Fairgarth

5 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

There is not much of note to see and do in Civitavecchia itself, which isn't a very charming town by Italian standards (and mine, lol).

 

If you don't go into Rome, my vote would be to go to nearby Tarquinia for the day. In addition to being a charming small city in its own right, it has a fabulous museum of ancient Etruscan artifacts as well as the world-famous Etruscan painted tombs in a necropolis (cemetery) just outside the old city walls. The tombs are the real star and shouldn't be missed. There are more than a hundred of them (not all of them open to the public) and they date back as far as 500 BC but are remarkably preserved as you can see from the links below.

 

You can get to Tarquinia via local bus from Civitavecchia (easier on weekdays), or you could take a taxi and arrange a later pick-up. It's also possible to get there using the train, although a bit more complicated. Finally, there is at least one tour that departs from Civitavecchia -- see link below.

 

Once you get to the museum, there are charming streets to be walked in one direction, and just outside the museum there is a bus hub where you can catch a short shuttle to the Etruscan tombs. Ask for details in the museum.

 

Basic info on Tarquinia and transportation: 

https://www.marthasitaly.com/articles/20/tarquinia-etruscan-tombs

 

Info about Tarquinia and link to a potential guided tour from Civitavecchia:  

https://www.timetravelturtle.com/italy/etruscan-tombs-tarquinia/.  (I have not taken the tour and have no idea how good it may be....)

 

Detailed info on the painted tombs and a map of the necropolis:  

http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/art/tarquinianecropolises.htm

Good advice, I agree.  On our last cruise out of Civitavecchia we spent three nights in Tarquinia.  It's a medieval, hilltop town.  Lots of atmosphere, very attractive we find.  The ride to the port was only 20 minutes.

On 1/24/2024 at 1:17 PM, rodndonna said:

Will be in Antigua next week (first time) and wondering about walking to a beach. It appears Limerz or Fort James beach would be walkable (albeit a long walk) from the cruise port.

 

I wouldn't.  There are no sidewalks and my personal feeling is that such a walk would be more of a chore and not be enjoyable.

My dear Sir, thank you for this latest GSJ which I stumbled across by accident.  I have enjoyed every page.  I'm sure you will enjoy HAL.  We were on Koningsdam in June and had a good time.  Just a couple of comments.  Your photos remind me that the Princess ships have that gorgeous, expansive, welcoming atrium.  The atrium on Koningsdam was tiny, pathetic and miserable and might as well not have been there.  

I play trumpet and that thing is loud.  When I go to a night club in a confined space on Koningsdam and see a trumpet player with a mic clipped to the bell, I'm outta there t-de-s.  Dear God, really?  Is that necessary?

On 12/27/2023 at 8:02 AM, Hlitner said:

Another great example is how Italy made vast improvements to the cruise port at Venice.  They even added the fabulous "People Mover" designed to make it easier for folks to move between the cruise port (Maritima) and town.  Once they created all this over tourism, they decided to effectively close the cruise port and move ships to other ports which will create an even bigger transportation problem!  It is all true insanity which is part of the reason why DW and I love visiting Italy :).

I find it ironic that Venice actually builds these huge cruise ships at the Fincantieri yard, chases them away and says don't come back.  But I still love visiting Italy 🙂🙂

Here's another suggestion.  On our last cruise out of Civitavecchia, we did not want to stay in Rome.  Been there.  So we took out a map and followed the railway line up the coast from Civitivecchia.  Not too far, you come to Tarquinia.  So we booked into "I Tre Camini" for three nights.  Federica picked us up from the train station and then gave us a ride to the port, only about twenty minutes.  Tarquinia is an attractive old Tuscan town, just exactly the kind of thing we enjoy.  Your choice, of course, but we would certainly do that again.

On 11/23/2023 at 8:48 PM, Dolebludger said:

Have never been on the Splendor, and am not specifically aware of specialty restaurants in it. Have a cruise on it in March and understand I need to select them next month (December). What are their names, what do they offer, and are any “must go” or “don’t go?

Good luck with that one.  On a ten day cruise we could not get any specialty reservations so cannot offer an opinion on any of them.  We were offered 8:30pm at Chartreuse but did not want to finish eating at 10:00pm.

59 minutes ago, david,Mississauga said:

 

 It was the same for westbound flights, although the taxes are much higher because of the UK's air passenger duty which is considerable especially in premium economy or Business class.

