Splendor anyone?

[boblerm]

I thought that I would resurrect this thread in the event that anyone on the Barcelona to Trieste cruise sees it and might offer us some tidbits as to what is happening onboard.

 

[cruisegal919]

Interested as well on how Regent handled the transfers.

[Crosspost]

We were on the Splendor from 22 September to 6 October and it was amazing. The ship is beautiful, the staff amazing and the reduced capacity did not detract at all from the enjoyment. There was dancing and karaoke and trivia and loads of people took part. We felt incredibly safe - the testing of crew and passengers gave us added comfort (the Splendor travels with its own independent testing team who are very gentle and professional)  and although mask wearing is required it is just not an issue and is second nature after the first day.  The entertainment was brilliant - everyone agreed it has gone up to another level, both with the highly talented entertainment team on board and the guest entertainers. For those who have travelled before with Regent there were lots of familiar faces- John Barron was cruise director and just brilliant, Boogie and Kasia and the Regent Signature Orchestra. Great pianist in the Observation Lounge called Andrew who did a great 'Guess that Tune' a couple of times. The head sommelier Georgiana (employee of the month and amazing) did a fantastic champagne lunch with matched champagnes to the food and we did two cookery lessons both of which started with a cocktail (bit of a theme here I know).  Yes there is more chance of countries changing requirements of entry at the last minute, including testing and sometimes stops have to be missed as a result, but given that during the dark days of the pandemic most of us thought we would never be able to get on a cruise ship again, it really is a small price to pay. We were very sad to get off and will be booking another one very quickly. I would urge anyone who knows and loves Regent to have faith that they will give you the best time ever.

Edited October 8, 2021 by Crosspost

[boblerm]

Thank you Cross-post! So glad that you had a great time on Splendor. It sounds like Regent is doing a good job in trying to balance safety with trying to get as close to a "normal" cruise experience that constantly changing conditions allow. 

[briar14]

3 hours ago, Crosspost said:

We were on the Splendor from 22 September to 6 October and it was amazing. The ship is beautiful, the staff amazing and the reduced capacity did not detract at all from the enjoyment. There was dancing and karaoke and trivia and loads of people took part. We felt incredibly safe - the testing of crew and passengers gave us added comfort (the Splendor travels with its own independent testing team who are very gentle and professional)  and although mask wearing is required it is just not an issue and is second nature after the first day.  The entertainment was brilliant - everyone agreed it has gone up to another level, both with the highly talented entertainment team on board and the guest entertainers. For those who have travelled before with Regent there were lots of familiar faces- John Barron was cruise director and just brilliant, Boogie and Kasia and the Regent Signature Orchestra. Great pianist in the Observation Lounge called Andrew who did a great 'Guess that Tune' a couple of times. The head sommelier Georgiana (employee of the month and amazing) did a fantastic champagne lunch with matched champagnes to the food and we did two cookery lessons both of which started with a cocktail (bit of a theme here I know).  Yes there is more chance of countries changing requirements of entry at the last minute, including testing and sometimes stops have to be missed as a result, but given that during the dark days of the pandemic most of us thought we would never be able to get on a cruise ship again, it really is a small price to pay. We were very sad to get off and will be booking another one very quickly. I would urge anyone who knows and loves Regent to have faith that they will give you the best time ever.

I second everything you said about the cruise. We began September 11 and left Splendor on the 6th. Enjoyed ourselves tremendously. The champagne lunch was amazing, and Georgiana’s presentation was relaxed and knowledgeable. I hope Regent continues to have a successful return. We will be on Mariner, December 18.

 

[pingpong1]

54 minutes ago, briar14 said:

I second everything you said about the cruise. We began September 11 and left Splendor on the 6th. Enjoyed ourselves tremendously. The champagne lunch was amazing, and Georgiana’s presentation was relaxed and knowledgeable. I hope Regent continues to have a successful return. We will be on Mariner, December 18.

 

We look forward to meeting you on Mariner in December!  I hope there will be some Champagne lunches and/or wine tasting events offered on our sea days.  We'd also like a Chef-conducted galley tour!  Best Regards

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, pingpong1 said:

We'd also like a Chef-conducted galley tour! 

If you want a tour of the galley, register your interest with Reception early in the cruise.

