Gcto

Now that NCL has canceled (or removed) all cruises for Australia and NZ this winter, what do you think the chances are that RSSC and Oceania are also canceling their cruises. Both are still showing the trips for this winter. Information I find (spotty at best) says Australia might limit or not allow cruises this winter, but I wonder if that is just speculation or fact. 

Any ideas here ? Have NZ on our bucket list for a while and am wondering what to do. 

Thanks

One of the many reasons we like Regent is that there are NO (repeat NO) photographers constantly taking pictures of you and trying to sell you those...shots. But there are many photographers on board  and you can take advantage of them. 

1. We haven't met a passenger or staff member who wouldn't take a pic of your with your own camera or phone, no matter where you are.

2. Every fellow passenger is more than happy to take your camera or phone and take a pic of you (if they don't...well...don't worry, they'll leave the ship soon :-) )

3. yes, there is an official photographer on board to take pics during the block party or other venues... (actually we have only seen him/her during the block party and sometimes on shore....) ...but never in your face. 

So if you want a picture taken...there are plenty of photographers around, all with the best intentions. Use them. 

yes, normally (whatever that means) it's a tender port, but.....we've there a few times and had both tenders and docks in Naples. It's too early (imho) to say right now what will happen, so I'd be flexible and see what the actual itinerary say 4 weeks out. It seems to me you are planning a tour on your own. There are plenty of tours/agencies/operators you can book and they will be equally flexible based on where the ship will dock/tender. 

We had booked the April cruise a while ago, but then changed to the Vancouver to Tokyo trip last September. We figured that it was easier to adjust to the time on the Vancouver to Tokyo trip and then arrive in Tokyo "rested" and without jet lag, thus being able to enjoy the additional days in Tokyo. Plus, based on research, weather should be better in September (don't quote me on it, though :-) ) and having a portside cabin a bit more sun. Ocean Temp should also be a little better, but I don;'t think it makes a big diff. 

Hope all will be working out...

Well, it really depends on what you are looking for. In general, the passengers on Regent are a bit more "mature" 🙂but that's about it. If you go to a Caribbean cruise, you find "yournger" people there, if you go to a Baltic Cruise, the passengers are a bit older. But, as we've been on many Regent Cruises, Age is not what it used to be. We've met people in their 80s who are younger than people we've in their 50s.  

We love Regent, not only because of the overall service, offerings, no nickel and dim'ing, etc, but mostly because of the people we meet. The ships are small enough to meet great people, but also large enough to "never see the people you never want to see again". On each of our cruises with Regent we've met great people, some of which have become great friends across the globe (thinking of my good buddy in Australia right now).  Yes, if you are a clubbing person, want to dance until the weeeee hours...Regent might not be it, but if you are looking for a relaxing trip, seeing things and meeting  great people...go for it.

A few years back we took our daughter on a trip....certainly way above her age group. Yet, she found some honey mooners on the ship and the dancers and singers came out...she was 21 and had a blast.   So as they say...YMWW.    With all Regent offers, the food, the service, the "easiness" ...  I can only recommend it.

On 4/2/2020 at 9:34 AM, CruiserFromMaine said:

We wife and I were supposed to board the Splendor yesterday. Obviously, that did not happen. But, we tried to make the best of it.

 

We got dressed up like it was formal night. (I know, that’s never on embarkation day, but bear with me.) We got take out from a nice local restaurant and had a three course meal with nice wines by our picture window looking out over the harbor, almost like we are in port for a late evening sail away.
 

We also got take out cheeseburgers for our traditional embarkation lunch, accompanied by home made margaritas. (Don’t judge...it’s what we like!)

 

We joked that the captain’s announcement would say the waves were zero and the depth under our keel was zero. 
 

Our ship, the Imagination, has a very familiar feel. The internet is fantastic, and we have have self service laundry. No good shore excursions though as we’re under a stay at home order, or maybe a stay on board order. 
 

Making the best of it!

And you got a 2 person Window Table at Compass Rose.... Well done

23 minutes ago, rallydave said:

And don't forget, sincerely doubt any Doctor would risk their license or malpractice insurance signing such a stupid document.  A full and complete non-starter that completely eliminates anyone over 70 from cruising Regent.

agree. This form is/was a short sighted "thing" to CYA.  Aside from the fact that it might stop 60% of Regent cruisers (just my estimate, don't want to make us guests look older..:-) ) from booking with Regent, it would have to be made very clear at booking. You can't have passengers book, then, after cruise has been paid for and all is set, spring this on them (us). If at the last moment, physicians don't sign...insurance would not pick up etc. 

