papaflamingo

Excellent! Us too! We're still hammering out shore excursions. Finally got a copy from Regent of what will be offered. Interestingly, it shows us NOT going to Haifa, but going to Santorini the day before Kusadasi. Not surprised, but waiting for the itinerary to change on line. Wondering if it will before selecting excursions. Hope to meet you on board!

I noticed that too! Read the Terms and Conditions and it clearly states that free consultation but you'll have to pay for any treatments and then claim against your insurance. The T & C's for the 2025 World Cruise states "FREE Medical Service includes onboard medically necessary treatment only." So it does seem to be a change.

I suspect it has less to do with "terms" and more to do with passenger loads. I'm retired Delta and live in Atlanta. Delta is flying so full that prices, especially on desirable flights, are going full. There is no incentive for them to grant contract rates. That'll change as the hiring increases and eventually passenger loads will lessen. However for the time being, we all have to expect less desirable routing or fairly hefty up charging.

Thanks... our first time so we want to make sure we have something booked in case there isn't enough interest in the Overland programs for them to go. Of course that's assuming the ship will even be able to get into the Red Sea and Egypt. But... Are you on Voyager in 2025?

Yes...that's the one. Did you choose any regular tours as back up if the Overland program doesn't go?

We are looking at doing an overnight overland tour with Regent in Luxor in 2025. We need to make shore excursion selection in 5 day. I'm not sure how to make the overnight overland tour reservation. I assume we have our TA call Regent and have it added to the reservation. In the meantime, I plan to make excursion reservations just in case the overland tour does not go. Anyone done this in the past and have any info on how to do this? Thanks

That makes perfect sense. Thanks for the info. A story... my son was a Navy F/A-18 pilot and deployed on the USS Bush for 7 months. The Bush has the vacuum toilet system, the older carriers used a salt water flush system. Anyway, the vacuum toilet system was so bad that they had to assign dedicated crew members whose only job was keeping the system working. Each morning my son would put on the TV to the ships announcement channel and they would announce what section of the ship had operating toilets. It was a long 7 months. 🤣

I was also able to scan from your photo and get the brochure to download. Looks like a great cruise!!

We were on Mariner in Dec. Yes there were a few toilet issues, and it's not people flushing stuff down, but a suction problem. One day when we were in port they shut the entire system down to make some repairs. Since we were on a tour, don't know how long that was, but it was done well before we returned from our excursion. What I heard (can't really verify this) was that some of the seals were failing preventing the suction from building so they had to replace seals. Makes sense. Anyway, I've been following the World Cruise and there is no real comments about the system so it seems they've handled it. As to the ship, in general it was up to Regent standards as far as food and service. Food, for me, was great. No complaints at all and I enjoyed everything I ordered. Service was pretty good, but slipped occasionally in the restaurants. Example, my wife never seemed to be able to get coffee with dessert. Same thing happened on Grandeur in Jan. Since both were Caribbean cruises (Grandeur was Panama Canal) I think that it was just a different "vibe" but both ships seemed understaffed. Not so on Explorer. We got off Explorer 2 weeks ago in Tokyo and it was a superb cruise in every way. So I think the service "glitches" are isolated. The ship's in good condition. You will see some worn or stained carpeting, especially if you look for it. I don't actually notice trivia like that, so it didn't bother me. But the crew works hard to keep it up, so if you see something in your cabin that bothers you, bring it to their attention and if possible they'll correct it. We've booked Mariner for Oct. 2025 and it'll be its last cruise before a major overhaul. So I suspect it'll be pretty worn by then, and we are thinking hard about it now. But the service, food, etc. should be Regent standards, and for me, that's ll that really counts.

I really think that seating in Sette Mari on Navigator is a bigger problem than other ships as Navigator only has Prime 7 and Compass Rose, and Prime 7 seems pretty small compared to the other ships in the fleet. So Sette Mari becomes the "second specialty" restaurant on Navigator.

Yes. We just got off Explorer last week, but I'm excited and it's still a year away! And we haven't seen the actual available tours either, we're just going through the one's on the website that pop up when I select each port and prioritizing our desired excursions. Hopefully the list will be available soon. It's going to be a great cruise!!! 😎

We will be on next year's Grand Cruise and need to reserve Shore Excursions next week. Since the Grand Cruise does have an exclusive event, I was wondering if this will be listed in the Shore Excursion selection when I select? I wouldn't want to reserve a long excursion that would cause us to miss the event. Anyone have info on this? Thanks

I suspect you'll be VERY HAPPY with your choice! Do not miss the nightly Light Show!

We just got off Explorer a week ago in Tokyo. We did not go to Kobe, but the ship did offer money exchange for yen if you wanted. So that MIGHT be an option if the shuttle doesn't drop you close enough to where you want to go.

