Navis

I'll start by saying our sample size is as small as possible, but if our experience is helpful to you I am happy to share!  We are about to embark on our first Regent cruise in June and are first timers navigating this included airfare option.  When we booked 1.5 years ago we opted for the credit ($3,200 pp) because (1) we live in a major hub for numerous airlines so we knew we would have options, (2) we really wanted the flexibility of booking out to London and home when we wanted (we have friends in London we expected to spend a few days with), and (3) we knew there would be many direct flight options from our location.

With that background, opting out and booking out own was by far the best decision we made!  The main advantage, we were able to upgrade our class of travel for a nominal amount.  When I spoke with Regent about flights, they told me that on BA, our flight would be in Club World (business class).  The confusion I had was that they were quoting us the $3,200 pp for business class when I was seeing First Class for $3,300. So long story short, we are going to be flying direct to Heathrow in first class rather than business class for only $100 more per person than the credit Regent gave us. This is a complete no brainer but I understand that our situation may be unique.  Just thought I would share as some times it pays off to look around! 

21 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

No. It will show on your itinerary and on your final paperwork.

 

Why not just take a credit from Regent for the included hotel, extend your stay at your chosen hotel and then take a cab/uber to the ship on embarkation day? Just a thought.

Thank you!  And now that you suggest extending at our first hotel, that does sound like a better idea.  I think at the time I booked the cruise the total price was just so much more than we had spent on our other (non luxury level) cruises I thought I'd just save some money where I could.  Now that the total has been paid ... maybe just one more night and uber would not be that bad 🙂

18 minutes ago, mj_holiday said:

Do you have a TA? TA could tell you.

Since you have booked your own air, you will not have a transfer from airport to hotel - you probably already know this.

If you would have declined the pre-cruise hotel, you would have gotten a modest credit for that one night.  This would show up on the detail pricing.

I would bet if you do not have this credit for the hotel, they will have a room for you.  But to be on the safe side, just call Regent to double check. Have your booking number handy.

Thank you!  I don't see a hotel credit on my booking paperwork like I do for the declined airfare so perhaps that's the answer, but a double check with Regent can't hurt! Thank you 

Apologies in advance for what I'm sure will turn out to be a dumb question!  I did search the Board and found some related threads but nothing as basic as my question.  We have our first Regent cruise later this spring and we are in a cabin class that includes the one night pre-cruise included hotel.  When we booked this cruise I opted out of the included airfare as we plan to fly in a few days early to visit with some friends.  Our plan is to just check out of the hotel we have booked for those days and taxi over to the Regent assigned hotel for the pre-cruise night and take advantage of Regent transport to the port on embarkation day.

I can see on my itinerary that our hotel has been assigned, but my question is do I need to do anything formal to "accept" that reservation with Regent?  I've never spoken to anyone at Regent letting them know that although we declined the included airfare, we do intend to use the pre-cruise hotel night.  Is it normal for people to just show up and check in without previously confirming with Regent? I suppose I could just call and ask, but I thought I would check in first here! Many thanks in advance for any insights provided.

9 minutes ago, Lonedaddy said:

Generally morning is preferred.  On sea days I've seen both times offered on port days usually only have seen the 4pm so maybe my memory is bad or they changed that.   I guess the 4 pm is good if you eat late but we are usually stuffed after the cooking class so we prefer the 10 am slot.

Oh, good point!  I thought I saw them offered both times, but perhaps I am misremembering and it was only offered at 10AM & 4PM on the sea day and just at 4PM on the rest!  I really wanted to try the French cooking class, but unfortunately it conflicts we an excursion we already signed up with so we went with a class that I am sure will be fun and we'll learn a lot, but I'm not jazzed about the cuisine. We shall see.

I do wish they sent out emails when the classes become available (like they do for so many other things). Maybe consolidate the 100 Black Friday Sale emails into one and free up that time to draft and send a CAK reservations are now open email. Haha

Fwiw, we booked our excursions this last June for a cruise next June -- I'll never forget the experience as I had to run home from a bar in the pouring rain without an umbrella before 8PM ET as I almost forgot that was our window!  Made it home just in time to find the dreaded "system down for maintenance" message!  I checked back in a few hours and it was back up and running, but no options to reserve the cooking classes at that time.

I as well thought perhaps we would not have cooking classes on our cruise as it is port intensive with only 1 sea day out of 13. I have been periodically checking the booking for various reasons since June and did notice that last week they appear to have added the links to the cooking classes.  It appears to be only random days that they are offered, but they are offering at least 8 different classes (2x a day at 10AM and 4PM). I assumed the one sea day we have would already be sold out, but was able to get us 2 spots in the 4PM class!

