vegasdriven

Sorry, this might be kind of a lengthy inquiry:

We have a Regent Splendour cruise booked for Feb 22 (if it happens, it happens, but if it does I want to be prepared), arriving in Miami(hopefully, 3 days prior, with 2 nights post cruise, as well. We live on the west coast so getting to Miami in the middle of winter not the easiest, hence the padding of days pre and post.

Because I like to account for all eventualities (as much as that is possible in these times), I would like to book an inexpensive hotel for the first night as there is a good chance we could miss the connection from Charlotte, and if that happens I would feel better not wasting one night in a $500 a night hotel. Then we would haul a__ out of there to something like the Epic or Intercontinental in the Brickell area where we will spend a fantastic couple of days in luxury, getting ready for our luxury cruise.

Post cruise I am looking at eb hotel by the airport, as it looks pretty nice, and we have to catch a 7 am flight on the second morning.

So a couple of questions, should I book the hotels through my TA (other than the first night, as I am sure a luxury cruise specialist probably doesn't deal with that sort of hotel)?

Originally we were going to book something in South beach, but have been reading that the area is not too safe in these Covid times, please correct me if you feel differently?

I think we will be quite happy just hanging around the Brickell area for the couple of days pre cruise, but wondered if a hoho bus tour might be a good idea for our last full day before returning home. We stayed in Coral Gables before our last cruise in 2019, and wandered around that area (which we enjoyed- myself more then DH, as he doesn't like sore feet), so we don't need to see that area again.

Of course, I will be booking something I can cancel if we have to cancel the cruise, just wondered how others are handling hotels? Do you book this early, or are you doing things differently this year for any reasons I haven't thought of?

If you have got this far, thanks for slogging through it, and looking forward to any, and all opinions or suggestions.

Ok, everyone, just to clarify, I got in touch with my TA, and she told me she could reinstate the flight credit so we could take Regent air. She also said we could have first class for a fee(don't know if I should state how much it would be here, but it would have been a little less then the flights I had checked out).

We seriously thinking about it, but overnight it came to me to try one more strategy, which was to start from Seattle instead of Vancouver, and that worked out pretty well using Alaska loyalty points on AA flights. Then I just booked return flights from Vancouver and back, coming in a day before to take care of any contingencies.

Hope this isn't tmi. Have to admit I am a bit of a dog with a bone when it comes to planning, now I just have to hope it wasn't all for nothing😱

As others have posted Regent does not always take full responsibility.. My insurance policy is the 3 days pre, and 2 days post in Miami- we don't mind extending the trip with extra days in the sun🙂

Grandmaane7, I don't know if it is an issue with my TA. When I booked it just automatically gave me the air credit. I did enquire via email, but never received an answer to that.

So many posters have said that its just not worth taking Regent,s air if not flying internationally, so I just left it. Obviously I should have pursued it more at the time. Even so, I think we would have not been happy with what we would have been offered- flying from the west coast always seems to be very complicated, and I hate, hate, hate things like not having a comfortable connection time. Therefore, I am happy to do my own research, and part of that is to get opinions, info from the helpful people on this board.

our case is even more complicated, as we have to first get ourselves off Vancouver Island, again a feat not as simple as it sounds, esp. in winter😕😄

mrlevin, thanks for responding. We did receive the credit for the flights, we just didn't seem to have the option to use Regent air, actually the same situation exists for our Panama cruise, as well. It would be interesting to hear from other Canadians if this is the case with them?

I used ITA- matrix to search flights, and prices started at 2000+ round trip for first class(which as we know is hardly what one would consider first class domestically) pp. And from Seattle to Miami didn't show up at that price level.

I was just kind of wondering if others are even booking flights that far out at this time, and if so what their experience has been?

However, you have given me another scenario to look at, which is using points to fly to Seattle, and seeing what it would cost from there in first. It might be worth it if there is a non stop flight from there.

Booked on Splendour Feb. 3 22. We will be flying from Vancouver (hopefully), to Miami. I wasn't sure whether to take the air or the credit, but it seems we did not have the option, undoubtedly due to Covid, and coming from Canada.

