carolina cruisin

23 minutes ago, gwesq said:

Enjoy your 2nd week. Wish we were still on as we were having a wonderful time.    I agree with you that the weather was good.  There was one area of the ship that really excelled, but I rarely saw anyone partake:  GINO up in the Observation Lounge after the evening show.  There were usually no more than about 15 or so people up there. He is tremendous!  I felt bad that he was performing to so few people.  The only really bad part was that we got to watch the Eagles lose!  😞  

At least the Eagles played. Was a good game. Sorry we never hooked up. Gino is good although have to admit we didn’t see him as often as we would have liked. Just got underway. Will be home for a couple of weeks after this cruise then back to Sarasota. Take care. 

9 hours ago, kjbacon said:

Good morning, Miami!

 

This was a great cruise and yes, there were a couple flaws. The weather is finally perfect and it’s a shame that it was so bad for most of the trip. I have to agree with gwesq about provisioning. They have indeed been out of a few things, bananas the most noteworthy for me.

 

We had our farewell dinner in Pacific Rim with Mudhen ❤️ and had one more wonderful time together. I was so excited to have my favorite duck and watermelon salad that I nearly licked the plate clean before realizing I didn’t snap a picture. The lobster tempura was delicious.

 

Overall, this cruise was excellent. Service was outstanding, hold for one department. Food was very good, often excellent, but there were some misses. The included wines have really improved and we found several we enjoyed very much (too much?). I may do a detailed review once home and settled. We are already looking forward to our next Regent adventure later this year! Safe and happy travels to

all.

Other than it being windy just about all of the time, I thought the weather was good. In my glass half full world I enjoyed the food, some more than other. Service great. Best production cast I have seen recently. We will be staying on for another week. 

2 hours ago, gwesq said:

It's a beautiful Island. Took a private tour today all around the various neighborhoods, seeing the architecture, public art, flamingos, etc.    As you said, FLY EAGLES FLY!      4 Hours!   

We to have had mostly great meals. Just one hiccup so far. 

16 hours ago, gwesq said:

Yes - we’re on aruba tour to ostrich farm, and on sunday will be at super bowl party ( i assume they are having one) wearing my eagles cap and “It’s a Philly Thing” T shirt at the party.  

Will be on the look out for you!

On 2/7/2023 at 11:03 AM, gwesq said:

Interesting.  Is it possible these days with the TSA rules to book a cruise this late?  I know it used to be that people would drive to the port & find a cruise to get on. I didn't think such was possible anymore.

 

IF you join, we'll see you onboard!

Enjoying ourselves to date. We should try to meet up for a drink. 

3 hours ago, RachelG said:

I like the idea of the crab cakes for a main course.  I always end up eating too much and get full before the main course in 

8 hours ago, kjbacon said:

Everything continues to be wonderful, except for the weather. We are in quite the storm and it is expected to last all day again today.

 

Yesterday, we had lunch in chartreuse and dinner in Prime 7. Highlights from lunch included the goat cheese appetizer and the onion Gruyère tart on salad.

 

 

We had a very nice Bordeaux at Prime 7. The complimentary wines have improved. The tomato soup amuse bouche is always one of my favorites.

 

 

The crab cake appetizer converted to a very good main course with the addition of sone truffle fries.

 

Today we will be bouncing around a good bit again and have the wine connoisseur’s lunch.

We are onboard and riding along. Everything so far is great, except the weather. Should calm down later today. Looking forward to Aruba tomorrow. 

2 hours ago, -Lew- said:

 

A lot depends on whether your plans coincide with those mentioned by @CruiserFromMaine.  We're on the 7-day itinerary right now and have not experienced what he has related.

 

Your 7-day coincides with school vacation in the Northeast, so there may be more kids sailing than usual.

Thanks to you and "gwesq".  Am not going to get overly concerned.  We can always find a quiet spot and doubtful we will be involved with any late night revelers.  Just a note to keep in mind for future cruises.,

16 hours ago, TWA bluesy said:

Thanks, I guess we fell threw the cracks.  I called Regent and was told they sent the packet to my travel agent who claims he did not receive them. We board in 13 days so I guess we'll just show up.

