kjbacon

In Reykjavik, we loved Thingveller National Park where the continents meet. It’s beautiful and so very different!

We did a similar itinerary on the Grandeur just a few months ago.

In Cozumel, we did the Chefs Led Tequila Tasting and absolutely loved it. It’s a shorex with an up charge but we would highly recommend it. It was fun, delicious, and educational… what’s not to like!

In Santo Tomas de Castillo, we did the Las Escabos tour. We enjoyed it and the scenery at the actual park is spectacular but note that there is more walking than you might expect with lots of steps. We were also unprepared for the level of sustained poverty as we traveled to and from the park.

In Roatan, we went to gumbalinda (sp?) nature preserve and disliked it very much. Note that we were in odd step on that. We did not like the touristy feel, especially with the sense of being taken advantage of. For example, you are absolutely not permitted to carry anything into the park and are required to rent a locker for $5 or $10. So, you guessed it that they nabbed nearly everyone with that little surprise! We also were looking for a more natural setting with the animals but found it too staged for our taste. 
 

In Grand Cayman, we did the Reef and Wreck Snorkel and thought everything about it was great. You said no scuba but don’t know if you snorkel. If you do, this was one of the better snorkel tours and we would recommend it.

Hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did!

On our very first Regent cruise years ago, we stopped at that port with every intention of going to Florence. Long story short, we were exhausted so we switched gears and went to Lucca instead. It turned out to be one of our favorite days on our Med cruise and we still talk about how much we love Lucca!

17 hours ago, bookbabe said:

Us too.  We’d love to spend six months on Splendor, but the different start and end points for 2027 are a total no go for DH.  We had hoped to swap, but we are sticking with 2026 as the itinerary is perfect.  (Yeah, I know there can be port changes, but the general route meets 100% of DH’s preferences.  I care much less, but the WC is his bucket list thing, not mine, so he’s calling the shots on this one.)

Same here. We were going to switch to the ‘27 Splendor, our favorite ship, but the itinerary just could not compare to ‘26 for what we wanted. We will probably become well acquainted as we cruise the world together!

17 hours ago, GMIAC said:

Never mind - I got the 2025 list from the RSSC website. 

 

Wow, that 2025 cruise completely skips Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Is that still considered a "World Cruise?"

Yes, but I love the intensity into South America, Japan, and some other areas that are not the “usual”. We are booked on 2026 WC. For us, as much as we would prefer Splendor, ‘26 is a better itinerary than ‘27.

On 4/23/2024 at 11:15 AM, papaflamingo said:

However... the cost of the cruise includes food and drinks, so I would suppose that 10% of the price includes food and drink... 

I think I have too much time on my hands too (at least my wife keeps telling me I do), and I can't blame it on recovering. 🤣

Hope your recovery goes well and you're back cruising soon. 

Thanks so much! Doing well and looking forward to getting back on the water.

39 minutes ago, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

We are booked on Explorer, Auckland to Tokyo, January 12-March 14, 2026.  Would love to meet if you are on that one!

No, we are on Mariner. Hopefully, another time!

Thank you @flossie009 for such a great blog. Safe travels home!

3 hours ago, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

Loved reading about your trip.  Thanks for taking the time and for all the great photos.  I have made notes to help with a cruise we want to take in 2026, and your report was very helpful!

 

Joanie

Are you looking at a leg of the WC? Perhaps we will meet!

The good and bad news is that I didn’t realize that this was not isolated to my cruise. I’ve been wondering if we were going to hear that the ship has been chartered or is going in for a repair or something. When would you get concerned when most ports have the shorex listed incorrectly on your cruise? 

4 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

If I had to guess I'd think it was due to Navigator being moved from the Middle East to the Med a while back, there was probably a ripple effect on subsequent cruises that required a reshuffling of ports.  Unlikely almost a year out, but that's all I got.  🙂

Maybe, that’s as good as any explanation that I’ve come up with!

2 hours ago, cAPS lOCK oN said:

Our Caribbean cruise on Grandeur in March has the same issue. Every shorex is scheduled for 30 minutes after the arrival in port. So a sunset cruise in Antigua is supposed to leave at 8:30 AM. There's some stops where we should be able to book 2 excursions in a day, but can't because because it thinks there's time conflicts.

