Dolebludger

Sounds good. Just one small problem. I went on the X website and looked at itineraries and dates we wanted, and the Retreat was sold out on all of them! And I was looking at Spring, 2024. The Retreat must be doing something right.

Honestly, I don’t know which ship we might take in the future. Choice will be the itinerary. I know the newer ones have a separate pool and sun deck, while older ones lack the pool. The ships we were on were the Eclipse and the Equinox. At that time (2019) the Equinox was somewhat in need of redecorating. The Eclipse was in great shape. But both cruises were good, with included drinks, mini-bar, some specialty restaurants, WiFi, tips, priority embarkation and debarkation, Luminae, and private lounge. We liked the accommodations because they were even less crowded than on the lux lines. But I have heard that some of these perks have been diminished, so just checking.

We cruised twice in a Celebrity suite just before the pandemic. We liked the experience. We haven’t booked the Retreat since then, but are considering doing so in the near future. So we are curious about any changes in perks, etc. that may have been enacted since then.

There are some cruise lines with dress codes allowing jeans in the evening. Celebrity comes to mind. So some guests don’t bother to read the Regent code, have been on one of those other likes, and assume all codes are alike. They aren’t, and applicable codes should be followed.

Yes, Regent. The situation is this. A party books a cruise. A two category upgrade is then advertised. After that, final payment is made. Is that party entitled to the advertised upgrade?

Haven’t cruised since pre-pandemic. So question. For booked guests who have made final payment, are they entitled to later-advertised fare reductions and/or additions of perks? Yes, there is an actual situation about this here. Back in better days, the answer would have been “yes”. Now, I’m not sure.

If anybody knows, is NEW Crystal open bar? I mean, included drinks in all lounges when they are open. Not just at dinner and lunch.

We have cruised in deck 6 forward cabins on the other side of this ship. This area of the Navigator is the smoothest riding and most vibration free part of the ship. We had a balcony, and 602 may have a window that looks out over a narrow outside crew passage. So close the curtains before doing anything you don’t want seen. And as I recall, 602 is a bit larger than other window suites.

We were on the Radisson Diamond in the Caribbean around 2003. Our rooms didn’t have balconies, but they were fairly spacious as I recall. Our cruise was an experiment for Radisson in that it was the first one with drinks at the bar included in the fare. It must have been popular, because it was the most crowded Radisson/Regent cruse we’ve been on. I don’t recall everything about it, but I do remember that it was very slow. It cruised at about ten knots.

We,or some of us from the USA, are so hung up about tipping, that even when it states “all tips included” we don’t know what to do.Not surprising as tip jars are appearing in places other than where tipped personnel work. The most ridiculous example was a tip jar at the cashier’s stand at a supermarket. Cashiers are not traditionally tipped employees, nor should they become so. What, tip someone for taking my money? In other countries, tips are given with more reservation, and in smaller percentages.Basically, On Regent, where “all tips are included in the fare” we don’t tip further, absent an outstanding reason for doing so. Otherwise, we feel like we are tipping twice, and we don’t want to donthat.

Actually, I recall when Regent (then Radisson) did “test drive” the shore ex’s from time to time, to guard against deterioration of them. Maybe hard to do now, especially so far away. But things like seat and leg room bus HVAC, and content shouldn’t be too hard to monitor.

Good info, Flossie, thanks.

A bit off topic, but Is Regent still mandatory testing for Covid on embarkation, dusting the cruise, and upon disembarkation?

I actually don’t worry much about who is in the the “head shed”. What I am concerned about are the inclusions and quality of service I receive on a vacation (be it cruise, AI resort, or whatever). Last May, we flew to Vegas with reservations at the Bellagio which included transport from the airport (which never arrived). Once in the hotel, service was zero. Many of their restaurants were closed. Those that weren’t were very overpriced. We will never go there again. We have been “Regent regulars” since 2002. Yeah, their prices are a bit of a shock now. But when we take one of their cruises again, we will expect the same experience as in 2002. I suspect we will receive it.

Yep, with Regent it is one and done. On our pre pandemic Regent cruises there were no surprises, except for pleasant ones! Post pandemic cruises, I have read here about a few problems with labor and supply shortages on some ships, but am confident that these problems will be resolved. But as we have taken no Regent cruises post pandemic, I can’t comment on these. The only problem I have in searching for Regent cruises now is the price. Not that we lack the money to pay for one, as we have it. Just that we question if the result would be worth the cost. But based on our experiences with Regent, our guess is that (given inflation) it probably is worth the price. We have cruised Regent (mostly) since 2002, and have never been disapointed.

Just a question. How many guests were on these cruises. We’re they completely full ?

We know this, but will Regent put us on the same airline? That is the question. In this case, Regent’s choices would be United and American, depending on which gateway we fly to.

Oh, yes, our plans are to fly from Durango to Denver or Phoenix, for which we will pay the fair for those legs. My concern was getting Regent to put us on airlines which would transfer our luggage at the gateway.

Paul, we may do that, but we aren’t going to Europe for exactly the problems you mention. And we would never fly to a cruise on embarkation day — always the day before even for an Alaska or Miami departure. The air credit, unfortunately, is neither attractive or reasonable. If Regent has no way to accommodate Gold SSS members so we can check out luggage to destination, we’ll put our pencil to it and possibly change our plans.

Will it cover this situation? We are looking at an Explorer to Alaska cruise for next summer. We live in Durango CO, so our gateway airports would need to be Denver or Phoenix. To get to Denver, we have to fly United. To get to Phoenix we have to fly American. So to get our luggage checked all the way (without the hassle af claiming and rechecking) we have to be booked on the Regent flights with the airline we took from and to Durango, or one of its “partners”. To ensure this, will an air deviation and fee be required? If so, will the deviation cover this situation?

We have no cruised since before the pandemic. We live in a “tourist town” in the Colorado mountains, and our hospitality industry has gone way down hill due to labor and supply shortages. Four of our better restaurants closed, and the remainder have reduced days and hours open and menu choices. Service is not good, and neither is the food. Vegas isn’t that far away, so last May we tried a very short get away there. Though we stayed in a lux hotel, service was really bad, and prices were really high! Because of our local and near-by experiences, we are concerned that the cruise lines may be having the same problems, though hope they are not. Still, we can’t bring ourselves to book a cruise. Ant advice?