This would have to be clearly communicated before or at time of booking. 

But then...these are interesting times and many times, people shoot from the hip before thinking it through

7 hours ago, mrlevin said:

I have "zero band" insurance on the cancelled 3 April Explorer cruise; it cost $62.  I am trying to transfer to my September cruise.  I tried calling CSA, they said to send them an email.  I sent an email last Monday and never received a reply (just the auto sent receipt).  I tried emailing again yesterday.  I think I read somewhere that you can transfer insurance by initiating a claim; tried on CSA site and there was no option for transferring insurance.

 

I know they are currently swamped; however, I can't let this go much longer; 3 April is getting close.  Any recommendations?

 

thanks,

 

Marc

I would call them or have your TA call them. Couple years ago, we had to modify a cruise (switch from one to another) and CSA just transfered the policy over to the new cruise. Now there might be some diff with the Zero Band insurance, but can't think of any. Good luck

so you found Norman again....good....

:-)

Z....  following your cruise and your postings. Having a blast reading it and I wish I'd be there. (we missed you by a week). 

Thank you so much for taking care of the gentleman from NZ and keeping him under your wing when Mrs Puts ?  accosted him. Next time, I'll do the Haka for her, but she wouldn't know what hit her :-)  I hope we will meet you one of those days on a future cruise. We've met wonderful people on our cruises before including live long friends from Australia and others. And we've been honored to to meet special people like GoArmy, ColWes. I hope to cruise with them again. I'm already looking forward to meeting uunetbill one of those days (just to talk internet, not gin included) ...and I would like to add you to the list. People like you make the world a better place.    

Thank you

9 hours ago, Zqueeze1 said:

As of last night, we are in code red. According to a crew member, this is a fleet wide condition taken as a precautionary measure. This means that we cannot serve ourselves when at any buffet lines.  However, I noticed that salt and pepper shakers are still in use.  
Z and TB

we were on Explorer last week and felt very safe. Lot's of cleaning going on on a constant basis. Met a lot of great people (guests and staff). Flight back home was more scary. Contemplated going back to the ship this week to be safe again (considering where we live 🙂 )  But then...we'd run into the Putz family....oh boy....

On 3/9/2020 at 4:28 AM, Zqueeze1 said:

Jackie:  I think GCTO was kidding around. Hence the smiley faces. 
Z and TB

thanks 

Yes, I was....  Sorry if it didn't come through ..

TC...now worries

On 3/8/2020 at 7:51 AM, UUNetBill said:

I’m no MD but it seems to me that there would be a major difference between a Regent ship sailing at probably what, 75-80% capacity, vs a mega-ship with 5,000-6,500 passengers crammed on board.

 

I’m more concerned with the air travel getting to our upcoming cruise than I am about the cruise itself.

absolutely agree. Just came back from 10 days on the Explorer and all was well....the flight home though was much more concerning to to sneezing and wheezing all over. Airports were full and so were the flights. 

4 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Wish I could remember the name.  Your description is correct.  Think it could be Top Tier event (which has been disappointing the last couple of years due to having way too many gold and above members.  It fills the lower level of the theater.  In the past, it was small enough to do more intimate, special events.  

 

Enjoying your photos and commentary as well as Bonnie's.  So glad that you guys were able to meet up and are having fun.  Although we communicate a lot, we will not meet them until our Tokyo to Tokyo cruise a year from October.  They are very special people (as are you and TB but I would never say that to your face).  

Bummer, too many gold and above members... Regent was ones a all inclusive...but now...all those gold and above are ruining it :-)   And when the lower level of the theater is filled...   

::-)

26 minutes ago, Camillus112 said:

Hello Gcto,

 

We did receive the mid-cruise assessment form, but I was unable to do the on-line, on-cruise final review.  Why?  The last two days I tried to meet with the computer person who would help me (and provide a computer), but his hours were not consistently kept, and I was not ready to forfeit my last days on the cruise trying to catch up with him.  Ergo, I did not submit the review.  I hope you did.  

yes we did, we had some problems last year with the online form, but what I learned then, came in handy this time and the form was no problem. Once I was in the system (regentcruisereview.com) all was working. Getting in though, was causing problems for a lot of fellow passengers, some I could help . 

On 3/5/2020 at 12:47 PM, Camillus112 said:

Hello Jerry,

We were also in the cruise ending last Monday in Miami.  I agree it was a very nice cruise.  In my mid-cruise evaluation I commented on the difficult embarkation due to the incompetent contractors used for transport to the Miami terminal.  Although we found all service persons were very attentive, they were not as professional as those on other luxury lines (SB, SS, Crystal).  Some Regent regulars commented that many of the experienced crew were transferred to the Splendor.  Albeit these comments, we highly enjoyed the cruise...especially with the great weather that allowed for many hours in the pool...and pool deck bar...and grill...

So were we and I can only agree with your observations. Ship, Staff were great, food outstanding, trip was relaxation pure. 

Transfer from the hotel to the ship was a bit confusing and information almost non-existent. Waiting area at the hotel was small with not enough seating options for many older passengers. But once we were on the ship, all was well. 🙂

Interesting to read about the mid-cruise comment card. We did not receive them this time (we've done a few Regent before). I thought they might have disappeared and were replaced with the electronic form, but now reading about them, I makes me wonder. Our cabin attendant was cutting a few corners and we needed to remind her a few times about missing things. Not a big deal and (in our experience) not a common occurrence, but now I'm wondering if those missing cards were on purpose.  

Jorge, another great person. And it seems he knew what he had with Joel. We'll miss both of them on the Explorer in a few weeks. 

oh my...Joel....what a guy....met him last August and he was one of the most enjoyable people on board. Glad he stayed on. 

Just got ours, as usual in the grey wallet type folder with bag tags etc. Business as usual. In the past, our TA received them and sent them to us in a big envelope. This time, diff TA though, we received all directly from Regent. One way or another we got the full package as usual. 

Not sure what the TA would have wanted to do with the faux leather wallet, though. My guess is they wanted to save on postage and sent just the papers, rather than pay the additional postage for the full wallet. (just a guess).

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to all of you

yes you do

it's mostly the guides who are hired by the local tour company and "do their job", but nothing more. We've experienced a tour in Santa Marta, Columbia where we had the regular Regent tour group distribution. Some where younger, some where older, some were very mobile, others not so. Our guide was a speed walker, which was not a real problem for the first part of the tour, but then an older couple fell back and had problems following up. The rest of the group started to also spread out with the tour guide leading (racing) ahead. We tried a few times to slow him down, but nothing changed. My wife stayed with the couple while I was walking ahead, trying to keep track of the guide and others, than racing back to tell her where they went. 

Fortunately, I had a city map and could also find our way to the bus. When we got there, he complained that we were late and I asked him what he expected us to do ? He had no answer. 

Back to the ship, I told destination about the incident with bus number and tour guide name (first name only ). Not sure what happened...

not really. If you have a suite with butler, there is a form you can fill out online (as part of your booking) which allows for things like bedding (duvet, pillows etc), fruit choices (green apples, bananas, etc), some choices of Scotch, Bourbon or Gin, various beers and white or red wine. If you find what you like on the form...great, fill it out. If not, you can leave a comment at the bottom of the form...or, just tell your butler or cabin steward when they greet you, what you would like. And like magic it will happen. Pretty much anything on the standard bar menu is available. We usually just ask the cabin steward or butler for things. 

on a recent cruise, 8 excursions were marked with the "regent app" symbol, 2 of those actually had the guide provide the technology. So even if we were all prepared, the guides were in most of the cases not, didn't even know about it.  (and on the one tour it worked, the guide told me he hated carrying the heavy box around). 

The problem is that Regent is assuming that we, the passengers, are providing the equipment for the audio guides. Not Regent, not the tour guide. If everyone had smartphones and everyone carried them 24 hours, great. But not everyone does. Maybe a younger demographic does or assumes that's the case, but the Regent Demographic might not. 

The problem starts with: 

1. No information about this until you get on the ship. Maybe because it's a new program, maybe your TA has info but doesn't share it...who knows. 

2. Have you tried to download 60 MB of app data via the Regent internet connection on the ship ? Good luck. 

3. No information whether the app uses wifi, internet data or Bluetooth   (Yes, I know now how it works, but its not something Regent has passed on). So a lot of people, especially when outside their normal data plan area don't use their phones. 

So unless Regent ensures that everyone is on the same page and has access to the same technology, this will not work. And for the few who were able to use it, blaming the people who aren't able to (for whatever reason) is not a good thing either. Everyone should have the ability to listen to the tour guide. 

47 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

Explorer in Sept 2021 - Vancouver to Tokyo with several sea days I’m pleased to say 

 

So sadly a fair way away but it was about the only gap in our plans I could find and that I liked the itinerary of one of the newer ships - it will be our first time in Alaska as well 

 

Interestingly some other Crystal friends have booked Splendor next year to give Regent a try also. I’m going to try and convince some of our friends to join us on Explorer as well 🙂

 

 

 

see you there...should be a great trip