flossie009

In Japan masks are required in the Cruise Terminal, other enclosed spaces and on buses. Most of the locals are still to be seen wearing masks. Masks are not required on board; a few crew and passengers do wear them.

It is such a shame that Regent(UK) opted to abandon this little touch of pre cruise luxury, that set them apart from other cruise lines 🙁

A sunny Spring morning for our arrival in Kochi, Japan today. An extensive welcoming party for Explorer’s arrival; all happy to see the first cruise ship in Kochi for three years.

Why would they make that assumption? Regent has been very clear that it only issues specific requirements for each cruise just a few weeks before boarding. There have been plenty of press reports about Japan’s nervousness in opening up to tourism, with international cruise ships only being finally sanctioned very recently. It is the guest’s responsibility to arrange appropriate insurance. It is not a significant change. Regent at no time stated that no testing would be required prior to boarding this cruise I can totally understand the point of view but IMO the demand that Regent accept liability for a passenger who chooses to cancel at a late date or is denied boarding because of illness or reporting a positive covid test is unreasonable. The passenger should have adequate travel insurance or accept the possible financial risk of not being properly covered.

What was Regent’s response to your query about this anomaly?

Explorer arrived today at its first port of call in Japan, Kagoshima. We successfully negotiated the temperature checks, immigration, customs & security. All reasonably fast & efficient as the Japanese authorities had deployed a large contingent of immigration staff to deal with our arrival. Unfortunately today in in Kagoshima is rainy & cool so not very conducive to sightseeing ☔ ⛈️ The welcoming party was not extensive …………. three senior citizens waving flags; one wearing a flowery wig 😉

Not sure that I am understanding the query. In one post you are referencing an offer made prior to final payment; in the other you refer to an offer being made after final payment. In general Regent appear to be willing to honour the new offer but only if there is still availability in the relevant suite grade(s) and you would have to pay the latest price if there had been a price increase since the original booking. As @Bellaggio Cruisers says, these two criteria often mean that you will not gain by trying to apply the new offer. Best way for you to find out about your specific booking is to contact Regent; either direct or via your TA. Always worth asking …………….. don’t ask, don’t get!

I maybe wrong but I believe that all the Horizon suites are the same size & layout on Mariner. As others have advised those on decks 8 or 9 are preferable, avoiding 990 (tub/shower combo) - unless you specifically like to have a bath. Horizon or PH are excellent choices for a long cruise on Mariner; one of our favourite ships.

What about SSS benefits for Gold & above members: “FREE unlimited WiFi with four log-ins, for up to four devices” Is that benefit per member or per suite? The SSS Ts&Cs state: “Gold members and above receive FREE Unlimited Wifi with four log-ins for up to four devices, that may be used concurrently” The phone time SSS benefits are clearly stated as being per suite; but the Wi-Fi is not, so we are arguing that the Wi-Fi benefit is per member. The internet manager on Explorer disagrees🤨 Between us we have five devices, which has caused some log-in issues that we do not recall having on previous cruises.

@pingpong1, I do not disagree that if a “significant change” is made by the cruise line then the guest should be able to cancel the cruise; whether that be before or after final payment. When St. Petersburg was dropped from our August cruise last year, Regent agreed to give us a full refund, even though the reason for the change in itinerary was not within their control. That itinerary change was significant in the context of our booking. All travel, including cruising, has always included the risk of alterations to arrangements and I do not see that the administrative and testing requirements being discussed in this thread can be considered as significant changes that warrant a guest cancelling without penalty. Agreed

Chiang Kai‐shek Memorial Park The CSK Memorial - The 89 steps on each side denote his age when he died in 1975 The huge statue on the fourth floor, always guarded by two soldiers We were fortunate to witness the precision drill during changing of the guard at 1pm

Photos from Keelung and Taipei: A warm welcome at Keelung Port - some strange costumes and an “ear-worm” welcome song Dragon on the roof of Longshan Temple Definitely the Year of the Rabbit Incense Burner Beautiful orchids and other flowers throughout the temple

Not sure what point you are trying to make 🤔 Are you affected by these Japanese requirements? If you are booked on one of the cruises affected do you really wish to cancel just because of some extra administrative hassle and simple self testing? If you trip over one of the ‘hurdles’ (test positive) then your Travel Insurance should cover your losses. We just received further paperwork (customs declaration & disembarkation cards) for completion before we arrive in Japan on Explorer tomorrow. There will be a mandatory face-to-face customs & immigration inspection on arrival at our first port, Kagoshima. We are looking forward to our time in Japan despite the extra administration and form filling required. Yes it has been mildly frustrating but hopefully well worth it.

Another good photo of Explorer next to the new Cruise Terminal: Focus Taiwan Explorer’s Captain, GM, CD and F&B Director attended the opening ceremony - 75minutes, all in Mandarin 😯 Today we are in Keelung (the port for Taipei). An excellent tour: KEE-009 Taipei City Drive & Foot Massage Weather is now very pleasant; less humidity but still sunny & warm. Expect it will become cooler as we approach Japan.

Taiwan News Who knew? The new terminal is symbolic of a whale!

We also saw other interesting architecture in Kaohsiung today: Formosa Boulevard MRT Station The other ship in town (Holland America) had to make do with the old terminal

The new cruise terminal which took 10 years to build is an iconic building, but it is difficult to show in one photo Commemorative stamps were on sale:

We arrived in the port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, early this morning and wondered why our ship was the centre of attention. It appears we are the first cruise ship to use the new cruise terminal. Focus Taiwan Press, dignitaries and the public turned out in force for an inauguration ceremony

Protocols are certainly relaxing worldwide. We were in Manila yesterday and the mandate on mask wearing has just been lifted and more businesses & tourist sites are opening up. There was a requirement to self-test prior to entering Taiwan (see Regent letter below) Today (day before arriving in Taiwan) the requirement has been lifted - no testing required 🙂

I thought this was always mandatory. We are on Explorer and have had to register & upload vaccine certificates (a painful process given the appalling internet on board Explorer). Then required to inform Reception when acceptance received.

Paid excursions (including the Small Group alternatives); Premium wine; Spa treatments/products; Boutique purchases (perfume, clothes) If you are on Splendor or Explorer you can use SBC for Culinary Arts classes

We like the decor on all the Regent ships; our first cruise choice criteria being itinerary and then price per day. With those initial choices taken care of, we favour Splendor over Explorer because of the lighter colour palette and because some of the design flaws on Explorer were corrected on Splendor. In our opinion, Mariner has the best layout of public areas and the decor is fine.

It was simply an unfortunate casualty when the itinerary was revised; as was Seoul in S Korea 🙁

Dinner in P7 tonight on Explorer ..,..,.,,,,,,,, delicious 😋 Crab cake was on the menu 🙂 Best bonus was at the end of the meal ..,,,,,,,,,,,, fudge rather than those bizarre brownies topped with jelly 😀

Horizon lounge is on deck 6. Surprised you were disturbed on deck 8.