PaulMCO

I have been cruising and traveling on business throughout the pandemic. Had avoided COVID until our last Splendor cruise in November. Finally received my insurance payment of $2900 from Travelguard. They were a pain to deal with and I had to have the Florida Insurance Commission intervene to speed payment. I always travel with 4 tests, plus now a med kit with Paxlovid. I have drug sensitivity so I do have to stop and wait 24 hours. Paxlovoid was free and I found the $800 charge ridiculous as did my Pharmacist.

There is a simple solutions to this problem of getting your money back. File a DOT complaint naming the US airline and RSSC. The this will require them to call you and explain why there is no refund coming. As to how downgrades happen -- it is always based on fare basis and status. First are the upgrades, then award tickets, then bulk fares like Regent...

The same can be said about Crystal... My bags are unpacked after a week on Lake Geneva....

I think Mr. Kent's influence will be muted by the larger than life Manfredi. Agree about the lost opportunity to create something better. Some are looking for a clone, but there is real op to provide for a newer and fresher Crystal. If they do not, IMO they will not succeed in the long term. There is too much real competition in the luxury space and more coming.

Why is everyone comparing A&K to the new Crystal. The Heritage Group owns Crystal and A&K. Presume that most have taken A&K in pre COVID times. Heritage aka Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio bought out the company owning 85% of the shares in late 2019 (Mr. Kent owns 15%) Most of the executive staff are in Monaco home of the majority owner So if any comparison it should be against the old Silversea before RCL's bailout of SS. Which for me is not bad. Manfredi of course will put his mark on every thing he owns (including the name of the restaurant) - and hopefully on the food there..

With two new ships one in service and one later this year, the obvious course is to cut one minimum/2 maximum ships to keep capacity same. Quest can fill the role of Odyssey. Pursuit certainly will be used for Antarctica and Arctic areas. Only question do the jettison Sojourn too. Really not much money and zero impact on the debt. $50 to 75m tops for Odyssey.

Three cruises in the last 9 months on three different lines Regent Splendor - Nov/Dec -- destination team was indifferent did not care about complaints. Oceania Marina Dec/Jan - arrogant to the point of being NASTY. Cruise descriptions were wrong and places visited did not match descriptions/promises. Refused credits or refunds. Amex fixed that. Is there a common thread here - same parent, same destination department. Finally third cruise was Seabourn Odyssey in July. Best destination staff, out in the open, hands on, knowledgeable and provided lots of advise what to do in the port on your own.

Slimming down -- means cutting costs. Typical Carnival's way is to send the ship to Turkey (like saying on Yellowstone -- going to the train station). So they found a buyer instead. Wonder which ship they will use for the semi-mass market Alaskan cruises (most likely Quest) since with Pursuit coming, it can takes Quests expedition cruises. And yes don't merge...

Go to the other cruise lines pages and you will see the same. Even more so cancelling stops after they leave or informing them in Miami. Seems like an industry issue with ports that cannot handle the numbers of ships. And yes we have had 3 ports cancelled/changed on our upcoming Encore cruise (no reason given). Would not put so much stock in New Crystal. Certainly their first year of uninspiring ports did not get our attention. Startups do not do well in any industry. Yes they have a name and recognition (but some of that is a big negative) and this is coming from a past Crystalized cruiser.

Really depends on the itinerary. Port intensive R ship might be better especially if smaller ports are involved. Lots of sea days definitely a O class. We have had too many issues with R class and will never sail again. Insignia fire, and the Regatta motor generator issues and failures that spoiled an Australia circumnavigation.

Ship Marina or Riviera??? Reason the Marina cabin needs work.. We were in 12012 in January. We loved the location -- quick to waves and Terrace and had a great butler. Front of the ship, You will feel the motion of the ship more (being high and in front) and we had some rough weather. It was a quiet part of the ship. No through traffic as only guests in the 6 suites will use the hallway. Specifically for Marina -- Lots of little issues, like veranda slider that would not open. Hot tub on the deck had a broken pump (they did not have a replacement), cabinet doors on the bar that would not close and would swing open in the middle of the night during rough seas. None of these were fixed during our 21 days. Thought the decor was rather old, hallway was dark and dreary. Obviously these will be fixed when dry dock happens and Riviera has already had its facelift.