Oh my, are they ever!  We flew back from Heathrow last month.  Taxes were $405.  Each.

On 11/18/2023 at 11:30 AM, So Cal John said:

 

Airlines cannot sell tickets more than 330 days in advance. They are all the same. (At least for purchases in US). I don’t know the reason.

I suspect it goes back to the early days of computers when storage was limited and expensive.  So don't enter the year.  But it actually has one major advantage in avoiding foul-ups.  If you want a flight on 17th June, for example, there is only one 17th June in the res system.  For a cruise booking, in contrast, you would have to specify 17th June 2024 or 2025 or even 2026.  Given Murphy's Law, how many customers and agents would get that all screwed up?

6 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

 I thought that it was unacceptable to check laptops or lithium batteries... not that some don't get into the hold innocently or on purpose

Sorry, my bad, incomplete reporting.  Yes, our carry-ons contained laptops, meds etc as required by the airlines.  We had to take those out and hand carry on board.  In what, exactly?  And for years now, we never board an aircraft without carrying enough essentials to keep us going for 48 hours if our checked baggage gets lost.  That's what worried me.

Here's another approach that we had not seen before.  We had a very unfortunate experience on British Airways last week.  We were flying from Heathrow to Venice on an A320.  As we waited in the departure lounge, a smiling agent approached and asked us what group we were.  We were group 4.  Would you like advance boarding?  Come with me.  So we did and only then realized we had been mightily conned.  Oh dear, such naivety and innocence for world travellers!  They absolutely insisted on taking away and checking our carry-ons.  Too big, they said.  Outright lie.  They have been on aircraft all over the world and you could see what all other travellers were carrying.  But, but, we said, they are full of valuables, medications, essential documents, lithium batteries and enough stuff for us to survive 48 hours if our checked bag got lost.  So what if they now lost our carry-ons as well as our checked bag?  See if they cared.  So if you are caught in that situation, my advice is to lie in your teeth.  If asked, of course you are Group 1.  Get lost, sunshine.

This was at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona last week.  Looks good!  Grandeur on the left and the ship on the right not yet floated out is, I believe, Viking Vela.  I was familar with Fincantieri at Marghera (Venice) but did not realize that Fincantieri has eight shipyards, two naval and six civil.  Ironic really, Venice builds these huge ships, chases them away and says "don't come back".  One of the cranes was loading a lifeboat on board as we watched.

3 hours ago, Golfess said:

Not only is it less stressful to get to your embarkation destination ahead of time, but also a chance to explore one more location.

Good point, I agree.  In fact, for our next cruise out of Venice, we start with four days in Padova.  We were there a few years ago and loved it.  It also has the advantage that you can get a taxi for yourself and all your baggage right to the door of the cruise terminal.  You can't do that from Venice itself.

1 hour ago, Golfess said:

But the Regent bookings were all day of embarkation with connections. The first booking was Chicago-Dallas-Vancouver, day-or-embarkation.   Not surprisingly, we missed our connection and the cruise.

Regent is doing itself no favours.  Flying in on day of departure is a no-no.  How could they not know that?  (I've said it before - your faith in the airlines is touching and entirely misplaced.)  Further, there are non-stops between Chicago and Vancouver.  I suspect they have 'arrangements' of one kind or another with various airlines so you end up with an itinerary that you would never choose yourself.  Very sorry you had such a miserable experience.  We get older, sadder and wiser so I'm sure that will never happen to you again.

Antigua got hit by TS Phillippe yesterday.  A number of businesses were destroyed and there is widespread damage and flooding.  Anybody arriving soon might want to check that your planned itinerary is not affected.

On 10/2/2023 at 11:56 AM, tubeamps said:

About a week ago received an email from Regent asking if we would give up our current reservation and in return we would get a cash back bonus and they would transfer our reservation to a similar, not identical itinerary for Feb 24.

We didn’t take the offer.

 

A further complication, of course, would be if you had booked prepaid, non-refundable flights/hotels, VRBO/limo etc.

24 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

But airports (and airlines) are extremely crowded. So it stands to reason that air travel to the ship could be a major cause of Covid (and other diseases) onboard. 

