Pies4u

Fair comment - thank you for that info. We also had a poor experience with bow facing suites on Oceania in the Baltic & to a certain extent with Silversea but that involved a T/A crossing too.

We have no issue with the lights, furniture tied down at night etc. In fact one night SS didn’t tie stuff down and we had a major issue as a sun lounger tried to escape and got lodged in the railings! The captain had to change direction, in order to avoid the huge winds, at 5.00 am in order for crew to get out on to the balcony and retrieve said sun lounger!

This cruise is different, it’s the Panama Canal & Amazon, plus a spell in the southern Caribbean, where we used our huge balcony with SS every day, even when not in port.

Based on some of the helpful comments above & our own experiences, we’ve booked this in the SS suite & just hope for favourable conditions at sea but at least the river&  canal sections will be fine.

We had this a few weeks ago with a 27 night cruise/crossing, consisting of 2 x 7 plus 1 x 13 nights. Dates and itineraries changed and the best they could offer was 7 nights in the Caribbean (different ports) and the 13 night crossing but a month earlier!

We cancelled as it didn’t fit in with our plans or meet our original objectives. Still no sign of the refund yet - due to “…a system error…” at their end, apparently.

Very disappointed, but I guess these things happen - but it’s not much consolation tbh. (This was on Silver Spirit.)

Fabulous - thanks, that is extremely helpful for us. Just what we are hoping for, decent weather and terrific views.

Very helpful stuff folks - thanks. The point for me is not actually the suite, but the balcony and viewing opportunities! Grandeur, like all the newer ships, has no outside forward public space beyond the pool, thus, we like a suite with forward views or an aft with rear & side views.
 

I don’t intend spending too much time inside the suite, apart from sleeping, it’s all about getting some sunshine/warmth and decent views of the river and canal tbh!

Thanks to Spudd &DTW - these 2 responses are very re-assuring, much appreciated.. The key with the SSS is the balcony faces both front and side, of course, so there are clear benefits for the canal & the Amazon sections of the cruise.

Never been through the Panama Canal or up/down the Amazon tho’! That’s my concern - no experience of a SSS on Grandeur either.

Just wondered if anyone has specific experience of a forward facing suite for Panama Canal or the Amazon? We had one in the Baltic and, despite the amazing views, the balcony was virtually unusable due to the windy conditions. The weather was poor in most ports too so we barely used it.
 

On a Caribbean cruise it was brilliant for the most part but, again, the balcony was not much use during the 5 day crossing to the Canaries.

We are considering a canal & Amazon cruise in Grandeur, (in March 2027), in the SS suite with side & forward balcony view but it’s very expensive if you can’t take advantage of the outside space. I’m presuming that the canal section should pose no problem and guessing that the 7 days on the Amazon should be fine too, but does anyone know for certain? There are a few sea days on the Atlantic coast of S Am, which may be a “write off” but I’m hoping the Caribbean Sea days will be ok for balcony use.

Any first hand experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I refer to #15 above. As you say, pharmacists can give the jab but they are not registered to sign the exemption waiver & I genuinely don’t believe ordinary GP’s in the UK can issue the waiver on the certificate either - it has to be from a registered YF practice as I understand the regulations.

Mine is stamped with a code and reference number which is specific to the registered unit, so even a GP will not be able to provide that. When we go to Brazil and other places next year, it will need to be re- stamped as it is trip specific as I explained above. (As I said, we are fortunate that our surgery is the regional YF clinic and our GP is the registered practitioner).

I was responding to the post in which indicated that it was Regent insisting by letter that the vaccination was mandatory on their cruise, irrespective of whatever else may be written elsewhere.

I still struggle to see how Regent, a cruise line company, can insist that you must have a vaccination - which is in breach of international regulations, WHO protocols and in the light of the fact that every country accepts the waiver on a certificated document. 
 

That just doesn’t sound right tbh.

In the UK there are now 2 ways of dealing with the YF issue - you can now get a vaccination at various places such as pharmacies, your GP, specialist clinics or the formally registered YF practitioners. I can only presume that they all issue the same certificate as the formally registered practices (see below).

