Portolan

We've been platinum for several years and multiple cruises now, and for the last year or so, the only thing we received by mail were printed copies of our final cruise documents (3 pages or so) and the punch out luggage labels with the deck numbers only on them to be used when our bags reach the ship. The previous pleather luggage tags (with a window for your name exposed only...quite nice) have stopped. We have never received luggage stags that reflected our status nor would I see the point. Short of the very top levels suites, I think all luggage is delivered to your suite as fast as they can do it regardless of status. We rarely use the Regent hotel but got no special stickers the last time (two years ago). In fact, the Regent rep at the hotel had no form of luggage deck tags (which weren't received by mail in advance) and wrote our details on a regular piece of paper she stapled to the bag's handle. Needless to say, we were worried that the flimsy tab would get ripped off and the bags would go missing...they didn't. The normal ones you receive by mail look like cardboard, but they are very tough.

and, always a good idea to disconnect and remove cords and devices when you leave the suite for the day or during the morning and evening servicing... They actually say that they will disconnect devices like chargers if the stewards find them, but we haven't seen that happen.

The rule used to be 75 minutes between tours though recently it seems to be 90 minutes. If the on-line system doesn't allow this with 90 minutes between, call them. We have been able to do this many times. Once, in ST. Petersburg, we booked a morning, afternoon and evening excursion! The ship was overnighting in St. Pete. All were great and when in Russia (if that happens again) the constraints on tourist made doing only the Regent excursions essentially mandatory.

Let me add to bitob's advice: If you don't see the Culinary Kitchen classes posted when excursions open for booking, keep checking. And checking. I'd come to the conclusion that for some reason (port-intensive, lots of families, etc.) that our Alaskan cruise on Explorer next summer just wasn't offering any classes. That would have been a first for us on many Explorer and Splendor cruises. Nope. Sometime in the last week or so since I was looking at that reservation, classes were added. And booked.

We've taken a dozen or so of the Culinary Kitchen classes and we enjoyed them all. If you read the descriptions, that'll let you find the ones that match your tastes. Frequently, our choice has been determined by what was offered on the days we didn't have other plans (excursions, mostly). They are offered from 10-12 and 4-6, but not every day and sometimes only morning or afternoon and not both. When we do the mornings classes, they usually suffice for lunch since you'll prepare modest-sized portions for multiple courses. Plus paired wine. We usually follow the afternoon courses with a light and/or late dinner.

CR always serves breakfast (or on Sudays, Brunch). Even on disembarkation day. But slow as irishwitchy notes. I usually eat a light breakfast in the Coffee Connection.

Just to clarify some posts which may be confusing: the ship-to-shore phone service ALWAYS works. It's what the ship relies on for communications and safety of navigation. Wi-fi calling (which we use with AT&T) IS dependent on the separate wi-fi system and may or may not work well. It has for us most of the time. We advise those who need to reach us to call our cell phones which take incoming calls via wi-fi. If the connection is good, fine. If not, we'll call them back on the ship-to-shore phone. Besides 1 hour at Silver, 3 hours at Gold, it rises to 9(!) hours at Platinum. If you have the benefit, use it for all your outgoing calls as the quality/reliability will be better.

And, please adopt something like the VOX system with recharging stands in the suites. Viking manages to do this on larger ships than Regent. Insist that the local guides use whatever system is adopted. Most are familiar with these systems because they are widely in use. Relying on a Regent app requires that 1) people have smartphones and know how to download and install apps (yes, you might assume that by now everyone can, but keep the Regent demographics in mind), 2) people remember to bring charged phones with earphones (as opposed to picking them up from a recharging stand), 3) the guides make use of this non-standard system, and 4) Regent staff on board are prepared to trouble-shoot a wide variety of phones with different configurations and (probably) running old OS versions. The lack of use of these systems is mostly my ONLY beef with Regent excursions (after 30 cruises on Radisson/Regent). Get the VOX system or equivalent!

Pcardad: that would be great if "short order" is weeks and not months. We'll be on Explorer in New Zealand in January and would love fjord-free Wi-Fi!

AT&T wifi calling certainly does...if the wifi is working well (like not in a Norwegian fjord). This should greatly improve when the (overdue) upgrade to Starlink occurs. Unlike the current systems which utilize geostationary satellites where terrain can block the line-of-sight at higher latitudes, Starlink uses a dense network in low earth orbit which should guarantee many satellites in the field of view at all latitudes. But, in any case, if you have free phone time which ramps up to a ridiculous amount at the higher tiers (9 hours at platinum) and starts at Silver (1 hour), use it for outbound calls as the connection is more stable.