It's counter-intuitive, of course, but actually it's not.  In the early days of Covid, one of the U.S. universities (Johns Hopkins maybe?) borrowed two aircraft from United (which were sitting on the ground, doing nothing) and set up a series of scientific tests.  I'm quoting from memory so stand to be corrected here.  They set up a dummy on a seat spewing micro particles just like the Covid virus and then located dectectors around the seat in various locations.  Then they moved the dummy to a different seat and did it again.  And again.  Then they took the aircraft to 35,000 feet and did it again.  Turns out your chances of catching Covid on a flight are very slim.  The air comes in above you and is extracted at floor level by your feet so the air current is downwards and the particles did not spread through the cabin.  As for airports, however, that would be a different story I'm sure.

4 hours ago, Savage2017 said:

Antigua is one of our cruise stops in November. 
This time round, we are thinking of taking a walk and exploring the town, maybe go to a rum shack/shop along our walk and hopefully go to a nearby beach (want to fit as much in the limited time).

 

Sorry, no beach within walking distance.  The closest would be at Fort James.  Anas on the Beach is on Dickensen Beach, a bit further north, one of the better ones but usually busy.  Sorry again, no point in walking around town and nothing to explore.  Lots to do on Antigua but you need to head out on wheeled transport from the port.  Check out the 'Antigua Nice' website for ideas.

On 9/13/2023 at 8:44 AM, Retired 07 said:

I noticed on the itinerary on the Navigator app, they show 3 different options for dressing at dinner: dressy, casual, and smart casual. What’s the difference between casual and smart casual?

To respond to the original question, as I see it FWIW for gentlemen (can't advise the ladies).  Smart casual would be dress pants with a crease, dress shirt with long sleeves and a collar.  French cuffs, maybe?  Shoes, not sneakers.  Tie and jacket not required.  Casual would be none of the above.

2 hours ago, hamrag said:

 

Maybe they'll build it on the Clyde, even Govan! 🤣

They are not that stupid!  Some years ago, Northlink Ferries ordered three new ships - two from Finland and one from the Clyde.  Then the Clyde came back and said they could not do the job.  Right then, three from Finland, nae problem!  How the mighty are fallen.

Thank you, kind Sir, for your reports on the voyage.  I was interested for two reasons.  First, the Panama Canal is on my bucket list.  And second, having done crossings on the QM2 I was dubious if the other Queens would measure up.  Those fears are now put to rest.

...and now for something completely different...

Last time we sailed out of Civitavecchia we stayed at a B & B in Tarquinia for three nights (I tre Camini).  We got the train from Fiumicino airport to Tarquinia (one change) and the owner met us at the station.  When we checked out she gave us a ride to the cruise port.  Tarquinia is a lovely, medieval hilltop town.  We enjoyed our stay.

4 hours ago, boblerm said:

In my experience, yes, absolutely. In fact, for us this is a first. 

 

FWIW, I have been told that they hope to have it avaliable for the next segment. Fingers crossed for the ladies. 

Thank you for the feedback, we appreciate it.  All's well that ends well.

Having cruised 21 times on seven different lines but never Regent, we are following your reports with great interest so thank you once more.

4 hours ago, boblerm said:

 

• There is no rosè wine anywhere on board. 

 

Yelp!  This is a looming disaster!  DW and her sister love rose de Provence.  We are booked on Splendor in a few weeks - our first cruise on Regent.  Our last trip was on Koningsdam where they had plenty of Whispering Angel so the sisters were happy.  So please elucidate - is this a purely temporary, highly unusual situation for Regent?  Or if not, should we contact them and request that rose be boarded for our cruise?  Can that be done?

On 8/24/2023 at 6:27 AM, FlyerTalker said:

 

As noted, screening at Canadian airports is done by the CATSA.

Things may have changed more recently - I have not been through YVR since 2019.

 

I flew out of YVR last month.  They insist I take off my shoes.  This was the second time it happened, and I find it most irritating.  I'm over 75 so when I go through security at a U.S. airport I can keep my shoes on.  But if in Canada, flying TO the U.S. why on earth would it be different?  Other than total incompetence and a stubbornly contrary bureaucracy.  

1 hour ago, MISTER 67 said:

If I ran a cruise ship company I would probably  not sell maybe 10 cabins on a ship that would be available for the unacceptable situation that occurred in the OP’s cabin and any other situations or emergencies that might pop up in a cabin.

I would be very surprised if there are no empty cabins on a ship that was fully booked.  Over the last dozen years, we have been no-shows on three cruises we had booked and paid for.  Last minute family emergencies prevented our travel.  We can't possibly be the only ones.  So on a ship with 1000 cabins, even a 1% no-show rate would release 10 cabins.