However, the exemption waiver for those who do not receive the jab, due to age or other restriction, is actually contained within the YF certification document. You may get a separate medical letter of exemption from some places (MLOE) but this does not constitute a certification and is probably not accepted at all border checks. It is important to receive the Certificate, which confirms eutgerbtgstbyouvecreceuvedvtge vaccination or that you have a medical exemption.

Previously, only the formally registered practices could issue the certificate and/or sign the waiver. That may also have changed but I have no knowledge or experience of that. We are fortunate because our GP practice is also the regional clinic for YF vaccinations so it is simple to obtain the certificate if we need one. Due to age, we were unable to receive the vaccination a few years ago and I was specifically advised that no UK GP could vaccinate anyone aged over 60 at that time. The vaccination certificate was only valid for 1 trip too, that has now changed (since c 2016/17) even if there is an expiry date in the certificate. The MLOE is still only valid for 1 trip as I understand things, as is the “waiver” on any certificate too.
 

It is the certificate that is the key - not the jab! If you have a YF certificate, with the exemption waiver approved, it does not matter whether or not you’ve had the vaccination, you have the certificate, that is what might be examined on entry to any country. That certificate is valid in any UN country, it is not open for random customs officials to vary the internationally approved protocols.
 

If any countries, such as Mozambique, are applying different rules then that sounds mighty strange to me, as it is a matter of international regulation & it is not what is stated on their tourist/border information websites. I suspect that they are simply insisting on tourists having a valid certificate - which, as stated above, does not mean that you must have had the vaccination. It is pretty clear from what Taking Flight has stated in #10 above, that Mozambique are complying with the international protocols & they accept the signed waiver/exemption certificate.

Sorry, a bit long winded, but don’t worry if you are exempt - you can still travel to places that insist on YF certificates, which are usually only required if you’ve recently visited a country where transmission is rife in any event - which is also what Mozambique are applying. 

The on board process should be pretty straightforward, as others have indicated. In the UK the biggest problem is the admin, getting them to link the booking so it appears a continuous voyage in “My Silversea”. I’m not sure if other countries experience the same issue. It is crazy to have to jump in and out of 3 bookings to sort everything out, plus the changeover days appear on 2 different trips, blocked out as embark or disembark etc, so booking anything on those days was impossible.

We booked a combined 2 x 7 day plus 1 x 13 day btb, it took weeks to get them to list it as a 27 night single trip & not 3 separate cruises with transfers, flights etc. It also affects potential insurance claims as there were 3 separate ATOL certificates and there was no formal record of the actual booking arrangements that we had made. I had the 3 separate confirmations but they show something very different to reality, of course. On 2 days it looked like we were flying back from Barbados to the UK then back out again on the same day! Eventually, it would have an impact for excursion and dining booking dates too. I recognise that there are 3 different cruise numbers - and the trip isn’t listed as a single 27 night option - but that’s a corporate admin issue that they should get to grips with. As a customer, I expect to see my booking arrangements in my account appearing, exactly how it’s been booked, with a separate “new” cruise number if necessary. That is precisely what, subsequently, happened. The excursion link still shows 3 different cruises but the “timeline” page shows everything booked under a continuous trip, so I’m guessing/hoping all will be well when we do actually travel (in 2026).
 

The CC at Silversea in the UK was brilliant and recognised my concerns, she forwarded my e.mail accordingly. Then the matter went via London, Miami & Monaco before they eventually changed the records to show that we were, in fact, remaining on the ship for 27 nights and not flying backwards & forwards during the process. It took several attempts before they actually linked the saved excursions and sailing days to the revised, correct, booking. It may sound pedantic but, as I say, there are real, practical implications if a trip isn’t recorded accurately and correctly - both for the customer’s personal peace of mind and for technical/legal reasons too.

This must happen all the time, hundreds of folks book btb, I couldn’t believe that it was so difficult, or took so long, for them to amend the system to address such a basic issue. 
 

Do others just “go with the flow” and accept the flaws in the process?

Cheers - I thought that sounded odd tbh.

When was the infinity pool removed from Splendor?

According to all the Regent info I can see, (brochure, website etc), it is still there. We are due to be on Splendor in March 2025 and I’m fully expecting to see, and use, the infinity pool.

