RetiredandTravel

Either way I would highly recommend a serious tour of Pompeii. We found Pompeii absolutely fascinating.

Its not like they need the money or anything.

If you are new to Regent one of the biggest benefits of the Concierge Suite (and higher) is it gives you priority for excursions & specialty restaurant reservations. This is quite important, so if you can swing it go with Concierge over basic Veranda. Our experience is that a vast majority of Regent cruisers and very nice and friendly. We have met a few that seem to think they are further up the food chain because they have cruised many nights on Regent. I would guess that's true on any cruise line. Easily ignored. The demographic is on the older side. I'd guess 80% above 60 and 90% above 50. I doubt many would treat someone younger differently but its important to know. We have had good experiences with Regent included excursions but they are on a bus with 30-60 other passengers and a tour guide. In most cases the bus takes you to the destination and you walk around with the group and tour guide. There is a wide variety of food choices and they will cater to your requests. enjoy.

The "risk on" trade in stocks, corporate bonds and high yield YTD indicates the market is leaning towards the soft landing camp. The spike in two year yields this week is a little disconcerting, Feb 2 low 4.04% yesterday 4.52. With Covid this seems to me to be a very unique economic environment, very hard to predict. Economic data is always important but even more so at this point, big economic week this week. I only make long term asset allocation decisions at this point and my big question is are we going back to the low inflation environment we had for ~ 40 years (couple of bumps 🙂). The rise in productivity because of technological advancements was a key driver of the low inflation. Will these advancements continue and are there any other potential negative drivers. Here is an article by the St Louis fed on long term inflation pre - Covid (2018) and a comment (somewhat dated 2005) by Chairman Greenspan. "Alan Greenspan, then chairman of the Federal Reserve, stated in testimony before the U.S. Congress in 2005: “The past decade of low inflation and solid economic growth in the United States and in many other countries around the world … is attributable to the remarkable confluence of innovations that spawned new computer, telecommunication, and networking technologies, which, especially in the United States, have elevated the growth of productivity, suppressed unit labor costs, and helped to contain inflationary pressures.” https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/regional-economist/first-quarter-2018/why-inflation-so-low I guess a potential negative driver is how the energy transition will be handled. Will it be done in a manner that maintains our current standard of living and doesn't make us less economically competitive with our competitors that aren't as aggressive in the transition. This isn't a political statement but the US still doesn't have what I would consider a viable long term energy transition policy from either party. I would have to think that RCL long term barrowing cost has decreased quite a bit in the last 3-6 months. The stock is up and there has been a solid rally in high yield. Oil prices are down and the vacationing consumer remains strong, all good. How you value RCL stock at this point is way above my pay grade. I don't think the bookings are "pent up" anymore, people have cash and like to vacation. Will the service & food improve? You tell me , I hope so from what I've read. Not luxury IMO in many cases. S&P 500 chart still looks ok to me, I'd like to see the Russell 2000 get above 2000.

We liked the Gritti Palace. Nice restaurant on the canal, very pricey these days. I think its now owned by Marriott but many luxury resorts in Europe are. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187870-d230427-Reviews-The_Gritti_Palace_a_Luxury_Collection_Hotel_Venice-Venice_Veneto.html

We haven't been on the Mariner since 2019 but I can confirm we had a major issue issue with backed up toilets with water and sewage pouring into the room. This issue had nothing to do with our actions. Attached is a recent review (not ours). We were also on 8. We did have a great time at Prime 7. https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=694244

If you have never been to Europe I would say London, Paris & Rome are must sees and IMO a cruise (ocean or river) isn't the best way to experience these cities. One of the best parts of these cities is experiencing the culture, food & wine, this is a big limitation of ocean cruising. Also a one day excursion just doesn't do these cities justice. At least start the cruise in Rome and spend a few days there before the cruise. Either way I hope you have an enjoyable and memorable trip.

More like a game of pong (which I had in college)😎. Considerable US borrowing is based off the US Treasury curve, they did a nice job of pushing Treasury yields back up. 10 year started the month at 3.40 now 3.60. It appears that recently there hasn't been as strong a correlation between Treasury prices and stock prices. Upcoming Inflation and employment data will be key IMO.

Churchill War Rooms is very very cool, highly recommend. If you are looking for lunch the Club Sandwich at the American Bar in the Stafford Hotel is awesome. https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms https://thestaffordlondon.com/american-bar/

