bennett2005

I would recommend using a travel agent.  A good one can add value in many ways.  Dollar rebates,added cruise credits etc.  Talk to fellow cruisers and I am sure you will get referrals. The agent can be anywhere as most communication occurs over the internet. 
 

One can develop a real friendship with their agent. The agent gets to know your likes and dislikes and provide real service. A Regent agent will not be the same. 
 

Some agents escort cruises and we have meet many long time friends all over the world because of that connection.  

I am fairly sure the port would be San Pedro. If you left ship at 8 am or 8:30 you have a good chance of making the 11:35 flight.  I for one would not be rushed about leaving ship. Have a good breakfast and leave easy around 9 and book the 1:15 flight. You should be good for that flight. Time to lax from San Pedro would be this than an hour but traffic could make it much more.  Traffic at lax in late march was really bad and that could slow arrival at terminal. 

The message from travel agent does not ring true.  I would contact Regent direct and use a different travel agent in future 

I could be wrong but think controlling COVID on the ship is very doable.  The big issue in my view is how to deal with the excursions and controlling COVID getting on the ship from people getting off and coming into contact with COVID.   We like sea days but not all sea days.  

Cruise cancelled April 2.   Refund posted to Credit card account June 2.   Not unhappy with that performance at all.  Seems quite reasonable to me.  

I can not help but question all the complaining.  It is clear that given the current financial position of Regent that the refund will happen.  The value of the delay in terms of interest lost is minimal to the point of it being pennies.  If the loss of use of a few thousand $ for a few weeks is that critical to ones finances then maybe they should reevaluate taking the cruise in the first place. 

With the current state of the world it would seem there is much more to be concerned about.  

In addition to the Regent ships, Navigator, Splendor, and Mariner the Oceania Regatta and the Norwegian ships the Joy and Jewel are in the LA harbor area.  Suspect the post about reducing crew and sending them home from LAX is true and all the mentioned ships are sending crew home from LAX.  NCL has probably charted planes to fly crew home.  Makes sense to bring all the crew to one place and do it as a group.  Advantage of being part of NCL.  

February 2021 is a long time from now so it is hard to predict anything in this world at this time.  The Prime Minister of New Zealand today did announce that as of today ALL persons entering NZ , including NZ citizens will be put into " managed isolation" for 14 days.  The NZ government has arrangements with 18 hotel properties to house such persons.  It was not stated how long this policy would be in place.  

It is difficult to see that this can remain in effect for too many months due to the cost to the government and the impact on tourism which is very important to the country.  I depart in mid May and will return in late November.  I would be very unhappy to return and need to spend 14 days in a "managed isolation" facility.  Hopefully by then we would be allowed to self isolate in our housing in Auckland.  

All of NZ is in a very strict policy of " stay at home".  This is being very strictly enforced and only essential travel, grocery shopping , medical appointments etc are allowed.  There was even road blocks established on certain highways to the south and north of Auckland today to stop any travel that was outside the rules.  

There will be very stringent measures put in place for ALL travel , especially cruise ships, to New Zealand for many months if not a year or so.  The belief in New Zealand is that all most all virus infections are travel related.  There was a news conference just yesterday where the Prime Minister made comments to that effect.  They are very keen to take extreme measures to stop the virus from getting back into the country once it is stamped out. So far the extreme measures taken have proven very beneficial in stoping the spread.  As of yesterday there has been only 1 death and that was over a week ago. 

There is a great contest going on currently.  You all should try to win. 

First place is a 10 day cruise on the Grand Princess

Second place is a 20 day cruise on the Grand Princess.  

What does someone do that has been away from their home for say 30 days and is getting on a ship in a foreign port.  Unable to get a certificate from normal doctor.  While the example may not be normal it does happen.  

Last post comment.  

Sounds to me like an essay on why one should have an experienced travel agent.  

We are also booked on this cruise and very much looking forward to the experience of small out of the way ports in the UK.  

Tried to complete survey but took to long to load and I gave up.  Tried to load a couple of times and just gave up.   Dumb.  

Silversea Explorer is doing the cruise to South of New Zealand in January 2021,  It is bookable now.  

We are booked as are others.  Dunedin to Dunedin.  

I am booked on the subject cruise from AMS.  We were told of the new departure port well in excess of one year.  Air would not have been an issue as you can not book air more than a year or less in advance.  There would have been no out of pocket cost, cruise deposit would have been refunded if port not acceptable.   We are doing the back to back so will end in London and will have the pleasure of the arrival under the London bridge.  Looking forward to the cruise very much.

We like the expedition cruises as they are more of an adventure.  

I would select the cloud.  That said only go to Antarctica cruise if it includes South Georgia 

there is a great cruise in early Jan 2020

Agree with Marc comments. It is an expensive cruise. If you like lots of boring sea days it might be good for you.

Should have moved to Savannah instead of near Austin. Next thing is you will want a direct flight to SYD from Austin.

Always use an experienced travel agent and one that does a fair amount of business with the cruise line you are wanting to book. A good travel agent is invaluable when booking a cruise.

About the hall way carpet. What would you have Regent to install. Something that works for your living room but I suggest would not work for a cruise ship. I personally think the carpet is perfect for a cruise ship. It in my opinion is PERFECT.

I have been on the Explorer since Barcelona on Sept 4, 2016. I am finding many of the posts about the crew odd as our experience has been very positive. Cabin steward doing job extremely well. Asked for a certain soda to be in frig in cabin and have never run out and plenty always there. The restaurant staff has always been very friendly and accommodating, often going way out of their way to please in an agreeable mood.

I am not saying some people may have experienced differently , but just saying our experience is different.

We are long time Regent cruisers, so may alway look at the positive.

I did what would appear to be a similar tour probably 8 or so years ago. It was not as pricy then but was for its time. It was a great tour. The visit to a castle where the wine tasting was was interesting. The wine was more than a taste. As much as you could drink and was exceptional. The food spread was also impressive. It was about 11 am or so in the morning so was a bit difficult at first. The afternoon around 1:30pm was lunch. A very high end notable place. Very good but after the wine tasting and the snacking could not do it justice. Someone in the group noticed that the wife of the Wine Spectator owner was a patron of the restaurant.

I looked at this for the September Explorer cruise we are on but opted for the Lucca wine tasting that was not as pricy and looked interesting.

Hope this helps.