Joanandjoe

It's nice to speculate about Explorer restaurant hours, and to post what the meal schedule used to be.  The real answer to your question is that no Regent passengers know what Regent dining hours will look like after cruising resumes; and it's possible that management doesn't yet know either.   Will they close off portions of the dining rooms, on a rolling basis, in order to disinfect the tables>  Will they abandon the free choice of dining times and dining companions, so that people eat at fixed times (or only by reservation)?  Will they extend dining times, so that fewer people are in the dining rooms at any given time?  Any or all of these things is as possible as having dining times look like pre-Covid dining times.

One thing is certain:  you won't go hungry on Regent,  At least one dining choice (including room service) should be available at all times.

2 hours ago, JMARINER said:

Mariner is on its' way to Hawaii from OZ. Expected to  be Honolulu on April 4. I assume that it is making its' way eventually to Vancouver for the Alaska season.

 

Maybe so; but how can Mariner go to Vancouver when all Canadian ports are closed?  I'm surprised she will be allowed to dock in Hawaii.  Joe

It's hard to find something funny about cruising these days; but the folks who run Cruise Critic managed to do so this morning.  We received an email reminding us of the Meet & Mingle for our scheduled cruise on the Splendor on April 16.  Like many others, we cancelled the cruise (which probably won't take place anyway); but there seems to be no way of cancelling our registration for the Meet & Mingle.  The email was good for a small chuckle.

At least we have a virtual Meet & Mingle - the Roll Call.  We' like several others, are still posting.

Stay safe, everyone, and hope for better days, and resumed cruising, ahead.

21 minutes ago, shuguley said:

Hope maybe Regent can shift ports for the June Alaska trips, maybe use Astoria.

Nope.  Astoria is also closed.  In any event, unless the passenger travel rules requiring a non-US port are waived, Regent can't offer an Alaska cruise.  

11 hours ago, mj_holiday said:

We did Amsterdam to NYC via Iceland and Greenland.  It was fantastic.  I do not remember any issue with tendering and Nuuk we were docked.  We did a family visit in Nuuk which was very interesting.  Our host was very eager to explain things about everyday living in Greenland.  Just great.

We were on the cruise last August with MJ, and also did the home visit in Nuuk.  Terrific tour.  We were docked in Nuuk, even though the itinerary shows and showed this as a tender port, and tendered in Paamiut. Paamiut was a bit of a waste:  untrained locals as tour guides, and the town's main attraction - the church - was closed.

Joan, the bargain hunter, picked up some inexpensive souvenirs and toys at the shopping mall in Nuuk.

Yes, everyone, even the men, should be prepared to dress in layers.  I didn't find Iceland or Greenland to be cold; but then, I don't need gloves at 20 degrees. The temp was never below 40, except in Prince Christian Sound. Joan was cold, and Californians probably would be.

The most beautiful day of your itinerary may not even be on land.  Prince Christian Sound (June 12 for your itinerary) is way beyond spectacular. Sort of a glacial fjord open at both ends.  Dress warmly, and enjoy hot drinks in the upstairs lounge. Take pictures and movies, and watch for wildlife. 

The bird island of Vigur excursion is also well worth it.  We did that bird tour, and another one in Orkney; and we're not even birders.

We took the archaeological wonders small group tour.  The weather was putrid - s;eet and high winds in late August.  Nonetheless, we are archaeology buffs, and this was one of the best tours - Regent or otherwise - that we have ever taken.

On several occasions, I wasn't able to book at midnight eastern time; but was able to do so about 10 minutes later.  If all excursions (or dining reservations) are shown as unavailable at 12:01, they might be available a few minutes later.

For one of my cruises, I was on a Regent ship; but in an internet dead zone when excursion bookings opened.  I know that was a possibility; so I asked my TA, who is in the central time zone, to book the excursions for me. She kindly did so.  {I good thing, too - we had no internet when I woke up,the next morning, since our dock in Iceland was surrounded by mountains.)

12 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

You should be able to go into your Camera app, tap the Menu (the multi-pointed star usually in the top left).  Then you may see "Hold Shutter button to" > "Take burst shot" (or just take a picture), or you might just see an option for "Burst", where you can set or unset the option.  I see mine is the former, and is set to burst if I hold the button down (too long, I presume, so I'm going to unset it!)

Nope.  The selfie camera menu settings are selfie shot, HDR. gesture view, voice shutter, and help.  The regular camera options are HDR, voice shutter. Scan QR code, Tag locations, grid, and help.  Nothing in help mentions burst.  I may have learned something, at least, by checking these menus.  Perhaps "Scan CR Code" is what you do with those mysterious (and, until now, useless) square codes that we're asked to scan.  Who knows, someday I may learn to scan and deposit a check!

1 hour ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Too bad Regent doesn't offer classes in this type of thing.  What you need is someone to give you a good lesson in how to use your new phone.  It's possible that you might end up loving it after you got the hang of it.  If you get multiple photos it means your camera app is set to "burst" mode, this can be turned off.

I agree with Cruise the C's comments.  A tour app is a bad idea, given Regent's demographics.  Management, are you reading this thread?

