macbest

We did a pre cruise in Iceland in 2022. It was beyond excellent. Super tour guide. Well organized. Hotels very good despite having to walk a little with our luggage. And only about 24 with us.

Check that you have the right number of days for the cruise of interest. That is another filter. I have found when I change it the other ships open up

January 10, 2024 on the Regent Navigator, Sydney to Tahiti including New Caledonia, Fiji, Vanuatu, Apia, Pago Pago, Samoa, Bora Bora, Raitiea, Moorea, Pappete. Our 10th trip to Tahiti looking forward to visiting the rest of the South Pacific Islands.

I use the book cruise feature on a famous large warehouse store’s travel portal. Shows all cabins open. I like to view this periodically to see how many cabins are still unsold to get an idea what the occupancy is going to be prior to boarding (and if any upgrades are possible or likely and how motivated they might be based on occupancy percent). As an example, we are taking the Navigator Sydney to Tahiti next month. Using this “tool” I can see the ship is 83% full. You might be able to do this on the Regent website but it would take a lot longer.

Definitely catering to a European clientele. No Pinot Noir and only a French chardonnay. Hope this gets added to over time. In fact no American wines on this list.

I’m curious that since they mentioned they booked through regent directly vs a travel agent, would they have to give up a travel agent fee for the additional add on? I would assume so they may call Regent booked guests first?

Yes but offset by spa bookings, casino being open, shops likely open, etc.

I wonder why this is? They collect the port fees. I would assume they don’t pay them if they don’t dock. Is this just a windfall for Regent? That would not seem right to its customers.

Just got off Nautica. Nearly impossible to figure out and I’m tech savvy. You need to be logged on to their internet. Then you have to create an account to fill out the survey! All kinds of checks and balances to see if you are you (the date field is very hard to get it to what your birthdate is). I finally gave up. And I always have feedback to every cruise and this one was no exception so they won’t get the feedback. I will post one here on cruise critic for others to hear. There are a number of issues that arose that others should hear also. Very frustrating process on their part.

You are right to be concerned. We are on Nautica currently and the concierge level cabin is very small and the bathroom is practically unusable. Super small. Won’t sail her again unless we booked a much bigger cabin and bathroom. You can’t even sit on the toilet straight on without having the door open! And women forget about shaving your legs. The shower is painfully small.

Was just there last week. Very confusing. Taxis are a big pain as they always ask for more when you get picked up. So you start every ride with a negotiation. Most taxis won’t go to the correct place in part because that takes a lot of extra time and a Ticket to drop you off. We got dropped off on the main drag by a “glass box”. We walked through there and then no signage anywhere. However if you walk straight a head, you will see a sign on a glass door “Galataport”. From the doorway it looks like an office building. Once you get inside their is a big electric sign that shows the ships in port. Crazy but you can’t see it from the door! We saw no other signage outside (we walked and walked originally with our suitcases looking and finally a police officer said where are you going. He ended up taking us back towards this “magic door”. Once inside the signage is relatively good. You go down escalators or elevators and then up again. It is confusing. Keep asking everyone.

We are in the Regent Navigator Jan 10-28, Sydney to Papeete. Here are the ports we are visiting: Noumea Isle of Pines Mystery island Port Vila Lautoka Suva Apia Pago Pago And then a few in Tahiti we have been to. The ship shore excursions are pretty booked up for these generally remote islands. Looking for recommendations of private tours you have taken on each that were memorable. Thanks in advance!

Were you able to standby at one of the alternative restaurants and get in beyond your allotment? What is the spa terrace like (for conceirge suites and above)? Is it shaded, how many loungers? We board end of next week in Istanbul. The ship was near empty two months ago. Through unadvertised specials they essentially booked her completely.

Would like this back to the top and hear what recent travelers are doing on day use hotels in Papeete. Also any vacation rentals that may accommodate the same - off cruise around 9am and flight at 10:45p same day. Thanks in advance.

Last thoughts on our Regent precruise and 12 day sojourn on the Voyager. As mentioned, this was an incredible trip all around. The regent organized 4 day precruise in Iceland was well orchestrated and our guide the best we have ever had. Iceland has so much to offer and a simple cruise stop will just end up missing the real beauty of this island. Oh and don’t miss the blue lagoon. I thought this was going to be just so-so or “cheesy” and it ended up being awesome! Many people who have evening flights, I’m told, will go to the blue lagoon after their check out of the hotel around noon. Apparently there is a bus or shuttle service that will take you to the airport afterward:your stay at the Blue Lagoon and since you are generally allowed 3 hours there, this could be a good way to relax prior to your flight (vs hanging out in an airport lounge. They also have a place to store your bags while at the blue lagoon. Very convenient as an add-on. But plan in advance. The cheapest entrance fee, around $140, is booked out well in advance. You can pay the premium fare though and usually get in but that was around $400 as I recall. Many of the comments in the summary by taxare above are spot on and we agree with them except maybe for the entertainment which we didn’t care for. We too were very disappointed with the included wines. These have progressively gone down hill over our last few Regent cruises. And as I have mentioned the reserve wine list, while somewhat reasonably priced, is very limited and surprising wines like Chardonnays and Pinot noir‘s have dates of 2013-17 which is pretty old and I don’t mean older in a good sense. It still amazes me how they could have so many of these older wines, in some cases past their prime, still around. And this wasn’t unique to the voyager as we experienced the same thing on the Splendor back in February. I also was disappointed in the gin selection including the absence of Hendricks Gin which they have always carried and yet this cruise and the one we took in February did not have it on board. One exception was in the mixologist lounge on the Splendor but you couldn’t order a simple Hendricks and tonic as they had it “reserved” for just one of their specialty gin drinks. I a, hoping this is just a supply chain issue as they still carry some excellent other liquor like Patron tequila. Service was amazing everywhere. Well this is typical, it is great to see that there’s been no fall off in service throughout the ship. Practically everyone in the dining room somewhere or another new our name which was quite nice. It really is nice to be called by name and amazed that the staff at the restaurant entrance even knew our room number. It’s not like we were staying in the Regent suite, we were in a category F cabin. By the way we were originally in an G cabin and were upgraded after they sent out luggage tags with no notice (other than when I spotted it on the website prior to leaving). Taxare experience with a GTY going from G to a D is pretty awesome. Other comments, we have sailed the voyager many times. And while she was one of our favorite ships in the past once you sail on the explorer or the splendor there is a big difference. Again to each his own but we prefer the newer ships and what they have to offer. But standard things are common to both. Open spaces, beautiful artwork, towels in the public restrooms, no nickel and diming you, and fewer people - you only have to pull up to a ship like we did that holds 4000 people and see them all get on and off the ship to realize how wonderful it is to be with just 600 to 700 people. We hope you enjoyed our detailed synopsis throughout. It was fun reliving the experience as I just reread our trip now that we are home. It is quite a challenge with the ships internet to post pictures the way I did as it usually bombed once each time and I would have to start over in picture posting. I save the text externally for just this reason. Happy to answer any other questions. Until next time, happy cruising! Wayne and Laura