All of those 'included excursions'

[docmark]

Do not be discouraged-- we have enjoyed most of our included excursions. Occasionally, we do a choice excursion but most of the time it is not necessary to spend extra money.

We have traveled by land and sea. Land trips give you the opportunity to explore in depth so much more. A cruise offers you a glimpse of a city or country.

I would love to do a world cruise. DH says no way. Go for it!

Sheila

 

Thanks Sheila for the encouragement.... I have instructed TA to reserve the world cruise, however,PHA and B, are wait listed for first half(secure 2nd half). Hoping it opens up soon

[KOAU]

Do not be discouraged-- we have enjoyed most of our included excursions. Occasionally, we do a choice excursion but most of the time it is not necessary to spend extra money.

We have traveled by land and sea. Land trips give you the opportunity to explore in depth so much more. A cruise offers you a glimpse of a city or country.

 

Sheila

 

I too have followed the thread with interest. We will take our first voyage with Regent in May. Included excursions were a key part of the decision with much of the cruise in the Middle East.

 

We are infrequent cruisers usually negotiating new places on land as we’re fairly adventuresome. When cruising we have favored Silversea and enjoyed their excursions.

 

Of the 11 days available for excursions we are signed up for all 11 since there are plenty of down days at sea. Four days including 2 in Luxor involve extra fees.

 

I look forward to reporting back.

[phillipahain]

Even if a tour we want is wait listed its rare we do not get it

Yes some tours are better than others and some like the "yesterday and today " tour we did in Teneriffe yesterday was truly superb as was the tour guide

[Travelcat2]

Agree that you rarely do not get the excursion that you want because they keep adding buses. I feel that, if you know the both the positives and negatives of included excursions, it helps sets the right expectation. It is good to hear that so many people enjoy the included excursions and, as I've said, I do enjoy them in some parts of the world,

 

Perhaps I have had too many unhappy experiences on excursions which is why I dislike them in general. Having 6 busloads of passengers arrive at a restroom stop with only 2 stalls is not what I consider fun (even though the buses are not full). I understand that the tour guides try not to have all the buses show up at the same time but that does not always work. We end up having wine and a array of meats of cheeses at 9:30 a.m. or lunch at 3:00 p.m. (when the excursion started at 8:00 a.m.) in order to avoid other buses (not that I mind wine at 9:30 a.m. while on vacation). The bus will make a required stop at a tourist shop - even when we are already late getting back to the ship. We have had passengers ready to riot (more than once) because they simply wanted to go back to the ship at the time they were suppose to be back rather than stopping at another shop.

 

Of course, there is the issue that has been discussed with mobility challenged passengers not being able to get the front seats because some able bodied people insist on sitting there (I do think that mobility challenged passengers should board first but get off of the bus last because they are holding up the rest of the bus). Passengers also have issues with each other on the bus. In the Middle East, it was around 100 degrees with the sun beating down on one side of the bus. Passengers want to close the curtain but it blocks the view of people on the other side.

 

I probably could write a book about the excursions we have gone on and while many are amazing, many are not. Only the people reading this thread know if bus excursions are right for them. The fact that I love an excursion (or dislike one) certainly does not mean that you will feel the same.

 

P.S. Just thought of an idea for people that really need the front seats on a bus. They already speak with Destination Services so that the "reserve" sign will be on the seats. Perhaps Destination Services should give them a card to give to the tour guide and only people with the card can sit in the seats. It seems like an easy solution but perhaps there is something that I'm not thinking of.

[MalbecWine]

Reserve signs would be great with guests names on it. I would think that would help eliminate the problem.

[bissel]

Great idea on reserving seats with names or suite number! The competition for these seats can be quite stressful for those of us who really need them.

[swansong]

Hear hear Travelcat!!

 

 

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[xrvlcruiser]

Some times the "reserved seat" signs on the buses have passenger names, other times, not - same cruise, same people in ShorEx. No consistency. Seems strange to me.

