Booking our first Regent in 4 years!

Well, never say never, eh? After a couple of weeks of furious planning after we cancelled our fall Tauck river cruise, proposals, counter-proposals, quotes, poring over guidebooks and internet forums, we have decided to come back to Regent for a cruise on Mariner.

We should be booked by today. The wonderful thing is I only have to wait until next January. The other nice thing is that I get to combine this with a visit to our friends in Manta, Ecuador, which we were planning in this timeframe. And the Air is only one-way since we live in Florida in the winter, and embarkation is in Miami.

Yes, it's expensive, but I believe it will be good value for us. We only have an H guarantee, as I've been assured there are no bad cabins on Mariner. We've never been on this ship before, so that will be exciting. I know the rooms are smaller, but we will be just fine, I'm sure.

And I am looking forward to again being completely pampered for 18 days (our longest cruise ever), with everything taken care of--no drink cards to flash, no excursions to organize, no calculating the cost of specialty restos or worrying about tips. Back to that wonderful experience of not worrying about a thing, in total luxury--Regent, hope you live up to this!

Welcome back Wendy!

Welcome back Wendy!

Thanks Jackie. I'm pretty pumped. Of course, first we do the PG again!

Wendy, when you are in Roatan, be sure to go on the Gumbalimba Preservation Park excursion where you get to visit the monkeys. We loved it! I have photos on my travel page. It is in the 2012 photos.

http://www.billinlodi.com

Thanks. I should have mentioned that it's Miami - Lima, January 17th. The route is a bit different from the 2018 similar cruise, and better for us, since we have done the Western Caribbean quite enough.

So we don't do Roatan. Here's the itinerary:

MIAMI, FLORIDA

CRUISING THE BAHAMIAN WATERS

CRUISING THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

GUSTAVIA, ST. BARTS

FORT DE FRANCE, MARTINIQUE

ST. GEORGE'S, GRENADA

CRUISING THE CARIBBEAN SEA

BONAIRE (KRALENDIJK), NETHERLANDS

ORANJESTAD, ARUBA

SANTA MARTA, COLOMBIA

CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA

PANAMA CANAL TRANSIT

CRUISING THE PACIFIC OCEAN

MANTA, ECUADOR

GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR

CRUISING THE PACIFIC OCEAN

SALAVERRY, PERU

LIMA (CALLAO), PERU

LIMA (CALLAO), PERU

Wendy:

Really glad to hear you decided to book another Regent cruise. I think (and certainly hope) you will really enjoy the Mariner and this incredible itinerary. My favorite spot is the Mariner lounge where I would have a couple of cocktails every evening before dinner.

Small world; I deployed to Manta over fifty times between Feb 2002 and Nov 2011 staying at the Oro Verde or Howard Johnson hotels. Lots of memories, both happy and sad. Please have a ceviche and Pilsner beer for us.

Z and TB

Excellent! Happy to have you back. George and I did a similar itinerary a few years ago and had a wonderful time. We were in Manta on a Sunday and went to church. The people were so welcoming.

Wendy,

If y'all are considering a post cruise in Lima (e.g. Machu Picchu, et. al.) recommend

kuoda travel. Only Cusco based Travel Agency--they know peru.

Wendy,

 

If y'all are considering a post cruise in Lima (e.g. Machu Picchu, et. al.) recommend

kuoda travel. Only Cusco based Travel Agency--they know peru.

Wendy,

Echo in spades Wes's recommendation of Kuoda Travel. We did a tour with them to Machu Pichu and it was so much better than what the cruise line sold and about 1/2 the price. We even stayed at the Sanctuary which is the on-site hotel about 100 ft. from the entrance.

Don't miss Machu Pichu and for sure contact Kuoda. They will customize the tour to what YOU want!!!!

We are not going to Machu Picchu. Just not going to happen. From Lima we'll be flying north to see our friends in Ecuador. On the coast. It's an altitude thing.

Welcome back, Wendy!

I'd love to be able to do an itinerary like yours, but real long flights not do-able for my dear one at this point. Wish it'd be Miami-Miami, but then we couldn't afford the cruise (and probably couldn't manage being away that long.)

We like the Mariner a lot, especially the shower.

Happy Sails!

Welcome back, Wendy!

 

I'd love to be able to do an itinerary like yours, but real long flights not do-able for my dear one at this point. Wish it'd be Miami-Miami, but then we couldn't afford the cruise (and probably couldn't manage being away that long.)

 

We like the Mariner a lot, especially the shower.

 

Happy Sails!

Yes, the Miami to Miaimi trip would be amazing. These flights won't be that long. One can fly through Panama City, which means 4-5 hours per leg I suspect. Of course, then there is getting to and from Miami.

This is a good one for us--only fly one way and we can afford Premium Economy or even Business on Copa.

Wes - I'm very happy to see you back on the "R board" here. I know you've switched a lot of your cruising to SS but I've always enjoyed reading about your travels with Ida and getting your valuable insight on things.

Best Regards.

