Wendy The Wanderer

Yes! I'll be one of the ones hobbling around the ship, possibly with a cane. My back/hip problems have quantum-leaped and I may not even be leaving the ship (which is fine with me, since I've been to four of the islands before, although I do want to get a supply of nutmeg in Grenada!) We loved our single Azamara trip. Ship tours were pricey, but there was the option of shared private tours, and we had one of our best experiences doing that, something that I miss on Regent. What we liked most about the Azamara cruise was the casual friendliness of everyone, including the senior staff, and the fun atmosphere. I must say that Regent's "included" Business Air has been a big incentive for us in the past. Hardly can beat their prices, unless you have points to burn.

There is definitely an element of feeling at home with one line. Our first Radisson cruise was in 2000, on the Paul Gauguin (still our favourite ship.) Our first post-pandemic cruise is coming up in three weeks on Splendor. We may find that ship too glitzy, we'll see, but I doubt it. Aside from the non-Regent Paul Gauguin, we've done one Seabourn, one Oceania and one Azamara, all nice, but on Regent all the buttons are pushed, including great cabins, wonderful service, small quiet ships, a wide variety of cuisine, and best of all, an interesting and varied passenger mix. (I must say this last was true on the others, except for Oceania.)

Yes, but there used to be. In any case, the Master Suite.

There's always one. We had one once who I called a "captain of industry", i.e., A-type personality. Had an Owner's Suite on Voyager. He ended up decking another passenger and being confined to his cabin by the security staff. Another one (a female this time) sniffed at us and looked down her nose every time we saw her--she was offended that we too were in a PH suite. Her husband dressed in nautical attire, we nicknamed him Popeye.

Isn't it a bit late for that, Marc?

Having been on the ship twice before, what changes, if any, did you notice under the new regime? Were there any staff from the past that you recognized? How, in general, did the staff morale seem to you? Same as always? I'm very glad to hear you had a great time. We did the 2-weeks Marquesas in, hmm, 2008!

Despite Moorea being a stop, I would still suggest Moorea. It's close to Tahiti, so you can just hop on a ferry to board the ship. Plus it's a great place to de-stress and get into the rhythm of the islands. Plenty of varied hotel choices, and some interesting restaurants. Lots to see and do. You need at least two nights really to do this--ferries only travel in daylight, so if you arrive on a late flight, you'll have to stay on Tahiti and ferry or fly over the next morning.

Thank you for that, it's what I thought.

I find the choices onboard are pretty limited. I would make sure your hand luggage has a change or two of clothing just in case, a skirt or dress, some extra shirts. Hope it turns out alright, travel by air right now can be such a pain. By the way, @cwn, I like the bracelet!

Well, there is the reduction of shoreside staff reported elsewhere.

The chef may offer locally sourced fish once on a while.

I've had many recommendations from people who have parked there safely.

Interesting notion, but would you think it safe to leave it in a public garage for that long? The Port of Miami offers secure parking, albeit at something like $22 a day.

Ah that's what I wanted to know, thanks! Normally since we're driving from our Florida home for this cruise, I'd bring mine, but I left them up north this year.

And what kind of suite was that?

But only in the named suites, right?

I like the idea of the cruise-by-cruise approach to this. I also think that perhaps it would be more viable on the smaller Navigator which has fewer specialty choices. They do this on Seabourn, and for a small ship like that, it's very welcome to have another venue, even if the weather is a bit iffy (they supplied blankets to us in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in October.)

No. Some do, some don't, no pressure. We generally don't, but often contribute to the Crew Welfare Fund.

Could you clarify this for me, if you could? You mean that the stools can't be pulled close enough to the counters to use while you're doing prep? But you could sit to take a rest? Thanks for your reports!

That sounds like a good option, since in our case, we'll be driving to the port in our own car from the hotel and parking it. Not having to deal with anything but hand luggage sounds good.

Oh well, it sounded good and I was looking forward to it. But I don't like to see any more food wasted than necessary (which is a lot on a ship like that, I know.)

Yes, I have to agree about that.

Thanks, good to know. For purists, it's got to be scalding when you brew the tea, not when you drink it, ha ha. I'm not a huge tea drinker, but I would have a cup in the morning if the Illy could make it. I'll probably opt for decaf coffee instead.

So the Illy machines that I am looking at on their website do not seem to have a pod system, so I can understand that you can't just set it to produce boiling water by leaving the pod out, like a Keurig. As for tea, no one who actually drinks hot tea regular will settle for a carafe of hot water. For black tea, especially, it needs to be boiling, and for green tea, just off the boil. I think I'll settle for coffee this trip.

I'd like to know this too since we'll be sailing in warm climes in January.