ysolde

We are sailing TA on Viva and went with a non-Haven suite (not a club balcony suite -- a full suite, just not in the Haven), since the reviews of the Haven on Viva have been less than enthusiastic. We do have access to the concierge and butler. The concierge should be nice. The butler, less so. I am well aware we don't have to accept the drinks package or the dining package. Given that the beverage options without a soda package are less than what I got in my college dorm (which was a pretty basic set-up), I think this says it all about the current cruise experience. DH and I enjoy a bit of variety in our food. Depriving ourselves on a 16-day TA, knowing the better food options are in the specialty dining venues seems like biting our own noses. We always end up purchasing the extra wi-fi minutes. It has turned out to be difficult for us, post-Covid, to hire outside excursions. I have a mobility impairment and use a small, collapsible wheelchair to get around. I can get into taxis, cars, buses, etc. Never had an issue prior to Covid. On our first cruise after Covid, when there were few excursions on NCL, we made arrangements with private excursions more than a year and a half in advance. Corresponded with the excursion owners personally, back and forth, several times. Paid our money. Were assured the wheelchair was not an issue. Were even told. they had a close family member who used a wheelchair and they completely understood. Of course, this was almost two years out, when Europe was desperate for tourist money. The day before the first of our excursions, I received an e-mail. DH was welcome; I was not. My money was being refunded. DH was livid. He said he was not leaving me alone in our cabin for six to eight hours while he went on an excursion of the south of France the next day and tried to determine whether there was any way I would be welcome in Barcelona. Anyway, forget Barcelona. They were lying to us. We had visited several times, and few cities, even in the US, were as accessible. I e-mailed them and told them DH would not be joining the private excursion. We did not even try finding taxis in those ports. Sometimes, you just feel entirely defeated.

We're getting way off-topic here, but I will say that the prices NCL is charging for suites (not Haven) are really pushing it, when you consider the fact that it is a mass market line (hence, we will be paying our own airfare, we have to purchase our own excursions, we have to purchase internet packages, we have to purchase specialty dining packages, we have to purchase soda packages, coffee and tea packages, etc.). When you start to add up all the additional costs, Regent looks quite reasonably priced. The only thing included in NCL suites class is breakfast and lunch in specialty dining restaurants (is it every day? Not sure), which sounds great, except it had never occurred to us to go to breakfast/lunch at a specialty dining venue on NCL. This seems to be new to Prima/Viva class ships (or perhaps we had not heard of it). It would be a much better value for us if they included the soda package or gave us a few nights' worth of specialty dining. I suspect that they are providing this specialty dining at breakfast and lunch because, apparently, the buffet is notoriously small on this class of ship and they are looking at ways to ease overcrowding.

Meh. He's older and he is picky. I'm not going to fault him for having his idiosyncrasies.

We've just booked a (non-Haven) aft suite. We have a 16-day TA and need a bit of extra room. We like the size of the cabin. Can't imagine paying Haven prices for what Ben and David experienced. I don't know whether the non-Haven suite perks will be worthwhile (supposedly, there is butter and concierge service, as well as breakfast and lunch as specialty dining restaurants included). I am seriously at the point where I would prefer sodas, specialty coffee, tea, and water included, and maybe some basic wine.

DH and I had a similar conversation this morning. I had asked our travel agent a question about the cabin I had selected on the Viva (a Forward facing mini suite, whatever they are calling mini suites these days). She sent a video to answer my question. I showed DH the video, and he said the cabin was too narrow for his taste. Find out how much more for an entry-level (2-person, non-Haven) suite. So, I contacted the travel agent. It is a 16-day, late season TA cruise in 2024 (from Lisbon to San Juan). I found the price difference eye-wateringly high. DH, however, found the original cabin uncomfortable: small and narrow. He wanted the Aft Suite. And I knew if we didn't book it, he would be unhappy all through the cruise. So I had the travel agent book it for us. I felt DH's stress level lower immediately. And I know it's within our budget. I find the fact that at this price point, NCL still charges us for sodas, tea, and coffee ridiculous, but this is why we have mostly moved on to Regent.

Thank you, Flossie. Point taken.

And that is as it should be. When we use terms such as "disabled person," we are putting the disability before the person. Just as when we say someone is "confined to a wheelchair," we are saying the wheelchair is confining the person when, in reality, a wheelchair is a mobility device. When someone says they are close to lots of "disabled people," it really makes me question just how close they are to them, because they have just referred very dismissively to people they are supposedly close to and care about. That was the point of my original post. Hope that clarifies things.