Thanks for the comment about turning off "burst".  My multiple exposures did, indeed, say "burst # 1, burst # 2, etc."  However, I don't see a burst setting on my LG Android phone.  I do see an "HDR" setting, but that is turned off. Maybe this setting was on, and I accidentally turned it off, stopping the bursts.

As for instruction on my smartphone, it would be nice if it were offered by Regent.  Even a few years ago, the only classes seemed to be for iPhones, not Android.  Now classes on how to use an Android phone don't seem to exist, if they ever did..  Maybe people assume that everyone knows how to use the phones, since the phones have been around for many years; but Joan and I didn't get our phones until this April.  Learning to use them seems hopeless, and we go back to the phone store several times a month because we can't get get certain features to work.  Facial recognition and pairing the phones with our cars both seem hopeless!

23 hours ago, poss said:

Since we own no smartphones or any other kind of gizmos (just an iMac at each of our desks at home), I've been a little concerned about this new way of doing.   Not sure where it'll leave us technological troglodytes.

I couldn't have said it better.  In April I was forced to get a smartphone (Android) because I couldn't get a good new flip phone.  I'm not a fan!  It's nice to have a camera always with me (although I seem to get multiple photos most of the time); but I'm hopeless with aps, and I don't own any headphones (or want to own any). I have Pandora on  my phone, but can't get it to work.

Regent management, having guides use aps instead of the transmitter sets we used on our 8/14 to 9/3/10 cruise on the Navigator will work for some people, but won't work for many of us Luddites.

Our trip ended on Sept. 3.  We bought currency for each of the four countries, and used some of our C$ for a fish and chips lunch in Halifax.  Our first stop in Canada was St. John's, NF.  The funniest part of our stop in Newfoundland was that the people putting out the ship's daily newspaper (Passages) goofed in the port description, which described the tides in the bay of Fundy.  No, we were in St. John's, NF, not St. John, NB.

The link for shore excursions is easy to find.  Go to the itinerary, then click on any port that's likely to offer shore excursions.  You'll see a brief summary of the port, then some activity and options filters, then a box that says vie (Number)( of excursions.  Between that box and the listing of the first excursion is a link to "email all shore excursions".  Click on the link, provide your email address, and you'll receive a PDF.  If the excursions aren't available for viewing, the PDF won't have much to it.  If that's the case, delete the email, and try every few days until you get the PDF that has excursion details.

On September 3 we finished a wonderful 20 day cruise from Amsterdam to New York on the Navigator.  Most of the cruise was terrific; but, of course, not everything was perfect.  We looked forward to filling out our end of cruise survey. Sadly, that never happened.

At least on our sailing, end of cruise evaluations could now be done only online, and only on the ship.  I think that's foolish on the part of Regent, since not everyone is computer savvy.  We wanted to complete the forms at home; but found that the survey was on the intranet (Regent internal), rather than the internet.  If anyone from Regent is reading this, you really need to offer a handwritten form, a form that can be completed on one's computer after the cruise, or better information on how to find the survey while on the ship.  Passages kept reminding us to fill out the form, but we didn't get the proper URL until the next to last day (in a card placed in our room), at a time when the internet was down for maintenance.  Too bad, we would have given mostly high grades.

A comment on another thread asked if this was a new thing, since he or she had filled out a paper form on the Explorer last month.  I have no idea:  I only know that, on our cruise, the mid-cruise comment form was a paper form, but the end of cruise form was online only.

Has anyone else had recent experience with end of cruise comments?  As mentioned above, comments from Regent management would be appreciated.  If Regent can send me a paper form (or make the online form available after the trip), I'd still be happy to fill it out.

We are in process of writing our review of this cruise, which will appear in the ship reviews section of the CC boards, rather than as a thread on the Regent board.  Our rating will be five stars out of 5.  There were glitches, but they were minor and, with one exception (relating to the end of cruise questionnaire), the glitches were corrected promptly.  All in all, a terrific cruise.  BTW, in all cases other than Vestmanna Sea Cliffs in the Faroes, we had different excursions, or were in different tour groups, than mj_holiday, the OP.

We met the lady from Montana, Pat, who gave the cruise a so-so review totally messed up her connections on both ends, leaving her adrift at the airport at embarkation day.  She barely made it to the ship, after paying for a transfer (even though it was supposed to be included).  The fact that she gave the cruise 3 stars, despite an awful start and finish, shows how open minded she is, since almost missing the ship due to Regent mistakes would have ruined the cruise for many people.  Luckily, we had independent taxi transfers at both ends, so we had no such problems.

]We never filled out our end of cruise evaluations.  They can now be done only online, and only on the ship.  I think that's foolish on the part of Regent, since not everyone is computer savvy.  We wanted to complete the forms at home; but found that the survey was on the intranet (Regent internal), rather than the internet.  If anyone from Regent is reading this, you really need to offer a handwritten form, a form that can be completed on one's computer after the cruise, or better information on how to find the survey while on the ship.  Passages kept reminding us to fill out the form, but we didn't get the proper URL until the next to last day, at a time when the internet was down for maintenance.  Too bad, we would have given mostly high grades.