Todays Barron's reminded me of a great Yogi Berra quote "Its dangerous to make forecasts, especially about the future". IMO the charts of the overall averages have certainly improved this year. The Russell 2000 is bumping up against its Aug 22 high of ~2020, always nice to see leadership from the small caps because they represent more stocks so the rally may have more breadth. The S&P 500 has nicely cleared the 200 day MA, the downward trendline off the highs and the December high. This week it also had what chartists consider a positive sign called a "golden cross" where the 50 day MA went above the 200 day MA. Personally I think many "Golden Cross" events happen after the horse is out of the barn and I've seen to many be false signals but its still a potential positive. My only investment in cruise stocks is down payments but according to CNBC CCL is actually the winner YTD +46% vs RCL +38 & NCLH +35. The future possibly depends on how quickly inflation declines without hurting growth and how well earnings hold up, easy right. I read the Zacks earnings prediction model you attached and its not something I would use in my personal investment decisions. If I read it correctly Zacks says the "model" only works on earnings beats but according to Factset over 5 years 77% of companies have beaten earnings estimates and over 10 years 73% anyway. (Quote and attachment below) Hmm. Prognosticating quarterly "beats/misses" is a risky business which I don't partake. If I were I don't think I'd use the Zacks data. I'm not saying they will be wrong on RCL earnings but its just not an approach I personally would consider. None of my comments should be considered investment advice. Quote on earnings "Of these companies, 70% have reported actual EPS above estimates, which is equal to the percentage of 70% at the end of last week, but below the 5-year average of 77% and below the 10-year average of 73%." https://advantage.factset.com/hubfs/Website/Resources Section/Research Desk/Earnings Insight/EarningsInsight_020323A.pdf

Barcelona is fine but I'll take the Sistine Chapel w/lunch after - bucatini all'amatriciana & a gavi dei gavi every time. Honestly I don't see how a cruise ship does justice to Rome but do your best.

We've had excellent experiences with Regent included excursions. They are on a bus with probably 50-60 other guests and a tour guide so they are far from a private tour but work well for what they are. The tour guides except for one have all been great, very knowledgeable & engaged. If you are going to a location with a lot to see that may be crowded I'd recommend a more private tour. Kyoto was an example for us, Rome/Florence maybe for you?

It is important to get to Sette Mari close to when they open @ 6:30 (or 8PM seating) to be assured of getting a table. Getting there closer to 6:30 will also mean you are one of the first to be seated and avoid it possibly getting a little hectic when its full. Sette Mari is an excellent non reservation alternative to CR. Sharing a table in usually good fun but I have seen it go horribly wrong. Never happened to us but someone being "overserved" is usually the issue. Enjoy.

Is there anything Regent can do that you will say was wrong? Get real. IMO Regent completely botched these Aus/NZ cruises and should have been transparent with people. Prior to the cruise people should have had all the information and ability to cancel with full refund. So yes for the way they handled the situation these people deserve a full refund IMO.

Maybe its you?? I'm totally kidding. Given the current rules I would have done the same as you in that situation.

I'm not trying to stir the pot here but given tothesunsets and your comments I fail to see how the "Silversea way" prevailed. Sounds like complete chaos. Glad we vacation at Caribbean resorts not cruises. The service and food are back to pre covid levels of excellence btw.

Well said. IMO this is a very disappointing performance by Regent I would think at least 100% reimbursement for the cruise is in order, the chances of getting airfare I would bet is slim to none.

and the pool lounger war rages on! I don't condone anyone hogging loungers but it seems to me that the responsibility is on the the cruise lines. If they had a defined and enforced reservation system say in 4 hour blocks there wouldn't be lounge hogging or dirty towels. Never gonna happen right? Sounds like this gets ugly.

Yes on the first day of the cruise from Regent "If you have sailed with us before and are already a Seven Seas Society member, your new tier benefits take effect on the first day of the cruise during which you transition from one tier to the next." Make sure you logon for specialty reservations the day they are available quality spots go quickly. You probably know this but Icelandair Business Class is like our Domestic First Class not European Business Class. No flat seats.

Enjoy your trip. Thanks for keeping us up to date on your experience(s).

If you have specific excursions that are important to you it may make sense to check if they are still available. Specialty restaurant reservations start 90 days ahead, if you are Regent Society Silver from your prior cruises. Quite sure you are past the excursion reservation window. When visiting the Regent itineraries page click on the room type "view details" and then "amenities" for a list. enjoy

IMO the Regent CC contributors here are by far the friendliest and most helpful in the luxury category. I think you will find the same on board, all in all a very nice and fun group. The number of rude and snarky people also amazes me. Some people are the first to ask for compassion and the last to give it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uepFO4psgKE

Probably from my assessments resulting in me getting my asses handed to me too many times. My post should have said the 15% because you would actually need to make 25%. $10000 cruise after 25% down you give 6k ($8500 total) upfront or 7.5 later. 1500/6000 = 25%. If that's how the discount works. Sorry.

Personally I think SS would have been better off not going "all inclusive" and including the excursions in the price. We aren't Caribbean cruisers but if I were a person that goes on SS Caribbean cruises every year I would view this as just a price increase. I've found the SS included excursions to be a mixed bag , some ports are fine others very light. Seems there is no rhyme or reason to it. They really need to up their game here to advertise "all inclusive". The only thing I can think of is they are new to the approach and will improve over time For example, below is a cruise that goes to Israel and Egypt. The 10+ hour Jerusalem tour (with food) is included but in Egypt the 10 hour Pyramid excursion costs extra. I understand its a different country and a long ride etc etc but if you say you are "all inclusive" seems to me that there should be a trip to the Pyramids included. https://www.silversea.com/destinations/mediterranean-cruise/athens-piraeus-to-athens-piraeus-sl230509015.html