RetiredandTravel

Thanks. We aren't really Malbec fans but love Cabernet & blends so Mendoza would work. Maybe BA, Mendoza & Patagonia but its quite a distance in between them. There are some great looking hotels in Patagonia. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/south-america/chile/chilean-patagonia/hotels/ When you say be careful how careful? We don't really go out at night except taxis to restaurants, we lived in NYC most of our adult lives so know how to try and avoid trouble. We would of course being going to tourist sites. Have you been on Oceania & Regent? How do they compare? We are big food & wine people, my research says that Oceania would be a good fit. ty

Thanks for the responses. Given the feedback I think we will focus on the 3/2025 cruise. It doesn't do the Antarctica drive by which I think is preferrable. We were thinking of staying in either the Ritz Carlton or Mandarin. Honestly we are wondering if we would be better off doing a land based trip where we go to Santiago, Buenos Aires & Patagonia for 4 nights each. Do you think there is enough to do in Santiago & Buenos Aires for 3 full days? We are no spring chickens and will probably go on the cruise but we're knocking it around. Thanks again very helpful responses.

Hello, If anyone has comments (trip report)on their excursion experiences for the Santiago to Buenos Aires route I'd greatly appreciate them. I did a quick search didn't see any recent ones. Is there a wine store in Santiago anyone recommends to bring wines to the ship? ty

No doubt about that. 🙄

Thanks for posting. Enjoy your cruise.

Looks like there are plans to upgrade the SS Wi-Fi in the near future. I'm wondering if it will be part of "all-inclusive". https://www.silversea.com/about-silversea/press-releases/2022/august/royal-caribbean-group-to-use-spacex-high-speed-internet-onboard-full-cruise-fleet.html Review https://thepointsguy.com/guide/royal-caribbean-cruise-voom-internet-speed-test/

I found this WSJ article interesting https://www.wsj.com/articles/higher-rates-tech-selloff-fuel-options-boom-11673214152?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1 MS upgrades RCL downgrades NCLH https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/10/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-premarket-oak-street-health-frontline-boeing-and-more.html

Regent offers a three night pre cruise package (sometimes for free), your booking is the free night for a concierge suite. The three night pre-cruise package is usually at the Tokyo Hilton. Honestly unless your pre cruise package is free it is quite often very expensive and you can do it better with higher quality on your own. Tokyo is a very manageable & friendly city. If you contact the hotel a couple weeks before your arrival they should be able to keep you in the same room for the three nights.

I'd venture that on Regent cruises 80% are over 60 & 90% over 50. To quote President Reagan no one will hold your "youth and inexperience" against you. 🙂 Regent folks are very friendly, there are many events to get people together and you can share a table at dinner to meet people. Your age won't be an issue.

Good to hear about the other meats. Hopefully the steaks will improve. Sounds like your overall experience has. We're seriously considering a SS Mumbai to Hong Kong (Singapore) cruise which probably includes many of the same ports you are visiting. Any feedback on the excursions would be greatly appreciated. My recollection of prior feedback (Fletcher) was many of the ports are a long distance from the sites and it can be hot. The feedback may have been applicable to different ports. I review the thread. Thanks.

Great thread thanks. How would you compare the quality of the steaks to Regent? We've have good experiences at P7 but felt the quality of the steaks there and at CR was far from Steakhouse quality. Honestly on our last Regent cruise we felt we were probably eating the same steaks as NCLH. Rack of Lamb & Veal Chop Milanese (SM) was always great, Lamb Chops not so much.

Look forward to your report. Have fun.

I don't recall any, we just waited 6 hours in the business class lounge. This is from the Regent literature. "Shore excursions on the first and last day of a cruise are only available for guests who are combining back-to-back voyages to create a longer cruise. Those guests may organize custom tours through the Destination Services Desk on board."

You might want to check Seabourn also. Have fun. Keep in mind Seabourn prices don't include excursions.

Ahh thanks I missed that I do find it surprising (sort of) that a few other cruise lines made the same mistake but we'll go with it.

We have this schedule in our plans and are confident it will be sorted out by then. They will just have to plan on a cleaning day(s) every month. Although it appears Regent did the right thing I greatly sympathize with the folks that spent all that money on air/travel insurance and time travelling/planning. Its not apparent if its the countries or cruise lines fault but that a long way for a booze cruise. I'd also get off the ship and try to salvage what I could. Try to make the best of it.

Thanks for taking the time to report on your trip. Enjoy.

Once clean does anyone know about how long (varies obviously) before it needs to be cleaned again?

I agree but if I'd never been nor had plans to visit Berlin I'd get a private guide and do the 6 hour ride. IMO its really a must see city. We went to Berlin for 4 nights but found our 4 hour private walking tour from Potsdamer Platz to the Parliament building and back gave us a very good perspective on the history of the city. We were lucky to have a great guide. Modern Berlin is very dynamic & fun. I also agree on Paris but the same rule applies. Cruising has many advantages but is greatly lacking in getting to best understand these cities culture, food etc. You'll love Stockholm.

I disagree on not going to Berlin. I have a keen interest in WW2 & the cold war history so IMO Berlin is worthy of a private guide. With a quality private guide you can get a great feel for Berlin in a 4-5 hour walking tour. Berlin is fascinating. My favorite Scandinavian city of the "big 4" is Stockholm. In a short stay I'd focus on the old city, Royal Palace & Vasa museum. Skansen open air museum is also very cool but requires quite a bit of time. Stockholm is a great city with wonderful people so try to walk around and get in a lunch and a beer. Vaxholm a nice boat ride town. September weather is fine.

https://maritime-executive.com/article/new-zealand-australia-delay-cruise-ship-over-biofouling

MrsWaldo in post #10 helps explain the situation https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2903497-marine-covid-bio-hazards-causing-problems-r/#comment-64556391

Sorry to hear this. Yes he was a very nice person and will be missed.

I wonder if the new year has rung in stricter policies on the issue in New Zealand.

Regent thread on the situation https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2903442-anyone-currently-on-explorer/#comment-64553254