OrpingtonT

Thank you, Pat, for telling us about Barry's farewell. John Barron is another of the "old school" CD's.

If you are on Mariner, PH suites are a great choice. On Voyager they are not as big but do have a better configuration, IMO, than standard de luxe suites.

If you want the butler to unpack and pack, you should ask. He will not start this without your permission. It is not a job we ever ask to be done. However I can see the merit in asking him to pack at the end of the cruise.

Just leave left over booze in opened bottles. But if you want and have space, no one will object to you taking home any unopened bottles.

I have never bothered with a list of included wines. When I want something different from the daily pour, I speak to the sommelier who always comes up with something good and will repeat it on a later night.

Travelcat, at present on Voyager, has gone to a lot of trouble letting us know the bar menu and included champagnes are on there.

Give the Maitre'd your special meal order, or indeed your butler. Breakfast order cards are put in you suite each evening. And why not use your phone time? It is a valuable perk but cannot be exchanged. Tickets for your booked excursions will be waiting in your suite. Do please return them if you decide not to take them up.

Finally, to repeat what DaveFr said above, in your circumstances you can disembark as soon as you wish after the ship gets clearance. Most people want to disembark quickly.

Have a great cruise and tell us all about it.

 

In any case, we went on a Barrier Reef excursion today (did not like the excursion but that is another story).

 

We have cancelled tomorrow's excursions for reasons that are best not to get into.

I hope you will tell us the background eventually.

28 minutes to midnight on the beautiful Voyager. Magnificent show tonight.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM DOWN UNDER!!!!!

Wonderful posts of activities over Christmas and New Year. We salivated over the very special menus and thought that the cruise is not all that expensive considering all you get from it. Certainly such meals and treatment would be ridiculously expensive on land here in London. Barbara and I have just watched on TV the fireworks and celebrations in Sydney and would like to wish you, Jackie, Dennis and all CC members on board and at home a prosperous New Year.

 

As to the pastries and biscuits (cookies), we found them much too sweet for our British palates and the biscuits were quite soft - we are used to biscuits that are crunchy but this is a personal observation - it probably suited American palates.

Has anyone ever tried to get British type biscuits (morning coffee, ginger snaps , custard creams and so on, when on board? I confess I would like some with my morning coffee sometimes but shy away from trying to explain what I want.

Cucumber.

I agree with all of the posters. We love the sea days and the talks and activities laid on by Regent. I would not want to do a port intensive cruise any more.

Oh, dear. I am so sorry. I have never heard a bad word said about that gentleman.

May I say a big thank you to Travelcat and to Gnomie1 for posting comprehensive reports on Christmas aboard Voyager. It sounds wonderful to me and the menus are mouthwatering.

I hope the crew are also having a good time and Regent give them a decent bonus for their extra hard work over Christmas.

We also hope Dennis shakes off his tummy bug soon.

Although many people have iPad's on board, they are useless.

Why are iPads useless on that cruise? I found them excellent on previous cruises, within the limits of general internet access.

We hope you have a wonderful cruise on the Voyager. I, too, am disappointed about the reduced size of the computer room. Several times I had found it to be full on previous occasions.

I was very impressed with the service from your airline. They did their best for you and your relationship with your TA helped in what was a stressful time.

We are very much looking forward to hearing about Christmas and New Year on Voyager.

Tom, praying for your recovery and hoping that we can sail together again one day. Hope you both have a very Merry Christmas and a safe, healthy and happy New Year!

Thanks Jackie and DH. I emailed you but am wondering if I have landed on a defunct email address.

TOM, I hoped the little joke would raise your "spirits!"

 

 

Here's for a MERRY Xmas and HAPPY and HEALTHY NEW YEAR for you and Barbara!

Now that you have raised my spirits I wish I could "down" the spirits. But it will return. All the best to you too.

TOM, a little levity:

 

Woman goes up to the bar and orders Scotch and water - she wants a lot of Scotch and a little water.

 

Bar man sez, at your age mam, you should have a little Scotch and a lot of water!

 

Woman sez: NO NO NO NO I want a LOT of Scotch and just a little water!

 

I can HOLD my Scotch!

As Santa Claus would say at this time of the year, Ho, Ho, Ho.

Most enjoyable review to read, Snackdaddy. It makes me look forward to other thought as you sail along.

Tom, I was very disappointed not to have the pleasure of meeting you and Barbara on BCN to Rio - but your health comes first! I hope and pray you're doing well.

 

My wife is incapacitated and will never be able to travel again. Fortunately we've been around the world a couple of times.

 

 

BCN to Rio was good, but it's just not the same sailing as a single. I made the best of it.

 

But MOST IMPORTANT is how you are! Get well soon and perhaps we'll meet on another cruise.

Thanks, Ted, for those kind words. Barbara and I were disappointed not to have made the Rio trip, not least because it was an opportunity to meet up with you and all the other notabilities from Cruise Critic. It looked to be a great group.

It must be a big blow when you feel that you cannot undertake large scale travel and sharing is a big part of the pleasure.

