redraider1966

2 hours ago, nigelc said:

Just had an e-mail from Regent delaying embarkation on Voyager due to a number of current passengers suffering from "stomach flu".

 

Boarding will now not start until at least 1pm, with rooms starting to be ready at 4pm and bags to rooms starting no earlier than 5pm.

By my count this makes the fourth Voyager cruise this year impacted by either Noro, Covid, or GI-related maladies plus one delayed by a euphemistically described technical problem.  As I did before on another thread, I wonder how you can maintain a suitably high standard of hygiene consistently with a self-serve buffet, no matter the size of the ship?

For you Regentphiles who dredged up from the archives examples of reports of outbreaks on Oceania's fleet, I noted that those were from 8 or more years ago.  Yes, I will concede that there are incidents from time to time in more recent years, but I would still opt for being served in a buffet line by friendly, attentive, and gloved servers.  I also note that on another thread on this board that a poster contrasted the crowded scene at the dessert counter on Oceania's Vista with a Regent ship.  Having recently completed a second sailing on Vista (our 18th overall on Oceania), I question that characterization and would also point out that Vista has 1250 pax, so almost twice the capacity.

We board Voyager in three weeks with growing trepidation as we could not cancel without forfeiting all monies.  Perhaps our cruise, which is labeled "Elegance of Travel" should be relabeled "Voyage of the Damned?"

FWIW.  We're booked on the Miami-London TA that embarks on May 1, 2025, under the old OLife option and were able to book our allotment of six excursions plus one additional one using OBC yesterday (May 4) with no problem.  We've received email confirmation of same from Oceania.

57 minutes ago, Doris Banting said:

We board the Voyager in Athens after this cruise in question. I would like to know if the ship is still experiencing mechanical issues. Thank you.

Plus 1.  We're on an upcoming Voyager cruise, though not succeeding one, and have been following with understandable great interest the travails of this ship since the the beginning of the year with its tales of COVID/Noro/Code Red incidents and now mechanical difficulties that prompted a delayed sailing and presumably missed port(s).  We agree rants without details are not welcome, but if there's indeed fire to accompany the smoke as it were, we're all ears.

16 minutes ago, Harters said:

We were on Nautica last summer and have, literally, just finished a cruise on Vista. The official dress code is "country club casual" - a phrase which may, or may not, be helpful to Americans but is meaningless to those of us from countries which do not have country clubs. I  did some research before our 2018 cruise on Marina and came to the conclusion that I'd be fine in a polo shirt and chinos (which is what I'd generally wear to a "nice" land based restaurant. So that's what I wore then and have worn on the two subsequent cruises. It's bang on the money. Probably the most common set of clothes for men in the restaurants, although you do seem some wearing a more formal shirt and, occasionally, a jacket.  The code bans casual jeans but I cannot recall any further definition as to what "casual" might mean. I would therefore steer clear of jeans (and shorts) in the evening everywhere except the Terrace Cafe.   

 

FWIW, I haven't needed to wear a jacket anywhere since I  retired over 20 years ago. I would have said that I don't even own a jacket - but came across one in the wardrobe while I was sorting out clothes for the last cruise. It no longer comes close to fitting. 

Plus 1.  Could not have said it better myself.

3 hours ago, Sirlancelot said:

In the March 2024 Oceania Vista Cruise my Executive Lounge room key would not open the Concierge lounge door . Both doors were propped open during the day when their respective concierges were in attendance helping people as people taking coffee out couldn't push the door open very effectively without mishap. 

We encountered a variant of the same problem on our recent Caribbean cruise on Vista, occasionally having difficulty opening the door with the keycard and/or exiting with cups of coffee -- just another annoyance requiring attention on an otherwise striking vessel. 

49 minutes ago, clo said:

Oh wow. I wouldn't want to take the risk. And we ate more at the Terrace Cafe than anywhere else on the Marina.

 

Having now sailed on all ships in Oceania's fleet in the course of our 18 voyages, I believe the slick flooring issue is confined to Vista, where regrettably form dominates over function in several areas as those who have cruised on her have reported on this forum and elsewhere.

56 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

“ Vista, Terrace Cafe Flooring”

 

Back in the summer there were reports that the flooring in the Terrace Cafe was very ‘slippy’ and ‘damp’ to the point when towels were put on the floor to make it safe. This could have been something to do with the ship being ‘new’ and  just ‘bedding in’ or possible ‘humidity’ or maybe just a poor choice of flooring.

 

Anyway, we are thinking of booking Vista but I would really like to know if this is still a problem. I have mobility issues so a ‘slippery’ floor and me don’t mix!

As I posted earlier, on our 2/28-3/9/24 cruise on Vista, we ate frequently in the TC and noted the presence of large textured mats covering the walkways from the two entrances to the serving areas and some signage.  As it was a Caribbean voyage, we were prepared to ascribe the coverings to the warmer, more humid clime, but did find the uncovered areas to be a tad slick in spots.  On the morning of debarkation, the mats were curiously removed and predictably we witnessed at least one passenger take a nasty fall.  

