cruisevirgin24

We haven't heard from you for nearly a week. I hope you weren't thrown overboard whilst dealing with the lounger hogs!

I downloaded the App for my Jan/Feb Grandeur cruise. It worked well for me and I was able to view Passages and menus even when I left the ship for excursions, as long as I had opened the app whilst onboard. I found it very helpful. Even today I am able to open the app and view Passages for February 4th (the day before disembarking), all restaurant menus, the Ship Directory, and the Shore Excursion Catalogue. I believe it hasn't been rolled out to other ships yet (as of February - from Mike Moore before he departed).

I wish you all a safe journey home and your husband a speedy recovery. I have avidly followed you from day 1 of your adventure and have loved every post. I have never tired of your beautiful sunrise and sunset pictures. Best wishes, Amanda

Most insurance applications (for travel, house, or car) in the UK ask for details of claims in the past 5 years. This affects your future premiums, even if you are not at fault.

Perhaps Regent will ask Ryanair to have another look at their standing only tickets, perfect for a ten hour flight.

I use a similar approach and, much to the dismay of DH, I hand the items in as "lost and found". I have never had to deal with the items owners as they have never returned whilst I am occupying the lounger. QED

Did you choose to live in Port St Lucie for the NY Mets Spring training? We have vacationed on the Treasure Coast with our children, every year for the past 20 years (Jensen Beach, Vero Beach and Indian River Shores) and we never miss a trip to Clover Park. You are very lucky to live there! Have a wonderful trip, I will be following this thread.

I don't really understand a policy of not removing passenger property that is left unattended. Does it mean that if I left my mobile on a table in CR it would not be removed by staff and left somewhere secure, or returned to my cabin? Would the same apply to a bag I left on a tender?

Deviation fees are usually not the same for UK customers. I have a slight warning about D2D. I believe that the included car to LHR is only free if the journey is within 58 miles of the airport. When my parents took their last SS cruise they were asked for an extra £200 when they arrived at Heathrow. This was more than their local driver usually charges them! Being in Royal Wootton Bassett, you are beyond that limit (I was previously a Clyffe Pypard resident!).

We have recently booked on the Ray's June 15th, 2024, Lisbon to Rome. I have set up our account and have booked dining reservations and excursions. Since our's is a 12 night cruise, I have ascertained that there will be 1 or 2 formal nights. However I can't see online which nights these will be in order to select the correct restaurant to dine in. Please can someone help me find this info on "my account"? We took our first ever cruise in January on Regent's Grandeur (we are hoping to compare the 2 new ships). I would greatly appreciate some experienced cruisers giving me some tips on what to expect from Silverseas in comparison to Regent, dress, suite, staff, food & expeditions. We were Concierge on Grandeur and will be Medallion on Ray. Thank you very much!

I don't think it is possible in the US but the OP is a UK resident and therefore covered by an ABTA guarantee. If any part of the contract is not fulfilled the client is due a refund.

Dave, why don't you cancel your booking and re-book a Superior Suite on the same cruise? It will save you about £1,000 each and the suites are the same size. Apart from the pre-cruise hotel, there is very little difference this close to the cruise. The Illy coffee maker is definitely not worth the extra expense! If you don't want to lose any excursion or dining reservations, try telling Regent of your intention and the offer may be increased.

Sitting on the spa deck of Grandeur earlier this month, I witnessed four chairs with either a cap or magazine on, unattended for at least an hour. My elderly father was struggling in the sun after this time, so I collected up all the items and handed them in to the spa desk, politely telling the young lady that I had some lost property that someone had forgotten. The same afternoon I also witnessed a couple who had reserved a chair each in the sun and a chair each in the shade, and were alternating between the two.

Mike, thank you so much for your help relating to excursions on Grand Cayman , January 2024, Grandeur, on my first ever cruise. The descriptions were rewritten and I was able to book the correct excursion. We thoroughly enjoyed our swim with the stingrays, thank you for making it happen. I wish you well in the future.

