PaulaJK

CWN. That is good and necessary service. We have enjoyed it previously, including on Regent. It just was not our experience on Mariner, Sept 23. I write this in the hope that R will explore the policy as articulated on Mariner. ..and hopefully, amend it.

I am quite familiar w port inspired wheelchair issues. Commonly, when the cruise line does provide the service, a wheelchair passenger is taken by Crew to the end of the line’s gangplank where port personnel then take over. Indeed, this was our recent experience in Miami when debarking Crystal Serenity. it has been our experience on all other lines that we sailed. However, that was the service that Regent did not provide. Again, they did not provide a wheelchair from the ship to the end of the gangplank. I like Regent but I have the sense that they are cutting back, including here.

We debarked Nov 13 th. Cruise had 4 dance ambassadors who were in Palm Court every evening and at dance classes (& dinner tables). These classes were directed by the the dance duo, accompanied by the production staff. While the enrichment speakers and guest entertainers were not pre listed, they were excellent and very well received. I found the enrichment more eclectic and, perhaps, more contemporary than some university style lectures of old. This was a cruise to the Caribbean so I am unsure and interested as to the offerings on other itineraries such as the WC. Hope that this assuages some worries.

Ivi, I hope that you will try the tortello ( the pasta pictured above). It is filled w braised short rib. The sauce involves fig jus and the white sauce is gorgonzola. This dish is an example of the whole transcending the parts. Yummy!

Do not know how I did this but missed it…and had tons of positive things to say. It really was a very good cruise…and how nice to be able to report that.

i also had trouble navigating…moi…and from your comments, I think that I May have missed items as I didn’t find areas to comment on food or enrichment. Will just have to sail again to warrant another survey!

No, it has a rating scale 1-10. It had pages of questions, some seeming vague or repetitive. topics included embarkation/disembarkation, cabin maintenance, ship appearance, reception service, shops, price points and similar.

We have received the post cruise survey…which puzzlingly does not ask about cuisine, food services, specialty restaurants, enrichment/ lecturers, or entertainment nor does it have space to give special mention to staff members.

Lyn..interesting. Does Trieste have an actual port area which you can access independently? We sailed R out of Venice in August but we had to check in at the old terminal and then be transported by bus to Fusina. We were warned not to proceed independently to this commercial port. Trieste must be a more favorable option as Fusina made the embarkation quite annoying.

Not certain whether the above fly in plan would work as ( Aug 23) cruise check in was only at the Maritime Terminal in Venice, then a bus transfer to Fusina. Does Trieste have an accessible port area?

Yes, disembarked Serenity today. Kudos to Crystal for the easiest disembarkation we’ve ever experienced. If you weren’t on a airport transfer “go directly to the gangplank” at very fair pre selected time. (8:30-9:30)

I hope that you caught JFox’s show tonite…nothing less than fabulous….What an energetic, talented, dynamic performer. He showcased the talented artists who had influenced him.The band was quite animated accompanying him and the audience was with him. Terrific! I found myself thinking that Crystal should do away w the productions/ cast shows and simply present two talented performers. It seems that many productions are overwrought (this cruise’s Broadway show) and the casts often seem generic. Just my thoughts.

The above is a post I wrote but forgot to submit. Life on board has been happy. Having never seen John Joseph and Bob Ray, we really enjoyed their presentations. Also enjoyed judge’s talks.Have not been very positive about other entertainment. I do not even ‘get’ tonite’s schedule of a 30 min show at 6 pm and a 25 minute show at 9:30. Joel Shire in the Avenue has been great,as always. Our dinners have hit high notes w much attention to presentation. We would have been happy to receive a few of these in Michelin restaurants! My octopus app was circular in presentation w every circle decorated, some w pieces of edible flowers…incredible. Service in MDR is excellent, in Uma less so.Agree re the lighting there. Waterside is closed for lunch when in port. We miss it. We are not buffet fans plus find the seating in Marketplace uncomfortably jammed, making the service anything except rekaxing. Frankly, we travel another line w a buffet area w white cloths, spaced tables,an a ility to order hot itens, etc..but not as good a salad bar or desserts. Our CC meeting was warm and friendly…thanks May B. The tour in Tortola was a negative experience..many concur. ps The white chocolate ice cream is ti swoon over.

