coljack

Has anyone seen any recent reports on Splendor's progress?  Is she on schedule?

Three years ago, we stayed for three extra days after disembarking in BCN.  We stayed at a smallish, boutique hotel right on La Rambla in Placa Reial.  It is the Hotel DO Placa Reial.  We knew we were in a good place when we were comfortably seated and given glasses of Cava as we were checked in.  We loved it though it is one of the priciest.  Excellent restaurants on site, including breakfasts.  You can find the details on TripAdvisor.

Thank you for the question, and thank you, Grey Eagle and Hambagahle, for your answers.  We are booking excursions next week for the NYC-BCN crossing that docks in Cartagena.  We had passed up "Roman Cartagena" but it was our second choice.  Thanks to your excellent comments, we have moved it to our top choice.

Hurray for cruise critic posters again!

We almost always book our own hotels and take the credit.  There are a number of reasons to do this, but most important to us is location.  One example is Montreal, where the Regent hotel is in the financial district, not the French Quarter.  One major exception is the Danieli Hotel in Venice which is a marvelous place to stay, beautiful, and a great location on the Grand Canal, very close to St Marks.  Also, it is an expensive hotel and it is financially a fair offset to the Regent credit.

We took our first river cruise in the US in June on the Empress on the Columbia and Snake Rivers.  We are luxury ocean cruisers (Regent Seven Seas) and wondered if we would be disappointed in AQSC--we were not; we had a great time!  I remembered that I had seen the question asked on this forum about which direction to do this cruise, eastbound or westbound.  I would like to weigh in on this question now, because my wife and I and our two fellow travelers have a STRONG preference for westbound.  Here are several reasons why.  You will have a two to three hour bus ride between Spokane and Clarkston--the only question is whether it is southbound at the beginning of the cruise or northbound at the end.  It is not exactly fun, even though the bus is very nice and well appointed.  It seems better to do it at the beginning when everyone is excited to be headed for the ship, rather than at the end when the vacation is essentially over.  A more important point is that Spokane is a very nice, one night and one morning experience, but not a place to have a long post-cruise add on.  The Historic Davenport Hotel in Spokane is a wonderful experience in itself and a great first impression of AQSC and you can choose to take the premium excursion the next morning or explore on your own.  On the other hand, Vancouver WA/Portland OR/Mt St Helens  is a great place to spend some time, whether on the sponsored post-cruise extension or on your own. Lastly, it seemed really neat to do the river in the direction that Lewis and Clark did it.  Westbound made it easier to imagine you were with them on their magnificent journey and adventure as you discovered each part of the journey in the same manner as they did.

One other plus for Voyager over the two new ships is the access  outside on deck, fore and aft.  I love to watch the dolphins play in the wake and a "scenic" cruise like Norway or Alaska is not the same on Explorer or Splendor.  I loved Explorer, but, for this reason, Voyager is my favorite.

Thanks, everyone, for your replies.  They were very helpful.  IndiTravler, especially thank you for your comments on the ease in driving in Spain.  We will give that serious thought.  Also, Cruiseluv, thanks for the idea of flying from Barcelona to Seville.  We were planning on taking the train, but flying sounds like a good plan.   Maybe the best plan is to fly to Seville and travel between the cities in Andalusia by rental car after that.

We are booked for an Atlantic crossing on Splendor in April of 2020 ending in Barcelona.  We are planning to stay in Spain for a week or two afterward and want to spend most of that time in Andalusia, particularly visiting Seville, Granada and some of the sites in between.  We have reached an age where we are uncomfortable driving in a foreign country so a rental car is out.  Although this is not directly a cruise question, we know many of you are seasoned travelers as well as cruisers, so we are asking if anyone has advice on a particular tour company or if you have personal experience traveling in southern Spain and have some tips.  Thanks for anyone who can advise and to all of you regulars for your wonderful advice in the past.

We are cruising on American Empress for the first time.  How are gratuities handled?  Is there a common pool or are all given directly or is there a charge added?

Thanks.

Thank you, Surmy!  That was very useful info and we will do it as you suggested.  Always wanted to see Hells Canyon, drove near it several times but never had time to stop.  This is our first river cruise in the USA--always been an ocean cruiser or on European rivers.  I always found Cruisecritic to be very useful in the past, but there don't seem to be nearly as many users of the boards for USA cruises.  On the Regent boards, if someone asks a question, there is frequently a raging battle of opinions within a few hours.  (-:   Thanks again.

I would appreciate any opinions  on this tour.  Is it a wild ride?  I saw a video from one company that looked pretty wild.  If it is, how long is the wild part; the overall tour was six hours--surely not six hours of that pitching and yawing?  Also, how does it fit into the American Empress cruise?  I know it is offered as optional but we are considering getting to Spokane a day earlier and taking it then on our own.  If we do that, will we be twiddling our thumbs the first day on the ship?  We are on the June 2, Clarkston to Vancouver.  Thanks in advance for anyone taking the trouble to answer.

