cotto22

Oh my. My husband I were joking about bringing our cats, thinking about how years ago there were probably cats on pirate ships and other vessels who were there to keep the rat population down. We had a good laugh picturing out fat tabbies in life jackets.

  I see those little dogs everywhere now! But hopefully not at a cruise dinner. 🤯

I scouted Navigator on our last cruise and never found an almond croissant. But the diver scallop and pork belly dish in Prime 7 was excellent! I became good buddies with the Compass Rose restaurant manager when I asked him why they were putting nutmeg in the mashed potatoes, since to me, it was an odd and unpleasant addition. After that, I was able to get mine nutmeg free. Hopefully, they changed the recipe. Yuck. We will be on Voyager in 2 weeks. I will find those almond croissants!!!

Our cruise in April has had 3 or 4 different promotions since we booked last year, also with a promotion. One of the  new promotions was 20% off and a 2 category upgrade. We had the 2 suite upgrade already, so we were given future cruise credits instead of the 20% off, although the 20% off the stated price was not really all that much different from what we booked at. The most recent promotion was for more SBC, so that got added. 

  So sometimes you can benefit from new promotions, but not always.

We had a tender port skipped last year in the British Isles (sorry, my mind just went blank as to which one!) due to wind and waves. We were all waiting down on Deck 4 for quite a while before it was announced that it was a No Go. A few years ago, we skipped Cork, not because of bad weather there, but because the Captain wanted to try to get ahead of bad weather on a northerly TA to Canada. We had a lot of notice for that one. The private excursion we had for that port refunded our money without question. They are used to cancellations!

We did a TA over Passover one year and there were services and a special meal. There was a Rabbi on board, but he was a passenger. All were invited and it was a great learning experience for many. Regent organized activities with the Rabbi's supervision.

With the number of people who sail on Regent who have grandchildren that age, your daughter should be well received. She may even get tired of all the attention she gets from the kindly Grams and Grandads/ Granpas who will engage her in conversation and ooh and ahh how cute she is! 

  If she can occupy herself during long drawn out meals (and if so, she can help me do it), and enjoys the excursions available, then go for it! 

On 1/21/2023 at 8:29 PM, cruiseej said:

We've booked a SS cruise for 2024, and unlike in the past, SS is not providing price or availability of business class air until sometime in the future. I guess they don't want to be in the futures market and guessing incorrectly about future prices. Or perhaps it's the airlines which don't want to sign long-term bulk contracts so they aren't caught having sold underpriced flights. 

We booked an Auckland to Bali cruise in Feb 2024 about 8 months ago. We were quoted and deposited on the cruise with business air from Houston. I do not think that this price can increase, but on the otherhand, neither can it be lowered!

On our Navigator cruise last year, I am pretty sure we were given 100% maple syrup. The quality on what we put it on varied depending upon where we were. Compass Rose had decent pancakes and waffles, but the upstairs buffet/cook to order had some issues with both. And French Toast was hit and miss. Can't go wrong with their benedicts, however!

1 hour ago, jollyjones said:

I live in a country where water is a precious resource and baths are considered an expensive waste. Even a long shower is considered profligate. 
On one SS cruise some years ago, I came back from an excursion to find that my butler had run a bath for me, had even sprinkled some sort of petals on the water. I was utterly appalled at the waste and hated just pulling the plug but I shower, not bathe. 
Then I had a rather awkward moment setting the butler straight without hurting his feelings. 
 

PS Those of you who know me are probably falling off their chairs laughing thinking of me and petals in the same sentence. 
 

That exact same thing happened to me, but I was actually pleasantly surprised, although a little uncomfortable at the same time. We were returning from a shore excursion that left me cold, damp and in need of a hot bath and perhaps a hot toddy as well. I do enjoy a hot bath, but truthfully never seem to have the time. And the weather where we live is so awfully warm that a brief cool shower is much more refreshing.

Emairs, looking at the calendar, it looks like we are on the same cruise as you, but they have us in the Hotel AKA Brickell. Do you know anything about either hotel?

We are booked on a TA leaving Miami in April 2023, and Regent has us in the Hotel AKA Brickell. I am totally unfamiliar with it, or any other hotel in Miami for that matter! The pictures look nice...

And it might depend upon where you are cruising as well and the time of year. For a Caribbean cruise, you might see more casual than elegant, but a colder cruise might be the opposite. Our November cruise on Navigator was Iceland to Southampton, and there were a lot of sports jackets (no suits) for men, and ladies were always dressed very well for dinner. I think we enjoy the chance to dress up since we don't do it very much at home!

2 hours ago, zodiacsign said:

currently on other regent ships, the social hostess sits (masked) with guests while they have the "solo traveler" drinks (she does not drink), is not allowed to accompany guests to dinner.

But expect those rules to be loosened soon.

Well, maybe since the gentleman who was acting as the Social Host on the Navigator cruise we were on in July was also the Assistant cruise Director, the rules were a bit different for him. We seemed to be in the same lounge with him and his single guests, and he was definitely drinking, and they ate together on several occasions! 

I cannot answer your specific question, but when we were on Navigator in July, the social host had dinner with guests many times, as well as meeting with a group in a lounge/bar before dinner.

