sworksjr

Yes. But in retrospect they may not have been the best had I chose my own.

I use to just use whatever Regent assigned. Recently however, due to the lack of flights available and or seats, due to increased traffic, I will now start using air deviation all the time.

DW and I both enjoyed Boogie and Kashia on our last cruise (seems like forever since then). We asked them to play some of our favorite dance songs, but they did not know some of them. But by the next night they had learned them and played them well. They had the back of the ship rocking. (OK maybe it was the waves)

I don't recall having heard Nature's Rhythm but I am sure we would enjoy them also.

At least it is nice to know that some progress is being made, but did not see a time line of when these improvements will be rolled out.

I am thinking about trying a Viking cruise in the near future. I went to the web site but could not find out if Viking has a frequent cruiser program and if it includes both ocean and river cruises. Thanks in advance

My TA said Summer 2022 cruises will be released in a couple of weeks.

Just wanted to make a comment about th Miso Glazed Sea Bass. I have seen controversy on CC about how good it is. Let me start by saying that in general, I do not like fish. I usually only eat very mild fish like cod and haddock and even then it is betterif it is battered.

That said, I tried the Miso Glazed Sea Bass the other night and enjoyed it very much. Take my recommendation with a healthy dose of sea salt.

29 minutes ago, pingpong1 said:

Sworksjr - Thanks for joining the discussion!  It's nice to get fresh points of view and impressions from folks who are new to the Regent brand. Which line/s have you cruised on before?  It's helpful to know what you'll be comparing your observations to.  Thanks Again!

Thanks, our last 3 Cruises were on HAL, but we have also been on Princess, RCL, and Disney. Since HAL ships are the latest we have done, most references will be to it. I liked HAL, but wanted to try something different and thus Regent.

I prefer smaller ships. This ship, Mariner, is relatively close in size to HALs Prinsendam, but the common areas are not as crowded, so I suspect that the passenger to common area ratio is less on the Mariner.

Joined this cruse in Pateete and will go thru to Sydney. As a first time Regent cruiser I am most impressed by the lack of lines and how uncrowded the ship feels

. 

We met several of the fellow Cruse Critic people at the Meet and Greet.

The block party is an interesting concept, as many times I have never met our neighbors on the cruse.

Papaflamingo and Rich48100 are doing a great job with pictures and descriptions, so I will only remark on my observations as a new Regent cruiser.

I've had good experiences on Holland America on the last 3 cruises we have taken. I decided to switch to RSSC because of some of the perks which if added to Holland America becomes a wash. I am looking forward to seeing if RSSC is really that much better than HAL. Already have 2 more cruises booked on RSSC and my TA says I will be able to get the on board credits added 30 days before my cruise in November.

Is tipping tour guides still expected in countries where tipping is not the norm, like Australia.

Thanks Jason for the heads up that the web site has been fixed! All looks good.

Agreed. I have been having the same issues. I can access my booking but when I click on "view this booking," it takes me back to the home page. We are coming up to booking dining next week so I assume I'll have to call. But they did say it should be fixed by the first week in August. Guess we'll see. This has been going on for a very long time.

Same problem with me. They told me it was only a problem with 4 bookings, but I would guess it is more than that. They would not give me a time when it would be fixed.

I would do away with the library, art auctions, and smoking. All non-alcoholic drinks would be included, there would be no dress policy except you would have to have shirt and shoes on in the dining rooms.

I hope you would include pants for men and skirts or pants for women.....or maybe not. :D:):)

:D:D

Last year we were on a cruise over Thanksgiving. A few decorations in the main dining room is all I remember, plus an option of turkey dinner on the menu. As I recall, the turkey wasn't all that great.

I use roll and fold both. I roll underwear, socks and anything else I don't care if it gets wrinkled. Shirts and pants I fold and put cleaner bags between layers of the folded clothes. The rolled clothes are then stuffed wherever they will fit.

No one has said whether they roll or fold their shoes. :-) I find them the hardest thing to pack.

For our last cruise, I was calling or using their web site of the credit card companies to inform them of our up coming trip. When I got to American Express, the woman I talked to said I did not need to inform them. I asked why and was told that they would be able to figure out that I was traveling. When I told her that none of my travel charges would be on their card, she informed me that they had other ways to determine that I was traveling. She would not tell me how they would know.

Scary!

On every cruise line that I have been on, the tap water tastes blah. If you don't have good tasting water, you can't have good coffee. Just my opinion.

While passing the the front desk on a cruise up the Amazon river, I heard a woman complaining that the smokers on the ship were creating so much smoke, she could not sit on her balcony. When told that the smoke was caused by people burning the rain forests, she quickly asked that they be told to stop while she was cruising the river.

I wish she could get them to stop.

We have been through the Canal twice, but not on Regent. I particularly like visiting Cartagena's Old Town. It makes for a lot of good photos. I don't remember the port we stopped at in Costa Rica, but we had a good time sight seeing as it is a beautiful country. I agree that most of the other ports are meh. But even the worst cruises are good.

If an excursion is already full when you try to select it, are you notified when you select the excursion or after you check out?

Our experiences have been w/Regent and Seabourn. In both instances, our N/S was from LAX. Departure at around midnight; arrival in Tahiti very-early AM. Flights were on Air France. Very, very nice, although almost the entire air time was at night. Relatively easy to sleep in Business/First.

 

We went one extra-day early. My memory is a bit hazy, but recall wheels-down around 0630H. Efficient, almost-immediate transfer to the same nearby hotel, exact name I forget. Top-rate. What was appreciated was early check-in, at no extra charge. We were taking a snooze by 0830H,local time.

 

Therefore, we had 1+ extra day time to overcome jet-lag. Boarded ships in good shape to enjoy the experience.

 

Recommendation is to schedule more than just an overnight hotel stay before departure. The area around the airport has definitely been improved over the years. Lovely walks on the hotel's beach; or nearby.

 

GOARMY!

Thanks GOARMY. I was concerned that the hotel would not allow early check-in, but it sounds like they will.

We will be flying to Tahiti to catch our cruise in the fall. Flights from LAX seem to land very early in the morning ~6am or late at night ~midnight. We have a reservation through RSS for a hotel and I am wondering, do they usually fly you in on the early morning flight, giving you a full day in Papeete, Tahiti before you can check into the hotel, or do they fly you in late at night with a short stay in the hotel before boarding the next morning? I am considering doing a deviation on the flight.

The first day of a cruise you only really get about a half day on the ship. The last day is for me a total waste, packing the night before and getting off the ship by mid morning. Therefore, I always look at the length of a cruise as being 2 days shorter than advertised.

DW and I have been taking longer and longer cruises, 30+ days on our last three cruises. I like to unpack and forget about getting off for awhile.

I always leave give an extra $20 to the room steward. I keep the cabin spotless and we generally only require clean towels. I've left more on occasion, simply because I've seen the condition of other cabins assigned to our steward. The cabin door has been open and I honestly couldn't see how the steward was able to even get around in the cabin. The stewards have a very tight schedule for cleaning each of the cabins. Why would anyone make such a mess for someone to clean around? I figure if my cabin is kept tidy, this makes their job easier. Besides, I just can't stand the mess in the cabin. I don't understand walking by and seeing these messy cabins.

I have never felt that I should tip extra because other people make a mess in their rooms. I am not responsible for them.