Checked airfares, and as I suspected, really high. We have aeroplan, and Alaska mileage plan. Aeroplan shows most flights available being overnight or requiring 5+ hours overnight in airports, but not enough time to get a hotel.

Alaska shows a fairly good itinerary-YVR-DFW and DFW- Miami getting us there by 8:15 pm. However, only the first flight is in business/first. At least that is the longer of the two.

Does anyone know if you can upgrade main cabin to premium on an award ticket? I would be fine with the 3 hrs, but DH not so much.

I realize that the likelihood of this flight itinerary being changed over and over is probably very likely, however both aeroplan, and Alaska apparently allowing changes and cancellations without penalty. If this is true, it would seem a very good idea to book something now. 

Does anyone have any input or info on Alaska, or AA(which we would be flying on as Alaska,s partner) about these new rules?

We would be spending 3 nights pre cruise in Miami, and 2 post cruise- as I think a good buffer zone is a good idea in this climate.

This will just be our 2nd Regent cruise, and we have Panama Canal for Dec 22 booked as well (at least we will only have the long haul travel one way on that one.

Love to hear any input from any, and all!

Interesting replies. Glad to hear people feeling positive about cruising. Also, picking up a few good tips from you all.

Just wondering how people who were on one of the affected cruises early on would feel about cruising going forward?

ilikeanswers- thanks, good idea.

Maybe this will go nowhere, as maybe those cruisers don't frequent CC if they would not be interested in being on a cruise ship again?

Here's something I have wondered about- on our only Regent cruise (Voyager in the Caribbean), the entertainers always seemed to be dressed very formally, and beautifully. Quite enjoyed seeing them.

I take it they are required as such by Regent. Certainly it sets them apart from the guests, as if their age and stature weren't enough😩😉

I can't imagine that this was just this one cruise as it was in the Caribbean, so generally a more casual type cruise (though guests were always dressed nicely as far as I could see).

Well, as far as TAs go, I think we got a good one. Just heard back that we can transfer the funds to the next cruise. She is very timely with the replies.

Thanks Cruzstart! Waiting on a reply from TA, but just wanted to ask the question here for others experiences.

I am thinking they would rather apply the funds paid already rather than refund them, but we will see. Not a big deal either way. We've only done one cruise with Regent so far, and loved it, so hope it will be sooner than later that we can get back to sailing with them.

Is it possible to transfer our paid deposit from a cruise that is booked for Mar 25, 21 to one in 2022? Or will we need to cancel the first one altogether, and then rebook?

I am going to contact our TA today and get on the wait list. I hope your Mar cruise goes. 
We are very sad to cancel our Rio to Barcelona in Mar, but even if there is a vaccine by then, I can’t imagine Rio would be good to visit at that time. 
As well, being Canadian, with the travel rules very strict here, I think it will be awhile before we can even do international travel. Even Nov 21 might not be long enough, but we shall book if we can, and hope for the best. 

Having problems with the quote function🤔 need to get better at this. 

9 hours ago, flossie009 said:

I understand; this is a popular cruise and now appears to be waitlisted throughout.

Glad we already have a booking for the suite of our choice 🙂 - deck 9, shower only PHC 😎

flossie, does this mean you are booked on this cruise? Would be fun to meet another CC celebrity- we met uunetbill on our first Regent cruise Jan 2019.

9 hours ago, flossie009 said:

Flossie, to your points- I realize we can wait longer, but don't want to take the chance of everything being booked.

-thinking about the waitlisting option, but want to be sure we get the walkin shower and not the tub. Is it possible to choose a suite and be put on the wait list if something else comes available?

Hi folks. We have a cruise booked with deposit for Mar 21 which we realize is not happening, so we want to switch to one that goes later in the year. We are looking at the amazon explorer Nov 21 which is nearly completely waitlisted. The only available suites are concierge on deck 10, and yes we realize they are under the pool ( hence the availability).

