Pirouette

The captain has been very good at communicating the sea conditions and rational for the changes to the itinerary. We will have another sea day tomorrow en route to Puerto Quetzal. It is raining today and we have just passed Acapulco ( many mile away from shore) where Max is doing its damage. The swells are said to be about 13 -15 ft but they do not look that high to my untrained eye. There is some movement but it is not terrible, especially at mid ship. This is one reason we always try to book a stateroom in that area. The movement is much greater higher levels.

On a practical note for my fellow female cruisers, our cabin has one of the best set ups for applying makeup EVER! There is a vanity area outside the bathroom with its own light, mirror, separate magnifying mirror and another mirror on the wall behind. There is a drawer that is perfect for cosmetics and a shelf that can accommodate brushes and other accessories. No need to fight for bathroom mirror time or space. The lighting and vanity configuration it better than most hotels.

Great day to do laundry. Now that code red is over the laundrette is available. It is frankly a great place to talk with other passengers. Everyone is very friendly and willing to teach Regent newcomers on how to use the machines, all free of course. I did appreciate the complimentary laundry service a couple of days ago when our clothes were returned to us clean, neatly folded in what resembled gift boxes.

We are really enjoying the food. We thought that Oceania was very good but this is better. The portions are smaller, less salty and more refined. The sommeliers seem to anticipate when the glass is running low- we have rarely had to summon them. It is nice to recognize some of the staff and crew mentioned by other cruisers.

There is not much to complain about, other than the music played by the house band which is clearly out of touch with anything remotely contemporary. We were told it would cost the band/ cruise line money to obtain the sheet music for more modern selections??????? A weak excuse. The issue has been raised several times but does not seem to be a priority. More on that another time....

TC, I will not be purchasing any emeralds either. Apparently the company had one a couple weeks ago that was flawless and .63 carats (flawless emeralds are said to be exceedingly rare). That stone sold for $34,000! Beyond most people's price range I suspect. The fellow is very nice and lets passengers try on the expensive pieces and take photos. That is as close as I will come!

Another lazy sea day today. We started with an early breakfast in CR because my husband had requested a special item. Again the chefs did not disappoint. They know my husband likes Indian food and they have offered to make it whenever he wants, subject to the availability of ingredients. I have been enjoying the regular menu items and trying not to overindulge on the vast selections.

There is a weather change today and things have started to rock and roll a little. It is not terrible but the pool was splashing all over and is not usable since lunchtime. It was very warm today. I felt for the staff working on the deck 11 international barbecue. (It was delicious says DH)

The captain has just announced that the tropical depression (one of three near us has been upgrade to tropical storm Max. It is scheduled to reach our next port, Acapulco to coincide with our arrival tomorrow. The captain had altered course and has been cruising within 4 miles of shore as tropical depressions usually develop over deeper water. He has now made the choice to cancel our stop in Acapulco.

It appears to be a very smart manoeuvre. The weather network is anticipating heavy rains and flash flooding in Acapulco tomorrow. We will be better off on the lovely Mariner. We will be deviating course and heading 100 miles out to sea to travel around the storm. The realities of cruising in hurricane season!

I have been told by several staff that they are expecting some rough seas ahead. I am not sure if that will still occur given the change in course but we will see. The emerald fashion show (my word they are beautiful) has been postponed from the 15th to the 19th due to anticipated sea conditions. Apparently some lucky passenger will model the beautiful emerald that is the size of a quail's egg!

It is the floor party shortly. I am looking forward to meeting some of my floor mates and others tonight. The theory is that you take a glass from your stateroom into the corridor or near the stairs and wine and hors d'ouevres will be offered. Sounds like fun!

A very nice day on Mariner today. The code red is lifted and things are back to normal.

Cabo San Lucas today. Because we did not book this cruise until July, all excursions were sold out. We waited for over an hour on standby this morning and nothing was available. We took a tender into port but returned immediately we have been her several times before). We enjoyed the ship for the rest of the day.

Dinner at Signatures was fantastic. It was a pleasure to have two delightful servers who could speak to us in French. The food was wonderful, better than what we have experienced on Oceania and the sommeliers were far more attentive.

The ship is still struggling to address the under sixty demographiic in the evenings. They are trying but it still needs work. More to tomorrow.

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Live on Mariner now and I thought it may be wise to start my own thread with my own observations. I welcome comments and let the discussions unfold as they may. I have learned a good deal from contributors like TC. Though I do not always agree, her perspectives are valuable and often a springboard for other exchanges of important information.

We are on our second sea day. It is still code red but arrangements are in place for those who need to have some laundry done. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon.

We have enjoyed the ship though I do find the layout strange. Maybe I am just not used to it yet. We have eaten in Prime 7 and Compass Rose for dinner and both were very good. My husband's side dishes could have been hotter in CR but otherwise the meal was enjoyable.

