papaflamingo

It's probably unlikely that the smallest ship in the fleet was "slowed down to save fuel' and no other ship was. The only way to impact fuel cost is to slow EVERY ship. 😏 Could be lots of reasons that these port stops were changed. Has anyone contacted Regent to ask why? Because other than that, no one here could possibly answer the question. All we can do is put forward "theories," anything from propulsion issues to dock space issues.

We have NEVER seen any indication that a tip is expected on Regent, anywhere. In fact, on our last cruise, after 40 nights, we tried to tip our Cabin Stewards (who took exceptional care of us) and they both graciously tried to decline taking the extra tips. So no, you didn't misread any cues.

We've been lucky (or more likely just don't care enough) in that our 84 nights on Regent, only had a few excursions cancel. There are lots of reasons but don't really care enough to try to find out. But we waitlisted for a different excursion of interest after the cancellation and cleared every time. On a couple of the ports a new excursion was added a day or so prior to the port so we got on those. When an excursion was cancelled and we didn't want a replacement, we simply went into the port and enjoyed the local scenery, culture, and food/drinks. In fact ports we just wandered around in often became our favorite port stops. It's a cruise, it's all good.

ABSOLUTELY. We haver done this on both our cruises. Since our flights to the cruises would be domestic (Honolulu and Montreal) but our return International (Sydney and London) and we deviated both directions, I was able to book First Class domestic for not all that much more than coach once all the fees and the air credit was factored in. Anyway, no problem at all only using Regent air in one direction. You get the appropriate air credit for the city pairing you don't fly.

You bring up a good point however we all know reality, don't we? We're successful and mature adults. We know that it's impossible for every passenger on every cruise in every port to be able to do all the excursions they want, don't we? And even if we could, someone would come on here and say the cruise line is "deceptive" because the ship didn't stay in port long enough to do the 5 excursions they wanted to do so they clearly aren't "unlimited." So let's all be adults and face reality. ALL cruise lines are limited by length of port stop, availability of vendors, weather, etc. Regent has NO limitations on NUMBER of tours you can book, BUT they have to be available and fit into the time parameters of the port stop. If you look at other inclusive cruise lines you'll find that only ONE excursion is included in each port. THAT is "limited." As for cancellations, well, that's cruising post Covid. Tour companies cancel. Ports change. Time in port changes. It's just what happens. All the complaining in the world won't change anything because there is nothing they can do. Regent can't build an extra bus or boat because too many have booked a specific excursion or a tour company has canceled. They can't go into a port when the weather prevents it or the port closes for some reason. And EVERY cruise line in the industry is experiencing the same issues and worse. Go over and read what's happening on other boards and see. This is just cruising post Covid. It's how it's going to be for the foreseeable future.

In all this discussion it seems no one has read the Terms and Conditions the we ALL agree to when we book a cruise. Here is what it says about excursions: " Free Unlimited Shore Excursion reservations are on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to availability....Regent Seven Seas Cruises reserves the right to withdraw and/or cancel a cruise or cruisetour or to make changes in the itinerary and hotel accommodations whenever, in its sole judgment, conditions warrant. In the event of charters of the vessels, truces, lockouts, riots or stoppage of labor from whatever cause or for any other reason whatsoever, the Owner or Operator of the vessels identified in the current brochure may, at any time, cancel, advance or postpone any scheduled cruise or cruisetour and may, but is not obligated to, substitute another vessel or itinerary and Regent Seven Seas Cruises shall not be liable for any loss whatsoever to Guests by reason of any such cancellation, advancement or postponement." So....there it is. If you cruise on Regent you agree to these terms.

Of course you are reimbursed whatever extra you pay for a Regent Choice excursion. You can also cancel a Regent Choice excursion for refund of the additional you paid as long as it's cancelled at least 36 hours before tour departure.

Go to the Shore Excursions desk onboard and ask them. I would be surprised if switching tickets would be a problem. I have never had a shore excursion check my ID. You simply hand them the ticket and board the bus.

You'd probably get more ideas if you would say what port your tour was cancelled.

Try this website. Fairly accurate for most ports. You can find a map location, also often a link to the cruise calendar so you can see what other ships are in port. But as mentioned, tour companies will generally know what port and terminal you are at. https://www.whatsinport.com/index.html

WOW! Thanks for the info!

You can always get an air credit. The amount is listed on the website after the Cabin cost section. For us, we can do better on our own domestically but not Business Class. We always deviate so domestically when adding the cost to deviate plus airline luggage fee plus air credit, I can usually get First Class for not much more (domestic flights are coach). But Business Class has always been a better deal through Regent for us. Again, we always deviate and pick our flights early and go a day or more ahead of the cruise.

Yes for many countries the passport does need to be valid for six months. So you would be wise to renew it.

