papaflamingo

Yes, most cruise traffic in Miami IS on Sat. and Sun. The porters agree to work on weekends because it's. profitable. It's profitable and worth their time so they "signed up" to work weekends. It's profitable and worth their time because of tips. Take away the tips and you'll see fewer and fewer porters giving up their weekends. I have been to ports where there is only a couple of porters. It results in a long wait to get luggage both collected for boarding or assistance for going home. And since this was a discussion begun early, why do you think my response isn't pertinent? I didn't start it, I simply comment on a number of comments.

Here's what I do and why. I always tip the porters. I tip them very well (about $5 per bag). I do that because I want my bag taken care of, they are working on a weekend (generally), it's a job I don't want to do, and in the grand scheme of things (cruise cost), it's a drop in the bucket. It also keeps them coming in on Sat. or Sun. I've been on a cruise with no porters. Not fun to have to find and "lug" your luggage by yourself with no help. I say tip them and keep them working. As to ships crew, NO tip is expected. We tipped our cabin steward on the last cruise for all she did for us. She balked at taking it, and seemed genuinely surprised. We insisted as it was a 40 night cruise and she took VERY GOOD care of us. So.. tip as you want. The tips are included so keep that in mind. And don't worry at all what others do, just do as you wish. The crew does not expect extra tip money. So no need to worry about it.

Book a suite. Then you get Concierge privileges. Honestly, I'm Diamond + also and hate this is happening, but I have also sailed in suites. There were so many D+ and Pinnacles in the clubs that there was no room for suite passengers who paid big bucks to sail. I think Pinnacle should be banned also. Use a space for a D+ and Pinnacle lounge instead. That way the passengers that pay for suite amenities can actually use them. I also won't let this chase me away. The amenities on the other major cruise lines still aren't as good, even if you make upper tier.

Good to hear their phone lines are again open. We will book in Jan. for out Oct. cruise and I want to be able to do it myself rather than using my TA.

Just to add. If you deviate (best option in my opinion) you are charged $175pp non-refundable, but if Regent has a way to book you on your requested routing they will. If they have contract rates (unlikely London to Austin), then it'll be no other charges except the $175 pp. If they don't have contract rates they possibly can still offer you the non-stop but at an uncharge. Only you can know how much extra you're willing to pay to avoid a gateway city. The good news is you don't have to accept their routing. You can continue to try other options or go with their normal assignment. The $175pp isn't charged until you accept the flights. And you won't have to drive to Dallas. They'll put you on a flight from Austin, it likely will go through Dallas, and you will likely be in coach on that leg. You only get Business Class from a gateway (or at least that's my understanding).

Yeah... I've only done deviations with Regent so we book 270 days out using the deviation opportunity. But my understanding is air assignments should be sent about 75 days out, which you are clearly within. Keep after them until you get an answer.

Like most others, I am also disappointed to hear the Pool Grill won't be open for dinner. BUT, we were on Navigator for 40 nights from Montreal to Southampton this past June/July. It was quite cold most days so hardly anyone (if anyone at all) ate dinner at the Pool Grill. We also loved the ability to come off an excursion and not get changed for dinner. But in all honesty, it was a massive waste of food. When we did Polynesia in 2018 it was a different story. Maybe Regent will consider a cruise by cruise option. We will be on Navigator in March in the Caribbean. We would likely eat up there a few times since the weather will be warm an we have some late arriving excursions. But, considering cost of food and supply chain issues, it's an easy move to make to help alleviate some of the issues. As to crowded dining venues, we never found this to be a problem (except Sette Mari at opening times) even though no one was eating at the Pool Grill. So not likely much of a "crowded restaurant" issue.

When does your cruise depart?

It's always about the money. But Royal Caribbean tells you a suggested tip, they publish in general how it's broken down, and clearly state the amount is within industry standards. So how do you conclude it's a "secret arbitrary system?" As for me, here's how I answer the questions: 1. Q.How much do crew make? A. NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS 2. Q. How do they break up tips? A. SEE ANSWER FOR QUESTION 1. 3. Q. How much extra do you tip? A. SEE ANSWER FOR QUESTION 1 ALL OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT CREW PAY, ETC.... SEE ANSWER FOR QUESTION 1. You have ONE responsibility on a cruise.... that is to have a good cruise. So mind your business and HAVE A GOOD CRUISE!

