Buglady777

31 minutes ago, Eno-Bob said:

 

From our experience, you will not be contacted by Regent in advance.  In the past we have submitted some advance requests to Regent through our TA, but that has been kind of hit or miss.  I believe any special requests like that have to be submitted at least 60 days before the cruise.  We have found that letting your Butler know exactly what you want after you get onboard works the best.  They take care of everything without any problems.

Agreed. We changed our minds on pillows, sodas, etc, once on board, and the butler had it handled in less than an hour.  We liked that the butler sat us down the first day and explained all that he could do for us, a big help, as it was our first grand suite.  

1 hour ago, Ehg said:

Another year has passed and we are due to sail in this cabin at the end of May. I too have been looking for videos or photos, so was pleased to find this thread. 
 

I will definitely post a video on YouTube when we get back. 
 

can anyone who has sailed in a GS tell me if we will be contacted in advance of our sailing or is it simply the preference sheet that I have already completed online? 
 

can’t wait. 

We enjoyed Explorer suite 784 last year. Huge deck with different areas to sit, so you could be in or out of the sun. And it does look like Splendor 784 is the same layout, probably with different furniture and art, as it is a newer ship.  We will be in a suite on deck 12 on the Splendor next year at this time. The only negative I  would point out was a LOT of vibration when pulling into docks. They may have corrected that on the Splendor. But vibration otherwise was only slight at times in high seas, and we had some doozy seas at one point.  Also, when sitting at the very back deck, we could not see the ocean, only the sky, due to the solid railing. Most ships have open view railing aft, but not RSS.  The side was open, as you can see on the original photos.  We visited people with forward grand suites, and liked their deck views better...but a lot more wind!  We can't remember if RSS  contacted us ahead of time for our grand suite setup, but we called in our requests ahead of our cruise.  We didn't fill out the butler request form for some reason. We are still in awe over our time on that sailing.  Loved the nightly canapes that you could customize every day.  Our butler was awesome.  And we had a standing reservation daily for specialty dining if we let our butler know before noon that day.  Restaurants were fabulous, never had such good food.  Enjoy!

On 3/5/2023 at 6:48 AM, fudge said:

Thank you, thats very reassuring. Did I see your tag on the roll call? If so it would be nice to meet up.

Yes, we are on Roll Call. Looking forward to meeting...good bars on the Explorer! Too bad they don't have a meet and mingle set up.

Kathy and Bob

On 1/23/2023 at 8:49 AM, Seasons00 said:

Viking Saturn May 23, Reykjavik to NY.   Anyone else on this cruise?

We have gone on the May 23 Roll Call a while back and introduced ourselves.  We are going to Reykjavik 3 days early, and maybe see some cruisers there before the cruise! We were nervous also, about being the second (?) cruise on a new ship.  It was good to hear reassuring words from all of you.  We were on the Norwegian Prima in October, a new ship.  They canceled their first cruises in Europe due to delays.  It will be good to be back on Viking after the Prima experience.  What a weird ship.  

Thanks to TL and CCWine (BTW, very impressed at your Viking voyages, CC!) for the info and link to that tour company!  Dang, we will be in Reykjavik for 3 days prior to boarding the Saturn in May, but no dates line up for us either.  Their itinerary gives us a good idea of what to look for though.  I go on Roll Call if we need to round up more people for a private tour.  Works well, usually.

On 2/28/2023 at 1:21 AM, fudge said:

Thank you flossie thats really helpful, will try and squeeze on or two more in when on board. 

We will also be on the Vancouver to Tokyo sailing. We did a 16 day TA on Explorer in 2022, and had no trouble booking the additional specialty dining venues while on board. The food was better than we have ever had, and so artfully presented. You will love it even more, as longer sailings allow for exploring the culinary delights.

On 11/8/2022 at 3:10 PM, BenCoudon said:

Lets just hope that the entertaiment crew learned how to look at the virtual queue.  Start up flaws are normal.

I agree they are still learning the ropes, so to speak.  While standing in line at the Improv (with reservations) the people in front of me bragged that they did not have reservations. they were let in without a second thought.  Happened a couple of times, no control of reservations.  We ended up with horrible seats.

On 11/2/2022 at 3:50 AM, dexddd said:

We ate one lunch there.  Service slow despite tons of staff, got non solicited apology, food just OK.  Menu looks great, reality just ok.  Seated by kitchen door, so much for 270" view.  Head to the Local which was much better all around.  Note the Local Rueben is some type of beef but not corned beef but it passes.