Thanks for your too kind words pingpong1, we are fortunate like Wendy to return to Regent. Best, Wes

Wendy-- If you have a chance and feel like doing, will you please note which one or two cruise experiences you've most enjoyed in those four years?

Did you do any Canada/New England cruises? Tauck river or land cruises?

Thanks.

Wendy-- If you have a chance and feel like doing, will you please note which one or two cruise experiences you've most enjoyed in those four years?

 

Did you do any Canada/New England cruises? Tauck river or land cruises?

 

Thanks.

Poss, we had a Tauck cruise booked for September but we cancelled. Only three cruises in that period: Oceania Riviera crossing which was just so-so (but it got us to Barcelona which was lovely; Uniworld on the Nile which was hugely memorable (and the cruise was really well-done plus a pre-cruise to Paris); and the Paul Gauguin. In that time we've also done land trips to SE Asia and Portugal.

The PG is always memorable for us, we're going again this December, and we're always very satisfied with the onboard experience on that ship. But the Uniworld cruise on the Nile was really spectacular. So was the SE Asian adventure, but it wasn't a cruise.

Just to add to Wendy's post, the single cruise that I have ever done that I'm particularly happy that I didn't miss was the Egypt Nile river cruise with Uniworld last October. Truly a series of "peak experiences" not to be missed. Both Wendy and I have posted extensively on the River Cruise board about our experience.

That said, we're booked for our 6th or 7th Paul Gauguin cruise, depending on how you count, so our opinion of that is obvious. Of course, the PG was our first ever "never to repeated" cruise, and you can see how that "once in a lifetime" thing worked out.

And recently we've both made it very clear that we are thrilled to be back on Regent for January. All inclusive really does matter in terms of the social ambience on the ships. We were on Regent (formerly Radisson) before they changed, and the all-inclusive aspect got people out and about the ship much more than before. Previously, there were setups in the cabins, and people tended to stay in in the evening. FDR said that after the change alcohol consumption didn't change that much, but from my own experience the bars and lounges were much better attended in the evening, which made for a much improved experience.

However, "better attended" is far from the rampaging hordes during happy hour on Oceania's Riviera and especially the one Captain's Reception with an open bar: those were a nightmare, and if I had had setups in the cabin I would have preferred to stay in and get blind drunk. The other side of the same coin is that the spectacularly beautiful lounges on Riviera with highly competent musicians playing were largely empty in the evenings.

My personal favourite of Regent/Radisson cruises is a difficult choice: they've all been wonderful. Perhaps tied for 1st place is the Black Sea on the dear departed Diamond, and Voyager in Alaska.

Thanks, W&W. All sounds delicious, and of course I've long been aware of your special love for the Paul Gauguin. The two of us are such "island" lovers, such water babies and snorkeling and lushness lovers, it kinda amazes me that we've never made it to PG territory. We've adored earlier vacations to Japan and Australia/NewZealand, but the only reason my husband was willing to go that far was that these were business related trips that we didn't have to pay for. I so wish that on one of our Down Under trips we'd been able to stop awhile in the South Pacific, but never happened. PG cruises are what I'd most love to do, if such things were still possible for us. Alas, with my sweet husband's various health problems, any sort of far-off trips are out for us. Our upcoming cruise to Alaska (again) is fingers-crossed. If this works, I'd love maybe to try a river cruise next summer, though unlike the two you, we're not especially social creatures (next life we intend to be), so I imagine that the "closeness" on those boats might be uncomfortable for us.

Congrats, again, on your coming back to Regent. As I've mentioned to you before, you (and Wes and Rachel and Travelcat) were responsible for welcoming us into the Club back in Raddison days.

Thanks. I should have mentioned that it's Miami - Lima, January 17th. The route is a bit different from the 2018 similar cruise, and better for us, since we have done the Western Caribbean quite enough.

 

So we don't do Roatan. Here's the itinerary:

 

MIAMI, FLORIDA

CRUISING THE BAHAMIAN WATERS

CRUISING THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

GUSTAVIA, ST. BARTS

FORT DE FRANCE, MARTINIQUE

ST. GEORGE'S, GRENADA

CRUISING THE CARIBBEAN SEA

BONAIRE (KRALENDIJK), NETHERLANDS

ORANJESTAD, ARUBA

SANTA MARTA, COLOMBIA

CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA

PANAMA CANAL TRANSIT

CRUISING THE PACIFIC OCEAN

MANTA, ECUADOR

GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR

CRUISING THE PACIFIC OCEAN

SALAVERRY, PERU

LIMA (CALLAO), PERU

LIMA (CALLAO), PERU

If we have compared dates correctly, the Mariner and the Explorer will both be in Cartagena on January 27th. Even though the ports are not exciting, we are doing the Explorer's Los Angeles to Miami cruise then to check out the new ship.

