commodore2010

Regent or Bahamas Paradise Cruise Lines LOL

Doesn't anyone do any due diligence before they post

Looking forward to reading the rest of your rewiew/trip. We are considering this trip in April 18.

Dont know how far in advance those tide tables go out, but Regent is doing Itineraries 2 years plus in advance.

Most likely because 99% of the people on the ship really don't care.

For 12 hours I would take whatever Regent offers.

BUT, there have been 3 south florida members chime in and they all said go to the Intercontinental. Well, I am from South Florida and I would stay at the Intercon as well. It is unanimous from the South Florida contingent. Intercontinental.

Great hotel and have stayed there few times.

Haven't seen anything like this on any of our Regent cruises.

Regent Cruise.

Not horrible neighbors but the funniest thing I have ever seen on a cruise.

I was sitting on the balcony late one night and our neighbors came back. They came out on the balcony and in about 5 minutes were at each others throat. I felt a little uncomfortable but knew if I got up they would know I was there. They went at each other yelling for a good 5 minutes and then she went inside and he stayed outside. Two minutes later I see a luggage bag with clothes coming out of it go flying over the railing. He was so pissed off I thought he was going to hit her. Calling her a f'in this and an f'in that. I was ready to call security because I really thought she was going to get hurt, but then in another two minutes another luggage bag, much bigger, comes flying out the sliding door and over the railing. I laughed soo hard that they had to have heard me.

Greetings Flossie, i hope you thoroughly enjoyed your recent cruise.You must be feeling like a part of the furniture after all this time.

 

Like yourselves, we will be going on the Explorer this year for the first time. We have been on all Regent ships and have to say that we are honestly only going on her just to have ticked the box so to speak.

 

For us, we think the Mariner is our favourite followed by the Voyager and probably wouldn't cruise on Navigator again as it was our least favourite.

 

As for the prices.I'm sure they have been inflated for the first year of sailing on the (most luxurious ship ever built) :eek: I'm not sure if it will do it for us but we will give it a try.

Personally we would chose the Mariner every time if the itinerary suited us as she is a very classy ship and not sure if we could justify the price for the Explorer if it was only for the way she looked and that isn't to everyone's taste.

Mariner was our favorite ship until we sailed on the Explorer. I would bet the pricing will begin to come down after the inaugural season glow.

Thanks for the tips.

This year we are not doing a cruise but rather spending some time in Spain which includes 3 days of "Running of the Bulls" in Pamplona. Yes it is a bucket list.

Anyway, we will be in San Sebastian for a few days and we are wondering about day trips. We have read about Biarritz and Bilbao and was wondering if any of you World Travellers have spent any time in this area an might have suggestions.

Thanks in advance for any help.

I don't think that anyone wants Regent to discontinue included excursions - just would like an "opt out" option that includes a credit for not taking included excursions. Regent could have passengers that opt out of included excursions and decide that they want to take one, pay for it - similar to what we now do with Regent Choice Excursions. This would be easy* for Regent and for passengers - especially long time Regent passengers that are revisiting many ports and want to do "their own thing".

 

*By "easy" I mean that Regent's computers already handle passengers that wish included air and hotel and those that opt out. Unlike Regent's all-inclusive experience onboard that, should not be messed with, air, hotels and excursions are items contracted out and are not part of the onboard Regent experience. Also, Regent did not have any difficulty taking away the included pre-cruise night at a hotel for non-concierge or above guests so they would easily handle this change (if they want to).

IMO, Its not going to happen.

Its not about being able to do it. Like you say, the system should already have that capability.

I can assure you that the amount of the credit given would not make those people happy. Ad nausem complaining and bitching about the amount. Its a no win for them, so IMO they won't

At least you read the description and acted appropriately. A lot of people don't. On our Alaska trip, there was a very strenuous hike pretty much straight up for 3 miles. One lady, who clearly had not done any physical activity at all in a very long time, was on it. After about 50 feet, she started complaining and wanted to go back to the ship. One of the guides actually took her back while the rest of us went on. It was strenuous for me, and I work out at least 45 minutes every day. In the description, it clearly stated what would be required to do the hike, but she still signed up. It puts the tour guides in a difficult position. Personally, I think they should have just walked her back to the van and made her sit there for 4 hours for being stupid. But they were nice enough to take her back to the ship.

Agree 1000%, but then she would be the one on here bitching about how Regent screwed her over for one thing or another. Can't fix STUPID!

Been to China several times.. Doesn't matter.

I am a little confused. I thought the Evisa was the only one that you could get online and that does not work for arriving by ship. If applying online do you need to mail away your passport? We need it for a January trip.

You can go online and print the needed forms to be sent to consulate.

https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/index.html

Just click on the "Regular Visa Application" answer the questions and print out the forms to be sent to the consulate. Yes you also need to mail your passports along with the application.

READ everything closely.

Couple years ago we stayed at the Hilton just across the canal from San Marco. Hotel provides a constant boat transfer every 10 min. Wonderful rooms and views. I would recommend.

I believe Regent used this hotel before switching to the Marriott.

You can do it yourself online. Print the forms and send it in.

However, the forms can be a little confusing and if you get ANYTHING wrong on the forms it will all be sent back to you. So if you do it yourself, READ everything carefully.