Received packet for our Feb 8 cruise a while back.  Have experienced your stated issue.  Found that Regent actually sent the package to the TA's corporate office.  They had to overnight to me.  Since bringing this to everyone's attention - have been receiving packet directly on subsequent cruises.

18 hours ago, BettyDol said:

I sure agree with "Cruiser from Maine" about avoiding BTB cruises with a 7 day segment.  Pre Covid  we were on a 17 day BTB cruise on Voyager in the Caribbean.  The first 10 day segment was a wonderful Regent experience.  On the second 7 day segment 75 passengers stayed on. The remainder of the passengers consisted of 2 corporate "incentive" groups.  Each group had 300 people. One group consisted of Realtors with families included. This group was Ok with the exception of monopolizing several public spaces.  The other group was an Insurance Company and was made up of 25 to 30ish couples.  They were a NIGHTMARE. Examples included partial nudity, vomit, broken glass and beer bottles IN  the pool.  One night in Prime 7 we were seated next to a table of 6 for a 9 o'clock reservation.  That table ordered 18 entrees for 6 people, at 9 0'clock.  We felt so sorry for the Staff.  Suffice to say none of the 75 continuing guests were happy.  I now personally avoid any 7 day Caribbean Cruise.

Now you have me a bit concerned.  Do not recall reading about these issues previously - but imagine it has been addressed.  We are about to embark on a btb out of Miami - with the second leg being 7 days.  Thank goodness we have a balcony to retreat to if need be.  Will remain optimistic and enjoy ourselves - and hopefully meet new people.

15 minutes ago, mrstanley said:

What Terminal is the ship docking on February 8th???

From the paperwork I received - Terminal J

11 hours ago, asnaleah said:

Concierge 

• FREE Valet Laundry Service
• FREE 1-Night Pre-Cruise Hotel Package Including:
  - FREE Ground Transfers
  - FREE Breakfast
  - FREE Porterage
• INCLUDED & UNLIMITED WiFi includes up to four logins, four devices, per suite
• Luxurious Bath Amenities
• Interactive Flat-Screen Television and Direct-Dial Satellite Phone

• Vanity and Hair Dryer

• Regent Plush Bathrobes and Slippers

• Personalized In-Suite Mini-Bar Set-Up

• Priority Online Shore Excursions and Dining Reservations

• 10% Discount on Premium Wine and Liquor

• 5% savings on Pre- or Post-Cruise Hotel or Land Programs

• 5% savings on Regent Choice Shore Excursions

 

Superior

• FREE Valet Laundry Service
• FREE Unlimited WiFi includes one log-in, one device, per suite*
• Luxurious Bath Amenities
• Interactive Flat-Screen Television and Direct-Dial Satellite Phone

• Vanity and Hair Dryer

• Regent Plush Bathrobes and Slippers

• Personalized In-Suite Mini-Bar Set-Up

 

Unlimited for 4 devices kicks in at gold status. 

Will concede to that list.  Will say those words do not always appear in the brochures/booklets - and they do appear in the SSS listings.  No matter - believe we are fairly in agreement.  Have a good day

5 hours ago, asnaleah said:

If extra WiFi devices are important to you, I suggest checking the pricing between Superior and Concierge. Concierge comes with four log-ins, Superior just one. So, the pre cruise hotel, transfers and extra devices may be worth it. Enjoy!

I believe number of wi-fi devices is based on SSS status rather than type of suite

8 hours ago, jeb_bud said:

Congratulations on the insurance claim. I wish we had used your company. We keep getting emails telling us they can’t proceed because they need more information, but they don’t say what they want. When I call to ask, the agent says something like “huh that’s weird, I can’t see anything missing. I will escalate and get back to you in a couple of days”. After that radio silence until the next email about unspecified missing info. I’ve traveled this loop several times. It appears they don’t want to pay and are giving me the runaround  until I give up. 

If it's reimbursement for the medication, I would recommend not giving up.  That part of reimbursement was "fairlyu" easy for us.  There have been oher situations not so much.  Good luck.

6 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

A friendly physician prescribed it for our Oceania cruise Dec/Jan. Fortunately avoided it. There are a number of drugs that have interactions.  But it does work --in 3 to 4 days you will test negative on an antigen test.

We contracted covid on July cruise.  We were prescribed paxlovid and it definitely had quick results.  And yes, we were billed $800 pp - and was covered by our travel insurance.

