frantic36

I understand the cabin attendants reasoning was to make life quicker and easier for herself the next day. That reasoning is never acceptable and I would be sure she understood this in a firm but polite manner. Thank you for your wonderful and detailed report. It confirms why I have chosen not to sail on Oceania. For all the pluses the negatives outweigh them.

Could you please let me know if there is hot water available for tea/coffee when you have time, thanks.

😆I guess it depends where you live as coming from Western Australia those summer temperatures sound cold to me.

Thanks for the warning re breakfast as we are also doing Hilton for the post cruise tour. We aren't big breakfast eaters and often skip it entirely and some of the places look possible to grab a snack on the way. We have opted for Conrad Hilton pre cruise and taken the hotel credit. People we know recommended it.

Whatever floats your boat 🙄. Please have the last word.

Yes I do.Mainly wedges and kitten. I live in a big city.

You enjoy your flats but you aren't necessarily the fashionista you purport to be. Yes some flats are in style but you will see many various styles on the runways this season. Slingbacks with kitten heels or cultural heels are very in. You and I must read different fashion magazines and I read all mine on line so can see a wide range. Why not just let people have a different opinion rather than insulting them by telling them they are not up to date in fashion? In your opinion.

Wow, very interesting and I love all the colourful signage. I have visited a fair number of Asian cities and not seen that before.

Good advice and we will just be flexible. It isn't an issue as we have plans to go back to Japan in 2026. Your description of Namba made me intrigued to check it out before returning to the ship.

@shark b8 The *** symbol is to the left and is different as the arms are angled. The Hindu symbol as in your picture the arms are at right angles and has been a religious symbol to them for many centuries. Like many things *** they tainted and caused problems for many and still do.

Thanks for this tip as we are doing just the castle on our first day as we arrive port at 12MD. Since we are only doing the castle if you chose to could you advise the guide and stay longer and just catch a taxi back or is that not done? Also thanks for the Highlights of Kyoto information. Like @GMIAC we watched Gary Bembridge's review on the Explorer Japan itinerary and have tried to make sure we have a mix of tour types.

Thanks for this great tip. My husband and I will make sure we mention names and give praise mid cruise. We are only doing an 11 day cruise, our shortest ever cruise for a long time, but it is a taster to see how we like Regent as we are used to smaller ships. We are also doing the post cruise Tokyo tour so was wondering if they also include a survey there we need to look out for?

Probably because you have done it so often you have muscle memory. Also you sound younger then most of us on the board and use IT a lot for your business.

Us newbies to Regent who travel on other lines are used to getting our survey within a day or two of disembarking our cruise. My husband always completes his survey and makes sure he mentions crew he was impressed by. I will have to make sure in October he knows to do this before we disembark. We will bring our own laptops so hopefully we can complete it on them. Could anyone with experience know what wifi is like on Explorer around Japan?

Thanks for sharing. Friends sent me the videos yesterday and we were gobsmacked at the waterfall in the stairwell. I also showed my husband the waves and he didn't think they were too bad but he used to ocean race for days at times on 40metre yachts. That definitely looks like the rule "one hand holding the boat at all times while walking around".

Okay. I must have totally missed the ordering part when I have been in a restaurant using a QR code. I always though it was simply to a) not waste paper and b) a hygiene holdover from Covid. As you say I have never been in a place that had a QR code where I couldn't order in the normal manner. I'll still use it my way.

Okay, I find that different to my experience and I was in New Zealand and Sydney last month and I live in Perth, WA. Yes there are places with the QR code for the menu but the order is always taken by a person so no problem asking for help if you don't recognise an ingredient. I have never been served by a robot.

It wouldn't surprise me.

@shark b8 the other overwhelming thing of course is the traffic. I remember doing a Silversea excursion many years ago in Manilla and after visiting the old section we left to explore on our own as the large buses were struggling to get back to to pick us up. It gave us a chance to take the overhead monorail which was an interesting and fun experience. First time a lovely security man politely directed us to the section for "seniors" to line up 😆.It was fine as this meant we got on first so could get a seat.

We had to get some US cash onboard one time last year and the exchange rate for Australian dollar wasn't great. I am not sure that exchanging US for Euro would be better. If you just want a small amount and in small bills it might be better to do it at the airport if you don't want to risk finding an ATM in time. The ship might also not have much Euro or the right sort of notes coming from Miami.

It's in the second line down in PHD's signature. You just need to take out the spaces and change to @ and .

It was a cruise soon after they changed the concept of $1000per suite As You Wish so I think he was just used to doing it from previous cruises. As you say it is unlikely they do it now. I was just responding to les's post by saying I have encountered it before. I think Crystal sensibly moved away from asking upfront and now leave it to the passenger's discretion.

I don't think they do it anymore but on our 2012 Crystal cruise the Cruise Director Rick Spath a few times made a similar suggestion that though gratuities were included that a show of appreciation to staff would be good. A few days before the end of our cruise envelopes appeared in our room for this purpose. We didn't tip, not even our stewardess because not one person did anything we considered exceptional service and in the case of our stewardess was the worst we have had. I have tipped before and still do at times and always give to the crew fund.

From my understanding over the years, the company usually does help with getting them home in an emergency. The crew fund money has been used to give the crew member some extra cash if needed.

That's not a tip that's a bribe.