ChocolatePirate

The power outage wasn't just an inconvenience. We were in the middle of the St. Lawrence River without power--we were without electricity and the ship was not moving at all. I'd classify that as more than a delay. There was a woman stuck in the elevator for the duration and several people in wheel chairs who could not get to their suite because their wheel chairs could not go up the stairs--is there no handicap ramp on the ship? The crew was just as clueless as the passengers as to what happened when they were asked. When the outage first happened I stepped out of our suite and walked toward the elevator. A crew member came running down the stairs shouting "There's nothing to be concerned about," and kept running--there is something about someone running and shouting that isn't very convincing that nothing is wrong. There were intermittent "the engineers are working on it" announcements. Although the outage happened in the afternoon, it could have just as well have happened at night.

The whole situation makes me wonder what Regent's emergency protocol is in situations such as this one--if there is an emergency protocol.

Has anyone heard what, if anything, Regent is going to do for the passengers on this cruise for the ship malfunctions we encountered--the 1-1/2 hour power outage in the middle of the St. Lawrence River en route to Quebec City that had some passengers very worried and the gangway malfunction in Quebec City that left passengers waiting in the cruise ship terminal for a length of time (the length of time depended on when your excursion returned to the cruise ship terminal--some people waited longer than others.)

Another way to meet fellow passengers is to go to the afternoon tea. There is a "trivia" game and you can either ask to join a group or someone may ask to join you. We've met some wonderful people and great dining partners this way. On our last trip we met two women traveling alone (separately) and we became fast friends.

When you go to the cocktail party on your deck on the first night (I forget what it is called), you will meet almost everyone staying on your deck.

Also, don't forget to sign up for (or start) a Roll Call for your cruise on this site.

I try to find a post office in a port (sometimes not as easy as I thought) and mail our postcards from there. I just figured that someone on the ship has to remember to take the postcards to a post office and they may not make the trip until the end of the cruise.

I belong to a postcard exchange and sometimes it can take a month or more for a postcard to get to the U.S. It depends on the country and how good the postal system is.

Others advise bringing a nightlight. We're not especially high maintenance but the beloved is a bit fussy-wussy and we're both older than we used to be (no doubt others here grow younger, heh).

For a night light I go to the Dollar store and buy some battery operated tea lights; they come two in a package so I buy a couple of packages. When you turn them on, put them in an empty water glass in the bathroom. There is just enough light for those middle-of-the night trips. When it starts to fade, you can just throw it away.

Other things I have found useful:

a collapsible laundry hamper; which you can also find in the Dollar store. It folds up very compactly and after the cruise I just left it in the suite.

a small can of room deodorizer for the bathroom.

a highlighter for highlighting in Passages what I want to do (so I don't forget!)

a small first aid kit with band-aids, first aid ointment, mole skin (for blisters), aspirin, Alka Seltzer, etc.

Jim needs to eat at regular intervals but I'm confident that will be, er, smooth sailing.

You can order room service any time of the day or night. There is no wanting of food.

Hi! I admit I'm a chocoholic!

However, a full cruise devoted to chocolate? I can't imagine.

Regent has had a chocolate themed Tea on the two cruises we've been on. While it is wonderful--and I love the Godiva chocolate martinis--I can't imagine all day every day chocolate.

I just read this on the RSSC website:

SPOTLIGHT ON CHOCOLATE

Indulge your sweet tooth in the creations of our onboard talented pastry chefs, from elaborate desserts in Compass Rose to a decadent chocolate-themed tea time. Attend a chocolate pastry demonstration, while sipping on a sinfully delicious chocolate cocktail.

! One of our local thrift stores has a "Chico's " rack!

That's where I buy mine--at the thrift store. My church thrift store has a fashion show every fall, and that's where you'll find the Chico's clothes. I can also find Chico's at a local consignment store. I look for Chico's Traveler's. Chico's also makes clothes under other names--the label says (I forget the name of the brand) by Chico's.

Costco has clothing made of similar material--the brand is Made in Heaven.; is is sold by vendors who go into the store several times a year.

Dana Buchman at Kohl's also has clothing made of fabrics similar to Chico's as does citiknits and Vikki Vi. There are other brands with similar fabric.

I've found all of these at my church's thrift store; I have have 6 or 8 cruise outfits from the thrift store.

Ha ha .you are all so funny

We don't have that store over here,so I will go online and look up 'cruise wear' in chico's...:D

Look for Chico's Travelers. You can also find them on eBay.

