Splendor Christmas and New Years Cruise

[mrlevin]

3 hours ago, cruiseluv said:

A headless cruise, so to speak. Doesn’t seem like a very professional way to run a cruise.

Definitely not the experience I paid good money for.

[mrlevin]

Total of two cases but both are no longer on the ship; per reception.

 

The ship's officers and crew are really trying; a few of the entertainment staff have been let out of jail with the rest coming out in three days.  Overheard that four bar staff are in isolation. Activities slowly expanding.  

Edited December 30, 2021 by mrlevin

[mrlevin]

Regent has arranged for orange, rose, fiesta, and sugar bowls to be shown.  New Year’s Eve party on pool deck 1100-1230 for all passengers.  Going to have four bar stations set up.  Sounds like it will be a great party. 

[zak477]

Thank you mrlevin for all your comments. We arrive next week, Jan 6th for a back to back on the Splendor. It’s been almost 2 yrs. since we got one of the first FCCs due to Covid. We love Regent and even with all the unusual issues & unplanned changes we still want to enjoy getting away on Regent.  Sea days on Regent are always wonderful.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[boblerm]

7 hours ago, mrlevin said:

Regent has arranged for orange, rose, fiesta, and sugar bowls to be shown.  New Year’s Eve party on pool deck 1100-1230 for all passengers.  Going to have four bar stations set up.  Sounds like it will be a great party. 

Thank you , mrlevin for your keeping us up to date on what is going on aboard the Splendor.

I hope that you have a wonderful New Year's celebration, and I wish you a very happy new year.

Bob

[labonnevie]

10 hours ago, mrlevin said:

Total of two cases but both are no longer on the ship; per reception.

 

The ship's officers and crew are really trying; a few of the entertainment staff have been let out of jail with the rest coming out in three days.  Overheard that four bar staff are in isolation. Activities slowly expanding.  

Is Regent adhering to the new CDC guidelines of 5 days of isolation vs. the previous 10?

On a Seabourn thread it appears they are staying with 10 days.

[mrlevin]

NCLH is a Bermuda company, no idea what their quarantine rules are.  Initially a large number were put into quarantine until contact tracing could be completed.  A number were let out at three days and the remainder are serving seven day sentence with frequent testing. 

[mrlevin]

Here are the SSS counts from 27 Dec Splendor.  As no party I got these from Franck.

 

530 total passengers onboard; down from supposed 660 from John prior to cruise.  Some of the decrease attributed to cancellations due to mask policy or just being concerned as well as those that might have tested positive either at home or in Miami.

 

Bronze - 76

Silver - 200

Gold - 129

Platinum - 24

Titanium - 18

Diamond -5

[BettyDol]

I was on the Dec 8th to Dec 27th Splendor cruise.  Dec 26th was the day we were informed that a crew member had tested "inconclusive" in the crew's weekly testing.  We were off the ship on Monday, Dec.  17th.  Thursday night I started feeling like I had a cold.  Tried all day Friday to find a testing kit or testing site, just in case it is not a cold.  Completely bombed on locating a test.  So, due to the timing of this (hopefully), cold, I am staying home.  Meanwhile, so far my symptoms consist of a runny nose and a mild infrequent cough. Today is Jan 1 and I already feel much better than yesterday.  I am posting this message to point out that just because one makes it safely off the ship, doesn't mean creepy Omicron can't find you!  We had a wonderful time on our Splendor cruise! 

 

 

 

 

 

[wcsdkqh]

Now it’s getting really serious.

Edited January 2, 2022 by wcsdkqh

[giustot]

Marc, I value your opinion. When you began this cruise you had no idea what was about to happen. Given what you're going through, what is your advice to people considering going ahead with their scheduled Regent cruises in January, or debating whether to reschedule?

 

Also, do you think Regent should just go ahead and suspend cruises for a month?

 

Tom.

[mrlevin]

Definitely not suspend but acknowledge subpar product and give some future credit.  Positive Cashflow is important at this time.  Apparently explorer has been very open on cases; splendor not at all.  
 

would I still go through the cruise if I had known; not at the price I paid.  My last regent cruise was supposed to go to Cuba and when that was canceled they enticed us to stay by cutting the price in half.  No acknowledgement from the splendor that they are providing a subpar product. 
 

they are trying really hard but still subpar. You made the great decision to postpone. 
 

arlene on the other hand finds this cruise fantastic; the splendor improvements over the explorer are really great. 
 

marc

[Cajuntennisgal]

Thank you for your honest opinions. We are postponing our Jan 13 Splendor cruise due to the all the unknowns. I want to keep the beautiful memories of these cruises in my mind without adding COVID issues to them.  

