captjohn
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Posts posted by captjohn
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Don't mean to do the wrong thing BUT does anyone know if it's possible to upgrade to first class on domestic air travel with Regent? I know I sound jaded but the last trip back here from Miami in coach was terrible. I guess when you get used to flying Business when you go back to coach it's just not fun for this old guy.
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Well, this sure turned out to be a memorable day, but not necessarily for the right reasons!
We were unable to anchor close to Boca da Valeria because of the level of the river. We had to anchor about a 15 minute tender ride from the village, which was disappointing, because I was hoping to see the village from the ship. Apparently in the dry season, which we are in the middle of, the river level is too low to allow ships close to the village. A ship just last week almost grounded because of getting too close. So better safe than sorry.
We opted to go to the gym and then participate in the Rolling Ball tournament this morning before heading out to the village. However, as we were leaving the tournament, someone was talking about their village experience earlier, and so we asked about it. They were appalled at what was going on there...the people have captured sloths, birds (whose wings they've clipped) and other wildlife just to show them off to get people to pay for photos of them. According to Terry Breen, the sloths at least will die once they are taken out of the trees...so basically these people are killing the wildlife just to make some money. Many, many people were saying that they feel that Regent should stop supporting this "village" (which I've already explained is not a real village) because it just does not fit into what Regent stands for. Based on what we heard from so many others, we opted not to go to the village. I understand that there are many who will disagree with our decision, and that's okay. Mike and I just could not see supporting anything that causes the deaths of any animals.
So today should have been a relaxing sea day for us, but it ended up being anything but, thanks to my clumsiness. First, I banged the snot out of my index finger when trying to come into the cabin. There is a large, heavily framed mirror in the entrance to the cabin, and I was trying to move over so Mike could get into the cabin after hitting the gym. Well, I slammed my finger into the edge of that mirror, pulling back a huge chunk of skin. That finger is now swollen and bruised.
But that's NOTHING compared to the left side of my face. There was a putting tournament this afternoon, and there were so many people that we were having to wait until others finished just to get putters and balls to use. Mike and I finally got a putter and started at the first hole. I finished, and went to hand him the putter...and fell flat on my face when my flip flop got caught on the little hill on the green. Unfortunately, there was a rock bordering the green that managed to jump up and meet with my face. I honestly thought I had broken my jaw initially. But after rolling over, and having a whole lot of people rushing over to check on me (I have to say, Regent passengers are the BEST...well, except for the guy who wanted me to get off the green so he could play through!!!), we figured out that I had just scraped the side of my face badly. And hit it hard enough that my entire left eye is now swollen shut and is purple all the way from my cheekbone to my eyebrow. Oh my, I wish I could post photos!!!
Folks have been so nice to me, and I am more embarrassed than inujred (although it does hurt, don't get me wrong). Lorraine actually left a message on our phone telling me how sorry she is (news travels fast on a cruise ship, especially when a passenger face plants into a rock) and how she hopes I will be okay (she was just SO sweet). I did have to go the medical center for them to check me out...and have me sign a bunch of paperwork so that I won't sue them (honestly, they wanted me to do a breathalyzer and yes, I did have a beer at lunch but was hardly inebriated). But I was more than willing...again, better safe than sorry.
So it appears that for the rest of the cruise, I am going to have a purple eye and be the talk of the town. Yippee!!!!
We're suppoed to do the pink dolphin cruise tomorrow in Manaus, and all I can say is...I hope my sunglasses will fit over the swelling!!!!
So sorry to hear about your accident. Hope you'll be feeling better with time of course. Interesting the ship's crew response. I had a situation where in observation lounge a wine glass was broken from behind the bar and a shard flew into my eye. I was fine and was able to remove the shard. But I also experienced the interview with the ships doctor and security. Interestingly they checked the bottom of my shoes also? I was also surprised that after the incident no one from Regent checked to see how I was doing, I was fine but no one checked.
Question, have they decorated for the holidays yet or are the waiting till we board on the 21st.
Hope you can enjoy the rest of your cruise. Our Amazon cruise is one of our more memorable trips and after your reports thinking we will have to return. See you in Miami(:
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Okay I know but this is just for fun ! Travelcat 2 and we will soon be titanium. No big deal but wondering what's next, maybe "Plutonium". So the question is if there was a Plutonium level what the benefits might be? And how many nights would be required to attain Plutonium? Maybe a 1 category upgrade or a full body massage each night? The required nights might be something like 1000 but then again who really cares! Interesting don't you think.
