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Tips & Orientation on Regent

wishIweretravelling
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wishIweretravelling "Live from...." Rare

wishIweretravelling

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I posted this some time back, but in a lousy format. And I have since been on a couple more post-shutdown Regent cruises, so have some updates and additions to is. So, at risk of repetition, am posting it again. After 25 years of sailing on Regent (as well as some other lines, but mostly Regent), and traveling with a friend who has been sailing this line for all of its 30 years, we've picked up a few tricks & pointers on the way. Nerd that I am, I've written them down, and share them here.

 

Caveat: I've never sailed in a named cabin. It's always the regular (concierge and below, with a couple of ventures into penthouse), so that's the perspective from which this is written.

 

Feel free to argue, correct, add, question ,etc.

 

REGENT CRUISE ORIENTATION & TIPS

 

Cabin Selection

 

-On most or all of the ships:

 

            -Concierge suites are identical to Deluxe Balcony (on Voyager, Mariner, and Navigator) or Superior Suites (on the other, newer ships), with perhaps slight differences in balcony size. The differences are the amenities that come with the cabin, like an included hotel night stay and a coffee maker in the room. (However, if you book or upgrade to concierge close to the sailing date, the hotel night is generally not included.) To many, the biggest advantage of a Concierge level is earlier access to booking excursions (365 days as opposed to 300 days) and specialty dining (75 days as opposed to 90 days). However, those at the Silver level  (21+ nights) or above in the loyalty program already get this earlier access.

 

            -Beware deck 10, specifically those cabins under the pool deck. Lots of morning and evening noise over your head as chairs and tables get shifted around to start/end the day. Many of these cabins are upgraded categories like penthouse or concierge, so if you get offered an inexpensive (or free) upgrade to a level that is on deck 10, make sure it’s not an under-pool suite unless you don’t mind that shuffling noise.

 

-Carefully consider if you want to be on the lowest passenger deck, particularly on cruises with a lot of sea days. In rough waters and when sailing on open seas, the balconies there can get a good bit of sea spray and some occasional wash. Also, the further forward you are on this deck, the louder the noise of the anchor raising and lowering in tender ports. That being said, the smaller size of the older ships, particularly Navigator, means they don’t need to tender that often.

 

            -Cabins all the way forward, with forward-facing balconies, may be required to keep their balcony lights off and their forward curtains closed at night if they are below the navigation bridge, as the lights can interfere with visibility the bridge. Check on this before booking such a cabin unless you won’t mind this limitation. Also, forward-facing balconies may be subject to strong winds when at sail.

 

-Specific to Mariner:

 

            -Avoid bathtub-only cabins if you are tall, short, have mobility issues, or problems with knee or hip flexibility. The bathtubs are raised, making them hard to get into and out of for people who are short or have mobility or flexibility problems. They are awkwardly set next to the sink, so that the trick of sitting on the edge and swinging your feet around doesn’t work because the sink is in the way. For tall people, the shower head is at the standard height despite the raised tub, meaning you have to squat to get fully under the shower. Opt instead for a shower-only bathroom. The showers are quite large, because they are placed in the footprint of what used to be a bathtub. 

 

-Specific to Navigator:

 

            -This ship has a notorious vibration in the aft cabins, which is most pronounced when entering or leaving port and on the higher decks. Some people actually like the vibration (free “magic fingers” for your bed), but most do not. 

 

            -Deck 6 is a favorite location for many people because it is convenient to many of the popular venues on the ship yet the hallway where the cabins are located is quiet. All the cabins on this deck are forward. However, do be aware of the deck 5 and 6 concerns in the “all or most ships” items above. 

 

Know Before You Cruise/Packing

 

            -Have a special need or request? Ask for it in advance. There’s no guarantee you’ll get it, but you stand a better chance with advance notice. If you ask for it when you’re already on board, if it isn’t on the ship, you definitely won’t get it unless they can procure it at one of the ports. Examples are particular beverages or food items or kettles for tea-making.  

 

            -Regent ships are set up with primarily American tastes and preferences in mind. So, imperial rather than metric measures are usually referenced, temperatures are given first in fahrenheit, and tea kettles are not standard in cabins. 

 

            -Electric outlets are sparse, particularly on the three older ships (Navigator, Voyager, and Mariner), and can be well-hidden on the new ships (Splendor, Explorer--look around and under the nightstands). Each cabin has some outlets that are U.S. style and some that are European. U.K.-style outlets are rare. To maximize outlets, bring a universal converter and/or a power strip (but NOT one with surge protection) or multi-outlet plug or charging port.

