slidebite

Yikes. That really does sound super disappointing. We missed a port and had a port change during our Med cruise in 2018 (and a few people were REALLY upset) which I took in stride (although I still mourn the opportunity to see Pompeii) but missing that much of such a long, expensive trip, would be really tough to swallow. I hope Regent makes it right.

To be fair, the website is pretty clunky and laggy. I don't think that's a revelation to anyone, including RSSC staff. 🙂

I can honestly say a muster drill has absolutely zero impact on how much I enjoy my holiday.

I've never been seasick myself, but 2 years ago I developed out of the blue a nasty ocular/vestibular issue which hit me like a ton of bricks. NOT fun. It gave me appreciation for those who get badly seasick or suffer from vertigo. I do not wish it on anyone.

Was it televised? Did they say if they'll have a party/show it in a lounge? I'm trying to remember if there are big screens in any of the lounges of the ships I've been on.. I don't think so?

Regent ships just don't have activities on board for the little duffers. There are some puzzles and that in the games area, but I would kinda feel bad for them. Sounds like a recipe for playing by themselves on their Nintendo or something in the cabin. If I had a little guy up to, maybe tweens, I'd probably look at a suite on one of the larger ships that do have kid activities, but that's just me. Many of those have adult areas so the older folks can have refuge. Or give the little guy $100 and tell him to go nuts in the casino lol (just kidding of course)

FWIW I don't think I've ever had to wait more than 5, maybe 10 minutes tops at either Compass Rose or Seti Marie the couple times we sailed on Voyager and Mariner iirc, but I've never been on Navigator. I do wonder if that will change though with the Pool Grill shutting down for dinner. I always saw a few casual people (never many) eating there. I guess room service will become the default for super casual dining?

Thanks, I don't think we'll have a consult with a US doctor in that day so Mrs. will want to stick with something OTC.

Log onto your account online, go into your upcoming cruise, about halfway down the page there is a section called "Important dates" where you have the "milestones" of things you need/should do, like payments, excursions, dining, etc. Once the date for reservations open up click it and make your res. In my experience, the tables for 2 fill up fairly quickly for prime dining times, but you will have a high chance of a prime time if you are open to sharing a table. The last couple times we cruised it was 4 of us so we always shared, but since its just the 2x of us this time we'll probably try that a couple times. You can also book on board.

I'm not familiar with Scopolamine patches. Are they OTC and easy to find in the US? We have a day in Miami before we leave, can we just go to a walmart/walgreens or something and gab some?

Just click on the name of the actual port that day and it should come up. I liked downloading the list like ^^ mentioned for quick ref

Airlines are predicting high travel rates as far as I know, but whether their fleet, staff, and airport infrastructure can keep up is another question. A lot of those semi-skilled jobs at the airports that were gone during the pandemic are now vacant and those employees have moved on. Air Canada and specifically Toronto (YYZ) was an absolute disaster of epic proportions for 2022. I would do my upmost to not fly through Toronto if it's within my power to do so (although to be fair I loathed Toronto/YYZ even pre-covid. It's just a terrible airport). I had to fly to Halifax from Calgary earlier this year and I happily paid a premium to avoid Toronto like the plague. Hopefully it'll be better by later this year but who knows.

Oh interesting, I was not aware of that and never heard of it.

I too agree that an in person muster is probably a good thing. If nothing else it might help me get acquainted with the ship if I haven't been on it before/some time. But we're also people that actually listen to the flight attendants and read the emergency sheet in the seat back when we fly so we're kinda weird 😕 It's only a few minutes, it's not ruining the trip and might save your life.

Nice! Always good to come across unexpected talent. We did a princess cruise in 2019 and discovered a really great vocalist, Phillip Browne. If I saw him give a performance somewhere local I'd definitely attend.