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Great, we will be looking forward to your reports. We will board the Mariner on the Dec.21 so let us know the latest (:
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Well after a week aboard- I love this ship ! The only complaint I had was the noise in CR. Well on our second visit we got a table in the very back of the room- it was great ! Thanks Jackie. Also getting on/off the tender is much better and safer. All the specialty restaurants are great also. Service by staff has been wonderful.
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OK- thinking I had a little too much fun last night :) But really it was noisy. Jackie I think we will go for the side area like you suggested. Once on board you can try for more reservations in the specialty restaurants. We have secured 3 additional nights.
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Room F1, Very good, plenty of room, glad we chose this room.
Food , excellent, don't understand other comments that have been negative.
We have had dinner in Chartreuse, Pacific Rim and feel the food was the best we have experienced. Tonight we had dinner in Compass Rose the food was very good BUT the noise level was very high! We will not go back for dinner in Compass Rose.We did see that the room is in a "U" shape and think that if your table was in the top of the "U" it would be better.
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Two cruise ships and a sailboat have canceled their scheduled arrival for tomorrow October 25, in the port of Funchal. According to the Ports of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Disney Wonder, Regent Seven Seas Navigator, and the sailboat Corvith Cramer have decided not to scale in the port of Funchal.
The Captaincy of the port of Funchal have issued warning today, due to deteriorating weather conditions and strong winds on the island of Madeira. The National agency IPMA placed the archipelago under orange warning due to strong winds and waves up to 12 meters.
Seven Seas Navigator is on a 24 Nights Lisbon to Cape Town - West African Expedition Cruise. Disney Wonder is on a transatlantic cruise, returning to Port Canaveral after extensive dry dock refurbishment in Navantia shipyard in Cadiz, Spain.
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Hi John - no, there is no charge - it is just a popular area. Two of Oceania's restaurants have the same tables by the rear windows. Getting these amazing view seats can be a challenge unless you get there early or are lucky! Keep in mind that Chartreuse and Prime 7 are open for lunch. It is a great time to get one of the view tables.
Thanks, could not imagine there would be a charge, just wondering.
Did not know about Chartreuse and Prime 7 being open for lunch. Is this just on the Explorer ? Oh and I like the "romantic " part !
John
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I certainly think that people should post their reviews. My response was meant to be directed to ronrick1943 due his experience on Oceania. In general, I think that food reviews should be taken with a grain of salt. Not only because our tastes are different but because, unless someone has had the opportunity to try several offerings in a restaurant, their experience is minimal. This is particularly true of Chartreuse. I've mentioned that my two visits to Pacific Rim were disappointing. However I am not suggesting that this would be the case for anyone else. We will be trying different appetizers and entrees next month and my opinion may change.
newlondon: Certainly people have different tastes in décor and I am learning (from you and a few other posters) that décor matters to some people. Personally, the itinerary, service, food, size of suites and number of dining venues outweigh décor. The reason we do not like the Nautica (we have toured the ship) is the size of the suites - for us this is a deal breaker.
PaulaJK: I have never said that service is subjective but you bring up a good point. It has been explained to me that people from North America have different requirements for "good service" than in some other countries (however, this isn't the right thread to discuss this). I'm sure that if you think about service in countries that you have visited you will recall the differences.
In terms of Chartreuse, we have only dined there once and look forward to doing so again. While we did not sit near the windows in Chartreuse, we did in P7. We found that looking out at the ocean while dining was quite romantic (however, this was during the summer so it was still light which is not the case now). Also, these are considered prime seats so if they want to seat you there, just let them know that you would prefer another area.
Jackie, just a quick question. You said " Also, these are considered prime seats so if they want to seat you there, just let them know that you would prefer another area.".
Is there an extra charge for these seats ?
John
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FYI--
Oceania, Regent gain several brand-dedicated team members
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Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises now have additional brand-dedicated executives, in the areas of revenue management, guest relations and public relations.
These changes follow the recent return of Bob Binder to lead Oceania as president and ceo, while Jason Montague newly focuses on Regent as president and ceo.
Stacey Stone is now dedicated to the Oceania brand as svp revenue management, while Wes D’Silva was promoted to vp revenue management for Regent.
Gair O’Neill was named senior director of guest relations for Oceania, while guest relations at Regent will now report up to Pat Scheer, vp passenger services.
Tim Rubacky became senior director of public relations for Oceania, after most recently serving as director of international marketing for Oceania and Regent. (A successor in that job is to be named.) And Jason Lasecki is now focused on Regent as senior director of public relations.