 

            -Only the newer ships have USB ports (unless some have been added to the older ships in dry dock). To my knowledge, none have “C” wire ports.

 

            -The only outlet in most if not all of the bathrooms is a razor plug that cannot handle anything more powerful than a razor. A decent hairdryer is provided, but must be used in the sitting or bedroom area and not the bathroom.

 

            -Each cabin is entitled to at least 2 bottles of alcoholic beverages at the start of the cruise, and will be replenished throughout as needed. In suites with butlers, you can make your request via an online form prior to boarding. In other suites, you can ask your room steward once aboard (you can have your travel agent make the request beforehand, but that’s hit-or-miss). Your steward will hand you a list of the bottles offered, but you can ask for something different, and usually it will be provided if they have it on board and it is one of the included brands served at the bars. 

 

-What clothes to pack? Dress code is Elegant Casual after 6:00 pm everywhere except the pool grill/bar. And of course your cabin. Basically, this means no jeans or shorts or scruffy t-shirts. Collared shirts are required for the men (polo shirts are OK—they have collars).  Cruises of 16+ nights have a formal optional night. Which means that, if you want, this is the time to pull out your gowns, suits or tuxes. If not, the elegant casual reigns. I rarely see true formal attire, but some do wear it. Go with what suits you, as long as it meets at least the minimum requirements. During the day, wear whatever won’t get you arrested.

 

Boarding

 

-While there’s no tipping expected on board, if you hand your luggage to a stevedore at the dock, a tip is expected then. The stevedores are not Regent employees. However, if you are using Regent’s transfer via bus, usually the transport takes care of handing off the luggage, so you won’t have any opportunity to tip since you won’t interact with the stevedore.

 

-Regent now does on-line check-in, but there’s still a final, abbreviated, process at boarding. Depending on the port, you’ll either do the final check-in at the terminal or on the ship. If it’s done on the ship, it may take place at some tables near where you enter or they might send you the theater to do it. 

 

-There is no longer an in-person lifeboat drill (aka muster). Instead, you view a video when you do online check-in. Then, when you get to the ship you need to visit your muster station and get your name checked off. Do it right away, so you can get that out of the way. It takes a few seconds. Sometimes, if the check-in is in the theater, that is the muster station and you can check in as you leave the theater. Once you get to your cabin, you need to watch the safety video. You won’t be able to use the TV for anything else until you do. 

 

-On most cruises, your cabin won’t be available until sometime in the 2:00-3:00 range. They will announce when cabins are available. In the meantime, usually you can get lunch on an upper deck in La Veranda or the Pool Grill. (On rare occasion, Compass Rose , on a lower deck, is open on embarkation day instead of La Veranda.) La Veranda generally closes around 1:30 or 2:00, though might be kept open a bit longer on embarkation day. The Pool Grill usually is open until 4:00. For beef eaters, the carving station usually has prime rib on embarkation day. You can also get a snack at the Coffee Connection at any time during the day.

 

-Your bags might be waiting for you when you get to your cabin. Sometimes they are delayed if there’s a lot of luggage or slow baggage handling on the dock. If your bags aren’t there when you get into the cabin, they should arrive shortly thereafter.

 

-Not long after you get to the room, your steward will come by to introduce him/herself and give you the rundown. S/he may take special requests at this time, or come back for them later. Things like what drinks you want/don’t want in the refrigerator and what two bottles of alcohol you want in the room are the usual items for requesting. 

 

-Upon arriving in your cabin, check that your bed configuration is what you requested (i.e., twin or California king) and that any other special requests are in place. If something is wrong or missing, mention it to your steward. It usually will be fixed by evening at the latest.

 

-Your excursion tickets should be waiting for you in your cabin, or will be delivered shortly after you get there. Review them carefully, and talk to Destination Services if anything is wrong or you want to make any changes. One of the few times you’ll see lines on Regent is at Destination Services on embarkation day. Unless your issue is immediate (like an excursion the next day or two), hold off until later when the lines are smaller or gone.

 

Dining

 

-Opening hours for all the restaurants and bars are listed on the back page of Passages, the daily newsletter.