Not sure what’s adversarial about it tbh, I’m just passing on my observations based on recent cruises. It is an interesting debate and opinions will differ. I don’t believe it’s as simple as saying 1 is “better” than the other, there are pro’s & con’s in both cases.
 

Each person’s experiences and views will vary with those of others. I believe that we do have a consensus on that.

I can only base it on 1 cruise but I’d agree that the choices and variety of menu in CR are very good. The daily options and “always available” selections offer a terrific choice.
 

However, the MDR on Marina, which we used 3 or 4 times served food that was every bit as tasty and were better presented than CR on our last Regent cruise tbh. They also serve food hot/warm & not tepid or cold as Regent frequently do. When a MD has to say “…you only have to ask if you want it warmer and we’ll heat up for you…” you do begin wonder if they actually know what they are doing at times. Of course people want to be served food that is at least warm - if it’s supposed to be hot!

I like CR as a restaurant, the layouts and service are generally fine but food quality has varied, greatly, in recent times.

Our experience on 1 Oceania cruise, Marina 2022, was that the variety of restaurants and general food quality was as good as Regent and, frequently, superior. Jacques and the Italian (name escapes me) on Marina provided food of a higher quality than we have ever experienced on almost 100 nights on Regent.

Sette Mari & Chartreuse are not in the same class, by a long distance, in our view.

There are other aspects of Regent that make it better vfm for us, including excursions, size of ship, Prime 7 and overall quality of service levels but there is little between the 2 on that latter point tbh.

I suspect it is governed by the available excursions tbh. On Mariner last time we were in that area, admittedly back in 2019, we tendered to Amalfi but that’s where most excursions were starting. Our particular trip included a water taxi to Positano. 

Not much is going to start in Positano in my view, my guess would be Amalfi will be the tendering port - but Regent will tell you well in advance if you ask directly.

Not entirely sure, but, you do have a “booklet” in your suite describing all the excursions and you can view them on the tv. Plus, the guest/destination services team can provide all the details anyway. Thus, it’s not actually critical to have the information in/on your personal account.

Interesting that we were told the Nov/Dec refit would be “all singing & dancing”, updating both Mariner & Voyager to Explorer/Splendor standards. That was part of trying to entice us to go along with the “…your 38 night cruise is now 20 nights…”, followed a few weeks later by, “…you can still do 38 nights if you get off the ship for 3 days and return, and the ship will have been fully refurbished in 2025……”.
 

Very glad we cancelled tbh! Regent’s lack of transparency and the associated uncertainty & dubiety is very disconcerting. They have handled this episode very poorly. My money is in there being further fundamental (not simple port swaps etc) changes to these itineraries.

Hopefully, our 2025 cruise on Splendor will restore some faith & confidence in the Regent product.

There was no 38 night available when I just looked. That was the cruise we originally booked then cancelled because of the confusion& messing around. We were told we had to leave the ship & spend 3 nights in Dubai before re-joining in the same suite!

If the 3 day loop has gone, together with the previously scheduled re-fit, and the 18 night cruise is waitlisted, that sounds like Regent are still uncertain re: Suez/Middle Eastern situation or something else us going on regarding Voyager!

Well spotted! Thought about ignoring it but, as you say, either word would be pertinent.

The “….concept of…”,rather. Tried to edit, but too late!

TA’s must be very different in the USA then! I’m struggling with the conceit that some random TA can have greater influence, awareness or access to higher levels of management than someone employed by the cruise line. There are a couple of well known ones who tout themselves all over the internet & social media, but are they actually as great as they tell us? A local TA, who books about 30 or 40 folks a year, at most, on a particular line can’t have as much impact as a C C who is dealing with hundreds, even thousands, per week, surely?

My consultant has just implemented a helpful amendment to a future booking which was directed through 2 senior execs in overseas offices. I was copied in on the exchanges. I’m more than happy with that level of assistance and attention tbh.

On 5/13/2024 at 11:17 PM, Texas Tillie said:

When push comes to shove, and you may be lucky and never have any difficulty, but if the worst happens, do you want to be dealing with someone whose loyalty is to you or someone whose loyalty is to their employer?

It makes no difference - a TA still has to deal with SS! I trust myself to resolve an issue more favourably than a 3rd party, any day of the week tbh.