 

Also, I don't understand why some passengers - who should have "saved" seats don't ask for them and by the time they board the bus, the forward seats (not the front ones) are taken. Frequently the passengers in those seats offer them and move farther back but I don't think the option to ask is publicized enough.

Peggy

[Travelcat2]

Peggy, I definitely agree with you. It is important that passengers that need those front seats register for them. Unfortunately, I have seen too many people refuse to give the seats up.

 

When this subject was brought up previously, some people mentioned that they get motion sickness on a bus. While this can be most uncomfortable, there is medication to help motion sickness but people with walking difficulties really need access to the front doors.

 

I would truly like to see consistency in how this is handled as well as better communication onboard. However, as much as I am to make things easier for people with disabilities, I feel equally strong that, as they do on airplanes, people with disabilities need to be first on the bus but last off.

[cwn]

Reserve signs would be great with guests names on it. I would think that would help eliminate the problem.

 

 

On the Mariner SA cruise in 2011 I needed the front seat on the bus...They put reserved seat sign with my name and suite number in two places, on the seat and on the window. This was after they stopped letting us go off a little before our group was called. A couple ahead of us took the signs off and set down, someone called them on it but they said there was no sign! What can you as passenger say in the face of that! We were nearly last and I struggled to the back.

 

I don't get off the bus as much anymore so we just sit in the back where I can have a seat to myself that way I don't have to bend my knee. Plus we now go when the number before ours is called since it takes me longer to get to the bus and is much easier to get to the back when the bus is empty. But yesterday in Brunei I watched the removing of the signs happen on our bus. The signs were taped to the front seats. I watched two passengers take them off even though several people around pointed out the sign. The person with the walking issue then struggled to get seated.

 

There are a lot of people for whom "it is all about me:. Most passengers are caring and considerate but the ones that aren't really stand out. The only way to stop this is for Regent to have a crew member on every bus sitting up front as passengers board checking to be sure the right people needing a front seat get the seat. Also Regent should tell people who need a front seat to tell the tour staff to reserve the seat and then announce in the theater that if the front seat is reserved not to remove the sign.

[forgap]

All I can say is WOW! The actions of some people are just appalling. I think that on all our cruises passengers were respectful of the signs until the last passenger boarded then they would move up.

 

In Bali the busses were particularly uncomfortable with very little leg room. We stopped for a visit somewhere mid trip and two older gentlemen just took over someone else’s seat in the back of the bus because it looked like there was more leg room. All of us sitting adjacent told them that the seats were taken. They ignored us and when the original occupants came back on the bus, the men refused to move. So, the couple had to sit separately for the rest of the trip. The entitlement was galling.

[Brownie54]

Another report: on the World Cruise last year, there was a man with no mobility issues who routinely went early and removed signs on the tour bus so he could sit in the front to get better camera shots. I didn't find this next part out until late in the cruise, but one day he refused to give up his seat to a fellow cruiser who did use a mobility scooter 24/7. Terrible! If I had know that earlier, I would have reported him to the ship staff.

[UUNetBill]

The sad thing is that there's no good way to handle any of these situations. Short of physically removing the subhuman cretins who do this kind of stuff, there's really no good solution. I don't even think public shaming would have any effect...but I agree that it needs to be addressed if it's getting worse. I've honestly only seen a few issues, mostly with people sitting in the reserved seats at the front of the bus, but it's been rare enough in my experience to not be a big issue.

 

But I often leave bottles of water, umbrellas, a camera bag, etc. on the bus for short stops, and I really don't know how I'd react if I came back and someone had moved into 'my' seat. I do think it would have the potential to turn confrontational, though. There's really no excuse for supposedly civilized people to act like that. Would a Taser and roll of duct tape be considered too extreme? Just thinking out loud here... :evilsmile:

[UUNetBill]

Just had a thought pop into my head - I wonder if it would help any if Regent would assign some sort of 'chit' to people who require assistance boarding the buses and/or priority seating? Maybe add a little blurb on the tour tickets stating that you need to have your chit or marker or whatever in order to sit in the reserved seating areas? Or maybe a blue bus ticket instead of the normal white ones? Of course, the guides would need to be aware of this and be able to enforce it. They'd need to know how many seats were reserved and have the authority to hold the bus if someone was sitting in a reserved seat without authorization.

