DatawCruiser

Rough seas today. No outdoor activities.

The wind is really whipping today.  The upper pool deck is not usable with all the furniture tied down.  Consequently, the lower pool deck is very full.  The seas have been 6 feet all day, so there is a fair amount of boat movement,  Splendor seems to handle it well and eating, drinking and sleeping has not been a problem.  I was surprised however, to feel a persistent vibration when grabbing a coffee in the Coffee Connection on deck 5.  I don't feel anything on my room on deck 8, but it was very noticeable on Deck 5.  According to Captain Serena, we can expect the same weather and sea conditions tomorrow.

There was a pool side party as we left Miami last night.  A Regent ice sculpture was on display with appetizers and waiters with drinks and champagne.  Kasia and Boogie performed.  Generally, mask free with every one enjoying themselves.

We enjoyed Compass Rose last night and ate at Prime 7 for lunch today.  Both meals were very good with excellent service.  We enjoyed the Meridian Lounge after dinner last night with Nemanje mixing up craft drinks for us,  This is one of the special Martinis for my wife, and two different Gin drinks for me.  We managed to try four different drinks from the specialty list.  A valiant start to my effort to cover them all over 14 days.

Our experience for the check in process was similar.  We called for a baggage handler and our car at 10:30 at the IC Miami.  We were in our car 10 minutes later and arrived at the Terminal at 10:45.  After offloading our bags and parking in the J parking lot, we went to the testing tent. There was no line and maybe 10 other guests waiting for results.  After a quick test and a 10 minute wait (yea - negative), we entered the terminal.  We had to wait for about 15 minutes until they opened the gates for everyone, and we were in. So, about 30 minutes from when we entered the Testing tent.  Our muster station was the Meridian Lounge, so we checked in there. Across from the Meridian Lounge is the Coffee Connection, which was conveniently pouring champagne, so we toasted our embarkation immediately (several times) sitting on the out side deck there.  A wonderful start.

I'll be joining in to help with this topic.  Spent a very restful night at the IC Miami after a stressful drive in yesterday.  One last testing hurdle and we'll be on board later today.

1 hour ago, labonnevie said:

We did two of the Culinary Arts classes this week on Explorer. 
They are free. 
They are demonstration only. 
Capacity is reduced. 
You do not get to sample what is made. 
Wine is not served. 

Thanks Labonnevie.  I guess things are evolving.  If that is the case, I will be cancelling.  I'll wait until I board to understand the current requirements.

1 hour ago, PinkMEB said:

Datawcruiser, I’ve booked the cooking class Feb 15. Are you signed up for that one? It would fun to meet someone else from SC. 

Yes.  We are booked for 2/5 and 2/15 at 4pm.

58 minutes ago, macbest said:

Can you tell me on Splendor if the cooking classes are going on still? And if so, are they just demonstration or participatory as hoped? We board on Thursday and have a number booked with no word that they are “cancelled”. Thanks 

I believe they are still demonstration only according to someone I spoke to who sailed on the Explorer.  The money is refunded.  You get to sample what was made and they do serve wine during.  I also have 2 classes booked.  I guess we'll hear more on Thursday.

23 minutes ago, mrlevin said:

Why would you wear a mask outdoors?

Maybe because they are standing in close proximity to others?

11 minutes ago, Jimmcdaniel said:

They look like "brochure people".

With no masks in sight.

Thank you for taking one for the team!  Keep up the good work.

How many will be joining, and will they be tested before Boarding?

Pcardad,

Do you know how passengers are currently listed for the Feb. 3rd cruise?

Thanks in advance

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2824216-regent-splendor-jan-13-mia-mia-update/#comment-62475223

Hi Mike,

I'm a long time I/T Technology Manager retired for 5 years now.  I think what you are doing is exactly on track and everyone will be very appreciative with your hard work when things settle down.  Keep up the good work!

On 1/18/2022 at 2:23 PM, MomC said:

We are boarding Splendor on February 3.   I did our online check in this morning and received our boarding passes.

MomC,

We are also on the 2/3 sailing.  I did online check-in on 1/13 and received a Fed Ex notification that we will be receiving our other docs (luggage tags) tomorrow, 1/20.

So if the entire deck 6 is reserved for potential quarantine vases, that must eliminate about 20% of the potential 750 passenger count.  I guess that is good for those on board, but not good for Regent profitability.

Thank you for this update.  We are on the Feb. 3rd Splendor cruise and this is indicative of the types of changes we might expect.  Best of luck!

1 hour ago, jjs217 said:

Big itinerary changes announced tonight about 7:30 local time. Our stay in St Kitts tomorrow has been canceled and replaced with St Maarten. The crew had a new shore excursion list for tomorrow posted to the rooms within a half hour of the public announcement.  Additionally, none 
of the other scheduled stops will be made due to Covid. New stops include St Maarten, Barbados and Tortola, with 3 "@ Sea" days expanding to 6 "@ Sea" days to fill in the schedule. 

 

Original                                  Revised

13 Sail from MIA                  "        
14 @ Sea                               " 
15 Puerto Playa, D.R.           "
16 San Juan P.R.                  @ Sea
17 Basseterre. St Kitts        St Maarten

18 Roseau, Dominica          Tortola

19 Castries, St Lucia           @ Sea    
20 St John's,  Antingua       Barbados
21 Gustavia, St Barts          @ Sea
22 @ Sea                               "

23 @ Sea                               "     

24 MIA                                   "

 

In summary, the only original destination port we reached was our first - Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. We lost 6 additional ports and gained 3 new ones.

 

Haven't interacted with the other passengers yet, but we are still happy to be sailing despite the disappointment of some missed excursions.

We are on the 2/3 Splendor sailing also.  We decided to cancel our flights and make the 9 hour drive to the port over 2 days to eliminate any airport or airline factors from the equation.  A little extreme?  Maybe,  But we are erring on the side of caution also, to minimize any chance of the dreaded quarantine.

Direct flights from ATL to MIA can be quite inexpensive when booked early enough.  When you account for the two free bags per passenger, it can often work out to be less than economy.  I would book them yourself and take the air credit from Regent. 

2 hours ago, UUNetBill said:

Well, as of today we still plan on going...like you, we have concerns - but after a two year break, we're WAY overdue to get back on board so we're gonna take the chance.  

🤞

Have a great trip!  And I look forward to your comments about the cruise.  Any pearls of wisdom you can provide to those of us scheduled on the Splendor in February will be extremely valuable.

Daren & Johnetta,

Thank you so much for the fantastic work you are doing,  We are hoping to be on the Splendor next month and are living vicariously through your efforts,

Andy & Susan

34 minutes ago, cruiseluv said:

We also moved a February 2022 cruise to a similar cruise 2023, the new cruise is more expensive so we will need to pay the difference when final payment time comes. If we wanted a FCC we would be limited to selecting from 2022 cruises

What would prevent you from cancelling the 2023 cruise for a full refund?

According to the news..

"The Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) sent out a letter on December 26, implementing a near-immediate rule change that states all guests onboard must show a negative test result from a test taken no more than two days before disembarking in Puerto Rico.  The first ship that fell victim to the sudden change in rules in Puerto Rico was the Symphony of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean. The vessel was denied entry to the port this morning, December 27. "