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DavidTheWonderer

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  • Location
    Toronto/Dunedin Fl/Ottawa
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    French Polynesia

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  1. There is a vibration issue aft on Navigator. It bothers some more than others. I think Steve mis-typed. Voyager and Mariner are almost identical in size and number of passengers. Navigator is significantly smaller than either of these two. The main differences between Voyager and Mariner are that Voyager's cabins are a bit larger and Mariner's public spaces are a bit larger. The newer ships, Splendor etc., are a bit larger still both in size and number of passengers.
  2. This thread is about a "price comparsion" and many people have posted their excellent calculations. But, as flossie009 points out, there is more to it than just dollar amounts. The size of the cabin is relevant, and has been discussed here. But also relevant is the overall space per passenger on the ship. You can find a rough estimate of this by dividing the gross tonnage by the number of passengers. The higher the number, the less crowded you will be when out and about on the ship. Also relevant is the number of passengers per crew. The lower the number the better. All these numbers can be easily found with the assistance of Captain Google. And Regent fares very well using these criteria. Note that both space and crew are costs that the cruise line must bear.
  3. The submarine in Aruba is on my short-list of best excursions ever.
  4. We also don't use butlers when we have them. Different strokes for different folks. Once, our not-used butler pleaded with us at the end of the cruise to give him a good review. That was fairly disgusting.
  5. Different people have different sensibilities about vibration, so I can't definitively advise you. For me, vibration on Voyager is trivial, but I know of some folks for whom it is a problem. Now, if you were considering a cruise on Navigator, she has a much more serious vibration issue aft. It didn't significantly bother me, but I would advise you to me even more cautious about that ship.
  6. And the incessant quacking in the middle of the night!
  7. Totally agree! For me the interior of Sagrada Familia is easily one of my top experiences ever. When I first walked in I had a quasi-religious experience, despite the fact that I am not religious.
  8. Barcelona is fabulous, and getting around on your own is easy. I've not been to Madrid, so can't compare the two cities. But 3 - 4 days in Barcelona is sort of a minimum for me. I can imagine 3 - 4 months, but "your mileage may vary." One tip: get your tickets to Sagrada Familia in advance: the lines for those without tickets are sometimes horrific.
  9. Not quite related to your questions, but we are in Dunedin and found that driving to Miami and staying overnight in the Regent hotel (the Biltmore) and then in the morning driving to the port and parking in the long-term lot just across from the dock was really seamless. Sarasota is even closer, and you will probably be able to avoid the packed-bus crowd on embarkation. Regarding the issues that you did mention in your post, as you will see from my signature below, I have a lot of experience with Regent and some with Seabourn. I think you will find that your anxieties about pre-dinner cocktails, seating in the main dining room, etc. will not be an issue. If anything, Regent handles these things somewhat better than Seabourn, but both do really well. Just don't try to go to the main dining room (Compass Rose) just after the end of the night of the captain's reception.
  10. I am obviously not a connoisseur, since on land my go-to bourbon is Jim Beam. When we were on Splendor in January, our stewardess asked about our in-suite setup, and I asked for Jim. She came back an hour later all apologetic: they didn't have Jim Beam but she did have in her arms a big bottle of Bulleit. I assured her that I would make do. Sniffity sniff! In fact, if Bulleit were the same price as Beam, I would switch loyalties. But on Splendor all is included so on board my loyalties does switch. Back on land my inner Scrooge has me back to Jim. When I finished the bottle of Bulleit, she brought me another one.
  11. I hesitate to post something not serious, but will anyway. As you know, there is usually a jigsaw puzzle or two in the common areas of the ship, and people work on them. Completion usually takes a few days. A 7-something girl saw a partially completed puzzle and thought it was obviously messy, so put all the pieces back in the box. I thought that was sort of cute. The children-haters were outraged.
  12. There are a significant number of passengers for whom the ship it the destination. These folks tend to stay on board always. Even for those who do an excursion, many are a half day and doing two half day excursions in one day is somewhat rare and sometimes impossible. So ... if you stay on board you will find lots of people on the ship and a generally convivial atmosphere with almost all venues open as usual.
  13. Sometimes there are cancellations. So if you drop by a resto a little before when you wish to dine, they may be able to accommodate you. I only share this with select people like Cruise Critic members, so don't spread this information around to the riff raff.
  14. It depends on this ship and the particular cabin. When booking, this is an issue that you and/or your travel agent should check if, like me, the combo tub-shower doesn't work any more.
  15. Of course Regent used to be named Radisson, and changed their name so they wouldn't be associated with the Radisson hotel chain.
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