In need of expert Regent traveler's opinions.

We were on the July 2 sailing also. You’re going to adore Voyager! Our favorite place to hang out was the outdoor deck of the Horizon Lounge. Cozy seating areas and had some great conversations. The bartenders took great care of us.

 

We were in an F cabin 817 and I highly recommend this location. Very quiet but close to elevator also.

 

Don’t forget to reserve your excursions and specialty restaurants now.

 

 

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So happy to read this. We reserved cabin 816.

Plan on looking at the excursions and restaurants today to reserve. :)

iticlaudia, great choice! I'll add my 2p re age range too - that age is an attitude of mind and not a mere number of years. So, you'll find elderly 50 and 60 year olds on board and sparkling 70 and 80s as well...and of course, everyone in between. We have found the demographic to be different depending on the time of year/itinerary/flight time from the USA and the duration of the cruise but have never failed to meet interesting, sociable people whose company and conversation we have enjoyed and appreciated. My experience of port-intensive cruises is exactly as you say - we've been so tired at the end of a day packed with activity (including an early start too) that we've not missed the party. Or maybe we did?!

Gilly - Absolutely right in all respects! In my 50-60's, I thought nothing of getting on an overseas flight and "hopping over" from Virginia or Phoenix to London or Rome without giving it a second thought...in fact, I even looked forward to it. Now, in my 70's (barely - but still now there..."Yuk"), that "Hop" is now more of a drudgery...even in Business Class. I honestly don't know how many more Atlantic/Pacific flights I have "left" in me. The bright spot is knowing that once you finally get on board Regent, the "stress" is over! You can just relax, have a nice drink and perhaps a good conversation with some interesting people by the pool or in a lounge, without feeling rushed in the least. Some days, even skipping the excursions altogether, is a nice change. Regards.

Hi Claudia,

My husband and I have been cruising with Regent since 2001. Have been on all the ships. We did a Baltic cruise on the Voyager in

August 2003 and loved it. I'm now 68 and my husband is now 71. We have never been the youngest passengers on any our our

cruises and really don't care what age group is onboard. We always meet people no matter their age. We book a cruise based on the

itinerary...not the ship. We did a second New England cruise October 2017 on the Navigator and had a great time. This ship doesn't appeal to most people for a variety of reasons. I would suggest a Baltic cruise if you have not been to that region. We are booked for a Baltic cruise in August 2019 on the Explorer. From Stockholm to Southhampton. As far as the weather in the Baltics... who cares. Just pack what you

need and have a great time. The Explorer is a beautiful ship and the itinerary is great

That's fantastic!

 

Look forward to running into you on the ship.

 

Greetings from South Carolina, USA. :)

Hi, will probably see you around. We are looking forward to this cruise even though there are only two new ports of call for us too! :)

Hi, will probably see you around. We are looking forward to this cruise even though there are only two new ports of call for us too! :)

For us it's the beginning that is familiar. After Rome it's all new.

I LOVE Rome and fly there often so I haven't decided if we will go into the city or just relax......I'll probably leave that decision up to the hubby. :)

If you have suggestions for the later ports I'm happy for the advice.

Congrats - We're on the same cruise. The itinerary and timeline looked amazing, as were some of the Mediterranean deals. First regent cruise in 10 years, really looking forward to it! I think we are in G category. My wife and I are traveling with her folks so we're booked in identical cabins (G?) but on either side of the ship.

We'll probably run into each other over the 13 days I'm sure.

e: I've never been to Rome so we're going to book a Rome In Limo tour for the 4 of us. Thought it would be safer to have a private excursion in case the inlaws get tuckered out and need to head back early.

Actually, I've never been to any of the ports!

Congrats - We're on the same cruise. The itinerary and timeline looked amazing, as were some of the Mediterranean deals. First regent cruise in 10 years, really looking forward to it! I think we are in G category. My wife and I are traveling with her folks so we're booked in identical cabins (G?) but on either side of the ship.

 

We'll probably run into each other over the 13 days I'm sure.

 

e: I've never been to Rome so we're going to book a Rome In Limo tour for the 4 of us. Thought it would be safer to have a private excursion in case the inlaws get tuckered out and need to head back early.

 

Actually, I've never been to any of the ports!

Wonderful! I really wish my in-laws would come with us, but the traveling is too much for them now.

I'm going to be honest.......there is no way to see Rome in a day. Is there something you and your in-laws really want to see?

Yeah, I know it's impossible to have a good tour of what Rome has to offer in a day. We're going to focus on the Vatican and I think to be realistic that might only leave us with a drive-by of most other sites. Mother in law was wanting to potentially see some catacombs, so we might try that but not sure. That's why we are doing a Rome in Limo tour though as opposed to one of the many included tours.

Do you mind if I ask your age range? My wife and I are early/mid 40s. Inlaws are now 70s.

Yeah, I know it's impossible to have a good tour of what Rome has to offer in a day. We're going to focus on the Vatican and I think to be realistic that might only leave us with a drive-by of most other sites. Mother in law was wanting to potentially see some catacombs, so we might try that but not sure. That's why we are doing a Rome in Limo tour though as opposed to one of the many included tours.

 

Do you mind if I ask your age range? My wife and I are early/mid 40s. Inlaws are now 70s.