 

-When dining in La Veranda (the buffet restaurant) or the Pool Grill, get your table first. (I know, this is considered rude on some other cruise lines. On Regent, it’s expected.) Claim your table by moving the napkin to the back of the chair and putting something on the table (I usually use the folder with my room key if nothing else is at hand). Note the table number, because you’ll want to give that to the person taking orders when you order anything freshly-made, so they know where to deliver it (no, you do not need to stand around and wait for it). That being said, I’ve found that the waiters rarely have a problem finding me if I forget to get my table number, as long as I can tell them what side of the restaurant I’m on.

 

-If, like me, you dislike the coffee they bring around in the dining rooms (and through room service), ask for a Café Americano or something like a latte to get barista-style coffee. On Explorer or Splendor, you can also get a French press in Coffee Connection or through room service if they have enough available.

 

-The orange juice that they bring around at breakfast is packaged. You can get fresh squeezed if you ask for it.

 

-The best omelets are from the omelet station in La Veranda. The ones from Compass Rose (the main dining room) or room service can sometimes be a little rubbery by the time they get to you, due to internal cooking as they make their way from the galley.

 

-Breakfast venues are La Veranda (the buffet restaurant), Compass Rose (the main dining room), the Coffee Connection (continental breakfast), and the Pool Grill (limited, “healthy” selections, but a good place for smoothies). If you want a peaceful, low-key breakfast, go to Compass Rose. But be aware the pace is often slow, so it may not be a good choice if you have an early excursion.

 

-On Sundays, caviar is served with breakfast in both Compass Rose and La Veranda. You can also request it from room service. If a sea day falls on a Sunday, a lavish buffet brunch may be presented in Compass Rose, usually starting around 11:00, on Explorer and Splendor. It also has been known to turn up on the other ships as well, but not as consistently. Alas, this had been suspended during Covid, but as of this writing, reports are that is has started to re-appear. 

 

-On Saturdays, there is a build-your-own Bloody Mary stand in La Veranda at breakfast.

 

-If you use the hang tag to order room service breakfast, you can write onto it anything you don’t see listed that you think they have on the ship. This includes the better coffees and fresh-squeezed juice mentioned above.

 

-Room service often does not bring the little things you’d think would be automatic, like butter for your toast or cream for your coffee. So do remember to explicitly include these items in your order.

 

-Available lunch venues vary by ship and by whether it is a port or sea day. On all ships, La Veranda is always open for lunch, as is the Pool Grill. They are near each other, so you can get your food in one and sit in the other if you’d like. On sea days on Splendor and Explorer (and presumably Grandeur), Prime 7 and Chartreuse usually are both open for lunch. On port days, one or the other is usually open. On Voyager, Mariner and Navigator, Compass Rose is usually open for lunch on both port and sea days. You can also do room service or pick up something light in Coffee Connection. 

 

-Between meal venue open times, you can get snacks from room service or Coffee Connection. The ice cream bar is usually open (and the ice cream is made on the ship!), and there’s usually cookies to be found in various locations. Then there’s tea time in mid/late afternoon. And, during the pre-dinner hour, waiters circulate in the bars, offering salty snacks and hors d’hoeuvres.

 

-Dinner venues that don’t require reservations are Compass Rose and Sette Mari (the Italian restaurant that is La Veranda during the day). Compass Rose’s menu has one page that contains an extensive list of a la carte items that are available every day, including items that most diners would consider a treat (e.g., escargot, foie gras, lobster tail, Dover sole, etc.) and a page of daily specials. 

 

-Seating in Compass Rose and Sette Mari is open. You just go in whenever you want during open times, and indicate whether you want to be seated with others or alone (or with a group you’ve already formed). Sitting with unknown people can be fun, and gives you a chance to get to know more people. Regent seems to have this down, so that you don’t have to wait a long time for a table to form and everyone is being served at the same pace. There’s usually no wait, or at worst a very short wait, for a table in Compass Rose. Sette Mari can be a little harder to snag a table quickly, since it uses only one side of La Veranda.

 

-All other alternative restaurants require a reservation. They are Prime 7 on all ships, Chartreuse on all ships except Navigator, and Pacific Rim on Explorer and Splendor (and soon to be Grandeur) only. You can make one reservation per venue ahead of time online. Once on the ship, you can get additional reservations if available by going to the dining reservations desk. Your chances on getting another reservation and/or getting an in-demand dining hour are increased if you indicate you are willing to share a table. 

 

-If you know at the time of making your online dining reservations that you want to share a table with specific people, you can make the reservation for yourself and those other people online, as long as you have their cabin number and booking number. That reservation will, however, count toward their pre-cruise reservation limit.

