53flygirl

I love what is on the menu, but have to say it sounds better than it looks, I know I am going to upset some by saying that and I stand by it. Part of the fun of cruising is to experience great cuisine and very little here even looks ok. Exception the dessert and lobster!

Bed buds can be found anywhere expensive, moderate, and cheap hotels those bugs have no preferences where to cause havoc.

Too true, but the expensive hotels tend to have the funds to get 'em gone faster!

If you google the ship name, and maybe the deck, something turned up that was written not that long ago.

 

Actually it was on Cruise Critic, but the member did not write a review, he/she just said ship was dirty & there was a "bed bug infestation." But on the other hand, I read good stuff about the ship too.

 

AWFUL!!! Can scare people like me into just wanting to stay home.

 

I know that this can happen anyplace.

Lord, let's pray that all the ships are diligent to take care of this when a BB problem is discovered.

 

It is TRUE that bed bugs can appear anywhere, but it is also true that some people perpetuate the problem by not taking care of it in their homes ... & then they drag it to other places.

 

One of my kids (a professional) works in public service & unfortunately, managed to bring home a bug (probably in her purse). She was very fortunate to discover the problem early & with quick remediation, she's never seen another bug in her home .... but oh golly, what a nightmare that was. Anxiety levels were so high because you don't want the bugs to multiply. Because of this, I am now aware & I watch for it.

 

I know it's creepy but it is good to talk about so that we all can be AWARE & be on the lookout .... & if they are discovered, to do something about it. When my husband & I travel, we use plastic vacuum bags for our clothing & when we come home, we inspect our luggage super well on the outside (bc you can pick them up in the airplane). After we empty our luggage we use the leaf blower outside to blow our luggage off, both on the outside & the inside. Then we put it away 'til our next trip.

I did google as suggested and found the post was from Dec of 2014 that the OP stated they had been on ship in Oct of 14 with zero problems.

Knowing Carnival they have a whole process for addressing these problems and based on other things I have read - I agree people either bring from home or the cheap hotels they stay in the night before!

I am excited about the ship the ports and the VACA !!!!

There should be a Snopes entry for this popular Cruise Critic "rumor". It's simply not true. Ships out of Puerto Rico attract a lot of Puertoricans for the same reason that cruises out of Texas attract a lot of Texans. It's convenient. Cruising is one of the most popular means of vacationing in Puerto Rico and resident discounts are rarely offered on cruises out of San Juan.

 

 

 

It's always a good idea to be familiar with the local language. It's good to know Australian when sailing from Australia, British when sailing from Great Britain, and American when sailing from the USA. [emoji6]

Well said lol! I love the idea of flying to and sailing from PR and am truly excited to be doing so March 2017. As for the Fascination itself - I admit I was a bit concerned about the ships age at first, but after reading the wonderful reviews I am excited to be onboard her soon. This cruise is totally about the ports and not how fancy the ride is

We are taking this cruise in March of 2017 and I must admit I was a bit worried at first about the ship age. However, after searching these boards for the past 4 months I feel so much easier about the ship. People seem to LOVE her and the lets face it the southern Caribbean is the bomb:))))))

Totally excited now and counting down!

Irish Witchy

It came from Regent.

We just received notification last night of the changes and after careful consideration - we decided to cancel a trip we booked almost a year ago. Turkey was a big draw for the cruise and this morning we were told Egypt may well be next.

Now to look at the book and see what else there might be :(

I am so sorry to see what is happening in Turkey right now. This country has always been welcoming and beautiful to me and I love the people and their history. What happened in Istanbul was tragic and my heart goes out to the families involved.

Right now we are booked on the Oct 2016 cruise out of Istanbul and have 8 people going. Last night 3 of those going mentioned their concerns and thoughts of cancelling. For now the rest of us are just watching and waiting - this trip has been a bucket list item for some and I just pray things calm down.

TC2 Thank you so much for posting this article! You are right that it makes it feel more real and I am happily sharing this one on our Roll Call :)

I have never enjoyed CC more then the past week and it is all due to your wonderful blogging of the voyage!

As much as some of you are sad to end the cruise, I am so sad to see this thread go quiet:( My only hope is that some of you will take up the challenge and cont posting your experiences.

We do not leave till next year, but your posts helped me reassure my friends that Cairo, Alexandria and Israel were safe at this point and not to get to concerned yet lol.

Safe travels to all

We arrived in Istanbul ahead of schedule on Turkish airlines. Very comfortable flight after I figured out how to work the seat. The food was probably the best we have had on any flight . George's initial wine choice was off, but quickly corrected. I never did figure out how to work the movie system, but am reading an interesting book so it didn't matter. I got a really good sleep.

