erikzen

The food might not be great but you wouldn't know it looking at your pics. They at least seem to do a good job with the presentation.

I'm sure there is a team of sales professionals whose job it is to grow the business. I'm not an expert on cruise marketing but if you want to grow sales you have to go to the larger markets with people interested in your product. Without doing market research, the US seems like the obvious market to go after. Given that only 6% of Americans have Italian heritage, that's not something I would play up to a US audience. It's a shame that the things we like often change in the name of chasing a buck, but in business the old adage is true, if you're not growing, your dying. 

I'm no expert on wine or Silversea, but I have a similar question and have been trying to piece together what they offer from various posts. Seems like they have a good selection of wines in the $15-$20 range retail, so I assume these would be your $40-60 dollar wines in a similar land based restaurant. This is fine for me as I'm always buying the $20 and under bottles at home, but if you prefer wines that are a bit more upscale you'll probably have to pay extra or bring your own. My understanding of the liquor policy on Silversea is that you can bring whatever you'd like onboard at any port and there are no corkage fees.

I'll play Devil's Advocate and point out that Silversea claims they send their "butlers" to butler training a The School for Butlers and Hospitality. So it seems not only are we getting duped into thinking they are butlers but the "glorified cabin stewards" must be getting duped, too, if they think they are going for butler training, when in fact it is steward training. Or perhaps they are all in on the marketing plan.

https://schoolforbutlers.com/the-school/

https://schoolforbutlers.com/blog/teaming-up-with-the-number-one-cruise-line/

My only concern about luggage lockers is you can't reserve ahead of time. I have fears of showing up with 6 people's luggage and not having enough locker space. If anyone has some experience actually using the lockers during peak season that would be appreciated.

We thought about taking a tour but the last thing I want to do is rush off the ship to make a tour deadline after spending ten days touring the country. I think I will have had my fill of tours by then. I just want to enjoy a nice lunch and a stroll around the city, if possible, rather than sitting in the airport for 4 or 5 hours. 

I will be on a RT cruise out of Reykjavik, July 14 - July 24. Unfortunately, there are limited flights from KEF to JFK and our flight leaves at 5 PM, while we have to disembark around 9 AM. I'd like to spend a leisurely few hours in Reykjavik before having to check in at the airport but don't want to drag my bags around. I found this company called Luggage Lockers but it doesn't appear that you can reserve the lockers and I'm afraid of relying on this service and there not being any lockers available. https://www.luggagelockers.is/sizes-and-prices.html

Does anyone have any experience with this company or have any other suggestions for storing luggage?

 

On 2/18/2023 at 9:01 PM, Rothko1 said:

Only an idiot would show up for work at Apple in a tuxedo.

What if it's payday? Then he would get paid handsomely.

In any event, there seems like ample opportunity to explore ports on your own provided the out of town excursions run on time. We'll play it by ear, and if anything, definitely err on the side of caution!

Someone commented about that if you are late the ship will leave you. Oh how I wish that were true on Regent. Other may have, but I have never seen the ship leave anyone.

 

j

I take it that you've been held up from leaving port by stragglers? This seems somewhat odd and reassuring at the same time. I would assume that if you were off on your own and didn't make it back to the ship on time they'd leave without you. If you were on an excursion organized by the cruise line then yes, I would not expect them to leave you behind.

Taking my first Regent cruise in about a month. So excited!

I've tried to post some questions about specific ports previously but didn't get much response. I'll try posting a more general question.

When you take an excursion that is scheduled to return at 1 or 2 and the boat is scheduled to leave at 6 or 7, does Regent make it easy to spend that extra time in port? I know it depends on the excursion and the port city, but if practical, is this feasible?

To be more specific, I'm taking the Mariner from Rome to Venice. I'm signed up for the Pompeii excursion. When it returns I'd love to have an hour or two in Sorrento. Likewise, the same situation exists in most ports. In Bari, the excursion is due back at 2 but the boat is scheduled to leave 4 hours later. Is there time to explore and get back to the ship, and do I need to research taxis or public transportation?

I'd be interested in hearing about any experiences you may have had, on a similar cruise or any other Regent cruise for that matter.

