Mahogany

Most (all?) items left on loungers are NOT in the valuable category, unless the book is a priceless manuscript 😀. So Regent’s liability may be minimal.

I agree OP’s letter may have been so arrogant as to be ignored. But a word while onboard, stressing satisfying the majority at the risk of offending the minority , might be more successful in dedicating a staff member to “police” the area.

4 hours ago, markandjie said:

Yes they do, and they are high quality. In the past on other SB ships I've been disappointed with the binoculars, but not so on venture. Note there's only a single pair.

Thanks, I'm only a single person!😁

Do the entry-level suites on Venture include binoculars for use during the cruise?

8 hours ago, Lois R said:

Good morning Hank, that is what I am doing........JFK to LISBON through SS.

Lois, are you flying TAP?

Do you think it is fair to compare steak on a cruise ship to "better land steak houses"?

10 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

I agree with your assessment on the restaurants. Prime 7 was the most disappointing and Compass Rose was better than Prime 7 when it came to steaks and lobsters. Doesn’t make any sense. 

Do you think the meat was the same quality and just cooked better in CR? You're right, it doesn't make sense that the steakhouse wouldn't have the best meat on board.

3 hours ago, toad90 said:

 

The times that changed are in bold. Arrival in FFL did not change for Ascent. However - worse than itinerary change, now there is a Legionella outbreak? 

 

 

Dear Guest,

Your health and safety are always our top priority, and in an abundance of caution, we are reaching out as the CDC has advised that while they are unsure where exposed, three guests who sailed on Celebrity Ascent were later diagnosed with a respiratory illness known as Legionella. 

In response to this, before your sailing, we immediately implemented heightened sanitation protocols and followed all CDC remediation guidance, as precautionary measures.

At this time, we are only contacting you for awareness. 

It’s important to know that Legionella is not contagious from person to person. It is contracted by inhaling water droplets from a source containing the bacteria, which can be found throughout the world in any environment containing water – ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams, as well as municipal water systems, fountains, and whirlpools. Most healthy people exposed to Legionella do not get sick. Symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, fever, muscle aches and headaches. If you experience these symptoms before, during or after your sailing please reach out to your preferred medical professional or our medical team onboard. 

Both Celebrity Cruises and the CDC work hard to protect the health of guests and crew. If you have questions about Legionella, contact your local or state health department or CDC at 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) or visit cdc.gov/legionella. For questions about this situation or other questions related to travel on the Celebrity Ascent, please contact Celebrity Cruises at (888) 727-4907.

We look forward to welcoming you onboard soon.

Sincerely, 

Celebrity Cruises

Sorry, I now realize that was the Ascent itinerary.

22 hours ago, toad90 said:

Celebrity Ascent guest here - this is what I received today. Curious how much photography and video production will be going on if they're willing to cause delays like this I'd bet there will be more going on... Production crew(s) are probably onboard for other stuff as well. 

 

 

Dear Guest,

We can’t wait to welcome you aboard Celebrity Ascent®! Before we sail away, we have some news to share.

On March 13th we will be taking part in a unique photo opportunity off the coast of St. Thomas. For the first time ever, Royal Caribbean Group’s three newest ships, Celebrity Ascent, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, and Silversea’sSilver Nova, will come together at sea. We will be documenting this historic event.

To facilitate this rare meet up, some of our arrival and departure times have been adjusted, even adding some extra time in San Juan, as shown below.

If you want to be part of this momentous occasion, stop by Café al Bacio for a beverage and a bite, and join us on Wednesday from 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM on Deck 15. The sunrise will be breathtaking at the Rooftop Garden where you'll be able to snap some shots of all three marvels at sea.

Here is the updated itinerary for your convenience.

Day	Port of Call	Arrival	Departure
Sun	Fort Lauderdale, Florida		3:30 PM
Mon	At Sea
Tue	San Juan, Puerto Rico	2:30 PM	10:00 PM
Wed	Tortola, British Virgin Islands	10:00 AM	7:00 PM
Thu	Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis	7:00 AM	5:00 PM
Fri	At Sea
Sat	At Sea
Sun	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	7:00 AM

This is the updated itinerary, but arrival in FLL is still stated as 7:00AM?