In the past (pre-covid shutdown) tours were held on some cruises but not advertised.

 

 

[pingpong1]

42 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

If you want a tour of the galley, register your interest with Reception early in the cruise.

In the past (pre-covid shutdown) tours were held on some cruises but not advertised.

 

 

Thanks, Flossie!  We'll be sure to do that!  Still hoping to see you onboard!!

[ruthe17]

Understand from the Splendor Roll Call(London to Barcelona; September 22 - October 6) several ports were missed. According to the Roll Call, passengers were notified of 4 of these ports a week before departure and 2 others were cancelled because of weather. Can anybody shed some light on this- which ports were cancelled and why were they cancelled. Thanks.

[briar14]

2 hours ago, ruthe17 said:

Understand from the Splendor Roll Call(London to Barcelona; September 22 - October 6) several ports were missed. According to the Roll Call, passengers were notified of 4 of these ports a week before departure and 2 others were cancelled because of weather. Can anybody shed some light on this- which ports were cancelled and why were they cancelled. Thanks.

It was four ports. St. Malo and Tangier were announced before cruise began. An extra day in Bordeaux was added and a sea day for Tangier. Biarritz and La Coruna, tender ports were the other two.

[Crosspost]

8 hours ago, briar14 said:

It was four ports. St. Malo and Tangier were announced before cruise began. An extra day in Bordeaux was added and a sea day for Tangier. Biarritz and La Coruna, tender ports were the other two.

It was too rough to tender into Biarritz and because of the bad weather heading to La Coruna, the captain had to take a different route which followed the coastline and was much longer, this meant that we would have been too late getting into La Coruna as some of the excursions were very long and we were leaving there that evening. We heard that St Malo wanted to impose lots of unreasonable restrictions and so we went to Bordeaux for an extra day which was wonderful - we sailed right up the river and moored up in the middle of the City. Suspect Tangiers was because of the possibility it would make the UK Red List and that would mean quarantine restrictions on our return. However, no-one on board minded, we all completely understood that in these early days of travelling opening up the ports can be very 'fluid', with additional requirements imposed. It was just lovely to be away.

Edited October 9, 2021 by Crosspost

[flossie009]

9 hours ago, peter at sea said:

Do I have this right, Regent Seven Seas has three ships that are all less than five years old?

 

RSSC has five ships, with a sixth joining the fleet in 2023.

The links below give the ship details and the dates they entered service.

https://www.rssc.com/ships

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regent_Seven_Seas_Cruises

 

 

 

All Regent ships are kept in very good order and undergo regular refurbishment.

https://www.rssc.com/news/details?newsid=2688

https://www.rssc.com/news/details?newsid=28672

https://www.rssc.com/news/details?newsid=68245

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 10/8/2021 at 7:42 PM, peter at sea said:

What a beautiful ship!

 

Do I have this right, Regent Seven Seas has three ships that are all less than five years old?

No.  Two ships in that bracket, a third on the way but not built yet.  Navigator date from just before the turn of the century, and Voyager and Mariner from the early 00's.

[flossie009]

On 10/6/2021 at 12:31 PM, boblerm said:

I thought that I would resurrect this thread in the event that anyone on the Barcelona to Trieste cruise sees it and might offer us some tidbits as to what is happening onboard.

 

I see that Explorer is now moored in Trieste ready for its 'restart' cruise this Friday October 15th. Bon Voyage to anyone joining Explorer at the end of this week.

Hopefully we will get some more reports from both Splendor and Explorer.

[Boats07]

Could anyone let us know when you are able to sign up for the Cooking classes aboard the Splendor?

I thought it was the same time we had signed up for the excursions.  It has been awhile since we have signed up for anything. Thank you in advance.

[Ladys Mom]

I was able to sign up for one cooking class thanks to the perseverance of my TA.  We are on the Splendor in November.  Regent said that classes will be small to allow for social distancing.  If you are on later it may be easier.  On your Regent account you should be able to press the cooking class button to see what is available on your cruise.

[SireDoime]

On 9/25/2021 at 4:49 PM, mcshane said:

We are hopefully on the transatlantic from Barcelona in November - I would love to hear any reports so far! 

 

I am getting my Regent Consultant to book this cruise before it's too late.