We joked with our server about my husband wanting daal and rice as part of the menu. To our surprise we will be having a full Indian meal tonight, specially for us! They checked their available ingredients and offered a number of comprehensive options. Very impressive!

We initially had some difficulty in determining the included wines. The servers provided inconsistent information at times. Allen came to the rescue and provided us with a complete listing of everything available, included and otherwise. He is a gem.

Another observation: if you want to feel young (I am not) and beautiful (I am not that either) in your late 50's, then cruise with Regent! This is not a criticism of fellow passengers but an observation of the different demographic that Regent attracts. It skews 10-15 years older than Oceania, many passengers with significant mobility issues. I was not prepared for this.

In the end, the service has been top notch, people are friendly and there is not much to complain about.

Please feel free to ask anything or deviate the discussion in any way you wish!

This is our first time on Regent. Our last four cruises have been on Oceania where there are similar muster drills. I agree that the drill yesterday was time consuming but essential. Sometimes the crew seemed to be herding cats. I have genuine concern should there be a true emergency, particularly for those good souls who were really making an effort but who have serious mobility challenges. I personally like to know where the lifeboat is located. The 30 minute inconvenience would pale in comparison to any real situation that could arise.

On board now for SF-NY. Code red continues. One passenger go sick last night around 6pm. Hope this isn't a situation that worsens.

We leave next week from San Francisco to New York on the Mariner. We have never cruised at this time of year before. We did encounter rough seas many years ago from Mexico to San Diego. We hit a bad storm and the waves were up to the restaurant level windows on the Diamond Princess, a very large ship. We always choose a midship stateroom and have done the same on Mariner.

I am not terribly worried about the Pacific side of our cruise but am feeling a little anxious about the leg from Cartagena-Nassau- New York. We have four sea days with a stop in Nassau. We arrive in New York on Sept 27th. What can we expect for sea conditions?

Beach or tote bags are handy at the pool area. We could bring one from home but it would be one less thing to pack if there will be one in the suite. This is our first Regent cruise so I am not familiar with what may or may not be offered. We have several totes from Oceania but I am not sure if Regent is the same in this regard.

Just off Sirena two weeks ago. The food at Tuscan Steak was fine. The problem is that the lighting is just too bright. There is nothing romantic about the space. This was the consensus of many couples on our cruise. Some even considered wearing sunglasses in the restaurant at night to make the point. they did dim the lights slightly, but it is still too bright

Just returned from a very nice 12 day cruise on Sirena. We were met with high winds from last Saturday and ports and tender schedules were altered accordingly. Safety first! Very impressive response from the captain in also closing off access to all outside portions of the decks.

En route from Toulon (substituted for Sanary sur Mer) to Barcelona, strong winds caused the veranda doors to blow in on an 8th floor stateroom. Apparently no one was hurt, but it is a little disconcerting. The winds were strong but crew said they were certainly not the strongest. Things can happen but this was certainly unusual.

I had to try it with all the comments on this thread. The dressing is tasty but totally saturated the romaine lettuce which appeared to have been kept at room temperature. It was not crisp at all. The server reused a ceramic bowl to mix the salad. There were still traces of a previously made Caesar in the bowl, i.e. large pieces of dressing soaked romaine. No wooden bowl, no real mixing table side, just a large spoonful of prepared dressing poured over what appeared to be less than fresh romaine lettuce, topped then with anchovy filets and shaved Parmesan. It was fine but not authentic, likely for the health reasons others have stated. I would not likely order it again. The rest of the meal was fantastic however!

I have read that some cruise lines offer a water shuttle to San Marco from the port. Does Oceania do this or is it just a shuttle to the people mover?

We just booked our fourth O cruise today. Our first cruise was on Marina and we selected an OV GTY. We were not offered an upsell or upgrade that time.

Our next cruise was on Marina. We booked an OV stateroom and were offered an upsell to a concierge A2 for $250. On our third cruise (Riviera) we again booked an OV stateroom and were able to negotiate a similar upgrade to Concierge A2 for $250 on the morning of departure. We had been offered several upsells before that but the price had been more than we were willing to pay for the cabin offered. It all turned out in the end.

Today my TA surprised me with an upgrade from a D cabin on an R ship to a C1 at no cost to us. I think it is because we are celebrating an important anniversary and it is also our fourth O cruise in less than four years.He said it was a gift from him and O. It does happen!

Thank you. I have contacted the air department at my TA. They are calling O now to find out the proposed routing from Vancouver. Once I have that information I can then make an informed choice. I have already looked at a number of options-there are several that seem to all be at the same general price point. I will know soon if any of those options fall under the O umbrella or otherwise.

We are about to make a last minute booking for a European cruise that leaves early next month. This will be our fourth O cruise and we have always paid for an air deviation to have more time at both the start and end of the cruise. This time we are content to arrive the day of the cruise as the ship will remain in port that first night and similarly on the last night. Because we are within 30 days the full balance is due immediately.