Have appreciated the above posts. Shared the wait times of Ibis; they seemed longer than I recalled. After check in we were told not to go to the MDR as it was full. The buffet in the Marketplace was fine but we missed the first lunch ritual. Many familiar faces among the staff w greetings, hugs, merriment and good service. Once sailing, the ocean expressed itself..better now but not quite calm. Staff is happy to have a good head count. Ship in tiptop condition. We thought that we had booked a classic Aquamarine but found ourselves in a very pretty new look suite. Kind butler whom we knew. Good service in restaurants but our menu selections were a but bland . HBulacker is HD,Vorland, Captain, Paolo maitre d, Raphael is CD. Passenger mix looks good. 2 very good lectures thus am. All we need is sun!

This voyage departs CPT, has stops in the Indian Ocean before visiting several UAE countries. Each country has its own currency. To keep changing will be challenging, at best. Are US dollars or Euros accepted in some of these countries? Larger purchases will be made thru a credit card…so I am mostly thinking about small purchases in souqs and tour gratuities. There are 2 segments. 3 formal nights are listed fir segment #1 and none for segment #2 which also has several sea days. Any clue? And if you have a crystal ball, how likely are tour waitlists to ( maybe) clear. Thanks. Paula

Perhaps starting Nes topic w your dates might help

Daisy, A wonderful story…glad for you…and kudos to Crystal on many levels. It reminds me of disembarking Serenity in Sydney. I had neglected to empty one cabin drawer filled w clothes …brain freeze. They called us at the Four Seasons and a Crystal staff member walked the clothes over to the hotel. Some things you don’t forget.

The air credit is set by Regent. In my experiences it does not cover the cost of your booking your own flight. having now read these many posts, I think that we will try deviating next time, up-charge or not..at least to compare options. Flights have become breath takingly expensive.

SkyTL..right on…pretty much our recent experience on Mariner except we experienced a lot of Disappointing dishes be they tepid or chewy or overly cooked/ salted. Caused me to feel no regrets in disembarking…sad..we have enjoyed Mariner in the past. It was not an orchestra but rather, a quartet. Lounge entertainment was limited. Mariner seems to have issues. We hope that they are attended to by R.

Absolutely..also near Short Mills, Millburn, Livingston and a few other towns

St bart’s snorkel cruise worked for us but we have stayed on the island.

Hello NYC. We are Short Hills Mall locale. The one you mean? Yes, very interested in Lonedaddy’s MBA mention. I guess surprised since not MBA..but I can say that world of mouth is very strong here…in malls, clubs, etc.

Another vote for Jude…perfect elocution, energetic, fruendly and organized. Her social staff lets her down by clustering together and chatting w these other.

Wow on all of those missing items. We had the blahs over our Aug/Sept cruise on Mariner and also left w the feeling of ‘nothing special’ except for the crew. No sparkle! But even we had a block party ( multiple days in ) and Sunday w caviar and champagne. No on deck BBQ or dance party. CD Jude was out and about although her social staff clustered together ..certainly no officers. Regent may be using ‘port intensive’ to cut back on guest entertainers and events. There were 4 cocktail liunges with two entertainers. One member of the orchestra/ really a quartet/ played in the 3 rd lounge after the show…rather sketchy. When there is nothing exciting or memorable or special, I think the negatives become bolder. Folks invest their vacation time and significant dollars and want to come home saying that was terrific. I have no idea of the source of these changes but R should be concerned reading these posts which mostly are from folks who have sailed previously.

I’m under the impression that Regent may use more than one hotel in a location but correct me if I am mistaken. Many of the hotels that board members are commenting negatively about are located in cities with many offerings. .Since Regent sells a package..and heavily advertises same..that includes a night in a hotel, perhaps they should not be scheduling embarkation where that is impossible and thus not in line w their advertisements eg Barbados. We are platinum on R and hope to continue sailing this line but after our cruise on Mariner and reading these current issues I am thinking that R’s pr advertisements are not being confirmed operationally. I would love R to prove me wrong.