I have noticed this week that all the 10AM classes are now sold out (well, at least not showing up anymore as options with no ability to wait list) so I'm guessing the morning classes are more desirable than the afternoon offerings (because the timing makes attending dinner unlikely I am guessing).  We decided if we like the food then we'll just order snacks from room service later in the evening, but if we don't we'll just go the CR for dinner if we get hungry. 

7 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Yes,I was at a conference two weeks ago.

It's a lovely hotel but not in a good area for luxury cruise passengers.

Rosewood will be opening a new hotel in the old American embassy in Grosvenor Square which is a good area, but not for a year or so yet.

Many thanks!

We are new Regent cruisers very much looking forward to our visit experience next June!  I know that the assigned pre-cruise hotel can (and often does) change, but it looks like we have recently been assigned to the Rosewood.  I'm guessing this is a new hotel for Regent?  I noticed all the other precise hotels listed has a short summary of the hotel including contact info, but the Rosewood is just blank.  Anyone ever stayed at the Rosewood?  

Got the same notification for our 14nt on March 12. A bit disappointed, but we’ll roll with the punches. Also, some changes to the northern bound itinerary the week of the 12th for those interested… moved Roseau to the 23rd (in place of Cabrits which, as you mentioned, was cancelled). Our moved Roseau date is now a sea day. They also cut back port times in St Lucia and St Johns (the latter by 5 hours) and added a second Carambola Beach day… not terrible but we’ll be there in Friday and then again the next Tuesday.

Interested in the new Grenada stop, but right now there are no excursions listed (assume they will as this island requires ship excursions only). Hoping they offer a beach excursion as that will be our last day. 
 

As mentioned, we are disappointed as we originally had 14 ports in 14 days with only 2 “revisits” (albeit different ports), but now we have 2 sea days with 4 revisits. But any day on the ship will be better than a New England winter … as we bunker down for 2-3ft tomorrow.

@CwazeAndCwaze we’ll be boarding our first Seabourn cruise as well the day before you on the Odyssey! I’ve found the regular Seabourn cruisers on this Board so amazingly helpful over the past 3 years as I’ve asked all kinds of random questions (as we, like everyone else, has had 2 cruises cancelled in the past 2 years).

I also wanted to add that I hope you decide to do one of your famous video series for your March trip! It was watching your Alaska series that convinced us to book Seabourn for Alaska last summer after our March 2020 cruise canceled (alas, Alaska was cancelled as well — but we intend to cruise there next).

Who knows, maybe the Ovation and Odyssey will cross paths in the Caribbean in March! Happy Cruising! 😀

So we’re in the same boat (apologies for the pun) as many others. Our biggest issue is that we are still using our March 2020 credits for our March 12th Odyssey cruise. I called earlier today to ask about cancelling (for the 4th time) and whether our original credit from 2020 would be extended (as it is set to expire 3/13/22). I was told they would not extend the 2020 credit, but we could get a credit for the “upgraded” fare we paid last summer to bump up from our existing suite to the Signature Suite we currently have.

The expiring cruise credits are very significant and I just can’t swallow walking away from so much money, but I have all the same concerns that have been stated above. This is to be our first Seabourn cruise and I’m worried that it is going to be hard to enjoy it even if we go because who knows what the next day will bring. In most ways, I can just roll with the punches, but sadly traveling for me is difficult (even in my mid 40s) due to a terrible lower back and multiple back surgeries. I can’t simply be dropped off in any port and left to get my own way home … I need to plan travel with lie flat seating as my ability to sit longer than about 30mins is very limited .. . Anyway, I know that is just a me issue but it does give me great pause and just adds stress to what should be a time of great anticipation.

FWIW, I did get a survey from Seabourn tonight … from the few questions they asked I would guess they are thinking about changing the vax requirements to include boosters … not that that matters for us as we’ve both already fully vaxxed and boosted already. Not sure if they sent the survey to just a random sample or folks who have up upcoming cruises.

55 minutes ago, shark b8 said:

….and right next door to us is the Norwegian Escape - capacity ~4,600.  I dunno, I personally am pretty happy with the li’l Odyssey, even if it doesn’t have a water slide and a roller coaster on top.  😅 🚢

 

Not sure if I’ve previously mentioned, all our prior 6 cruises have been in NCL (out of NYC) … of the ships we’ve been on the Escape was by far our favorite. Especially our Deluxe Owners Suite in the Haven … felt like we were on a ship of a few hundred rather than a few thousand!
 

In fact, it was our experience on this ship and that Haven that convinced us to make the move to a luxury line with a smaller ship. On our last trip on the Escape I think we left the confines of the Haven only 3 evenings for dinner and when we left the ship for our 2.5 days in Bermuda. 
 

Really enjoying your trip updates and and happy to hear things are settling back into that cruise rhythm. Getting me very excited for our March visit to the Odyssey for our first Seabourn cruise!