Looking for info about Barcelona to Venice on the Mariner. Reviews tend to be somewhat negative. Honest info would be appre iated about tours and what is necessary to make our April vacation a success:)

I am a novice cruiser - the Med cruise will only be my second - but I'd take overly positive or negative reviews with a grain of salt. After booking our first cruise I had some "buyer's remorse" after reading several negative reviews, but ultimately had a great time. It all depends on what your expectations are and what's important to you.

On my first cruise, we had a problem with the toilet not flushing, and a broken TV. These problems eventually got solved and while annoying at the time, in the overall scheme of things were nothing more than temporary minor inconveniences.

I do also understand that when book a luxury cruise the expectations are different. When you read each review, determine if the things they are complaining or raving about are important to you.

I'll look into some private tours for Pompeii. However, if it's the guide that was the only problem, I could live with that. I'll have my own guidebooks and will have done my own research. I do understand that a good guide can make the experience better, but I don't think a bad guide would ruin things for me. Still, since this is a "once in a lifetime" type of experience, it may be worth it to spend a little extra.

I looked at the cruise ship terminal in Venice and it appears there is a "people mover" tram not too far from the terminal that takes you to Piazzale Roma. I can easily get a vaporetto from there. Water taxis are out of my budget.

Thanks for the tips. Glad to hear the Pompeii tour is worthwhile. Definitely looking forward to that. I want to take advantage of the included excursions as much as possible where it makes sense, but definitely am more of a DIY guy when it comes to travel and sightseeing.

Time in port is a minimum of 8 hours at each city so that should give us some time to explore on our own even if we take an included tour. I am wondering how much actual free time you practically have when you include getting on and off the ship. For example, when the schedule says the ship leaves at 6:00 PM, what time do you reasonably need to be back on board?

The itinerary lists only the first three ports as "anchor ports" - Sorrento, Taoromina, and Zaknythos. I assume the rest require a tender, which would add to the time. Is this generally time consuming and will there be long waits to get ashore? I realize each cruise is different but just wondering what the general experience is.

Does anyone know where Regent docks in Venice? Can you just walk off the ship or does it require a tender as well? The ship stays overnight in Venice the last day, which would suggest you have as much time as you want, but not if you have to keep to some kind of schedule for the tenders.

My father is treating the family to a cruise, July 19, 2015, Rome to Venice. This will only be my second cruise and my first time on Regent. I see that the shore excursions are included. Typically, I'm not one for organized tours and prefer to do my own research and explore on my own. However, given that these tours are included, I'm sure I'll want to take advantage of at least some.

The ship stops in Sorrento, Taoromina, Zakynthos, Corfu, Bari, Kotor, Zadar, Koper and Venice. Would any of these ports be more conducive than others for exploring on your own? Do any of the tours allow for enough time to also do some independent sightseeing in port?

I am very interested in the Pompeii tour as that's something I've wanted to see since I first learned about it as a child. I am also considering an independent tour in Zakynthos, as I'd like to see the "Blue Caves" but not if I'm missing a great included tour.

I also need to balance the needs of my family. Our group will include my two young children, daughter 12 and son 10. They are good travelers and can appreciate things like museums and architecture, but I also know they're kids, so another reason to explore on our own sometimes would be to give them a little extra freedom.

One other thing to consider is that my step-mother has mobility issues, but I would like to take at least one day to spend with her so if there are any recommended tours for those with limited mobility, suggestions for that are greatly appreciated as well.

Just got back from a cruise on the Westerdam on Saturday and now I'm even more amazed at your photos. They all look so crystal clear. I don't know if you had a lot of haze but all my photos are hazy. It's probably a combination of your skill, your camera, and the conditions, but despite having one of the most beautiful subjects in the world, none of my shots are of the quality of yours. Really fantastic job.

I guess it also does pay to take some of the wildlife excursions. I did see lots of wildlife from the ship but it was mostly in binocular range and not camera range (and I was using a 300mm lens on a 4/3 camera, so that's a 600mm eqivalent on a 35 mm).

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the review and the awesome photos. Did you use a polarizing filter at all?