3 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

My daughter (Navy LT, Nurse) is just over halfway through her 2-year tour there and has definitely been taking advantage of being there - lots of hiking, scuba, traveling, etc. - it's really a great 'stepping off' point for Pacific travel opportunities.  It can be a tough assignment, but there are also a LOT of positives.

Responded on a different thread but agree with all you mentioned.

3 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

Probably a little of both, I think...

 

I was doing my best impression of the internet speeds on Regent ships...  😁

Guam will do that to you.  Mentioned previously - Lived there for 3 years.  One of my favorite duty stations

4 hours ago, GOARMY said:

kwag girl:  

 

I believed we have sailed together in the past.  

 

As to future:  At this point, Navigator in late May at NYC for a B/t/B to/from Montreal.  

Then, September: Explorer, Vancouver, B.C.-Tokyo w/stay-over.  

Two Grandeur segments, one in August, 2024; the other, January, 2025.  

 

While on Navigator, may sign-up for others.  

 

GOARMY!

 

Will be a year behind you on the Vancouver - Tokyo sailing.  Will be interested to see how your trip goes.  GoNavy  - lol

1 hour ago, CruiserFromMaine said:

There’s a saying that “The third time’s a charm” but for us “Third time’s a Splendor” Let me explain.

 

We first booked the Splendor for April 2020. We were looking forward to  trying Regent since we’d heard so many good things about them and the Splendor was a brand-new ship at the time. We even got our “Splendor Inaugural Season” document holder but then Covid forced Regent to cancel. We eventually got all our money back and rebooked for January 2022. We got our Splendor Inaugural Season” document holder once again but with Omicron on the rise, Regent let us postpone and carry our deposit (actually the cruise was paid in full at that point) to another cruise. That cruise, our third try, sails on January 21st; we’ll be on for 18 nights on a back to back, which is our longest cruise to date.

 

We’ve been on a couple dozen cruises from resort ships (aka "mass market") to luxury and found that at this point in our lives, we prefer the luxury or at least premium lines. We’ve been on Crystal and Silversea for luxury lines and enjoyed them quite a bit. It's hard to describe, but we like the "vibe": not having to pull out a card for every drink order, excellent service, excellent food and wine and at least good to very good entertainment. Nicely appointed smaller ships (i.e., not 3000 pax). Some enrichment lectures are important too.

 

I’ll be posting as we go along. For any others sailing on the cruise—absolutely feel free to chime in!

 

We are flying from Boston to Miami on American Airlines on Thursday morning. We’ll have two nights in Miami at the AKA Brickell, one of which is included with our Concierge class suite. We took advantage of a two-category upgrade deal when we booked. We live in Maine but like to fly from Boston to start a trip since there are much better nonstop options from there. And we definitely like to get in a day early, two if we can, given potential weather issues this time of year. We’ll actually stay near Logan airport Wednesday night since we have a fairly early flight Thursday morning.

 

We’ve enjoyed reading the recent great reports here about the Splendor and are excited to get on board to experience the great food, service and entertainment!

Will be right behind you on the Splendor - looking forward to your input.  We were on the ship back in July and enjoyed the time.

19 hours ago, Carol From California said:

We booked this tour in April, 2022 for April, 2023. There are four of us doing the tour. We booked with Ken S. At Tours by Locals. You can find him on the website. He was recommended to me by someone who did the same tour with him a few years ago. He has excellent reviews. Here is our itinerary:

Meet at the cruise ship terminal in Kobe at 6:30 - via train or taxis - Sannomiya JR train station ( 7:00 ) - via JR conventional train - Kyoto station ( 8:00 ) - taxis - Golden pavilion ( 8:45 to 9:30 ) - taxis - Tenryuji temple ( 10:00 to 10:30 ) - Bamboo path ( 10:30 to 11:00 ) - lunch ( 11:00 to 11:45 ) - taxis - Kiyomizudera temple ( 12:45 to 13: 30 ) - taxis - Fushimi-inari shrine ( 14:00 to 14:30 ) - taxis - Kyoto station ( 15:00 ) - bullet train - Shinkobe station ( 15:45 )- taxis - cruise ship terminal ( 16:00 to 16:30 ). 

