many cruises

We are newbies to Silver Cruises. Embarkation time on the Silver Dawn is 2 pm in Lisbon. For those who have embarked here, is that accurate or do cruisers arrive earlier? If so, what time would you suggest? Thanks for your advice.

I don't know how you know which cruise lines we enjoy or what our tastes are. My post was to respond to the original question: Is the Explorer really that bad? I shared my personal experience on the Explorer and yes it was really that bad! Your snarky response is uncalled for. These boards are for others to share our experiences, and even if you disagree, your sarcastic answer is totally unnecessary.

There were many problems on board the Explorer. We were on board for a Japan Cruise in October. The MDR staff was serving incorrect dinners to the wrong people at our table. The food was continuously cold and the service left much to be desired. We ate there only twice because of these issues. The Sette Mare location served what was supposed to be Italian food, but it was tasteless. The Chartreuse Restaurant was another restaurant serving food that was tasteless, too. The worst problems we experienced were on the included excursions in Japan. Day after day, our excursions had guides who read from a script. The Japanese guides spoke little English and we had much difficulty understanding what they were trying to say. Many people visited the destinations desk and expressed their dissatisfaction with these tours. I am still astonished about the quality of these excursions on Regent. This was not a luxury cruise in any way shape or form.

We used Treviso from VCE Airport to our hotel in Venice and from our Venice hotel to Trieste to embark on our cruise. They were very reliable and all communication was quick & easy. The vehicle and private water taxi were immaculate. We highly recommend them.

We also had a guide who read from a script & had no idea how to answer any questions asked. Very irritating from the customer's point of view!

Thank you for getting this posting back on topic. We were discussing the positives/negatives of Regent Cruises.

We completed our Japan Cruise on Regent Cruises Explorer Ship and were glad we booked private tours with Pinpoint Traveler for Kyoto and Nara. Both tours included pick-up/drop-off at Kobe Cruise Pier and included a professional guide. Our group of 6 people drove to Nara for our half day tour from Kobe Cruise Pier. Our guide, Lito, was wonderful and the van was very comfortable. We walked around the park to see the deer and learned how to bow and feed them. We visited Todaiji Temple (giant Buddha) and walked around Nara near the quaint shops and drove to the top of the hill for fabulous views of the area. We also saw a Japanese bride and groom in their wedding clothes posing for their wedding pictures on the hill. Our guide, Lito, had a wonderful personality and he made the day very enjoyable. Our group of 6 people drove to Kyoto for our full day tour leaving Kobe Cruise Pier at 7:30 am for our 1.5 hour drive to Kyoto. We visited Tenryu-ji Temple, Okochi Sanso (bamboo Grove) in Arashiyama, Fushimi Inari (red gates), Golden Pavilion, Nishiki Market, and had lunch at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. Our day had our professional guide with us at all times explaining what we were seeing. We drove comfortably from one place to another. We saw more than we would have seen if we had booked a cruise ship tour where we might see 1-2 places in Kyoto. Our guide also walked us around a neighborhood discussing real estate listings posted and we visited a Japanese convenience store too. Having a personal guide for both of our tours made each day so meaningful. We had no difficulty understanding or hearing our guides because we were only 6 people and one of the guides was Canadian and the other American, so there were no language issues. Unfortunately, our guides on the Regent Tours we booked were difficult to understand and hear. We were all very glad we booked Nara and Kyoto privately and we highly recommend PINPOINT TRAVELER (located in Osaka) for future Japan private tours.

Yes, Vibrant Tokyo.

When every Japanese tour was poor for the reasons discussed above, it is not a problem caused by Covid. The one good tour we took was in Busan, Korea. The guides’ English was clear and easy to understand. When you pay over 30k for a cruise, your excuses are ridiculous. If Regent cannot supply what the customer paid for, they should eliminate that cruise. As you stated, the Explorer is not a good fit for us. We like cruise lines that stand behind their product, where you get what you pay for.

This is our first Regent Cruise to Japan. Positives: great room steward nice (but dated) cabins Negatives: *Pre-cruise tours chaotic *Couldn’t understand the Japanese pre-cruise tour guides *Couldn’t hear the Japanese pre-cruise tour guides *Complaints from many about all Japan Tours Regent is supposedly the top cruise line. This is shocking to us because we did not experience unrivaled luxury. How can the top cruise line have tours where every guide (except in Busan, Korea) has problems communicating in English? Regent is very aware of these problems with their Japanese Tours, but they continue to book these cruises and act like everything is top notch. They blame the shut down due to Covid for not having proper guides, yet they continue to take our money regardless. Maybe they shouldn’t be cruising to Japan if they cannot provide tours where you can understand and hear the guides?

If anyone knows when Allura's itineraries will be released, please post the date. Anxiously awaiting their itineraries!

Thank you!

We are looking for a reliable and reasonably priced taxi company for the following Tokyo transfers: 1). Tokyo International Cruise Pier to Hilton Tokyo in Shinjuku 2). Hilton Tokyo in Shinjuku to Haneda International Airport We would appreciate all recommendations!

Rome In Limo is wonderful!

We stayed at Sina Palazzo S. Angelo Hotel (a small lovely hotel) on the Grand Canal with the S. Angelo Vaporetto Station right at our front door. Lovely hotel with the convenience of the Vaporetto right outside. We highly recommend this hotel.

