Grandeur getting ready

[papaflamingo]

44 minutes ago, Jlhalldc said:

See you on board. We've added the Caribbean cruise afterwards for a B2B. 

Nice!! Wish we were staying on board.  But we have Explorer from Hong Kong to Tokyo on Feb. 21 so probably best we get home and change out our clothes. 🤣

See you on board.... drinks in hand! 🍹😎

Edited October 28, 2023 by papaflamingo

[dabear]

4 hours ago, vistaman said:

me as well   - i play trivia 

I sometimes play trivia. See you onboard!

[warmwater]

Feb 27, 2024!

[vistaman]

7 hours ago, Camillus112 said:

 

I do not, but I hope to meet you (will look you up); my DH is a wine enthusiast and you are a connoisseur.  I always follow your posts. 

last time there was a great wine lunch - what I could not do   -  cannot mix too different wines especially reds and also a Champagne lunch   - no problem with mixing different bubbles 

[Jlhalldc]

4 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

Nice!! Wish we were staying on board.  But we have Explorer from Hong Kong to Tokyo on Feb. 21 so probably best we get home and change out our clothes. 🤣

See you on board.... drinks in hand! 🍹😎

Awesome. We did Sydney to Tokyo in February/March on Explorer. You'll have an amazing time. Happy to see you'll be going to Hong Kong...it was cancelled on our trip due to increased tension in China.

[snorkle lover]

8 hours ago, kjbacon said:

January 26 and February 5 🍷🦞❤️

We are on that same cruise...can't wait!

[DeepFreeze63]

We just got our boarding passes for the inaugural on 11/18. DW commented that she intends to take "scads" of photos - on a Splendor cruise/vacation in summer she took about 4000 for consideration in her photo album; we'll learn how to post some.

[KenzSailing]

Two Regent noobs boarding Dec 21, MIA-LA.  I think I've worn out Youtube watching every RSSC video I can find.  Excitement is building. Secure in the knowledge we will have a marvelous time(we always do, that's the frame of mind we bring to every lux cruise.)

[kjbacon]

16 hours ago, snorkle lover said:

On 10/28/2023 at 7:14 AM, kjbacon said:

January 26 and February 5 🍷🦞❤️

We are on that same cruise...can't wait!

Great! Judging from your name, we are likely to be on a snorkel excursion with you.

[cruisevirgin24]

1 hour ago, kjbacon said:

Great! Judging from your name, we are likely to be on a snorkel excursion with you.

We are also on the January 26th to February 5th 2024 and will be on a snorkel excursion or two.

Restaurant reservations completed last night!

[Boats07]

20 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

Two Regent noobs boarding Dec 21, MIA-LA.  I think I've worn out Youtube watching every RSSC video I can find.  Excitement is building. Secure in the knowledge we will have a marvelous time(we always do, that's the frame of mind we bring to every lux cruise.)

See you on board!!

[the_dylaness]

Excited (and a little apprehensive, TBH, based on what I've been reading on the boards) to try Grandeur. Our first Regent cruise, Jan 8th.

 

[bitob]

We are lucky to be on 3 upcoming cruises

 

the old inaugural bcn to Mia 

then there is a 5 day break to showcase the ship to vips and travel agents. After that we board again for 7 days in Caribbean and then through the Panama Canal. 

[KenzSailing]

4 hours ago, bitob said:

We are lucky to be on 3 upcoming cruises

 

the old inaugural bcn to Mia 

then there is a 5 day break to showcase the ship to vips and travel agents. After that we board again for 7 days in Caribbean and then through the Panama Canal. 

 

Ah, I know you were most favorable with regard to your Silversea cruise(or cruises,)  Contrasting impressions will be interesting.

[vistaman]

9 hours ago, bitob said:

We are lucky to be on 3 upcoming cruises

 

the old inaugural bcn to Mia 

then there is a 5 day break to showcase the ship to vips and travel agents. After that we board again for 7 days in Caribbean and then through the Panama Canal. 

at least Regent  is separating the  TA , journalists  from paying guests  what was not the case on Explora 

[papaflamingo]

11 hours ago, the_dylaness said:

Excited (and a little apprehensive, TBH, based on what I've been reading on the boards) to try Grandeur. Our first Regent cruise, Jan 8th.

 

Why are you apprehensive? Grandeur is going to be spectacular! What have you been reading?  

[bitob]

6 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

 

Ah, I know you were most favorable with regard to your Silversea cruise(or cruises,)  Contrasting impressions will be interesting.

I have been on Splendor and Voyager -- I am also a big fan of Regent.

[the_dylaness]

2 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

Why are you apprehensive? Grandeur is going to be spectacular! What have you been reading?  

 

Probably the usual grumbles, but combined, it's enough to make you wonder... expectations track along with prices, and Regent is not inexpensive.  Hearing about deck space/chair hog issues (is this ever fixable!?), concerns about availability of meals if arriving from shore excursions mid afternoon, just little things, really.  I am thoroughly warned though of the shore excursions department which sounds abominable, really.  

 

We were able to secure spots in all of our desired excursions by being "on the ball" but I hope they are also good experiences.  There seems to be some tension about activity levels and it sounds as though some more active participants were underwhelmed by the activity levels, while participants who may have mobility concerns were pushed too far or not well accommodated.