You did not say what your previous port is. If it San Juan you will clear formalities in San Juan. We did that on our last TA cruise and we were first off the ship and at the airport parking lot by 9am. If you have to clear in MIA - then 11:45 is too early.

Yes pretty basic. We were on Marina in the Terrace and the chef was making it (and sashimi) with literally frozen tuna and putting it out unthawed. Then the again serving staff were making plates -- yes mam -- wasabi, ginger and red soy... Pour the soy into a cup, add the wasabi and throw the raw ginger into the soy.

That is where our OBC went to for COVID treatment. But yes it can be used for any issues. Also if you like CAVIAR - you can use it for a nice appetizer. Our preference is to use the non refundable OBC on premium shore excursions.

We were on Splendor in Nov/Dec and concur with many of your points. We were also in a F1 Superior suit and had same issue with veranda slider. Had to muscle it. Sette Mari was a horrible experience on 2 of 3 seatings. Took forever to get food if you do a 7:30 to 8:00 seating. When dessert time came everything was picked through and gone. Food there was meh. Compass Rose was indeed the best MDR/GDR of any cruise we have at seal including Crystal. Always on point and the most varied menu. The excursions and the process have a distinct Oceania feel. Not very satisfying. We had no issues with our cabin it it looked fresh and not worn. So will you sail RSSC again??? We booked two more after our Splendor sailing.

and the self-test requirement is really insane and proves nothing... Self-Testing Antigen tests may be self-administered. Guests choosing to use a self-administered COVID-19 Antigen test must provide a timestamped photo showing: · The negative test result · The Antigen test packaging displaying the batch number · I.D. (e.g., passport)

And you can just take the air credit and buy a PE seat on your preferred air carrier ($499 each way is alot) Then you can use point or credits to upgrade to Biz. Many airlines use the priority list for upgrades as paid PE being the highest (like United). In February (booked in December) flew RT on UA from MCO to VIE (Vienna) in PE for $1200 and used plus points both ways for upgrades Last week (booked in January) -- RT on UA from MCO to GVA (Geneva) in PE for $1300 -- same on the upgrade both ways.

Any clue as to how OBC will be handled. In past you had to spend all OBC, even if came from your travel agent..

Regents protocol was quarantine in your suite, ship will do a PCR test to verify, doctor will prescribe Paxlovid, treat for other symptoms (cough or flu like symptoms) -- total bill around $1400. Antigen test daily -- two negatives and you are released. No housekeeping (they would leave towels at your door), room service from any venue was allowed. As others have commented -- getting vaccinated in no guarantee as we had 4 shots/jabs, caught COVID in Nov/Dec. Traveled to Austria for a business function at end of January. Everyone tested daily, and caught the bloody plague again. I am one that generally does not get sick with flu and avoided COVID for three years continued to travel on business during the entire period.

Had Covid in Nov/December on Splendor. No cabins available -- isolate in your suite.

Thanks Terry -- good to know -- we will have our first post pandemic SS cruise in November. Choice is good. its is good to have 3+ cruise line one can look for a great itinerary.

The Rio Port terminal has a central bus terminal. The bus does not stop in front of cruise terminal. We did the opposite way and they had porters that handled all of the luggage from port to the bus/buses. Presume it will work the same on the way back.

Butlers make your life easier. For us it depends on the cruise line. Some do more. Specialty dining in the cabin after a full day doing shore excursions. Can be served course by course but we generally skip that. That extra reservation also can be nice. The good butlers will check in advance to see what is open and then offer these to his guests. On Silversea our daily canape dose of Caviar delivered before dinner -- yum. Our evening cheese snack delivered and waiting for us after dinner. Last cruise on Oceania our butler found my DW a cane -- since she inadvertently left hers at home.

Why not. I can tell you for a fact that Regent uses the same companies that Oceania uses. We did both private and cruise line tours in Dec/Jan 23. The cruise lines were very crowded. In some cases some of the promised venues were closed and the cruise line (Oceania) had not updated the descriptions on the web site. We did a few excursions with do brazil right tours which were fantastic. Some cases group of 12 to16 and other a completely private tour. The private tour was the best we did -- in Rio. No waiting in line. Using VIP entrances for Christ Statue and Sugar loaf, being able to say lets leave early or can we go to a flea market, or skip Copacabana .. More flexibility...

But his best work was the founding of the Traveling Wilburys -- amazing group and amazing artists.