Gilly

Oh my, it sounds as though the tour company in Haifa needs to get their act together. So many frustrations during the day, I expect that by the time you reached the port your good humour would be waning somewhat? I just read your note on FB too, for which I send hugs and good wishes. Totally unfair and a real pain in the neck. I know that @briar14 will empathise.

Yes indeed! If that's likely to be of concern, I'd arrange assistance without thinking twice.

https://www.frankfurt-airport.com/en/flights-and-transfer/transferring-at-fra.html is the best I could find. We've been through FRA a couple of times in the last month and I'd say that on both occasions it was busier than LHR. Most recently, we just transferred from one Lufthansa flight to another on our way home from Trieste and thought we'd have a couple of hours to enjoy a beer and restock the Gummibären but the transit between gates (involving passport control since we were leaving the EU Schengen area and flying to UK) took more than an hour and we headed straight for the gate, not wanting to risk it. It was another one of those passport controls where the queue was very long and people with short connections were coming forward in the hope of making it in time. If you don't have to undergo passport check or change terminals, then I'd say it's simply a case of walking time.

This sounds really frustrating! Bravo for your patience and good humour - agree 100% with you re the audio system.

We've made five return flights through LHR over the last couple of months and each transit has been better/less hassle than the one before. We arrived in T2 last week and had no problem at all - just like the old days, easy peasy. The luggage mountains have disappeared everywhere it seems - not just LHR, but in other European airports we've transited. I hope I haven't spoken too soon 🙂 and of course, Jean, @liptastic, you were the obvious source of reliable information and experience about changing flights!! I ought to have left it to you 😉

@Techno123 I think you're right about the Miami flight arriving at B or C and the Manchester flight leaving from A - so there will be a ride on the shuttle - but we've never connected in T5 so I won't hazard a guess about where you will show your passport. Have you tried Connecting flights | Heathrow ? Maybe inputting your specific flight details might bring a clearer answer? Good luck!! (If that doesn't work, maybe give BA a ring?)

@forgap we would have loved that tour! Thanks for taking us along and for adding one for our list!

@Aloha 1 we docked there on board Splendor almost a year ago in November 2021, so it's disappointing that adequate signage hasn't yet been installed! I agree, it's a real labyrinth.

🤣 best description I've read of the embarkation procedure! So glad you are safely on board. I am looking forward to "our" cruise 😉 Thank you for taking us along with you!

Our "Go Local" Regent tour in Istanbul last November took us on a tram. We were each given a pre-loaded card (which we returned to the guide once we were done) and we rode a tram for a few stops. I guess the challenging bit - loading the card with money - had been done for us! I think you made a great decision to visit the Cisterns. That's not to say the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque are not wonderful too, but if there are crowds, then the experience isn't so special. We - and everyone I know who's been there - speaks so enthusiastically about the Cisterns and I loved being there again with you on my screen this morning. One last thing about boarding in Istanbul which I've mentioned before but is worth mentioning again. The (new) cruise terminal involves a l-o-n-g walk, to and fro and though there appear to be "short cuts" to avoid such things as the duty free shop etc, my pleas to use the direct link through a door that staff appeared to be using were denied. Be prepared for yet more high step counts on your tally!!

Oh my word, you are certainly getting your steps in! Bravo for your good humour and your patience - lesser mortals would have crumbled. Gx

@forgap what a fabulous start to your trip! We love Istanbul but have never ventured into the Turkish Baths, even though it was always the first thing my father would do, given the opportunity (in addition to getting a shave/haircut!) I'm already thinking "next time.....". Thank you so much for sharing the details, We are there with you in spirit!!