 

I hate having more rules and regulations in place to govern what should be common courtesy...but since it's not really that common any more, maybe we need to be a bit more proactive with it, I don't know. Or maybe we're already at the Taser stage?

[irishwitchy]

I have to ask do some of these reserve seats issues go away on excursions that are rated "active" or three walker level?

 

As for the guys that took the seats, maybe they had the bad side of the bus for half the trip or didn't get to sit together. My opinion on bus and van seats, you don't "own" them for the whole trip. If you get stuck in the back of the van on the way to the place, I feel just fine hoping in the front seats on the way back. Mind you once again, if there is someone that can't make it to the back, you recognize that and move accordingly.

[forgap]

I think what got under my skin was the lack of courtesy. There was no “Would you mind if I sat here because....” or an explanation of some physical reason why they had to change seats. It was opportunistic and just plain rude. To cap it all off, one guy had a running commentary of disparaging remarks on everything he saw from the bus window. (And, full disclosure, he sounded and acted like a relative of a relative who I can’t stand!)

[irishwitchy]

A few years ago, I had my gallbladder out the bad way, nice seven inch scar across the belly. Anyway, that a month before a trip to Hawaii. I was fine for the most part, but still very sore and bending to get to the back of a van was doable. but uncomfortable.

 

Needless to say, when the van pulled up for an all day tour, the only seats left where in the very last two seats in the back. I looked perfectly healthy and able to get back there. So I did and I did after the next two stops also, but than we hopped into the front seats for the rest of the ride and let someone else crawl back there. I don't fell I needed to explain to anyone why I did this, my medical issues don't need to be shared. Mind you, If someone did ask, I would have lifted my shirt to shut them up! My husband would have been mortified, but no words would be needed! :confused:

 

My mother has traveled with Tauck a few times and I believe they tell everyone that bus seats will be moved and not to expect that is your seat for the entire trip.

[Travelcat2]

After thinking about the reserved signs/cards, etc., it seems that we need to tweak the suggestion a bit. Unless there is only one bus, you really don't know which bus a specific passenger will be on. This leads me back to the "card" that could be given to the passenger when they go to Destination Services. Perhaps the first three row of the bus should have disabled signs since no one knows how many people will actually be on that bus that need the front seats. Once the bus leaves, people can shuffle around. Definitely not perfect but wanted to acknowledge that not all disabled people will be on the same bus for each excursion.

 

Strongly agree with irishwitchy that there should not be disabled signs on buses for the "active". If someone goes to the desk and asks for the card, they will be told that they are not available for that excursion due to the level of activity.

 

 

I think that we are on the right track and hope that Regent is reading this thread.

[Got2Cruise]

Two solutions that might work which were in place on other tours we have taken.

1. Those needing priority boarding meet at a special meeting place and they are accompanied to the bus by Regent personnel.

2. Once on the bus, the guide makes the announcement over the PA that everyone is to keep the same seats for the duration of the tour.

 

 

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[bissel]

Thanks also to Got2Cruise for those good added suggestions. If one needs to be in front seats, she or he will need it for the whole excursion. And everyone changing seats at random times leads to disruption for many.

Irishwitchy and others, I implore you not to do this. You cannot always know who needs this seat. When one returns to the bus and finds her seat usurped it is terribly distressing.

Thank you for considering this.

