pappy1022

Please do experience Alaska beyond just walking around the port towns that you visit. The natural beauty is awesome. Our family did a small group whale watching tour, your ship may get close to glaciers, if not, find an excursion that does so. We also took a helicopter trip and landed on a glacier and walked around, and took a flight plane that landed on a remote mountain lake and for an hour or so, we walked around the area and had Alaska to ourselves. There are dog sledding, bear watching, salmon fishing, etc. adventures that are all wonderful. The list goes on and on. And do pick a cruise that goes through the inside passage and sit on your deck and admire the beauty all around you. It could be the cruise of a lifetime and take in as much as you can because it is a beautiful state.

I am flying from a non Gateway city and was surprised when I asked for specific flights via the air deviation process and got what I was asking for including a non stop direct flight from London to Austin. I did not pay anything additional other than the $175 deviation fee once I accepted the flights. It doesn’t hurt to ask for the best flights for your situation. All they can say is no or come back with options and it doesn’t cost the $175 deviation fee until you accept the flights.

I think they are twins and are equally as cute.

Has anyone had issues getting through airport security/customs and if so what were the circumstances and the outcome? I had a friend who was pulled over at Heathrow for a detailed secondary security check for a liquid med in their carry on. In the end they were able to keep the med but because of the delay they were almost late for their connecting flight. Is it wiser to just tell security upfront what meds you are carrying or let them do their routine check and find them by themselves?

All good advice. Thank you.

I know that different countries have different rules so for our cruise we are flying from the US to Copenhagen via London Heathrow and then getting on a Regent cruise to the British Isles. I have a combination of common vitamins and a few medications that I take daily. All of the vitamins and medications that I take are solids with the exception of fish oil, vitamin D and a weekly prescription shot injection. The shot needs to be chilled so I have a small container that has ice packs in it. Logistically, what have you found to be the best way to bring vitamins and prescription drugs on a cruise so that nothing gets confiscated or triggers an extensive security check? I was planning on bringing the prescription drugs in their original bottle that has the label as to what they are and how much is prescribed and bringing just enough to cover the trip and a couple of extra days. Do I need to take vitamins in their original container as well? I also thought that I would bring the prescription drugs in my carry on and the vitamins in our checked luggage given that the vitamins aren’t as critical.

Understood. I thought it might be a “thing” when visiting Liverpool. That’s the feeling I got from the post that I cannot find now.

I stumbled across a posting that commented that Regent had a Beatles tribute band in the Regent theater when the ship was docked in Liverpool. It went on to say that the show was at 5:30 PM and not to miss it. Do all Regent cruises that visit Liverpool have this show and if so, when do you find out if it is scheduled?

Our first ever cruise was on Regent to Alaska and our 2 college boys (young men) went with us and it is the most memorable trip we’ve ever done. Alaska is also port intensive and we booked all private excursions because at the time, Regent excursions weren’t included in the fare. It was so nice to sit down at dinner, take our time, and just enjoy the company of our family. I don’t think we saw anyone else under 40 on the ship but it just didn’t matter. We had several people come up to us and say how fantastic it was to see a family having so much fun and enjoying the company of each other. Enjoy the trip and cherish all of the special moments that I am sure you will have. Kids grow up quickly and before you know it they are off building their own lives and memories. The 2 boys also had their own room and that gave them a chance to bond as well. And as an added bonus, their cabin was next to the Penthouse suite where Patrick Swayze was occupying.

Well said Lew. I am letting them know how I am proceeding with a combination of credit card travel benefits plus and independent travel protection broker to fill in the gaps and I will let them decide how they want to get their own coverage. I assume you are a New England Patriots fan given your logo. I am a Buffalo Bills fan because that is where I grew up before moving with my company to Texas. I just can’t root for the Cowboys and I feel sorry for the Texans football team. Buffalo suffered for years trying to beat Brady and the Patriots so it feels good to be on the other side of the score for the past couple of years.

Thank you for all your responses. I have a plan now and talked to a travel insurance broker mentioned repeatedly on some boards and they guided me through my options. I now better understand the limitations of the included credit card travel insurance and will supplement it with a separate policy to cover the gaps. Friends of ours who are traveling with us on this trip are leaning toward going through Regent for travel insurance under the assumption that they will be seamlessly and better serviced by going through Regent. Is that a good assumption? Is there a benefit of using Regent to get travel insurance? Is it more expensive to go through Regent for travel insurance?

It’s a marketing ploy, nothing is free, just included in the price. I have a September 2023 cruise on the books and I looked at this promotion and even if I went down 2 classes of cabins to get the free 2 category cabin upgrade to my concierge level I have booked today, it would have cost me more to do so. These rates with this new promotion are even higher than the January price increase. I guess it would be attractive if you were booking a new cruise but every promotion I have seen since we booked in the fall of 2022, would have cost me significantly more.

What is missing from the Sapphire Reserve coverage that I need to get in the secondary policy?

If I use my Sapphire Reserve card and get $10K each of travel insurance for my wife and I, can I then add a secondary travel insurance for the remaining $10K to get to a total of $30K, which is the cost of the cruise?

$40K or $20K in total? If i only have 1 card do each of us get $10K coverage? Are you saying that if we each have a card, we each get $10K per each card?