 

Our driver was at the airport to pick us up, but traffic was terrible so it took an hour to get to our hotel which is the Hilton Bomonti. Very nice new hotel. We have not stayed here before, but I highly recommend. The room is everything one would want. Due to George's Hilton honors status, we had access to the executive lounge in the 34 th floor, where there was a huge spread of food and drink. So much we had no need to go out for dinner. So when you count that in, an exceptional deal money wise. Food was Turkish, which we love, and very fresh high quality.

We will be in Istanbul Oct '16 and I am really enjoying reading all of these posts. I look forward to reading many more as the cruise progresses! You have all done such a great job so far I feel like I have a clear insight on what to expect on our trip next year:)

Happy sailing to you all!

Wondering if any of you have done this tour or will be doing it soon? I have been to Istanbul and stayed for several weeks - fell in LOVE with it too!

We are on Explorer next Oct '16 and traveling with several friends and family who have never been there. When I saw the tour it seemed to cover everything ( for most part) that I love about this city. So if anyone has or will be taking this tour it would be wonderful to get your feedback.

TC my husband and I will be on the explorer next year that will go to many of the same ports that you will be visiting shortly. Please share any tips or comments that you encounter. I also really hope they don't stop going to these ports because we won't have much to visit in that case!

We too will be on this cruise with Irishwitchy and I look forward to all the posts from TC and others . Really curious about the new cruise terminal area in Istanbul. Since there is always something happening around the world these, I am not too worried about the ports this far out:)

TC my husband and I will be on the explorer next year that will go to many of the same ports that you will be visiting shortly. Please share any tips or comments that you encounter. I also really hope they don't stop going to these ports because we won't have much to visit in that case!

We will also be on this cruise with Irishwitchy and look forward to all your posts in the coming weeks! TC I love how excited you are getting about the trip and hate that we don't leave for another 13 months :)

Thank you for this thread Z!

I AM LOVING THESE RESPONSES! And this with four Margaritas and a glass of Rosa Regale in me which I winchestered while prepping for TB's birthday dinner. As a card-carrying narcissist and overall ham, I am loving these stories.

 

TC2: My "DH" is really my DW AKA TB or "The Boss." You must really be knee deep in your Windows 10. :eek:

 

As I peruse all the responses, I realize that someone should receive recognition for their contribution to my Butler dilemma. So far, the GOLDEN BUTLER Award has two front runners: FAST COMPANY (arranging tours) and Sheltieluv (The Boss is a popcorn addict) A close second is Mudhen with her graphic (hubba hubba) description of how to greet the butler.

 

Keep them coming!

 

Z and TB

Z

These gentlemen are wonderful and all about you and your trip being special. On my last cruise the couple next to my cabin held a cocktail party and invited the people they had met at the Captains table 2 days earlier. My brother in law and sister as well as my parents were on the guest list. My other sister and I were not since we had not been at the table. Never thought twice about it, but our butler was so unhappy.

The day of the cocktail party I was sitting on my balcony reading a book when I hear "Psst Missus". I turned around to see our butler with a huge grin leaning over the rail and around the partition holding a tray of canapés towards me. He asked what I would like to drink and I declined. His next response so surprised me - "oh no missus please (again with that big grin) would you like a scotch?"

Scotch was promptly delivered with another huge grin and a promise to return with another in 15 min. He did indeed.

Whether you choose to use your butler or not they will worm their way into your heart and do so with a huge smile!!

Have a fabulous time on your cruise with your DW:)

IMHO Roll Calls are wonderful. There has always been excitement and anticipation has been heightened chatting with others going on cruise.

We have hosted embarkation parties and meet and greets over the years and still keep in touch with several of our fellow travelers that we met at these functions.

I am looking forward to meeting some of the wonderful folks who are currently posting on our roll call for Oct 2016 - Best part it is open to all and everyone has a choice of participating or not:)

OMG Thank you for the wonderful chuckles this evening - after reading this entire thread.

Prada Cowboy I really want to thank you for being a wonderful voice of experience and reason. I have learned a great deal from your post:)

This will be my first "luxury cruise", but my 10th cruise (on several different cruise lines). I adore great service and being a wee bit pampered, while also considering myself to be pretty low maintenance. What makes the cruise for me are the people I meet and port adventures in new places. I will either add a little extra at the end or I won't and only I need to know what I decided. This bantering back and forth on who is right has again served to provide me with a little entertainment this evening ( I live a very boring life at times), but has not really swayed me one way or the other.

Keep up the good work all - I will check back soon (when I need a good chuckle again);)

Close to free compared to what we pay in the US.

Total Truth Rallydave!

Questioning things after reading the difference is cost of travel insurance on this board.