[papaflamingo]

46 minutes ago, the_dylaness said:

 

Probably the usual grumbles, but combined, it's enough to make you wonder... expectations track along with prices, and Regent is not inexpensive.  Hearing about deck space/chair hog issues (is this ever fixable!?), concerns about availability of meals if arriving from shore excursions mid afternoon, just little things, really.  I am thoroughly warned though of the shore excursions department which sounds abominable, really.  

 

We were able to secure spots in all of our desired excursions by being "on the ball" but I hope they are also good experiences.  There seems to be some tension about activity levels and it sounds as though some more active participants were underwhelmed by the activity levels, while participants who may have mobility concerns were pushed too far or not well accommodated.

Not to worry.  If you have real expectations you'll love the cruise.  Assuming you've been on cruises on other lines, you'll definitely see the difference.  But keep these things in mind.  Food, quality of shore excursions, etc. are subjective.  I've done 84 nights on Regent, had to cancel last month for Covid (the infamous Holy Lands cruise.... "lucky Covid" for sure), are doing 10 nights in Dec. on Mariner, 16 on Grandeur in Jan. and 14 on Explorer in Asia at the end of Feb.  So clearly I like Regent.  I'll admit we've had our glitches, after all it's a ship, it's at sea, etc.  But compared to any other cruise line (I've been on around 40 cruises) Regent food has been a level way above,. the shore excursions have been about the same but less crowded, the ships have been beautiful, and the level of service has been unmatched (I have not done Seabourn or Silversea so...).  

Keep this in mind regarding shore excursions.... most are about what they advertise.  Some are outstanding, some are duds.  But Regent uses the same vendors that other cruise lines use so you can very often find reviews of the excursion if you type the title in and do a search.    As for people with mobility issues, I think I may know the "complaint" you might have read.  If so, in that case the description clearly stated that people with mobility issues are not allowed on the excursion.  The individual chose to try anyway and was turned away.  This is not Regent's rule, but the rule of the excursion provider, most likely for legal issues.  So if you have issues, then by all means abide by the description of the level of activity and you should be ok.  But honestly you'll find these issues on ANY cruise line. 

One more comment (sorry), as to cost. if you compare equal suite, full drinks, specialty restaurants, 24 hour room service, gratuities, wifi and shore excursions to one of the major lines, you will find that Regent really isn't all that more.  I did that with Royal Caribbean for our upcoming Asia cruise, and without factoring in specialty dining or shore excursions, and using a Junior Suite (with no real amenities, but I did add in Royal Caribbean air in Business Class), Regent was $2000 LESS and it was a 14 night cruise vs. Royal's 12 night cruise.  So you just never know.  😎

[the_dylaness]

Thanks for your well thought out post, @papaflamingo!

 

We are reasonably seasoned cruisers (this will be #27 for me) and have tried everything from an inside on Carnival (😵) to Crystal/SS/SB and mostly, a whole lot in between.  Our most frequent cruises have been on Celebrity because they were a nice compromise between what WE wanted and what our KIDS wanted... but I am over their nickel and diming.  

 

Yes, I think you do know what I had read about the mobility concerns and accommodations for such.  Your point is well taken; in general it does sound like Regent's shore excursion department is not their very strongest suit.

 

FWIW we are actually typically looking for very active excursions.  I know that we won't find the most active options "included" on Regent (on our Med cruise in Sept we did a lot of hiking, biking, and even some canyoneering and rappelling, if that gives you a sense of what we often look for) but we tried to choose well.

 

This cruise is to celebrate a milestone birthday which gives a little added stress to "get it right". 

 

I definitely understand your point about value as well, having taken our children on Oasis of the Seas in Star Class this past January and spending most of the trip regretting it.

 

Smooth sailing to you!

 

 

[gcorgain]

Dylaness,

 

I am a Celebrity convert and have now sailed on Explorer and Voyager. While nothing is perfect, I agree with Papaflamingo that you will see a significant step up from Celebrity. I also agree with his other feedback as well.

 

Regards,

Greg

[bitob]

I love every aspect of regent except the included excursions. IMO they are awful
 

if a port is important to us we book a private tour 

 

have low expectations 

 

my husband has mobility issues. Unless it’s an accessible tour or a panoramic bus tour people with mobility issues should not expect regent tours to be suitable 

Edited November 1, 2023 by bitob

[seasidemn]

6 hours ago, the_dylaness said:

 

Probably the usual grumbles, but combined, it's enough to make you wonder... expectations track along with prices, and Regent is not inexpensive.  Hearing about deck space/chair hog issues (is this ever fixable!?), concerns about availability of meals if arriving from shore excursions mid afternoon, just little things, really.  I am thoroughly warned though of the shore excursions department which sounds abominable, really.  

 

We were able to secure spots in all of our desired excursions by being "on the ball" but I hope they are also good experiences.  There seems to be some tension about activity levels and it sounds as though some more active participants were underwhelmed by the activity levels, while participants who may have mobility concerns were pushed too far or not well accommodated.

Omg! Are there STILL

chair 🐖? That seems Impossible that there would be  a food shortage ? We are back on in Feb,hope we're not  sorry! Thanks for the heads up!

[bitob]

There are chair hogs on every cruise line.

Silversea has some of the worst.

Same is true at luxury hotels.

[seasidemn]

Omg! I remember  that years ago! I think it's the ships responsibility to monitor.