forevertravel

I enjoyed watching the ceremony. For those of us who were not invited it was nice of Regent to stream the video. I didn't see anything unprofessional about it. West, I noticed how the princess was ready to leave and FDR showed her the ribbon to be cut. All in all I thought it was well done. Now I'm looking forward to our Explorer cruise in November.

Forevertravel:)

I thought the ceremony was very nice. Naturally, I loved hearing Andrea Bocelli even for only two songs. I didn't think he would sing more plus it was later there. Jackie, I'm glad you and Dennis go invited. It's nice of Regent to remember the good customers. Keep the comments coming. Now I can't wait till November and our cruise. Enjoy.

Forevertravel:)

Lufthansa has changed the angled seats to lie flat. At least on all the 464 we have flown. We usually fly Lufthansa because they have a non-stop Orlando to Frankfurt and then is an easy connection. Besides, they are part of Star Alliance and we get the miles. The service is very good and they have nice business lounges. The lounges are not as nice as the first class lounges in Frankfurt and Munich. Those are wonderful. However, since we are now retired we can't fly first class anymore. Business is nice. The food and drinks are good and the seats are comfortable now that they lie flat.

forevertravel:)

Do you get the OBC every time you cruise or one time only. According to the rules you have to submit a form with booking number and other information. Do you do that every time you cruise? Thank you.

Forevertravel:)

We like Alberto or Dennis in the Mariner. As Travelcat said is nice that they know who you prefer, what wine you like, and the salt sticks. Both MDH and I love those salt sticks. We have had other waiters and they have been very good. I have not been on the Mariner since November so I have not dealt with any service issues or new crew members. I think that whomever you get, you will get good service.

Thank you. That's a bummer. We booked a F2 category and we are only gold.

Anyone knows if one has to sign up for Canyon Ranch spa treatment in order to use the infinity pool? I hope not since it looks lovely. Spas are not my thing.

Hi, we have been to all three places and this is what we did.

Corfu....Achilleoion Palace and Corfu town. The palace was lovely. It was the palace where Empress Sissy of Austria spent time because she had TB. We enjoyed walking around the town pf Corfu. I would do that tour again.

Amalfi...we did the Positano tour. We were docked in Amalfi. The tour took a boat to Positano and on way back we toured Amalfi.

Taormina...we had signed up for Taormina and Mt Edna with lunch. However, because of high winds we couldn't dock in Taormina and we docked in another town. They took us by bus to Taormina but it was too late to do both town and volcano. Regent returned the money we paid for tour and we were given a choice of either one. We went to Taormina saw the town and Roman theater. Taormina is lovely. We'll be there in May 2018 and hopefully we can see the volcano. Enjoy.

"forevertravel, just curious as to whether Regent selected the flights that have the additional cost or if you deviated. We always fly Business Class and only have had to pay additional $$$ when the flight we want no longer has "contracted prices" available or the carrier is not contracted".

Jackie, Regent just opened the flights for those of us who want to deviate. The $1998/pp business air if the upgrade if you decide to fly business (which we always do).I had told our TA we were deviating so it makes no difference whether you deviate or let Regent choose the flights. Sending email to everyone on mailing list is not a good marketing strategy. I probably would had not known about it. Now is a matter of principle and it irritates me. If our cruise was cheaper, Ok, I understand.

I assume anyone who's booked on this cruise have received the email from Regent indicating they are including business air for Asia and S America. However, the Beijing to Bangkok cruise (starts same day we arrive in Beijing) does include business air while Hong Kong to Beijing has upgrade of $999/per person per flight. I should add the cabin prices are the same on both cruises, and, they are both 16 days.

To me, that's a slap on the face to those who booked Hong Kong to Beijing early. Oh yes, the Hong Kong to Beijing includes a three day pre-cruise tour in Hong Kong. That's what they used to entice people to book. Frankly, I'm getting tired of the games the marketing department keeps on playing when cruises are not selling well. If you're going to offer free business air to cruise following, do yourself a favor and offer it to those who booked earlier cruise and keep royal Regent cruisers happy. It won't hurt Regent to offer the free business air and will generate lots of good will.

To contact Steve or any of his agents go to:

http://www.TripInsuranceStore.com

Enter information regarding your trip and see the different choices. Then you can contact them by phone. I hope is OK to provide this information.

Sorry you had a few disappointments. We have cruised three or four times since NCL took over and have not seen any cut backs. As others mentioned, if you're not satisfied with portion of dinner, ask for more. Same for deboning the fish. The crew has been as attentive and nice as always. If we are talking on ratings of 1 to 6, I will definetely give Regent 6. As everything else, cruising and cruise lines are subjective. I hope you continue to enjoy your cruise. For those considering Regent, please remember that the experience (like food) is highly subjective. Please, give Regent a chance before you decide against it.

:)

You don't need to be in a PH to have dinner served course by course. That's the way Regent serves room service dinner. Very elegant and well done. Regardless of whether you're in a H cabin or PH service is the same. The only difference is the butler in PHs will serve dinner. Enjoy.