8 hours ago, ho-hum said:

I have it from various authorities that tipping is included….but please accept this THANKYOU CARD (whether it’s upside down or not: it’s the thought that counts)

oh that didn’t work out !,

 

 

Does this card include money? 😀And I assume you include the crew member's name somewhere?

22 hours ago, Gpilon said:

January 2024?

Booked in January for May

22 hours ago, Pcardad said:

Out of curiosity, I looked up a taxi ($125) and a 4 star hotel ($175 to $250) for July in Iceland.....it looks doable to me but I am sure your TA would know for certain.

I am paying Euro 375 without breakfast, the Marriott Edition was close to $1000. If you want something downtown, you'll pay more than $250, and doesn't Regent normally provide 5*, not 4* hotels?

18 hours ago, cruiseluv said:

People are already doing that .

How does that work? Are people doing that with Regent?

3 hours ago, markandjie said:

 

I feel like pre-COVID the pricing was much more in line with booking on your own. Perhaps a small mark-up but one that was easily overcome by having Gold status. Now it seems they are marked up 1.5-2x the price and it doesn't really make sense to book thru the ship at all.

Except for the ease of maybe canceling onboard

1 hour ago, bigred70 said:

Just booked a Seabourn cruise and have SBC. Went online to book excursions and found they make you pay with credit card and will reimburse you on board if you have SBC. Sailed Oceania 20+ and they let you use SBC booking on line. 

 

Several cruise lines let you do this. But it's a very easy process when you get onboard to transfer your shorex payments to OBC.

17 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi, the hotel is extra, yes. And I asked about the change and was told there would not be an extra charge. I will follow up again.

What hotel ae they using?

On 2/18/2024 at 2:10 PM, Lois R said:

I am sailing on the Ray at the end of the year on her TA crossing (December). I just received an email from Silversea with my flight from here to Lisbon. It is Miami to Istanbul and then Istanbul to Lisbon.  Just curious, isn't that a bit of a weird connection? I will contact my SS rep tomorrow. I have booked my flights through SS many times for long hauls across the pond but this is the first time I can remember getting an email so early. We are in February and the flight is for December.

Just seems really strange to me........any thoughts?

Oh, the really wrong thing is...they have me arriving in Lisbon the day we sail..........I NEVER arrive on sail day when flying overseas. So I am definitely going to have to change the flights!!!

Lois, I'm on that same itinerary in December. I live near Daytona so usually fly out of Orlando. You mention Miami-Istanbul-Lisbon - but you have to get to Miami, right, and live in JAX? Did SS Air have you fly JAX-MIA or were you planning on driving (ugh!)?

On 2/19/2024 at 6:18 PM, Goodnote said:

I am interested in taking an Alaskan Cruise with my wife. Seaborne looks like a good option, but I'm appalled that they can't provide some sort of cost estimation for shore excursions until you actually book the cruise.  It seems like thy are trying to hide something and makes me suspicious.  I realize the shore excursion costs can easily change but they should provide some means to at least approximate the costs.  I'm not ruling out Seaborne but I am going to explore other cruise lines

In your exploring of other cruise lines, have you found they quote excursion costs before booking a specific cruise?

I save my TA's time for the big stuff. I am capable of calling them myself for the simple task of changing a shorex.

2 minutes ago, Techno123 said:

Crikey, I hope not 😜😜😜. You could have done a Cleopatra and taken a bath in it 😁

Yeah, that little" m" in ml makes a HUGE difference!

I bought on Amazon a package of 3 seal-type bags and take home the opened bottle if there's enough to matter (only spirits, not wine).  My only mistake was trying to fit a Grand Marnier bottle in the bag: too squatty, bags only hold standard-size bottles including 1L. Just remember to put it in your checked luggage.

