pingpong1

Several of you remarked about how much you enjoyed having Maggie as your assistant waiter (in training under Mario). I'm very pleased to report that Maggie was our waitress at dinner tonight and did a superb job! I told her that she had many fans all over the world, who were cheering her continued success and congratulated her on her promotion. She asked me to send her "Thanks" back to everyone. She said she would (again) be leading the dancing routines at Krews Kapers on the night of 23 October. We got back this evening at around 7:30PM after a very long day of excursion trips all over Halifax and Peggy's Cove. The weather was clear, sunny, cold, and windy. Everyone had a great time. We'll be leaving port at around 11PM tonight for our 2-day sailing to Bermuda. "Fingers crossed" that it will be smooth sailing! All for now. Internet has been great ever since we first left NYC. Regards to all.

And we're onboard with Calfsealion, Mudhen, Begin The Beguine, KwajGirl and others, as well. We're all doing well and there's plenty of "happenings" going on to keep us all entertained. The shows and musical numbers are quite good. The food, wine, and service are all top notch. Jamie is doing a great job as our CD, Davor is our GM, and Capt. Ari is driving our boat. Some of us (like me) had no problem with the occasional bit of "rocking and rolling" that we encountered the other night out of Newport. But motion effects different people in different ways. The worst of the storm occurred after sunset and during the night when we were all tucked into bed. That helped. No matter which ship you're on, you are definitely going to "feel" sustained winds of 40 MPH and gusts of up to 60 MPH, along with 10-15 foot seas (like we experienced the other night). The seas are now very calm as we get ready to pull into Halifax this morning. Out of the "corner of our eye", we're following the track of tropical storm "Nestor", which is still off the coast of Florida....but is going to start moving it's way up the east coast towards the northeast during the next few days. We'll keep our fingers crossed that we can "get past it" (and south of it) before it gets to New England and Nova Scotia. We'll be headingsouth from Halifax to Bermuda this evening (Saturday). Everyone on board seems to be very happy. Last night was our Block Party, and it was lots of fun. Our own group of 4 has been able to "capture" two nights at Prime 7 in the upcoming days, All for now. Best Regards.

Hi, Kwaj - I completely agree!....Great minds think alike ((Remember, we're all "intelligent people")) 🙄 In fact, I've already bought a couple of packs of the "peel & stick" type that will just temporarily stick onto a shirt/blouse/jacket, etc. and I also have some blue "Sharpie Markers" for us to write our names on. I'll have those with me in my "hand carry bag" that I'll carry them onto the ship with me, when I come on board. I'll have those name tags with me up on the pool deck on the first afternoon. Best Regards.

Gnomie - Thanks so much for the "cheerie and positive" weather report! We'll be boarding Navigator in the early afternoon, along with "Mudhen", "Kwajgal", "California Sea Lion", "Begin The Beguine", and many other excited cruisers - both past "Regent Vets", as well as many "First-timers". We will toast you as well, from the pool deck, with Champagne in hand! Thanks very much to "Mr. Rumor" as well, for "setting the table" for us with a fresh pallet-load of Fever Tree and for ably taking care of Navigator for us prior to our embarkation. To paraphrase Ray S., "it's going to be a "glorious cruise"! Best Regards.

BBWC - Completely agree! We did exactly the same thing. We head to NYC tomorrow to board our Regent cruise on Tuesday (Yes, really excited!). 28 days ago, we called up our TA and booked a future Regent cruise in 2021. We had already done the "research" well in advance and already knew exactly which future cruise we wanted. Through our TA, we received the discount from Regent for the future cruise (about $400/PP), we only had to pay a 7.5% deposit (vice the normal 15%), and we received an additional $200 in OBC's to use on our cruise beginning Tuesday (in additional to other OBC's we also have for this cruise). So we're "Happy Campers!" - - I mean "Happy Cruisers" 😉 We had no desire to spend any time in a Travel Consultant's office while on the cruise, and wanted the extra OBC's available on our folio from "Day 1" of this cruise on Tuesday,

In my humble experience (although still anxiously awaiting to take my first Oceania Cruise in 2020), Regent (another NCL company) has provided very proactive support to CC M&G's in the past, by providing prior written announcements left in each participant's stateroom, designating and reserving dedicated meeting spaces for us, having Regent officers in attendance to introduce themselves and "mingle" with the attendees, and even providing light snacks and bar service. I wonder why there would be such a difference between the two "sister" cruise lines?

Yes Rich - Our thanks to you and Vlad, as well. Add us to the list of "Fever Tree fans"!

