2012_Alaska_bound

It was there when I booked my specialty dining for May.

Oh, boy, this will keep me busy everyday until I sail at the end of April!

HINT: if you do get off the ship for a B2B, carry your passport with you!

In November, I was on a turn around in Athens and opted to do an excursion. We were told we would only need our key card. By the time our excursion was headed back to Port, Regent called the guide to tell her that Greece changed their minds, and we would need our passports! Most of us had them in our suite safe. Meant a long walk back onboard, retrieve the passport, go back down and go through regular check in at Port. Even those who did not leave the ship had to go down and check in through the Port.

16 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

I would do that if you can. I assume you'd get a small credit for opting out of the air one way. 

You will get 1/2 of the air credit if you do your own flights one way. Always do this when I have one domestic (Miami) and one intercontinental (Barcelona). Works like a charm.

9 hours ago, SusieQft said:

If you want to do a local seafood excursion, the Crab Feast in Ketchikan was much better.  It was at George Inlet Lodge, included on several different excursions. 

Agree the George Inlet excursion with the cruise of the inlet and the Crab Feast at the lodge is fantastic, and use to be a free excursion. Now there is a charge to get the two together with it. $119.

The Crab Feast by itself at the lodge is a free excursion though.

I loved the cruise and Crab Feast on my last two trips to Ketchikan. It would be a great way to spend Onboard Credit.

5 hours ago, SusieQft said:

I did Regent's salmon bake tour last Sepember, and I would not recommend it.  The food, including the salmon, was very basic and not very good.  The busses were running a loop (not sure, but I think because there was another tour shortly after ours), and several people turned around and left when they saw what was offered.  I sort of wish that we had done the same.  The food, including the salmon, was far, far better on the ship.  JMHO.

Agree with all SusieQft said about the salmon bake. We took a look and turned around and went back to the ship.

12 hours ago, Tsunami74 said:

We just write out request and give to room attendant when he/she comes in to introduce.

Agree about writing what you want down with your Suite number on the note. That way if they aren't familiar with something you request, they can ask another crew member.

Also, I immediately take whatever we don't want out of the refrigerator and put it on the counter so they know to take it away.

Hope everyone is reviewing their suites for this whether positive or negative on Suite Guru, since this seems to be a criteria people will consider on Grandeur from now on.

Pinned post at top of Regent board. Read the first post to learn how to submit a review to the spreadsheet.

I thought Hop On Hop Off was great. The hotel shuttle dropped us off by the National Gardens, which is a HOHO stop. We did this our first day in Athens because we came in a day early. Nice way to get oriented.

There is a nice little restaurant right down the street from the hotel, just past the church. Very reasonable and family owned and open all hours! Another restaurant we liked was across the street from the back of the hotel and had great pizza.

I did the pre-cruise Athens tour in October. 3 days and it was included.

Lots of walking on uneven ground, but covered all the major sites. Usually a full day of touring followed by an evening tour.  I sat out some of them due to a knee problem.

Included meals on the tours were great.

We were at Grand Hyatt, which wasn't our favorite, but the view of the Acropolis at breakfast was spectacular! Restaurant at hotel was very expensive and not that great, but plenty of other places to eat with in walking distance.

Our guide was great!

13 hours ago, SC Retired Cruiser said:

I received the same email replacing Wrangell with Klawock on our May cruise.  As I remember there was a very bad landslide in Wrangell in November which caused deaths and significant damage to the town.  I was not surprised they changed ports.

Wonder if our May 15-29 cruise will be the first ship to go to Klawock? May 17.

22 hours ago, Gilly said:

Martha, segments of the WC?!  I hope so!  (see my reply in Rachel's thread 😉 )   And did I already know this?!  (duh)

Yes, two segments of WC. My friend is doing the whole thing and I am joining her for South Pacific and Australia / New Zealand. 

What a treat to see you both onboard.

@mj_holiday and @Gilly I will be on Mariner in March / April of 2025 Papeete to Bali.  Are either of you on that? 

1 minute ago, CardowMD said:

When sending laundry, can you specify cool water, hang dry? Otherwise, will do my own in the laundrette.

Yes. I "trusted" them for the first time on my last cruise to not dry certain items and it worked beautifully.  I simply marked items I wanted to hang dry with an asterisk and made a note in the "Comments" space.

1 hour ago, Older Sister said:

We will be in a Superior Suite.  When you say that internet for one device is included, does this mean one device per passenger or one device per cabin?  Particularly, I’m wondering if I need to purchase a wifi package so that both my husband and I can use our iPads onboard.  Thanks!

It is one login per superior suite at a time, but it is ok to logoff one device and switch to another one.

Concierge suite and above get 4 logins per suite. Gold loyalty status and above also get 4 logins no matter what level suite.

I have my TA check current deals and prices before I make final payment on each cruise, just in case! Have also saved thousands sometimes. Usually not a change but when there is, well worth it.

22 hours ago, lprp said:

Ella has already made an impact……she sorted out some Library Books (aka Chair Hogs) who were enjoying an hour and a half in the shade on Deck 11 with no sight of their page turners………😁

Go Ella! Lucky World Cruisers!

On 12/31/2023 at 7:54 AM, CardowMD said:

Navigator Nov 5, Istanbul to Rome

Just did this itinerary this year on Splendor. Our weather was generally good, with only a few rainy days. Crowds were supposedly less, but still more than we expected.

13 hours ago, mrlevin said:

Just found out that Ross was supposed to board in Miami but there was an issue. 

Ha, ha. Maybe he couldn't get the Brazilian visa!

Coffee Connection opens at 6:30 every day. La Verandah does open early at 6:30 or 7 on early Port days.

Just did many of these ports last month. Unfortunately, hurt my knee on the first day of the pre-cruise (inexperienced use of walking sticks), and also had trouble with the new shoes I brought, so was much more mobility limited than I expected to be. I still was able to visit almost all sites I wanted at the "moderate" level of excursions. Make sure to check activity level on the excursions once you board the ship in the provided excursion description booklet that they put in your cabin, as many had been raised on our cruise.

My hints:

Get very comfortable using your walking sticks before you travel. Bring both kinds of tips, as the rubber ones are the ones you want on any marble sites.

Not all stairs have hand rails.

Bring two pairs of good walking shoes.

Lots of cobblestones everywhere.

For Ephesus, I recommend the "Ephesus with Less Walking Tour". This includes all the walking of the lower site, and a bus tour of the upper site.

They give you the option to add the pre/post gratuities for the Cruise Director onto your account at the end of the cruise portion. This would be a separate amount than what is suggested for the CD during the cruise portion of the trip.

If you are confused, just ask at the reception desk.

On 11/27/2023 at 9:27 AM, pontac said:

I didn't know they had dedicated wine cruises.

Our cruise in March was also a designated wine cruise with an American wine maker. I think they offer one in Spring and one in Fall.

Our wineries seemed to be similar to the ones mentioned by @gingerspike. If you want me to look up the specifics, please let me know. I had done very little Bordeaux tasting before, so all wines were new to me.

Looking into the Provence Fall itinerary for 2025.

50 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

in the case of Destination Services downright poor.

I was just on Splendor for two weeks, and Destination Services did a great job. For the first time in 7 cruises, I had almost daily interaction with them. Changed many excursions due to activity levels being raised between signing up last year and boarding. DS was able to help me choose more appropriate excursions each time.

On 11/13/2023 at 1:11 AM, crusin7 said:

Yesterday we went for an early dinner at Piccolo Mundo.

We went there for lunch on 11/13. Delicious! Caprese salad, cheese and pepper pasta, and a whole sea bass.