rallydave

The excursion was approx. $199/person. We do not tend to get overly upset about things. No one we spoke with wanted to make a fuss.

 

Tallship - will not do review!!!!! However, will be in contact next week as we are still in Sydney.l

That $199 price plus the $150 value that Regent puts on included excursions certainly supports Fizzy's comment that money should have been refunded for this totally screwed up excursion. Checked the wildlife park rates and the entry fee not in a group was about $53 Au which is less than $60 US. Add in transport at even $100 US per person and you are close to the price of included excursions yet Regent was charging an additional $199 pp Quite an extreme upcharge and a lot of excess profit.

Truly supports the notion that Regent Destinations is a huge profit center at the expense of the customer and also supports Regent's increasing of prices where the customer has no idea of the actual costs to Regent such as the increasing airfares being caused by a combination of increased airline prices and increases by Regent thus increasing profits.

Keep in mind, the airlines are causing the skyrocketing prices -- not Regent.

There is no way anyone who doesn't work for Regent to state as a fact that the airlines and not Regent are causing the "skyrocketing" prices that Regent charges for the included air as well as deviations and upgrades.

It can only be the posters opinion unless they have access to the Regent pricing strategies. It would not be logical for Regent to not tag onto the bettering economy and increase their margins for air as well as cruise fares. When prices are increasing, everyone jumps on the band wagon to grab a share of the increases to help the bottom line and Regent is no exception especially when Regent's air pricing is something that the average person has no viability into. This is especially true as the credits for not taking Regent Air are going down which shows another place where Regent is increasing their margins.

The only thing we as customers can do is compare the best fare we can get on our own directly thru the airlines with what we pay Regent and take the lowest resultant cost to us.

Hope when you say you want a Direct flight you really mean a non-stop flight. There really is a difference between non-stop and direct when discussing a flight and if it is truly a direct flight, it makes at least one stop and there is the possibility of a change of planes as well.

Non-stop means exactly what it says, no stops between you leaving and getting to your destination. Direct only means that you won't have a connection and you have a single flight number. Normally a direct flight will make a minimum of one or more stops, and you remain on the same aircraft. Occasionally a direct flight with one flight number will actually change planes at one of the stops but, it is difficult to tell if that will occur without checking each of the flights segments and can't always find out that way either.

Please be careful choosing your flights as you might just choose one that stops and you could then be delayed so always look for non-stops. The schedule will normally show if the plane stops but, not always. Best way is to compare flight times for your flight and others between the same two cities and make sure the length of the flights are within 10 minutes or so of each other.

This may sound ridiculous so please forgive me. If I accept the air I get from Oceania as is, I know they will somewhat take responsibility and do what they can to get me to the ship or to the next port. If I deviate and pay the $350 deviation fee (and the extra cost if warranted by my chosen flights) is their responsibility and efforts exactly the same? Or do they wipe their hands of it and say, "You thought you could pick better flights than Oceania? Well, guess what, you didn't, so you're on your own!"

Their responsibilities are the same in both cases. They have no responsibility as specified in the Terms and Conditions to get you to the ship or to the next port. That being said, oftentimes they will help you and in some cases provide hotels and pay the extra costs but, they have absolutely no obligation in either case. Generally when one deviates, they are getting to the embarkation port at least one day or more prior to the cruise so not getting to the ship becomes a non-issue. Don't believe I would pay the deviation fee and not be using it to arrive early.

Don't believe they would use the language in your last 2 sentences but, never know and since CC only accounts for about 5% of the people cruising, we have a very small cross-section of what any cruise line would do and does. Would not worry about this issue as very very few people actually miss the boat!!!

Hi. We are taking the Navigator Miami-Miami Jan.24th. We are both excited and apprehensive. Negative comments about Navigator 's performance in rough conditions are worrying. Can anyone tell me if it is the norm to experience rough seas on the Eastern Carribean route? It seems to be the opinion that seas tend to be particularly rough around Miami? We have a balcony cabin mid-ship on deck 6. We are taking this our second cruise because our first experience in September 2013 on Oceania Nautica was truly memorable. We met really nice people, experienced some amazing destinations. The food, staff, cabin etc. was just great. We had one rough night at sea when my husband suffered, after which he took seasickness pills and was o.k. Although that was our only really rough sea. I'm really hoping our experience of The Navigator will be as enjoyable.perhaps we should have stayed with Oceania? Any comments welcome. Thanks.