 

-The default setting for on-line dining reservations is to not share a table. If you prefer to share a table, you’ll need to click the appropriate box. Often, the more popular times are sold out for 2-tops, so if you don’t see a time you want, change it to share-a-table and more times will likely appear.

 

-Early in the cruise--often the first sea day--there is usually a wine tasting that features a fairly extensive selection of the included wines that will be poured in the dining rooms during the cruise. If nothing else, it can give you an idea of what wines to request if you don’t care for what’s being featured that evening. It’s usually held around 10:00 am. Yes, you read that time right.  The head sommelier on a recent cruise claimed that this is because the palate is at its cleanest in the morning, so you get the best sense of the wine. Or something like that.

 

-Many cruises offer a lunch at which premium wines or champagnes are paired with each course of the meal, as the head sommelier explains the qualities of each pour. And, yes, they will re-fill your glass if you want, but keep in mind that you will be drinking at least 5 different wines. These lunches cost extra (in the $170 neighborhood), but on-board credits can be applied to them.   These lunches are not usually widely publicized, since they try to keep the numbers limited. They are often mentioned at the wine tasting described above, and you can sign up there. Otherwise, just ask a sommelier about it--the earlier in the cruise the better. 

 

-If you don’t care for the wine being poured with dinner, you can ask for any other included wine. Or, if you want to pay extra, a wine from the premium list.

 

Entertainment & Activities

 

-Most evenings, there is a 9:30 show in the Constellation theater. It might be a revue presented by the on-board troupe or a headliner such as a comedian, magician, singer, instrumentalist, or other such talent. It generally runs about 45 minutes. Every so often there will be a movie shown instead of a live show. 

 

-At times, local talents from the port will come on board to present a show--usually cultural in nature. The times for these will vary depending on the ship’s schedule in port.

 

-Toward the end of the cruise, usually on the last or second-to-last night, the crew will present a show called Krew Kapers. It’s usually at 6:00 or 6:30, and is followed by a farewell to and from the crew as a whole. It’s quite entertaining and fun the see the people who have served you so well show off their talents. It generally runs about 30 minutes.

 

 -There is also evening entertainment in the lounges, and it can vary as to which lounge hosts what. Usually, a pianist will play at a venue before and after dinner, a duo or small band will entertain somewhere (with dancing encourage), and the Regent Orchestra will play for dancing before and/or after the show (they usually are onstage accompaniment during the show). There also may be karaoke or a disco later in the evening, Liars Club, or a themed dance party.

 

-On Explorer and Splendor (and presumably Grandeur), the Meridian Lounge features an extensive craft cocktail menu. Only a limited array of these cocktails is available in the other lounges.

 

-Other entertainment ceases during the show in the Constellation Theater, and resumes after the show.

 

-During the day, particularly sea days or other periods when a number of passengers can be expected to be onboard, there will be other activities. There’s almost always a destination lecturer who will talk about the history, culture, geography, etc. of the regions and ports being visited. There may be other lecturers as well. The officers will often challenge the passengers to deck game competitions. There also might be an afternoon movie in the theater, or bingo, or some other such pursuit.

 

-Every morning you can pick up a crossword, sudoku, and mensa quiz to challenge yourself. And, each afternoon is a team trivia event. Mensa answers are given at this time too.

 

-Instead of prizes for trivia, mensa, and games, winners are given points that they can then redeem toward the end of the cruise for their choice of prizes like hats, t-shirts, bookmarks, etc. How nice the prize depends on how many points accumulated. Watch Passages for the announcement of when and where the prize redemption takes place. This is one of the few times you will see a line on Regent, since the best prizes go first, so line up early to get your pick of the best.

 

-There usually is a Captain’s Welcome Aboard and Captain’s Farewell party on each cruise, as well as a party for Seven Seas Society members. There are usually special items on the Compass Rose menu on these evenings. There is also usually a special event for the Society members at the levels of Gold and above on each sailing.

 

-On usually the second or third evening aboard, Regent holds a block party. At the sound of the gong--usually around 6:00 pm--you are asked to grab a wine glass from your cabin and step out into the hallway. Stewards will then come around with wine and snacks, and you can then introduce yourself to your neighbors. A group of senior officers will come racing through to meet everyone. Alas, this has been suspended during Covid, but it’s a favorite tradition that many of us hope to see return soon.

