Techno123

I beg to differ - I have certainly seen a man in shorts refused admission to CR and asked to go to change (there is some leeway if an excursion has returned late but that wasn't the case here) and others have seen people in the bars asked to go and change after 6pm. In fairness the dress code is not hard to adhere to.

As my granny used to say, look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves 😁

We will also be in Tokyo in a few weeks but as we are from the UK (and have 'only' booked a superior F1suite) we don't get the 'luxury' hotel, we get what Regent refers to as a 'forced' overnight. They have booked us into the 'GRAND PRINCE SHIN' which I believe is in Takanawa. We could be in a cupboard - who knows 😜

Try not to stress as we ladies have a lot more leeway. I agree with @Golfwife1 feedback but generally it's no shorts, T-shirts, jeans or trainers/sneakers after 6pm when out and about around the ship. Dresses or skirts (long or short) that you feel good in if you like these, nice blouses/tops (long or short sleeved), 'proper' trousers/pants wide leg, medium leg, cigarette leg whichever is your preference, high heels/low heels - closed toe or sandals and something to pop round your shoulders if the air con is overly fierce. I have never seen anything written down regarding the rather large amount of flesh that my younger friends have on show when they are dressed up for an evening out but I make sure tops and bottoms meet in the middle and skirts significantly cover knickers (or is that just an age thing 😂😂😜😜)

In the UK we haven't had the 'packs' for a while - I think they trialled this with the UK/Europe (much to our chagrin) then have rolled it out to US guests. We didn't get the pack for our recent Seabourn cruise either (in fact we had to print off our own tags). I don't credit them with total altruism, but all the cruise lines are trying to improve their environmental credentials for example, reducing fuel use, stopping/ significantly reducing the use of single use plastic bottles etc and so from an environmental point of view not sending the packs is far better - reduction in plastic that will go to landfill and a reduction in fuel used to transport them to guests all over the world (if they don't send the paper ones either 😜) and of course, whilst doing good, it saves a bit of money too.

It would be a shame to miss your last night onboard. If your ship is docked and customs cleared the day before I can't see a reason why you could not get off the ship very early morning. I am sure the ship would be able to book you a taxi and it's only 20/30 mins from Yokohama to Haneda I believe. Don't put your bags out the night before though, keep everything with you and take them down in the morning. Best bet would be to ask your local Regent office to double check (though not at the moment as they are dealing with the fallout from the cancelled Israel and Egypt ports and flight changes)

So you have visited all 6000? Or just the 227 that are inhabited? or just the ports you visited on cruises? Saying been there, done that, not impressed is an insult to a lovely part of the world. The Greek Islands are many, beautiful and diverse but can only really be appreciated properly by stopping at least a few days (preferably far away from cruise passengers - no insult to my fellow cruisers intended but we do tend to choke up the small ports 😜) My view is that cruising is like a smorgasbord - it gives you a taste of an area - if you enjoy the taste you can go back for more and really immerse yourself. If a place is on your bucket list, a cruise is probably not the best way to visit it for the only time as it tends to be rather contrived.

Hope you feel better soon. We picked Covid up on our Norwegian cruise in July - it was definitely worse than the version we picked up in March 2022.

Is travel insurance not a 'thing' for people who live in the US? Living in the UK, we never travel (even within the UK) without travel insurance to cover health, lost things and unforeseen events. Certainly if we had a land trip to Israel it would be covered as the FCDO have warned against travel. However, don't know what happens in this case although reading previous posts it would seem some UK customers have received a refund. Several years ago we had all our Turkish stops cancelled on a Seabourn cruise because of unrest there and it was a frantic scramble to rebook flights to different airports, but in fairness to Seabourn, they refunded our original flights (they did not include flights at this point) and paid for an overnight hotel when we disembarked. I think the disruption and debt incurred during Covid has definitely impacted how 'generous' the cruise companies can be 😢

Thank you, welshfamily - it looks like we are 😁. BA are not my favourite airline but the other options offered by Regent included a change in the Middle East so between the chance of losing luggage and the current situation in that general area I hope BA direct are the least worst option 😜

Taken from an article in the Independent newspaper I believe this is the UK/EU 'rule' for package holidays (which a cruise holiday is). So it's not Regent favouring UK guests over others, it is a legal responsibility. However, as they have changed the itinerary, I don't know if that changes things as the cruise won't be going to Israel Late on Sunday the Foreign Office strengthened its warning to read: “The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories [OPTs].” Therefore due to package holiday rules, Travellers who have booked packages to Israel and are due to travel imminently can cancel without penalty for a full refund because of the “no-go” warning from the Foreign Office.

