lprp

100% agree @Gilly, we had a not dissimilar experience on Voyager when Explorer was launched. Although I must say the “cruise rotation” on our recent Mariner cruise must have been much higher given some of the “service shortfalls” we experienced 🤔

I have had this confirmed in writing from RSSC regarding our recent cruise. “When reviewing the cruise reports for this sailing, at this time we did have a large crew rotation around our vessels, with the expansion of our fleet. This meant that across all six of our vessels, we did have many new crew members and I am deeply sorry that you did find that some crew members were insufficiently trained.”

Sorry to go off topic. I know you’re on Grandeur so might be able to help. Someone on “the other site” has asked this question: ”Is anyone on Grandeur at the moment able to assist with measuring the width of the corridor in front of suite 855? My mother has just transitioned to a travel scooter and is wondering if the turning circle allows her to easily turn into her suite. Thanks in advance.” He’s not on CC. I’ll relay the message if anyone can help TIA LP

Especially as you will be clearing customs and passport control in NY; you will be on an internal flight to MIA which is usually a very different and quicker experience.

It’s been a long time, but there always used to be a couple of circa 5pm direct flights to LAX. Assuming they still exist would they be an option? The 3pm should be doable, but I agree about being cautious re traffic, etc……

Looking forward to your reports. Absolutely love French Polynesia, we were there on Navigator for 31 nights in Dec19/Jan20 (just before the World changed forever) and loved everything about it. We were even in a window suite (the last suite available!), which I really wasn’t looking forward to, but it was fine. We’d been there many years before on a Renaissance cruise; some of the islands, especially Bora Bora had changed and sadly Bloody Mary’s was closed - would be great if it has reopened. Enjoy

If you feel you might be concerned about vibrations, I would suggest you avoid the Aft suites, there is a little more vibration on Voyager than all of the other ships (save of course for Navigator). Other than that we really like her. LP

Sounds like American, BA or Virgin are your probable options. I’d still strongly suggest that you get to LHR the day before. If you don’t want to pay the deviation fee to choose which of these options you prefer, you could always hedge your bets with an on-site hotel and book a fully refundable room in each of the Terminals, T3 or 5 I believe. Room prices will only increase closer to the date. Hilton Garden Inn for T3 and Sofitel for T5. We’ve stayed in both and both are fine. LP

Would be great if those who have sailed on Grandeur could send info on their suites for inclusion in the Suite Guru guide sticky at the top of CC: TIA

100% agree with everyone about (a) paying the deviation fee and (b) getting to LHR the day before and staying overnight. As @Gillysaid, if you deviate you get to choose which flight you want (tip: do your research before calling or getting your TA to call them) and as per @wcsdkqh, if you don’t deviate you won’t be notified of flights until 75 days before… We flew LHR-MIA in December for our Christmas cruise on Mariner and we stayed at the Sofitel at T5, you just have to use the walkway to get into T5. We live about 90 miles from LHR and our flight with BA wasn’t until 14:15, so an overnight stay might seem like an extravagance. BUT, we have to navigate the M25 and M4, never fun at anytime of year, but definitely not in winter. This time it paid dividends as we received a text from BA at 08:15 advising that our flight was delayed until at least 18:30. As we were effectively at the airport we toddled over, spoke to the lady on the Club World check in desk and asked her if we could be transferred onto one of the 2 early AA flights. They were full, so they offered us Virgin with all the relevant Tier points and Avios! Definitely worth it.

Thanks @flossie009, sorry I didn’t get to meet you, hopefully we will meet on another occasion. I did, however, meet Marc aka @mrlevin, which was great after all these years. I agree with much of what you have written, although we had quite a few service issues, especially in Compass Rose. I spoke extensively to senior management onboard about it. Our next meal there would be better, but then it would slip again. The only place we consistently got good service was in Chartreuse. I don’t blame the crew members who did their best, but they were understaffed and undertrained. I do wonder if the best people were transferred to Grandeur 🤨 Entertainment was the worst we have ever experienced on any of our 12 Regent cruises, including several Christmas ones. We actually walked out of several shows. To only have one deck event during the day, when there were so many sea days is unbelievable, as is the, IMO, ridiculous decision to hold a deck party on the final night of the cruise when everyone was finishing their packing in order to get cases out by 10pm. We’re hoping it’s an anomaly 🤞, we have 2 further booked plus a FCC. We’re home now with all of the unpacking done as well as much of the laundry, which is much less than it would have been without the wonderful laundry service…… Until the next one - Bon Voyage to all Regent cruisers on CC. LP

You need one of these - spotted on MSC Seaside on Tuesday 🤨

Ella has already made an impact……she sorted out some Library Books (aka Chair Hogs) who were enjoying an hour and a half in the shade on Deck 11 with no sight of their page turners………😁

The first and second do not apply - have seen all the “perpetrators” dressed within the code on other evenings…... …….Including the gentleman who wore a short sleeve T-shirt in Compass Rose on NYE 🤷‍♀️ I agree with your statements about not being too bothered, but the dress code is very lax, surely it’s not beyond people to comply 🤔

Definitely - how sad they weren’t here for our Christmas cruise ☹️

Or Terry Bishop?

On Mariner and have seen a complete variety of styles for ladies from glitter and sparkle to T-shirts and cardigans. The same for men, although have also seen 3 different men completely out of dress code - 2 in the dining room with sweaters/sweatshirts and jeans and cargo pants. Last night in the theatre a man was wearing shorts…….

What ship are you on right now? Mariner

100% Agree - probably the worst entertainment of any cruise we’ve been on and definitely any Regent cruise 🫤

She does seem a little unsure of everything, I wonder if she was drafted in from NCL. This was her second attempt at making a booking for us , she got the first one completely wrong 🤨

She was quoting cruise only, my comparison was for the same. she blamed the computer - apparently she had to quote for 3 segments - MIA-MIA round trip, MIA-Panama City, Panama City-LA, even though the website allows MIA-MIA round trip, MIA-LA. She was not forthcoming as to why her quote was dearer 😏. She is emailing Head Office……. That sounds like a good idea 🤙

There is one small 3 year old girl.

Just had a very strange experience while getting a quote for a cruise in 2025/26 (Two B2B’s). The total price I was quoted with all the book on board discounts was MORE than if I went into the website and booked them myself as 2 separate cruises 🤷‍♀️. I was not logged into the website so I wasn’t getting any special deals for status, etc. In addition, I was quoted £10k per person EACH WAY to upgrade to Business Class, so £40k, which is more than the total cruise only amount!! Given that we can’t book flights for our 2024/25 cruise yet I’m not sure how it’s possible to quote for the following year 🤔.

Was a little bit surprised that the Christmas Gala Dinner was not scheduled as “Formal Optional”, just the normal “Elegant Casual”. Most guests were in their sparkles and glamour, saw a few men in bow ties and ties, but mostly just a collared dress shirt with or without a jacket. There were a couple of polo shirts and a football shirt (with collar) too, so within policy…….. …..BUT there was one “gentleman” in a red sweater/sweatshirt and what looked suspiciously like white jeans. Not really sure why he wasn’t asked to change 🤔

Snap (literally 😉)