mj_holiday

Rharatsu Thank you for identifying Visit Japan Web site, that will help us get ready..

Much has been said about carrying prescription drugs in hand luggage. So, for those of you who have arrived in Japan for embarking on a cruise, how was the customs and immigration experience at either of the two airports?

Why go to the compass rose to order. It is my understanding that you can order from the Compass Rose menu for room service. It is a shame that pool grill is no longer open in the evenings. When I first heard the pool grill was staying open I was anxious to try it. But when ever I went to check on the menu, there wasn’t anything there I cared for.

When we did this cruise in November. We took rain ponchos and use those on a couple days when it rained. You should also have a hat. It was cool enough that we didn’t notice any humidity. we really didn’t see any insects or mosquitoes, must be related to where you are and the time of year. Two pairs of shoes that you use on excursions would be great to have so one pair can dry if you get wet. it was a great cruise and I’m sure you will enjoy it.

We use Regent Air for our cruises. I have the 210 days before cruise clearly circled on my calendar so we can deviate and get our flights settled, our TA does most the interface with Regent.

We use Regent Air (thru our TA) for many reasons, luckily we have never been in a situation like the one this week. .I want as many people as possible to be able to help when flights get cancelled etc. Other reasons for using RA Flight doesn't get paid for until final payment I still get miles The flight is then clearly part of the package for insurance. Appreciate the transfers from the airport, so I don't suddenly don't have to become coherent after a long flight. It is just easier, especially when you consider a precruise trip and overnight flights, to make sure you get into the correct airport on the correct day.

The requirements come from the countries you will visit. I bet Regent has a difficult time keeping up with them. We did this cruise Fall of 2018 yes and many things have changed since them. Only one of our ports after the Amazon has required YF shot after being in an area with Yellow Fever. We visited a Travel Doctor (Passport Health) for their recommendations and then took their list to our GP. Our GP made sure our tetanus shot was up to date and gave us a script for a typhoid oral vaccine. He said he saw no problem with either of us getting the YF vaccine (ages 65 and 68). We went back to Passport Health and got the YF shot and it is good for life. (Now we do not have to worry about it) We could have also gotten the vaccine at our county health department.

The Azamara web page has had a major reformatting since our cruise. But the changes I found hard to keep track of included 1 When I booked the cruise there was access to the spa included. When I started seeing on cc about it not being included I went to the web and it was no longer listed. And today it is listed being included. 2. For spirits I do not recall what the web description had, but in practice as reported here the included spirits were 4 small bottles, then two bottles, then the one bottle we got with a bottle of wine after I asked, and then when DH got finished with the bottle of bourbon he got another one. On the web today it just says minibar (which is no longer listed for Veranda). So now the question is, is the beer, small bottle of wine etc in the mini bar included?

We were on Onward last spring in a Club Continent suite. In preparation for the cruise, I read several contradictory inclusions with the CC Suite. We did have a very nice and professional butler. We ended up getting two bags of laundry complimentary. I think one came with the CC and one came due to our loyalty (???) When we first arrived our butler met us with a list on spirits we could choose one from and DH chose a nice bourbon. A couple days later I asked for a bottle of red wine. (the last I had read said 2 bottles included). Butler said he would need to ask his supervisor and a day later he showed up with a nice bottle of red. We did get the wifi identified and I ran through mine in 5 days just trying to get something online. Looking through brochures I saw that I could get another batch of minutes, wifi, which I got. (don't remember the reason I got it, but look through all the brochures in your suite) The size of the suite is just great. We did not try the spa area, since the last I read it was no longer included with a CC suite. (It was listed as included when we booked). We have done two Azamara cruises and went with a CC suite because of the extra space. We will do another one depending on the itinerary. After reading the inclusions I had expected to take advantage of them. Having some items change and change again so you are not sure what is included was frustrating to me.

Let us know what happens in the end.

During the pandemic Barbados did a lot of advertising about working from their island with good wi fi. I also seem to remember that Barbados was one of the first cruise ports to open up and cruises started scheduling from there, revising itineraries. There is a thread in this forum about Barbados not being able to supply hotel rooms for everyone coming in. From what I remember on the forum, it came up as a surprise and Regent had to cancel hotels for some that had already had their cruise/hotel/air booked. I bet no one has any kind of estimate when the very high occupancy rate will go down. If you search for Barbados on this forum you will see where is it talked about this last spring.

We did the tasting of the included wines on our December cruise. It was very well presented. But as we were tasting, another passenger was there making sure to explain to the sommelier why a couple of the wines he had were not very good wines. I made sure to ask for a taste of one of them and it was very good indeed. Which I made sure to vocalize. I made sure to order it in the CR that evening. We have always enjoyed the included wines.

At the top of this forum you will see an topic on Regent flight with and without deviations. That explains alot about the included air. The $75 is recently new and not described there. Short overview Business Class flights are included with the cruise and Regent will send you flight info about 90 days prior to flight. If you want more say into what flights you take, then at 210days prior to flight you can work a deviation $175 per person, and there is usually a chance at better flights. The $75 is to try to control the calls to Regent flight people with just wondering etc questions. You will pay $75 to talk with an agent and then if you find a flight you want and take the deviation the $75 will be deducted from the deviation fee.

I think this is just starting up. Sounds like you were not the only ones that had to work the issue real time.

That is so much better. I think (IMO) more people end up knowing what to do after the new type of "muster".

Thanks for taking the time to bring us along. We are doing this trip in 2024 in the reverse order. Looking forward to your description of sights etc.

We were on the Voyager this last December. It was a great ship and we enjoyed her.

I finished our flights last week for our Tokyo-Vancouver next year. I had been looking on line at various flights including one that had a transfer in Korea where you also changed airports!! Our TA worked with Regent for us and pretty much understands what we would like. We did take a nonstop DFW to Tokyo BC with an upcharge, on a 787. Our seats are in the center and the heads of our little rooms for 14 hours are close enough we can talk to each other without getting up. Using miles to get from Vancouver to DFW, so got a $300 credit for that. We are happy with these flights, would have been nicer without the upcharge, but realize the realities of the times.

When we are putting laundry out, I let our steward know.

I read the forum on cruise critic before our cruises, especially our first one. When I see reviews that complain I usually try to figure out is this real or an attitude (no facts provided). I can usually find other reviews, comments by the one who is not pleased and that tells me alot about the person. I form my own opinions and have learned alot from the day by day blogs and the trips summaries that are posted. I will not attempt a day by day post myself because I know I won't keep it up. I do take notes each day so I can have a fairly comprehensive summary when we are home.

Thanks for all the recommendations, lots to look at to decide. As far as dinner at Joe Fortes, while it sounds great, we will just be getting off of the Explorer, but will check it out.

We will be spending one night in Vancouver at the end of our cruise. Does anyone have a recommendation for a hotel that is within walking distance of restaurants etc. I know this has been discussed on this forum but cannot find it with my search capabilities.

This seems to be pretty normal, most of the times we don't notice it. Visitors to the USA from abroad need to show that they have a way (and the money) to get home. This is usually done by a round trip ticket.

I see the two tier system for our cruise on line, but we booked this cruise awhile ago and at a less price that what is shown. So I guess I am looking for where that history price would be.

I have seen it many times, but can't find it when I want to. Can someone give me a path to find the air credit for a cruise? Thanks