Konagolfer

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We are on the Splendor April 5 trans Atlantic and Regent booked our pre-cruise night at the "East" hotel at Brickell Plaza.  Husband was worried about airline issues from Las Vegas to Miami so we decided to go one day earlier.  We had previously had stayed at a Hampton Inn in that area prior to another cruise on our own dime but Hubby did not want to change hotels so I checked the hotel website and the rooms were listed at $699 for the additional night we needed, so we asked our TA to see if Regent had any available rooms at their price.  TA replied the next day that Regent  had no more allotment of rooms.  So, by the time I went back to the hotel website the price had risen to $799 and with the tax and fees the price came out $935 for the one night!!

Noel

Diamond 1999, Song of Flower 2000, Mariner Maiden Voyage 2001, Mariner 2004, Mariner 2005, Mariner 2007, Voyager 2008, Mariner 2008, Navigator 2009, Mariner 2009, Navigator 2010, Navigator 2011, Mariner Circle South America 2012, Navigator 2013, Voyager 2014, Mariner Circle South America 2016, Explorer 2017, Mariner 2017, Mariner 2018, Mariner 2019

I must have stated my question poorly...too much as a statement. Does anyone have experience going on the last leg of a world cruise? I'm sure there are many that have not been on for whole world cruise but we have no experience with this. Any insight would be helpful. Looking at TA April 2019 or 2020. Thank you.

It was several years ago that we did the last segment of the world cruise from Istanbul to Miami. We love all the sea days, lots of time to relax and enjoy the ship. There are always lots of activities scheduled. My only negative had to do more with the attitudes of the "world cruisers" , they had been together for a long time and were not very friendly to us. In fact we heard several negative comments about "seggies" . I overheard one woman state (regarding a special event) "if the seggies are invited I am not going".

Thanks Flossie and Travel Cat for your comments. We were on board the Explorer from Miami to Venice and then ended in Rome also. The three segments did have completely different dynamics, The crossing was a lot of experienced Regent cruisers that participated in all of the daily events. Afternoon trivia was so popular that they moved it to the theater and kept afternoon tea in the Observation lounge. At least that kept us from indulging in all those goodies for a few days! The second segment (25th Anniversary) was nice with all the special events, we especially enjoyed the "galley lunch". The third segment was completely different with many new cruisers including the Audi group of younger people. Anyway, we agree with some of your critiques but we agree with Travel Cat about the single light outside the bathroom door (we were in E category on deck 7). I have been buying those small battery operated tea candles and using those as night lights and they work very well and are really inexpensive. Regarding the whistling noises around balcony door, we had no issue with that but during the crossing there were workers on board that were doing repairs on the doors, they actually came to our suite and worked on it twice. The same workers were still on board on the Venice to Rome segment working on doors as we had changed suites and they came to fix the one we moved to. We loved all the storage with the self closing drawers that worked better than my own at home. The closet was wonderful with the long hanging bar and the drawers that are wider than on the other Regent ships. As for the restaurants, we did not enjoy Compass Rose as much as on the other ships but did like the changes to the menu. Compass Rose seemed to be noisier, especially if you were seated in the two areas in the back on either side. We loved the new "Pacific Rim" restaurant and wish they had it on the other ships, fabulous menu, especially the Miso black cod (I actually ordered it all three times we ate there). We enjoyed Chartreuse but continental cuisine is not our favorite. Prime 7 used to be very special because of the menu but now that many of the items are available in Compass Rose we think it has detracted a bit from Prime 7. The pool grill was great with the heaters in the seating area on the port side, especially since our cruise was mostly on the cool side. One thing that I noticed was that the large seating areas on deck 4 outside of Compass Rose and on deck 5 near reception was underutilized, we seldom saw more than a handful of passengers there. This was in contrast to the Cafe that was almost always crowded. I may remember some other things later as we are still battling the jet lag a bit (nine hour time difference).

I agree with Rachel. On our recent SA cruise on the Mariner we had an older (we all thought the father was the grandfather at first!) couple with an 18 month old on board and most passengers were relieved when they got off after one segment. The parents were not attentive to the child or considerate of other guests. They let the toddler run around without close supervision even in the restaurants. They were seated near us in Signatures one evening and the child ran to the rear of the restaurant and one of the waiters had to pick him up and return him to the parents. The mother left the restaurant for some reason and the child started screaming, the father mostly ignored him and the child did not quiet down until the mother returned after about 15 minutes. It made for an unpleasant meal in what is normally a special one. We were also on a tour with this family on high speed open boats in rough water, again the child cried the whole time. One afternoon during tea time trivia the child was again running around and he fell cutting his head on a doorway which caused quite a disruption. It was not the child's fault, it was the parents. There are many cruise lines that would be a much better fit for a toddler. By the way, there was a high chair on board.

I think that some of us who have been on board for a while sort of expected the return to level two. At 11:30 this morning it was announced by the captain as we now have 9 passengers with the dreaded "bug". Launderettes again closed, no snacks, restroom doors propped open and tissues instead of towels. As for the salt and pepper, no need to buy and bring on board, just order room service for one meal and forget to put the salt and pepper shakers back on the tray! They are small and easy to carry in pocket or purse. I have also started asking for extra Splenda packet (or sugar, or?) and carry with you. The servers are not used to having to bring those things and they are so rushed to try and offer service plus clearing, cleaning and sanitizing tables that they cannot always bring requested items right away. We really feel sorry for the crew especially now that we have been experiencing some very hot and humid conditions. We shall soldier on!