[mdunne48]

On a recently completed Eastern Caribbean Explorer cruise for all the tours that we went on Regent had their personnel on the pier or meeting place counting heads before the hand-off to tour personnel. If passengers have registered with Regent as mobility impaired then Regent personnel can take this opportunity:

a). to advise EVERYONE that X number of seats closest to the door are reserved for these passengers on this tour (this was rows 3 & 4 for the types of vehicles used on most of our tours) then

b). have tour personnel place placards on those seats then

c). have those mobility impaired persons queue to the bus first

[flossie009]

Unfortunately there are a minority of cruisers who act like badly behaved schoolkids without a thought for others.

 

However, I am not sure that another layer of bureaucracy will discourage some of the rude & arrogant front seat hoggers that are being discussed. Plus the limited number of shore excursion staff would not be able to cope with policing the requirements.

 

IMO there should be reminders about special-needs seating included in the excursions pack, in Passages and then a verbal reminder in the theatre when waiting for tours to be called.

 

Much as I quite like the idea of Bill's Taser, gentle reminders and humour (e.g. seat-hog cartoons used in the written reminders) would probably be the best way to proceed.

[Travelcat2]

Just had a thought pop into my head - I wonder if it would help any if Regent would assign some sort of 'chit' to people who require assistance boarding the buses and/or priority seating? Maybe add a little blurb on the tour tickets stating that you need to have your chit or marker or whatever in order to sit in the reserved seating areas? Or maybe a blue bus ticket instead of the normal white ones? Of course, the guides would need to be aware of this and be able to enforce it. They'd need to know how many seats were reserved and have the authority to hold the bus if someone was sitting in a reserved seat without authorization.

 

I hate having more rules and regulations in place to govern what should be common courtesy...but since it's not really that common any more, maybe we need to be a bit more proactive with it, I don't know. Or maybe we're already at the Taser stage?

 

Agree strongly with everything in your post and I'm sure that Regent could use the same people that I've been reading about that accompany the excursions lately (generally the the Regent entertainers) to enforce this. Your idea is quite similar to mine. The one loophole is that, when there are multiple buses, no one knows how many people with disabled chits/ticket/card will be on each bus as they arrive in the theater different times.

 

Just realized that when they print the tickets they can have a standard comment at the bottom of the ticket about seating - something like the front rows are for disabled passengers with chits/cards/special tickets only. They can also indicate that disabled seating is not available for the active tours (with three people indicated on the description).

 

There seems to be so many people that feel "entitled" on excursions. In my opinion, if you want to feel special and have special seating, take a private excursion and pay for it. Reading the stories from posters is disturbing. I realize that we see this type of behavior all the time but didn't think of how often it is occurring on the many, many buses that Regent uses at each port.

 

Loving the positivity and great suggestions on how excursions can be made better for the physically challenged as well as the rest of us that have to co-exist on the bus for what can be hours at a time.

 

I truly believe that somehow Regent can make it work.

 

P.S. My DH walks really fast and tends to get to the bus with a couple of other fast walkers when boarding begins. His selects either the 4th row or by the rear door. So, even if it takes the disabled passengers longer to reach the bus, everyone doesn't have to wait ...... as long as those that board first have common sense, can read the ticket and can read the signs on the seats. But, please - no cartoons - these are adults and should be treated as such.

Edited March 12, 2018 by Travelcat2

[fizzy]

Would it be correct that these seating issues only come up on the excursions that are designated for mild activity? We rarely use the excursions offered and I'm surprised that this is such an issue. It is rather disheartening.

[Travelcat2]

Would it be correct that these seating issues only come up on the excursions that are designated for mild activity? We rarely use the excursions offered and I'm surprised that this is such an issue. It is rather disheartening.

 

I wish that it only happened on excursions that have mild activity. As has been discussed previously, many (not a few) people with walking challenges take the more active excursions - even very active ones and hold everyone up. On one excursion, a person could no longer walk - we were far from the bus - someone went to the bus to find someone to help the individual. It held up the bus for over an hour. This person clearly should not have been on that excursion. The one thing about the most active excursions is that wheelchairs are not permitted (not sure if this rule is followed) but people with walkers can probably go.