flossie009

Southampton cruise terminal is usually efficient in clearing the ship and reasonably speedy in offloading luggage.

A 3pm flight should be OK, but agree that the least stressful way is to defer your flight till the Tuesday ………. or why not extend your holiday, spending a few days exploring the south of England.

A contribution for the Mariner spreadsheet: Mariner_December 2023.xlsx

You can make one reservation in each speciality restaurant on-line prior to the cruise. You can then try for further reservations once you are on board by visiting or phoning the dining reservations desk. On a 16 night cruise you should not have an issue with additional reservations, especially if you are flexible on dates, times and willingness to share.

IMO the vibration at the rear of Voyager is minimal and only occurs in certain sea states or when manoeuvring in port. The PHC suites are unfortunately only the same size as the basic suites (H-D), but the balcony is larger. Certainly not as good as the excellent Horizon suites in the same location on Mariner. Have a look at the relevant spreadsheet on SuiteGuru for reviews from other CC members.

This should probably read "Possibly the best Destinations Manager working on Regent ships ......"

The problem of whistling balcony doors has been an issue on this new class of ship since Explorer was brought into service. When we were on Splendor it appeared they had tried to alleviate the problem by fitting tighter door seals, but that just meant that the door was very difficult to open 🤨 Could the reported problem with lack of sound insulation between suites be in any way related to the difficulties the shipyard had in 2023 with sourcing properly certificated insulation panels? (FT report) Has anyone checked the suite walls with a magnet to see if an insulated liner has been applied to the steel wall prior to decoration?

Regent are also still selling the April cruise on Navigator, Abu Dhabi to Athens (plenty of availability 🤨) We cancelled that segment of a B2B in November, but it appears that some guests are still sticking with it. Difficult decisions for Regent and their guests. We will watch with interest what routing the WC eventually takes.

Not for guests in the UK Before making that decision did you get a price and itinerary for each of the flights from Regent? Regent (UK) often provides a reasonable price for upgrading to Business. If taking the air credit & booking your own flights be aware of the risks, especially if the flights you choose are non refundable .............. and the potential additional cost for one way tickets. You will of course also have to arrange your own airport transfers. We usually only arrange our own flights when using airmiles as the the tickets are refundable (less a small admin fee) and there is no premium for one way bookings. Have a great cruise; an excellent itinerary 😎

Not included: Spa treatments & purchases Boutique purchases Casino & Bingo "investments" Medical costs (should be reimbursed through your travel insurance) Some specific excursions (most ports have a range of included excursions) "Premium" wines and spirits (we find the quality and range of included offerings to be perfectly acceptable) Special wine pairing lunches & caviar tastings Cookery classes Dry cleaning (laundry & pressing are included) Internet streaming (Basic Wi-Fi and internet access is included) Inclusions are the same for all suite grades

No survey for us either Maybe only directed to those guests in North America, where the inclusion of business class air is the norm?

Put yourselves on a waitlist, which hopefully will clear before your cruise Yes, of course you will be able to do your own thing No difference in clearing excursion waitlists or boarding tenders for any suite grades

This thread is simply "quackers" We didn't have the pleasure(?) of seeing any on Mariner ............ but of course we sail on Regent to ensure we don't see a bill during the cruise 😉

Try SunTransfers Pre-pandemic they were very reliable

There is also a polite reminder in the final issue of Passages to ensure that library books are returned and that bathrobes & umbrellas remain in the suite. Do we find this to be an inconvenience? No Do we find this to be "insulting"? No Do we take this personally? No it is just a very practical way of ensuring no embarrassment for guests or staff and that all items on board are available for the next guests who board.

I don't normal drink cocktails but having tried a "Mariner" during our last cruise it became my pre-dinner tipple of choice 🍸 It also cured a ship's sniffle within 48 hours (with the added remedy of a hot chocolate with marshmallows & brandy 😋) Cheers🥂

We had the same issue …………… and, after many failed attempts, hit on the same solution (zeroing the erroneous OBC)

Strongly suggest you read the conditions of the Regent Ambassador Programme: “REGENT SEVEN SEAS CRUISES’ AMBASSADOR PROGRAM IS INTENDED FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBER REFERRALS. SOLICITING BOOKINGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITES OR OTHERWISE MAKING GENERAL SOLICITATIONS TO STRANGERS SUCH AS TO A WIDE, UNKNOWN AUDIENCE, IS PROHIBITED. ANY SEVEN SEAS SOCIETY MEMBERS FOUND ENGAGING IN SUCH CONDUCT MAY BE REMOVED FROM THE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM, AND WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR AMBASSADOR CREDITS GOING FORWARD. ALL DECISIONS CONCERNING A MEMBER’S PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM AND RECEIPT OF BENEFITS OR AWARDS IS AT OUR SOLE DISCRETION”

...........and of course St Bart's is a tender port so if the seas are rough you may not get ashore (as happened on our recent Mariner cruise) I see the Grandeur cruise which is the subject of this topic has three consecutive tender ports; I hope you have calm weather 🤞

What was the specific request ? ……………. and how has NCLH influenced the decision ?

A final reflective overview of our 2023/2024 Holiday Cruise on Mariner: Cruise overall: Very enjoyable Ship: We like the layout of Mariner, and the ship was in good order throughout Suite: An excellent, roomy, well maintained PHC on deck 9. No major toilet issues - one half hour flushing outage during our 25 nights on board Weather: Changeable. Some windy rough weather early on. Mostly warm & sunny. Humid up the Amazon Itinerary: Some interesting ports of call, but having now done the Amazon twice we probably would not do it again Service: Very good Food: Very good. Lack of variety in fruits & cheeses Drinks: We always got what we wanted in bars & restaurants Entertainment: Could have been a lot better had the CD & entertainment team used some initiative. They did face the difficulty of a performer arriving with no luggage and a cocktail pianist with visa issues Lecturers: The lecturers seemed OK, but none of the subject matter appealed to us. Most lectures were not related to the itinerary or time of year Fellow guests: There was a significantly higher percentage of Europeans on this cruise compared to most Regent cruises. The people we met were mostly very interesting & friendly folk, some of whom we have sailed with previously. There were a few jerks, some entitled lounger hogs, and one couple left the ship in Barbados after a “rumble in the jungle” (a woman physically attacked another at the Boi Bumba show in Parintins 😮) Excursions: A mixed bag. Some very good; a couple were poor. So that’s all from us. Over to @crusin7 for the next chapter 😎

Regent arranged our car transfer to the hotel. We used Uber this pm to/from a local mall for some retail therapy. Quick pick-up & good service both ways.

Maybe the same as we saw on a number of days. This photo we snapped on Tuesday No movement from 08:30 to 11:30 - presumably while the couple were ashore 🤨 Note the use of newspapers and library books to ensure no personal possessions are at risk !

Disembarkation should have commenced at 07:45, with everyone to be off the ship by 09:00 In the event the first groups were not called until 09:30. We were one of the first off, but by the time we found a porter and got through passport control (only two officers on duty) it was 10:00 before we were in the car taking us to our hotel. We are now checked in and enjoying a glass of wine 🙂

Nothing new. Port and Union rules I believe 🤨 We have never left a ship on time in Miami. Not a worry for us as our flight back to the U.K. is not until tomorrow evening, but a real pain for those with early flights or with drivers waiting. Thanks to those who followed & contributed to this sporadic blog. Will try to do a summary review of our cruise later today.