Splendor sailed 2 cruises before September 2021. My parents were definitely on Splendor in Feb/March 2020. I think it was the second cruise, following the TA from Italy. They embarked Miami, transited the Panama Canal, disembarking in San Diego in March 2020, straight into the first Covid lockdown. I managed to rearrange their flight onto the last one from San Diego back to the UK.

Silverseas had a Monaco Grand Prix sailing in 2019.

You may have visited Belfast during the marching season. This takes place in Spring, with July 12th, Orange Order Parade, being the peak of the season. July 12th is the annual Protestant commemoration of the defeat of the Catholic King James (1690) and historically these marches have resulted in violent clashes. Since the Good Friday agreement the marches have been relatively problem free, except for a couple of years, 2013, 2018, 2021. Perhaps you were due to dock in Belfast and unexpected clashes had occurred. Regent would have known about the festival but not anticipated that it would be unsafe. I am neither Northern Irish or an historian so please excuse any inaccuracies!

My DH (also a pilot) can often be heard saying a good landing is one that you can walk away from, an excellent landing is one that you can reuse the plane.

The UK/US prices are not comparable. US prices include Business air fare for international flights as standard. The UK prices include economy flights as standard, with Business upgrades at a supplement. Additionally, discounts are offered at different times to each market. Presently the kids travel for free offer is not available on the UK website.

The Pool Grill will make milkshakes from any flavour ice-cream available that day. We tried coconut milkshake with a couple of shots of rum. It definitely filled the "dry" period between lunch and dinner! Another recommendation is to visit Dianara in Coffee Connection in the afternoon for a Coffee Nelson. I don't drink coffee so I ordered a Chocolate Nelson (not actually on the menu). Nothing is too much trouble!

We disembarked on Monday (Consierge 963). Like you, we could only hear our neighbours when sitting on the sofa. I wonder if the Consierge suites seem to have less noise problems because the beds are against the dressing room wall, not the wall between adjoining rooms.

Wow! Thank you very much.

Thank you for the wonderful article! I searched online for the Ansel London Bakery but unfortunately they closed during our repeated lockdowns in late 2020. Darn. I will definitely be seeking him out next time I am in NYC.

We were in exactly the same situation as you 2 weeks ago, our own air transport, the included Biltmore, then Regent transport to the ship. Our flight from the UK was delayed by 12 hours so we arrived in Miami at 2am. Despite notifying them of flight numbers and our delay, our booked Blacklane driver was nowhere to be seen (booked at $147, which increased to $187 when we changed the pick-up time). This worked in our favour as the Uber XL arrived 3 minutes after I reserved it and cost $28. We arrived at 3am to the Biltmore and, understandably, the Regent desk was unmanned. The hotel reception had a Regent letter for us that told us to leave our bags just inside the room door for collection at 8am, breakfast arrangements, and our bus times. We followed the baggage instructions at 8am and left for breakfast. We had also selected a 11.30 port check in time but had been allocated a later bus. My parents are frequent Regent cruisers and have always said the bus transfer was the weak link in the entire vacation. Therefore after enjoying a relaxed breakfast, I ordered another Uber XL just before 11am to take us to the port ($29). We arrived at the terminal before the buses, joined a queue of no more than 4 couples, and were sipping champagne on the pool deck by 11.30am. Despite my parents anxiety, our baggage was magically waiting in our suite later in the afternoon. The whole process was simple and relaxing. Good luck!

We disembarked from Grandeur on Monday from our first ever cruise. Thank you very much for your previous recommendation of cronuts, without which I would not have tried one. I actually had one every day to finish my breakfast. They were available in Compass Rose, La Veranda & Coffee Connection. Every day was a different delectable flavour, salted caramel, white chocolate, choc & hazelnut, coffee, raspberry, and my personal fav PB&J. By the end of the cruise I had converted both my parents and my DH. I have never seen them for sale in the UK, or when vacationing in the US. Are they a Regent invention?