Wendy The Wanderer

Oh wow, fingers crossed for you. A lot can happen in ten days but it's not looking good right now.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if parts of the Trans Canada Highway is closed. And the RM goes through Kamloops, which although I don't believe it's at risk, it must be darned smokey, and the route to the east probably go right through some of the areas of active fires.

I got a prescription mask years ago, and it's done well by me, worth it.

In the past we've told our TA that we would be amenable to an upgrade. Got one once, a great deal, but rare.

I admit I didn't even know there was an upgrade button. As far as I know, you will never just be bumped from a booked cabin by a GTY. In my small experience with upgrades, it's usually 2-3 weeks before the sailings that these offers are made, and you must accept quickly because they are popular. Presumably they might offer you a free upgrade if they really needed your cabin for a GTY, not sure about that.

We stayed at the Biltmore in January pre-cruise and loved it. It's about a 20 minute ride from the airport, so I suggest a cab or Uber. Ditto to the port.

In January we did this, but it was refundable OBC.

I would make that assumption, yes. Wraps and sweaters for the ladies, a jacket for the gentlemen. My husband hates suits, but he wore a blazer every night on Splendor last winter and was very glad I packed it.

I thought so! I know Seabourn uses it a lot, and they seem to have more passengers from the U.K. Coming from Canada it may not be too bad either, in the winter, but from the States it looks like a real pain. The lack of offered hotels I guess is a problem for everybody.

We're still wintering in Florida, so can drive to Miami or Fort Lauderdale. We did this last winter and did a wonderful Splendor Southern Caribbean. My husband hardly set foot off the ship, so it could have been a "cruise to nowhere" for us. No Air is important at this point in our lives. We did a wonderful Seaborn itinerary before Covid that was round-trip Montreal. We took the train there and back. I admit we prefer Regent, and Splendor was absolute perfection.

Just as another data point, our ill-fated 2021 WC was going to cost us just under CAN$160,000, for a standard balcony cabin (not concierge.) Plus a non-use air credit of $3,800, which brings it to close to $165K. It was going to be 119 days long. Just looking at the 2024 WC, which, granted, is longer, 132 days. Standard G cabins is ~CAN$122,000 per person. I.e., over CAN$240K. To be fair I'm not factoring in any discounts for SSS or other special offers. But still, that's ridiculous. And too long, btw.

Yes, agreed. Glad we got our 'licks' in when prices were more reasonable. I remember one particular cruise we took several years after 9/11 when the per diem for our standard balcony cabin was about $400pd/pp.

Granted we're at or near the end of our cruising "careers", but I find Regent's latest prices just breathtaking. Regardless of whether or not one can afford it, I can't get my head around this level of spending. I frankly wish they would take excursions out of the equation, but that's obviously not going to happen. Haven't done SS, but too bad they've gone the same way.

No. In fact your luggage should always have those tags on wherever you travel. These paper things are just like the ones you get on your luggage when you fly.

I was going to mention that. I'm pretty much done cruising I think, but frankly I found the waste of all those pleather cases and cloth bags kind of offensive. I'd prefer everything to be electronic, including printable luggage tags. (Guess I could have complained about the Radisson/Regent pins--they used to give them out to all repeat cruises, you know. Another big waste.)

Somehow I've often thought that it would be nice if the activities were more diverse on TA's. But I'm not sure what I can imagine. Ballroom dance lessons come to mind. Wine or food tastings? Anybody got any suggestions?

Especially right now. Although I admit we got into a submarine in Aruba with no qualms (other than a bit of claustrophobia). Plus I've been in several semi-submersibles with no fears. Not sure I'd do either now.

Where are the bicycle tours operated? As for submarines, the best diving conditions to see wrecks that I know of would be in Georgian Bay, since the waters are very clear. But still, obviously no reefs or such. But the scenery in Georgian Bay is spectacular, so I would try to find some kind of excursion either on the water (canoeing?), or hiking. Killarney Park has great hiking trails.

You were lucky then. Weather so far this summer has been up and down like a roller coaster. Hot and muggy, rainy and cool, smoky as all get out. It's nice now, but getting hot again.

Sorry, that was a typo. I meant a GS, the suite the OP mentioned.

Yes, and the big penalties were clearly only for the RS.

I'm confused. I assumed a G is a Grand Suite. But the table in posting #4 mentions RS, which I assume means Regent Suite.

I seem to remember some age restrictions on excursions. I'm 75 now, so wondering. The main impediments for me to snorkel are ease of getting in and out of the boat, and difficulty level of the snorkel itself. I like calm waters and the ability to stop from time to time, preferably to swim easily to where I can stand on bottom or hang onto a boat. So I didn't snorkel on my last cruise.

Twice in Santo Tomas we took a long excursion (a paid one, a "Choice" excursion). It was then called, "VISIT TO Q’EQCHI INDIGENOUS RIVER COMMUNITY". It included a fairly long speed boat ride up the bay to the mouth of their large river (Rio Dulce I believe). Along this large river, which visually seemed like something out of Jurassic Park, are indigenous communities, mostly Maya, mostly small groups of refugees originally from other parts of Guatemala. The stop was at a school where these children come to school. The river and the communities we saw were fascinating. We then went back down the river to the community of Livingston, which is a Garafuna town. The Garafuna are Afro-Indigenous people originally from St. Vincent. We were given lunch and a cultural performance at a small hotel, then took the speedboat back to the ship. I see they have the same excursion listed this year: VISIT TO Q’EQCHI INDIGENOUS RIVER COMMUNITY 6.0 Hours Strenuous Activity # STC-002: CA$138.00 Cruise the Tatin River to a rural community whose residents are of Mayan origin. Learn how a non-profit organization is helping the community prosper. Gain an understanding of the programs that offer the residents a brighter future. Observe daily life among the Q’eqchi villagers in the community. Watch a folkloric performance of music and dancing while enjoying lunch.

I don't remember our friend being told to stay in his cabin. I remember him coming back to the Observation Lounge and telling us the tale. The perp himself was in the highest-level cabin, and had a very entitled attitude, and seemed to be the abusive type to start with--I believe he was bullying his wife, for instance. He was confined to his cabin that night, which was packing night. The next morning awaiting disembarkation, he was walking around free again. Did not reflect well on Regent at the time, I thought.