9 minutes ago, shark b8 said:

We’re in St. Kitts, with a return to Barbados a couple of days away, so Seabourn is required to do the Q-tip-in-the-snoot thing, yet again.  It was all organized and relatively painless, they did it in the Salon, you just give your suite number and they take it from there.

 

 

Many thanks for taking time out of your vacation to post for all of us to enjoy! This is interesting … it seems Barbados wants a 48hr test, but to re-enter the US don’t we need neg PCR within 24hrs? Has Seabourn explained at all how they are handling disembarkation testing for passengers heading back to the US? Are they going to have to test you again on the 28th? Or are you staying on island for a post-cruise holiday? 
 

I tried to find information on this everywhere on Seabourn’s site but so far I can find no details for  those of us that will disembark and head directly to the airport. Our cruise is not until March and I know things are likely to change before then, but I am getting nervous about the pre-disembarkation testing.

1 hour ago, RetiredandTravel said:

I was wondering how this worked also.  When you purchase the room do get get an assigned room at the higher level or just luck of the draw at some point?

 

Also if I buy the second highest Veranda do I get a Penthouse suite?

 

ty

My understating is that the deal is only operable for the V category of suites, but I could be wrong on that obviously.

11 minutes ago, Miss Merry said:

Don’t leave without us.  We’re flying in tomorrow from Tortola, BVI, we don’t have a QR code but have 26 thousand tons of paperwork which should suffice.  Envy you being ensconced in Barbados already and just the embarkation to negotiate. Looking forward, after jumping through all the hoops, to having our first glass of bubbly and toasting our good fortune, tests willing!🤞🥂

Have a wonderful cruise! 

Very much looking forward to your report! We’re on the Odyssey in March for our first Seabourn cruise. We’re flying in direct the day of so I’m beginning to think about how to handle our PCR tests and whether we should just use one of the companies Barbados recommends that will come to our condo the Wednesday before to test us. Well, plenty of time to figure that all out! Really looking forward to your reports and thank you in advance for taking time out of your vacation to do this. 

A little off topic, but to the extent you find it helpful, fort the ships with the Haven that also have a Food Republic … they used to offer Haven guests 50% off on embarkation evening for dinner. We did this quite a few times and just paid out of pocket rather than using a speciality dining credit. 

Ahh, sorry I missed the testing discrepancy on Sint Maarten specific page.
 

The one I pointed out to them yesterday was the contradiction between the “General FAQs” tab and the “Barbados and Sint Maarten cruises” tab. The general one says test must be within 2 days while the Barbados section says it must be within 3 days. At first I was worried that what they were saying was Barbados was requiring a three day test but that Seabourn was separately requiring a 2 day test … which seemed ridiculous. So I called and was on hold for a while but they finally came back and said the 2 day was a mistake copied over from another FAQ.

I’ve talked to Seabourn numerous times over the past few months about how this is all going to work as I’ve pointed out many inconsistencies to them in the FAQs on this topic on the website (not trying to take cheap shot — I actually really appreciate the effort they have put in to provide the information and keep it relatively updated (although I note they have still not updated the website regarding the extension of the vaccine requirement).

That said, I am on a March Barbados-Barbados cruise, but the concept is really the same here (in other words … the two islands are not counting days differently). The key observation I’ve made so far is that, to the extent possible, Seabourn is trying to align the PCR test requirements of the country with the embarkation protocols to minimize the amount of time/money we’ll have to come out of pocket on tests, and keeping in mind that they are still do rapid tests at embark for all passengers anyway.

So, to your first question … I have been told repeatedly that the 3 days test requirement relates to entry to the country itself and that test is sufficient for embarkation. In fact, they recently updated the FAQ to make clear that if you arrive a few days early for a pre-cruise stay no additional PCR testing will be required. So, for us … also boarding on a Saturday … it means we need a test on the previous Wednesday (still haven’t figured out if we’re going with the “we’ll come to your house and test you and take the test away and mail it” option that Barbados seems to prefer or some other option).

I also agree Sint Maarten looks more confusing I think because currently, fully vaccinated passengers have to testing requirements, but given the fact that the ship home ports in Barbados as well they might be aligning so that they can represent to Barbados that “all embarking travelers both tested neg at embarkation and provided proof of a neg PCR test taken within 3 days.” So, I’ve been told by Seabourn that for Sat cruises, PCR test dates should be no earlier than the Wednesday before.

Finally, thought I would add that, as of Monday, Sint Maarten IS reinstating it PCR test policy for travel from countries with high COVID rates .. although the US is not on the list yet, looking at the list I would guess it is just a matter of time until we are added. The kicker is it looks like Sint Maarten is going to require either a 48hr PCR test OR a 24 Ag test. I’m guessing for those of us embarking at Barbados might need to get a test onboard the day before we arrive if we want to get off and tour on our own.

