Dolebludger

Actually, we don't want to book a return flight before noon or after. We all know that flights can be, and often are delayed, but ships sometimes are too. 

1 hour ago, Port Power said:

I still do not understand why men carry their wallets around on a ship? You cannot use cash and don’t need anything else from a wallet.  Key card is it!

 

But your post about being friendly with crew members and relating to any other person is spot on.

 I never carry a wallet onboard. You are right. There is no reason to do it, and it creates a bulge in the pocket. My slacks that were accidentally sent to laundry with wallet were last worn on an exhausting shore excursion, after which I went to bed with the wallet still in them, and put them out for laundry without removing the wallet by my mistake. 

Yeah, there seems to be confusion (on my part also) as to what to call airline seat classifications above economy and economy +. When we took our Splendor cruise embarking and ending in Southampton UK last month we had what was called United business class Denver to London and back. But it had those full lay down seats. But our business class flights we have recently taken Denver to Boston and back on United have seating more like that in the “coach class”of 40 or so years ago. So I am confused about the definition of BC and FC. All I know is that the Navigator/Caribbean ad I received gave the up charge only for economy air, made no mention of FC, and stated that BC was “N/A”. 

We just received an ad from Regent featuring the Navigator’s Caribbean itineraries for next season. Prices were given for the cruises and for economy class add on. But under the heading of first class “N/A” was stated for every cruise — supposedly meaning “not available”. Does this mean that Regent isn’t booking FC (or BC or whatever it’s called), or that Regent can’t give a fixed price for it, or what? 

16 hours ago, RichYak said:

On MSC in Europe, at almost every port, some passengers are ending their cruise and disembarking and new passengers are embarking. Like a bus with bus stops. 

Thanks to you and others who responded. That sounds like it could be a mess.

mnpurple, please explain. Does MSC not allow guests in Europe to simply leave the ship in port and return with their ID? And what is “ferry style”?

The Retreat, YC, and all accommodations like that may not be “necessary” for all. But they sure do provide variety. We have cruised in all sorts of accommodations, from large, crowded mass market (RCCL, NCL, etc.) up to small ship lux lines (Regent, Silverseas, etc.), and have also cruised in the Retreat and YC. For us, the lines and crowds in the mass market large ships become overwhelming from day one. Some people (not us) find lux ships boring. In the Retreat, guests receive an experience very much like a lux cruise — not quite the same but close. And if a guest gets bored with that and wants the lively activities on a large ship, they are just a short walk away. So it is all about increased choices in activities. 
 

Can’t say much about fares and affordability because they have become highly volatile in recent times. But I would guess that some degree of up-charge for the retreat could be money well spent for anybody who has veered tired of the hubbub of main ship areas on a large ship.

In the past decade, most of our cruises have been either Regent or X Retreat. In the pre pandemic past we really liked the Retreat deal because it allowed us to get a CC or RS without breaking the bank. We did find more vip treatment on Regent and actually preferred the entertainment on it over X. Perhaps it was because the theater was never crowded with plenty of seating choices. But then the Retreat was substantially less expensive than Regent and thus a pretty good deal at times. But not any more. I can’t speak to relationship in fares since July 1. Then Regent stopped including air in its fares and its fares have been moving around, up and down. All I can say for sure is that Regent still includes unlimited valet  laundry, mini bar in suite, and some shore excursions in the fare.

And BC from the States to UK or Europe has gone way up too. And economy class on those long flights is painful. We may well have had our last trip over the pond.

I and others have believed that Regent was exiting the business of providing air with the cruises because airlines are hard to deal with.  Then today I get a Regent ad in the mail stating FREE FIRST CLASS AIR on select Caribbean, Canada, and New England voyages! For one thing, I think it means BUSINESS CLASS, as I don’t think FC exists on those routes. And even before July 1 Regent didn’t include BC air on those itineraries. No specific cruise itineraries, dates, or prices were stated. Again, I had believed that Regent was wanting out of the air business (I don’t blame it. It’s a mess). But now two months after the exit, it is jumping back in???

You are right. I did not intend to imply that multi connections and unsuitable layovers were Regent’s fault. They are the airlines’ fault. Because of this, our cruising is now limited to one connection (in addition to that at our available hubs) and no economy flights over one hour at a price we can afford. Anything more just wears us out.

Right, I have never seen this behavior, and certainly have never done it.