We like Sette Mari once or twice a cruise depending on length. But I have to say, I'd rather it stay the way it is and not be by reservation. That gives everyone an equal opportunity to go any night they want. If you want to get in, go at 6:15 or go late (or simply get a drink and wait). We go up there when we're ready to eat and if we can't get in we go to Compass Rose. If we really want to eat there we go around 6:15 and just hang out with the other few people there. Really it's only been a problem on Navigator which only has Compass Rose, Prime 7, and Sette Mari. So restaurant choices are more limited.

Did you send it back? If so did they refuse to "make it right?" Did they not "apologize" or "show concern?" Just asking because my experience has been the exact opposite. I admit I don't eat lobster on ships, generally, because they are frozen and generally "ok" but not great. I will admit I love the Tempura Lobster in Pacific Rim. But on all my Regent cruises, the steaks have always come out great and any other problems (the very few we've encountered) have always been received with both concern and an apology (even if an apology isn't necessary) and rectified immediately.

I'll just add....we were on Explorer and used the shuttle to town in Ishigaki. Very easy and efficient. Dropped us at the ferry terminal in downtown with easy walkability to shopping, etc. We went in the morning as we had an afternoon tour and it worked out very well. You can get a schedule at Destination Services for the shuttle before you leave the ship.

We were just there for our pre-cruise a few weeks ago (got off Explorer 4 days ago in Tokyo). A BEAUTIFUL hotel in a fantastic area! We arrived a day early and I did NOT book the extra night through Regent as it is MUCH cheaper to book the extra nights on your own. I simply booked the same level room that Regent books and we were able to stay in it and just pay the one night then the cost was shifted to Regent. Couldn't have been easier. We arrived at about 8 am (our flight landed at 6:50). We were in our room by 10 am! Not guaranteed, but they sure were accommodating to us! Be sure to walk out to the waterfront (Avenue of the Stars) right behind the hotel and see the nightly Light Show. It's best viewed down by the Star Ferry Terminal near the Hong Kong Cultural Center. Well worth the 15 min. (or so) walk. There is also lots of stuff to see around the easily walkable area. Unfortunately I have no pics of the room, but here's a shot of the Lobby decorated for Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dragon, a shot of the waterfront behind the hotel, and a short example of the nightly light show. IMG_8570.mov

Perhaps, but they say no. Regardless, Regent isn't a Travel Agent per se. If they don't have contract rates then they are simply booking a flight for you, as a Travel Agent will. So why would it be surprising to find that they add a surcharge to do your TA's job? Regent is, after all, a "for profit" company. Not trying to be argumentative, so I apologize if my comment comes across as such. Just an honest opinion.

I think that is a bit of an overreaction. All the excursions have a "disclaimer" section on the website and most (apparently not all) show if there's a weight, age, mobility, etc, limitation. But in reality you can probably figure which one's are most likely to have a limitation. Zip lining, snorkeling or diving off a boat, climbing around rocks (like the Baths in Tortola), long hikes, horseback riding, ATV excursions, etc. We have 110 days on Regent and leaving tomorrow for another 14, and have found very few excursions with limitations for age and weight. They are there, but rare. It's not "many excursions," it's a few excursions.

Anything you want, from shining your shoes to delivering dinner course by course. The Butler will deliver room service for you, will bring you canapés any night you want, will make additional dining reservations, cancel shore excursions if you decide you don't want to go, keep your in room bar stocked, and about anything else you might want. When we had 2 excursions in one port, with limited time to change from a water to a land excursion, we had our butler place sandwiches in our cabin so when we came back the the ship to change, lunch was there for us so we could eat while changing. They'll take you laundry and return it. Basically anything you can possible want done, the butler will handle. Remember they love their jobs so use them. Don't feel like you're inconveniencing them. If people don't use the butler, the position could be done away with. Enjoy your cruise. Your butler can certainly add to the experience.

I've only done this for 2 couples, but I assume it'll work the same (likely someone else who's sailed solo with a friend will have better info). But when she logs on to reserve dining, there will be a "add another guest" prompt (it's small and sits right above "share a table") . Select that and fill in the info, she'll need your sister's booking number, and then when she selects a time it will also select for your sister. Make sure that she confirms by selecting "add guest" after filling in the info. She'll have to do this for all the restaurants. Also don't select "share a table" unless they want to sit at a table for 4. Again, I assume this is how it will work for 2 solo reservations.

So true!!!! 🤣

Thanks. We leave for Hong Kong tomorrow to join Explorer on Feb. 21. If they also have the new preparation I'll have to give it a try. So many great choices... maybe 2 appetizers this time? After all, there are no calories west of the International Dateline, right? 😎

Yes, they did ask a "responsible question" (or were simply told by announcement of some sort), and were given an answer, that, "there was a big festival or holiday." They stated that "seemed pretty weak." If that isn't a statement that they don't believe the stated reason, in other words they think Regent is lying, then how would YOU interpret it? 😏