Sorry for the long message and hope it helps somewhat.

Just received note this morning that our March itinerary on the Odyssey has made identical changes … replacing Guadeloupe and Martinique with additional stops in St Lucia and Dominica.

This was expected so not surprised and I also appreciate that Seabourn made the effort to find us interesting second ports on different parts of the same islands we visited earlier in the cruise. The falls and hot springs excursion in Roseau looks interesting 😀

Agree with what you are saying @klkaylor78, but I would point out that some of the endemic examples you point out actually do require proof (or certificates) of vaccination for entry to certain countries and have at least since I was born. Now, in some cases, those requirements are waived for immediate boarding of an open-circuit cruise or if a passenger is in transit, but not always. Also, some diseases that are no longer even really endemic (polio) are still subject to proof of vaccination for entry into certain countries.

I only comment because I learned this lesson the hard way … I was scheduled to  join a family winter vacation one year, but about two months out needed to add an 18 hr jaunt to an intermediate country for a business meeting. Because I was now transiting through a country with high incidence of yellow fever, my vacation destination required proof of yellow fever vaccination (which I actually had no record of ever having). Luckily, my assistant caught this early enough so all turned out well, I got the shot and the certificate, but for the rest of my family that was traveling directly from the US, none of this was required.

I actually look forward to the day when COVID becomes endemic (as I’m sure we all are) and we can treat it like yellow fever … I just suspect it is going to be a bigger change for US citizens/residents than expected as we are not currently considered an endemic location for most of these types of diseases… until now. So, unlike the majority of the rest of the world, we are not used to dealing with these traveling protocols. My South American colleagues joke about how easy the US has it vis-a-vis travel because we’re not an endemic location for anything pre-COVID so we never have to line up vaccination certificates for travel, but in SA, they’ve been doing it their whole lives. I think we in the US will just need to adjust our world view.

I just got off the phone with Seabourn regarding some arrangements for our upcoming March cruise and the rep wanted to make sure that I knew that the vaccination requirement had recently been extended through March 31, 2022. I didn’t see it on the website yet so just thought I would share the information in case that would influence anyone’s final decision as final payment date is around the corner.

This is so great of you to do … thank you for taking the time to do a live report! We will also be on our first Seabourn cruise (on the Odyssey) in March so looking forward to all your Seabourn insights.

At this point in the pandemic, I tend to agree that risk associated with variants is a known risk that should have been considered at the time of the booking. That said, I do sympathize with the OP as a variant like Omicron could significantly alter the likelihood of cruise enjoyment and risk of interruption.

People keep talking about risk of infection, severity of symptoms and current masking policies as if that is all that needs to be taken into account, but the truth is far more complex and likely out of our individual control. The problem I see is travel protocols that have been focused on one thing and one thing only … transmissibility and NOT severity (probably because until now, severity has remained a constant in this equation). With a variant like this one …. Much more transmissible, but less severe … the probability that my cruise gets  “interrupted” in one form or another goes up materially regardless of my vaccination status or whether I or anyone in my travel party contract the virus or not.

As the facts come to light, it is likely to be a mixed bag (as has been the case with these variants from the start). Scientists yesterday and today have already started saying that vaccines will struggle with Omicron to prevent breakthrough infections, but they suspect that vaccines will hold up well against the risk of severe infection. However, they also suspect (again, not proven yet) that natural immunity derived from prior infection will be almost non-existent with Omicron so that’s a large population that becomes at risk again.

Again, trying to look on the bright side, it does appear this variant causes less severe illness (which is, of course, great for those of us with elderly family we have been trying to protect throughout this pandemic), but what does that matter when all the protocols in place for travel are based only on transmissibility? If those protocols don’t change (and not sure how they could given testing would not identify the strain one is infected with) I think the likelihood that I end up in quarantine either because I myself as a fully vaccinated passenger test positive or as a close contact of someone on the ship that tests positive goes up. 

I also worry about home port and destination-specific cruise protocols/requirements, which again, are based 100% on transmissibility and are subject to revision almost daily. Does my risk of being forced to quarantine on ship for a period of time increase? Yes. Does my risk of being required to disembark at the next port to make my way home increase? Yes. Does the likelihood that the cruise ship itself crosses its maximum permitted positive test rate threshold mandating immediate cruise cancellation increase? Yes. Does the risk that I have to quarantine for a period of time in a foreign country before permitted to fly home increase? Yes.

Again, to the OP’s comment, I do think this was a risk assumed at booking … well, at least I can say it was for us. We are scheduled to cruise out of Barbados in March (after having to cancel and rebook 3 times the past 2 years) and we still plan to go (partly because our significant cruise credit it about to expire), but understand that the risk our cruise will be interrupted in one way or another likely went up significantly in the last week.

Sorry, posted to wrong thread 😀