Just got an email from Regent about enough blank passport pages for our cruise. We go on Oct. from Athens to Rome via Greek Isles, Israel, Egypt, Turkey and Italy. Next Feb we are doing Hong Kong to Tokyo with stops in Shanghai, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. Our flights to start each cruise will be to Athens and Hong King then ending in Rome and Tokyo. I have 12 blank pages. I'm guessing this will be plenty, my wife thinks not. So, anyone been to these countries on a cruise lately that can verify how many blank pages are really needed? Thanks

I am a retired airline pilot and my son is a current Fed Ex pilot. I live in a community that has a number of pilots for a major airlines in it. Firs the downgrading is not as frequent as people seem to be thinking. It happens, but depending on airlines, it's usually done via a voluntary downgrade with lots of free "stuff" to do it. That being said, it can, of course, happen. But probably not anywhere near the frequency that some on here expect. The airlines problems is that they have struggled to get back to pre-Covid levels. Many retired early on very nice incentive packages and there simply isn't enough crew members available to fill then need. It's not like you can hire a pilot and he'll be flying a 747 the next day. Doesn't work that way. Plus the demand came back faster and greater than expected. So they are running trying to accommodate the demand. So, air prices are rising as demand over runs the availability. Regent will have more trouble finding contract seats and routing will be.... well let's just say not "good." That's the only way they'll be able to get Business Class seats at lower rates. Oh yeah.. the contract rates are climbing like crazy too. So this is just how cruising will be for awhile. Sometimes we'll just have to "roll with the punches" or, like some people, stay home. For me, I won't be happy to be downgraded, and probably just "sealed my fate" with this post, but I've got 5 cruises scheduled, 3 include Business class, and plan to go on everyone.

Gray Lady... one gets a tremendous amount of good information from this and other forums. However there's a lot of bad information too. Most of the problems encountered are not the norm. Flights are, and will remain, an area that we need to consider very closely since there is a "glut" of travelers, a reduction of available contract seats to Regent, and staffing problems with the airlines. But in general all will work wonderfully (or at least get you there for the cruise). Since you are doing a pre-cruise stay that gives you extra days if there's a flight problem. But as with everything else, you'll find that Regent will work diligently to give you the "premium product" you are looking for. That doesn't mean things don't happen, they do. It's a business whose goal is to be profitable. It's a ship so things happen, crews change, supplies can be limited, etc. So don't dwell on small things, but on the entire experience in its entirety. And if something doesn't seem right, question it immediately and they will likely do all they can to correct any issue. As for flights, deviate 210 days out. It's worth it. It's harder now because of airline schedules, but as many have pointed out, pick 3 or more acceptable flight itineraries, be prepared to possibly pay an upcharge if you deem it worth it, and check the itinerary closely for connection times and connecting airports to make sure you have plenty of time to do the connection. If you do that, you will find the luxury experience you want. Stay optimistic but realistic and you'll find that Regent is a wonderful way to cruise and you'll be "hooked" like most of us. 😎

Just a quick comment…like most other issues, when given time, Regent seems to handle it in a very appropriate manner. Seems more and more that people are coming on social media angry and frustrated without actually letting the problem run it’s course. Then come back and say “gee, they did what we wanted (or more).” I know it’s hard, but patience. Let Regent work the problem and if it’s not resolved satisfactorily, THEN bring it up. Or wait until it’s resolved then come on and let us all know what happened and how they resolved it. These early “complaints” get new people to Regent really worked up for no reason. just my opinion.

Yes, you can get an air credit and book cruise only. The air credit is shown on the website for the cruise you are interested in.

Thanks. As we get closer I'll get my TA to email Regent.

I may try what cwn suggests above. If I get an answer I'll certainly follow up. .We don't make reservations until Oct. so I will wait until a bit closer. But plan to get my TA to send an email to Regent to ask them.

We were on Navigator in June-July. The bathroom is "dated" because it has a darker marble countertop that is older. When they renovated they didn't replace the bathroom marble (no real need to). Mariner bathrooms are the same. Other than that it was fine. Has a separate shower and tub. Only a single sink. If you go on Youtube you can find lots of videos that are "walkthroughs" of the suites (as well as the entire ship if you want) and get a very good idea of how she looks. Here is just one. The bathroom is as soon as he enters the cabin (about 18 seconds into the video).

I have a question.. we are cruising with another couple in Jan. They will be on their first cruise, we are gold status so can select dining reservations early. I assume we can not select a shared table and put their reservation number in when we select, correct? So is it best for us to select a shared table then hope there is still room for them when they select or do we have to wait and simply select on the day they can select?

Don't feel like an idiot. I'm a retired airline pilot and have been into SNA many times. I could have easily put SNA in my comments and you would have gone right to it. Would have made it much easier for you to find. 😎

We were told by our Cabin Steward that once the bottle is in your room with your name on it it can not be used again. Even unopened it will be thrown away. We were given a bottle toward the end of our last cruise that I didn't open. We asked the Cabin Steward if we could sent it to the crew and she said NO. So we took it with us as we were staying with friends for a week in the UK. So... sure, take it with you as it most likely will be tossed anyway.

We did 40 nights on Navigator last summer. The bottle in my cabin was a Liter. That was replenished when it got close to the end without me even asking. Then about a week before the end of the cruise, as my liter bottle was nearing the end, they put a 750 ml bottle in for me. I asked the Cabin Steward who told me that once the bottle is in the cabin it can't be reused so since I didn't open it I took it with me as we were visiting friends for a week. So...nope...no little bottles! 🥃😎