LIve - Bali - Hong Kong (3/24 - 4/8/2018)

thanks for your summary,as we are looking forward to our TA cruise on the Voyager in Nov.

Sounds to me that the tours and the children are your main complaint on the cruise.

We hate group tours but have opted to take them as except in Bermuda we have a short time there.Usally we do our own tours.

Just wonder why you will only take the 2 newer ships from now on

Great post(s) during the trip and super good review on how you perceived the trip, it was fair and good information. Thanks, Rick

thanks for your summary,as we are looking forward to our TA cruise on the Voyager in Nov.

Sounds to me that the tours and the children are your main complaint on the cruise.

We hate group tours but have opted to take them as except in Bermuda we have a short time there.Usally we do our own tours.

Just wonder why you will only take the 2 newer ships from now on

How nice that we'll be on be on the same cruise in November! Now, let me address your comment and question.

Firstly, I come across as someone that does not like children. As my daughter and grandchildren could attest, this is not the case. There are two issues at play here. After devoting our lives to children for 20+ years, we feel that we should be able to have some adult time and are thankful that we are able to book Regent cruises that are mostly adult cruises. We are particular to select times of the year when children are in school. However, when there are a couple of children onboard, I find it disconcerting that tour guides would cater to the child rather than the 25+ passengers on the tour (not that the child be ignored - however, they should not be running the group). Another issue I had was with passengers from other countries that did not respect the space of others and behaved in ways that we are not accustomed to.

Okay -- off of my soapbox. As you likely know, we have been on the Mariner and Voyager many times, the Navigator a few times and Explorer four times. For us, the Explorer (and her upcoming sister) is comfortable. We don't care about the glitz and glamour of the ship. We love the seating areas around the ship that are comfortable, give great views of the sea or of the people if you enjoy people watching. The suites are so comfortable and have lots of storage space (I'm a terrible over-packer) and the dining venues are better for us (with Chartreuse and P7 open for lunch on alternate days and Pacific Rim). My DH loves all of the spa options (hot, cold, etc.) as well as the large, well-appointed gym. The prices of cruises are increasing and this has affected the number of cruises that we take. So, when we do cruise, we want to be on the ship(s) that are the most comfortable for us.

Hope that we meet onboard in November!

I really enjoyed your posts during your cruise and your final summary. I appreciate that even though you cruise a lot with Regent you have a very fair perspective of your cruise and the ship. I say this because it is often the case that a poster who cruises or has a favourite cruise line only gives the positives. Thank you.

TC2 your review was very helpful. It was fair and balanced. Most important for us the food and service was wonderful. Thanks for taking the time to share.

Jackie I love your answer,and I agree with you on your comments.

We have traveled dozens of times on all different ships (Sea Goddess,Crystal,Seabourn etc) but never on Regent,so being a bit of a bug I appreciate your comments

We are travelling my wife and I with her brother(3rd cruise together)who lost his wife 4 years ago.We look forward to meeting the face of a person who has been very helpful

Thank you

Joe

Thought your final review was right on mark. I agree with you about sailing Explorer/ Splendor. The exception is if an itinerary is bucket list. Then I will travel on any of the other Regent ships. Our next two cruises are bucket list so we are on the Navigator. Then back to Explorer. And of course, our surprise sailing with you on the Splendor.

Safe journeys until we meet again.

Sheila

So disappointed that we will miss you on the Buenos Aires to Santiago cruise, Zqueese.

Jackie, I totally agree with you about the lighting in the suites. I have tried to put my makeup on at the little desk that is supposed to be for putting on makeup, at least I think that is what it is for. NO WAY! Way too dark. I usually stand at the bathroom sink with all the lights on to apply makeup.

Also agree about the excursions. Don't get me started about that. If it is a level 2 or 3, there shouldn't be handicapped seats on the bus at all because the excursion is by definition at least slightly strenuous.

Level 2 sticks are used also for long excursions, not necessarily strenuous ones. One's disabilities may not preclude one taking longer excursions.

Level 2 sticks are also used for long excursions. One's disability may not necessarily preclude taking those longer excursions.

We changed all our lighting in our home to LED and outdoor lighting and what a difference. Clean pure light and energy efficient. Our old halogen lights were hot and did not last long. LED lights will last a very long time.

Those makeup mirrors just don’t cut it for me. LED lighting would save Regent a lot of money in the long term.

Level 2 sticks are also used for long excursions. One's disability may not necessarily preclude taking those longer excursions.

Long excursions definitely do not preclude people with disabilities from taking them. However, two "people" (or as you call them - "sticks") are meant to signify the level of difficulty - not the length of the excursion. People in wheelchairs or those who cannot walk up many steps, uneven surfaces, etc. typically take 1 "person" excursions as the rest are too difficult. The excursion that I was irritated by indicated in the description that there were 90 steps up to the temple. Obviously this was not meant for people with walking difficulties (and was strenuous for those without walking difficulties).

This seems to be an ongoing complaint of Regent passengers. If you cannot keep up with the rest of the people on the excursion, it ruins it for everyone. Alternatively, if you recognize your limitations and simply want to go on the excursion to see the the general area and plan on sitting down while others do the difficult part, there is no problem with that but do not expect any special treatment due to your disability.