Oceania and Regent have always had dedicated marketing, sales and hotel operations teams. The realignments in revenue management, guest relations and PR are intended to provide additional support for each brand, a spokesman told Seatrade Cruise News.
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Has anyone who has cruised on the Explorer had one of the balconies that is angled ? On the MV we were next door to one but I didn't want to seem nosy peeking around the corner. I just realized that next Spring our suite has the angled balcony. Maybe it's not a big deal, just curious to hear from someone who has seen it live.:confused:
We are on the same cruise with you guys and on the opposite side of the ship # 817.I think we made a good decision.Good views, a little more space.Looking forward to see you again.
John & Christina
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We had wanted to do this trip on Regent but instead booked the next 2 cruises starting in Montreal.Guess we did the right/lucky thing.I wonder how they will get the ship to Montreal!! Maybe a heavy- lift helicopter ?
John
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Did you hear about " The day the earth stood still" ? That caused all the tide tables to change! See there's an explanation for everything.
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Just to add- maybe a good time to buy, see link below.
I of course bought at the high but have been enjoying the benefit.:)
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I didn't see the PDF link - thanks for answering that question. I remember when Regent reclassified many suites a couple of years ago. They will probably "grandfather" passengers that have already booked those suites. Also, I suspect that these are the suites with the larger balcony that was discussed a while ago.
TC2- yes you are right. We have one of these suites for our Nov. cruise and also for our Miame-Venice in 2017 and there is no change in our fare. We chose the one on the "bump out" for the size of the balcony.I think it is the perceived value since they are close to mid-ship.There are only 2 suites with slightly larger balconies.
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The following Category F2 suites will be reclassified to Category F1 suites effective with all voyages departing January 15, 2017 forward: 732, 733, 734, 735, 736, 737, 738, 739, 744, 745, 746, 747, 748 and 749.
Thank you. I should have known that! I just hit myself on the side of my head-ouch
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Just wondering if anyone has noticed the deck plan for deck 7 . They are showing a different kind of symbol for the F2 Suites with no explanation of what they mean. So was wondering if any of you know what it's all about ? Thanks
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Jim, I agree completely, as one who needs to go pee during the night. I hate to turn on that bright light and then trying to make my way back to bed without killing myself !!
So I bring my own light. With the almost new LED lights that do NOT use much energy, it is possible to plug the LED light into the existing shaver outlet.There are a couple of things to consider;
1-Voyager, the shaver outlet has a switch for 120V or 220V. You must select the proper voltage.
2- Mariner, the shaver outlet is only ON when the lights are on, bummer.So when we are on the Mariner I bring a 6' extension cord that I plug into the vanity outlet,then run it through the shelf rail. I only plug it in at night.
3- Navigator,you will have to excuse me but it's been so long but I think the situation is the same as the Voyager.
Hope this helps with the current fleet but of course does not answer your Explorer question but may help for other Regent cruises. -
Think they should make clothing optional !! That should slow down the demand !!!
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The absolute best site is http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ It includes airlines you have never heard of but, excludes for instance Southwest. It actually is the search engine that travel agents and many airlines use. They also provide specific sites for many major airlines.
Searching is easy with lots of options the only thing you can't do is book on this site but, it will give you every option flying from LA as don't believe you are going anywhere that Southwest flies to.
Sometimes it asks you to login but, that is simple and doesn't commit you to anything including spam e-mails. Many many knowledgeable people on CC highly recommend it. Any of the commercial sites you can book at like Kayak, Expedia, Orbitz, etc. give you some flights but, none of them match itasoftware.
Good luck,
rallydave is correct. itasoftware is the best site to do research on !! Google flights is is also another option. Believe Google owns ITA. but it looks different.
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Will the Explorer be driven with Pods or direct drive ?
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I understand but would like to express my/our opinion. The coffee I agree with other comments but find the coffee from the automatic machines to be OK.
Wine well that's another subject ! Totally agree that selection of included Chardonnay is very bad!!!!! Jackaroo Chardonnay being case in point! We have brought some wine aboard that we prefer, but it gets a little heavy!
I don't want to be totally negative so if anyone at Regent is reading this a couple of suggestions. First Chardonnay should not be OLD and yellow! We are not " connie sewers" but a couple of suggestions which are not over priced in our opinion Kendall Jackson, La Crema Chardonnay are for us very good.
paying for excursions up front
in Regent Seven Seas Cruises
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TC2, Just to follow up. In the end to use Regent to upgrade would would be too expensive !! So we booked "First" on our own for the out bound and got a credit for non-use of that segment. We are happy campers.