 

We don't understand, but we're not sweating it, 

Yes, definitely some similarities. I also wanted to book 2 shorex in a couple ports and can’t with everything starting at the same time.

We are booked on the Navigator for March 2025 and our shore excursions, for the most part, are still not listed correctly. For example, there are ports that have every excursion’s start time at 7:00 am or 8:30 am … and that includes a dinner excursion. Another port has every excursion at 12 noon, the time we pull into that port. My travel agent has called regent and was told that they are probably waiting for better info from the land operators? I’ve never had any experience with a situation like this, on regent or any other cruise line, so I’m hoping that someone here might have some insight!

4 minutes ago, papaflamingo said:

Wouldn't  "one day short on a 10 day plus" actually BE 10% of the cruise? 

Yes but usually we board in time for their delicious carved rib lunch and an afternoon of cocktails 🍷 lol instead of early evening. I prob have too much time on my hands right now, recovering from minor surgery!!

14 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

I thought they got 25%...10% cash and 15% credit on a Future Cruise?

Yes, true, but i personally don’t think FCC’s are a substitute for actual reimbursement. 

Totally agree that it’s best to find your way to have a good time and not dwell on the negatives on your vacation.

However, coming from a Regent groupie, I’m going to throw this out there … I think that 10% off in this circumstance is too tight. It is a tad short on the actual time lost on the trip (one day short on a 10 day plus several hours and how many cocktails!) and I think some goodwill couldn’t have hurt for the inconvenience. Maybe 15% or 20%?

How many days in length is this cruise, specifically more or less than 10 days?

We will be on the Navigator for our first time in about a year (and maybe the last time if the selling rumors are true). We are really looking forward to sailing this intimate ship.

Just catching up on this but I’m thinking that it can’t be correct that one is not allowed to order two appetizers? Perhaps the server who advised that had a language barrier that hindered communication?

23 hours ago, flossie009 said:

COK-003 Tranquil Backwaters is also worth considering 

 

A very good selection of meat & vegetable curries were on offer, including all the accompaniments.

However they were not spicy; probably dumbed down for us tourists.

David went in search of something to liven up his meal and found a lady with some small bowls that he heard her say was “spice”.  He applied some to his food with very little effect so tasted some with a spoon …………….. It was sweet rice pudding for dessert 😮
David had misheard “rice” as “spice” 🙄 🤣

 

Most things in Goa are quite a long drive from the port, so we opted to just enjoy the ship.

 

That was a true lol for me … rice for spice … ha! I’m not thinking that a good curry benefited much from that sweet pudding! Your blog is so helpful, thank you. I’m a nerd, I admit it, but I’m going to start a notebook because I will never remember all this good stuff. 

Our world cruise ‘26 itinerary includes Kochi so extra thanks for the great pictures and helpful info in the shorex. We will take your advice and book the tour that you recommended. It sounds perfect for us, especially with an authentic curry lunch!

We also have Goa on our itinerary so if I may ask, were you just ready for a break that day? 

While we had a fabulous trip on the Grandeur a couple months ago, there were several aspects of the ship that were disappointing. Our cabin was terribly noisy in active seas and the self slamming pocket doors were the worst.

Finally now reading through this wonderful thread. @flossie009 your pictures and descriptions are just fabulous!

We are on the last day to decide between the ‘26 and ‘27 world cruises and we feel we are ready to stay with ‘26. We like the itinerary a little better and we have good friends joining us for one of the African legs. We wouldn’t have even considered ‘27 but the Splendor is our favorite ship. Is anyone else deciding between the two?

Our first experience on Quest was disappointing and we will be using our FCC’s in 2024. We will definitely give SB a fair second chance. I’ve been hoping that it will be a much better experience but this thread and the simultaneous thread on Solis has me thinking that might not happen. @alexandria you might want to try regent.

Bon voyage @GMIAC looking forward to following along with you!

Oh no, I am so very sorry this happened to you @crusin7

Sending all our very best to you and your husband for a complete recovery.