I got our visa's back from Washington consulate in two weeks. If I remember they are good for 10 years.

As stated above, You cannot do the evisa

Get a few Euros from the ATM. Be aware the fees are high using ATM's in Europe, so try not to make too many ATM transactions.

Use a Credit Card as much as you can. Be sure to use a Credit Card that does not charge Foreign Transaction Fees. These fees can be 2-4% of the transaction amount.

I have a DJI Phantom 3 professional quadcopter that takes 4k videos and still pictures. I am planning to take it on our Amazon cruise in November.

 

Has anybody done this before? I am an old guy, and a very responsible drone operator...I flew airplanes for over 40 years....

 

Just curious of others experience on cruises.

Is it equipped with Hellfire's?

I've not been onboard for four years now, but in my experience, a majority of passengers are repeaters, sometimes a huge majority. And a large portion of that group are Silver or above. When you get right down to the Titanium group, not so many! ;) This is all based on the Seven Seas Society parties.

I am gold and never attended one of those parties on board. Drinks are free everywhere anyways. LOL

Always interested in looking at new opportunities, but there seems to be a lack of real pictures.

Are there any real pics of these ships, public rooms and staterooms. I looked on the web site and it appears to be just computer generated images.

Two that come to mind (and their associated nicknames we bestowed upon them) were:

 

The 'gentleman' who bypassed the embarkation line and went straight to the front of the line. "I need to get on the ship"...he said. "Get yer sorry @** to the back of the line" the rest of us said. Somehow, he was much more important than the rest of us, I guess. The same guy who later burned out the clutch on a chartered Suzuki Justy 4x4 on our excursion in Corfu...and then told the guides "I don't know what happened...it just started smoking." Yeah, smoking after you slipped it up that hill for a mile and a half...for the rest of the cruise, he was known as 'Clutchy McLinecutter'.

 

Or on our last cruise...no, I better not post details...he might be on the forums and recognize himself...but let's just say the name 'Baby McGrumpypants' was applied. :D

 

Oh, I love our Regent cruises.

I still like your name for the new ship Shippy McShipface. I laugh everytime I think of it. Thanks.

I agree BA is better than AA and Qantas is better as well. Watch out for those codeshares which AA has with both. It could be a BA flight or a QF flight and you find that you are on AA metal not realizing it unless you check.

 

Not one US carrier ranks in the top ten of airlines.

 

http://www.airlinequality.com/review-pages/top-10-airlines/

I have a flight to CDG on American coming up. NOT looking forward to that. Old 777's with old business class seats and crappy service to boot. Only did it because the price was unbelievably low:)

The best Biz Class seats and service I have had is on Qatar. I have never been on Emirates because the prices are too high.

After today, it may be a long time before Istanbul is put back on thee ships schedules; especially for embarkation/debarkation.

 

Sad to see,

 

Marc

Considering most cruise lines are now working on Itineraries for 2018, Istanbul won't in be a port of call until 2020 and that is if nothing else happens.

Its a shame because Istanbul, and all of Turkey, is such a wonderful area to see. So much history and culture. I feel so bad for the people that relied on Tourism.

12% of Turkeys GDP is from tourism. Very significant part of their economy.

Private transfer from the pier to NCE is about 80 Euro. It is about a 40 min drive as NCE is on the far side of Nice. Believe it or not, taxi's are even more expensive

You can take the train, but it is a pain as there is a long walk from the station to the airport and you also need a taxi to get you to the monaco station.

Best way is helicopter. 7 min transfer

We need to keep this in perspective, and not let it spoil our cruise (or expectation of our next Regent cruise)

 

Often on Mariner and Voyager we have seen plenty of space available on the loungers (see attached). We have no experience of Navigator

 

The really annoying guests are those that save two or more loungers in the sun plus two or more in the shade and then depart for a half-day excursion; when they get back they have lunch, sit for 10 minutes on the loungers then decide it is too hot to stay outside :rolleyes: :eek:

 

However, even in these extreme situations it is not for other guests to challenge or move belongings; just find a crew supervisor and politely ask him/her to deal with the issue and/or find you the number of loungers you require

Agree 100%.

There is usually plenty of loungers available during the cruises I have been on. However, It seems on sea days the hogs come out in force.

It is really the responsibility of the crew to deal with it. Inform them of the issue. If enough people inform them, they will be forced to take action.

I do like the "Table of Shame".

Why are we tipping? Read the regent info

You read it for day of departure/ sailing time , why not no tipping.

This just then adds to this discomfort of those who follow the advice and those who boast about what they give. I'f you must give ,keep it quiet!!

Anyway in a £5000+ cruise the included gratuity must be way above this!!

 

Another example of the totally different approach to this on both sides of the pond. Tipping is on its way out in Europe, but still seems embedded in the DNA of Americans and seems to be much more intrusive and at a higher level than when we first travelled to the states more than 25 years ago.

You are quite right. Tipping in the U.S. is at an all time high in my opinion. Everyone wants/expects a tip. The percentages on meal tips continues to go up. Used to be a 10-15% now it is 18-20%.

In Europe and most of the world tipping seems to be going out and the service is included in the price.

I much prefer the service in the price. Pay the staff a fair wage and put it in the price of the product.

Disclosure: We do give to the Crew Fund.