daetchief

We are a strange lot. We are either sitting home with our High Speed Internet - posting how we are longing to be on our next cruise. Or, we are finally onboard our favorite Regent ship - Complaining we don't have High Speed Internet. 😄 I hope there aren't any guests who gleefully smile on disembarkation day "I'm so happy that I'll finally be able to watch MLB.com, YouTube or post my [whole] photo album to Cruise Critic!" [Current Op Status: 356MB Down, 26MB up; Sitting at my desk at WORK, eating a microwave meal with still water.] I'll trade you 300MB of throughput for a Pool Grill cheeseburger and a Stella!

Don't recommend the Mushroom Soup. Dangerous to consume - impossible to clean...

Deleted... Merry Christmas

I'm doing my best to pretend it is a year ago and we are on the Mariner - once again! Enjoy the ports we missed back then. Joy and Merry Christmas to you and David. Bob & Susan

Aloha, I've never seen a threatening message IRT the safety video being watched. It's usually part of the pre-cruise routine/check-in and a simple formality. Though, be advised, you WILL see it again onboard before you can view anything else on your monitor. I would guess if you've watched it and didn't get credit - you're not alone and they will understand. Enjoy your cruise.

Too often, that which people desire is not what they choose...

I've suspected there may be a 'bit' of tracking going on. A couple of times my wife and I have been approached by F&B manager, the SH or the Head Butler while dining so they could inform us of a resolution to a problem we hadn't even had knowledge of. How did they know we were in CR or SM for dinner? "Inquiring minds would like to know..."

I have it on very good authority that Andy and Tammy will soon re-appear as CD/SH on the Explorer. (And they would be very happy to hear that the products they use make them appear younger than they are... 😁 And I'm mostly referring to Andy; Tammy is forever young...)

And who says the Internet doesn't work well... 😄

The 'Gift' can be turned into a certificate that is "Suitable for Framing or Wrapping Fish"

I feel your pain. Honolulu [HNL] was once a Gateway and years ago was relegated to Accommodated. The additional $148.00 P/P- each direction is less than I could buy myself to get to SFO or LAX. You might be able to get a puddle jump flight [or train] to ORD for less that the added fee. Enjoy your cruise

On Splendor - It was a matter of the guest adding soap. You can use whatever you desire.

Requesting assistance for yourself or another in your party can be a lifesaver. 8 out of 10 times the assistants are waiting at the cabin door and will utilize methods not always available to the common traveler; such as motorized carts or a tarmac vehicle strategically staged to get your party to the next gate. It may feel like it obligates you to offer a gratuity to your assistant - but it's money well spent.

Here is my read on Splendor 667 and 669. Had friends aboard so I was able to see and exaluate both rooms. Bob Book2.xlsx

Just got off Splendor [3 weeks ago? Ugh!] and the Coffee Connection did in deed become a Wine and Puu-Puu bar. Of course the Coffees were still available. I enjoyed Lemoncello [sp] a couple of nights while passing through. Was it packed? No. A few took advantage of the fare and were seated but many seats were still available. I suspect a few patrons from the Meridian Lounge [across the passageway] were doing the Puu-puu's.

I love the Regent Experience, but the evenings could be best described by a comedian who was performing [at 9:30 PM] on Mariner: [Speaking to the audience...] Comic: "How many of you are going to hit the lounges after the show?" - 4 people clapping... Comic: "How many of you are going to bed after the show?" - 12 people clapping... Comic: " How many of you are up past your bedtime?" - Majority clapping and laughing... That said, there will be music, dancing and conversation happening in many of the lounges - even the Connoisseur Lounge. But mostly, people tend to retreat to their suites.

We showed your Splendor series to our BFFs who will be with us next week on the Splendor and they loved your style of dialog and your frankness. Your Voyager Vlog looks like it will be presented just as smooth as your last. The selling point you bring, and that which comes through, is that you are not a Travel Agent looking to solicit clients. You are a 'Guest' documenting the the experience you are having - and inviting us along.

He was last seen on the Mariner - but that was months ago...

They added a few hanging decorations of lanterns and other asian symbols. There were a few 'specials' on the menu but to be honest I don't recall exactly what they were. The crew did a passible attempt at a Dragon Dance with the usual dragon costume but they didn't have a Tanggu drum to accompany it, so the Regent band's drummer did his best approximation on a 'bongo' style drum - but it was more cometic than authentic... Hey, they tried...

I’ve been blessed to having had TWO birthdays celebrated in P7; one Wedding Anniversary in Chartreuse and even did Chinese New Year in Pacific Rim! [Year of the Boar…]. That’s where I think each specialty restaurant fits. 😊 Living in a predominantly Asian region with authentic Asian Cuisine around every corner, the only criticism my LW and I have for Pacific Rim is that they ‘emulate’ the cuisines of Asia [well] but our educated palates can tell the difference. That said; I’d be pleased to eat there every third or fourth day aboard.