 

 

 

Excursions

 

-You can book excursions in advance online. Most are included, but some have an upcharge. These are called “Regent Choice.” You can use onboard credits (OBCs) for them. Do not assume that the Regent Choice excursions are better than the included ones. This is not always the case. They are usually longer, involve some element that costs Regent more than the average to add them in, or are unusual enough that the cruise line must pay a premium to offer them.

 

-One type of Regent Choice excursion is the small group (SG) tour. The upcharges for these generally range from $49 to $99.   If the tour is mostly on a bus, or involves a lot of free time, a small group is probably not worthwhile. Regent usually doesn’t completely fill a bus, and rarely puts more than 30 people on a given tour, unless it’s a port with limited infrastructure. Where the small group can be worthwhile is on walking tours or when going to a small or crowded site.

 

-Excursions may be cancelled if not enough people sign up to make them worth running, the operator can’t get the staff for it (an increasingly common occurrence in the emergence-from-covid environment), or if conditions like weather make them unsafe.

 

-When you are able to book excursions online depends on the type of cabin you have and your loyalty program status. The earliest is one year in advance. If a tour is sold out, you can request to be put on a wait list, and then book an alternative. If the wait list clears, you will automatically be moved to your waitlisted excursion. Select the waitlist before you select your alternative. If you do it the other way around, you may be blocked from selecting the waitlisted tour because of a time conflict.

 

-Excursion waitlists do clear most of the time. Either someone drops out, or they add more groups. So don’t be discouraged if you find something waitlisted--you’ll likely still get it. The one exception is the extremely popular sites to which Regent can only get a limited number of tickets for a given day. Examples are Alhambra in Granada or the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

 

-You can select more than one excursion in a day, provided there are at least 75 minutes between the end of one and the beginning of the next. Sometimes the online system still won’t let you book the second one even though they are further apart in time. When this happens, call Regent during normal business hours, and they will override the problem for you.

 

-The online excursion booking process is, at the time of this writing, excruciatingly slow (though this has improved somewhat), full of bugs, and counter-intuitive at some steps. This is being worked on, but it is not clear when it will be fixed. In the meantime, if you find the process too frustrating, you can call Regent and have them book the excursions for you. They usually will ask for a written list that gives name/date of port, name and tour number of excursion, and time you want if there are multiple times. You also will need to give your booking number and the name(s) of the person(s) wanting the tour.

 

-Excursions usually meet in the theater, though sometimes (primarily in the afternoon) on the pier. The ticket that was delivered to your room should tell you where to meet and at what time. Get there a few minutes early. If it’s an on-ship meeting place, someone from Destination Services will start calling specific tours. When your tour is called, you swap your ticket for a bus or group number, then proceed ashore to find that bus or group. If you want to be in the same tour group as someone else or as several people, have one person turn in the tickets for everyone who wants to be together, and ask for the same bus/group for all. If your tour is meeting on the pier, that usually means that you’ll be meeting your tour guide directly, and you’ll just give your ticket directly to him or her.

 

-If you are really anxious to get on a certain excursion, and have not been called from the waiting list, go to the meeting place for the tour and let the Destinations Services people know you are standing by to take the place of any no-shows. This is mostly likely to work on included tours--people frequently just don’t show up when there’s no monetary penalty. On Regent Choice excursions, the more expensive the tour the less likely it will have last-minute no-shows.

 

-You can swap tour tickets with someone else. No one checks that your identity matches the person on the ticket.

 

-Many excursions have free time after the guided tour. Make sure you know the meeting place at the end and that you get there on time. In many cases, they simply cannot wait for you more than 10-15 minutes, so you could get left behind.

 

-The tour descriptions usually do a pretty good job of describing any physical challenges that may be presented. If you have any doubts about your ability to meet those challenges, talk to someone in Destination Services. If it’s a place you really want to see but, for example, the tour involves climbing a lot of steps, you might want to ask if those steps are all at once, or a few here and a few there. Or you could ask if you’d be able to sit out the climb and meet the tour again when they get back down. Don’t just assume the tour group will come back to the starting point--they often don’t.

 

-If you plan not to return to the ship with the tour, please tell the guide so s/he is not frantically looking for you at the end.

 

-While tips are included in your fare on Regent, the tours are independent contractors and thus tipping is usually expected for the guides and drivers. If you don’t have local currency, and you are in a place where the currency you have (such as US dollars or euros) is not happily welcomed, please increase your tip amount accordingly since you are shifting the cost and burden of currency exchange onto the guide and driver.