No it doesn't. We've been mostly cruising on a line that includes all gratuities. The service is EXCEPTIONAL! The crew will literally "fall all over themselves" trying to please you. If you go to a bar and ask for a particular alcohol and it's unavailable, there's a VERY good chance that after the next port stop your desired alcohol will be there. If you want an Indian meal, you tell the Maitre 'd and within 48 hours you will have a complete Indian dinner just for you and your tablemates. They place a bottle of your desired liquor in your cabin. If the bottle nears empty a new bottle will be placed. Oh yeah...EVERY crew member greets you with a smile. No extra gratuities are expected and many do not pay any. But clearly there's something about the cruise line that keeps top employees in all categories. Likely a guaranteed salary that is industry competitive or leading.

If you check Amazon (or other sites) you can buy plastic luggage tag holders that fit specific cruise line tags. We use the one's for Royal Caribbean. They are a different size than the Regent tag, but the tag still fits easily. These tags attach with metal ring and work very well. Well worth a very minimal investment. We use them for both boarding and debarking.

That's the truth!!! We have more than one 10-12 hour excursions booked between Egypt and Israel! Gonna need a month to recover when we get home. At least it'll be SEC Football season so lots of time watching games when we get back. 😎

Thanks for the great review. We are also on Voyager next Oct. from Athens to Rome. Really looking forward to the cruise, especially Israel and Egypt. Coincidentally we live just south of Atlanta. Will see you on board in Oct.! 😎

It's one wifi connection per suite unless Concierge or higher or you have Gold status. Here is the quote from Regent's website: " FREE Unlimited WiFi includes one log-in, one device, per suite"

We were on Navigator from May 28-July 7 and we had the full on Sunday Brunch on our Sunday day at sea. So it's not just the 3 ships.

It could depend on which itinerary you're on. But most likely you'll stay on ships time for the entire cruise (EST). If you're concerned about dinner, just make the reservations dependent on what time your ship leaves each port. Just keep in mind the posted sail times are based on the ship time, not port time. A word of caution...make sure you're Cell Phone is in "manual time" not "automatic update." If the ship doesn't change time but the port is 1 hour behind, your Cell phone could update without you knowing, causing you to miss the ship.

I was in the Coast Guard. If a ship is in territorial waters it's governed by the nation whose waters it sails. So their law rules. We claim a 12 mile limit, but 200 mile Exclusive economic zone. That's why the cruise lines don't open the casinos until outside the 12 mile limit off the U.S. coast..

To parrot the above.... FCC on board is really an Open Booking. You lock in all the perks you get with an On Board booking such as reduced deposit, OBC, etc.. Then when you find a cruise you like, you can use the FCC to book. We did this very thing in July. We were on Navigator and there was a cruise soon to be released, but after we got home, that we wanted. We bought an FCC and when the cruise was released had our TA activate it. Got the cruise at a very significant lower deposit and got the other perks too. If you simply book a cruise on board with the intent to change the booking, you only get one change. With an FCC you can book a cruise later (within the time constraint), and still have the one "free" move. That's the real advantage to booking an FCC onboard.

You really have to look at the bottom line. We also have a cruise booked on board. If I was to rebook at the current rate to get the pre-cruise excursion, I would lose some OBC and it would cost more, about equal to me simply purchasing the excursion through Regent. And you are correct, Regent hasn't lowered the prices so your price guarantee isn't in effect.

Regent tours, in my experience, have been the same as most cruise line tours. If it's a bus tour, it's a bus tour. The descriptions are pretty accurate (In general). If you read the description and it seems boring, then it probably is. Just book a different tour. We had some great tours on our cruises, and some boring ones. But. I wasn't surprised in any way. If I don't see a tour that interests me, I go my own way.

What ports are you visiting? We did some great New Zealand tours that were included and one that was additional but worth it.

Yes. It was very nice. Lots of amazing options from Eggs Benedict to a carving station. And caviar of course. 😎

We had a Sunday Brunch on Navigator in June during a "sea day,."

Interesting question. Let us know how they price the cabins,.

Compare policies and premiums on line. Regent charges 8% of the cruise cost (I believe). I have always found as good or better policies on line at a cheaper premium. There are lots of websites to compare policies, I tend to use insuremytrip.com. You don't have to buy through them, you can simply compare policies and go directly to the company if you wish. But cruise line insurance will not cover your air fare if you book independently, nor any pre or post cruise stays if you don't book through the Cruise line.