Scout16

The last video is saw of water skiing was by cruise director Jamie and that was years ago, I think it was behind the Voyager.

Remember that with all internet it depends upon satellites, if you are away from it all (such as the North Pacific or around Easter Island) or where the signal is blocked (as in the fiords or in some ports) the coverage will be poor.

The is always the Coffee Connection where they have fruit, some deserts, and normally some cold cuts and cheeses. Depending on the port, I have seen the Compass Rose used to process boarding passengers.

I have watched with amusement the clothing worn during the evening by the Social Hostess and the performance crew who are not doing a show that night. I really found the shoes with pink fluff to be a bit much, but it allows them to play dress up. As far as the passengers, there have been some outfits on woman which I though belonged on the stage in Las Vagas, but they can have their fun. I tend to wear a sport coat and tie on the nights when the upper staff meet the passengers, but normally just wear a clean, not the one worn all day, collared shirt and pants. Yes also socks and shoes, but now days they are mostly not noticed by anyone.

No, I was on the Explorer this past Spring and there was just a shower and no bathtub for that class of cabin. I have heard that you have to check which is shower only and which is bath/shower on the Mariner. It is best to look at the deck plans for the ships to tell what is in each cabin.

I tend to view the pre-cruise hotel stay as a way to insure that I am at the port in time for the cruise and that I have a chance to reset my body's clock to the new time zone as needed. I also now tend to travel as a single so I do not often go far from the hotel. If I want to tour the port that I will be leaving from I would sign up for some type of pre-tour.

The block parties work much better on the older ships where there is a single hallway down the center of the ship. On the Explorer the hallways on the sides are narrower and you have to go further down the passage to meet anyone except the cabin right next to you were even a few people will block the passage.

I have been on one post tour in 2015 and there were twelve people in the group which was nice and you got to know everyone. This past Spring I was on the pre tour in Tokyo which was included with the cruise and there were several hundred people on the tour. It was reasonably organized but the breakfast and the loading of the tour buses was a bit of a mess. The recent opening of Japan to tourists again also created some confusion.

This past Spring in Japan you could not stay on the bus most of the time. We were told that at least in most of Tokyo it is against the law. This left several of us looking for benches or walls to wait while the group hiked off to see some unwanted overlook of the city, bridge, or whatever. I am not sure if the ship destination people are up to date on what is allowed in the various ports.

I would add that it is polite to turn your tickets in if you decide not to take a tour even if you are later than the return date on the ticket. I also found with the Solo and Social group that you can turn your ticket in and have it go to a specified passenger if they are with you.

I know that some people did give tips, but I found that a sincere thank you was appreciated.

My comment about the difference in ports covers more than what is covered by the tour descriptions. In general I have seen that in the Med and Japan that in general you have to walk father, faster, and over much less handicap friendly terrain than you do in the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia. The problem with some of the ports is getting to the tour. In France in 2022 they kept using the ports gangway which was a metal sliding board with some nonskid strips but could be at a fifteen to twenty degree angle with no steps. On port did have steps but they were on an open scaffold which went up thirty feet and then crossed a bridge to the ship. The distance from the ship to transportation is also often beyond the control of Regent. If you are lucky you have a short walk to the terminal, the buses or a shuttle, but I know that it was a long walk along the docks in Casablanca and I have heard stories about getting through a number of other port terminals. The open question is which ports and parts of the world will create problems for you and should either be avoided or you should plan to stay with the ship.

A reminder, in by 9 AM means that it must be picked up and into the laundry people by 9 AM, if you leave the bag in your room or even in the hall by your room it may not get turned in until much later which can add up to anther day to get the laundry back.

At some point it may be helpful to create a topic where the ports can be listed as to their accessibility. This would need to also note any problems with the port as the initial boarding or end of a cruise.

The other reason I will carry my phone is to show pictures of children, grandchildren and pets since I normally am with the Solo and Social group. The last time I pasted though the airport I had hopes when I saw an area marked Wy-Fy Free, but it was where access was provided rather than access blocked.

The main problem that I have with booking the restaurants is guessing when other events will be taking place. I have had to either leave some event to go to the restaurant early or missed the beginning of a show by scheduling the restaurant too late. The early events include the Capitan's Welcome, the block party, the Seven Seas Society gatherings, and Crew Capers, all of these should be mostly over by seven forty-five. The late events are mainly the shows which normally begin at nine-thirty. The group you dine with will impact the amount of time needed for the meal.

The Cruise Director often sets the mood/atmosphere of the passenger activities on the ship. I cannot tell you who sets what mood, but I have noticed that the mood is slightly different depending on who is in charge of the department.

As long as you follow the basic requirements of a collared shirt and nice pants for men, and whatever is required for woman (I have trouble telling the difference between some of the pool cover ups and fancy dresses), you will have no problems and most likely not be alone in your style of clothing. I tend to wear a jacket when attending events such as the Captain's welcome and Seven Seas events when the officers all show up in full dress. Wear what you feel comfortable wearing, this does mean that you should wear what your spouse says that you should.

On the Explorer the US plug was hard to get to, under the drawer of the night table. I left the cord plugged into the wall and unplugged it from the machine during the day.

There was a section of "virgin" drinks on the menu at the bars. My wife did not like the taste of most drinks so she was very happy to get the drink mixers with no gin, bourbon, or rum. I hate to admit it, but her taste in wine went towards Boones Farm and after various tastes on the first night they kept a special bottle that she liked for her.

I also have little use for phones while on the ship. I normally turn my phone off once I get to the airport and only turn it back on when I am on the ship under their system. On the ship I normally only use it to check emails and messages. I guess you could use your phone to take pictures of the daily schedule and port contact information from the daily passages if you feel the need for that information. On my last cruise I plugged my phone in to charge it before going to the airport and forgot it at home. The only trouble I had was when I returned to the airport on my way home I could not tell the person who was picking me up which door I would be at.

My three problems with meeting on the dock are: 1. When the weather is bad you normally have to sand outside in the weather until they are ready for you. 2. There is the problem of the mindless herd, where groups of people waiting do not appear to be aware that they are standing in the way of traffic. 3. It has been my experience that we had to wait on the bus much longer for everyone to arrive (they do not have a count of haw many have been sent and the people often come at the last moment and find that the walk from the ship takes longer than they planned.

The only times that I have had problems with the airport/hotel transfer has been due to problems with the airlines. My wife needed a wheelchair to get through the airport and we had to wait at the gate for the prearranged chair to arrive. I then had to go to oversized luggage to retrieve her walker. It took us over an hour to get to the lobby and by then everyone was gone. We found someone to call the local contact number and a driver was sent to pick us up. The other is a general comment about the airports. I have been in several where it is hard to meet up with your contact due to the large number of people with signs waiting for people. The other thing is what is available to help you move your luggage to the meeting site and then to your transportation. Normally I have had carts to get to the meeting point and then had the Regent contact people take the luggage, this past Spring in Japan I had neither and had to drag my suitcases and carry on to the bus over rough sidewalks. I think they did finally send help for a couple who had one of them in a wheelchair and a pile of luggage.

I have a great dislike for the survey questions which you pick a number. Does anyone have a suggestion where you can send messages directly to a person or office if you want to praise or complain about someone or something?

I tend to wait until I am at the hotel or the airport where we board the ship to attach the ship tags since there only purpose is to get your luggage to your room on the ship. In most cases I believe that the ship name and sailing date are overkill on the tags. I will admit that some of the on line check in is bothersome, such as having to send a picture since I know that they will take their own when I board.