I just want to cross the Atlantic by sea, since I'll fly across to get to the port.

 

I've flown across the Pacific to Hawaii, but yet to sail back or towards.

[NORTOM]

Was Bridge or other card games allowed?

[briar14]

11 hours ago, NORTOM said:

Was Bridge or other card games allowed?

Yes, “Informal Bridge Play”, offered on sea days in Observation Lounge. Card Room was closed.

 

 

[Avidtravler]

There had been a counter on the pool deck that would open early in the morning to make blended vegetable and fruit drinks ( don't know how else to describe it }. Is it still in operation? if so when does it open?

[cruise-a-holic]

21 hours ago, SireDoime said:

 

I am getting my Regent Consultant to book this cruise before it's too late.

I just want to cross the Atlantic by sea, since I'll fly across to get to the port.

 

I've flown across the Pacific to Hawaii, but yet to sail back or towards.

We were on the maiden voyage on the Splendor from Barcelona to Miami and loved every minute of it! We are booked again in February and in the same suite!

[SWFLAOK]

On 10/9/2021 at 4:30 AM, Crosspost said:

It was too rough to tender into Biarritz and because of the bad weather heading to La Coruna, the captain had to take a different route which followed the coastline and was much longer, this meant that we would have been too late getting into La Coruna as some of the excursions were very long and we were leaving there that evening. We heard that St Malo wanted to impose lots of unreasonable restrictions and so we went to Bordeaux for an extra day which was wonderful - we sailed right up the river and moored up in the middle of the City. Suspect Tangiers was because of the possibility it would make the UK Red List and that would mean quarantine restrictions on our return. However, no-one on board minded, we all completely understood that in these early days of travelling opening up the ports can be very 'fluid', with additional requirements imposed. It was just lovely to be away.

We were supposed to be on this cruise, but rebooked  it (along with the preceding Southampton to Southampton) to 2022 back in June.

It's interesting that Biarritz was already eliminated as a port next year, and replaced with a stop at LeVerdon the day after Bordeaux, with excursions from Bordeaux ending there. I wonder if stopping at Biarritz has been difficult in the past. September is still hurricane season in the Atlantic, and tropical storms often end their lives in the North Atlantic.

We weren't really looking for any extra time in Bordeaux because we needed to cancel a Scenic River cruise in Myanmar due to political unrest and we replaced it with a Scenic River cruise in Bordeaux. Hopefully we love the Bordeaux area.

I would have been extremely disappointed not being able to go to Mont St. Michel from St. Malo. It seems to have been open to tourists all summer.

We have booked (twice now) a long excursion at La Coruna. I would much prefer just getting off the boat and skipping the excursion than bypassing the port. That would also have been very

disappointing.

I'd rather not stop in Tangiers, so that would not have been a problem for us. We aren't big shoppers when we're on cruises since that means we need more luggage space, and haggling in a market over prices isn't something we ever do. I wish Regent would find a more interesting port to replace this with.

But what would have been our biggest complaint, and will be next year, is if Regent does not refund port fees and taxes. In the past, we have gotten a refund for this when a port was cancelled and replaced by a day at sea before boarding, and a shipboard credit was given for a port bypassed during the cruise.

I hope everything is back to normal next September, but I thought the same thing last year at this time. We've rescheduled so many cruises at this point that it's hard to imagine ever successfully cruising again. If we could just get all of our money back from the cruise lines at this point, I'd be very tempted to do that, and just fly to land based vacations. The Caribbean is easy to get to by air from Florida.

[sea-jay]

Has anyone booked any of the Penthouse cabins at the aft elevators on Deck 6 of the Splendor?  We were able to get one of the last Penthouse cabins for our Dec 23, 2022 cruise but it was on Deck 6 just above the restrooms on Deck 5.  Since Deck 5 doesn't have cabins but has lounges, cafes, etc. we were wondering if any noise from Deck 5 filtered up.  Any replies would be helpful.

[Pudgesmom]

15 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

 

I'd rather not stop in Tangiers, so that would not have been a problem for us. 

If a cruise stops exclusively in EU ports, the VAT of around 25% must be charged to all onboard purchases, which of course is not as much of an issue on Regent with many things included.  This is one reason ports like Tangiers and Gibraltar are added to western Med cruises.