sullaRaffaello

Yes. I'm on the Voyager right now. I asked at the desk and they said up to $400 to the room account, no fee. After that, 5% fee. There is an ATM in the casino that has a $7.99 fee. I don't anticipate needing that much. Nice to know what the situation is. Got spoiled on Crystal. They used to cash checks up to $1000 no fee.

I was on that crossing. That dog was all over.

Yes, I have that kind of card, but that's irrelevant to my initial question about check cashing. I just want to be able to obtain cash on board without incurring a fee.

What points and miles are people talking about?

mrlevin says you can put it on the room charge. What would the credit card T&C have to do with it if it goes on as any other shipboard purchase?

Is there a fee for this?

Is it possible to cash a personal check on board a Regent ship?

What is the turnaround time for laundry?

Booked the Queen Anne WB crossing in Jan. '25. Got a Q4 for an obscene amount of money, but with this, I will have crossed on all 4 current ships and the QE2, in the Grills.

To me, the ship is the destination. Except for the WC, the itinerary is irrelevant. That's why I mostly book crossings. A cabin is just to bathe, change clothes, or sleep in. Otherwise, I'm in the public areas. The last two years, I was on Seabourn and Silversea. While I had a great time, the ships couldn't hold a candle to the Serenity or Symphony. With their narrow corridors and low ceilings, I felt like I was in an office building. There's nothing on those ships that remotely compares with the two level Crystal Plaza, or the Starlight on the Symphony, or the Promenade on deck seven. I've never booked a balcony on any ship. I've been upgraded to them and they're very nice, but not worth the money that's charged for them. My first experiences on ships were on 2 and 3 class transatlantic liner tourist class inside cabins that make Crystal's window cabins on deck seven look like penthouses. In the final analysis, a passenger ship is about dining and service.

How did you learn this?

In the 1970s, hotels in Switzerland, France, and Italy routinely kept the passports overnight. Currently, I haven't had that happen.

See my response to your comment in the food thread. My only complaint was that the Restaurant was not open for 3 meals a day. When it was open, it was superb.

Sorry to hear that. I was on Sojourn for the crossing in November, and I thought the food and service in the Restaurant was excellent.

Never has any onboard staffed balked or acted surprised when I offered a tip. They've always thanked me very politely but accepted it as if it were a routine and anticipated event. This has been on all lines from the mass market lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, etc.) where a daily tip charge is added to the account, to the luxury lines (Crystal, Silversea, Seabourn) where it's advertised as included.

From what you say after your first sentence, your first sentence is false. Plenty of people like an upscale dining experience more than you.

I always travel solo in the grills. I once asked to have a friend from Britannia join me in the Queens Grill. Very directly, but very politely the maitre d' told me NO.

The very first night out of Lisbon, I was seated next to this woman in The Restaurant. I was there for several minutes before I noticed the dog. As she was leaving, I told her that I didn't think dogs could go on Seabourn. She said something to the effect that she had to go through a lot of trouble to get authorization to bring it. She said nothing about it being a service dog. If it was a service dog, wouldn't she have said so? My impression was that she was an elderly woman with some influence who wanted to bring her pet with her and knew what strings to pull to get it accomplished.

Actually, it's not all that different. I found it quite similar to Crystal. The only difference was closing The Restaurant for certain meals.

Not true about only new customers. I was already a Seabourn Club member and got all my Crystal time credited on Seabourn.

Was just on the Sojourn for the crossing. The closing of the Restaurant for lunch and a couple of days for breakfast is a disgrace. The Colonnade and Patio are demeaning and degrading for a major meal. I spoke to several people in management about this and got the song and dance about being down 50 staff members. I responded that the casualty stuff should be closed, not the luxury defining elegant restaurant. For two hours, (actually four if you count the Patio), the Seabourn Sojourn becomes the Carnival (or RCCL or NCL, take your pick) Sojourn. The shame of it all is that the food stuffs there are actually very good, but are served in a "slop the hogs" manner. The breakfasts and dinners I had in the Restaurant were excellent. I'm sure the lunches would have been too. I'd love to book Seabourn again, but I'm afraid the Restaurant closure would be a deal breaker for me.

With the 7PM show on Crystal, you could have both. I'm not much of a show guy, but a lady I was traveling with loved the shows. We would go to the 7 o'clock show, which was usually 45 minutes, then head to the Cove or the Avenue and have cocktails for another 45 minutes to an hour and then go into a nice leisurely dinner without having to constantly check the time for a show.

No. Is the Verandah open at lunch?

I suspect you're right. I'll be on the Sojourn for the crossing in a few weeks, and be comparing it to my last times on Seabourn on the Spirit and Legend in 2009 and 2010 respectively. If it is what you say and what I read on this post is true, I'll most likely never travel on Seaboard again.

No, just an elegant luxury ship run by a line that knows what luxury is.