I am quite tall and was very uncomfortable on tenders from Mariner and Voyager. I recently sailed on Explorer and didn't give comfort a thought when shuttling on the tenders. I do believe they were a little roomier than the others. I see that some disagree and they may be right, but it seemed better to me.

Legroom was an issue for me on the Mariner tenders. Have they improved this on the newer tenders?

 

Those seat backs were hard on the knees...

 

And if you are under 6’4”, please do not comment that the Mariner tenders have plenty of legroom ;p

 

Thanks!

One of our favorite excursions anywhere was in St Pete: Night with the Czars, or something like that. It was a premium excursion but well worth the extra charge. Visit Katherine's palace in the evening, with very few fellow tourists. Spend as much time in the Amber Room as you like instead of a few seconds, as it is during the day. Special entertainment throughout the evening besides all the normal places to visit in the palace, including a string quartet. Dinner at a Russian restaurant on the way back to the ship. Don't miss it.

Just booked our first Regent cruise! We have never been to the Baltics and need advice. Can any one give suggestions for the Explorer inclusive and "extra" fee excursions on the following ports;

Copenhagan

Gdansk

Klaipeda

Tallinn

St. Petersburg

Helsinki

Stockholm

Thanks so much for your help

Glad to read your review. We are experienced ocean cruisers and European river cruisers but will be doing the Columbia cruise next May on Empress. Are there any tips you have for us, since we are used to the other cruises and this is our first time on AQSC. We learned a lot of lessons the hard way on our first cruises and would appreciate any tips from your point of view.

Thanks!

You are in for a real treat !! I just got off the American Empress July 9 and what a fabulous trip we had on the Columbia/Snake River ! This was our first riverboat cruise after many ocean cruises, but it will Not be our last on American Queen Steamboat Company . I will be posting a full review on CC shortly, but I was very pleased with my time on the Empress, the area we traveled was breathtaking, the crew and staff were amazing, the entertainment was superb !!! Lindy and Greg are two ultra talented entertainers and down right nice people too [emoji256]The food was first class, the spirits were flowing...and a good time was had by all !! Enjoy your cruise [emoji106]

 

 

 

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We don't have the experience of many of you but in our dozen or so cruises we have had the great pleasure of having Tammy and Andy Heath as our CD(s) twice and they are, for us, by far the most personable, friendly, and all around best. It seems the CD is important to many of you, and you need not worry if you encounter the Heaths.

Andy and Tammy Heath are CD/Social Hostess on Explorer for the next couple of months and then fly directly to Voyager in Beijing where they will be for two and a half months to allow (?) to have his/her vacation. Both are first class, IMHO, and have a long and happy relationship with Radisson/Regent/Oceania, so may be familiar to some here.

Thank you, K9pal!

The wines at dinner were locally sourced and quite good, IMO. One evening, the winery owner came onboard and went to every table during dinner to talk about his wines. No Gallo on this cruise!

bin

And yes, the cabin walls were quite thin. We could hear the man in the next cabin when he called his son each day, word for word. We are light sleepers and our earplugs came in handy.

Thanks, Dave. What are the things you thought were better on ACL?

Thanks for the idea, Dave. Hadn't heard of Un-Cruise.

Have not been on the Queen of the West, and cannot address your question directly. Our ACL trip on the America (Mississippi River) featured a choice of fairly good wines at happy hour, but we noticed that at dinner the cheaper wines were on the table. Several times we asked for the better wine, and it was readily provided.

Have you considered other cruise companies that provided special wine-themed cruises? We took a Colombia/Snake cruise on the UnCruise line (www.uncruise.com) that included wine experts brought onboard at different stops, an onboard sommelier who provided special tastings each afternoon, and visits to wineries at almost every stop.

Hi, All, We are experienced European River and Ocean cruisers, but are planning the Columbia/Snake cruise for 2019. We were looking at ACL but cruise critic postings led us to believe it might not be best for us. Gallo table wine was one turnoff. Can any of you AQS experts give us an idea if the cuisine and wines served are a little upscale from ACL? We don't expect Regent Seven Seas, but we would hope for something close to Viking River. Is that a reasonable expectation? We would really appreciate your opinions. Thanks in advance! Also, we noticed some concerns on posts about thin walls on Empress. Any advice on quietest cabins?

New ACL poster here but a fan of Cruisecritic from other boards. We are planning to take the Columbia River cruise in 2019. Never been on ACL. Our traveling companions are wine gourmets. I've been reading lots of posts on this site and believe our friends would not be happy with the table wine served (described as Gallo.) Would they be allowed to bring their own wine and would the serving staff open it for them? In your opinion, would this look like a big deal to our fellow passengers? Appreciate any opinions. Thank you.

Ray,

We are planning our first cruise with American. We, too, are experience river (Europe only) and ocean cruisers. We have learned so many lessons, some the hard way, with each cruise line. Could we trouble you for a short answer with some of the lessons you have learned on American? You seemed like the best poster to ask. We, too, are planning AAC category, most likely. I am troubled at the lack of info put out on the size of the cabins--this makes it hard to choose. Are there any clues to choosing location of cabins? Are the ones in the stern noisy? Any real worries, like noisy under the pool deck or under a sun deck on the ocean liners? Thank you in advance for any time and trouble in sharing advice. Also, anyone else who can chip in, thank you!

