carolina cruisin

Have just booked our first AQV trip - Columbia/Snake River.  Starting in Portland.   Noted that AQV does not provide transfer from airport to hotel.  Any input on best options would be appreciated.

21 hours ago, cwn said:

Well everything is getting more and more costly….food, any type of travel, clothes, you name it. I except that.

If Regent needs to cut the cost of doing business to maintain their wonderful on board service at a price I can live with, I am fine with the precruise stuff coming by email and printing my luggage tags. We got three binders for our Dec cruises and they all went in the trash after we got the luggage tags out. They are bulky to pack and I am fine with getting the needed stuff by email or on the ship. The  binder looked nice but was just wasted money as were the mailers we don’t get as we took our name off the list some time ago.

In total agreement.  We discussed this very subject when we received our package for our last cruise.  Was basically a waste of money/material.  Perfectly ok with this new procedure.

We celebrated both a birthday and an anniversary on a recent cruise.  If you have a butler - really easy.  If not - still really not a problem.  To be sure - - especially if you want a "special" dining experience just mention to maitre d" at restaurant of your choice.

1 hour ago, fizzy said:

What about the couple that brings along the cutesy bunch of stuffed animals and puts them on the tables! Staff gets pictures taken with them all the time. You just can't avoid every germ.

Haven't seen that one but totally agree.  I believe most of the passengers appreciate the attention and professionalism paid by the staff.

I read it to imply that by the "manager" going from table to table - he/she is likely spreading such things as covid.  That brings up so many "what ifs" in my mind - waiters, laundry, person sitting next to you in the theater, etc.

Despite delays getting to embarkation, issues with local customs, and some rough weather - we enjoyed our Nov/Dec '22 cruise on the Mariner.  Experienced some very professional and personable staff throughout - especially in Compass Rose.

I believe, AND in my experience, is that if you book through Regent - they will do their best to get you to the ship.  I had this experience recently on a South American cruise.  Flights were delayed to the point that I would not make it to the ship in time.  Regent was proactive and booked my on a different airline and all was good. There were severl circumstances involved in this but Regent checked on us all along the way.

1 hour ago, papaflamingo said:

When Regent changed their policy and added free laundry for all, many of those who had this as a Seven Seas Society benefit came on these very boards and "suggested" that this would make the laundry turn around time very long (days not hours).  But it has had very little impact.   If you actually believe that putting your laundry in the hall by 9 am will GUARANTEE that it is back by that evening then your expectations are absurd.  In my experience it GENERALLY is back by that evening, but not always.  So it comes back the next day.  Those of you who are totally "offended" by the "breaking of a promise" are being ridiculous in my opinion.  This is a wonderful benefit that didn't exist a few years ago.  When we did a 44 night cruise in 2018 we had to pay for our laundry or do it ourself.  I thought the ability to put my clothes in the wash and order a martini to the laundry room was a pretty good benefit.  But NOTHING like putting it out for them to do and have it returned in perfect condition, folded neatly in a great box and allowing me to spend my time doing something OTHER than laundry.  

So complain if it makes you feel better, but I sure won't.  

Oh...by the way... the crew, especially the butlers and cabin stewards, work EXTREMELY hard to make your experience wonderful.  Maybe appreciate THAT rather than getting upset because your laundry showed up the next day instead of same day. 

And I can just imagine cabin stewards and butlers getting on the phone to the laundry all morning long asking them when the laundry for cabin xyz will be done GUARANTEED!   Can you even imagine the workload that the laundry personnel has to do EVERY DAY?  

Ok....let the flaming begin. 😏

Right on!  Gone are the days of running from deck to deck looking for an available washer/dryer in one of the laundry rooms.  Present are the days when I can bag up the laundry and get it back cleaned, pressed, folded, - whether it be today or tomorrow.  Thank you Regent!!!!

Hard to understand the issue in the grand scheme of things. Admittedly we have never found the laundry delivery to be “late”; but then again, we have enough clothes just in case🙂

42 minutes ago, Techno123 said:

To be honest it should be anyone who feels a bit iffy or has the snuffles should voluntarily wear a mask whether required or nor. Hand washing/ sanitising in ALL restaurants should be mandatory on all ships whether there is Covid or not. There are many other infections that can be passed on in such a confined environment

Totally agree - and then there is the "gentleman" - as previously reported - that made a "snarky" comment about me using hand sanitizer aboard a recent cruise.  It seems to me that washing/sanitizing hands is the least that someone could/should do.

Have never really had any problems sharing a table.  Every we have asked to do so - it happened.  Have met some very nice people and established some great friendships along the way.

