafe. Or, of course, if the ship is unable to call at the port. -When you are able to book excursions online depends on the type of cabin you have and your loyalty program status. The earliest is one year in advance. If a tour is sold out, you can request to be put on a wait list, and then book an alternative. If the wait list clears, you will automatically be moved to your waitlisted excursion. Select the waitlist before you select your alternative. If you do it the other way around, you may be blocked from selecting the waitlisted tour because of a time conflict. -Excursion waitlists do clear most of the time. Either someone drops out, or they add more groups. So don’t be discouraged if you find something waitlisted--you’ll likely still get it. One exception is the extremely popular sites to which Regent can only get a limited number of tickets for a given day. Examples are Alhambra in Granada or the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Another increasingly common exception is where covid shutdowns resulted in tour personnel finding other work, leaving operators with an insufficient number of guides or, more often, qualified drivers to go around. -You can select more than one excursion in a day, provided there are at least 75 minutes between the end of one and the beginning of the next. Sometimes the online system still won’t let you book the second one even though they are further apart in time. When this happens, call Regent during normal business hours, and they will override the problem for you. -The online excursion booking process is, at the time of this writing, excruciatingly slow (though this has improved somewhat), full of bugs, and counter-intuitive at some steps. This is being worked on, but it is not clear when it will be fixed. In the meantime, if you find the process too frustrating, you can call Regent and have them book the excursions for you. They usually will ask for a written list that gives name/date of port, name and tour number of excursion, and time you want if there are multiple times. You also will need to give your booking number and the name(s) of the person(s) wanting the tour. People on the same booking can book for one another. -Excursions usually meet in the theater, though sometimes (primarily in the afternoon) on the pier. The ticket that was delivered to your room should tell you where to meet and at what time. If the meeting place is the theater, it will be the lower level, and you should enter through the doors on the right (starboard) and exit through the doors on the port side on all ships except Voyager (which has only one set of doors to the theater). Get there a few minutes early, and go to the desk in the front to swap your ticket for a bus or group number, then have a seat. Then, someone from Destination Services will start calling specific tours. When your tour is called, proceed ashore to find your bus or group. -If you want to be in the same tour group as someone else or as several people, have one person turn in the tickets for everyone who wants to be together, and ask for the same bus/group for all. If your tour is meeting on the pier, that usually means that you’ll be meeting your tour guide directly, and you’ll just give your ticket directly to him or her. -If you are really anxious to get on a certain excursion, and have not been called from the waiting list, go to the meeting place a bit early the day of the tour and let the Destinations Services people know you are standing by to take the place of any no-shows. This is mostly likely to work on included tours--people frequently just don’t show up when there’s no monetary penalty. On Regent Choice excursions, the more expensive the tour the less likely it will have last-minute no-shows. -You can swap tour tickets with someone else. No one checks that your identity matches the person on the ticket. -Many excursions have free time after the guided tour. Make sure you know the exact meeting place at the end and that you get there on time. In many cases, they simply cannot wait for you more than 10-15 minutes, so you could get left behind. -The tour descriptions usually do a pretty good job of describing any physical challenges that may be presented. If you have any doubts about your ability to meet those challenges, talk to someone in Destination Services. For example, if it’s a place you really want to see but the tour involves climbing a lot of steps, you might want to ask if those steps are all at once, or a few here and a few there. Or you could ask if you’d be able to sit out the climb and meet the tour again when they get back down. Don’t just assume the tour group will come back to the starting point--they often don’t. -If you plan not to return to the ship with the tour, please tell the guide so s/he is not frantically looking for you at the end. -While tips are included in your fare on Regent, the tour providers are independent contractors and thus tipping is usually expected for the guides and drivers. If you don’t have local currency, and you are in a place where the currency you have (such as US dollars or euros) is not happily welcomed, please increase your tip amount accordingly since you are shifting the cost and burden of currency exchange onto the guide and driver. Odds & Ends -Sometimes the ship must skip a planned port, usually due to bad weather, unsafe tendering or docking conditions, technical problems, or political unrest. Do not expect compensation for a skipped port, other than a refund of any amounts paid for a Regent Choice excursion. It’s just one of the things about cruising that one must accept. If a port day suddenly becomes a sea day, the staff will scramble to add onboard activities to the day. -If you own at least 100 shares of NCLH stock, you can get an extra onboard credit (OBC) of $100-$250 per cabin (depending on the length of the cruise). You do need to submit a form with proof of the stock ownership prior to the cruise to get it. You can do this directly through Regent or through your travel agent. At least 30 days ahead is recommended, but you might want to do it earlier in order to use it for items you can advance book that the credit can be used for. - Hands-on cooking classes are offered on Grandeur, Splendor and Explorer, but do cost extra. You can book these online prior to the cruise, but they tend to sell out quickly, so keep an eye open for when the bookings are made available. You can use OBCs for these. -The TV in your cabin is your friend. In addition to the handful of television stations (primarily news channels) that the satellite might or might not pick up, there is a substantial listing of movies to watch on-demand, and a good many functions operated from it. You can review your account. You can look at the menus for that day for each of the restaurants. You can watch recordings of the lectures if you missed them during the day. A continuous loop of excursion descriptions for the next few ports is on one channel. A webcam from the bow of the ship gives you the Captain’s view. You can catch the morning show presented by the Cruise Director, shown through the day on a continuous loop. You can tune to a channel that gives you information like the temperature and ship’s heading. -Very few announcements are broadcast into the cabins. They can, however, be heard on the decks, in the halls, and via the view from the bridge webcam channel on the television. Announcements are kept to a minimum--you won’t get a constant barrage of “Bingo starts in 10 minutes” or that sort of thing. You might, however, hear about a whale breaching off the starboard bow or some other unexpected thing that the Captain or Cruise Director thinks passengers might want to know. -On sea days, the Captain makes a noon announcement on, well, whatever the Captain wants to talk about that day--usually something informative like where the ship is, where it is headed, and how fast it is going. One Captain likes, for some odd reason, to inform us of the water temperature in the jacuzzis. Some captains also may give a little talk on port days prior to setting sail. -Wifi has four speeds: okay, slow, miserably slow, and nonexistent. Which it is depends on where the ship is located, how many people are on at a time, where on the ship you are located, and whether the internet goddess Olga is in a good mood that day. Streaming anything is out of the question. Zoom? Nope (unless you pay for the enhanced wifi, which you must pay for for the entire cruise). Things like uploading photos or (heaven forbid!) videos or downloading documents are unlikely. It’s good for only the most basic functions, like email. That being said, StarLink is gradually being installed throughout the fleet. As of this writing, it is operational on Grandeur and Mariner. The jury is still out on the extent to which it will improve the situation. -Currently, the spa experience is very un-Regent-like, though the thermal facilities on the new ships are included and very much the luxury experience. While there is virtually no in-your-face sales pressure elsewhere on the ship, the current spa operator seems exempt from this low-key approach. Your treatment or service will conclude with an effort to sell you products. Staff will offer a “tour” of the spa facilities if you so much as make eye contact. While the tour might touch on the terrific thermal facilities on Grandeur, Splendor and Explorer, it is primarily a sales pitch for paid services. Plus, tips are not included for services. The operator adds an 18% service charge on top of the listed price, and you are given a space on the receipt to add more. -For a while on some of the ships, you needed to put your face up to a facial recognition scanner upon entering and leaving the ship. That seems to have largely disappeared, and the ships have returned to the need to swipe your key card instead. Oh, and those cameras you see unobtrusively hanging in public areas around the ship? They are tied in with the facial recognition system. If someone on staff needs to find you in a public area, they can do so quite quickly. -Grandeur, Splendor and Explorer utilize the mechanism for lights in the cabin that you see in newer hotels, whereby there is a slot next to the door where you must insert a card for the lights, TV, etc. to work. While the idea is to use your key card, this isn’t practical where there are 2 or 3 people in the cabin and the one whose key card is in the slot wants to leave. Many people use some other card, or even a business card, in that slot. -If you lose your key card (or lock it in your cabin), the front desk can make you a new one in a matter of seconds. -If you don’t ask you don’t know. Or, put another way, it can’t hurt to ask. For instance, someone on the ship may be able to fix something you brought with you that is broken. I’ve had a suitcase handle and a sandal fixed by the mysterious “carpentry department.” Check with your steward, butler if you have one, the front desk, or the executive concierge. -No one (I hope!) will shame you for it, but wearing a lanyard marks you as a Regent newbie. There simply isn’t a need for one, because you don’t have to pull your key card out for every little thing. - Cabins on the port (left when facing forward) side are even numbered. A trick to remember this is that the words port, even, and left all have 4 letters. The right side of the ship (when facing forward) is starboard, and the cabins on that side are odd numbered. To remember, none of the words starboard, right, or odd have 4 letters.
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