We ate dinner there only one night, but should have had lunch there to see the beautiful ocean during the day!  It got dark at dinner, just saw our reflection.  Food, just OK.  Service good.  

7 hours ago, SuzannaG said:

First, Prima is a lovely ship. As with anything new there will be some tweaks along the way and you have to expect some settling and maintenance, just like driving a new car off the lot. However, I was disappointed. 

We were on the NYC to Galveston, and we were also, for much of it,  disappointed in the small venues (50 seats at the Improv?? And pillars blocking many of those!) Uncomfortably tight seating in the small main theater, and waaay too loud volume on every show, thank goodness for earplugs!  If we weren't in the wonderful Haven I would have been mad.  Haven food good, all other venues very hit and miss. Bars were great! And, I do understand they are still working out the kinks.  Hard to find comfy chairs (lOTS of seating, but, wow, most were hard on my back).  I could do a whole post on the pros and cons, but still recovering from the cruise.   They wanted to create cozy venues, but it did not work with 3000 people competing for them. I had to show up 30-40 minutes early for lectures/shows at Syds or Improv, just to stand in the back, even with reservations.    Sad. And they are going to build more like the Prima.  My next NCL will be on an older ship for sure. That said, I liked the colors and decor. Beautiful.  

21 hours ago, GreenFamily said:

The gym looks small for 3000 passengers. It’s too bad the Prima doesn’t have a jogging track. Hopefully, staff can unlock the gym early since there aren’t any cabins below.

Oh, forgot to mention it was frustrating not having a jogging track per se, but people were walking deck 8, although a bit problematic winding through the aft section. It goes all tthe way around the ship.

21 hours ago, GreenFamily said:

The gym looks small for 3000 passengers. It’s too bad the Prima doesn’t have a jogging track. Hopefully, staff can unlock the gym early since there aren’t any cabins below.

That pic shows only half of the gym. It extends around. It opens at 6 AM. I would get there every day about 7-8 AM, and had no problem finding machines.  They were glitchy tho!  Staff showed me how to flip a switch on the (only 6) ellipticals to reset the computers.  Never were all the ellipticals working at once.  Not as many weight machines as on other lines.  Only our first NCL. 

Wow, sounds like we have to jump trough  hoops on this cruise!  Our friends are on Celebrity April 8 TA, and they have not gotten any such notice as ours. They stop at several Eu countries. Their Roll Call has NO chatter about what we are talking about.  Strange.

As long time Celebrity cruise fans, we were also disappointed with our last few cruises, food wise.  Except the martini bar, always fun. We took two Viking cruises (Amazon and Scandanavia) for their itineraries. Great experiences.  Loved the Ocean ships (River, not so much). So much room to lounge around and read, and no problem with chair hogs.  Loved the ocean-facing lounge chairs and observation lounges.  A big step up from Celebrity. Now, we are upping our game this month with a TA to Rome on Explorer, hoping to find similar places to hang out in comfort.  And THANK YOU Georgia Peach51 for your reports! I took copious notes. The food experience alone will be an adventure! We splurged on a bigger suite with all the money we saved by cancelling 4 cruises this past 2 years. I bet we will be spoiled. 

As a side note, we were on the inaugural TA crossing in 2018 on Symphony of the Seas, the largest cruise ship (at that time).  Wow, NOWHERE quiet away from the crazy pools to just sit and read (with any view to speak of)! We resorted to the futons on the jogging track to get an ocean view to read our books. Our cabin location was on the sunny side, 90 degrees on the balcony, so hot!. The megaship was an experience (great food and WOW shows), but give me a smaller ship. (DH begs to differ, he loves the glitz of big ships)

So two years have gone by for this post...We are so excited to have nabbed this cabin (784) for a TA  Miami to Rome later this month. Thank you Snore42 for the great photos so we know what to expect. We have never booked this higher end suite before, looking forward to be spoiled.  And having somebody cook an clean for us for the first time in two plus years! 

On 1/24/2022 at 2:40 PM, GoNavyFamily said:

Update on our shore excursion:  For the first time, our tour was called 15 minutes past start time as we waited in the theater. We boarded a bus which drove us to the cliff diver area, about 10 minutes away. We were able to find a shady area inside the hotel that is open to view the cliff divers, which was nice because it is hot here! It was impressive watching these young men scale the rocks to reach the platform and then dive into the sea. I have a short video which hopefully will attach.

