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tallship

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Posts posted by tallship

  1. 5 hours ago, Pcardad said:

    A few points that maybe some overlooked...

     

    Having the expectation that everything in the cruising world is back to normal on the first cruise out is probably not a realistic one...I have 4 cruises this year and I do not expect any of the earlier ones to be like they were 2 - 8 years ago. December Explorer was good but there were obvious differences. Employees left during the downtime - they have to support their families. And try as hard as you can...there is no substitute for experience. Davor is an EXCELLENT GM and he will have Voyager back to Her old self ASAP. I will be on board in a few weeks and have a look. The 10% was generous, IMO, because Regent didn't have to do anything and it is a nice gesture.

     

    These are very small problems compared to a some very big ones we have in the world today. If you are not prepared for cruises to be different than they were pre-Covid, you should not book any for 6 months...just as you should not buy the first year model of a car. There will be issues...exercise some patience with people who are trying very hard to meet a very high standard.


    10% is huge. And agree that there is a great GM on board. We had a horrible cruise on the Navigator many years back and only received a $500 FCC despite a detailed review and faced ongoing admonishment from our “Luxury Cruise” travel agent for posting a negative review here online. 

  2. Back to Alaska... ;-)

     

    For those who have taken an Alaskan Cruise with Regent:

     

    -What was your favorite thing about your trip?

    -What was the least favorite thing about your trip?

    -What was your favorite excursion you took?

    -What is a "must do" thing to do on this trip?

    -What is a "don't bother" thing on this trip?

     

     

    edited to add:

    -What item do you wish you had packed?

    -What item do you wish you left home?

    -What item is a must have to bring?

    (sorry, in packing mode now :) )

     

    We can read everything that Regent publishes on it's website, but it is great to hear from people that have actually experienced it! Feel free to add to this list.

     

     

    I will answer your questions having been there on Regent 6-7 times, can’t remember how many times now.

     

    -What was your favorite thing about your trip?

    Whale watching, scenery

    -What was the least favorite thing about your trip?

    The vibe on the ship in Alaska is very different from any other Regent cruise. More kids, First timers, etc

    -What was your favorite excursion you took?

    Pre-cruise in Seward - Kenai Fjords tour - Some more wildlife in one afternoon then we saw on the entire cruise.

    -What is a "must do" thing to do on this trip?

    Sea Otter excursion in Sitka

    -What is a "don't bother" thing on this trip?

    Skagway town tour is super boring. Train excursion only slightly better. Good place to pay for a private excursion

     

     

    edited to add:

    -What item do you wish you had packed?

    First cruise to Alaska I found out about Smartwool socks. Bought some in Ketchikan.

    -What item do you wish you left home?

    Winter jacket. A down sweater, fleece, and rain jacket are fine

    -What item is a must have to bring?

    (sorry, in packing mode now :) ) - a rain jacket with removable fleece. Dress in layers. Also bring good runners/hiking shoes, sunscreen, hat and mosquito repellant. Don’t wear anything nice if you attend the crab feast as you will be a bit soaked with crab juice if not from how you eat but from your tablemates

  3. Our TA is excellent and their pricing is exactly the same as Regent's. Plus they give us a percentage back, and often OBC. One needs to shop around.

     

    Sorry I should have been clearer in my post -

    1. Regent pricing is typically the highest

     

    2. TAs often "discretely" pushed by some folks on this board as experts in luxury cruising still tend to be fairly high in terms of pricing and while it may seem they are giving you things, it is all included somehow in the price

     

    3. Some consolidators/last minute companies have the best prices but sailings are limited and offers disappear quickly plus you will not get much service

     

    4. I priced one recently via a TA I had used a year or so back versus a "last minute company" and the fare difference per person on a 10 day Baltics cruise was over $2,000 for the same cruise, same benefits - one offer had a $300 onboard credit, the other a $300 rebate. The "last minute offer" was a superb deal.

  4. Hi Papaflamingo. It is my experience, and I am a poor sailor, that they give each guest 2 packets of Meclizine. Each packet has 2 pills. The dose is 1 pill every 12 hours. You pick them up in reception. I'm sure the clinic has Scopolomine patches but I would bring my own. You have to get a prescription for those in the US. I also have the acupressure wrist bands.

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

     

    I travel with Bonine and a Reliefband Watch. They work great

  5. Thanks Travelcat. Although I get frequent emails from Regent - 2 today - I have not had one mentioning free laundry. I am not bothered either way. We have used the laundry onboard the whole time both before we were gold on both Regent and Seabourn and since when we have become entitled to one bag per week between us. We have fun seeing how much we can stuff in one bag. We have always thought that the cost of laundry is trivial compared with that of the cruise. We would like Regent to introduce a free cruise after sailing a number of nights. We received this benefit from Seabourn after I think 100 or was it 150 nights. Much better than dozens of bags of laundry, and we did not even lose that benefit subsequently.

