Wendy The Wanderer

Our TA always does it in reverse--books us on cruise only, and then we can add the air later if we wish. It makes the deposit a bit smaller that way. We have used Regent Air, and have rolled our own. By all means use points or miles if you have lots and you can find the flights you need. Always deviate and fly in the day before the cruise. The times we have used Regent Air is when we could not find a Business fare comparable to what they could offer (deviation fees included)--they can often do much better than paying those fares. But if I have the points, I will use them.

Our waitlist deposit was $1000 I believe.

We waitlisted for our Splendor cruise this past January. We waitlisted in June and cleared and booked in July. Paying the deposit allows you to book up to three categories. We jumped on the first category that came, but presumably if you didn't like the first cabin that came up, you could decline it and still be on the waitlist. Perhaps someone can confirm that.

Kathy, I'm betting you'd love Splendor (and therefore probably Grandeur.) When did you last sail Mariner? We were on her in 2017 and she was in fine shape then.

For real?

Why the heck would they start a voyage in Mauritius?

In the tropics, yes absolutely. Then again, somewhere cooler, the sunny loungers might suddenly be at a premium.

I like being mid-ship and low. So 755 would be my choice, plus it's near an elevator. Both cabins are shower instead of bath. Of course, if you're young and agile, you might choose a bath/shower combo and leave the shower-only cabins for us old fogeys for whom the bathtub is a showstopper. 🙂

Was a little disappointed with Chartreuse, but could have just been what I chose. Had a nice lunch there one day. Also disappointed in Sette Mare, not in the food so much as disarray among the staff, and an appetizer/salad spread that was pretty lame. Main dishes were great.

It would be tight. Any way you can change your flight to the next day and just spend the day in Vancouver?

I agree Richard. We're avoiding flying completely, perhaps for good. Might consider Alaska which would be a flight across Canada from Toronto. Luckily we winter in Florida, which means we can drive to Miami for a cruise (which we did in January--Splendor is amazing), or take a train to Montreal for a leaf-peeper cruise (which we've done in the past.) You're kind of stuck being in the middle of Colorado.

They did last summer when we were booked in the Baltic. TA consulted us about changed several times including day changes. We ended up cancelling so don't know how it would have played out.

I wish!

I was going to make that point myself. They are run off their feet usually. That being said, the OP should arrange to meet their steward and straighten out expectations on both sides.

That's definitely part of it. I noticed many more 2-tops on Splendor this January. We did manage to share several evenings, but often they couldn't form a table so we took the table for two

It's definitely a thing on Regent. I'm surprised that the maitre'd reacted like that.

That's been my experience too.

For Americans Meclizine (Bonine) is widely available and it works for me. Since I'm Canadian, I try to keep my stock up when I visit the U.S. I believe that's what is dispensed onboard ship.

Think this has been answered already, but no. If you pick seats that Regent will cover, that's it. If not, they will offer them to you with an upcharge, or offer you a free alternative. Yes, you will get your air itinerary immediately. I think perhaps most people here on CC deviate. I know we always did, unless it was domestic in which case we often could do better ourselves.

So in the past, our TA has done all the dickering about air itineraries for us. Is it correct what I'm hearing, that they don't want to do it through an intermediary any more, but only directly to us, the customer? But really, in the past the air deviation fee (I remember when it was $75 pp, btw) was only charged if you came to an agreement with them over flights. Kind of like the old days when deposits were refundable in full. Then they wanted to discourage people from booking frivolously, fair enough. In this case, it's just no longer quite free. Seems fair enough. What I have done in the past is do my own research, pick out our flights (with an alternative), and then present them to Regent. They either accepted those outright, or proposed an alternative. By that point I would hope that customers had explored their alternatives, i.e., what a business class fare would be on their own or with frequent flyer points. That way it's a simple, straightforward transaction.

You're welcome, always happy to contribute. I looked at this pretty carefully before we booked our Marquesas trip in 2008, since I had had a bad experience during a previous April trip to the Societies, during which I found the humidity very oppressive. I knew it would be similar in December but the bulk of the 2008 trip was in the Marquesas. It also didn't seem as bad as April had, but that perhaps was just luck.

The Marquesas have a dry season and a wet season. December I believe is supposed to be one of the drier months. It was for us, and quite pleasant. The Societies were not, although we still had a great time as usual.

Most of the time onboard ship and on the coast, it's lovely. So no, not oppressive--the tradewinds take care of that. I found it to be very humid in the Societies in December (but not the Marquesas) and in mid-April. But then coming from Arizona, you might find it so!

Gheesh!

I found the Pacific Rim lobster tempura on Splendor kind of heavy, not like tempura, more like popcorn shrimp. Tasty, but as a shared dish of appetizer, not a main course.