 

 

After that we boarded the bus and drove through a very run down (by our standards) "downtown" shopping area covering several streets and blocks, bordering the pier,  and not any place I would intentionally go. The bus barely fit on the streets and had to make several maneuvers each time it turned into another street. We then stopped at a cluster of stores in the middle of downtown which the guide described as an arts and craft market (NOT!!) but with the same merchandise found every where. I honestly didn't even want to get off the bus. After 15 minutes or so we left and once again got stuck in traffic for close to 30 minutes. At this point we were 2 hours into our supposedly 4 hour tour and other than seeing the divers,  still in the same run down series of streets close to the pier.  We asked the driver to let us off, which he did and one other couple got off the bus as well. We walked the few minutes it took back to the ship.  I didn't think I could stand the next part of the tour nor the narration by the guide. We just wanted to be back on Explorer.

 

So far Regent is batting zero on our shore excursions. We are very happy with the onboard experience but someone at Regent needs to better vet the excursions they offer. 

 

And here is the sad part.  Even though masks are mandatory in Mexico, as well as required while on board the ship in public areas,  the people sitting across from us as well as several others on the bus stayed unmasked and others wore them below their noses. I wish the tour guide would have gently reminded everyone that masks are required. And we were stuck, it wasn't like the option to leave an area if we felt uncomfortable. 

Some people may want to comment about not cruising if we are that concerned or other similar lines of thought. Please don't waste your time. It is more my point that if you cannot follow the rules, especially the rules of the country in which you are a guest, then you should not elect to travel at this time. 

 

Anyway, we are very happy with our shipboard experience and plan to book another Regent cruise. We knew upfront that ports would likely change. Indeed, Colombia was just raised to Level 4 travel advisory so I will be unsurprised if that port is cancelled as well as the already eliminated Nicaragua and Guatemala.  Fortunately going through the canal is not going to change!

 

I'm happy to stay on board and after this failed excursion, I am sitting by the pool with my mango daiquiri and am very content😊

 

Regarding people not complying with masking, we agree, that if you don't feel comfortable masking up, don't go.  As a (retired) dental hygienist I am at home with a mask. But our travel buddies not so much. They just canceled their April cruise because of the masking mandates.  Good for them.  They will not break the rules. 

And thank you for this thread, great advice! We are on Explorer on a TA in March Miami to Rome. 

Thanks, kjbacon, for all the food info! We are on the Explorer TA to Rome in March (snagged the aft  suite too!) and are going to take your recommendations to heart.  We can make our reservations as of today, but have a question maybe you can answer.  Is the main evening entertainment later in the evening (9-ish) so as not to rush us through dinner?

I know this is an old topic, pre-pandemic cruising, and my comment here may not be seen, but thank you all for the information on the Grand suites!  We were nervous, as we booked the aft grand suite over the gym for March 2022 Miami to Rome,  and am pleased that we snagged a good suite according to the comments! gym noise shouldn't be as issue...I hope.  It looks like the balcony railings are solid though, cutting down on the view of the water. Minor quibble to be sure!

This is a great thread!  Thanks all of you for so much information.  We will now look in to Oceania for sure.  I was a little put off at the age of the R class ships, but I am confident their remodels are very good.  We have done one VO, with a second one: In To The Midnight Sun in June.  Picked both  for the itineraries.  But the business model of paying a whole year in advance really chafed us.  We learned they cut you a few month's slack if you ask AT TIME OF BOOKING only.  We did not know this, and were surprised when we were informed we missed our final payment a year out.  Grrr.

1 hour ago, mongo59r said:

I really enjoy exploring hot sauces of all types, but have never been a fan of Tabasco. I tink I would rather do without than use that,

Yup, best way to ruin a meal.

6 hours ago, cb at sea said:

If you have a sauce you MUST have...bring it. Totally allowed!

 

We never travel w/out our travel size Cholula, packets of Tapatio, and chili flakes. Tobasco is not as popular any more.  So fun when we are asked by people next to us if we can share.  Makes for good conversation.  Too bad Tobasco has such a strangle-hold on the restaurant industry.  Cheaper, I bet.

I had friends just show up for the M&M, and all are welcomed it seemed.  On our VO to the Amazon last year there must have been 50 people, and all mingled, little sitting. Viking did a great job, and I encourage people to get the word out to sign up AND show up. So fun!