3 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

A lot of questions around this.  It's important to fully read the email. Regarding cancellations or other air travel issues, the email states "Please note, schedule changes made by the airlines are outside of our control. If there is a significant change in schedule, our Air Concierge will find a better alternative without charging a new custom air fee." So, no, if your have a problem with your already booked flight you WON'T be charged any fee.  The fee only applies to Custom Air request.  

Is this a "money grab?"  Hardly since if you accept the deviation the $75 rolls into the normal $175 deviation fee.  So it appears it's an attempt to alleviate phone calls from people who are not serious about deviations.  We always deviate as we like to arrive early, stay over, and pick our own flights.  So if I choose to deviate then it's zero difference in cost.  I only have provide a number of options.  This is most likely to free up a very busy department and focus on those who truly want to deviate.  

As for selecting flights, as others have said, if a "non-refundable" rate isn't posted on the airline's website, then likely there is no contract seats available. But you can still request it and possibly pay an upcharge.  We did that for our upcoming cruise and it was still over $1000 per person cheaper than if I booked the flight on my own.  

And, just because you live in a hub like Atlanta, it doesn't mean Regent has contract rates on the hometown carrier.  I live in Atlanta and was trying to deviate to a cruise that left out of Sydney and ended I Tokyo.  There were NO Delta flights that Regent could offer from Atlanta to Sydney, even with an upcharge.  Just wasn't going to happen.  However we could get the Delta non-stop from Tokyo to Atlanta for no extra cost.  So it just depends.  

Bottom line is this looks more like an attempt to keep calls to Custom Air limited to those who truly plan to deviate and are not just "fishing."  And it forces us to offer a number of acceptable requests instead of one request, followed by a rejection, followed by a new request, rejection, new request, etc.  It will significantly  relieve pressure on the Air Department at a time when airline schedules and fare are in constant flux. 

3 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

A lot of questions around this.  It's important to fully read the email. Regarding cancellations or other air travel issues, the email states "Please note, schedule changes made by the airlines are outside of our control. If there is a significant change in schedule, our Air Concierge will find a better alternative without charging a new custom air fee." So, no, if your have a problem with your already booked flight you WON'T be charged any fee.  The fee only applies to Custom Air request.  

Is this a "money grab?"  Hardly since if you accept the deviation the $75 rolls into the normal $175 deviation fee.  So it appears it's an attempt to alleviate phone calls from people who are not serious about deviations.  We always deviate as we like to arrive early, stay over, and pick our own flights.  So if I choose to deviate then it's zero difference in cost.  I only have provide a number of options.  This is most likely to free up a very busy department and focus on those who truly want to deviate.  

As for selecting flights, as others have said, if a "non-refundable" rate isn't posted on the airline's website, then likely there is no contract seats available. But you can still request it and possibly pay an upcharge.  We did that for our upcoming cruise and it was still over $1000 per person cheaper than if I booked the flight on my own.  

And, just because you live in a hub like Atlanta, it doesn't mean Regent has contract rates on the hometown carrier.  I live in Atlanta and was trying to deviate to a cruise that left out of Sydney and ended I Tokyo.  There were NO Delta flights that Regent could offer from Atlanta to Sydney, even with an upcharge.  Just wasn't going to happen.  However we could get the Delta non-stop from Tokyo to Atlanta for no extra cost.  So it just depends.  

Bottom line is this looks more like an attempt to keep calls to Custom Air limited to those who truly plan to deviate and are not just "fishing."  And it forces us to offer a number of acceptable requests instead of one request, followed by a rejection, followed by a new request, rejection, new request, etc.  It will significantly  relieve pressure on the Air Department at a time when airline schedules and fare are in constant flux. 

I think you nailed it.  After reading the message several times - it appears to me that Regent is trying to streamline things a bit.  Believe if we just do our due diligence, flights can be arranged with minimal hassle.  And, as you noted, they will STILL work with you if the airlines make any significant changes.

To date, have only sailed on Splendor and Mariner - twice each.  Have never had an issue getting into any of the dining venues.  The only time I have seen a line is when a line forms waiting for Compass Rose to open.  That line is quickly taken care of.  Flexibility to times can help.

5 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

I never even noticed music in the restaurants.  I also was ok with “no“ music. 😜

I'm glad that others also missed the music in the various dining venues.  I was beginning to think that perhaps I always dined while the band was on break.

1 hour ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

I can only comment honestly on personal experiences, not on empirical statements.

 

I won't get into a fight over whether or not I saw the General Manager but the deck chair policy is most certainly NOT being enforced. I witnessed numerous people holding chairs both in the shade and in the sun.