For my part, I completed the gruelling radiotherapy and am getting over the physical aspects of the course. I didn’t foresee the other things, though I was warned. The loss of appetite, sense of taste, utter fatigue. I hope all will return but the nasty will not.

Meanwhile, I can read about others cruises and enjoy all of your quips and comments.

I've read through this thread and one thing is still not clear.

Many suggest the use of the iPad is free. What they don't say is what type of use.

 

We are first time Regent cruisers, so no free internet.

 

Is the use of internet on the Penthouse iPad's free? Or do they just provide the iPad and you can purchase the internet time?

 

Thanks

Theoretically, the iPad is provided free and you pay the internet charge. But as you are in a penthouse suite you also get 500 minutes of free internet time. These are the regulations (if that is the right word):-

Beginning with Winter 2014-2015 sailings, guests in Concierge-Level suites and higher will receive up to 500 minutes of free Wi-Fi. Free Unlimited Wi-Fi access is also provided to Seven Seas Society members in select tiers.

Internet access is available onboard via Wi-Fi or from the centrally located Club.com computer center. By year-end, Regent Seven Seas Cruises will have completed fleet-wide updates including:

• Doubling satellite bandwidth to provide considerable improvements in both the quality and speed of the guest's online experience;
  
• Expanding the Wi-Fi signal's range, making Wi-Fi available throughout the entirety of the ships including all suites, public rooms and outdoor decks;
  
• Replacing all onboard hardware such as the modems, routers and bandwidth compression equipment with advanced technology.
  

Once onboard, guests may select the internet access option that best suits their needs from the following:

• $0.99 per minute plus a one-time activation fee of $3.95 OR
  
• $160 per 200 minute package plus a one-time activation fee of $3.95 OR
  
• $29.99 per day for unlimited minutes with no activation fee.
  

Please be advised that bandwidth-heavy applications such as Skype, YouTube, and MagicJack are not available. One login is provided per suite or purchased package, which may be used on one device at a time. The login may be used across a variety of devices. Service and speed will vary depending on the location of the ship and time of day.

Good info, Tom - thanks! How do I get on their mailing list? the UK office is supposed to handle all of us in Europe too. So they (kindly and uselessly!) send me mailings with prices in EUR which we don't have of course! And I think they think that no one on the "continent" can read English so we don't get The Regent Times.

 

Hope all is well with you and Barbara and that you can now plan your next cruise!

Gerry

Hi, Gerry. I suggest an e-mail to society@rssc.eu directed to Sam Farrar. I am sure that after telling her of your circumstances she will sort things out.

We are not at the planning stage yet by a long way. Perhaps after the middle of January. Meanwhile I have Christmas to negotiate. All going well so far.

Apropos the above. One interesting thing I forgot to mention is the ships' officer rotations (Master, GM, CD) until March 2014.

What the heck is the "Regent Times"??? Is this a UK thing?

 

Just sign me easily confused! :)

It is a "UK thing". Produced quarterly and edited very ably by Sam Farrar for Regent Seven Seas Society Members in Regent UK HQ in Southampton.

The current issue contains pictures of the newly refurbished Voyager, an interview with Ray Solaire, recipes from food served at Compass Rose (roasted Christmas Goose with Prunes in Armagnac in this issue), a preview of the new production shows, an article by a celebrity who sailed recently on Regent, a letters page containing stories of SS members and even a crossword set by the Europe Marketing Director.

IMO it is a cut above the usual "house magazine" and I, for one, look forward to the quarterly issue.

Great to read a report on "my" cruise and especially when it is from a first-timer who is enjoying it. Keep 'em coming.

I am afraid, Wes, that I have had other things on my mind and have only just caught up with this thread. Usually I read each post as submitted but this time I read it as a complete narrative and it is so entertaining. The pictures helped as did the food and wine descriptions from all of you foodies and wine lovers.

Thank you for taking us along with you.

All the best, Tom! Hope 2014 will bring more cruising and a return to good health for you.

Many thank to you and all who have sent good wishes. I am coming to the end of the therapy and, though it will be a month or so before things start to improve, things are looking good. If I can get insurance more cruising (on Explorer?) is not out of the question.

I wonder if I can share with you a story about a kindness from another CC member on the roll call for the Transatlantic Mariner cruise which got underway this week. As I said earlier on this thread, we had sought Regent's agreement, which btw was readily given, to my neice, her husband and two teenage boys to visit us when Mariner docked in Cartagena on the second day. Unfortunately I had to cancel due to illness, and so my relatives were disappointed that they could not meet up with us when we visited their home town.

When I mentioned this on the roll call, a kind member, Waynegoat, immediately stepped in to volunteer to take them over as their guests Even though it proved to be too late to arrange (they had cancelled their day off from work and school) I feel overwhelmed by the kind offer.

Thank you Waynegoat. The thought was much appreciated.

I nearly didn't bother reading this because I thought from the heading that it would be a review of the ports. However I was pleased I did. It is always good to read the opinions of a first-timer on Regent especially when the review is so up-beat. Thank you for spending the time letting us know what you felt.

Great Pictures, Rich. Thanks.