John

First of all, "Congratulations", on the upcoming Anniversary.

 

 

We have not been on the Constitution, yet, but have been on other ACL ships, and have been well pleased. Our other cruising experiences have been on Viking River Cruises (3), over 100 ocean cruise (on various cruise-lines), to all seven continents. Some have exceeded thirty consecutive nights -- we have never found any "too long". Then again, that may be just "us, being us" ??

We have not booked the AAM nor AAL category cabins -- usually in AAC's. Not sure if the additional costs are warranted -- again, that may be just us?

We have always (almost) found something of interest in any "new" port we have visited around the world.

We will be doing a New England itinerary next week, aboard American Star, despite living within two hours of the start/end port. We have been to a number of the ports in the past, but the ACL group always seems to find something new to see. Perhaps not everyday, but often enough times to keep us coming back.

 

 

I hope this helps to alleviate your concerns. Please let us know your impressions after your return.

 

 

NRayH

I've enjoyed browsing in this forum, and have learned a lot but have a few questions. We've sailed with NCL several times and have always enjoyed it. Did a Viking River cruise this spring and it was ok. I think my DH and I are ready to try Regent. For reference, just to get a general idea of the type of passengers we are, on NCL, we always book a balcony, we rarely use the buffet - just for breakfast before an early shore excursion, or a very late lunch, when the crowds are gone. We dine in the main dining rooms or specialty dining. What difference will we experience? Is it worth the price jump from a balcony cabin on say the Dawn or Gem to come to Regent? Are there any kids? We're thinking G2 may be a good cabin level to start. I welcome any comments and insight! Thanks

Let me address one point: breakfast before excursions. Remember room service is always free on Regent. We love dining out so we only used room service for breakfasts before early excursions. On five cruises they have never let us down. Breakfast is always served within fifteen minutes early to on time based on the time we request on the menu we hang on the doorknob. I don't have experience with NCL so I'll let the veterans answer the other questions. I hope you have a great cruise!

Hi Alan - so good to see that you are on another Regent cruise but sorry to hear that the food is not up to par. We have experienced this on the Mariner in the past and talking to the Food and Beverage Director helped a lot. If he/she is not available, please spend 5 minutes of your vacation to speak with the General Manager. While things should be the same on every ship, unfortunately, this is not always the case.

 

The Mariner is not our favorite ship for some of the reasons that you mentioned. We do love the size of the Penthouse suites but also think that the closet and bathroom are too small. Unfortunately, there isn't much that Regent can do about this and the Mariner is the second oldest ship and was not built by the current owners.

 

The spa has been mentioned quite a bit lately (hope that you discuss this either with the General Manager or on the mid-cruise comment card). They absolutely should not be hostile or trying to upsell anything. They are contractors and this is not the way Regent expects them to run their business.

 

I hope that you will not give up on Regent as the grass is not always greener on the other side (we tried two other cruise lines and returned to Regent...... it was a waste of money to try other lines).

 

Due to the pluses on Explorer, we have decided to only sail on Explorer and the upcoming Splendor (after our November transatlantic cruise on Voyager - our second favorite ship at the moment).

 

If you don't mind, kindly let me know who the General Manager is on your current voyage. And, if the Food and Beverage Director is Donald, we know him and know that he can work magic to make things better (although he shouldn't have to -- it should be the same as on Explorer).

 

Please keep us updated!

TC, I'm curious if you have tried Viking Ocean since we are considering giving them a shot.

Thanks.

Thanks for posting, Wes. And I'll second your "alas." (Though I suspect our cruising days will be finished before Splendor is up and running). 'tis a mystery.

 

In fact, your post is making me re-think (it's definitely "re" since I'd been concerned about this already) the Explorer Norway cruise I've booked for 2018. We'd so like to see that splendid part of the world, but I know we'd miss (just don't know how badly we'd miss) the open deck viewing that we've enjoyed on Mariner and Voyager. I'm almost tempted to change to yet another Alaska itinerary, since we've always loved that area of North America.

 

Btw, when I was trying to decide which excursions to book in those Norway ports (still going round and round, somehow more difficult than for other cruises), I went over to the Silversea board, since I know they do those itineraries, and I'd remembered that you'd done one. Sure enough, I found your postings and greatly appreciated they were. Had to smile at all the shoe stuff, cause with my frequent heel spurs and never-healed plantar fascia, I have to wear flat shoes and orthotics. But what handsome photos of the two of you in all your fancies!

Poss, We've been looking forward to meeting you on the Norway cruise. I've always enjoyed your posts. Hope you decide not to jump ship, but wish you the best either way. John and Helen

Last time I was in Danang, people were shooting at me. Hope your experience wasn't that bad. (-: