makai 7

We experienced a similar situation with Holland America back in 2014. The ship was not permitted to enter the port in Barcelona due to wind conditions. We all were sitting in the port area for about 5 hours with very little communication. Eventually they provided sandwiches and water. Later we were told to collect our luggage, and assigned to buses to a hotel for the night. The people in line in front of us at check in were given the last room. We, and the people behind us were told “sorry, there are no more rooms”. No representative for HAL to speak with. We persuaded one of the bus drivers to call the local ship representative, and another hour later we were taken to another hotel, checking in about 7pm. it was frustrating, exhausting, and wasted a day we could have enjoyed in Barcelona (we had our own hotel and transport to the port prior to the cancelled embarkation). The next day we were taken back to the port. No idea how they handled all the passengers who missed their flights. Very little compensation for the missed day, and we lost one stop in the Azores also. Their attitude was, well we paid for your hotel and dinner…. At least we knew the cause for the delay.

We did not get these in January for the February 28 cruise, so it is definitely brand new! We received the paper folder only, with the pre printed tags for the cabin, nothing else. enjoy!

I have shared this previously with no problem: Jarat Tours is the company that Regent used for our transfer from the airport to the hotel, and we booked a private car and driver (His name was Kevin and he was fabulous!) for a tour the day we disembarked the ship - sightseeing in Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, visiting wineries, a chocolatier, etc. We had a really nice lunch at Glenelly Estate and eventually ended up at the airport in plenty of time for our 6pm-ish flight. Regent eventually (2 days prior to the end of the cruise) offered an included 'day tour' on a bus that ended up at the airport - but by that time we had already booked the private tour, and we were tired of being on buses with all these same people. We wanted to do something on our own. https://www.jarattours.co.za/ https://glenellyestate.com/ https://www.spiceroute.co.za/

Thank you- we have booked and I am now familiar with their not very good web site. The tour section currently is “N/A”. We are being open minded about what they may offer.

We used a private driver/guide for the day we disembarked (evening flight home). We visited wineries, chocolatier, and had a wonderful relaxing lunch on our own schedule. I can share the information with you if you like.

I have to laugh at this discussion…. First, I found the food at Ember to be a poor excuse for American cuisine, unless you classify mushy, frozen vegetables as “elevated American “. I Don’t care if the table has a cloth, a place mat, or a sheet of paper covering it, but I do prefer something to a completely bare table that may or may not have been properly cleaned before I put my fork and knife on it. Or maybe at least give me a bread plate to put them on? We did not enjoy the atmosphere or the food, except for dessert, and we canceled the second reservation so someone who did want to eat there had the opportunity. I don’t eat at Applebees at home, so why would I pay huge sums of money to do so on a cruise? On the other hand, the evening pizza was a nice add on feature for a casual dinner at the buffet. And there are place mats and table cloths used at Waves and the buffet at dinner!

Oceania Suite 12007 is directly under the stage in Horizons. You will hear loud music in the living room and bedroom (and bath) until between 11:15 and midnight depending on the day. Think college dorm on a weekend. we learned to sleep with it. there are many questionable design and engineering choices on this ship…in the end everything is a compromise.

Following, thank you for sharing your experience! We did a wine tour out of Valparaiso many years ago and enjoyed immensely.

Vista is at terminal J today- with shuttles to the terminal B parking garage.

We were somewhat shocked at no table cloths. I’m not a snob, but I expect something better than a bare metal table. Every other restaurant on the ship at least has a placemat. If they were going for America bbq ambiance they could have used the Kraft paper like that used at Ted’s Montana grill. That would have been fine. We canceled our second reservation there, we had no interest in returning. I hope someone benefited from our cancellation.

We decided to be open minded about Ember, but it was as described, a loud TGiFridays atmosphere with mediocre food. The “grilled asparagus “ was a mushy disaster, and was inedible. The waiter apologized and said it was because it was frozen…. But the asparagus in Red ginger was excellent, so this makes no sense. I think they simply boiled all their asparagus and broccoli and leave it in steam tables until they fill an order. No table cloth or place mats on the metal tables felt like another cost saving measure, and we felt uncomfortable putting our silverware on a not necessarily clean table top.

Vista Oceania Suite 12007- avoid this cabin unless you don’t normally go to bed until after 12 Midnight! It is directly under the stage at Horizons, so you will hear the thumpa thumpa thumpa of the bass , getting louder and louder from 6 pm until 12 or later if people are enjoying themselves at the lounge. There is definitely not enough sound insulation in the ceiling. These cabins are very expensive and the extremely loud noise is NOT a luxury addition to the experience. the living room door has an air leak that whistles all day and night while under way too, so consider this when booking.

Also, has anyone used their business class air?

We are looking at a cruise on Eclipse II around New Zealand. Unlike the river cruises, there is nothing about shore excursions that I can find on the website. is there any place on line with shore excursion descriptions? thanks!

I found that practically all the food onboard was devoid of flavor. The two best things at Manfredis were the Parmesan and the bread. Every other dish was bland except for too much salt.