I also buy our insurance from Steve (or one of his agents) at TripInsuranceStore.com. We have been using them for years. They are wonderful and follow through. You get the choice of several companies and they all cover your trip 100% for valid cancellations (medical, etc). I never use the cruise's insurance. It's too expensive and not as good.

Thank you so much for all the comments. Thank you for the video. It looks like a huge balcony. I appreciate your answers and will be looking forward to our cruise. It's a NYE cruise so I'm sure it'll be lots of fun.

forevertravel:o:o

Regent

Oceania

Royal Caribbean

NCL

We have booked a mini suite (M107) on the Marina Deck. Is a corner mini suite so I understand the balcony is bigger. Has anyone stayed in that cabin? Any comments? Any comments about the mini suites? I'm big on space and like to have room, hence why we booked the mini suite. I've been reading about problems with elevators mid ship. I believe there are elevators by our cabin. Thank you. I'll appreciate any info. This is our first Princess cruises.

I prefer Verandah to The Terrace. I dislike not being able to serve myself, I found the salad bar small, and Regent's tables are more elegant with tablecloths and crystal. I thought the specialty restaurants in Oceania were very good (Jacques was outstanding) while I didn't care for food in main dining room. It was not as good as Compass Rose (Regent). I prefer Regent to Oceania in all categories. I also found that although the service in Oceania was very good it was difficult to get to know the servers. They were good and polite but wouldn't spend much time chatting. We have met so many wonderful people in Regent that we look forward to seeing them again. They are like family. It's all a matter of preference but Regent is my line of choice.

There is a savings (depending on category of cabin) when you book onboard. You also have 30 (maybe 45 I can't remember) upon your return to book a cruise and get onboard savings. Depending on the cruise the savings can be pretty nice.

Forevertravel:o

Thank you all. I appreciate all the comments. Now I'm very excited about the cruise. We are in cabin 8002 which I think has nice balcony. Someone posted about a great transfer (someone the van) from Valpo to Santiago which included visit to a winery and lunch. Could I have a link to contact that person? We will need transportation to Santiago and plan to stay in Santiago for a couple of days before flying home. I'll check roll call and the reviews of the cruise. Nice to hear Sun is going into drydock prior to our cruise. My only regret is I didn't book the cruise for February or March. We are traveling in April and I understand the penguins will be gone from Magdalena Island. My bad. Nice to hear there is a restaurant we can use for breakfast. Thank you again.

Forevertravel:o

Uunet Bill, why don't you book the cruise for your parents with the "new business air"? I checked several cruises and in most cases is the same as what we pay for upgrades now. I'm not counting the specials they have been having of $199, $499 or free business air. The only big differences I saw in price between cost with business air and without air was for Australia. However, flights to Australia are pretty pricey. By booking the cruise with air you'll have peace of mind knowing they will be picked up then taken to airport at end of cruise.

Yes, I always call (even though they charge you a fee) and talk to a rep when booking flights using miles. They can find flights that I can't online.

Thank you Cruiseluv. My sentiments exactly. Anyone who travels to Cuba now is doing nothing but putting money in Castro's coffers. The Cuban people will not see any changes from these trips. And yes, they cannot go to tourists resorts such as the ones in Varadero. Those places are for tourists like Europeans who travel to Cuba with no restrictions.

Thank you everyone, particularly you Wes. I do like to accumulate miles but it takes me a while. I need to research those other websites. We have United credit card but even though I charge everything to get miles it takes a couple of years to accumulate enough (unlike when I was working and traveling and we had enough miles every year for two first class tickets to Europe). I got business class air for our cruise to Asia, Alaska, and Med last year. Now I have enough for one ticket. I also find that is harder to get the flights you want (at least with United and Star Alliance). I'll check and try to get on the bandwagon. Thank you again.

Forever travel:o

Has anyone done this cruise? We are booked on April 2017 and this will be our first time on the Sun. We booked a penthouse suite. I was wondering about the ship, cabin, food, service, tours, ports, etc. Any information will be appreciated

I would love to know how you fly business for pennies. We always upgrade (unless we have enough miles for business tickets) because it's usually a good deal. We went to S Africa on a safari two years ago and paid $12,000 for the two business class tickets. Last November we did Regent's cruise of S Africa and we paid $6,000 for the upgrade. That was good IMO. So again, if anyone knows how to book business air for less than what the upgrades used to be, please share. In looking at online brochure I find they have raised prices regardless but when including air is same as with upgrades. Yes, they have been offering good deals on upgrades but those were cruises that were not selling well. Let's face Regent runs a business and they will never lose money.

You're right Marketing Girl, FDR can't go unless they change the law. Cuba won't allow Cuban/Americans to visit on a cruise. The Fathom cruise is a people-to-people cruise. That means you go see what the Cuban government wants you to see. They take you to see cultural things, children schools, anything that does not show what's happening in Cuba (where people don't have necessities such as toilet paper and soap). I want to see Cuba but I won't go on any of these cruises. You can't get off the ship and get on a taxi and do what you want as Travelcat 2 did. All these cruises are going to do is enrich the Cuban Government while doing nothing for the Cuban people. Anyway, that's my opinion.