I'll just throw my .02 in here as well. I think F is the suite spot (get it??!!)) in cabin classes for most people that don't really want a full/larger suite. They are anything but small and have all the Regent services you'd likely want, especially for a couple. This likely isn't you, but as someone who typically does late-ish bookings, people generally book excursions and reserve as soon as its possible to do so. It's entirely possible your favorite excursions may be full right away so I rank them and wait list my fave. It's not entirely unheard of to have Regent throw another bus on a very wait listed excursion or have ppl cancel so don't despair if it is. They did that 2x on our Med cruise in 2018. Regarding meals, our cruse departs in just over 2 months (so we were late bookers. Again.) and we booked our reservations just the other day. Getting reservations for tables for 2 at prime eating times were pretty spotty (no problem if you are ok with late dining) but we were able to snag a couple 630 or 7 on sea days for Prime 7 and Chartreuse. If you are OK sharing a table and dining with others, that will greatly open up availability in my experience and probably worthwhile doing if you meet people you click with. Regarding flights, We just got our tentative flight schedule and it was OK in that it only had 1 connection (Barcelona to Calgary) but the layover was far from ideal, ~6 hours in Montreal with an early AM arrival into Calgary on a non-layflat for that leg of the journey (still business though). SO, I did some of my own sleuthing and found some codeshare Lufthansa/Air Canada flights (which I know Regent books with) and ran it past my agent to see if they were available as options since we're already paying for a deviation by coming to a smaller non-included gateway airport. Leaves Barcelona an hour earlier and has an additional layover in Vancouver, but gets us home about 3 hours earlier which after a long travel day will be appreciated. TA says she gave the request to regents flight people and will let me know today if its acceptable. If it is, great. If not, or if it's a crazy upcharge, we'll just live with the layover in Montreal. But the flights aren't necessarily written in stone. They do their best to come up with an itinerary with minimum or layovers and connections but you can always ask to modify/deviate. There may be a charge and they may say no, but you can always ask.

I know motion sickness has been touched on in the past, but I thought it might be worthwhile revisiting especially since we have a good mix of posters from other countries here. I've heard that a UK drug called Stugeron is quite effective and sworn some say its almost magic its so good. Anyone here familiar with it? Comparison to, say Gravol/Dramaine? The active ingredient does seem to be different. Stugeron=Cinnarizine Gravol/Dramamine=Dimenhydrinate Is an equiv to it available in North America? If not I was thinking we *might* be able to buy some in Bermuda (2-3) days into our cruise in a couple months trip (assuming its over the counter and not a script?) But if we can get something that is the same on this side of the ocean beforehand that would be more ideal. Mrs. Slidebite can be impacted from time to time on rough seas and gravol/dramimine has mixed results. Other home type remedies like ginger and similar seem to be pretty much a placebo to her.

The only time I've *ever* run into a dress code was going into the observation lounge in the evening and I was still wearing my daytime shorts from being on land earlier in the day. They had a long pants rule after 6PM or something like that (I assume it still is?). They were not rude about it, and neither was I, but a polite reminder by the friendly bar-keep and all was good. The allowable clothing for the dining rooms are pretty much anything as long as you aren't wearing ratty jeans or shorts. I've seen the full spectrum of ladies dresses and also very basic long pants and very casual blouses. It's not an issue and do not overthink it. You absolutely can dress up (or down) if you like. I think I only wore a suit once to dinner and that's when we were invited out of the blue to have dinner with the cruise director (a pleasant surprise). I typically wouldn't even pack a suit on a cruise and I won't be for our April TA.

Yeah, Starlink seems like a no brainer to me. Don't know why they wouldn't rush to get that and charge for the premium. Seems like another revenue stream that many might be willing to buy. I probably wouldn't if it were extra, but I *might*

Do all the vessels have some on demand? I genuinely don't remember if they had that in 2018.

I'm trying to remember what there is for in-suite entertainment on the cabin TV. Are there movies on demand and live TV? Voyager specifically for us in a couple of months, but curious in general for the other vessels too. I seem to recall for our med cruise in 2018 it was very limited. Not that we watch much on TV but sometimes if we're getting ready to retire for the evening putting on a movie is nice (or watching the food network if they have it lol)

Ugh. That is a city I'd rather not be left to fend for myself in. I hope they compensated you well!

We're getting into MIA very late on the 3rd. We don't have our flight schedule yet from BCN - I'm hoping we don't need to spend a night there if we can avoid it, but I am prepared for a very long day coming back.

Trying to be specific on disembarkation, I think you get a questionnaire the day before giving you the options of time for your transfer to the airport. Those who have sailed more recently than I can probably answer if it has changed at all.

I've never heard of this either with Regent, but I wonder what would happen if anyone has tried a couple days before sailing date?