Thank you for taking the time to take these photos and to share them. Our first Regent cruise was on the Navigator; we had a great experience.

That aside, I have been to a number of seminars regarding travel security and safety and have been advised never to use luggage tags that advertise "high end travel", esp going through certain overseas destinations. Airport security is not standard worldwide and theft of and from luggage is a major problem. The "thieves" are trained to look for certain identifying marks to "hopefully" indicate that a specific piece of luggage holds more valuable goods.

Thank you for sharing these tips.

Hi

Just received our suite confirmation. We booked an H Category GTY Window Suite and have just found out we are in Suite 529 G Category Window, Deck 5.

 

Anyone have any views on this - good or bad, I'd rather be prepared!!

 

It's very close to the Compass Rose restaurant.

 

I'd appreciate any views - we go on Sunday, 1 night in NYC then a 10 night cruise to New England and Canada and we are SO excited now :)

 

Thanks!

We were on Deck 5, suite 526, on the Navigator last year for the Alaska cruise. We liked our suite so much that we booked the exact same suite for the 2015 Autumn Journey (New York to Montreal). We didn't really care if there was a balcony because we figured it would be too chilly to sit out on a balcony anyway (we were correct on that on the Alaska cruise). We are also on the side of the ship that we would be able to see any land when we're out to sea.

Deck 5 Window Suite G is better than Deck 6 Window Suite G because Deck 6 Window Suite G has a walkway outside that the crew walks down and can look into your window if the drapes are open. Deck 5 Window Suite G looks directly onto the water (no crew walkway).

The big area across from suite 529 is where the cabin attendants come and go. It is not noisy at all. There is no noise from the Compass Rose to the suite area. As PP noted most people who are getting off the elevator are going to the Compass Rose. We like the proximity of the Compass Rose to our suite.

I'm guessing this is the same cruise that you are going on except we are going in October 2015. I'd be interested in what excursions you recommend.

:confused:

This might be a dumb question, but I don't know how to attach the Regent luggage tag onto the handle of the suitcase without breaking it. It is a loop which I threaded one end through the opening to put the tag on the loop...then when I try to loop the remaining loop onto the luggage handle there isn't enough remaining loop to push the luggage tag through. It breaks at that point.

I wondered the same thing. I found out that if I bent the luggage tag part ever so slightly it does slip through the loop. The loop is very stretchable, then when the luggage tag part is through the loop, the loop bounces back to the original shape. Here is a good example: https://crewtags.com/CPL-Instructions Step 4 is where I bend the luggage tag part ever so slightly.

We always put only our name (first intial and last name only), ship, departure date and departure city on the outside (Regent) luggage tag. You could also put your email or cell phone number on it if you are going to have access to those on your cruise. We also put that information upside down in the luggage tag and put some stickers on the side of the luggage tag paper that you can see so the luggage tag is identifiable as ours. Then we put another luggage tag inside our luggage with all our address, etc. That way someone can't just look at our outside luggage tag, call someone they know in our area, and say, "Oh, these people are out of town. Go rob them."

You don't put the tag with your cabin floor and cabin number on it until you arrive at your destination airport--right before you are ready to hand your luggage over to the bus driver or whomever is taking you to your hotel or ship.

I wear Chico's-type slacks and tops with fun jewelry after 6 p.m. I always wear a sweater because the dining rooms can be chilly. I bought a 3/4 length sleeve sweater at Costco before our last cruise, and DH now calls it my cruise sweater.

DH wears Docker-type slacks and a golf shirt or a Tommy Bahamas-type shirt. He usually wears a London Fog golf jacket.

If we should ever book a veranda suite again, it'll be on Deck 5 as I can see there are no walkways on that deck.

Deck 5 on the Navigator has all Window Suites. Deck 6 has a combination of Window Suites and Veranda Suites.

Does anyone know what is opposite cabin 521.?

If you look on "Discover our Ships" Deck 5:

The entrance to the laundry room is across from suites 512-514. The other doors in the middle of the hallway (doors across from 518 and 520) are storage.

The service area where the crew comes in and out is the big area across from suites 529 and 531. The door is closer to being across from suite 529.

On the Navigator, deck 6 window suites have a crew walkway; deck 5 window suites do not have a crew walkway.

The Deck 5 Window suites do look out on a walkway. About the only difference between that walkway and the one for the Veranda suites is that the former is restricted to crew only. I booked a Window suite one time and ended up keeping the drape closed most of the time because I got tired of crew members walking by and waving at me when I was sitting there in a nightgown. Also, the window on the Window suites is rather small compared to the floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors on the Veranda suites so the Window suites feel a little claustrophobic.

