JACKHAWK

We went on Celebrity last August & we would rate everything as excellent.

IMO, I would stay with Regent and the Sheraton Hotel -- even if it is not perfect. Rio is definitely not the safest place to be on your own. When we were there, a couple from the ship was walking in the area around the ship and a kind "local" told them that it was dangerous to walk in that area and also recommended not wearing jewelry -- specifically her necklace. It is not uncommon for necklaces to be ripped off of a person's neck.

 

Not trying to be overly negative on Rio -- just use extreme caution (as recommended in all travel guides). Also recommend using Regent's transportation to the airport. It is a long way and traffic can be horrendous. Our bus left the hotel, where our luggage was being stored on the last day, at 5:00 p.m. for a 9:00 p.m. flight. We made it to the airport at 9:00 p.m. -- the plane was held for us. The trip should only take an hour...... unless it is a holiday or there is an accident.

I might mention that when staying at a hotel at LGA, I was walking around for exercise & the police stopped me to say it wasn't a very good neighborhood.

Was on a Regent cruise in 2010. Included stops in Vietnam. Tour guides were very informative. Would conversate about past history without any anti American comments. Where did these concerns come from? In my observations, it was the Americans with the attitude. The majority of the population in Nam have gotten over their misfortunes from past history. Unfortunately some still blame these people for ours. Your concerns are over exaggerated.

The only anti-American remarks that I have heard were from a guide in Moscow. Very derogatory(everything that has gone wrong in Russia was our fault) & we were on a bus, so no way to avoid the situation.

Peggy, You are so right about offending, but I think after several guides including one all day in Halong Bay that they enjoy interacting with Americans.

We never heard an anti-American comment. We definitely heard anti-communist comments when in private opportunities.

Jackie, one of the big issues is the re-education camps for Vietnamese who worked with the Americans. In all of our encounters the anger was not with the Americans but with the North Vietnamese who split families and basically took revenge by re-educating for 2-3 years or more. Maybe I am naïve and they only said what they thought we wanted to hear; but, I'm not buying that because of private opportunities to talk with educated people.

But I don't think that I will be wearing my USAF Retiree cap on the cruise.

We requested on a air deviation & received Delta from BKK-NRT-ATL-SAV.

It is very difficult getting decent connection flights out of a small city like SAV.

On Sept 30, Regent changed our post cruise hotel from the Hilton to the Royal Orchid Sheraton, which is just across the river from the Hilton in Bangkok.

Will Paul also be on the PEK-BKK cruise?

I need some info for TV connections on the back of the TV on the Voyager. Does the TV have an HDMI slot or something similar where I can hook my laptop to in order to watch recorded shows on the TV?

Hopefully someone on board can check. I hope to use a DTV GenieGO to watch sporting events while on our next cruise.

Keep in mind you will be experiencing the life of the Amazon and not the rainforest. We found it very interesting, fascinating and educational. Well worth the trip.