wishIweretravelling

This is today’s program on Splendor (if it comes through). I’ll do it in pieces.

There also is a little corner in Passages that lists the fitness classes for each day.

Another quirky little difference: laundry tags. They use a different style on Splendor, and they are MUCH harder to get off. And have harder corners to dig into the skin if you leave them on. Yeah, I’m in a grumpy mood this morning.

You get a coffee maker and binoculars in the room. Given the price differential, that’s one expensive coffee pot.

Another small difference from the other ships: at least in the Superior suites (and presumably Concierge as well, since they’re pretty much identical to Superior), the walk-in closet has a sliding door, and the closet light automatically comes on when you open it, and goes off when the door is closed. At first this seemed like a nice feature, but it has its drawbacks. Some people have said that the door slides back and forth in rough waters (we’ve only found this to happen when we haven’t closed it all the way). And, if you are changing clothes in the closet to avoid disturbing a sleeping cabin-mate, you can’t close the door unless you enjoy dressing in pitch darkness.

They will close/drain the main pool in rough waters, in order to remove that extra weight to keep the ship stabilized. The infinity pool in the aft is generally open, and is heated. Albeit not heated enough for my taste on these cooler days.

Well, apparently I’m a liar. It seems that it stays open until 4-6 pm. While that’s earlier than most other ships, it’s better than the impression I had of when it closes.

Another difference from the other ships (unless they, too, have changed since May): Coffee Connection is open only in the morning. The self-service machines are there all day, but the barista and snacks are limited to the am.

I will be on Splendor for my birthday, and plan to pre-order special dishes in Compass Rose.

A couple more observations re public spaces: —The floor in the library is a composite material, not the leather you find on Explorer. —The hallways in the cabin areas are lined with interesting photos, similar to what you see on Explorer. —Maybe it’s my imagination, but Prime 7 appears to be much larger on this ship than on any of the others, which helps make it an uncramped lunch restaurant. Re the entertainment: —Watch this name: Anne Van de Zee. She’s the lead female singer in the production cast, and is the best vocalist I’ve seen on a ship. Her voice and range are Broadway-qualify. —I was a little disappointed that Boogie & Kashia were not playing on board. No need for disappointment. The duo playing in the Splendor Lounge, “Canny Sound Duo” Ryan and Jenny are excellent.

I booked my excursions for a cruise next year on my ipad a couple of weeks ago, and it was fast and much easier than in the past. If it is a cruise of some length, do follow papaflamingo’s advice and lock in the excursions most important to you first, then go back and do the rest, just to be safe. The only downside to this is that you’ll get separate emails for each time you go in and book. I also had to call on another issue. They open at 8:30 am ET. I called promptly at that hour and got right through. However, don’t call on a Monday or the day after a holiday. That’s when it’s hardest to get through.

My friend and I boarded Splendor yesterday in Stockholm, where the ship overnighted and will be sailing out this afternoon. We are quite familiar with the other ships in the Regent fleet, but this is our first time on Splendor. We expected it to be similar to Explorer, but with some differences, and that indeed is the case. I don’t need to go into decor differences—those are obvious from the photos—but there’s some functional things that are a little different. Here are a few random ones (note that we are in a Superior Suite, so cabin observations are based on that type): —the television has a side navigation bar, making it easy to move between functions on the television. It’s pretty elegant. —the walls’ magnetic attraction isn’t strong enough for a magnet to stay, except in a small area around the beds. —for those who use the twin bed configuration, a pleasant surprise is that they designed the room with the outlets that are at the back of the nightstands also in the middle, so that the nightstand moved to between the beds also has this feature (on Explorer, the outlets are only on the sides, so the second bed covers up the outlets) —they are not using facial recognition for leaving and returning to the ship, at least on this cruise. Instead, it’s the old-fashioned card swipe. I’ll try to add other items as I notice them.

That is true of CSA/Generali. Other insurers have other requirements.

It goes to the issue of the trip interruption provisions of most travel insurance policies, which generally include provisions for having been quarantined. If you have to spend, say, 5 days of your cruise in quarantine, insurance should reimburse you for the per diem for those 5 days, plus any out of pocket expenses. Apparently, they are wanting to see proof that you didn't have covid when you set out on the journey.

I decided I wanted to hear this from the horse’s mouth (or the mouth of an employee of the horse), so called Regent. The paragraph the uses the language “embarkation travel date” means date of embarkation on the ship, BUT refers to whatever compensation Regent might provide if you get Covid while aboard and HAVE NO INSURANCE. If you have insurance, you should still get tested before the trip, because the insurance company will want proof that you were negative before you left. And apparently 3 days is the standard for insurance as well. But, most of us get insurance that kicks in when we leave home—i.e., when we get on our flights. So, three days before leaving is the relevant period there.

They did not have them in May. Interestingly, it was on the Coffee Connection menu, but when I asked for it they said they no longer had them.

If you are in penthouse or above, there is a form online you can fill out. Concierge and below, you let your room attendant know what you want when you get into your cabin. Sorry, I don't know about Virtuoso.

I’m not sure that you can even connect one to the TVs they have now.

I don’t know what ship you’ll be on, but there wasn’t one on Explorer. I doubt any of the ships have them.

Thanks. That makes sense. And helps me make sense of the postings. Great idea. Let’s start with TA. Travel Agent? Trans-Atlantic? Travel Advance?

Sorry for the off-topic, but I'm curious. I've seen you reference "past-FP" in a couple of threads. What is that?

Was it for a period in which you were quarantined on the ship, or for other expenses/losses associated with having covid?

If you want to be looking toward land for most of the cruise, book the port side.

I first discovered them on a Navigator cruise, pre-covid. And they've been on my post-shutdown Navigator and Mariner cruises. I tend to scrape off the icing--it takes away from the gooey deliciousness of the rest of the pastry.

I have yet to sail on Splendor (I'll be correcting that omission in a couple of weeks), but I've sailed Explorer a couple of times and I understand that Splendor is much the same on each of the points below. Here's the differences I note between the two. Their importance is a matter of individual taste. -Splendor has a slightly higher passenger load than Voyager (750 vs 700), but more public space to make up for it. -Splendor has one more specialty restaurant (Pacific Rim) than Voyager. -Table service lunches on Splendor are served in Chartreuse and/or Prime 7, whereas they are served in Compass Rose on Voyager. -The entry-level suites on Voyager are larger than the ones on Splendor. But once you get to the Superior Suite level (and above) on Splendor, the suite sizes are larger on Splendor, have more storage, and have double (as opposed to single) sinks in the bathroom. -There's little difference between a Penthouse and a regular suite on Voyager (other than the butler), but on Splendor there is a marked difference. -The theater on Voyager has better sight lines than on Splendor. -Splendor has a bar (Meridian Lounge) that specializes in craft cocktails. Voyager is more limited in its mixology. -Splendor has french press coffee in Coffee Connection. Voyager does not. (Am I giving away with this and the one above what matters to me?). -Splendor has an infinity pool in the aft, which Voyager does not. It also has extensive thermal features in the spa area, whereas Voyager's is more limited. -Splendor's pool deck smoking area is enclosed so that little to no smoke odors filter out. Unless it was recently changed, Voyager's poolside smoking area is open.