Rich - I highly recommend Di Millo's Restaurant On The Water. Very close to the Cruise Docks. 25 Long Wharf. The best, most scrumptious, over-sized Lobster Rolls you could ever imagine! A good place for lunch. For a tourist place, the prices were pretty reasonable. Best Regards.

I do not want to accept the premise that I (or any other customer) simply "must" sail on one particular ship (i.e., Explorer) in order to "guarantee ourselves" a consistent "5-star Regent experience" (which is advertised in all of their marketing literature).....and that if I, or anyone else chooses to sail on any of the remaining 4 Regent ships, that we should just expect, accept, and resign ourselves to the "risk" of receiving a product that may be "less consistent or desirable" than that which is offered only on the Explorer. I am pretty sure that this is not really Regent's (or FDR's) actual corporate philosophy and fundamental operating principle, either. Is it actually being opined that there is one "operating standard" for Explorer and a different (lesser) standard for the other 4 (older/smaller) ships? Really? We cannot all sail on just one ship (Explorer) all the time - nor should we have to, or want to. And when we purchase Regent cruises - all at a premium price, no matter which ship it is on, I think we all should be able to make the assumption and have the reasonable expectation that the same "Regent standard/s" will be delivered and adhered to as equally as possible, across the fleet and not restricted to just one (the newest and largest) of their ships. Regards.

"Ditto" to both Cruiseluv and Hambagahle! We'll (again) be on Navigator in less than 2 months and are very much looking forward to riding on her again!

Thanks Jimmy - We will be making our first visit to Stirrup Cay next year, so your nice video gives us a very good overview of what to look forward to. Best Regards.

Not implying that my vote actually "counts" for much, but just adding to other's observations. On numerous occasions when putting in "dummy bookings" (online) for various cruises/ships that I was interested in, I too would find that only a specific deck might show "openings" for one of those cruises. I was unable to see or "choose" any open staterooms that might be on another deck or in a different area of the ship/s. I found that "unavailability" to be very unlikely, given the fact that the cruises I was searching were still a long way off from embarkation date. And then, after "turning it over" to my TA for more research, and after she contacted Regent, she would find many more staterooms, on several different decks, also available for booking. So it would seem that perhaps Regent tries to fill up (or direct specific areas of the ship) with people doing their own bookings, while saving other areas of the ship for TA's and their clients. I'm not alleging any nefarious activity here. Perhaps it's just another good reason to use the services of a good/knowledgeable TA for final bookings.

Hi Pinot - I'm trying to plan some "future strategies" before my first O cruise. Since you and some others have mentioned the slow/non-existent wine service in Terrace Grill, would that be a good venue for us to plan on bringing our own bottle/s with us, and pay the corkage fee? Regards.

Okay - I've just put on (what some might think is) my "nit-picking hat"....Please don't be too harsh with me! 😨 Sticking with the "O reps" exact words...i.e., "you were allowed to bring 6 bottles of wine on when you embark....." what is the definition of "you"? Is the hypothetical (CYA) 6-bottle limit per "individual cruiser" or per stateroom? Given the fact that most staterooms are booked and occupied by two people, if "you" meant each person, than that would mean that each stateroom could bring a full case of private wine onboard (12 bottles per case), with empty bottles replenished in ports along the way, as the cruise progressed, right? And who, in "officialdom", would actually be "keeping count" of bottles per passenger per stateroom brought on board, anyway? The two very subjective words..."Moderation" and "reasonable" seem to be the operative controlling terms here. Personal wine brought and consumed on board is not a "problem".... until it's a "problem".

Hi Bill. Either you're still not "old enough" yet, or Economy (for you) has not yet reached the point where it has become "brutal enough" for you to "bite the bullet", "pay the piper", and just budget for the extra cost of "first". 🤬 My last "economy flight"....anywhere.....domestic or overseas....was about 10 years ago. I just couldn't take the ever-growing lines, the hoards of people, the torturously uncomfortable seats, the hassles with luggage weight limits/fees, and the feeling of "too many rats being crammed into too small of a box", etc. At that point, I made the decision that if I couldn't afford the accompanying FC/BC fares for a trip.....I just won't go. "I felt your pain". "Ronrick" makes a very good point. If you can plan far enough in advance, compare all options, be willing to consider various times/routings/airlines, you may well find reasonably-priced FC domestic fares that are just not that much different from many more expensive Economy fares. "Good hunting"! About a year ago, a friend of mine was flying R/T from Phoenix to Myrtle Beach. I was following him out about 2 days later and he was quite miffed when he discovered that I was doing the same itinerary, but different times/different airlines in F/C for LESS money than what he was paying for in Economy. Best Regards.