RJ2002

There is a discussion of the Voyager situation over on FB in the RSSC Social Club Group. One guest on board has already been in touch with their TA. Regent is apparently evaluating the options as a result of a delayed arrival in Barcelona. Lots of rebooking in store, it would seem.

Correct. From RSSC: MAY I CHOOSE SPECIFIC AIRLINES, FLIGHTS AND TIMES? Yes, as long as we have a contract with the requested carrier or it is one we are using as a preferred carrier. A Preliminary Cruise Vacation Summary is sent out 75 days prior to departure, which includes your preliminary air schedule. Should you require immediate confirmation, you may book your flights through Regent Seven Seas Custom Air Department within 210 days of sailing. Your flights will be confirmed upon request for a non-refundable $175 per person custom air arrangement fee plus a possible fare differential. Deposit must be provided before air is confirmed. To speak directly to our Air Concierges a $75 non-refundable Custom Air call service fee will be applied to reservations which, if the Custom Air flight option presented is accepted within three days, will become part of the existing $175 per person air customization fee. If guests choose not to accept the Custom Air flight option presented within 3 days, the option will be automatically cancelled, and the $75 fee will not be refunded. To accept the presented Custom Air flight options, you can simply reply to the Custom Air email. It is not required to call Regent to confirm any Custom Air flight options. After the Custom Air flight option expires, to search for additional flight options an additional $75 non-refundable fee will be added to the reservation. Platinum, Titanium, Diamond, and Commodore guests will continue to receive a complimentary one-time Custom Air deviation, including the waiving of one $75 Custom Air call service fee. Please note, schedule changes made by the airlines are outside of our control. If there is a significant change in schedule, our Air Concierge will find a better alternative without charging a new custom air fee.

Beautiful shots of Sydney harbor!

Great picture of you with the dolphin. I'd have paid $30 for that shot. Good job. Thanks for sharing all the pictures and commentary. Enjoy!

Very helpful advice, thank you. Does Explora have an evening "welcome aboard" affair at the beginning of the cruise? We are most familiar with Regent, which frequently does something like that on the second evening after embarkation. Not that we always attend, but on Regent it can impact the dining venues with the number of guests hitting the restaurants right after the reception. Just curious.

We will be on our first Explora cruise soon, for just a short six night West Coast segment. For those here who have sailed Explora already, what would your recommendation for a dining strategy? We would like to experience as much as possible, but give the limited number of evenings onboard, we want to make the best of it. We enjoy all cuisines.

Great pictures of this beautiful ship. Thanks for sharing.

And getting the disembarking passengers from Istanbul. Thank you for your posts on this discussion.

Our travel agency hosted a webinar yesterday with Aimee Price, one of Explora's North American sales heads. A few comments stood out. + She acknowledged right off that both Explora 1 and 2 were being redeployed, and that the new itineraries would be published online in a couple of weeks. She did add that TA's should have some advance info on the new schedules now. + Aimee acknowledged that they would continue to evaluate the dining situation onboard. She specifically referenced the issue of only being able to secure one reservation in each venue per sailing, rather than each segment on a B2B. She made a point to distinguish the difference between Emporium Marketplace (cooking station concept) and other line's 'buffet' setup. + A participant asked about the ability to bring wine onboard. She didn't know the answer and is to get back to the webinar participants. If an answer comes through, I'll try to remember to post. + Someone asked about duplicate bridge. Aimee acknowledged there is no card room onboard, but that tables were available in areas of the ship for card playing. + Aimee noted the number of connecting cabins onboard (60ish?) and specifically brought up multi-generational families - and that they will have youth programs during holiday and summer sailings. + There was a noticeable 'plug' for the onboard boutiques - specifically the high end watches. The bottom line was that Explora will be continuing to evaluate and fine-tune onboard operational matters after these initial sailings.

Say it ain't so! Already in packing mode. Thank you for sharing your wedding anniversary cruise with us all. Loved all the commentary and pictures. Enjoy your London overnight, and safe travels back home.

Enjoying your reports! Thanks for sharing your experiences, and for posting the Patio Grill menu. We missed out on the Yountwurst dog recently on Odyssey... it was not available. This was our first Seabourn cruise and I was on a mission to try all things Thomas Keller. Maybe next time!

I can’t answer your question on their Starlink plans, but I was onboard Odyssey a couple of weeks ago and thought the Wi-Fi was pretty good. We were round trip out of Vancouver.

Oh boy! Can't wait to follow along, again. I always enjoy your Live reports. Safe travels to Miami and London. You'll both be aboard Spendor before you know it. Thanks for sharing your cruise with all of us.

On our day of embarkation recently (Odyssey), we left a note for our steward/stewardess team when we left the suite for dinner. Our requested items (one spirit and one wine) were waiting for us when we returned to our suite from dinner and the show.

We were in your same situation just a couple of weeks ago. Last minute Odyssey booking, first time on Seabourn, no advance TK reservations available online. After we boarded, we were familiarizing ourselves with the ship and happened to pass by TK Grill. There was someone at the podium assisting another guest. When we were able to speak with her, she worked us in that very night. It was an 8:30pm booking, I believe, but she suggested that we might want to show up earlier. We arrived a little after 8pm and were seated. We were also able to make reservations for the special TK nights in Colonnade. We were onboard for 2 weeks, so we reserved for both the fried chicken dinner one week and the rib dinner the 2nd week. We also made a reservation for the second week in TK Grill. So, my suggestion is to stop by the TK Grill after you board, and see what they can do for you.