13 hours ago, edgee said:

Yes. Food is served by staff. Of course there are a few examples of locations where guests touch shared  food surfaces, like coffee machines and self service cookie trays in lounges, but O is for the most part a staff served group of ships. I personally have a 180 degree different viewpoint. I am currently on Regent Splendor which has fewer guests on the ship and buffet area is all self served and very efficient. No crowding around areas waiting for staff to make salads etc. Is O any more sanitary due to staff served food? I personally do not believe it is..in fact out of 45 cruises the ONLY experience I have had with a noro virus outbreak was on an Oceania ship. However, many folks feel better with O staff served model..we all have choices in cruising!

Returning 180 degrees, our only personal GI experience on 35+ voyages across four different cruise lines was on Azamara with its self-service TC-equivalent buffet, where the outbreak was so widespread that non-kitchen crew, including entertainers, were drafted to serve pax for several days.  On our 2/28-3/9/24 Vista cruise (our 18th on O), save for the nights we dined in the specialties, we ate all our meals in the Terrace or Waves.  We never found the Terrace crowded and welcomed the always accommodating servers who asked how much or how little we wanted of a particular dish or salad or dessert or whatever.  If given a choice, we continue to prefer a buffet setting where you are being served with glove-wearing servers.  

That said, it is with some trepidation that our next cruise is on Regent's Voyager in late May '24 for a Med cruise.  Since the beginning of the year, this ship has had at least two cruises with outbreaks of noro and prolonged Code Red, as reported by CC (and Regent) faithful.  Prior to booking, we had not known about Regent's self-service buffet system and the reports of noro came after the dreaded final payment due date.  We are continuing to monitor the Regent boards as Voyager makes its way into the Med this month and will take what precautions we can . . . .

3 hours ago, edgee said:

Strongly, strongly agree! Sounds like Peter is carbon copy of the infamous Dottie, who is the champion of over announcing.Most dangerous place on the ship is between her and a microphone.🤣 Ray Carr handles the job in a quiet and classy way!

Plus 1 especially regarding Ray Carr, although Peter was somewhat restrained in his pronouncements during our 2/28-3/9/2024 Caribbean cruise, despite two sea days on either end of five port calls . . . .

6 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I mentioned in an earlier post that there is no Prime Rib on the menu of any of the reservation-only restaurants.  But I noticed on our TV menus, that in the GDR (tonight) one of the mains is "grilled Prime Rib."  We shall see what that is all about :).  

FWIW.  Since we returned to cruising and Oceania post-COVID, we noted the absence of prime rib in Polo, which was no great loss as previously our experience was not good when ordering it there.  We continue to find it much more to our liking in Terrace, where it's a perennial carving station offering at least once on every cruise (pre- and post-COVID).  It's always roasted to perfection and sliced as you want it.

4 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

It’s always a best practice to pay the deviation fee and come to an agreement on your business class itinerary as soon as the window opens. This way you will know what your flight itinerary is, and you can discuss modifications with Regent and whether your preferred business class itinerary would include an additional fee. Passengers who wait until the cruise line is ready to book you can only take seats that are left over. 
I was on Voyager in February, and I was very pleased with the service, the food, almost everything. I had no issues with the condition of the ship. Yes, we were under code red for quite a while. It distracted little from my enjoyment.

I hope you have a terrific cruise!

Point taken re air arrangements, although we did start inquiring as soon as final payment was made.  You did fail to mention that, unlike Oceania, Regent charges you $75 to even initiate "negotiations" over possible deviation itineraries, which we regarded as hardly the mark of a "luxury" cruise line.  As I've been following closely the voyages of Voyager since the beginning of 2024, I also noted some of your postings on the Rio to BA and those of other pax on that cruise and the crossing from Cape Town that gave us real pause (noro, poor service, bad internet, etc.), but FP had come and gone . . . .  

2 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

Sister cruiseline Regent offers this as well for Concierge-level suites and above. The Regent forum has had several passionate threads about R notifying pax well after FP date that there’s no block of hotel rooms available and here’s a meaningless token amount of compensation that many consider isn’t enuf to pay for a centrally located, nice hotel plus transfers. Not to mention that a Concierge suite is much more expensive than the next level down although it is no larger in size ( IDK if location is preferable).

 

Not only does Regent pull a fast one on the hotel offer, but also on their business class air.  We're trying out Regent at the end of May '24 for what may well be our final Med swing -- long plane flights having become more challenging.  The tantalizing promise of business class air plus an included pre-cruise night's hotel stay and an Italian-French intensive itinerary is what sold us.  Regent's BC itinerary, when finally offered well after FP, had us making two flight connections in Europe and arriving in the embarkation port (Valletta) at 9 PM the night before embarkation! This, plus reports of at least two prior cruises this year on the ship in question, Voyager, experiencing noro outbreaks and extended Code Red periods, means we will declare that we after this cruise that we will have been on Regent twice -- our first and last time.

1 hour ago, BettyDol said:

I think that Redraider 1966 would probably be more comfortable staying home.  Just saying....

