Regent newbie – suite / excursion questions

Hi All – First time poster & regent cruiser here!

Got some newbie type questions which have not been clarified by a search of the forum.

Am booked on the Cape Town – Singapore in concierge level this December, am hoping someone with recent experience can answer for me.

(1) The illy espresso machines in the concierge & above suites – what model are they? Previous posts (pre voyager refurbishment) indicate it was a Y1 iperEspresso which uses pods, is this still correct? Is a choice of pods (eg dark / medium / lungo) provided or is there commonly just one flavour in use? I am aware that the barista style coffee is to be found in the coffee connection, however I am quite partial to a very early morning coffee in pyjamas on the balcony. Knowing more about the machine / pods will help me to decide how many of my own coffee making gadgets to bring – yes I am particular about my coffee ritual – could go without it for a short cruise but not a long one!

(2) TV/DVD – is a DVD player available in the room? Again, older posts on the voyager pre re-furb show these clearly but newer posts indicate they may be no longer. I aware that there is access to movies etc through the media library on the TV - I have some TV series to catch up on (on DVD) and whilst I could bring my laptop to view these, would not do so if there is a player in room / available. Failing that do the TV’s in suites have accessible video/audio input jacks to hook in a portable DVD player?

(3) Excursions – we have booked reasonably late for this cruise and find almost all of the included excursions to be waitlisted (no big suprise there!). Are these likely to clear pre cruise or are we more likely going to be left waiting for last minute cancellations onboard due to illness / change of mind etc

Thanks for reading my silly questions, I am grateful again for any input and am really looking forward ot the cruise.

Thanks,

Sarah

Don't know about the coffee situation as we have not stayed in a concierge suite since the Illy machines were installed.

There is a DVD player on the tv unless something has changed from June this year.

As far as excursions, don't get too stressed but do have a backup plan, especially if there is something that you are really set on seeing or doing. Most excursions will clear either before the cruise or once you are onboard. There are lots of cancellations and changes after people board because they find they are just too tired to do another excursion or their feet hurt, etc. (See Travelcat's thread regarding her current cruise for evidence of this.)

We had one of those coffee machines in our suite last September. We never used it so I don't know what model it was. It did use pods and those are provided. Enjoy the cruise. You'll have a great time.

Forevertravel.

This is the coffee maker we had in our Voyager suite this summer:

http://www.illy.com/wps/wcm/connect/en/coffee-at-home/y1-1-touch-iperespresso

The pods were all dark roast; I don't know if there were other types of pods available for the asking, but I kind of doubt it. I was happy with the espresso that the machine made, but I'm definitely not fussy when it comes to coffee.

Oh, and there was a DVD player in every room, with DVDs to check out in the library. We never used ours, so I can't say whether it was blu-ray or standard def.

Had coffee maker in our suite but I do not drink coffee ( saw how coffee drinkers turned out.) Sorry, can't help But have a GREAT CRUISE!!!!