Mystictraveler

Thanks very much. Your reply was extremely helpful and appreciated!

Thanks to CWN for your report. We are contemplating a cruise in Asia next year on the Navigator which we sailed on for our very first cruise almost 15 years ago. This past summer we were on the Explorer from Israel to Rome and are booked on the Splendor later this year. I have a bit of trepidation on booking the Navigator after sailing on the Explorer and my expectations for the Splendor. Since you have so much RSSC experience, what are your thoughts on sailing on the Navigator in a far away place, from the U.S., such as Asia (with its attendant higher relative air fare costs) vs. picking another closer destination and sticking with the newer ships?

We will be doing the Rome to Miami TA next November and plan on seeking an air deviation at the 270 day mark. Any thoughts or experience on how Regent will handle us flying into Florence instead of Rome? We are considering spend a few days their and then taking to the train (at our expense of course) to Rome the day before the cruise departure and checking into the Regent provided hotel as part of our concierge suite amenitity. And one other question in case folks have an answer. Will Regent provide the meet/greet and transfer to the hotel should we arrive by train? I'm assuming not. Thanks for your input.

I am enjoying your blog very much as well as the one from the previous cruise so Thank-You for taking the time to keep us all informed. My DW and I will be on this same cruise in 2023. If you have time, would you mind occasionally posting what kinds of temps (and maybe other conditions) you experience as you cross the Atlantic. I am especially interested in what it is like to lounge around the pool and the upper deck. Cheers...

We are booked on this itinerary a year from now (except we will start in Rome) so will definitely be following along. Safe travels!

May I ask, were you already a member of the BCC with "status"? The reason I ask is that when I called and asked about an upgrade to Aqua Class, it was going to cost approximately $3,500 more (for two people). I am Elite Plus but have never gambled on a Celebrity cruise.

Please disregard, I just realized there was a phone number available.

If this has already been asked and answered, my apologies. How long has it generally taken to receive a call back from Celebrity once you submitted your requests?

Considering a TA with Regent in November 2023. Would appreciate hearing from those of you who have done TA's with Regent about the types of activities they offer during sea days? We recently sailed on the Explorer for 14 nights but there was only one sea day so don't have much to go by.

The only TA we have done was on the Relection in a Celebrity Suite. The one thing I remember is Michael's Club (now The Retreat) and Luminae tended to be very crowded at times since the Relection has more suites than others in the same class. The Constellation is in a smaller class and we really liked it.

At the hotel, we put on one luggage tag indicating which bus we were on (there were three busses) and also our Regent tag with our cabin number. The bags for each bus were then grouped together in the lobby. It sounds more chaotic than it really was. The worst part was dealing with the x-ray machine when we got to the port.

Just to add another possibility, we recently did a pre-cruise land package in Israel. On our last tour day/embarkation day, our luggage was collected outside our hotel rooms and taken to the lobby. We then had to find and collect our luggage and take it to our bus. When we arrived at the port, we reclaimed our luggage, took it to the x-ray machine and then passed it to a porter who took it down the dock to the ship. A bit of a hassle but at least we knew our luggage was with us.

I thought about that as well and sent an email to RSSC inquiring about that possibilty as well as any other reasoning, such as those mentioned on this thread, I could be missing. It does seem odd they would go so many days with such late openings of casino and shops.

Currently booked on an 11 night, Feb 23 cruise from Bridgetown to Miami. The cruise calls on eight islands and has two sea days at the end. Six of the first seven days do not depart the port of call until 11 p.m. and arrive at the next port at 8 a.m. Personally, part of the enjoyment of being on a cruise is actually "cruising". Have others experienced this many late departures and did it detract from the overall "cruise" experience?

Will be joining the Explorer in Haifa, Israel on June 5 and will be participating in the pre-cuise land package as well. Based on information I have received thus far, Regent will be providing Covid tests at some point during the land package but it is unclear if we will have to take another test at the pier just prior to boarding. I know it is early days in the non-U.S. travel season, but if there is anyone who has done a pre-cruise land package, what was your experience regarding Covid testing?