NYC-London

It depends - I also have lifetime elite status with both Hilton and Marriott. Both programs clearly state that elite benefits are only available if you book directly with them (or through an approved corporate booking service) and not through a 3rd party, such as Travelocity and Expedia. Also, certain "group" rates do not qualify for elite benefits. That being said, on occasion I have had my status recognized when booked through Regent, depending on the location and on other times I have not with the excuse being that the rate used for the booking does not qualify for elite benefits. Since I am drowning in hotel points and earn more than I burn, most of the time I take the Regent credit and book my own hotel to take full advantage of the elite benefits.

I could not agree with you more - it should be a fun way to spend 30 minutes, yet some people act as if the winner gets a free cruise, rather than points to redeem for stuff one may or may not need and if one can afford a Regent cruise, they can afford to buy any of the items that are available for points. And the level to which some people cheat is beyond me. On one cruise it appeared that someone was sitting in a corner with an ipad and communicating with a member of a team who was wearing ear buds. Jeopardy is one of my favorite shows, and watching from the comfort of my recliner and shouting out the answers is a great way to spend 22 minutes (I tape and watch later in the evening). I probably would not enjoy the pressure of standing on the Alex Trebek stage and playing the game in person - that is how I feel about trivia on some cruises - it is so cut throat that it takes away the enjoyment of the game.

I can personally attest to Steve from the TripInsuranceStore - I have written about this in other threads but I had to cancel a trip with other people and those of us who used Steve got our money refunded very quickly - others who used different vendors have not been so fortunate. Steve is unique in that he listens to his customers and only recommends products that are most beneficial to the customer, not what earns him the highest commission and if there is a problem, he goes above and beyond to obtain a satisfactory resolution. I would never book an expensive trip without first consulting with Steve to learn of my insurance options.

Z and TB: Just the other day we were talking about you and wondering why you hadn't posted a wrap up as you normally do and just thought you were busy getting back to "real life". I am so glad that you are on the road to recovery and won the pool grand prize and hopefully you will be able to go home today. Take the time to fully recover and you are so lucky to have TB by your side - this must have been so scary for her. BTW - called my broker - sold all of my stock!

That was the individual I was referring to in post #100 - I thought I was the only one who was a little surprised at his dress and attitude but I guess it was more obvious than I thought.

Are you volunteering extra room in your suitcase?

Guilty as charged with regard to wearing sneakers into Compass Rose, sometimes while also wearing a dress. On more than one occasion, after spending the day walking and exploring a city (one day I exceeded 40,000 steps!), my feet were just too swollen to fit into either my shoes or sandels so it was one of three choices: 1) sneakers, 2) slippers, 3) barefoot. It is on nights like these that I would have preferred a more casual dining option - I know that room service is available which I have utilized on many occasions, but there are some nights where we were scheduled to dine with friends and I would never cancel because my shoes don't fit.

We had the same situation - no invites so we thought they did away with them until we learned later in the cruise that there indeed had been both upper tier and regular society functions - maybe they now exclude Titanium members - in fact, during our entire cruise, unlike previous cruises, there was no recognition that we were past passengers. Previously, we were addressed by name by both crew and officers - this time it was if we were first time Regent cruises and only our room stewards seemed to know our names. Not that it makes much difference but it was always welcoming to be recognized for our loyalty.

We also do not remember having it on other ships and at first it surprised us because I thought my phone was on and everyone else could hear it - it is especially annoying if sitting directly under a speaker.

There are many places other than Antarctica that benefit and require the use of an expedition ship. I think Regent is missing out on a huge opportunity to attract a "younger" demographic, such as those pictured in all of their advertising but in actuality are as a rare as a unicorn. I know among my friends who now have the time and money to travel, they are spending their dollars with other high end luxury cruise companies that offer itineraries and excursions/activities more suited to their lifestyle.

The Biltmore Kimpton Epic Intercontinental Highly recommend forgoing the "included" transportation and take a taxi or uber over to the port, just make sure they take you to the "J" terminal - some drivers insist there are no ships in that terminal because they are accustomed to dropping passengers off at the terminals that service the big ships

What a great picture - glad you got home safely!

I am not surer if it was because we were in the Caribbean, but it appears that some people on our recent cruise completely ignored the dress code and it did not appear to be enforced. I really do not care what others are wearing, but I am of the belief I that one gets dressed for special occasions and a cruise holiday counts as a special occasion so I dress accordingly. We were in Charleston on a Sunday morning and it was so nice to see families dressed for church. Last year I was invited to a first holy communion ceremony and dressed in a suit and was in a very small minority - some of the attendees looked like they were going directly from church to the beach.

I could not agree with you more. I believe it is contributing to the problem of loud conversation in the restaurants - although the music is played at a "low" level, for some people with hearing aids, the music sounds much louder than it actually is resulting in people raising their voice to be heard over the music. I noticed that in all the restaurants, when the music was not playing, the conversation volume was slightly reduced. It is hard to find a truly quiet space with comfortable chairs - I love reading in either the observation lounge or the outdoor enclosed area with the green couches on the 11th floor near the coffee machine, however I find the piped music to be very distracting.

In a concierge suite on the Grandeur, the outlets are as pictured in the post above (with one each USB A and C ports) will be on either side of the bed. When the beds are in the twin configuration, the bed nearest the wall will have the nightstand against the wall and for the bed near the entrance, the night table will be between the two beds. Each bed will have easy access to the outlets, ports and and light switches. The nightstand adjacent to the wall will have a mobile phone plugged into the USB A port - we just unplugged the phone (there is another phone on the desk, although it is not mobile) whenever one needed to use the USB port on that side. We had lots of electronics with us and never had any problems - plenty of outlets, however, we did use adapters for charging our ipads instead of plugging directly into the USB ports. There are no USB ports at the desk. However, there is one major design flaw - The night stands have one small drawer and a small shelf on the bottom with an open back - the European style outlets are located on the wall near the bottom shelf and if the beds are separated, requires some gymnastic maneuvers due to the limited space.

