captjohn

Wes,

Enjoying all the post's As you might remember Christina and I were going to join you guys in Honolulu but had to cancel. The thing is we still had air to HNL. So what to do - yes we are on our way over to watch you sail away ! What are you doing the day your in Honolulu ? Keep enjoying your cruise.

John

We were also just on the Explorer and read about the same offer. I asked about this from the computer guy. It is called "streaming service" and is NOT faster than or different from the " Free service " except that it allows you the stream music, video ( that's a joke ), etc. The bottom line is that if you pay they won't block streaming content but it's the same speed as the Free WIFI. Hope I have explained this OK.

John

The CAPTAIN is always in command.

• While the ship’s captain handles the job of navigating the ship in the water, when the situation gets risky or there is any situation which demands greater skill in the maneuvering of the ship, the shippilot acts as the person who advises the captain what route to take and what changes need to be made during ship’s routine maneuvering while entering or leaving a port.
  

Just to add we were just on the Seabourn Encore which suffered the same type of incident over a year ago in New Zealand and the "large dent " in the starboard aft corner is still there . Someone caught the action on a video that can be seen on YouTube.

After reading your post's above I checked my account. All was good !

But I did notice in "booked cruises" that in the line where my Reservation No. is, that it also showed how much OBC we will have. Nice

Sossusvlei Desert Lodge is run by &Beyond (used to be call CC Africa). IMO it is one of the most amazing spots in the world. We did it on our own in 2010. We jumped ship (Voyager-World Cruise) in Cape Town and flew to Windhoek on Air Namibia then on a charter Cessna 172 out over the Namib desert to Sossusvlei. Stayed there 3 nights and then flew to Swakopmund and drove to Walvis bay to meet up with the ship.

 

The lodge is small with only private 10 Villas. Each has a view out to the dunes. They have set up a watering hole about 300 feet out in the desert to attract animals, mostly Ostriches and small antelope but there were a few oryx too. No cats, elephants or giraffes. Above the bed is a 6-foot square skylight to view the stars. The altitude is fairly high about 3,000 and there is no light pollution so the night sky is one of the clearest/brightest I have ever seen. You can lay in the at night bed and watch the stars go by.

 

It gets better. They have a large Meade LX200R 12-inch telescope on the hill behind the lodge that you can walk to in 5 minutes. The telescope is usually maned by a doctoral student astronomer form Oxford who will set the telescope to interesting object. Some of the views rivaled those you see on the internet by the Hubble.

 

Day time actives include the usual game drives and "Sundowner." They also have ATV's that you can drive up in the dunes. There is a guided hike off into the hills to see ancient cave painting. We also took an optional drive to see the giant red sand dunes that Sossusvlei is famous for (About 50km). One of the dunes is over 1,000 feet high.

 

 

I don't know what Regent is charging you, but I would suggest you contact &Beyond directly and get a price to do it on your own. &Beyond is a very reputable Company. They will handle everything inclining flights and transfer. I have booked with them directly at 7 different camps in Kenya, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and South Africa. You can email me if you have questions.

 

J

WoW- thank you for all the info ! Regent does not have it published yet but looked at the Explorer 2018 cruise for the description, then called Regent for a price. They want $ 3000. pp. This is all inclusive, air, meals, wine,etc. We are Titanium so get 25% off. Would you take a look at it and let me know what you think-know you don't have anything better to do:)

John& Christina

OK, we just got off the Explorer and booked this cruise for 2020. It looks great to us and we plan on taking the Overland Package to Sossusvlei Desert Lodge. The pictures look very interesting :). Love to read more comments from those that have made the trip and will be looking for a thread when the Explorer makes this cruise this Nov.

Hi, we are new to Seabourn and will be boarding the Encore in Civitavecchia / Rome on the 25th. So reading your post with great interest. We have been cruising a lot on Regent and have always wanted to give Seabourn a try. Looking forward to the experience.

Quick question ; what are the WIFI costs and how good is the connection?

Flossie, in answer to your first question; No, you are not Titanium until you step onboard. So all the benefits start at that time.

Truly want to thank all for your responses. Have referred to TA with a link to this thread. JD

Thanks Jackie, that was just the information I was looking for !

One other question . Do you think we could sneak a third person in the car. He will be traveling withe us but is not a " T " yet ? Baggage will not be a problem.

It ( * ) only talks about the size on the vehicle depending on the length of the cruise.

