briar14

We agree with @chaunceyb about our Explorer trip. The visit to Miyako today, learning about the tsunami and destruction and

seeing the beautiful rocky coast scenery was spectacular. Returning to the ship we found food trucks and various booths selling Japanese items. As Explorer neared departure, town residents and officials turned out to send us off as a group of drummers and a flute player sent us off. And, the weather was beautiful as were the cherry blossoms. A good Regent day.

14 hours ago, Chateaunole-du-pape said:

We had one of those balconies last summer when in a D on Splendor, and agree that it it was really nice, though the weather was usually too cool to enjoy it while we were underway. (We were on the Baltic, and while the weather was pretty temperate, I think the water was still quite chilly, which made the breeze cool.)

 

There's a handful of F cabins on Splendor and Explorer (and, presumably, Grandeur) that have those huge balconies, too. They're near the rear of the ship, which some might not like, but I would book one of those in a heartbeat.

On the inaugural crossing, we had one of those suites, 780, and liked it. The furniture on the balcony was 2 chairs and a table, which was disappointing. Maybe more has been added?

If you are really interested in seeing Kyoto, I would also recommend spending the night. You could take the Shinkansen from Kobe, perhaps meet up with a guide in Kyoto or plan something yourself. There are so many beautiful temples and gardens to see, plus a movie set for Japanese shows, that a few hours is not sufficient. 
 

Tours we have enjoyed on the current cruise are the paper making tour (Kochi), visit to stone Buddhas in Usugi (Beppu), Senganen Garden (Kagoshima), and museum visits in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Happy planning!

Your tour, pictures, and descriptions are wonderful! I hope to meet you and hear more about your tour when you board Explorer on the 13th. Thank you for this excellent contribution.

We stayed at the Okura Hotel, chosen for sentimental reasons, as it was my first introduction to Japan when we moved there. Even though the hotel was rebuilt and reopened in 2019, it was still as serene as I remembered it with excellent, intuitive service. It is across the street from the US Embassy in a quiet neighborhood. The Ginza Line’s Toranomon Station is a 10’ walk, Roppongi, Ark Hills, and Azabudabai, 15 minute walks.

1 hour ago, edgee said:

So on a different note, from your point of view, are the walls on Grandeur so "thin" such that you hear conversations and tvs from neighboring cabins?

We were in 733 in Nov./Dec. one morning we clearly heard a phone conversation, including home address and credit card number. These were not loud voices. Never heard TV.

We also made it to Japan today🇯🇵! Not quite the journey Forgap had, but we began with one glitch—a major traffic jam at 4:30 am on I85 going to GSP. Made it to our 6:30 flight with minutes to spare. United flight from ORD to HND was ontime. Immigration very crowded. We each had our own QR codes. No problem at Customs. The Hotel Okura welcomed us with typical Japanese graciousness. Now to figure out how to turn off the lights in our room 😊. 

1 hour ago, PaulMCO said:

There is a whole thread about their excursions...  My post #43 explains my feelings.

 

 

Thank you.

@PaulMCO, Boarding on Monday for 30 days. What are issues with Destination Services and excursions? Thanks.

We are staying at The Okura next week.

Bill, I second Marc’s recommendation. In 2022 we enjoyed an excellent post cruise safari arranged by our TA. It was everything we hoped for, the accommodations were excellent, and we saw tons of wildlife. One tip I would have is to use a provider that can go “off road” in to the bush, tracking the animals.

3 hours ago, Gilly said:

Last Summer we were given the information during the first leg of our B2B.  Since our changeover day was in Southampton, we decided to enjoy a day having the ship to ourselves and had a wonderfully peaceful couple of hours (though not as long as we thought!)  The tour offered was to Winchester.

@GillyA good tour choice from Southampton, don’t you think 😊?

London-London in September ‘21 was Splendor’s third revenue cruise and Regent’s first cruise after lockdown. It was fantastic. I still remember the feeling of sitting on the pool deck, champagne in hand, absolutely gleeful to be back on a Regent ship.

@mrlevin. Marc, as I understand it from our TA the itinerary for the Grand Voyage does include the Dubai-Dubai loop. The Grand Voyagers will stay on the ship. We have decided to rebook this and are waiting to hear from Regent and our TA. Jan

3 hours ago, GMIAC said:

FWIW, we're staying on in Barcelona after our sailing at the Monument, which is right on Passeig de Gràcia, a block from Casa Mila, and boasts Michelin one-star and Michelin three-star restaurants. 

We stayed there in June and really liked it. Great location and staff. 

2 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

We were on Grandeur last month.  Dianara was not only in the Coffee Connection, but also Compass Rose serving wine and the theater serving drinks.  By FAR one of our FAVORITE crew members (in a huge bunch of favorite crew members).

Totally agree! Lovely person and a beautiful smile!

Yes, all month. Check the Roll Call.

13 hours ago, boblerm said:

On Grandeur, in the Observation Lounge, the forward windows are tinted. I do not recall that being the case on Explorer or Splendor.... but then again, I don't always recall everything correctly. 

 

At 6PM the side windows 

 

 

The forward windows 

 

 

Suboptimum. 

We found the tinted windows suboptimum also. Similarly located windows are also tinted in Chartreuse and Prime 7. Design choice to preclude the need for fabric window coverings? Have a wonderful cruise!!

1 hour ago, forgap said:

Thank you for your help.  How do you gift a NYT article…..for future reference? 

If you have a subscription to the NYT, choose an article, in the bottom right of the article is a “present” icon. I think the gifting limit is 10/month. Washington Post has the same option.

We have applied to bring friends on board in Tokyo in April. There is a form to be completed and submitted to Regent a minimum 30 days before your embarkation. Lunch or dinner may be requested and billed to passenger’s account. No guarantees that the request will be accepted, but we are giving it a try. 

4 hours ago, Pcardad said:

The Silver Seas expedition ship we were on had more "space" than Regent due to the extremely low passenger capacity (about 207 I think). It goes down as the single most incredible destination we have ever been to in over 150 countries visited.

I totally agree. Silver Sea expedition was incredible. We’ve traveled a lot and lived in Asia. The January 2020 South Georgia Island and Antarctica cruise is my favorite of all our travel experiences. We had those memories to live on during Covid.

1 hour ago, John Cruise said:

How about the whistling through veranda doors at night?

When it is windy.

Regents solution was to put tape around the door amd

then the balcony was unusable.

Good idea????

JC

 

On ship for 21 days in Nov/Dec, no whistling veranda doors!

46 minutes ago, papaflamingo said:

Did you ask for a lounger when on board?  Wondering because we are in an F-1 in Feb. 

No. I would have, but the weather was not great on the Trieste to Miami cruise. Not all F1’s have the larger balcony. We were in 780. 

2 hours ago, rcandkc said:

Could it depend on if you have one of the bigger balconies?

F1 and Concierge suites with larger balconies on Grandeur have two chairs and a table, no loungers. We were in 780. There is plenty of room for a lounger or two chairs that could be converted to loungers. Very disappointing. 

Heard from our TA this morning that the 5-6 itineraries in question are wait listed by Regent for a week to ten days while changes are made. New invoices will be issued at that time.