Other than the known vibration in the aft end which can be forgotten by having a suite forward of the aft elevators, Navigator is no worse in my opinion than any of the other many ships we have cruised on. Conditions can range from dead calm to high seas wherever you cruise.

My DW and I took the Navigator from Alaska to China across the Pacific in late September and only remember one day/nite where people had any issues. Navigator is not much smaller than the Oceania R ships you are familiar with and should ride whatever waves you have close to the same. No way to predict what the weather will be for your cruise and know that cruise lines go out of the way to avoid bad weather and high seas.

If you like the all inclusive of Regent you will have a wonderful time. Only negatives are the home office and certain Destinations people however, the home office people are very similar to the O home office people and attitudes. Hope you have a wonderful cruise and this somewhat gets rid of your fears.

I do not understand why the people getting off get a bonus. They knew what normal disembarkation time is. I have booked one night post cruise through O. Can't wait to find out what time they get us off the ship

The normal disembarkation time is right after breakfast around 9 AM. You are now being allowed to stay aboard until 4:30 and not out of your cabin until noon. You now have lunch included, non-alcoholic beverages, and a base to explore the local town all included that you would not have had. Also, if you were disembarked at the regular time, you might have to wait until 3 PM to get your room and you would be stuck in the hotel lobby watching your luggage. People flying out would be delivered to the airport with around 12 hours to wait for their flight.

If you don't think that is a bonus, that would be very confusing.

Our last cruise was unfortunately on a cruise that had the photographers. At embarkation, we declined the pictures and they were fine with it so I though all would be well but, not so fast.

From then on we were almost assaulted with photographers getting off, getting on, on the decks, at dinner, etc. Told each of the photographers that we did not want to be bothered and that we wanted no photographs. Well, would seem that made things worse and made them try harder for the photographs. They told me it was part of their job and they had to ask and/or try to take photos and that they would not stop no matter what we wanted. Finally decided to try and simply ignore them and not respond but, even that didn't always work as they kept asking while I kept silent so I had to turn and walk away when I was perfectly happy where i was.

So much nicer without all the pushing for photos.

Thanks again rallydave. -Seems strange that they cater for both US & European type plugs in the cabins, however it is all good.

 

Regarding using a UK plug with an adaptor, is that safe as the voltage is much lower on US plugs than the UK ones. I've heard that using a UK electrical appliance in the States by means of an adaptor can blow the fuse, is this true?

See by your number of posts you are new to at least to CC and probably to cruising. Believe that all or almost all cruise ships have European and US plugs as ships generally sail all over the world and cater to more than just US people.

Using anything electrical requires an adapter unless the item is dual 220/110 voltage. Doesn't matter the type of plug, it is what the item is built to work with. Most things today are dual voltage and work with either voltage however a few things are single voltage and need the adapter whether to convert 220 to 110 or 110 to 220.

Not sure about blowing a fuse but, I did accidentally use a charger that was only 110 in a 220 plug and didn't blow anything in the hotel but, the charger no longer worked at all. The main concern is blowing up your device or charger if it isn't designed for the voltage you are plugging into.

Sorry, just to confirm, do they take the US type plugs only as opposed to European/UK?

NO, they are as I described and they are in pairs with one US type and 1 European type. UK plugs are totally unique, not the same as european and will NOT work without an adapter.

Sarah, would suggest you get a power strip that plugs in with a cord coming off of the strip. Here is an example of what I mean:

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-6-Outlet-Commercial-Protector-Rotating/dp/B000JV3CKA/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1389714390&sr=1-4&keywords=power+strip

The possible problem is that the receptacles are recessed so that the one you suggested may not plug in since the body of the strip will block it. This is my memory from a couple of years ago. And, sure you could pick up what you need from the local Walgreens, CVS or even Dollar General. Or search thru Amazon and purchase what you like with a sort of separate plug that is not integrated in the strip.