Wes, I was hoping you would respond because I saw your name mentioned in some threads as far as credit cards are concerned. Thank you for replying so quickly. Hypothetically, if the total cruise cost is $25,000 and the Sapphire Reserve card pays $10,000 for a cancellation, do you then only have to buy travel insurance for the $15,000? Is the credit card trip cancellation for any reason or are their specific reasons that are covered?

I have seen some references to good credit cards to use for travel that come with multiplier points and some that include travel insurance, etc. as part of the benefits but I can’t seem to locate the detailed posts. What credit cards do you feel bring added benefits for travel and maybe even for Regent travel and what significant travel related benefits do you get with that specific card? Thank you in advance.

The details associated with each excursion will tell you roughly how much out of the bus vs in the bus time is spent and how strenuous it is. I tend to go toward more activity related excursions vs just looking out the window excursions. We also like to pay, via shipboard credits, for small group tours where we believe there is value associated with going with a smaller group. On our next cruise, we are traveling with 2 other couples and in 1 port, we decided on a private tour where we will see a lot more of a specific port than any 1 Regent tour. Cost split amongst 3 couples becomes pretty cost effective for a private tour. The Regent excursion selection web site is pretty straight forward and a lot better than it was just a couple of years ago when it was horrid. We too have a concierge suite and got all of our first choices on tours. Good luck and welcome to Regent. We love it and hope you do as well..

If you have Amazon Prime you can watch them when you want to.

I found a couple of years old SPA prices on this board but does anyone have a current list or point me in the direction where I could find a service and price list?

I am not a frequent cruiser on any cruise line having cruised only on Regent (2), Crystal (2) and Oceania (1). My next trip is on Regent in September 2023 and it will be the first time that I have travelled with them under the all inclusive umbrella. I have always organized private tours and have loved every one. I am a bit concerned about group tours especially the larger bus tours but I decided to try these out since I already paid for them. We prefer a smaller ship and ships that provide a higher level of service and quality and Regent certainly gives you that. When planning the 2023 cruise, I compared the cost of Regent vs other higher end cruise lines and talked myself into the conclusion that when all things are considered the price difference wasn’t much when comparing apples to apples. For this cruise, I really liked Regent’s itinerary and that is the highest priority for me when planning a cruise. Crystal is no longer a choice and Oceania was good, especially when I was paying for 5 people but a step below Regent & Crystal. Now it’s only for 2 people and absorbing the Regent cost is more manageable.

My recent experience with the Regent deviation process was painless and I am happy with the results even though I am not flying from a gateway city (Austin). I gave my TA our preferred flights and Regent came back with an alternative that works well for me. I was willing to drive to Dallas (a gateway city) to get better flights if necessary but it turns out I got better flights from Austin than my friends originally got from Dallas. We fly from Austin to London to Copenhagen on the out bound flight on BA with their new business class seats and have a direct flight from London to Austin on Virgin Atlantic on the return. Seats have been assigned with no cost for selecting seats. I know that BA charges for selecting seats even in business class if you don’t have certain BA status. As an update from my friends from Dallas, they didn’t like the original Regent air offer so they had their TA keep working with Regent and Regent came back with a better flight plan for them that was acceptable to them. The moral of the story is to keep trying until you get what works best for you.

Being around the corporate world for 40+ years, it is a big deal when the leadership of a company is replaced. Corporations will spin it in a positive way publicly but behind the scenes there are very specific reasons why leadership is changed. Sometimes those reasons are personality conflicts with the board of directors but most often it is financial performance and/or strategic direction and vision. Time will tell what is going to change but there is no doubt that changes are coming. You don’t change executive leadership and expect things to remain the same. The end result to us the customer can be a good thing or a not so good thing but things won’t remain the same. Our choices are to speculate and worry about what might change, or to accept that we can’t do anything about it and enjoy our time and experiences on Regent.

Thank you all (or y’all) for reassuring me that Virgin Atlantic is a good product. My plane is a Boeing 787-9 and I must admit that the seat configuration in business class is a bit funky and lacks the privacy, seat adjustability and storage that the more modern business class seats provide. But it’s a direct flight from London to Austin (non gateway city) and there are no additional charges, so I am happy. The flight from Austin to Copenhagen via London Heathrow via a BA Airbus 350 is acceptable to me as well. We have a 3 hour layover at Heathrow so that should be adequate. I am now trying to figure out the Heathrow process for immigration, moving between terminals and through security so any help or advice in those matters is appreciated. I read about some fast track methods to get through immigration but I am not quite sure what I have to have in place or what airport technology I have to use to make this process go smoothly and quickly. Again, any advice is appreciated. I have been to Heathrow multiple times visiting London but I have never had to transfer between terminals.

At this time the Virgin flight from London to Austin is on a Boeing 787-9 airplane. The upper class seating arrangement looks a little strange with feet hanging out in plain view as you walk down the aisle. Still it’s a direct flight and I look forward to getting back home without any connections and with no additional out of pocket cost. Is the upper class wing entrance at Heathrow easy to find? It sounds like it would definitely enhance the check in and security check processes that can get pretty lengthy at Heathrow (or any major airport).