loriva

On 5/9/2020 at 11:56 AM, jawz33 said:

With final payment date approaching, I am more than a bit anxious.  I am still waiting on a refund from Celebrity.  
We are booked on Navigator, Caribbean bound in late Oct, and I have read so many differing thoughts my head is spinning. 

A crystal ball sure would come in handy now.
According to FDR, Regents and Oceania will make a phased return later this year.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5340/

Any guess which vessel will be first?

For those thinking Caribbean itineraries (like the one on Navigator that OP and I are booked on), the following article was just posted.  Unfortunately, the article only covers travelers arriving via air.  Drilling down into one location--St. Lucia--their official tourism website notes "Information about the opening of seaports in Saint Lucia will be shared when it is available."  So, stay tuned...

https://www.afar.com/magazine/first-caribbean-islands-to-reopen-for-tourism-in-june?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=052120 Caribbean/FlexibleTravelBookings&utm_content=A&utm_term=Daily Wander (Have opened newsletter before)

36 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

Navigator is on the move again. She didn't stay long in Gibraltar and is now on the way to Barcelona (ETA Thurs 21st).

Presumably Navigator called in to Gib for supplies and maybe to drop off some crew:

Gibraltar Chronicle

Thanks for the update, Flossie009.  As I stated in another post, we are scheduled to make our first cruise with Regent on the Navigator on 30 October from NYC.  From what I've read on other boards, Navigator may be ultimately heading to Italy for dry dock?

4 hours ago, flossie009 said:

Regent has stated that it will give at least two weeks notice of cruise cancellations, so there should not be any more of the sudden last minute disappointments suffered in mid March.

Typically Regent now appears to be cancelling batches of cruises one month at a time. It looks likely that July sailings will be cancelled soon as they have now been waitlisted on the website.

As to refunds:

• Up to now, if Regent cancels they offer 125% FCC; or alternatively you can opt for a 100% refund, but with a long wait to receive the refund
• If the guest cancels after final payment then Regent Reassurance offers 100%FCC (with some variations by country in which the cruise was booked)

I think that is all correct, but I am sure others will chip in if not.

Hope you get to enjoy your first cruise with Regent 😎

Thank you, flossie009, for your very thorough response.  As a long-time user of CC.com, I've eagerly read many threads on the "Regent Experience" in planning our hoped-for upcoming cruses on Regent and have come to anticipate your posts will provide very useful and well-sourced information.  I've enjoyed reading them very much as we weather our "safer-at-home" regimes.

On 5/9/2020 at 11:56 AM, jawz33 said:

With final payment date approaching, I am more than a bit anxious.  I am still waiting on a refund from Celebrity.  
We are booked on Navigator, Caribbean bound in late Oct, and I have read so many differing thoughts my head is spinning. 

A crystal ball sure would come in handy now.
According to FDR, Regents and Oceania will make a phased return later this year.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5340/

Any guess which vessel will be first?

Back to OP and the original question, I believe we are scheduled to be on the same cruise as OP.  The TA will take our final payment this week.  I'm hopeful the cruise will go as it leaves and arrives at a U.S. port (NYC and Miami, respectively) and goes to Bermuda and then the Caribbean in between.  Who knows whether the islands will be open to cruise ships or not, but a small ship like the Navigator might be an easier-to-manage test case for them.

Of course, there are no guarantees--including that the cruise falls in the final month of hurricane season.  For those of you who have cruised with Regent before--this would be our first cruise on the line, but we have experience with a number of others--how long before your cruise did Regent notify you of the cancellation of your cruise?  Did they offer any benefits beyond the 100-percent FCC under Regent Reassurance?  (Princess offered us a 125-percent FCC for a cruise to Canada and Greenland in August they cancelled earlier in May--even though we had already cancelled our reservation.  As a cruiser, I thought that was pretty generous; as a CCL stockholder, we'll see...)

Many thanks,

9 minutes ago, arowe6 said:

Good catch. Didn't even notice until you said something. Leaving on Sunday as well. No room number on the mobile version, but room number on the desktop version. Should be interesting....