We actually have hand towels back in the public restrooms and the launderettes are open and very busy this afternoon! The only thing different right now is that one side of La Veranda will probably be closed as long as the new generator is on the deck above. I took a peek in the door this afternoon and there are large support columns in place with part of the ceiling removed. I will try to sneak some pictures. We sailed from Santos just after 4 pm and are supposed to be at the dock in Rio at 8 am in the morning. We did have 2 medical emergencies today (code mike), one was for a broken wrist and the other was for someone who passed out. This evening is the captain's farewell and Krew Kapers. Let's hope the next segment is better than the last two, we have our fingers crossed!

The generator is on board and crew is working on the installation. Hopefully it will check out ok! We expect to sail late this afternoon and will go straight to Rio in order to arrive there tomorrow morning as per original schedule. I did post some pictures on my blog of the generator being lifted to the upper deck. https://thewatkinscruise.blogspot.com

We are still at the dock in Santos and it is our second night here. Today we heard through the grapevine that only about 50 passengers took advantage of the offered tours, everyone else either stayed on board or went on the shuttle bus into town. The captain just made an announcement (about 8:30 pm) that they have a generator being trucked in from Rio and it should arrive in the morning and it will take about 8 to 10 hours to get it installed (including the time for all the red tape in the port). This is a temporary installation being made up on deck 12 in the area of the paddle tennis court. They hope to sail tomorrow night but are not optimistic. Most passengers are disappointed but stoic about the situation, we have only heard about a few "meltdowns". A third day in this port may prove to be a challenge for everyone. More news as it develops!

My DH had a chat with Captain Serena last evening and she stated that there were 9 passengers with the intestinal bug so that put us over the 2% reporting criteria and triggered the return to level two. Also we cannot sail without the emergency generator working so they are trying to find a replacement. Luckily the port we are in, Santos, is the largest port in South America so they may have what we need. There has not been an update so far this morning but destination services has come up with a couple of tours (can you believe that they are charging $159 for one of them?) and shuttle buses to a couple of shopping destinations, however it is raining and it appears that not many people went on tour. I have a feeling that we may be here for a while. We are trying to look at the situation as staying in a luxury hotel!

This morning we are back to code red level two. No announcements have been made but the tables are once again bare in the dining room and all food is being served. Have not checked as yet but assume that the launderettes are closed. Will post again when I have any more news about the situation.

Just to update. We are still under the "code red" restrictions as there have been several new cases of illness. We did speak to the general manager last evening and he said the passengers that are sick are ones that boarded in Buenos Aires so they are assuming that the extensive sanitizing procedure conducted on the 21st is working. We still need to be 72 hours without new cases before we can go back to normal. One new step is that there are no hand towels in the public restrooms, just kleenex tissues. Try drying your hands with those!!

We are currently on board the Mariner and will be in our first Brazilian port today. You may have read that we have an ongoing issue with intestinal illness on board. FYI, We are still under "code red" restrictions which includes the launderettes being closed. I am 68 and got the yellow fever shot with no side effects. The ship has given each cabin a bottle of 30% deet insect repellent. We also brought shirts that are insect repellent purchased at sporting goods store (Columbia brand).

This is our second time to "Circle South America". Our 2012 cruise was outstanding and when people ask us what is our favorite cruise we always tell them 2012 cruise around South America. We knew our experience would not be the same this time but had no idea it would be as bad as it is. I am sure that a lot of readers know of the "code red" illness situation on board (it has been going on for more than two weeks). The crew is worn out from constant cleaning and sanitizing and the extra effort just to serve everything including salt and pepper, sugar, etc. Hopefully these measures will end soon now that we have the new segment guests on board. We also missed three ports, two for bad sea conditions and one for mostly unknown reason (the Falklands). Our other big disappointment is the lack of special events or even recognition of the approximately 100 full cruise passengers. On the prior cruise we had a number of exclusive events including a pre-cruise dinner and entertainment, special parties on board, we even had a special dinner and entertainment just for the full cruise guests. I won't go into all the details here but I have been writing a blog since the beginning of the cruise. https://thewatkinscruise.blogspot.com

Too late for cancellation. We always told everyone that the "Circle South America" cruise we took in 2012 was our favorite cruise and hoped it would be as enjoyable this time, but I think we are going to have to lower our expectations. The pre-cruise "Gala Dinner" with entertainment by the "Platters" was a great send-off and a wonderful way to meet the fellow passengers we would be with for the next 72 days. Really unfortunate that they have eliminated this event.

We are booked on the Mariner 72 day cruise around South America and were just informed that there is no pre cruise hotel stay and "Gala dinner" with entertainment for the full cruise passengers. We did this same cruise in 2012 and thoroughly enjoyed it so we booked it again. We also noticed when we booked our tours that many of the ones that were free in 2011 are now fee tours. I guess this is another move by NCL to cheapen the "Regent Experience". When the ownership change was made we were told that Regent would remain the same, NOT!! I think if we had known that the cruise would be so different we would not have booked it.

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I too am confused about the bed size on the Explorer. We just got home from the Cape Town to Beijing cruise on the Voyager. Back in mid December the on board cruise consultant hosted a special event for Gold and above Seven Seas Society members to distibute the first brochures for the Explorer cruises (no other ships in brochure). I was disappointed to see that it did list queen size beds for the f1, f2, g1, g2 categories. This was going to really discourage us from booking on the new ship. Then when we arrived home there was a new large brochure that had upcoming cruises for all the ships including Explorer where the beds are listed as "European King", the same as we are used to on the other ships. So perhaps it was just an error in the descriptions in the first printed material that was released?