Grothj

If you are flying into Athens and have the time, you can get a PCR test at the airport.  You would have to fly in the day before the cruise.    You can prepay and skip the longer line.  Just search Athens Medical Group and you should find the site where you can book and prepay for the test.   I got my test at 5:51pm and had results around 6:15am the next morning.

The PCR testing site is on the departures the level.  The rapid test is on the arrival level.

Just in case you can't find another solution.

I’m Sailing on the Ovation beginning Aug 14. I was first assigned a 4:40 boarding time.  This week my boarding pass says 2:30

so your time may change before you leave.  
 

jan

If you are planning on taking a ferry, there might be another requirement for paperwork. It was unclear on Greek gov site, so I contacted the ferry company..Kamelialines, they sent me another form to complete.  No instructions, though on what to do with it when complete.  I’m going from Corfu to Paxos and back precruise. 
 

Probably would be wise to contact the ferry company you are traveling with just in case 

good news was I got my code and plf within 5 minutes in filing the form

only 5 more days before I start my European journey with an eventual cruise of Ovation starting August 14. 
 

Jan

I’m booked as well.  

We have been on all of Regent ships multiple times, including 80 nights on one cruise

on the Navigator. We do wish that it still had the Observation Lounge, but do love Gallileios (probably spelled it wrong). What we have found on the Navigator, is that because of the fewer passengers, the food has usually been better. We have not sailed on the Navigator since they have added Prime 7. We also love that the basic Veranda suites are larger than on the Mariner, which is our 2nd favorite Regent ship. We just like the smaller ship.

We are booked on the 2017 World Cruise and have no worries about the Navigator. Yes, we have experienced the vibration in the show lounge and at higher speeds in the Veranda, but we still love her with all her quirks!!! So if the cruse is where you want to go, when you want to go, go for it.

If using the link to stop brochures, there is an option on the Regent phone system. I had reason to call today , and there was an option to stop mailings. Sorry, I don't remember the number.

For those who have the tub/shower combo and are not too tall, ask your room attendant for a step stool. The first time we were on the Mariner , we asked for a step stool as I am 5' and my husband had just had hip surgery. The stool was perfect for getting in and out and had a top step "handle" that made it safe. Now we always ask for shower only but know there is an alternative if we have the tub room.

It is a hard copy brochure. The same brochure show 2 chairs in the Deluxe suite on the Voyager. . So it shows a difference between the same class of suites between the ships. And it shows only one chair in another Class of suite on the Voyager. One wonders about what is really in each suite on each ship. If Regent is trying to make all ships the same, they are still works progress

The new brochure shows the suites nicely. Anyone notice that the Penthouse Suite which is exactly the same size as the Deluxe Veranda has 2 chairs plus the desk chair? Hope we can request one chair for our Deluxe suite while on longer cruises. I like the new colors and the rest of the refurbishment looks very nice.

I guess I was in a time warp.! Of course the next World Cruise is in 2017.

And our booked World Cruise shows dates in 2017!!!!

Anyone notice that only cruises from April 2016 are showing on web site? What happen to remainder of 2015 and first 3 months of 2016?????

Yikes. Just looked at Franck Galzy's pictures of Navigator after dry dock. We are signed up for World Cruise in 2017. Where are we going to put everything ? And my hubby likes to stretch out on coach. No chair for me? Desk chair probably not too comfortable for longer periods. He always used drawers in room and me in closet. Now where is his stuff going to go. Sorry but this is a huge problem for longer cruises. Whoever designed this obviously had never spent extended time on the ship. Del Rio - you goofed!! Might have to reconsider spending 128 days in a suite that might be shiny new but lacks basic comfort and storage.

We were on Tauck for two trips in France earlier this year. They had gentle walking tours every day. They usually were smaller groups which was good. When we visited Monets gardens, they had a short cut that allowed our group to walk a shorter distance plus the entire Tauck group was able to enter the gardens at 9:00am, one hour earlier than the public. They also had an alternate trip in two other stops that had lots of steps. We really enjoyed the slower pace.

While we haven't done the French Waterways itinerary, we just returned from Taucks Paris to Monte Carlo cruise. It was our first Tauck trip and our first river cruise. We loved it.

The boat is the Swiss Emerald. It was well kept up and the crew fantastic. Several of our stops are the same as the French Waterways. We actually began our trip in London so we sailed into Paris on the Swiss Sapphire. W spent two days on the boat instead of being in a hotel as you will. My sister joined the trip in Paris so she spent 2 days at the Intercontinental Grand. The hotel is in a great location for both walking to many of the most popular sites and easy access to Paris Metro. If you haven't been to Paris, I recommend you spend several days before the start of the Tauck trip. You can see Paris to even touch the surface in 2 days.

