clcmdse

4 hours ago, iowananny said:

There really are people who like to eat later in the evening.  We usually go to tea time and have a small sandwich and dessert and then have drinks during happy hour with nuts and chips.  We don't want to eat at 6:30.  8:00 or 8:30 is our preferred time.  We have had reservations made for 9:00 and they usually are made earlier.  And unlike a previous poster said the staff is upset with those who stay later in the dining room or even have the gall to make a reservation later we never saw the anger he said happened.  On our last cruise we closed the dining room down about 10:00. which really isn't that late, and the waiters were laughing and talking with us and our dining companions, and they certainly weren't trying to rush us out.

 

When we ate in the dining room we were seated near the entrance and there were people coming in as late as 9:00 for dinner.  

 

If they try to have dining hours from 5:00 to 7:00 there are going to be some people who aren't going to be happy

This may be why we rarely have trouble getting extra reservations. That is because we love to eat at 8:30 or 8:00 if asked.  Glad that there are choices for all of us. 

Thank you all for the great responses. I will stop waiting for the automated confirmation from Regent and just look for the OBC to be added. 

Thanks Jay. I will continue to look for it. I think what may have thrown me is that the Oceania automated email came immediately.  

Does Regent send a confirmation email of the request for shareholder benefits?

I ask because I sent two requests: one for our upcoming Regent trip and a separate request for our Oceania cruise (thank you CC for alerting me to the need to make separate requests). I immediately received an automated email confirming the receipt from Oceania but I did not receive anything from Regent. 

Catherine

Thank you Basor for the quick response. Appreciate it.

Catherine

I am buying shares today! Thank you Cruise Critic gurus.  Question - is it per person? If my husband and I buy shares separately, do we each obtain the credit?

Thanks 

Catherine

We will be in Seoul for one day (only one day, sigh) on our cruise next May. Would love recommendations for a tour guide or tour group. Thank you. 

Catherine

This happened to us (and all our travel mates) twice. A helpful Regent person told me that because of a quirk in the system, whene I used OBC prior to the cruise - this was to book a culinary class, it used the OBC but then returned my account to brand new - no deposit, no managing booking.  A quick call to Regent corrected the situation. 

Also great advice. 😀

Thank you so much monkey@cruise. Your detailed and helpful response is why I love CC and why I turn to it for advice regularly. I appreciate it very much.

WOW. Many thanks for this detailed response. This is so helpful. Do you think this is doable in the timeframe of 8:00 to 3:00 pm when we have to be back on the ship? 

Does anyone have familiarity with the distances in Hiroshima? We will be docked for one day (7:00 am to 4:00 pm) We would like to take the ferry to visit Miyajima, but we would also like to visit the Peace Park. Is the ferry located near the city and the Peace Park? Or are the distances such that we cannot do both. Any tips or help are welcome.

Catherine

Even with SM, we like to buy bottles of wine for dinner. OBC goes fairly quickly.

We just got off the Navigator (12 days Monte Carlo to Amsterdam.) Regent was also a step up for us from Oceania, where we have quite a bit of experience. We so enjoyed the experience we booked two more cruises with Regent - Barcelona to Montreal in August 2025 and Cape Town to Port Louis in Jan. 2026.

The ship reminded me of the R ships on Oceania. As others reported, we loved the intimate size and enjoyed getting to know the staff and other passengers. Although we were a port-intensive cruise, there were activities: dance lessons, trivia, stump the cruise director, Bingo on sea days, and a lovely higher-end wine tasting lunch that looked interesting (passengers with OBC reported that they enjoyed it very much). No Sunday brunch (which I heard about) but as previously posted caviar served at breakfast one morning. 

We had wonderful music on the ship - better than many of our previous cruises - and the bars in the evening were filled until midnight with passengers enjoying the music. Not always the case to have passengers enjoying the ship late in the evening, but it was on this cruise. 

Food was excellent. And although Prime is the only specialty restaurant that requires reservations, the Italian restaurant (Sette Mari), which does not require reservations, was very good as well. And we found the main dining room, Compass Rose to be much better than any main dining room on any cruise we previously took including Oceania, Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America.   

Enjoy whatever you select. Aren't we all so lucky?

Catherine

One tip for the Anne Frank House, especially if you go in the summer months. I just booked for a June visit. T Tours open on Tuesday at 10:00 am local time six weeks ahead. The tour times filled up nearly immediately (and they have a lot). I set my alarm for 1:00 am Cal. time. Got up a few moments ahead of time. I was able to book, but  barely.  By 1:07 am, all times were sold out for a party of four on the two days we were there.  Had I gone on a few hours later, I would not have been able to book.

I imagine that it must be easier in months like November, but in high travel months, you really have to be on top of it. Be ready with the times you want and the days you can do it. And then book as soon as you can. Otherwise, delay a few moments and you may be out of luck. 

I  made a similar post in the Ports of Call subsection. I am hoping that those who have been to Porto on Regent can help me with the following. Where does the Regent shuttle take you when you arrive in Porto?

We would like to DIY to Vila Nova de Gaia, have two port tastings and lunch. I think we can do that in the time we have in port (9:00 - 6:00) Last time we were in Porto, our large group hired a driver for the day and our day was orchestrated.

Should we take the Regent shuttle to "town" and then get a cab or Uber from there? Or should we try to get an Uber or cab from the ship directly? And when we get out of our second tasting, will we find cabs or Ubers to take us back to the ship? Am always the nervous Nellie in the group about making it back to the ship with time to spare.

Any tips or strategies is greatly appreciated.

Catherine

We would like to visit two port wine cellars and have lunch. Our ship docks from 9:00 to 6:00. Is that doable? I am a little worried about whether cabs or Uber drivers are available. Would hate to get stranded. 

Thanks everyone.  thanks for the dining recommendation and love the pic PastaLaVistaBaby 

Jancruz, I will look at Air B and Bs and try to search for the one that you stayed at. Sounds great!

53 minutes ago, Jancruz said:

We stayed at a great Air B and B..next to a fabulous restaurant a block from the beach..and down the block from a coffee shop  where we had breakfast every morning..

Jancruz1

Thank you again everyone for these wonderful suggestions. 

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and ideas. And to Chateaunole-du- pape, we are also excited about this cruise! We had not thought of an Airbnb. That may be something to consider given the high rates in some of the hotels at this time of year (700 - 900 euros).

Thank you for these excellent suggestions.

To GeezerCouple, thank you for suggesting I search other locations on Cruise Critic. Indeed, the first place I looked was French ports, but a funny thing happens when you type in Nice hotels - you get a bevy of "nice" hotel posts (as in lovely hotels) LOL and no amount of maneuvering the search terms helped me isolate any recommendations - if there were any to begin with. But I had not thought of creating a topic post there. Will do!  Thank you. 

Traveling gurus,

We will be staying a few days in Nice France. Any recommendations for hotels? I have reviewed a few hotel websites, but I cannot tell whether it is better to stay at the beach (but looks to be further away from the action) or to stay in the city center. Would appreciate any advice. 

Catherine

Traveling gurus,

We will be staying a few days in Nice before we board our Regent cruise on June 3. Any recommendations for hotels? I have reviewed a few hotel websites, but I cannot tell whether it is better to stay at the beach (but looks to be further away from the action) or to stay in the city center. Would appreciate any advice. 

Catherine