     

    What a great idea. The SSS benefits are pretty lame and a free cruise after 150 nights would be a great incentive to continue sailing.

     

    Dolebudger is correct, however that rates have skyrocketed recently hence the amazing discounts offered to fill a sailing.

     

     

    Radisson (Regent) could not make money at $200 pp/per diem but the move to $1,000 pp/per diem comes with a host of expectations as well.

     

     

    I have written in the past about the UK/US price differential. We were on a cruise in 2014 where we paid our own air. The cruise only fare for 10 days was over $6,000 USD. We met numerous couples from the UK onboard that paid between GBP 1,700 - 2100 pp for the same cruise plus many of them received comp upgrades via their travel agents.

  6. Based on our experience, Regent does not do upgrades to entice new customers. In my opinion, that is more of a mainstream cruise line thing where they have large ships and hundreds of cabins. Most Regent sailings are full and they only do upsells (there are obviously a few exceptions).

     

    P.S. Regent doesn't even have "ocean view" cabins on three of their four ships. Their ships are all suite - all balcony (except for a few suites on the Navigator.)

     

    I must disagree. On every one of our last 5-6 cruises on Regent I have come across several new to Regent passengers who received complimentary upgrades

  7. We have been offered upsells through our travel agent. However, on every cruise I hear of several people who have received complementary upgrades to concierge and above cabins. In fact, on our most recent cruise, a passenger told me about being upgraded to a seven seas aft cabin when he had paid for one of the lowest cabins.

     

    I think Regent could do this as part of the SSS or at least make this process more transparent

  8. When I got out of the Army I promised myself I would not eat cold beans again. If I am on a luxury cruise I am going to eat steak, have truffle sauces and all the great stuff available. But the cold beans were not that bad it just brings back those unpleasant memories of camping out and cold C-Rations. I do remember the Old Gold and Lucky Strike mini packs of unfiltered cigarettes that were in the rations. Never knew canned eggs could have a greenish tint, but they were edible :-)

     

    Very interested in this review of the Voyager! Every review adds something to the general knowledge of the board members. With so much emphasis on the Explorer it is nice to read more about the other Regent offerings. I think Explorer being the most luxurious ship on the seas causes Voyager and other ships in Regent's line to step it up and provide their own version of a luxurious experience.

     

    I have spent a lot of time reading about the Explorer and Mariner and most tempted by the Explorer but the Voyager and Navigator have great itineraries. I have read much about vibration on those last two mentioned ships here in the board. But it appears that CruiseCritic members have provided excellent advice about how to pick a suite that is not affected by it. Thank God for experienced Regent cruisers that are here not to warn us but make us aware of the differences both good and bad between the ships that they have traveled on.

     

    Travelcat2 has been a valuable resource here and have shared her personal experiences with Regent. I read through the upcoming Regent Amazon 25 day adventure coming up. I appreciated GOARMY sharing his recent Amazon experience with us. I felt a little apprehensive after reading through the RollCall thread but then realized that this is exactly how people prepare for what normally would be the unexpected. The combined input from folks like GOARMY that just made the trip and Travelcat2 who has hundreds of days on Regent made me realize that Regent will do everything in their power to make it the most remarkable bucket-list trip of one's life.

     

    We are so very lucky for folks like the TS/OP to share this experience with us! The other posters to this thread have added immense value also! Thanks one and all for everything that is done to allow new Regent passengers to have the very best cruise possible!

     

    What a great post

  9. As posted above, we had a great trip in September on the Voyager. However, that is not to say that there were not glitches. Service in the Bars was inconsistent or lacking and the Entertainment team were not as top notch as previous cruises. There seemed to be confusion about how things were to be done, who was doing it, etc. Did it ruin our trip? No, but these elements did take away from the "luxury" aspect of a cruise.

     

    We sail Regent because it meets our expectations and the staff and crew will go out of their way to ensure we are cared for. From time to time, expectations are exceeded and that is also special. We have only tried another cruise line once - Holland America in one of their top cabins. For a variety of reasons, I would never sail them again.

  10. Well, this is disappointing! I was hoping with a complete turnover of passengers the code red would have resolved. I realize Regent has no control over a passenger who is asymptomatic until the cruise gets underway, but serving food not up to safe temperature is a rookie mistake and can have consequences for the diner! My guess is the kitchen used the broiler to get a crust on the top of the dish without making sure it was up to temp throughout. We will be a party of 8 so I appreciate the advice on how to procure a large table. Guess someone in our group will have to go down 30 minutes before opening to ensure we don't have to wait a long time. A clean cabin is a top priority for me and I am delighted to hear that's not an issue. I can overlook modest wear, but grime is a different kettle.

     

    On our recent Voyager cruise there were 4 couples traveling together and they had the same large table in the center of the DR reserved for them each evening

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