I'm always amused by the obsession with having High Speed internet on cruise ships. For the AOL.com crowd, here is all that you need to do it right. 1. A fast 'land based' connection to the Internet: i.e. An Internet Service Provider [ISP] - Commercially you could have that at as high as 15Gb/s [Bits, not Bytes] 2. A satellite constellation [it takes a fairly large number of them] which can handle the throughput of that ISP's speed. - I'd be surprised if the satellites could 'talk' faster that 1Gb/s. Probably a lot slower... 3. A ground station that has an uplink/downlink sufficiently fast enough to talk to the satellites. - Think big parabolic dish antennas - but you can't go any faster than the satellite's speed. 4. A shipboard receiver suite with a [nearly] geo-stationary antenna and an uplink/downlink sufficiently fast enough to talk to the satellites. - That could also provide shade to the pool deck, or be a sail in stormy weather. 5. Don't share this connection. No, Voice, No Navigational or Weather updates; just Email and Travel Websites. [Cruise Critic..] - Don't share the internet connection with other [Regent] ships, Industries or the Government. 6. Now, after you've leased the above. [No, really, you can't afford to buy it...] do one of two things: a. Replicate it for each 6-star cruise ship or b. Take that 1GB data stream [dream?], divide that by the number of ships you want to support, and then divide that by the number of devices currently being serviced. [1Gb/5 ships = 200MB divided by 350 passengers [1/2 the guests at a time] and at best you'll see 500 Kb throughput. c. Reality: There are far more satellite lease customers - other than Regent, NCLH or even the whole cruise community put together using the satellites who are more than pleased to have SOME connectivity at sea. Onto a more manageable subject: Should I Tip my Butler? ☠️

I am assuming that Regent would want to [or need to] control any gambling onboard, but I would enjoy participating in a 4 or 6 handed poker game in the card room where the buy-in would be maybe $10.00 or $20.00 and the chips would be depreciated 'two decimal points' [i.e. a green $25 chip would be $.25, a Black $100.00 chip would be $1.00, etc.]. That way even if you're a novice poker player you could get exposure and experience in the various poker games, hopefully be able to play for a while, have fun playing and even if you loose it all; it's no worse than sitting at the slot machine. The BIG winner would have bragging rights and maybe a $100.00 in winnings. Oh well, back to reality...

(1) If you take a Reagent shore excursion, for example to Edinburgh in the morning for 4 hours, can you remain in Edinburgh after the tour is done and wander around the shops and sites? If so, is there a shuttle Regent bus that goes between the tender and Edinburgh (or any other port) to the central part of a city/town on a routinely scheduled basis? [There have been more than a few Regent Port-of-calls where there was a reciprocating van or mini-bus that departed the ship "Ex: On the Hour" and picked up for a return to the pier at a pre designated location in town "On the Half". It was very dependent on the distances involved and the availability of a service provider in that port.] (2) How does the guide communicate with the group, especially the larger groups? Do they provide headphones, communicate via personal devices, etc.? [There is a Regent App for your iPhone or Android that you use your own headphones or earbuds. I've only been on one Regent cruise post COVID and this system wasn't needed since we were inside busses for the main part of the tour.] (3) What are the advantages of small group tours beyond the obvious that there are fewer people? [The obvious stands. But, there is no guarantee that your small group won't be in the presence of other larger groups.] (4) For the British Isles, are there any ports where a private tour (for us 3 couples) makes a lot more sense than a Regent tour? Splitting the cost of a private guide 3 ways starts to make private tours more competitive, price wise. [We'll leave this answer for the local SMEs] (5) for tender ports, who gets priority tendering? Based on cabin class, Regent tour vs private tour, etc. [All tours -generally- depart from the Constellation Theater. It's based on departure time and no other criteria is used for boarding the tender or busses.] (6) and lastly, what are a couple of your top do not miss sites in any of the following ports: Edinburg, Invergordon, Kirkwall, Ullapool, Killybegs, Belfast, Glasgow, Liverpool, Waterford, and St Peter Port. Thank you. [We'll also leave this answer for the local SMEs] We'll be on 'your' cruise in a couple of weeks. Hopefully you'll get more good info from the panel. We're really looking forward to our cruise.

We've been on a couple of the ships where a DVD or Blu-Ray in the suite was a perk but we never saw it; and because the on-line library was so extensive we never asked about it. My 'belief' was that it would appear 'on-request'.

With all due respect for the germaphobes, I couldn't be more pleased. I'm hoping this will be fleet wide.