 

Odds & Ends

 

-If you own at least 100 shares of NCLH stock, you can get an extra onboard credit (OBC) of $100-$250 per cabin (depending on the length of the cruise). You do need to submit a form with proof of the stock ownership prior to the cruise to get it. You can do this directly to Regent or through your travel agent. At least 30 days ahead is recommended, but you might want to do it earlier in order to use it for items you can advance book that the credit can be used for.

 

- Hands-on cooking classes are offered on Splendor and Explorer (and soon to be Grandeur), but do cost extra. You can book these online prior to the cruise, but they do tend to sell out quickly, so keep an eye open for when the bookings are made available. You can use OBCs for these. These had been suspended during Covid, but appear to be re-starting. In the meantime, they have been offering demonstrations at no charge, though you do still have to sign up for them.

 

-The TV in your cabin is your friend. In addition to the handful of television stations that the satellite might or might not pick up, there is a substantial listing of movies to watch on-demand, and a good many functions operated from it. You can review your account. You can look at the menus for that day for each of the restaurants. You can watch recordings of the lectures if you missed them during the day. A continuous loop of excursion descriptions for the next few ports is on one channel. A webcam from the bow of the ship gives you the Captain’s view. You can catch the morning show presented by the Cruise Director, shown through the day on a continuous loop. You can tune to a channel that gives you information like the temperature and ship’s heading. 

 

-Very few announcements are broadcast into the cabins. They can, however, be heard on the decks, in the halls, and via the view from the bridge channel on the television. Announcements are kept to a minimum--you won’t get a constant barrage of “Bingo starts in 10 minutes” or that sort of thing. You might, however, hear about a whale breaching off the starboard bow or some other unexpected thing that the Captain or Cruise Director thinks passengers might want to know. 

 

-On sea days, the Captain makes a noon announcement on, well, whatever the Captain wants to talk about that day--usually something informative like where the ship is, where it is headed, and how fast it is going. One Captain likes, for some odd reason, to inform us of the water temperature in the jacuzzis.

 

-Wifi has four speeds: okay, slow, miserably slow, and ground to a halt. Which it is depends on where the ship is located, how many people are on at a time, where on the ship you are located, and whether the internet goddess Helga is in a good mood that day. Streaming anything is out of the question. Things like uploading photos or (heaven forbid!) videos  or downloading documents are unlikely. It’s good for only the most basic functions, like email. 

 

-One place on the ship where tips are not included is the spa/salon. The operator will add an 18% service charge on top of the listed price. While, for the most part, there is little in-your-face sales pressure on the ship, the current spa operator seems exempt from this approach. They WILL try to sell you products most of the time.

 

-When leaving or returning to the ship from on shore, you will need, on at least Explorer and Mariner, to put your face up to a facial recognition scanner.  As of this writing, you still need to swipe your key card instead on Navigator. I have not been on Splendor or Voyager recently, so am not certain which process is used on them, but am guessing that Splendor at least uses the facial recognition.

 

-Splendor and Explorer (and soon Grandeur) utilize the mechanism for lights in the cabin that you see in newer hotels, whereby there is a slot next to the door where you must insert a card for the lights, TV, etc. to work. While the idea is to use your key card, this isn’t practical where there are 2 people in the cabin and the one whose key card is in the slot wants to leave. So many people use some other card, or even the little pocket ship map that comes in the folder with your key card.

 

-If you lose your key card (or lock it in your cabin), the front desk can make you a new one in a matter of seconds.

 

-You don’t know if you don’t ask. There’s someone on the ship who may be able to fix something you brought with you that is broken. I’ve had a suitcase handle and a sandal fixed by the mysterious “carpentry department.” Check with your steward, butler if you have one, the front desk, or the executive concierge.

 

- Cabins on the port (left when facing forward) side are even numbered.  A trick to remember this is that the words port, even, and left all have 4 letters. The right side of the ship (when facing forward) is starboard, and the cabins on that side are odd numbered. To remember, none of the words starboard, right, or odd have 4 letters.

 

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ssawjo

ssawjo

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Thank you very much for your summary.  We will be on our first Regent cruise in November on Voyager.

 

Question:  We both use CPAP machines.  Should/can we order distilled water ahead of time via our travel agent or just ask our steward for a gallon or two when we get onboard?

 

Thank you.