The transfer to Lyon was done by coach. Our train left at around 1:20pm and the buses from the hotel arrived at the station by about 12:30pm. Tauck has groups of seats reserved and our tour directors let everyone chose their own within the group. They were in the first class cars as usual for Tauck.

Arrival in Lyon was around 4:00 and we went right to the Swiss Emerald docked on the Soane, near the confluence. Our cruise first sailed up the Soane and then the Rhone so I can't help with your first stops.

Woops. Will continue in next post.

We just finished a 26 day trip with Tauck on both the Seine and the Rhone. We had one of the Cat 7 cabins on the top deck ( not including) the sun deck. This is a fantastic cabin with a walk-in closet, a couch and chair, plus a larger bath.

We found that while we could sit on the sun deck for some of the afternoon cruising, they can't put most of the sun shades up so it is hot. And a there are low bridges on both rivers.

The lounge had seats for everyone but not as many in the front. The balconies are "French" meaning you can open the sliding doors but you can't step out. In Cat 7 you have balconies by the bed and by the sitting area.

There extra perks for Cat 7. On our trip we were guaranteed a sea view room in Monte Carlo and it was beautiful. Also get a laundry credit.

Tauck does such a fabulous job of taking good care of you that I don't think you can go wrong with them. There was a group traveling together and they had a reserved table for dinner

The only down side of the top deck is that you do hear folks walking around, sometimes early in the am if your cabin is close to wheelhouse location.

We just finished a river cruise with Tauck. One of the rivers was the Seine and Normandy is beautiful. Tauck does an amazing job with their excursions. The Swiss Sapphire river boat has been recently updated was very comfortable with a great crew. We actually started in London then crossed the channel to France. We then spent several days on the Seine ending up in Paris where we spent two days in Paris with our boat as our hotel. I believe they also do the same trip in reverse. This was our first trip with Tauck and we were super impressed. Check them out....might be a little more in cost but what they do is amazing.

We are looking at a 2016 cruise in Alaska on The Wonder. We have been offered rooms on deck 7 at the aft. These rooms have "white" balconies. Or Rooms on Deck 6 towards the aft but over the Theater.

Does anyone have experience with either of the types of suites?

Thanks

We were a family of 5 on this same cruise. Our review can be summarized pretty quickly.

Worse cruise ever. To be fair, this was our first Carnival cruise and it will be our last. We knew Carnival had a reputation as a party boat but had asked on this board about families and got several comments that their family loved Carnival.

Our 7 year old grandson was not impressed at all with Camp Carnival. At his age group, it is nothing more than organized baby sitting and even then he said their was a lot of kids with very little supervision. He never went back.

The most disappointing part was the lack of a pool where you felt your kids were safe. There is not a single pool on the Liberty that is kids only. Of the 3 pools, the one of the aft was adults only. The other two on the lido deck with all the deck chairs were not restricted. If he went early (and he was always accompanied by parents or grandparents), he could enjoy the pool until about 11:00am. After that the pools became unbearably crowded with adults and their drinks. This is definitely not a family friendly area. After 4:30 or so, he could again enjoy the pool without the "adults". The music is turned up from about 11:00am until about 5:00pm.

The other area we found to be awful was the good. We went to MDR several times and not once was our order correct. Every time one waiter or another would argue with us about whether or not our meat was correctly cooked. The buffet food was what we would describe as "bad school cafeteria".

I would never recommend a carnival cruise to a family with children of any age. Probably just fine for adults.

We just got off the Liberty this Sunday. It was a nightmare. They start with those who are taking their own luggage off and do it floor by floor. I think they started about 8:00am. At 9:00am the halls were full of those with their own bags. We had an estimated 8:30am departure and were not allowed to even get in line until after 9:00am. This is the most disorganized and terrible disembarkation process I have ever seen. The only people who got off in any kind of organized fashion were the platinum and diamond cruises.

Plus, at one of bags had been placed in the wrong are and it took even longer to find it.

So last week even self disembark was totally unsatisfactory.

Thanks for all the reassurance. We booked on the Liberty June 28th cruise.

I am sure he will have a ball. His first cruise!

I have always thought Carnival was more of the "party line" for couples and singles.

We are considering a cruise with our 7 year old grandson and his parents. Would Carnival be appropriate? We have done Royal Caribbean before with grandchildren who were a bit older.

Thanks for your input,.

We have only a day in Tahiti in January. We have been there before several times. Thought we might just find a beautiful spot to have a nice, long lunch with views of the water. Any suggestions? We will have a car to get there and back. Looked at Trip Advisor but thought perhaps someone on this board might have a suggestion.

Thanks.

MrElCheapo

Thank you. I wil email you today

We are about to make final payment on our first SB cruise on the Quest, Ft Lauderdale to Sydney, January 6, 2013. I really don't understand the referral coupon. What is it and how does it work? Does it matter how you booked your cruise and what OBC's you have? Thanks for the help.