The matter of the chair hog situation not being enforced is not 100% accurate.  Having been on the same cruise, I do agree that chairs were hard to come by most of the time - but, the situation was being monitored.  I saw a LOT of items placed on the "table" by the pool bar. Imagine it was hard to keep up but they were trying.  As stated many times, different people see things in different ways and encounter different situations.  Thank goodness for "difference".

7 hours ago, mj_holiday said:

We will be able to book excursions on April 2 for a rather long cruise future cruise.  I want to start looking at the available excursions.  When I look at my account I cannot find a way to see the excursions per ports, I only get a small description of the port.

When I go through "Find A Cruise" to get to the itinerary and excursions, I get an error statement with Regent apology and cannot get to the excursions for the port.  I realize looking at the excursions this week has no guarantee that those will be the ones offered, but it gives me time to weed through them and have a proposed excursion in mind.

Is there another way to get to the list of ports and excursions?

As mentioned previously, just go cruise itinerary and tap on ports. Excursions should appear. 

43 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

If they are using the loungers, I have no issues. 

Agree Think I at least implied that. Simply an observation. 

We were on this cruise (actually think it was the segment immediately after your experience) and definitely saw the loungers with items placed upon them.  Fortunately did not witness the above mentioned fiasco and sorry that anyone had to endure that type of behavior. While not in the same category, did note one couple that camped out on loungers from breakfast to late afternoon.  The same one every day - moving only to have lunch at a pool grill table very near their lounger.  Realize that this is within the "rules" but.... it was very noticeable.  Hoping you don't let this type of situation ruin the opportunity to enjoy Regent cruising in the future.  Luckily for us - when we decide to stretch out for a while, we are quite content to use the chairs/lounges on our balcony.

21 hours ago, Pcardad said:

I have never seen them actively enforce it on any ship...I have heard they started too on Splendor but never paid that much attention to other posts on the subject. Now i am interested to see if it actually is being enforced across all the ships.

While I saw a lot of "reserved" loungers on my recent Splendor cruise - I also saw a lot of belongings from "lounge violators" placed on a table by the pool bar.  Seemed to me that it was being enforced.

3 hours ago, Pcardad said:

Did they make you take a COVID test? If so, did they bill you for it?

 

In our case, we were quarantined for 5 days. Prescribed paxlovid.  Provided cough/cold medicine. Medical staff visited every day. Spoke with Dr. couple of times. Several Covid tests. Charged ONLY for paxlovid and insurance covered that.

18 hours ago, jeb_bud said:

Everyone has their own perspective. I tested positive on Splendor last July and got Paxlovid. I had to wait until day 5 to get tested and tested negative for the second time on day 6 and was able to go on the excursions the last two days of the cruise. I did not rebound but for those last two days outside quarantine I think I would have been okay with it. The $800 cost bothered me a little. Just last week I received an email from the travel insurance company indicating, somewhat ambiguously, that they finally decided to pay the claim. Fingers crossed. 

On the same cruise. We both contracted covid.  Received the paxlovid - it worked quickly.  We did have a minor rebound.  Glad we took it.  We have been reimbursed for the cost.  I agree with others that we should at a minimum, continue washing our hands.  Was a bit disappointed on recent cruise that very few passengers seem to be using the hand sanitizer stations available throughout the ship.  Even had one "gentleman" criticize the fact that I was using the hand sanitizer.  IMO we should all continue to do what we can to prevent another mass illness spreading around us.

Just spent 3 weeks on Splendor. Celebrated an anniversary and a birthday. I will not list all of the items our butler did for us but suffice it to say he made our trip very enjoyable - couldn’t be happier. 

Had a Horizon on Mariner in Nov/Dec 2022. No issues. 

4 hours ago, gwesq said:

Your messaging here is disabled.  I don't think mine is, so send me a message here.

@gwesq. Will send dates of games when I return home

On 2/23/2023 at 8:06 PM, gwesq said:

We settle into somewhat of a routine that sometimes doesn't allow for meeting others.  Sorry we didn't get together.

Warning for when you come to Sarasota:   I've been here since 2010 and have never seen traffic so terrible!  Tonight on Main street the traffic was backed up for blocks trying to get into the parking garage.  But it did thin out by around 7:30.   Likewise, traveling on 41 any time during the day is bumper to bumper.    I'm glad I can walk to lots of places.     Do you have O's tix? Which games? I'm hoping to go to a game or two.

Think we have wandered “off thread”. Perhaps we chat elsewhere. Will arrive Sarasota on Mar 17