Most people with disabilities (for the last twenty thirty years now) use the term person with disability rather than disabled person. Disabled person implies that you are defined by and are nothing more than a disability. Person with a disability means you have a disability and also have an interest in theater, museums, classic movies, couture, art history, the Crisis of the 14th Century, and fine dining. If you see me as nothing more than a disability, how likely are you to sell me the most appropriate travel experience? How likely are my husband and I to approach you more than once? Our travel agents take my disability into account, but see me as a whole person, with interests that they cater to. This is why our trips to Israel and Vienna were unforgettable. If you cannot see that, you are doing your clients a disservice.

Interesting. You even refer to people as disabled, as if they are entirely defined by their disability, which, IMHO (as a person with a disability) says a lot about how you see people with disabilities (including those who are friends and close relatives). JMO, take it or leave it.

The truth is, especially in international travel, sometimes things go wrong. And sometimes everything seems to go wrong. Let me tell you the story of our everything went wrong when we were heading home trip: We were supposed to fly Turin-Milan-Frankfurt, spend the night in Frankfurt, then take the FRA-JFK flight in the morning on AA. Well . . . our flight (on LH) out of Turin kept getting delayed, and no one had any answers. And I mean no one. Was it mechanical? Weather? What was going on? Hours upon hours later, we were given hotel and meal vouchers and put on the first flight out of Turin in the morning. The 6:00 am to Paris. From there, we would be in Frankfurt "in no time." The LH crew could not understand our panic. We had a 10:30 am flight out of Frankfurt and would be arriving around 9:15. Plenty of time, they kept saying, even with my wheelchair. We pointed out we were flying out on AA, which is in another terminal. If you have ever flown out of FRA, you know that this is not an easy task. The wheelchair pusher tried her best to help. We were last off the plane, and she rushed to help us pick up our luggage and then get us to the terminal where AA is located. We just missed our flight check-in by ten minutes. Oh, well. There was a flight to Philadelphia with business class seats available leaving in about an hour and a half. We snagged the seats, checked in our luggage, and were off to the gate. The poor wheelchair pusher . . . We made it to PHL (not my favorite airport), only to discover there were weather delays. So, it was off to the Admirals' Club for another four or five hours to snack on soup and stale cookies and be told every hour or so that we were still delayed. Then we finally make it on our flight and we get delayed again because they had miscalculated the fuel. Another two hours of this. At this point, we were so thankful that we had gotten some fitful sleep on the plane, because we had been up for almost twenty-four hours, we were hungry, we were cranky, and we could not take much more of this. Oh, and the flight attendant dropped several cans of sodas all over the aisle of the plane, making a sticky mess everywhere. It was just . . . bad. Welcome home. Seriously, there are times when things just go wrong, and you have to chalk it up to lots of people traveling at the same time, bad weather, and just bad luck. We are just lucky we get to do it in a bit more comfort than most travelers.

So I finally caved and bought a pair of Rothy's pointy-toed Mary Jane flats. They are incredibly comfortable. It feels like I am wearing a pair of slippers. But they look (relatively) stylish. Let's face it, they are not ever going to be a pair of Manolos or Jimmy Choos. However, as I get older, I find my tolerance for high, high heels has decreased quite a bit. The other thing is that, especially on cruises, my feet tend to swell quite a bit, so I tend to stick to flats and wider shoes. So I may end up buying the Rothys in a larger, wider size, to accommodate my "cruise feet". Has anyone tried Rothys shoes on a cruise? What are your thoughts?

Although our next cruise is very port intensive (it's a Caribbean cruise and will take us to many of that areas beautiful islands), I must admit that I am partial to a cruise with lots of long, lazy sea days, where there is little more to do than read, needlepoint, contemplate the ocean, and get to know my fellow travelers.

I posted a review of our first Regent cruise (on Voyager) and I think it was a positive review.

I am confused as to what the issue is with Delta One here. Delta One is Delta's international business class product: a step above business class in many respects, but sold as business class because many employers and clients will not reimburse for first class (indeed, international first class is all but disappearing on all but a few, select, routes where it continues to be a financially viable product, but that is not particularly relevant to this thread). I realize that different people have their likes and dislikes when it comes to international business class products: my DH loves AF's catering. My main concern is having direct aisle access and good service recovery during the occasional IRROPS (because stuff happens). For some, it is all about having the best seat (though that is down to subjective and entirely personal criteria). All that having been said, I am still unsure as to wha the OP's issue with Delta One is.

I'm sorry. We had a similar issue on a Regent cruise this past April -- We were on a TA from Miami to Barcelona. Our flight home would therefore be from Barcelona to PHX. We were initially offered a crazy routing (I don't remember it exactly, but it was something along the lines of Barcelona-Montreal-Toronto-Chicago-Phoenix), with many of the connections under two hours. I use a wheelchair to get around and DH and I knew this routing was a recipe for disaster. We contacted Custom Air and were eventually put on the UA flight to EWR, then on to PHX. It seemed like lots of people from our cruise were on that flight.

We have had this happen on AA. We just said we had a one-way as we were taking a TA from Southampton/Rome. They never asked to see the cruise reservations, but I always have hard copies of all reservations handy.