I could not agree more, however it seems that the problem is pronounced in Compass Rose on the Grandeur - depending where one is sitting. One night we were sitting at a table for four and at one part of the table the sound level was acceptable but on the other side the sound level was much louder. We must have looked like children as we played musical chairs experiencing the sound differentiation from the various seats at the table.

The other night we were sitting in Compass Rose with one table separating us from Zqueeze and TB and the occupants of the center table forgot the first lesson taught in kindergarten - inside voice and outside voice. They were so loud that any type of communication at our table was impossible. I could not agree more with Zqueeze, why some people insist on screaming and ruining everyone else's dinner is something I do not understand. We thought (and hoped!) that once their food was placed on the table, things would quiet down, but that didn't stop them. Sound seems to be amplified in Compass Rose.

In Penthouse suites and above, a Bose Soundlink Mini II bluetooth speaker in provided

As many may know, there will be a solar eclipse in North America on April 8, 2024. Depending on the location of the Grandeur within the Atlantic ocean, passengers on the ship may be able to see a partial solar eclipse, however, special glasses (which can be quite inexpensive) are necessary to avoid eye damage. Does anyone know of Regent will be providing eye protection. (this is another instance where the assistance of Michael Moore would be very helpful)

The more sea days, the more points required because there are generally many more opportunities to earn points on sea days than on port days. I once learned this the hard way - I was on a B2B2B with the last segment being a crossing. I had saved my points until the end and even with all the extra points earned on the crossing, I got less than if I had traded in my points after the second segment. For people who do not need anything that is available with points, consider either donating your points to others who are short of points or getting clothing items and donating them when you get home. I am involved in a number of charities and we are always appreciative when we receive new clothing items.

You would think that - esp since almost all of the items have Regent markings which results in free advertising for Regent. Some cruises are more strict than others - I remember once being on the Voyager and a couple who were on their first Regent cruise were hoping to get three shirts, but they were short four points and the staff said no go. Fortunately, there are many generous Regent cruisers, such as Kwaj Girl, who stand at the entrance and offer their points to anyone short a few points.

Does anyone know the reasoning behind only being allowed to complete the end of cruise survey will still on the ship? While on board, I attempted to complete the survey using my work computer but the installed security software would not let me continue. A few weeks after returning home I was contacted by IT that it was necessary for me to take a "refresher" course in security measures which I completed this morning. During the discussion period I mentioned the end of cruise survey which had to be completed while on the ship and was completely caught off guard when I was instructed in the future to be very cautious of such limitations. I have always wondered why Regent places such restrictions on these surveys. Back in the good ole days I would carefully complete the survey while sitting in the club waiting for my flight home.

When the Explorer was first being designed and promoted, Regent made a very big deal of announcing that the H class of cabins were being added and would be marketed to solo travelers. At the time, within the travel industry it made big news and was discussed as being something new and beneficial to the cruising community. However, before the first cabin was sold, Regent changed their tune and did away with cabins for solo cruisers and made it a normal (although smaller) double cabin. Personally, I think this a huge mistake on the part of Regent and the other cruise lines who are not carefully looking at the upcoming demographic projections. Unlike other cruise lines which rely on sales once the passenger is on board, with Regent the majority of cost is paid upfront so there is no lost revenue. Last month Celebrity cruises made news and not in a good way when it was found that they started charging single passengers significantly more than double the fare, with the reasoning they are losing out on the additional revenue lost from on board expenditures. I have so many friends with the means to travel on Regent but do not do so because in most cases the cost differential is substantial, even with the specials offered. Some of the other luxury cruise lines offer much better promotions for solo travelers. Regent is losing out to a segment of the population who have the time and money to spend on travel. A number of friends and myself are celebrating a milestone birthday this year and want to travel as a group. We initially looked at taking a Regent cruise but that was quickly dismissed when we learned the cost of solo rooms. Instead, we are taking a cruise on another luxury line. There are a significant number of baby boomers who have the money to spend, but are not going to be foolish and fall trap to paying significantly more just because they do not have partner. One of these days one of the luxury cruise companies may realize the untapped potential and design their new ships with more than a token number of cabins designed and marketed just for solo travelers. When I meet new people and our discussion turns to travel, very often the question most often asked - "do they charge double for single travelers"? I know that right now Regent is trying to attract a new demographic, i.e. younger passengers. Some of their new advertising campaigns are interesting because by looking at them one would think the entire ship consists of passengers 50 years and younger. Maybe they should be gearing their efforts to those who WANT to travel on Regent, but do not do so because they are unwilling to pay a penalty because they do not have a partner.

I have participated in the Regent day tour excursions, they are good for the most part, but here is a warning - generally they will get you to the airport three hours before the earliest flight of the passengers participating. So if someone in the group has a flight at 5:00pm and other have flights at 9:00pm, you will be dropped off at the airport around 2:00pm. Although I have not done this is Reykjavik, in other port cities where there has been a long time lag between disembarking the ship and the time of my flight, I have hired a private guide with a car/small van for the day. This way you are on your time table, not that of the bus and you can decide what you do or do not want to do.

I believe that Southwest has a more generous approach to carryon bags and allows bags larger than the other airlines. Therefore, when the luggage companies claim that their carryons meet the size regulations of airlines, they are correct because of Southwest. Unless the bag is on the smaller size, I do not think any luggage maker advertise that their carryons meet the regulations of ALL airlines, just a general claim that can be misleading to some, esp. for those who have flown or fly very infrequently. On another travel site this was discussed over many months