 

Andrew 🙂

Andrew--Roll Call folk are having an informal M&G at Outriggers before Sailaway and a formal M&G in Club 6 on 04 Dec at 1000 hours.  Please feel free to join us.

Happy sails,

While the app shows no room number, the website version to print the passes does.  More bugs...

Same issue as others for our Regal Princess sailing departing on Sunday.  Incomplete despite being complete and now suddenly complete.  But--it is not showing a room number although we selected one when we booked.  Is this the same with all?

Many thanks,

Lori

Now that the Caribbean sailings have begun, can anyone provide some insight into the "rhythm" of the cruise?

   --What nights are formal nights?

    --Which menus are in rotation?  Ones you particularly enjoyed or ones to skip for possible specialty dining?

   --What nights are which shows?

   --What activities did you enjoy onboard?

   --Where is trivia being held and at what times?

   --What is in Princess Live?  (Never sailed on Regal before, so not familiar with that venue)

Bonus points if anyone is willing to take the time to post menus or Patters or write a review.

Many thanks,

As an update, the Princess Coordinator for Group Onboard Services and Group Support has changed.  It is now Bernadine "Berna" Grayr <bgrayr@princesscruises.com>.  She also serves as coordinator for Coral Princess.

Thanks to all sailing on the Regal for providing updated information to those of us waiting to board.

CC.com now says Princess hosts a Meet & Mingle for all cruises.  Here's the language:  "Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle parties will be held on all Princess Cruises sailings. Please check the daily activities program, called Princess Patters, for notification regarding the day, location and time of the event. Should you wish to pre-arrange the Meet & Mingle for your sailing, please contact Princess Cruises Customer Service at 1-800-PRINCESS. Please make sure your efforts are coordinated so that only ONE person contacts Princess Cruises."

Can anyone confirm Princess is doing this?  When was your M&M arranged?  I called Princess to see if a date, time, and location for our Western Caribbean sailing in early December had been set but the customer service rep said they did not have that info.  We'd just have to find it on board.

Many thanks,

Thanks for your posting and photos, Lynzchat.  We'll be on the Regal for the first time next month and hope to do the Winemaker's dinner.

Gracie115,

For the Regal, the DR that should be open for lunch on embarcation day is the Concerto Dining Room, Fiesta deck 6. ClubClass entrance is on port side.

Enjoy,

The product made from concentrate should be called covfefe. It is not coffee.

 

Sent from my SCH-S968C using Forums mobile app

Thanks so much for clearing up TWO mysteries! :evilsmile:

Take care,

Yep, bridge cam feed even says Endicott Arm due to ice accumulation. Sure looks pretty, however! Looking forward to it being my turn on the Grand next.

Two_UW_Badgers--the Grand does not offer that excursion. You can book a small boat excursion from Juneau to Tracy Arm reportedly--the smaller ships have made it into the fjord this year. (BTW, I'm a UW-L Eagle from way long ago.)

Take care,

Hi carqueen44 -- They are in Skagway today so should be going to Tracy Arm (or Endicott Arm if they can't get in) tomorrow. See you on Wednesday!

To complete the information on this, the second shuttle provider--Juneau Tours aka the "white bus"--responded to my query later in the day. They do have an option to purchase on the spot by paying the driver $20. A little more expensive than the "blue bus," but you do not have to plan ahead to buy a ticket.

It still would be helpful to others if anyone has any actual, recent experience with purchasing a one-way way. Please post if you have.

Many thanks,

So, I did as mapleleaves suggested and received a very speedy response in return to my note from M&M tours (the operator of the "Blue Bus"):

M&M Tours of Juneau replied to your message:

Good morning Lori,A one-way ticket would have to be purchased through me at 907-500-5186. Our website can't tell that it's one way. The rate for a one-way ticket is $15.75 which includes tax. Thanks,Tammy

Still debating if it would be better (more time-efficient and cheaper) to take a taxi as there will be two of us. There will be five ships (more than 10,000 pax) in Juneau that day, however, so may do the one-way just to ensure we have it in hand.

Many thanks,

Does anyone have any recent experience with this, please? It is possible to just buy a one-way fare back from the glacier to the cruise port area on either the blue or white shuttle buses? (We booked a drop-off at the glacier from Adventures in Alaska after our whale-watching tour.) Or should we plan on needing to call for a taxi?

