SusieQft

2 hours ago, flossie009 said:

For later flights Regent normally offers a complementary HO-HO bus tour, which includes luggage storage and airport transfer.

Where is the luggage stored?  Do we need to get back to that location from the HOHO by a certain time?  We have an evening flight home from Miami, so will not need to get to the airport until very late in the afternoon.

Perhaps the information in the link from Sunprince is no longer valid.  It seems that both Regent and ArriveCAN have trouble keeping all their Covid requirements up to date in all the nooks and crannies of their respective websites.

In any case, I am not going to risk invalidating my ArriveCAN certificate to arrive on the 20th.  After I am safely in Canada, I will attempt to do another one to board the ship on the 21st.  However, at that point it will need to say I am arriving in Canada from Canada, which is hardly "arriving."  It will be interesting to see if their website allows me to do that.

On 9/10/2022 at 3:06 PM, SireDoime said:

I have always wondered: rather than stepping into the tube, one should sit on the rim, swing their feet over the top, then lower themselves into the tub.

I agree, but I am pretty sure that I have read here somewhere that there is not enough room to swing your legs around because the sink cabinet is in the way.  Perhaps someone who has sailed in one of these cabins could let us know if that is the case or not.  

On 9/6/2022 at 2:39 AM, Gilly said:

Whilst I'm not saying the luggage issue is completely resolved, we've noticed during the six flights we've taken within Europe in the last few weeks that where there were piles of unclaimed luggage stacked in baggage halls here and there, those are no longer to be seen and I no longer have quite the same anxiety as I did about such things.

That is very good to hear.  Although DH says he hopes it is not just because the airlines are now hiding the unclaimed bags in less public areas to keep the horror photos off of social media.

Will Regent spontaneously provide any particular birthday recognition, or do you have to request it?  Does the answer to this question vary depending on whether or not you have a butler?  We will not have one.  DH and I will both be having birthdays on various Regent ships over the next couple of years.  The first is my birthday on Navigator this coming December.  I understand that P7 has seafood items as well, but the idea of a steak restaurant for my birthday is not my first choice. 

Most of the posters here seem determined to avoid Compass Rose for their birthday celebrations.  Is the celebration less special in Compass Rose?

Nearly a year ago I purchased some extra cost excursions for our 9/21/22 Mariner sailing.  I had some OBC (non-refundable) already on the booking, and it was automatically applied first to the cost of the excursion, and my credit card was charged for the balance.  Later, probably around the time of final payment, I received some additional OBC (also non-refundable).  Without any action on my part (nor from my TA, I am pretty sure), Regent applied the new OBC to my excursions, and refunded the full amount that had been charged to my credit card.  I still have some of the OBC available to use on board, as well.

This worked amazingly well, and totally exceeded my expectations. 🙂

I got the same email.  I would also like to know if Regent accepts the NAAT test in lieu of the Antigen tests?  A few months ago, Seabourn accepted the NAAT test <48h when their written requirements were the same as Regent's, i.e. PCR <72h or Antigen <48h, with no mention of the NAAT.  Will it be the same on Regent?  Both were/are for boarding in Vancouver.  Yes, we will have two Alaska cruises this summer.  I can't wait to get on the Mariner!!

In April, Walgreens let me schedule the NAAT test 3 weeks out.  They didn't and still don't offer the Antigen test.  Now they only schedule them 3 days out.  I will try to do that, but plan to have the Abbott home proctored Antigen tests handy just in case.  (Also, if still required, I will need the home (hotel) proctored tests to board in Miami in December anyway.)

I will be very happy when the testing requirements are eliminated.

I was also worried about Navigator's fate when I saw that the 2024 Grand Artic Adventure will be on the Mariner.  Now with the release of the 2024-25 schedule showing Navigator still sailing, I am thinking that probably that Grand Voyage is just so popular, even without St. Petersburg, that they decided it needed a larger ship.  I'm glad that Navigator is still on the schedule.

They were using a facial recognition system with temperature check to enter the senior facility where my mother lives.  It was excruciatingly slow, and often required more than one attempt to be recognized.  I also had to bend down and get my face in exactly the right spot for it to work.  Hopefully whatever technology Regent is using is vastly better.

Interesting.  I was under the impression that they could not actually book a flight prior to 270 days, which is why that is when deviation becomes available.  I would not want to pay twice for deviation just to get the first flight nailed down, without the return flight.  So far I have been making my own air arrangements for my Regent bookings, but I tend to like longer voyages and b2bs, so this will impact me in the future.  I will be asking Regent to provide air for my 83 night Grand Arctic Adventure in 2024, and there will be no way they can arrange my return flight at 270 days before embarkation.

I know that comparing with another company is not really fair, but Silversea has a similar 270 day rule.  They informed my TA that they could not book my air at 270 days prior to embarkation, and I have to wait until 270 days prior to my flight home.  Perhaps that is because I am delaying my return flight until 10 days after disembarkation, and/or only because my return will be a total of 37 days after my initial departure date.  My original request was 305 days before my return flight, probably prior to the return flight availability.

I would be interested to hear if anyone has successfully gotten a Regent deviation booking more than 300 days prior to their return date.  Or if anyone has been told they have to wait until 270 days before their return.

23 minutes ago, islandhalls said:

I believe it it 270 days prior to embarkation. 

Or is it 270 days from disembarkation?

On 7/26/2022 at 4:29 AM, DaveFr said:

OBC left from the first cruise carries over to the second cruise.

Even if you have 2 separate booking numbers?

On 7/21/2022 at 4:13 PM, Benny B. Goode said:

 

Depending on when it was originally booked, those quarterly Regent increases might amount to quite a bit more fare. 

But still probably the best option.  It sounded like the OP was still undecided, though.  It would be good to get a solid commitment from his/her booked travel companion before the cancellation penalties start, if possible.

@RachelG, when you split the cost between Chase & Amex, do you have anything to document whose trip was paid with which card?  I presume the booking confirmations are combined.  Mine just show payments applied to the total.

7 hours ago, mrstanley said:

You get a totally different answer from every employee at Regent air.

One offered to waitlist us on the Delta flight from Atlanta to FCO .

never heard back.

Maybe this is part of the reason that they changed the procedure so that now you can't call.  It would give them more supervision opportunity over what is offered.

Our December 2022 cruise had final payment due at 150 days.  It is a B2B for a total of 24 nights.  Is that why we had to pay sooner?  Or maybe it depends on the terms in place when the cruise was booked?  We booked ours in Jan 2022.

The terminology is a marketing gimmick.  The rack rate is $12,800 per person, discounted to $6,400 per person.

6 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

I would love to hear about your first cruise; when, where, cruise line, memories, etc.

7 night Carnival Cruise to the Mexican Riviera in 1985, which is what we could afford at the time.

The ambiance was totally dominated by very loud inebriated partiers, not to our taste. 

There were no enrichment activities. 

I can't remember the evening entertainment, so by definition not memorable.

I do remember lots of standing in long, hot, boring lines to get off and on the ship at ports.

The food was plentiful, but just "okay."

We were assigned an 8 person table at dinner with 6 people (including us), 2 of whom left the ship mid-cruise, and we did not have much in common with the other 2.

We decided cruising was not for us.  Thirly years later, we finally succumbed to persistent urging from a friend, @RLMSLL, that Crystal was nothing like Carnival, and we would enjoy sailing on Crystal.  We  booked a cruise through the Panama Canal on Crystal Symphony, and we decided that cruising was definitely for us. "The rest is history."

29 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Not sure what category room you are in but if you are new to Regent I'd recommend a Concierge Suite if you can swing it.  If you are in a higher category "Te Salut, Don Corleone".

Will a Concierge Suite get you canapes in the room (OP's question)?  I thought that was only if you have a Butler, i.e. Penthouse or higher. 

IMO, the biggest advantage for newbies to book a Conciege Suite is early booking of excursions (365 days vs 300 days) and specialty restaurants (90 days vs 75 days).  If you book less than 365 days out, and definitely if less than 75 days, then most of the advantage over a regular veranda suite would be lost.  You can do a pre-cruise hotel night on your own for less than the price difference, and the hotel may not even be included if you book late.

22 minutes ago, rudedoggy87 said:

How do we sign up for the Spotlight program of events? We're booked on the Hollywood cruise in October and interested in learning more!

Ask your TA to sign you up.  If you booked through Regent, then you would go to Regent directly.  I don't think you can do it online.

On 7/8/2022 at 7:09 AM, eroller said:

Attached is a link to all the photos I took from this cruise, with most being of the ship herself.  Many are labeled to describe what the photo is.  Others without labels are pretty self-explanatory.  Included are some menus and at the end are all the daily programs and some other printed materials.  

 

A full review is forthcoming which I will create a new post for. 

 

There are 575 photos in total.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/eroller/albums/72177720300384042

Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos!!  You have increased my anticipation of experiencing Regent, including a booking on Splendor although not Explorer.  It had been a while since I looked at the cabin layouts, and when I saw your Room 860 photos I thought they were a penthouse cabin until I checked on the deck plan.  Can't wait!  Thank you also for the many very clear photos of Passages and other documents at the end.  That will be helpful for us to have a better idea of what to expect on board.

Do they have wine pairing dinners and/or lunches?  What about a pre- or post- cruise hotel or excursion?  Can you use your OBC for that?

1 hour ago, CruisetheCs said:

 

The problem is that most if not all policies available do not cover pre-existing conditions unless the policies are purchased within a short time after booking the cruise.  Any insurance without pre-existing condition coverage may be of very limited value. Insurance companies may try to deny coverage for many things by saying that "new" conditions are related to the pre-existing conditions.

 

Personally, I would seriously consider cancelling the cruise if I couldn't get coverage of incidents related to pre-existing conditions.  Too easy for the insurance company to deny coverage and lead to an expensive time-consuming dispute.

 

I pay very close attention to the pre-existing conditions issue as well.  I suggest that you check with Steve at tripinsurancestore.com .  This may vary by state, but when I use the link on his website to request a quote, one of the options that it gives me is CSA Freestyle, which covers pre-existing conditions as long as you pay within 24 hours of final payment.

On 7/5/2022 at 9:30 AM, exlandlubber said:

Hello Aloha 1,

I’m terribly sorry about the delay and I hope there’s still time to answer your question. We were using our phones to make contact with Emed. The question was “Do you hear this sound?” and then a couple of notes were played.  OK, no problem. Then for whatever reason, the website said that we needed to “turn on our microphone” in settings which we had already done and checked on several times. Eventually we were “heard” but it was very frustrating. I think next time, I’ll use my iPad or a computer instead as that may fix the problem. Like I said, hope I’m not too late to answer your question.

We did the eMed tests on my phone in June (sequentially so we could help each other, which was needed), and also heart the test notes but not the eMed reps each time.  They quickly went to using Chat which slowed things down but at least it worked.

23 hours ago, Reveuse said:

That was the end of the first day. Great day, great start.. 

Thank you for sharing your first impressions.  Please ignore those who like to pick on newbies, I am sure they are in the minority, especially once on board the ship.