[gingerbread210]

What are the improvements on Splendor over Explorer?

[mrlevin]

2 minutes ago, gingerbread210 said:

What are the improvements on Splendor over Explorer?

They flipped port and starboard on Deck 5 so less going across the rear elevator lobby.  Closed off stairs to nowhere.  Improved sound dampening in Compass Rose. Opened up coffee connection and added an outdoor section. Improved sightlines in balcony of theater.  Removed booths in Prime 7.  I am sure there are many more but those were greatly noticeable to me. 

 

Still not as good to me as Mariner and Voyager as there is still no Horizon Lounge but my wife loves this ship so I am sure we will be on her many more times.

 

Marc

[RachelG]

We are still planning on boarding when you and Arlene get off, Marc, unless of course if they decide to suspend cruises for a while or if , heaven forbid, one of us tests positive.  I have been wearing my mask everywhere for the past week.  George-not so much though I get onto him when i catch him without it.

[mrlevin]

Rachel, I think you (and maybe George) will really enjoy it.  John Barron will be back and raring to go and production cast will all be out and ready to perform.  We have avoided the outbreaks like on Explorer and Mariner so things should be good.  Shops are supposed to reopen tomorrow after being closed for a number of days.

[Pcardad]

1 hour ago, mrlevin said:

Rachel, I think you (and maybe George) will really enjoy it.  John Barron will be back and raring to go and production cast will all be out and ready to perform.  We have avoided the outbreaks like on Explorer and Mariner so things should be good.  Shops are supposed to reopen tomorrow after being closed for a number of days.

Is the captain reporting daily cases?

 

Why were your shops closed?

 

When you say Splendor avoided outbreaks like on Mariner and Explorer do you know how many cases were on each ship?

[mrlevin]

Captain ain't reporting nothing; neither is GM.  Shops closed because one of their personnel was our second case.  Crew getting tested tomorrow; maybe more cases.  I am basing Explorer and Mariner only on reports made here on CC.

 

We should be back to full entertainment staff (minus CD) and full bar staff today.

 

Marc

 

PS Mask violators still walking rampant around the ship.

[kjbacon]

Explorer is reporting 28 cases but we have not been tested once since we boarded 2 weeks ago and the crew has not been tested in a week. I’d bet there’s a whole lot more than 28.

[Pcardad]

The positives for the non US citizens are going to show up today...

 

[flossie009]

2 hours ago, mrlevin said:

We have avoided the outbreaks like on Explorer and Mariner so things should be good

I do not believe anyone has reported from Mariner the number of cases.

 

[pingpong1]

2 hours ago, flossie009 said:

I do not believe anyone has reported from Mariner the number of cases.

 

Flossie is completely correct.  There have been no actual or verified reports or numbers of "cases" given for any particular number of "outbreaks" on Mariner.  We are all having a great time, and as far as anyone officially knows, there are no occurrences of Covid onboard.  Of course, this doesn't stop the "rumor factory".

 

And as I reported earlier, Andy Heath announced on the public address system this afternoon that antigen testing in San Francisco for passengers is only "required" for people going on and off the ship on Monday and Tuesday as part of organized excursions or self-guided sightseeing.

 

If/when passengers are not choosing to leave the ship before final debarkation on Wednesday morning (like myself and many others).....No Covid testing is required (per CDC guidelines).  😉

Edited January 2, 2022 by pingpong1
clarification

[fizzy]

2 hours ago, mrlevin said:

 

 

PS Mask violators still walking rampant around the ship.

I find that infuriating on several levels.

[grumpyathome]

Hi,  we are looking forward with some trepidation to joining Splendor on January 13,  hopefully.    I guess my question is how are the reports that I’m hearing that Covid is on board Splendor affecting the cruise and should I be worried?  How much has it changed the cruise experience ?  It worries me that you say there are people not following mask protocol.  Do you feel like you need to stay 6 ft + away from other passengers?  Food and service still good?  
Anything those on the ship can add to prepare future cruisers would be helpful to clarify the situation.  
Thanks and enjoy the rest of your trip, stay safe and stay healthy.

 

Grumpyathome and even Grumpier if this cruise is postponed again, original cruise date was March 12, 2020 on Explorer.