dabear

I know you can bring on a bottle of wine per person at embarkation. Can you instead bring wine on board that you purchased at a cruise stop without it being put in the hold until the end of the cruise? We will be stopping near Bordeaux France & intend to go on a winery tour.

We live in the Chicago area & fly out of OHare often. Agree that assuming your first flight is on time, both flights are on AA you should be ok, at least not in the winter time. Agree with Flyer Talker's comment, much safer, even if a little more expensive. Two days ago we had to wait one hour for our luggage (longest ever)although hopefully in transit transfers get priority.

It's not how much time you spend on a balcony, it's the quality time on it. We prefer a balcony over an OV or infinity balcony,(which in our opinion just doesn't cut it).

10 minutes ago, asctony said:

So, the prices on some of these items went up $3. Examples: 

Tito's  9 to 12

Gray Goose 12 to 15.

33% increase.

don't forget + 20% tip

There also are shuttles inside Port Everglades that I recall go to parking lots & possibly other terminals. In fact if your X cruise is at terminal 25 there is a parking lot directly across the street. There is a map of the port online so that you could find out the parking lot number to get the shuttle & then walk across the street.

The tram was free. Resort World was in the middle of the route. At the end of the route before the turn around was a nice beach, restaurant & pool which was owned by Virgin cruises. Since no Virgin ship was in port they allowed us to use the pool. We rented chairs on the beach from them.  I'm not sure the same rules apply as we did this 2 years ago, but in season. 

Nice to see you back. Apart from multiple cancelations due to covid, we've also been cruising  on other lines with more upscale, smaller ships, great food & service. While we often are itinerary driven, we're planning an end of summer European cruise on an X S class ship . E class ships have too many negatives for our taste. Reading recent posts has reduced my expectations sadly.

20 hours ago, Germancruiser said:

Yes it was the Olympic Restaurant on board Milli. Loved, loved that Restaurant. I agree Question Everything- a different world- and I also agree- not always for the better.

All other Spec. Restaurants on board Milli- Class ships where great- Ocean Liners- Constellation, Normandie - Summit, United States - Infinity. Hm. A shame really that they changed those wonderful rooms into Tuscany.

Totally agree. dining in one of those specialty restaurants with the artifacts was great. We dined in all of them. Frankly, every time we've dined in Tuscany we were disappointed.

We've taken a number of Med cruises, both eastern & western, Agree, best time in these areas is fall, September or October. Temperature is moderate. Also agree to do research to decide which ports interest you the most. 10-14 day cruises make the most sense since it takes you a long flight to get to/from Europe from the US. We recommend taking a cruise with at least a few seadays for relaxation since you probably will be touring on most port days.  Definitely fly in at least one day before the cruise in case of flight problems as well as adjusting to the time changes. We prefer arranging for private tours over ship tours (unless long tour with tight return before ship departure), since smaller size of groups & often less priced. Enjoy

We had an outstanding meal in Pacific Rim, especially the miso glazed black cod. We also had an excellent meal in Prime 7 and Compass Rose. Sete Mara was good. Chartreuse was disappointing & a large number of pax had the same comments.I recognize that food is subjective, but when a lot of pax have the same comment, things need to be improved. 

We're also on this Dec 14th cruise. we arrived about 11:20 for 12 checkin & while busloads of PAX WERE ARRIVING FROM THE HOTEL. WE FLEW THROUGH checkin in about 10 minutes. 

We have cruised with Regent before although we've traveled mostly with Celebrity Oceania & Azamara. Service & friendliness of the staff has been excellent. A few minor glitches include, my lobster at Prime 7 was a little overcooked, a baked potato was cool and this am in CR our swedish pancakes were only so-so. Other meals & food have been very good including my dw's filet was excellent. It appears there are a lot of Regent newbies as well as many prior R pax. Overall, cruise has been very good but not outstanding as of yet. Most staff trying. 

One other incident. My wife slipped & fell by the pool today  The medical staff were outstanding. Fortunately, she is fine with just a bruised knee. 

We did this cruise in late 2019 on Azamara. It was a great cruise but shore excursions are definitely a must since the ports as away from  the sites in most locations.. Only in Singapore and Hong Kong the ports are adjacent to shopping centers, but again you would want to take tours to see real highlights.

We've been on a number of elite & above cocktail hours & don't recall ever seeing liquors offered. Usually basic cocktails, beer , wine and hors d oeurvres.

we were on the Equinox in 2018 doing the World cup in Russia. It was broadcasted .

When comparing X to RCCL perks & policy changes don't forget there both owned by Royal CC Line. Perhaps they are trying to position X as a near luxury line. If so, they have a way to go to compare to Oceania, Azamara ,Windstar, etc;

You can always go to the shops on board, spa or salon .

Not sure but I think it’s only refundable credit 

Tiips are included with Regent. I believe there now is a service charge for using credits in the casino

While we have cruised on Celebrity for many years, we also have cruised on smaller ships in the near luxury or luxury class (Regent, Oceania & Azamara). Not only are those smaller ships service & food better , it's a different experience, whether in regular balcony or suite. Agree, that the shows & glitz are also different. We're often itinerary driven with certain cruise line limitations. One other thing to consider is that smaller ships can sometimes dock in town as opposed to miles out in larger ships with much more costly tours due to transportation. We've experienced this in Stockholm and upcoming cruise with a stop in Bordeaux, (the latter has tours more than triple the cost vs docking in town). 

The increased fares on X are also disappointing. we had a cruise planned for 2023 that we had to cancel. We booked a similar cruise this year at substantially higher fares. If all the cuts we've read about are true, it may be our last X cruise. 

16 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Have you looked at the website for the official PauillcTourist Office as there may be suggestions to be found on it, or perhaps e-mail them and ask if they can suggest a local company or person.

I actually did before I posted this & it wasn't much help. Pauillac is a very small town.  Also only in French. 

Thanks for responses. We had an infinity veranda on a river cruise and that was enough! Doesn't feel the same.

Am I correct that E class ships have real outside balconies that face the water only in suites? We don't like or want infinity or inside facing balconies.

We're on the Celebrity Silhouette that docks in Pauillac overnight & stays the following day, in August, 2024. We've been looking without success for a wine & chateaux tour in ether the Medoc or St Emilion regions (or possibly any other nearby region). All tour operators we've found so far only depart from the town of Bordeaux and will not offer a pick up & return to our port. Any suggested tour operators or ideas ? 

What if you have a deluxe veranda without all inclusive & you upgrade to a sky suite. What do you get?

2 hours ago, lovecruzin said:

We last saw him on Solstice in Feb. He was training the bartenders, every ship needs a Santos 😂 Several of our favorite WCB mixologists have moved into management roles or just moved on.

I have to respectfully disagree. Did you ever have Sudui as your bartender many years ago. He could do all the tricks. He eventually left X and opened a bartending school in Bali. For a number of years X trained their bartenders at Suidi's school.  I'll look for Santos on Silhouette next summer and compare.