 

As you can see, we are starting very early so we can include these 5 main sites and taking taxies between them. And we will take the bullet train coming back.  
 

Thanks.  Am sure you will have a great tour.

11 hours ago, Carol From California said:

We booked this tour in April, 2022 for April, 2023. There are four of us doing the tour. We booked with Ken S. At Tours by Locals. You can find him on the website. He was recommended to me by someone who did the same tour with him a few years ago. He has excellent reviews. Here is our itinerary:

Meet at the cruise ship terminal in Kobe at 6:30 - via train or taxis - Sannomiya JR train station ( 7:00 ) - via JR conventional train - Kyoto station ( 8:00 ) - taxis - Golden pavilion ( 8:45 to 9:30 ) - taxis - Tenryuji temple ( 10:00 to 10:30 ) - Bamboo path ( 10:30 to 11:00 ) - lunch ( 11:00 to 11:45 ) - taxis - Kiyomizudera temple ( 12:45 to 13: 30 ) - taxis - Fushimi-inari shrine ( 14:00 to 14:30 ) - taxis - Kyoto station ( 15:00 ) - bullet train - Shinkobe station ( 15:45 )- taxis - cruise ship terminal ( 16:00 to 16:30 ). 

 

As you can see, we are starting very early so we can include these 5 main sites and taking taxies between them. And we will take the bullet train coming back.  
 

Really appreciate the information.  Looking forward to hearing how your trip and tour(s) go.  Our current schedule has in port for a day and a half or so.  Looks like you will be hitting all of the top spots.  Good luck.  Happy New Year.

1 hour ago, Carol From California said:

We are booked Tokyo to Tokyo April 11, 2023. Our cruise includes a 3-night pre-cruise stay with some tours. The hotel Regent puts us up at is the Tokyo Hilton. We booked all our excursions with Regent except for the full day that we have in Kyoto. We booked a guide with Tours by Locals. This way we will be able to see more places than Regent offers on their tours, and we also will be taking the bullet train (one way, back to the ship). If anyone wants the name of our guide let me know. 

 

We originally booked this cruise in 2018 for a 2021 sailing. Obviously that one was cancelled so we moved the booking to 2023. We've waited a long time to do this cruise and are looking forward to it.

We will be taking this cruise as a BTB in 2024.  Would be interested in hearing of your travels and information re your tour/guide

tks

9 hours ago, zak477 said:

We were on the Splendor this past January and crew members stood at the sinks at the entrance to the La Veranda and you had to actually wash your hands before going to the buffet. We were back on the Splendor in April and this practice was stopped.  

In October we were on the Mariner, 9 days LA to and back, Mexico and no washing at all. No hand sanitizer crew and you had to look for a sanitizer dispenser. 

I agree with the original writer that oh so many no longer wash their hands and sneeze without covering the faces. Not just on ships but everywhere.  Forget covid, it is just lazy and thoughtless for others. 

 

On the Mariner Nov/Dec - hand sanitizers all over the place - outside elevators - at each entrance to dining venues, etc.  And staff member present to remind you. IMHO - a good idea that should continue

3 hours ago, Pcardad said:

I was on at the same time and found everything to be excellent with the exception of the pool bar waitstaff being overwhelmed on some days. I spoke to the F&B Manager about it and it was better the next day and remained better. Not worth reporting.

IMHO - it really depends on whether your glass is half full or half empty.

12 hours ago, ssawjo said:

We were on the same cruise as your Turn 8A.  We used the Pool Grill a few times and found the service good and the food was very good.  However, if you wanted french fries with your cheeseburger or whatever, you were out of luck.  They usually had baked potatoes or something else.  On those rough sea evenings, it was fun watching the pool splash away!

Interesting re the french fries.  Just finished a cruise on the Mariner and we got french fries at the pool grill whether we wanted them or not.  Had to ask to hold them on those occasions when we did not want them.  Perhaps it was an issue with supply chain to a particular ship.

I don't tend to "aim" comments at anyone - just responding to comments made.  So sorry that anyone has a bad experience on any of the Regent ships - at any of the venues.  I was just relaying that I did not encounter this problem and would go back to the pool grill for lunch or dinner anytime.  In fact - just did so on the Mariner during our recent South American cruise.  Happy Holidays to all.