 

Bill and Kathi

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wishIweretravelling "Live from...." Rare

wishIweretravelling

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2 hours ago, ssawjo said:

Thank you very much for your summary.  We will be on our first Regent cruise in November on Voyager.

 

Question:  We both use CPAP machines.  Should/can we order distilled water ahead of time via our travel agent or just ask our steward for a gallon or two when we get onboard?

 

Thank you.

 

Bill and Kathi

Ask for it in advance. While there likely is some onboard, why take the chance?

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ssawjo

ssawjo

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2 hours ago, Brownie54 said:

Yes, you can get distilled water for your CPAP, but definitely ask for it in advance by contacting specialrequests@rssc.com. Include your booking number.

Will do so this week, thanks for the email address.

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shealan

shealan

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Looking forward to our first cruise with Regent in September.  Besides room service, is there anyplace to have a snack before bedtime while enjoying some music or entertainment?  Hoping for something like a pastry or cookies.  Thank you for any info.

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asnaleah "Live from...." Rare

asnaleah

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7 hours ago, ssawjo said:

Will do so this week, thanks for the email address.

Also inquire about the outlet situation. We are on Voyager and the bedside outlet is European. I brought a converter with me, but maybe the ship can provide one (or two) if you ask in advance.

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MarcyLondon

MarcyLondon

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11 hours ago, asnaleah said:

Also inquire about the outlet situation. We are on Voyager and the bedside outlet is European. I brought a converter with me, but maybe the ship can provide one (or two) if you ask in advance.

Surprised it being European. But will check if mine with 4 outlets is European or American

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pingpong1

pingpong1

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11 hours ago, asnaleah said:

Also inquire about the outlet situation. We are on Voyager and the bedside outlet is European. I brought a converter with me, but maybe the ship can provide one (or two) if you ask in advance.

Asnaleah - Just to clarify...are you talking about needing a "converter" or an "adapter"?  A "converter" actually changes the voltage from European 240V 50Hz down to U.S. 120V (and still remains 50Hz if that's what's coming out of the wall to begin with).  On the other hand...An "adapter" just lets you plug a U.S. (Canadian) plug into a European receptacle/outlet.

 

Many/most devices that you would (today) need next to your bedside table (like a CPAP/BiPAP) are internally built to run on either U.S. or European voltage (120 or 240).  The voltage conversion is automatically done inside the device itself.  So all you really need is a plug adapter.

 

A whole "other problem" is that the older ships (Navigator and Voyage) don't have the multiple different-sized receptacles (outlets - U.S./Canadian and European)) at the bedside table.  If an adapted isn't available it sometimes necessitates the need for a long extension cord to reach from across the room over to the bedside.

 

One of those "first world problems" encountered while sailing on a luxury cruise...but it's certainly an actual "real world" problem to cope with for those of us that need to sleep with a functioning CPAP/BiPap at night.  Regards.

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asnaleah "Live from...." Rare

asnaleah

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13 hours ago, pingpong1 said:

Asnaleah - Just to clarify...are you talking about needing a "converter" or an "adapter"?  A "converter" actually changes the voltage from European 240V 50Hz down to U.S. 120V (and still remains 50Hz if that's what's coming out of the wall to begin with).  On the other hand...An "adapter" just lets you plug a U.S. (Canadian) plug into a European receptacle/outlet.

 

Many/most devices that you would (today) need next to your bedside table (like a CPAP/BiPAP) are internally built to run on either U.S. or European voltage (120 or 240).  The voltage conversion is automatically done inside the device itself.  So all you really need is a plug adapter.

 

A whole "other problem" is that the older ships (Navigator and Voyage) don't have the multiple different-sized receptacles (outlets - U.S./Canadian and European)) at the bedside table.  If an adapted isn't available it sometimes necessitates the need for a long extension cord to reach from across the room over to the bedside.

 

One of those "first world problems" encountered while sailing on a luxury cruise...but it's certainly an actual "real world" problem to cope with for those of us that need to sleep with a functioning CPAP/BiPap at night.  Regards.

Thank you for the clarification. I brought both items with me due to an unknown situation for our pre cruise stay. Yes, on board Voyager, an adapter is all I am using. If the WiFi were a touch stronger, I would post a photo.

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cwn

cwn

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Yes but rarely. We have aged out of diving now, but I have seen it offered at a fee. But if you are a serious diver making your own arrangements directly with the operator is a much better experience….. usually.

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