Portolan

They had them on Navigator in June.

I have to say I had a moment of great concern when I read the early part of the Regent email where it says that your cruise has been extended as we are on the next cruise and board Explorer on the 24th. Then I examined your new itinerary and realized that you are starting 2 days earlier rather than ending later. I think the new itinerary looks great with Thailand and Vietnam added. I hope you are happy with it. Of course, this change must mean that the cruise preceding yours has now been curtailed 2 days.

I will usually wear a sports coat (without tie!) somewhat because the dining venues are usually cool...at least enough that I don't feel too warm wearing it. Ms. Portolan wears something comparable so that we look like we go together. For longer cruises with "formal optional" nights, I'll add a tie. The tux has been retired.

While not happy to see this development, it may be some time before there is much impact. I'm assuming that unvaccinated folks haven't been booking Regent cruises in the hopes that the policy will change. If that's the case, then they will not likely be a large part of the passenger loads immediately as many of the near-term cruises are heavily booked so it'll be a while before there are masses of the unvaccinated, IMHO.

If you were at approximately 66°57′ N, you were above the Arctic Circle which is 66°34′ N (to the nearest minute).

Mike: Thanks for the quick reply and clarification. We're actually planning to get tested anyway since we have a fast and free PCR operation near us, but I thought that this could sow some confusion and last-minute scrambling or angst for some. Looking forward to being back on Voyager for "Spotlight on WWI and WWII."

While it has been announced that pre-cruise COVID testing isn't required as of 1 August (at least for non-US departures), our on-line check-in boarding pass completed yesterday for our 23 August Voyager cruise from Southampton states (twice) that a negative COVID test must be presented at boarding. Both an email we received dated 21 July and the Southampton-specific page on the Regent web site (updated on 20 July) state there is no requirement for a negative COVID test at boarding. The letter and web site should be definitive (and I will assume so), but if this is a case, as appears likely, that Regent hasn't updated the boiler-plate text on the boarding passes, they are causing unnecessary confusion. They should fix the boarding pass text immediately.

Besides improving your opportunities by being willing to share a table, we have had great success in the past by going by the restaurants at the time we'd like (say 7 PM) and letting the maitre'd know that we are available if they have a no-show. They'll hold the reservation for 10-15 minutes and a significant amount of the time they show us in. People tend not to do the responsible and cancel their reservations if their plans change. And, being Regent, if you don't get in you can just head to Compass Rose where, of course, no reservations are required. Since they greatly expanded the "always" and daily offerings in CR a few years ago, I can always find something I'll enjoy. Or Setti Mari (though that venue can fill whereas CR can always seat you).

Navigator has a Concierge desk between Reception and Excursions. In March, I assumed that it was a similar operation to Splendor and Explorer. Nope. They aren't able to see or interact with the restaurant reservations. They did take my request and pass it to Prime 7 (the only reservable option), and I got confirmation later. Not as useful as direct interaction where you can negotiate on time or sharing to reach a solution.

Your final cruise documents should be accurate, but there are also signs showing what ships are where. Of course if you are getting transferred by Regent either because of using their air or prep cruise night, they should have it straight. If you taking a cab, most cabbies serving the port will know where the ships are (though ours in March didn't know how to get there...non-intuitive, trust the signs for J). If driving, you may be able to use one of the ship tracking sites on the web to verify the ship's berth (after it docks earlier in the morning).

Terminal J unless another small NCL-family ship is also in port. Like one of the smaller Oceana ships which bumped us one time to the large NCL complex on the north side of the cruise port island. Hope for Terminal J.

About 85% (410 of 480? or whatever the not quite 490 capacity now) on Navigator in June. Quarantine suites were on deck 5, crew deck, but identical to standard suites without balcony. Don't ask how I know.

I'd guess the reasoning for only providing access via your TA the (erroneous IMHO) belief that dealing with a professional reduces the burden on Regent. While that might be true if the customer has no clue how to research or understand hot to evaluate options, it is clearly not true for many of us. I provide the precise details to my TA who faithfully transacts with Regent, but if there are any questions or issues, she has to get back to us and get our response. This has, on occasion, consisted of many cycles all of which could have been short-circuited if I were talking directly to the air desk. Maybe there should be an option to choose an "expert" mode where one acknowledges the issues that may arise and accepts those "risks."

We've had two cruises on Regent so far this year. Splendor in March was indistinguishable from our pre-pandemic experience. Navigator in June was not quite as good, but still at a level we found to be more than good enough. We'll be on Voyager next month and we expect to have a great time.

I will again note that while all on-board will have access to the presentations in the theater, there will be smaller activities including invitations to dine with the presenters if you specifically register (at no charge) for the program. These special events will not be listed in the daily program. You'll get invitation cards like you get for the Seven Seas Party. For the Commemorating the World Wars Spotlight on Voyager in August we have it listed as a pre-selected shore excursion on the day we sail. The Artful Travelers web site provides the code to ask for. While you can wait until you board to register, the capacity for these extra events may have been reached. We have done these AT voyages before and they are great, even without the special events.

We've sailed on both Splendor and Explorer. The differences (except maybe the theater improvements) are very subtle and don't sway our decision. We'll sail on whichever ship is going where we want to go.

These programs are done by Regent in conjunction with Artful Travelers, a PBS/NPR activity. You can read about the specific programs on the AT web site at Artful Travelers – Art and Travel Adventures. There will be an extensive schedule of programs on-board that all can attend. As described on the AT web site, you can register (at no cost) for other capacity-controlled events which will also take place during the cruise. While you can sign up for the cruise through the AT web site, you don't have to in order to participate in the programs.

Perhaps I missed this sometime ago, but the new web site lists slightly reduced capacities for each Regent ship. Not, I would think, a COVID-related thing since it's been understood that pretty much all cruise lines have been or are reducing the capacities, usually consequentially. You'd think they'd be describing the ships as they hope they will return to in the future. Or, maybe, it's a permanent decision to block a small number of suites for future quarantining needs beyond the current pandemic when it becomes endemic? If you use the Explore tab to open up each ship, you'll find: Navigator: 482 passengers, 241 suites (always stated as 490 for as long as I remember) Mariner: 684/342 (was 700) Voyager: 680/340 (was 700) Explorer and Splendor: 732/366 (was 750) Not a lot of "missing" suites or capacity. Just very curious