Activity Levels for excursions

[mj_holiday]

Due to a recent medical event DH and I needed to review all our excursions we had booked, to make sure we understand the activity levels with our current situation and get necessary changes made.

We initially decided on excursions based on the excursion descriptions I found through "My Account"  right where you can select and book the excursion.  For the review that we needed to do now, I also opened up the pdf version of the excursion descriptions that my TA had sent with receipt for final payment. (I have never bothered with this version since I do not like printing the pages out.  I can easily work off the "My Account" descriptions)  Here is what I found

 

The Activity Levels found in "My Account" descriptions did not always match the Activity Levels for the excursion in the pdf version. On some excursions that did not have any activity level on the "My Account" description I found in the pdf version that the activity levels were sometime "Moderate"  I had expected the two lists to match.

 

Based on a YouTube video of a previous Regent Japan cruise guest, I had a couple of my questions answered by viewing the actual excursions in their video.

 

I do understand that the activity levels are somewhat subjective but seeing an excursion rated as "Seated Tour" have buried in its description that there is moderate walking doesn't make sense.

 

So don't do as I did and rely only on the descriptions in "My Account" where you book the excursion.  You need to look at the pdf version for activity level.  Also, don't just see a seated tour and not read the additional info about the cruise, since you may need to do some moderate walking.

 

Our first couple of cruises with Regent I remember viewing in our room on TV an overview of the various excursions, I think day by day, but sometime my memory fades.  I quit watching them, since by the time I saw them I already had everything booked.  It sure would be helpful to be able to see these videos when you are getting ready to first book your excursions.

 

GOOD NEWS something good about the exercise I needed to do.  I got my list of cancelled excursions and called Regent.  I bet I wasn't on hold for 2 minutes.  As I was giving the agent the excursion to cancel, I was asked if I had one for that port to book, which was then done by the agent.  I bet I didn't spent 10 minutes with the call and got the excursions deleted and added that I needed to do.

[robbie21]

thanks for the tip on checking for YouTube videos of the excursions. 

 

We have found that some Regent excursions are wildly mislabeled as "Moderate".  Last year on one of our "Moderate" level excursions we started out with a very steep 4 block climb.  One member with a heart condition could not make it.  He said he could walk fine on level ground but did not have the cardiovascular capacity for heavy exertion. There was a delay while he recovered enough to settle into a sidewalk cafe and we went on to find that there was essentially no level ground on this excursion - all up and down some on steep streets and some on stairs.  We were all exhausted by the time we caught up with the gentleman waiting in the cafe.  This excursion should have been labeled heavy or at least noted as very hilly.  There were several other excursions that we felt were not properly described both in level of exertion and in the sights we were to see.  We were not at all happy with the Regent descriptions of some of the tours we took. 

[bitob]

If you have any limitations do not book regent tours. They are not suitable unless it’s a panoramic tour in a bus. Yuck

 

my husband has mobility issues. We book private tours to make sure we have a great experience 

 

 

[cwn]

45 minutes ago, bitob said:

If you have any limitations do not book regent tours. They are not suitable unless it’s a panoramic tour in a bus. Yuck

 

my husband has mobility issues. We book private tours to make sure we have a great experience 

 

 

That is not necessarily true. I have mobility issues and have had for the whole time Regent has had free tours. We have over 200 days on various R ships including a WC. We probably do the R tours about 70% if the time. We also do private tours or DIY if we have visited the port before. (We have cruises various lines for over 40year.) We have done some great wine and food tour and sailing tours all over the world though R and Did two great port day Safaris in Durban and New London SA. We had done self drive safaris, private guide safaris, safari camps in three countries …of course they were better, but the day safaris provided by R were full if great animal  viewing also. My husband can walk and stand and climb steps with no problem, so if there is a tour (a city walk)  with things I can’t do I sit on the bus and read or find a cafe I can wait for that part of the tour. The D Staff is always willing to help with this.

Just like the free air you need to do your homework,,,read about where you are going and places you might like to see so you know the lay of the land then read all tour descriptions as they usually mention standing, walking and steps most of the time including time in the bus also including the print out you get when you get in the ship as it is more up to date. If you do have issues you should also talk over the tours you are planning with the D staff. They have been a good guide when I wasn’t sure I could do the tour.

[2012_Alaska_bound]

This the first cruise I have needed to really pay attention to activity levels. 14 day Med cruise to Greece, Turkey and Italy.

When we boarded and got the updated excursion descriptions, most excursions had increased in activity level. We think it is due to the amount of cobblestones in this area. Unfortunately, cobblestones are not my friends nowadays! 

Very few "easy" excursions or even "moderate". Since I walk so slowly I've had to cancel any marked "strenuous". Just don't want my fellow passengers always waiting for me to catch up.

Found that just because it is labeled "panorama" does not mean there isn't walking or stairs involved.

Going forward I will try looking things up on YouTube! 