The Vatican if done right is a day.

I'm 44 and the hubby is 56. :)

Well we're pretty similar in age, and probably be below the median most of the passengers. I suspect we'll run into eachother!

Well we're pretty similar in age, and probably be below the median most of the passengers. I suspect we'll run into eachother!

I'm sure. And if there really is a Peggy Lee show you will find us in the bar. LOL!!!

Peggy Lee...my favorite song is. Is that all their is my friend than we’ll keep dancing, we will break out the booze and have a ball.:D

Peggy Leee...my favorite song is. Is that all their is my friend than we’ll keep dancing, we will break out the booze and have a ball.

I'm sure. And if there really is a Peggy Lee show you will find us in the bar. LOL!!!

And we would join you:D (yes - there really is a Peggy Lee show).

Is there a page or website that ranks excursions? To be honest on the few cruises we have done, we typically do our own thing. But since Regent throws them in with the price I'm thinking about signing up for a few.

Is there a page or website that ranks excursions? To be honest on the few cruises we have done, we typically do our own thing. But since Regent throws them in with the price I'm thinking about signing up for a few.

The excursions are all very well run. Look at the activity levels. Level 3 involves lots of walking. Level 1 is mostly on the bus.

Is there a page or website that ranks excursions? To be honest on the few cruises we have done, we typically do our own thing. But since Regent throws them in with the price I'm thinking about signing up for a few.

My view of included excursions is a bit different because we don't like to have multiple buses going to the same place. Although Regent tries to vary the route, there have been times when multiple buses show up at a restroom stop at the same time (with 2 stalls for women). Also, since they need to vary the route, we have had wine tasting at 9:30 a.m. and lunch at 3:00 p.m. (when we left the ship at 8:30 a.m.). While the early wine tasting wasn't a big deal -- after all, we are on vacation, we were extremely hungry on a couple of excursions due to the late lunch times (whether included in our excursion or on the ship). There are, IMO, too many excursions that leave at 8:00 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. - are five hours -- do not include lunch and gets us bak to the ship at 2:00 pm. or 3:00 p.m.

For us it's the beginning that is familiar. After Rome it's all new.

 

I LOVE Rome and fly there often so I haven't decided if we will go into the city or just relax......I'll probably leave that decision up to the hubby. :)

 

If you have suggestions for the later ports I'm happy for the advice.

We tend to do the “included” trips and then the morning ones, whilst it’s still relatively cool. Have lunch on board and possibly a drink or three and then the pool because people are off on their afternoon trips. I have managed two trips in one day.

My wife sometimes doesn’t do any and said that she has seen enough old ruins and stays by the pool (I do hope that she’s not talking about me!).

I think that Travelcat2 comment about 5 hour trips is worth noting. Once you have logged into your booked cruises you can see departure times and make your decisions from there.

Since tours are variable, we always stop by the pool deck breakfast buffet and get some granola bars to tide us over in case of a late return to the ship.

If you have suggestions for the later ports I'm happy for the advice.

Hi, you have booked a cruise on a wonderful ship with a fabulous itinerary.

For the Adriatic part of the cruise, I was just on the Voyager in that area last month.

In Corfu, we did the panoramic excursion, it was nice, but way too much time on the bus. On a previous visit to Corfu, we visited the Achilleion Palace, and found it breathtaking.

In Kotor we did "Highlights of Montenegro", in Split we did "A Taste of Split", we enjoyed them very much.

In Koper, we did "Piran and Wine Tasting", absolutely loved it.

I did a trip report where I posted some photos of these ports, if any of these seem interesting to you.

Have a great time!

Bob

And for what it's worth, I actually enjoyed the Peggy Lee show!:eek:

Why don’t you list the ports and excursions you are considering? Then you can receive feedback.

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itclaudia - make sure you are up early for the sail into Kotor it's gorgeous.

Is there a page or website that ranks excursions? To be honest on the few cruises we have done, we typically do our own thing. But since Regent throws them in with the price I'm thinking about signing up for a few.

Don't be misled by Regent's "free unlimited shore excursions" promise!

I am booked on Regent's Explorer - Lisbon to Cape Town, 24 days, November 28, 2018 - and just learned that Regent will not be offering shore excursions for all passengers in all ports. In some ports, ALL excursions were sold out on the first date they were available for booking, even though I was online at midnight EDT that day.

When I called Regent, they informed me that they have no intention of making waitlists, nor do they plan to arrange additional excursions. I've since spoken with two customer service agents and a supervisor, and I was directed to read the Terms and Conditions, which state "Free unlimited shore excursions are on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to availability."

A common sense interpretation of those Terms and Conditions would be that passengers may not receive their first choice of shore excursion, which is understandable. However, Regent claims that this condition means they are under NO obligation to provide excursions for all passengers. It's an absurd interpretation, in my opinion, particularly for a company that so aggressively promotes the "all inclusive experience." Most disturbing, it provides Regent with justification to radically reduce the number of shore excursions available on all their cruises.

(To add insult to injury, Regent's agent told me that, even though they could not provide a shore excursion for me, I was welcome to leave the ship to explore on my own and/or make private tour arrangements.)

Regents advertising is very misleading.