On Grandeur in September 2024 for which we just booked excursions, many had starting times like 9:33 AM or 10:37. Clearly, I think, typos since never has excursion timing been that precise. We assume/hope that the times are "rounding error" and not some total mess up which will invalidate some of our choices due to conflicts at a later date.

On our cruise, it was specifically cited as GI-related, so Norovirus.

Almost certainly not COVID from some subtle info we received. Just back to the good old days of Norovirus. Just wash and sanitize your damn hands! (We've been on a number of cruises where Norovirus arose over the last couple of decades. Never caught it, but then we were using hand sanitizer and due caution long before the pandemic.)

On occasion, the visiting artists will have CDs available after their show (possibly autographed). Never for the Regent cast shows.

Same thing a few weeks ago on Splendor (Reykjavik to Copenhagen). Ratcheted up to no self-serving, library closed, etc. I'm afraid that after COVID practices have wound down, people have forgotten the routine of hand-washing and sanitizing to prevent these outbreaks. I hope for your cruise enjoyment that people pay attention to the announcements and the curtailments are limited.

I think it is possible that Regent still has to pay many of the fees associated with a missed port. On a recent Regent Splendor cruise, we missed a port because the wind prevented docking or tendering. I wouldn't be surprised if the port basically said that it wasn't their problem and the fees were still due. Just speculation on my part. BTW, the only time I can recall getting compensation for a missed port was many years ago when we were on a repositioning cruise taking Mariner from California to Vancouver and then Alaska for the start of the summer season. Very rough weather up the west coast delayed us to the point that Victoria was skipped to keep the rest of the itinerary on schedule. We received about $300/pp as I recall.

Bill, et al, We had an interesting suite (#1000) on Splendor as an upgrade. It's the forwardmost suite on deck 10 and directly behind some senior crew suites then the bridge wing so you can see activity on the port side of the bridge since the suite has a flared balcony which sticks out farther than the crew suites ahead of it. CC Rating Template - Splendor.xls

Just lost the port call at Jude com due to high winds and rough seas. We got the word last night that we'd be docking rather than anchoring so that would have been an improvement, but the captain felt that he'd tugboat assistance (or backup) and none were available in Husavik. We've been to Iceland several times so our (now cancelled) excursion was more of a revisit rather than new experience, but we feel sorry for those on the ship who are new to Iceland for the missed opportunity. Otherwise, everything about the ship, service and crew has been fine...to including winning the first trivia contest yesterday with a newly met teammate couple. Just need a medical doctor to round out the team since we have Americans, Brits, engineers/scientists, geographers and English lit experise.

While we (as Platinum) no longer pay a deviation fee, we always let our (great) TA earn her commission and handle all the interaction with Regent regarding flights. I provide her with our preferences and she'll either get back with those flights booked or with information about the upcharge to get what we want. The only time I call Regent directly is to change shore excursions since the current system won't let you cancel and excursion if you want to replace it...though that feature is supposed to be coming to the web site. Just one of the myriad reasons we use a TA.

They are nearly gone. No US carriers still fly them. Here at Dulles, the only ones still flying are the Lufthansa 747-800's which is what we'll be on. I won't know when it'll be the last time, so take the opportunity when it presents itself.

Only wear the parka in the Antarctic and Arctic!

lprp: perhaps we'll see you on-board. Maybe at the sail-away where we usually hang around near the Pool Bar. I'll be the tall guy with a camera slung around my neck (like my picture to the left, but not wearing the bright orange parka). We are flying a dog-leg (Dulles-Frankfurt-Reykjavik) in order to have a much better business class experience (upper deck 747!) than with Icelandair. So, with an early afternoon arrival in Reykjavik, we'll likely board around 3 PM. We'd normally fly a day ahead, but in this case, the Iceland ports are ones we've visited so in a worst-case scenario of arriving late, we'll join the next day in Isafjordur.

I think only Coke products which may (or may not) include caffeine-free Coke/Diet Coke

Don't remember if it was StrongBow, but they do have (or have had) British cider.

From another thread, I think we'll be sailing together next week on Splendor. If that's the case, then it's too late for special requests through Regent HQ. Not long ago they said that 90 days was the limit for US departures and 180 days for overseas departures. However, while we make special requests, we aren't concerned that they be in the suite when we board (they are about 50% of the time). When you have your face-to-face meeting with your suite steward (usually within an hour or two of boarding), just show them what from the standard set-up that another poster described you don't want and what you'd like instead. It'll either show up later that day or early the next. Obviously limited to what they have provisioned onboard. I am on a never-ending quest to convince Regent and the Beverage Manager that the "Special Export" version of Guiness they normally stock (higher alcohol content and bitter rather than smooth) is not something a Guiness lover can tolerate. Only the "draft" in the gas-filled cans approximates true draft Guiness. (Also about a 50% success rate with this).