First Regent Cruise (Japan)

[dipndotter421]

I've been on several Princes & Royal Caribbean Cruises, but this will be my first Regent Cruise. We are taking the 11-night Towering Skylines Cruise next October. I'm in the process if booking our shore excursions and my understanding is ding reservations won't be open for awhile. Any other insights that I need to know or things that need to be taken care of right away?

[carolina cruisin]

If you are on the Oct 7 trip, we may see you.  We will be starting in Vancouver then the second segment, Tokyo-Tokyo.  You are correct that dining reservations are down the road a bit.  If you are going to use air deviation, that will be 210 days out.  Hope to see you then.

[mj_holiday]

The dates for excursions, dining reservations and final payment will be found on your booking.  There has been alot of info on this forum about booking your flights with Regent or on your own.  The date for that is 210 days out.  Your travel Agent can help with that.  If you are in suites below the butler levels, you can email or call Regent a couple months before embarkation and let them know your desires for the bar in your cabin.  We usually ask for an after dinner sherry, a bottle of red wine, some beer (only cans fit in the frig) and club soda.  They will replenish as your cruise goes along.  If you have a butler, there should be a form someplace in your online account.

If you want breakfast in your suite before excursions, I would use the door hanger, and that arrives on time.  If just want coffee while getting ready, call room service and the coffee come very quickly.

[cwn]

51 minutes ago, dipndotter421 said:

I've been on several Princes & Royal Caribbean Cruises, but this will be my first Regent Cruise. We are taking the 11-night Towering Skylines Cruise next October. I'm in the process if booking our shore excursions……

We cruised on Princess and HAL before we moved to Seabourne then to Regent.

Don’t get your expectations to high for the shore excursions….. there are the same ones you would get on your other cruise lines. Regent just provides them free(included in the ticket price) or for a small change if the original tour cost is over -$125-50. Usually your bus won’t be full if it is a bus tour… but Japan tours seem to be more popular with passengers making the bus fuller than usual.and tours sell out more than usual.

We have had some outstanding Regent tours… but we have had a few bombs! Same as with other ships They all use the same companies. The greatest thing about using Regent tours from say like Princess is the ease which you can change something/add something once on the ship. 
Be sure and read everything about the tour not just the brief write up at the top. If you are fit… able to walk, stand, do steps with ease there will be lots of choices generally. If you are not that fit read carefully what you will do. Some tours will be sit on the bus and look kind for “old folk” but others will have a lot of activity involved. Ones I like best are the ones that go to a site/town telling you about the site  and leave you to explore on your own especially in place as interesting and different as Japan.
Enjoy!