I am concerned about flight selection. Last time we connected in Toronto for a flight to Lisbon on Air Canada Rouge. It was awful and not an experience we wish to repeat. We would prefer to fly from Vancouver to either Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich etc and then connect to a Venice bound flight. It is shorter in duration and much more convenient. The cost of routing through European hubs appears to be very similar to routing through Canada. If we are not requesting a deviation do we have any control over our routing? i.e. If we ask not to fly on a particular carrier or routing, will that be construed as a deviation request and attract the deviation fee?

Have you thought of looking for a private transfer from a local agency in Split? We did a land based holiday in the Balkans last September and spent 4 nights in Split. Trogir was a nice afternoon trip. It was about an hour by car. We had a private guide.

We rarely use the ship's tours. They are overpriced and too crowded. There are exceptions: Cinque Terre was fine, but we really prefer to make our own arrangements. That way we are in control of how we spend the time.

We used Secret Dalmatia for our arrangements in Croatia. Maybe they could make some suggestions for local drivers and guides from Split.

Florence is not a day trip. You could spend days there as we have done on a land based holiday . We did the Cinque Terre excursion on our September cruise as we had already spent time in Florence. We enjoyed Cinque Terre very much and learned that we would not want to spend several days there. The area is lovely but very different from the attractions of Florence. I am pleased to have visited Cinque Terre but I doubt we will return. Florence on the other hand....

Take the B cabin and let your TA know that you are open to an upsell. We have done it twice and ended up with a concierge veranda for a very modest additional cost. We like the perks of the concierge cabins but not at the original price.

It may depend on the cruise and how well it is selling. It worked for us in both the Med and in the Caribbean when in both instances we had a selected cabin rather than a guarantee.

If you have an OBC you can wait and purchase on the day you board and use the credit toward the price of the package

This has never been an issue on our two most recent cruises. We ate in one of the specialties every night but one and thought we should give the Grand Dining room a chance on one of the nights. We eat late and always request a table for two. We never had difficulty getting additional reservations. It may depend on the cruise but that was also our experience on the Marina last September. There are mumblings about some changes on these boards, but as of two weeks ago, we did not see any evidence of this.

We used SPB Tours (ViKtoria) for a four city package on our 2012 Baltic cruise. We joined on to a group of 8 so there were 10 in total. It worked well. We did the ship's tour in Gdansk because it included a visit to a nearby concentration camp. The guide was the son of two camp survivors. He made it a very moving and personal experience. We do not usually do ship tours, but this one was worth every penny.

We are just finishing our cruise on Riviera. We have not experienced any rigid attitude regarding extra specialty reservations. I wonder if it depends on the cruise? We overheard one of the crew say that the restaurants had been told to be flexible on our current cruise. We have had no difficulty with dining where we wanted on any given night, and we had the same experience on Marina in September. We prefer to dine late and always request a table for two. It has never been a problem. Several Maitre-D's on Marina actually invited us to return several times. We never slipped anything to anyone, but as others have said, a smile and being polite goes a long way. Our experience on Riviera this time has been similar.

The champagne is Montaudon, the bottle in the stateroom is Jacquart. The Chardonnay selection is limited-the Macon has been my choice.

We are about to embark on our third O cruise-the second within 6 months. We have always chosen an Ocean View cabin because we like the location. Our first cruise was in the Baltics so a balcony was not that important to us. We accepted an upsell to an A2 cabin on our Med cruise in September, so we had the concierge experience. It was nice to be able to access the spa deck, but we used it maybe once in the whole 10 days. The itinerary was port intensive so we did not have a lot of time on the ship.

The concierge lounge is a large room with a seating area, newspapers, a TV, some travel info and a refrigerator case of snacks. There is also coffee and tea available. The concierge sits at a desk and, in theory, arranges dining reservations etc. We always found the snacks to be lacking, and sometimes stale. The cookies on O are terrible!

We were more successful at negotiating our own extra reservations once aboard. Our experience was that the concierge really did not do anything beyond what we were able to do ourselves. We were able to dine at specialty restaurants even on nights when he insisted that they were full. I saw him making travel and tour arrangements for some passengers and that may be a helpful service. He also sells laundry tokens.

We are in a similar quandry with our upcoming cruise. We have been offered two upsells over the last two days, from Ocean View to B1 but the cost is more than we paid for our upsell to A2 in September. We do not need another tote bag or lap blanket, but I do like the option of access to the spa deck as we have 3 sea days on this cruise. I do not think we would set out to book a concierge cabin, the value isn't there..... but if the price is right on an upsell, we would consider it again.

must have been a site glitch. No need to phone the TA.....I have made no secret about how " helpful" he has been. This is the way he always handles up sells: I get a telephone call and the forwarded e-mail from O with instructions to call the phone number. He claims it is faster that way........