coljack

I am awaiting my first cruise on Viking Ocean.  Mostly Regent before.  My Viking Journey has said that the account is"locked, awaiting update" for over a week,  Anyone know what this means?  The cruise is Panama on Nov 16.  Can they be changing the itinerary, putting in excursions, or is something wrong with mat account?  Appreciate any thoughts before I call them.  

Having lived in Tokyo, let me add a couple thoughts.  First, the traffic in the entire Tokyo area is somewhat unpredictable:  It varies from pretty bad to awfully bad.  If you only want to rest up, then I would let Regent set it up.  If you want to see something of Tokyo, you might do best to try for a hotel as close to the airport as possible and use the trains to get back and forth.  The trains are wonderful.  Since the Olympics, signage in most places that tourists would need it is also in English.  Also, the Japanese are incredibly helpful to foreigners and will recognize uncertainty and literally spring to your assistance.  Any young to middle-aged Japanese will speak sufficient English to help you out and will be very happy to do so..

Have any Regent regulars sailed with or have friends who have sailed with Pearl?  Would be be seriously disappointed in food and service after being used to Regent?

We were below LaVeranda on Voyager (10-something at back of ship with a great balcony and view), having accepted an offer for an upgrade.  BIG mistake.  Chairs and tables were slid to the side (SCREECH!) every morning at 0600 so they could hose down and scrub the deck.  No relief after complaining.  Sorry we gave up that nice mid-ship cabin on deck 8.

Scheduled cruise:  Apr 16.  Asked for refund:  Apr 13.  Refund credited to my card:  Jun 5.  53 days from request to full refund.

Susie,

It IS Citi, not Chase.  My mistake.

I remember seeing a thread of problems getting Amex to transfer your refund money to you.  I received a $18,000 refund from Nat Geog for a tour that was to follow my Regent cruise.  My credit card is a Chase (Costco) Visa.  I called them and they quickly agreed to transfer the credit balance to the checking account that I had on file with them for paying bills.  No charge.  No sweat.  It did take two weeks, but in today's world...  Still waiting on the Regent refund and judging from available info, I'm thinking about two months from sail date.

Dave,  Thanks for this info.  Those of us who actually read what you had to say found it interesting.

On 1/23/2020 at 11:09 AM, Art Instructor2 said:

I worked in dentistry for many years, so I can speak from experience.  

 

Great advice from everyone, get this resolved before your leave for your cruise.  An endodontist will be able to find the problem.  Aside from the pain when the tooth flares, the infection in the canal can spread to her blood stream.  Sepsis is very serious and can lead to death if not treated.  This should be #1 on your "to do list."  

Have been to an endodontist, who could not isolate the problem with a high degree of certainty, even after x-rays and 3D scan.  He recommends taking a "rescue pack" if the tooth has still not flared up before the TA.

My wife is having occasional tooth pain but our dentist does not believe a root canal is warranted at this time and is not even sure of which tooth is the culprit.  We are doing the TA from NY to Barcelona on Splendor in April and are worried about the possibility of the tooth acting up while we are at sea.  We know there will be a doctor on board, but will there be a dentist and are there even dental facilities?  Come to think of it (this is our first crossing), are the doctor and ship facilities equipped to handle an unexpected, serious medical problem in the middle of the Atlantic?  We've never had a problem on a cruise so we have never seen the facilities on board.

Thanks to anyone who can shed some light.

We will be on Splendor sailing from NYC on April 16 for Bermuda and ultimately Barcelona.  I know how to check average temperatures for the time of year, but wonder if anyone has done a South Atlantic crossing in the Spring and can advise what to pack for spending time on deck?  Layers and some light rain gear, of course.  Any other suggestions?

Best holiday wishes to all the wonderful contributors on the Regent boards!  I appreciate all of you.

Re:  Helsinki tours.  If you are able to do a lot of walking, the Helsinki walking tour was terrific.  But it covered several miles.

Does anyone know who the Cruise Director will be on this Splendor cruise?

