BBWC

And that leads to the second major disappointment on this world cruise. The incredible staff was there until Singapore. Then a majority of the food and beverage servers left on vacation and where replaced by a bunch of inexperienced, untrained and unpolished crew. Some of them had not even been on a cruise ship before. The experience has not been the same ever since. You have not been on this cruise nor participated in the Town Hall. I can assure you that the opinions expressed by wristband and myself is not a minority opinion.

Our thinking is exactly the same. We are going to do Grand Voyages from now on, world cruises are getting too long. And I like the idea of a smaller group.

Yes, a number of them have cancelled. We were not booked on 2024, but cancelled 2025. In addition to the issue with the ship, many frequent world cruisers/high loyalty level guests feel that there are just too many people doing the world cruise. The ‘special events’ are really just a buffet for 500 people, nothing special about that. They used to have world cruise dinners on board, reception just for the world cruisers, etc. Nothing like that now.

Even ADM doesn’t know when the next drydock is, she thinks(?) 2024 or 2025. Either way, way too late, the ship needs work now (consensus opinion of the world cruisers in the Town Hall).

We are also just finishing the world cruise and have similar observations as the previous poster. At least we have hot water - heard some people talk about taking cold showers. Toilet issues are frequent for us. The other problem is that Mariner apparently can’t handle the transition from a warm to a cooler climate. The air conditioning just pumps out more cold air and the whole ship becomes a big freezer - people coming to dinner in overcoats and wrapped in shawls. Twice in our cabin, we had set the thermostat to the highest level and it kept blowing cold air, at one time it went down to 63 degrees. At least our cabin air seems to be fixed now. But, as wristband hints, the biggest issue is really the decline in service since the significant crew changeover.

Everyday on all ships, 4-5 pm.

Just to-explain a little more - where you go with your passport is called Immigration , where you go through with your luggage after the final leg is called customs So if you fly into Munich, you would go through immigration to enter the Schengen zone, and then go through customs in Barcelona with your luggage (which basically is just walking through the green doors). If you only transit at LHR, you do not have to go through immigration, just a security check. Connecting in the US instead of Europe is particularly bad advice, for the following reasons: 1. If you are on two separate airlines, your domestic flight is in ECONOMY. Even if on the same airline (UA,AA, etc.), you will be in a domestic first seat rather than a lie flat International business seat. You will also not get lounge access before a domestic flight. 2. Flying from the west coast to Europe will take 10-11 hours and will allow you to enjoy a meal and then get adequate rest, whereas when you connect on the East coast, your flight to Europe may only be 6-7 hours which does not allow for adequate sleep. 3. If your initial domestic flight is delayed and you miss your connecting flight to Europe, there is likely no flight until the next day. If that is booked, it may take you more than one day to get to your final destination. If your long haul flight to Europe is delayed, there are usually multiple flights per day to your final destination and you can usually be easily rebooked. Finally, don’t listen to ‘don’t fly this or that airline’. That usually comes from infrequent flyers who just happened to experience a bad day, it does not reflect all flights on that airline. For instance, we had a lovely flight on AF last year. While some of the mentioned airports can be a challenge, it is usually because people book too short a connection and then do not have enough time. Do not book a one hour connection, give yourself some time and relax in the lounge waiting for your connecting flight (lounge access is included in European business class).

There are no changes to Chartreuse or Prime 7 menus on the WC.

On this year’s WC, Regent is actually doing a great job on mixing things up in Compass Rose. There have been many destination dishes, and we have had a number of guest chefs come in and add different menu items.

You can get a second passport under certain specific circumstances. Note that passport is only valid for 4 years. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/second-passport-book.html

That is exactly what Regent did. Unfortunately, the Indian officials didn’t care, removed the clip, and placed a stamp right in the middle if the page. Also, to clarify, South Africa requires 4 consecutive pages, but some people are on a land trip that includes Vic Falls and therefore require 6 pages.

Things like toilets not flushing - has happened several times. One time there was no hot water and people had to take cold showers. The ship also seems to gave problems transitioning from hot to cooler weather. It seems the air conditioning system suddenly goes into overdrive and makes the ship really cold. One time most people were sitting in Compass Rose with warm jackets on.

We are currently on the world cruise (there are 500 of us). Frankly, the Mariner is getting a little threadbare and could use a refresh. Also, there have been some issues with things not working. Food and service are overall very good, however there have been a number if new inexperienced crew since Singapore/Dubai with the experienced crew leaving for vacation. Personally, the Mariner is our least favorite ship based on the small regular cabins and small bathrooms/closets in even the PH suites. We will choose the other ships from now on, preferably the newer ones.

You will go through immigration in Newport (first port of entry to US) and customs in NY (with your luggage).

You can book your own air and take the credit. The same if your suite entitles you to an included hotel. However, you cannot opt out of shore excursions for a credit. I wish they had that option.

We are in 746 right now, so 755 is close just on the other side. No noise issues whatsoever.

Just to clarify, it is USD6,180.

Yes, Regent provides a credit for not using their flights. For this cruise, the credit is $6,180 per person, so it may be worthwhile to check if booking independently will get you a better price.

There is pre dinner dancing in the Horizon Lounge, and then after the show in Stars Lounge.

We were in Brazil in 2016 and the tax was there.

Thanks for the update. Mariner will be there in a week. Hopefully we will get the new terminal as well.

It does not appear that those on the 2023 WC will have priority like we did last year.

That would be most welcome on the world cruise. I already commented on the never changing menu, especially in Chartreuse (which has fewer dishes than on Splendor/ Explorer.

On the world cruise right now. On the first two segments, everybody had to go through the whole muster drill, including returning WCers. Just starting the third segment, and only requirement, including for new guests, is to watch video, listen to announcement, and stop at muster station in the afternoon.

Impossible to predict what will happen, but as a data point, on the current World Cruise all stops in Peru were cancelled, including the overland excursion to MP.