Perhaps we were in a different part of Level 5 on the Navigator because our window suite definitely did not look onto on outside walkway. When I look at the Navigator picture on rssc.com, I can see exactly where our suite was (and will be).

O.K,so not aft..that's fine..

 

So is the walkway on deck six.? Do people pass by the window suites?

 

We are looking at window suites,deluxe verandah or concierge.

It is really is about privacy and quiet for me..

 

What makes concierge worth the extra money?Not fussed about buying premium wine or extra shore excursions or binoculars.

Thank you so much for your help.

We were on the Navigator to Alaska last year. In 2015 we are booked on the Navigator in the exact same room--a 5th floor Window Suite. The window looks onto the water not a walkway; and I'm sure it is the same for other floors. If you look at the suite sizes for the categories you are considering, the room itself is the same size (301 sq ft) and if there is a balcony, it is 55 sq ft. You dine in the same restaurants, have the same 24-hour room service, can get the same 2 bottles of liquor in your room, the same welcome bottle of champagne, etc. Just compare the "Highlights" to see if the price difference is worth it to you.

We don't book Veranda Suites because we figure it is too cold to sit on the Veranda on some cruises. On the Alaska cruise our suite had a nice sitting area with a huge window and we didn't freeze to death. We just returned from London on the Voyager, which is all veranda suites; we hardly used the veranda because it was rainy most of the time.

We have been satisfied with the Regent excursions and the wine offered at dinner. We use our Shipboard Credits for a special shore excursion.

DixieDeer - Which cruise will you be on (in 2015)? Leaving NYC on Sept 26 or Oct 18? We will be on the October 18 Cruise. Best Regards.

We'll be on the Oct. 18 cruise also.

My husband and I are on the above cruise, this will be our 2nd cruise with Regent and we are so excited about this :)

 

However, on the day we fly home our flight from Montreal is 10.30pm. Does anyone know what happens on the last day? Surely we won't be dropped off at the airport in the morning for a late night flight?

 

Do Regent put on any excursions for passengers when a late flight is scheduled?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

We were on the recent Highlights of the Emerald Isles (London to London). Although everyone had to be off the ship by something like 9 a.m., our flight to the U.S. did not leave until 4:50 p.m. Regent offered a tour for those who had flights that departed after 3:30 p.m. We signed up for it on the cruise ship when our departing documents were delivered (which was about 3-5 days--I forget exactly when-- before the cruise was over). We enjoyed the Regent tour to Windsor Castle very much. Because there were some others on the Windsor Castle tour whose plane departed at 3:30, we were left off at Heathrow about 1:00 p.m. So we had a long wait at Heathrow. Although British Airways would check us in, our bags could not be checked until 3 hours before the flight so we had to wait in the terminal until then to check our bags. Soooo--I suggest taking a book with you.

I'll be interested in your review of the New York to Montreal trip because we are booked on that cruise in 2015. I'm especially interested in your review of the excursions that you take.

Costco down here has had them on sale for $14.99 for some time now.

Are you sure these are genuine "Tilley" hats - that would be the bargain of the century since they normally sell for about $100 (if not more) each? Which Costco branch are you referring to?

The hats at Costco are Booney hats.

I don't mean to sound like the "fashion police," and maybe it is my age, but I personally wouldn't wear a ball cap (or a fanny pack) in Europe. There are so many cute packable brim hats for women.

Click here for the travel information from the CDC for travelers to the UK.

it is prudent when travelling to carry medicines (over the counter and prescription) in their original packages or they might be mistaken for something else by Customs.

I agree. We take our prescriptions and OTC medications in their original bottles.

We take a small first aid kit with various sizes of band-aids, an antibiotic cream or ointment, Liquid Bandage or New Skin, moleskin (great in case of blisters on your feet), alcohol swabs, cold pills, cough drops, aspirin, and Alka-Seltzer.

I also take a small can of Lysol or a similar disinfectant (I got one at the dollar store today).

Where do you find travel doctor? I do have health issues and medications that make me more susceptible to infections? I think I need a travel doctor.

Our local hospital has an international travel medicine clinic.

We've booked our cruise directly with Regent then transferred it our TA. I've called Regent directly to ask about our air arrangements; they've let me know which flights we're booked on.

While talking to a Regent cruise agent about something different, I asked the question about Coke or Pepsi products, and I was told Coke products.