28 minutes ago, SLSD said:

I know that Sunprince.  There are all kinds of expeditions, but they do differ from classic cruises.  I have not been sent itineraries for the invitation only cruises on Venture.  They are in the Med.  If they are true expeditions, Seabourn needs to send the itinerary and particulars along with their invitation.  The way I understand it, Venture (and Pursuit) are doing some cruises which are NOT expeditions--which also means excursions are NOT included as they are on true expeditions.  It was not made clear in the "invitation only" cruises which kinds of cruises on the Venture are being offered.  

You're wrong about the excursions. Most of the ports I'm visiting include complimentary excursions, e.g. a visit to Giverny and a cruise on the Seine (classic ships would probably not be able to do this). A glance at my voyage March 19 - April 14 may surprise you with the range of free excursions as well as the smaller ports we're visiting that likely could not accommodate the classic ships.

But I get it: no sushi, no expedition ships to non-expedition locations. Great we have choices.

14 hours ago, SLSD said:

I know that not all Venture cruises are expeditions,  but I think the ship is lacking for the regular cruises in terms of dining venues and entertainment.  Perhaps that is just me--but if I sail on Venture, it will be an expedition.  Your mileage and desires may be different.  

I agree. I will miss the restaurant variety - only Restaurant and Colonnade, and sushi in the Club - and because I've visited the standard expedition areas, I am going for the ship experience. It may well be "one and done" though I have booked her for Newfoundland to Barbados in Sept. I wish they'd have built another classic instead of Pursuit, but I guess the plan is always to build more than one while you have the design.

3 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

I did go and read the Oceania thread on the same topic. I walked away with the sense that there were more people on the Oceania thread that gave the slight edge on food to Regent and in particular the Compass Rose. It’s hard for me to compare the 2 because things have changed everywhere since COVID and Regent has been the only cruise line that I have cruised with post COVID. Ironically my wife did get COVID on the ship in the waning days of the September 2023 cruise, so I guess we aren’t in the post COVID era yet. The 2023 cruise in Regent restaurants was a mixed bag as far as the food and service. I would say that 50% were excellent, 25% very good and 25% unacceptable and had to be returned and/or the service was poor. My pre COVID cruise on Regent were 90% excellent and 10% very good. At least from my perspective, Regent has changed a bit in the food and service arena. I know I am beating the same message to death on several of my posts but it’s the inconsistency on Regent is what feels different to me. They can be great one day in one venue and then less than stellar the next day.   

Better than "consistently" bad 😁!

On 2/11/2024 at 11:49 PM, SLSD said:

I've been bombarded with emails from Seabourn lately.  The latest one this evening mentions several cruises which they say are by invitation only (?). How does that work?  They are all  Spring 2025 and each includes a special event of some sort.  The issue for me is that they are all quite short.  Once we haul ourselves over to Europe we want to sail a bit longer.  I'll take another look in the morning.  The email says there is a 20% savings.  I am always suspicious.  And curiously, where do I go to see the itineraries?  If the cruises are exclusive and by invitation only--I am assuming they would not be on the website?  But no itinerary is shown in the email.  Maybe I am missing something.  All the cruises in "the Collection" are aboard Venture, but they are in Spain, France, and the Med--not in areas where there would usually be expeditions.  

 

I will be on Venture next month in Spain, France, and the Med, plus northern Africa, ending in England. Not all Venture cruises are expedition-y itineraries.

13 hours ago, Dusko said:

No I didn’t.  I did try and register/pay on the EASE site.  I got to the payment section and got a message that my credit card provider may need additional confirmation. Shortly afterwards I get a blank screen.  I contacted the support website 5 times and tried applying on 3 different browsers, 2 computers and 2 different credit cards.  Same result.  Finally the support line told me that I can pay on arrival. I have searched and this is a very common problem but it does seem that payment on arrival works fine, just takes longer.  I don’t fault Seabourn in any way on this.  Now when you do print your final paperwork you get details of a visa service that has a special section to handle Seabourn, for a fee I’m sure.  If you’re really worried you could try them.

Not really worried. Perhaps there will be some explanation at the Ritz. I was more concerned about the "5 days prior" note, but if we can pay upon arrival, no worries. Website does seem a bit dicey, though. So, you registered but didn't pay? How much (upon arrival)?