*Single guests earn double nights when traveling at 175% or higher single supplement. FREE Phone Time is per suite and is in addition to Concierge-Level amenities. Gold members and above receive FREE Unlimited Wifi with four log-ins for up to four devices, that may be used concurrently. FREE Valet Laundry service is one bag per suite of wash, dry and fold services per seven-night segment for Gold members. Platinum member and above savings discounts exclude Overland Adventures and Private Cars/Vans. Titanium members sailing voyages up to 14 days receive FREE Private Sedan transfer accommodating 2 large suitcases and voyages 15 days or longer receive FREE Private Van transfer accommodating 4 large suitcases. Diamond and Commodore savings is combinable with standard promotional offers, groups, Society savings, onboard savings and national account amenities. Certain restrictions apply. Diamond and Commodore Member savings will apply at time of booking and is applicable to cruise-only fare. Guests achieving new tier status during their voyage will be eligible to receive savings as applicable. The exclusive activities for Gold-level and above members may be combined with special events already incorporated in our World Cruise or Grand Voyages. New tier benefits are available from the beginning of the achieved voyage and any applicable pre-cruise benefits will be available on subsequent voyages. Guests traveling under reduced rate or interline fares are not eligible for loyalty benefits or nights earned.

We are going on a cruise next month ending in Southampton. We are also "New" Titanium members . The Regent benefits page states that a private transfer will be provided from ship to the airport. Our documents show a private transfer from airport to hotel (embarkation) but a coach transfer to the airport ( LHR ). I know it's over 50 mi. but in the information the 50 mi limit seems to apply to a transfer from a home. We would like to have the private transfer as stated.

Do any of you have any thoughts on this ?

Titanium, 400 - 999 nights

• Everything from Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers PLUS the following items:
  
• FREE private transfers to and from your home to the ship (within a 50 mile radius)*
  
• Or FREE private transfers from the airport to the ship and the ship to the airport on embarkation and disembarkation day*
  
• FREE unlimited dry cleaning
  
• Additional 15% discount on Regent Choice Shore Excursions, Hotels and Land Programs* (total 25% savings)
  
• Suite ready at 1pm on embarkation day
  

And expensive !!!

This not directly related but my wonderful wife was diagnosed with sleep apnea (mild) last year .

She tried the CPAP machine approach but did not work for her. So we went with a dental appliance ( medicare approved ) that moves her lower jaw forward 3-4 mm during the night.Nothing to plug in, no water etc.! This has solved the problem for her. So not for everyone but worth looking into.

You guys are really being esoteric !!

Record day for bookings.

http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/seven-seas-splendor-the-driving-factor-in-record-booking-day-says-regent.html

Hi all from Bali. TC2's decription is on target. Today we chose to stay at the hotel and enjoy. We did venture out to a shopping mall this morning. Just an FYI for the fucture we usen UBER it took about 15-20 min to get there and the cost was $1.40 each way. The swimming pools here are great and beautiful as well.

Oceania Cruises is rolling out its new Wavenet high-speed Internet service fleetwide, at no extra charge for all accomodations categories.

Wondering when or if Regent will do the same. See link below.

http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/oceania-cruises-introduces-free-high-speed-wi-fi.html

Thank's, good info.

My understanding is that there is a Bose Radio in the suite. Having never been in this high level of luxury, I do not know what type of connection is posible. Can you connect an iphone via Bluetooth and or the lighting connector of the Iphone 7 or is the connection the old style of say the Iphone 5 ? Any help with this would be appreciated, Thanks.

John

I have one and I've sent you an email.

I have replied :)

Hi all-looking for a referral. We have paid in full and sailing Aug. 25,2018 on the Encore.

Contact me at my garbage email- cjd214@yahoo.com

Yes we are first timers and looking forward to giving Seabourn a try.

Thanks, John

I used Regent Air on Monday- good service , no problem.

WOW-Thanks Wes. We are reading your posts with great interest since we will be doing this trip in June.

Are tour arrangements are through Belmond Hotels and our cruise is on the Silver Galapagos.

Enjoy your trip and keep those cards and letters coming !!

PS- hope to cruise with you guys some day.

I have a similar question (s).

1- Arriving Bali for Regent 3 night per-cruise land tour. Wondering if you guys think they will provide private transfer airport to the hotel .

2-Also on post-cruise to Angkor Wat. At the end in Bangkok, hotel to airport private transfer.

Yes we are NEW Titanium.

John