I hope all is well in Ecuador by the time you go. They just had a 7.9 Earthquake and there is a Tsunami warning on the coast there.It's on our news

The Mariner is my favorite of the Regent Ships. I love the layout

I hope all is well in Ecuador by the time you go. They just had a 7.9 Earthquake and there is a Tsunami warning on the coast there.It's on our news

 

The Mariner is my favorite of the Regent Ships. I love the layout

Yeah, we're watching the situation closely. Our friends are right on the coast in Manta. Waiting to hear from them, but they probably don't have power right now. They just finished building their new house. Fortunately the tsumani warning has been cancelled.

I'm really looking forward to being on Mariner at last!

If we have compared dates correctly, the Mariner and the Explorer will both be in Cartagena on January 27th. Even though the ports are not exciting, we are doing the Explorer's Los Angeles to Miami cruise then to check out the new ship.

I'm really looking forward to visiting Cartagena. But it would be fun to see Explorer if it's in the same port. I wonder if they will allow passengers to visit the other ship? Regent did this once when two ships were in Bora Bora together. It was the Paul Gauguin, which was a Regent ship at the time, and Mariner I think.

Our last Regent cruise was the Canadian Maritimes almost 4 years ago, and have experienced a total of 3 Regent cruises, all on the Navigator. We loved each of them and always hoped to return.

I can identify with Wendy's post--searching for the right itinerary, poring over websites, researching various cruiselines--but still coming back to the lure of Regent and all it has to offer. The tangibles are evident; but there are also the intangibles that we have to consider; personally for us it is the ship size, the amenities, and above all, the staff.

We haven't cruised (or traveled much for that matter) for the past 3 years or so because of our aging dog. We didn't feel comfortable leaving him, and knew we would worry about him the whole time we were gone. Sadly, our beloved sheltie passed away last month. We miss him terribly, but know in our hearts that we made the right decision.

Subsequently, I've started searching for a cruise in February and am looking at Regent and Holland America, both 10-day cruises. We've cruised on Holland America once (to Alaska), and while we enjoyed it, we did not enjoy having chain smokers next to us, which made our balcony unusable a great deal of the time. And, from what I've read, HAL still allows balcony smoking. So, we have to decide if the itinerary trumps the chance of having smokers next to us. Also, the Holland America cruise would be much cheaper, even after adding in shore excursions, drinks, tips, etc. However, the Regent cruise would be on their new ship, the Explorer, and again there are those "intangibles" to consider, even if the price is considerably higher.

I'll be looking forward to hearing reviews from those who experience the Explorer; might make our decision a little easier.

Have a nice day, everyone.

Our last Regent cruise was the Canadian Maritimes almost 4 years ago, and have experienced a total of 3 Regent cruises, all on the Navigator. We loved each of them and always hoped to return.

 

I can identify with Wendy's post--searching for the right itinerary, poring over websites, researching various cruiselines--but still coming back to the lure of Regent and all it has to offer. The tangibles are evident; but there are also the intangibles that we have to consider; personally for us it is the ship size, the amenities, and above all, the staff.

 

We haven't cruised (or traveled much for that matter) for the past 3 years or so because of our aging dog. We didn't feel comfortable leaving him, and knew we would worry about him the whole time we were gone. Sadly, our beloved sheltie passed away last month. We miss him terribly, but know in our hearts that we made the right decision.

 

Subsequently, I've started searching for a cruise in February and am looking at Regent and Holland America, both 10-day cruises. We've cruised on Holland America once (to Alaska), and while we enjoyed it, we did not enjoy having chain smokers next to us, which made our balcony unusable a great deal of the time. And, from what I've read, HAL still allows balcony smoking. So, we have to decide if the itinerary trumps the chance of having smokers next to us. Also, the Holland America cruise would be much cheaper, even after adding in shore excursions, drinks, tips, etc. However, the Regent cruise would be on their new ship, the Explorer, and again there are those "intangibles" to consider, even if the price is considerably higher.

 

I'll be looking forward to hearing reviews from those who experience the Explorer; might make our decision a little easier.

 

Have a nice day, everyone.

So sorry about your dog. I know how that feels. At the moment I have an aged cat, which even for me, who loves both dogs and cats, is not quite the same thing. And so far he has kind caregivers (friend or family) who take him when we travel. I will miss his company terribly when he's gone, but it's still not the same as losing a dog (sorry, cat lovers.) My condolences.

As for Regent, those intangibles are key! The only other cruise line for which the "je ne sais quotient" is even higher, is the Paul Gauguin, and it was originally a Radisson/Regent-run ship. We've tried Oceania and were not impressed with the ambiance of the ship, however great the cuisine or glamorous the ship. I also look forward to reviews of Explorer, and who knows, after this Mariner trip, we may become cheerleaders again!

Wendy, thank you for your kind words. We lost our cat, who was 18, a couple of years ago. Our sheltie looked for her every day after she died. The house feels mighty empty right now, as any pet parent knows who has lost a furry child.:(

Searching for a cruise is a nice diversion. We could use some of Regent's pampering right about now!:)

Hope you enjoy your Mariner cruise and have a great time.