Though we've been home for a few days now, I'm still decompressing from our short but very busy cruise. I thought I'd do a quick round up of a few observations to sum up though. Firstly, it confirmed previous experience that a cruise with no sea days is not for the faint of heart if one wants to make the most of the excursions each day. Repeated early starts and busy schedules don't leave much time to catch one's breath. Short cruises pack a lot in as well - no sooner has the Captain offered his welcome than the crew are bidding farewell and somewhere in all of that there's a SSS reception, speciality restaurants, maybe SS top tier events and other treats too. No time for a block party! Voyager was terrific in (almost) every respect from our point of view. Staff continue to give their all to make sure that we are happy. We loved seeing old faces and enjoying their company as always but it was also delightful to meet new members of staff too, especially those just starting their Regent career and who we hope to meet again as they progress. We were utterly spoiled with good things in terms of food and drink and wanted for nothing. The destination team were firing on all cylinders throughout the whole cruise and didn't put a foot wrong as far as we were concerned. They were there in the theatre early every morning, ready and waiting to manage the ticket exchange as people arrived, so efficiently that a queue never built up and we never witnessed the kind of rush we have observed on other ships. The morning tour routine then was calm and unhurried, well mannered and controlled. First class!! I have mentioned the audio guide system previously - we didn't use the Regent app at all, though one or two of the guides had their own earpiece things. We'd have really appreciated the app in a couple of places and hope that Regent continues to make use of that very good system. OK, there had to be "one thing" and it will come as no surprise that the internet was hopeless. Not only was it slow, it was also inconsistent which made for frustration. I was reassured that improvements are scheduled, but for now, it wasn't a patch on the more reliable service we experienced on Navigator earlier in the year. Thankfully, we don't rely on it for work when we are on holiday. If that were so, we'd have been sitting in the port terminals with the crew each day! Our cruise was unusual in the number of UK guests on board this time - more than 200 I believe. Many were first time Regent guests too (not sure why/how....maybe there had been some kind of promotion?) That made for a different feel on board, compounded by a pair of very UK-oriented entertainers. Josh Henderson is a "tribute act", the like of which we've not seen on a Regent ship before. His Freddie Mercury evening was fun and brought the house down (again, something we've not seen on a Regent ship previously) and his second evening, whilst not so much to our taste, was in similar vein and clearly very popular. The other entertainer, Mike Doyle was funny and a very good observational comedian. He clearly watched people on board and related his act to that, pitching it just right for most of the time. I think we've seen all the company shows previously and found them just about ok - possibly looking a little tired? Sad to say, our busy schedule meant we didn't get to the lectures, but we did manage Trivia each day which was superbly run by John Ekin, a new Cruise Director to us, but someone we'd hope to encounter on future cruises. Anything I forgot to mention? Perhaps offer reassurance that the loos were flushing nicely? 🤭

@flossie009 I can't believe your cruise is over so quickly! Safe travel home and here's to the next one, eh?! Thanks for taking us along with you. Still decompressing from disembarking Voyager last Monday, so travelling with you via my screen for a few extra days was lovely.

Just home from our Voyager cruise when on several occasions the experience would have been far improved had the guide used the Regent system. A couple of guides had their own microphone/headphone arrangement, which was fine, but others relied on their voice alone. When a guide has used the Regent system - in Istanbul, for example - we have found it to work really well and it has enhanced our tour hugely (eg riding on public transport, when we could sit in different places on the tram and still hear our guide explaining what we were seeing through the windows, without disturbing other passengers)

And all too soon, the disembarkation notice is on the bed with the luggage labels and it's Krew Kapers in the theatre 😥 One last day in Trieste to enjoy before coming back to pack.

That's a fun tour!

@ssawjo we were back in time for lunch in Compass Rose today. Here's the menu.

@Techno123 our favourite flavoured souffle was one of the dessert choices in Compass Rose last evening.

@FengShui@Sea I had the same problem on Voyager and the answer is the same as always...ask for a better one (and it will appear...or at least, it did for me)

Voyager was in Durres, Albania today and we had the good fortune to have a really great guide on our tour to Berat, City of a Thousand Windows. Highly recommend that one, though my knees are complaining a bit now, following the walk up a steep pathway to the castle. (Nothing that a lovely sociable evening in Compass Rose won't sort out of course!)

Waving madly from Voyager, thinking that our cruise is passing all too quickly and looking forward to hanging onto your coattails as you set sail on yours!! Bon Voyage - have fun!

@ssawjo my apologies for posting those menus without any comment but I only had my phone in my evening bag and didn't know how to post photo and text at the same time! Hope they are self explanatory, i,e, tonight's menu for Chartreuse, where we enjoyed a truly magnificent evening.

Yes, @Techno123 you are spot on there - but indeed, it's the best!!

Still looking for "the real thing" (ie not bright green!) on board, but on hearing its a speciality of Sicily, I just had to try. Delicious!