My concern is not for prior testing, it is for allowing unvaccinated people on board ship. And while obviously SS does not offer short voyages, my speculation was what would be our reaction if the policy were extended to longer voyages.

Royal Caribbean just changed its Covid vaccination policy and is not requiring all adult passengers to be vaccinated for voyages less than 6 days. And there is speculation that it could be extended if the new policy is successful. Personally, I hope Silversea does not even consider it. 

We have only been on Seabourn once, dividing most of our cruising time between Oceania and Regent recently and Silversea not so recently. One knows up front what is included and what is not, or at least, one should. I knew on Oceania, for example, that even in a  PH, we only had one sign in at a time for the free wifi, but in a Concierge on Regent, we had up to 4. We know which line includes adult beverages, gratuities, shore excursions, and airfare. 

  I don't think that if something is not included, and you pay for it yourself, that I would characterize it as nickel and diming. I do think that Oceania should include gratuities, but that's my personal opinion! 

  I have always found the food on Oceania to be just slightly better and more creative than Regent. But we thoroughly enjoyed our most recent Regent cruise and are looking forward to the next one in the Spring. Now that we are a little older, it is nice to have excursions included, but even on Oceania you can buy a package and save a few $$$ if you are so inclined. 

  Our only Seabourn cruise was in the Caribbean. It was too long, stopped at too many islands, and although the food and beverages were good, it was not a good choice for us. There were a lot of fun things to do other than the not so great shore excursions, such as a visit to a private island with a caviar in the sea promotion, and lots of water activities on and off the ship as well as talented performers.

   There are so many choices for cruises for all of us that it comes down to what your personal desires are, the itinerary, and the date of the cruise. We are deliberating at the moment between Regent and Silversea for a cruise 9/24 for my birthday. So, we were very limited on dates, and I had a budget in mind as well!

  To each his/her/their own.

1 hour ago, Pcardad said:

Ray was on Navigator. Regent has lost a few good CD lately so there are a number of new ones.

He was on our Navigator cruise that ended in Southampton on 7/7. I believe he was leaving the ship then, not sure for how long or permanently.

Heathrow security was a mess last week, but nothing compared to our experience arriving home in Houston. I have never seen such a Sea of Inhumanity at the International terminal E in my entire life. Trying to leave by car was probably the worst travel experience I have ever encountered, and I have spent nights in airports, missed connections, traveled standby etc.

  The Administrator at the Security line at Heathrow asked us all to complain about the lack of personnel. He said that they had laid off people due to Covid and never rehired. Not sure how we are supposed to complain, although I did make those comments on the United Survey that I was given.

Fall foliage varies from year to year. My family is from Maine,and I went to college there. The peak could be October 1st, or the 7th or the 15th. It just depends on the weather. I have visited my sister mid September and enjoyed Autumn color, and sometimes over Halloween there has still been a lot left. 

  We did a Montreal to Miami cruise a few years ago in late October and that year the colors were past their prime. There was still some color further south, but not as much as we had hoped for. We knew it was late, but the price was right and the weather was nice and cold, which we enjoyed.

Air credit might be great for those who have FF points built up. For us, using Regent's air is a benefit. Our most economical cruise in the future is a TA on Voyager in April. With everything included, it is $632 pp for a PH category. Granted, it is a TA with only 3 ports of call, but after our port intensive cruise this coming month, this will be perfect.

We put a hold on 878. We plan on spending a lot of time on the balcony. Looking at the water is so peaceful!

We have never been on Navigator. We chose it for the itinerary, and we board in a month in Iceland for 2 weeks. Our last Regent cruise was on Mariner, but our last cruise was on the Oceania Riviera. We had very few complaints about our November Oceania cruise, at the moment I cannot think of any, except perhaps for the testing protocol.s Maybe we were just so happy to be onboard, because I am kind of a picky person, or so I am told, lol. 

  I am hoping for the best, and looking forward to being away from the horrors here at home in Texas.

4 hours ago, DaveFr said:

My memory is that, even though the deck plan does not show them, the PhC’s with wraparound balconies are 877, 878, 1054 and 1055.

 

Dave

Thanks for the replies. I think it was the two on Deck 8 that I am remembering. I will call tomorrow and see if either are available.

A few weeks ago, I read some posts about what I thought were PhC cabins on Voyager that had very nice balconies (perhaps wraparound) that were aft. Now that I am ready to book a cruise that has the 2 category promotion for next Spring, of course I cannot remember the cabin numbers nor can I find those posts. I did try to speak with someone from Regent, but did not get much guidance there. 

  We had an aft cabin on Oceania last fall and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful balcony that was at the back of the ship. It was a Ph category and well worth the walk to the back of the ship. I do not want to spend the $$ for a Seven seas suite, but if we can get more balcony space from a PH C, would certainly do that. 

  Can anyone offer some guidance as to which, if any cabins offer extra balcony space in the PHC category? It does look like there is more depth at the back of the ship, but I don't see any wrap around except for the pricier category.

  Thank you so much for any advice you may have. Regent is holding a PH3 on deck 9 aft for us.