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Enjoying this thread and interested to read the comparison. @Dolebludger, we are currently on Eclipse in a CS, and our Butler experience is outstanding. No problems with stocking our water/vitamin waters or changing out the champagne for wines.

With so many sea days (love!), I have been to the spa and fitness center a few times. Very expensive spa services, and not any better than I can get at home. But it’s vacation time, so I’m happy. It continues to be a struggle to get the Elite+ discount, but I persevere. Trying the laundry today… On some other threads, I have read about Retreat passengers having difficulty getting waters and other soft drinks delivered to the suite by the Butler. This has not been our experience. As soon as we made our preferences known, our Butler has taken good care to be sure we are fully stocked. Also, he traded in the champagne for wine with no problem. Bonus! Luminae is open for lunch today! We are in port (Huatulco), but leaving at 1:30 pm. So I will check the buffet tomorrow.

@sandbug2, we have had excellent beef and lamb and we left from LA. The lamb chops in Luminae yesterday were outstanding, cooked perfectly for me and very tender. DH had short ribs a few days ago and thoroughly enjoyed them. I had a New York strip that was excellent. My only disappointment so far was the chicken. The fish has been very good too. The cruise director is Manuel Fragoso. I will try to find out how long he will be onboard.

Whew! Finally got caught up. We’re on Eclipse - repositioning LA to Santiago. Not at all at capacity, in fact Michael’s Club is quite dead. Luminae has been a real treat, and as this is my first gluten-free cruise, I’m especially pleased with the great service. Jim, I’m loving your photos and stories. We loved our Sydney-Auckland cruise on Solstice, one of the best ever. Continued good times to you and Iain! Erin

Jerry says ooh lala back @lovecruzin! He’s terrific. I checked with the Michael’s Club concierge (Chris) today and as I suspected, the ship is not at all full, however, they are expecting it to be full for the next leg, Valparaiso to Buenos Aires. Chris reports not too many B2B. This is our first repositioning cruise, and I am really liking the laidback vibe. We needed this rest, so the few ports and short in port times are fine with us. By next week, I’ll be ready for some tours in Peru. Luminae continues to be very good. Some fun new menu items, see @Jim_Iain’s fantastic live-from for menus and photos. He and Iain were a bit disappointed in the lamb, but I just had superb lamb chops for lunch. Tender, and perfectly cooked. The staff, especially Fauzi and Pratiwi, has been amazingly helpful with my gluten free diet. I have not had to choose my meals ahead of time, although it would be fine with me. Perhaps that’s due to the lower passenger count. They made a nut crust for the ricotta cheesecake so I could enjoy it. Tomorrow will be our first time at the buffet, so I will report back. Any questions, ask away!

@JaneStarr, it was by email, about 3-4 weeks before. @lovecruzin, yes, we have Jerry as our sommelier! @robbinsca, we have not met Samantha, but Pratiwi is an awesome assistant waiter! Didn't get to Michael’s Club to ask about the B2B numbers. Will try tomorrow. I will say Luminae is not at all busy.

I have yet to see a wine list but suspect it is close to useless anyway. No Oregon Pinot Noir available at Luminae last night. I will try to find a list at a bar, although I don’t want to aggravate myself. However, for the first time in our 15 year cruising history, the items I requested from the shoreside concierge were actually transmitted to the ship, and our Butler checked them off with me!! Woo Hoo!

I will ask today. From the roll call, it seems like quite a few.

Glad to be reading your excellent thread! We are currently onboard Eclipse, heading to South America. Happy sailing!

I had it last night with dinner. It’s French, not oaky, food friendly.

Good morning from the beautiful Eclipse! We are onboard until Valparaiso 12/23. We are fortunate to be in a Celebrity Suite. The crew has been very good, especially in Luminae. I am newly gluten-free and so far, every member of the wait staff has known it and made sure I have lots of choices. No need to order my food ahead of time. I had a few concerns before boarding because Eclipse has not been through the revolutionizing process, but our suite is in excellent condition. I think others have posted menus and food pictures, so I won’t duplicate their efforts unless any of you have any questions or want to know something specific. DH and I have recently moved into a new home, so we are primarily on this cruise to relax and recharge our batteries. Lots of spa time in our plans!

Onboard Eclipse now. Both Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc and Steele Chardonnay are available.

Thanks for a very entertaining and informative review! Glad you’re home safely.

I wondered about that. It’s such a nice lunch venue, I will miss it. Will have to try Sushi on Five.

Thanks for your review! We board Eclipse in December and I’m glad to read about your experience in the Retreat. Is The Porch available on Eclipse?

Thanks for your wonderful review @Norwaylady and those great photos! Safe travels home.

@Georgia_Peaches, look for Gen X’s excellent review of Eden. Charla wrote and posted photos.

It happened very quickly for us, both the onboard credits and the refunds..

Doesn’t sound like an encouraging start to your Retreat experience. Please utilize the Retreat concierge, they can work wonders.

Thanks for all the tips. I made a reservation at the Edition, but will check to see if our Marriott status will give us early check in. Otherwise I will choose to pay for the arrival day. Taking a short nap will be important after flying the red eye.

And safe travels home!

Thanks for your excellent review Joanie! We love Regent, but sometimes the price is more than we want to spend. So, we are looking forward to trying Oceania on the Vista for a January 2025 Panama Canal cruise. If that goes well, we will again sail on a Vista TA. One more Celebrity cruise next month, and Regent to Iceland in July. Oh, and we’re moving. This week.

We fly out of Chicago. Iceland Air has non-stop flights, so we chose them.

Does anyone have experience with the provided hotel in Reykjavik? We are deciding if we want the hotel or the credit because we are coming in a few days before the cruise. Thanks!

So happy to see your review comparing O to R! We haven’t sailed O yet but have 2 scheduled. Very sorry about your thoroughly changed cruise. Lucky for us, we were scheduled for a similar itinerary in May on R, but were able to transfer the booking to an Iceland cruise in July. We had not made final payment.