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That's pretty neat! Here is a photo where you can kinda make out Explorer behind the terminal. https://en.rti.org.tw/news/view/id/2009101

Yeah, good call. Schipol and CDG are probably the 2 of the 3 worst airports in Europe.

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I recently went through some old photos and realized we are 2 doors down from the cabin we were in 2018 which was identical. You're right, the balcony wasn't large, but it was adequate. Thanks again and enjoy your med cruise!

^^ Agree. My last cruise was on Star Princess, a few months before Covid shut everything down. She is/was similar in age to Voyager and Mariner and also had periodic refits, but the difference in condition was night and day. From outward wear and tear to even things like elevators out of order and water leaks seemingly everywhere. Regent ships might not be new, but they're kept in far better condition than most IMHO.

Top/bottom shelf is relative. The alcohol and spirits are all good quality, brand name products. Are you going to get a $2K, 25 year old bottle of single malt no charge in your cabin? Probably not. Bottle of Johnny Walker black or Red? Probably. I remember in my last Med cruise we were about 2 days from the end and I asked our steward for a Canadian Whisky. After we came back from dinner a 1L bottle of Canadian Club is sitting on our bar. I really wish they had smaller bottles, it darn near killed me finishing that bottle in a evening! (kidding.. about the evening part)

I wasn't wild about the pool grill burgers either, but it's pretty rare for me to eat anything there. I want to make a point of trying more this time though to give them a fair shake.

Viewing it like a hybrid of an airline model is exactly where my mind went too. There are some excellent videos made regarding the logic of the business model. https://youtu.be/BzB5xtGGsTc

What a nice story

I realize this is all personal preference, but what do you think is the most overrated menu item? Mine is probably the Prime 7 Caramel/Popcorn sundae. I heard people raving about it, so I figured I had try it. Ordered it, received it and while it certainly wasn't bad, it was a bit of a letdown. It probably wouldn't even break the top 10 of desert I've had on board before.

Gary Bembridge, that UK "Tips for Travelers" guy on youtube is going to drop a review this weekend about his recent cruise on Navigator. Its also his first Regent cruise. I think he does good reviews and I am genuinely curious as to what he says about Regent and Navigator specifically.

I genuinely don't think so, but then again stranger things have happened the past few years. Companies can do some pretty questionable things in the name of ~shareholder value~ at times....

We haven't taken a Regent cruise since 2018. We board next month. If the experience is noticeably degraded from our previous cruises (which I genuinely don't expect) I doubt we'll take another one. If the cutbacks are truly dialing back waste and the experience on the customer side of things isn't noticeably different (crab legs won't effect me but noticeable lack of general service, food quality, portions will) we'd probably continue to do more as we get older. For a couple with a finite budget for holidays, both in time and $$, they are just too darn big of an outlay to justify a less than premium experience.

I'd be miserable wearing jeans anywhere as hot and humid as the amazon. Or were they talking about wearing mosquito net hats while onboard? 😉

Thanks for the quick reply. Clunky but not surprising. Appreciate it 🙂

I want to remove some excursions which we booked a couple weeks ago on the web site. While they are checked, they are "ghosted" and do not allow me to un-check. Is there something obvious I'm missing? I am all properly logged in (can see our cruise and everything). We still have over a month until departure. Do I have to call them?

We've had that happen, and indeed there is a risk it might happen on our cruise in a few weeks as we booked very late. We always found excursions we could do so we just waitlisted the "preferred" one. IIRC, last time we did that we had tickets for them waiting in our cabin. Someone said they added another bus or something like that. That said, where we are going to be potentially tightest with excursions (Bermuda) we know exactly what we want to do and they are reachable via very safe public transit if we can't get on the organized tour.

I would like to know the future plans specifically for the RSSC fleet. Acknowledging that Explorer, Splendour and Grandeur are recent/new, the other half of the fleet, while very well maintained and beautiful ships, are firmly into middle age with the youngest (Voyager) has over 20 years in service. Is RSSC/NCL planing further modernization/refits to these vessels to keep them competitive and desirable in the marketplace? Are additional "Explorer class" vessels planned after launch of Grandeur? How long do you plan to keep the legacy ships part of the revenue generating fleet?

Biggest problem I have with their website is often it's slow as heck. Although it's better than it used to be.

We used Rome In Limo in 2018 (google to find) and they were spectacular. Very highly recommended as well. The Vatican guide we had was absolutely phenomenal. IIRC she had her Phd in history or some darn thing. Amazing quality guide and driver.

My experiences have been similar, but I've only been on a dozen-ish. No where near 60 for sure. Probably 10-15 or so would be average, although I suspect that can vary somewhat depending on the port/itinerary.

Regent "included" tours vary wildly. They are using independent port tour operators so they have the gamut. Everything from catching a bus to the destination and exploring on your own, to an 8 hour guided tour with food and drinks. We had some fantastic included tours last cruise, Split, Catania and Avignon in particular were standouts that come to mind. II had paid for those in another scenario I would have been very happy with the experience and exceptionally knowledgeable and friendly guides. Don't be put off just because they're the "included" tours.

I personally don't even power my phone on when I'm on holidays if I can avoid it. I bring my small notebook PC to potentially do an email in the AM while having a coffee to see if there are any disasters that can't wait/keep family up to date, but other than that I try to unplug.

Wow, who would have thought doing google searches for old ships would lead to untouched, time capsule mid 90s web pages http://www.signaturetravel.com/static/flower1.htm http://www.signaturetravel.com/static/flower7.htm

Absolutely not to take away from the OP and this fantastic cruise, I'd say you need to set foot to say you've been there. Similar reason why flying over the north pole doesn't let you say you made it to the north pole or if you flew over Everest doesn't let you say you've been on Mt. Everest. Still, just anchored off Antarctica is pretty darn cool in its own rights!

Interesting to hear about it. I wonder why Regent/Radisson sold it? A little "too" unique?