1 hour ago, irishwitchy said:

In that case,  I hope to meet you on a cruise, because you don’t seem so jolly on this site, sometimes. lol.  😉

Well, if Regent or any other entity comes up with something I don’t like, I am not silent about it. But Regent’s service crew have never done any such thing. In fact, we would like to take some of them home with us to do some well paid work for us. This thread is about people who treat others in a lower economic status (real or presumed) like they are inferior. I don’t do that! I used to have a much lower economic status and remember.

From other posts here on this board, Regent seemed to want to book with the maximum number of connections back in the old “included air” days. And often the layovers were unreasonably short or long. And it is a rule that every plane change greatly increases the odds of missed flights. If we waited until Regent announced the flights it selected for us, it would be too late for us to book the good flights and seats. They’d be sold out. Especially as we require business class on flight legs over an hour. So we request the deviation at time of booking with info on requested flights, and compare prices with self booking on those flights. 

That’s strange but true. When I drink I become more jolly and friendly. 

On the two Splendor and one Explorer cruises we have taken in the past year or so, I found the food portions much smaller than on pre-pandemic Regent cruises. No problem for me, as I intended to reduce my cruise food intake. And those who wanted more could always order a second portion. And I gained no weight.

Well, there are some measures the ship should have taken. It should have eliminated self service at the buffet and staffed it, for example.

I don’t know about others, but we have always been friendly with the crew. We walk down the hall, they smile and greet me, and I smile and greet them. Maybe it is the environment we come from, but here in the Rocky Mountains, almost everybody deals with all others as equals. I go to our Elks Lodge and multi millionaires treat minimum wage people with respect — usually they were once one of them. And it goes both ways. Last month on the Splendor I accidentally sent some slacks to the laundry, with my wallet still in the back pocket! Got a call from our stewardess. She told me what happened and brought me the wallet — and all the contents were intact — even the $200 in cash. Enough said.

We were on the Splendor 8/12 to 8/20. Wasn’t Starlink then, I think. Internet service was about what we’ve come to expect on cruises — spotty and depending on out location. But we were usually able to read and send email in our suite, and that’s really our only use for ship’s internet.

The Navigator is not one of the former R class ships. The Navigator’s story is an interesting one. The hull and some structure was partially constructed for the Russian military. Some say as a spy ship. For some reason, Russia abandoned the project and sold the partially completed ship to Radisson (now Regent via name change). It was completed as a cruise ship with maiden voyage in 1999. It differs from the R ships in that it’s rooms (suites?) are much larger, by class than the R ships. 

We have never cruised over the holidays, largely because airplanes and airports seem to become a real mess then. But I assume that guests on those cruises would tend to dress a bit higher level, though the dress code will remain the same..so to “go along with the crowd” I’d be sure to take a sports jacket to wear if I see many of them onboard. I doubt that I’d take a dark suite, tie, or tux. But anybody who wanted to wear those things has the right to do so. Dress codes set the minimum dress standards — not the maximum.

Yes, because others have repeatedly posted that formal optional nights are just that,— OPTIONAL. And these reports say that very few guests dress formally for these. Most continue to comply only with the smart casual code applicable to other nights past 6:00 PM.

We just returned last week from a cruise on the RSSC Splendor of England, France, and Belgium. I took (for men) slacks, collared polo shirts, a sports coat, and one pair of leather top shoes.  My wife took the female equivalent. We never felt out of place and our attire was never questioned by staff. In fact, we really fit right in. I saw no tux or ball gown among the guests. As Regent gives included valet laundry service, we were able to carry on (or wear on) all we needed for an eight night cruise and a two night pre cruise in London. Anybody who expects tuxes and ball gowns on Regent hasn’t cruised it lately — like in the last 40 years.

Pcardad, we have a 22 year history with Regent, and just returned last week from the Splendor. Good experiences always. But things can change, and all I want is full direct info.

8 hours ago, flossie009 said:

Why do you need to know ?

It won’t change the outcome ………… and probably won’t change the views of those with conspiracy theories about the reason for the port change.

 

I want to know because I like to trade with companies I can trust and avoid those I can’t.  Especially when spending as much as a Regent cruise costs. Like many, we like to have a pre-cruise land stay of more than one night. Setting those up often takes much effort, and changing them on two or three weeks notice takes more. In our 25 or so years of fairly regular cruising on several lines we have ever even heard of an embarkation port change — certainly not on short notice. I want FULL info on this to consider in choosing future cruises.