We live near to Llandudno so about 45 miles to Chester - our nearest city 😁 I will look forward to your Silversea report - we do Singapore to HongKong on the Nova but not til early 2025.

@fudge - we are off to Japan on the Explorer (4 weeks on Saturday). We too are doing BA (back with Etihad) but sadly not first but in cattle class (well with emergency exit seats for the leg room and to avoid the person in front knocking my teeth out when they recline 😂😂) Your comments about expectations are spot on. We did a Norwegian cruise with Seabourn in July - like you, the bad weather seemed to chase us from the North Cape southwards. Mr Techno had envisaged sailing through fjords every day but we only did 3 in the 14 days so something he had really been looking forward to did not materialise ( in fairness to Seabourn they cancelled one fjord pre cruise but otherwise provided what was advertised it's not their fault he never listens 😂😂). So he has decided not to look forward to our upcoming Japan and far east cruise so he can't be disappointed 🤔🤔 Thank you for your most entertaining thread - I have really enjoyed reading about your's and the lovely Mrs Fudge's adventures - hope the ribs heal soon 😜😜

@caviarforme I couldn't book on source either, however, I went into itinerary and the day I wanted to book and there was an option there to make a reservation. Try that to see if it works for you

We were upgraded from a V1 to a V4 which was 1128 on the Ovation. We loved the location - you are high up but close to the elevators, never heard any noise and it was easy to get to 'the other side' using the outside stairs and crossing either the pool deck or walking track (or using the elevator). Ours was a Norwegian cruise so a bit rough at times (and I get very seasick) but took my travel sickness pill twice a day and I was fine. Would certainly sail in that suite again. I think the slanted entrance is where the shower 'sticks out' and so it makes it seem like it's on an angle - I would say more an alcove though.

@RachelG what a waste of your time taking you to Sintra for 30 minutes. We were there for the best part of a day and still didn't see everything!

@tubeamps - be careful though as our Japan/SE Asia cruise for next month was cancelled as no stops allowed in China. Offered an alternative at 25% off which, when booked onboard (so should be best price) ended up being £2000 more expensive.

Well we Brits don't tip as such in pubs but many will offer 'one for yourself' if it's a very big round or you have been there all evening or it's your local etc but generally it's a one off, certainly not a tip for every drink! (Or maybe it's just a 'Northern thing 😁).

Are you sure you're not in Wales 😜😁

The offer I have seen with my TA is flights and a night before and 3 after in Barbados (but not sure what is the TA ans what Regent)

It might be less for the cruise than another business class flight 😂

We did Sintra on our own as suggested by @Sunprince. I highly recommend a full day there. Cascais was a nice seaside resort which we also accessed by the train but we then took bikes and cycled further along the coast. Have you been to Belem? That is interesting too. First 4 photos are Sintra, next 2 Belem and last one Cascais 😁

We did the same in Copenhagen - docking at 7:30am and flight at 10:10am we talked to the staff in Seabourn Square who said to keep our bags and wait by the gangway at about 7:20. We were first off at 7:25 and in the airport by 8:15 BUT we were very lucky they don't guarantee that the ship will be customs cleared even if it docks on time.

A friend has got very into his photography and took these using time lapse in a place called Oswestry on the Wales/England border so we are even seeing the Aurora down here 😁

I agree witH @PaulMCO there are a few reports on these ( there is a search box at the top of the forum which you can customise) which I have had a look at. @flossie009 chose the Tokyo and Hakone one which is a little more expensive but from her report, sounded far better.