Many thanks for your help,

Thanks again, Party Barbie!

I am just home from the 5/8-5/18/17, sailing on the Grand Princess. On our last night, we had dinner at Sabatini's. I asked about the new menu, and our waiter said that it was to be rolled out on the May 18th sailing. We did get to try one of the new pasta dishes. It was a ravioli stuffed with ground lamb. The lamb was very mild, but delicious. The pasta wrapper was similar to a won ton wrapper and made of a spinach flour. The sauce was a delicate blend of Parmesan cheese and mint. It was quite possibly the best ravioli that either of us had ever eaten. My husband said that he was ready to send his lobster back for more ravioli.

 

We will both miss the old menu, but if the new dishes are as good as the one we tried, I think it will be okay. We will be back on the Grand in October, so we are looking forward to going back then.

Thanks, partybarbie, for your update on this. We'll be on the Grand on the sailing departing on 07 June and looking forward to it. I'd really welcome your comments on the menus overall on your sailing--which ones were hits or misses--to help us plan which nights we should plan on dining outside of the MDR. Will you be doing a full review? Since you were the first Alaska sailing of the season on the Grand, inquiring minds want to know!

Many thanks,

Hi h20skibum,

Thanks for your posts and lovely photos. We will be on the Grand for the first time in three weeks for the Alaska cruise. Two questions for you if you happen to know:

--Did any of the ship's officers say if they were staying on for the Alaska season or changing out? The CD or chef or Maitre d' in particular.

--I did not see lunch in one of the dining rooms listed in the embarkation Patter you posted. There have been several posts on the Princess board that this option is going away. Do you know if there was lunch in the MDR--should have been Da Vinci, I believe.

Glad you had a good trip and thanks again for the information!

delete

kennicott--thanks for the very helpful information on salmon season in Alaska! :)

We did it May last year on Island Princess. We had fluke weather the first sea day, it was incredible 75 degrees, and thought why not hit the sanctuary. It was us and 2 other couples. Quite surreal drinking tea and eating cakes, whilst sunbathing and whale watching.

 

On the Glacier Bay day, they were doing a special Glacier day. You had to sign up in advance $60 i believe. Well worth it, we started off with rain, but me being me decided to go there anyway at 8am (get my moneys worth) - they werent going to open it due to the weather, but soon came around as others started to pile in. As is the sanctuary you get that little bit of extra service, breakfast sandwqiches brought round, hot chocolate, coffee etc. Champagne and cakes in the morning, tea in the afternoon.

 

We also had the nature specialists back there with us, so easy access to talk to them which was interesting.

 

The main reason i was so keen to go to the Sanctuary, is its positioning on the Island Princess - its aft, and gives you great visibility in most directions. The ship will turn whilst in front of the glacier and you get plenty of time wherever you are, but at the stern you get even more time.

 

Fot those who did find it cold, there were plenty of blankets and headgear that was given out. They also threw in free photos as part of the experience, with you in front of the glacier etc.

Thanks for posting your experience, scrosso. We had the same question about the Sanctuary and Alaska as we will not have a balcony on our Grand Princess cruise in early June. We were wondering, specifically, if they would open it for the scenic cruising day on Tracy Arm. That is scheduled for 0500-1000 hours. Anyone have any idea if the Sanctuary would open early for this?

Even if no one has experience and knows the answer to this question, we now know from scrosso's experience that, at least on one Princess ship, they have offered a special scenic cruising opportunity. So we'll pay a visit to the Sanctuary on the Grand upon boarding and ask. Thanks as always to CC.com members for sharing great information!

We used both the Lotus Pool and its two hot tubs several times on a Western Caribbean cruise on CB over New Year's this year. The pool was cool--it probably was heated, but not much. The location is sheltered--down a level from the Sanctuary and Sun deck--so it does not receive a lot of direct sunlight to warm it. The hot tubs were nice and warm, however. They are right next to the pool, so some people would hop over the tub/pool wall to cool off after the tub. We did not use any of the other pools on board, so cannot provide a comparison of the temperatures.