ChatKat in Ca.

I was a Regent loyalist for many years. I think the Crystal Product is definitely a step above. No, the ships are not as sparkly but the service, food, entertainment and activities and a huge step above.

I always bring a black dress or pantsuit and bling. You can't miss that way

We used Barcelona Day tours for airport transfer to ship or hotel. Excellent service and tours.

Depends on how many ships are in Canada Place. We just made our flight after disembarking and there were 8 ships in port.

We were "bumped" from a Sydney to Auckland cruise as described in the quote. We got all our money back and a cruise credit of $10,000. We figured we'd book the same cruise the next year but the fare more than doubled. Our original cruise was on the Navigator and the next year it was offered on the Voyager. We took a nice "free" cruise in the Med and booked a Tauck Tour of Australia.

usually the day prior

I recall vibration in the aft suites...

I don't agree. Our cabin was well worn and the sofa stained in October. The common areas are nice, but out room needed a refresh.

Holiday Inn vs Ritz Carlton?

Yes - my Covid cancellations were credited with no fuss but I will miss my on board credit.

Was I missing out that there is no more AMEX Rewards for NC? I thought I saw it was restarted via A&K but my TA said otherwise,

We stayed in Warnemunde and walked the whole town. It was a hidden gem

One a cruise that had a grand chocolate buffet, the chef spent days making something special. It had a sign on it to please not touch it. Well, of course someone broke off a piece and the chef was in tears.

Ill have to find the photos. I think they're on my ipad

For us, it was a beautiful display but overkill to eat. We saw pax over indulging and felt it was wasteful

The Crystal Experience is superior to the Regent Experience. The crew is welcoming but will take cues from the passengers. The excursions are not bus loads full. We cruised Regent for years and tried a Regent Cruise last year and were sorely disappointed . We cannot wait to be back on board later this year.

We too have enjoyed Jay's lectures and hope to see him onboard again.

I read through most of the thread. A category 5 hurricane decimated Acapulco. I think PV and Cabo were also affected but Acapulco is totally wiped out.. https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/26/weather/hurricane-otis-acapulco-mexico-impact-thursday

New Ship for you on a high end itinerary would make a difference in the experience. We were on the SS Mariner in Mexico with a new crew and post covid,

Some of us have cruised Oceania and most recently Regent. On Oceania, you need to show you card constantly even to dine. On Regent, they had many substandard interactions with crew. We even had to report our cabin number to be seating in Compass Rose. One both lines above, there was either nothing to do (literally). No music, enrichment - NOTHING. Crystal always had multiple choices of music, dance, lectures, art....at any time.

I just read a tip to use pool noodles cut to size in shoes/boots. I bought some special boot things to keep them from wrinkling and pool noodles are even better and inexpensive. Would travel well too.

We stayed there and it was lovely and convenient. I do believe though that our room required stairs so that is something to consider.

And the fares increased to include those basic (unacceptable) tours. My last R cruise during the "Crystal Pause", the tours were worthless with busses broken, shopping to nowhere interesting and a waste of time. It reminded me of why I stopped booking Regent in the first place.

They didn't include it back then, that I recall. Maybe they did and I just remembered what it was Ala carte