ysolde

I assume Regent did not have time to arrange for a last minute excursion, though I agree, in these circumstances, a HOHO might have done the trick.

Agree with @Gilly that our embarkation in Rio left something to be desired. Fortunately, by the time we boarded the ship, DH and I felt entirely at peace. We dropped off our bags, ate lunch with a wonderful couple, and explored the ship It was the beginning of a wonderful cruise, with embarkation long since forgotten.

One of the easiest things in the day is to put on a dress and a pair of pumps in order to get ready for dinner. The make up might take a little bit more time (it's amazing how much effort it takes to achieve the "no make up make up" look 😂 ).

Oh, I should add that we have a concierge doctor, and membership there reduces the price of MedJet Assist, so that's nice. So check your doctor's website. You never know.

We travel a fair bit (we will have a total of three cruises and two other trips in 2024). so we purchase annual trip insurance with Allianz. We have not had to use it, but it appears to be fairly comprehensive. We also have a multi-annual MedJet assist policy. We also have the Citi Advantage Executive Mastercard, which has a travel insurance feature. It covers trip delay/cancelation, lost/damaged luggage, that sort of thing. I would have to look up which insurance covers what first.

I hope this is the case. Count me among those who had a wonderful time on the voyage from Rio to Lisbon a few weeks ago (hello, @Gilly!). For DH and me, it was our second time on Voyager, third time on Regent. We love Voyager, love Regent (we have a Christmas cruise booked on Mariner in December/January 2025/2026 already, and are looking to book another cruise with Regent -- we just don't know where we want to go yet). We feel like we have found a "home" with Regent -- the ships, the crew, and the fellow passengers are something quite special.

This thread is so wonderfully informative! I really appreciate it. Our cruise begins in very late November and goes into December. We start in the Mediterranean, cross the Atlantic, then end up in the Caribbean, so we have a lot of sea days in there. I'm thinking there will be plenty of Eggs Benedict to look forward to, and I like it. I am also wondering whether we can request an occasional plate of mini brownies (or cookies, or something like that) for our cabin, so that we can snack on them in the afternoon/evening while we relax on the balcony with a cup of tea, read, etc. It sounds so idyllic.

That was precisely my point. Regent should not be telling passengers they have a business class ticket with full lounge access when a business class ticket does not always guarantee lounge access.

We were just on Voyager, in a concierge class cabin. They do bring in shower chairs for you, and you can make them work, but it is a bit of a squeeze. Place the shower chair in the shower, sit and figure out the best angle. Then step out and turn the shower on, to get the shower head going at the proper angle and height (I had DH do that for me). Once that is done, step back in, sit down and enjoy your shower. The next day, do it again (or, in my case, try to shower when in port or when the ship was not moving as much, and avoid using the shower chair).

We stayed at the JW Marriott on Brickell before our last Regent cruise out of Miami. We loved the views from our room, loved the room itself, enjoyed the breakfast, and found it easy to take an Uber from the hotel to the pier (it was maybe 5-8 minutes).

DH and I love Barcelona! We have visited several times, and cannot get enough of its architectural wonders, from the Roman to the Medieval to the playful Modernisme. Its museums are incredible, and the shopping there is a lot of fun (the fashion often echoes the architecture). And then there is the food. Oh, my goodness! From simple tapas bars to high-end restaurants, the food everywhere is delicious, made with the freshest of ingredients. Enjoy!

Wow. We have the Advantage card, as well as (and perhaps more importantly) OW Emerald status, which helps grant entry to OW alliance business class lounges when flying on an alliance airline, even when not flying in business class (as long as they are not overcrowded on that day, which can be an issue). The ME3 (the three major ME airlines), are renowned for being quite restrictive in their lounge policies, and Regent should be careful in stating whether passengers will have lounge access when clearly Regent is purchasing the most restrictive tickets for its passengers. The days of the most luxurious cruise line in the world are long gone. We seem to be heading down a path of, well, you are getting international business class, at least in the air.

We put in a request for Diet Coke before each cruise. It is not in our mini fridge when we get there, but then we remind our cabin steward/ess, and the fridge is stocked and re-stocked regularly. We don't drink alcohol (DH will have wine and/or champagne with a special meal; it is contraindicated with some of the medications I take), but we appreciate having water and Diet Coke in our cabin and available at meals, as well as tea/coffee at breakfast and after meals, so we appreciate Regent's attention to detail in having our favorite soda available when we request it. I did notice Caffeine-Free Diet Coke regularly poolside during this last cruise, so it was available (either someone pre-ordered it or it was readily available). IME, your best bet is to make the request ahead of time via e-mail. They do seem to honor these requests.

We were in a G category on Splendor back in February for a one-week Caribbean cruise. It was fine, but we found it a bit narrow. Also, we were used to Voyager, where all cabin categories have walk-in closets. G category on Splendor has a much smaller closet. It was fine for a one-week Caribbean cruise, but it would have been problematic for a longer, TA cruise. Ultimately, we realized that on Explorer and Splendor class of ships, we need to book F class and above suites if we are booking a longer cruise.

We had dinner at Prime 7 last night and our waiter, Christian, recognized us, as he had worked on Splendor until recently, and we were on Splendor in February (OK, that is a bit embarrassing to admit, but we did not plan it that way -- it was just rescheduled for us when I could not take the cruise we were supposed to take in January 2022 because I caught Covid). Anyhow, Christian was delightful, and so happy to see us! The food in Prime 7 was excellent (both DH and I had filets mignons). The service was a bit slow, though we don't mind that. We are in vacation mode, and relaxed is fine. The acoustics at this Prime 7 are not great: it gets loud as it gets full. This is not a problem at the Splendor specialty restaurants. Not sure why Voyager's specialty restaurants are so loud.