Evening with the Czars is one of the two best tours we have ever taken on numerous cruises with RSS.  Do not miss it.  The Amber Room at your leisure is reason enough, but Catherine's Palace is amazing and there are other features that make this a tremendous experience.  Even the Russian restaurant after for dinner was a fun experience, even if it will never come close to a Michelin star.

On Explorer last year, we never had difficulty getting specialty seating.  There was a crew member in one of the reception officers who had hours posted for handling requests.  It helped that we were always willing to share tables.

Thank you, Turn 8A, for putting up this very interesting post.  We can't wait to meet her on our TA cruise in April.

We did that excursion two years ago.  It was beautiful scenery and we enjoyed it.  As to whether it is worth the long bus ride, that is a good question.  Sitting so long on the bus tweecked my back and it bothered me the rest of the cruise.  Also, Bergen is a fascinating city and other than a quick ride through town, you will miss seeing Bergen.  In general, we wish we hadn't taken so many long bus rides on this cruise, especially those that rejoin the ship farther down the line.  Whenever the ship is sailing, you have beautiful views on the fjords; don't miss those for a lengthy bus trip.  One in particular went to a "glacier" and it was a pitiful glacier.

There are wonderful private tours and tour guides available for less money from private companies.  I'm sure you will get some answers in the next day or two from satisfied clients.  You mention St Pete and I know there are some good companies there.

I want to echo Travelcat about considering the Regent excursion.  We took the Regent excursion that combined Petra and Wadi Rum and it was one of the two best excursions we have ever taken (Night of the Tzars in St Petersburg the other.)  There was plenty of time in Petra to explore, ride camels, etc., ending in a nice lunch.  Then to Wadi Rum where we crossed the desert in four wheel drive trucks to a Beduin camp (kind of a Beduin tent, party and banquet hall) where we had an absolutely delicious feast.  I can't imagine anyone doing this complete tour any better.  I am usually a fan of private tours, especially if you can get another couple to join, but you should give some thought to letting Regent do this one.

Note that there is a two mile hike in and another out.  There are horse-drawn "carriages" available to rent to haul you.  Keep in mind that it is slightly downhill going in and uphill walking out.  You can rent them in Petra for a one-way trip out--not necessary to prebook the round trip.  We are reasonably healthy 70-somethings in average shape for our age.  We did the walk in without any problem but wished we had ridden out.

Petra is incredible.  Wish we were with you.

Thanks, Poss.

John

Forgive me for asking a question that has been covered before but I failed to write down the information at the time.  We will need to ship a medium sized suitcase home from Barcelona (where we disembark.)  We will be traveling in Spain and Morocco after the cruise and need to travel lighter.  I remember that there were two companies that were recommended.  Is there a question of security and is insurance available?  Seems scary to give our possessions to someone in Spain and trust that they will arrive home.  Maybe some would say it's no worse than giving them to the airlines.   I'd appreciate any thoughts or advice.  Also, maybe some reassurance.  (-:

MJ,  Thanks for taking the time to write, photograph, and post such an interesting story.  Very enjoyable.  I did want to add that I have encountered the changes in "activity level" ratings for the excursions on every Regent cruise I have taken.  It can arouse concern.  We have taken to considering the ratings, but not taking them as gospel.  We rely on the descriptions to make our decisions on whether it is appropriate for us.

Good question to start a lively discussion (as if we need an excuse for that!)  I agree that all the ships are terrific.  I would add one opinion.  I would not sail on Explorer or Splendor to Alaska or Norway.  The ability to walk around the deck, including fore and aft is very important to me when cruising in extremely scenic waters.  For other itineraries, I loved Explorer and expect to love Splendor.  We are on a TA crossing on Splendor in April and I will miss watching the dolphins play in the wake, but there are lots of other compensations.

We have been on the angled balcony that angles to the aft end.  We chose this to avoid the headwind component of the forward angling balconies.  It was great, with a terrific view to the aft of the ship.  Important on Explorer and Splendor because they have taken away outside views forward and aft throughout the ships in favor of more luxury suites.  Can't speak to the forward headwind but highly recommend the aft angled balconies.

They should have beaten Michigan!  Darn.