If you read the description of the excursion, it tells you how much walking is needed. I have seen people who couldn’t walk 50 ft on level ground go on excursions that clearly stated there would be strenuous walking. One lady demanded to be taken back to the ship about 10 minutes into what was honestly billed as a strenuous hike. This was in Alaska, so it wasn’t like you could just call a cab. Very difficult for the guides to deal with, though they did a good job in the end.

TC2. Thanks very much for your recent Voyager review. I get a kick out of how you defend your positions sometimes but I appreciate that they are always well thought out and respectful.

We are taking the Barcelona to Barcelona cruise in July with our son and daughter-in-law (our 50th anniversary, their 10th) so it should be a lot of fun. Your comments about the children on your cruise will probably be nothing compared to what we will encounter, but hopefully the 4 of us can soldier through,

I do have a question about Observation lounge and the theater. We’ve been on the Voyager before and thought both were fine. If they did make them smaller, who got the space?

Love your reviews. Good sailing ahead.

TC2. Thanks very much for your recent Voyager review. I get a kick out of how you defend your positions sometimes but I appreciate that they are always well thought out and respectful.

We are taking the Barcelona to Barcelona cruise in July with our son and daughter-in-law (our 50th anniversary, their 10th) so it should be a lot of fun. Your comments about the children on your cruise will probably be nothing compared to what we will encounter, but hopefully the 4 of us can soldier through,

I do have a question about Observation lounge and the theater. We’ve been on the Voyager before and thought both were fine. If they did make them smaller, who got the space?

Love your reviews. Good sailing ahead.

Thanks for your comments! I guess I defend my positions rather strongly. If I was speaking to the poster in person, it would not come across as strongly as it does in writing.

Want to wish you am early congratulations on your 50th anniversary! We reach 40 years in 2019 and will also be onboard a Explorer.

Guess that I did make it sound as if the Observation Lounge and theater shrunk. This is not the case. We have simply been on Mariner and Explorer for the past two or three years and they have larger public areas. Actually, I love both the theater and Observation Lounge. While I enjoy piano music, we also enjoy chatting with the bartenders which is easier on Voyager because the piano is off to the side. The theater is perfect - great site lines - almost no steps - could not be better.

I suspect that you will be more tolerant of children than we are. We have cruised in the summer twice and knew what to expect so somehow it didn't seem as bad as expecting no children and having one particularly disruptive one.

Have a wonderful cruise!

Jackie, thanks again you to you and Dennis for another wonderful sail along with you both!! Pictures of exotic areas are always special especially when they show life behind the scenes that are seldom seen in travel magazines.

Jackie,

Heads on! After you left the ship in Hong Kong there was an invasion of a couple of hundred Spanish speaking guests including US cits from San Diego and Monterey.

They brought kids ranging from babies and toddlers to teenagers. I will be giving a break down of the nationalities on board later.

We will be on board for another couple of weeks.....

Said that, the Voyager and it's fantastic crew is still our favorite ship , we've sailed all Regent ships, and we are enjoying the cruise very much.:cool:

Paul

Jackie - really good, informative and useful review. Thank you.

Only comment I have is on the Germans on board. Regent has opened an office in Germany and they bombard us with catalogues in German, prices in Euros etc. I suppose I get one or two a week. Now - when I was in Marketing I learnt to "speak the language of the customer". The German office presumes that all Swiss speak German which is not the case. We have FOUR national languages. We also do NOT have the Euro. (Thank goodness we have the Swiss Franc!) I can certainly read and speak German but our language here in the Suisse Romande is French. All this to say that if the German office is bombarding us poor Swiss with literature you can only imagine what they are doing in Germany itself...and therefore why so many Germans!

A national stereotype I know but Germans are notorious here in Europe for "hogging" deck chairs, umbrellas etc at beach resorts AND on ships. (I was on the Hurtigruten once and they hogged the chairs in the Observation Lounge. Announcements had to be made in German about this...) Regent is actively going after this market which is fine. But in my experience the Germans will do what they always do no matter how much the cruise line asks them not to. So expect more of the same and not less of it!!

Hello Travelcat, could you or anyone else who might know, tell me where the Voyager, docks in Manila, is it pier 15 near the old city, or pier 4 in the newer north terminal?

We are on the Voyager next february and overnighting in Manila, we would like to just get off the ship and tour on our own, but think it may be too far if docked in the north terminal.

Did you get off the ship there, if so, what did you do, thanks in advance for any help.

Hello Travelcat, could you or anyone else who might know, tell me where the Voyager, docks in Manila, is it pier 15 near the old city, or pier 4 in the newer north terminal?

 

We are on the Voyager next february and overnighting in Manila, we would like to just get off the ship and tour on our own, but think it may be too far if docked in the north terminal.

 

Did you get off the ship there, if so, what did you do, thanks in advance for any help.

I can give you a general answer, in most, if not all ports docking locations are determined by the local port authority and are subject to change up to arrival date. Suggest you find a link to the Manila Port Authority website and see if they show a berth listing for you ship and date of arrival.

And, don't forget, you can be assigned a berth and it can change on your day of arrival. Tour guides know how to get that information. Suggest you make plans for both berth locations and hopefully you will get pier 15 but, no guarantee.

We were there several years ago and docked near pier 15 and walked to the Manila Hotel, beautiful. We took a ship shuttle to the downtown area, quite a walk to there. Have a lovely trip.

We were there 2 years ago and docked really near the Manila Hotel as a lot of people went there for lunch. We did a Corregidor tour so didn't have time for exploring. Best part though was sailaway with a whole bunch of school bands playing for us.