3 hours ago, dvgarneau said:

We got off in Boston on Tuesday and flew home to Fl on Weds. We were dodging the storm.  We knew the next week would be tough for you all on Navigator, but Regent will always take care of her passengers first.  Jamie is creative and I am sure will entertain you all.  Good thing is that the storm as of this morning, Saturday, is passing very quickly and looks like fair weather behind it.  The good news is that you avoided the storm.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise.  

Just out of curiosity, if you were on the Navigator, how did you get off in Boston on Tuesday?  We were in Boston on Sunday, NYC on Tuesday.

What's important is being safe.  We got off the Navigator on Tuesday, after 20 days cruising across the top of the Atlantic.  We had to skip one port (Akureyri, Iceland)  due to a storm, and we were in Halifax the day after the city was hit by the remnants of tropical storm Erin.  We've missed at least one port on about half of our cruises, even on the Mississippi River, where a stop was missed due to flooding.  On an Oceania cruise, we missed the two ports, Holyhead and St. Peter Port, that were the main reasons for our taking the cruise.

Be happy that they've substituted a docked port, Portland, for a tender port, Bar Harbor.  Portland is more interesting anyway, and there's plenty to do there.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

We certainly had a wonderful time. Thanks.  J & J

Thanks for your concern.  The storm is about to hit Halifax, and should pass to the east of where we are on the Navigator.  It's a beautiful, sunny day on the ship, and we've been surrounded by dolphins most of the day.  The Halifax forecast is for the storm to clear 2 or 3 hours before we arrive.  Joe

Thanks for your concern.  The storm is about to hit Halifax, and should pass to the east of where we are on the Navigator.  It's a beautiful, sunny day on the ship, and we've been surrounded by dolphins most of the day.  The Halifax forecast is for the storm to clear 2 or 3 hours before we arise.  Joe

We took the home visit and short walk, and enjoyed our hostess's songs, cakes, and stories very much.  The walking tour ended at the shuttle stop; but we took a walk from there.  Joan found some bargains at the local shopping mall:  10 items for 5 kroner each. Fun.

The shuttle has more than one stop, so we could have stayed in Nuuk for awhile, rather than choosing to go back to the ship.  I wouldn't have expected to be docked in Greenland; but we were.  I'm not a big fan of tenders.  Joe

RJ2002, we are on the Navigator, and don't remember seeing you at the Meet and Mingle on the 2nd day of the cruise.  Please contact us in 518, and we'll try to get together for lunch or dinner on the two sea days coming up.

We hope you enjoyed Nuuk, Greenland.  We certainly did!

Joan and Joe Mach, on the Navigator now.

Thanks.  We figured out the Bank of America angle a long time ago.  This year we found out something even better.  In order to avoid a $10 service charge at B of A, one has to buy at least $1,000 of foreign currency.  At our local auto club, North Jersey AAA, the minimum to avoid a service charge of $10 is only $200; so we bought our currency at AAA.   What we bought was barely over $200, since we already had nearly 200 euros.

Now comes the hard part.  We used all of our UK pounds; but have excess Euros (which we can use easily) and two currencies we're unlikely to use:  Danish krone and Icelandic krona.  We won't hit Canada for another 2 days; so we don't yet know whether we will use our loonies.  In any event, we'll have about $100 or more of foreign currency (but probably less than $200), and will probably lose at least 20 to 25% of the value in converting back to US dollars. if we can do so at all.  We'll be going home from the pier in a taxi, so there won't be an airport where we can change money.

All in all, a very minor part of the cost of our trip.  Guides, especially in the UK, did appreciate having tips in local currency.

Indrapura restaurant

Thanks, Ine, for the recommendation of Indrapura.  We ate there last night, and the rijstaffel was amazingly good, and only a short walk from our hotel.  To get there, we almost had to fight our way through the huge crowds on Rembrandt Square posing with the statues of The Night Watch; but that was fun. too.  Best of all, we are early eaters, and people who have left their tables by 8 pm get 25% off all orders of rice tables.  We ordered the 36 Euro (27 with the discount) Nusantara rice table, and it was delicious and more than we could eat.  The crab cake with peanut sauce appetizer was out of this world!  Most people around us went for the 1/2 lobster table (Indrapura rice table, 46.25 Euros before discount), but it would have been too much food for us.

Just a wonderful meal next to an interesting square, and under 500 meters from our hotel (Banks Mansion).

10 hours ago, flossie009 said:

Last night after dinner in Compass Rose we went to another show by the talented singer/comedienne Sally Jones.

Very enjoyable and she will also be performing a tribute to Edith Piaf for the SSS Top Tier event this evening before she leaves the ship in Kristiansund tomorrow.

Ah, leading us on.  I was excited to read the review of Sally Jones in the first sentence, since we'll be boarding the ship next Weds., 8/14.  Then I saw in the next sentence that she was leaving the ship.  I hope her replacement is as good!

I also hope that the sick passenger is OK.

"Keep the ship in good shape for us."

Sadly, this is the opposite of what we want.  We'd love to have a cruise with lots of ports in India and Sri Lanka, but want to avoid the very volatile Arabia peninsula. Chacun a son gout!