January 2022. DH and I were scheduled to fly down from NYC (where we lived at the time) to Miami to board our very first Regent cruise: a quick hop on Splendor January 6-13. We were scheduled to fly down on January 5, and we had to have negative Covid tests, which we took on January 4. DH's Covid test came back first. Negative, as expected. Mine came back next. We could not believe our eyes. It was positive. Positive? Positive. I had no symptoms. None. But I had to call the TA, who had to call Regent, and together, they put us on a different cruise (this coming February 2024), so that we wouldn't have to deal with our travel insurance. Then, I had to call the airline. There was no problem there. Then, I put in a call to my doctor, who let me know what the protocol would be for living in a one-bedroom apartment where only one person has Covid (Essentially, I isolated in the bedroom while DH and the cats stayed in the living room. There were a lot of Clorox wipes used in the bathroom to keep the toilet handle, the sink clean, and the door handle clean, and we used separate towels, naturally. And we masked in each other's presence.). Blech. I had a terrible headache for a few days, but no other symptoms. Thank goodness. And we will be taking our now second Regent cruise in February. It all worked out.

That's what the rep said: the cruise would arrive in Lisbon before midnight.

We had a pretty good experience with Custom Air. For reference, we live in Scottsdale, so our closest airport is PHX. We have a cruise in the spring from Rio to Lisbon. We are in a concierge suite this time (oh, I know, la dee DA), but it matters, because it means Regent has to fly us in the day before our cruise. I had done some research, and when I called, I told the rep that, going from PHX to Rio, I liked the AA flights best. She looked them up and at first it looked like there would be a fee for those flights, but then it turned out the Regent preferred flights would not get us into Rio until the day of the cruise, so she booked us onto the AA flights. Then there was the issue of the flights from LIS back to PHX. There was a pretty good set of flights, leaving LIS at 12:45, going to YYZ and then to PHX. But there was a deviation fee (not the end of the world), and it was on AC (not our favorite airline) and AC Rouge (really not our favorite airline). I asked what our options were. Here's the schedule: LIS-FRA at 7:30 am on LH. Arrive FRA at 11:30. FRA-YVR at 1:20 pm on LH (this seems tight, but if something goes wrong, we figure LH will re-book us). Arrive YVR at 2:15 pm. YVR to PHX at 4:55 pm on AC. Arrive PHX at 8:00 pm. This is far from ideal, but, again, we figure LH will re-book us if something goes wrong.

We were on a TA on Regent. My husband wore short sleeved (polo) shirts by day and long-sleeved casual collared shirts by night, always paired with khakis. He did mention that he might bring a jacket to our next cruise, just to have options, and because it does get chilly in the public spaces.

Shockingly terrible excursion. Really bad.

On our (altogether awful) excursion to Cadiz last spring, DH tipped the guide and driver 20 Euros each. He was out of cash and gave them an extra $10 each for their assistance in getting my wheelchair out from under the luggage area of the bus at the end of the the excursion (it was the driver who assisted, the guide just stood around looking annoyed). When DH gave them each the extra tip, the driver said, "Thank you," while the guide spat out, "And what are we supposed to do with this currency? Wait until our next vacation in America?" We would have been shocked, but it was par for the course with that gem of a guide.

I'm pretty paranoid about this stuff. One thing I noticed about Regent is that they may bill themselves as a luxury cruise line, but the initial flight arrangements they made for us going back from BCN to PHX were ridiculous and involved so many tight connections we would no doubt have missed a flight somewhere along the line. I had to do some research to find flights DH and I found much more suitable. I will never understand how they initially made arrangements for us with three connections (all of them under an hour) when there was a flight with just one connection (via EWR, so several flights to PHX available once in EWR) available for the same price. So do your research, find the flights that work for you, ask Regent to put you on them (via deviation, if necessary), then stay on top of any scheduling changes with the airlines. And remember, trip insurance is a good idea.

I have a shellfish allergy. They gave me the next day's menus to the MDR for lunch and dinner and Sette Mari (the buffet restaurant that becomes an Italian restaurant) for dinner each afternoon. When we had reservations at a specialty dining restaurant the following evening, they gave me the menus to those venues. I would make lunch and dinner selections from them (I would select one dinner venue, obviously), and drop them off at the MDR or Sette Mari that evening (that is, the evening before I would be eating at the venues). The next day, my allergies and food choices would be confirmed with me at lunch and dinner. And @cwn is correct: nothing is guaranteed at buffets, though they do their best.

I have gotten the keratin treatment on cruise ships several times. I have long, color-treated, curly hair with a tendency to frizz. The keratin treatment is nice -- smooths it (but does not make it stick straight) and keeps it from frizzing. It lasts about two months. I have not had a bad experience with this on a cruise ship.