My question is -how bad is it-there are no reviews of these suites in suite guru. We are early risers, so chairs being moved around at 6am wouldn't necessarily be a deal breaker, but I am just wondering does anyone ever book these suites or are they so bad that they just sail empty?

Generally like an Old fashioned, Martini, or Manhatten- all of which were done well on our Voyager cruise last Jan. (First Regent cruise).

The one drink that was new to me, though, was an Italian getaway- grapefruit, prosecco, and Campari. A little tart, a little sweet, a little bubbly, and somewhat addictive. A great daytime indulgence. Oh,to be on the high seas with one in hand😋

Love reading reviews, esp. positive ones(though it can be useful to read the not so positive, as well).

We have just one Regent cruise under our belts, so I am always looking to glean a few more tips from others experience. I was very pleased to read your positive experience in Rio, we are doing that same pre-cruise add on before we board Voyager in Mar 21, and I too, had some slight concerns, so it was great to read that you enjoyed your time there.

Many thanks.

Firstly, thank you Jackie for doing this in depth reporting of your lovely cruise😍 Being as we don't have a cruise planned till 2021 I kind of live for these reviews.

58 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Sometimes I think we need a separate thread or forum for those of us who are stuck with lowly standard verandah cabins instead of big suites.  We've been lucky enough to be in PH's a couple of times, but mainly we feel very lucky to be in a standard suite (although that has been muddied with Explorer I guess.)

 

So I'll not be considering Crystal.  Now Seabourn, wow, any time, lovely standard balcony suites!  Mariner I'll put up with, otherwise I couldn't do WC2021.

 

It is nice to have friends onboard in bigger suites; at least we get to visit once in a while!

As Wendy says, I also wish there was more reporting from the basic suites, it would be interesting to know how some people deal with the smallest of suites. For instance I would like a comparison between the two lowest categories on Explorer where you would have to decide between a walkin closet or a larger balcony.

1 hour ago, AtA said:

Which is why you shouldn't go in the "tiny" cabins. Priced out as close to apples to apples, a PH on Crystal is the same price as a regular cabin on Regent in a large majority of cases. That was one reason we switched from Regent. Especially since we didn't find the included tours on Regent to our liking and even when we priced out included air, it still became pretty much of a wash. 

 

Here's just one example. It's not a 100% matchup because of course ports are somewhat different.

On Crystal: Monte Carlo - Venice 7 nights May 3-10, 2020. The lowest cabin price is $3834 pp for a window cabin.

The penthouse with a butler is $5599 pp and is 412 square feet (includes the balcony) (And no, it doesn't include airfare or excursions)

 

On Regent: Rome - Barcelona 7 nights May 21, 2020. The lowest cabin price is $7699 pp and is 335 square feet (includes the balcony)

A Superior Suite prices out at $8599 pp and is 464 square feet.

 

Now of course I do realize different ports can be more or less expensive and I'm sure that figures into it, but what this shows is that if you pay for a standard cabin on Regent, then you most likely can afford to pay for a PH on Crystal.

 

 

For this example the Regent cruise would be the absolute winner, as if you added international business class flights to the Crystal cruise you would be paying far more than the Regent cruise, and that.is not considering the included excursions. I guess you might come close with the window suite on Crystal, but even for us that would not be a consideration, or a fair comparison unless you are looking at Navigator, and I am pretty sure the price for those window suites would be less than the price quoted for Regent.

We did it, and would have been good with 1/2 an hr there. I am so sorry we didn't do one of the tours in town, or even walked around on our own. Did enjoy the old fort(name escapes me at the moment😕- San Cristobal?) which was included in the excursion, but we could have easily done that on our own, as well.

By the time we got back to the ship there really wasn't time to do any exploring on our own- we were only in port for 5 hrs. Besides, drinks on the ship were way better😋

Looks like your Dublin stay is helping soften the blow of the cruise being done. Looks just as green as one would imagine, and lots of old world atmosphere.

Continue with your fun, we're all watching🙂

That looks like a couple of olives wrapped in blankets of anchovies- 🤢, though the hubs would love that.