I have just always paid it without thinking, but at $1,127. per person under 60 for one cruise - I am going to seriously reconsider my options in future!:(

I don't know why they had wine and something else in the frige that were a cost, but it was no big deal. We brought our own wine onboard, traded two of the liquor bottles out for another wine, and got a bottle of Red wine as part of our AMEX amenity. The sodas, juices and water were all complimentary so it was perfect. When on Oceania, we had everything taken out of the frige as everything was additional cost, but then Oceania does not include any drinks as far as I am aware, and many people buy a drink package, which we would do and did on Celebrity.

 

I also forgot to mention that disembarkation was the smoothest and most relaxed I have ever encountered. You filled out a form and then your luggage tags were sent to you, they made no announcements, everyone was just asked to leave the ship according to the time your tages indicated. We chose a late disembarkation, and walked off the ship at 9:30, into the terminal, there were several people there asking what you tag number was and walked us to where our luggage was and within 5 minutes we were meeting our driver.

 

Among our group of friends, all Regent cruisers, I don't know of anyone who would NOT sail Azamara again, and as I said earlier, several did onboard bookings or future deposits.

 

I hope all of you with future sailings on Azamara have as wonderful of a time as we did and enjoy your upcoming cruises.

Thank you so much for your postings. For years my TA has been trying to get me to book a cruise with Azamara. After reading your reviews and taking notes, I think this may be one to book soon :)

jOh, my, how dreadful to have to have anything in your fridge that you might have to pay for. Heavens to murgatroyd!! The horror of it!

 

Yes, the included alcohols are more extensive on Regent, but the overall experience is not nearly as warm or welcoming. Azamara's officers engage with passengers, unlike the highly-touted Regent General Manager, whose name I won't mention, who "engages" only with female members of his staff. Guests returning from shore are always greeted with a hot or cold beverage, as appropriate, and don't have to corner the GM and suggest this might be a good idea when the temperature is 90 degrees plus. They are welcomed warmly by senior management when returning, not just by surly security staff as on Regent. The warmth of ambiance on Azamara is much superior to Regent. And, oh, there are in fact alcohol brands for which you pay extra on Regent. How awful that must be for you to have to experience,

 

You really shouldn't comment unless you have cruised both lines, something I'm sure will never happen. There are cruise lines that are in ways superior to Regent, let me assure you. And, you would be wise, to restore your credibility here, not to be so defensive of Regent with your condescending responses to posting that praise other lines. Regent is far from a luxury cruise line, whether you admit it or not, and other cruise lines have much to offer people looking for a different high-end experience.

BLESS YOU - I am well over the condescending tone as well!

Heh, smiling indeed.

 

Indeed it's true I don't know who is the GM at most hotels/resorts although often I get nice notes from same in my suite (and I do mean suite). Unless I have an issue, I've no cause to chat; should I run into staff I like to smile and say how pleased I am, if I am.

 

At smaller properties, it is common to meet the GM and that's fine. But a Regent cruise ship is 500 or more guests and that's a lot of ballast.

 

This summer we return to Le Bristol in Paris for nine days but I don't expect to meet the GM other than serendipitously. Twin Farms, on the other hand, hosts only several dozen guests at a time so the GM is ubiquitous.

 

As for not being cut out for cruising, that's been settled, we love it. What we're not cut out for, apparently, is schmoozing.

Thank you for speaking up!!!! I love to cruise and have cruised high price point and lower price point, depending on the budget of those traveling with us.. Some of the posts I have seen on Regent make it sound as if some of these good folks are to good for most of us.

I love to cruise and fortunately for me so does my family. We have had the opportunity to sail the world together making memories. This and meeting wonderful new people is what truly matters to us. Not how many Regent cruises, name dropping staff or belittling the comments or questions of others!

Cruise on OctoberKat - I hope to meet you on one of my cruises be it Regent or another fabulous cruise line :)

Oh my

I wear Chico's and Soft Surrounding's almost exclusively and it sounds like there are many of you out there! Wonder how many "twins" I will see on my cruise!?! :)

I second hvsteve1's suggestion to look into the "X" ships. I love to cruise and usually travel with several friends. Some can spend more then others, so our cruises and budgets vary. I have always loved Celebrity and found them to be great for the moderate budget. Best of all you can go as grand or cautious as you like and still have a class experience.

Sailing Regent for first time in 2016 and hoping it will be worth the cost. Honestly would have gone "X" ship had they had the itinerary I wanted :)

Thanks for the heads up on how to work within CC. No, this is not my first cruise (my 10th) just my first on Regent and my first time on CC posting. I have always come to this site to check reviews and tip posts. Decided this time to dip my feet in the water a bit.