Hope you understand by gibberish and why I included the link with a picture. As to Monte Carlo, you will need an adapter to plug anything in and these are also available everywhere and are cheap and only a 2 pin which you would plug the strip in. Assume all that you will plug in are dual voltage as if not you would need a converter.

Thanks rallydave -Does the Navigator take the US 3 pin plugs only?

Plugs are all the same on all three Regent ships.

I understand O position on not letting 2000 passengers' on board a 1200 passenger ship. What the problem for me is the fact the passengers who will board at 8;30AM getting an extra day on board with breakfast and lunch.

My sentiments exactly and why I said what I did. Totally unfair and a shame O couldn't simply have the on board people disembark at the normal time an reserve space at a hotel for them at O's cost while allowing all of the incoming people to board at their normal time.

It's not like O was unaware of this many many months ago. Think what O is thinking if they are thinking is that they will have 1200 disembarking people leaving the ship happy that they were able to have extra time on board and that since the boarding people are just starting their cruise they will forget about how they were disenfranchised and treated as second class citizens by having their boarding delayed and causing them to spend more money as well as impacting their enjoyment of the ship.

Are they the US style 2 pin plugs that are required?

The 110V sockets are the standard US 3 prong socket, two rectangular and the round ground. The 220V socket is the 2 pin type as you would find in Europe.

Hope this helps,

Just for information sake, are you in a suite or lower cabin?

We have made special requests and never been charged so this may be something new.

Perhaps the regent people who said there was a cost saw the word beer and assumed it was a type of alcoholic beer instead of the soft drink it is and which is included in the fare.

It also may be as orchestrapal stated a new method for O to increase revenue without prior notification??

There are regularly scheduled transfer services from the airport to the city. We took one several years ago and was much less expensive than a taxi. Don't remember the name of the service but, I did find it by simply googling transfer from Arlanda which is the name of the airport.

Not as fast as a taxi but, much cheaper. We took ours to the hotel and assume they could also take you to the port. Seem to remember there were several different services and there was a place in the airport where you could book transfers realtime.

Also, the Arlanda Express is a train service direct from the airport into town where you could get a less expensive taxi to the port. Runs regularly so no need for a reservation. You would need to be able to handle your own luggage from the airport thru the train and then to the taxi.

Lots of choices; we prepaid for the transfer with a credit card without foreign transaction fees so didn't need local currency which is unique to Sweden. No Euros in any of the Baltic countries as I remember.

We were on this cruise last April and information from Oceania came in very late and changed. I realize they are at the mercy of the airlines but this is not their first time operating this cruise. They should be past the learning curve. It was very difficult for us to make any informed decisions as to when to arrive, take the deviation, etc. when we didn't have information. I believe part of the problem is the size of the ship. PG can handle logistics much better since they only have 300 passengers whereas Oceania is running the Marina in this neck of the woods with 1250 people. I do agree with you that it is not fair. The ship will be crowded with those arriving on the early flight in conjunction with those who are allowed to stay on the ship and in their cabins till noon.

Don't forget those who Oceania is costing additional money. They purchased this cruise and planned their trip with the understanding that they could board by early afternoon thus not incurring costs for extra time in hotels or wherever they end up plus meals that were included and now required to incur double costs for purchasing their own meals while missing out on their already paid for onboard meals.

As you said, this is not a surprise to O and the incoming people are owed compensation for this total screw-up.

We did pay a deviation fee when we booked the cruise in late October and requested nonstop flights! As of last week plenty of seats were available on the Delta flight in business. Not sure US Air flies nonstop anymore, will check. We are flexible on departure city and date. Have taken several Regent cruises and never had this problem.

Can;t explain your lack of previous problems, perhaps you were simply lucky in the past. Flights to South America are a real crap shoot which are part of your problems.

If you paid a deviation fee in October, you would have had your flight information at that time. Paying a deviation fee does not result in simply a request, it ends up with an agreement on the flights and then you pay the fee. Believe you are confused over the difference between paying the upcharge for Business Class seats and paying a deviation fee where you choose your flights.

Paying the Business Class upcharge which is what it appears you did leaves the choice of flights to Regent and you get your flight information later. Paying the $175 pp plus the upcharge for business allows you to work with Regent Air Dept. and knowing before you agree to the payment which flights you are actually going to be ticketed on. There still is the possibility of an upcharge along with your initial upcharge and deviation fee if your chosen flights cost Regent more and you can't use published ticket prices to determine that. Regent determines these prices and they are what they are however you can keep trying other flights until you are happy with the results and then, and only then do you pay the fees and upcharge(s).

You need to be aware of the fact that paying the $999 or $1299 or $1599 or whatever business class upgrade fee, that is the upcharge and not the deviation fee. The upcharge is for the fare difference, the deviation fee is simply a Regent charge to do the work to find you an acceptable set of flights.

A subtle but important difference. If you used a TA, they should have explained the difference and given you the choice back in October. If you booked directly with Regent, those people should have informed you of the difference but, unfortunately they are not the most informed people and often miss items like this and just another reason to use a good TA who will earn their commission buy helping you in times like this.

You can still pay the $175 pp Deviation Fee and see what it will ultimately cost to get your choice of flights. Pretty sure it will also entail another up charge for your non-stop but, worth a try.

Hope this explains things and if I have misunderstood, post again and we will try to help.

Any tips in getting Regent to change our air itinerary. Currently, March 8, business class, Charlotte, JFK, São Paulo, Rio, on TAM, about 24 hrs. travel time vs. Atlanta to Rio, Delta business, 10 hrs. travel time. Regent has put other passengers on Delta flight and seats are available. This is cruel punishment! Thanks for any advice.

About the only way to get this changed would be to deviate and pay the deviation fee. Problem with that is you are less than 2 months prior to your cruise so most probably would incur a cost for the seats as well as the deviation fee.

Unfortunately Regent will book you in the most cost effective manner for them and sure TAM is less expensive than Delta. Routing is a secondary consideration to cost.

Sorry I don't have any tips other than next time after reading all the stories about Regent Air, you will deviate at the 270 day mark when deviations are first available which should get you the best rate and routing. You can still try at this point as you don't pay anything until you agree on the deviation but, for sure you will pay $350 ($175 pp) and if lucky, you might not have any additional costs however based on your routing,

On our departure, which included air, no air was available that day. So I had to depart one day later. Oceania offered a $99,00 per person overnight at Raddison.

 

Wondering what time they will have us depart on 25th for the hotel

Does not sound equitable from O. If I understand, you are using O air and they are delaying you to not leave until the day after disembarkation because they can't get you a flight on disembarkation day and they want you to pay $198 for your room???

That seems to be in pretty poor taste considering it is their fault and out of your control. Know on Regent, at least it used to be this way if you have to go in a day early or stay an extra day Regent covers you hotel.

Think you need to point out to Oceaniathat O should be covering the full hotel cost!!

I should add that in order to receive a call using the Voice2go app, the caller places the call to user's home phone number--which then rings on the Voice2go app on the user's cell phone. Similarly, when dialing out using the Voice2go app on the cell phone, the call will ring on the other end as if it originated on the user's home phone (for caller ID purposes).

Just need to remind all of those planning to use apps thru the wifi to make phone calls that there is the distinct possibility that the ship will be blocking those apps as they are bandwidth hogs and, even if not blocked, because of the bandwidth they require, when many people are using the internet, it will be likely that your app either won't work, won't connect, or even if it connects it is likely that you will have a bad connection or the call will drop out and not allow a vert long or coherent call.

And for those who are able to use Skype, the person you are calling does not need to have Skype installed on their computer. Just as easy to call another cell phone or land line and the cost is extremely reasonable in the $02/minute and they only require you to deposit $10 on your account. Not free however a lot cheaper than phoning.

Ok, now that I understand what you're saying I have to definitely disagree with you . But you're welcome to your opinion on the subject.

 

I'm saying nice designer jeans are included in Oceania's "Elegant Resort Casual" definition, and in no way is disrespecting the host's request. You on the other hand are saying wear whatever you want no matter what's requested of you, because of the way it's worded.

 

On the other hand you might just be playing devil's advocate playing with semantics.