[bitob]

6 hours ago, cwn said:

That is not necessarily true. I have mobility issues and have had for the whole time Regent has had free tours. We have over 200 days on various R ships including a WC. We probably do the R tours about 70% if the time. We also do private tours or DIY if we have visited the port before. (We have cruises various lines for over 40year.) We have done some great wine and food tour and sailing tours all over the world though R and Did two great port day Safaris in Durban and New London SA. We had done self drive safaris, private guide safaris, safari camps in three countries …of course they were better, but the day safaris provided by R were full if great animal  viewing also. My husband can walk and stand and climb steps with no problem, so if there is a tour (a city walk)  with things I can’t do I sit on the bus and read or find a cafe I can wait for that part of the tour. The D Staff is always willing to help with this.

Just like the free air you need to do your homework,,,read about where you are going and places you might like to see so you know the lay of the land then read all tour descriptions as they usually mention standing, walking and steps most of the time including time in the bus also including the print out you get when you get in the ship as it is more up to date. If you do have issues you should also talk over the tours you are planning with the D staff. They have been a good guide when I wasn’t sure I could do the tour.

Our experience has been quite different. 

[labonnevie]

I will add one more to the list of tours on My Account and the tour descriptions on the pdf with all the tours. In your cabin once you board you will find still another list of tour descriptions. We have found this one to be the most accurate of all. We have changed our tours based on the descriptions found in this listing. 

[bitob]

My TA put me in touch with someone at Regent to discuss the activity level of tours.  He unfortunately is no longer with the company and has not been replaced.  Even the destinations staff does not always have the correct information.

 

If we want to ensure a great trip, we just book our own tours as we would on most other cruise lines.

We really have never taken ship tours as we do not like big groups and busses.  We like to choose our guide and our precise itinerary, decide how long we will stay in a particular place, stop to eat, get to know the guide  The fact that Regent includes the tours is of no moment.  We do the same thing on Silversea where tours are included.  It is more work and more expensive but worth it IMO.

[NanJ0508]

bitob, can you share more information about how you book your own excursions, please? 

[bitob]

18 hours ago, NanJ0508 said:

bitob, can you share more information about how you book your own excursions, please? 

It is way too complicated to explain in post on cc. I am happy to help you when I get home if you will give me your email. Then we can exchange phone numbers. 

[NanJ0508]

Yes, I thought that might be the case. Thank you for the help!

 

No rush on this - we are choosing a cruise for 2024 because we had to cancel a scheduled cruise the night before we were to leave on December 1. ☹️

san05080509@gmail.com

[bitob]

On 12/17/2023 at 2:11 AM, NanJ0508 said:

Yes, I thought that might be the case. Thank you for the help!

 

No rush on this - we are choosing a cruise for 2024 because we had to cancel a scheduled cruise the night before we were to leave on December 1. ☹️

san05080509@gmail.com

I will contact you when I get home. I’m on board until early January 

[lovetosew]

As I read the comets I realize I will need my collapsible hurry cane and a small medical kit of ace bandages and pain pills in case of a twisted ankle.  Looking forward to it all.    

[pappy1022]

My experience with Regent tours is that they will range from poor to good but they will never be as good as a private tour. You just never know until you go on the tour what you will get because there is no feedback or rating process for these tours. Sometimes you will get comments on this chat board but not very often. Private guides are more expensive but if you can get 1 or 2 more couples to join in then it becomes reasonable. I wish, and I said this on my Regent survey I just received, that Regent would provide a credit for ship tours not taken. I think many people, myself included, feel as if we should take the Regent tours because we have paid for them. A majority of the time I do take the Regent tour but I sprinkle them in with private tours in places that I really feel I want  a more immersive experience. 

[Lonedaddy]

I was surprised to see a tour on regent that is charging $170/pp in Wavis Bay is the same price or cheaper on get your guide or viator.   It is the sandwich harbor tour.  I'm sure they use the same operators and all the descriptions are similar (some include lunch, regents tour does not specify.)  I thought they gave a discount on the tour or include it if it is $149 or less.  This tour I am looking at should be a $21-$40 upcharge.  

[Mahogany]

On 1/18/2024 at 10:21 AM, Lonedaddy said:

I was surprised to see a tour on regent that is charging $170/pp in Wavis Bay is the same price or cheaper on get your guide or viator.   It is the sandwich harbor tour.  I'm sure they use the same operators and all the descriptions are similar (some include lunch, regents tour does not specify.)  I thought they gave a discount on the tour or include it if it is $149 or less.  This tour I am looking at should be a $21-$40 upcharge.  

Have you seen it printed somewhere that there is a discount or included if more than $149. News to me, but anything's possible. 

[Lonedaddy]

3 minutes ago, Mahogany said:

Have you seen it printed somewhere that there is a discount or included if more than $149. News to me, but anything's possible. 

Just a general trend I have observed - I don't recall where I saw the pricing but I think I compared the same tour on Regent Oceania and NCL might even be as high as $169 included.