My spouse and I have taken over 35 cruises spanning 40 years on a number of different lines.  Our only personal experience with noro or any G-I related problem was on a cruise  with a self-service buffet in which the number of cases prompted an immediate and prolonged code red for which the crew was not prepared. We are currently on our 18th cruise on Oceania, which does not take such chances and its first-class buffet provides pax with ample choices and opportunities to select what and how much of what dish or dishes they want and to be served by capable and pleasant personnel.  We have two more cruises on the books with Oceania.  We just fail to see why people insist in having to serve themselves, thereby increasing the risk of spreading infection among fellow pax and crew.  Yes, the day will come when we will be more comfortable staying home, just not yet, but we're just more cautious than we were 40-50 years ago.

20 hours ago, CardowMD said:

After visiting buffet, Sanitizer your hands when you sit down to eat, make sure silverware wiped and you should be ok. 

So perhaps you can provide a "medical" view as to why when outbreaks of noro occur and cruise ships that indulge their pax with self-service buffets immediately impose "code red" drills and draft crew members to serve said pax (in addition to other measures such as removing salt/pepper shakers) until the "emergency" is declared over?

1 hour ago, flossie009 said:

..... the quarantine having proved to be unnecessary and simply based on unfounded rumours

Seatrade report

Fine, so you are still prepared to experience documented outbreaks of noro and extended code red periods just to have your precious self-serve buffet . . . .

On 2/12/2024 at 10:28 AM, flossie009 said:

It is true, and we hope that does not change on Regent

For those Regentphiles who prefer self-service buffets, I certainly would expect that they maintain good personal hygiene habits to help minimize outbreaks of noro or worse, such as what has led to the quarantining of NCL's Dawn over this weekend, or prolonged code reds.

While we're not on Voyager until late May, we're following this thread closely, particularly with regard to further reports of COVID and noro.  The latter is the first among equals of concerns for us if it is indeed true that pax are normally allowed to self-serve at La Veranda in contrast to Oceania's standard which we very much prefer.

6 hours ago, Aloha 1 said:

One of the strange mysteries between O and R. Why would you allow passengers to feed themselves from the buffet? And they wonder how norovirus spreads?

Very disappointed to read that Regent apparently allows pax to serve themselves at the buffet.  We're on Voyager at the end of May and would not/not want to experience again firsthand a noro outbreak as we did on an Azamara cruise some years ago.  When full code red was finally imposed, even members of the entertainment troupe became servers in the buffet line as Azamara's staffing was not up to the task.  We would clearly prefer Oceania's approach to buffet service.

This inquiring mind would sure like to know and whether other HAL Alaska cruises' itineraries are also affected.

27 minutes ago, Hambagahle said:

Actually it IS bizarre - why put something in Portugese on Dining Reservations which were made in English ??  And to someone who has no connection to Portugal at all.  (I have been there - three times - but not in the last 15 or more years).

FWIW.  Over the course of several years, there have been a number of instances when I've done searches for cruises on O's websites that the dates have appeared in Portuguese vice English.  I've chalked it up to O's renown lack of interest/emphasis on IT upgrades/updates.

16 hours ago, Waltershipman said:

 

 

 

The culinary head Ftanck Farranger was formerly with O and SS

 

 

I assume your fingers merely slipped on the keyboard, as it's Franck Garranger.  When he was in charge at O, the cruise line could truly claim to offer "the finest cuisine at sea."  His famous mashed potatoes were simply the best!

25 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

I can take a whack at part of that question. The menu items in Ember are far simpler to prep for and prepare than the items in Jacques. I willing to guess this item alone probably saves them 3-4 cooks in the kitchen which in turn saves them money. Then there is the delta with ingredient costs.

 

 

IIRC, on another thread re Ember, a post attributed the decision to drop Jacques in the two new builds in part to an O exec's claim when queried on the Vista's Founder's Cruise that Americans wanted to eat "fast."  An upgraded Applebee's means quicker turnover, compared to the slower-paced Polo, Toscana, Red Ginger, the lamented Jacques, or even the GDR. 

On 11/6/2023 at 10:21 AM, PhD-iva said:

Without needing to go back and read all the posts in this thread, could somebody remind me if this noise issue is primarily on the new build Vista? I avoid the new ships anyway because they are more expensive, and the older flotilla is good enough for me. 

FWIW.  We experienced a TV noise problem from a non-connecting adjacent concierge veranda cabin on Insignia earlier this year.  Inconsiderate neighbors who won't admit to a hearing loss or otherwise insist on jacking up the volume aren't just a Vista phenomenon.  As others have noted, the mounting of the TV directly on the non-insulated wall only elevates the likelihood of this noise problem.

4 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

Season 8 is now filming with Ashley Jensen stepping in as the new DI. 🙂

 https://britishperioddramas.com/news/shetland-season-8-filming-scotland-2023-phyllis-logan/

Great news!  Appreciate the update as we're big fans.  Guess we shld. return to the topic at hand.

On 10/11/2023 at 12:25 PM, CruisingWalter said:

Not to totally sidetrack the discussion but "Shetland" is amazing television! Waiting anxiously for the new season. 🙂

FWIW.  Not sure which season you are "waiting anxiously" for, but Season 7, currently available on Britbox, is the final one.