Guess you could say I am playing with semantics but, I am reading what is written and following the words that are in their printed material. If the wording that O printed were in a Contract, I would be 100% correct and if O wanted to limit what dress is "required", they would word it the following manner:

"For evening dining, elegant casual resort wear is required. Casual jeans, shorts, t-shirts or athletic shoes shall not be worn at dinner."

And, they should define what casual jeans are. Saying tennis shoes is way to vague as well as am sure they don't want running shoes, basketball shoes, etc.

Writing in the vague manner they did leaves people wondering what is approved and what is not. If we can't determine what O wants, it is ambiguous and buy most any type of law, ambiguity is construed against the writer which is O and we the customers are not bound by ambiguous statements.

Certainly we can agree to disagree but, if I choose to wear any type of jeans or shorts in the main dining room, I would be totally within my rights based on how it is written although I do admit that I would not feel very comfortable and in actuality, would follow their recommendations but, not be bound by them.

I'm sorry, I have no idea what you are saying. Perhaps auto correct or something got the better of what you were trying to say. I didn't miss the elegant casual part, and really don't see the word should anywhere.

 

Could you go back and edit your statement?

Can't edit the post any more but, as you stated I did mis-state the should part, it is not there and sorry I screwed up that portion. However, the words requested and suggested are used and those two words are sufficient to make my point that the dress code is a suggestion and you are requested to not wear certain items. You are not required to dress in elegant casual resort wear nor are the items in the second sentence required no no's not to wear.

Therefore, anyone can wear anything including casual jeans and while most people will not take advantage of what is written, the words as written are not rules that have to be followed, they are only suggestions and requests which are certainly not binding on anyone.

Notwithstanding my error is thinking a word was there that wasn't, the two words I quoted are certainly NOT definitive nor requirements. People may feel out of place wearing other than the suggested dress code and others may not appreciate people not following the suggestions but, they are suggestions as written and people have every right not to follow the suggestions and continue wearing what they choose.

"For evening dining, elegant casual resort wear is suggested. We request that casual jeans, shorts, t-shirts or tennis shoes not be worn at dinner."

 

/quote]

 

Please read the above dress code again, you seem to be missing the first sentence where elegant casual resort where is "suggested" And the second sentence is a request and also uses the word "should" which is completely different from the word shall which is a requirement whole should leaves following what one should do being optional.

 

Thus three words in the dress code indicate that O would like you to dress in elegant casual resort wear and not wear casual jeans, shorts, t-shirts or tennis shoes but, not require that dress thus any clothing including shorts are acceptable no matter how unappreciated they are. Really simple by reading the whole code. If O wanted to require a certain dress code, they would have so said. They cannot ask people to leave a venue or change what they are wearing based on what they wrote no matter how inappropriate some people think the people are dressing.

 

Really nothing to discuss, the rule is what it is and really not subject to any interpretation.

"Are you saying that more motion is ok for the "new" ones, but not for someone like you? There has been no concern mentioned about safety, just can't comprehend your belittling, IMHO, towards new cruisers on the Regent ships. "

Ditto.....+2

thinking of taking another Regent cruise,but loved Mariner(none of the vibration probs noticed).Wondering if last dry dock or refurbishment has done anything to eliminate this on Voyager.??

Know some were NOT affected,but it was a problem for me.Thanks for honest answers,in advance.;)

Not fixed and as I understand reports from many others, no way to fix the vibration and no plans to try. Millions were spent on Navigator to repair a similar problem without successful results so appears unfortunately that people like you who are affected will need to either avoid those ships or be sure to book cabins not in the affected areas.

we are doing a 16 day transatlantic and with wait times, I hope 200 min will be enough...but it is a good idea...thank you...

Really don't think O will allow you to share your minutes with 3 or 4 other couples. If you are planning on phone calls every day plus other internet and e-mail activity, don't believe 160 minutes with all of your dropped calls sure to occur will be near enough, after all that is only 12.5 minutes per day.

For an additional $130 or so you could have unlimited and if you do take the $160 plan and go over, you would be over the unlimited with an additional $160. For as much as you are spending on the full vacation, this is a minor nit on the big picture and you will be happy you have unlimited when the internet is extremely slow and when your phone calls, if available get dropped and they will.

Why don't you wait until you board and ask the internet person if skype or google is blocked or not and then make your final decision.