We contacted Bischoff Wine Store online before our cruise and ordered 6 bottles to be delivered to our hotel. They helped with our choice of wines and all was sitting at our hotel when we arrived. It was seamless.

We used Treviso Car Service to get from the airport to our hotel on the Grand Canal. First, our driver met us at the airport. Next, we drove to Piazzale Roma, then we switched to a private water taxi and on to our hotel on the Grand Canal. It was seamless. Treviso was right on time and took care of us!

We used Treviso Car Service from Venice to Trieste and they were wonderful.

We chose this cruise because we wanted to return to cruising after many land trips, but wanted a higher level of cruising than we experienced on larger ships. The ship is gorgeous with a contemporary decor. Soothing colors, fantastic lighting, and upscale finishes are everywhere. We think this is probably the most beautiful ship we have sailed on after 30 plus cruises. Cabin: We booked an Aft Concierge Cabin on Deck 9, and it was very nice. The bathroom was wonderful and roomy with many drawers, cabinets, and hooks for extra storage. The shower was large with a rain shower and hand held attachment. It was the best bathroom we ever had on cruise. We were close to the aft elevators, but never heard any noise. The balcony had cushioned chairs and a small table and we were very comfortable there. Service: Keep in mind the Vista has only been in the water since May 13, 2023, and you'll understand why there were some service issues in the dining room. We did not eat there every night, but 3 of the 4 nights we ate there, our meals were served to the wrong people at our table. There really is no excuse for that, except the waiters record the orders on iPads and a few nights the iPads weren't working. The service in the Waves Grill was spotty with lines to order food. Multiple times we were there, many empty tables were cluttered with dirty dishes that weren't cleared. They appeared to have staffing shortages there because a few times we saw management helping clear the tables. There were some problems at the Destinations Desk that appeared to be from the top down. When questions were asked, we received multiple answers from different staff members there. This created confusion and we noted the Destinations Manager being visible trying to handle the chaos. Please note: Some of the ports required long walks to exit the terminals and they were difficult for some passengers to exit. It would have been helpful to have some sort of shuttle to help people with walking especially in the lengthy Istanbul Terminal. Communication was lacking about the amount of walking to exit the terminals at the ports and incorrect information was being told to passengers by staff members. The service on the rest of the ship was very good and our room steward in our concierge Cabin was excellent. When we asked for additional hangers, cooler air conditioning, and ice each request was taken care immediately. The service in the Terrace Cafe was excellent and the food there was delicious. Most items are served directly to passengers and many are cooked on the spot. My husband and I both commented on the delicious meals in the Terrace Cafe and we felt that the food there was better than in the Grand Dining Room. We usually do not eat at buffets on a cruise, but because most dishes were prepared for passengers we ate there multiple nights. Alternative Dining: We ate at Red Ginger twice and we highly recommend this restaurant. The decor of this restaurant is beautiful and so interesting to look at too. The food was wonderful with excellent service. Another night we had dinner at the Polo Grill. The steak seemed to be lower quality than what is usually served in a steakhouse, so improvement in the quality of the meat should be looked at. Shows: Since this was a port intensive itinerary, we only attended 3 shows and thoroughly enjoyed those we attended. It was wonderful not having to rush to get to the theater early to get a seat. We arrived a few minutes early each time and we were able to get great seats for each show. Itinerary Highlights: From the port of Bari we took an Oceania excursion to Alberbello to see the truli homes there. It was touristy but very enjoyable. On the half day in Istanbul we booked the Cruise on the Bosphorus and visited both the Asian side and the European side of Istanbul. We highly recommend this excursion because you have narrated views of the famous buildings in Istanbul from the water. As beautiful as Santorini is, we were disappointed there were 7 ships there. It was mobbed with people making it difficult to wander around. One of the store keepers expressed his disgust with the cruise lines to us. It took us 1.5 hours waiting in line to get up the cable car and 1.5 hours to take the cable car back to the ship. This was not our first time there, but I doubt we will get off the ship again with so many ships docked there. Summary: The Oceania Vista is a beautiful ship. The food was very good, even with some service problems in the dining room. The Terrace Café was a great alternative to casual dining with great food options. Hopefully, management will correct some of the service problems on board. We were pleasantly surprised that the shows were so enjoyable and especially liked the smaller theater. We booked an open booking for a future cruise and will sail on Vista or Allure in the near future.

We were in a Concierge Veranda and we used magnetic clips for holding papers on the walls. They worked well to keep papers organized.

For those who have cruised from Trieste, Italy which wine shops are closest to the Savoia Excelsior Palace Hotel?

rkaratsu: We are on the same cruise...nice to meet you! Thanks for your response. We would be flying out of D.C. and right now an economy ticket is about 1,300 pp. to LAX. This is getting more confusing by the day. I really do not want to leave from the west coast because we would have to fly in a day early and get a hotel for the night on both ends of the trip. I will keep checking prices and see what happens.

This is our first Regent Cruise to Japan in October. We will pay the Air Deviation fee to arrive a few days early and stay an extra day. We have been checking prices on round trip business flights from IAD to HND and many are over $10,000 pp. If Regent will deduct approx. $7,000 pp for your flights (if you book on your own), will they pay $10,000 for a nonstop flight? Please share your experiences on the actual amount they will pay. We know they will pay their contracted rate, but how much higher is the contracted rate over the allotted airfare rate? Please share your thoughts and any helpful tips..

If you have used a reliable company for a private water taxi from Venice airport to your Venice hotel, please post the name of that company. Thanks!